Burned Rebel (Comanche Sons Motorcycle Club Book 3)

This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.

Burned Rebel copyright @ 2015 by Sophia Hampton. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Part 3 of
Comanche Sons Motorcycle Club
trilogy

Chapter One

If there was anything worse than being kidnapped, it was that she could be the cause of death for the person whom she loved the most in the world. Riley twisted against the ropes that held her. If there was any way she could escape, she would make sure that Chance stayed out of trouble—but, of course, the ropes didn’t even budge. She’d been brought here against her will, and now there was no hope for her. Once she outlived her usefulness to the Comanche Sons, they would hand her over to Wesley, her brother, who wouldn’t waste too much time before he killed her.

Her fate was sealed.

The only thing she could do was save Chance, but until now, she didn’t have a prayer of doing so.

The door opened, and in came Mathew. He was carrying a phone in his hand. “I hope some sense has prevailed by now. Are you ready to contact Chance?”

“No,” she barked out. It was the same answer that she had been giving for the past many hours. “In any case, you’re not going to let me go free so what’s the point of doing anything to appease you.”

“Good point.” Mathew sat on the chair. “I do believe that you’re right. The thing is…there is a way we can both help each other.”

She simply couldn’t place her faith in this man. He hired her brother to kill Simon and in exchange promised him that he could have an opportunity to kill her. How could she trust anything he said? “How?”

“You call Chance here, and I’ll let you go.”

“And what about the deal you made with Wesley?”

“I will renege on it.” He laughed. “We’ve already paid him for Simon’s murder, so as far as I am concerned, I don’t owe him anything.”

What was to stop him from reneging on this new deal with her? It was obvious that the man was a consummate liar. He didn’t keep his word to anyone, and his only allegiance was to himself and to this club whom he was nurturing. The Comanche Sons was fast becoming more than a biker’s club; it was now a notorious organization that had its hands in various illegal pies and now even murder.

“If I call him, what will you do to Chance?”

“We’ll ask him to take back his statement from the police and stop cooperating with them regarding Simon’s murder.”

As much as she knew Chance, she knew that he wouldn’t ever do that. By killing Simon, they pushed him away. He would never allow them to get away with it. Chance was a man of good principles. He’d liked and respected Simon, and now there wasn’t anything they could do to stop him from helping the police get to the bottom of this mystery. Also, she didn’t believe for a second that all Mathew wanted was an opportunity to talk. He would kill Chance, just as he murdered Simon. This man was dangerous, and this place was too, and she didn’t have any intention of luring Chance here, even if that was her only hope of saving her own life. 

“I am not calling him.”

He frowned. Clearly, he wasn’t used to getting so much resistance from someone he considered to be vulnerable. She thought he was stupid. Did he really think she would sacrifice Chance to save her life? She loved Chance. Sure, she never said those words to him and never even admitted them to herself before she got into this mess, but she realized the true depth of her feelings now. There was no way would she ever do anything to hurt Chance.

“I don’t think you realize the gravity of your situation. You’re our prisoner, and your bother isn’t far away. One word from me and he would rush here to put an end to your story. Is that what you want?”

“I have been running away from Wesley for a long, long time.” She stared him right in the eyes. “If you think you’re going to scare me by mentioning it to me, trust me I became immune to that particular threat a long time ago. He will kill me one day. I have accepted that fact. It’s just a part of who I am and the way I live. I won’t call Chance and drag him into this mess.”

He glared at her. She saw his grip tighten on the phone. She had the distinct feeling that this man was similar to a keg of explosives, and if there was a slightest jolt, he might explode. She accepted that risk. “You’re making a big mistake,” he said.

“It’s mine to make,” Riley responded.

A vein pulsated on his forehead. His face flushed. He bit his bottom lip. “How about I make another deal with you? If you call Chance, we will take care of Wesley for you. He won’t bother you anymore.”

“What will you do to him?”

“That would be our secret, darling. Now, come on, make that call and get out of here. Surely, a pretty girl like you doesn’t want to spend too much time in these not so comfortable surroundings.”

Riley glanced at the phone. Oh! She so wanted to pick it up and call Chance. His warm voice would assure her that there was hope. She might be able to get in a word and warn him of the danger, but she knew that the instant he knew where she was, he would rush to be by her side. His safety remained with his lack of knowledge about her whereabouts. The man would lay down his life to save her—and she couldn’t allow that to happen at any cost.

Resolutely, she shook her head. “It’s not going to happen.”

