Payback (Dueling Devils) Read online

  He pulled up to the entrance to the club. Swifty darted out and pulled back the gate. The metal on metal never sounded so sweet to his ears.

  Inside this tiny building were a group of men ready to ride or die for him. He pulled forward, parked and exited, donning the persona that had earned him the right to be president when he hit twenty-three. He’d been young, but not green by any stretch of the imagination. From the moment his old man got caught ass out on the wrong end of a gun deal, Prez had groomed him to take his place. Life then had been ultra violent. Blood had been flying left and right as they carved out their place in the small town, offered their protection and grew. When Harley had become causality, Demon went gone off the deep end. The beginning of his reign had been full of danger, bloodshed and life as far on the edge as you could get without falling off.

  It took a long time to come back from that kind of damage. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed and people were fucked up, mentally and physically. They partied hard in an attempt to offset the Posttraumatic stress. That shit was real. Having to come down from constantly looking over your shoulder and being ready to unleash hell at a moment’s notice if shit went sideways. He didn’t want to take them back to that time if he could help it. His boots felt heavy as he strode into the club.

  Silence fell and all eyes turned to him.

  “It’s time for church. We all know I won’t stand for this bullshit. Bitches make you scarce. This is M.C. business and I don’t want any distractions.” Demon sneered. “Or leaks. I know you hoes ain’t loyal. Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t put a bullet in your brains if you as much as think about telling anyone else our business.” He zeroed his gaze in on Rain and Crystal. Two of the newer additions he didn’t trust as far as he could throw them.

  “Oh, Demon you know we’d never do you wrong,” Lacey replied. The genuine hurt in her hazel eyes made him want to offer comfort. She’d been with him pretty much her whole life. Born to one of the whores she eventually fell into the same lifestyle. There were women here he trusted, but right now he was trying to flush out any potential rats.

  Crystal and Rain exchanged a concerned glance.

  Got you bitches. “Go back to your complex. Now.”

  The girls got to their feet and scurried outside to their vehicles. They owned an apartment building not too far away where they put up brothers, members of others chapters and the club whores. It kept them out from under foot, cut down the chances of an Old lady running into one of them by accident and brought in revenue where they could wash their money. Most of their shit was legal nowadays, but they had no problem getting their hands dirty. Gunrunning made a pretty penny with a little amount of work. Especially with the town looking the other way, because they offered their protection. It was a sweet deal.

  The minute the door slammed shut, he turned his attention to the Prospects. “We all know Church is a patched member only affair, but this shit is too deep to leave you out of the loop. You bring your asses in here, keep your mouths shut and pay close attention to every word said. You hear me?”

  “Yes Prez,” they chorused.

  He nodded and walked into the giant meeting room at the back of the club. His men filed in, taking seats in the chairs and he watched their faces carefully. Lefty came to stand at his side and some of the stiffness eased from Demon’s shoulders. He had tried and true soldiers to go to bat with him. If nothing else, this would separate, the men from the boys as far as their newer recruits were concerned. Their territory around them had been peaceful for years.

  The last prospect closed the door and Demon lifted his arms. “Let the church session begin. The Sidewinders seem to think we turned bitch? That we’ll turn over and take it in the ass while they shit and piss all over the legacy we’ve built here in Newcomb. Louis has always had his wires crossed. I’m not surprised he’d go back on our truce. What I need to know is what inflated his head and made him think he could take us. This rebellion takes big balls, something that fucking snake has never had.” Demon shook his head. He flared his nostrils and his chest heaved as his breathing gained speed.

  The men in the room sat silent, their expressions deadly.

  In need of a way to expend the energy building inside him, he paced the length of the room. “They came close to taking everything I fucking care about. That never should’ve happened. Ardy is no longer a house mouse on loan. She’s my old lady. You will treat her with respect and lay down your life for her if necessary, you hear me?”

  “Yes, Pres.”

  The thunderous response eased the lump in his throat. He alone was one man. Together, they were many. “I’m not going to sleep until the Sidewinders M.C. is fucking decimated. Cut down to numbers so low, it’d take them years to regroup and even then, I want the horrors they witnessed to keep them from trying it.”

  “How do you want to play it?” Lefty asked.

  “They’re new, unliked and not trusted. Chances are, no one will come to their aid, but let’s meet up with the local M.C.’s to be sure. I don’t want to turn this into a total blood bath. They’ll be expecting us to retaliate. I’m not a patient man, so I want this done yesterday. We pound the pavement, set up meeting and deal with this shit.”

  “Okay, what do you want the rest of them to do while we play nice with the bordering M.C.s?” Lefty asked.

  “Prepare to go to war brothers. Go home, clean your weapons, pull the gear out of storage. When I say I want their compound blown up and burned to the ground, I’m not saying that shit figuratively. You don’t come to the Dueling Devils, take their manhood and threaten their family. We’re going to make sure everyone watching, knows that by the time we’re done.”

