“Senator, I told you on the phone, Beth is not here. I haven’t seen her in eight years. What makes you think she would come here after all that time?”
“Don’t toy with me Parks!” Beth’s father would make a horrible poker player, Sledge thought. Too emotional. Sledge could read him like a book.
Barely controlling his own temper, Sledge stepped into the senator’s personal space, causing his bodyguards to move closer; which, in turn, caused the Henchmen to react.
“Understand something Andrews, this is my house. Slow your roll or you will find yourself in need of assistance to leave. Don’t come into my home and throw me attitude. I already told you, your daughter is not here. Now, you barge in, demanding my time like you’re somebody important.”
Sledge was beyond caring about being professional. Fuck this shit! He didn’t have time for this. Every second he was away from Beth, he could literally feel her slipping away. This bastard was going to cause him to lose her, all over again.
“Who do you think you are?” the Senator barked.
“I am Devin “Sledge” Parks, Founder and President of the Devil’s Henchmen,” Sledge announced.
“Hell yeah!” the Henchmen hollered in unison.
“This is my fuckin’ house. And it would benefit your health to remember that,” Sledge warned.
“I will get Elizabeth back, Parks; and when I do, you will pay!” the Senator threatened as he moved to leave.
Blocking his path, Sledge leaned into the Senator again. “The only person in the room who will pay for their crimes is you,” he whispered. Sledge enjoyed seeing the color drain from the fucktard’s face.
“Diesel, show the Senator to the gate, please,” Sledge called.
“With pleasure,” he sneered. Diesel and several Henchmen surrounded Andrews and his cronies, walking them out of the door.
“What a piece of shit,” said Reaper.
“That’s an understatement,” Sledge replied. He needed to get back to Beth. “Make sure they leave,” he ordered as he headed back to his room.
Entering the bedroom, Sledge froze. Derek was sitting cross legged in the center of the bed, crying. Beth was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s your mom?” he asked, still looking around the room; praying she was in the bathroom, but Derek’s next words sent Sledge’s world crashing down around him.
“She left and told me to give you this.”
With a shaking hand, Sledge took the folded piece of paper from his son. He recognized Beth’s beautiful penmanship. Reading her words, he couldn’t help the tears that fell. His heart felt as if it was being ripped from his chest, again.
Sledge felt Derek’s small hand brush his cheek, “It’ll be okay Dad. She’ll be back. She promised.”
“You’re right, Son.” Sledge wrapped his boy in a hug. It would be okay. Beth would be back, because Sledge was going to drag her ass back here. Just as soon as he found her; and to do that, he needed her location.
“Okay buddy, come on. We have work to do.” Sledge grabbed Derek’s hand and together they walked back to the office.
Finding Beth would be easy. GPS and the internet were great inventions. Shit, Sledge thought. Could that be how her father had found her? If it was, he could do it again. He needed to hurry. Pulling his cellphone from his pocket, Sledge called Amber. Quickly explaining the situation and he asked his sister to watch Derek.
“I can’t believe she left,” Amber was stunned.
“That makes two of us,” he told her. But honestly, he knew she would run. He’d hoped he was wrong, but he knew. He saw the determined look on her face when he entered Derek’s room after Amber told of her plan.
After Amber left with Derek, Sledge started making phone calls. Within ten minutes, he had his answer.
“I was just about to call you,” Banjo answered on the first ring. “Listen, I did some digging and found a connect, but it’s not between Andrews and the club.”
“B, that is great but not the reason I called. We can talk about that later. Right now, I need you to trace Beth’s phone.” Sledge needed answers to protect his club, but his woman was more important. He had to find her before her father did.
“Beth? Is she missing?” Sledge could hear Banjo clicking on the keyboard as he spoke.
“If by missing you mean, took off on her own when her father showed up, then yes,” Sledge replied sarcastically.
“What the hell! Took off? Why would she do that? The clubhouse is the safest place for her to be.”
“I have no idea. But I plan to find out as soon as you tell me where she is.”
“Okay, just another minute.”
Sledge was running out of patience. Lately, it seemed one thing after another had happened around the club. He missed the boring days, but if the chaos meant he got Beth and Derek, he’d live in it every day for the rest of his life.
“Okay. GPS location shows her at a...” Banjo trailed off.
“Come on man! If her father found her using GPS, then he already has a head start on me. I have to get to her, fast.” Sledge pleaded.
“The Royal Motel. Northwest Highway. I also hacked into their system. She’s in room 143, under the name Beth Parks.” Banjo confirmed, paying no attention to the urgency in Sledge’s voice. “And just so you know, I don’t believe that’s how he found her, but we’ll discuss that after you get her home. Call me back.” Banjo disconnected the line.
Running out of the clubhouse, he jumped on his bike and headed after his woman. The drive to Northwest Dallas seemed to take forever. Sledge weaved his bike in and out of traffic, praying no cops were around. He didn’t have time to get pulled over and he doubted he could pull strings to get out of a ticket. Even though Banjo said he didn’t think her father was tracking her, until he got back to the office and could hear him out, Sledge wasn’t taking any chances.
