Devil's Prey

by SE Chardou

  Max glanced from Mags’ body to her face. “I didn’t think it would be that easy. At the same time, I do believe both of us have enough resources and life experience to pull this off, don’t you?”

  “Of course, that goes without saying.” She turned toward him, smirked with an almost childish deviousness and said, “Good night.”

  Just like that, she was gone, and Max was left with one of the worst case of blue balls he’d ever experienced.

  Mags was right, this wouldn’t be an easy situation at all, but little did she know, his reasons—and hers—for coming to that very conclusion were as different as night and day.

  The next morning, shortly after Max and Mags enjoyed a delicious breakfast together of scrambled eggs, sausage patties, artisan rolls, fresh fruit and copious amounts of coffee, he made good on his promise.

  They left The Heritage together and drove to Birch Tree, where the quiet and well maintained Serenity Village was located. Mags looked out of the window, again, alone in her thoughts and firmly inside her own head. He didn’t bother to interrupt what ever she was thinking about with insipid talk or useless conversation.

  However, Max admitted freely she was correct. They needed to get to know each other and the best way for that to happen included establishing a life of normalcy as soon as possible.

  He wasn’t crazy about hotels either and preferred to stay at the simple yet gorgeous home he owned in Serenity Village although he failed to alert Mags it was his house and not just a place for them to crash. Part of him was afraid of what she might think and what his expectations were if she knew they would be living in a house he bought and paid for with his own money. At this point, when they still didn’t trust each other anywhere close to one hundred percent, it was easier for her to believe Dimitri had set the home up as a front for their upcoming assignment.

  The house had a rather grand yet upper middle-class look to it with its dark stone paint, two stories and welcoming front yard covered with grass and flowers. Meanwhile, there was a roomy backyard with a pool/Jacuzzi he kept covered in the late fall/winter months, a large barbecue grill and a full outdoor set replete with table, chairs and an in-built stereo system.

  Max parked in the three-car garage and immediately lowered it as soon as he turned off the Range Rover. The garage also housed a top of the line, seven hundred series silver BMW and sangria-red Mini Cooper. He didn’t realize when he’d decided to purchase the pint-sized car perhaps it might be too girly for a woman like Mags but it was too late now. Whether she liked the vehicle or not, it belonged to her and would provide a means of transportation.

  He stepped out of the SUV moments after she did and marveled as she strolled over to the Mini Cooper before squealing with glee. “Is this mine?”

  Max waited until she turned around to face him before he nodded his head. “I thought you’d want something more feminine but now I know you, I’m beginning to reassess my choice in vehicles.”

  Mags shook her head. “No, it’s perfect! For a moment there, I thought you would think I was a Smart Car type of chick but this is the perfect combination of badass and feminine. I love it!”

  He felt quite pleased with himself until she walked over and embraced him. It was mildly awkward at first since he wasn’t used to being touched and he never expected a show of emotion from her in that capacity. Beneath the hard exterior, that same young woman who lost her parents still existed.

  Max didn’t know whether to feel elated or disconcerted before he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed.

  As they separated, she looked around the garage before those gorgeous pale green eyes settled on him again. “Sorry . . . I think I had a bonafide chick moment there. Perhaps I went a little overboard but I’m not used to receiving gifts. I want you to know I appreciate what you’ve done for me—that’s all.”

  “Consider it a pleasure.” He smiled before he began to walk towards the garage door and opened it, allowing her to enter before him.

  They walked directly into a large laundry room with a washer and dryer, and an industrial sized sink for hand washing items. It was spotless and extremely well organized. If Max despised anything in the world, it was clutter.

  He’d grown up around it and remembered his beautiful mother who was indeed the most important person in the world to him. The level of laziness and lack of care she had for her clothes, jewelry and expensive shoes disgusted him. He knew his fastidiousness was a symptom of a chaotic childhood but it was not a secret he planned to share with Mags anytime soon.

  She studied the containers of washing detergent, bleach and fabric softener before she turned toward him with a sly smile. “I didn’t take you for being so domestic but this house definitely has . . . a woman’s touch.”

  Max raised dark eyebrows over calm blue-green eyes. “That would be the housekeeper, Darby. She makes sure all of the supplies are kept up to date and in stock. She also comes by to dust once a week when no one is here to look after the place. I don’t like walking into a house that doesn’t feel like it’s not . . . lived in.”

  Mags opened the door and walked down the hallway, passing a full bathroom on her way to the formal living room. It was complete with a set of black leather sofas, a glass coffee table and a La-Z-Boy chair that he found to be quite comfortable. A Bose stereo system had also been set up in the room but obviously it was a place of relaxation since the sun streamed directly into the room. The pale gray walls complimented the set up beautifully.

  She continued her exploration through the house, directly walking into the kitchen area where she stopped to look around. It was modern and bright with a large island, appliances that blended right in with the dark oak décor including a fridge unit the same color as the dark oak, gas stove and burners, dishwasher, and many sets of drawers and cabinets. She began to pull them open and found plates, glasses and tumblers, every kind of kitchen utensil known to man along with a modern Keurig, toaster, microwave above the stove unit.

