AN OUTLAW MONSTER (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (29 page)

“
Shit,
”
I said.
“
My old man did this?
”

“
He
owed me a little bit too,
”
Daxton said.
“
For
some stuff. He called me and said you were bringing Harlee. So we cut a deal.
He thinks I
’
m giving
him some cash to pay off the Irish. In return, he gave up Harlee. See, Trent, I
win. I fucking finally win at this game. You and your MC are dead. Rocco and me
are going to come through town with those guns and wipe you out.
”

The motorcycles pulled up and I
pointed to everyone to hold steady. The van showed up a few seconds later and
Austin climbed out. I kept everyone at a distance.

“
Where
’
s the money?
”
Daxton asked.

“
I
told you,
”
I said.
“
Trev went to get it. We
have it at the clubhouse.
”

“
I
’
ll call Rocco. We
’
ll do this right now.
”

Daxton fumbled for his phone. If he
made that call and shit hit the fan, Harlee would be killed. I had no choice
but to turn off all my emotions and focus on the situation at hand. I had to be
the enforcer.
I had to be
the monster
.

And that meant when Daxton looked
down at his phone, I had no choice but to jump at him.

My shoulder smashed against his
face. His gun went off but I couldn
’
t
worry if anyone was shot. I drove him back to the tree, slamming him hard
enough that he dropped his phone. He quickly tried to point the gun at me so I
had to stop his arm. I hit his arm against the tree and felt his other hand
come across and crack me against the jaw. I lost my footing for a split second
and Daxton pointed the gun at Harlee.

As he pulled the trigger, I jumped
at him again, this time taking him to the ground. We hit with a hard thud and
he let the gun go. I popped up and swung a right at him, getting him in the
eye. Daxton reached for his gun and swung with his other hand. I blocked the punch
but took my eye off his hand as he grabbed the gun again. Instead of shooting,
he came across my face with it.

Goddamn, did that fucking hurt.

He swung again and again, opening
up closed wounds thanks to that fight with Denis. He then put the gun to my jaw
and was suddenly in complete control and power. I was on my ass and he forced
me to climb back until I was against the tree.

“
Harlee,
get over here,
”
he
ordered.

“
Don
’
t do it!
”
I yelled.
“
Don
’
t listen to him, darling.
”

“
I
’
ll fucking shoot him,
”
Daxton said.
“
Anyone makes a move and
Trent is gone. Harlee
…
walk to me.
”

Daxton was on his knees, his left
hand out, waiting for Harlee.

She slowly moved toward him.

“
Don
’
t do it!
”
I yelled.

Daxton pulled the gun away and
slammed it against my face. The back of my head cracked against the tree.

It was pain, blood, and more fury
building inside me.

I still couldn
’
t believe my father did
this to me. To the MC. To Harlee.

Harlee gave her hand to Daxton and
he pulled her close. Then he climbed to his feet and was right back to where he
was before. An arm around Harlee, a gun pointed at me.

“
Someone
get me my fucking money by the time I count to five,
”
Daxton said.
“
Or
I just start shooting.
”

“
It
’
s on its way, man,
”
I said. I started to
climb up the tree to get to my feet but Daxton wasn
’
t having it. I dropped back down to my ass. I
stared at Harlee and hated how helpless the situation was.

The guys couldn
’
t do anything either.
There was no clear shot on Daxton without the risk of me or Harlee getting
killed.

“
One,
”
Daxton said.

“
I
love you, darling,
”
I
said to Harlee.
“
I
’
m sorry this happened.
”

“
I
don
’
t blame you,
”
she said.
“
I swear, Trent. I love
you, too.
”

“
Two,
”
Daxton said.

I put my left hand out and Harlee
reached with her right hand.

“
Three.
”

Our fingertips touched for a second
and then Daxton backed up, taking her away from me.

“
Four.
”

That was all I could take. I forced
myself to stand and walked right up to the gun. The move halted Daxton
’
s counting. His eyes went
wide and he knew it was time to shit or get off the pot.

“
You
’
re sure about this?
”
he asked me.

“
Fuck.
You.
”

“
Fiv
…”

Did I have a plan?

No.

The truth was that I was going to
grab his arm and pry him away from Harlee. I
’
d
take another bullet, even if it killed me. I told myself in that split second
that the MC would step up and keep Harlee as family. She
’
d forever be my memory.

But before anything like that could
happen and before Daxton could finish his breath and say
five
, there was
a
thmph
sound, followed by a quick spray of blood from the side of
Daxton
’
s head. He
stood frozen, shaking, and then he collapsed, taking Harlee with him.

I feared something happened to
Harlee but then she started to scream.

