Page 1 of Deceit

Chapter One

King

I’M FUCKING EXHAUSTEDas I fall into bed at the clubhouse and let my eyes slide closed. I made a bet with Jinx, my best friend, and lost. Jinx chose not to put his faith in Raptor and Devil when Genesis told them she was pregnant. He thought they were gonna lose their shit and bumble around like fucking idiots. I chose to believe in the men and think they would keep cool heads when Genesis finally told them. Yeah, I lost. Raptor took off for two days on his bike and Devil closed himself in the basement at their house. He spent those two days calculating everything and trying to figure out how much it was gonna cost to add a baby to their family and if they had to make any changes to the house to accommodate a new addition. We still don’t know what the hell Raptor was doing or where he went. I’m not sure Genesis knows, but she let him back in the house and acts as if nothing has happened.

Because of that bet and losing, I had to go to the book store in the city and find a girl to take out on a date. It just so happens that the one girl in the place I found attractive didn’t want anything to do with me. As soon as I got to the second floor of the book store, I saw the sexiest woman ever. She has the longest red hair and the brightest green eyes. Her eyes are honestly what drew me to her. They’re so damn bright and sparkle in the bright lights of the store. I could tell she’s short as fuck by the way she sat in the chair with a coffee and muffin in front of her and book in hand. Her legs are curled up in the chair with her and it’s not a big space for her to accomplish that in. At first, she was so absorbed in her book she didn’t even know I was standing not too far from her. Hearing her voice sent my cock into overdrive. Her voice is so fucking soft and melodic, reminding me of the best melody to my favorite songs. Even now I can’t get her off of my mind as sleep pulls me under and I succumb to the darkness surrounding me.

Racing my bike around the track, I know this is the biggest race I’ve ever been in. I’ve been focused and thinking of this day for years. Ever since I made the decision to race sport bikes and realized this is what I love to do. Now, my dream is about to come true as I start the final lap of the championship race and know no one behind me can catch up. As I take the second curve, something happens to my bike and it starts to shake uncontrollably. The engine revs without me twisting the throttle and it feels as if the bike takes off on its own without me having any say in the matter. Before I get to the end of the curve, my bike suddenly swerves off the course and I go flying before landing back on the track and sliding so far. My bike somehow stays up on two wheels and I watch in horror as it heads straight for me. There’s nothing I can do to get out of the way in time of it essentially running me over.

Before anything else, I lose consciousness. When I regain it, I feel so different. It’s almost like I’m not in my body and I look around while fear consumes me. It looks as if I’m floating and when I look down, I see my body laying on an operating table surrounded by doctors, nurses, and other staff as they operate on me and shout things back and forth to one another. Then, the machines let me know my heart has stopped beating with the long, loud, continuous beep.

“What the fuck?” I ask as the doctors and nurses go into frantic mode to bring me back to life.

I watch on as they use the paddles to shock my heart and sense someone else with me. Turning my head reluctantly, I spot Ma looking down at my body.

Ma is Pops’ wife who was killed before I was born. We’ve all heard stories about her and what an amazing woman she was. Pops still loves her even though he moved on with Alice. Anyone who knows the Wild Kings have heard about Ma on a regular basis and her daughter, Bailey, continues her tradition of gifting each new member of the family an outfit to be brought home in. They’re cute as hell and something Ma loved to do.

“Kingston, what are you doing here?” Ma asks me, a sad smile on her face.

“I don’t know, Ma. What’s goin’ on?” I return, moving my attention back to my body as they continue to work on me.

“It’s not your time, Kingston. I’ve got my loved ones at my side and we know it’s not your time. You have so much life left to live. You can’t be here. You have to fight, Kingston. Fight for your life. Your mom, sisters, dad, and everyone else who loves you need you to fight,” Ma tells me, a sad smile on her face.

“What if I’m tired, Ma? What if I can no longer fight?” I ask her, not sure what I’m tired of or why I’d say that.

“You will be even more tired before this is over, Kingston. Your journey moving forward will not be easy or quick. However, there’s still things you need to do before your time comes to join us here,” Ma says, resting her hand on my shoulder as I turn to look at her again.

