Devil's Spawn: Satan's Devils MC Colorado Chapter #6

by Manda Mellett

  She looks up, wipes away tears, and her eyes open wide. “Marry me? Are you actually asking me?”

  “If you’re ready to hear it as a question, then yes. But I’m willing to give you all the time you need before I come looking for your answer. Thing is, Shayla, there I was, a single man, fulfilled that way until you stormed into my life and upset everything. I thought my life satisfied me, never knew there was a piece of me missing, until you showed me there was. I was content, but not happy. I thought I wanted to be single, but that was because I was waiting for you. I want everything with you, Shayla. I just fucking hope it’s what you want too.” If she doesn’t, I’d be lost, cast adrift with no anchor.

  “I wish you hadn’t gone through what you had to, to get to me, baby. I’d never wish that on anyone, and it hurts to know it happened to you. But we’d never have found each other if you hadn’t.”

  It’s only now she speaks. “We met because I wanted to get rid of his tattoo.”

  “Which is gone now.” Vi did the last session last week. An intricate bouquet of flowers now covers his name, with a rainbow background. It’s beautiful, something good from the bad.

  She’s still staring up at me. “I would never have found you. I can’t say it was worth it, nothing is worth the suffering I incurred, and you know that I’m still working through it. But if you’re willing to take me with all the baggage I carry, then one day I’m pretty sure I’m going to give you the answer you’re looking for. It’s just, right now, I’m not ready to.”

  I kiss her gently, then raising my mouth from her soft luscious lips, smile. “I know, and that’s fine with me. Just wanted to let you know where I stood, baby. That nothing about your past bothers me, except that you had to live it. When you are ready, just know, I’ll be here, waiting for you.” In the meantime, she’ll be in my bed, in my life, and fuck it, working alongside me too.

  Her hands come to rest either side of my head, and for the first time I hear her tell me, “Mace, I love you.”

  Epilogue

  “I saw their faces through my sight.” I grin. “They were not happy.” That is an understatement—shocked, confused, and furious.

  “Stormy,” he admonishes lightly, “you could have left it to them.”

  “Nah, Pip. I did what I needed to do. Couldn’t risk that motherfucker getting free.”

  He raises his whisky, takes a sip, then asks, “You think he might have cut a deal with them?”

  I shake my head, putting my beer bottle to my mouth and swallowing. “Who knows what people will do if the price is right?”

  Pip snorts. “You don’t trust many people, do you?”

  “Nah,” I agree. “I trust me and my rifle. Oh, and you.”

  “Then I’m honoured.” He grins. “Oh, and I have another job for you.”

  “Someone else in the same business?”

  “Trafficking this time.” He chucks a folder across to me.

  Opening it, I skim through it. “Ah,” I exclaim after a moment. “This will have me crossing state boundaries again.”

  “Why do you think I’ve given it to you, Stormy? You’re a loner, you get itchy feet staying in one place too long.”

  “And I live to remove scum from this earth.”

  “That you do.” He chuckles softly. “Wish I could have seen their faces when Major hit the ground. They have no fuckin’ idea who took him out. Their mysterious contact has disappeared as well.”

  Giving him a sheepish look. “Sorry about that.”

  “Fuckin’ schoolboy error, forgetting to cloak your IP address.”

  “It won’t happen again,” I promise.

  “See that it doesn’t.”

  “I know the score, Pip. What we do only works if we keep underground.”

  Coming Soon

  Reading Order

  Turning Wheels

  Drummer’s Beat

  Slick Running

  Targeting Dart

  Heart Broken

  Peg’s Stand

  Rock Bottom

  Joker’s Fool

  Mouse Trapped

  Paladin’s Hell (Colorado Chapter #1)

  Blade’s Edge

  Demon’s Angel (Colorado Chapter #2)

  Devil’s Due (Colorado Chapter #3)

  Truck Stopped

  Devil’s Dilemma (Colorado Chapter #4)

  Amy’s Santa (Next Generation #1)

  Ink’s Devil (Colorado Chapter #5)

  Devil’s Spawn (Colorado Chapter #6)

  Coming Soon

  Being Lost (San Diego Chapter #1)

  Hawk’s Cry (Next Generation #2)

  Note 1:

  Each book can be read as a standalone, but to get the best reading experience for the Satan’s Devils, read the books in the order above.

