Manik road wreckers mc.., p.1
Manik: Road Wreckers MC - Huxlington Chapter Series, page 1
Manik
Ellie R Hunter
Contents
Also by Ellie R. Hunter
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Ellie R. Hunter
Manik
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© 2023 Ellie R. Hunter
Self-publishing
ellierhunter@hotmail.co.uk
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.
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Editing: Jae Atal
Cover: Lee Taylor
Formatting: Rachael Tonks
Also by Ellie R. Hunter
Bug
A Dance of War
To Die or to Live
A Savage Game of Love
Not Another Lonely Christmas
Psycho
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The Lost Souls MC Series
Biker Bait
Biker Faith
Biker Bound
Biker Born
Biker Saviour
Biker Taken
Biker Torn
Biker Ruined
Biker Salvation
Sons of Lost Souls MC Series:
His Father’s Son
His Selfish Love
His Ride or Die
Her Crazy Life
His One Regret
His One Choice
Their Fractured Souls
His Last Chance
The Club Betrayal
His Twisted Heart
His Sweet Angel
The Club Family
His End Game
A New Era
Four Fallen Souls Series:
* * *
Smile, Alice
Fight, Jamiee
Prologue
To say my day wasn’t the best is an epic understatement. An elderly resident peed on me. Another vomited and when trying to miss me, ended up decorating my shoes with last night’s dinner. And to top it off, I had to walk home in the rain after the daily forecast said we were in for a day of sun and warm weather. All because my car wouldn’t start, and I couldn’t get a hold of my brother to help. My body sags with fatigue and all I look forward to is a hot bubble bath and a large glass of wine while sitting in front of the TV.
Unlocking my front door, I slam it shut more aggressively than normal and kick my shoes off. I’m about to strip out of my wet clothes when a bump from above stops me. Matt said he was out searching for a job today and then checking in on his dad but as I glimpse around for something to protect myself with, I notice his trainers are still on the shoe rack. I’m about to call out his name when another bump fills the air and then a laugh. A feminine giggle. My heart pounds as I pick up Matt’s cricket bat. His deep voice hits my ears but it’s too muffled to make out what he’s saying. Creeping up the stairs, I tighten my grip on the bat and stand outside my bedroom door. The door is never closed. I hate closed doors. It reminds me of having to hide behind them one too many times as a child.
“Oh fuck, you’re so tight, baby.”
“Oh, Matt.”
For a split second, I think the feminine voice belongs to Bethany. But that can’t be right. She’s my best friend and has always had a dislike for Matt. She’s constantly on at me to kick him out. He’s too lazy, he mooches off of me, he’s too immature, and so many other reasons. Her list is endless. And while I agree with most of them, she never saw how he loved me, or I loved him. I’ve seen first-hand that love isn’t easy and not everyone’s perfect, so I explored beyond his faults and clung to the good in him. The moments where he holds me in the night when there’s a thunderstorm, or when he strokes my cheek as he tells me he loves me. It’s these moments I chase.
My hand is shaking as I reach for the handle. The blood rushing between my ears drowns out every sound around me. It takes every ounce of strength I have to open the door and when I do, my heart stops and drops into my gut.
My best friend is bent over on all fours and Matt, my boyfriend, is pounding into her, on my fucking bed.
Every inch of the room blurs into one mashup of reality and I drop the bat. Nausea rolls through me, and I sway on my feet. My best friend and my boyfriend. Only when I pick the bat up, my hands are slick with blood and the tip of the bat is splintered down the middle. Blinking long and slow, Matt is unconscious on the floor, and Bethany is whimpering, covered in blood, on the bed. I don’t remember causing this carnage, but I feel sick at the scene I must’ve created. They betrayed me. My best friend and my boyfriend.
Siren’s pierce through the bloody silence and I know there was a reason I hated my neighbours, the nosy bastards. Did they hear their screams? There had to have been screams. The bat slips from my grip and I grab my phone. I quickly send an X to Louis. Our code for trouble. Even if I’m arrested and gone by the time he gets here, he’ll find out what happened and get word to me somehow.
Time speeds up and I contemplate running, but the heavy boots running up the stairs block my only exit. Besides, where would I run to? I could run to my brother. He would help me disappear but what kind of life would that be? And in doing so, it would only bring heat to the club, and I wouldn’t do that to the men, me and my brother call family.
An officer yells but I can’t make out what he wants to know. I spin slowly and two officers fill the doorway to the bedroom. I watch as their eyes take me in and then as they scan around the room. One steps closer slowly, his hand going for his taser and the other speaks into his radio clipped to his chest.
