Chaos Conquers All: Book 3 of Soldiers of Chaos MC Series

By A.A. Askevold

Cole is Bridges. Cole is Bridges. Cole is Bridges.

Nikki is left reeling after she discovers that the man with whom she shared the deepest darkest part of herself is the same man who has been trying to destroy her family. Her twisted world becomes a dark storm as her need for revenge flourishes. Will this revelation cement her choice to give up her dark need for Cole’s punishment and return to the men she loves? Or is this secret going to be the one that topples the wall of deception she has built around herself?

The club is hot on the trail of Bridges and Tex and Trace will stop at nothing to get their hands on the man who is trying to annihilate their club. Finding out who this man is and killing him is the only way to end this turf war and to try and claim back what remains of their connection with Nikki. The answer to that question threatens to destroy the one person they love most in this world. It won’t be an easy road out of this storm but they will do anything for their club and their woman.

Will they over come the Chaos or will it conquer them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.A. Askevold
• Release date: May 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310613685

A.A. Askevold

I’ve always enjoyed reading books and writing, English was my favourite subject at school, and you would always find me with my nose buried in a book. They were both outlets for my emotions and my escape from the world. I’ve read hundreds and thousands of books in all genres but was always fascinated by both crime and romance. It was the interplay between characters and the inner workings of the human mind that drew me to these books. I particularly enjoyed strong female characters who held their own in a ‘man’s world’ and who despite their strong exterior had flaws that very few were able to see. I had something in common with those characters, the outward projection of strength covering a world of insecurities and their journey was something I related to. I have written many things over the years but never thought to publish them till now. I hope you enjoy Nikki’s story and would like to thank you for taking the time to read my book. As a first time author I would love to hear your thoughts about my book, you can email me at [e-mail] or visit my Facebook page at https://m.facebook.com/A.A.Askevold .

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Soldiers of Chaos

Chaos Conquers All

Written by A. A. Askevold

Acknowledgements

To my friend Rachael for listening to all my crazy ideas, sudden changes of mind and odd tangents. Your constant encouragement (or is that pressuring, just jokes) has kept me pushing forward even when I wanted to give up.

To all those readers who waited ever so patiently for this one. We finally made it to the end point.

Or have we?

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Chaos Conquers All: Book 3 of the Soldiers of Chaos MC series

Self-Published via Smashwords

First Edition

Copyright © 2015 by A.A. Askevold

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Epilogue

About The Author

Chapter 1

Cole was Bridges, Cole was Bridges, Cole was Bridges. The words went round and round Nikki’s brain as she watched the shadows of the three men begin to meld with the shadows of the trees. Somewhere in there a voice was telling her she should pull the trigger but her body wasn’t listening. She could hear the bikes coming. She knew that when they saw her they’d wonder why she was standing in the middle of the lit space with her gun pointed toward the shadows but she couldn’t move.

As she stared into the black forest beyond, the woman in the photo popped into her head and she realised why she’d looked so familiar. She was Cole’s mother which meant Bridges was Cole’s father. Only Cole had killed his father years ago, which meant the man that had been slowly tearing her life apart was in fact Cole. It was him who’d set in motion the events that gave life to the darkness inside her. He was the one who had Sheila murdered and then sat across from her as she talked about it, knowing full well what he'd done, pretending he knew nothing. It was his fault the prospects were dead by her hand.

She'd let him touch her in ways she would never even think about letting anyone else touch her. He was the bastard who was trying to obliterate everything she loved and cared about and she had shown him parts of herself that she was too afraid to show the people she loved. Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse this revelation gets dumped fair on her doorstep. If she thought her father’s death would somehow sate the monster inside her she was beyond wrong. This thing was not going away. This dark need to lay waste those who had wronged her, who had wronged her family it was only getting stronger the deeper she got into the fray. She needed to accept it and not only that she needed to embrace it and work with it.

As the darkness once again rumbled through her body, her mother’s words came to mind, ‘You’re just like him’. She was right, Nikki was just like him but unlike him she would get the revenge she craved. She made a promise to her dead mother, the prospects, her club and herself that Marcus Cole, or whatever his name was, would meet his fate at the end of the barrel of her gun.



Trace rounded the corner at a reckless speed. He had no idea what he would find around that bend. Would it be Nikki or Reaper lying dead in the dirt? The sight that appeared before him both warmed his heart and twisted his gut. Nikki was standing in the middle of the road a pool of light surrounding her. Her gun was raised pointed at the shadows beyond. He couldn’t tell what she was aiming at. It wasn't Reaper. Trace could make out Reaper's body lying on the road on the other side of where Nikki was standing.

