Healing Gabe (Last Hangman MC Book 3) (2 page)

They tell me they will help me out if I work for them and help them out. I don’t know why they would do that or what they are expecting from me. I’ve never met these guys before and yet they are welcoming me with open arms. After talking to the guys while getting stitched up, Cabe pulls me to the side, telling me that he wants to talk to me in private. Not gonna lie, this is unsettling. These guys are criminals; murder, theft, drugs, the whole nine yards and they don’t hide it. I’ve heard many stories about them and they aren’t pretty, some are fucking terrifying. They could be trying to lure me in just so they can stab me in the back, but what choice do I have but to shut up and listen?

“Sit,” Cabe says as he sits at the head of the table, I quickly follow the order. “Do you know anything about us?”

“Not much. I know you are outlaws. I’ve heard some fucked up stories about murders and drugs and gun deals but that’s pretty much it.” I say truthfully, I’m not about to bullshit a biker.

“Well, whilst that’s all true, we respect our women. You remind me of myself when I was younger; reckless, wanting to make things right, always getting into unwanted trouble and pig headed. I appreciate traits like that in a person, they seem to make them more loyal.”

I scoff. “You don’t know me. I could be the biggest asshole you’ve ever met.”

“Potentially, but if you were you wouldn’t have helped out Viv. That tells me a lot. You don’t know her, at least not that I know of, and you still stepped in.”

“What was I supposed to do? Let him force himself onto her and hurt her?”

“No, that’s why I appreciate you doing it. We have a long gruesome history with Hades’ Kings. Unfortunately for you, you stepped up to their VP and add onto that us stepping in, this shit isn’t going to go down well. If they don’t go after you, they’ll go after your sister and you don’t want that to happen.”

“Of course not.” I sigh realizing the size of my mistake. “I don’t regret standing up for that girl though. I just wish Nicole would be left out of this.” I rub my face.

“That’s very unlikely to happen. I don’t usually offer this to just about anyone, but seeing as you’re still quite young and have a little sister you raise on your own, I can’t let you deal with this on your own.”

“Why? Why are you doing this for me? For all you know, it could be an act.”

“If it’s an act than you deserve a prize.” He chuckles. “Listen, I don’t know what happened to you or where your family is but I’ve seen you around town with your little sister and you look like you could use a break. I could do with another mechanic too, the offer is open if you want it. Don’t wait too long though, it won’t last forever.”

I nod and sigh. “I might be making the biggest mistake ever but I don’t have much choice. The fucker was attacking a girl in a public place; I don’t even want to think about what he could do with no one around or worse, to Nicole. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if he touched one hair on her head.”

“Trust me, Gabe. You’re making the right decision.” He smiles and extends his hand. I shake it feeling like I just signed a pact with the devil.

At the time I had no idea how fucked up things would get, all thanks to Jared and his ‘brothers’.

******

I’ve been dating Annie for the past three weeks. Things haven’t been easy to be honest. We’re both part of different clubs but we’ve managed to keep our relationship a secret from everyone, except Vivian, her sister, the girl I saved from that fucking asshole Jared. She’s been hanging around when we are seeing each other and I feel bad for her. I wouldn’t be happy to wait around for my sister to be done with her date and go back home, having been left on my own for hours. I guess she really loves her sister and wants her to be happy.

I’ve never spent much time with Viv but I know she is happy for Annie, that we are together and that I can make her smile. Sometimes it’s quite unsettling when we all hang out together. I mean being seated with two girls who are almost carbon copies of each other is a bit freaky and my thoughts might have wandered off down the gutter once or twice. I’m a guy, what can I say?

Ever since my parents died I haven’t been myself, even Nicole has admitted as much. Meeting Annie and Viv was exactly what I needed. They are funny and sweet, especially Annie, my sweet Annie. It hasn’t been long since we started dating but I feel like we might be together for a really long time. I just hope we won’t have to hide forever, that would fucking blow.

I know things will get harder the deeper we get invested into our relationship, but I don’t want to end things with her. I wouldn’t survive not having her in my life anymore. We just have to hope that we’ll never be found out or that we’ll be able to escape. It has crossed my mind a few times to pack things up, take Nicole, Annie and Viv with me and leave, but I have a feeling that even that wouldn’t change things or I’m sure Cabe would have suggested that from the beginning.

