“I’m just trying to protect you, babe,” I said. That was the goddamn truth.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said. “I’m on that stolen tape. I’m an accomplice to you and what you did. You need to let me in, Talon. Or else I’m going to end up running… or getting killed…”
I swallowed hard. Eighteen months in prison and what Everly just said hit my heart and gut worse than anything I ever experienced on the inside.
11.
(Everly)
I had grown used to waking up next to Talon. It sure as hell beat waking alone in Layne’s bed, or on his floor. Or the nights Layne did sleep next to me, he made sure to keep a damn mile between us. With Talon, I slept right on him. Each and every night. Some mornings I woke before him, some mornings I woke to him awake, my head still on his shoulder or chest. Even the mornings I woke and Talon was already out of bed, he wasn’t gone yet.
This morning, when I woke, I found Talon sitting on the edge of the bed. He was fully dressed, his leather cut on, the large letters of Devil Call MC stretched across his back.
As I sat up, Talon looked over his shoulder at me. He smiled. He never smiled like that. That was better than any good morning offering. It made my heart flutter.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Thinking,” Talon said. “I heard everything you said. I don’t know your story, Everly. Why you’re here. Why you stayed. Why you waited for me. Fuck, I still don’t understand why you waste time trying to crack Layne’s thick, stubborn shell. I’m not going to question it right now, okay? I’ll go with it. And if you want to be in, then be in. Get up and get dressed.”
I held the covers to my bare chest and sat up. “What we are doing?”
“Grabbing a bite in the clubhouse. I have some shit to talk about. You want to hear it? Be there. But I’m warning you right now, babe, it’s going to get nasty. It’s going to get violent. It’s going to get bloody. People are going to die. If you can’t handle it, stay here. Stay safe. Stay protected.”
“I want to know and see it all,” I said. Even though it scared the hell out of me.
“Okay,” Talon said. “Five minutes, meet me out there.”
Talon pointed to the door and then walked to it. He opened the door and disappeared. The door shut and I threw the covers off me. I looked down at my naked body. I was wearing only black panties. If I hadn’t wanted so much of all this, I could have had Talon on top of me. Thrusting inside me. Loving me. Fucking me. Instead, I was climbing out of bed to find some clothes to put on.
I had to know more. I had to crack whatever the hell was between Talon and Layne. I was in this now. The security footage proved that. No matter whoever had the tapes, I was in them. My only chance at defending myself - if need be - was to be here with the MC and learn my way around the club.
After I got dressed, I opened the door and Talon was standing right there. Arms crossed, eyes blazing at me.
He shook his head.
“What?” I asked.
“You look just as beautiful dressed as you do naked.”
I felt color rush to my cheeks. I didn’t know how to react when Talon said things like that me. Whether it was playful or really serious, it definitely did something to me. Talon offered his hand. I took it and we walked to the front of the clubhouse. The aroma of food and coffee called my attention.
Layne was at the bar along with Buzzy, Kade, and Drave.
Talon pointed to a stool for me to hop up on. I did and with the snap of his fingers, Talon had a prospect making me and him plates of food.
“Thanks,” I said when food and coffee were given to me.
“You don’t have to thank them,” Talon said to me. “It’s their fucking job.”
I nodded and started to eat.
“Where are we at?” Talon asked.
Layne looked up from his food and eyed me, then Talon. “What do you mean?”
“I want some action today,” Talon said. “No more sitting around.”
“Christ,” Drave said. “You can’t stop, huh?”
“Have you looked around here?” Talon asked. “We can’t afford to stop. Any word on Hollis?”
“He’s locked up still,” Layne said. “Lawyers are on it. There’s not really any money around here to cover retainers and fees.”
“That’s okay,” Talon said. “Maybe some time will help Hollis realize how much he fucked up.”
“Can’t believe you had a prospect digging in his ass, Layne,” Buzzy said.
“Fuck, man,” Kade said. “We’re all trying eat here.”
