Satan’s Devils MC -Colorado Box Set: Books 4-6

by Mellett, Manda

  “Who had him?” Beef asks the question, but his expression shows he’s finding my words hard to believe.

  “He didn’t say. I asked, but he wouldn’t tell me. I got the impression they were listening to the call.”

  Mace snorts.

  Demon purses his lips, but his only words are, “Go on.”

  “He gave me instructions. I was to open a box, take the packages, and deliver them to a man who’d be waiting for me in the vicinity of Tits Up.” I pause to take a breath. “He’d left me no time to do anything otherwise. Of course I wanted to tell Ink, but Connor said I wouldn’t see him, my brother, alive again if I didn’t do what he asked. I couldn’t risk that he was telling the truth.” I glance up, but no one looks the slightest bit convinced. “I said I’d do anything to save him, and I would. He’s my baby brother after all.” I swallow down he’d been known to take advantage of that relationship, sensing it wouldn’t do me any good. “I said, anything, and I meant it. I didn’t know what the task was. I thought he might need money, heaven knows how I was going to get it that time of night, but I’d have emptied my bank account if that’s what it would take.”

  Demon’s raised chin and a quick look toward Beef gives me a slight hope they can understand such a desire to save a brother. Then he signals to me to resume.

  “As I said, he’d left it until the last minute, and I had to rush to make the meet. It was only then that I found what he’d left and knew the packages were obviously drugs.” I pause, then stress, “I thought about calling the cops, then realised that would get my brother locked up, that’s if he was allowed to live. I thought about calling Ink, but…” I sob, I can’t help it. Fresh tears run down my face, and I feel snot drip from my nose. “I couldn’t risk dragging him into it, or your club. This was my mess to sort. Those were my thoughts in the few precious seconds I had if I was to get there on time. I took two packages, and well, you know the rest.” I raise my watery eyes and look Demon straight in his, trying to convey how earnest I am. “It should have been me who was arrested, not Ink. I feel so fucking bad about that.” My words end on violent sobs which shake my body.

  “I bet you fuckin’ do,” Mace snarls from behind me.

  “She didn’t have much of a chance.” Sparky surprisingly comes to my defence. “If we hadn’t been there, it would be her sitting in jail now. Ink made a split-second decision, and well, it’s him there instead.”

  “Jail is no more than she fuckin’ deserves,” barks Mace. “Ink, Christ…” his voice trails off, and he turns away and wipes at his face.

  “I didn’t ask him to help me,” I cry out in desperation. I still can’t believe he got involved. Just look what happened. It would have been me arrested if he’d not intercepted. If he’d had any idea, he wouldn’t have done it, would he? In an attempt to get the scary looking enforcer to believe me, I continue, “Ink appeared out of nowhere. Took the bag from my hands. He told me to go.” And I had. “I should have stood my ground, should have stayed with him, insisted he’d given me the bag back. That was what I did wrong.” But I hadn’t. Instead I’d obeyed that tone he’d used. I have no excuse for that. I weep again, this time, more quietly.

  “Ink knew.” Beef slaps one meaty fist into his palm. “Ink fuckin’ knew the cops were there.”

  Ink knew?

  “So why?” I wail. “Why did he step in? Why did he tell me to run? Why didn’t he leave me, as Mace said, to get what I deserved?”

  It’s Sparky again who’s voice is calmer than the rest. “Because he knew, Beth. Because he knew it was you. Because if he guessed right what you were carrying, you’d have been taken by the cops. Because… he’s Ink.”

  More feet on the stairs and Cad enters. He pauses at the bottom, and Demon gives him a nod.

  “Got a location for this Connor fucker?”

  They’re trying to find Connor?

  Cad shakes his head. “Nah. Tried ringing the number, but it goes straight to voicemail. Tried several times now. From Beth’s phone and another.”

  My head blasts with sudden pain. I don’t know who to worry about more, Ink, locked up in jail because of my stupidity, or Connor, because despite all that I’d done, he might have been killed anyway.

  “They’ve killed him,” I cry out weakly, knowing he would have answered the call from my phone if he could. He’d have been waiting for me to confirm I’d done what he said. “Connor must be dead.”

