Nate started to move and Mia grabbed his arm. “He tried to fucking touch me.”
That’s all Mia had to say. It was the truth. Uncle Jake crossed the line, finally. Somewhere in Mia she always knew the day would come. It had to, right? The man was unstable, crazy, and he was alone. Unless he had a woman or a girlfriend on the side…
“Move,” Nate growled. “I’ll be in front of you and they’ll cover the rest. You make one turn or move the wrong way and Griffin is going to light you up.”
“Light me up,” Mia whispered.
She had an idea of what that meant.
Looking back, she saw Griffin shaking his head. He and Nate started to argue, the rumbles of the motorcycles drowning out their voices to Mia.
She felt like a captured criminal now.
Back Down Devil MC was all around her, escorting her into Frelen. She wondered what kind of image this would give to anyone working with Uncle Jake. Then again, this was what he wanted, right? For Mia to get involved and then report back to him. It didn’t make sense though. The MC would know… Uncle Jake would know… and Mia would still be in the middle. It’s like they wanted this war (as Nate put it) to really happen. To grow.
Mia pulled her car into the Back Down Devil compound. Nate pointed and Mia parked the car. A few seconds later there were two guys in leather cuts at the door. They didn’t have the patches… they were… prospects…
Nate shouted something and the car door opened.
“Get out,” one of the guys said. Mia grabbed the money, her bag, and was out of the car. She looked at Nate and he waved her over.
“They’re going to stash your car,” Nate said. “So nobody can find it. As far as anyone is concerned, you’ve vanished.”
“He wants this,” Mia said. “Uncle Jake wants this. This doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to,” Nate said.
He turned off the engine and climbed off the motorcycle. His hand slid around her waist and he started to walk.
“Come on,” Nate said. “We have to talk to Miller.”
Mia stutter stepped and watched everyone staring at her. Guys sitting on motorcycles, smoking cigarettes. Guys sitting on tables, drinking beer. Everyone dressed in leather and looking angry as fuck.
Gaige and Griffin were in a heated conversation. Griffin waved his hands, constantly pointing at Mia.
“He hates me,” Mia said to Nate.
“You lied,” Nate said. “Everyone hates you. You have no friends.”
“Christ. Can you be any meaner?”
Nate stopped and pulled at Mia. “Do you think this is a fucking game?”
“I never…”
“Yeah, me either. This is where you are right now. You want to end up dead? I’m not going to apologize for what your uncle is doing. He’s going to be killed. That I can promise you. But this goes deeper. There’s another crew involved. There’s local law enforcement involved. You being here is you being protected. Unless…”
Nate turned his head. So did Mia. She spotted Miller standing at the clubhouse door, arms folded. His eyes - even at a distance - made Mia shiver with intense fear.
With Nate’s hand spread across Mia’s lower back, they approached Miller. For every ounce of fear in Mia’s body there was a heat spreading from where Nate touched her. She hated to feel turned on right now. But when she looked at Nate, she felt safe. Comforted. Protected.
Then again, when she looked at Miller…
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Miller growled.
Mia stood frozen again.
“He’s talking to me,” Nate said.
“Both of you, actually.”
“Look, this is getting out of control,” Nate said.
“I agree,” Miller said. “Maybe it’s time we just put a bullet in the back of her head and send her back.”
Mia felt her knees buckle.
“Her uncle wants her to investigate us,” Nate said. “We can play this thing…”
“He’s having another game,” Mia blurted out. “He told me. An underground game. Like he does. That’s why I usually come here.”
Miller stepped toward her. “He has no idea you were kept here last night?”
“No,” Mia said. “I told him I followed you out of town and you met with other guys.”
“He thinks we met with another charter,” Nate said. “So he thinks we’re gearing up.”
“Meaning he’s lead to believe maybe you remember everything about the attack?” Miller asked, staring at Nate.
“I guess.”
“That could work,” Miller said. “He thinks that. Talks to Jerry. The Coast Road bust today…” Miller looked at Mia again. “You’re sure about this game?”
