SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (36 page)

ten.

When Gaige left the bedroom, he
found Blaine on a bench with the blonde between his legs and the brunette on
the floor, ass up, naked. The blonde was on her knees, her head to side, her
hair sprawled out making it look like Blaine had a messy thatch of pubic hair.
Blaine
’
s pants were down to
his ankles and he snored like a fucking motorcycle engine.

“
Wake
up!
”
Gaige bellowed and
kicked the bench.

The blonde popped up and looked
around. When she did, Blaine became stiff as a board. The blonde quickly
grabbed Blaine and started to stroke him. Blaine groaned and smiled.

“
Fuck
no,
”
Gaige said. He touched
the blonde
’
s shoulder.
“
Sweetheart, the party
’
s over.
”

Blaine opened his eyes.
“
No it
’
s fucking not.
”

“
Yes
it is,
”
Gaige said. He
looked at the blonde.
“
Get
your fucking friend and move along for now.
”

The blonde woke up the brunette and
they scurried away.

Gaige looked at Blaine and shook
his head.

“
What,
bro?
”
Blaine asked.
“
Look at me. I
’
m rock hard here. You gonna take
care of this?
”

Gaige lifted his foot and Blaine
hurried to sit up.

“
That
’
s what I thought,
”
Gaige said.
“
Come on, we have to move. I
’
m taking Emily to work and then
we need to start some recon. I want to find these Eight Under pricks and end
this. I
’
m not letting this
linger for weeks.
”

“
Okay,
bro, okay,
”
Blaine said. He
pointed to his erection.
“
Can
I at least get a minute here?
”

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige said.
“
Make sure you wash your hands.
”

Gaige walked through the clubhouse,
and found nothing out of the ordinary. The wannabe members were behind the bar,
stocking it and cooking breakfast for the members. There were guys asleep at
the bar and on the pool table. Women were everywhere.

“
Need
something?
”
one of the guys
behind the bar asked.

“
I
’
ll be back out. Get food for
three.
”

Gaige went back to his room and
found Emily in the bathroom dressing in her clothes from the day before.

“
I
can take you to your place,
”
Gaige said.

“
No,
I
’
m okay,
”
Emily said.
“
I
’
m
not working long today. Just two meetings.
”

Gaige reached for her.
“
Come close, beautiful.
”

Emily looked at him, then moved her
eyes away.

“
I
know what you do,
”
Gaige
whispered.
“
I know the
building. I know the business. Are you hired help or paid to fuck?
”

“
Is
that your business?
”
Emily
asked.

Gaige lifted Emily to the sink and
looked at her.
“
It is my
fucking business. If you
’
re
going to be out running around with horny businessmen, I
’
m going to need to get some protection for you. Can
’
t have anyone else getting shot.
If you stay put inside then I
’
m
not so worried.
”

“
You
’
re worried about me?
”

Gaige touched her chin and smiled.
“
I can
’
t imagine that pussy being passed around. I want it
all for myself. So
…
do I
owe you for last night, beautiful?
”

“
No,
”
Emily said.
“
I work between the two parties.
I
’
m in the office and that
’
s it. It
’
s easy money because I
’
m good at it.
”

“
I
can live with that,
”
Gaige
said.
“
Come on, there
’
s breakfast waiting.
”

As they ate, Blaine came walking
out, holding himself. He looked uncomfortable.

“
Get
that taken care of?
”
Gaige
asked.

“
Fuck
yeah,
”
Blaine said.
“
But it came back.
”

“
What
came back?
”
Emily asked.

“
My
hard on. I can
’
t get rid of
it. I think one of those whores slipped me a pill or some shit.
”
Blaine smiled.
“
I should find out what it is
…”

“
Hurry
up and eat,
”
Gaige waved
him off.

They ate and left the clubhouse.
Gaige gave Emily his helmet and then they were off. The motorcycle roaring, the
road flying by, and Gaige with the chance to think as he rode. He thought about
all the places to check for Eight Under. They could just go down and bust into
their shithole clubhouse but that could end up starting a bullet for bullet
war. As much as Back Down Devil MC controlled the town of Frelen, they didn
’
t want to bring blood and
violence right onto the main streets.

The situation needed to be handled
carefully
…
and as painful
as honesty came, it didn
’
t
make it any easier to have Emily involved. She was an outsider and maybe that
’
s where she should have stayed.
But when Gaige licked his lips, he still tasted her. He wanted her. And goddammit,
he needed her.

At the edge of town, there was a
long, plain building. No logos. The parking lot was empty, telling Gaige that
there was a second parking lot in the back. There was a clearing behind the
building, a genius move because it probably meant rich men were able to drop
their helicopters down and pick up their
dates
. Money and sex. What else
mattered in life?

