Atlas, page 1
Atlas (Iron Tzars MC 4)
A Bones MC Romance
Marteeka Karland
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Copyright ©2023 Marteeka Karland
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Editor: Katriena Knights
Cover Artist: Marteeka Karland
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Table of Contents
Atlas (Iron Tzars MC 4)
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Marteeka Karland
Atlas (Iron Tzars MC 4)
A Bones MC Romance
Marteeka Karland
Bellarose -- My drive to my new job didn’t go as planned. Me and my “photographic memory” got lost, ending up on a private road in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. Worse, I got a flat. And it was getting dark. When a dangerous, sexy biker stops to help, I’m not sure if I’m fortunate or not. Double that when I find myself mashed against said dangerous, sexy biker with him kissing me like he wants to devour me. Then things get really weird.
Atlas -- I’m in so much trouble. Not only is the girl in my care the most enchanting woman I’ve ever encountered, she’s the daughter of one of the richest men in the world who happens to also be one third of the Shadow Demons. Which means, that kiss I stole might have signed my death warrant. Every instinct I have is telling me I need to call in my brothers to get her out and end the operation I’ve been deeply embedded in for months. But my little hellion has other ideas. I just hope we haven’t waited too long. If I have, we’re both dead.
Chapter One
Atlas
What a fucking mess. This fucking club in Terre Haute was rotten to the fucking core. I knew enough about it to make it implode with all the secret deals going on inside, but I hadn’t been given the go-ahead from Sting, our president. Iron Tzars was an old MC, dating back to World War II. Back then, they’d been off-the-radar Nazi hunters. Meaning, they killed any they found and didn’t ask permission from anyone to do it. Now we hunt down pedophiles and human trafficking rings. Occasionally we infiltrate domestic terrorist organizations, but most of those are on the government radar, and we let the FBI and ATF do their thing. This bunch, however…
They were as sadistic a bunch as I’d ever seen. Not only did they have their hands into the obligatory guns and drugs, the women and girls they took weren’t trafficked. Oh no. They kept them. Used them. It had put me in a tenuous position because I couldn’t keep my cover at the expense of innocents. With the help of my brothers at Iron Tzars, I’d managed to pull all of the under-aged girls out -- there weren’t many, thank God. There were two other women still in the compound. One was happy to be there. Said so herself as she took one man after another with a smile on her face. The other one… wasn’t in good enough shape to express her wishes.
That had been two months ago. Nothing had changed except I’d gotten the leader of this bunch to leave the unwilling woman alone. It wouldn’t last long, though. The willing woman was fast becoming an unwilling woman. Which meant I’d run out of time.
I drove down the road back to the compound. The bike I was on was an older chopper, but it was still a Harley, if heavily customized. It wasn’t my own bike, but I tried to still treat it with respect. The meeting I’d just had, the plans being put into action, had me on the extreme edge. Which was likely why I nearly missed the woman crouched on her knees beside a new-model Ford on the side of the road.
I swerved, and I thought I heard her scream. Pulling over to the side of the road, I looked back over my shoulder. She was flat on her ass, gasping for breath. When she glanced in my direction, she scrambled to her feet and snagged the tire iron next to the car, holding it like a baseball bat.
With a scowl, I turned the bike around and drove the hundred feet or so back to her car before stopping and shutting it off.
“Did I hit you?” Despite my worries, I never wanted to hurt an innocent. The mere fact I hadn’t seen her until I was right on top of her showed how distracted I’d been. A mistake like that could get me killed in this fucking club.
“I -- I…”
“Come on, girl! Are you hurt?” I snarled the question like a demand. Which it was. She took a step backward and rounded the back of the vehicle, putting the car between me and her.
“Don’t come any closer! I know how to use this!”
I couldn’t help but snort. “That thing probably weighs more than you do. Now, tell me if I hit you with the bike, li’l bit.”
She shook her head slightly. “No.”
I glanced at the driver’s-side rear tire. Sure enough, it was flat. “Do you need help?” Again, she shook her head but didn’t relax one bit. I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my beard. I didn’t need this. Not now. “Look. We got off on the wrong foot. I shouldn’t have snarled at you. I didn’t think I’d hit you, but even if I’d clipped you, you could have been hurt. It scared me as much as I scared you. Now. Are you sure you’re OK?” I tried to soften my tone when it wasn’t my nature. Women usually looked at my size, tats, beard, and muscles and ran straight into my arms, begging for a hard fucking. I had no interest in any woman who didn’t.
“I’m fine.”
I barked out a laugh. “I hate it when women do that, girl. You’re not fine. I scared you to death.”
