Battling Troy: Devil's Knights Series

by Winter Travers

  “It was going pretty good until you called me a girl.”

  Meg ran her fingers though her hair and brushed it to the side. “Yeah, not everyone can be Ethel.”

  “You’ll have to work on your closing more,” I laughed.

  “Ugh, I’m out. All this sappy shit is making me miss Lo. I gotta find him and hug the shit out of him.” Meg walked up to me, just stared at me.

  “You’re going to hug me, aren’t you?”

  Meg got a big loopy smile on her face and wrapped her arms around me. “You’re gonna be fine, Troy,” she whispered in my ear.

  She walked out the door. Her truck fired up and she was gone before I could say a word.

  I grabbed my bag, locked the door behind me and made my way over to my truck.

  I made it over to Marley’s in less than ten minutes and grabbed the key from under the rock she had texted me about. As I was walking in the door, my phone went off for a text message and I pulled it out of my pocket as I shut the door behind me.

  You have seventeen minutes left before I come looking for you. I guess I couldn’t say she didn’t care about me.

  Just got to your house. Be back to you soon. It was a twenty minute drive back to the apartment, so I would need to hurry the hell up and go about twenty over the speed limit to make it back to her.

  I’m counting the seconds.

  I’ll always come back to you, Sunshine. Damn, I was turning into a sap, but it felt so right. I needed to let Marley know I was missing her as much as she was missing me.

  I’ll always be waiting.

  I shoved my phone back in my pocket before I texted anymore sappy shit.

  As I was making my way up the stairs I thought I heard footsteps in the kitchen. I stopped to listen, but didn’t hear anything. I shook my head, thinking I was losing it and made my way up the rest of the stairs.

  I flipped the light on in Marley’s room and knew instantly I wasn’t hearing things.

  “You’re not who we were expecting, but we’ll make this work.” There was a man sitting on the edge of Marley’s bed, his hands clasped in front of him. He was wearing a dark blue pinstriped suit and looked like he had stepped off the cover of some fancy magazine. “Grab him.”

  I turned around and ran into a wall of a man who spun me back around and twisted my arms behind my back.

  “Where is Marley?” The man demanded.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You know what I hate, Troy?” Oh shit. My idea of playing stupid might not work. This either had to be the Banachi’s or Mark’s family. “I hate a liar.”

  “I don’t know where she is.”

  “Then what are you doing in her house right now? You know, I don’t care. I don’t have time for this.” Suit stood up, straitening his jacket.

  He walked past me, whispered something to the guy who was holding me and walked out of the room.

  That was the last thing I remember before the lights went out and everything went black.

  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

  Chapter 25

  Marley

  “He should be here by now, Gravel!” I yelled, as I ate dinner at the kitchen island. It had been over an hour since Troy had texted me. I had tried calling him ten times, and he didn’t answer. I knew something was wrong.

  “You two have been together for the past week. He’s probably just taking a breather. Grab your fork and eat. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute,” he said as he shoveled more food into his mouth.

  I couldn’t believe this. Something could have happened to Troy and Gravel was acting like nothing was going on.

  “Just calm down and eat, hun. If Troy isn’t back soon, Gravel will start looking and making some phone calls. I’m sure he’s ok.” Ethel handed me a plate and gently pushed me to sit next to Gravel.

  I took a deep breath and looked down at my plate. Ethel and Gravel were right. I’m sure Troy got held up doing something else. I put a small helping of food on my plate and sat down.

  “Just breathe, darlin’,” Gravel said quietly as he wiped his hands on a napkin.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve already lost one man I cared about.”

  Ethel stood on the other side of the island, her plate full and she smiled at me. “I know exactly how you feel, hun. When I lost Henry, I didn’t think I would ever be able to love another man and then your father came along and showed me love I never thought I would have again.”

  “I don’t love Troy, I just don’t want anything to happen to him.” I ducked my head, not wanting Ethel to see that I might love Troy. They would think I was crazy if they thought I was in love with a man that I barely knew. Hell, I thought I was crazy for feeling the way I did.

