AN OUTLAW MONSTER (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (6 page)

eight.

(harlee)

I couldn
’
t believe my eyes. First off, he was really
real. It was
him
. It was Trent. The guy from the picture. The one that
stuck in my mind because of how gorgeous he looked. And yeah, he was even
hotter in person. But I was witnessing the dark side of him.

I
’
d
never seen a man so rough, sexy, and so wildly bold. He jumped off his feet and
shoulder tackled two men to the ground. Tables started to flip over and punches
were being thrown. Trent had control of the two guys he took down. The guy who
had been flirting with me ran over and started to stomp on Trent
’
s neck. From the corner of
my eye I saw Duke holding someone against the wall by the throat. Someone ran
up to Duke and slammed a glass off the back of his head, shattering it.

I covered my mouth, no idea what I
was supposed to do next.

Trent grabbed the ankle of the guy
who had been flirting with me and twisted. The guy screamed and fell back
against a table. Trent climbed to his feet and grabbed the guy by the tie. One
punch sent the guy to the ground, out cold.

“
Holy
crap,
”
I whispered.

I could have slipped away and maybe
I should have. Just bounce the hell out of there and run. Keep gassing up my
tank and driving east until I found a place to live or someone catches up to me
and kills me.

But I couldn
’
t move. I was frozen in place, trying to
assess what was happening in front of me and knowing what would happen if I did
actually run. Night Soul would come after me, but I was more afraid of Trent.
That fear could be a good thing though. If I went with Trent and somehow had
protection within his MC, they were stronger than Night Soul. Trent could
…

Trent threw an elbow and hit
someone. He spun and grabbed two people and slammed their faces together.

Trent and Duke were cleaning out
the entire room. And I still had no idea why the hell this was happening. Then
again, it was two bikers causing all the trouble. One thing I learned was that
they didn
’
t need a
reason to want to fight. Whether they won or lost the fight, it was just about
actually fighting.

I started to slink back,
considering bolting.

Trent then took out his gun and
pointed it at whoever he wanted. That finally calmed the scene down. Duke got
in one last punch and took one more guy down. He then took his gun out.

“
What
the fuck is happening?
”
Trent yelled.

“
Prick
was ripping me off,
”
Duke said.
“
And
someone
…”

“
Get
the fuck out of here!
”
someone bellowed.

Now there were more men in the
room. Two guys with what looked like machine guns, running right at Trent and
Duke. Before anyone could speak again, they pulled the triggers.

Bullets were flying right at
Trent.

**

I opened the door and Trent looked
right at me. He grabbed Duke and they made a line right at me. They barreled
through the door and I hurried to shut it. I grabbed a table and slid it to
block the door. Yeah, it would give us all of two extra seconds, but it was
something.

“
Come
on, darling,
”
Trent
said.
“
We have to
run.
”

“
What
the fuck is this?
”
Duke growled.

“
This
is insurance,
”
Trent
said and grabbed my arm.

Next thing I knew I was running
with the two outlaws toward the backdoor of the building. As soon as we broke
into daylight, Duke picked up his speed, running to the right. Trent took me to
the left.

“
You
have anything to change into?
”
he asked me.

“
A
bag in my car. I always keep one.
”

“
We
’
re going there and then
bolting across the road to my ride. Got it?
”

I nodded.

I was officially on the run with a
biker. A biker that was an enemy to the bikers who had taken me in. I was a
traitor. I was going to be tossed around like a pawn in a deadly game.

Yet the entire time I thought about
it, I didn
’
t try to
escape from Trent
’
s
hold.

We ran to my car and I realized I
didn
’
t have my keys.

Trent swung me out of the way. He
hit his elbow to the driver
’
s
window and smashed it with ease. I reached into the car and popped the trunk.
He grabbed the bag, grabbed my hand, and we were on the run again.

When we got to the road I heard
voices yelling behind us. I made the mistake of looking back and saw the two
men coming after us. Machine guns in their hands, trying to shoot at us. I
tripped over my own two feet, looking like the foolish woman in a horror movie
who trips at the wrong time. My knee smashed the ground and pain shot up my
leg. Trent kept going, dragging me, ordering me to my feet.

I hurried to kick up and felt a
sharp pain in my knee. There was the rumble of a motorcycle and a second later,
Duke came from around the building, putting himself as a shield for me and
Trent.

