SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (24 page)

Ella opened the door and walked across
the hall.

Miller gritted his teeth. He made a
fist and yelled, punching the wall. His fist blasted through it with ease. When
he pulled his fist back, blood dripped from his hand. Out in the hallway,
prospects were getting set up, ready to barricade the door.


You
fucking guard the woman and baby with your life,

Miller ordered.

He walked down the hall and met
with Nate and Blaine.


What

s the plan?

Blaine asked.


Did
he bring help?

Miller
asked.


Yeah.
Two unmarked cars. Big guys,

Nate said.


Could
be another gang or club,

Blaine said.


No
identification on them?

Miller asked.


Nothing,

Blaine said.


What
about Jerry? What

s he
wearing?

Miller asked.


Full
uniform,

Nate said.


Good,

Miller said.

Around the bar, Jace and Landon
were waiting.


Weapons?

Jace asked.


Leave
everything,

Miller said.

We go civil here and let the
rest work itself out.


Jesus
Christ,

Nate said.

I don

t like this.


Neither
do I,

Miller said.

He opened the door to the clubhouse
and went outside.

Jerry stood in the middle of the
lot, holding pieces of paper. He had a gun in his other hand, pointed right
between Gaige

s eyes.


Good
morning!

Jerry yelled.

twenty.

 

Ella paced the room while Beck was
on the bed, trying to rip off one of his socks. He

d roll to the left, grabbing at it. When he couldn

t get the sock off, he

d groan, cry, and roll to his
other side. Back and forth, no idea what was going on in the world. Beck

s world was trying to get the
sock off his foot. Trying to figure out what the sock was, why it was there,
and why the hell he had a foot and toes on it.

Rushing to the bathroom, Ella
splashed water on her face and took a deep breath.

What was the worst Jerry could do
right now? Bust into the clubhouse. Charge down to the room. Order Ella and
Beck to leave. Then it put everything on Ella. To go with Jerry and just keep
the peace, for Beck

s sake.
(And the sake of Back Down Devil MC.) Or she could be defiant and try to fight
for herself. But that would instantly put everyone in danger.

Beck let out a yell.

Ella sat on the bed and then fell
back, turning, facing the baby. He reached for her face, eyes wide, always a
grin on his perfect little face. She touched his cheek and smiled back.


I
don

t know,

Ella said.

But I

ll figure it out, Beck.

He smacked his lips together and
made noises.


You
like Miller, don

t you?

Beck didn

t respond. Of course he didn

t respond. He made noises.


Come
here,

Ella said.

She sat up and grabbed the baby.
She slid off the bed to the floor and sat with her legs open. She put Beck on
his feet and held his waist. As she twisted him back and forth, he nibbled on
his fingers and let out giggling groans.


I
want you to walk,

Ella
said.

Get those legs
strong. So then you can learn to run. And then you can just go. Be free, little
Beck.

Ella lifted Beck and put him at
arms length. She then took his hands and watched him try to walk toward her. He
stumbled but moved fast. Over and over, Ella kept watching her son, keeping her
mind away from whatever the hell was happening outside the clubhouse.

Finally, Ella decided to get bold.

She put Beck at arms length and
then let him go. She kept her hands close to him though. The first couple
times, Beck just fell to the left, right, forward. But then he took a step
before falling. Ella felt her heart melting.


Come
on,

Ella whispered.

You can do this.

Ella put Beck out again and this
time he took two steps before falling. When he fell, he propped himself up and
started to crawl. He pulled himself up on Ella and smiled.


That

s cheating,

she said and laughed.

Let

s do it one more time.

Ella put Beck out and let him go.
He stood there, looking amazed at what he had done. Then his right foot slid
forward, followed by his left. He remained balanced, his knees bending a little.
But then he started to move. One step after another, Beck walked to Ella. Sure,
it was only four big steps, but it was walking!

Beck had taken his true first steps

in Miller

s room

in the clubhouse of Back Down Devil MC


You
did it!

Ella said. She
lifted up Beck and tickled him, making him explode with giggles.

You did it, Beck. You are
amazing.

She then hugged
the baby and stood up.

Ella took it as a sign.

They

d
fight through anything. They

d
be just fine.

Just fine.

The door then exploded open and
Ella stepped back.

