Discord (Midnight Saints MC Book 2) Read online

  For now, I would play her friend. We were friends once, a long time ago, it wouldn’t be hard to play off that. Of course, I had to be mindful of where I took her, because of her watchdog, Seth. So, I figured a coffeehouse would be safe. I mean, how many badass bikers go to coffeehouses?

  If they want coffee, they hit the local diner or the gas station.

  “Reagen, it’s Kara, let’s grab a coffee and catch up.” I hung up and peeled out of the park. I arrived at the coffee shop. Reagen beat me to it since it was closer to the hangout than the park. I waved at her and then stopped to order a tall Americano before I joined her. She looked good considering what I had heard.

  The coffeehouse was packed with people stopping in for a late afternoon pick-me-up. Reagen was sitting in an armchair with its back to the door. She was scrunched down, still a little scared of being out by herself. I didn’t know all the details of what had happened, but I knew it landed a guy dead – a Blue Diablo. Guessing it was her Ol’ Man. Eventually, they would come for her head because of it.

  She had saved the chair across from her with her leather jacket for me. How considerate. Maybe this would be more than just a play for power. She clearly needed a friend, and it wouldn’t hurt to have one myself.

  “Tall Americano for Kara!”

  “That’s me.” I grabbed my cup and headed for the chair. Reagen smiled and grabbed her jacket.

  “Kara! It’s so good to see a familiar face.”

  “Reagen, I am so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m glad you got out. The Saints treating you well?” I asked as I perched on the seat across from her.

  “Yeah, I’m good. This was an unexpected surprise.”

  “Yeah, well, I needed a friend, and I knew you did too.”

  “I do. I’m grateful for your companionship. I love Seth, but sometimes a girl just needs to vent to another girl, and Mom, well, she’s not much of a listener. I’m not allowed to hang out with Bonnie either, so I was so glad when you called. I’ve been going stir crazy. Ever since Seth found out I’m pregnant, he has barely let me out of his sight. Don’t be surprised if he shows up here.”

  “I figured your watch dog wouldn’t be too far behind. Pregnant, huh? A last parting gift from what was his name . . . Jacob?”

  “No, it’s Seth’s.”

  “Seth’s? Well, okay then. Congratulations. He’s a decent guy.”

  We fell silent, having run out of things to say. She sipped on her hot chocolate, and I fiddled with my cup. It was still too hot to drink.

  “So, is there something you wanted to discuss with me or something?”

  “Actually, yeah. So, I got news and I want you to be one of the first to hear it.”

  “What news?” Reagen asked eagerly. I made her wait while I took a sip of my still-steaming coffee. It felt good burning my throat. Pain reminded me I was still alive, and I got a rush from it. Though I didn’t think anyone but a sicko could get pleasure out of the kind of pain my friend had been put through.

  I made a mental note to make sure anyone loyal to Jacob was dealt with, but I figured Seth was already on it.

  As if she could read my thoughts, she spoke up.

  “I’m healing well enough. Were you there at the ride?”

  “No. I was avoiding it. I don’t think I can do that anymore, so I’ve decided not to. Which brings me to what I want to say. In fact, I’ve decided . . . I’m taking over the Midnight Saints,” I whispered behind my hand.

  “Really?” Reagen was thrilled. “Can you do that?”

  “Well, the way I see it, it was my father’s club, and as his daughter, that makes me his heir, so technically, it’s mine by right of birth. I think men have fucked it up long enough, so yeah, I’m moving in and taking over. Before this war destroys everything. Not that Tony isn’t doing a good job mopping up this mess my father left, but if I can’t be left alone in peace, then I might as well come back and take over.”

  “I think that’s great. It’s time for a woman to be in power. You are amazing, Kara. You’re finding your place in the world, sticking it to your old man. That’s awesome. I wish I had guts like you.”

  “You’re amazing too, Reagen. You had guts leaving Jacob and returning to the Midnight Saints.”

  I took another sip of the warm liquid before I continued. “I think it’s time we showed these men that we’re more than just whores here for their pleasure, that we have hearts and minds of our own, and that we’re just as tough as they are. You showed them that. Now, it’s my turn to show them that.”