The guy I was supposed to kill
is using himself to save me
…

“
Move,
darling!
”
Trent
growled.

I fought through the pain and we
crossed the road. Right up over what looked something like a sand dune there
was another motorcycle. It was black, sleek, and matched Trent. It looked fast
and sexy.

He grabbed a helmet and tossed it
to me.

He started the motorcycle.

I took my bag from him and tossed
it over my back and then climbed onto the ride. My hands clutched at his
leather and we bolted to the road and took off, Duke at our side. I tried my
best not to look forward because of how fast we were going. If Trent dropped
the motorcycle I would easily lose a leg and an arm. I caught myself sliding my
hands more and more around his body. There wasn
’
t
a piece of extra skin to hold onto. Everything I touched on Trent was muscle.

My cheek touched the stitching on
the back of his leather cut. It was like the reaper skull that grazed his
strong back was giving me a kiss on the cheek. As though it were welcoming me
into a new kind of hell.

Where the bikers were bigger,
stronger, meaner
…
and sexier.

**

As soon as Trent turned into the
lot, there were a handful of bikers standing around. Two guys quickly ran
forward, both of them focusing on Duke. They were obviously surprised Duke was
back in one piece and alive. That made me grab onto Trent
’
s leather cut tighter. It
was mostly dark out by then, the only light coming from a few floodlights
attached to the buildings in the lot. This was the time when these guys all
seemed to really come to life and want to cause trouble.

What was going to happen now?

Trent parked his motorcycle and
shut it off. He turned his head and said,
“
Don
’
t fucking move until I
tell you to.
”

He climbed off the motorcycle and
walked toward Duke. To my surprise he grabbed Duke and then grabbed Duke
’
s shirt. He walked Duke
back a few steps before someone grabbed Trent.

“
Easy,
brother. At least he
’
s
alive.
”

“
You
don
’
t know what the
fuck he did,
”
Trent
said.
“
Let me go,
Jasper. Right now.
”

“
We
’
ll talk about this later,
”
someone else said.
“
Right now, all that
matters is that Duke is here, alive.
”

“
Prez,
”
Trent said.
“
There
’
s more.
”

That
’
s
when Trent nodded to me.

Prez?

He and Jasper were then staring at
me. Then Duke looked at me. He raised an eyebrow.

“
Wait
a second,
”
Duke said.
“
She
…
she took my drink order
but never brought me a drink.
”

There were a few seconds of
silence. I saw everyone looking at each other, processing. Trent stood with his
face like stone. His eyes were so intense as he stared at me. Like he wanted me
to trust him, no matter what happened.

“
She
was serving drinks?
”
Jasper asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Trent said.
“
Then things went to hell
…
because of Duke
…”

There were a few seconds of silence
again and then Trent took out his gun.
“
Before
anything happens
…”

That
’
s
all I heard.

Because someone was then behind
me
…
a
hand around my body and a hand around my mouth.

nine.

(trent)

Kye grabbed Harlee and I seriously
considered shooting Kye. I pictured a bullet blasting through his fucking head
for touching her. She tried to scream and kick, her eyes wide as she stared at
me, wanting me to help her.

But that
’
s not how it was going to work.

“
You
said you were going to kill her,
”
Trev said to me.
“
Now
she
’
s here.
”

“
Wait
a fucking minute,
”
Duke said.
“
Tell me
she was the one
…”

“
Duke,
go get a beer,
”
Trev
said.
“
You, Max, and
Hudson. Right now.
”

Duke said something under his
breath but Max and Hudson grabbed him to get him away. I knew me and Duke weren
’
t done yet.

“
Kye,
take her inside,
”
Trev said.
“
Put her
in Trent
’
s room. This
is going to be his problem and he will fix it.
”

My heart sank a little as Kye
carried Harlee away. She continued to kick and tried to scream. I wanted to
tell her to just calm the fuck down. It was up to me to kill her and I wasn
’
t going to do it. I had my
reasons, right or wrong.

“
Tell
me she
’
s the one,
”
Trev said.

I slowly put my gun away.
“
Yeah. She
’
s the one. I watched her
pour the poison into Duke
’
s
glass. Then she dropped the little bottle down a drain.
”

“
And
she
’
s still alive?
”
Jasper asked.