  Note 2:

  While the Blood Brothers series is completely separate to the Satan’s Devils series, there is some crossover. Turning Wheels continues the story of a minor character who appears in Second Changes, and some characters appear in both series.

  Other Works by Manda Mellett

  Blood Brothers – A series about sexy dominant sheikhs and their bodyguards

  Stolen Lives (#1) Nijad and Cara

  Close Protection (#2) Jon and Mia

  Second Chances (#3) Kadar and Zoe

  Identity Crisis (#4) Sean and Vanessa

  Dark Horses (#5) Jasim and Janna

  Hard Choices (#6) Aiza

  Satan’s Devils MC - Arizona Chapter

  Turning Wheels (Blood Brothers #3.5, Satan’s Devils #1) Wraith and Sophie

  Drummer’s Beat (#2) Drummer and Sam

  Slick Running (#3) Slick and Ella

  Targeting Dart (#4) Dart and Alex

  Heart Broken (#5) Heart and Marc

  Peg’s Stand (#6) Peg and Darcy

  Rock Bottom (#7) Rock and Becca

  Joker’s Fool (#8) Joker and Lady

  Mouse Trapped (#9) Mouse and Mariana

  Blade’s Edge (#10) Blade and Tash

  Truck Stopped (#11) Truck & Allie

  Satan’s Devils MC - Colorado Chapter

  Paladin’s Hell (#1) Paladin and Jayden

  Demon’s Angel (#2) Demon and Violet

  Devil’s Due (#3) Beef and Steph

  Devil’s Dilemma (#4) Pyro and Mel

  Ink’s Devil (#5) Ink and Beth

  Satan’s Devils MC - Next Generation

  Amy’s Santa (#1) Wizard and Amy

  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to David ‘Stormy’ Haill for good reason.

  A week before his eighty-fifth birthday, my father-in-law collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. By the time he arrived, he was unconscious. The doctors diagnosed a massive bleed in his brain, one from which he’d never recover. They offered no treatment whatsoever, not even a saline drip, and put him in a side room to die.

  The close family assembled and stayed vigil at his bedside all night, waiting for him to pass. He was still breathing the next morning, but in a coma state.

  That day, family assembled from far and wide, and as Dad was so close to death, the hospital didn’t limit the number of visitors. A pattern developed. A new person would enter, pay their sad respects, but then see someone they hadn’t seen for possibly years, and started catching up with each other’s lives. As well as tears, there was laughter as anecdotes were shared, everyone had a funny story to tell. As the hours passed, people grew hungry, so teas and coffees arrived, and a table was commandeered to hold buffet food. There were up to twenty people at one time in the room.

  Still Dad breathed on.

  Night came, most said their last goodbyes, and left, now as sad as when they had arrived, as they left Dad for what they thought was the last time. His wife, of over sixty years with a card from the Queen to prove it, of course, stayed.

  I had arranged to go visit him with my son the next lunchtime, but didn’t expect to have to make the drive to the hospital. I certainly didn’t expect the call mid-
morning to say he was awake. His awakening kicked the doctors into action, he’d been without sustenance or fluids for two days.

  His recovery was slow, he needed to be transferred to another hospital for a brain operation to stem another, smaller, bleed. When he first came around, he couldn’t recognise anybody or talk. But slowly his brain began to mend.

  Six weeks after he entered the hospital unconscious, and against doctors’ expectations, he came home. Our medical miracle.

  He’s now one of my biggest fans and reads all my books. At the time of writing, he’s approaching his eighty-ninth birthday and I hope he has many more.

  Dad proved the impossible was possible. Mind you, we all think he woke up as he was annoyed he was missing out on the party we’d had in his room that first day. Or, it could show the power of hope and prayer.

