SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (38 page)

“
Oh,
no
…
what happened?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Emily said.
“
Just nothing.
”

“
You
don
’
t have to lie to me.
”

Emily looked at Janine. Maybe it
would do good to get some truth off her chest.
“
My
best friend was murdered yesterday. That was her father who came to see me.
”

Janine rushed to Emily and hugged
her. Emily lost it again. She cried, finally able to really let it out. She was
hugging someone who was, more than anything else, a stranger. Yet it felt good
to be hugged like this. To be able to cry.

“
I
’
m so sorry, Emily,
”
Janine said.
“
You should go home. You shouldn
’
t be here like this. Do you have
someone to call?
”

Emily nodded.
“
I do.
”

“
Good.
”

Janine looked at Emily and handed
her a paper towel to wipe her eyes. Emily took a deep breath. She washed her
face, again, and took out her cell. She sent a text to Gaige to come get her.

“
Okay,
are you good now?
”
Janine
asked.

“
Yeah,
I think so. Why?
”

“
There
’
s a client out there looking for
you. He
’
s here to pick up
Belle. But he wants to see you first thank you for setting up his meeting.
”

Emily took a breath and nodded.
“
Okay. That
’
s fine.
”

“
Are
you sure? I could go lie to him
…”

“
No.
I don
’
t want to hurt
business.
”
Emily wiped her
face.
“
I can do this. It
’
s okay.
”

“
Let
me take you home,
”
Janine
offered.
“
We
’
ll sneak out the back. I
’
ll use my lunch break. Okay?
”

“
Thank
you but I don
’
t need that.
”

Emily sucked in a breath. She left
the bathroom and went to her desk. When Janine walked by, she nodded. Emily
then went back to work, waiting for the client. There was a need of discretion
and secrecy to make the business work and to keep clients happy. Quite often,
these were married men who wanted something on the side. It also meant leaving
a lot of moral and ethic beliefs at the door.

As Emily worked, she heard Janine
direct the client to her desk. When she heard the words,
“
Thank you, love
”
, Emily froze. She sat
straight up and watched as the client walked toward her desk. She blinked a few
times, waiting for the image to change. But it didn
’
t change.

He
was here.

“
Emily,
look at you.
”

Emily was so cold she started to
shiver.

“
Speechless,
I
’
m sure.
”

Belle came walking from the back,
her long legs strutting to perfection. He looked at her and took Belle
’
s hand.

“
As
beautiful as I thought,
”
he
whispered.
“
Let
’
s get out of here, love.
”

Emily slowly stood, her mouth dry.

He looked at her and smiled.
“
Don
’
t worry, this is just for fun. Just to take the
edge off. I
’
ll be back
…
for you. For what you took.
”

He winked and walked out of the
office.

Emily grabbed her bag and her cell.
She hadn
’
t blinked yet even
though her mind was screaming at her.

He was here
…
Max found her
…

And Emily hadn
’
t forgotten his last promise to
her years ago.

“
I
’
ll find you and I
’
ll fucking kill you.
”

thirteen.

Gaige got the text while sitting on
a pool table next to Nate. They were sharing a joint because Gaige needed to
really clear his mind. They had run recon on Eight Under, going toward the
junkyard but not getting too close. They were officially in hiding, which was
expected for the moment. Being the pussies they were, they
’
d hide for a day or two,
celebrate their little victory in ambushing a fight, but soon they would need
their fix for money, pussy, and drugs. That
’
s
when Back Down Devil would be waiting.

Within minutes Gaige was on his
motorcycle speeding toward the building. He couldn't wait to get Emily back in
his arms. She was still in a state of shock, even if she wouldn
’
t admit it. Gaige knew the
feeling Emily had rolling through her body. She needed to toughen up though and
realize death was at everyone
’
s
door.

Thinking about death made Gaige
ride faster. He lived as though death was chasing him and all he could do was
use the two wheels and throttle to keep ahead of it.

As he turned up the road to get to
the escort service, a black car came flying in his direction. Gaige cut to the
side and threw the middle finger at the driver. The car sped right out onto the
main street without looking. The tires squealed and then the car was gone. It
gave Gaige an uneasy feeling.

