Battling Troy: Devil's Knights Series

by Winter Travers

  “Oh my god, if you pace that floor one more time, I’m tackling and sitting on you until we find Troy.” Meg called from behind the bar. She had lasted forty five minutes before she snuck behind the bar and grabbed the bottle of Southern.

  “I can’t help it! We’re just sitting here not doing anything! Is this what ya’ll did when tweedle dee and tweedle dumb took me?”

  “Ha! No. That could have also been because we didn’t know you were kidnapped until they basically turned you free,” Cyn said from her perch from up on the bar.

  Cyn and Rigid had shown up just after the first card game and had jumped in on trying to distract me. King had disappeared ten minutes ago and hadn’t come back yet. I had tried following him down the hallway, but Gravel had grabbed me before I was even two steps down the hall. “Calm down, Marley. King has things under control,” Gravel had said.

  I had ripped my arm out of his grasp and huffed back to the common room and continued my pacing.

  “That’s it, I’m sitting on you,” Meg said, slamming the bottle down on the bar. She rounded the long bar, mischief playing in her eyes and darted at me. I managed to side step her and ducked to the left.

  “You’re crazy!” I shouted as I ran around the tables, glancing behind me to see Meg gaining on me.

  “Just sit your ass down!”

  “I thought we were friends!” Everyone was laughing and shouting at Meg to get me. I repeat, Meg was crazy.

  “We are friends. We have to be friends, you’re in love with my best friend.”

  “What?” I yelled, looking back Meg. How the hell did she know I was in love with Troy? I hadn’t even admitted fully to myself yet.

  “You love him. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be pacing around like a mad woman.”

  “I barely know him.”

  “Like that freaking matters. If I look back at Lo and I, I loved him after a week. Not that I’ll ever tell him that.”

  I was close to the front door and figured my only escape was to dart out the door. Just as I had the handle in my hand, the door burst open and knocked me on my ass.

  “Oh shit,” Meg cursed. “That had to hurt.” I heard her mumble.

  I looked up to the see who had opened the door and my jaw dropped. Troy was standing over me, a confused look on his face.

  “What the hell were you doing standing behind the door?” He asked, crouching down in front of me.

  “What are you doing here?” Yup, this whole time I had been freaking out that Troy was kidnapped and now he was here and I wanted to know why.

  “Um, I thought you might be worried about me.”

  “Worried about you? Fuck, she was driving us insane. Thank god you’re back,” Meg huffed.

  “Glad to see you’re so concerned, Meg.”

  “Hey, I was worried, but it’s not like you’re some defenseless little girl. You’re Troy. I knew you’d find a way to get out.” Meg crossed her arms over her chest and walked over to King who was talking to a guy I had never seen before.

  “You want help up, Sunshine?” Troy stood up and held his hand out to me.

  “Ow, my ass is going to hurt for days,” I moaned as he pulled me up. I rubbed my butt and winced.

  “Your ass is getting more attention than me right now,” Troy laughed.

  “Oh my god, Troy, I’m so glad you’re ok,” Ethel gushed, walking up to Troy and wrapped him up in a hug.

  “I’m good, Ethel. Just a bit sore.” He smiled and winked at me over Ethel’s shoulder.

  “Just because Marley got kidnapped before didn’t mean you had to, too,” Ethel scolded, stepping back.

  “I couldn’t let her have all the fun,” Troy smirked.

  “Are you hungry? You missed dinner. It’s almost nine o’clock.”

  “I’ll eat in a little bit,” he said, glancing at me.

  “I’ll throw something together. Meg has been keeping the kitchen here stocked lately.” Ethel wandered to the kitchen, quietly mumbling under her breath about lunch meat.

  “My turn!” Cyn yelled, running over to Troy. She launched herself at him and he took a step back as he caught her so they both didn’t fall.

  “Good Lord, Cyn,” Troy grunted.

  “I’m glad you’re ok, homie.”