Fuck being tasered. I lower myself down onto the floor, face first on the carpet and the first thing I feel is the officer's knee digging into my spine as he rips my arms behind my back.
This isn’t my first dealings with the police but it’s usually everyone else in my life being the ones hauled up in cuffs. When I was a kid, Louis and I knew most of the police officers by name because they were at our house so much.
In the dimly lit room, a heavy silence hangs in the air, intertwined with tension and raw emotion. The venomous words of the police officer echo in my mind as I’m read my rights.
The anger, hot and consuming, courses through my veins, causing my muscles to tense and my body to tremble. It radiates outward, like a fiery aura enveloping me while flames of resentment are cast towards Matt and Bethany.
As my gaze fixates on them, my eyes seem to blaze with an intensity fuelled by a mixture of righteous indignation and a haunting sense of loss. The image of Matt's face split open, a stark reminder of the physical pain he endured, lingers in my mind, the stillness and absence of movement from him a chilling manifestation of my unleashed fury. And yet, even witnessing such a sight does little to satisfy the depths of my anger. Bethany, her face swollen and displaying the initial signs of bruising, becomes an embodiment of her betrayal that has severed a once unbreakable bond.
I stumble down the stairs as the officer pushes me, but his firm grip stops me from falling face down to the bottom. All I hear are motorcycles. A lot of them.
“Shit,” the officer mumbles, stopping us from stepping outside.
Seeing my brother riding up the street, I know everything will be okay. Even though horror covers his face. I catch my reflection in the front door window, and I see why. The scene from that movie where the girl ends up covered in pig’s blood comes to mind. Blood stains my skin, a mix of Matt’s and Bethany’s. But not mine.
“This is Weaver. We’re going to need backup at 122 Clover Street. Possible threat from the Road Wreckers Motorcycle Club.”
I hear the officer talking into his radio behind me but all I see is burning violence in my brother’s eyes.
Slowly glancing up and down the street, my neighbours are venturing out onto their doorsteps to see what’s going on. My brother’s club has lined their bikes along the street like a protective shield. Whatever backup comes won’t be parking up directly outside the house. I’m yanked back into the house and Louis jumps off of his bike and runs toward me.
Chaos holds his hand up, signalling for the brothers to hold back and I catch his nod and I nod in return. The first time I met him, he told me life is what you make it. He thought I was worried about Louis patching into the club, but he couldn’t be more wrong. The day Louis got his full patch, I knew he would be okay. That he’d be safe.
“Step foot in this house and you’ll be placed under arrest,” the officer warns as Louis runs
My brother being my brother couldn’t give a fuck and barrels into the house, his eyes only on me.
“Lex, you hurt?”
Not in the way he’s asking. I shake my head. He goes to lean in when the officer yanks on my arm again. Pain shoots up into my shoulders and I grit my teeth.
“Do that again and you won’t live to finish your shift,” Louis warns.
“Are you threatening a police officer?”
“I’m telling you what’s going to fucking happen…”
“Lou,” I cut in. I’m in enough trouble, I don’t need him in cuffs alongside me. “Don’t.”
His eyes are frantic. He wants to know what’s happened, but he doesn’t want me to speak freely in front of the law. I know him well enough to know what his silence is asking. He wants to know if I did what they’re arresting me for.
“What have you arrested her for?”
“For now, double attempted murder but that could change if they die.”
Louis stumbles into the shoe rack but within a minute, he’s composed and jumping over me. He shoves the officer so hard he falls onto his arse. Louis takes advantage of the minute he’ll get before the officer is back on his feet and whispers in my ear, “Say nothing. Do nothing. No matter what they say or put in front of you. Don’t say a fucking word. Become whoever you need to become to get through this. I’ve got you.”
He pulls back at the same time the officer yells into his radio, “Where’s our backup?”
I gaze at Louis, and tell him, “Get out of here. I’ll be fine.”
It’s far from the truth but Louis is capable of far worse, and I need him more than I ever have, and I need him a free man. I know once he’s out of this house, the club will hold him down.
“Listen to your sister and back up outside!”
Louis holds his hands up and steps just outside of the door just as more officers come running up the front path. He’s pulled back and thrown to the ground. He goes down, officers piling on top of him, and his brothers come running. A line of officers appears and blockades them and the hollering from both sides becomes a deep male drone to me.
With an officer on either side of me, I’m pushed outside and hauled into the back of a police car.
“Say nothing, Lex!” Chaos yells as the door is slammed shut. Watching out of the window, I watch the destruction occurring because of me. Mayhem pushes through the officers and runs to the car, through the glass, I hear him tell me, “We’ll get you a lawyer. We’ve got you.” And then he’s pulled away.
