BROKEN ROAD (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novella)

by Casey, London

  She approached. She knew something about him was dark and hidden. But that was okay. Everyone had secrets. There was nothing wrong with that.

  Right?

  The question was answered when Keira saw Jake standing there, holding another MC’s leather cut. That’s when it all hit her. Jake’s attitude, skill of fighting, knowledge of the MC life, it all made sense.

  He was part of another crew. He had come to Rusted Devil MC with nothing but lies.

  So Keira backed up. Her mind told her the most logical thing: run like hell, call Kami, and get this thing figured out. Make sure Apollo knew the truth. Make sure the entire MC knew the truth so Jake could be punished and so Rusted Devil MC could protect itself.

  Then a thought hit her.

  Why did he fight? Why did he almost give his life?

  Slowly, Keira kept moving. She heard Jake yell for her. She heard a rushing noise. Then the blaring of a horn. As she turned her head, she saw a car. It was almost right on top of her. So close that she could see the eyes of the driver as he looked up from his cell phone and realized he was about to hit and kill someone.

  Keira shut her eyes and felt a violent pull. Then she in the air. She felt the ground meet her body with a burning pain. But it was a quick pain. She heard the car horn blaring still as it faded.

  She opened her eyes and saw Jake was on top of her. She looked to the right and saw the road.

  He saved me.

  “Get off me!” she screamed.

  Her hands shot up and tried to claw at Jake’s face.

  He quickly moved from her.

  Keira scrambled to her feet. “Get away! You fucking liar!”

  “I’m not a liar,” Jake said. “Just listen to me.”

  “Fuck you,” Keira yelled.

  She was more hurt than angry. She was falling for Jake. And now… this.

  Jake stepped toward her. “You need to listen to me.”

  “No. I don’t. I’m going back to Kami and Apollo. You’re fucked.”

  “No, babe, you’re fucked. Your stepbrother is fucked. The President of Rusted Devil MC is fucked. The entire MC is fucked!”

  Keira dodged Jake’s grab. “Are you threatening me? What are you going to do? Kill me? Right here? Like this?”

  “I’m not going to fucking kill you,” Jake said.

  He moved at Keira again. She swung her hand and slapped him across the face. The slap burned her hand. She grabbed it and yelped in pain. Jake touched his cheek and curled his lip. He stepped again and Keira threw a punch. Not at Jake’s face but at his shoulder. Jake grabbed his shoulder and screamed.

  “Fuck.”

  “Get away,” Keira said. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “I tried to tell you,” Jake said. “Then…”

  “So it’s my fault? Because I wanted you to fuck me?”

  “Goddammit, Keira, no.”

  Keira made a move and darted to the left. She planned on running to her car and driving away. Then calling for help. Kami, Apollo, the rest of the guys. But as Keira turned and started to run, her right foot went into the shallow hole where Jake had hidden his leather cut. Her ankle twisted and she stumbled forward.

  Jake was there a second later to save her - again - and he grabbed her by the waist. He lifted her and carried her to the giant rock blocking them. He put her against it and stared at her.

  “Look into my fucking eyes,” Jake growled. “You think for one second I would hurt you?”

  Keira’s lips quivered. She shook her head.

  She believed Jake wouldn’t hurt her.

  “I’m part of Back Down Devil MC. The Frelen charter. The original. Okay? I’m a trained fighter and good at what I fucking do. The heat from the cartel pushed some of the Rusted Devil guys into Frelen. They were trying to bust up some dealers. My President asked for me to come up here and check things out. I buried my cut and came to the bar with a bullshit story. I’ve made it very clear to my club that Rusted Devil MC isn’t an enemy to Back Down Devil. The last time I was here, babe, I saw Petey and Pitt meet with someone from the cartel. They exchanged money and information. That’s why the MC is under attack and can’t get its footing.”

  “You’re telling the truth?” Keira asked.

  “All of it. I wanted to tell you sooner but you had other things in mind. I’m sorry, babe. I never meant to meet you and get attached.”