“Ma . . .,” I say, knowing I’ve never met this woman but yet she’s here for me when I need her the most.

“It’s okay, Kingston. Go back and fight to get your life back. One day, this will be nothing more than a memory as you find love, grow, and raise the family you’ve always dreamed of having. You have to fight to get all of that,” she tells me before shoving me away from her and back toward my body that’s still being worked on.

It seems as if all the air is sucked from the room as I re-enter my body. I have no clue what’s going on, but it feels chaotic and as if a million things are happening at one time. Then, there’s absolutely nothing. I’m sucked down into a void and find peace.

Waking up, I’m covered in sweat and my blankets are either kicked off my bed or tangled around my body. This isn’t the first time I’ve had this nightmare and I don’t know if this actually happened or if it’s something my mind has projected after everything I went through after that crash that almost took my life. Yes, my heart did stop. Twice. That’s the one thing everyone told me when I finally woke up after being in a coma for so long. It’s what had my mom, sisters, and dad refusing to leave my hospital room. I don’t remember any of it and I’m glad I don’t. It was bad enough when I woke up and saw the looks on the faces of everyone I consider family. No one wanted to leave because they thought I’d leave them again.

The day I woke up, I wanted to sink back into oblivion but refused to hurt everyone I love. So, I dealt with the pain with the help of pain medicine and got through each day the best I could. I spent more time than I ever wanted to in the hospital and then was moved to a rehab center where I started physical therapy for the damage that was done to my leg during the crash. All I can see is the bike eventually falling to the side and going up in flames. It didn’t explode by some miracle, but the flames were so high and my dad told me the heat was so intense when the medical crew came to get my body off the track.

Ever since then, I have nightmares and in most of them, I don’t make it. The one with Ma showing up is the one I have the most though. It plagues me and no one knows about it at all. Every nightmare I have is kept to myself because I don’t want to burden anyone with the weight of the crash they’re all trying to forget. That’s something I can’t do because I still live with the daily reminders of everything. The pain in my leg I get at the most random times is the worst reminder. Along with the fact that I can’t really move on the days I have physical therapy. Hope and Jinx are the only ones who get to see me after a session because once I’m in bed, I can’t get back out again for a few days.

The only reason I allow Hope and Jinx in my room is because Jinx is my best friend and Hope is my cousin. She knows not to tell her dad or my parents anything about how I am after therapy because they’ll do nothing but worry. My parents and hers would be here in a heartbeat if they thought I was in any kind of pain. Especially my mom. If anyone knows about pain, it’s her and she’d be here to make sure I was taking pain medicine when I needed to and doing everything right. I hate taking pain medicine because all it does is put me to sleep and make me feel groggy and loopy as soon as it hits my system. So, I deal with the pain using over the counter pain relievers that don’t bother me in the same way. Hope hates it, but knows that I’ve made up my mind and nothing she says will get me to change it.

Getting out of bed, I head for the bathroom and take a cold shower. There’s no way I’ll be able to fall back asleep after having that nightmare. I’ve been through this for way too long and know that I’m up for the rest of the night. This is the time I use for myself. After rushing through a shower, I get out and dry off, brushing out my long hair and braiding it before getting dressed in a pair of jeans and tee shirt. I leave my cut hanging on the back of my door and grab my riding jacket from the closet. Shrugging into it, I zip it up before grabbing my riding pants and sitting on the bed to get them on over my jeans. Usually, I don’t wear anything but boxers under them, but tonight I leave my jeans on. Sliding my feet in my riding boots instead of the boots I wear daily, I stand once again and make sure I have my phone, keys, and wallet before grabbing one of my helmets where they sit on stands lining my wall above the desk.

I leave my room, making sure my door is locked so none of the Phantoms can find their way inside while I’m not here. Those girls are fucking vicious and I want nothing to do with them. When I do find a girl to fuck, it’s usually away from the clubhouse and they all know they don’t get more than a night with me. I never bring anyone back to the clubhouse either. The few times I’ve been with one of the Phantoms, they get it in their head that I want them as my ol’ lady and that’s not gonna happen. I will never settle down with a girl every single man in my club has fucked. They know her moves, what she sounds like when she’s using her fake, porn star moans, and everything else. When I settle down with a woman, I want to be the only man here who knows her taste, what she sounds like when I drive her crazy, and what she looks like naked and writhing under my touch.