Filled with fear, yes, but she was
alive.

Goddammit, she was alive!

And Daxton was dead.

I dropped to my knees and grabbed
Harlee, pulling her close.

I would never let her go ever
again.

thirty-six

(harlee)

My arms were tight around Trent as
I screamed.

That was my body
’
s only reaction to
everything. I was in terror and shock at the same time.

Trent got me to my feet and I
glanced at Daxton
’
s
body on the ground.

“
Darling,
it
’
s okay. He
’
s gone now.
”

I looked up at Trent and tried to
catch my breath.

He kissed me.

Just like in some dumb fairy tale,
it was like his kiss brought me back to life. A surge went through my body even
as my hands still clung to him.

We started to walk and were quickly
bombarded by the guys in the club.

“
What
the hell happened?
”

Trev, Jasper, and Cash appeared,
running toward us. Behind them were two men. One was a little short and very
round. The other guy was tall, built, and had a rifle in his hand.

“
Are
you okay, brother?
”
Trev asked Trent.

“
Fine.
”

“
Harlee?
”
Cash asked, looking at
me.
“
You okay,
sweetie?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m so
…”

“
She
’
s in shock,
”
Trent said.

“
It
’
s okay, sweetie,
”
Cash said.
“
Do you need a hug from me?
I can make everything go away.
”

“
Fuck
off, Cash,
”
Trent
growled.

“
Meet
Alexei,
”
the round
man said in a Russian accent.
“
Sniper.
”

“
Fucking
shit, Peter,
”
Trent
said.

“
I
called him right after we split up,
”
Trev said.
“
I knew he
was still in the area. Figured he could help us. I knew if Night Soul found out
about what we did
…”
Trev looked at me and shook his head.

“
What
did you do?
”
I asked
Trent.

“
Business,
”
he said.
“
Nothing more.
”

“
That
was a good shot,
”
Jasper said.

“
I
never miss,
”
Alexei
said in a monotone voice.
“
Now
we go. Right now.
”

“
Do
you have payment?
”
Peter asked with a big smile.

“
Austin,
”
Trev said.
“
Keys.
”

Austin took the keys to the van out
of his pocket. Trev ordered them to be handed over to Peter.

“
What
is this?
”
Trent
asked.

“
He
’
s taking the guns,
”
Trev said.
“
Payment.
”

“
Seriously?
”
Trent asked.

Trev grabbed Trent
’
s shoulder, making him
yell out in pain.
“
You
’
re fucking family, Trent.
And your old lady is family. I don
’
t
care what it fucking costs to keep this MC and family together.
”
Trev then looked at me.
He gently touched my jaw with his pointer finger.
“
You understand that too. Okay?
”

“
Yes,
”
I said.
“
Thank you. I don
’
t
…”

“
We
leave now,
”
Alexei
said.
“
We go to
Nevada. Bloodshed is over here.
”

“
Can
you clean this?
”
Peter asked Trev.

“
It
’
s already taken care of,
”
Trev said.

I refused to take my hands off
Trent
’
s body. I
clutched tight to his leather cut and he held me.

“
Brother,
you
’
re bleeding,
”
Cash said.
“
That shoulder looks nasty.
”

“
I
’
ll call a doctor,
”
Jasper said.

“
No,
”
Trent said.
“
There
’
s one more thing to do
here.
”

When he said it, there was no need
for more explanation.

“
Okay,
brother,
”
Jasper
said.

“
We
can still approach the O
’
Nuall
family,
”
Trev said.

“
No.
My father betrayed me worse than ever in his life or mine. He used me and set
this up.
”
Trent
looked back at Daxton
’
s
body on the ground.
“
Fucking
scum. All of them.
”

“
How
do we prove this to them?
”
Austin asked.

“
I
’
ll call Garvan,
”
Trent said.
“
I
’
ll put the phone on speaker and do what needs
to be done.
”

“
What
if he runs?
”
Jasper
asked.

“
Got
that money, Prez?
”
Trent asked Trev.

“
Yeah,
I do,
”
Trev said.

“
The
old man will never walk away from money. I
’
ll
tell him we settled up with Daxton. He
’
ll
buy it. It
’
s money.
He needs it.
”

“
I
’
ll go with you,
”
Cash said.

“
No,
”
Trent said.
“
I ride alone on this one.
I don
’
t want to spook
him. The second he sees me and Harlee
…”

“
Cash
rides with you,
”
Trev
said.
“
My order. But
when you get close, he
’
ll
hang back. What just happened with Night Soul is going to come back at us hard.
Once we
’
re all back
at the clubhouse, I
’
ll
make the call to Rocco.
”

When Trev put his sunglasses on,
the meeting was over.