  “I don’t know about just as tough as they are.”

  “Hey, you survived, didn’t you?” I took another sip of my coffee. My throat was already burned, so I didn’t feel it this time.

  We fell silent again and she fiddled with her now empty cup.

  “Can I get you another one?”

  “I should probably get going.”

  “Come on, you just got here. You’re safe with me. I promise.”

  “Okay. It was hot chocolate.”

  “Save my seat.” I got up to go back to the counter. “Can I get a tall hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream, and, oh, how about two biscotti cookies?”

  “Will that be all?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Name on the cup?”

  “Reagen. Do I need to spell that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “R-E-A-G-E-N.”

  “That’s an unusual name.”

  “It was the name of a President, just spelled different.”

  “Yeah, but that was his last name.”

  “Yeah, well, my friend was named after him. Just make her hot chocolate.”

  I stopped to study the guy standing there in front of me behind the counter. He had thick eyeliner, tattoos, and spiked black hair. He wore a black poet’s shirt and a black velvet vest. A pentagram hung from his neck and he wore a dragon ring on his middle finger, upside down so he could flip you off when he showed it to you. His arm tat was the dragon slaying St. George. His nametag said Draco.

  “Is that your name or a nickname?”

  “Nickname. Our boss is cool, he allows us to use nicknames.”

  “So, what’s your real name? Dick?”

  “Ha ha, you’re funny. I use a nickname because I don’t like my real name.”

  “What is it, like William Charles Carlton III?” I asked, throwing out the most dickish name I could come up with on the spot.

  “You a biker? We don’t get many bikers in here.” He changed the subject.

  “Yeah, I’m a biker,” I said with pride, puffing my chest. It had taken a long time for me to get comfortable riding a bike again on my own, so afraid an MC would recognize me and come after me, but the Crypt Keepers had done their job well way back when. More than three years had given me back that edge I once had.

  “Yeah? Which club do you belong to?”

  “What the hell does that matter?” I snapped.

  “No reason, just making small talk,” he added. He didn’t show fear, just curiosity.

  “If you must know, I’m the new leader of the Midnight Saints, and this coffeehouse happens to be in our territory.”

  “Oh, those are good guys. You guys do lots of charity work for the children’s hospital, right? So, do you just look badass, or are you really badass and covering your shit by doing charity work?”

  I glared at him. “You’re an asshole.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.” He didn’t skip a beat and suddenly I was intrigued by this black-wearing freak.

  “I don’t answer assholes. So, what about you? What are you? Emo? Goth?”

  “Answer my question, I’ll answer yours,” he said as he prepared the hot chocolate.

  “Give me the fucking hot chocolate, asshole.”

  He laughed.

  “Wow, you’re kind of a bitch.”

  “You have no idea.” I smirked.

  “Bet you’re fun in bed, though.” He took me off guard. “You look like
the kind of girl who could rock a man’s world,” he said as he poured the hot chocolate into the cup and added the whipped cream. “I get off at ten, if you ever get lonely.” He winked.

  “I only fuck bikers,” I said, disgusted that he would offer me sex. “But let me know if you ever want to become a prospect. Plenty of room for more asshole bikers.”

  “Too bad, you don’t know what you’re missing.” He capped the hot chocolate and pushed it forward. “Careful, it’s hot.”

  “You’re full of yourself, Draco.”

  “Neither.”

  “What?”

  “I’m neither emo nor goth.”

  “Then what the fuck are you?”

  “I would think the pentagram would give it away.”

  “Do you worship the devil?”

  “That’s offensive,” he snapped as he prepared the next drink for the customer behind me.

  “Well, I don’t know what the fuck a pentagram is for.” I grabbed Reagen’s drink and turned to leave.

  “Nice chatting with you, President Reagen.” He winked.

  “Oh, I’m not Reagen. I’m someone else.” I smiled and then walked back to Reagen. “Here.”

  “Thanks! Were you flirting with that hottie at the counter?”