  As an anguished sound escapes me, Demon looks at me again. “You think your brother was telling the truth? He was being hurt? That he really was, is, in danger?” His tone suggests he has no patience for what I’m feeling. “Assuming you’ve told us the truth and had nothing to do with this before your brother called, could he have been using you to make the delivery as he got wind there might be trouble at the drop tonight? Could he have been using you?”

  Tonight. It seems I’ve lived a whole lifetime, but it’s still only the early hours of the morning.

  “It’s more likely that Beth was part of it all along.” I tune back in to hear Mace, who’s clearly not convinced of my innocence.

  “Ask Ink,” I cry out, then realise that’s impossible. As incredulous eyes look toward me, I try to explain, “Ink was there when Connor was arguing about staying and then taking his gear. Ink saw him bring in a box and leave with it filled. He knows neither I nor Mom had a clue Connor had brought something into the house.”

  Demon enters the conversation again. “You said you took two of the packages. There were more?”

  “Eight,” I tell him. “There are eight packages of drugs left.” I raise my eyes to him. “I don’t care what happens to them, I want them out of our house. Please, can you help?”

  The prez draws himself up and looks incredulous. “You have the fuckin’ nerve to sit there and ask for our help?”

  “I care about my mother, she might be all I have left. She doesn’t know… what if someone else does? What if someone turns up for the rest?” My voice rises higher. “They’re worth money, aren’t they? You could take them, sell them—I don’t care…”

  I’m forced to stop as there’s a roar from the bikers surrounding me.

  “Shut up!” snarls Demon, to get them to stop.

  But Beef is eyeing me carefully. “Drug dealers don’t offer up their stash, Prez. If she’s got eight bricks of whatever that fuckin’ shit is, she’s offering it freely. I’d bet she’s no clue of the value.”

  “She could just be following her brother’s instructions.” Mace isn’t giving me an inch.

  “You reckon he’d instruct her to simply hand over that shit? One brick, Mace, maybe, to get us onside. But fuckin’ eight? She could be telling the truth.” Beef turns to his prez. “She could be trying to save her skin, yes. But I warn you, Demon, don’t make the same mistake you made with Skull, before he was patched in and was the prospect Runt. Don’t go looking for answers when there may be none to be had. Focus on the information she does have instead.” His eyes flash something to Demon. I don’t know why they mentioned Skull, there must be some things Mel hadn’t shared, but his words seem to do some good.

  Whatever, Demon seems to take what his VP has said at face value. “I asked you a question, Beth. Could your brother have been using you?”

  I press my lips together, and more tears leak as I start speaking my thoughts aloud, “If you’d asked me a week, a day ago, I’d say he was on the wrong path, influenced too much by Phil, but that there was still a familial affection there. That he wouldn’t have wanted any harm to come to me,” I give a little shake of my head to show I haven’t finished, “as I wouldn’t want physical harm to come to him. All I can tell you is that he sounded hurt, it sounded like it was painful for him to breathe, so I believed he had broken ribs. But when you come right down to it, I don’t know my brother anymore. He could have been setting me up. There, that’s the truth of it.”

  If anything, Demon’s eyes seem to darken until they become a solid black. “Either way w
e need to find him.”

  He makes a slight turn, raising an eyebrow at Cad. Cad nods and gives him the answer he’s clearly seeking. “Haven’t been able to trace where the calls were made from, it was probably some type of cheap burner, but I can carry on digging using the signal from hers. Will involve triangulation, but I’ll get there.”

  “I want men ready to roll as soon as you find out where we’re heading.”

  “Want us to get to Denver so we’ll be waiting?” Mace asks.

  Demon again raises a querying brow in Cad’s direction.

  “I’m doing what I can. It may well be tomorrow,” he grimaces, clearly remembering the time and corrects, “later today, or even Monday before I know anything. And, you’re only assuming he’s in Denver as that’s his hometown. He could be here in Pueblo for all we know.”