Mathew’s eyes widened in surprise at her constant refusal. Walking over, he slapped her hard on the face. Her lip split open, and she tasted blood in her mouth. The pain of it was acute, but no more than knowing that she had no one to blame for this mess but herself. If only she had paid attention to Chance’s warning. She shouldn’t have gone out of her apartment. Wesley lured her outside the bar so that they could kidnap her. She played right into their hands. Riley glared at Mathew. “You can hit me all you want, but I won’t do what you want.”

His hand clenched into a fist. She readied herself for the next blow, but much to her surprise, he relaxed his hold. Instead, he swiped open his phone and then began filming her. She tried to turn away so that he couldn’t get a good shot, but he grabbed her face and forced her to look into the camera. After a minute, he let her go. He did something on the phone and then smiled at her.

“I didn’t really need your cooperation, but it would have been nice had you done as I said. If you were nice to me, I would have asked Wesley to make it quick, but now I believe I am going to let him take his time.” He ran a hand down her cheek. “And I think I am going to enjoy listening to your screams as he exacts his revenge from you. The man is dying to get his hands on you. He believes you ruined his life.”

She didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much she could do or say to change this situation. Tears pricked at the back of her mind, as she realized that she’d lost all hope of saving Chance. As she watched Mathew, he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Chance. Buddy. How are you doing?” She couldn’t hear the answer but from the grin that spread over Mathew’s face, she could tell that Chance replied in a less than friendly manner. “Such language, dude. I thought you were an educated man. Now listen here, I am assuming from your reaction that you have already seen the video I sent you. Yes, we have your pretty little bird.” He frowned. “Ok.” Mathew put the phone to her ear. “Talk to him.”

“Riley, are you ok? Did they hurt you? Oh God! I can’t believe they kidnapped you. Riley,” his voice indicated his level of distress.

She didn’t want to talk, but Riley already knew that he was aware of where she was. “Don’t come here. They are going to kill you.”

That statement earned her another slap on her face. A scream burst out of her mouth. Mathew put the phone to his ear. “You heard your lady, didn’t you, Chance? Now get your butt here, talk to me, and take her back. Anything happens that doesn’t make sense to me and I will make sure you never see her again.” He shoved the phone in his pocket and bent down to stare at her. “You don’t have much time. I suggest you use whatever little you have to pray.”

As he walked forward towards the door, it burst open and in came Wesley. There was an unholy gleam in his eyes, and it looked as if he had been drinking for some time. “Dude, I need to get out. Give me the girl and I will be on my way.”

“What’s the hurry, my man?”

“The news of that murder is all over the channels. They will come after me. I need to disappear, get a new identity, and start all over again. But before that, I need to finish this work.”

Mathew glanced back at her. “Her boyfriend is coming. As soon as he is here, you can have her.”

“Shit! I can’t wait, dude.”

“You will have to. It won’t take long. He should be here within an hour. The man was agitated enough on the phone when he heard her voice. He will rush to her side as soon as he can.” He put an arm around Wesley and made him turn around. “Be patient. She is all yours. Just give it a little time.”

They walked out of the room and closed the door. Riley’s heart thundered in her chest. Would Chance come here without thinking about the repercussions of such a move? Would he endanger his life in the hope of saving hers? She was scared that answer to those questions might be a resounding,
Yes
. And if Chance came here, he wouldn’t leave this place alive. Neither would she. But then her life was forfeit anyway. And she didn’t want him to risk his.

Damn the man!

Did he have to fall in love with the wrong woman?

Until her last dying breath, she would know that she was responsible for his death. He would die because of her, and as tears poured down her cheeks, she wished there was something she could do to change that.
 

Chapter Two

Chance had spent a lifetime fighting danger, but right now the problem wasn’t that he was in trouble but rather that Riley was in the hands of a man whom he didn’t trust. Chance was quite aware that walking into the headquarters of the Comanche Sons was akin to slipping into a lion’s den. There was a good possibility that he wouldn’t come out alive. He still wanted to do it because it was the only way he could save Riley.

As he neared the place, he saw the people who were standing at the doorway. They looked alert, active. So yes, they were aware that something major was going on. He was stopped at the gate and given a full body check. No weapons were found, and he was allowed to enter. Mathew was waiting for him at the front room.

“Well, well, look who is here. Chance, my boy, you have given a new name to the word
love
. I just knew that you would come to save your lady, and you have not disappointed me.”

“Where is she?”

“She is here, and she is safe…for now. As long as you keep cooperating, she will remain ok.”

Chance counted the men who stood behind Mathew. There were six people here, four at the gate, and no doubt many more inside. He wouldn’t ever be able to fight with them alone. “I want to see her.”