  “I have no idea why you call me homie,” Troy laughed, shaking his head.

  “Cause you’re my homie,” Cyn said, like that explained everything.

  “King and I knew you’d have things under control.” Rigid walked over and pulled Cyn from Troy. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on the top of her head.

  “You’re squishing me.” Cyn elbowed Rigid in the gut, trying to get away from him and almost got away. He swung her up in his arms and tossed her on the couch in front of the TV. Rigid jumped on top of her and all we could hear was squealing and laughing.

  “You think I could get a hug now, Sunshine?”

  I tore my eyes away from the spectacle going on on the couch and saw Troy had never taken his eyes off me.

  I was two steps away from Troy when King called his name. “Troy!”

  Son of a bitch. “I’ll be right back, baby girl,” Troy murmured. He trailed his fingers down my arm as he walked past me, but that was all I got.

  Troy walked over to King and the man I had never seen before and headed down the hallway. Rigid and all the other members followed behind leaving all the women behind.

  “Well, I’m going to head home as soon as I hot wire a car,” Gwen said picking up her purse and hitching it over her shoulder.

  “Ha, funny,” Meg laughed.

  “Oh, it’s not funny, sweetheart. I know how to do a lot more than hot wire a car.”

  Meg and Cyn’s jaws dropped and Ethel shook her head. I knew Gwen had a hard life growing up, so I had no doubt that she wasn’t joking.

  “Well, you can give me a ride home after you find a car to steal,” I laughed.

  “Guys, I have my car, I can take ya’ll home.” Cyn held up her keys, shocked.

  “Hell, just take my truck,” Meg grabbed her keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Gwen. “Lo and I drove separate. I’ll swing by your house tomorrow to get it.”

  “Are you sure that Troy wants you leaving?” Cyn asked.

  “Just tell Troy I’ll see him later. I have something at home I need to do.” Gwen walked out the door, holding it open for me.

  “Wait,” Meg called, grabbing my arm and halting me in my tracks. “I can’t let you go if you’re going to run, Marley. I can’t let you hurt Troy like that.”

  I shook my head and laughed, “The only place I am going is to my house. If Troy is worried, tell him to come find me when he is done here.”

  “He won’t be long. I know he wants to see you.”

  “Just tell him I’m at home, ok, Meg.” She let go of my arm and looked at me like she would never see me again. I made it to the door and turned around. “I’m glad he had a friend like you in his life, Meg. Not everyone gets that.” I walked out the door, hearing it click shut behind me.

  “You ok, doll?” Gwen asked as I climbed into Meg’s truck.

  “I’m not really sure. I’m terrified, but I’m not going to run. Troy might not come over tonight. His job of protecting me is done. I was an obligation before and now I have to be something he chooses.”

  “I saw the way he looked at you, doll. There’s more there than you think.” Gwen started the truck and we headed out the parking lot.

  “I hope you’re right, Gwen. I want him so much, but I need him to want me as much.”

  “Don’t stress about it. Everything works out. Just look at it this way. Six months ago, you lost your fiancée and didn’t know what you were going to do. Now you have a kick ass job with a bitchin’ boss, reconnected with your dad, new friends from what I just saw, and one smoking hot guy who I know has the hots for you.”

  “But it could all go away in an instant.
”

  “Marley,” Gwen took her eyes off the road and glanced at me. “You of all people know that things can change in an instant. But maybe in that instant they can change for the better. You’re never going to know unless you take the risk and see if the risk is worth the fall.”

  “OK, you’re right. Take me home, I’ve got a plan,” I smiled, finally believing the only way to be happy was to lay all my cards on the table and let the chips fall where they may.

  The first thing I was going to do when I got home was unpack all my boxes and prove to Troy that I was here to stay and nothing was going to make me run.

  Not even falling in love with the man I had been waiting my whole life for but never knew existed. Time to stop fighting my feelings for Troy and take what I wanted.