  After Demon left, going back to sleep wasn’t possible. Her body might be weary, but her mind was alive and thriving. God, why can’t I ever turn off my brain? Ardy rolled onto her side and re-lived the horrific experience. Things could’ve turned out far worse. This life never felt more real than it did at this moment. None of the shit you saw on the television or heard about from others prepared you to actually be in it. Thank God, he had a back-up plan. His life is completely out of control. What are you doing? The sane part of her brain told her she needed to backtrack. Agreeing to be Demon’s old lady was more than choosing to go steady with a beau. It’s a lifelong commitment that practically placed a target on her back. He’s the President for Christ’s sake. In the light of day, away from the trauma, she wanted to back pedal.

  I can’t take that decision back.

  Abandoning the pretense of sleep, she sat up in bed and brushed her wild curls out of her face. She loved him. There was no confusion there. She just wondered if love would be enough. Her phone vibrated against the wooden nightstand and she jumped. Her stomach knotted. Her palms grew clammy as she picked up the phone. The sight of her mother’s name on her view screen had never been so beautiful. She held the phone to her ear. “Hey Mom.”

  “Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

  A million answers dangled on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed them down. Her mother didn’t deserve to have this burden on her shoulders. “I’m good. The kids are amazing, growing and thriving. It’s like any other nanny job.”

  “Is that so?”

  The disbelief in her mother’s voice made her tread lightly. “Why wouldn’t it be mom?”

  Her mother huffed. “Tell me, how’s Demon?”

  The contempt in her mom’s voice made her sigh. “He’s good, Mom.” She couldn’t keep her lips from curling upward as she thought of the dark eyed man who turned her life upside down and worked his way into her heart.

  “Uh huh, that’s what worries me. You don’t sound like someone being held against their will. You sound like someone besotted.”

  “Really Mom? What is this the Victorian age?” Ardy scoffed. “I’m old enough to know my own mind.”

  “Maybe. Many of the best love stories come from unlikely people thrust together in extreme situations. But so do horror stories.” />
  “Whoa mom, no one said anything about love,” Ardy defended, trying to get her off the subject. She twisted a curl around her finger. The realization of love seemed too new and scary. Nothing she wanted to discuss with her mother.

  “You didn’t have to. I’ve heard your voice change over the past few months. You talk about Demon more than you realize. I’ve held my tongue for long enough as it is. Do not confuse hero worship with love. Eventually, he’ll fall off that pedestal. No man on this earth is perfect and he has a lot of darkness in him. You’ve always been a child of the light. Are you willing to give that up for a man you barely know?”

  Her heart raced as her mother’s words penetrated deep. Can I survive in this world and still maintain my own identity?

  “Did we lose you, Ardy girl?”

  “Mom, you can’t lose me. I’ll always be your baby. Haven’t you drilled that into me, my entire life?” She retorted, falling back on the quick wit she’d inherited from both her parents.

  “Don’t be evasive with me. When a woman finds the man she wants to be with, things change. It’s not all about her family anymore. Hell, you stepped into a readymade family of your own, didn’t you?”

  The waver in her mother’s voice made her heart ache. “Mum, don’t cry.” Her heart ached.

  “It’s not every day you see your oldest come into her own. I know you think I’m being an overprotective mother. But we both know the situation you’re in isn’t normal. This isn’t the life I wanted for you though. It’s dangerous and unpredictable. I may not know this man personally, yet I know what he’s capable of. We’ve all heard the rumors. Are you sure this is right for you? Is he making you feel like you have to do this to pay for our debt, because it’s not worth it. He can have this damn bar.”

  “What? Mom no. No, it’s nothing like that.” Ardy sighed. The time for misdirection had come to an end. “I know it seems odd, me falling for him. He’s nothing like the men I grew up with and the situation is less than ideal. But together, we make each other whole. We fill in the gaps.”

  “Gaps, what are you talking about, Ardy?”

  “The gaps that get left behind by life mom. Those blank, empty spaces that make you sad and leave you feeling alone and incomplete.”

  “You’re twenty-three—”

  “And I haven’t been happy in a long time. Not really, we both know it. I love you and our family, but I can’t spend the rest of my life living for you. I’ve paid my dues.” The words made her feel guilty, but they also lifted a weight off her shoulders.

  Her mother gasped.

  “I’m sorry Mum. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I just—I don’t’ have anything just for me. I never made a decision because I wanted to, with no thought to anyone else. I’m twenty-three. I still live around the corner from my parents, work in their bar and tend to my siblings. When is that going to end? What happens when they don’t need me anymore, they’re off living a fabulous life and I’m left behind bitter and lost?”

  “So, this is the answer? You run away with some dangerous man because tall, dark and handsome makes you tingle?”

  “No, don’t cheapen what I have with, Demon! You know nothing about him! He’s a good man. He takes care of his children and me. He accepts me for some god forsaken reason. I’m sure I wasn’t his ideal mate. This situation could’ve gone a lot differently and you know it. He’s honorable in his own way.”

  “Oh, because he lives by some wild west code of ethics?” Her mother scoffed. “You deserve better.”

  Her mother’s words pained her. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I have everything I need here.” It’d never been about money for her. She’d been waiting for a man to move her.

  “Please just take your time with this, Ardy. That’s all I ask. Think about your future. What kind of life could you possibly have with a man like that? Constantly wondering if he’s being faithful while he’s out on the road, or if he’s going to come home at all?”

