RIDING DARKNESS (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novella) (2 page)

three.

Ares opened his eyes and scrambled
to his feet. He threw his arms out and expected to be back in his bed. To find
a woman next to him. To pull her close, whisper something in her ear to make
her think he cared, and then fuck her.

But that wasn
’
t the case at all. Ares took a
step forward and almost went down again. He quickly balanced himself, his head
throbbing. He touched his chest and stomach, looking for a bullet hole.

They hadn
’
t shot him.

“
Stupid
fuckers,
”
Ares growled.

He touched the side of his head and
saw blood on his fingertips. He looked around, figuring out his surroundings,
and realized that the assholes who attacked him simply dragged him to the side
of his apartment building and left him there.

They didn
’
t tie him up.

They didn
’
t kill him.

They didn
’
t take him somewhere to confuse him.

Whoever the hell did this were
complete idiots.

Ares growled again and walked,
keeping one hand against the building. He then pushed from the building and ran
to the parking lot. At the very least, he expected to find his motorcycle
trashed.

He found the ride on its side, but
the tires weren
’
t flat and
the chrome wasn
’
t busted to
shit. The leather case on the back was opened and torn apart. Someone had been 
looking for something.

Ares grabbed his motorcycle and
lifted it back up. He looked left to right. Was it someone from the old crew
trying to dig up dirt? That didn
’
t
make sense. Ares took nothing with him when he was stripped of his patches. He
left with blood on his face and a black leather cut. Nothing more.

Climbing on the ride, Ares started
it. The beast roared to life without hesitation. He looked behind him at the
leather pack and wondered who would be checking into his shit. He had nothing
to hide. Hell, he had nothing to offer. Unless something bigger was brewing
with Back Down Devil.

Ares walked the ride backward and
then looked and saw something on the pavement. There were tracks. Fresh rubber
markings in the parking lot. There were three tracks. Two side by side and one
in front.

“
Shit,
”
Ares whispered.

Someone from Back Down Devil must
have come by and surprised the two assholes who attacked him. Then they all
took off. That left two on one.

Ares throttled the ride and added a
fourth rubber mark in the parking lot.

He sped off and cut through the
back roads until he hit the main strip in Frelen. The only thing he could do
was work toward the clubhouse. The logical thing to do when in trouble was get
to the clubhouse. There were men, weapons, and protection there. If an enemy
was dumb enough to chase one of the guys into the compound, they would be lit
up with bullets.

Flying down the road, Ares started
to cut in and out of traffic. He dodged cars like it was a video game. But this
was no damn game. His hands were tight on the handlebars, knowing that all it
took was one wrong split second decision to crash into a car or drop the
motorcycle.

Running two red lights left Ares
feeling alive.

He spotted a police cruiser a block
up the road. The lights were flashing and a car was turned sideways. Ares
pulled up to the intersection and when the police officer saw him, he pointed
and then motioned to the side of the road. The person in the car looked scared
to death. There was a dent in the passenger door.

That was all Ares needed to see. He
throttled his ride again and cut to the left, the back tire squealing. He flew
down the next street and when he made the next right, he spotted the rides. Two
motorcycles chasing one. And that one had a large Back Down Devil patch on the
back.

Ares rode as hard as the motorcycle
would allow it. He gained speed and then ground. The three motorcycles in front
of him cut down road after road, sometimes going into traffic, sometimes taking
narrow back alleys. They were risky moves to make and only someone who really
knew Frelen could know the alleys and dare to take them.

As Ares got closer, he saw the guy
on the one motorcycle look back.

It was Miller.

Fucking Miller
…
the President of Back
Down Devil MC.

That
’
s
who was being chased down. And there was no other guys in sight. The two men
chasing Miller had black leather cuts with nothing on the back. They were
prospects for a rival club. And they were chasing down the President of Back
Down Devil.

This was insane.

This was deadly.

Ares knew it was his job to protect
Miller. Even if it cost Ares his life, he needed to make sure that the
President made it to the head of the table alive and well.

