Thunder Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Author Note

  Blurb

  Dedication

  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

  Epilogue

  Bonus Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Author Note Amazon

  FB Group

  About the Author

  THUNDER

  Hell’s Handlers Book 10

  Lilly Atlas

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Copyright © 2020 Lilly Atlas

  All rights reserved.

  Other books by Lilly Atlas

  No Prisoners MC

  Hook: A No Prisoners Novella

  Striker

  Jester

  Acer

  Lucky

  Snake

  Trident Ink

  Escapades

  Hell’s Handlers MC

  Zach

  Maverick

  Jigsaw

  Copper

  Rocket

  Little Jack

  Joy

  Screw

  Viper

  Thunder

  Audiobooks

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  Makenna has a past she’d rather bury deep in her mind. Unfortunately, as the sole guardian for her five siblings, forgetting where they came from isn’t possible. All she can hope for is to provide her loved ones the kind of untroubled childhood she’d always dreamed of and keep them far away from where she grew up. Friendships and relationships, especially the romantic variety, don’t rank on her priority list. That is until she’s introduced to a hot biker whose playful personality and mesmerizing smile would make any woman perk up and take notice, even one with more responsibilities than sense.

  Thunder has seen it all, done it all, and has no interest in the high maintenance, in-your-face, party girls. Give him a no-frills woman, like the diner’s adorable new waitress, who doesn’t play games rather than a scantily clad bimbo who manipulates men for sport. Makenna is precisely the kind of fun he needs to celebrate patching with the Hell’s Handlers MC. Only he quickly discovers Makenna is a package deal with more baggage than a carefree guy like him can handle.

  With each passing day, Thunder finds himself increasingly drawn to Makenna despite her mountain of responsibilities and his distrust of relationships. Even crazier is how some of her siblings are working their way under his skin and into his heart, as is Makenna.

  Just as Thunder starts thinking about dates and promises, the CDMC roars back into his life. They’re responsible for his beloved club brother’s death, and he wants nothing more than to make them suffer.

  When the threats start coming, and Makenna finds herself caught in the crossfire, Thunder will discover exactly the kind of man he is, and how far he’s willing to go to keep Makenna and her siblings in his life.

  For you.

  Thank you for giving a home to the men and women born in my imagination.

  PROLOGUE

  IF SHE’D KNOWN the vital act of breathing could be so excruciating, Delilah might have thought twice about her actions.

  No.

  That wasn’t true.

  Despite the chilly temperature, stomach-cramping hunger, days of isolation, and the fists that had pummeled her, she’d do it again because she refused to get pregnant by that man.

  Nothing in the world could make her conceive his child willingly.

  Her husband.

  The man she’d never wanted to marry, but who cared what she had in mind for her own life?

  No one.

  Delilah huffed out a self-deprecating laugh, which turned into a wince when a shock of fire streaked across her chest.

  “Ohhh,” she groaned, as she attempted to settle into a more bearable position on the hard floor of an abandoned shed at the very back of her community’s property.

  The fact she’d been successful in deceiving her husband for such a long time was a miracle in itself. For two years, her ruse had flown under the radar. For the seven hundred and fifty-two days she’d been married to a man more than three times her age, she’d managed to sneak a birth control pill down her throat.

  She’d never missed a dose.

  Never.

  Members of their sheltered, brainwashed community pitied her husband, Roger. When he walked by, whispers trailed him, as did side glances and head shakes. As the man who’d married the girl considered by many in the compound to be the most desired, he should have been strutting like the prize rooster. She was the first of their founder’s daughters, slated to produce near-royal children for years to come. Progeny with her father’s founding blood who would one day lead the community with the same iron fist and deluded ideals her father currently did.

  Unfortunately for old Roger, her tendency to be defiant, obstinate, and vocal in her opinions often overshadowed her reputation as a young fertile prize.

  Especially those opinions which went against the values of their people. Nearly everything she believed in or desired flouted what she’d been taught.

  She did not believe the world would end in her lifetime.

  She did not believe they’d make use of the hundred-person bomb shelter the community members had spent nearly three decades building and stocking.

  She did not believe they needed to form an army, prepared to rise up during the inevitable violent degradation of society.

  She could not understand why the community leaders taught hatred and intense distrust of everyone with a lifestyle different from theirs.

  She absolutely did not believe young children needed hours of physical and military training daily, followed by hard labor farming or working in their sewing shop.

