Black Reign MC (#10)
Motorcycle Club Romance
Date Published: 1/17/25
Who knew we’d get ambushed by the cartel on our way to a village deep
in the Amazon jungle?
Holly: I was sick as a kid. Leukemia. Felt like someone always had to drop
everything to take care of me. Hate being dependent on people now, so I try
to do everything myself. When my best friend takes up with a creep and
won’t believe me when I tell her something’s not right with the
man, I decide it’s safer (for her) if I go with her on a trip to
Columbia he’s organizing. Bad news: I’m right. Fortunately the
most annoying man I’ve ever come to count on thinks it’s his job
to rescue me. This time, I might just let him. And that’s where the
trouble starts…
Jax: I’ve known Holly nearly all her life. I’ve been her
protector and the person she wants most when things go horribly wrong, which
they do, more often than not. To say we have a contentious relationship is
an understatement. I put a claim on Holly she never accepted, but it’s
time to force the issue. Not because she doesn’t love me. Because
she’s afraid history is doomed to repeat itself. She’s wrong.
I’ll always come for her when she needs me. Like it or not,
Holly’s more than my responsibility. No matter the cost, she’s
mine.
Excerpt
Copyright ©2025 Marteeka Karland
Jax
“Let me get this straight.” I pinched the bridge of my nose,
trying to stave off the headache threatening to split my skull open. Funny
how that worked when I talked to Holly. “You’re voluntarily
going to a country with a level four travel advisory. Unarmed. With a bunch
of college students. With no security to speak of. Have I got that
right?” I tried to keep my voice low and even, to fight my way through
the rage that she’d be so cavalier with her life.
“Sweet God, could you be a bigger buzzkill.” Holly, ever the
little ray of sarcastic sunshine, sounded like she was exasperated with me.
Or, quite possibly, like she thought I was being unreasonable.
“Answer the question, Holly.” If I let her distract me,
she’d talk her way around my directness and hang up before I could
forbid her from going. Not that it was going to help. Holly always did what
she wanted. Usually, only her mother was able to talk sense into her.
“You do realize you’re not the boss of me. Right?”
“I realize that, when you’re considering putting your life in
danger for no good fuckin’ reason, someone has to rein you in.
I’m surprised Wrath even considered letting you go, much less given
his blessing.” The silence on the other end was deafening. “You
didn’t tell him.” It wasn’t a question.
“Again, not your business, Jax. This is my life and I’m living
it. If I get into trouble, I’ll accept the consequences.”
“Even if it cost you your life?” I tried to go for a
matter-of-fact tone, but my words came out a low growl.
“Even if it cost me my life.”
Neither of us spoke for long moments, the silence so long I was afraid the
call had dropped. Then she sighed.
“Look, Jax. I’ve got a sat phone. Even if there’s no cell
coverage where we’re at, Shotgun will be able to see where I am. He
and Esther are great with that shit. If we get into trouble, I can call him.
They can either send someone to come get me, or let me work it out myself.
I’m only agreeing to any of this so my mom doesn’t
worry.”
“Did you at least tell Celeste? Because I don’t see your mother
letting you do something like this at all.”
“No one lets me do anything, Jax.” Her tone was hard and firm.
She was barely out of her teens yet I’d never met anyone more firmly
in control of her life. Which was to say she lived in utter chaos most of
the time and that was exactly the way she liked it. “But yes. I told
her what I was doing. She’s not happy about it, but she knows she
can’t talk me out of it.”
“Did you ever stop to think how your mother and father would feel if
you got hurt or killed? I realize it could happen anywhere, but by going to
Columbia increases those chances exponentially over anywhere in the U.S. She
almost lost you once and gave everything she had to keep you alive.
Don’t you think you’re being incredibly selfish?” I
winced. Yeah, this wasn’t my finest moment. Had I been trying to push
her away I couldn’t have done a better job.
“Go fuck yourself, Jax.” She disconnected the call.
“Motherfuck!” I hissed the expletive under my breath. I knew
better. I fucking knew better. The best way to get Holly to do anything
other than what you wanted her to do, was to tell her she had to do it.
Pushing her into doing what you wanted was even worse. Trying to lay a guilt
trip on her? Yeah. I’d just guaranteed Holly was heading straight to
Columbia on a humanitarian aid expedition.