Ares kept at it hard, following the
lead of Miller versus the movements of the asshole prospects in front of him.
He managed to gain more ground, narrowly missing a few large dumpsters and
almost hitting a few brick walls.

Miller cut down another alley and
Ares knew this was his chance to do something.  He throttled harder than ever.
He gritted his teeth. The motorcycle bellowed and inched more and more. Slowly,
Ares started to get between the two prospects. The two men looked at him and
Ares remembered the one with the gun. That was the asshole who hit him.

Paybacks were a motherfucker and
Ares intended to make these guys pay.

He cut to the right and hit the
back wheel of one of the motorcycles. It quickly cut left to right, left to
right. The motorcycle then went right, crashing into the back of a building.
The motorcycle twisted in wicked metal carnage and the rider went into the air.
The guy hit the ground and Ares ran over him without thinking twice. The other
rider looked back and started to lose control of his ride. He managed to save
it just in time to pull out a gun.

“
Fuck,
”
Ares yelled.

He couldn
’
t risk having a shot get fired at Miller.

Ares reached for his own weapon and
pointed it, waiting for the right angle to shoot. If by some chance he missed
or the asshole moved, the bullet could hit Miller.

When Miller cut to the right, it
gave the small window Ares needed. He took his shot, hitting the prospect in
the head. The guy was off the motorcycle before it twisted and turned, slamming
into a dumpster and flipping up and over before crashing to the ground with a
thundering boom of chrome on pavement.

Ares slammed his brakes and cut to
the right, spinning himself around. He needed to see if the other guy was dead.
He moved down the alley and saw the heap of man on the ground. Next to him
Miller caught up and grabbed at Ares arm. He nodded.

“
Stop,
”
Ares yelled.

They both slowed.

“
Fuck,
”
Miller said.

“
Stay
here,
”
Ares said.
“
He might still be alive.
”

“
I
’
ll get it, Ares.
”

“
No.
I
’
ll protect you, Miller.
That
’
s my job.
”

Miller closed his mouth and nodded.

Ares crept toward the man and saw
him slowly moving. His hands were shaking, his face bloody. He looked up at
Ares and started to cry.

“
It
wasn
’
t my idea,
”
the guy whispered in a pain
filled voice.
“
I didn
’
t want to.
”

“
But
you did,
”
Ares said.
“
Now you pay.
”

Ares pointed his gun and pulled the
trigger once.

The scene was done.

He turned and looked at Miller.

There was once a time when Ares saw
himself sitting at the head of a table. Fuck, maybe there was even a time when
he had the chance to be an enemy to Miller and Back Down Devil.

Time and fate changed all that.
Time and fate
…

“
Motherfuckers,
”
Ares whispered.

He looked back and pointed the gun.

He unloaded the clip into the body
on the ground.

four.

“
Get
over here!
”

Ares looked up from his beer and
saw Miller waving him to a pool table. He saw Miller at one end, Nate at the
other. There was Gaige and Griffin on side. Blaine and Erik on the other.

“
I
’
m not saying it again!
”
Miller called out.

“
Get
to it,
prospect
,
”
a
voice said next to Ares.

It was Jace, nursing a beer and a
shot. His eyes were dark and cold.

Ares stood from the bar and walked
to the pool table. Miller grabbed a shot glass and handed it to him.

“
Come
on,
”
Miller said.
“
We honor you right now, brother.
For what you did today.
”

“
What
did I do today?
”
Ares
asked.

“
You
saved Miller,
”
Gaige said.

“
You
know how much pussy you
’
ll
get for this?
”
Blaine
asked.
“
Christ, man, it
’
s going to be raining sweet
delicious juice all over you
…”

“
Blaine,
”
Nate said.
“
Shut up.
”

“
I
don
’
t get what the fuck
happened,
”
Ares said.

Miller laughed.
“
We took a vote, Ares. We decided
to give you a little more work around here to get patched in. I was coming to
your place to talk about something I wanted done. I got there and two prospects
from Eight Under were there. I scared the fuck out of them.
”

“
Why
were they there for me?
”
Ares asked.