  *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

  Chapter 29

  Troy

  “Before you called me, King, I had an interesting phone call from a man who went by the name Big A.”

  Holy shit. Leo, King, and the rest of the Devil’s Knights were gathered in the room where they normally held church.

  I hadn’t wanted to leave Marley, but I knew something had to be up when King had called my name. I was standing by the door, my arms crossed over my chest, waiting to hear what the hell Leo was talking about.

  “Why would Big A get in touch with you?” King asked.

  “Well, he had somehow found out we were contracted by Mr. Mark and he thought we might be interested in helping him take out a man named, Rigid.”

  Rigid growled and slammed his fist down on the table. “That fucking cocksucker.”

  “He informed me all that had been going on between the two of you. I always like to know all the facts before I back the winning horse. Mr. Big A does not appear to be the winning horse to me.” Leo rested his elbows on the counter and steepled his hands in front of him.

  “So where does that leave us?” King asked.

  “Well, Big A continued to go on and say he wouldn’t feel bad at all if something were to happen to Mr. Rigid or all the Devil’s Knights for that matter.”

  “Did he tell you anything more, where they were?”

  “No, he did ask to have a meeting with me to discuss things further. I told him I would have to think things over and get back to him. He said he would give me two days to decide if I wanted to help him.”

  “I guess the question to ask is if you are planning on helping him,” King said, leaning back in his chair.

  “I make very decisive decisions and don’t back away from them. Five minutes into my conversation with Big A, I knew what I was going to do. The only thing I fear is that my decision might bring repercussions to the Devil’s Knights. Big A is going to try and take each and every one of you out, regardless if I help him or not.”

  “So what the hell are we going to do? We’re basically in the same spot we were before. We know the Assassins are after us, but we don’t know where they are,” Demon said.

  “Well, this is where my proposition comes in. I am more than willing to offer any help you could use in getting rid of your problem with the Assassins if you help me with my own situation my nephew has gotten himself into.”

  “And what situation would that be?”

  “Well, it would be my nephew and sister you would be helping out. My nephew, Antonio, got a little too big for his britches and started stirring things up with a local gang. Small potatoes really, but it would best for his mother and him to leave town for a bit, if not longer.”

  “So what exactly do you want us to do?”

  “I just need a quiet place for them to lay low until I get things under control. Right now they are staying at our estate in Martha’s Vineyard, but we rent it out during the fall and winter. Our first renters will be there in three weeks. They would arrive at the first of November and more than likely stay until the first of the year. I will pay for all their lodging and such, but I would ask for you to look after them and make sure nothing happens to them.”

  “What exactly did your nephew do to get on the wrong side of this gang?” Slider asked.

  “I deal in, let’s say, undesirable things. I know you’ve all gone legit, so I know not to bring that business aspect to your door. Antonio got it in his head that he wants to go into the family business and started with small potatoes, mueling drugs. I do not want my life for my nephew. It is a hard life that few can handle.”

  “So, did he fuck up a drop or something?”

  “No, the problem is he was too good at it and started taking business away from the gang who use to do the mueling. I believe that is where your trouble with the Assassins began if I am correct. They thought you were stealing their territory.”

  “Hard to believe, but yeah, that was what our first meeting with them was about. Then their cousin beat up Rigid’s ol’ lady and they didn’t like the way we came to a resolution.”

  “Well, I feel I could help you with your problem with the Assassins and in return you could look out for my sister and nephew until I get things settled at home.”

  King looked around the table, gauging everyone’s reaction. “I think that could be an even trade. I might know of a place she could rent for a couple of months. I’ll talk to Meg and see if she knows of anything.”

  “All right, we can hammer all the details out later.” Leo held his hand out to King and they shook hands. “I’ll be in town until Tuesday. We’ll meet again before I leave.” Leo stood up, nodding his head in the direction of all the members and walked out the door.