I pressed her contact and waited for her to answer the Facetime call. She
let it go to voicemail once so I tried again. She picked up this time
and… yeah. She hated me right now.
“Got nothin’ else to say to you, asshole.” I recognized
that mulish look on her face. She thought I was going to try to talk her out
of going again, but I knew better than that.
“Can you give me two days, Holly? Two days and I’ll go with
you. You can still do what you do with your college friends, but I can make
sure you’re safe.”
“We’ve got plenty of security. There’s no need for
that.”
“Holly. Two days.”
She shrugged one delicate shoulder, a look of indifference and disinterest
on her face. “Sorry, Jax. I don’t make the schedule. Plane
leaves tomorrow morning at six.”
I wanted to throttle the younger woman. She was constantly bucking me,
doing exactly the opposite of what I wanted her to do. To be fair, I was
twelve years older than she was and had decided she’d be mine long
before I should have. I’d been sixteen when she came to the compound
with Wrath and Celeste. She’d been a precocious but sickly child of
four. She’d survived leukemia like a champ, never letting anything get
to her. No matter how sick I’d seen her get from the chemo, the girl
had no quit in her. I knew because I’d been with her for the last few
treatments. Which she’d not appreciated. I’d insisted because
she’d been so mad at me she hadn’t focused on all the needles
and unpleasantness. I’d been happy to take her wrath then, even if
what remained of the kid in me had been slightly hurt that she hadn’t
accepted me as her protector.
Even when she was so young, I’d been drawn to her. She was this
little pixie who’d absolutely cut you if you displeased her but needed
someone looking after her. I’d taken that task on my own, growing into
a man protecting the girl until she’d started becoming a woman. The
plain truth was, it scared me the first time I caught sight of her in a
bikini at the pool. Freaked me the absolute fuck out. Once I’d come to
terms with my feelings for Holly, I’d inserted myself into her life
but kept playing the part of mean and annoying older brother. Why? Because I
knew if she learned to stand up to me, she always would. And if she could
stand up to me, she could stand up to anyone.
“Holly, I’m half the fuckin’ world away right now. All
I’m asking for is two fuckin’ days. It’s the right thing
to do and you know it. I may be a bastard, but I would never let anything
happen to you.”
Her expression didn’t change. “I don’t need your
protection, Jax. Shotgun and Esther have my back. I’ll be fine.
Besides, the father of one of the students going is a senator. They always
have security.”
“And their priority will be the senator’s kid. They won’t
give two shits about you or the others.”
“And if you were with me, you’d give a shit about the
others?” Oh, the sarcasm was strong with this one…
“Of course not. But I’d care about you. I’d be the one
protecting you and I’d do it with my life.”
She snorted, scowling at me over the video. “Dramatic
much?”
“Holly --”
“No. You listen to me! Nothing’s going to happen. And if it
does, I’ll deal. I don’t want or need your help,
Jax.”
“You’re wrong there, baby. You need all my help you can get.
But I’m telling you right now, if you don’t wait for me, when I
find you, I will turn you over my knee and blister your bare ass until you
don’t sit for a fuckin’ week.”
Oh, that got her attention.
About the Author
Marteeka Karland is an international bestselling author who leads a double
life as an erotic romance author by evening and a semi-domesticated
housewife by day. Known for her down and dirty MC romances, Marteeka takes
pleasure in spinning tales of tenacious, protective heroes and spirited,
vulnerable heroines. She staunchly advocates that every character deserves a
blissful ending, even, sometimes, the villains in her narratives. Her
writings are speckled with intense, raw elements resulting in page-turning
delight entwined with seductive escapades leading up to gratifying
conclusions that elicit a sigh from her readers.
Away from the pen, Marteeka finds joy in baking and supporting her husband
with their gardening activities. The late summer season is set aside for
preserving the delightful harvest that springs from their combined efforts
(which is mostly his efforts, but you can count it). To stay updated with
Marteeka's latest adventures and forthcoming books, make sure to visit her
website. Don't forget to register for her newsletter which will pepper you
with a potpourri of Teeka's beloved recipes, book suggestions, autograph
events, and a plethora of interesting tidbits.
Contact Links
Author on Instagram & TikTok: @marteekakarland
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@changelingpress
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January 19, 2025