CHAPTER 1

Viv

April 19, 2003

After the night my knight in shining armor saved me, things have been fairly quiet on the Jared front. He’s been leaving me alone which is both very much welcomed - I couldn’t take his attempts to seduce me anymore - and worrying. Jared isn’t the type of guy to just give up on something. When he wants something, he’ll do anything to get it, even if it means killing someone. I’ve seen it happen, unfortunately.

Annie, like me, hasn’t been able to slip through our Uncle Trent’s plan on marrying her off to anyone, he wants to marry her to the Kings VP. Annie and I are twins, born just a few minutes apart. I’ve always been the rebellious one when Annie has been the quiet one. She was always the one trying to cover up for me when I was making poor decisions, and she still is now. We’re not completely identical twins though, our eyes and hair colour couldn’t be more different; she has green eyes and black hair while I have deep blue eyes that are almost purple, and blonde hair. Other than that we were practically the same person to look at, our facial structure and our bodies were carbon copies. Unfortunately for us, our differences meant that our parents could always tell which one of us was at fault, it kinda defeats the purpose of having a twin but it didn’t stop us blaming each other. All in good fun though.

We grew up in New Orleans. Our father was one of the original nine founding members of the Last Hangman Motorcycle Club. We grew up, for the most part, around the compound which was amazing as we had a huge extended family, loads of friends and there was always something to do. You wouldn’t think that these big scary bikers would be up to playing and pushing us on swings but they were always happy to hang out or babysit us and we loved it. For a while, Annie and I were the only kids, but soon enough Anthony and Ayden came into the world. We were a bit older than them but that didn’t stop us from playing with them all the time and we became a really tight knit group. That was until our parents were killed, completely shattering our world. Not only did we lose them, but we also lost our extended family and friends. We were unable to stay at the compound and were packed off to our uncle’s house. Even after all this time, it still seems so unreal and still cuts like a knife if my mind ventures back to that dark time.

At first, despite missing our parents and the MC terribly, it was alright at our uncle’s place, there was nothing we could do about it except get on with it. We kept to ourselves and didn’t want to interact with anybody else. The hardest thing was to go to a new school and make new friends. We had just suffered a horrible loss and had to start all over again in a place we hated. After a while, things settled down and we warmed to our classmates and made a couple of friends. Everything was going well again, we had a routine, new friends; we were getting used to living there and were actually starting to like our new lives. But then we found out that our uncle was the president of his own motorcycle club, the Bastards from Hell, who wanted to ally themselves with Hades’ Kings, the long term enemy of the Last Hangman MC.

Uncle Trent thought it would be a good idea to ally with the Kings to make one super club to take down the Last Hangman. It was a tough pill to swallow considering the members of the Last Hangman were our long lost family. Unfortunately for us, Trent thought it would be a brilliant idea to have one of his nieces date the Kings VP and one the Kings' Prez, claiming that it would be good for club morale and bring them closer together.

Jared has been after me for months now, trying to make me understand that we should be together but I want none of it. Jared is a fucking creep. He’s a sleazy douchebag who has absolutely no respect for women. I don’t understand why our uncle wants to sacrifice us for the sake of revenge. I’m glad he’s less insistent with Annie, I don’t think she could handle the pressure.

That night, he went too far though. He tried to get me drunk so I would finally give into him, so he could seal the deal by fucking me. I’m so glad that guy stepped in and kicked Jared’s ass. I feel for the guy though, not only did he get injured pretty badly but the whole club is going to want revenge. I hope he manages to get away with it unscathed.

He’s very easy on the eye, tall with broad shoulders, bit of a scruff on his face, light hazel eyes and full lips that you just want to lick and suck on…the man is sex on legs. And he’s also dating my sister now, so I can’t be daydreaming of him. Their relationship has been kinda doomed since the beginning, the main issue being that Gabe is the Last Hangman’s new prospect. They both wanted to make it work so they did give it a go. He promised her and kept reassuring her that they’d be okay as long as they were careful, and they’d be able to be happy. He doesn’t understand the dynamics of club rules yet, the most vital of them being: do not fraternize with the enemy or with their family. I just hope we’ll all be okay, the only positive thing about him being a Hangman is that we can get updates on our old family.

