Skin Deep, Shades of Ink (The Devil's Apostles MC Book 3)

by Annie Buff

  Slinger and Smoke were out by the shed, Smoke had asked to have a minute alone. It made the Ink Man wonder if he was in trouble with his President.

  “What’s up Smoke? Am I in some kind of trouble?” Smoke had to laugh, Slinger was always his most faithful brother and he went out of his way for the women. He would never be in trouble with him.

  “Nah man, just wanted to have a word in private. Something isn’t right brother, I can feel it. It’s just not and I need your eyes on this. I know I’m asking a lot of you with the Eighty-eight around, and having a new bride. But I need someone I can trust.”

  That peaked his interest, when Smoke said something isn’t right it usually wasn’t. “What are you feeling man? And you know I’ll do whatever you ask of me. Rylee understands how this works so don’t worry about her.”

  Smoke proceeded to explain how he thought he was being watched. That his truck tires had been flattened and the engine messed with. This wasn’t the brand-new truck, it was Smoke’s old Chevy. So, whoever had done this knew Peyton drove the new one. That made Slinger cringe, whoever this was had to be close to them.

  “Yeah Smoke, no worries I’ll keep an eye out on things. Is it cool if I get Ren to help me? He’s about as loyal as they come.”

  Smoke knew whoever was after him it wasn’t either of those two so he agreed to having Ren in on things.

  The Making Of A New Devil

  Weeks had gone by without so much as a crumb of evidence of Trevor’s whereabouts and both the MC and the Eighty-eight were highly nervous. Jace Morrison had everyone looking and still had nothing. Slinger was on the verge of a nervous breakdown knowing what Trevor had done to his wife.

  Rylee understood nobody had seen Trevor and she tried not to show fear, but when she was alone she was constantly looking over her shoulder. Even with the backyard fenced in, she wouldn’t leave Micah alone outside to play.

  It was a Sunday and Skin Deep was closed but she had taken a private appointment for her husband so she went to open up the shop and get the coffee brewing. As she was standing in her reception area, Rylee got a feeling that screamed run. As she turned to do just that she was grabbed from behind.

  “Hiya bitch ! Thought you got rid of me didn’t ya? No such luck, you’ll never get rid of me. Now where’s the cash? I know there’s money here.”

  It was Trevor and there was a safe in the floor but she had no intention of giving Trevor anything except maybe a bullet from the three-fifty-seven she kept in her purse. There was a silent alarm button under the desk that rang Slingers phone and if she could get to it without Trevor realizing what she was doing, the cavalry would come. That’s when he noticed her ring.

  “Is that a wedding ring? You got that dumb bastard to marry you? That’s a nice diamond, give it to me!”

  “Fuck you!” Rylee screamed right before she took a fist to the jaw. This time she didn’t cower, all the sparring with Peyton was about to come in handy. She stood and let a right hook of her own fly, connecting with his nose. The blood splattered everywhere and the look of shock on his face was worth anything else he would dish out.

  “Bitch!” he screamed trying to control the blood running from his nose and that was her moment. She ran towards the desk and hit the panic button knowing Slinger would come, and hoping he made it before Trevor really hurt her.

  The chime of his phone showed panic from Skin Deep and Slinger lost it. He knew Rylee had gone to open up for a client he had taken after hours. Something was wrong and he needed to get there as fast as possible, he was at least thirty minutes out and needed help. He called the one person he knew could get there faster than him.

  “Jace, alarm is going off at my shop. Rylee is there man! I need your help!” Slinger and Jace had become good friends and Jace understood just how he felt for his wife. He put on the siren and floored his truck towards Skin Deep, wondering exactly what he was going to find when he got there.

  Jace raced through the streets of the Junction as Slinger did the same from the opposite direction. Jace knew he was closer by twenty minutes and if Rylee had hit the panic button something was seriously wrong.

  He rounded the corner, cutting the siren and slowed in front of the shop. He saw her through the window, bloodied but still on her feet. That was a good sign, he couldn’t see who was in there with her so this was gonna be a great performance on his part.

  He stepped from the truck and Jace walked in like he was supposed to be there.

