Page 1 of Blade

Prologue

How Did We Get Here

Blade

“Son, I don’t understand. You’ve got a lot going for you. You’re a strong, healthy young man who has always had a good head on his shoulders. A certified mechanic who is in high demand, and I’m offering you a chance to open your own shop, and you say no. What’s going on with you, Ben?” My father sounds exasperated, as he always does when he brings up this subject, and my answer is always the same.

“I said, no, thank you,” I reply.

My father is an inch shorter than my six feet, and there’s no doubt that we’re father and son. Same blond hair and blue eyes, and although Dad’s put on a little weight around the middle, he’s considered a good-looking older man at fifty-seven. Mom tells me that she can’t leave him alone for too long at a gathering because all the divorcées and widows seem to flock in his direction.

Mom’s loopy, but the sweetest woman you’d ever want to meet. She’s the sun, and Dad is the earth. Dad adores her, and Mom cherishes her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Average American Couple, with one boy, me, and one girl, my sister, Jaci. Jaci takes after her mom. Both are slim and tall, and both have dark hair and hazel eyes. Also, Jaci is very attractive, and I remember scaring the shit out of her boyfriends to make sure they’d treat my sister right.

“Christ!” Dad swears, raking a hand through his hair and staring up at the evening stars. “What hold do these men have over you? I want to know.” He throws his hand out, trying to get a rise out of me. Yep, frustrated. Dad is convinced that Satan’s Pride are holding me to their club because they’ve got me twisted up in their drug-running schemes.

It doesn’t matter how many times I tell my father that the club is clean, he just won’t give it up. It pisses me off and makes me want to grab my helmet and get back on the road to my brothers, but that’s not fair to my mother or Jaci.

Being a prospect for the club means that I’m on duty twenty-four seven, unless they tell me otherwise. In the last year, I’ve had one day off a month. I take the day to drive the two and a half hours to see my family and spend time with them. Lately, all I’m getting is hassle, regardless of how many times I try to explain the situation to my father.

I release a heavy sigh. “I’m going to explain this to you one more time.” Dad shakes his head before I even begin. “Dad, either listen to me or drop this. I don’t want to ruin Mom’s night.”

“Fine,” he says, taking a seat in one of the chairs on the front porch. “I’m listening.” He sits with his elbows on his knees.

“The club isn’t into bad shit. They’re not forcing me to stay. I can walk away anytime I want, but I don’t want to go. These men are amazing. They’re smart and talented, and the Pride runs several businesses. All legit! One of the wives is a lawyer, for Pete’s sake. She needs to stay clean for her own sake, and Demon won’t let anything ugly into her life. Guard is a soldier, the president, and our leader. He’s taught me a lot more than I ever would have learned as a mechanic anywhere else. He’s got me working on choppers and high-end cars, which only increases my knowledge in the industry. I feel like I’m part of something when I’m with them. Something that’s just my own. I don’t have to be Jonathan Zaine’s son. Everyone loves you in this town, and God knows you’ve earned their respect, but I don’t want to live in your shadow. This club lets me be me. I’m not saying I won’t have a shop of my own one day, but I want to decide when and where it’s going to be. I already said that if I want to expand on our current shop and start one, the club would invest. It doesn’t mean that I want them to, but they offered because they think I’m worth it.”

“I think you’re worth it,” Dad says.

“Yeah, I know. But I’ll still be Jonathan’s son. Everyone will assume you got me started,” I tell him. “Look, you’ve made up your mind about the club without even meeting them. If you trust me, like you say you do, the least you can do is reserve judgment until you’ve met them.” I tilt my head, seeing an expression on his face that I haven’t seen in a good long while. Dad is really, finally hearing me. “Think on it. The guys would love to meet you.”

Dad doesn’t give me the win. Not yet anyway. But I do get a grin, and I’ll take it. “I’ll think on it.”

“Good, Dad, because they’re good people, just like my old man, who I love with everything that I am,” I say. I do love my father. He’s stubborn, but he’s the shit. I didn’t follow in his footsteps, but he was always proud of me. Dad’s the mayor of Briarville. He works for the people of this town, and he’s been the mayor since I was a junior in high school. It’s hard to live up to the expectations of an entire town that thinks I’m destined to go into politics too.

Dad didn’t care what anyone thought. He saw me tinkering with anything with a motor I could get my hands on, and he knew I was meant for something else. Although I crushed his dreams when I didn’t become an engineer, that passed rather fast, and he’s been cheering me on ever since. That is, until the Pride came into my life.

“How did we get here, son?” Dad asks, his eyes full of sadness.

“Where are we? I love you, and nothing will ever change that. You’re the one who taught me to be independent. I want to be my own man and make you proud. But I’ve got to do this my way.” I want this conversation to be over. It’s exhausting every time we have it.

Dad comes to his feet and hooks his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me in for a manly hug. “I’m already proud of you,” his gruff voice rumbles in my ear.

One

Tires and Jack

Blade

The night went on later than it should have. Mom wanted to play games like we did when Jaci and I were kids. We indulge her, and honestly, it’s still a hoot. Jaci sucks at charades, but she’s hysterical because she tries so hard, and we can’t make heads or tails of what she’s trying to get across.

It’s pitch-black on the old road I take back into town. It’s a shortcut, and I need to get some sleep before church tomorrow. Church is our word for a club meeting, and tomorrow’s a big one. Until now, I haven’t been allowed into the meetings. All information was relayed to me mostly through Demon.

I started off working alongside Demon when I first came to the club. Demon’s amazing. Everyone thinks that he’s a superstar because of his detailing designs and his skill at restoring vintage cars, but he’s so much more than that. He’s also a rock star who made a comeback after living through his own nightmare. Demon has his own record label and promotes artists, including Maddie from the Smoking Guns, who just happens to be the wife of another Pride brother, War.

I am in awe of these men. Self-made artists, businessmen, and brothers, they’ve got it all together. When Guard approached me to become a prospect, I considered myself the luckiest man on earth. I worked in their garage and hung out with them, but never did I imagine being part of their crew. But Guard has a way of knowing what’s going on deep inside a man, and I was no different.

Everything was good in my life, but I kept feeling like something was missing. I made excellent money at the garage. The club pays their staff well, and I had no complaints. I had a nice apartment in town, even though I live at the compound now. I decided to keep my place for days when I wanted to be alone. One day, Guard asked if I could ride a motorcycle. I have two of my own but never rode them into work. I didn’t want the Pride brothers to feel obligated to invite me to ride with them.

That first ride together changed the course of my life. It was just me and Guard. We rode for hours until he pulled off the main road and onto a rugged path that led to a beautiful lake surrounded by trees. You’d never know the lake is there. I still remember the feeling of serenity that came over me. Guard and I spoke for hours about everything and anything. Then he said, “It’s not how others see you that matters. It’s how you see yourself.”

---