Trent turned to face me. His hands
ran up my shoulders and he cupped my face.
“
I
’
ll never forgive myself
for trusting your protection with someone else. I
’
ll
never make that same mistake again.
”

“
You
didn
’
t do anything
wrong,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m alive. And Daxton
’
s gone. I can be happy now. As long as I
’
m with you, Trent.
”

“
Darling,
I
’
m the fucking
monster. I
’
m the
fucking enforcer. Not even a bullet can stop me. You
’
ll always be with me. I
’
ll always be with you. Why
don
’
t you ride with
someone back to the clubhouse?
”

“
No,
”
I quickly said.
“
That asshole tried to have
me killed. I want to know, Trent. I want to be there. I don
’
t want to see it, but I
want to feel it.
”

I figured Trent would fight back at
me for it. Instead, he put his lips to mine. We kissed over and over. The guys
started to whistle. Cash made some joke that if we made out longer than five
minutes he
’
d jerk off
to us.

I didn
’
t care.

I had Trent
’
s mouth against mine. I had his hands at my
back, lifting me up, our bodies tight together.

It was best kiss of my life.

It was our last kiss before we
went to kill his father.

**

We pulled up to the house, the
engine of the motorcycle like thunder, meaning we were unable to sneak up on
Tom. I really didn
’
t
think for a second Trent wanted to sneak up on his father. I could feel the
rage and hurt pouring from his body. Part of me wanted to say something to
Trent and stop this from happening. I feared he
’
d
carry a heavy guilt and regret for the rest of his life. But then again, all
that had happened
…

Trent turned off the motorcycle and
hurried off. He took the bag off my back, which was full of cash. He put a hand
to my face and just stared for a few seconds. His thumb then grazed my lip and
he nodded.

There were no words spoken.

Trent turned and walked to the
house.

At the front door, he lifted up the
back of his leather cut and stuck a gun in the back of his jeans. He then
covered it up and my sight was the Back Down Devil MC name and skull logo.

The door started to open and Trent
pushed himself inside and slammed the door shut.

I had no idea what was being spoken
inside the house. I looked over my shoulder and saw the other guys up the road,
sitting there on their motorcycles. They really were a family together. Always
there to protect each other, even if they didn
’
t
always agree and get along. And I was now part of that family. Trev had put a
lot on the line to save me from Daxton. The easiest thing to do in that
situation would have been to ignore me and let me go. But Trent and the MC
decided against that.

I looked down at the ring on my
finger and thought about what Trent had said.

I was the right woman to wear
it?

That meant he really wanted to
…
marry me?

I gushed a little thinking about
it. That part of life never seemed to make sense to me and it never seemed like
it would come. Sadly, somewhere in my mind I envisioned myself settling and
doing it over and over, hoping to find something that felt right.

Then I met Trent.

He was everything. He was right.

I placed my hand to the leather
seat on his motorcycle.

Today was just the beginning for
both of us. The craziness. Kidnapping. Fights. Murder. Money. But yet I wouldn
’
t change it for anything
else. He was going to be
my monster
and
my enforcer
.

It was going to be a wild life
together. Each day could be our last day. Was that terrifying? Yes. But it just
meant whatever days we had together we had to make the best of them.

The door to the house opened and
Trent came walking out. He was stone faced and charged down the steps, toward
me. When he reached out the bag of money to me, nodding, I smiled at him.

“
Trent,
you have blood on your wrist,
”
I said.

“
Shit,
”
he said. He wiped the
blood away.
“
Thanks,
darling.
”

I put the bag of money on my back
and Trent climbed on the motorcycle. My hands slid around his beautiful and
strong body. I inhaled the smell of his leather cut. Between my thighs, I
quivered, wanting him.

He turned his head and I forced my
chin to his shoulder.

“
You
okay, Harlee?
”
he
asked.

“
With
you, I
’
m perfect,
”
I said.

“
Good.
”

“
Where
to now,
Mr. Monster
?
”

“
Look
in front of you, darling. We
’
ve
got the open road. We
’
ve
got freedom. Nothing else in the world matters.
”

“
That
’
s where you
’
re wrong,
”
I said.

“
Yeah?
”

“
Freedom
is great. I think love is better.
”

Trent half smiled. The sexiest man
I
’
d ever met. A man
that saved me from killing one of his brothers. A man who put trust into me
that nobody had ever before. A man who put
everything he had
into me,
giving me a feeling I never had before.

“
I
love you, Trent,
”
I
said.

“
I
love you, Harlee,
”
he
said.

He started his motorcycle and we
rode off together.

The thunder of the motorcycle
engine compared nothing to the thunder in our hearts.