Secretive the houston de.., p.1
Secretive (The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 7), page 1
K E Osborn
Addison Jane
SECRETIVE
The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 7
K E Osborn
Addison Jane
Copyright 2022 K E Osborn & Addison Jane
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations, or places is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author. All songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
Disclaimer: The material in this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is intended for mature audiences ages 18 and older.
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ISBN: 978-1922489319
Editing by Swish Design & Editing
Proofreading by Swish Design & Editing
Book design by Swish Design & Editing
Cover model by Cody Smith
Photography by Reggie Deanching at RplusMphoto
Cover design by Designs by Dana
Cover Image Copyright 2022
All Rights Reserved
They see me as weak.
Just a scared kid.
The moment my big sister took me away from the club, it sealed my fate as a burden.
As the son of a president for the Houston Defiance MC, I was born into power. I’m destined to lead. My father and older brother before me, I should follow in their footsteps. But they don’t see me that way.
The only path to keep me safe is to ship me off.
To live a life they have chosen for me.
Doesn’t matter what I want.
Behind the ivy-covered walls of Stonewall are mysteries, lies, deception.
I want to uncover it all.
The sting of secrets is to be revealed.
One thing I wasn’t counting on was Thayleah, a fellow student who takes my breath away the second I see her.
But she’s tied to another club.
When enemies come in all forms, you need to keep your eyes open.
But I didn’t see this coming!
From USA Today Bestselling Authors K E Osborn and Addison Jane, comes the highly-anticipated seventh book in the Houston Defiance MC Series.
Part of this book was previously released in The Elites Anthology 2021.
For Elizabeth Knox.
Without you enabling K E and Addison to write together in the Elites Anthology, Koda and Thayleah would never have crossed paths. Their love would never have been kindled, and Koda would have probably taken a different path.
Because of you, Elizabeth, these two characters have taken on life, they are growing, changing, and developing into a power couple that I don’t think K E nor Addison even saw coming.
So thank you, for being the motivation of Koda and Thayleah’s growth.
For empowering them to meet, initiating their journey, and having a hand to make their story compelling.
We couldn’t have done it without you.
For your convenience, below is a list of terms used in this book.
Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the author.
1% — When a 1% patch is worn, it represents the one percent of bikers who are outlaw clubs.
Brothers by Blood — A 1% MC Chapter in Phoenix, AZ, where Thayleah originated.
Cage — Automobile, truck, van - not a motorcycle.
Cut — A vest with club colors.
Duck-walk — Navigating into parking space using your feet.
Hammer Down — Accelerate quickly.
Lid — The name of the type of helmet worn by bikers. It’s an open-face half helmet.
Road Name — A road name is earned, given, and bestowed upon a biker. They usually have a story behind them.
Scorpio Society — An Elite Secret Society, originating at Stonewall University, Albany, New York.
Six — Watch your back.
The Heat — Police.
Blurb
Dedication
A Note to the Reader
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Acknowledgments
Connect With Me Online
About the Authors — K E Osborn & Addison Jane
KODA
Four Years Ago
An ominous black cloud descends over the clubhouse.
Then a thunderstorm erupts, hailing down the anticipation of dread.
Darkness is coming.
I sense it looming like the hovering of the angel of death waiting for his prey.
“I want to watch you suffer,” Igor, the leader of the Bayou Militia, screams out to my brother, Zero, while signaling to his men.
Zero tenses, spinning to see Igor’s recruits holding knives mercilessly to our parents’ throats. Huddled under the table, hiding from the chaos surrounding us, I can hardly hear anything above my sister, Prinie, as she sobs openly. Every inch of me is tense, wishing I could race out there into this fight and help in some way.
Any way.
But Prinie holds me tightly in her grip.
Not to mention I’m too fucking young.
Too inexperienced.
I’m nothing but a distraction to the brothers who are out there fighting. But seeing the recruits holding a knife to my parents’ throats only rubs salt in the already open wound.
The recruits don’t hesitate in carrying out their leader’s orders, their knives dragging across our parents’ throats almost in synchronicity. In an instant, our parents’ blood pools, running down their bodies as they both gasp frantically for precious breaths that just don’t come.
Prinie’s screaming floods my ears. The sight, mixed with her gut-wrenching agony, sends an intense pain through to my very soul.
Prinie attempts to turn my head away from the sight unfolding right there in front of me but just out of my reach.
