I risked getting to my feet. I risked taking another surprise bullet. There were holes in the windows at the top of the wall. After a few seconds, Layne and Buzzy got to their feet. The door opened, slamming into the dead corpse on the floor. It was Drave. He looked down, saw Austin, and then screamed.
That’s when the entire clubhouse came to investigate.
“Who fucking did this?” Maxen asked.
“Attack,” Layne said and pointed to the window.
“Christ,” Buzzy said. “This is our room. This is where we meet. This is unacceptable.”
I slowly approached Buzzy. I looked down at him. “Anything else you want to ask me?”
Buzzy swallowed hard. “Talon, come on…”
I turned and walked to Layne. Our chests bumped together. I ignored the patch on his chest for a second.
“Anything else you want to ask me?”
“I’m not accusing anyone,” Layne said. “I’m looking for the truth.”
“Check anything you want,” I said. “I have nothing to do with Jade. But I have a way to maybe help with this mess. I don't want to do it though. I don't want Jony to survive. I don’t want more heat on the MC. More death.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know, President.”
“First? I’m going to have the prospects clean up what’s left of one of our brothers.”
The scene then became all too familiar for us. Calling for a dark ride. Calling for a casket, a hearse, the empty feeling going through the clubhouse again. It was a terrible feeling and it’s the path Devil Call MC was left on.
As the prospects worked on the mess in the meeting room, I took my chances and went outside. I stood there in the middle of the lot, waiting for something else to happen. But it seemed Vaughn was keeping his promise… each day, something new. Something hellish. For the safety and love for his whore of a stepsister. I almost understood what the son of a bitch was going through. But it had nothing to do with the MC, and we were getting forced into the middle of it.
My mind kept racing on what plan to work on first here. It was dangerous being outside in the open right now but the clubhouse had started to feel like a prison. I lost myself in such thought that when Everly touched my shoulder I didn’t realize she was there until she whispered my name.
When I turned and looked at her, the fear on her face was nothing I ever wanted to see. I hurried to grab her and hug her. I looked to my ride and seriously thought about just going. Me and her. The open road. Leave all this behind.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “About Austin.”
“I am too,” I said.
“Talon, I don’t understand any of this. You didn’t do anything…”
“This isn’t a matter of guilty versus innocent,” I said. I kissed the top of Everly’s head. “That’s not how this life always works. I’m sorry to tell you that. This is about power and muscle. Vaughn showing his power and Devil Call becoming the muscle for his crusade.”
“But he’s killing guys…”
“Nobody important,” I said. “He’ll never take out me. Or Layne. Or even you, beautiful. We’re too valuable. Is that wrong to say? Maybe. But it’s the goddamn truth.”
“So what’s the plan?” Everly asked, her voice crackling.
I turned and faced her. My hands touched her soft cheeks. Her hair was still damp, fresh with the smell of her shampoo.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” I said. “I don’t know what’s next. There’s too much lingering. But I promise you, Everly, we will be okay. I just need you to be safe and trust me. I’m going to end all this. I’ll find Jade…”
Everly’s lip curled. “I hope…”
“I’m going to take care of her and Vaughn,” I said. “And then I’m going to get what’s mine.”
“Which is?”
“The patch,” I said. “I’m the President of this club. Not Layne.”
“Do you think if the vote went to you things would be different?”
“I don’t think it’s fair to ask that or think that. Where we are is reality. But when this is done, I’m getting my patch and club back. If not, then I leave. I’m not second rank. Vote or not. This isn’t…” I gritted my teeth. “This isn’t the life for you, beautiful. The life for us. I promise…”
“I know,” Everly said. “I trust you with my life, Talon. I swear to you.”
We stood there, in the open, in the line of fire. We should have been far away, sheltered and hidden, but we just kept there. Standing stupid and defiant, but it’s all I’d ever known.
I kissed Everly, tasting her sweet lips, her playful tongue.