  “Hi Ry, I guess I beat the Ink Man. He said he was on his way. You okay?” Then he saw Trevor and knew this wasn’t going to end well. Jace had his offduty weapon tucked into the rear of his jeans, but going for it might cause a problem. He had no idea if Trevor was armed and Rylee was in the middle of the two.

  “Get out pig! This don’t concern you!” Trevor was amped up, probably on all that product he had taken from Raul. Being so high definitely changed the game, people on drugs like that were unpredictable and Jace needed both him and Rylee walking out of there.

  “Man I’m just here for some ink, you my friend are on Raul’s most wanted list. The smartest thing you can do is walk away. Nothing good can come from this mess Trevor. You really don’t want to hurt Rylee, she has a child to take care of.”

  That made Trevor stop and think, not because he cared about Micah, but because he knew Jace Morrison was a cop and he didn’t want to go down for murder. Trevor shook his head, pacing back and forth before reaching behind him and pulling out a gun.

  Jace knew he was armed now, he would have to be to walk in there. It looked like a cheap nine millimeter, but it would do the job should he decide to pull the trigger. He gave Jace a fucked up, sadistic grin before aiming at him. Jace had a bad feeling today was his day to die.

  Slinger skidded to a halt in front of his shop, hearing gunshots and going into full blown panic mode. As he busted through the front door he saw Rylee holding Jace on the floor. He was bleeding from what looked to be at least two bullet wounds.

  “Fuck! Baby Girl what happened?” he asked as he dialed nine-one-one. Jace was a cop and this one had to go on paper. They couldn’t just call Bones for this one, and Slinger knew there would be a lot of explaining. He also called Smoke, his Prez needed to know what had happened.

  “It was Trevor, he snuck in while I was getting the shop open, he wanted money and I didn’t give him anything but a broken nose.” Slinger was proud of his girl, but there would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, his friend was

  unconscious and bleeding profusely. He knelt down next to him, and started to cry.

  “Dammit Jace, you were not supposed to get your ass shot! You’re gonna be okay man, you’re gonna be okay.” He kept saying that over and over until the

  ambulance arrived even if he didn’t believe it.

  The MC all sat in the surgery waiting area for any news on their friend. Rylee had opted to ride in the ambulance with him, saying he was her brother and Slinger followed behind. The police had come and gone, accepting the account of what happened inside the shop.

  Nine hours later the surgeon stepped through the double doors looking for Rylee.

  “ He had extensive damage to his kidney and spine. I believe we repaired everything but he may have a limp now. It’s hard to say until we can get him up and see how he heals. You want to see him?”

  They all wanted to see him, Jace was so much more than just a cop that helped them out. He was a friend, and a very good one at that. Rylee walked in and sat next to the bed, the nurse had just pulled the trachea tube from his throat and he was groggy at best.

  “Oh Jace, I’m so sorry!” She was in tears, Rylee felt that this was her fault. Trevor was after her and Jace got in the middle.

  He reached for her hand, seeing the brotherhood in the doorway. She had to know he didn’t regret anything.

  “Nah, it’s okay. I’m alive and that’s all that matters. I did my job Rylee, I kept you safe and I’m okay with whatever this turns out to be. S
o please don’t cry.”

  Recovery

  Jace had spent a week in the hospital before he had successfully driven

  everyone crazy and they finally released him. The only stipulation the doctors had was that he wasn’t to be left alone and that was okay with Rylee.

  She still felt guilty over him being shot, so she and Slinger make the executive decision he would be staying with them until he was completely healed. She rearranged the living room to make Jace more comfortable and be able to navigate the house. He was on his feet but did have a pretty severe limp, he had a bad feeling this was how it was going to stay.

  Jace asked Wisha if he could help with paperwork and phone calls to keep him busy so he didn’t go out of his mind from boredom. He had also taken to hanging out with Smoke and helping him out with the old Camaro he had been working on for years. According to Peyton, that car would never be on the road. She was certain he just loved messing with it.

  Both the little ones had fallen in love with him, especially Nora. Anytime she could climb in his lap she would. Peyton just laughed and joked about Jace becoming her nanny.