Gaige stopped the motorcycle and
climbed off. Emily handed him the helmet and he grabbed her wrist.
“
Want me to walk you in?
”

“
No,
”
Emily said.
“
There are no problems here.
”

“
I
want to go in,
”
Blaine
said.

“
You
’
d go broke,
”
Emily said.

Gaige laughed.
“
Plus, these women don
’
t do what Blaine wants.
”

“
Ah,
fuck you two then,
”
Blaine
said. He peeled around and took off back down the road.

“
I
have to go,
”
Gaige said.
“
Give me your phone.
”
Emily listened and Gaige
programmed his number into it.
“
You
call me if you need anything. I
’
ll
be right here when you
’
re
done. Give me a heads up on your hours. If anything feels off, you fucking call
me. Got it?
”

“
What
would
…”

“
Fuck,
beautiful,
”
Gaige growled.
“
You saw what you saw yesterday,
okay? No fucking around.
”

“
Okay.
I won
’
t. I
’
ll text you.
”

“
Now
fucking kiss me.
”

Emily fell into him and he groaned
as he kissed her, wishing he could just make a team of guys deal with the Eight
Under problem. Then he could take Emily back to his bed and have her all day.

Gaige gently pushed Emily away and
nodded to the building. He waited until she was inside before getting back on
his motorcycle and leaving. He shook his head. It was clear, Emily was going to
probably cause more harm than good
…
but in the end, she
’
d be
worth it all.

eleven.

Gaige turned into the compound and
saw the police cruiser. His grip on the handlebars increased and he curled his
lip. He fucking hated dealing with the local police. They were such dicks with
everything, never understanding what Back Down Devil MC did or what it meant to
the town. The badge governed the police under a much different set of laws than
the MC.

There was balance between the two,
but it was a very loose and unstable balance.

Gaige slowed as he passed by the
cruiser. He saw the chief sitting behind the wheel. Barely closing in on forty.
He was tough and generally a complete asshole to the MC, but the last year they
began to find common grounds. It was simple
…
as long as Back Down Devil didn
’
t
warrant the attention, the chief wouldn
’
t
give it to them.

Gaige parked his motorcycle and by
the time he got off his bike, Blaine was walking toward him, obviously pissed
off.

“
What
the fuck is this about?
”
Blaine asked.

“
What
do you think? Shooting. Bodies. A dead girl. Your fingerprints all over the
dead girl.
”

“
Ah,
fuck,
”
Blaine said.

“
Call
Miller,
”
Gaige said.
“
Get him here and then stay
inside.
”

“
Okay,
bro,
”
Blaine said.

Gaige took off his helmet and
rubbed his face. He looked around to make sure there wasn
’
t some kind of sting going on.
There wasn
’
t. There was no
need for it. The business Miller ran was completely clean. The guys who handled
the legitimate business had nothing to do with the MC and never would. Miller
never mixed business and pleasure. The business money was legit. The MC money
stayed within the MC.

Walking to the cruiser, Gaige
smiled. He reached into his leather cut for a smoke knowing he
’
d get the chief
’
s attention damn fast.

The chief threw open his door and
jumped out, drawing his gun.

“
Put
your fucking hands up,
”
he
bellowed.

“
Jerry,
”
Gaige laughed. He showed the
pack of cigarettes.
“
Just
having a smoke.
”

Jerry lowered his gun and tucked it
away.
“
Fucking prick.
”

“
Aren
’
t we all?
”
Gaige asked.

“
I
have some questions,
”
Jerry
said as he slammed the cruiser door.

“
You
know we generally don
’
t
have answers,
”
Gaige said.
“
We try to keep to ourselves. It
’
s a MC thing, you wouldn
’
t get it. We don
’
t snoop into everyone
’
s business.
”

“
Yeah,
where
’
s your boss?
”

“
I
don
’
t have a boss,
”
Gaige said.
“
I only ever had one boss
actually. My first job when I was sixteen. Stocked shelves over at Arnie
’
s. The old man
’
s kid told me I needed a haircut
so I put a box cutter to this throat.
”

“
Take
it you were fired?
”

“
Well,
I didn
’
t get employee of
the month that month,
”
Gaige said. He pulled out a smoke and lit it. He offered the pack to Jerry.

“
No,
”
the chief said.
“
I quit after Anne got pregnant.
”

“
Oh,
that
’
s right. Big daddy Jerry.
Come on, man, have a smoke. She
’
ll
never know. Has to be hard at night with a newborn. And a miserable wife.
”

Jerry clamped his hand over Gaige
’
s. The chief had a fierce grip.
He ripped the pack of smokes from Gaige, took one out, and put it between his
lips. Gaige tossed his metal lighter to the chief. He lit the cigarette and
took a deep drag.

“
Damn,
”
Jerry whispered.

“
Good
stuff, I know,
”
Gaige said.

Jerry leaned against his cruiser
while Gaige stood with a defiant stance.