“And you shall. But first, I want to know what you told the police.”

Chance kept his stance friendly and easy, but inside he was a mass of tense muscles. Anything could happen here at any time. He couldn't afford to relax for a single second. “I told them what I knew regarding your fight with Simon. I also said that I didn’t know who killed him.”

“But you suspected us, and you told the police that.”

There was no point lying. He nodded. “Yes, I did. It wasn’t fair what you did to him. This whole situation could have been resolved with a dialogue. If you had talked to Simon, listened to some of his grievances, he might have fallen in line.”

“People who belong to this club know the rules. We don’t want trouble with the police. No one can ask for a separation. Once you join, you are in this for life,” stated Mathew in a hard voice. “It’s not my mistake that he failed to follow the rules. He set a bad example. Simon sowed the seeds of dissent, and that is bad for our work and for the morale of other people. I tried to tell him to stay quiet, but he refused to listen.”

“And so you had him killed.”

“We did what we had to do.” Mathew folded his arms. “And even now, I will do what has to be done. You made a big mistake by going to the police. When you saw his body, you should have called us, and we would have cleaned up that mess.”

“That would have made me an accessory to murder.”

“Legal jargon.” Mathew waved his hand. “Now, what this has made you, is a danger to the club, and we sure know how to take care of such issues.”

Chance allowed a grin to split his lips. There was a sour taste in his mouth. There was a lot that could go wrong here. One big fuck up, and he would lose Riley. He couldn’t afford to do that. She was the love of his life, and he would do anything to keep her safe. “Do you really think I am such an idiot that I would come here without taking any precautions? I know what I am doing.”

Mathew looked wary. “What do you mean?”

“I will tell you what to do now. You will release Riley and put her in my custody, and I am going to take her out of here.”

For a moment, Mathew looked nonplussed, and then he burst into laughter. “You have lost your mind. This is my place, and I call the shots around here. Do you think I am going to get scared of you just because you were once in the army? Well, guess what, most of us have been fighting and battling for all of your lives, so bring it on, whatever skills you’ve got.”

Chance cracked his knuckles. With these guys, he wouldn’t win. There were too many of them, and yet he wasn’t without some tricks up his sleeve. “I wouldn’t fight with you guys. It’s not my style.”

“In that case, we suggest you do what we ask. Call the police and tell them that you were mistaken about the Comanche Sons, that we didn’t have anything to do with the murder, and that you retract your statement.”

“Do you really think they would believe me? The police have their own investigation, and they will carry it through.”

Mathew circled out from behind his desk. A grin split his lips. He looked quite smug. Chance’s heart contracted with fear, as he realized that the man had some diabolic plan. “They will believe you because we will present them with the real murderer and the murder weapon.”

Chance blinked rapidly, as he tried to keep pace with Mathew’s reasoning. “Who is the murderer?”

“Riley’s brother, of course.”

“Why the hell would he have killed Simon?”

Mathew leaned against the desk. He looked calm, relaxed. Was this all a ruse or was he actually feeling confident about his plan? “He killed Simon because we asked him to, but of course, he won’t tell that to the police because he will be dead long before he opens his mouth. We will present them with the corpse and the murder weapon.”

Chance couldn’t quite understand this. He never expected that Mathew would have found Riley’s brother and convinced him to do such a deed for them. “He’s here?”

“Safe and sound, as is your lady love. Of course, I had to make a deal with Wesley and promise him that he would be able to get his hands on Riley in exchange for Simon’s death. But given all these changes in my plan, due to your involvement, I have had to modify. So, now we’re going to kill Wesley, dump his body in a convenient place where the police will find him—along with the knife he used to kill Simon. His fingers prints are on the knife, and our problem will be solved.”

Chance had no doubt that Mathew would be able to wriggle out of this noose that was slowly tightening around his neck. He didn’t mind sacrificing others to keep himself clean. He will kill Wesley to remove any connection to Simon’s death, and then he will murder him—and Riley, too—because they knew too much. The man was crazy, and yet he was smart enough to do self-perseveration. It was a deadly combination. If he agreed to Mathew’s demands, it wouldn’t take long before his own death certificate was signed—and that of Riley, too.

And yet, he didn’t have any other avenues left to explore. He was completely at Mathew’s mercy.

Chance sighed. He didn’t have much time. “I will make the call.”

“Good. I am glad to hear you say that. Knew that you had some brains. Cooperate with me, and you will walk away with your lady love in no time.”