  That they’re searching for my brother should give me some satisfaction, but it doesn’t. He could already be dead, or, he could be having the time of his life, completely unharmed and laughing as he’d avoided the fate I’d so narrowly escaped and Ink’s suffering instead. Neither option is attractive. Alive or dead, Connor will be gone from my life. Ink. What must he be feeling? Does he now hate me for landing him in this mess? He probably regrets ever going with me. Oh God, Ink. Why did you step in? Why didn’t you just let me accept my fate? I realise I’d tuned out for a moment as Demon’s still talking.

  “You find him? I want him back here. He’s got access to large quantities of drugs, and whether or not he’s the ringleader, is probably up to his neck in the new trade coming into Pueblo.”

  I glance at those tools again being under no illusion what would happen if my brother’s alive and they get their hands on him. But if Connor’s whole story was concocted, I don’t feel much sympathy about the Devils hurting him. With Ink locked up, they’ll show little mercy.

  “How many do you think should go?” asks Beef.

  “I’ll go,” offers Thunder. His voice surprises me. I hadn’t noticed him descend the stairs, though the expression on his face shows he’s been here for most of the conversation.

  “Me too,” agrees Mace.

  “Four more,” Demon proposes. “Just in case we need to extricate a hostage.” But a glance in my direction shows he thinks it’s unlikely. He thinks I’ve been had. Maybe I have. Or, perhaps, he still doesn’t believe one word of my story.

  “One more thing…” Cad holds up his hand and interrupts. “Don’t know what this has to do with it, but Ink already asked me to look into this Phil Foster.”

  “He asked about Phil?” It must have been after last Sunday. I’m confused, why would Ink want to know about him?

  Demon ignores me. “And have you?” He gestures at the tech man to give him more.

  “Yeah, he’s one shady motherfucker,” Cad obliges. “Cops want him but can’t pin enough on him.” He glances my way as if to see how I’m taking it.

  It’s not news to me. I’d known all my life my father was a criminal.

  “Drugs?”

  “That’s what I was looking for but haven’t found a connection as yet. I’ll get back to digging.” Then Cad turns to leave, presumably to resume what he was doing. I call out to him. “Cad, find Connor. Please?”

  Sparky waves Cad off, and then he comes over to me. For the first time since the alley he sounds a little sympathetic. “If your brother is being held against his will, we’ll find him and get him out. If he’s not there, we’ll find out what’s happened to him.” He crouches down in front of me. “While he’s still got the rest of the drugs, he’s got a bargaining chip.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. The implications slam into me. “Are you saying we’ve got to leave them where they are? Oh my God. Mom’s alone,” I cry out. “What if someone comes for the rest?”

  Demon stares at me, then voices his thoughts. “If they’re left there, someone may not take them gently. If they’re not, they might take it out on the person who was storing them, unknowingly or not. Fuck.” He turns to Mace. “Know you’re suspicious of Beth, Mace, so am I. But her mother?”

  With a glance my way as if the last thing he wants to do is something to assist me, the enforcer gives a resigned lift of his chin. “If you don’t need me here, Prez, and we’re not setting off anywhere, I’ll go check it out. I’ll take Rusty with me, and we’ll bring whatever’s there back.”

  He means take the drugs. “But wouldn’t it be worse if they turn up for them and find them gone?” I’m so worried for my mom. She’s done nothing wrong. “What if they hurt my mom, trying to find out what happened to them?”

  “Bring Beth’s mom back with you.” Demon shakes his head. “Fuck, this is getting complicated.”

  Now one of the older bikers, Bomber, appears. “Ink’s not been charged yet, but that will be coming. Got Sykes out of bed and he’s at the station.”

  “Bet the lawyer liked that,” Mace scoffs.

  “For what we pay him, he better be there with a smile on his fuckin’ face,” Demon retorts.

  Ink. Them talking about cops and a lawyer makes it real. I start to cry in earnest, saying through my sobs what I tried to tell them from the start, “Let me go. I’ll go to the police. I’ll tell them what happened, I’ll say Ink had nothing to do with it—”

  “No, you won’t,” Demon says.

  “But this is all my fault,” I protest, and hiccup. “I don’t know why Ink took the bag off me, but he was arrested when it should have been me.”

