Fixate the nola defiance.., p.1
Fixate (The NOLA Defiance MC Series Book 6), page 1
K E Osborn
USA Today Bestselling Author
FIXATE
The NOLA Defiance MC Series Book 6
K E Osborn
Copyright 2023 K E Osborn
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.
ISBN: 978-1922489708
Editing by Swish Design & Editing
Proofreading by Swish Design & Editing
Book design by Swish Design & Editing
Cover model by Sam Miller
Photography by Reggie Deanching at RplusMphoto
Cover design by Designs By Dana
Cover Image Copyright 2023
All Rights Reserved
She’s a part of me.
Even though I don’t know her name.
The woman I’ve been exchanging letters with and developed feelings for over the past six years.
But I can’t help feeling torn in two when I’m suddenly pulled toward another. Maxxy, the club’s horticulturalist, is strong and sassy, giving me so much lip the aggravation is exasperating.
She infuriates me.
She ignites me.
The problem is—the woman illuminates me.
But what about my pen pal?
When old rivals of the club surface and an attack becomes life-threatening, a chance meeting could escalate tensions.
Though it’s not the club’s only problem, a blast from Maxxy’s past could jeopardize a new alliance—and Maxxy’s right in the firing line.
There’s something I’m missing. It’s right in front of me.
Can I solve the puzzle before I lose everything?
From USA Today Bestselling Author K E Osborn comes the eagerly awaited sixth book in the NOLA Defiance MC Series.
This is a pen pal, enemies to lovers book and can be read as a standalone.
To Chantell,
Thank you for always having my back and being there whenever I need your help. I honestly don’t know how I could make it through this writing process without your guidance and support. You have helped me grow, you’re one of my biggest cheerleaders, and no matter what, you’re always there when I need to talk stuff out with you.
I’m so lucky to have you in my life.
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.
Baton Rouge Bachelors – An underground criminal elite establishment.
Cut — A vest with club colors.
Chapel – The room where the Defiance club members congregate to have their ‘church’ meetings.
Church – The name of important club business meetings where only patched members can attend.
Hammer Down — Accelerate quickly.
Independents – Someone not a part of any club or group but normally a part of the biker culture.
La Fin — Means ‘The End.’ Also, the Club’s pet alligator.
Road Name — A road name is earned, given, and bestowed upon a biker. They usually have a story behind them.
The Heat — Police.
Watch Your Six — I’ve got your back, or to watch your back.
BLURB
DEDICATION
A NOTE TO THE READER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CONNECT WITH ME ONLINE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER ONE
Maxxy
Death.
That’s what is waiting for me here.
I’m an easy fucking target, and these bitches know it too. It’s because I don’t roll over. I don’t do what they tell me to do. I don’t bend to their whims and follow the hierarchy.
I’ve never followed the rules. I live hard, I race hard—maybe a little too hard because fleeing from the cops and driving into the side of a Walmart gets you in trouble.
The kind of trouble that gets you in a place like this.
Surrounded by women trying to take advantage of you.
Trying to use you.
To get one up on you because of the people you know.
They try to get at me and tear me down every chance they get to further their power in this god-awful place.
It’s harder than I thought.
My only saving grace is my cellmate—Selene.
Without her, death would have come for me sooner.
She’s had my back since day one.
The woman has pull, she has rank within these walls, and when she tells those bitches to back off—they do.
I owe her everything.
Selene is here on some trumped-up drug charges, and we’re due for release around the same time, which suits us just fine. The fact she’s taken care of me in here means I owe her, and when we get out, I know she’ll want to collect.
She’s part of an organization of which her husband is a ranking official, and I know he’s working through the judicial system to help reduce her sentence. I don’t know exactly how many kilos of coke she was caught with, but I know it was substantial. She should be in a maximum security prison serving a heftier sentence than she’s carrying out. But with her husband’s pull and power, she is doing the shortest time possible.
Selene can hold her own.
No one comes near her.
In turn, they steer clear of me when I am around her.
Win-win!
She’s been a good friend to keep on my side.
And as we sit in the yard, taking in the rays of the summer sun, I lift my face to the sky to soak in what small amount of yard time we have. “It’s a beautiful day,” I murmur, more to myself than anything.
Selene snorts out a laugh. “It’s never beautiful in here, ladybug.”
