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  Revival

  A Skulls Renegade MC Prequel

  Elizabeth Knox

  Chapter 1

  Reed

  Dad’s only been gone for three months and I can tell how much Kyle hates being Prez. If you ask me, he doesn’t fit the title. He isn’t responsible. He doesn’t even give a damn about half of the shit he does, and yet he’s supposed to be the one looking out for the club? It’s bullshit – and that’s all it is. It’s not my place to argue with my father’s wishes, and while I understand it, I can’t help but hate him for putting our club in this kind of jeopardy.

  He isn’t blind, we all know about the shady shit Kyle is mixed up in. The loan sharks have come around too many times for me to rest easily, and I can’t say how many times I’ve paid them off just to keep them out of my hair.

  What Kyle doesn’t understand is that his actions don’t just affect him anymore. They affect every single person in the Skulls, it doesn’t matter whether it’s man, woman or child. He acts, and we make the ultimate sacrifice.

  Kyle will never truly understand that his actions come with a price, and most of the time, he doesn’t pay for them.

  “Why are you mean mugging it?” I hear her soft smile spreading through every word that she speaks. This girl is the only one who has ever been able to understand my mannerisms. She might not be able to read my mind but she gets pretty damn close.

  “Nothing important, darlin’” I tell her, lying straight through my teeth. She knows me well enough to know I just spewed a fib out at her but the second her body wraps around mine, all of my worries dissipate. The only thing that matters right now is her, not the club, not my shitbag of a brother. Just her.

  “You’re a shitty liar, I’ve been telling you that for ages”

  “Yeah, yeah. When are you gonna learn to just stop pestering me for answers I don’t wanna give, Celine?”

  “Never. You ought to know that” She smirks as she stands on her tippy toes to press a soft kiss to my lips. I snake my hand around the back of her neck as she starts to lower herself down, silently urging her that I need more. I need more of this moment, more of her distracting my constantly running mind. She’s the only way I ever get a break, because when she walks into a room, everything that plagues my mind disappears.

  Celine lifts her hand and smacks my ass, causing me to chuckle into our kiss. I take her warning, pressing a kiss to her lips once more before I retreat, grabbing a palm full of her luscious bum while I’m at it. “Okay, handsy. We both have things to be doing today, and neither of us are going to get anything done if you start that starved animal shit of yours”

  “Maybe I am a starved animal” I wink.

  “Mhm, and maybe I’m a virgin. No way in hell are you starving. I suck and fuck you so much that you can’t keep up with me”

  “You really want to go there with me?” I ask her, fully prepared to get into a heated argument which will only end in me blowing my load off inside her. Fuck, my cock gets hard just thinking about having her spread out over my bathroom sink, making her watch herself in my mirror as I grind my cock her g-spot, not letting her come until she begs me.

  A light rap comes to my door, “Reed!” I hear Enzo’s voice and immediately know that something’s wrong. He never talks to me for shits and giggles, and to be honest, we aren’t like that. The only real friends I have in this club are Seamus and Max, and maybe Butch…but that’s me pushing it. I put up with Enzo because I have to, since he hasn’t done anything to fuck up being a Skulls yet.

  “What’s up?” I yell back to him as I approach the door and pull it open. When I do and see the look he wears, I know whatever has happened is worse than I could imagine.

  “Well, spit it out”

  “Kyle just fuckin’ left, bro. Told us he didn’t want none of this shit and took off on his bike. Said he didn’t want to be the damn Prez and you should have the title” Well, he’s not wrong, I silently think to myself.

  “What do you mean he just left?” I ask, my tone coming out thick and heavy. He can decide that this isn’t right for him, but what my brother doesn’t get to do is just walk out. No fucking way does he get to do that. He’s not going to pull a Sandra, fuck that shit. Mommy dearest decided to walk out on us when we were toddlers, so fuck me if I have abandonment issues but looks like my brother is the apple that didn’t fall too far from the tree.