My arms flail as I fight her, trying to push her off me so I can get out there to help. “Let me go. I have to help Zero!”
She yanks on my arm. “No! Koda, stay here. You don’t have anything to fight with. God, I can’t lose you too!”
Guilt wracks through my body.
My eyes shift to Zero. Igor’s gun is pressed to Zero’s temple. That’s when my body ignites in an all-new fear, but Zero brings his hand up, wrapping his palm around Igor’s wrist and twisting it away from his head. The gun fires as he rips his arm back around toward him. Igor groans in pain, his knees buckling under the pressure of his arm being twisted—he’s fighting Zero with everything he has.
Goddammit! I need to get out there to help him, but Prinie has a death grip on me.
Suddenly, with his free hand, Zero lifts his gun aiming on Igor’s temple. Blood and brain matter explode, and I relax a little as Zero gains a small vengeance for our parents’ murders.
My eyes shift around the club, and it appears the brothers have it under control.
Since I can’t help Zero and the brothers take vengeance, the least I can do is stay here and keep Prinie calm.
And right now, she’s losing her shit.
Twisting out of her grip, I wrap my arms around her and pull her to me. “It’s okay, Prin. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
My hold on her is firm as she blubbers out something, then while clinging to me tighter, she howls, “They killed Mom and Dad. Nothing is okay. Nothing is going to ever be okay again.”
The gunfire continues as I bring my hands over Prinie’s ears, trying to protect her from the noise. Tears stream down her face as we both can’t help but focus on our parents’ dead bodies.
Zero continues to shoot at more of Igor’s recruits as they turn, scurrying away for the exit like the pathetic assholes they are.
Then, suddenly, a loud rat-a-tat blasts through the clubhouse.
Prinie and I both jump and turn. Texas is holding a machine gun
In times like these, I can’t help but smile, loving the fact we’re finally getting revenge on the fuckers who came in here looking to destroy every-damn-thing.
My family.
Our club.
Our home.
The roar of gunfire draws to a halt, and cheering takes over.
All the brothers are celebrating the win—if you can call it that.
The club has lost its president and first lady.
We have lost our parents.
I’m not sure that can be chalked up to any kind of win.
Even though the Militia has been massacred here tonight—their captain is dead—it seems like all this war managed to do was leave room for new leaders to rise in both clubs.
The cheering finally dies down as Zero walks out from behind the bar.
My father, my hero, the man I looked up to, the guy I wanted to be when I got older, is dead.
Mom is next to him, lying on the concrete.
Their bodies in a single pool of blood.
Their faces ashen and lifeless.
Spinning my body to Prinie, I draw her in to me tightly, turning her away from the carnage. But she pulls in my grip, desperate to see, her previously tightly closed eyes now wide, her whites glowing in shock as they home in on our parents. Her entire body trembles with what I assume is the same shot of adrenaline running through her as I’m having. I want to protect her, but right now, I’m not sure how. Not from all… this.
“They’re gone, Prinie. The Militia are gone.”
When her eyes finally meet mine, her bottom lip trembles. “We shouldn’t be doing this…” she waves her hands around, “… there’s no need for all this fucking violence.”
I do understand where she is coming from.
But we’re bikers.
This is what we do.
“Prinie, we—”
“C’mon, I need to get out from under here,” Prinie states, then slides out from beneath the table before I can grab her to pull her back.
Instinctively, I take her hand, even though I don’t need it. I want to be here to support her right now. She needs me. Zero has a job to do with the club, so I must step up and be the brother that Prinie needs right now. Even if I am her little brother.
Zero storms over to us as Prinie clings to me, her lips are trembling, and she’s staring but not seeing. Her hair is tousled and her eyes glisten with unshed tears. I understand how she’s feeling. Our parents just died, right in front of us. But right now, I need to show both Prinie and Zero that I can be a man, not the kid they see me as.
Holding onto Prinie, I puff out my chest.
With tight shoulders, nudging me out of the way, Prinie lets all her frustrations out toward our older brother. “How many times are we gonna have to go through this, Krew?” she yells, her shrill voice making everyone around us widen their eyes.
Quickly, I pull her back a step away from Zero, giving her shoulder a squeeze to try and rein her in.
No one is allowed to call Zero by his real name—it’s a sign of disrespect.
Prinie is treading on thin ice.
