Miller finished his shower, got dressed, and crashed to his bed for the night.
The sleep was needed even if it didn’t bring Miller a clear head the next morning.
When he got out to the main part of the clubhouse, he saw the remains of a long and wild night. Two prospects were behind the bar, cleaning things up. Miller nodded, they nodded back, and no words were needed.
Grabbing a cup of coffee, Miller left the clubhouse. It was another bright and sunny day in Frelen. Half the people out there were gearing up for another normal day of their lives. The others were split between struggling to survive and the damn tourists coming to enjoy the beach and little hidden gems of restaurants. All of which Miller carried on his back to keep it that way. If this all got built up…
Miller heard a whimpering cry. He put his coffee mug down and ran to the side of the building. He took out his gun.
“What next?” he whispered.
He moved along the side of the building, listening.
The whimpering continued. It was getting closer.
Miller turned the corner, gun drawn. He opened his mouth to say or scream or maybe just fucking shoot.
But he didn’t need to do any of that.
It was just Blaine. With a woman.
Blaine standing with his back against the wall of the clubhouse. One hand was reached around and down some woman’s pants, obvious what he was doing. His other hand was at her mouth, two of his fingers in her mouth. She slobbered all over them as she whimpered.
When Blaine looked at Miller, he smiled and then shrugged his shoulders.
Miller raised an eyebrow.
Blaine turned a little to show that the woman had one of her hands in his jeans.
As Miller left the scene behind, the woman still letting out whimpers, he normally would have smiled. But this time he didn’t. His mind raced back to Ella. Maybe it had been a mistake to go check on her because it lingered on him. She seemed okay, right? She had a house, a kid, a little life for herself. Yeah, when shit hit the fan with Jerry, everything would completely change. That’s when Miller could swoop in and save the day. Unless Jerry used Ella for something in all this. Used her as bait. Or collateral.
By the time Miller sat down with his coffee, he was livid. He felt like trading the coffee for a beer.
A few silent minutes later, Blaine came walking from alongside the building. He was adjusting his jeans. He ran a hand through his hair and lit up a fresh smoke.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked Miller.
“Jump up,” Miller said.
Blaine took a drag of his smoke. “She was something, huh?”
“What?”
“That one back there. Took care of her every way possible last night. Passed out out here, under the stars. She woke me up and told me she was married and her husband was going to be coming to look for her. That she had a problem for cock. So I offered to get her home, safe. You know, being a gentleman.”
“Nothing about you is a gentleman,” Miller said.
“Well, I told her she had to earn it. But I tried to be respectful. No more fucking. She wanted something inside her. She wanted to suck on something. I woke up with a crazy hard on. So we made the best of the situation.”
“I saw that,” Miller said.
“Look at my fingers,” Blaine said. “They’re all wrinkly now. From her mouth, not her pussy.”
“That’s enough, bro,” Miller said.
“Hey, what are you upset about?” Blaine asked. “I know you sent that other one away last night for me to finish up. What was that?”
“I just wanted my own. I got it. I was done.”
“Good for you. I’m too caring. Too giving. And I like pussy.”
Blaine took another drag of his smoke. Miller sat quiet, staring across the lot. There was just too much on his mind.
“Hey,” Blaine said. “Not my business at all. I talked to Gaige though.”
“Yeah?”
“You went to see her.”
“Yeah.”
“How’d that go?”
“She’s alive.”
“Of course she’s alive, man,” Blaine said.
“She told me Jerry met with Coast Road.”
“No fucking way. Right in his house?”
“Yeah. She didn’t use their name, but what other bikers would it be?”
“Could be any,” Blaine said. “He’s a fuck, isn’t he?”
“I’m not sure how to handle this one, Blaine. I gave her up to him. It was supposed to work out. They have the storybook life and I have the hard life. I was okay with that. But all this now, I’m not okay with. I want to kill that man, Blaine. I have to kill that man. And it’s not just for all of this. It’s years of shit piling up. But when I pull that trigger…” Miller looked at Blaine. “I’m killing a baby’s father.”