  Gravel grunted and shook his head. “I might not be the biggest fan of that cowboy you’ve fallen in love with darlin’, but I can tell you one thing.”

  “Gravel, be nice,” Ethel warned.

  “Hush, woman,” Gravel said as he winked at Ethel. She shook her head and waited to hear what he had to say. “That boy loves you. And for some damn reason, you love that boy.” Gravel shook his head. Apparently talking about Troy made him grunt. “I doubt anything has happened to him, but if it will make you feel better, I’ll give King a call and talk to him.” Gravel pushed his plate back and stood up.

  “You can wait until you’re done eating, Gravel.” I insisted.

  “I’ll be back in a few seconds after I figure what happened to Cowboy. Probably saw a cow on the side of the road he had to go look at,” Gravel grumbled as he walked out the door.

  Ethel and I looked at each other. What the hell did Gravel just say? “Did he just say Troy probably stopped to look at a cow?”

  Ethel threw her head back and laughed. “You caught that too. I swear that man is going crazy. He says something nice and then he has to mention cows and loses all credibility.”

  I shoveled a forkful of meatloaf into my mouth and moaned. Holy crap. Ethel was right about her meatloaf. Is was phenomenal. “Oh my god. That is more than meatloaf,” I said around a mouthful.

  Ethel beamed at me and laughed. “Told you so. No one can resist my meatloaf. Gravel said the same thing you did before I made it for him. Now he asks for it once a week.”

  “Remember to invite me over whenever you make it.” I shoveled in a huge bite into my mouth and savored it.

  Just as I was about to swallow, Gravel came storming back into the house and I knew something was wrong the second I saw him. The mouthful of food I had in my mouth turned sour and I couldn’t swallow. I grabbed the nearest napkin and spit into it. “What’s wrong?” I asked, wiping my mouth.

  “We all need to head to the clubhouse. Now,” Gravel ordered.

  “Why, what’s wrong? Where’s Troy?” I could feel the panic crawl up my stomach and begin to choke me. Something had happened to Troy.

  “King doesn’t have all the details yet, and I don’t want to worry you anymore than necessary.”

  “Tell me what you know, Gravel!” I yelled. I needed to know what the hell was going on.

  “All he knows right now is Mark’s family has Troy.”

  “What do you mean they have Troy? What the hell do they want with Troy? He had nothing to do with them!”

  “Marley, you need to calm down and we need to get to the clubhouse. King said he’ll explain more then.” Gravel helped Ethel put everything into the fridge, and I just sat there, motionless.

  This was exactly what I was afraid of happening. This was why I wanted to leave in the first place. Someone I cared about was hurt because of me. Troy had been kidnapped and it was all my fault. I felt the tears start to fall, but I didn’t stop them.

  “Come on, hun. Grab your shoes and we’ll get going.” Ethel wrapped her arms around me and helped me up. I numbly walked over to the door and slid on my shoes. Ethel handed me Troy’s sweatshirt and I held it up to my nose and inhaled his scent I had grown so used to. I slipped it over my head a
nd wrapped my arms around my middle.

  Ethel led me over to her car and we all climbed in, neither of us talking. There wasn’t much to say. Troy was in trouble and it was all my fault.

  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

  Troy

  My body slammed against something hard and my eyes cracked open. I had no idea where I was. It was pitch black and all I could tell was that I was in the trunk of a car that was speeding down the road.

  My whole head felt like it was going to explode and I had the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. My bottom lip felt swollen, like it had been busted open.

  The car careened around a corner and my head slammed against the side of the trunk. The tires squealed as we made another sharp turn, then I rolled forward as they slammed on the brakes. The car halted to a stop, and I felt it shift into park. Where ever the hell we were going, we were there.

  I didn’t know how long we had been driving and how long I had been knocked out. All I remember was my head being smashed in and everything going dark.

  “Get him and bring him in. I need to make a phone call and then we’ll deal with him.”

