AN OUTLAW MONSTER (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (3 page)

“
Here,
”
Erin said. She put a shot
glass on the table.
“
Drink
this. Just in case.
”

“
What?
”

“
Might
be your last drink,
”
she said.

“
Or
maybe it
’
ll help you
loosen up,
”
Charlie
said.

“
Maybe
they
’
ll get you away
from Daxton,
”
Sasha
said.
“
He
’
s rough, huh?
”

“
Yeah,
right,
”
I said.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Sasha said.
“
Sometimes you take a
beating for good reason.
”

That
’
s
how they talked. They accepted everything as though it mattered. All I knew was
that the guys in this club weren
’
t
good people. I don
’
t
think anything was ever really planned out. I had only wanted to help them one
time to make some money to keep the lights on in my shitty apartment.

Now I was trapped.

I touched the shot glass and stared
at the door.

It opened and there stood Rocco. He
looked like a hyena. He was lanky and his grin was goofy. But his eyes told the
truth. It was like all the people he killed were somehow living in those eyes.
The kind of guy that would kill his best friend for a beer and not think twice
about it ever.

Rocco looked right at me. Then he
walked away.

I hurried to take the shot. It was
like fire on my tongue, in my throat. I felt like it was all going to come
right back up a second later. I managed to keep it down and then waited.

Gunner appeared in the doorway and
pointed right at me. He gave a quick nod.

“
That
’
s all you,
”
Charlie whispered.

“
Good
luck,
”
Erin said.

I stood and walked toward the room.

When I entered, Gunner was seated
at the table. He had his elbows on the table and his hands balled into fists.

“
Shut
it,
”
he said. I
closed the door.
“
Now
turn around.
”
I
slowly turned.
“
Look
at the wall.
”

That
’
s
when I saw the pictures. It was a flow chart of pictures. At the top was a
picture of a guy with a black X across his face. Then another picture added
right next to it. Under that picture was a set of pictures. They were labeled
table
.
Under that a lot more.

“
I
don
’
t get it,
”
I said.
“
I don
’
t know anyone.
”

“
Exactly,
”
Gunner said.
“
That
’
s Back Down Devil MC. A
rival club that
’
s
been fucking us over. We
’
re
at war, Harlee.
”

“
Why
are you showing me this?
”
I asked, looking back.

Gunner stood up. He slowly started
to walk toward me.
“
See
that top part?
”

“
Yeah.
What
’
s the X for?
”

“
He
’
s dead.
”

I shivered.
“
Oh.
”

“
Ripper.
He was the President. Something went down internally and the club took him out.
”

“
They
hurt their own member?
”

“
That
’
s how horrible these guys
are. The new President, a guy named Trev, is from another charter.
”

Why is he telling me all of this?

I wasn
’
t supposed to know anything about club
business. For every word Gunner spilled, it meant I was deeper into the MC.

“
Stare
at the pictures again,
”
Gunner said.
“
The
table pictures. That
’
s
where the war is. See, the bottom guys are just patched in members. They
’
re front line. They come
and go. Just like our MC. But the table guys
…”

Gunner was then right behind me. I
smelled cigarette smoke and whiskey. A hand gently touched my side and I
squirmed.

“
Sweetheart,
I
’
m VP,
”
Gunner whispered. His
lips were close to my ear.
“
Daxton
is a patched in table member. If I wanted my cock inside you, there
’
s nothing you could do to
stop me. No matter what hole I wanted to fuck. Got it?
”

I became rigid.

Gunner slid his fingers down my
left arm. It was like a spider crawling down my skin. I wanted to throw up and
pee myself at the same time. I hated this. I hated it so much.

His fingers wrapped around my wrist
and he lifted my hand.

“
Put
your finger out,
”
Gunner whispered.

I did as told.

He put his finger at a picture
right under the new President of Back Down Devil MC.
“
This is Jasper. He
’
s their VP. He was there when Ryley was shot.
And this guy
…”
Gunner
moved my hand to another picture.
“
This
guy is Trent.
”

The picture stole my breath.

It was a police mugshot of the guy.

His jaw looked cut from steel, his
face designed to perfection with a mix of roughness, toughness, yet he looked
like he could splash some water on his face then model cologne or underwear.
His black hair was messy, sort of slicked back, but it was his eyes that sucked
me right in. Terrifying yet sexy eyes.

“
This
guy is a monster,
”
Gunner said.
“
He
’
s the one who pulled the
trigger and shot Ryley.
”

For some reason, hearing that
instantly turned me on. I thought about all the times Ryley called me a bitch.
Or a whore. Or when he
’
d
grab at my ass. Or when he
’
d
try to stick his hand up my shirt. Hell, guys like Ryley were more than half
the reason I had ended up with Daxton because I was afraid they were going to
go too far and I wouldn
’
t
be able to protect myself.

I couldn't stop looking at the
picture of Trent. His shoulders looked a mile wide in the picture. He didn
’
t have a care or worry on
his face, even though he had been arrested. Most of the guys around the Night
Soul clubhouse tried so hard to give the aura of bad ass, but Trent
’
s mugshot did more than
anything any had ever done in the clubhouse.