  “I’m not gonna repeat myself, Reed. Looks like your family is pretty fuckin’ good at just leavin’ when shit gets too hard. coward” I was going to let Enzo off. I get it. He’s pissed. I’m pissed. Actually, no…I’m furious. My brother may be an asshole, a glorified dick, but no one – and I mean no one, gets to call Kyle a coward. I don’t give a fuck who they are.

  “Oh, shit” I hear Celine whisper from behind me, like I said, she knows me in and out. I ball my hand into a fist and direct it straight towards Enzo’s jaw, he knocks backwards, shakes his head from side to side and looks up at me. I don’t stop, though. I keep going, because no one gets to disrespect my brother, my family or my fucking club. Enzo doesn’t get that he just did all three.

  I plummet my fist into Enzo’s jaw again and again, and then I switch off, using my left hand to continue sending my message. I don’t stop because I can’t. I won’t allow any disrespect. If you’re in this life, you can’t or you’re viewed as weak. People will just step on you like you’re a cockroach. It doesn’t matter that I’m the VP, if someone heard what Enzo just said to me, they’ll think that they can get away with it too, and I’ll be damned if I allow it.

  I grab Enzo by the throat, closing my hand around his airway. “Get out of my sight”

  He glares at me, nods and do as I order him to. Now that was handled, I need to find Kyle and find out what the fuck is going on in his head.

  Chapter 2

  Reed

  I drove around Gainesville for three hours searching every nook and cranny that I thought my brother might be in, that is, until I thought about that trashy little hookah bar. I bet that’s where he is, smoking it up. I turn my bike to the left, heading towards the interstate and take the first exit until I come up on the little strip mall where Dixies resides. When he and I were teenagers we’d come up here with Michelle and smoke. It’s when Dad wouldn’t let us in on the important shit, and a good way to kill time. I can’t tell ya how many cougars I met up in this joint. I was a young stud, and a lot of lonely women enjoyed my company. It was more for me and less about them.

  I make my way through the cheap glass door and head straight to the back, not bothering to greet a single soul in here. They know who I am not only by my face, but because of the cut I wear every day. Basically, they know not to fuck with anyone who wears the Skulls Renegade emblem. My Dad did a damn good job at making everyone fear us, anarchy is the only thing that follows our wake.

  Just as I thought, he’s sitting in his usual booth in the back. I step down into the booth, since it’s almost into the floor. I will say, Dixies might be a shithole but they do a good job at trying to keep it up with the times. That, or it’s been like this far before I was born. Who the fuck knows.

  “Enzo telling you I was being a diva again?” Kyle asks, not even bothering to turn his face as he takes another drag from the hookah in front of him.

  “Nah, you were being a full on drama queen. What the fuck is getting into you?” I take a seat across from him, taking a drag from the hookah myself. It tastes of chocolate and cherry, bastard knew I was comin’ here, fuckin’ buttering me up with my favorite flavors.

  “What’s getting into me? I dunno, ask Dad. He wanted to give me something I never fucking wanted. I told him since we were kids that I never wanted this shit, that you needed to be the Prez, but when he left he ch
ose to ignore my wishes and gave me complete responsibility over the club. You and I both know that I’m not the kinda man who wants this responsibility. I want to roll around with my beautiful fucking girlfriend in bed all day, yank out the glock when needed and drink beer. Why would I want to be the one making decisions? Why, after everything I’ve done over the last few years would he insist on giving all of this to me?”

  “Because it’s your right” I inform him, even though we both know I don’t have to. “If you don’t want to do this anymore, then you don’t have to. But you can’t just throw your cut at Enzo and tell him you’re fucking done. We have a way, and you don’t get to forget that. We have rules. We have laws that each of us need to abide by. If you really want out, we’ll have a vote. We’ll vote you out, and decide who the new Prez will be.”

  “I want out. How many times do I have to fuckin’ tell you?”

  “I’m just making sure you really want this”

  “Cut the shit, Reed. You know I’m not cut for this, never wanted to be the Prez and I’ll feel so much better once the responsibility is off of my back”

  “Fine, we’ll call it to a vote then” I comment, taking another hit off of the sweet flavors of cherry and chocolate, wondering how things may go sideways when we have church.

