AN OUTLAW MONSTER (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (25 page)

thirty-one.

(trent)

Trev closed the phone and turned and
threw it against the wall. He then stomped on it, over and over, until it was
shattered into pieces. When he looked at me I saw a man who had a little bit
chipped off him. The last thing this club needed was another broken President.

“
Prez,
”
I said.
“
Tell me something. How
’
s the family?
”

“
Eden
is fine,
”
Trev said.
“
So is the baby. Harlee and
Duke saved her.
”

I nodded.
“
Good. I can
’
t
believe this shit.
”

“
It
was Daxton,
”
Trev
said.

I had the confirmation. I made
fists.
“
He
’
s got to be killed.
”

“
He
will be killed,
”
Trev
said.
“
I
’
m trying to figure out if
Night Soul knew or not. Right now Rocco isn
’
t
talking much. He
’
s
cut off all conversation until we get his guns.
”

“
We
have the cash,
”
I
said.

“
I
talked to Garvan too. The Russians were playing games with them. Long story but
they
’
re not happy
with the money now.
”

“
Fuck
them,
”
I said.
“
Money is green. Green is
good.
”

“
They
’
re taking the cash,
”
Trev said.
“
But they still want you to
do what they asked.
”

To kill my own father.

“
Fair
enough,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m not pulling back on that.
”

“
Garvan
is trying to dictate how this all goes down,
”
Trev said.

“
He
’
s got to meet us halfway
at some point. We
’
re
the ones out there. Prez, we need a table meeting. I have to speak my mind on
all of this. It
’
s
gone too far. Fuck, we almost lost our old ladies. Your baby
…”

Trev put a hand to my shoulder and
grinned.
“
Shit,
brother. You really love her, huh?
”

“
What?
”

“
Harlee.
”

“
Yeah.
Yeah, I do. I love her.
”

“
I
knew you were fucking with me,
”
Trev said.
“
The ring
and all that. You were covering her ass. I get it. But you do love her. You
crossed a line, Trent, that you can
’
t
come back from.
”

“
I
know that,
”
I said.

“
The
monster
…
tamed.
”

I ripped Trev
’
s hand off my shoulder.
“
No. I
’
m not tamed. I
’
m more irritated than I
’
ve ever been in my life.
This is beyond the thrill of killing or to help out the MC. This is about
family. My family. Your family. Life outside the MC. And I cannot believe I
’
m saying that.
”

“
Okay.
I
’
ll call a meeting.
But before that, Trent, you have to take care of something for me. Man to man.
”

“
Name
it,
”
I said.

Trev gave a nod for me to turn
around.

When I did, I saw Duke standing
there.

The message was loud and clear.

I had to settle my shit with Duke.

Maybe we could do it without
fists.

**

“
Want
to fight again?
”
Duke
asked as he sat next to me.

I was leaned forward, hands folded,
staring at the wall across from us.
“
Look,
brother, I don
’
t do
this situation too well.
”

“
No
fucking way,
”
Duke
said.
“
We could have
been done here ten minutes ago.
”

“
I
’
m taking it all in, man. I
really care about her.
”
I looked at Duke.
“
And
I
’
m well aware she
was supposed to kill you. I
’
ve
been torn up about it since it was going to go down.
”

“
You
put a ring on her finger to save her ass,
”
Duke said.
“
That
’
s when I had to respect
what was happening. Listening to everyone talk, I was taking it in myself. I
’
ve always been the kind to
observe and act. That
’
s
what kept my ass out of the flag draped coffin, got it?
”

“
Got
it, soldier,
”
I said.

“
Don
’
t call me that, Trent. You
don
’
t know the
fucking shit I saw. The way I feel on a daily basis. When someone at home wants
to take my head off, it matters. But I get it. She was pushed into this shit.
That
’
s why I
apologized to her already. And that
’
s
why I went to your place. I had a feeling.
”

I looked at Duke.
“
A feeling?
”

“
Yeah.
I didn
’
t like the
idea of prospects over there. Daxton was like me. Except it was all a game to
him. He was in basic training with me. He couldn
’
t
get through it. Too wild and crazy. And throughout his years with Night Soul,
he was always the same. One thing he loved? Fire. I can
’
t explain it, Trent. Maybe it
’
s good instincts. Just
like the feeling I had over in the desert
…
that goddamn convoy going down that road
…
I just had that feeling. I pulled back, tried to radio it in
…”

Duke lost his words. I saw the
visions climb across his eyes. Shit, if he went back there, things would get
dark.

