My hands slipped down to Everly’s perfect ass and I held her. Guiding her back and forth, pulling at me, wanting it. I gritted my teeth and felt the surge come and there was no fucking stopping it. I pulled Everly down and moved my hands back to her hips. I kept her right there as I started to come. I groaned as she cried out. She threw her head back and moved so hard against me.
It was a thing of beauty.
Beauty in a world that was shrouded in such fucking madness and hell.
3.
(Everly)
I stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around me. I walked to the bedroom and found Talon sitting on the edge of the bed, right where I had left him. The bandage on his back was a little crooked and had spots of blood on it. It made my stomach twist and turn a little as I stared at it.
I had no idea where his head was right now. Whether Talon was in Devil Call MC right now or somewhere else. Somewhere lost and feeling alone. But he’d never be alone. I’d go with him to the end of the world and back if he needed me to be there.
“Hey,” I said.
Talon stood from the bed, picking up his jeans. I loved his ass. I was jealous of his jeans when he lifted them and buttoned them. He turned around, giving me the chance to see that wildly sexy body of his. That toned and chiseled look made my toes curl each time I saw it. He reached for his t-shirt and put it on. Then he grabbed his leather cut and held it.
“I’m going out for a little bit,” he said. “Need to talk to the guys about some shit.”
“Layne?”
“No. That’s all good for now.”
I shook my head. It wasn’t good. Nothing was good. “Talon…”
“Listen, beautiful,” he said. “I know you’ve been through it all around here. There’s not a day that’s going to go by that I don’t get angry or regret some of the things that’s happened. The last thing I was looking for when I got out of prison was… you. But I got you. I love you. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been shot, attacked, beat up with a baseball bat, and now stabbed. I’m still standing. I’m still fighting. Trust in that.”
“I do,” I whispered. “I swear, I do. I’m just… so lost.”
“That’s okay,” Talon said. “When you're lost, that means you’re just waiting to be found. And I’ve already found you, Everly. And you or I… we’re not going anywhere.”
Talon turned and walked to the door.
I called out his name at the last second.
Fuck, I didn’t want him to go. I didn’t want to see him leave… maybe never come back…
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Is there a war inside Devil Call?” I asked.
Talon didn’t hesitate with an answer. “There’s a war inside us all, beautiful.”
With that, he left the room.
I stood there in a towel, shaking.
If I couldn’t get answers from Talon, then I could go to the next party in this bullshit.
Layne.
I hurried and dressed, darting to the bathroom to run a brush through my wet and knotty hair. I left the room and walked to the clubhouse like I owned the place. Funny how it was just a short while ago that the place owned me. I was part of the accessible property, meaning whatever someone wanted, I took care of it. A beer, a shot of whiskey, three minutes of pleasure, that was me. Not anymore though.
I walked to the bar and looked around. The guys were scattered. A handful lingered, probably more outside. I heard the distant cry of a motorcycle engine and figured it was Talon. The sound of one engine left my stomach flipping again. I hated when Talon rode alone. But as I scanned the clubhouse and bar a second time, I wasn’t really confident that him going with someone was that much better.
Hell, to be honest, was I even safe?
I turned and almost walked into Layne. He towered over me, arms crossed. His forearms were as thick as my legs, his eyes almost as dark and intense as Talon’s. He used to be calm, kind, and sweet. My gentle giant that took care of me. The moments we shared that could have been so much more but were never meant to be.
“I was looking for you,” I said.
“And here I am,” Layne said.
“Can we talk?”
“Shoot.”
“Maybe in private, Layne.”
He looked to the meeting room. Then over his shoulder. He spun around. “Come with me, Everly.”
I followed Layne down the hallway and made a left turn. Something I hadn’t done in a while. Layne was taking me to his room. And I was actually nervous. Probably as nervous as the first time he brought me here. After I watched him kill someone. After he saved me from the mess of my life, bringing me into the heart of the Devil Call MC mess.
He opened the door and held it for me.
The room had a familiar smell of Layne. It was a simple room. Clean and quiet. I walked to the bed and my fingertips touched it. Layne and I had slept in this bed next to each other. Definitely not together though. There had been some times when things got… hot…
I turned around and Layne was right there again. This time, his hands at his sides.
“Talk to me, Everly,” he said.
“You’re different, Layne. You’re… cold. Stone like.”
Layne nodded. “You’ve seen what’s happened here. What do you want me to do? Buy a cake and balloons? Celebrate?”
Fair enough.
I took a couple steps back. Layne then crashed on the bed, sitting there. His wall started to crack a little, maybe. I inched toward him and slowly reached out and put my hand to his shoulder.
What the fuck are you doing? He fucking stabbed Talon…
“Talon is back to telling me nothing,” I whispered. “I feel like I’m in the dark.”
“Join the club,” Layne said. “I didn’t ask for the patch, Everly. But I was given it. I’m representing this club the right way. The way I feel is right.”
“Seems to be going…”
Layne laughed. “It’s a fucking mess. There’s a lot more to do. The last thing I need - now or later - is Talon in the way.” He looked up at me. “I hope you understand that.”