She stared at Jerry as he stood in
the doorway.


There
she is,

Jerry said.

With that fucking kid.

Ella shook her head.

No

no, no, no

twenty-one.

 


Put
that fucking gun down,

Miller said.

Or I

ll have one of my guys blow your
fucking head off, asshole.


Hear
that?

Jerry asked.

He threatened me.


You

re on my property. You don

t know what we have waiting.


Maybe
I should call someone in to search,

Jerry said.

I can bring
heat, Miller. I can fucking burn it all to the ground.


Along
with yourself,

Miller
said.

Remember that,
Jerry. Remember everything we

ve
ever done.

Jerry lowered the gun from Gaige

s head.

You

re
right. How rude of me.

Jerry put his gun away.

I
came to show you something.


What?

Miller asked.


Hey,
before that. How

s my wife?


Ex-wife.


No,
my wife,

Jerry said.

I

m
not signing any papers. Ella

s
emotional. Post pregnancy stuff. You wouldn

t
understand, Miller. I talked to the lawyers and it

s all straightened out. I

m going to make sure she sees a doctor and gets
taken care of.

Miller gritted his teeth. He wanted
to knock Jerry

s teeth out.

How about you start with
what you did to her face.


Oh,
that? She fell. Terrible accident, Miller. You know she

s always been a klutz.

Miller lunged forward. Gaige
quickly turned and put himself between Miller and Jerry.


Don

t,

Gaige said.

That

s what he wants right now.


Come
on,

Jerry said.

Fucking touch me. My guys are
ready to gut you.


What
the fuck do you want here?

Miller asked.

Ella is here
on her own. She knows where the real protection is.

Jerry laughed. He lifted his hand
and waved papers in the air.

Let

s start here
…”
He looked at the first paper.

This is a warrant to search the
property. The next is a warrant for Gaige

s
arrest.


For
what?

Gaige asked.


The
disappearance of a man named Lester. Three years ago. Was tied to a drug deal
in Riverside. Interesting, right?


Are
you serious?

Miller asked.


Wait,

Jerry said.

The next one is a warrant for
Landon

s arrest.


What
did he do?

Miller asked.


Questioning
in a murder case,

Jerry
asked.

See, I

ve got warrants for every member
of the MC. Murder. Robbery. Grand theft auto. Disappearances. I mean, damn, I
never realized how bad you all are. My station is going to be full, isn

t it?


Fuck
you,

Miller said.

You want to act on those
warrants, then do it. You

ve
got nothing on us, Jerry. You

re
not going to scare us.

Miller stepped forward.

You

re not going to fucking scare
us.

Miller punched the warrants out of
Jerry

s hand. The papers
fluttered all around to the ground.


You
can

t win this, Miller,

Jerry said.

I just want my family and I

ll go.


Not
a chance,

Miller said.

I know what you did with Coast Road. They called me, defeated. You have nothing. You have nobody.


I
have an entire department,

Jerry said.

And with one
phone call
…”


You
will bring yourself down,

Miller said.

We both know
that.


So
how do we figure this out?


I
know how. You and me. The way it should have been years ago. Tell your puppets
to go away.


You
do the same,

Jerry said.


I
don

t get it,

Miller said.

I

m
sure you have enough to run. All those backdoor drug deals. So just fucking
leave.


Not
without what

s mine!

Jerry growled.

Jerry backed up and opened his
arms.

The four men behind him -
maybe
they were police, maybe they weren

t
- all took out shotguns.


Nobody
fucking move!

Miller
yelled.

He did not need a stand off right
now. Because if these guys were authorities and the MC pulled out guns, it
would make the entire scene even worse.


Give
me my fucking family,

Jerry said.


No,

Miller said.

Jerry took out his gun. He pointed
it at Miller.

I have
warrants. I have cause.


She

s never going to leave with you.
She wants nothing to do
…”

Jerry swung the gun and hit Miller
in the mouth. Miller fell back and grabbed his jaw. The hot pain soared through
his face into his neck. Miller wiped blood from his mouth and put his arms out,
keeping his men at bay.

Jerry pointed the gun at Miller.

Don

t make me kill you. We

ve been through so much together. Just make this
easy.


You
want to see her? Go fuck yourself.

Jerry rushed forward.