“
A
monster,
”
I
whispered.

“
Yes,
”
Gunner said.
“
But that
’
s not why we
’
re here.
”

He moved my hand again to another
picture.

The guy he stopped on was a really
tough looking guy. Sort of clean cut, built with muscle on top of muscle. His
eyes were dark and scary, super intense.

“
This
guy,
”
Gunner said.
“
This is Duke. He
’
s a military guy. But he
’
s got plenty of problems.
He may look strong as fuck but he
’
s
got plenty of demons. That
’
s
our target.
”

I heard Gunner
’
s words but it took me a
few seconds to process what he had just said.

I turned my head and was too close
to him.

He had a sick happiness in his
eyes.

“
Our
target?
”
I asked.

Gunner nodded. He then spun me
around and put me against the wall.
“
That
’
s right. You
’
ve been lingering around
this club for far too long, Harlee. You want to earn? You want to do right?
This is your chance.
”

“
Meaning
what?
”

Gunner
’
s lip curled.
“
You
’
re going to kill who I tell you to
kill.
”

three.

(trent)

“
They
were coming for you, Prez,
”
Jasper said.

Trev looked right at me.
“
You shot one?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Kill?
”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
He
’
ll bleed out if he doesn
’
t get help. They
’
ll drop him at the ER and
make up a story. They know better than to bring the PD into this shit.
”

“
Especially
between two towns,
”
Max said.

“
No
matter what,
”
Jasper
said,
“
they aren
’
t letting the gun thing
go.
”

“
So
what do we do?
”
Cash
asked. He finished off a beer and leaned back in his chair.
“
I
’
ve got a massage in about thirty minutes.
”

“
A
massage?
”
Austin
asked.

Cash winked.
“
Love those girls down on
the corner.
”

“
Christ,
”
Trev said.
“
They spray you with
disinfectant when they
’
re
done?
”

“
Spending
time with Cash?
”
Jasper asked.
“
They
better spray themselves.
”

Everyone chuckled.

“
Fuck
you, Jasper. You
’
re
just jealous that you have to pay extra to roll over and finish up. They love
my cock down there. They call it
the lizard
.
”

“
Because
it
’
s bumpy and could
poison you?
”
I asked.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Cash jumped up and grabbed his gun.

I wasn
’
t afraid of Cash. He was an asshole. Mostly
talk, loved to fight and fuck, but if it came down to it, he
’
d take a bullet for you.
So I stood up and gave him a target.

He grabbed his belt buckle.
“
Say one more thing. I
’
ll let it down. It
’
ll roll right across this
table at you, Trent.
”

“
Cock
talk,
”
Trev said.
“
We have wars all around.
People want me dead. But, sure, let
’
s
break out the rulers and measure our dicks.
”

“
How
many rulers you got, Prez?
”
Cash asked.
“
It
’
s gonna take more than one
to measure me.
”

“
Okay,
horse man, lizard dick
, whatever,
”
Trev said.
“
Sit down
or I
’
ll shoot your
dick off.
”

Cash quickly plopped down. He
looked at me and threw the finger.

Love you too, brother.

“
Maybe
it
’
s time to think outside
the box,
”
Trev said.
“
Take a risk.
”

“
Meaning
what?
”
Jasper asked.

“
We
get Night Soul their guns,
”
Trev said.

That brought silence to the table.

We all looked around at each other.
There were reputable gun sources the MC worked with when needed. But when it
came to resale from club to club, there was only one place to go.

“
You
’
re talking
the family
,
”
Xavier said.

Trev nodded.
“
Yeah.
”

“
Ah,
shit,
”
Duke said.
“
I need a shot.
”

“
Hold
on,
”
I said.
“
Prez is right. We can work
both sides of the story. We can control the entire story.
”

“
Especially
the ending,
”
Trev
said.
“
That
’
s the most important part
of it.
”

“
So,
what, we just roll up to Night Soul and tell them we
’
re going to get their guns?
”
Jasper asked.

“
Do
you all trust me?
”
Trev asked.

Goddamn, he was sometimes quick to
trigger and always bold. He could have taken the seat and really pushed at all
of us hard, but he wasn
’
t
afraid to point out that he was the new President of the club. That gave him
serious respect from the table.

“
Someone
fucking answer me,
”
Trev growled. He put his hands to the table and rose up.
“
Right fucking now.
”

“
I
trust you, Prez,
”
I
said.
“
Whatever you
need done.
”

The rest of the table chimed in
with an agreeing murmur of
yeah
.

“
I
’
ve ran outlaw. I
’
ve ran patched in. I
’
ve ran to hell and back.
My old lady is pregnant. If you think for a second I
’
d put her in real danger, then fuck yourself.
Night Soul is not going to give up on us. I don
’
t
know what the exact communication was with Ripper and the O
’
Nuall family. We know that
those Irishmen are tough, smart, dangerous, and completely ruthless. No
communication from us now seems like we
’
re
hiding. And when you
’
re
hiding you seem like you
’
re
guilty. Get the picture?
”

“
So
then we communicate with them,
”
I said.
“
Try to make
some kind of peace.
”

“
That
’
s impossible,
”
Xavier said.
“
You know them. It
’
s about money or blood. Or
both.
”

“
Exactly,
”
Trev said.
“
I want both.
”
After a few seconds, Trev
then pointed to Kye.
“
Go
ahead, brother, tell them.
”

“
Tell
us what?
”
I asked.

