Cursed

Evernight Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2015 Lexie Davis

 
ISBN: 978-1-77233-649-8

Cover Artist: Jay
Aheer

Editor: Katelyn
Uplinger

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

CURSED

Charming Bastards MC, 3

Lexie Davis

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

Josslyn
Maverick looked up as a motorcycle passed by her on the street. It hadn’t been so long ago that she’d renounced her father and the club he favored over his damn children. Nor had it been so long ago that she broke up with the biker that fathered her sweet Jeremy.

She licked her lips as she thought about her ex. The sinful man knew how to make her body ache with need. His real name was Ryland Monson though most everybody called him Tank. He was the sergeant at arms for the Charming Bastards MC and much like her father, put his club first. Her father, Matthias, resided over the Reaper Boys MC and naturally hated the Charming Bastards with all that he was worth. She was fairly certain it was because of her relationship with Tank, but neither of them would admit it.

Josslyn
sat at a small café drinking her latte. The city was horrible in the winter time. The cold, wet weather had her wanting to crawl beneath a blanket and read a book in front of a fireplace on most days. However, getting out and making a living was a necessity since she cut herself off from the MC money. She’d gotten her real estate license and worked hard at doing something good for herself and for her son.

Jeremy. She smiled when she thought of him. Her pregnancy hadn’t been welcomed by either of the men in her life. Her father wanted her to end it. Tank simply walked away. Now, her little boy was three years old and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

She’d been working on negotiating a deal for her clients but some took all day and the only thing she could do was wait for the phone call.

Like magic her phone rang and she lifted it to her ear. “
Josslyn
Maverick.”

“We’ve got your son.”

Icy fear chilled the blood in her veins. “Excuse me?”

“If you want to get him back, you’re going to need to listen to me carefully.”

The phone cut out and
Josslyn
pulled it away from her ear to look at it. “Hello? I can’t hear you. Hello?”

Mumbling and static filled her ear before the caller disconnected.
Josslyn
covered her mouth with a shaky hand as she glanced around the quiet café. What did she do? She didn’t know who had Jeremy. She didn’t know what they wanted. She dialed Jeremy’s daycare and they confirmed that a man proclaiming to be his father picked him up. That he even brought court documents signed by the family court judge to prove he had custody and the right to take him. Tank had no such documents. She hung up and grabbed her purse and drink.

Dialing his number, she waited for him to pick up.

“Yeah?”

“Please tell me this is a sick joke and you have Jeremy with you right now.”

“What?”

“Jeremy, Tank. Your son. Please tell me he’s with you.”

“I don’t have a fucking son.”

Josslyn’s
heart sank as tears filled her eyes. Tank was many things but he wasn’t an evil bastard. He wouldn’t take Jeremy from her. Traffic picked up on the main city streets and
Josslyn
glanced around in a daze.

“Who is this?” Tank asked.

She’d forgotten he was still on the line. “
Josslyn
. Your ex. Or have you fucked so many women that you don’t remember?”

An older gentleman walked by her frowning at her use of foul language. She didn’t care.

“
Josslyn
.” Tank’s voice immediately changed. He stumbled and cursed, moving away from the commotion in the background. “Someone took your kid?”

“I don’t know. I got a call saying someone had my son and they were giving me instructions on what to do but static filled the line. The daycare said a man claiming to be his father with court documents picked him up. I was hoping that was you.”

“Joss, I don’t have the kid.”

“I figured that out on my own, thanks.” She walked toward the stop light and waited to cross.

“Call your dad. It’s probably retaliation for something his damn club did.”

“Yeah?” She walked in line with the people crossing the street. “I thought your precious club was his number one enemy.”

She despised motorcycle clubs. With a passion. She honestly needed to hang up from him before she ended up in a screaming match with him like a crazy person on the side of the street.

“Look, I need to go. If you hear anything call me.” She clicked off and blew out a breath. The police station was only a few blocks away and she hoped like hell that they could do something for her. Otherwise, she might end up in the loony bin, because she was too fucking close to losing her shit.

****

Tank stared at the phone in his hand for a long time after Joss hung up on him. She had the baby. And now he was missing. Tank never claimed to be a smart guy, but it took some processing on his part to fully understand what the fuck was going on.

“Hey.” Joker came over and handed him a beer. “You okay?”

“Hell, no, I’m not okay.” He stood and tugged his keys from his pocket. “
Josslyn
called. Said the kid was missing.”

Joker stared at him. “Your kid?”

“Who the fuck else is going to be its father?” He rubbed his forehead. He needed to break something. Hit something. As if Joker could read his mind, he stepped back.