  “Exactly.” Now, Prez is crouching in front of me. He brings out a knife and slices first through the ties holding one leg, and then the other. He nods at Beef who goes behind me and frees my hands. At last able to, I wipe at my eyes. Demon continues, “Ink knew whoever was caught with those drugs could be arrested—he knew the area was swarming with SWAT. He made a call that that wasn’t going to be you. Until I know what was in his head when he did it, you’re doing nothing to put yourself in the sights of the cops.”

  Demon rises, I get to my feet as well, rubbing my wrists to get the circulation going. We stand looking eye to eye.

  “Fuck knows why Ink did what he did,” Demon eventually tells me. “For some reason he thought it was better to be him than you. Maybe he thought there was a chance he could get away with it…”

  “Could he?” Hope stops me breathing.

  “No fuckin’ chance.” Demon’s eyes flare. “He was caught handing drugs to a fuckin’ dealer.”

  I slump, my hand reaching out and finding the back of the chair I’d so recently been held captive on, needing its support to remain standing. The stark words sounding dreadful now they’ve been voiced.

  Taking pity on me, Demon suggests, “Maybe Ink cares a lot for you Beth. Face it, doing prison time is not something anyone would do lightly. The question whether you’re worth it or not hasn’t yet been addressed.”

  My head moves side to side. Is there anything in what Demon is saying? Does Ink really care for me? Is that the explanation for what he did? I try to work it through, speaking my thoughts out loud, “Ink took the rap for me. He knew he was likely to be arrested.” Never in my life would I have dreamed anyone would do so much. It makes it ten, a hundred times worse. I would never have asked him to do something as reckless when any trouble should have landed on my head. “He shouldn’t have, Demon. I could have explained to the cops…”

  “Could you?” Demon doesn’t look or sound convinced. “Beth, what would you be doing if you were questioned right now? Would you be dropping your brother in it? What difference would that make? You knowingly took drugs to deliver to a dealer. That’s as bad as selling them yourself. You were caught supplying them. You think they’d buy your story of being coerced?”

  Would I drop my brother in it? If he was telling the truth, involving the police would mean he’d be killed. Connor’s life or Ink’s freedom? What a choice. But Demon’s is a moot point. I’m not being questioned by the police. I have damned all idea where my brother is, whether he’s alive or
dead, or whether he’d been lying or truthful. All I know is the man who I’d started to have strong feelings for is in a jail cell right now. I’m vaguely aware tears continue to fall down my face as I acknowledge how helpless I’m feeling.

  “We’re going to have to sort out how to deal with this.” Beef steps up beside Demon, delivering a scowl in my direction. “Christ, what a fuckin’ mess.”

  Is he talking about me? Startled, I realise I’m a blubbering disaster at the moment. I scramble in my pocket to find a tissue and blow my nose loudly.

  My brother could be injured, dying, or already dead. My lover could rot in jail. My mom’s life could be in danger if my brother told whoever’s got him the location of the rest of the drugs.

  This is too big for me to handle. There’s only one thing to do, even though Demon had told me not to. I straighten my back. “I’m going to the cops. I’ll tell them everything. At the very least I’ll get Ink out of jail. I’ll go now.”

  “No, you won’t,” Demon announces equally firmly. “You’re staying here. Where we can keep an eye on you.”

  “Demon, it’s the right thing to do. I need to take responsibility for any decision I’ve made. The cops may let me off, I didn’t think I had a choice…”

  “You think that would clear you? Christ, woman, I’ve already told you. You were an accomplice at the very least. In their view, as soon as you found the drugs you should have turned them in. I doubt they’ll accept any excuse.”

  “So, I get arrested. I’ll do the time.” It might kill me. I’ve never been enamoured by the thought of being locked up. I shudder as I recall what I’ve heard about going inside, but I can’t let an innocent man suffer for actions I’d taken. Why Ink? Why? What had made him decide to do what he’d done when he must have known what was likely to happen when he took that bag from me? “It’s the only way, Demon. I’ll give myself up. Admit it was me and that Ink knew nothing—”