Zero exhales, rubbing the back of his neck, seeming to let it slide. He can obviously tell she’s having a total meltdown. “Prinie, Dad… Dad and me were working on—”
“Peace? If you say peace, I swear to God, dude, I’m gonna take your gun and shove it right up your fucking ass!”
“Prinie!”
“No! Mom and Dad are dead! I saw their throats slit right in front of my very eyes. Koda saw it. You said this place was going to get better. You said we were going to be safe here as a fam—”
“We will be—”
“We’re not even a family anymore. Can’t you see that? They’re d-dead,” her voice cracks on the last word as she bursts into a sobbing mess.
Zero steps forward, moving to grab her, to support her, but Prinie slaps Zero’s chest frantically, trying to push him away through her sobs.
Seeing Prinie this distraught makes my body physically ache.
Zero doesn’t let her push him away. Instead, he draws me into him all the while Prinie beats into his chest until his hold tightens, pulling her too close for her to keep fighting him. That’s when she sobs into his bloodstained clothes while I wrap my arms around my brother and sister. It might be seen as weak for a fifteen-year-old to hug his older brother and sister, but right now, after what I’ve just witnessed and been a part of, I fucking need this too.
They’re all I have left.
“I love you. I don’t say it enough,” Zero says quietly.
Prinie sniffles, pulling her head back from Zero’s chest to look up at him. “Then let’s go. Let’s leave. The three of us. Make a new life away from this place. It’s too dangerous here. We could go tonight. Leave all this shit behind.”
My eyes widen, hearing what she’s just verbalized.
Is she kidding?
Walkers are Defiance.
We can’t just leave the club.
The fear in her eyes and the desperation in her voice tell me she’s serious. Whether I like it or not, Prinie believes she needs this, and I know she can’t do it alone.
Zero won’t be that person.
So, I will.
“Yeah, I’m with Prinie. I don’t wanna be here anymore, Zero.” The words stick in my throat, and as they roll off my tongue, the lie sends pain to my core, but I know I must stick by Prinie right now. This is no longer about me.
Zero rolls his shoulders as he pulls back and away from us. “I can’t leave. With what… happened, I have to step up. I have to take Dad’s place—”
“As president?” Prinie’s high-pitched voice echoes through the clubroom. Zero nods, then he takes a deep breath, ready to respond, but she cuts him off. “That’s even more reason for us to go. The target on our backs will be even larger. You have to see that!”
Zero glances over his shoulder at our dead parents, then back at us. “It has to be this way.”
Prinie scoffs, grabs my hand, and I let her drag me away.
“Where are you going?” Zero yells.
“Away from you!” Prinie snaps back as she leads us toward the stairs to the second level. I have no idea what I’m doing picking sides right now. All I know is Zero has a job to keep his mind occupied. If Prinie doesn’t have someone with her, she will spiral and perhaps even fall into something bad.
I know my sister well enough, and regardless if this is something I want or not, Prinie is my priority here. I may be young, but I know you don’t leave family.
We take the stairs in a rush, two at a time, and when we get to the top, she glances back down to make sure no one is watching. Then she grabs my shoulders and looks me dead in the eyes. The mascara she is wearing is running down her cheeks, and her eyes are red and puffy. Honestly, right now, she looks about as scary as it gets, so I weakly smile at her.
“Okay, were you serious?” she asks.
Raising my brow, I tilt my head. “About?”
“About not wanting to be here?”
Shit.
“I mean… I hate what happened here today. I’m completely wrecked by it, but—”
“Good, I have a plan.” She drags me toward my room, my feet stumbling as she’s dragging me so damn fast.
“Prin, what’s going on?”
“We’re leaving.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
“Pack a bag. We’re leaving… just you and me. I have some savings, but I also know where the safe is in Zero’s room which is loaded with extra cash. I’ll grab some of it, and we can just go.”
My stomach churns in apprehension. “I don’t know, Prin… Zero will be pretty mad.”
“He won’t find us. I will make sure of it. Aren’t you sick of all this…” again with the hand waving, only this time her face tells the story, “… constantly being at war? If Zero wants to stay here and put his life on the line for this fucking club, then let him. I don’t want to lose you, Koda. If I can spare you from this club, I’m damn well going to.”
Fuck.
When she notices my hesitation, she grumbles under her breath. “Fine, I’ll go without you. At least don’t say anything and let me get away before you blabber on me, okay?”