I’ve been sat in this little café for over an hour, waiting for Annie and Gabe to finish their date. Not that I mind, I’m beyond happy for her. She deserves to find her happiness and it looks like Gabe is exactly what she needed. I just wish they didn’t have to hide their relationship but because Gabe is part of the Last Hangman, it’s forbidden. Their love is stronger than that. I just hope Jared or Trent won’t find out. I’m dreading what would happen if any of them did. It’s been going on for three weeks now.

I have to come with her on her dates so Trent doesn’t suspect she’s up to something. I do feel like the third wheel though, I’m always either hanging out in another room or in a different place nearby. This little café has become one of my favorite places as of late. She’s supposed to text me when I can go back to his place. We have the same routine every time. I drive her there, I park the car in his garage and walk here. I do wish I had someone like Gabe in my life. Having this much time to myself isn’t good. I keep thinking about the past and what our life used to be. I miss those days. I miss our parents. Life would have been so much easier and there would have been a lot less drama.

I didn’t get to interact much with Gabe. Things were really awkward. He kept looking at me. I don’t know if it was because he was in the company of twins and had some messed up fantasies of a threesome with twins or he was just disturbed we looked so alike.

I wish she hadn’t fallen in love with him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s amazing, sweet, loving and such a great parental figure to Nicole, but we are all from wrong side of the tracks. We are from enemy clubs and it’s just going to result in a fucking war if they are found out and no one will come out of this unharmed.

I just hope we’ll all come out of this alive.

CHAPTER 2

Gabe

October 15
th
2014

It’s been a month since Aleck took down Brian.

That sick son of a bitch!

I don’t know why that fucker did what he did to Charline but I’m fucking relieved all three of us got out of it alive. Thank God Ally is safe and sound and doesn’t seem too traumatized by it.

I tried my best to keep them protected but our now deceased prospect knocked me down when I was about to enter the house after spotting Brian. The bastard hit me from behind and thanks to a previous injury, fighting back was not an option.

I still feel responsible for what happened to Line and Aleck, it’s my fault they both got injured and Aleck nearly died. Good thing the fucker is stubborn, I don’t think I could’ve handled losing a brother.

Today is Aleck’s first day back with us, he’s been banned from the road or doing anything physical for the next couple of months, which I’m sure is driving him insane and made a thousand times worse by the fact that he can’t get physical with Line.

Things have been pretty quiet this past month since the attack. We haven’t heard a peep from the Hades’ Kings, which is good but slightly disturbing. We know they’ll retaliate but don’t know how or when they are going to strike. We took two of their members down but according to Ant, it was because of a special vendetta Brian had against Line.

That fucker Blades had secretly been a part of the Kings for years and infiltrated the Bastards to get intel, I guess they never managed to form an alliance in the end.
Thank fuck for that
otherwise it’d be fucking chaos around here. He was also getting information on us which is unnerving to know that two clubs were able to learn our secrets, one is bad enough but two? That shit is what nightmares are made of. We don’t know who to trust anymore. The long standing members have our trust no questions asked, but the newer ones still have to prove themselves and are being watched very closely. Bennett and Ryan are our two newest members, they’re great guys and have been with us for a while now but you can’t be too careful. I fucking hope no more brothers will betray us.

The club has been through a lot, from betrayal to some of us being incarcerated wrongly, we’ve seen it all. It has put a dent in the strength of the club. I’m afraid anything bad happening to the club could destroy it. None of us want this but it’s a reality we’ll need to face if it comes to it.

We all gather around the table in the Chapel. Ant is at the head, I am to his left and Aleck is to his right. He’s looking pretty rough but it’s good to see him alive.

“Thanks Aleck, for joining us. This won’t take long as I know a certain little blondie is waiting for your outside.” Ant chuckles and we all join in.

“Haha, good one. Make fun of me. I don’t care.” He shrugs and winces.

“Careful there and I told you, you’d be pussy whipped once the right girl came around.”

“Fuck off, Ant.” Aleck chuckles.