Walking through the clubhouse, I’m the only one awake this late at night. The clubhouse is eerily silent as few lights remain on inside the building to guide me through the hall and down the stairs to the common room. My limp is worse tonight than normal because I’ve been pushing myself more than normal. I have a cane to use when I absolutely need it, but I don’t use it unless I have no choice in the matter. Usually when I’m around Hope because she doesn’t let me remain in pain unnecessarily. That’s when she threatens to call our family and get them involved in my business. She’s not in the clubhouse right now and will not be awake this late at night. So, for now, I’m safe to leave the clubhouse without my cane.

I walk outside and the cool air washes over me. It sends a shiver through my entire body and I know tonight’s ride will be a cold one. Honestly, the coldness doesn’t bother me at this point. Bypassing my bike, I head for the barn where my sport bike is parked. I don’t ride it down here often and this is the only time I typically take it out of the barn unless I’m working on it or tinkering for one reason or another. Opening the door, I find my baby sitting where I left her and make my way over.

I’ve got a dark blue R7 that my dad and uncle just surprised me with before we left Benton Falls. It wasn’t originally dark blue, that’s a wrap I’ve done since moving down here. I’ve changed a few things on the bike to make it more how I want and not stock. My dad and uncle knew this is what I’d be doing because I’ve done it to every sport bike I’ve had over the years. They’ve helped me on most of them. This is the first one I’ve done completely on my own and it only draws me to the fact that I’m no longer home and with my entire family.

I start the engine and let it warm up while moving around to ensure nothing has been tampered with. Our barn is secure and I’d have gotten an alert on my phone with every other member if anyone had come inside, but I still don’t take chances after my crash. Before I ride either one of my bikes, I walk around them and make sure nothing’s been done. It’s a habit the guys know I have and wait for me to be comfortable before getting on my machine to ride for whatever reason. If it’s a mission or run for the club, I’m outside an hour before we’re supposed to leave to go through every inch of my bike and the guys put me in the middle of everyone so I’m not on the outside of the group.

After letting my bike warm up, I finally get on and put the bike in gear after putting up the kickstand. Without revving the engine, I pull out of the barn and head for the gate where Zayden is standing guard overnight. He opens the gate for me and I ride through, tossing him a quick wave before taking off away from the clubhouse. I head straight into the heart of the city before turning to make my way to the other side of Pine View.

I’ve been riding for about fifteen minutes when I come across another rider. Based on the back of the person in front of me, I know it’s a female. She’s got a banging booty as she curls forward over her bike and twists the throttle and shoots forward the second the light turns green. I twist my own throttle in an attempt to get closer to the rider as I try to get the barest peek at her bike or anything to see if this is someone I’ve possibly seen around the city. This girl doesn’t give me a chance to get close to her as she races away into the dark of night. In seconds this girl has lost me and I know I won’t get her out of my mind until I figure out who the hell she is. So, I ride through the city and try to guess the roads she took for any glimpse of her. It gives me something to focus on instead of the nightmares keeping me awake tonight.

Another reason I know this rider is a girl is because I’ve ridden behind Zoey more than enough to watch her body as she rides her bike. This girl has the same mannerisms and her body is almost the exact same way Zoey’s is when she rides. I don’t know how to explain the difference, but I’ve ridden behind guys and there’s just something different to me. It piques my curiosity and I need to know who she is. Zoey would tell me if she got a new bike, riding gear, and were in Pine View. Plus, my friend doesn’t have a lot of time for riding these days since her kids were born and she’s focused on her marriage, family, and the club her husband, Savage, belongs to. No, this is someone new I haven’t seen before and it’s going to bother me until I meet her. I don’t like the thought of a woman riding alone this late at night after everything Zoey went through and most of her interactions were during the day.

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