It’s my brother I search for. Chaos and Riot are yelling in the officers' faces and only step away when Louis’s pushed toward them. Relief hits me and I lean into the seat. Well, as much as I can with my hands cuffed behind my back.
Two officers climb into the front of the car and drive up onto the path to get around the motorcycles.
One officer frowns at me over his shoulder and grunts, “You want to hope they pull through or you’re up on murder charges.”
I stare out of the window and give no answer. I know I’m fucked. With them pulling through or not. A strangled laugh escapes me. My dad always said I’d grow up to be nothing… looks like he was right.
Chapter One
Lexi
It hasn’t rained for the last two weeks and today of all days, it’s bucketing it down. Though the cold drops are running down the back of my neck, giving me a chill, it’s not bringing down my mood. Any other day it would, but not today.
I’m being released back into society. I’ve been given my freedom back.
“Go on, then, Lex. Or shall I take you back to the wing?” Prison Officer Dick grunts, sliding the ten-foot-high wooden gate open.
“I’m going to miss you, screw.”
He snorts. “Yeah, yeah. Go on, get yourself home, and don’t be coming back here.”
“Not a chance.”
Stepping out onto the street, I drag my bag up onto my shoulder and inhale the fresh coastal air. Tipping my head back, the rain hits my face and it’s the best feeling I’ve felt in years. Ten long years to be precise.
“Are you coming home or standing in the fucking rain for shits and giggles?”
My brother. Louis Mitchell, or better known as Psycho, is Enforcer for the Road Wreckers Motorcycle Club. The only man breathing I truly and completely trust.
I grin. “I’m coming home, brother.”
Running into his arms, I drop my bags and a single tear falls as he hugs me. I inhale his cologne mixed with cigarette smoke. The smell transports me back to before my conviction. Pulling away, Louis picks my bags up and tosses them in the boot of the car.
Arching my brow, I say, “I thought you didn’t like driving cars?”
“I don’t,” he grumbles. “Couldn’t pick you up on my bike, could I?”
Opening the passenger door, I slid in and shut out the rain. Fine British weather at its best.
“We’re picking up Tommy from school then Evie from work. And are you not gonna say hello to your niece?”
Checking over my shoulder, little Rosie Mitchell, seven months old and cute as a button, is sleeping in her car seat.
“I can’t wait for cuddles.” Glancing to my brother, I say, “I’m surprised you’re letting Evie work, and not keeping her barefoot and pregnant at home.”
He snorts. “I would if she wasn’t so stubborn. We compromised and she works two days a week. She doesn’t want to be completely dependent on me. Personally, I think she gets off on making me lose my fucking mind.”
My laughter fills the car until he shushes me, not wanting to wake the baby.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay with you?”
He takes his eyes off the road for a brief second, but that’s all it takes to see his glare.
“Of course, it is, why wouldn’t it be okay?”
Shrugging, I get his full attention when we stop at a red light. “You’re married now, you have kids, you’ve got the whole family thing going for you. I don’t want to be in the way.”
“Fucking hell, Lex. You’re my sister, you’re never in the fucking way. Keep talking shit like that and I’ll take you straight back to prison.”
The light turns green, and he pulls away. I roll down my window and close my eyes, enjoying the wind on my face. The rain has slowed to a drizzle and when we park up at Tommy’s school, Louis asks, “Can you wait here with Rosie, I won’t be long.”
“Sort me out a smoke and I will.”
“Not in the car.”
Rolling my eyes, he tosses me his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. Climbing out of the car, I quietly close the door so as not to wake the baby and light up my first cigarette as a free woman.
“I won’t be long,” Louis says and walks through the school gates just as the bell rings.
He seems completely out of place with his leather and patches, but I don’t think it’s his kutte most of the mums are staring at. My brother is a good-looking man, and I grew sick of hearing about it from old friends a long time ago.
Inhaling long and hard on the cigarette, I exhale a long stream of grey smoke up into the air and receive glares from a couple of uppity mothers walking by. Partaking in the breathing exercises a police officer once taught me as a child to calm me down. I practise inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for six seconds so as not to lose my shit and by the time I’m on round two they’ve passed and disappeared into the playground. I remind myself these mothers are not the same as the women I’m used to being surrounded by.
A second bell rings and all hell descends, doors slam open and crowds of kids run outside. Life rewinds twenty-five years and the one thing I hated more than ever was going home after school. Louis always waited for me and walked me back to the house of fucked up horrors, but the school itself, I loved. It was warm in the winter and lunch was hot every day no matter the season. And no one raised a hand to me when I got something wrong. School was my safe place and I hate that’s a fact in my life. It was the same for Louis. But he went on to find his version of safety in the club and then again when he met Evie.