Blaine put a hand to Miller’s shoulder. He squeezed. “Hey. What kind of life is that baby going to have? Jerry made it clear he’s cashing out. Do you think he’s going to take his family?”
“I’m not sure.”
“If he does, he’ll have guilt on his hands forever. If he doesn’t take his family, they’re lost. Family in this day and age, brother, is not a blood thing. It’s a loyalty thing. It’s a love thing. You’re my family, Miller. My brother. That chick I was three fingers deep in? I didn’t love her. See the difference?”
“In a sick way, I actually do. Christ, Blaine, I’ve been hanging around you too much.”
“All you can do is go forward, Miller. That’s what we do.”
“It’s what we’re going to do. We can’t just kill Jerry though. We have to take the right steps. We have to make sure Coast Road MC is out of the picture. Just in case they have any connections somewhere else. And in Frelen, it’s really us against the law. So we have to be extra careful. No fights. No speeding. No fucking someone else’s wife.”
“I don’t know about that,” Blaine said with a grin.
“If we cut off Coast Road MC, Jerry has nothing. There’s one other thing we can do to make his life miserable.”
“What’s that? You going to fuck his wife?”
Miller snapped his head to the side. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Sorry. Just slipped out.”
“First off, I’m not fucking anyone. Second, she’s giving him divorce papers.”
“Christ,” Blaine said. “Are you serious? No wonder you’re a mess right now, Miller. They’re going to end up…”
“Stop,” Miller said. “Back to the club. We can call in a few favors and have a splurge in crime.”
“You’re going to have some guys come in to cause trouble?”
“Why not? Some rough guys, gangster types. Push into Frelen. Rob some places. Nothing super dangerous. Make sure nobody gets hurts.”
“You’re going to sabotage your own town?” Blaine asked.
“Risky.”
“Risky and genius.”
“What is?” a voice said.
Gaige came out of the clubhouse along with Nate, Jace, and Landon.
Soon there was a little meeting outside, trying to piece together the right plan.
Miller left his half full coffee cup on the table and cracked his knuckles.
“We could bring in trouble from Riverside. Maybe even a little gambling. Why not? Try to make Jerry’s life miserable. He’ll lose his focus. We take out Coast Road MC. Next thing you know it’s just us facing off with Jerry.”
“Even still,” Jace said. “Then what, Miller?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to kill the Chief of Police in Frelen. How do you take care of that?”
Miller looked away. “Put him in a hole.”
“Christ,” Jace said and walked away.
“He’s got a point,” Gaige said. “Not that I’m against killing Jerry. He took out a table member, he gets the same fate.”
“Then we do it,” Miller said.
“What’s t
he end result?” Nate asked. “The town is just going to accept that Jerry is gone? That he decided to disappear?”
“It’ll go beyond the locals,” Landon added. “Shit, they might call in federal help.”
“We’ll be target number one,” Gaige said.
“Fuck!” Miller shouted. “Fuck you all. You all sound like… you all sound like fucking Griffin right now. Stop telling me what we can’t do. I’m holding the fucking gun. I’ll pull the fucking trigger. And I’ll stand there and get taken in for the murder. I’ll do my fucking time for the sake of this club, this cut, and for Griffin’s memory.”
Miller turned and walked to his ride. He stood there, his heart pounding in his chest. Everything was true. What he just said about the club. About doing hard time. Shit. He’d be doing a lifetime. And, yeah, everything else pointed out was true. It wasn’t just about killing Jerry. Something would have to be done to keep his death hidden and as though it didn’t matter. That meant if Jerry wore the badge, he mattered. He always fucking mattered.
“Hey,” a voice said. “You don’t want to give up that patch that easily, Miller. I don’t want it that easily either.”
Miller looked back at Gaige as he stood a foot away. “You’d make a great President.”