“It’s all right. You said it scared you too.” Her voice was soft and lyrical, wrapping around my insides like silken ties. What the fuck was wrong with me? I wasn’t hard up for female companionship. In fact, until I’d been planted in this fucking club, I’d had a different woman practically every night. More than one sometimes. Now, a little bit of timid innocence was burrowing inside me within a few seconds? Fuck…
“Not the point.” I raised my open hands in a non-threatening gesture. “At least let me change your tire. Can I come closer?”
Finally, she lowered the tire iron slowly. “I suppose so. If you’re sure you don’t mind.” She was so small I had doubts she could hold the damned thing for much longer anyway.
“I don’t mind at all. It’s the least I can do for nearly running you over. Besides, I don’t leave women alone to fend for themselves. No matter how much they don’t trust me.” I’d meant the last to be a small joke. To lighten the mood. Because the fear on her face in the fading light hit me viscerally. I didn’t like her thinking I’d hurt her or meant her ill will. That was the last thing I wanted after what I’d been through the last few months.
“I appreciate the help.”
I knelt by the car, positioning the jack properly before inserting the jack handle and cranking to raise the car. “What are you doing on this road? It’s pretty out of the way. Not many folks live around here.” Because the club I was currently embedded in kept everyone out of their territory through terror and destruction.
“I got turned around,” she said as she squatted beside me, holding the lug wrench at the ready. “I realized I was in the wrong place when the road went from four lanes to two. I don’t remember passing another road, but I might have missed it.”
“Where you headed?”
“Indiana State University. I was supposed to teach a summer class this session, but I got lost on the way to Terre Haute, then got lost trying to find the university. I’m supposed to check in tomorrow morning.” I could hear her voice waver. One quick glance, and I saw her squeezing and kneading the handle of the lug wrench in a nervous gesture. “I’m sorry to be a bother. You’d still be on your way if I hadn’t messed up all the way around today.”
“Don’t you have a phone with a maps program?”
“Um, yeah, but my phone’s not really good. It died, and I haven’t gotten a new one yet.” She seemed to realize what she’d admitted to and tried to backtrack. “I mean, I think it’ll still call 911 and stuff, but --”
“Relax, girl. I ain’t gonna hurt you.” I gestured to the tire I was trying to get changed before it got too dark to see. “I’m helpin’ you. See?”
“Yeah.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I guess you are.”
I smiled. The girl really was l ovely. Bit too innocent-looking for my tastes, but I could appreciate her beauty. “Come on. Let’s get this done, and you can be on your way.” While I worked, I gave her directions. She repeated them, asking questions about the area while I worked.
“What’s your name, girl?”
“Bellarose.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Bellarose. Got a last name?”
She bit her lip and let her gaze flicker away. “Um, Dane.”
She was lying about something, but I wasn’t sure what. Lying about her name didn’t make much sense. There’s no way in hell I could know her. Lord knew, if I’d met this woman before, I’d have remembered. She was small and slight but had curves in all the right places. Besides that, she was so lovely it made my teeth hurt.
I stuck out my hand to her before tightening the last nut. “Drake Pierce.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Pierce.”
“Fuck,” I chuckled, trying to put her at ease. “You make me sound like an old man. I know you’re a young college hottie, but I’m only forty-one.”
The smile she graced me with was nothing short of magical. Fuck, this girl was gorgeous! “Drake, then. Thanks for helping me. And for the directions.”
Standing, I snagged the jack and lug wrench, putting them in the trunk of her car. “You remember how to get where you’re going?” Bellarose rattled off the directions without hesitation. “Damn. That’s some memory you’ve got there.”
She grinned. “I’ve got something of a photographic memory. Not only can I remember everything I see or read, but when someone speaks, I kind of… I don’t know. See the words. In my head.” She tapped her temple. “It’s why I felt comfortable continuing on when my phone died. I knew where I was going. At least, I thought I did.” She frowned, glancing off. “I guess I’m not used to driving in bigger cities. Things look… different. You know. Different than just looking at a map. Shoulda read the directions instead of just looking at the map, I guess.”
“If you’d known you wouldn’t have access to the maps, I’m sure you would have. Anyway, this is a private road. You turned just a few hundred feet before you should have. This road used to be the main road into Terre Haute, but when they made the new one, the landowners extended the old road but blocked it off to make it private.”
“I didn’t see a sign, and there wasn’t anything blocking it, or I’d never have turned in. There was a gate, but it was open. I thought it odd at the time but shrugged it off.”
I knew she was telling the truth because Soul Reapers had opened it for ease of transportation for the meeting I’d just attended. Which brought me up short. I’d left before the other members had. There was a big party afterward, and I only participated enough to keep any suspicion down. The things they did at those parties made me want to kill a motherfucker. They had women practically begging to get inside, and the men liked to brag they could literally do anything they wanted to the women. Which was how the woman they now kept at the clubhouse had come to be with them. It would surprise me if Dutch didn’t bring home a few more women with him since the young girls had “escaped.” I wasn’t sure how many more women or children I could safely protect on my own. It was time to call in my brothers.