An hour and a half later, he pulled up to the seedy motel. This place was a true dump. There was nothing ‘Royal’ about it, unless you thought hookers and drug dealers were royalty. Driving around the lot, Sledge located room 143 and parked his bike where it could be seen from the window and dismounted. It was game time. One way or another, Beth would be returning to the clubhouse.
Chapter Twenty
Beth
Checking into the crummy motel, Beth looked around the room. It smelled horrible. Like marijuana and vomit. There were stains on the floor and what looked like dried blood in the tub. Could she have picked a worse place, Beth shuddered.
The farther Beth had gotten from the clubhouse, from Devin and Derek, the more she wondered if this was a good idea. Could she really kill her father? Could she really end the threat against her? If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure. But what choice did she have? It was either him or her; and Beth had no misgivings that her father, if given the choice, would choose her; he would kill her. So now, she just had to figure out if she should go to him, or have him come to her.
Standing in the quiet room, Beth heard a motorcycle outside. Looking at her phone in her hand, she thought of Devin, surprised that her phone hadn’t rung yet. She was sure Devin’s meeting with her father would have ended by now.
Suddenly, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach. What if something happened? What if her father hurt Derek? Or Devin? Feeling panicked, Beth pulled up her contact list to call Devin, but was stopped by a loud knock on the motel door, causing Beth to jump. Nobody knew she was here. Slowly she creeped over to the door, looking through the peephole. Relief flooded her body when she saw a pissed-off Devin standing on the other side. For a minute, she wondered how he could have found her so quickly, but she knew. Devin was ex-military. He still had connections, still worked with Texas state and local law enforcement agencies. The Henchmen were the unnoticed heroes that helped clean up the drug and sex problems that police couldn’t legally touch without creating an international incident.
The pounding on the door continued. “Open the fucking door, Elizabeth!” D
evin yelled. Beth knew he was beyond pissed; he never called her Elizabeth.
“Either open it or I’ll break it down,” he threatened. Knowing he would follow through, Beth opened the door, but left the chain in place.
“What are you doing here, Devin?” she asked through the three-inch gap.
“Step away from the door,” he said without answering her question.
“What?”
“One... Two...” He started counting. Before he could say three, Beth moved to the other side of the room.
“Three.” The door flew inward, crashing against the wall.
“Devin!” Beth screamed. “I’m going to have to pay for that!”
“I don’t give a flying fuck about the door,” Devin fumed. “I’ll pay for it. I’ll buy the entire Goddamn shithole, if that’s what you want. But what I will not do is sit back while my woman is in danger. I will not let her run from me,” he stated, stepping closer to her with each word.
Beth tried to talk, but Devin wasn’t having it. “I...”
“No!” he raised his voice again. “You have said enough, now you will listen.”
Beth arched an eyebrow. She would allow him to talk, for now. But, once he was finished, oh it was on, she thought. There was no way in hell she would let him talk to her like that. No matter how upset he was.
“Do you have any idea how I found you?” he asked. When Beth said nothing, he continued, “No? GPS and internet, sweetheart. Enter in a phone number, and five seconds later, you get an exact location. If I can trace your phone, so can your father! You put yourself in danger, Elizabeth. In. Fucking. Danger.”
Beth was stunned. Devin had never spoken to her like this. Never. He was angry, she understood that, but right now, she wasn’t in the mood for it.
“Fuck you, Devin!” she yelled back. “You do not get to speak to me that way. You do not get to yell at me!”
“Fuck me?” he said, shocked. “Are you serious right now?”
“Yes, asshole! Fuck You,” she repeated. “I’m not one of your crew. You don’t get to order me around, yell at me, or otherwise dictate what I do.”
“Oh, you’re right. You aren’t one of my crew. I didn’t have a child with one of my crew. I don’t sleep next to one of my crew. I’m not trying to build a family and future with one of my crew. And I sure as fuck don’t make love to one of my crew, Beth! That is all you!” He continued to yell, but Beth could hear the difference in the tone. He wasn’t yelling out of anger anymore. This time she could clearly hear the hurt in his voice, and it caused all of her own anger to wash away.
Beth didn’t know what to say. So, she eliminated the few steps left between them and threw her arms around Devin’s shoulders. He crushed her to him and held her tight.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again, Beth. Please!” he begged. “My heart can’t handle losing you again.”
Pulling back, Beth looked into his eyes. She could see the unshed tears. Devin was always the alpha male. Strong, confident, a force to be reckoned with. But most importantly, he was hers. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to his.
The kiss started off slow, sensual. But once Devin took control, it turned into a fierce blaze. Beth knew she would gladly burn if it meant she was in this man’s arms.
Devin backed her against the wall. His lips moved from her mouth, across her jaw, and down her neck. Kissing, nipping at her flesh. He moved his hands down her sides, and under her shirt. Beth was soaked before they even made it beneath the fabric.
Devin pulled her shirt over her head and set it on the table in the corner. Her bra quickly followed. When his mouth finally landed on her breast, Beth thought she would die from need. His lips closed around her nipple and she felt the pull as his teeth gently bit down on the hardened bud.
Her moans filled the room. She didn’t care if the walls weren’t soundproof. She couldn’t have kept quiet if her life depended on it.