“I know. But you’re the President, Miller. And it’s going to stay that way.”
“So then we keep fighting back. Get Blaine, Nate, Jace, and Landon ready to go.”
“For what?” Gaige asked.
“He took one of our prospects just to be a dick. Come on, let’s go fuck with him. He’s not getting the power from us. No matter what he fucking does.”
“What are we going to do?” Gaige asked. “Kidnap one of his deputies?”
Miller grinned. “Get the guys.”
Not wanting to face another goddamn question, Miller started his motorcycle. He went to the front of the lot and waited for the rest of the guys. Once they were ready, they went out on a little ride. Their group of five was nothing compared to the number Back Down Devil MC could have in Frelen if a true war were to break out, but the five motorcycles were loud enough to sound like wild thunder passing through the town.
Just beyond the main tourist area, Miller took a turn that started to tread a little close to Coast Road MC territory. A lot of run down, shit hole motels were there. Tons of drug activity, which was what kept Coast Road in business. They sold whatever was needed to keep their customers high so they could afford to inject themselves with whatever they needed to add two more inches to their biceps.
Miller waited for the chance and it finally came when he spotted one of Frelen’s finest sitting on the side of the road running a speed trap. Miller gave a wave and throttled his ride. He was almost double the speed limit when he flew by the cruiser. The other four motorcycles were going about the same speed.
The police car barreled out, lights flashing, siren wailing. Miller knew his limits of the so-called law and how far he could go before the traffic stop became a pursuit. Then again, the rush of wind to his face, the thrill of going at such a deadly speed made him want to take this across the state.
But Miller knew better. The fate of Back Down Devil still rested heavily on his back. So he slowed down and moved to the side of the road. Gaige, Nate, Jace, and Blaine all did the same.
Miller climbed off his motorcycle and the officer lunged from the car, hand on his weapon, his other hand out. “Don’t fucking move unless I tell you.”
Miller showed his hands. “Hey. It’s all good. We’re peaceful here, right?”
The officer looked around at the other guys. They all put their hands up.
“Mind if I smoke?” Blaine asked.
“You don’t fucking move,” the officer bellowed.
Blaine reached for a smoke and a light anyway, taking all the power away from the officer.
Miller approached with caution in case it was some young trigger happy fucking guy that thought the real world was simple a video game with a reset button and cheat codes and maximum life.
“What’s the problem?” Miller asked.
“You were almost double the fucking speed limit. Now give me some identification.”
“Hey, do I look like the kind of guy that would travel at such a deadly speed?”
“Fuck you. I know who you assholes are. I’m not fucking afraid of you. I will shoot you.”
“I guess I could say the same,” Miller said.
“Did you just fucking threaten me, asshole?”
The officer started to reach for his radio. Miller moved faster, grabbing the radio, tearing it from the officer’s shoulder. He dropped it to the ground and stepped on it.
“Now what?” Miller asked.
“You’re fucked,” the officer said, sweat collecting at his hairline. “That’s assault. That’s damage…”
Miller watched as Blaine walked to the police cruiser. A lit cigarette between his lips. He took out a knife and jammed it into the back tire of the vehicle. He repeated the same thing on the other side.
It made Miller smile, thinking of a time when he and Blaine slashed the tires on every Frelen police vehicle they could one night. Those were good times. Innocent times, for the most part. After slashing all the tires, Miller went to Ella’s apartment and fucked her senseless.
Ella.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” the officer said. “Enough of this fucking shit.”
“Tell you what,” Miller said. “Let me go get that identification for you.”
Miller walked to his motorcycle and started it. The rest of the guys did the same. The officer hesitated for a second, unsure what to do.
Gaige pulled his gun and screamed, “Hands up!”
That gave the guys enough time to get back on the road, going back toward the clubhouse. Gaige was last, kicking up dirt and dust from the side the of the road.