  No one questioned. No one had an independent thought. Every man, woman, and child she lived with seemed perfectly content to exist in their sheltered, fear-fueled world.

  Everyone except her, which had made for a difficult upbringing. The majority of her belief system came from her mother, who’d whispered tales of a life away from the community. One where women had free choice, men respected those they loved, and children spent their days playing frivolous games and laughing. Delilah loved those lessons disguised as stories, and when her mother had disappeared years ago, she’d kept them alive in her mind and with her actions, which led to many punishments. As a teen, she’d rebelled against the idea of military training, she’d vocally expressed her disinterest in an arranged marriage, and she’d flat out ref
used to work at times. None of it had ended well for her, but no matter how many beatings and punishments she’d endured, her desire for a different life persisted.

  Poor Roger had been saddled with the black sheep, but she was young, pretty enough, and would provide numerous healthy offspring he could mold into little clones of himself.

  Or so everyone had thought.

  They had no idea that when she was in town on errands, she’d been sneaking off to meet up with a woman she’d encountered by chance years ago. The woman who worked at a Planned Parenthood. The very same woman who’d provided her the oral contraceptives when Delilah spilled her story in a fit of hysterics after finding out she’d be marrying a sixty-two-year-old man at the tender age of nineteen.

  Actually, eighteen years and eleven months.

  When she’d been thirteen, Delilah vowed she’d never bring a child into the world. At least not while living in the para-military community where she’d been raised. And since she’d had no hope of leaving, she’d pretty much resigned herself to the fact she’d never reproduce. Not that it mattered. The compound had so many children, it was practically overrun. She’d had a hand raising kids since she was in the single digits herself.

  Roger, we all thought she’d give you many strapping sons and precious daughters to carry on her father’s legacy. How could this have happened? She’s so pretty.

  How many times had she heard a version of the sentiment?

  Because that’s how it worked.

  She may not have been formally educated, but she wasn’t an idiot. General attractiveness had nothing to do with the ability to conceive a child. Of course, no one ever wondered if he was the problem. No, the defect had to lie with the woman.

  She’d been so close to her goal. Within touching distance, really. Four more months and she and her brother would have finally saved enough to run away with the rest of their siblings. Every penny she’d found, bribed, or won, she’d stashed away. Most of the money came from her sixteen-year-old brother, Eric. Once boys became men at thirteen, they began earning a small wage for their farming duties. Her work as a seamstress had never been and would never be compensated. All in all, the meager amount they’d managed to scrimp together over the years was laughable, but enough to leave.

  In four months, her youngest sister, Rae, would turn six months old. While not ideal, a six-month-old baby would be easier to care for on the run than a newborn.

  But then, two days ago, Delilah’s world had crashed down around her. They’d discovered her secret. A girl in her late teens had found the hidden stash of birth control pills and had immediately squealed to Delilah’s husband. Didn’t help that the brainwashed twit was hoping to slide into Delilah’s position as Roger’s wife when he wised up and tossed her aside. The bitch probably thought she’d struck gold.

  Now that Delilah been caught with the worst kind of contraband possible, her husband was bound to search every inch of her measly personal property.

  Would he find the money? The thought turned her stomach.

  The cash was hidden well, but how thoroughly would he hunt?

  And what would he do to her once he found it? Maybe he’d finally kill her. It’d be the only way to stop her from finding a way to leave.

  Delilah rotated her head to the side, wincing as her torso protested the small movement. Darkness waited behind a tiny rectangular window six feet off the ground of the tiny shed. Her husband had stuck her in here as punishment. That tiny window was the only glimpse of the outside world she’d had for the past three days. While minuscule, she might have been able to haul herself up, then squeeze through the little opening if her body didn’t feel so broken.

  She could still try.

  It’d be agony, but freedom was worth any amount of pain. However, she’d only have the illusion of freedom. She couldn’t leave the community. Not without her siblings. The bodily harm caused by attempting an escape wouldn’t be worth it. The only option was to wait it out. Suffer through whatever additional punishment he had planned for her and hang on until he allowed her free rein of the compound again.

  Then she would begin again. Because someday she’d get out.

  If past behavior was predictive of what awaited her, Roger planned to keep her in the shack for a while. A solid number of days without food and only a scant amount of water, until she was too weak to defy him. She’d been in this same position, in this same shed many times before. Prior to her marriage, her father had been in charge of doling out discipline, and now the task fell to Roger. They shared a similar penchant for using their fists to express displeasure.

  The shudder that coursed through her had nothing to do with physical pain this time.

