Hell's Fire MC: The Full Series

by Erin Trejo

  “You were never his, Ev. You never belonged to him. He used you for what he wanted. You never truly belonged to anyone, but you do now. Make no fuckin’ mistake about that. The moment I saw into your soul, I knew who you belonged to.” Her eyes burn into me.

  “Who do I belong to?” As if she still needs that reassurance, I give it to her.

  “Me. You belong to me. Everything about you, your heart, your body, your mind, and your soul. It’s all mine.” Crushing her lips with mine, I let her lead. I let her take all of me. I want her to have me. I want her to have every last piece of my being. There is no one else I’d want to give it to.

  My hands snake around her waist, pulling her into me. Her fingers tangle in my hair until I lift her in my arms. Pressing her back against the wall, we kiss with such a passion that it almost chokes me. My lips travel down her chin, to her neck.

  “Now, we need to go see Santa.”

  Chapter 17

  “For fuck's sake! Are you kiddin’ me?” I grumble like a bitch. I don’t care either. Standing in lollipop lane, we wait to see Santa. I have never in my life been in a goddamn line like this.

  “Is there only one fuckin’ mall Santa?” Everleigh elbows me in the side. I glance down at her with an what the fuck face.

  “Stop that! There are kids in this line.” Shaking my head, I look at the line once more.

  “I’m surrounded by fuckin’ candy canes and cookie people, Ev. Do I look like the cookie type?” Her laughter fills my heart. Haylee isn’t paying any attention to us. She’s excitedly watching the line move.

  “You are the one that decided to do this,” she reminds me. She grabs my hand in hers. It takes me by surprise that she did that. I almost jerk, but I steady myself. Ev doesn’t usually put her hands on me first, but I fucking like it. She must notice my surprise; she tries to pull her hand away.

  “Not a chance in hell, sweetheart.” I wink at her; she smiles up at me.

  When it’s finally Haylee’s turn, she takes off running and jumps into Santa’s lap when I grumble, “Thank fuck!” Ev and I stand off to the side smiling as she talks. She looks like she’s giving him a piece of her mind, too.

  “Damn, she must get that from you.” Nudging Ev, she laughs.

  “Yeah, she was pissed last year when she didn’t get a puppy. I’m sure she’s telling him something.” The thought floats through my head. A puppy, huh?

  “Take her to get a cookie. I’m askin’ fake Santa what she said.” Everleigh squeezes my hand once before letting me go. I watch the two walk off when I step up next to the weirdo in the Santa suit.

  “Hey, what did the kid say she wanted?” His face reddens when he looks up at me.

  “She told me I was a fuckin’ loser for not bringing her a puppy last year. Aside from that, she wants a bunny and baby dolls.” I can’t control the laughter that comes out of me.

  Yep, she’s been around me way too much.

  ***

  We wander through the mall letting Haylee look at everything in sight. It’s really nice to be holding onto Ev and just being together.

  “What did you usually do for Christmas?” Glancing down at her, I shrug.

  “Not much. We never had many kids around the club. The ones that were there had their time at home. We just did what we always do.” She doesn’t smile, and that bothers me.

  “We had a small tree. Luke would buy her all kinds of things she never wanted. I don’t know why he did that when clearly, he could afford the things she asked for.” The more she talks about him, the more I hate the motherfucker.

  “He liked the control.” My hand involuntarily tightens around hers.

  “You’re probably right.” We let the rest go in silence.

  “Can we go see the lights?” Haylee jumps up and down in front of me. I look at her like she’s an alien. Do they even have lights in California?

  “They have those?” Looking over at Ev, she smiles.

  “There’s a few neighborhoods that really go all out.” Lifting Haylee, I spin her around in my arms.

  “Then I guess we’re goin’. Are you gonna show me, cause I never saw them before.” Haylee laughs the more I spin her.

  “They have lots of them, Dragon. They have red and blue, and green.” A man could get used to this. This feeling of having a family again.

  “They really are beautiful.” Shifting Haylee to one arm, I throw the other around Everleigh.

