by London Casey
He turned his head and groaned when he realized whose bike she had climbed off of. Trev. A former Back Down Devil MC member that had been voted off the table when he decided he would rather go rogue. They had taken down a lot of bad people together, and it hurt the club when Trev walked away from them.
Miller approached Trev with his arms open, nodding.
They hugged, but the rest of Back Down Devil came in and stood behind Miller. It almost had the feel of two rival clubs squaring off.
“You look good,” Miller said. “Added more ink, huh?”
“You look like you added a few pounds,” Trev said.
Miller laughed. “Fucking smartass.”
Shay stood next to Nate who stood next to Gaige who stood next to Miller. Shay was eye to eye with a man with an eye patch. He had a cold stare with his one eye and his sins were written all over him.
“I see you brought a guest,” Miller said. “Didn’t know your relievers traveled with you guys.”
“Not what you think,” Trev said. “Stein was killed a few weeks ago. She was his old lady. I’m just trying to keep her safe.”
“So you brought her here?” Miller asked.
“It was better than leaving her with these men,” Trev said.
A soft chuckle ran through the Lost Men.
Eyepatch smiled, revealing a set of mostly rotted teeth. “I had my orders on the whore. Came close to fucking her throat out. I’ll get the bitch soon.”
“I doubt that,” Shay said. “Not in my compound. Not in my club.”
“That so?” the man asked.
“She with you then?” Miller asked Trev.
“No,” Trev said. “She’s just here.”
Shay looked at the woman. She looked lost and confused. He could already sense Blaine getting hard. Miller was damn near drooling. The only three that weren’t running sick fantasies were Gaige, Landon, and Erik because they had women of their own in the clubhouse. Then again, they were crazy enough to take on a second woman.
“What do we do with her?” Miller asked.
“Let me take care of her,” Blaine called out. “I’ll keep her warm and comfortable. Close and tight. Well, not tight for long.” He looked to the group of Lost Men. “My cock is huge. Can’t help it.”
“Christ,” Gaige whispered.
“What’s wrong with these boys?” Trev asked and pointed to Gaige, Landon, and Erik. “Don’t like women? Want a cock up your ass? I’m sure we can arrange that.”
“Step back, asshole,” Nate said. “Gaige is VP. Watch your tongue.”
“VP?” Trev asked and laughed. “That means nothing. I’m VP. Tynn is VP. Fuck, even Nile is VP and he has one eye.”
Shay looked at the man with the eye patch.
Nile.
Sensing the growing tension, Miller cut in. “We’re all the same team here. We made the call, you came down. Can’t start rumbling over a woman. What’s her deal?”
“Told you,” Trev said. “Just trying to keep her safe.”
“Keeping her warm?” Blaine asked. Miller looked at Blaine and shook his head. “What?” Blaine asked. “Just wondering… because I am willing…”
“Why don’t we go get settled?” Griffin asked. “Open bar. Prospects to serve up whatever you want. Relievers for whatever you want.”
“I know what I want,” Nile said, staring at Shay. “I want Ava’s pussy in my mouth.”
Now Shay had a name.
Ava.
He looked at her again. She was staring straight at him. Something didn’t add up. She didn’t belong here. She didn’t belong in the middle of this group. And there was no way in hell she was a grieving old lady.
“Keep staring,” Nile said. “That’s all you’ll get. Because when I fuck her, I’m going to kill her. That’s how I like it.”
Shay looked at Nile and shook his head.
This wasn’t going to be a warm welcome. At least not before blood was shed and respect was earned.
five.
Miller tried to diffuse the situation one last time by putting a hand to Trev’s shoulder. “We also have a couple strip clubs we could call. Blaine over here has run through all of them there… twice… so he knows the best pussy.”
“I don’t share,” Blaine said. “Well, unless you share what you brought.”
“Enough,” Gaige said. “This is bullshit. This is our home. Where we live. Where we vote. Where we survive. You came by request. Remember that.”
Tynn whipped out a knife and had it at Gaige’s throat a second later. “And remember… we don’t take requests. We don’t take orders. We do what we want.”
Fuck…
Shay knew it was time to mark their territory. He looked at Nile and curled his lip.
“What happened to your eye?” he asked.
“Got shot,” Nile said.
“Oh, got it. I thought someone stuck their cock in your eye. You into that sick kind of shit?”
Nile growled and came forward.
And just like that, the Lost Men were given the proper welcoming by Back Down Devil MC.
Nile slammed his body into Shay’s and the rest of the group started to tangle. Men were yelling. Boots were scuffing against the ground. Chains rattling. The sick sounds of fists hitting flesh, rings slicing against skin, the wet slosh of blood flying through the air and being spit to the ground.
As Nile came down on Shay with punch after punch, Shay threw a right elbow and connected with Nile’s jaw. It made Nile stiffen up for a split second. Shay came across with a right hand and knocked Nile off him. Shay stood and started to kick Nile, over and over, feeling the tip of his boot cracking against Nile’s ribs. When he looked up, another guy was charging at him, knife in hand.
“Motherfucker,” Shay yelled.