  She had to find a way to swallow her true nature, display sincere remorse, and play the role of meek, dutiful wife. Roger wanted her to suffer for her wrongdoings. As long as he was satisfied with her contrition and submission, there was a chance he’d keep his fists to himself even if he wouldn’t release her for a bit longer.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  Delilah jumped then gasped as her ribs screamed.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  There it was again. A sound like someone was lightly rapping on the door. She struggled to a seated position on the floor, hissing and panting the entire time. Once she’d propped her back against the wall, she gave herself a moment to catch her breath and let the rush of blood in her ears calm.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  “Delilah?”

  The low whisper barely met her ears. Either she’d gone mad from lack of food and water, or someone called her name through the door.

  “Delilah?” A little louder this time.

  Oh, my God. It was real. And it was Eric. “E-E?” she croaked. Could her throat get any drier?

  Yes, it could—and would. She knew from personal experience.

  “Oh, thank God,” Eric said.

  “Not so sure He’s on my side, Eric,” Delilah whispered.

  Keys jangled, then two seconds later, her brother burst into the room.

  Even as relief chased away much of her despair, Delilah frowned at him. “What are you doing here? Go! Do you have any idea what Roger will do to you if he catches you? And—oh, my God, is that Rae?” she said, staring at the bundle strapped to his chest.

  “Shh, the only way they’ll find me is if you keep squawking like that demented chicken in the coop.” He dropped to his knees beside her, holding a water bottle to her lips, and she chuckled before taking a sip.

  As the tepid liquid filled her mouth, she swished it before swallowing.

  So good.

  “More, please,” she said, still sounding like an animated frog.

  Eric held the water for her again, and as he did, her gaze drifted to the fuzzy blonde head of their baby sister. The one whose mother was younger than Delilah herself. Barely eighteen to be exact. She’d recently married their father and lived a life no one would envy.

  Eric gave her a small smile before stroking a tanned finger across the baby’s head. “What are we dealing with here, Delilah? Can you walk?”

  Her throat thickened as tears formed. She tried to pinch them off, but one escaped. As was his way, he patiently waited until she’d composed herself.

  Her brother was a saint. The boy was huge with dark hair and dark eyes, like their father. At sixteen, he’d already passed six-foot-two and would continue to grow. Years of working on the farm and mandatory military-style training had honed his muscles as well. Eric could easily pass for older than she was.

  No matter how many hundreds of hours her father had spent trying to mold his son into the perfect little soldier, Eric remained as gentle a giant that ever lived.

  Until someone threatened those he loved. Then he could be as vicious as a junkyard dog—far more man than the boy he’d never been allowed to be.

  Each of her five siblings had life beyond their years. All except little Rae, who, if everything went according to plan, would be the only one of them to experien
ce an actual childhood. That thought, that hope for Rae’s future, stoked the flame of defiance inside Delilah. Rae would have a life outside the gates of the community. So would the rest of her siblings.

  “Roger discovered my birth control pills. He roughed me up pretty bad and hasn’t fed me at all.”

  Eric nodded as he helped her drink another sip of water. “I thought it was something like that. Are you going to be able to walk out of here?” He was the only one who’d known her secret.

  With a snort, she shrugged, then winced. “Haven’t tried. It’s been hours since Roger was last in here, and the most I’ve moved was from flat on the floor to against this wall when you knocked.”

  “We’re ready to go, Delilah. The kids are packed and in position.”

  What?

  “Eric,” she breathed. She’d have grabbed him and shook him if the action wouldn’t make her shout in agony. “We can’t.” Her heart kicked up, pounding against her aching ribs. This was insane. Pure madness. How could they pull it off? Rae was so young. So dependent on her mother for every second of her survival.

  Even if this was the time to go, could Delilah’s bruised and broken body cooperate enough to handle the physical demands of escape?

  Madness.

  “We have to,” he said with panic in his voice. “Things are changing, Delilah. Roger is furious like I’ve never seen. I overheard him ranting like a madman in father’s office. He was screaming about you being defective, and how he was promised offspring from the founder’s bloodline, and he is demanding that promise be fulfilled.”

  “Oh, God, it’s going to be impossible for me to protect myself from pregnancy after this.” She tapped a hand to her aching forehead as though it would get her nerves firing more effectively. “I need to think, but I’m so hungry it’s hard to concentrate.”

  “Delilah,” he said in a severe tone that had her focusing on his face. “You don’t understand.”