  “I guess that’s what was happening. He offered to fuck me after work.”

  “Oh my gosh! What did you say?” Reagen laughed.

  “I only fuck bikers.” I laughed.

  “You wouldn’t make an exception for that hottie?” she asked, glancing back at him.

  “I don’t know. Do you think I should? Do you know what a pentagram is?” I asked before taking a sip of my now cooled coffee.

  “Yeah, it’s what devil worshipers wear,” she answered without skipping a beat.

  “That’s what I thought too, but he took offense to that.” I stole a glance at Draco. Reagen was right, he was hot.

  “Of course, he did, they don’t like to admit it,” Reagen said. “I don’t know, maybe you can Google it.” She laughed.

  “So, we were talking about—”

  “How I survived. Yeah, I did. Now, I want to live again, but I still feel like someone is going to come after me, and so does Seth—”

  “Wait, devil worshipers do curses, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I have an idea.” I got back up and went back to the counter. “Hey, Draco, can you cast a curse?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I can. Why?”

  “What would you need?”

  “Depends on the curse.”

  “Can you curse someone to die?”

  “Uh, no.”

  “What about cause a serious accident?”

  “Yeah, possibly, but that would cost you. You must really hate this person.”

  “See that girl over there?”

  “I see a woman over there.”

  “Shut up. That’s my friend, Reagen.”

  “Oh, that’s Reagen.”

  I nod, a smug look coming over me. He didn’t believe me. “Yeah, so look, she got beat up really bad by her ex, and I need you to cast a curse on his family and friends. What’s the worst thing you could do to them?”

  “I’d have to consult my book of curses.”

  “You’re a devil worshiper, I’m sure the devil can help you.”

  “Not a devil worshiper.”

  “But you said you can cast curses.”

  “Yeah, because I’m a warlock.”

  “A what now?”

  “Male witch.” He said it like it was supposed to be common knowledge and not a fucking weird thing to say at all.

  “Okay, whatever, as long as you can cast a curse.”

  “Come back tomorrow, I’ll have a list of curses for you to pick from.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ll need a hundred bucks to cast it.”

  “I can manage that.”

  I returned to the table. “He’s not a devil worshiper, he’s a male witch, but whatever, he’s going to curse your dead ex-boyfriend for me for good measure and everyone related to him or supporting him, and then you never have to deal with that asshole again.”

  “Thanks, Kara.” She smiled, but I could tell she didn’t believe in all that juju. I didn’t know if I did either, but it was worth a try to have every possible power on our side. I knew all about bad men getting their way no matter how much you tried to bury them.

  “Sure thing. If it works, I’ll curse my father. Won’t that be the perfect revenge on The Preacher?”

  We fell silent again as we both enjoyed our drinks and got lost in our own thoughts.

  “So, you’re having a baby?” I said, finally breaking the awkward silence.

  “Yeah.” She touched her nonexistent stomach.

  “I can’t believe it. I’m so happy for you.” We toasted with our cups. “Seth, huh?”

  “He’s a good guy.”

  “Yes, I know he is. He’d never hurt you. Which is more than I could say about a lot of men, especially fucking bikers, even if they are great for a night.”

  “Yeah, a fact I learned when I pissed him off. I thought he was going to hurt me. I’m an independent woman, so I test his limits a lot. Something Jacob never appreciated. He wanted arm candy and a whore. Seth respects me, but he’s worried. He’s overprotective, especially now that I’m pregnant.”

  “It’s a tense time, with this war. Besides, overprotective isn’t a bad thing. It’s his way to show he cares,” I explained

  “I’m not used to it. I’m used to being controlled.”

  “I know. Give it time.” I became quiet as I looked around at the coffeehouse. It was a typical coffeehouse, with your usual crowd. Most of them were students from the nearby college. It was a safe place for us— the riff raff we were hiding from wouldn’t be caught in a place like this, which is why I had asked Reagen to meet me here, instead of the bar.

  “So, how do you plan to do it?” Reagen asked.

