Riding the Line (Devil's Knights 2nd Generation)

by Winter Travers

  “You doing that?” King asked Frost.

  Frost shrugged. “I don’t even understand what she thinks I’m doing, so I can’t really tell you if I am doing it.”

  “Is my breakfast done?” Pie hollered.

  “Shut up!” King, Frost, and I yelled in unison.

  I moved back to the bowl and started cracking eggs at lightning speed. “I just need to go to Florida. I should be able to do that, right?”

  “Yeah,” King agreed. “As soon as you tell us what is going on with your friend.”

  “I told you,” I insisted.

  “Your friend being pregnant isn’t reason enough to go jet setting across the country at the drop of a hat.” Frost shook his head. “Add a few more details, darlin’.”

  I glared at Frost and cracked the last egg into the bowl. “You know, Pie’s looking might good right now? As long as I keep him fed, I can do whatever.”

  “Try me, darlin’.”

  I huffed and grabbed a whisk. “It’s nothing, really. She’s in a bit of a jam, and I just need to run down there to help.”

  “What kind of jam?” King asked.

  Jesus. It was one thing to have to deal with Frost being insistent about needing to know why I had to go to Florida, but adding King to the badgering was too much to handle. “One I can fix.”

  Frost and King shared a knowing glance.

  King sighed. “It’s been a few years since this shit has happened, but I can tell shit is about to blow up even more than you or I even know.”

  Frost nodded. “I remember the stories from you and Dad about Mom and Meg.”

  “What?” I screeched. “What are you two talking about?”

  “Yo!” Someone called from the common room. “There’s a guy here who says he knows Indiana. Says his name is Grit.”

  Mother fucker. Mother. Fucker. He hadn’t even given me twenty-four hours to figure shit out.

  King and Frost both stared at me. They didn’t even have to say anything. I needed to spill the beans now, or shit was just going to be even harder for me.

  “Royal is pregnant,” I blurted out. “Her ex is Rider Meeks, whose dad is Biff Meeks, who happens to be a pretty bad guy. She broke up with Rider. Then, she told him she was pregnant. Now, she is missing. I found this all out last night when Grit managed to catch me out in the backyard.”

  “And who the fuck is Grit?” Frost growled. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he was not looking happy. Not at all.

  I cleared my throat. Might as well just keep going with the bad news train I was riding on. “Grit is Royal’s brother.” My eyes dropped to the floor. “And my ex.”

  *

  Chapter Six

  Frost

  I leaned back in my chair and studied the asshole sitting across from me.

  This was the type of guy Indiana was interested in?

  I mean, there wasn’t anything wrong with him per se, but he just looked like a fucking prick.

  With his black hair slicked back and a nose that appeared like it had been broken more than a couple of times, he looked like a sleazeball. His clothes were clean and decent, just jeans and a shirt, but again, there was just something about him that didn’t sit right with me.

  Maybe it was the fact that he was Indiana’s ex, and he possibly knew her better than I did. Or ever would.

  Indiana sat next to me, with King at the head of the table.

  We were in church, and for the first time—other than when Meg or Mom would barge their way into church—there were people at the table who weren’t part of the club.

  Dad sat on one side of King with Rigid on the other side of him. The OG’s always had the head of the table with the rest of us falling in after.

  Even though I was Demon’s kid, I didn’t get any special treatment. Hell, none of us did. If anything, we all had to work twice as hard to get any respect around here. That was the main reason I was such a stick-in-the-mud like Zig and Zag said. Sure as shit, I would like to let loose like my brothers did, but I craved the respect of the club more.

  “I swear to God, we’ve all been teleported to twenty years ago,” Rigid laughed. “I still remember the first time Meg and the girls barged in on church.”

  “They still fucking barge into church,” Dad complained.

  “Yeah,” King agreed. “Though we’ve gotten used to it.”

  “That’s because they’ve learned to come in with food to help soften the blow,” Dad laughed.

  Rigid pointed at Indiana. “You bring some cookies or brownies in here with you, little girl?”