He quickly turned and grabbed the man’s wrist. Thanks to years of dealing with his brother, Shay had become a master shot and could defend himself against most weapons. The trick was to focus on the weapon first, the man second. Shay twisted the man’s wrist and the knife fell from his hand. Then Shay focused on the man, throwing his shoulder into his jaw, sending him to the ground. Shay spotted the knife and picked it up. For a second he thought about killing the asshole, but starting a war with the Lost Men wasn’t needed. Plus, this technically was just for fun. Dangerous fun, but still fun.
Shay opened the man’s leather and put the knife to his heart.
“I’ll fucking gut you if you get back up,” Shay warned.
Nile started to stir. With one more kick, he put Nile on his back again. Shay stepped on Nile’s throat and ripped the eye patch away, revealing a chunk of skin where his eye was supposed to be.
“Look at me,” Shay said. “Look at me good, Nile. If you ever threaten that woman over there again, I’ll kill you. I’ll take your other eye and keep it as a souvenir. If you ever threaten to touch her, fuck her, or kill her, I’ll make it so you wish you were dead. Do you understand that?”
Nile showed bloody teeth. “Fuck you.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Shay lifted his foot and brought it down on Nile’s face. Nile screamed and rolled around holding his face.
Shay turned and spotted Miller and Trev leaning against a concrete wall, arms crossed, one leg up. The Lost Men believed that they were each in control of their own lives, but it was obvious that Trev was their leader.
Ava was off to the side, taking cover between two motorcycles. Shay grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.
“Follow me, love,” Shay whispered.
He guided Ava around the fight just as Gaige grabbed someone by the back of their leather and threw them into a motorcycle. The man and the motorcycle toppled to the ground. Nate had another man on the ground with his boot on his throat while he held another man off the ground and punched him over and over.
Shay took Ava to the other side of the compound, away from the fight, and lifted her onto the seat of his motorcycle. She was unusually beautiful and seemed too
put together to belong with a group of misfits like the Lost Men.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“You heard them,” Ava said.
“We’re not in a position to deal with liars…”
Hearing those words as they came out of his own mouth made him realize just how hypocritical he was right now. He was hiding the most important information from his MC.
“I’m not lying to you,” Ava said. “I’m doing what I’m…”
“Shut up,” Shay said. “Sit on my fucking motorcycle or else I’ll let Nile do what he wants to you.”
Shay turned and Ava clawed at his leather. She jumped off the motorcycle.
“Don’t do that,” she said, her voice cracking.
Shay looked back at Ava. There were tears in her eyes.
“Christ, you’re that scared of him?” Shay asked.
“Please… don’t let any of them hurt me…”
Shay gritted his teeth. “Stay on my motorcycle. Nobody will bother you.”
Shay shook Ava away and went back to the fight. He approached another guy who was bleeding from his cheek. The guy nodded and put up his fists. Shay was ready to throw a knockout punch when he heard Blaine scream.
Everyone stopped and looked.
Blaine stumbled back and stared at the knife sticking out of his shoulder.
“Come on!” he yelled. “A fucking knife? We’re fucking around here…”
Just like that, the brawl ended as everyone waited for Miller and Trev to react. Miller nodded to Trev. He stepped forward to Blaine.
“You tough?” Trev asked.
“Toughest guy I know,” Blaine said and smiled.
Trev grabbed the knife and pulled it out of Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine spun around, growling under his breath, “Motherfucker.”
Shay watched as Trev pointed to the guy who stabbed Blaine and called him over. The guy was covered in blood, but he seemed arrogant and proud of what he had done.
“Fucking moron,” Trev said. He raised the knife and stabbed his own guy in the shoulder. The guy fell down to his knees. “Keep that in there for a little while.”
Miller came forward and let out a whistle. “Now that we have that out of our system, can we get down to business?”
As a sign of respect, Shay looked at the guy in front of him and the guy nodded. Slowly, Gaige, Nate, Jace, Erik, Landon, and the rest of the guys backed off. Down Devil stood on one side, the Lost Men on the other. They were beat up and bloody. Miller walked between the two groups.
“Welcome to Frelen,” Miller said. “Welcome to Back Down Devil MC.”
Shay looked over his shoulder at Ava. She was doing what she was told. The connection he felt with her was because he knew she was hiding something from everyone, and he needed someone else like that in his life right now so the guilt wouldn’t tear him apart. It didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous and that she was free to take care of his needs if he told her to.
Miller stopped walking at the opposite end of the crowd where Trev was standing. He crossed his arms and looked around.
“You’re welcome in this compound and in this clubhouse as long as you find your ability to respect what’s here. I know that word means dick to you all and I respect that. But here, we have relationships that cannot be ruined. We have a President. We have a VP. We have members who appreciate a table, a gavel, and the decisions that are made. I made the decision to request you all here and I can make the same to send everyone away. At one point in your lives you were part of a MC. You respected what needed to be done. Now you’re Lost Men. You wear cuts that are the bones of what you used to be. You’re the baddest and meanest motherfuckers around. And that’s why we need you. You respect us, we respect you. Now, are we good with our little welcome?”
Trev stepped forward. “Well, it’s better scenery than the fucking desert. Plus, there’s booze, pussy, and plans to kill. What else do we need?”
