Page 1 of Bear

Chapter One

Bear

The noise was deafening in the Alpha Riders MC clubhouse. Adrenaline surged hot and fast through my body. My left eye was swollen shut, two ribs on my right were definitely cracked, and my bare knuckles were split and bloody.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of my buddy, Crow, standing outside the fighting cage. The tendons in his neck strained as he cheered, fist pumping in the air.

“Finish it! Put him down, Bear!”

My opponent, Rage McCarthy from the Iron Dogs MC, looked like roadkill. His nose was broken, bleeding and swollen. I was pretty sure he’d lost a tooth somewhere during the match. And he favored his left arm where his wrist was lumpy and discolored - probably broken by the looks of it.

The referee gestured for us to come forward and square off.

“You boys look like hell warmed over.”

“The ladies certainly won’t mind if I’ve got a few more scars,” Rage replied. Despite the slight slur to his words, he still managed a wry smile through his busted lips.

“I’m sure you’re both stubborn enough to stick it out until the sun comes up,” the referee said, “But I’m calling it so you don’t kill yourselves. Final round. First one to deliver a knock-out blow is the winner.”

“Good luck,pendejo,” I said, nodding in Rage’s direction. “You’ll need it.”

“Put your money where your mouth is, Calderon.”

Rage and I braced ourselves facing each other, waiting for the bell. A single, thunderous clang echoed above the noise of the clubhouse. The cheering rose like a tidal wave of sound, flooding the clubhouse to the rafters.

I let Rage take a few swings at me to gauge his weak spots. When my back hit the cold metal of the cage, I cocked my fist back and delivered a right hook that left Rage flat on his back, unconscious.

The referee grabbed my wrist and held my arm over my head.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Bear Calderon is your champion!”

The crowd applauded with appreciation. My MC brothers whistled and howled - all eight of them had shown up to see me fight tonight. As I emerged from the cage, they slapped me on the back as they congratulated me on my win.

The club president, Brewer, hooked an arm around my shoulders.

“You did good tonight, Bear. Get yourself cleaned up. I’ll buy you a drink.”

I headed to the back of the clubhouse where a series of private rooms were tucked away from the crowd. Some of my MC brothers had families of their own to go home to. Others found refuge in these rooms when home was volatile or lonely.

I dug out a fresh pair of clothes from a spare duffel bag I kept in the closet. As I headed for the shower, my phone rang. I’d left it on the nightstand before the match. When I picked it up, there were five missed calls - four from my younger brother Carlos, and one from a number I didn’t recognize.

“Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.

At seventeen years old, Carlos was independent to a fault. And stubborn. The last thing he would do was call me. Unless he needed his big brother to bail him out of a tight jam, which had happened more times than I could count.

Trying to ignore the twist of worry in my gut, I answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“This is Sheriff Dalton with the Merry Field Police Department. I’m looking for Hector Calderon.”

“That’s me. Is there a problem?”

“We understand that you are the guardian of Carlos Calderon. Is that correct?”

I scrubbed a hand over my face and sank onto the edge of the mattress.

“What did he do this time?”

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