  “This is gonna be a great Christmas.”

  Chapter 18

  Haylee passed out in the truck while we were looking at the lights. I have to say, that I’m impressed.

  “I never knew they did that shit.” Carrying her sleeping body inside, I lay her on the bed gently.

  “They’ve done it for years. I can’t believe that you never went to see them.” After tucking Haylee in, I turn to Everleigh.

  “Not really my side of town, darlin’.” Winking at her she slowly walks toward me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she nuzzles her face into my shirt.

  “You know everything’s gonna be ok, right?” I say, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She sighs into me.

  “I know. I just worry. Haylee doesn’t understand any of this.” Pushing her back a little, I brush a piece of her hair behind her ear.

  “She will in time. She doesn’t need him. I’ve thought about it, too. Killin’ her dad wasn’t high on my priority list. It actually had me rethinkin’ shit. At the end of it, though, there’s no other way to get rid of him, Ev. I need you to be ok with that. If you’re not, I don’t know what to do. I can hide you for as long as I can but—” She cuts me off. She doesn’t let me finish.

  “I don’t know what to say, Dragon. I’m torn. I mean... I don’t want to be the reason someone else loses their life.” I know her fear. It was once mine, but that was a long time ago.

  “I know. I wouldn’t ask you to choose, but in the end, I don’t know what you can live with, Ev. I don’t want to push you too far.” She smiles up at me as if she understands.

  “You don’t have to answer me now,” I tell her, and I think she’s grateful for that.

  I don’t want her to feel like I pressured her, or put her in a place that she doesn’t want to be.

  I stand outside smoking a cigarette when I see the car pulling in. My stomach knots at the sight now that I know who Everleigh was running from. Wiley parks, climbing out of his car at the same time Roc and Aria, are unloading the tree and decorations.

  “You got a tree this year?” Wiley grins as he walks toward me. Nodding, I wait for him to spit out whatever it is he’s here for.

  “Never had one before,” he says. Wow, thanks for stating the obvious.

  “Never had kids. Now Marissa and Jordan are here.” Wiley nods as if that slipped his mind.

  “What is it you want?” I ask, already annoyed by his presence. Blowing out a ring of smoke, I give Roc a glance letting him know not to let Haylee or Ev come out right now.

  “I hear you got your guy.” Grunting, I shift slightly.

  “That part’s finished.” Wiley nods, knowing he has to clean that mess up.

  “Somethin’ else?” I ask. I need to watch my ass. I know I’m being short with him, but I want his ass off my property, and those two inside, out of harm’s way.

  “I told you about that situation with the Captain, right?” Here we go again.

  “Said somethin’ about it.” Wiley pulls his sunglasses off before reaching into his pocket. Unrolling an envelope, he passes it to me.

  “The fuck is this, Wiley?” Holding it in my hand, I know this is bad. These manila envelopes never hold anything good; I know that much.

  “I think you should look at it.” Swallowing hard, I rip the end of the envelope open. My stomach cramps. There are pictures of Haylee and Everleigh from the mall.

  “What does this have to do with me, Wiley?” Staring at the picture in my hand, I know someone also had to see me there.

  “Look at the next pic
ture, Dragon.” With my heart slamming in my chest, I feel like my throat is clogging. I flip the pictures until I see the one of me. I was leaning down, talking to the Santa.

  “What the fuck are you doin’ with these?” My hand clenches around the pictures, my body beginning to shake. My stomach tumbles. If Wiley knows, does the Captain know also? I look over and before I can ask, Wiley says, “I told you the Captain is looking for them, Dragon. What the hell is going on?”

  “He saw this?” Wiley shakes his head as I blow out a breath.

  “Where are they, Dragon? Let’s make this easy for everyone. He will come after you full force.” A chuckle escapes me. Does he think a threat like that will bother me at all? He must not know me as well as I thought.

  Wiley’s eyes widen when I ask, “Is that a threat?”

  “No, Dragon—it’s a promise. He won’t stop until he has them back.” The more he talks, the more he pisses me off.