Everyone laughed. I noticed the way Layne kept looking at me, at Talon, looking around. He was nervous about something.
“Hey,” Talon said to him. “Just fucking talk. Everly is here and not going anywhere. Just talk.”
“Fair enough,” Layne said. “Word has it Rilen Lost is pissed that you’re not dead.”
“Take a number,” Talon said with a grin.
Damn, he was so sexy.
“Yeah, well, I hope they don’t ambush us.”
“Fuck them for a second. What about Los Ahn. I didn’t like that little greeting when I got out.”
“They’re quiet,” Kade said. “Austin was out digging around. To be honest, they’re trying to set up some kind of shit south of here. They know we’re hurting, man. They know.”
“We’ll get it all back soon,” Talon said.
“I don’t like that mess with Detective John,” Drave said. “There’s something bad waiting there.”
“I agree,” Layne said.
“Look,” Talon said, “I fucked that one up. I’m sorry. But if Tommy was into something more, which is pretty obvious, then killing him wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Whoever took those tapes… they’ll come and we’ll fucking take them down. Nobody is going to mess with us.” Talon made a fist and slammed if off the bar. “I’m tired of it. We are not fucking weak. We are not fucking useless. This town needs us. And this club needs direction.”
“This club,” Buzzy said, “needs a President.”
I stopped chewing my food. I half expected Talon to jump right at Buzzy and take him down. But to my surprise, Talon nodded.
“You’re right,” Talon said. “And I know all I need to do is take that patch and sew it on. But it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Then what’s right?” Layne asked. “Leaving it sit there. Leaving everyone wondering.”
“We need a vote,” Talon said. “That’s the respectful thing to do. The honorable thing.”
“That’s a bold statement,” Kade said. “Fuck, Talon, you were gone for a long time. A lot of us don’t really get why. And then you come back and just start pulling the trigger… bringing heat to the club…”
“Are you saying I wouldn’t get your vote?” Talon asked.
The tension started to mount.
“Give it up,” Layne said. “We’re not having this discussion in the open. That’s for the goddamn table. And that’s for a later time.”
“I agree,” Talon said. “Right now, I want to address Rilen Lost. I want to visit my old pals that tried to have me murdered several times on the inside. I can’t wait to shake Jony’s fucking hand and then rip it off his wrist.”
Layne shook his head. “You’ve got to cool it on that.”
“I want fear,” Talon growled. “In everyone. Inside and out.”
“Well,” Buzzy said, “if they’re looking for you, you might as well go looking for them, right?”
“Exactly,” Talon said. “I’ll show up. Face to face. Let them see that I don’t care. They couldn’t kill me in prison and they sure as fuck aren’t going to kill me outside. If we make the first move right now, we can scare them. Hiding out in this clubhouse isn’t doing any good for anyone. We need to be on the streets. Riding. Making our presence known.” Talon paused. “Anyone object?”
“No,” Layne said.
“Not me,” Buzzy added.
“What if shit goes bad?” Kade asked. “I mean, Hollis is in a jail cell. Gabel is in his room with his jaw wired shut.”
“What’s the problem?” Talon asked.
“If Detective John is snooping,” Kade said. “What if shit goes down. I don’t want you to go back inside, Talon.”
Talon laughed. “So I do have your vote then.”
“I didn’t say that,” Kade said.
“I have to take my chances,” Talon said. “I’m more valuable to Detective John alive and out of prison. He said it himself, he’s looking for something much bigger in all this. And you know what? So are we. Detective John thinks he’s going to trail us for information… we’ll do the same with him. Let that asshole be the last thing in our minds.”
Talon looked at me. “How’s your food, babe?”
“Good,” I said.
“Good. We’re going to take off. You’re staying put right here.”
I wanted to protest, but I knew what Talon was doing. He was going to jump right back into the fire. The last thing I needed was to be around a bunch of other bikers. The last time that happened, bullets started flying, and fast.