“Well, now that you know, you shouldn’t have problems next time.”
“I hope not. It would be embarrassing if I didn’t remember after I bragged about my memory.” She smiled at me. I moved slowly so I didn’t frighten her, standing close to her. Her eyes widened when I towered over her again, but she held her ground. She was still nervous, but she was trying.
“Good. Let’s get you on your way, shall we?”
Only the jack remained to stow. She moved her luggage around to replace the jack in the trunk. Then she shut the trunk before sticking out her hand to me. “Thank you so much, Mister, uh, I mean Drake. I’m not sure I could have done this if you hadn’t stopped to help me.”
“Every woman needs to be able to change a tire if she has to. If you’re gonna be out on your own, you need to learn. And a few other things about cars.”
“I’ll sign up for a class.”
I wasn’t sure if she was scoffing at me or not. Her smile, though, made me feel things I shouldn’t. This wasn’t the time, and it certainly wasn’t the place. Not to mention this girl was half my age if she was a day. “I’ll try to find you one.”
“I’d offer you my number, but I have no idea if I’ll be able to keep the same number when I get a new phone.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just ask on campus for the teacher with the photographic memory when I find a class for you.” Sweet God, that planted some decidedly erotic images in my mind.
Her laugh was even more distracting than her smile. Her hand in mine felt good. It was soft and delicate. Like the woman. She had straight, golden-brown hair that fell down her back past her waist, and wide hazel eyes. Her skin was a golden tan, and her lips a deep pink and plump. I could imagine taking that beautiful mouth in a lingering kiss.
Or having them wrapped around my cock…
I was about to open her car door for her when I heard the rumble of bikes coming from the meeting place.
“Fuck!” I turned my head and, off in the distance rounding a corner, I spotted headlamps and knew it was too late. The club was headed home, and this woman was directly in their path. There was no way to prevent her from being taken without blowing my cover. While I honestly could give a good Goddamn if it meant keeping her safe, me against twelve big, armed men trying to protect someone wasn’t going to do either of us any favors. The only option I had was to take her with me, but to do that and keep everyone else away from her, I’d have to tell them she was my ol’ lady, and they’d likely insist on making it official. Which meant we’d both be branded. Literally.
I weighed my options for a couple of seconds before making my decision. There was no way of fighting my way out of this situation. Not and get Bellarose out safely. I’d take her with me and regroup later.
“What’s wrong?” She stepped closer to me, her hand going to my chest. Automatically, my arms closed around her and, despite the gravity of the situation, something inside me settled. This was where this woman was supposed to be. In my arms. Under my protection. I looked down at her and saw the moment she saw the group of motorcycles headed toward us. Her lips parted in a gasp and her breathing quickened. “Oh no. That’s bad. Isn’t it?”
“Yeah, honey. It’s bad. Gonna need you to do exactly as I say. Don’t speak unless I tell you to. Don’t look directly at anyone. Keep your head down and do not leave my side. For any reason.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“Wish I could say. We both may be fucked, but I swear I’ll fight to get you out. I know I have no right to ask, but I’m going to need you to trust me.”
“I don’t know you.” Tears sprang from her eyes, and she trembled in my arms.
Unable to resist, I brushed a tear from under her eye as gently as I could. “I know, honey. If I could get you out of this before they got here I would. If you leave now, they’ll follow. You’re in their territory, so they can’t afford not to. This is the only way. It’s not going to be comfortable, but I’ll protect you with my life. I swear it.” She nodded, and more tears spilled over to drip down her cheeks. “In the eyes of the club, you’re gonna be my woman. It will give me a reason to keep the others off you. But you have to do exactly as I say, Bellarose. If they don’t think we’re an actual couple, they will fight me outright for you. Do you understand?” Again she nodded, but her shivering intensified. No doubt she was scared as fuck and with good reason.
The group got closer, and I tightened my arms around Bellarose and brought my mouth down on hers in a gentle, coaxing kiss. I didn’t want to scare her, but it had to be done.
Sweet God, she tasted good! I couldn’t afford this. Not now. I had to keep my wits about me, but her kisses were fucking intoxicating! Even as terrified as she was, when I started kissing her, she stiffened slightly, gasped in a breath, then let out a contented sigh and just… let me have her. Her lips parted to let me sweep my tongue inside to tangle with hers. Her skin dampened, and her breath came in little pants. I’d bet my last dollar the girl had never been kissed. At least, not like I was doing. It made me an even bigger bastard for not only forcing the situation on her, but enjoying the pleasure of kissing her when it wasn’t for the right reasons.