That was a complete lie. Mathew wouldn’t ever let them out alive. He intended to kill them along with Wesley. While he didn’t mind Wesley’s impending death, Chance had a problem with what Mathew decided for him and Riley. He took out his phone and placed a call. “Hi. Officer Warren. Yes, it’s me. Chance. You can go ahead now.” After cutting the call, he shoved it in his pocket.

Mathew blinked his eyes, looking confused. “What the hell was that? I told you to tell them…”

“I am not listening to your commands anymore. I quit this club and your servitude.”

“You bloody can’t quit. No one walks away from us without our permission. This is a one way street, buster, and if you don’t toe the line, we will make sure you are unable to take a step forward.”

“Before you issue such threats, you really need to judge if you’re in a position to do so.” Chance whirled on his feet and kicked the man who was trying to grab him from behind. Another charged him, but the rest of them were too distracted by the hard knocks and the loud pounding noises that were coming from outside the gate. The gate burst open and in poured a plethora of police.

“Hands in the air,” yelled one.

“Hands in the air,” yelled another.

Chance pushed away the guy who attempted to punch him, and then put his hands in the air. Seeing him, others did the same. Seeing that they were surrounded by an army of police, Mathew did the same. He ground his teeth. “You bastard!”

“You left me with no choice. It wasn’t very smart of you to kidnap Riley and then keep her here. All I did was inform the police about the kidnapping, and they got an urgent arrest warrant to check this place, and all our problems were solved.”

“You will not get away with this. I will make sure you don’t,” said Mathew as a police man turned him around and handcuffed him. “You will rue this day.”

Chance wasn’t listening anymore. He was already moving away from the commotion and the chaos. He’d come to this place a few times, but still he didn’t know the exact layout. He burst into a room and was nearly punched in his face. The blow glanced off his shoulders, as he pivoted on the spot. The man attacked him again but was held by the policemen who followed Chance. Again and again, he checked the rooms. Had he underestimated Mathew? Did the man hide Riley somewhere else? Or had he already handed her over to Wesley so that the man could carve holes in her body?

His mouth was dry with fear, and he couldn’t breathe, but he persevered. When he checked the last room, he was rewarded for his effort. With the help of the policeman who remained with him every step of the way, he untied Riley and pulled her into his arms.

“Oh my God! Are you ok? Are you alright?” He hugged her, still unable to believe that she appeared unharmed. “Riley, talk to me.”

“I am fine.” She pushed away from him and looked at the policeman. “You got the police?”

“It was the only option I had. If I’d decided to walk in here without any back up plan, they would have killed us both. I knew that the only way to keep you safe was to cooperate with the police.” He enveloped her in another hug. Chance inhaled deeply.
She was alright. She was alright.
It was all he could think. For now, nothing else mattered. “I am sorry it took so long, but the moment I couldn’t get hold of you, I was scared and I told the police. We were just trying to figure out what happened when Mathew’s call came, and from that moment on, they moved at breakneck speed.”

“We aim to please,” said the policeman who had accompanied Chance. “Now, we would like to move her out and then get her examined by the medical professionals.”

“I am fine. They didn’t hurt me.” She glanced into his eyes. “Wesley? He was here.”

Chance put an arm around her shoulders, as he led her out. He wanted to pick her up and carry her, but he was quite aware that she wouldn’t appreciate any hint that she wasn’t quite up to the task. “You met him?”

“Yes, I did.” She recounted the tale, as they made their way out. Chance noticed the activity. He saw a lot of the men who were rounded up, but he didn’t see anyone who looked like Riley’s brother. Of course, it was possible that the police had already put him in a car. After all, he was a murderer. Catching Wesley was an added bonus. Now, he wouldn’t be able to bother Riley any more. He took her to the medics, and they checked her.

“She is ok,” they said. “We recommend that you take some rest, ma’am, but other than that, there is nothing wrong.”

“What about this?” she held up her arms and showed them the bruises.

“You can put any soothing cream on those, and they will disappear in a few days.”

“We will need to take your official statement, ma’am,” said an officer as he strode forward. Chance turned around to face him. “We have not found anyone named Wesley.”

“What?” asked Riley.

“Where the hell did that bastard go?”

“We’re still trying to figure it out. Are you sure he was there?”

“I met him,” Riley insisted. “He talked to me. There is no way he would have left without getting a chance to get his hands on me.”

“We will sweep the whole building again—just to make sure he isn’t hiding in some corner, but so far none of the men have claimed to be Wesley. Can you go through the lineup and see if he is there?”

“Sure.” She strode forward with a purpose. Chance was a step behind her. Turn by turn, she looked at all the men. “He is not here.”