“
Do
you want to know what happened?
”
I asked.
“
Or are you
two going to fucking assume and accuse me of something?
”

I was livid. The monster inside me
was stirring. It was pissed that it only got a little bit of fun fighting all
those rich businessmen. The monster wanted more. Not to mention another side of
the monster wanted Harlee.

“
We
’
re listening,
”
Trev said.
“
I
’
ll shut my mouth for a few minutes to hear
this. Because it has to be good, Trent. That woman was going to kill a table
member of this MC. And you
’
re
supposed to be a monster. A ruthless fucking outlaw who would kill anyone at
anytime for any reason.
”

I turned and face the President of
the club. My eyes were wide. He was fucking with me. He was tempting me. He
wanted me to snap.

I inched closer to Trev, almost
going nose to nose with him.
“
The
truth
…
yeah, I didn
’
t kill her right away, did
I? I let her live. Before I could get anything out of her, something happened
with Duke. He lost his damn mind and started fighting people. I went to his
rescue because The Hell Five were the ones guarding the outside of the
building. They came rushing in with machine guns and I took off, saving Duke.
”

“
And
saving that bitch,
”
Jasper said.

I turned and thought about hitting
Jasper. Instead, I nodded.
“
That
’
s right. I saved her. Want
to know why?
”

“
I
think that
’
s why we
’
re standing here,
”
Trev said.

“
She
’
s not a trained killer,
”
I said.
“
I watched the way she
moved.
”

“
Hell,
who wouldn
’
t?
”
Jasper asked.
“
I wouldn
’
t mind bending her over a
table
…”

I stepped back and leaned against a
railing. I folded my arms.
“
Let
me know when you
’
re
done.
”

“
Sorry,
”
Jasper said.
“
I
’
m just saying
…
she
’
s not bad looking
at all.
”

“
That
’
s not why she
’
s alive,
”
I said.

I knew some of that was a
complete lie.

“
Then
why is she alive?
”
Trev asked.

“
First
off, Duke lost it,
”
I
said.
“
I had to make
sure he didn
’
t end up
dead for real. That
’
s
part of the reason. The other part? She
’
s
not a goddamn killer, Prez. She was forced into this from Night Soul. They
’
re expecting Duke to be
dead and Harlee to be back at their clubhouse.
”

“
Harlee?
”
Trev asked.

“
That
’
s her name.
”

“
You
got the name,
”
Jasper
said.
“
Good for you.
”

“
Listen
to me,
”
I said.
“
She knows the monster,
okay? I had her. She watched what I did to protect Duke. My point here is that
we have someone who could help us with Night Soul. We have what they want. We
have Duke, alive. We have their so-called assassin, alive. It
’
s going to fucking drive
them crazy to think how bad they fucked up here.
”

I looked at Trev. He looked at
Jasper, then at me.
“
So
you think she knows something?
”

“
Depending
on how long she was with the MC,
”
I said.
“
I didn
’
t get that far with her
before Duke went crazy.
”

“
So
she
’
s here now,
”
Jasper said.

“
Yes,
”
I said.
“
Right now, the entire game
over there is busted up. Guys are beaten up but nobody was killed. The Hell
Five have a mess to clean up. And then Night Soul will be waiting for Harlee to
go back to them. We
’
ve
got the upper hand on this now.  I
’
m
not trying to step out of line here with anything but we have always acted
harsh and what did it get us? So maybe now we can be strategic.
”

“
The
monster,
”
Trev said.
“
Talking beyond the violence
and blood. That
’
s not
like you.
”

I looked at Trev.
“
I
’
m tired of watching scumbags trying to kill
my brothers and kill my new President. We just got rid of Ripper after a long
road of lies. If I killed Harlee, what would it do? Nothing. It would piss off Night
Soul and they
’
d be
right back at us again. But now, we have the brains behind it. We knew about
the gambling. We knew about the hit on Duke. We stopped it, trashed the place,
and took the woman they sent to kill Duke. Plus, here
’
s the million dollar question
…
what else does she know?
”

That got Jasper
’
s full attention. He
grabbed for his knife.
“
I
can make her talk.
”

“
Any
of us can,
”
Trev
said. He grabbed my shoulder.
“
You
think she trusts you?
”

“
I
made it very clear to her there are two options in this situation. Either she
tells me what I want to know or she takes a bullet to the head. I
’
d call that a good
foundation for trust.
”

“
You
think you can actually pull the trigger on her?
”
Jasper asked me.