“
There
’
s a hit out for Duke,
”
Kye said. He then
swallowed hard.

“
Me?
”
Duke asked.
“
What the fuck
…”

“
Your
game issue,
”
Kye
said.

“
Who
the fuck said it
’
s an
issue?
”
Duke asked.
“
I like to play cards,
drink, and fuck one of the bartenders.
”

“
You
’
re behind on dues,
”
Cade said.
“
Three months now.
”

“
That
’
s true?
”
Trev asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Cade said.

Cade managed the finances for the
MC.

Duke always had money problems.
Whatever demons were in his head from being overseas in the desert after two
tours were still alive and kicking. He had good days, bad days, and really bad
days.

“
Fuck
this,
”
Duke said. He
stood up and his chair flew back.
“
Fuck
you all.
”
He reached
into his pocket. He threw cash right at Cade.
“
Take
your fucking dues and shove them up your ass.
”

He made a line for the door and
Trev pointed to Max.
“
Stop
him.
”

I saw the look on Max
’
s face.

There was no stopping Duke.

Max got up.
“
Brother. Sit back down.
”

“
Not
now.
”

Max grabbed for Duke
’
s arm.
Duke threw an
elbow and just like that, all hell broke loose during our table meet.

**

I had Xavier by the collar of his
leather and pulled, sending him onto the table. I jumped forward and had no
choice but to swing my foot and crack Duke in the gut. He went dark in bad
times, meaning he knew nothing of what he was doing.

Duke rolled off Max, both their
faces matching the same wounds. Max coughed and spit a glob of blood right onto
Duke
’
s face.

I reached down and grabbed Max,
pulling him to his feet.
“
Back
the fuck away.
”

I tossed him away and crouched
down. My hand went to Duke
’
s
throat. I choked the fucking prick until his focus was really on me.

“
I
will kill you,
”
I
growled.
“
For the
sake of this club. And if I kill you, then they have to vote on how I die. Is
that what you want, brother?
”

Duke showed his teeth and grabbed
my wrist.

“
You
’
re not over there anymore,
”
I said.
“
You
’
re here. There
’
s
a war right here that needs fighting. Are you ready to fight?
”

I let Duke go and he kicked himself
back against the wall.

“
Everyone
open up!
”
Trev
’
s voice bellowed. He
smashed between all of us and stood there, staring down at Duke.
“
You have a goddamn hit on
you right now. From Night Soul. You have a fucking gambling problem? Fix it.
You owe this MC some money? Pay the hell up. Don
’
t
have the money? Go earn. Get your feet and your head in this fucking room right
now.
”

Nobody went after Duke like that.
Not even Ripper when he was at his worst. Towards the end, Ripper just ignored
Duke, treating him like a sickly dog, hoping to never have to deal with him.

Duke looked up to Trev and I feared
he was going to pull a gun. If that happened, it was up to me to kill Duke. I
slowly put my hand to my weapon. No matter what, I had to protect the President
of the MC. We all voted Trev in. Until we had good reason to vote him out and
have a strategic play and support from our brothers down in Frelen, Trev was
the President.

Slowly, Duke put a hand out for
Trev to take.
“
A
little help, Prez?
”

Trev slapped his hand to Duke
’
s and pulled him to his
feet. They stood there, hands together, nodding. A real sign of respect between
the two. Nobody was meant to see eye to eye. That
’
s
not how the MC worked. But respect? That was earned and that was sacred.

“
You
good?
”
Trev asked.

“
Great,
”
Duke said.
“
My dues are paid.
”
He looked to Cade.
“
Right?
”

“
All
paid,
”
Cade said.
“
I
’
ll get this taken care of.
”

“
Duke,
”
Trev said. He broke hands
and stepped back, leaning against the table.
“
We
still need you there tonight.
”

“
Are
you serious?
”
Duke
asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Trev said.
“
Kye has all the
information. I want you there. I want to see who shows up to kill you.
”

“
To
kill me,
”
Duke said.

“
And
how do we stop it?
”
I
asked.

Trev looked at me. He then patted a
hand to my chest.
“
That
’
s your problem, brother.
You
’
re going to save
his ass tonight. I want to see the monster at his finest. I want you to destroy
everything in sight and send a clear message to everyone in attendance.
”

“
What
about Duke
’
s woman?
”
Cash asked.
“
I mean, he pays a good
price to lose at cards but still walk away with a decent blowjob.
”

“
Thanks
for thinking of my dick,
”
Duke said.

Cash made a fist.
“
Always. I think of
everyone
’
s dick.
”

“
Great,
”
Jasper said.

“
Anyone
worried about pussy
…”
Trev looked at the clock on the wall.
“
You
’
ve got about four hours to
drain yourselves. I
’
d
go to it.
”

And that was how the meeting ended.