Before he could think another
thought, he saw Emily standing outside, hugging herself, tears streaming down
her cheeks. Gaige looked back, knowing that black car had something to do with
it.

He rushed to Emily and wrapped his
arms around her.
“
What
happened?
”

“
I
have
…
there
’
s
…”

Gaige held Emily while she cried.
He kissed the top of her head and kept his eyes moving. Just in case.

“
It
’
s okay, beautiful. I
’
m right here. I
’
m going to protect you.
”

“
Take
me away from here,
”
Emily
said.

“
Okay.
”

Gaige gave Emily his helmet and
they were off again. Back down the secret road and then back into town and to
the clubhouse. Gaige pulled to the side of the road near the clubhouse and
killed the engine.

“
Beautiful,
I need to know where you want to go,
”
Gaige said.

“
To
your room,
”
Emily said.
“
I can
’
t go to my apartment.
”

“
Fuck.
Are you in danger?
”

Emily
’
s
eyes filled with tears again.

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige said.

He started the bike and pulled into
the parking lot of the clubhouse. He felt Emily
’
s
head against his back. He didn
’
t
care; it wouldn
’
t be the
first time tears fell upon his leather.

Gaige stopped the motorcycle and
took Emily by the hand. He took her right where she wanted to go. Gaige opened
the door to his room and Emily rushed inside. She was hugging herself again.

“
You
’
re afraid,
”
Gaige said.
“
What the fuck happened at work
today?
”

“
Just
too much,
”
Emily said.

Gaige spun Emily around.
“
Talk to me. Fuck.
”

“
No.
I
’
m not going to hurt
anyone else. It
’
s bad
enough Rachel is dead.
”

“
That
wasn
’
t your fault.
”

“
I
should have forced her to stay home. Her father came to see me.
”

“
Wait
a second,
”
Gaige said.
“
Her father? Bob Strokner?
”

“
How
did you
…”

“
Oh
fuck,
”
Gaige whispered. He
backed away and ran a hand through his hair.
“
Police
were here today. Questioning us. Gave us a friendly tip that Strokner would be
coming to town. That he would investigate
…”

“
He
’
s here,
”
Emily said.
“
He
knows everything.
”

“
What
did you tell him?
”

“
Nothing,
I swear.
”

“
Good.
”

“
But
he
’
s smart. He
’
ll figure it out. He
’
ll know I lied. What if
…
I have to go.
”

Emily took one step and Gaige was
there to stop her.

“
Like
fuck you
’
ll go. You
’
re staying.
”

“
No.
You can
’
t tell me what to
do.
”

“
You
gave that up last night. I warned you.
”

Gaige wasn
’
t afraid of Emily. Her eyes were deep and full of
pain. She could try to act tough and angry, but it didn
’
t mean shit to him. When Emily slapped him across
the face, Gaige didn
’
t
move. When she attacked his chest with punches, he accepted them all.

Over and over, groaning as she
attacked him, Gaige waited as long as he could. When she slapped him a second
time, Gaige lifted Emily by the waist and tossed her to the bed. She cried out
and bounced, then fought her way off the bed. She lunged at the door but Gaige
was quicker. His arms wrapped around Emily and he lifted her. She kicked but he
wasn
’
t letting her go.

“
You
’
re not leaving,
”
Gaige said.
“
Not on my fucking watch. You
belong here. Tell me what else is going on.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Emily said.
“
I won
’
t hurt anyone else.
”

“
I
’
ll stand like this all fucking
day.
”

Emily came to a sudden stop. Her
body went limp. She began to cry. Gaige walked her to a chair and sat her down.

“
Are
you done now?
”
he asked.

She looked at him.
“
I didn
’
t mean to hit you.
”

“
What
else happened?
”

“
I
’
m hiding, Gaige,
”
Emily said.

“
Hiding?
What the fuck does that mean?
”

“
That
means there
’
s a reason why
I keep to myself. I
’
m
hiding from someone.
”

“
Who?
”

“
Someone
who found me today.
”

“
Enough
bullshit,
”
Gaige said.
“
Talk.
”

“
I
was involved with a guy in northern California. Five years ago. He was third in
line at the table.
”

“
You
were with another club?
”
Gaige asked.