In the distance Gaige heard the
rumble of Miller
’
s
motorcycle.

“
Anything
you want to tell me about yesterday?
”
Jerry asked.

“
What
was yesterday?
”

“
Don
’
t piss on my boots,
”
Jerry said.

Gaige gripped between his legs.
“
I don
’
t have to piss.
”

Miller
’
s bike came barreling into the compound. He sped up
and blew by the chief and Gaige. He backed his motorcycle in and then took a
slow walk toward them. He was smiling and once close enough, he offered a hand
to Jerry.

“
Just
wanted to say congrats,
”
Miller said.

Jerry took his hand and they stared
each other down.

“
I
’
m not here to celebrate,
”
Jerry said.

“
Well,
life is worth celebrating,
”
Miller said.
“
We wanted to
give you something.
”

Miller reached into his pocket. The
chief reached for his gun again and Gaige put a hand to the chief
’
s wrist.

“
You
fucking touch me like that again and I
’
ll
shoot you,
”
Jerry warned.

“
We
’
re not going to hurt you,
”
Miller said. He looked at
Gaige.
“
That
’
s the fatherly instincts kicking
in.
”

Miller pulled out a long jewelry
box and handed it to Jerry.

“
What
’
s this?
”
Jerry asked.

“
To
celebrate life,
”
Miller
said.
“
From all of us here.
Congrats on your baby.
”

Jerry tapped the jewelry box
against his hand.
“
Speaking
of life
…
anything you would
know about the shooting at the junkyard yesterday? All the way down near
Riverside?
”

Miller shook his head.
“
Shooting?
”

“
Don
’
t,
”
Jerry said.
“
We found a
young woman in a car. Shot several times in her back.
”

“
Drive
by?
”
Miller asked.

“
Hardly,
”
Jerry said.
“
She was in an alley. And
according to the ME she was put in the car after the shooting. Bullets hit her
from a distance too. Doesn
’
t
make sense either, considering who she is
…
well, was.
”

“
And
who was that?
”
Gaige asked.

Jerry smiled.
“
Rachel Strokner.
”

“
Don
’
t know the name,
”
Gaige said.

“
Rachel
is the daughter of Bob Strokner
…”

“
The
real estate guy,
”
Miller
said.
“
Shit.
”

“
Worried?
”
Jerry asked.

Miller smiled.
“
Not at all.
”

“
Well,
let me be clear about this,
”
Jerry said. He took one last large drag of his cigarette and tossed it to the
pavement, scattering embers.
“
I
know that girl probably has some kind of tie to the MC here. How? I don
’
t know and I don
’
t give a shit. The junkyard hasn
’
t been fully investigated yet,
but I
’
m sure that will come
in time. I haven
’
t visited
Mr. Strokner yet. He
’
s
flying in from Seattle on a private jet as we speak. When he lands, I
’
m sure he
’
s going to want answers about the death of his
daughter.
”

“
I
’
m sure you
’
ll point him right to us.
”
Gaige asked.

“
Now,
why would I do that?
”
Jerry
asked.
“
Unless you have
something to confess to me right now.
”

Miller took a step forward.
“
Thanks for the information. I
’
m sorry we can
’
t help you. It
’
s a damn shame when other people
start pulling triggers without knowing their targets, isn
’
t it?
”

“
I
take it those bullets were meant for
…”
Jerry looked at Gaige.
“
Maybe
for you?
”

“
Bullshit,
”
Gaige said.
“
Sorry to hear about a wasted
life.
”

“
Now
if I could just do my goddamn job,
”
Jerry growled.

“
You
can,
”
Miller said.
“
Investigate. Do what you need to
do. I can promise you that we didn
’
t
shoot her. You can come take a look around here if you want.
”

Jerry shook his head.
“
I
’
ll
be back if I need anything else. Just a courtesy heads up. Money talks more
than the badge, Miller. You know that. If Strokner starts talking backdoor
offerings, there
’
s not much
I can do.
”

“
You
just focus on your beautiful wife and baby,
”
Miller said.
“
Make sure you
give her that gift.
”

Jerry looked at the box in his
hand. He slowly opened it. He took out a bracelet and held it up. It was a
charm bracelet. There was a bottle and a blue
‘
B
’
.

“
Thanks,
”
Jerry said.
“
I
’
m
sure she
’
ll love it.
”

Gaige pointed to the pack of
cigarettes on the hood of the cruiser.
“
Take
those, too. Just don
’
t get
caught with them.
”

Gaige and Miller turned and walked
away, shoulder to shoulder.

“
Strokner
a big deal?
”
Gaige asked.

“
Big
fucking deal,
”
Miller said.

“
Should
we be worried?
”

“
When
aren
’
t we worried?
”

Gaige stopped and Miller kept
walking. Gaige looked over his shoulder and saw Jerry lighting another
cigarette.

Everyone has a vice
…
and most were deadly.