Miller met Trev halfway. They exchanged a handshake that solidified the agreement to respect each other.
But Shay knew better.
It was all bullshit.
Any one of the Lost Men could grab a knife or gun and just start killing guys in Back Down Devil. There was no respect and absolutely no trust.
But Back Down Devil needed the Lost Men. They needed the presence. They needed sick men to do a sick job.
Nile was back to his feet and he had fixed his eye patch. He glared at Shay, but Shay had had enough for one day. He headed for his motorcycle and put his hand out for Ava to take.
“Ava, right?” he asked.
“Yes. And you are…?”
“Shay.”
“Sounds girlish.”
“Funny. You think you’re tough. You’re not. I can see through you, love.”
“Can you now?”
“Yeah.” Shay reached out and twirled one of his fingers in Ava’s hair. “That’s not your real hair color. Your story is complete bullshit.”
“My hair is dyed,” Ava said as she slid down from the bike. “Just like every other woman in the world.” Her body was just an inch from Shay’s. “But don’t worry, Shay, everything else is real. Very real.”
Shay chuckled. Ava took two steps, but as soon as she saw the mass of men heading toward the clubhouse, she slithered behind Shay, obviously intimidated by the violence that had just happened. Shay watched Blaine walk up to the guy who stabbed him and put an arm around him.
“Come on, pull that fucking thing out,” Blaine said.
“You do it.”
Blaine grabbed the end of the knife and pulled. The guy let out a quick scream and they kept walking.
“It’s madness,” Ava whispered.
Shay looked back. “It’s not going to get any calmer, love. Stick by my side.”
Ava nodded. Her hand squeezed Shay’s tight.
This was the last thing Shay needed. However, the comfort and touch of a real woman could distract him just enough to not give a fuck about anything.
six.
Ava stood behind Shay and her heart raced. She was afraid of Shay, but it wasn’t the terrifying fear that she felt knowing the Lost Men would take her life without a second thought. No. Her fear of Shay came from his unexplainable ability to see through her facade that none of the others had been able to.
Now was the time and the opportunity to break free of all this. If she could stick with Shay, she could stay right here with the MC. When whatever they were doing there in Frelen was done, the other guys would leave and she could take off. Disappear. Change her hair color, again. Change her name. Find somewhere else to hide to create even more distance from her asshole husband.
Everyone headed inside, leaving nothing but motorcycles in the parking lot of the compound. Ava still couldn’t get the images of the fight out of her mind. The way they all just attacked each other. Punching, kicking, people getting stabbed. And then they all just…
“They just stopped,” Ava whispered.
“What was that?” Shay asked as he turned around.
“Nothing.”
“No. Talk to me. Nobody’s around. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I just never saw something like that.”
“That was just a welcoming,” Shay said. “A sign of respect.”
“Oh, that’s all?” Ava asked, sarcastically.
Shay smiled. “Hey, we’re men here. We have to take our stand. We have guns, knives, and cocks. I sure as hell ain’t taking my cock out in front of a bunch of guys.”
“Why not?” Ava asked. “Afraid it’s too small?”
Ava bit her lip, regretting the question. She had learned that sometimes it was okay to push back. To make comments. To try to take her own stand. But that was only because the Lost Men thought she was Stein’s old lady, and if they did anything to Ava, there’d be hell to pay. But Shay knew nothing of that and he wouldn’t care even if he did.
Shay moved closer to Ava, his body touching hers. “You couldn’t handle
my cock, love. I’d make you scream so loud you wouldn’t talk for days. I’d fuck you so hard you wouldn’t walk for days.”
Ava swallowed hard. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got time to waste…”
Ava was shocking herself. Why couldn’t she stop talking? She was definitely overstepping a line of respect somewhere, but when she looked up at Shay, she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to push at him. She wanted to tempt him. She wanted to anger him. It was crazy, but Ava couldn’t stop. She reached out and touched Shay’s leather cut. Her fingers were shaking as she ran them over the sewn on patches.
“You like those?” Shay asked.
“I’m just used to seeing the outlines.”
“Yeah. Well, that’s what happens when you bail on your club. When you can’t function under authority or handle the realities of life.”
“And what are the realities of life?”
Shay smiled and touched Ava’s face. “Are you going tell me why you’re so afraid to be here? What are you hiding behind that dyed hair and those pretty eyes?”
Ava looked away. “I think you’re supposed to be inside there with your friends.”
“Not friends, Ava. Brothers. There’s a difference. Learn it.”
“Sorry.”
Ava suddenly moved to her toes and pressed her lips to Shay’s neck, twice, before Shay’s hands clamped down on her shoulders. He moved her away and stared at her.
“You were on the back of a ride,” Shay said. “Trev’s ride.”
“I’m not with him. Not even close.”
“He said you were an old lady.”
“Stein,” Ava said. “He was the unspoken leader for the guys. They’re grieving. Mourning. Whatever. Trev is just protecting me for a little while. That’s why I’m here.”
“What a world we live in then. It’s no safer for you here, I don’t know what to tell you. You need to earn your keep around here, and there’s only one real way to do it. Sorry, love.”