  “Are you sayin’ that they deserve to beat on and abused?” I can see I’m pushing Wiley. He’s starting to get that vein throbbing in his head.

  “You don’t know that’s what happened, Dragon. Come on!” There he goes.

  “I don’t know shit, Wiley. Take that back to your Captain.” Flicking my cigarette into his chest, he clenches his hands.

  “He can get a search warrant, Dragon! He can rip this club to shreds!”

  Search warrant? Again, he feels like that’s scaring me.

  “You think I take your threats lightly, Wiley? What the fuck you think he’ll say when he learns that you work for me?” Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him.

  “You have no proof, Dragon. That was our deal.” The laughter erupts out of me as I look him in the eye.

  “Do you think that I’d do business with a dirty fuckin’ cop, and have nothin’ to hold over your head? You are dumber than I thought,” I say, dropping my arms. I turn to head back inside.

  “I can’t stop him.” Glancing over my shoulder, I nod once.

  “You damn well better figure out how to.” Pushing through the front door, I blow out the breath I’d been holding.

  Roc comes in full blast when he sees me.

  “He knows?” As much as I hate to say it, I do.

  “Yep. Motherfucker saw us at the goddamn mall, of all places. Had pictures and everything.” Roc lets out a low whistle before looking back up at me.

  “What do you wanna do? Move in sooner? Devil has some good intel,” Roc says, but I shake my head. He might have intel, but we don’t have enough. Not now that he knows I have them.

  “We need more. He knows she’s here. I don’t know if he’s dumb enough to show up. I’m guessin’ the search warrant will be comin’ soon enough. Get Devil in here. I need to see if he can hide her out at his place until they search.” Roc nods before heading into the other room.

  Aria walks past with a smile on her face before she looks at me.

  “Did something happen?” Aria asks. Stepping closer to her, I wrap my arm around her shoulder.

  “Not yet, darlin’, but hell’s about to break.”

  ***

  Devil strolls into the room as I throw back another shot before he says, “Dragon... You needed me?”

  “Yeah. Need a favor, brother.” Devil grabs the bottle of vodka from my hand before tossing it back.

  “What is it?” He asks. I snatch the vodka back and pour another shot.

  “Anderson knows they’re here. Wiley said he’ll have a search warrant. I need them gone for a few days once he tells me.” Taking down his shot, Devil grunts.

  “You didn’t even have to ask, Dragon. I got this. She’ll be ok at the house with Angel.” Giving him a quick nod, I look over.

  “I didn’t want to drag your personal place into this shit, Devil.” He gives me the same shut the fuck up look he always does.

  “That ain’t shit, Dragon Man. She’s family now. We protect family. I’ll get Angel to set up the guest room. She’s been itchin’ to do that shit anyway.” Devil smiles as he speaks. He loves that girl more than words can say. I see it in everything he says about her.

  “Means a lot. Let’s go set up that fuckin’ tree.” Slapping a hand on his shoulder, we both stand and head toward the lobby. Everyone’s already out there while Roc pulls the tree from the box. Ev’s eyes find mine through the crowd, a small smile crossing her face.

  “I’ll be damned. She’s tamin’ the dragon.” Devil laughs, walking past me. As soon as he’s gone, Everleigh moves toward me. She wraps her arms around me like I’ve grown accustomed to.

  “We need to talk.” She nods slowly as if she knows what I’m about to say.

  Chapter 19

  “He knows we’re here?” I can hear how nervous she is. The shakiness of her voice, the tears in her eyes.

  “Yeah... Wiley said he'd get a search warrant.” Everleigh gasps loudly.

  “They will find us here! Oh, my God. I can’t go back, Dragon! I won’t!” She tries to pull away from me, but I won’t let her. Instead, I look over at Haylee as she smiles and helps decorate the tree. Pulling Everleigh down the hallway, I push her gently against the wall.

  “Didn’t I tell you that I would protect you?” She won’t look at me, in fact, she’s looking everywhere, except at me. Grabbing her face roughly, I pull it to look at me.

  “Don’t doubt me now, Ev. I have a plan.” The tears that always fall don’t fail this time either. They trickle down her cheeks, breaking every piece of me.