I reached out and grabbed his
shoulder.
“
Stay here,
Duke. Don
’
t go there.
You don
’
t need to go
there.
”

“
I
got there and saw the fire. Two of the prospects were freaking out, trying to
call it in and find a way in. Me? I went to the front door and kicked the son
of a bitch in. It was a cloud of smoke. I went into survival mode. It wasn
’
t the first time I had to
do that kind of shit. I found Harlee first. I hovered over her and for a second
…
I thought about leaving
her. But I knew she was your old lady, Trent. I wouldn
’
t want you to face that pain. Then I saw Trev
’
s old lady. I got her out
then got Harlee out.
”

“
You
saved this entire MC,
”
I said.
“
If Eden went
…
and Trev
’
s unborn baby
…
and Harlee
…
this entire thing would
have imploded in seconds.
”

Duke and I then stared at each
other.

After a few seconds, he asked,
“
Was that an apology?
”

“
Jesus,
”
I said.
“
What the fuck do you want
…”

“
An
apology.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, brother,
”
I said. I offered my
hand.
“
I
’
m sorry I just assumed. I
’
m sorry I didn
’
t have the trust in you as
I should have. And thank you for doing what you did.
”

Duke
’
s
hand collided with mine.

No love lost between us at all, but
we were brothers and we needed to act that way. We both stood up and hugged. I
sure as hell knew we
’
d
get into plenty more fist fights in our time together, but that
’
s what brothers did.

“
You
two done hugging?
”
Cade asked as he appeared in the hallway.

“
We
’
re solid,
”
I said.

“
Good,
”
Cade said.
“
Trev got a storage closet
for us to meet.
”

“
Seriously?
”
I asked.

“
No
choice. He won
’
t
leave with Eden.
”

I looked at Duke.
“
I told Harlee it would be
either you or me outside her door.
”

“
Little
white lie won
’
t kill
her,
”
Duke said.

“
Daxton
will. We have to get that prick.
”

“
Meeting,
”
Cade said.
“
Now.
”

So we followed him to a storage
closet that wasn
’
t
too far from Harlee
’
s
room.

We were all crammed into the small
space, a collective smell of smoke, booze, pussy, leather, sweat, and the
building rage from a bunch of outlaws hell bent on revenge. The tension was so
thick it felt like a bomb was going to go off.

Trev stood at the back of the wall,
arms crossed.

I shut the door behind me and the
meeting was on.

“
We
’
re at war,
”
Trev said.
“
Not that I
’
m stating the obvious.
Daxton tried to kill Eden. Tried to kill my unborn baby. Tried to kill Trent
’
s old lady. All lives in
this family are equal and if anyone in this room isn
’
t pissed enough to spend life behind bars for
revenge, then walk out right now. Drop your fucking cut on the floor and get
out.
”

Nobody moved. But everyone looked
at me.

It meant a lot to get that kind of
respect from the men I considered brothers.

“
Which
brings us to this meeting,
”
Jasper said.
“
We
’
re not going to offer a
plan to fix this.
”

Everyone started to murmur.

Trev stuck his fingers in his mouth
and whistled.
“
You
all shut the fuck up right now.
”

The room got quiet.

“
We
’
re not handling this,
”
Jasper said. Then he
pointed right at me.
“
Trent
is. Trent has a plan and you
’
re
all going to fucking listen. We
’
re
voting right here, in this closet, and when we leave, everything is going to
change.
”

All eyes were on me. I was better
with my fists than my words.

But I had a plan that would work.

So I stood there in front of the
MC and said what I had to say
…

**

“
Yes,
”
Cash said, casting the
final vote.

These men trusted me and what I
wanted to do.

Trev looked at me and nodded in
approval.
“
Votes are
in. This is how we settle this shit up. No outside contact from anyone but me
and Jasper. We will handle the O
’
Nuall
family and get in contact with Rocco when the guns are ready. Until then, we
stay close and we stay focused.
”

The meeting was called.

We opened the door and as we piled
out, three nurses were standing there, their eyes going wider by the second. A
bunch of dirty and wild outlaws pouring out of their storage closet had to be a
crazy sight to see.

When Trev shut the door, the three
nurses still hadn
’
t
moved. He smiled and said,
“
We
were just looking for some coffee.
”

The nurse in the middle pointed to
the left.
“
It
’
s down there. There
’
s a cafe room.
”

“
Got
it,
”
Trev said. He
slapped Jasper in the chest.
“
Let
’
s go.
”

I trailed behind a little, my mind
stuck on Harlee. Shit, she was still stuck on me. My fingers were smothered
with her sweetness. I couldn
’
t
see it, but I could smell her.

The votes, the orders, it was all
happening.

The only thing left was to protect
Harlee.

Trev dispersed the guys throughout
the hospital and back to the clubhouse.

“
I
’
m going to be with Eden,
”
Trev said.

“
I
’
ll be right with you,
”
Jasper said.