  Indiana cleared her throat. “Uh, no, but I know how to bake. I’ll remember to bring some next time.”

  “Hopefully, there won’t be a next time,” King drawled. He grabbed the gavel and slammed it down on the table. “Let’s get this shitshow on the road.”

  Indiana jumped when the gavel connected with the table and leaned toward me. “Jesus,” she whispered.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Zag called. “King likes to swing his gavel around like King Kong.”

  “What?” Easy laughed. “When did King Kong have a gavel?”

  “It’s a simile,” Zag drawled.

  Rigid cocked his head to the side. “What?”

  “Metaphor?” Zig asked. “I think you meant metaphor.”

  Zag waved his hand. “Sure, whatever. That’s what I meant.”

  Indiana and Grit both sat quietly, listening to Zig and Zag trying to figure out what the hell they were talking about.

  “Is that like an adverb?” Snapper asked.

  I turned to Snapper. “Did you end up failing English?” I asked.

  Snapper shrugged. “I passed.”

  “Barely,” Easy coughed.

  “Do I really need to know what a fucking adverb, noun, and prenoun are?” Snapper snapped.

  “Pronoun,” Easy muttered. “I think you mean pronoun.”

  King smacked the gavel on the table a second time, and Indiana jumped again.

  “Enough with the fucking English lesson,” he boomed. “Do you assholes think we can, for once, have a meeting where we don’t go off on some fucking tangent? Worse than a bunch of fucking women yapping your heads off.”

  “Tangent. Good word,” Easy called.

  King pointed the gavel at him. “You want me to use this fucker upside your head next time?”

  Easy held up his hands. “Sorry, bossman.”

  Indiana watched the exchange back and forth with her mouth open and her eyes bugged out.

  “Let’s get on with the Meeks bullshit,” Dad suggested. “That is one name I never thought we would have to bring up around this table.”

  “You know the Meeks?” Indiana asked.

  Dad nodded. “It would be more surprising if I hadn’t heard the name before.”

  “Runs flesh up and down 95.” King sat back in his chair. “That’s a whole other kind of evil.”

  “Jesus,” Zag grunted. “How the hell did your friend manage to get tangled up with someone like that?”

  “My sister likes to think she can fix people. No matter how fucked up they are,” Grit interrupted. “Rider was way above anything she had ever dealt with before.”

  “Yeah, the son of a notorious human trafficker. Not really someone who can be saved,” Zig laughed.

  “Royal’s big heart is her strength and downfall. She only sees good in people even though they are basically in her face showing her all of the reasons why they aren’t good.” Indiana hung her head. “Look, this has nothing to do with you guys. I just need to get to Florida and straighten all of this out.”

  Rigid scoffed.

  Dad shook his head and frowned.

  “So, you’re going to head to Florida and just ask Biff and Rider Meeks to release Royal, and they’ll give her back to you? Is that what you’re thinking is going to happen?” King asked. “I gotta say your friend Royal isn’t the only one who only sees the good in people.”

  “I know Biff is a bad guy
. I don’t know what I’m going to say or do, but I have to get Royal back. She’s my best friend, and I know she would do everything she could if I were in her shoes,” Indiana insisted.

  Grit leaned toward Indiana from across the table. “We need them, I. There isn’t a chance in hell that you and I are going to be able to save Royal with no help.”

  I glared at Grit. No way in hell Indiana was going to do anything with Grit alone. I had no idea of their past, but I didn’t like the guy one bit. “The Knights are going to help Indiana.”

  “We are?” King asked.

  Well, shit. “Uh, well, I mean, we can, right? There really isn’t a reason why we can’t.”

  Jesus. My blind hate for Grit made me open my mouth before I should have. King was somewhat heading out the door on being prez, but that didn’t mean anything since he was still sitting at the head of the table.

  “We’re gonna need Leo,” Dad said quietly. “He’s got the connections that we don’t when it comes to this.”

  “He’s out of the country right now. Slider was telling me Marco is in charge for the time being.” Rigid folded his arms over his chest. “All of these young whippersnappers are taking over.”