  “Everleigh.” Saying her name, she pushes up on her toes. Her lips press into mine like they were always meant to be there.

  “I don’t doubt you, Dragon. I can’t let him get her. I’ll go back if I have to—but not her.” Has she lost her mind? There is no fucking way that I would let her go back!

  “Have you lost your mind? Why the fuck would you even consider that shit?” Ev slinks down, moving under my arm before stomping down the hallway.

  “Where the hell are you goin’?” I roar as I follow behind her. She’s giving me the silent treatment.

  “Everleigh! Everleigh! Goddamn it!” When she starts to open her door, I grab her around the waist.

  Jerking her up I spin her around, slamming her against the wall.

  “What the fuck are you doin’?”

  She looks so stoic. She’s putting up a front that I’ve never seen before. She’s hardened herself. I would guess this is what she did when he would hurt her. I’m not him, though.

  “Get your hands off me, Dragon.” Her tone is even, and I can see the look in her eyes, she’s serious.

  “No. I’m not him, Everleigh.” Her features never change. She keeps that mask in place.

  “Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me.” She pronounces each word slowly, staring me in the eye.

  Something inside of me wants to snap. I want to slam her against this wall and fuck her until she can’t walk. I want to shake her, and make her understand that I would throw myself in front of a bullet for either of them.

  That reality doesn’t go unnoticed by me either. I would, though. She means that much to me; they mean that much to me.

  “You want to run back to him? Do you want to throw yourself back into the abuse? Why, Everleigh?” Cocking my head to the side, I watch her face.

  “You don’t understand what he will do to you, Dragon.” Is she serious? I chuckle before taking a deep breath.

  “You don’t know what I’ll do to him. Don’t even think that he is a threat to me. You’re scared. You’re scared to let him go. You’re fuckin’ scared to love me! Admit it!” I know what she’s scared of. I can see it all over her face. She’s afraid of me. This has nothing to do with Anderson, and everything to do with me.

  “Is that what you think? You have the biggest fucking ego I’ve ever seen! You think that everyone wants to fall at your feet? You think that you’re that special, Dragon?” Look at her pushing me.

  ***

  Nodding my head silently, I look back at her.


  “I don’t think anyone wants me. I don’t throw myself around like that. I know who I am, and who I’m not. When you want to admit that you’re fuckin’ scared of the feelin’s you have for me, we can talk. Until then, I’ll lock your pretty little ass in a room, tied to a goddamn bed, but I will not let you go anywhere near that motherfucker again. If you think you want that life... go. But don’t you dare put that helpless little girl back in that position.” I shove off the wall, heading toward the lobby when I hear her scream. I know she’s pissed. I pushed her limits, as much as she’s pushed mine. Her fists collide with my back before I even make it six steps away.

  “You, son of a bitch! You don’t know me! You don’t know what I feel, or what I want!” She screams. Devil peeks down the hallway, but I just shake my head. She doesn’t need the audience. Devil gives me a quick nod before he disappears. Everleigh’s rant keeps going, though. I spin around, seeing the fury in her eyes.

  “Hit me Everleigh.” I tempt her into doing it.

  “Fuck you! You think you know everything!” Her fists slam into me once more.

  “Do it—hit me.” Gritting my teeth, I need her to take out her frustration somehow; I’d prefer it be on me.

  “I don’t want to hit you!” Her screams only get louder.

  “Yes, you do. Now do it. You’re mad at me, hit me! Make yourself feel better! Because I can fuckin’ promise you after this little rant, you aren’t goin’ anywhere!”

  We stand in a silent standoff. She doesn’t back down, and neither do I.

  One of us is going to break and it sure as fuck isn’t going to be me. The muscle in my jaw ticks with every breath I take. My shoulders are corded tightly. I want to grab her and make her understand me.

  “I’ll die running from him—it isn’t worth it for Haylee.” Finally, her words make sense.

  “Do you listen to anything I say to you?” Lifting her face under her chin, she looks at me with such sad eyes.