  “Well, for starters, I got the Crypt Keepers to agree to have our backs. They have the numbers, and they can really fuck shit up if it came down to it.”

  “And they’re only going to back up the Midnight Saints if you’re in charge?”

  “Basically.”

  “What, are you screwing their Prez or something?”

  “What? No. I just gave them an offer I knew they wouldn’t refuse. Basically, if they have our backs, we’ll have theirs.”

  “And that was enough?”

  “Well, that, and I offered them a discount on Thursday Friend of the MC night at the bar. I think they’re as worried about this war as we are, so having our back makes sure theirs is covered too.”

  “Okay, yeah, that makes sense.”

  “Maxum wants control of it all and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. The Crypt Keepers are smart, they don’t want to get mixed up in that shit, so backing the Midnight Saints just makes sense.”

  “So, how come Tony didn’t try to win them over?”

  “You have to have a way in, and I happened to have a way in. Tony doesn’t have a way in.”

  “What’s your way in?” Reagen asked with genuine curiosity.

  “I happen to know their Enforcer, like really well. Well, I used to know him, but he’s still hung up on me, so I’m using it to my advantage.”

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  “No! Well, not this time. We used to sleep together, more than sleep together, but not anymore. It’s a long story I never really talk about, but he’s the one who got me out of the MC life when I needed to disappear.

  “Oh, that one. I think you mentioned it once. Bummer. Anything still there?”

  “I don't know. No time for guys right now. Do you want a boy or a girl?” I changed the subject, not wanting to think about the past right now.

  “I’d love to have a boy. Can’t go wrong with another Seth in the world.” She smiled over her coffee cup.

  “No, I guess you can’t. Will you raise him in the biker
life?”

  “Yeah. I’m not going to make Seth leave the club. Besides, we’re all safer in it.”

  “I’ll protect you either way, you know.”

  “You’re going to stay with me twenty-four/seven?”

  “If that’s what I have to do, yeah.”

  “But you’re trying to run a club and prepare for war against your father. You can’t do all that and watch over me.”

  “Sure, I can. Watch me. I’m going to grab another coffee, want anything?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  I got up and went to the counter to refill my cup. I also grabbed a muffin. I’d get Reagen to eat half of it. She looked like she could do with a little more meat on her bones. Jacob must have starved her thin.

  “Here, share this muffin with me.” I cut it in half and put half of it on a napkin for her. Since it was there, she nibbled on it.

  “Kara, I don’t need a mother.”

  “Why the fuck would you think I’m trying to be your mother? I’m trying to be a caring friend, that’s all. Now, shut up and eat your muffin. You’re skin and bones, and now you have to eat for two,” I reminded her.

  “What do you think of the name Jules? That could work for a boy or a girl, right?” she asked, picking at the half-muffin.

  “Yeah,” I said, stuffing my muffin in my mouth. It was a good muffin.

  “I think it should have a gender-neutral name, that way if we think it’s a boy but it turns out to be a boy, or the other way around, we don’t have to worry about changing the name.”

  “That’s smart,” I said, half listening. I didn’t catch her say ‘boy’ both times.

  “I also like the name Rae. That could be a boy’s name or a girl’s name.”

  “Sure could.”

  “I should probably get going. Seth is going to be done with his meeting soon and notice I’m gone. He hates it when I take off, but not in the same way Jacob always did. He’s just worried, he cares. I love that about him.”

  “Yeah, he sure does.”

  “Do you have someone who cares about you that way?”

  “Eric, I suppose. He’s the Enforcer of the Crypt Keepers. He’s a good guy, much like your Seth, but Enforcers can be brutal too. They have to be sometimes. I know Seth has been known to break bones to get what he needs. In fact, just the other day, he came over with Tony with the intent on breaking my hand if I didn’t tell them what they wanted to know. I asked him if he would have done it, and though he looked regretful, he said yes he would have because he’s a loyal dog. Well, he didn’t say ‘dog’.” I laughed. “But he is a loyal dog. He was that way with my father till he screwed him, and he’s that way with Tony. I bet he’ll be that way when I take over.