  Keira was still trying to catch her breath. “So why’d you fight then? Why’d you risk your life?”

  “For you,” Jake said. “I want to find a way to help. Apollo and Kami need to know about the rats in their MC. They get rid of Petey and Pitt and the cartel heat will calm down. I could’ve just fucking left when I found out Rusted Devil wasn’t planning an attack against my club. But I stayed and fought because of you, Keira. Because I want you safe. I want your stepbrother safe. I want Apollo safe. I… I care about you. I really do.”

  Keira couldn’t believe what she was hearing and what she was feeling. She slowly reached up and touched Jake’s face. She knew he was more rugged and tough than his bullshit story. But being part of another MC? That was wild. And risky.

  She caught herself inching up, her lips demanding another taste of the addictive poison that was Jake.

  She kissed him. “I’m sorry for hitting you.”

  “We’ll call it even,” Jake whispered. “I’m not the bad guy, babe. I came up here because I’m pissed off. You broke my wall down, Keira. The only other woman I pretended to care about was murdered by some dealer she owed money to. Okay? Me and romance don’t get along. Not with my life. But you get it. You see it. You understand it.”

  “So, what are you going to do?” Keira asked. “Confess all this to Apollo and Kami? Expect them to listen? Then what? Put on the cut and change clubs?”

  “There’s only one cut I’ll ever wear,” Jake said. “And it’s not Rusted Devil MC. As for you and me, babe, there’s only thing I can do.”

  “What?”

  Jake stared right at Keira, his eyes burning hotter than ever. “I’m going to take you with me.”

  Keira felt her heart skip a beat. “What…”

  “I have a plan,” Jake said. “And I need you next to me. Can you do that?”

  The right thing would have been to kick Jake in the balls and run. To take him down and go back to the MC. To tell them everything.

  But Keira was too far gone, too far lost. Her mouth savored Jake’s mouth. Her body craved his touch. Her eyes trusted his eyes.

  She nodded.

  Yes, Jake. I’ll be next to you. And, yes, I’ll go with you…

  twenty-one.

  Jake watched Apollo peel the cloth from his face, revealing an open gash. Apollo’s eye was already swelling. His left arm was ripped up, the left leg of his jeans torn open, showing a mix of cut up skin, blackness from the road and getting burned by his own ride, and even the blue color of his jeans mixing in it all.

  “Fuck this,” Kami growled as he paced like a hungry lion in a cage.

  “What happened?” Keira asked.

  Jake already knew what happened.

  “Cartel attacked us,” Apollo said so calmly. “Ran me off the road and smashed me in the head with a pipe.”

  “Fuck,” Jake said.

  “They took the cash,” Kami said. “We’re back to square one here.”

  “How did they know?” Keira asked.

  “That’s the million dollar question,” Apollo said.

  Jake curled his hand tight around the Rusted Devil MC cut. He tossed it to the table. “I know how.”

  “What?” Kami asked.

  “I know how. You need to listen to me right now, Kami. Where does Pitt sleep?”

  “He’s got a room at the back of the bar,” Apollo said.

  “Where is Pitt right now?” Jake asked.

  “Not here,” Kami said.

  “Good. Go to his room. I bet you there’s a disposable phone.”

  “What the fuck is this?” Kami aske
d, eyes already wide.

  Keira stepped between Kami and Jake. “Listen to him, Kami. Please.”

  Kami looked back at Apollo.

  Apollo nodded. “Go check.”

  As Kami left, a man stepped into the room. Jake vaguely remembered the man. He pointed at Jake and asked, “How’s the shoulder?”

  “Hurts,” Jake said.

  “It’ll heal,” the man said.

  Jake realized it was the veterinarian who had patched him up.

  He quickly went to work on Apollo’s face, injecting him with a local and then stitching the cut above his eye.

  Jake watched the door and waited. He knew the cartel had to be communicating with prepaid phones or something like it. He figured Pitt would be dumb enough not to trash at least one of the phones.

  When Kami burst back into the room, he had three phones in his hand. He tossed them to the table.