I nodded. I understood it. Talon had his own way of living and wasn't afraid to stand up for it. That’s what made him beautiful in his own way. And really sexy.
I caught myself moving, positioning myself in front of Layne. We were a foot apart. He still looked up at me. Our eyes locked tight. I slowly touched his face, trying to read him.
His hands touched my waist and slid to my back. The same fire didn’t exist as it did before. When he used to touch me, I felt something like hope. Now, I just felt hands.
“I didn’t want to do it,” Layne whispered. “But I did.”
He lowered his head and came forward, touching my stomach.
“Was it Anneliese?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Years of shit burning inside me, Everly. And now the MC. Everything we had wanted to do together. It was in our hands, then gone. And I realized something…”
“What, Layne?”
He looked back up at me again. “It’ll never come back. It’ll never be the same again. No matter what happens. So… fuck it, right?”
I swallowed a big lump. I felt like I was in the middle of a break up. Talon and Layne. Yet I didn’t know them when they were best friends or brothers or whatever. I just knew Layne as this big, lost guy trying to hold things together while Talon did time. And then I knew Talon as this fast paced, gorgeous guy who didn’t give a fuck about anything. Right down to his feeling of need to kill Layne’s girlfriend.
“Did you love her, Layne?” I asked.
“Who?”
“Anneliese. I still don’t…”
“I don’t know what I felt,” he admitted. “I think about it way too much sometimes. If I could have changed things. Or changed her. But every time I do, I come up with the same goddamn thing…”
“Which is?”
Layne’s eyes were big, sad, sexy. “He did the right thing. And if he hadn’t d
one it, I would have done it shortly after.”
“Christ,” I said. “She was that bad?”
“A virus. Everything a man could lust after with the poison of the deadliest animal in the world. One little nibble and you were hooked. And you’d end up dead. Trust me.”
“Trust you?” I asked.
“How the fuck do you think I won Anneliese over?”
“You killed for her…”
Layne slid his hands to my belly. He gently pushed, making me step back. He then rose up, towering over me again. He reached up and touched my chin. Then he shook his head.
“What?” I asked.
“You really are everything. Maybe the most important part of this MC. You somehow keep things grounded. You keep Talon on his toes and away from the edge. And you… me… it’s just there.”
“You stabbed him, Layne. You hurt him. You hurt Talon.”
“Yeah, I did,” Layne said with defiance pouring from his eyes. “And?”
“Jesus Christ. How am I supposed to function in this clubhouse? I don’t know where the war is. Outside, inside. Both?”
“You know, Everly, time has a strange way of healing things,” Layne said. “Wounds close up. They heal. Right? But they almost always leave a scar. Or at the very least, a memory. Time goes on. The memory. The pain. The scar. That doesn’t.”
“So is this it?” I asked. “You and Talon squared off in a game of revenge? How does that play out? One of you kills the other? Tries to be a martyr for it? Then what? The MC won’t function. Not with murder and deception.”
“Listen to you talking,” Layne said with a grin. “You should be wearing a cut with that tongue.”
“Then give me some fucking leather and a gun. I’ll whip this place into shape.”
“I don’t doubt it. Start with surviving though.” Layne leaned down and gently bushed his lips against mine. “I’m sorry we couldn’t have been more. But you were worth letting go so I wouldn’t have to lose you.”
Layne walked to the door and opened it. He held it for me, nodding. A silent signal saying get the fuck out.
As I left the room, I started to connect Layne’s words. Layne implied that if he had made a move at me… what? Talon would have hurt me? Because he wanted me that bad?
I promised myself not to think too far into things. Not right now. Not with all this happening. But as I walked through the clubhouse, I could feel it… the tension thick as fog. Anyone and everyone ready to go off at a moment’s notice.
4.
(Talon)
The roles were suddenly reversed. I sat on the side of the road, leaning against my ride, waiting for the car to speed by. Of course, I didn't have a gun that tracked speeds, nor did I have a flashing light, or even the authority to actually stop someone to give them a ticket, or just harass them.
But I planned on it anyway.
I had a gun in my hand. Not the kind that would find out top speed… but the kind that would fire fucking bullets. That was the law. The judge. The jury. The justice system. That’s how it worked properly.
I rolled my shoulders and felt the bandage pull. The wet cream and bloody skin stung and bothered the hell out of me.
Fucking Layne… stabbing me like that.
We had one more thing to do to finish it all off. To regain some kind of peace within ourselves and the MC. And he went and fucking rammed a knife into me.
I looked to my left and saw the car. The unmarked piece of shit car that Detective John loved to drive. And in front of him was a police cruiser. Lights, stripes, logos and all.
I pointed my gun and couldn’t believe it. The fucking cop car didn't slow, didn’t react. Was he not fucking paying attention to the guy pointing a gun at him? It must have been a rook or something, someone too naive to think a bullet could, or would, actually hurt them.
I could have taken the prick’s head off, but I pointed the gun down and blew out the front passenger tire as he sped by. That’s when he hit the brakes. The back end of his car fishtailed left to right, right to left, left to right again, before finally charging into the dirt and stopping.