  Mags turned toward him again, the look in her pale green eyes magnetic and strangely sexual whether she realized it or not. “All of this couldn’t possibly have been put together in a couple of days or even a week, Max. Is this your home?”

  He nodded silently. “Yes. I’ve lived here for the last couple years. Bought the place brand new after they finished building this part of the community. What gave it away?”

  She continued into the fully decorated dining room area and an informal living room that had a more relaxed wrap around black leather sofa, sixty-inch flat screen television and a dark oak coffee table complete with coasters for drinks.

  “Mmm, maybe because it’s already furnished and the place feels lived in. This isn’t just some model your boss has set you up with so we can go through our charade . . .” She trailed off as she reached the end of the informal living room and stopped at a set of stairs that led to the second floor. “What’s up there?”

  “Why don’t you explore and look for yourself?” Max questioned though it sounded more like a command.

  “All right.” Mags walked up the stairs quickly and he trailed her, his heart beating quicker than he would have wanted.

  What was it about this woman that made her different from the countless others he’d bedded in the past? Well, none of them had ever seen his home before—he usually took them to the hotel where he had his permanent space and they were happy enough with the arrangement.

  Could he pull this off and continue his blasé detachment from the one person he really wanted to get to know completely? Mags wasn’t like any of his usual bed companions, mostly because they weren’t hunters like him. And yet, how could he separate that? She was a gorgeous, young woman, coming into her own in a world that still eluded her yet she was also a natural born predator.

  Max had to keep reminding himself her excitement had nothing to do with their assignment and everything to do with her never being on her own. She’d never lived without someone telling her what to do, who she had
to be and what to say. Now, she was her own person and the childish glee he witnessed in her was an assessment to that situation and nothing else.

  He found it hard to believe Brad had given her a home or even a feeling of stability when “home” had been the clubhouse and her only job outside of doing what she was good at had been his personal sex slave. He kept reminding himself this was the only reason why she had buoyancy in her footsteps as she walked down the hall and opened the double doors to his bedroom—their bedroom.

  Mags walked around the large suite, a California King in the middle with a sterile, dark oak frame, black sheets and a black comforter completed with black throw pillows. When it came to bedding, Max didn’t really care much for color and tended to stay in the black/midnight blue/dark gray family of colors. It was a deeply masculine room that cried out for a woman’s touch.

  There were his and her bathrooms and walk-in closets but the bathroom on the “her” side had been decorated only recently by his housekeeper. He’d also bought her a selection of clothing—all conservative and perfect for the part they would have to play—but the other side of the closet was empty and perfect to put her real items of clothing and personals she wanted to set out.

  He watched as she strode to her bathroom and looked around before opening the double doors to her walk in closet. She turned toward him after she looked around the space.

  “I know you expect us to share a room so we can work on our intimacy issues and appear to be a bonafide couple when we’re out in public but is there another bedroom I can use as a personal space?” Mags wondered as she sifted through the clothes he’d chosen for her.

  “Of course.” Max started toward the door as he said, “If you come this way, I’ll show you where it is.”

  Firmly back in control of the situation, he strode directly down the hall from the master bedroom to a smaller bedroom. The third and final bedroom was used as his office and storage for the various weapons he used in his line of work. That space had a steel-enforced door and a lock only he had the key to, which was kept in his bedroom safe.

  He opened the door and displayed a very comfortable yet cold guest bedroom. A queen-sized bed decorated the middle of the room while a comfortable loveseat was situated in front of a large window. Although painted taupe, the décor had a slight feminine feel to it though everything from the color of the comforter to the way the room had been arranged felt gender-neutral.

  Max stood next to the door while Mags walked around and examined the room. “This is your space. Feel free to stay in here as much as you like. If there are times you want to be alone, you can sleep in here too. Now that we will be living here, my housekeeper will come by three times per week to clean and do the laundry. If there are garments you would prefer to wash yourself then just let her know.”

  She nodded. “Thanks. I think I’ll sit here for a while and just chill out. Now we have a place, everything feels . . . real.”

  “It always has been. Although what will make everything really sink in is when we truly begin our assignment.” He slid his hands into his pants pockets. “Right. I’ll give you some time to yourself. I’m going to take a shower but feel free to do whatever you want. We’ll have dinner tonight together. I’ll cook.”

  Mags’ pale green eyes remained unreadable. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Max left the room and closed the door. He gripped the knob longer than necessary before he walked down the hall to his bedroom.

  Part of him wanted to know what was behind that smirk, the bright look in her eyes but another side of him was quite grateful he didn’t have the ability to read minds. He wasn’t sure how well he would like Mags if he knew what she was thinking all the time.

  She truly was an unsolved puzzle—a riddle yet to be figured out—and in a way, he wished for her to stay that way to him.

  Forever.

  Or at least for as long as they remained together in each other’s company.

  Chapter Seven

  Magnolia

  Once Max left the room, I stood and grabbed only my handbag before I hoisted it on to my right shoulder and left my bedroom shortly after. He’d closed the door to the master bedroom and I was fairly certain he wouldn’t be checking on me any time soon.