So I nodded.
Talon looked at the guys at the bar and gave them a quick nod. “Head out. I’ll be there in a few. We’re doing this right now.”
They all listened to Talon, even Layne. They all stood, leaving their food and drinks. In this sense, watching it happen, Talon still had the power of a President. Besides being very sexy for me to see, it had meaning within the clubhouse. And hopefully outside it.
Talon turned and faced me. He put a hand to my face and stroked, touching my bruising jaw.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not as much as it did.”
“It’s going to look nasty.”
“Whatever.”
“You really want to be let in.”
“I have to be, Talon. I want to understand everything. The club. You. Layne.”
Talon swallowed hard. “Maybe time will give us all answers, babe. But for now, I have to go out there and fight. Because it’s the only way to live.”
“Seems like a good way to die.”
“Maybe. You might never see me again.”
My heart skipped a beat. Talon wasn’t being heroic. He was being honest.
“I just have to believe you’ll be back,” I said. “So I don’t drive myself insane.”
Talon smiled. He leaned close to me. “Take a walk if you need. Don’t get cozy around here. Sometimes it feels like a prison. Just don’t go too far. You’re a target.”
Talon kissed me. His lips and tongue were delicious but his honest words left me feeling sour.
Just don’t go too far. You’re a target.
When Talon stopped kissing me, it felt like my heart was stopping. Then I watched him leave the clubhouse. The door didn’t completely shut thanks to Detective John shooting the lock and handle off it.
I waited and listened for the sound of thunder. It came when the guys started their rides. I closed my eyes and hoped Talon would come back alive. And safe.
12.
(Talon)
It never bothered me to leave the clubhouse and go out on a run. I knew there were eyes upon me. Guys that wanted to blow my brains out. Guys that wanted to kidnap me and slowly cut off every limb until I died a painful death. Christ, there were probably just as many women out there wanting to claw my eyes out or cut off my balls for empty promises I made looking for a little pleasure.
That was life.
You either hid from it or faced it. There was no running. Life wasn’t made to run from. It was like being in a big goddamn bubble. Nowhere to go. So it was better to just be a fucking man - or woman - and face it.
Layne and I shared the front spot of the group. No need to start an argument over who was acting like a President. But, if I had to defend myself, Layne stood at my command and acted like a bitch when I told him to do something.
We rode through the streets of Brocke, our small group with motorcycles roaring. It was a good feeling to ride like that. It was a good feeling to see people looking at us as we rode by. They feared us. Most hated us. A lot wished we were arrested, killed, or chased out of town. But each and every one of them needed us.
I stared straight ahead, my eyes on the road.
I thought about prison. Getting jumped. Getting pulled into fights. Getting cut, stabbed. And then the truest attempt on my life, the one that left a scar on the back of my neck. That really pissed me off. Of course, I couldn’t forget about the day of my release when I was thrown to two men to get shanked.
Thinking about it made me throttle harder. My ride sped up and Layne kept with me. I looked at him once. His face like cut steel. His black helmet and shades. Some of his hair dancing behind him. He was a cool dude. Looked the part and everything. That’s what really started our friendship. Our fucking brotherhood. That’s what attracted so much pussy. We were like rockstars, except instead of playing guitars, we had guns and motorcycles. It was so good. So easy.
And then it all had to go to hell.
We rode for about twenty minutes, seeing Brocke turn from residential, to commercial to an attempt at industrial. Then it became a wide open shithole. And when you were looking for roaches and filth, you looked in shit.
That’s were I found Rilen Lost.
On the outskirts of town, stood a little dive bar that they worked from. What they lacked in a real clubhouse and real safety they made up in their rides. The chrome steel motorcycles were things of beauty. It was a damn shame such assholes rode them.
I sped by the bar and then cut off the road. I hurried to turn and sped by again, kicking up a nice cloud of dust. Layne followed, along with Buzzy, Kade, and Drave.