“He said so.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why the fuck were you running?”
“I wasn’t…” Mia sucked in a breath.
“Miller, you have to cut her a break…”
“No,” Mia said. “He tried to touch me. And I’m pretty sure he killed Jacob.”
Miller raised an eyebrow. “The kid that Jace helped?”
“Yeah.”
“And your uncle tried…”
“He’s my step uncle, technically.”
“Even still,” Miller said. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” Mia said. “Fuck.”
“She stopped and we brought her here,” Nate said. “I know tensions are high as hell, Miller, but we have to think straight.”
“Okay,” Miller said. “I’ll give her a pass again. But she’s back in the hole.”
The hole.
Mia shook her head.
“Come on,” Nate said. “Right now.”
Mia thought about running. Spinning, charging, and just running. Yeah, she’d get lit up, but at least this would all go away.
As she tried to make a move, she hesitated. Nate gripped her shirt and kept her from making the move.
“Don’t,” he whispered with a growl. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Nate kept his hand tight around the back of her shirt, guiding her through the lot.
“This is bullshit!” Griffin bellowed. “This is not going to end well!”
“Why don’t they just kill me then?” Mia asked. “Everyone wants it…”
“Not me,” Nate said. “Just come with me. And stop this.”
Mia kept her mouth shut and walked down the ramp. The sight, smell, the darkness and dampness, the fear, it was all familiar. Like she never had a chance to leave the room. The chains and clamps were still on the floor.
When they were in the room, Nate quickly spun Mia around. His hands cupped her face. He pulled her close, just inches from kissing her.
“Listen to me,” he said. “I’m going to leave you like this. But I have to shut and lock the door. I’m going to a meeting. This trust thing… it has to work, babe. I’m at the end of my rope.”
“Okay. Nate, I don’t know what to do. When he touched me… held my throat… I freaked out, okay? I wanted to just run from everything. I wished you were there to beat him up.”
“I’m not going to beat him up. I’m going to fucking slit his throat. I don’t care who he is. This is our town. I’m telling you this goes deep. I’ll explain more later.”
“What if Griffin comes down here and kills me?” Mia asked.
“Nobody is going to kill you. Not without Miller’s orders. I’ll be here to protect you. Do you have your cell?”
“Yeah.”
“I need it.”
“Christ, Nate…”
“Don’t fucking argue with me.” Nate inched forward. One hand moved from Mia’s cheek to her lower back. He pulled her body tight to his. “Just don’t.”
Mia felt her heart pounding. The air in the room was now not the only thing damp.
“I would never try and hurt you,” Mia said.
“Babe, you don’t know me. I’m a bad guy. I kill people…”
; “Other bad guys.”
“Sometimes they’re not bad guys. I’m the bad guy. Just remember that.”
Nate pulled back and Mia hurried to grab his leather as she tried to keep him close.
“You have no idea,” Nate whispered. “I’m not…”
“I don’t care. Right now, you’re all I have.”
“Fuck.”
Nate leaned down and pressed his lips to Mia’s. The kiss was wicked slow, even hotter than the last time they kissed. Mia slid her hand along Nate’s stomach, over his shirt, feeling the hardness of muscle. She inched her hand down, ready for another round right here in the shitty underground room.
Nate growled and pushed away. He went to the door and looked back. His nostrils flared with his anger, but his eyes spoke something very different.
Whatever his past was, Mia knew it was dark and sad.
But that was perfect… so was hers.
The door slammed shut and locked.
Mia licked her lips.
Getting to kiss Nate made it so worth trying to run.
Now she just needed to make sure she could survive all this.
Yet Nate’s words stuck in her mind.
I’m the bad guy. Just remember that.
thirteen.
Nate punched the stone wall and felt his hand ricochet back. The pain momentarily took Mia out of his damn head so it was well worth it. He walked up the ramp and found Gaige, Griffin, and Miller standing near a table, talking. They each had a drink in their hands. The rest of the lot was empty. Almost too empty. Too quiet.