  “I knew it,” Jake said. “Christ. Listen to me, guys, I saw Petey and Pitt meet with someone. I think they’re working for the cartel. That’s how the information is spread so fast. Pitt gives the information and Petey takes payment. That’s why…”

  Kami turned and pulled a gun. He pointed it right at Jake.

  The entire room fell silent. Even the vet working on Apollo stopped stitching.

  “We’ll finish this later,” Apollo said. “Cut the string and get out, Doc. You don’t need this.”

  The vet hurried, hands shaking. He rushed out of the room and Apollo rose to his feet and crossed his arms.

  “How the fuck do you know any of this?” Kami asked.

  Jake stared at the gun. Then he looked to Keira. He now regretted bringing her into this. If bullets were going to fly, she didn’t need to see it.

  Jake put his hand out toward Keira. “Don’t do this in front of her.”

  “Her?” Kami asked. “Why do you…” Kami looked at Keira. Her face was red. “Oh, fucking shit. You’re fucking my sister, bro?”

  “This has nothing to do with her,” Jake said. “I saw two of your guys meeting with the cartel. I’m telling you the truth.”

  “My guys,” Kami said. “Not our guys? You’re not wearing the cut you earned and wanted, Jake.”

  “I’m not going to wear that cut, Kami,” Jake said. “I have my own.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I’m patched in with Back Down Devil MC,” Jake said.

  Keira gasped.

  Apollo looked like stone.

  Kami’s eyes were wide. “What?”

  “Your guys were in Frelen, attacking dealers for cash. I was sent up here to see what was going on. To make sure you weren’t planning an attack. Or working with the cartel to push near us. I see what’s going on here, man. I’m trying to fucking help. I could have left before the fight. But I stayed to help this club.”

  “You fucking piece of shit.” Kami put the gun to Jake’s forehead. “I’m going to kill you.”

  “Kami, listen to me. Petey and Pitt are working against your club. They’re going to help take you all down. I’m willing to help. I have an idea. You found three disposable phones, man. You see what’s happening. All that cash I won for your club was stolen. Apollo, your President, was attacked. You have to see it, Kami. Find out when they’re meeting the cartel again and I’ll help.”

  “In exchange for what?” Apollo asked.

  “Nothing,” Jake said. “I shouldn’t even be here now. My club is going to get pissed at me for this. But I don’t care right now. Take care of the rat problem and then you’ll be able to pull away from the cartel. You’ll be able to flex more muscle and move forward.”

  Kami looked back at Apollo.

  “What do you think?”Apollo asked.

  “He’s right,” Kami said. “Time to take care of the rat problem. Starting with Jake.”

  Kami pulled the trigger.

  twenty-two.

  Keira heard the click and she jumped back. Then there was a second click, quickly followed by a third click.

  Kami pulled the trigger two more times before he stepped back and dropped the gun. The look in his eyes told the story of what was going to happen next.

  Jake lunged forward and threw a punch, connecting with Kami’s face and sending him stumbling back. Then Jake rushed forward and grabbed Kami, pinning him against the back wall and lifting him right up.

  “You stupid fuck!” Jake yelled. “You want to fucking kill me? I’ll burn this down!”

  Keira felt every part of her body shaking. She had no idea what to do. Her stepbrother was against a wall, his face bleeding. The man she was falling in love with was holding Kami against the wall.

  And Apollo was calm. He put a hand to Jake’s shoulder. “Easy, Jake. He’s still my VP. You’re in my club.”

  Jake let go of Kami and turned. He kicked Kami’s gun, sending it spinning across the floor.

  “Fuck!” Jake yelled. “Fuck.”

  The tension in the room was thick.

  “Jake, I know,” Apollo said.

  Jake spun around. “What?”

  “I know who you are,” Apollo said. He then looked at Kami. “And I took the bullets out of your gun, Kami. Because I knew you would do that.”

  “What the fuck is going on?” Kami asked.

  “The fight did it,” Apollo said. “The way you handled yourself, Jake. You’re not just a skilled and trained fighter. You know what to expect.”