I made another circle and then stopped. The dust flew up and around me. It settled and when I was able to see the shithole bar again, there were bodies out front. Guys in old leather cuts already with their weapons drawn, prepared for a fight.
I throttled my ride a few times and then stopped.
I climbed off my ride and turned to face the guys in Devil Call.
“Don’t fucking follow.”
“What are you talking about?” Layne asked.
“I’m taking care of this myself,” I said with a grin. “You wait a minute and then leave.”
“Like hell,” Layne said.
I looked at Buzzy. “Fucking leave me here. I’m telling you to do this.”
“What’s the point?” Drave asked. “This is suicide.”
“So be it,” I said. “I have to make up for what I did with Tommy. Let me take my hits. Okay?”
“We’re not leaving you,” Layne said. “As much of an asshole as you are. We’ll stay back though.”
“Look who it is!” a voice cried out.
I turned and saw Jony walking from the bar.
Short, thick, with a black beard and long black hair he looked like he belonged on tour with an old rock band. But this guy had balls. He had power. He was not someone to fuck with.
Jony reached back and pulled a sawed off shotgun from nowhere. He held it up in the air and pulled the trigger. Then he lowered the weapon until he was pointing it at me.
I opened my arms and spun around slowly. “No trouble from me.”
“Sure,” Jony called out. “Just paying a friendly visit?”
“Look,” I said. I took out my gun and dropped it to the ground. Then I walked from it, right toward Jony and his shotgun. “I just want to talk.”
“Fucking psycho,” Jony said.
I grinned.
Yeah, I was fucked in the head. But what Jony didn’t know was that I had a knife tucked into my right boot. And I was going to take that knife and cut the back of his neck so hard and so deep, he’d never use his fucking neck again.
I approached Jony, stepping right up to the shotgun. It was pointed at my chest. I put a finger to the barrel and pushed it down to my gut.
“There,” I said. “So I
’ll bleed out. More suffering.”
Jony curled his lip. “What do you want?”
“Just wanted you to see me in the flesh. You fucking scum. How many times did you try and get me killed when I was inside? How much cock did you suck for those favors? Christ, man, did you swallow all that down? Fuck.”
Jony pumped the chamber on the shotgun. “I’ll do it.”
“If you wanted to, you would have already pulled the trigger. Put that fucking thing down and talk to me like a man.”
Jony licked his lips. See, he had a thing about his height. He was only an inch or two shorter than me, but he thought he was about two feet tall. Anything about being a man really got to Jony.
He lowered the shotgun and handed it to one of his guys.
“Now,” I said. “My guys are hanging back. Waiting for me. Would you mind sending the pussies back inside?”
Everyone took a step at me.
“Hey, hey,” Jony yelled. “Everyone inside but three. Keep it fair. Just in case.”
The group broke up. Three lingered back.
I figured if I could grab Jony, everyone would draw. I’d walk him back to the motorcycles and let Layne do his thing. Since they didn’t want to fucking leave, they might as well help.
But before that, I made a fist and punched Jony square in the damn jaw.
He spun around and went to his knees. His guys hurried to pull out their weapons. I put my arms out, making sure I meant peace.
“It’s good,” Jony yelled as he climbed to his feet. He rubbed his jaw. “It’s good.” He turned and faced me. “I guess I deserved that one.”
“And about fifty more,” I said.
“What do you want, Talon? It’s business. Not personal. You know how it goes.”
“Kick a man while he’s down,” I said. “That’s your style. Not mine.”
“I saw it more as a business opportunity. That’s all. Take you out for good and watch Devil Call crumble.”
“Well, I didn’t fall, Jony.” I turned around and showed Jony the back of my neck. It was really risky to show your back to an enemy. It was disrespectful too. “Your guys on the inside are really bad at their jobs.”
PIECES LOST (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book Two) (Devil Call MC - Talon & Everly 2) Page 7