Miller moved slow enough to watch in his mirror as the officer climbed into the cruiser and tried to drive. Two flat back tires would make it really hard to catch Back Down Devil MC.
Gritting his teeth, Miller nodded.
He throttled the motorcycle and vowed one goddamn thing.
He was going to take what he wanted, when he wanted. There would be no stopping Miller this time. Not unless a bullet was put right into his heart.
eight.
This is it. This is the night. Start with a talk. A simple talk. See where it leads.
“I’m not happy. I haven’t been happy for a while, Jerry. It’s no secret. Ever since I got pregnant… we were on the fence about having a family. Then that party happened and we slipped up. I know it’s been stressful. I know I’ve been distant. But you have been too…”
Ella shut her eyes and sighed.
I sound like I’m about to apologize.
Opening her eyes, Ella looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She shook her head. The damn papers were still hidden in Beck’s room. Like the baby deserved that, right? It was the only place Ella felt safe putting them. A room where Jerry didn’t give a damn about. Sadly, Ella couldn’t remember the last time Jerry kissed the baby or even used Beck’s name. He referred to him as it.
Ella left the bathroom and found a smiling Beck in his crib, waiting for her. It was close to bedtime. Jerry hadn’t been home in two days now. He sent one text message yesterday saying he was working a case, and that he had to turn his phone off because there was a chance it was being tracked. However, he had people watching the house.
Which was true.
Ella had seen two police cars and two motorcycles. Both of which scared her because she wasn’t sure who to trust in the entire situation.
Picking up Beck, she knew he was hungry. Which was perfect timing because she could sit in the chair, feed the baby, and let him fall asleep. Lucky for her, Beck latched on quickly to her tender breast. The teething situation had calmed the last couple of days, which was good for the baby, but it didn’t take away the teeth from hurting
Ella when Beck suckled too hard.
Cradling her baby tight, Ella stared down at him. Big brown eyes stared back. Eyes that she would protect and try to keep as innocent as possible.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered.
Beck smiled as he drank. His little hands touched and clutched at her chest, pulling and wanting more. Ella rocked in the chair. The house was so quiet and cozy when it was like this. But the other half of the dream was completely missing. Nobody else was in the house. And outside of this bedroom and away from nourishing her baby, Ella did not feel safe. There may have been wars outside being fought, but there was a silent one raging right at home.
As Ella sat there, she caught herself breathing harder and faster. She thought about Miller. The way he just came at her. Came to her home. Came right inside. Then he went into the kitchen. He touched her face, almost kissed her. He touched her breast. Oh, fuck, it had felt so good to be touched. To feel that fire burning so hot inside her body. Just for once, she wanted to be touched like that. She wanted to be held, kissed, she wanted to be fucked.
Ella sucked in a breath and held it. As she exhaled, she looked down and saw that Beck’s eyes were shut. His little lips were still moving though. Gently, Ella pulled him away from her chest. She looked at her breast. Still very full, very heavy, her nipple leaking a little bit. This was what her body had become. And it was so worth it. To carry Beck, give birth to Beck, and now to nourish him. That was her purpose now.
Ella tucked her breast away and slowly stood. She put Beck into the crib and he didn’t move a muscle.
Leaving the room, Ella went to the master bedroom and stood there, at the edge of the bed. She touched the heavy top blanket with her fingertips. In her mind she tried to imagine if there was ever anything true in here. Anything actually passionate. More like just succumbing to need.
The room was dark, quiet, completely calm. In her mind she saw Miller. The strong young man who guided her through wild innocence. He was no longer that, was he? No. He was a rugged man now. The President of Back Down Devil MC. The man who controlled not just the MC but also Frelen.
Ella felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She was wet.
She thought of Miller busting into the house. Chasing her into the kitchen. Her hands clutching the edge of the counter. Miller putting his hands to her hips, lifting her. A hand… his big, strong hand… moving right up her shirt. Cupping her breast. Squeezing her achy, tender breast.
SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) Page 5