“Love you too, Brother. So, a couple of important things. As you all know, the Kings have been very quiet lately. Ray had a couple of his men keep an eye on them and they took the news about Brian rather badly. Apparently, they had no idea of what was going on or what Brian was doing. Despite that problem being solved, the relationship between us and the Kings is still very tense. They want our territory and we are not going to let them have it. Their club outnumbers ours, but our truce and alliance with the Bastards means that we should be able to take them down, or at least lower their numbers so they won’t hold that threat over us.

“I know some of you weren’t too keen on allying with the Bastards, we’ve had a rough past with them and the Kings have wanted a similar relationship with them, but that’s in the past. Anyway, I can understand why some of you aren’t happy about it, especially with what has happened in recent months but be assured that any member showing compromising behaviour towards the club will face their maker. It’s the same for the Bastards. We’ll keep an eye on each other. If you feel that this is unfair, the door is right there,” Ant says pointing the gavel in the direction of the door. “Any objections?” No one dares raise their hand.

“What’s going to change with the Bastards joining us?” Bennett asks.

“I was getting to that. Things will stay the same but any group decision to take action against the Kings, or any business with outside clubs will have to be voted on by both clubs. We’ll have a meeting with the Bastards at the end of this week to discuss the new dynamics and see how best to deal with this situation. I know they have some ongoing gun deals and we have our own with the Mexicans, so all of that will be discussed then as well as the Kings problem. We need to fully update them on what went down with Brian, they only know the basics.

“The Kings are the oldest enemy of this club and from what my father and Cabe told me, the feud has been going on for over fifty years now and it’s not going to disappear anytime soon unless we take action …” At this point, I zone out. I can’t listen to Ant talk about
them
anymore. They are the ones who ruined everything. They are responsible for every single fucking heartache that’s occurred in my life, starting with my parents.

They had just left a restaurant after celebrating their twentieth anniversary. The weather was bad but it wasn’t so bad that it would have made them lose control of the car. The fuckers who ran them off the road disguised their crime by making it look like it was down to the poor weather conditions. How do I know they were run off the road? There were tire marks at the scene of the accident. I have no fucking idea why it happened but I intend to find out and avenge them.

“You alright, Brother?” Ant asks me, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yes, sorry.” I sigh and rub my face.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ant claps my shoulder gently and keeps talking about the Kings and club business. He hits the gavel and the rest of our brothers leave the Chapel. Aleck, Ant and I stay behind. “How are you two dealing with this?”

“I’m alright. Line is driving me fucking insane walking around the house in fucking tight pants, showing me her amazing curves and I can’t get any, it’s fucking frustrating.” Ant and I both chuckle. “I’m healing slowly, too fucking slowly but I’m getting there. I just can’t wait to be able to get back on the road.”

“That’s good. How are Line and Ally?”

“Line is good. She’s much stronger than I gave her credit for. She’s been taking good care of Ally and I, treating Ally as if she were her own which is a dream come fucking true. Ally is doing okay. She’s had a couple of nightmares about a guy attacking her and Line but Line has been amazing with her, reassuring her and keeping her busy to take her mind off of it.” Aleck says with a thick voice.

“That’s good. I always knew Line would make a great mom, and it looks like she’s getting a head start.” Ant chuckles.

“Yeah, tell me about it. She moved in with us straight after I got out of hospital, it’s been amazing and fucking chaos. There is pink shit everywhere. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”

“And yet you wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.” Ant smiles.

“So true.” Aleck smiles and looks at me, his smile faltering. “How have you been, Brother?”

I sigh. “Relieved you three are safe and going to be okay.”

“Doesn’t answer my questions”

“Not good. All this mess with Ayden and then with Line has brought back a lot of fucking memories I wish I could forget.”

“I don’t know what happened to you, Brother, but from your reaction to just the Kings’ name being mentioned, it can’t be good. You need to let it out. It doesn’t change the situation but having it out in the open makes you feel a little better and less alone. Initially, I was dead set against telling Line anything about my past but it was killing me, I don’t regret telling her everything. It was hard for the both of us but it was liberating and made life easier. If you need someone to listen to you, I’m here.”