I ran my hands down her body and it was a shot of life within me. The truest feeling in my heart and greatest sense of freedom. As good as being on an open road with the wind in my face and horizon my only obstacle.
I love you, Everly. Goddamn, I love you.
__
4.
(Everly)
Another dark ride and this one was far different than the first. I noticed how slow and tired everyone looked. The way they all looked at the cemetery gates the way I did the first time. Everything was so quiet, so calm, just waiting in the middle of this storm for it to kick back up into high gear.
It was completely terrifying.
Even when we got back to the clubhouse, it was so quiet. The guys didn’t go to the pool tables or the dartboards like they did after Jagg’s dark ride. They went for the bar for more shots. There was no music either. Women were in the clubhouse, all there for the relief of those who needed a little company.
I sat on a barstool and refused a drink twice. I looked at the door to where the guys went to meet. That’s where Austin had been shot. A bullet right through his head. Almost as sick and twisted as what happened to Jagg.
I looked to my left and saw Talon talking to Buzzy.
I inched myself off the barstool and snuck toward the door. It was totally taboo for me to go into the room. But something inside me wanted to see. Wanted to see the spot where Austin was killed. The bullets coming through the window, aiming for the guys. That meant aiming for Talon. I believed when Talon said Vaughn wouldn’t kill him, but that didn’t mean the fear wasn’t there. All it took was one mistake or slip… or another enemy coming forward to take advantage of Devil Call MC’s weakness.
I grabbed the handle and opened the door just enough for me to sneak in. I slipped in so nobody could see or tell I was there. I turned my head to the left and my jaw hit the floor. My mind instantly forgot about everything I was supposed to looking at.
Layne stood at the end of the table, slightly leaning against the side of it. And in front of him, on her knees, was some woman, pleasuring him. Her mouth wrapped tight around his cock, sliding back and forth with speed. Layne had one of his big hands on the top of her head, guiding her, groaning each time she came down on him, taking all of him into her mouth.
I should have - no, I needed to - get the fuck out of the room, but I was frozen. I couldn’t help but watch what was happening. The way Layne’s face looked. The way he stared down, groaning. His body gently thrusting at the woman’s mouth. The way she kept with him, moaning each time she pulled back on him.
Then Layne turned his head and saw me.
I hurried to put my hands up. I shook my head. I didn’t want to interrupt this. I’m sure Layne needed it so fucking bad. He was just voted President not too long ago and was in the middle of a major war and lost two of his table members. Not to mention Talon was being a complete asshole.
Even after Layne saw me and even after I shook my head, I still didn’t move. And for a split second, I was jealous. Jealous that my time had come and gone unused and unwanted with Layne. Everything about me and him was completely wrong, but watching some stranger suck him off actually bothered me a little.
Layne’s hand wrapped around the woman’s hair and he moved her faster.
“That’s good,” he said, his eyes staring at me. “Just l
ike that. I’m close.”
The woman moaned. The wet sound of her lips, tongue, mouth, gliding up and down Layne’s shaft, it was driving me wild.
I just stood there and watched, switching between Layne’s eyes and his cock.
“Good,” he said. “Get ready…”
Layne sucked in a breath and then let out a grunt. When he did his body thrust forward. The woman suddenly stopped and moaned. I could tell Layne was coming. His cock spilling into the woman’s mouth. Me just standing there watching it all happen. Layne breathing heavily, hissing, slowly moving forward and back.
I opened my mouth, wondering what the fuck I would say, if anything.
Layne grinned at me, cutting me up with his eyes.
He wasn’t the same man I met when he brought me to Devil Call MC. He was thicker now, tougher, a better man because of Talon being back in the picture. Maybe they weren’t meant to be at the same table, I wasn’t sure, but Layne was a special man. Just not meant for me.
The woman pulled back, her mouth coming off him. Her hand sliding up and down his cock. Layne winked and then looked down at the woman. “Now stand the fuck up and let me fuck you.”