  “Are we all right with what just went down?” King asked, looking around.

  “Hell yeah. If it means we get the Assassins off our backs I’m down with babysitting for a couple of months,” Demon said. Everyone else nodded their heads and mumbled yes.

  “One last thing,” King said as everyone started to get up. They all sat down, wondering what else there could be. “Until we get everything wrapped up with the Assassins, we need to keep an eye on everything and everyone. Meg, Cyn, Ethel and Marley need to be with someone at all times. Gambler, you get Gwen and bring her back to the clubhouse.”

  “What the hell do we need to watch her for?” Gambler groaned.

  “I don’t want to leave any stone unturned and I don’t want anyone to get hurt just by knowing us. You’ve been with her the past week, Gambler, so you have her until this is all cleared.”

  “This is bullshit!” Gambler pushed away from the table. “The fucking chick does everything to annoy the fuck out of me. I won’t even tell you what she did to me when I was in the shower this morning.”

  “What? You finally found a chick that isn’t falling at your feet? I think I might like this chick,” Gravel laughed.

  “Ha ha, yuck it up, assholes,” Gambler grumbled as everyone laughed.

  “It shouldn’t be long. You can handle her for a couple of weeks, Gambler.” King didn’t leave any more room for argument from Gambler.

  “Uh, I see how ya’ll don’t have a problem keeping an eye on Meg, Cyn, and Ethel because you live with them, but I’m not in the same boat as you guys.” All eyes turned to me.

  “What the hell are you talking about? You dumping my girl?” Gravel stood and advanced towards me.

  “No, but I have no idea what she’s thinking. Even if we are together, how the hell do I tell her she needs to move in with me?”

  Gravel got right in my face and growled. I swear I could see steam coming out of his ears. “You tell her she’s moving in with you and that’s that. You want to be with my daughter, you need to fucking be there when she needs you. Not whenever you want to get your dick wet.”

  “That’s not what I fucking meant.” Gravel and I were face to face, ready to rip the other ones head off.

  “Then say what the fuck you mean!”

  “You’re a fucking asshole, you know that?”

  “What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. With. Marley?”

  “I’m pretty s
ure I should tell Marley that before you, asshole,” I bit out.

  Gravel and I stared each other down, neither of us backing down.

  “Break it up you two,” King said, walking in between us. “Do whatever you have to do to keep Marley safe, Troy.”

  “I’m on it,” I growled, turning to the door and stormed out.

  Who the fuck did Gravel think he was to demand what I was doing with Marley? He may be her father, but he hadn’t been a part of her life for how long, and now he thought he could just roll in and take over where he left off. He may have good intentions, but he was about to get his ass kicked if he didn’t back the fuck off.

  I had no idea what the hell Marley and I were. Telling her she had to move into my house again until things gotten taken care of seemed to be pushing the bounds of our relationship I didn’t even know the limits of.

  “Oh good, you guys are done. Cyn fell asleep on the couch.” Meg pointed to Cyn, who was sprawled out on the couch snoring softly.

  I looked around the room, noticing Marley and Gwen were nowhere to be seen. “Where the hell did Marley go?” I demanded.

  “Um, she and Gwen took my truck and left,” Meg mumbled.

  “She fucking ran, didn’t she?”

  Meg looked at me, pity in her eyes. “I honestly don’t know. She didn’t have the same look in her eyes as the last time. I honestly think she is just trying to figure everything out, Troy.”

  “She had to run to figure shit out?”

  I started pacing the room. I had no idea what the fuck to do. She seemed fine when I left her, but now she was gone. “Do you know where she went?”

  “She said she was going home and if you wanted to see her you could go over there. Gwen was going to drop her off at her house and she said she had something to do.”

  Yeah, like pack her fucking bags. “Son of a bitch!” I ran my fingers through my hair and stopped in my tracks. She was leaving me again, I fucking knew it.

  “I think you need to go talk to her before you assume anything, Troy.”