Detective John slammed on his brakes and left a nice line of skids on the road.
The doors flew open.
Detective John popped up and tore the sunglasses off his face. He stared at me with a look of hate in his eyes. The officer ran around his car, gun drawn, legs cutting in and out in perfect technique.
“Drop it, motherfucker!” he growled. “I’ll fucking light you up!”
I pointed my gun at the officer and smiled. He quickly hesitated and froze, looking to Detective John.
“Jesus Christ, Patters, put your fucking weapon away,” Detective John yelled.
“Sir, he shot…”
“What the fuck did I say?”
Officer Patters put his gun away and stood there, thumbs hooked into his belt.
“Really?” I asked. “What the fuck are you with him for?”
“Jealous, son?” Detective John asked.
“Fuck off,” I said.
Detective John looked to Officer Patters and said the same damn thing. “Fuck off.”
“Me, sir?” Officer Patters asked. “I, uh, thought…”
“Get in your fucking cruiser and leave,” Detective John said. “This is an open murder investigation. I find out you tell anyone about this and I’ll have your badge and your wife. At the same time.”
“Sir, my tire…”
“Work your way back,” Detective John said. “Tell everyone you hit a pot hole or something. I don’t care. Fuck off.”
The officer slowly retreated to his car and eventually drove away. Detective John pulled to the side of the road and got out of the car.
He jumped up on the hood and sat there, staring at me. “What do you want, son?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Things…”
“Bloody. I know. I’ve been looking around the shit up at your rival crews place. That was a hell hole. Bodies…”
“I heard.”
“Bullshit, Talon. You heard? How many fucking bullets did you deal out that day?”
“I have no idea…”
“Save it,” Detective John said. “And you fucked me on that deal with Jony, huh? The son of a bitch… suffocated by his own cell mate.”
“Suffocated?”
“Autopsy proved it. I ordered it. Didn’t make much sense. Some big guy named Mutt. Killed his parents. Sick fucker.”
He didn’t know I was cellmates with Mutt…
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“Mutt? Nothing. He’s serving life. They’ll throw him before a judge probably out of formality. I’m sure some pig lawyer will go for insanity or something psychological bullshit stuff. I personally don’t care.”
“Good,” I said. “Fuck Jony.”
“How beneficial for you. And the fact that the others are dead will really help your MC out.”
Detective John pushed from the car. He stared me down. Goddamn… he used to stare at me like this all the time. Right before he beat the fucking piss out of me. Literally. Beat me until I pissed myself.
“I’m going to fucking get you, son,” Detective John said. “When I do…”
“It’s Layne,” I said. “He’s lost it. Completely lost it. The exact reason why I wanted the President’s patch.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Who was dead up there? Those people… Vaughn… Jade… who were they running with?”
“That’s a whole mess in itself.”
“Yeah. Layne wanted to take them on and down. Same with the rest of Rilen Lost. A switch flipped… and I’m…”
Fuck, how can I say this to him?
“What? You expect me to believe that bullshit story?”
I turned and pointed to my shoulder. “Look at my cut. Look at the hole.”
“So what?”
I took off my cut. I tore off my shirt. I looked back at Detective John. “He fucking stabb
ed me in the back.”
“Layne did that?”
“Yeah. We were having a meeting. I stood up to walk away. And…”
“Jesus fucking Christ, son,” Detective John said. He reached out and touched my shoulder. It brought back hellish memories. “I can’t believe this.”
“I can,” I said. I put my shirt back and my leather cut. “He’s a fuck, man. A real fuck. He’s pissed because Everly fucks me and not him. He’s pissed because you come talk to me and not him. He’s always been jealous that you’re my… you know… father and all…”
Did I just fucking call Detective fucking John my father?
“Yeah?” he asked.
I nodded. “He got the patch and he’s losing it. He’s going to set more up. Including me. So if he calls you…”
“You need my help,” Detective John said with a cocky grin.
“Just… if he calls you. To meet up or anything… you have to go with it. You have to let him believe that you’re…”
“What?” Detective John asked. “You want me to get dragged into your shit here? You and Layne fighting over life. Over a woman. Over a motorcycle club.”
“Not at all,” I said. “I’m afraid if Layne doesn’t get the attention he wants, he’ll do something else crazy. I’m afraid he’ll just start acting on his own. Ordering around the members who voted him, along with prospects. Where does that leave me? The rest of us. We’ll be divided.”
“A divided club, Talon, will die.”
“That much I already know. And if Devil Call is going to go down, then let it. I’m trying to prevent anymore useless death. I’m trying to protect Everly.”
Detective John’s eyes lit up then. It made my stomach flip. I wanted to punch him in the mouth so bad. The thoughts running through his mind…
“You better not let her get hurt,” Detective John warned. “I’ll play along. But I have an investigation to run still. Just because Vaughn and Jade are dead doesn’t mean I’m done with all this. In fact, you’re fucked even worse, Talon.”
“How’s that?”
TANGLED SECRETS (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book Eight) Page 2