Page 21
Hammer
Amelia hadn’t been ready to go back to the duplex, so I’d handed her the TV remote and hidden myself in my home office.
Not that I used it frequently, but Savior had assigned me tasks that were less on the physical side.
Sadly, it had required me to learn more about computers than I’d ever wanted to know.
The computer screen cast an eerie blue glow across my office, the only light besides the security light outside my window.
My eyes burned from staring at records for the past hour.
The Amelia situation had my mind spinning, and work was my only refuge.
I scrolled through the club’s financial statements, checking supply orders against payments, when a file I didn’t recognize appeared in my email.
“Marriage Certificate - Hammer and Amelia Decker” stared back at me in bold text.
My finger froze over the mouse. What the hell was this?
I clicked the file open, my heartbeat suddenly loud in my ears.
A legitimate-looking marriage certificate filled my screen, complete with the state seal and official signatures.
My name -- not my road name, but my legal name -- sat next to Amelia’s, both our signatures at the bottom.
Signatures I sure as fuck didn’t remember providing.
“What the fuck?” I growled, leaning closer as if proximity might reveal this as some elaborate prank.
But the document looked genuine. The county clerk’s signature, the date stamp from just three hours ago, the official seal watermarked in the background -- all of it perfect. Too perfect.
My weathered hands gripped the edge of the desk until my knuckles whitened. This wasn’t just a prank. This was forgery. This was identity theft. This was illegal as hell. And I had a pretty Goddamn good idea who was behind it.
The rage building in my chest felt like molten lead.
I’d been violated in a way that went beyond physical -- someone had stolen my identity, my agency, my right to choose.
After spending years behind bars with no freedom, I guarded what little control I had left with fierce determination.
And now this punk kid had decided to play God with my life.
“You like it?” Atlas’s voice came from the doorway, casual as if he’d just asked about the fucking weather.
I turned slowly, forcing my hands to release their death grip on the desk. Atlas lounged against the doorframe, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. His lanky frame cast a long shadow across my office floor, but he looked smaller somehow -- younger and stupider than I’d ever noticed before.
“You’ve got five seconds to explain why I shouldn’t drag your ass to Savior for this,” I said, my voice deadly quiet. “And how the fuck did you get into my house?”
Atlas sauntered into my office like he owned it, dropping into the chair across from my desk. That confidence of youth -- the kind that made him think he was untouchable. I’d seen it before. Hell, I’d had it myself once, before life and prison beat it out of me.
“You needed the push,” he said, folding his arms behind his head. “Besides, you two are good together.”
“It’s forgery,” I growled. “It’s illegal. It’s a fucking breach of trust.”
“It’s protection,” Atlas countered, leaning forward now, his expression growing serious. “I heard everything, remember? She asked to be your old lady. You agreed to talk to Savior. This just… expedites things.”
“This just commits multiple felonies,” I corrected him, shoving back from the desk and standing. I might not be in my prime, but I still towered over the kid. “Marriage fraud. Identity theft. Forgery. Hacking government systems. You want me to continue?”
Atlas shrugged, but I caught the slight wariness that crept into his posture.
“The Devil’s Minions have people everywhere.
Mom and I did some digging. They’ve got contacts in three state DMVs, two sheriff’s departments, and at least one county clerk’s office.
This makes it official in every database they might check. Makes her untouchable.”
My jaw clenched so tight I thought it might crack.
The worst part was the little shit had a point.
A legal marriage certificate offered Amelia protection that went beyond the club’s reach.
It changed her name in official records.
It created a paper trail that would make it harder for Piston to kidnap her.
“You had no right,” I said, the words grinding between my teeth.
“Never claimed to,” Atlas replied, his cockiness returning. “But it’s done now. And it’s solid work. Mom helped with the backdating and the digital fingerprints. Even if someone investigates, they’ll find a properly filed license from last week, witnesses, everything.”
“Witnesses?” The word came out harsher than I intended.