  “Suddenly, you’re an expert on M.C. life? Any man can cheat. That’s not something limited to bikers or men on the road.”

  “Come on, we’ve lived around them your entire life. Neither of us is blind. Their reality is harsh.”

  “Maybe, but from the outside looking in, it’s also very beautiful and simplistic. These people are happy. Happier than most people I know who work nine to five and have the white picket fence.”

  The sound of kids stirring in the room drew her attention away from the heated conversation. “The kids are waking I need to go.”

  “Please just think about what I said.”

  “I will, Mom. Please give everyone my love and tell them I’m okay. I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.” She disconnected feeling like she just sat on a couch with a counselor and talked out her feelings. For better or worse, she’d become too invested in Demon and his children to walk away now. Knowing she had a good fifteen minutes before they were up and moving about. She forced her body out of the bed, grabbed Demon’s discarded shirt and padded to the bathroom. It felt odd having other people in the house, but she understood the reasoning. She turned on the water, inhaling the steam in her lungs. Being afraid was okay. She would have to be inhuman not to be. What she couldn’t do was let that fear control her. Shrugging out of Demon’s shirt, she tossed it in the wicker hamper in the corner and stepped into the spray, welcoming the warmth. Inhaling the allowed the waters, to wash away the remnants of last night down the drain.

  It was a new dawn. She realized how Rocket and Harley were damn perceptive. They’d pick up what she had going on. Her mind fixed on the two precious children who’d wrapped her around their finger. She’d watched them blossom under her care. Rocket had begun to speak his mind and seemed truly comfortable with her. Please let him be okay. The thought of him regressing to the shy, sullen, spectral child she’d first met broke her heart. I have to be okay, for their sake. Finishing her shower, she wrapped herself in a fluffy black towel and walked to the room she now shared with Demon.

  After she dressed, she placed a smile on her face and walked into the kitchen.

  The boys in the living room hadn’t said anything, but pancakes had a way of waking people up and bringing them to the table for breakfast.

  She doubled her usual batch of sautéed blueberries and raspberries for a healthy topping choice.

  “Ardy?”

  She glanced up and smiled at Rocket.

  He stood in the doorframe, rubbing his eyes. He was adorable in his motorcycle pajamas.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Ardy flipped the pancake and walked over to envelope him in a gentle hug.

  He buried his face in her belly. “Where’s Daddy?”

  She furrowed her brow, deciphering the muffled question. “Your Dad? He had to take care of some business at the club, but he’ll be back later, okay?”

  “Are you going to leave us now?”

  Rocket’s broken voice banished any lingering thoughts she had of leaving. She gently pried his death grip from her waist and knelt. “Hey, look at me.”

  He glanced up with watery hazel-colored eyes.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You’re not?” He blinked.

  “No honey. I’m going to stay here with you. Why did you think I was going to leave?”

  “Because—my Mom came back and she ruins everything. She made my Daddy go away.” Rocket glanced at the ground.

  Ardy winced. She knew Demon took the betrayal hard. “You know what, buddy? Sometimes, adults have to go away to get some perspective. Do you know what that means?”

  “No.” Rocket shook his head.

  “It means to get a clear picture. It’s like a time out for big people. You walk away from the problem, calm down and then you come back.”

  “He was gone for a long time,” Rocket said.

  “He had to make sure you and your sister were safe from her. Your mom, she’s got a sickness that makes her act strangely. That has nothing to do with you. You unders
tand that right?”

  “She doesn’t love us,” Rocket whispered. “Only Daddy does.”

  “Honey…she’s mixed up right now. If she wasn’t sick, she’d be able to express her love properly.” The white lie rolled off her tongue. She had no clue what type of woman Natasha was, but she knew what this child needed to hear. “You know what else?” She put a finger under his chin and slowly lifted his head until their gazes locked. “I love you.”

  He gasped as his eyes rounded.

  “I love you and Harley very much. I’m honored to take care of you.”

  “That’s why you saved us, cause you love us?” A bashful smile tilted his lips up.

  “That’s right. You will always be safe when you’re with me, okay?”

  “Okay.” Rocket launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her neck. “I love you too, Ardy.”

  Her vision wavered. She blinked rapidly to keep tears from leaking out of her eyes. This little boy who’d been through so much placed his trust and his heart in her hands. She patted his back, ignoring the smell of burning. Rocket could take as long as he needed.

  Releasing her, he stepped back, instantly going into cool as biker kid mode before her eyes.

  Like father, like son.

  “How about you go wake up Harley while I finish up breakfast?”

  “I can do that.” He smiled and dashed out of the room.

  This is exactly where I belong. She returned to the stove, scraped the crispy, blackened circle off the skillet and started fresh.

  A little while later, they were all seated around the table with Rambler and Mumble. The adults pretended everything was normal while the kids enjoyed the special company. Her mind drifted to Demon. What is he up to right now?

  He didn’t need to tell her he was out for blood when he’d all but breathed fire last night. A vein throbbed in his forehead and his nostrils flared. He’d curled his hands into fists so tightly, his knuckles turned white. A terrifying violence boiled inside him.