My eyes drop to her.
Selene’s eyes wander around the yard—observing, checking—constantly on guard.
“You need to relax. You’re so tense.”
Selene exhales. “And you’re not tense enough. You do know that most fights break out in the yard, right?”
I stare at her, frowning. “Why’d you have to go and jinx us like that for?” I joke.
Selene shrugs. “You mark my words… the sun is shining, making it harder for the guards to see because of the glare. Everyone feels more relaxed… it’s the perfect storm. If I were to incite a riot, today would be the damn day.”
I cross my legs on top of the table and smirk. “Are you planning on inciting a riot? Do I need to prepare myself?”
Her eyes flick past me, a scowl shifting on her face as she stands abruptly. “Maxxy, drop!” she yells.
I don’t hesitate, my body slamming to the table and rolling to the side, falling off the edge onto the concrete, which knocks the wind from me.
Alina, a woman who’s had a problem with me since I arrived, slams her fist into the table right where I was. Her head snaps down to the concrete, spotting me, and I move to jump up as the loud buzzer sounds through the yard. The guards scream at everyone to get out of the way.
Alina takes off after me as I scurry on my hands and knees to escape her. Unfortunately, she catches me, reaches down, grabs me by my jumpsuit, and hoists me up, slamming me back down on the table right when Selene tackles her off me.
I pant as the inmates around us break into full-scale madness—a yard riot now taking place.
I turn to see Selene being punched in the face by Alina. Shaking my arms out, I race forward with my shoulders forward and tackle Alina in the ribs. She lets Selene go with a huff, falling to the concrete. We roll, Alina pinning me to the cold concrete and punching a fist squarely into my face. My eyes roll as she pulls a shiv out of nowhere, but I shift as she thrusts it forward to stab me.
Somehow, I have found the energy to wrestle with her.
Selene rushes over, trying to get between us, but I grab Alina’s hand, my strength overpowering hers. Then I manage to turn the shiv in her hand and thrust it back on her, hitting her right in the breast. The bitch screams in pain.
My eyes widen with fear as Selene reaches out, taking the shiv from me, and shoves Alina off. She falls beside me onto the concrete clenching at her wound as the guards finally take control of the situation unfolding.
My hands visibly shake as Selene holds the shiv, then she bends down, looking into my eyes. “Hey, hey… look at me, ladybug. I stabbed Alina, okay? Do you hear me? Maxxy! Do. You. Hear. Me?” Selene shoves me forcefully, bringing me back into the now.
The guards grab us both, and I nod as they shove us face-first into the concrete, their knees on the back of our necks.
Jesus Christ.
I have no idea what the hell just happened or why Selene wants to take the fall.
We were about to be released from this hellhole in a week or so.
But I just stabbed Alina—so I am positive that will add time to my sentence.
I can’t stay here without Selene as my backup.
There is no doubt I will be dead in a week.
Maybe that’s why she took the shiv from me? She knows she’ll be okay here, but I won’t.
Selene’s letting me walk, doing the time for me.
I let a tear fall down my cheek as I watch them drag Selene off to solitary, my entire body a quivering mess.
She’s going to be locked away during my last few days here.
I’m probably never going to see Selene again.
How can I ever thank her?
What kind of person does it make me to allow a friend, a protector, to take the fall?
I have no choice.
I have to do what’s left of my time.
I have to leave.
I have to get far away.
I won’t be able to stand this guilt—it will eat me alive.
I just hope one day, Selene will forgive me for abandoning her. Because I can’t stay in this hellhole another second, and I know she took the fall because she is well aware I would not survive here without her. So I have to take her precious gift and run with it. I just don’t think I’ll ever be able to look into her eyes and not feel the terrible unending guilt and torment.
So I won’t!
When I leave these walls, I won’t look back.
I won’t visit her.
I won’t write.
You’re a horrible person, Maxxy, and you deserve whatever comes your way in the future.
But that thought won’t stop me from leaving.
Nor will I change my mind.
There will be no goodbyes and no backward glances.
CHAPTER TWO
Maxxy
Five Years Later
Sarcasm, strength, sass.
My go-to for coping with the guilt I live with every day after what I did to Selene five years ago. It took me a year after I was released to get out of my head long enough to start working a job.
A fucking good job.
One that keeps me on my toes.