  “Uh, isn’t Marco forty-two?” Easy asked. “That really isn’t a whippersnapper, is it?”

  “Fucking hell, we’re getting old,” Dad grunted.

  “Yeah, you are,” Hero pipped in.

  Hero was chomping at the bit to be the next prez of the Devil’s Knights. I couldn’t really blame him, either. I already had it in my head that he would be prez, and I would be his VP. None of that would happen until all the OGs stepped down and let us “whippersnappers” have at it. Maybe pointing out that they were getting old wasn’t the best thing, though.

  “You’re walking on thin ice, kid,” Rigid grunted. “Try telling your dad he’s getting old again and see what happens.”

  Hero held up his hands. “I mean, I’m just stating the truth.”

  Rigid growled.

  King slammed the gavel down again.

  “He really is slam happy with that thing,” Zag whispered.

  Yeah, now this was a normal church with the Knights. King slamming the gavel the whole time, and everyone having side conversations that somehow had nothing to do with what we were really talking about.

  “Everyone shut the fuck up,” King thundered. “Y’all fuckers are the reason for my gray hair.”

  “I just figured that was from all of Meg’s antics throughout the years,” Zig snickered.

  “Ryan,” Dad snapped.

  Uh oh. It was never good when Dad pulled out our real names.

  Zig sat up straight and zipped his lips. Even he knew shit just got serious. “Sorry, King.”

  We all thought Meg was a complete nut, but at the end of the day, she was King’s ol’ lady. Jokes could only go so far before King started getting pissed off.

  King laid the gavel on the table. “I’ll get in touch with Marco. He might be able to help, and he might not be able to.”

  “And what are we supposed to do while you have a talk with some guy?” Grit grunted. “My sister is God knows where and I’m just supposed to sit here with my thumb up my ass?”

  “No one said you were staying here,” I grunted.

  Dad chuckled and shook his head.

  “He’s just like you, Demon,” Rigid laughed.

  King smirked. “You’re welcome to head back to Florida. As of right now, we’re not doing anything until we figure out what we’re dealing with.”

  Indiana cleared her throat. “I think what Grit is trying to say is he doesn’t think Royal has much time left before something bad happens to her.”

  “I got that, darlin’. I’m gonna need a day to figure shit out so I can send my guys to rescue a chick who has no real connection to us other than the fact she is your friend.” King stood. “Appreciate the fact I’m willing to stick my club’s neck out for Royal and not make unreasonable demands on us at the same time.” He slammed the gavel on the table. “Stay the fuck out of trouble while I figure this shit out.”

  He stormed out of the room with Rigid and Dad following him.

  Hero stood. “I’m gonna go see if there is anything I can do to help and maybe unruffle King’s feathers a bit.” He headed out the door, and I leaned back in my chair.

  “Uh, I don’t know if that was good or not,” Indiana whispered.

  I sighed and tilted my head back. “They’re gonna help with Royal. That was what we wanted to happen.”

  “Are they?” Grit grunted. “They didn’t seem too happy to help.”

  I tipped my head forward and glared at Grit. I already didn’t like the guy because of the fact he used to date Indiana. Now I didn’t like him because he wasn’t talking too highly of my club. The club that was my life.

  “Pretty sure you were told to head back to Florida and don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya,” I growled.

  “This is what you went to after me?” Grit asked Indiana. “I know we were like fire and ice, I, but I kind of thought you’d upgrade and not downgrade.”

  I shot up from the table and reached across it to wring Grit’s neck. “You come to my club for fucking help, and then, you’re gonna sit there and insult me? You can walk your ass out the door, and I’ll go let King know he doesn’t need to stick his neck out for someone like you.”

  “Frost,” Indiana called.

  Grit held up his hands. “Sorry, brother. I was just calling it like I saw it.”

  “I am not your fucking brother,” I growled. “You will never have the honor of calling me that.”

  “Frost,” Indiana called again. She wrapped her hand around my wrist and tugged. “Please don’t do this.”