I reached for my gun with a grin on
my face. Then I made my move to solidify who I was and to end whatever bullshit
everyone thought about me right then.

I grabbed the blade of Jasper
’
s knife and squeezed,
feeling my skin slice open. He looked down and I released my hold. I grabbed
his shirt, leaving my blood on it, and then I put my gun under his chin.

“
I
can pull this trigger on anyone, VP,
”
I said.

I felt something touch the back of
my skull.
“
Stand the
fuck down, Trent.
”

It was Trev and he had his gun to
my head.

I gave my gun a little jam up
against Jasper
’
s jaw.
He stepped back and ripped my wrist away and put his knife to my throat. We
were all a little crazy in the head but that
’
s
what made us so good at what we did.

“
I
’
ll slit your throat,
”
Jasper whispered.

“
Good,
”
I said.
“
Bring it on, brother.
”

“
I
’
ll fucking shoot both of
you,
”
Trev said. He
pulled me away from Jasper. His gun was then at my chest, right at my heart.
“
I want you inside and find
Harlee. You get your time with her to see what she comes up with. If I don
’
t get what I want, Trent,
I
’
m taking her.
”

“
You
have a pregnant old lady, Prez,
”
I said.

“
I
’
m not looking for a fuck.
”

“
Hey,
”
I said.
“
If she doesn
’
t give us what we want, I
’
ll take care of it.
”

“
You
were supposed to do that already,
”
Trev said.
“
You
’
re moving into an outlaw 
mindset.
”
He rubbed
the barrel of his gun against my Back Down Devil MC patch.
“
You want to give up that
patch and run on your own?
”

“
If
I wanted that, I
’
d be
gone,
”
I said.

I walked away from Trev and Jasper.
I looked at my hand, blood on it. The cut wasn
’
t
deep. It would heal. That
’
s
just how things went. Either you healed up or you bled out and died.

I went into the clubhouse and
stepped up between Cash and Austin at the bar. I lifted two fingers for two
beers.

“
Heard
you brought us all a present,
”
Cash said.

“
Yeah,
right.
”

“
At
least Duke is alive,
”
Austin said.

“
We
’
re going to bury those
assholes in Night Soul,
”
Cash said.

“
Think
about it,
”
I said,
feeling irritated as shit.
“
They
were promised something. Probably paid for it too. This isn
’
t going to slip away.
”

“
Exactly
why I said we
’
re
going to bury them,
”
Cash said.
“
Anything
Ripper dealt with needs to get buried.
”

“
You
’
re going to take on the
big families too?
”
Austin asked.

“
I
’
ll take on anyone,
”
Cash said.

I got my two beers and shook my
head.
“
You two work
this out. I have someone to interrogate.
”

“
You
going to show her the monster?
”
Austin asked.

“
Hopefully
the right one,
”
Cash
said. He winked and pointed between his legs.

I walked away, not in the mood for
jokes.

When I got to my door, Xavier and
Kye were inside with two prospects outside the room. Kye had Harlee tied to a
chair and stood next to her with a gun in his hand. Xavier leaned against the
wall, arms crossed, looking bored.

“
Was
this necessary?
”
I
asked.

“
You
never know,
”
Kye
said.
“
She tried to
kill a brother. She
’
s
lucky she
’
s alive.
”

“
Okay,
everyone get out,
”
I
said.

“
What
are you going to do?
”
Xavier asked.

“
Take
care of things,
”
I
said.
“
Go talk to
Jasper and Trev if you need to. She
’
s
all mine right now. So fuck off.
”

Kye bent down and looked at Harlee.
“
It was fun hanging
out. See you on the other side of hell.
”

I squeezed the beer bottles tight.
Man, I wanted to rock one of them off the bridge of Kye
’
s nose and watch him writhe in pain. But the
truth was that he and Xaiver - and the rest of the goddamn MC - were all right.
If I hadn
’
t gotten to
the game when I did, Harlee would have served that glass of whiskey to Duke and
he
’
d be dead right
now.