They all stopped talking when they saw Nate.
“You fuck her again?” Griffin asked.
“Fuck off.”
“You fucked her?” Miller asked.
“No. I did not fuck her. Today, yesterday, ever. Got it?”
“Bro, what’s the connection?” Gaige asked. “You’re on this bitch…”
“Seriously?” Nate asked the Back Down Devil VP. “You’re going to question me? Didn’t you bring a woman here? Demand she stays? You brought enough heat on this club…”
“I get it,” Gaige said, closing in on Nate.
Soon they were nose to nose.
Nate felt like he was getting damn attacked from everywhere.
“Gaige, stand down,” Miller ordered. “You and Griffin go inside. Right now. Leave me to deal with Mia.”
Gaige backed up, his chest puffed out. Nate made fists, released his hold, and made fists again. He could go for a fight right now. A good fight. Fuck, put him with two, three guys.
“I’m sorry,” Gaige said. “We’re all heated.”
“It’s good, brother,” Nate said. “Just keep your eyes on the enemy.”
“You do the fucking same,” Griffin warned, pointing at Nate. “I’m telling you…”
“Griffin,” Miller snapped. “Inside.”
They walked away and Miller jumped up on the table. He nodded for Nate to sit. So Nate sat next to the President of Back Down Devil. They were in silence for a little bit before Miller started talking. For Nate, he had nothing to say, unless approached.
“This is going to get bad,” Miller said. “I keep playing this out and it’s not good.”
“I know that. Without Chief Jerry…”
“Eh, we’ll survive. We always do. People fall into line when they need to. Yeah, someone new will come in with a big dick and a purpose. Then there will be some kind of turf war bullshit that can’t be controlled, you know? Before you know it, the new guy will be sneaking into the compound with a phony warrant just to talk to us.”
Nate grinned. “That simple, huh?”
“Like clockwork, Nate. Like fucking clockwork.” Miller took a swig of beer. “You’ve got a real hard on for this woman. Just admit it.”
“Maybe I do. Whatever.”
“You just met her.”
“Yeah? Need I go through some of the women the club has picked up lately?”
“Fuck,” Miller groaned. “You want to do that right now?”
“What?”
“You’re putting her face on everyone else you lost,” Miller said. “Hey, I’m not judging. I swear, I’m not. What you had to go through and endure… you’ve got bigger balls than I do. Not a bigger dick though.”
“Yeah, right. Now you sound like Blaine.”
“Blaine’s an asshole,” Miller said and laughed.
Nate laughed. It almost felt good to do so.
“Nate, you’ve got to keep yourself in check.”
“I am,” Nate said. “Mia has nothing to do with this. It’s dumb luck. Christ, I’m just trying to do her a favor. That son of a bitch judge… she’s convinced he killed his own kid. You believe that?”
“I could. Sure.”
“How would you feel if Chief Jerry did that? Made his wife and kid disappear?”
Nate watched anger creep over Miller’s face. It was a dark anger. A real deep anger. Miller lunged from the table. He then swung his beer bottle down to the ground, letting it shatter.
“This is all fucked,” Miller yelled. “We took care of everything. There’s no reason for this.” He looked back. “No reason at all.”
“Chief is done,” Nate said. “The war with Strokner. Eight Under coming through strong for so long. So many bodies, fights, wars, deaths. It has to take a toll on him. Shit, Miller, he’s got to get in front of the public eye and try to save face. You know? We don’t have that. We just get judged and accepted.”
“Fuck him,” Miller said. “He’s gotten… enough.”
That anger flared again.
Miller walked forward a little. Nate then followed.
“Look, Miller, I’m just doing what’s right. I got attacked, man. I got bashed in the head. I had to stand there today and watch Chief Jerry deal with us and Coast Road like we’re fucking stupid. He didn’t detain those guys. They’re out again. I guarantee you that delivery was made, too. That van wasn’t impounded. That’s what makes this fucked up. How long can we go? I mean, without making it known.”