  My blood surged through my veins, and all I wanted to do was lay this fucker out with one punch. I hadn’t even laid a finger on Indiana or claimed her as mine, but I was more than ready to kill this fucker because he had touched her.

  Grit looked down at Indiana’s hand wrapped around my wrist. He held up his hands and stood. “Look, I’m just here to get my sister back. Help with that, and you’ll never see me again.” He nodded to Indiana. “Make sure you take care of her.”

  “Because you couldn’t,” I spat.

  He grimaced and nodded. “Exactly.” He walked out of church with his head hung down and his hands in his pockets.

  “I’ll go make sure the asshole finds the way out,” Zag grunted.

  “Want me to go let the air out of his tires?” Zig volunteered. “I can have Zag distract him.”

  That was Zig and Zag. They may give me the most shit, but they were always there for me, no matter what.

  “If you let the air out of his tires, then he’s not going to be able to leave,” Easy noted.

  Zig pointed at Easy. “Valid point. I’ll get the eggs and egg his car while he leaves.” Zig ran out of the room with Pie on his heels.

  “Don’t use all of the eggs,” Pie protested. “We just figured out Indy can cook,” he hollered at Zig’s retreating back.

  “I better go supervise those two,” Easy muttered.

  Indiana and I were the only ones left in church.

  Her fingers were still curved around my wrist, and I noticed how close she was standing to me. I didn’t want to move. This was the first time she had touched me. It may have been to keep me from beating the shit out of her ex, but she was still touching me.

  “So now, what do we do? What is going to happen with Royal? That Marco guy is going to help us?” she asked.

  I nodded. “If I know King, he’s already on the phone with him, and the ball is in motion to get Royal.”

  “But what are we supposed to do?”

  I chuckled. “Wait, darlin’. That’s all we can do until King tells us differently.”

  “Ugh. I’m not very good at waiting. Like, at all.”

  “Well, I got rid of your ex, so you at least don’t have to worry about him.”

  “You di
dn’t have to do that. Grit always talked a lot of shit. And, I don’t think he’s actually going back to Florida. Grit isn’t that easy to get rid of.”

  I looked down at her. “So that means he can just say whatever he wants and do whatever he wants? Nah, darlin’. That’s not how shit goes with me.”

  She tipped her head back. “Well, not me either seeing as we broke up, but sometimes, it’s just best to let him run his mouth.”

  I shook my head. “Not when it comes to you. He’s not even allowed to say your name from where I’m standing.”

  “You don’t even know him, Frost. Hell, you barely know me. You don’t know anything that happened between Grit and me.”

  “It must have been bad enough for you to leave your home,” I drawled.

  She let go of my wrist. “I didn’t leave Destin only because of Grit. There were a lot of things that weren’t right, and I just needed a change.”

  “You’re gonna tell me that asshole wasn’t the reason you left?” That asshole had to have been the reason she left. Needed a change my ass.

  Indiana huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “I mean, he was, but I can handle him now. He doesn’t have any power over me. And besides, he’s not here for me. He’s here to help Royal.”

  She was right, I didn’t know the story between them, but I saw the way she reacted when she found out he was here. She didn’t get close to him, and when he had approached her, she hadn’t offered a friendly hello.

  “If that’s what you want to believe, darlin’.”

  She rolled her eyes. “There is absolutely no chance in hell that I am at all interested in Grit again. I was a young and dumb girl when I met him. That girl is dead now. I just want to find Royal safe, send Grit back to Destin, and then, I can get back to dancing.”

  “You make it sound pretty simple when you gotta know none of this is going to be simple.” Even I had heard of Biff Meeks before. We were about to go up against a guy who was ruthless as hell and didn’t give a fuck about anyone.

  She shrugged. “I guess I’m used to it because nothing in my life has ever been simple. I’ve made it this far on my own.”

  “Yeah, well, from now on, you aren’t doing this shit on your own. I’m gonna make your life a whole hell of a lot easier.”