  I still had no idea who the guy in the suit was. King was supposed to be meeting with the Banachi’s today. Maybe things hadn’t gone the way we had hoped. I had to come up with a plan. How the hell was I going to get out of this?

  I heard the key turn in the lock, and I realized I had seconds to figure out what the hell I was going to do. The trunk lip started to rise up, and I did the only thing I could think of.

  When the lid was half way up, I kicked up, knocking the trunk lid out of the goon’s hand. I jumped out of the trunk as the lid knocked the guy back. I didn’t take one thing in to account though. I had kicked the lid so hard it sprang open and slammed back down, slamming into my already battered head.

  Son of a bitch. I heard the asshole laughing on the other side at me, and I growled. There had to be a way to get out of this. I just had to bide my time and wait for the right moment.

  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

  Chapter 26

  Marley

  “What the hell is going on? Why would they take Troy? I thought you were going to fix this?” I ranted as I walked in the door of the clubhouse, talking to King.

  “As far I was knew it was taken care of. Sit down, Marley,” King ordered, his voice stern.

  “I don’t want to sit, I want to go find Troy!” Normally King intimidated me, but right now I didn’t give a flying fuck about anything but finding Troy. I had left his apartment scared and afraid, but now I was pissed and wanted answers.

  “Marley, sit your ass down and hear what King has to say,” Gravel gruffed, grabbing my arm and pulling me over to one of the card tables.

  I plopped down in the chair and glared at Gravel. “I’m sitting, now tell me what the hell is going on.”

  King shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, sitting next to me. “It’s not the Banachi’s. I met with them hours ago and everything on their end had been cleared up. It has to be Mark’s family doing this. I met with Leo, the head of the Banachi’s, and he said he would let Mark’s family know they were backing off from you. I’m assuming they didn’t take the news well.”

  “So what the hell are we going to do? We can’t just sit here and do nothing. I know he’s not part of the Devil’s Knights, but we have to help him. YOU have to help him, King!” I was beyond frantic.

  “How the ever living fuck did Troy get kidnapped?” Meg shouted as she walked in the door. “I just saw him when he was at his house earlier.” Meg stopped in front of King, her hands resting on her hips, waiting for an answer.

  “I told Mickey not to tell you anything, just to bring you here.”

  “Yeah well, I have a special effect on Mick, we’ve come to an understanding.” Meg glanced behind her and winked at Mickey as he walked in the door.

  “What the hell! What happened to I swear I won’t say a word?” King asked, standing up and walking past Meg.

  “Have you met your ol’ lady? You can’t say no to her. I had no choice!” Mickey raised his hands up in surrender.

  “Unbelievable,” King scrubbed his hand down his face and shook his head. “You,” King turned around, pointing at Meg, “are not to talk to any of the guys anymore. You’re making them all your best friends. Stop it.”

  “Are you serious? I can’t help it if I’m likeable. You should try being nice sometime and they’ll start listening to you!” Meg shouted, charging at King.

  “I’m not here to be liked, Meg,” he growled low.

  “Enough!” Gravel yelled. “Can we figure out what the hell happened to Troy and then you two can go work out what the hell has crawled up your asses.”

  “This is not over,” King said, staring Meg down.

  “Not by a longshot, caveman,” Meg whispered venomently. They stared each other down, neither one blinking.

  No one said a word, not knowing what the hell to do. I think we were all witnessing the first fight between Meg and King. Normally I’d be all for grabbing the popcorn and watching the fireworks between the two, but right now we needed to figure out what happened to Troy.

  “Um, can we get back to Troy, and ya’ll can rip each other’s clothes off later?” I asked.

  “Hmm, I’m gonna rip something off other than his clothes,” Meg whispered, walking away from King and sat down next to me.

  King growled low and threatening. He ran his fingers through his hair, and I could tell he was trying to calm down.