  Many years ago, I studied psychology, my course concentrated on how the brain worked. I was fascinated by memory. My son has also gained his degree in psychology much more recently. So I talked through any latest research with him, as well as doing reading online. It seems we’re no further forward than we were forty years ago, theories come and go about memory, then someone’s experience shows something else.

  What happened to Lizard in Devil’s Spawn is fanciful and based on no actual case study. But my research showed it wasn’t impossible. What is fact is that there is a link between a serious brain injury and a tumour appearing later in life, some benign, some not so. There have also been instances when people who’ve forgotten their identity begin to remember who they are many years later.

  So I’ve taken poetic licence to bring you this story, and I hope it’s given you an enjoyable read. That, after all, is the point of fiction.

  Now on to the thank yous. Thank you, Dad, first and foremost for being the inspiration for this story. I’m also nicking your Navy name for a character as, if you’ve reached the end, you’ll already know. We’ll be reading more about Stormy in later books.

  Thank you, Michael, for letting me bounce ideas off of you. Love discussing my books with you and getting your insight. I am privileged to be your mum.

  Thank you to my beta readers, and the comments elicited from you. You didn’t wait for the end but messaged saying ‘I didn’t expect that!’ while reading the story, which is the exact reaction I was looking for. Thank you, Tami, for checking the location details. Thank you to Danena and Sheri as always, and to Zoe, Alex and a new beta, Emma. I hoped this book would hit the spot, and according to you, it did.

  Thank you to my cover designer, Dar of Wicked Smart Designs. I love what you did with the image I sent you and love how responsive you are. I’m really enjoying working with you.

  Mary, my soul sister and editor. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? When I said Devil’s Spawn was too long, what did you say? That it needed two more chapters. You were right, even if it means this is the longest Satan’s Devils’ book to date. But this time, at least, I didn’t set out to write a novella. Loved your insight and comments as normal.

  Thanks again to Melanie for the quick turnaround on the proofreading. Love that you’re part of my team now.

  Last but not least, thank you to all my readers, old and new, who take a chance on my books. I’m always happy to talk about my stories, so if you’ve got questions or just want to connect, please do so via Messenger or email. I appreciate any and all reviews left and read every one. Reviews raise the profile of an author, so even one sentence is valuable.

  You can keep in touch with what I’m up to in a number of ways. Follow me on social media or sign up for my newsletter.

  There are exciting things coming in the future. The next book will take us to San Diego and reconnect with Lost and Dart, the prez and VP in southern California. That will set us up for Road Tripped, which will include a brief return to Tucson. I’m also planning a further Second Generation book. Have I finished with the Colorado chapter? Probably not. And what about Red and his boys in Vegas? I wish I could write faster, as I’ve lots of ideas in my head.

  I better get back to writing now else there won’t be any more books.

  Love, as always,

  Manda

  Stay in Touch

  Email: manda@mandamellet.com

  Website: www.mandamellet.com

  Sign up for my newsletter to hear about new releases in the Satan’s Devils and Blood Brothers series.

  Facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mandasbadboys/

  About the Author

  Manda’s life's always seemed a bit weird, starting with a childhood that even today she’s still trying to make sense of, then losing her parents in the late teens. Going from the tragic to the bizarre, who else could be unlucky enough to have had two car accidents, neither her fault, one involving a nun, and another involving a police woman?

  There isn’t enough space to list everything that’s happened to Manda, or what she’s learned from it. But by using the rich fabric of her personal life, psychology degree, varied work experiences, and amazing characters she’s met, Manda is able to populate her books with believable in-depth characters and enjoys pitting them against situations which challenge them. Her books are full of suspense, twists and turns and the unexpected.

  Manda lives in the beautiful countryside of Essex in the UK, the area’s claim to fame being the Wilkin’s Jam Factory at nearby Tiptree. She can usually find jars of jam which remind her of home wherever she goes. As well as writing books and reading, Manda loves walking her dogs and keeping fit. She lives with her husband of over 30 years, who, along with her son, is her greatest fan and supporter.

  Manda is thankful that one of the more unusual, and at the time unpleasant, turns her life took, now enables her to spend her time writing. Confirming, in her view, every cloud has a silver lining.

  Photo by Carmel Jane Photography