“Thanks, Brother. I’ve talked about it with Ant and Cabe, and they were there to help me through it but it’s still suffocating. The Kings are the reason why I joined this club, they are also why I refuse to get close to any women as well as why I lost my parents, raising Nicole on my own. They are responsible for a lot of fucked up shit that has happened in my life and I need to deal with it on my own. I will not bring anyone down with me. That’s why I’m taking it so hard that Line and you nearly died a month ago, he was one of theirs and I couldn’t protect you two.” I sigh rubbing my face.

“You don’t realize it Gabe, but you have a whole family here who are all there for you. Sure, we joke around and all that shit but I meant what I said. Talk to us whenever you need to. You’re always there to listen to everybody’s problems but you never talk about yours. Sometimes it’s good to let it all out. Think about it. And as far as Line and I are concerned, it’s not your fault. We have never blamed you and never will. I feel responsible for you getting hurt after asking you to keep an eye on Line and Ally that day. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been injured, yet again. Seriously though, Gabe, you call us and we will be over with sleeping bags, pyjamas, popcorn and all that other girly sleepover shit.” Aleck finishes chuckling.

“Piss off.” I chuckle shaking my head. “Thanks, Brother, besides I haven’t been able to fully talk about it and don’t want to subject anyone to that darkness.”

“You’ll be okay, one day you’ll wake up and I promise you won’t feel the darkness anymore. You just have to open up to someone and stop pushing anyone who’s trying to help you out away.” Ant claps my shoulder again and I wince.

“For fuck’s sake will you stop doing that, fucker.” Aleck and Ant both chuckle.

“Sorry, Brother.” Ant grins and the three of us walk out of the Chapel and join the others. Aleck heads straight to Line. Do I wish I could have what they have someday? Yes, of course but I know it’s never going to happen, I won’t let it. I don’t want to risk a repeat of what happened to Annie. I can’t go through that again.

******

January 23, 2015

I’ve been seeing Annie a lot lately, nothing has happened. I respect her too much to rush anything or even try something with her. She’s a true angel that I just want to protect and keep happy. She’s coming over again today whilst Nicole is staying at a friend’s house for her first slumber party. My baby sister is growing up so fast. I took the day off to be able to spend as much time as I can with Annie, it’s not like we can spend much time together in public, what with our belonging to enemy clubs.

I smile when I hear the doorbell ring and immediately make my way to the front door and let her in. She’s beautiful with long dark hair, beautiful green eyes, soft pouty lips that I’ve been dying to kiss. She’s any man’s wet dream.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Gorgeous.” I smile kissing her head and take her jacket. “How was the drive over?”

“It was alright. We managed to lose one of my uncle’s minions, well, I hope we did.” She sighs.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. No matter what, I’ll always be here to protect you and keep you safe. It might not have been the best idea coming over so often but I can’t help it. I need to see you.” I smile at her and wrap my arms around her.

“Thanks, Gabe. I just wish we could be like any other couple and go out instead of sneaking around and hiding. It’s so frustrating, but if I want to be at least a little bit happy it’s the only solution I have. It’s not just because you are part of a rival club.” She sighs. “Trent wants Viv to be with the Kings VP and me with their  Prez. He says it’s the only way they will secure the alliance. I hope it never comes to that, just thinking about it makes me sick.” She frowns, hearing all of that infuriates me.

“I will never let such a thing happen, Annie. You understand that? Never! I’d rather be dead than have you or Viv end up with those fucking assholes. How can they even think about doing such a thing? This is the twenty first fucking century!” I sigh and kiss her head. “As long as we are together, I’ll protect you, always.” I look down at her and smile. She smiles back at me and licks her bottom lip. I don’t know if it’s an invitation to kiss her but I take it anyway.

I brush my lips over hers softly, cupping the back of her head gently, bringing her closer to my lips. When she doesn’t pull away or push me away I deepen the kiss, pressing a bit harder and lick her lower lip, causing her to moan softly. I gently caress the tip of her tongue with my own. She presses her body flush against mine, wrapping her arms around my neck. I pick her up and she wraps her legs around my waist. I walk over to the couch, never breaking our kiss. I lay us down on the couch with her on top of me, not wanting to pressure her into anything she isn’t ready for.