Nikki! he yelled her name as loudly as he could.

She turned her head towards him but didn't lower her weapon. He braked hard screeching to a stop just outside the circle of light. He barely put the stand down before he was out of the seat with his gun out. He approached her cautiously, the barrel of his weapon pointed in the same direction as Nikki's with Tex right behind him.

What have you got, Baby Girl? He asked as his gaze switched from the shadows in front of them to her and back again.

I'm not sure. I thought I saw movement in the woods, she replied lowering the weapon.

What do you mean you're not sure? Tex asked from beside him.

It’s dark out here it could’ve been a bloody owl for all I know, she said as she turned back toward the scene behind them.

Trace kept one eye on the darkened forest and one eye on her.

You okay? He asked her as he took in the scene before him.

I'm breathing which is more than I can say for some, Nikki replied.

Reaper was lying in a slowly coagulating pool of blood, the back of his head matted with blood soaked hair and other bits of gore. The traitor was dead but the knowledge didn't comfort him. They had one dead brother, two dead prospects, no man-at-arms and an enemy with deep pockets who was clearly intent on destroying them although they had no idea why.

Marcus Cole was not a name he’d ever heard before and he wasn’t even sure that’s who they were looking for. Slick had insisted the guy was nothing more than a Casino mogul but even he couldn’t dispute the strength of the evidence before them. The guy was linked into this somehow and it seemed the list of people between them and Bridges just kept getting longer. They had yet to bring the info to the table with the shit storm of Reaper’s betrayal going on.

They weren’t Trace’s only worries though. He was worried about Nikki. Going after Reaper by herself was reckless and sure as shit the chances of her ending up dead instead of Reaper were high. She had to know that and she went anyway. Trace wasn’t sure if that was dedication to the club or a total lack of self-preservation. The latter motivation disturbed him. Trace couldn’t bear the thought of Nikki lying in Reaper’s place. He wanted her more embedded in the club but this was not the way he wanted it. As he studied her closely, he could see she was in a state of complete emotional shutdown. No anger, no sadness, nothing showed through and that mask was what worried him most.

The roar of the other bikes peaked as they came around the corner. Somewhere in there he detected the note of another vehicle or maybe two. He looked toward the forest and felt Nikki tense next to him. He searched the shadows but caught no movement or flash of headlights. He glanced back at Nikki. Her hand was tightly wrapped around her gun and her eyes were shifting between the forest and them. By the time the brothers had switched off their bikes, the car noise was barely a whisper in the distance. Nikki still didn’t relax.

The brothers dismounted and King went straight to Nikki.

Are you alright Darlin'? He repeated Trace's question.

Fine. It's done, Nikki replied as she moved towards her bike.

She reached in to her saddlebag and pulled out Reaper's folded cut presenting it to King.

You've earned your vote, kid. Any objections? King eyeballed the men standing around the circle of light.

No one spoke.

Vote's yours Ace, he replied as he slapped her on the shoulder.

It was like those words flipped a switch inside her. Her eyes turned that stormy grey and her lips lifted in a slight smile that was neither soft nor sweet. It was a gritty smile filled with determination. He had always thought there were two sides to Nikki: the hard ass biker that was Ace, and the feminine woman that was his Baby Girl. Something about that smile told him that Ace was firmly in the building and his Baby Girl was taking a little vacation for a while.



What shall we do with the traitorous dog? Nikki heard Case ask.

He shot himself, she said as she pulled his gun from her holster and began wiping it down, let him lie here and rot.

She placed the gun in the dead man's hand and fired off a round to make it look like he'd fired the weapon. Then returning his arm to its original position she placed the gun on the ground not far from his reach.

No one's gonna believe he shot himself, he replied.

The man was in the early stages of Parkinson’s and I’m pretty sure he was depressed, drinking heavily and possibly using drugs, Nikki offered the explanation for Reaper’s untimely, self-inflicted death.

He what? King asked in disbelief.

Yeah apparently his treachery wasn’t the only thing he’d been hiding.

By the exclamations of disbelief moving through the group, Reaper had been far better at hiding his symptoms than he had been at hiding his evil intentions. Maybe he’d just let her see them in order to suck her in to his little trap. In the end, none of it had done him any good. King had known all about Reaper’s game thanks to Bull. It was a shame he never bothered to share that information with anyone before she went and killed the prospects.

That was another heavy burden on her conscience. Another secret she’d have to hide from the people who loved her and another thing she’d have to lie about. But she wasn’t the only keeper of that secret.

Did they find Jimmy and Alvarez? she asked Tex.