  “Jace, how you feeling man?” Slinger asked as he retrieved a couple beers from the fridge.

  Jace reached for the offered beer and took a pull from the bottle. “I’m okay, just getting bored. And the best the

  department can offer me is desk duty. Slinger I can’t sit at a fucking desk all god damned day. It’s bad enough just keeping myself busy here. They want to give me medical retirement, I’m thirty fucking six years old! I’m sorry man, none of this is your fault. I’m just frustrated.”

  Slinger understood that, being

  sidelined would make him crazy. Jace needed something to do and that gave him an idea.

  “So help me man, we’ve been looking for Trevor and I have a couple leads. Can you still ride?” He hadn’t tried but the thought of getting on his bobber actually pulled a smile.

  “Dunno but I damn sure wanna find out. The key is on the dresser at the house. Let’s go see if I can ride.”

  Turns out the kick hurt like hell to start it up, but the actual ride felt exhilarating. For the first time in weeks Jace felt human, like he would be okay and not burden his friends. He knew he had to take the retirement whether he liked it or not. Being at a desk would kill him, he needed to be in the field. Maybe Wisha and Falcon had a place for him.

  Jace and Slinger rode for the entire afternoon, enjoying the winding roads of the desert near the clubhouse. They both needed the air, each with his own reasons, and one mutual reason; Trevor. When they finally stopped in front of the clubhouse, Jace was sore. It was a good sore, one he hadn’t felt in a while and it said he was alive.

  Rylee being the consummate mother had a hot bath ready for him to soak in and Jace just laughed. These two really were just like family. He took advantage of it and let the heat do some soothing, leaving the couple to some privacy.

  “Baby Girl I wanna run something by you, it’s something I’ve been thinking about all week long.”

  She nodded, knowing whatever it was had to be important if her husband had been contemplating.

  “I wanna offer Jace a P rospect patch, sponsor him. He’d make one helluva Devil as long as Smoke okay’s it. What do you think?”

  Rylee thought it was an amazing idea, Jace Morrison would be a perfect Devil. She squealed, jumping in her husband’s arms. Slinger got all the confirmation he needed. “Let’s go find Smoke and ask him Nash, I’m almost positive he’s gonna say yes! He really likes Jace, more than that Nora loves him. Come on!”

  She was on her feet, pulling him out the door and down the path between the houses. Rylee almost danced as the two pretty much ran to Smoke’s home. She couldn’t contain her excitement. Jace was gonna be permanently here and that made her happy.

  Smoke was sitting by the fire pit with a beer and a Camel cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth. He gave a head nod when he saw the two, wondering why they looked so happy.

  After the explanation, Smoke

  wholeheartedly agreed with Slinger, Jace would make a great Devil. “We need to patch in Falcon, but I’m still not sure I like being watched and I don’t want his patch party to turn into a disaster. Go ahead and make the offer to Jace, let me know what he says so I can get him a cut with a Prospect patch on it.”

  Slinger nodded, still unsure of what exactly was going on surrounding his President but he was going to make sure he found out. Smoke and the club were his family and nobody messed with family.

  Rylee asked Slinger if she could be the one to talk to Jace about being a

  Prospect. It was highly unconventional to allow your wife to make such an offer but knowing how much she cared for him he said yes. That and the fact that everything this MC did was unconventional. No other MC he knew would allow women in Temple, but that’s exactly where the Queen was every Friday night when Smoke held the weekly church.

  “ You know I should be the one to ask him, right? I mean Baby Girl I’ll be his sponsor not you and it should come from me, but I know you two have something special. It’s like me and the Queen so go find Jace and ask him.”

  Rylee knew where he was, she had seen him sitting by the fire pit after his soak and she all but ran out the door.

  Jace saw Rylee running up the path and immediately thought something was wrong. He jumped to his feet as she made the chair he was sitting in.

  “Ry, what’s wrong!” he demanded as she caught her breath. “My God I need to work out!” She sa id laughing as her heartbeat slowed back to normal. “Nothing’s wrong, but there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  Jace nodded, offering her his chair and pulling up a piece of dirt next to her. “So what’s up? You kicking me out? I am well enough to go home now, although it is kinda nice being here with you and Slinger.”