Holy shit…
That was my final cue to get the hell out.
I turned and left the room, sneaking back out without anyone seeing me.
I slid along the wall and once I was out of sight, I started to move faster. My body was tingling, I was on fire. I wasn’t able to run yet because of my leg so I went as quick as I could, needing to get to Talon’s room to just call it quits for the day.
When I turned the corner, a man stood there.
“Everly, there you are,” he said.
All my mind could do was assume it was Vaughn. Here to get me. Here to hurt me.
So I made a fist and punched.
I hit the guy in the face and he squealed.
He put his hand out and looked at me, blood running down his nose to his lips.
That’s when I realized it was just a damn prospect. The young guy looked terrified as I stood there. His hands were shaking, his blue eyes wide. It amazed me that such young and innocent faces really thought they could survive in this world of violence and death.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Phone call for you. Some woman. Left a number for you. She sounded out of breath. Scared. Said it was important you called her right now.”
“Where? What?”
“I left the number at your door. Talon’s door.”
“Thanks.”
I didn’t apologize to the prospect for hitting him but I didn’t care either. I hurried to the door and grabbed the piece of paper on the floor halfway sticking from the door. It was a phone number written sloppily. I got into the room and hurried to call…
“This better be fucking Everly,” a voice said.
“It’s me.”
“It’s Jade.”
Hearing her name made me shiver. Holy shit.
“What…”
“I don’t have time,” Jade said. “I’m held captive. I’m trapped. I was able to sneak a phone and I called…”
“Why didn’t you call Vaughn?” I asked. “He’s attacking Devil Call for you disappearing.”
“He didn’t fucking answer,” Jade said. “I called him fifty times. So I remembered you. You can help me. You can figure this out and get me out of here. I also called because they’re going to get you too, Everly. It’s all a plan…”
I stiffened and shivered. “Call the police. Call Detective John…”
“No,” Jade yelled. “I don’t know where I am. I can’t get anyone involved because of… my personal dealings here…”
In other words, fucking drugs.
“Who has you, Jade?” I asked. “Tell me right now.”
“It’s a dark room down a narrow set of steps, Everly. I can smell must. It’s wet. Kind of cool. Some kind of storage cellar. Lots of noise above me. Pool games, maybe. Maybe it’s a bar. They were all in black. Black leather, black masks. They were on motorcycles. They… it was a deal… oh shit…”
“Jade!” I cried out. “What’s happening?”
“I hear something.”
“Hide the phone!” I yelled. “Don’t get…”
Jade screamed.
I gasped and heard a thud sound. Then came Jade pleading. Yelling. Screaming.
“I can get more!” she cried out. “I can get her here. She’ll fall for anything. Don’t fucking…”
“You stupid cunt,” a voice bellowed. A growling, angry, drunk voice.
“Jade!” I screamed. “Where are…”
There was another thud and the call was dead.
All I could imagine was that the phone had been destroyed. The guy stepping on it, killing the call, and then leaving me wondering what was happening to Jade.
I dropped the phone and stood up. I took a step and the bedroom door opened, Talon standing there. I reached for him and the entire room started to spin. I stumbled forward and everything went dark.
“Everly!” was all I heard.
Over and over.
Someone holding me. Someone carrying me. Someone touching my face.
“Everly!”
Then I was in the air. My arms floating at my sides. Just floating along in life. My mind racing and hurting. I then felt softness. I felt my lips quivering. When I took a breath I smelled Talon. Man, motorcycle, booze, all mixed together to create the sexiest smell ever.
“Open your fucking eyes,” Talon ordered me. “Right now.”
I fought the darkness and the pain. I opened my eyes and Talon was hovering over me.
“Christ, what happened?”
“Jade’s alive,” I said. “She called me. Or I called her. She tried to call Vaughn but he wouldn’t answer.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I pointed to the phone on the floor. Talon grabbed it and dialed the last number I called. Ten seconds later he threw the phone at the wall and screamed Fuck!.