It’s demanding, long hours, but it’s damn rewarding. Being the boss at The Plantation for the NOLA Defiance MC helped me grow out of that destructive headspace I was in when I got out of prison. It was Defiance mixed with some help from a friend.
While I was in prison, I was introduced to a program where you could write to a released inmate—kind of like a reformed honor program. It was completely optional, and not every inmate opted to join the program finding it cheesy, but I knew it was something that would keep me occupied if only for a few minutes every few weeks or so. Plus, it was nice to talk openly and honestly to a stranger who had been through exactly what I was going through and had no fricking idea who I was, so there was no judgment.
Of course, the letters were monitored, but it didn’t bother me. It was simply nice having someone other than Selene to talk to.
It started anonymously—no names, just an initial ‘N.’
And I wanted to be completely anonymous, so I did the same, putting the initial of my middle name ‘G’ for Grace.
I mean, I was never going to meet ‘N’ in person, and after I left jail, I knew I would stop writing to him, so it didn’t matter if I lied about my initial.
But then, as time went on, the letters grew more personal. I started to rely on ‘N’ for comfort—for guidance.
He’d been through it all.
Gone to jail, was released, and got his life back on track.
I wanted that.
So I kept writing to him even after I was released, making sure he sent his letters to a post office box so he didn’t know where I lived. He did the same, so it was no big deal, and I needed to feel safe—after all, we’re both felons.
I feel a bond with ‘N,’ an understanding. Sometimes I think he knows me better than anyone else in my life.
So while I sit in my not-so-new office, the one that belonged to Felix—the guy who ran The Plantation before me—typing out another letter to ‘N,’ I can’t help but wonder when the brothers of Defiance are going to pull their fingers out of their asses and get me the help I so desperately need around here.
I’ve been working my ass off around the clock to arrange shipments and have the crops at their full potential on time.
But I can’t do it all myself.
It’s why Hurricane had Felix running the place and me out on the floor.
It’s a two-man job.
I know I’m amazing at what I do, but I’m not two people, and I need more sleep than I am getting.
As I hear a loud crash outside the office, my head snaps up, and I groan, knowing the workers in the field are also tired. They keep fucking up because we’re understaffed and over-fucking-worked.
I need more manpower.
It’s as simple as that.
Shutting my laptop with my letter to ‘N,’ I stand, walking to the door and glancing out. An entire tray of poppy pods is scattered across the ground, and a couple of workers are frantically trying to pick them up.
For fuck’s sake.
Storming out of my office, I walk over to inspect the damage. Their eyes shoot up at me as they gather the pods.
“Sorry, Maxxy, I didn’t mean to drop the tray. I honestly don’t know what happe—” I place my finger to his lips, shutting him up.
“Reese, do you know how much a single pod can produce? What revenue it brings in for the club?”
He nods, his eyes looking sullen. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And you know how long it takes for us to grow these pods and how much the club has been through in the past couple of years regarding this fucking farm to even get our hands on these pods, right?”
He exhales. “I’m so fucking sorry, Maxxy. I checked, and they all seem to be oka—”
“Reese, shut up. You’re off farm duty. I’m sending you to the distillery. You can spend your time filtering out the sodium carbonate solution with the activated charcoal. Then you can purify it with the alcohol, ready for it to be heated by people far more professional at this shit than you.”
“You’re making me do grunt work?”
“This part of the purification stage of the heroin is imperative, so fuck that up, and you’re out on your ass. But we can’t even get to that stage if we don’t have the milky sap from the pods in the first place. So yeah, I’m making you do grunt work. And Reese? I suggest you pay attention and keep your wits about you because if you fuck up…” I trail off.
He nods in understanding. “I hear you, Maxxy. We, ahh… don’t need to tell Hurricane about this, do we?”
Rolling my shoulders, I crane my neck to the side. The pods are fine. My anxiety levels, however, are not. Hurricane doesn’t need to know about Reese, but he does need to know that shit here at The Plantation is not working. And even though he told Hoodoo to find someone to help me out, Hoodoo is taking too damn long.
“Just keep doing your job properly, and you’ll be safe from him. Keep fucking up, though, and I won’t protect you. Do you understand?”
He exhales with relief. “Thank you, Maxxy. I won’t let you down again.” He takes off for the distillery, and I scrub at my face in frustration.