  “Good! And nope we are not kicking you out. We would love it if you stayed permanently. Most of the Devil’s live on the property or damn close to it.”

  Jace wanted to stay here. The sense of family really got to him, he didn’t have any left. His grandpa was the last of the family he knew and he’d died several years prior. Then it hit him, she had said the Devil’s. Jace wasn’t a Devil.

  “Sweet girl I’m not a Devil, how’s that gonna work? Will Smoke be okay with me here?” that’s when she grinned at him, and he had no idea why.

  “You’re not a Devil, you’re right. Well not yet anyway.” Jace cocked his head and just stared at her. He had a feeling he understood what she was saying but he had to know for sure. “Rylee, are you saying they wanna make me a Prospect? Like the whole thing with a patch and all.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. So, what do you think? Wanna be a part of this craziness, let my husband sponsor you?”

  That’s when Jace broke down, this brotherhood was more than he’d ever had in his life. Crying in front of Rylee wasn’t what he wanted to do, but it couldn’t be helped. He pulled himself up then hugged her tight. The bond he had with her was like no other, it couldn’t be explained and Jace didn’t care.

  “Yes, most certainly yes!” He choked out through the tears. “I need to see him, Slinger. I have to tell him thank you for believing in me like this.”

  He took her hand and they walked the path that lead to her home just a few hundred yards behind Smokes home. Slinger and Micah were on the porch seemingly waiting for Jace to show up. Slinger saw his eyes and knew he was about to have a Prospect of his own. Rylee took Micah inside to start dinner leaving the men to talk. She knew they both needed the private time. Her husband needed some time to explain the

  interworking of the MC.

  “So man, I take it from that look you’re my new Prospect, I’m fucking thrilled man! There’s a few things you gotta know, like never get on your bike without your cut. That’s rule number one, it’s disrespectful to the club that you ride with to not fly your colors. Two is the bylaws, basically the club rules and there’s a bunc
h. I’ll get Rylee to write them down for you. You’re gonna get a list of chores and they gotta be done before you can get your

  permanent patch. Got any questions for me?” Slinger expected a hundred of them but he only got one.

  “When do I get my colors? My Prospect patch? I’ll be proud to fly them.”

  Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

  Smoke took Falcon, Slinger, Jace and Ren to Handlebars for beers and a burger. He needed some guy time and also needed the ones he trusted the most closest to him. Close enough to have a private conversation. Someone in his inner circle was after him and these four were the only ones he trusted at the moment.

  “I wish I had a fucking clue who is screwing with me!” The President growled, they all knew whoever it was wouldn’t live long once Smoke figured it out.

  “Any ideas Smoke? I mean me and Ren have been watching everyone and nobody seems off. Even Rylee has been listening to all the brothers and she doesn’t see anyone doing anything odd. We gotta figure it out man, we got too much to lose now. I got Rylee and Micah, you got Peyton and Nora, Bones has Wisha and twins coming. You don’t think Bones is the one, do you?”

  Smoke knew Bones wasn’t the one he was looking for, but with a pregnant woman he didn’t need this stress. There were six other men and his MC, it could be any one of them and Smoke didn’t like that thought at all.

  “ I almost forgot, welcome to the Devil’s Jace, or as you’ll be called for a while; Prospect. Your cut is coming, Peyton will pick it up this week, and then you’re never without it. I’m sure your sponsor has explained how it all works, so no need to hear me bellow.” Smoke chuckled and the rest followed suit.

  After dinner, way too much beer and a number of pool games the men filed out to the parking lot where their bikes were. Standing next to Smoke’s old panhead and smoking his last cigarette before they rode, it happened. The whiz, like a bee but bees didn’t fly at night. It was a bullet. They all scrambled for cover, pulling out weapons and returning fire in the direction of the shooter. Somewhere in the midst of the chaos Ren took a bullet. It hit his shoulder, tearing through the flesh and exiting out the back side. The firing went on for several minutes before silence fell once again.