“
I
was with someone in a club. I had no real idea of all that came with it. But it
was real. It was intense.
”

Gaige crouched down and touched
Emily
’
s waist.
“
Tell me everything right now.
”

“
He
got into drugs. It went against the club, but he didn
’
t care. He had other guys involved, too. The drugs
made money but the drugs he took made him into a monster.
”

“
He
fucking hurt you?
”

Emily looked down.

“
I
’
ll kill him,
”
Gaige said.
“
For you.
”

“
He
’
s a bad man,
”
Emily said.
“
One night when he came home I
told him I was pregnant, so he wouldn
’
t
hit me.
”

“
Pregnant?
”

“
I
wasn
’
t though,
”
Emily said.
“
But it hit a nerve with him. He
confessed to me he lost his mother, father, and baby brother in an accident when
he was a kid. I think he thought me being pregnant would replace his little
brother. I had to leave him though. I couldn
’
t
take it. So I told him one night to get really high and celebrate and he did.
When he passed out, I left. I went north and let him chase me. He threatened
me, over and over, telling me he would kidnap me, let me have his baby, and
then kill me. I pretended to slip up and made him believe I was going into
Canada. That
’
s when I took
a flight south to Los Angeles and then came here to Frelen.
”

“
Why
here?
”
Gaige asked.

“
Small,
quiet, and near a beach.
”

“
And
he fucking found you?
”

“
He
came into my office today.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige said.
“
Did he hurt you?
”

“
No,
but he has a woman.
”

“
Kidnapped?
”

“
Technically,
no,
”
Emily said.
“
He called me and I set him up
with the woman. Belle.
”

“
What
the fuck?
”

“
He
used a fake name, Gaige. This was all a setup. To scare me.
”

Gaige saw Emily
’
s lip quiver as tears came to
her eyes again.

Fuck, she was beyond petrified of
this asshole. That didn
’
t
sit well with Gaige. He wouldn
’
t
allow Emily to be in fear like this. Not because of some fucking guy.

“
What
did he say to you when he saw you?
”
Gaige asked.

Emily shook her head.

“
I
don
’
t play games,
”
Gaige said.
“
If you don
’
t tell me, I can
’
t help you. If you don
’
t want my fucking help, you know
where the door is. I
’
ll
have Blaine take you to your apartment.
”

Emily wiped her cheeks.

Gaige closed his eyes and sighed.
He wasn
’
t in the business
of wasting time. It was sometimes best to just spill words instead of waiting.

“
I
want to help you,
”
Gaige
whispered.
“
I want to
protect you. I never want to see you in fear like this ever again. But I can
’
t
…”

“
He
said he
’
s going to fucking
kill me,
”
Emily yelled.
“
Okay?
Fucking kill me
.
And he looked at me with those eyes
…
those same eyes when he used to hurt me.
”

Emily hurried to stand, kneeing
Gaige in the face. He fell back to his ass and Emily gasped. Gaige touched his
lip and looked at the blood on his finger. He licked his lip, tasting his own
blood.

“
You
better sit the fuck down, beautiful,
”
he said.

Emily started to sit, but Gaige
stopped her.

“
What?
”
she asked.

“
I
’
ll tell you when to sit,
”
he said.
“
First, you
’
re going to take your pants and
panties off.
”

“
I
’
m
…
what?
”

“
You
heard what I fucking said, beautiful. Now.
”

Gaige waited without much patience
and luckily for Emily, she was fast to listen. She opened her pants and slowly
pushed them down. She kicked off her shoes as Gaige gripped her waist to help
her balance. Then came her panties. Gaige smiled as Emily took them off. The
revealing of her tender pink skin was enough to make him forget about
everything outside his room. What the fuck did life matter if he had pussy like
this in front of him?

“
Sit,
”
Gaige ordered.

Emily sat down in the chair and
Gaige pushed open her legs. He ran his hands up her legs and allowed his thumbs
to touch her warm center. He made circles and added pressure right from the go.
Emily clamped her hands on the arms of the chair and started to thrust.

“
That
’
s a good girl,
”
Gaige whispered.
“
Give yourself to me.
”