Crime Lord's Wife Read online

  “I like the sound of that. Keep an eye on him.” Forge came closer and focused on him. “The new mayor wants some quiet cleanup.”

  Dog laughed out loud. “One corrupt mayor after the other. Good for business, I guess.”

  “Very good. We’ll have him wrapped around our finger in no time. We’ll visit him tomorrow and hear him out.”

  “He know what happened with Peterson?”

  “I really don’t fucking care. If he pays, we’ll do the job,” said Forge. “In the meantime, get some of the boys to pull up any dirt there is on him. Ideally, I’d like to get pics of him with one of our girls. He’s married and they’ll come in handy if he tries to fuck with us. Politicians are so easy to blackmail.”

  “Will do.”

  No violence for today. He’d have to hit the gym and take out his frustration on the punching bag. Anything to get Sable off his mind.

  ****

  Sable spent most of the afternoon crying in her room. She felt like garbage. Worse than garbage. No, she had no rights to the VP of the club, not even close. Apparently, he couldn’t even stand her.

  Then why did she love him?

  She remembered having a crush on him since she was seventeen. He was strong, ruthless, and in control. She’d watch him lift weights, pretending to be cleaning or sewing patches on cuts. His body was rock hard, weathered, and toned to perfection. The scars and tattoos only made him sexier.

  Her mother had tried to get in his bed, but he’d refused her. The fact he wasn’t a pig like so many of the other men in the club only made her attraction to him grow.

  But, like he said, she was club pussy and nothing more. She had no rights. She had no future.

  Her little sister was four years younger and loved her role in the club. She’d fuck anything that walked. Sable supposed her future had been mapped out for her before she was even born. Her mother was a club whore, and Sable was born into the club, daughter to one of the bikers. She had no clue who. Her sister likely had a different father considering how much her mother got around and how different they looked. Honey had blonde hair and blue eyes and was a favorite with the men.

  Sable preferred to keep on the down-low. Every time there was a party or cookout, she’d stay behind the bar, handing out beer and mixing drinks while the other girls competed for the guys’ attention. Keeping a tally of how many guys she could fuck in one night wasn’t her idea of a good time.

  After feeling sorry for herself most of the afternoon, she decided she needed to get off the compound for a while. Maybe some retail therapy.

  She found Old Boy in the yard, shining the chrome on his bike. Sable smiled as sweetly as she could, then begged for a ride to the strip mall. It was the closest point of civilization from the club, and it promised a few hours of escape from her depressed mood. It was hard wanting something she knew she could never have. Soul-crushing. One day, Dog would find the right woman, and she’d have to watch from the sidelines.

  Sable wasn’t sure what happened to Dog. He’d changed into another person seemingly overnight. He’d been so good to her in the past, and now his true feelings were shining through.

  Old Dog and Brass dropped her off in front of a clothing store, then rode off together. She was supposed to call them when she was ready to head home.

  Sable looked through the window at the clothes but decided she was too hungry to do anything but eat first. She’d missed dinner, so she walked over to the diner. All-day breakfast was her favorite.

  The waitress came over once she’d settled into a booth. “You one of those girls from the Hell’s Slaves?”

  She just nodded. Sable hated how outsiders judged them, especially the girls. She made her order and watched the cars and people from beyond the large windows. The scent of bacon and eggs made her stomach rumble.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  Sable looked up to find a cop standing at the end of the booth. Being raised in a motorcycle club gave her a natural distaste for law enforcement. She ignored him. Cops were usually trying to get information on the club. Being part of Hell’s Slaves was who she was, and she’d never betray them.

  The cop was much older than her, clean cut and skinny. She already hated him.

  “I’ve seen you here before. I never forget a face. Especially your face.” He sat down in the booth opposite to her.

  She rolled her eyes. They’d been taught to keep quiet. It came naturally to her.

  “What are you doing out here all alone? They leave you unprotected? You mustn’t be very important to them.”

  Her heart raced a little, but she kept calm on the outside. She’d done nothing wrong.

  The food came and the waitress dropped it down in front of her. “Want to order, Hank?”

  “Give me the usual. Luckily, I won’t be eating alone today.”

  He winked at Sable and her stomach roiled.

  “I’ll take my food to go,” she said.

  Hank grabbed her wrist, way too tight. “Stay put. You’d be stupid and make a scene here. It won’t end well for you.”

  She hated how the cops profiled everyone from the club. They’d become enemies, and sometimes allies when they wanted to make extra cash. Forge had a handle on the local police and politicians, but this guy was pushing his authority. The only people who could keep her safe were the brothers at the Hell’s Slaves.

  As soon as he relaxed his grip, she pulled her hand away and rubbed her wrist. This was the last thing she needed right now. All she’d wanted was a couple of hours of peace.

  “What do you want?” she finally said. Should she call Old Dog now? This cop was starting to scare her. She wanted to be back in the safety of the club. Sable rarely left the protective grasp of the compound.

  “You,” he said. “I know who you are and where you come from. You’re better than them, Sable. I can give you a real life in the real world. They’ve blinded you, you just have to see that.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  Hard pass.

  How did he know her name? She didn’t like the fact he’d been stalking or spying on her every time she came into town. How much digging had he done?

  “Think about your future. Hell’s Slaves are going down one way or another. We’re on to them, and it’s only a matter of time. The file is ten inches thick. If you help us out with some inside information, you’ll be well-rewarded.”

  She shook her head, not looking him in the eyes.

  “More than that. I knew from the first time I saw you that you’d be mine one day. I have intuition like that,” he said. “I have a real job. A respectable job. I can take care of you. I’m not a filthy murderer with no respect for women or the law. I can look beyond your past.”

  Sable only wanted Dog, even if he was a hard-core killer.

  But he didn’t want her.

  He couldn’t look beyond her past.

  The club only saw her as pussy.

  She didn’t matter.

  “You don’t know me at all,” she said. “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Protecting criminals will get you into a shitload of trouble, young lady. Be smart. This could be the first day of the rest of your life.” He reached out to touch her face, but she backed away. “Give me a chance, beautiful.”

  “My name’s not beautiful.” She looked at the food, hating the thought of leaving it behind, but she stood to leave.

  “Can you put a tracker on Forge’s bike? They’ll never know who put it there. You think the prez would lose sleep if anything happened to you?”

  “Leave me alone.”

  She rushed from the diner and speed-walked along the mall sidewalk to get away from the cop. She knew what they were capable of. So many of them abused their power and dragged them down to the precinct with no probable cause. She didn’t want to see the inside of a jail cell. Sable pulled out her cell phone and dialed Old Dog.

  “I need a pick-up,” she said.

  “I just dropped you off, little miss. I ain’t c
oming for at least another hour.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “Please. There’s a cop tailing me. He’s pushing me to rat out the club.”

  There was silence on the line.

  “We’re on our way.”

  The phone went dead.

  What if something happened to her? Would Dog lose sleep? Would anyone in the club even notice?

  End of sample chapter

  www.evernightpublishing.com/bred-by-the-mc-vp-by-sam-crescent-and-stacey-espino