“Ghost and Aura,” Atlas said, nodding as if this made perfect sense. “Your son and daughter. We didn’t forge their signatures -- they gave permission.”
That revelation hit like a sucker punch. Sam and Aura knew about this? Were part of it? The betrayal cut deeper than I wanted to admit. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt the sting of betrayal, but from my own kids? That fucking hurt.
“This isn’t a fucking game, kid,” I said, my voice dropping lower. “These are people’s lives. My life. Amelia’s life.”
“Exactly.” Atlas nodded, his expression earnest now. “Piston will kill her if he finds her. You know it, I know it, the whole club knows it. This gives her the best chance at staying safe. Now, if he comes for her -- no, when he comes for her -- you have a legal right to protect her and her sons.”
I turned back to the screen, staring at the certificate. My name next to hers. Husband and wife. The words felt foreign, almost ridiculous. I hadn’t been married in all my sixty-plus years and never thought I would be.
“What gives you the right to decide this for us?” I asked finally.
Atlas sat forward, his usual smugness replaced by something that looked almost like sincerity. “Look, I’ve seen the way you look at her when she’s not watching, and I don’t just mean tonight. I’ve been observing the two of you for the last few weeks.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I muttered, uncomfortable with the direction this conversation had taken.
“Maybe not,” Atlas conceded, rising from the chair. “But I know what I saw. And I know what needs to be done to keep her and those boys safe. The certificate’s legit, Hammer. In every database that matters. As far as the state is concerned, you two got married last week.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. The anger was still there, burning beneath the surface, but it had begun to mix with a grudging acknowledgment that the kid’s hacker skills might have actually helped.
If Piston was searching records for Amelia Decker, he wouldn’t find her anymore.
She was Amelia Williams now, at least on paper.
The fucker might know she was in this town, but he wouldn’t be able to find her exact location.
He’d know where she worked, but even if someone followed her to the compound, he’d have no way of finding out which house she lived in.
“You pull something like this again,” I said finally, my voice low and controlled, “and there won’t be a computer system in the world that can protect you from me. We clear?”
The threat wasn’t empty, and Atlas knew it. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Crystal,” he said, some of the smugness finally leaving his expression.
“I still need to tell Amelia,” I said, turning back to the screen. “This affects her more than anyone.”
“I figured you would,” Atlas said, backing toward the door. “That’s why I came to you first. Thought you should be the one to break the news to your wife. Oh. And as for how I got in, you left your back door unlocked. I snuck past Amelia and came straight here.”
Before I could respond, movement in the doorway caught my attention. My stomach dropped as I saw who stood there, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern. Shit . My heart thundered in my chest and I scrambled to come up with something to say.
Amelia. Her gaze flicked between me and Atlas then back again. How much had she heard? The office suddenly felt too small, the air too thick with tension and unspoken words. Atlas had the sense to straighten up, the smirk fading from his face as he recognized the gravity of the situation.
“I heard shouting,” Amelia said, her voice soft but steady. “Is everything okay?”
I struggled to find the right words. How exactly do you tell a woman you’ve barely known for weeks that you’re suddenly legally married to her because some hacker kid decided to play matchmaker?
“Show her,” Atlas said, nodding toward my computer screen.
I hesitated, then turned the monitor so Amelia could see it. She stepped closer, her forehead creasing as she took in the document. For a moment, she just stared, her expression unreadable. Then she raised her eyes to mine, a question in them that I couldn’t quite interpret.
“What is this?” she asked, though I suspected she already knew.
“According to every government database in the country,” I said, not bothering to hide the edge in my voice, “we’ve been married for a week.”
Her gaze shifted to Atlas, who had the decency to look slightly less smug now. “You did this?” she asked him.
Atlas nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Heard you needed protection. Marriage is the strongest legal bond there is. Changes your name in every system. Makes you harder to find. And harder for you to disappear.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21 (Reading here)
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46