  “I put a call into Leo. He said he’ll try to get in touch with Mark’s family. Right now we just wait. Cyn and Rigid should be here any minute. I also have Gambler bringing Gwen in. I tried to think of anyone who is connected to you. They were obviously going after the people you care about.” King’s phone rang and he walked down the hall, Gravel following him.

  “Are you ok, hun?” Meg asked, placing her hand on mine and squeezed.

  “Yeah, I was scared before, but now I’m pissed off. I don’t know why they took Troy.”

  “King is probably right. They couldn’t get you, so they are going after the people you care about. He’ll get this all cleared up.” She smiled at me and patted my hand.

  “Would you take your hand off of me? I can walk through a door without tripping or getting kidnapped,” Gwen said through gritted teeth as she walked through the door, wrenching her arm out of Gambler’s grasp.

  “Look here, sugar, I’m just doing what King told me to do. If you don’t like it, you can take it up with him,” Gambler shot back.

  “Here’s an idea, why don’t you think for yourself instead of doing what The King tells you what to do.” Gwen swung her purse at Gambler and socked him in the shoulder.

  “Did she just call Lo The King?” Meg whispered.

  “I think so,” I giggled.

  “Good Lord, please don’t let Lo hear that, it’ll go straight to his head.” Meg shook her head and sat back in her chair.

  “You’re here, my job is done.” Gambler held his hands up in surrender and headed down the hall Gravel and King had just went down.

  “What the hell is going on, Marley? I was closing up the shop when that bone head who has been watching me for the past week came up to me and basically kidnapped me and brought me here. He wouldn’t tell me what the hell was going on.” Gwen walked over to us, tossing her purse on the table and plopped down in the chair across from me.

  “Mark’s family kidnapped Troy,” Meg said, grabbing Gwen’s purse, looking at it. “Where did you get this?”

  “Kohl’s, on sale,” Gwen winked at Meg.

  “We have got to go shopping together,” Meg gushed.

  “I’m down whenever you are, girl.”

  “Hello, Troy getting kidnapped?” I said, waving my hands in their faces.

  “Sorry,” Meg said, petting Gwen’s purse as she set it back down.

  “So what’s going on? Troy getting kid
napped sucked, but why am I here?” Gwen opened her purse, grabbing out gum and popped a piece in her mouth. Gwen always had gum in her mouth. The only time I had ever seen her without it was when she was eating. She offered a piece to Meg and me.

  “Right now we don’t know much. The reason you are here is because King thinks they might be going after everyone Marley cares about. Cyn is on the way right now. Oh, shit, where’s Ethel?” Meg grabbed her phone out of her purse and was calling Ethel before I could speak.

  I heard Ethel’s phone ringing from the kitchen and laughed. “Hello?” I heard her say.

  “Where the hell are you, Ethel? You need to get to the clubhouse right now!” Meg ordered.

  “I’m in the kitchen, Meg.” Again, I could hear Ethel talking from the kitchen, but apparently Meg couldn’t.

  “Well, get out of the kitchen and get here.” Meg ended the call and shoved her phone in her pocket. “I can’t believe Gravel didn’t bring Ethel. Just leaves her in the kitchen.” Meg shook her head and rolled her eyes.

  “Who wants a turkey sandwich?” Ethel asked as she breezed out of the kitchen, a huge smile on her face.

  “What the hell are you doing here? You told me you were in the kitchen?” Meg asked, stunned.

  “I was in the kitchen,” Ethel laughed, setting the plate on the table and taking the last chair.

  “Hmm, next time specify which kitchen. Now I feel like a dope. I don’t know why I didn’t think you were here. I couldn’t believe that Gravel would have left you home.” Meg grabbed a sandwich, ripping off a huge chunk.

  “I know, but I thought I’d mess with you, plus you didn’t really give me time to talk.” Ethel winked.

  Meg blushed and shoved the rest of the sandwich in her mouth.

  “I’m Gwen.” Gwen held her hand out, greeting Ethel.

  “Ethel, hun. I’m King’s mom and Gravel’s fiancée.”

  “Who’s King?” Gwen asked, grabbing a sandwich.