Tank lifted a table and threw it. He didn’t feel better. She had the kid. His kid. Without fucking telling him. He let out a harsh breath. He remembered her showing him the test. He didn’t know what the fuck it meant, but she told him that they had created a baby. A son. Her
asshat
of a father wanted her to get rid of it, and in a desperate plea for his acceptance, she’d agreed. She didn’t even talk to him about it. She just flat out went with what Daddy had said.

Tank slammed his fist into the dumpster at the back of the property. Now she called him, telling him that the kid existed. She didn’t end it. The kid was his and now he was gone.

“What happened?” Deuce came over to him with Joker and Silver beside him.

“I don’t fucking know.”

“Retaliation?”

“What else could it be?”

“Us or the Reaper Boys?”

Tank shook his head. “Nobody knew it was mine.”

Deuce blew out a breath. “We’re with you brother, but our help isn’t going to be well received. Not after the bullshit that went down with Joker’s girl.”

Tank figured as much. “I need to find
Josslyn
. Just handle the shit here. I can’t be here right now.”

His three friends nodded as he went to his bike and fired the beast up. The ride to her house did little to calm him down. He half wanted to strangle her for keeping the baby without telling him and he half wanted to press her against the wall and kiss the breath from her lungs. God, he never had a woman twist his emotions into a knot like she did. And she was Matthias’s daughter. Motorcycle club royalty in her own right. By the rules and standards, she was something to be cherished. That was until her father fucked everything up.

He pulled in her drive and killed the engine of his bike. She sat on the porch with her phone to her ear talking with someone. He got off the bike and went toward her.

“You need to go.” She hung up the phone and stood up. “
Me
calling you was not an invitation for you to come back into my life.”

“You want to fucking start that bullshit with me? While our son is missing?”

“My son. You don’t deserve him.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What did daddy have to say, princess?”

“He’s on his way over here right now. You need to go.”

Before Tank could say anything Matthias and his cronies pulled in
Josslyn’s
drive. He jumped off the porch and went after him, catching him before he got off the bike and knocking him backwards. His lowlifes jumped to his rescue as Tank went after him, punching him for being the bastard he was. Vaguely he heard
Josslyn
screaming at them, but with fists flying and blood spraying he didn’t give one fuck about what she had to say. Something with a good amount of strength yanked him off Matthias. It took Tank a minute to realize it was Torque and Deuce. He didn’t even know that they had followed him.

“Walk it off.” Torque pushed him behind them.

Tank glanced up at
Josslyn
who stood there completely heartbroken as she stared at them. She looked so goddamn beautiful. It pained him to see her that way. To see the sadness that marked her pretty face. He spit blood to the ground and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn’t know what the fuck to do.

“Where’s the boy?” Torque asked Matthias.

“Shouldn’t you be asking the misfits you call club members?” Matthias swiped at the blood dripping down into his eyes. “That crazy bastard is going to wish he never met me if that kid is hurt.”

Tank shook his head. Like he’d ever hurt his own kid. Hell, he didn’t like kids and didn’t want them, but when
Josslyn
told him about her pregnancy, things changed inside him. A protective streak a mile wide formed almost immediately. He didn’t want her leaving the bed for the chance that something bad could happen to her or the baby. God, he’d been so stupid. One conversation with the fucker that fathered her and she was ready to end everything.

She went down the porch steps and confronted them on her front lawn. “I don’t give one fuck about your stupid rivalry. I need your help. I need to find my son.”

“What did the police say? Tank asked, his lip swelling from the punch Matthias threw. “Anything useful?”

Josslyn
closed her eyes. “What do you think? Do you really think I would have asked for your help—either one of you—if the police were doing something useful?”

Tank knew there was some bitter blood between them. She looked so damn fragile. She blew out a breath and glanced over to her father.

“Can we devise a plan to figure out how to get my son back?”

He stepped past Torque and Deuce, heading toward her. “I’ve got my boys on it. I don’t really think it’s our problem though. You’ve been out of the club life for three years. Ever since you decided to have that bastard’s kid.”

Tank took a step closer and
Josslyn
put her hand on his chest, stopping him. “It doesn’t matter who did what. All that should matter is that Jeremy comes back safely.”

Matthias turned toward Tank. “I’ll figure out who’s got him.”

Tank didn’t say anything. He knew Torque had been working out some deal with Matthias about the bullshit Eddy stirred up, but that probably all went out the window now.

“And when I do,” Matthias commented, “you’d better not have anything to do with it. Or you’ll be as good as dead.”

Tank snorted. “Why don’t you start with that asshole son of yours? See what kind of bullshit he’s got blowing back on him.”