“
You
had a bitch in your bed,
”
Blaine said.
“
She was
spoken for.
”

“
What?
”

“
Whoever
you had in your bed,
”
Miller said,
“
was with the
guy you popped in the head.
”

“
Christ,
”
Ares said.
“
I
’
m
sorry. Fuck.
”

“
No,
”
Gaige said.
“
You did right by it all. You
fucking chased down those guys and saved Miller. That takes balls.
”

“
That
takes skill,
”
Griffin said.

“
That
’
s the shit we want at the table,
”
Nate said.

Blaine punched Ares in the arm.
“
Look at you, going balls deep in
some trash bag from Eight Under. Was she tight? Did she bleed? I bet she did,
man. Those Eight Under
…
their cocks are so tiny, you know?
”

“
How
do you know they have tiny cocks?
”
Ares asked.

“
Don
’
t ask,
”
Gaige said.
“
He
’
s obsessed
…”

“
I
know everything about cocks,
”
Blaine said.
“
Trust me. I
fuck enough pussy to know
…”

“
That
’
s enough,
”
Miller said.
“
We
’
re all raising our glasses to
Ares. For being one tough motherfucker. And for being patched in
…
to Back Down Devil MC.
”

Everyone put their shot glasses in
the middle of the pool table.

Ares didn
’
t.

“
No,
”
Ares said.
“
I don
’
t want it.
”

“
What
the fuck are you talking about?
”
Gaige asked.
“
We
’
re patching you in, bro. You
’
re one of us now. We want to get
you to the table someday, too.
”

“
I
don
’
t need that,
”
Ares said.
“
Been there and it didn
’
t end well.
”

“
Come
on,
”
Griffin said.
“
We all know the situation
…”

“
You
get a lot more action with the patch on your back,
”
Blaine said.
“
You
get to fucking command them. All of them. Whatever you want. They have to
listen
…”

“
No,
”
Ares said.
“
I don
’
t want the patch. I
’
ll
take the shot though.
”

“
Why
not?
”
Miller asked.

“
You
wanted me to do something else. I
’
ll
do it.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige said.
“
It
’
s
a shit job.
”

“
I
want it.
”

Miller looked around and said,
“
Everyone fuck off except Gaige.
”

When it was just Miller, Gaige, and
Ares, Miller spoke again.
“
I
don
’
t get you, Ares.
”

“
Neither
do I,
”
Ares said.

“
This
is a deadly job,
”
Gaige
said.
“
Underground
gambling.
”

“
Perfect,
”
Ares said.
“
What do I do?
”

Miller put a hand to Ares shoulder.
“
You can be mad at yourself
for the rest of your fucking life. Most of us in this club are. We
’
re all scarred men. We
’
re all full of writhing demons.
But you put yourself on the line for me today. That means you put yourself on
the line for Back Down Devil.
”

“
And
I
’
ll do it again,
”
Ares said.

“
Christ,
”
Gaige said.
“
You
’
re fucking insane.
”

“
Perfect
then. What do I do next?
”

“
There
’
s an underground gambling thing,
”
Miller said.
“
Some of the Eight Under will be
there. Some of the Coast Road, too. I wanted to send in a few prospects just to
show face. To show that we know and we
’
re
there. I figured it
’
ll get
a little rowdy and broken up. The last thing this town needs is drugs or that
kind of bullshit gambling. We control what happens in this town.
”

“
Then
I
’
ll be there,
”
Ares said.

“
Christ,
man, do you have a death wish?
”

“
Who
doesn
’
t?
”

Miller sighed and shook his head.
“
Take a drink. Then I
’
ll give you the information.
”

*

Brooke pulled at the tight dress.
She looked to the bag on the floor and wished she could just change and feel
normal. Feel like she could just blend in with the rest of the world and
disappear. But she needed the image right now. The image to distract and the
image to give Armen whatever he needed to take a ton of money from whoever
showed up to this thing.

A knock came at the door.
“
Brooke, it
’
s time.
”

That was one of the other women.
Her name was Amber or Ashley or something. Brooke didn
’
t bother to remember because it didn
’
t matter. The women were hired
for the night thinking they were serving drinks and flirty glances in exchange
for some tips and cash from Armen. They
’
d
also have the chance to enjoy the night with one of the bikers, hoping to score
even more.