  “I was never at the snake pit,” Jake said.

  “But you had the instinct to survive,” Apollo said. “And when you passed out after the fight you said something about rats in the club. That stuck with me. A friend of a friend mentioned you looked really familiar. That you were part of a crew. I get it, Jake. I thought about killing you. I thought about having Doc shoot you up with something to paralyze you. Then I was going cut off your limbs one at time and show them to you as you bled out.”

  Keira felt her stomach turn. She leaned against the wall.

  “You’re a fucking liar,” Kami said to Jake. “And you’re fucking my sister?”

  “I care about her, man,” Jake said. “It’s… real. At least to me.”

  Jake looked at Keira. She nodded. “Me too, Jake.”

  Jake offered his hand and Keira took it. He interlocked his fingers and pulled her close.

  “Oh, fuck,” Kami said.

  “Now listen to me,” Apollo said. “I dug around. Petey and Pitt are running behind our backs. Jake is right. I wanted to see his end game in this.”

  “What’s your end game then?” Kami asked.

  “Making sure you all know the truth,” Jake said. “And I want Keira to be safe. With me.”

  “Fuck that,” Kami said.

  “You can’t tell me what to do,” Keira said.

  “Club business first,” Apollo said. “Petey and Pitt are meeting today. I found a phone and there was a message. Petey is getting payment for telling them where me and Kami were riding to.”

  “We’re going to bust them up?” Kami asked.

  “We don’t have the manpower,” Apollo said.

  He looked at Jake. He grinned.

  Keira tried to follow what the hell was happening…

  “I’ve got the manpower,” Jake said.

  He looked at Keira and nodded.

  She smiled even though she was terrified.

  *

  Jake pinned her down to the bed. His hands gripped her wrists tight. His eyes burned at hers for a second. Then he was on the move. She looked down and watched his mouth connect to her left breast. His lips opening wide, suckling to her soft skin, the tip of his tongue circling around her hard nipple. His teeth grazed her, making her jump.

  Keira dug her hands into the back of Jake’s head, pushing at him, wanting him to go all the way down.

  There’s no fucking time for that.

  Keira knew that.

  Apollo and Kami were putting the final pieces together. Jake had already done his part. Now it was a waiting g
ame for the rats in Rusted Devil MC to show their faces.

  In the meantime…

  Jake climbed back up Keira’s body and kissed her. He lowered his body to hers and entered her. The lower half of Keira’s body shuddered and she dug her heels into the bed and lifted herself, desperate for relief. Jake left her so full, it was impossible to imagine she’d ever get used to it. Which was a beautiful thing. Because it meant they’d have a long time together with this wild feeling.

  Thrusting to his hilt, Jake then paused. He gently rubbed the tip of his nose to Keira’s.

  “I’ll protect you forever,” Jake whispered. “But I can never give up my cut.”

  Keira swallowed hard. “I know.”

  There were words left lingering. Jake kissed Keira again.

  Then he fucked her to a point where fantasy became reality.

  twenty-three.

  Jake wore the same thing he showed up with. No leather cut. A white t-shirt, clinging to his body from his sweat. There were only two differences now. One was that his shirt had blood stains on it from getting stabbed. And two, he had a gun tucked in the back of his jeans.

  He had no ride either.

  He just waited for hell to break loose.

  The rumble in the distance was like thunder. Apollo, Kami, Ax, and Slaughter were coming. What Jake didn’t expect was a car to join, being driven by Keira.

  Jake rushed to the car and looked down at her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m in this too,” Keira said. “I want to see it end. You know how many members I’ve watched leave and never return?”

  Jake gritted his teeth. “Don’t get out of the car.”

  Jake walked to Apollo and they shook hands.

  “Ready?” Apollo asked.

  “All set,” Jake said. “Keep the violence low until we’re clear.”

  “I want to light them up,” Kami said.

  “You’ll have your chance,” Jake said. “I promise, you will have Petey and Pitt alive. Do what you need to do.”

  “Orders have been given,” Apollo said. “My men know what to do here. This is about image and power.”