No. Jimmy called Bull while he was on the run from Rez. He told him what went down. Phone went dead. They tried to track him down but he was nowhere to be seen. They didn’t find Rez either.

That was both a good and a bad thing. If they hadn’t found Alvarez then he hadn’t had a chance to talk. However that meant he was still out there armed with the truth of what happened. Her list of problems just got bigger.

King’s phone rang, breaking through the silence around them.

Shit, just what I fucking need, he said as he looked at the screen, We leave the body here like Ace said. Mount up, I gotta take this call then we go.

Nikki picked up a freshly fallen branch from a nearby tree and dragged it across the footprints and other tracks in the dirt. A flash of lightening and a distant crack of thunder had her looking toward the sky. Even in the dark she could see the ominous looking clouds rolling their way. The sky was a perfect reflection of what was going on inside her right at that moment.

That was the broker. Seems our troubles have been filtering back to the chairman and he wants a word and soon, King explained.

This really was the last thing they needed. They might lose their business despite not actually losing a shipment.

They’ll be here tomorrow night. You lot do what you need to do and meet me at the clubhouse. Five tomorrow, he said as he mounted his bike.

The heavens opened up and Nikki gave up on her efforts of clearing the scene knowing the storm would do the work for her. She mounted her bike in silence, ignoring the looks Tex and Trace were shooting her way.

Roll out, King yelled through the falling rain.

The simultaneous roar of the bikes around her was echoed by the roar of the monster inside her. She glanced once more at the dark forest into which Cole had retreated, then spun her bike around in an angry spray of gravel and followed her brothers into the stormy night.

Chapter 2

We followed Black to a meet on the wharf. He met some guy there who worked for Bridges. We were spotted. Tex created a diversion and I managed to get a bead on this new guy. He led me to The Mint Casino in the city. We bailed up Slick for information and turns out this guy works for Marcus Cole, the owner of the casino, Trace explained.

Tex studied the faces of the men around him and all of them looked confused. There was only one person who didn’t react to the information Trace shared and that was Nikki. He watched her closely as Trace continued to speak.

We don’t know who this guy is. He is flying seriously low under the radar which tells us the guy is far from legit. Maybe the guy is Bridges? Maybe he just works for him? Either way we need to find out, Trace stated.

Nikki remained still and if it wasn’t for hands white knuckling the arms of her chair he would’ve thought she was totally unaffected by the information they’d just shared.

Case and Rock you take some guys and watch that place. See if you can get a bead on this guy. We gotta deal with the chairman first and then we’ll figure out how to get hold of this Marcus Cole, King commanded.

There is one order of business I think we need to cover before we head out to this meet. We need a new man-at-arms, King declared.

King held Reaper’s jacket in his hand as he stood at the head of the table. He took the knife from his belt and cut off the man-at-arms patch.

Normally we don’t do shit this way but time is of the essence. So I want nominations, King called and the room went instantly silent.

I nominate Ace, Rock's words echoed around them.

Tex nearly fell off his chair with shock. Not twenty four hours ago, Rock had been insinuating that Nikki was somehow wound up in this bullshit with Reaper and now he was nominating her for her father’s spot. The turnaround was swifter than a bullet from Reaper’s gun. He felt a ripple of emotion run through the group. There was no way Ace was getting that spot, not because she couldn’t do it or because she didn’t deserve it but because his father would not allow it.

I second the motion, King stated calmly and Tex nearly fell off his chair for a second time.

You can't be serious? Trace jumped straight in with his protest.

Tex eyed Nikki wondering what she was thinking. Her eyes were locked on that little piece of embroidered material sitting in his father's hand. Her body was extremely tense but her breathing was calm.

She got the drop on Reaper didn't she? She can clearly handle the hard jobs. Ace has got the skills and she's already proven she's got the balls for it, Case weighed in on the subject.

The more Tex thought about it the more it made sense. She was perfect for the role. She'd inherited Reaper's eagle eye, quick reflexes and, judging by her recent actions, his dark thirst for revenge. Besides Trace, there wasn’t anyone he would trust more with his own life, with his father’s life or with the lives of his brothers.

I third the motion, he said quietly.

Trace's feral gaze came his way. His eyes were alight with anger and Tex knew if they weren't in the presence of this group of men Trace would've punched him good and solid in the face. He could understand that. Trace was thinking the further Nikki went down that path the more chance they had of losing her. Tex was beginning to realise that was wrong. That dark thirst she had needed sating and if they were going to hold on to her then they had to provide her with that. He wasn't about to start tying her up and whipping her and he knew Trace was most definitely incapable of doing that to her. This was the only option left.

The motion is valid. Let’s vote it. All in favour?

The ayes went up around