  “Stop worryin’ about them not votin’ you in. They want me out, and they want you to lead them”

  “Let’s just hope that you’re right, brother.”

  “I am, you just need to trust me”

  I smirk at my brother, and the two of us burst out into laughter. He knows that there’s no way in hell I could trust his sleazy ass, but I’ll try.

  Chapter 3

  Reed

  “We really gonna do this right now with all the shit that Dwayne is givin’ us?” Kyle asks, and I nod. It doesn’t matter that Dwayne is giving us a fuck ton of trouble, he may be a big fish but he forgets who the hell he’s fucking with.

  Dwayne is a low life drug lord from Nashville. He’s trying to get us to sell drugs for him, basically he wants us to be his bitch and I’ve told Kyle not to agree to anything. Dwayne is sloppy, and the feds are gonna catch his ass sooner or later. That I can guarantee. The Mexican cartel has been after us for a little while for a business relationship and while I have no intentions to get mixed up with Rafael Ramirez, I won’t be getting us mixed up with Dwayne either.

  “You getting all chicken shit on me?”

  “Fuck no, I’m just saying there’s a lot going on and this can wait”

  “Sounds to me like you’re changing your mind about not wanting to be Prez anymore” I retort, glaring at my brother.

  “No, I don’t want this.” He points to his patch that’s labeled, Prez. “You deserve it, not me.”

  I scoff, unable to say anything to him. We’ve had this discussion too many times, that’s for damn sure.

  Kyle walks over to the door that holds our table, where we hold church whenever it’s needed. He swings it open, and whistles abruptly towards the brothers in the clubhouse. “Church in ten minutes, tell all the full patch members their asses better be in here in nine” He slams the door shut with a thud before taking a seat at the head of the table. I take a seat beside him in my designated chair.

  “Celine’s gonna cut my dick off, ain’t she?” Kyle asks, and I move from side to side a tad.

  “Depends on her mood, you know how she can be”

  “That means she will. I know your girl well, her and Daisy are tighter then a virgin’s pussy”

  I laugh, knowing what he means all too well. Celine and Daisy have been friends since Daisy’s been with us, Celine took the little bird under her wing so to speak. Michelle and Jenna don’t really care for my girlfriend all too much, say she’s a cunt. She is, but doesn’t bother me any. The girls know to keep their attitudes in check and somehow peace is maintained.

  Max is the first to walk through the doors, “I sense change in the air”

  “I sense a nosy little eavesdropper” I comment back.

  “Hard to eavesdrop when you two keep yapping about voting Kyle outta his Prez position. If you wanted to keep it quiet ya both could’ve been doing a better job at it. Fuck, Michelle didn’t even tell me” Michelle, Max’s girlfriend, if that’s what we can even call her. He says they’re dating, then he says they aren’t, but he doesn’t fuck any other girls and then he goes on about marrying her. It makes no damn sense to me. Guess it doesn’t really have to make sense if they’re both happy, though.

  Enzo, Seamus and a few of the others roll in with just a minute to spare. Kyle slams the gavel on the table and goes on about the changes that are happening today. “I think it’s safe to say that each and every one of you know that I never asked for this. I never asked to be your Prez, but it was handed down to me because that’s what my Dad and your previous Prez wanted. We all respected his decision, including me. After a few months of trying to do this shit and failing miserably, I think it’s safe to say I gave it a good scout’s try. I’m fit for the life, but I’m not fit to be your leader – your Prez. So, that’s why I would like us to have a vote. All in favor of voting me out and electing another Prez, say aye.”

  A number of “aye”s break out into the room, “Okay, that does it. I’m no longer your Prez. Now it’s time to vote the new Prez in. All in favor of Reed, say aye”

  I watch around the room as seven men say aye, and I wait as the last six don’t say a word. Kyle looks around the table, locking eyes with every man who didn’t speak up. “Who is it that you six would like to vote in?”