It

s
my family.


You
don

t love them. You don

t want them.


I
don

t want anyone to have
them. When I go, it

s done.
No leftovers. No secrets. Nothing.

Miller saw movement from the corner
of his eye. He turned his head and saw men moving through the junkyard lot.


Oh,
that

s my other friends,

Jerry said.

They

re here looking for forensics. Heard that a Coast
Road MC member was murdered. Lost his head. Or his body. I forget which one. I

m sure I

ll figure it out.

Jerry smiled.

And then I

m going to bury you, Miller.

Miller backed up. He looked to Nate
and nodded.

Open the
clubhouse door. Everyone stay where they are.

Nate

s
face burned red as he opened the door.

Miller led the way, a gun to his
back. He let it all go until they got inside. He then spun around and grabbed
Jerry

s wrist, twisting it,
forcing him to drop the weapon.


Don

t put a gun to my back,

Miller warned.

Miller led the way with Gaige and
Blaine walking behind Jerry.

Jerry was fidgety. He was either
drunk, high, or insanely tired.

Miller pointed down the hall and
said,

She

s in my room. She

s safe. The baby is safe. Now
get out of here, Jerry. We can settle our shit when you

re ready.


I

m ready,

Jerry said.

I

m taking them with me. I have
the entire clubhouse surrounded and enough warrants and heat to bring you all
down.


Then
do it,

Miller said.

Jerry bolted down the hall. All the
prospects started to move and Jerry swung at them, fighting them, showing some
real guts.


Don

t fire on him!

Miller ordered.

The kill shot is mine.

Miller rushed after Jerry and
watched him open the bedroom door.


There
she is,

Jerry said.

With that fucking kid.

Miller was right there, behind
Jerry. Ella

s face turned
white. Beck was in her arms. She turned, shielding the baby from its horrible
father.


Miller,

Ella said.

What

s happening?


We

re going to go for a ride,

Jerry said.

You and me. And that kid.


I

m not going anywhere with you,

Ella said.


Fuck
off, Ella. Don

t act tough
because your biker friend is here. You fucked him, didn

t you? You fucking whore.

Miller grabbed Jerry by the
shoulder and spun him around.

Call
her that again and I

ll
fucking kill you right now. You fucking saw her. Now get the fuck out of here.
I

ll start making my
accusations, Jerry. You want that? You want me to tell where you hid bodies?
The drugs? The deals?


You

re as dumb as Ella,

Jerry said.

Nobody will ever believe you.
You fucking moron. Maybe I should teach you a lesson, like I did her.

Jerry touched his face and
grinned.

Miller felt his fuse go. He made a
fist but before he could throw it, a hand came across Jerry

s face. It sent him flying into
the wall with a thud and down to the ground. He was damn near knocked out.

Blaine grabbed Jerry by the shirt
and pulled at him.

You don

t ever fucking hit a woman! You
fucking piece of shit!


Jesus
Christ, Blaine,

Miller
said.

He pulled Blaine away.

Gaige grabbed Blaine and started to
carry him.

Miller helped a wobbly Jerry to his
feet as blood gushed from his mouth.


Get
the fuck out of my clubhouse and off my lot. Take your goons with you. Take
your warrants and shove them up your fucking ass.


You

re going to pay,

Jerry said. He looked at Ella.

You

re going to pay too.

Miller lifted Jerry up and carried
him down the hall. He took him right out of the clubhouse and tossed him to the
ground. He put his foot to Jerry

s
back and took out a gun. Jerry

s
guys were ready to fire. There had to be a dozen men on the compound. All of
them in black jeans and black t-shirts. Chances were they weren

t undercover. They were all
corrupt pieces of shit, just like Jerry.

This was going beyond money and a
way out of the force. Jerry wanted the power. He wanted the feeling of being in
complete control. Shit, he wanted to be the top dog in MC. Or something like
it.


Call
them off,

Miller said. He
looked around to the guys.

Call
them the fuck off and get them the fuck out of here. This is done, Jerry. You
made your point.


Let
me up,

Jerry said.

Right the fuck now.

Miller took his foot off Jerry. The
chief scrambled to his feet. He then waved some kind of signal and all the guys
dressed in black moved away. In a matter of a minute they were all gone. Except
for the original two at the gate.

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