“Then what?” Miller asked. He put his hands to his sides. “Then what? This whole place…”
Nate stood next to Miller. “Don’t forget. He’s been there for a lot of it. The backdoor deals and shit. It’ll haunt him if he comes to us too strong. Maybe we should find out what his end game is. Help him get it and move on.”
“Christ, that’s diplomatic. You sound like a President now.”
Nate touched his left breast. No patch was there. “No, Miller, I’m not a President. Never have been, never will be. I’m just talking out of my ass. I don’t want to see that woman die. She knows who I am. This isn’t some fucking romance thing. She was called in… she, uh, maybe we can attack during the poker game.”
“Sounds like we’ve got options, Nate.”
“We need a meeting,” Nate said. “A good meeting. Griffin needs to cool himself. He doesn’t know my…”
Car brakes squealed.
Through the gates, two cars appeared. Beat up pieces of shit cars. Two men jumped out, wearing black masks on their faces. Nate grabbed his gun and put his hand out to push Miller away.
Nobody fired though.
Instead, one of the guys threw something over the gate.
They were then in the car and took off.
“Help!” Nate bellowed, hoping his voice would carry enough to the clubhouse.
Miller crept forward. “What the fu…”
Nate grabbed Miller and swung him back. He then charged after the object. It looked like a coffee can with the label peeled off. It made a metallic sound and Nate knew it was going to explode.
“Fuck,” he said.
He hurried and kicked the thing, sending it rolling - and exploding. Nate turned and dropped to the ground. The explosion was quick, enough to penetrate Nate’s ears and make them hurt a little. But he felt hot, stinging pain everywhere on his back and ass.
The can had been filled with something to spread around.
Nate screamed and slumped forward, belly to the pavement. He looked to his right and saw a group of the guys charging after him. Of all people, Griffin somehow had the lead. Gaige was right behind him, screaming Nate’s name.
As Nate rolled to his side, Gaige was there, dropping to the ground, grabbing his leather.
“Bro, fuck…”
“I’m fine,” Nate said. “Just help me up.”
Getting to his feet, Nate looked behind him.
Back Down Devil MC was under fucking attack now, for real.
After brushing himself off, Nate twisted in pain. It felt like his back was literally on fire. Fearing just that (mixed with a little shock) Nate tore his leather cut off his body. Next came his shirt. Both articles of clothing were then on the ground. They were on fire. The leather cut had taken the brunt of whatever the hell was in the makeshift bomb. There were gouges and cuts, some small holes.
Nate flexed his back and turned. “Bro…”
“Jesus,” Gaige said. “Your back is cut up.”
“Bad?”
“No,” Griffin said, stepping into the conversation. “We better move. If they… fuck…”
Nate looked at the gates and saw a group of motorcycles approaching.
“They’re back for more,” Gaige said.
Nate counted five motorcycles. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the guys getting together. Ready to fight. Even Miller charged forward, showing his teeth like a rabid animal.
“You have to keep Miller back and safe,” Nate said to Griffin. “If he gets hurt…”
“Good luck with that,” Griffin said.
“Shoot!” Miller bellowed. “We are not going to be under attack. This is our home. This is our clubhouse. Fucking shoot!”
That was good enough for Nate. He took out his gun and took a couple shots, just to do it. The guys on the motorcycles weren’t expecting the shots. Miller ordered two prospects to open the gates. The prospects literally went right in the middle of the fire. That’s what they did though. If you wanted to be patched in you had to prove yourself.
As the prospects opened the gates, one of them was shot. The prospect spun and collapsed. Nate hurried to aim for anything he could. Men, motorcycles, whatever would get these assholes out of here. A gunfight from the street to the compound was not good news at all. But Back Down Devil was not going to accept being under attack.
Miller pushed forward, standing between Nate and Gaige.
STEEL TEMPTATION (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) Page 9