  “Max” Cobra speaks up, looking right at my brother.

  “Alright, let’s do this again. All in favor of Max, speak up”

  The same six say aye.

  “All in favor of Reed, speak”

  The same seven who are backing me say aye.

  “There you have it, Reed is the Prez for the Skulls Renegade.” Kyle declares, I quietly take in a deep breath. That was too close for comfort, way too close. The fact that six of our brothers voted for Max means that he’d been campaigning for this day, and that makes me nervous. A round of applause, hoots and hollers break out into the room. I’m not a foolish man, either way I know that there is a snake in my midst, and it sure as hell isn’t Cobra.

  “Everyone knows I can’t lead without a right hand man, I can’t imagine anyone else besides Max watching my back. All in favor for Max being voted in as VP say aye” Everything I just said is a crock of shit. I thought Max was my friend until this day, but now I know better. I’ll do exactly what my father taught me, keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer. This asshat just got himself as close as he can get to me, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to let him stir up trouble.

  Aye’s are said around the room, by everyone except one. Cobra, the one who was supporting Max as the Prez is now silent. “You have something to say?”

  “Just how I don’t agree that another Michaels is going to be good for the Skulls, you want the past to keep repeating itself?”

  “Past ain’t repeating shit with me in charge, you should know that” I grumble back at him.

  “Shit, you’re more insane than I thought you were. I’m out, I want out of this club.” Cobra sneers, looking around the room to every brother in sight. “If any of you are smart, you’d do the same before this inexperienced ass gets you all killed”

  “Whoa! Motherfucker, take that shit back” Seamus roars, coming up quickly from his seat the table slides straight into the men sitting on the opposite side.

  I shake my head from side to side, “Get the fuck out of my club, and don’t you ever step foot back here”

  “Don’t plan on it. I’ve already got another place to be. Anyone who wants to be in a real club, The Brotherhood is looking. They’ve got some heavy shit about to go down, at least there we’ll see some action”

  “Damn, pretty boy. You’re dumber than you look. You ever think about
how running around guns a blazing means that the club is going down the rabbit hole? We may not be shooting people every day, but we’ve got our shit together.” Kyle adds.

  “Someone, get Cobra the fuck out of here, and don’t let him forget that we don’t want to see him” I order, watching as Seamus is the first to grab Cobra by the throat and drag him outside. He sure as hell isn’t going to let that snake forget to never set his foot in Tennessee again.

  Chapter 4

  Reed

  “Eight more left with him” Seamus comments, approaching me from behind. I’ve never been the type who needs a stiff drink after a long day, but this day is quite different then the rest. I suppose I could laugh at the irony in this. I shouldn’t, but it is damming.

  “If they want to leave, let them. I don’t need any men here claiming to be brothers when they’re not. If they are true Skulls, their loyalties will lie with us. I’m fine with losing men if it means that they weren’t true in their oath in the first place. Don’t need any more like Cobra in our club” I tell him, now Seamus comes within view and sits down at the wooden picnic table across from me.

  “You got that right”

  “Any new prospects on the radar?”

  “Yeah, Pain and Chaos. They’re brothers. I think they’re doing pretty good and will make good members. Kyle had them start prospecting a couple weeks ago. We took in about six and these are the only two who made it this far. They’re pretty fuckin’ serious about it if you ask me. Both of them got that fucked up past shit goin’ on and I think the club distracts them from their home life”

  I nod, understanding all too well what that means. A lot of brothers come to us because they don’t want to deal with their families, usually coming from not the greatest backgrounds. Rape, abuse, molestation. I could go on and on.

  “We’ll keep an eye on both of them then. Are they loyal?”

  “I think so”

  “Good. We could use some loyal brothers. Our numbers have taken a hit over the past couple years. I think it’s about time we start looking for new blood. Now that I’m in charge I think it’s safe to say that I should be reaching out to Fist” He’s our greatest ally, his club is in Montana but he has the numbers, and lots of connections that we can use to our advantage.