  Regardless, I felt like I was doing something wrong. I knew, technically, I wasn’t. An old friend of mine happened to call the same community home and if he was here, I could swing by to see him. If he wasn’t then it was only a quick ride to the clubhouse.

  I knew he and his wife were back together again so rather than cause any unnecessary drama, I walked downstairs and directly to the garage. Like most people with money and means, there was a key peg near the garage door. I grabbed the keys to the Mini Cooper and used the key fob to unlock the door though that proved to be unnecessary. The doors weren’t locked.

  After I threw my handbag in the passenger seat, I adjusted the driver’s seat to my height and comfort level before I turned the engine over. The little car was perfect and it was a manual, which would make driving it even more exciting than if it was an automatic.

  Growing up with the Deckers, I knew cars quite well. I could change the oil and a flat tire, knew how to drive both manuals and automatics as well as could operate a motorcycle as well. There wasn’t much I couldn’t do, including hot wire a car if necessary but since Max had bought the car and told me it was my means of transportation, I didn’t think I needed to tell him where I was going or what I planned to do. We were working on a job together; he wasn’t my lover or boyfriend.

  I opened the garage using the opener installed in the vehicle, backed up and made sure the door was closed before I took off towards the Saints compound. It wasn’t the wisest thing to do but I wanted to see Edward. It had been a while and although I knew we wouldn’t be able to do anything, I realized it was the human part of me that needed to bond with someone from my past.

  Given my unique situation, I couldn’t visit my parents’ gravesite and was never truly given a chance to grieve for the loss I sustained at thirteen. It was almost like a whole part of my life was wiped away and I was left with a giant hole that was never to be filled. My parents died, a motorcycle club abducted me and a new life for me began.

  End of story.

  There wasn’t any part of the situation that followed, which allowed me to be a normal teenager, or grow up the way all my friends were allowed to from my former life. I felt older than my years because I wasn’t granted a reprieve to forget how the way I spent my teenage years was anything but atypical. Those formative years never belonged to me, and the person I was during that time seemed like someone else’s life I was forced to live but never my own.

  It was too late to change the past, and all I truly had was the future but that didn’t mean I couldn’t cling to the one and only relationship that kept me going through the years I’d become a legal adult.

  I’d met Edward Gillespie by accident almost eight years ago.

  He had an old lady who was pregnant and he belonged to a rival MC. Lucifer’s Saints was a club to be reckoned with and no one fucked with them, not if they wanted to continue to keep breathing. He’d shown up at the club in Vegas with a few of his brothers from the local Saints chapter and Cillian “Killer” Cox, the oldest son of parent chapter President Dizzy Cox.

  It wasn’t a friendly meeting by any stretch of the imagination but that didn’t keep Edward from eyeing me warily while they spoke. I’d been serving drinks at the bar and had to keep the liquor flowing while the group of men spoke with Brad, his VP and Sergeant at Arms. Afterwards, Edward had slipped me a piece of paper with his cell phone number and told me to call him if I was ever in Northern Nevada.

  A year later, the time came for me to earn my keep and I had to drive to Black Oak to help Jake Decker, Nel’s oldest son, with a job the White Knights had to handle up north in Idaho. Jake and I got along and he didn’t exactly keep tabs on me while I was there in town. I’d called Edward, we’d met in Reno at a swan
ky hotel and things had gotten pretty hot and heavy.

  It just became another part of my life I compartmentalized. I knew there would never be anything serious between the two of us, not when he had an old lady and he couldn’t trust me given the club I was affiliated with whether I happened to be a member or not. However, he was a great lover and eventually, like the stupid, foolish girl I was, I fell in love with him.

  I’d never admit it to anyone—I could barely acknowledge it myself—but when I became pregnant with his child, I knew I couldn’t abort the baby. I loved his father, and even if I couldn’t keep our son, I would make sure he ended up in a decent home.

  Jake and I were also sexually involved at the time so it was easy to blame him for the pregnancy and his old lady was more than happy to take the kid off my hands. She couldn’t have children and loved having a beautiful body more than how she acquired a kid. All that mattered was she would now have a child to dote on and call her own.

  Edward and Jake weren’t exactly the spit-image of one another; hell, the only thing they had in common was dark hair and blue eyes but it was never questioned when my son was born with my sable hair color, his father’s gorgeous blue-green eyes and a peaches and cream complexion. Jake’s old lady, Sadie, was in love with Jacob Jackson Decker the moment she laid eyes on him.

  It was the best for everyone involved.

  I wasn’t a home wrecker, Edward never found out the truth though I knew he’d suspected and I continued to do what I did best while Jake Junior was the apple of his mother’s eye and his father’s too.

  Even if every day he lived, he began to look more and more like Edward. I hoped Sadie and Jake never noticed this but even if Jake had, he would never stop loving his son.

  Of course that didn’t mean I couldn’t finally tell Edward the truth and clear my own selfish conscience. If I really cared about him, I would have continued to live the lie I had so carefully built around our progeny but I couldn’t. The truth killed me each and every day. I had enough crap on my plate and now I’d decided to murder one of my own relatives, it was time to clean out my own closet, metaphorically speaking.