Falling to his knees, Beth watched as Devin slowly pulled down her yoga pants, taking her panties with them. They too, ended up on the table.
“The floor is disgusting. I don’t want your clothes touching it,” he told her when he saw the smile on her face.
“I know,” she whispered.
She watched as Devin leaned into her, placing his mouth over her center. The moment his tongue touched her clit, Beth felt the orgasm rushing towards her.
“I’m going to come,” she panted.
In a matter of seconds, Devin pushed her against the wall, spread his hand across her stomach to hold her up, and bit down on the swollen bundle of nerves. The waves crashed over her. Beth moaned out her release as Devin pushed two fingers deep inside of her. As the spasms receded, Devin stood, a look of pure hunger on his face.
Beth watched as he undid his belt and pants, then let them fall around his feet. Devin grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into his arms, then forced her back against the wall for leverage.
In one swift motion, he was buried fully inside of her. Beth gasped. She felt the invasion everywhere. From the look on his face and the tension in his body, she knew this wouldn’t be a sweet reunion. This would be a wild, desperate need, a hunger that had to be fulfilled.
Devin stroked out of her, then slammed into her again. “Never. Leave. Me. Again,” he emphasized each word with a powerful stroke.
Beth wanted to tell him she would have come back. She didn’t plan to leave him permanently, but she couldn’t form the words. She just wrapped her arms around him tighter and buried her face against his chest.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sledge
Sledge was in desperation mode. He couldn’t get close enough to Beth. He had never been so worried in his life. Going into enemy territory, taking fire, none of that scared him as much as the thought of losing the woman he loved.
Sledge grabbed a handful of Beth’s hair, pulling her head away from his chest. He crushed his lips against hers. He swept his tongue into her mouth; his and hers both fighting for dominance.
Beth was the first to pull away, “I am so sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said, still buried deep inside her. “Just don’t do it again.”
Sledge began moving inside of her again. “You feel so damn good wrapped around me,” he told her.
Pushing her back against the wall, Sledge moved a hand to her ass, and the other to her clit. He pushed fully inside of her and rotated his hips.
“Oh my God,” Beth moaned. “Harder, please!” Beth begged.
Moving faster, Sledge started to pound into her. Over and over again. The room filled with Beth’s loud moans.
“Shut up!” someone yelled, banging on the wall.
Sledge stopped moving. His eyes met Beth’s. He watched as her face flushed red, no longer from passion, but from embarrassment. Sledge couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
“It’s not funny,” she whisper-screamed.
Sledge rammed into her again causing Beth to gasp. “Actually, it’s very funny.”
“No it’s not. Oh my God. I am so embarrassed.” She buried her face against his chest.
If she thought that was embarrassing, just wait. Sledge walked them to the wall between the two rooms. “What are you doing?” she asked. Sledge watched as a look of knowing crossed her face.
“Oh no! Devin, we can’t!” she giggled.
“Watch me!” was all he said before he pulled out of her, just leaving the head inside. Then, slammed back into her.
“Fuck!” she screamed.
So that is exactly what Sledge did. Against the wall, the person on the other side of the room let loose a string of cuss words, pounding on the wall to the same rhythm that Sledge set for pounding into Beth.
Sledge grabbed Beth by the hair; he knew she loved it when he was rough. He drove into her, riding the waves of passion that seemed to flow around them. He slowed the pace, then changed their positions. Leaning backwards, he fell into the wall, spreading his legs to keep his
balance. He allowed Beth to ride him with his assistance. She raised her hips, then slowly lowered them, rotated on the way down. Beth continued the unhurried ride on his cock. The slide of their bodies was becoming hypnotic. The sensation was euphoric.
“Shit! I’m going to come,” she screamed.
“Oh thank all that is holy. It’s about time!” the person in the other room called.
Beth leaned forward, and bit down hard on his chest. The sensation traveled straight to his balls. He exploded inside of her. “You’ll have to do that again tonight when we go to bed - at home,” he clarified.
“Do what?” she asked, confused.
“Bite,” he simply stated.
“I only did that so the guy next door wouldn’t hear me scream.”
“Too late,” said the guy next door.
“Oh shut the fuck up!” Beth yelled back.
“Rude!” he called back.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Take me home,” Beth said exasperated.
Sledge lowered Beth to the floor and grabbed her clothes from the table. He pulled up his pants, fastened them, then helped her to dress. The sooner he got her out of here, the sooner he could get her home and make love to her correctly.
Grabbing her hand and walking out of the door and across the parking lot. Sledge was on edge. He expected her father to show up at any second. So when he got them both on the back of his bike and pulled away, he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t completely relaxed until they made it back to the compound almost two hours later. The ride home was stressful, always looking over his shoulder.
Stepping off his bike, he was greeted by Reaper, Amber, and Derek. He watched as his son ran across the lot and crashed into Beth.
“Mom, I was so scared!” he cried.
“Oh baby, I told you I would be back.”
“I know, but Uncle Reaper said Grandpa was looking for you. I was so scared he would find you before dad could,” Derek wailed.
The President: Devil's Henchmen MC, Book Two Page 10