It was all a sham.

Brooke taught herself to be numb to
it all. She couldn
’
t care
or get involved. The goal was to escape and get closer to the truth. Armen said
they were coming
. Brooke wasn
’
t
sure who
they
were, but she kept in her heart that
they
were the
ones who killed her parents. Because whoever did it
…
they
deserved to die.

Brooke opened the door and was met
with three women taller than her with a lot more makeup on their faces.

“
Holy
hell. Look at you, Brooke.
”

“
What?
Is something wrong?
”

“
You
’
re fucking beautiful, girl. I
mean
…
are those tits real?
”

“
They
’
re real,
”
one of other said.
“
They
look natural. Heavy. Full.
”

“
They
’
re real,
”
Brooke said.

“
See
…
these are fake
…”
The woman pulled her dress
down, exposing her breasts.
“
See
mine? They
’
re firm. Perfect
in every way possible.
”

Brooke looked down to her cleavage
line. Her breasts were big. Nothing wrong with that, right?

“
I
think Brooke
’
s are nicer.
”

“
Well,
fuck you both,
”
the woman
said as she tucked her breasts back into her dress.
“
They look good now, but just wait. Time and nature
is a bitch. You
’
ll be saggy
and floppy
…
and mine will
still be perfect.
”

Brooke had nothing to say. She wasn
’
t here to make friends or
enemies.

Another door opened and Armen stood
there wearing an expensive suit.
“
Ladies,
follow me. It
’
s time to
work.
”

One by one, they all walked out of
the room. Armen stepped in front of Brooke and blocked her path.

“
You
look amazing, Brooke,
”
Armen said.
“
You
’
re going to turn some heads
tonight.
”

“
That
’
s the plan, right?
”

“
Exactly.
Do you have your gun?
”

“
Shit.
It
’
s in my bag.
”

“
Go
get it. Carry it.
”

Brooke ran her hands down her tight
dress.
“
Where am I supposed
to hide it? This dress is way too tight, Armen.
”

“
I
can think of two places to hide the gun,
”
Armen said. He grinned and then laughed. His breath stunk of booze already.
“
You have one minute to get out
there.
”

Brooke rushed back to the bathroom
and grabbed her bag. She carried it to the front of the room and left it at the
door. She took the gun out and considered what to do with it. She had a garter
on her leg, something Armen requested. It seemed dumb, but now it had a
purpose. Brooke hid the gun on the inside of her right leg, tucked in the
garter. Sure, it was uncomfortable, but it worked. It hid the gun the best she
could without sticking it somewhere Armen had casually suggested.

Brooke shivered and left the room.

She heard voices yelling already.
Her instinct was to grab the gun and start shooting.

“
Hold
on, hold on,
”
Armen
’
s voice called out.
“
There
’
s always room. Plenty of room. Come on, gentlemen.
”

Brooke slowly turned the corner
that led to the open floor. It was an old warehouse and Brooke had no idea how
Armen managed to secure the place and make this illegal thing happen without
the police knowing. Those were details Brooke never was allowed to know about.
Her brother made it very clear that her best assets were kept tucked in a bra.
Everything else was up to him to figure out.

Trying to keep hidden, Brooke
considered reaching for the gun. But then she stopped dead in her tracks. There
were a couple tables set up. Men in suits. Men in leather. Men who didn
’
t seem to match but were all
there for the same purpose. Then there was another group. Just three guys. And
the guy talking to Armen easily took Brooke
’
s
breath away.

“
Here,
let me help you,
”
Armen
said. He looked back and snapped his fingers.
“
Brooke!
Come here!
”

Brooke cleared her throat and
stepped forward. All eyes were instantly on her. But it wasn
’
t
all eyes
that got to
her, it was
his eyes
that got to her. Tall, thick, scruff on his face,
and the dirtiest looking set of brown eyes she
’
d
ever seen on another man, Brooke felt her heart pounding in her chest.