“It’s dead,” he said.
“Someone stepped on the phone,” I said. “She’s in a cellar. She thinks it’s a bar.”
“Why the fuck didn’t she call the police?”
“Drugs. It was a deal gone bad. It wasn’t… you… Devil Call…”
“Of course it fucking wasn’t,” Talon said. He stood up. “Did you think I had something to do with this?”
“No,” I said. I forced myself to sit up. I felt warmth and color returning to my body. “No, I swear. I just… I mean… how do you get Vaughn to stop?”
Talon put his hands to his head and let out a long groan. My eyes couldn’t help but see the way his shirt pulled up. Right at his jeans. Right at the button. I couldn't believe that I was actually turned on right now. But Talon saved me again. And I needed to feel needed and wanted. Plus, the images of Layne…
He grit his teeth and his nostrils flared.
I reached out and touched between his legs. I squeezed and looked up at him.
“What the fuck are you trying to prove?” he growled at me.
“I need you,” I whispered. “I just want to taste you. I want to feel you come…”
Talon kept his hands at his head. He stepped forward two steps and that’s all I needed as a sign. My fingers hurried to open his jeans, my hands even quicker to push them down enough to see his amazing cock. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see him already thick and hard. My hand hurried to grip him, slide up and back on his shaft, bringing it even more to life. I hurried forward and my lips kissed the thick tip of his cock. My tongue played at the bottom of his shaft and I tasted his hard skin. I swirled my tongue a few times, my eyes looking up at Talon.
He reached down and put his hand to my head and pulled. He wanted my mouth on his cock. He wanted to bury himself in my mouth. And it made me think of what I saw with Layne.
My lips were tight as I tried to stretch my mouth over Talon’s thick shaft. I worked down and back, inching my way al
ong, my hand gripping tight at the root of his cock, gently pumping as I sucked him. I forced my way down until my lips touched my fingers wrapped around him. I held there, groaning, Talon letting out a hiss.
“Fucking hell, beautiful,” he said. “How fast do you want it?”
I groaned again and then nodded. I wanted it all right now. We didn’t have time to waste anymore.
I pulled back until I felt the ridge of the head of his cock. My tongue slid left to right at the bottom of his shaft and I forced myself to plunge down on him again. My hand pumped hard and fast. I held there, keeping my mouth as tight as possible. When I started to gently suck up and back, Talon thrust forward and hissed again. He started to take deep breaths and with each one, his cock thickened more and more. It got to the point where I couldn’t completely get all the way down on him. My hand took over a little, stroking all of his shaft I couldn’t get to with my mouth. My lips and tongue focused on the head of his cock and it was like I hit a goddamn magic throttle. Back and forth a few times, hard and fast, and Talon had his grip tight on my hair, pulling. He groaned and fucked my mouth a few extra times before letting go.
The warmth spread to my tongue and throat. I gently worked down and back with his throbbing cock, pulling back when he came, giving me more of his hot release. And long after he was done, I wasn’t. His hand opened and slid down to my shoulder. My hand let go of his cock and I touched his leg. But my mouth and tongue were still savoring him. Sliding up and down… up and down…
I wanted the moment to never end. Ever. Because the reality outside the bedroom was death and destruction. And I couldn't take anymore.
__
5.
(Talon)
I stood next to Layne as we waited for the car to approach the gates. We had been able to make contact with Vaughn, the son of a bitch sounding half dead when I talked to him. I had to scream into the phone three times that I had talked to Jane before he realized what I was saying.
Now we were waiting for him to show up so we could actually talk in person and figure all this shit out. We made sure to keep the rest of the MC inside the clubhouse with the hopes and intentions that Vaughn really wouldn’t hurt me or Layne. But what the hell did we really know?
DARK EDGE (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book Seven) (Devil Call MC - Talon & Everly 7) Page 3