RUTHLESS HOLD (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (13 page)

Trev stared at Miller.
“
I knew him better than you did,
Miller. This is all fucked. Something bad is going to happen.
”

“
We
already know that, Trev,
”
Gaige said.
“
Take is easy,
man. Okay? You
’
re running
with assumptions, which is exactly what you said you wouldn
’
t do.
”

“
Fair
enough,
”
Trev said.

He ripped through two more burgers
and another three beers as the rest of the guys lingered around the lot.

It was twilight when Landon came
over and said,
“
Prospects
are still alive.
”

“
I
know,
”
Trev said.

“
Thought
you were slated to take care of that.
”

“
I
am,
”
Trev said.
“
Got a problem?
”

“
They
’
re just hanging there. It
’
s kind of bad. Even for us.
”

“
Gives
them time to think about what they did,
”
Trev said.
“
Now leave me
the fuck alone.
”

Trev walked away and saw Gaige and
Miller at a different table, a map open.

They were discussing territory
rights, something that scared Trev. Debating cities and borders between
charters of the same MC was touchy to begin with. Add to that a little inner
beef and it was worse. If Chief Ethan got wind of it
…

Trev kept walking, eyeing up the
apartment. Prospects had taken food to Eden a while ago. She was fed,
sheltered, and safe. That
’
s
all Trev could offer her for right now until the rest of the bullshit started
to really show itself.

As Trev walked a line of junk cars,
he saw a lighter flicker with a flame. The lighter clicked shut and the cherry
of a cigarette glowed bright.

“
Brother,
”
Nate
’
s voice said.

“
What
are you doing back here?
”

“
Avoiding
the noise,
”
Nate said.
“
You know me.
”

“
Can
I talk to you about something?
”

“
Sure.
”

“
You
got your head bashed in once, left for dead. You were let down pretty bad by
some close people in this town. Hell, even the MC. You ever think Griffin was
…”

“
Never
once,
”
Nate said.
“
He was a fat pain in the ass,
but never a traitor.
”

“
He
was hitting Ripper
’
s old
lady.
”

“
So
what?
”

“
If
this goes bad, Nate
…”

“
It
always goes bad,
”
Nate
said.
“
That
’
s our life, Trev. You
’
ve seen enough dark shit to make
the reaper fear you. What are you worried about?
”

“
Eden.
She walked into a storm thinking she was finding the end of a rainbow.
”

“
That
’
s poetic. You should write that
down and sell it in a card or some shit.
”

“
You
’
re a real fucking prick
sometimes.
”

Nate put an arm and grabbed Trev
’
s shoulder.
“
Hey. If a war between charters
broke out, we
’
re the
charter, Trev.
The Charter.
No questions. Ripper is a fucking asshole. I
was kind of hoping Miller would start to address the other charters soon. Now
that it seemed Frelen was quiet, to me, it
’
s
time to think north.
”

“
Christ,
Nate. You want to patch over up in Daurian?
”

“
No.
Just put the right power in place. Then again, I
’
m
a fucking prick sometimes, right? I don
’
t
trust anyone.
”

“
Thanks
for the talk,
”
Trev said.

He went back to the apartment and
grabbed a fresh beer.

It was too quiet in the damn place.
For a second, he thought maybe Eden had gotten an escape.

When he opened the bedroom door, it
was almost like before. She was in the bed, asleep. This time she was tucked in
and rolled up in the covers. Trev looked at the ground and sure as hell, her
jeans were on the floor. He thought about her panties, her sweet pussy, the way
her mouth looked so full of his dick. It made him start to get hard.

Leaning against the wall, Trev
slowly dropped down to his ass. He then sat there, in the dark, and finished
his beer. He stared at the bed and tried to replay everything in his mind over
and over. He thought about killing those prospects, but he didn
’
t feel like leaving Eden.

Then he thought of something to
do with Eden tomorrow
…
to see how strong she really was in all this
…

__

eleven.

When Eden woke up she had a crazy
rush to her head. She sat up and felt like she had been hit by a truck. The sun
was shining outside the window and she tried to refuse the idea that she had
slept all night. It was the most sleep she
’
d
had in one night in a very long time.

She looked around the bedroom and
saw that it was empty.

Trev.

She had no clue where he had gone.
They had fooled around, he left, and he never came back. Eden had a feeling of
letdown squirming through her heart and stomach. She quickly fought it off,
reminding herself that she was dealing with a bunch of bikers. They weren
’
t going to be her friend. She
had to stay safe and then get the hell out of there. Eventually.

The door opened and Eden tensed
back.

“
Hey,
”
Trev said.
“
Good morning.
”

“
Morning,
”
Eden said.
“
I didn
’
t think you were here.
”

“
I
came back last night. You were passed out.
”

“
I
haven
’
t slept like that in
a long time.
”

“
Good.
Hope you
’
re rested. Want
coffee or something?
”

“
Coffee
is fine,
”
Eden said.

Trev left the room and Eden sat
there, still waking up a little. She hurried to try and fix her hair. Running
her fingers through the knots from sleeping, she couldn
’
t believe she was actually worried about her
appearance in front of Trev.

He came back into the room and gave
her coffee.

“
Prospects
brought us food,
”
he said.
“
Plenty out there before we get
moving.
”

“
Thank
you,
”
Eden said. She
glanced to the other side of the bed.
“
Trev
…”

“
What?
”

“
Where
did you sleep?
”

“
In
here.
”

“
In
bed?
”

“
Why
does that fucking matter?
”

“
I
don
’
t know. I
’
m just asking.
”

“
Beautiful,
correct me if I
’
m wrong,
but my fingers were deep in your sweet pussy and my cock deep in your mouth.
You
’
re worried about me
sleeping in here?
”

Eden felt her cheeks burn red.
“
Yeah, right. Sorry.
”

Trev drank his coffee.
“
I slept on the floor, back
against the wall.
”

“
What?
Was that comfortable?
”

“
Doesn
’
t matter,
”
Trev said.
“
That
’
s where I slept.
”

Now Eden felt foolish and somewhat
flattered. Trev was definitely a hard guy to figure out. One second he was
aggressive, taking her body to climax, then he slept on the floor?

“
Let
’
s get food. Then we have to
talk.
”

Trev exited the room.

Eden snuck to the bathroom.

She then went to the kitchen and
saw Trev standing over a huge plate of food, eating as though he would never
eat again.

“
Save
any for me?
”
she asked.

He pointed to the table.
“
There
’
s plenty. They know how I eat.
”

“
Do
you even taste it?
”

Trev put his fork down.
“
I grew up with nothing, okay? I
never knew when or where my next meal was coming from. Hours? Days? Longer? And
when there was food, whoever could eat it fast enough got it. Whoever could
fight for it won it. Understand?
”

Eden swallowed hard. She nodded.
“
Sorry.
”

She went to the table and started
to eat. Her approach was a little more dainty compared to Trev
’
s.

Trev finished his plate and then
turned around. He grabbed a half gallon carton of milk and drank from it. When
he took the carton away, there was a milk mustache on his face. He quickly
wiped it away but not before Eden saw it. It was adorable to see. And insanely
sexy, considering his size and muscles.

“
Look,
”
Trev said.
“
Don
’
t mind me. This is all still processing for me. We
’
re waiting on some calls and
figuring out what to do next.
”
Trev pulled a chair out and sat down.
“
When
we get some shit figured out, I need you to help me find the guys who hurt you.
Shot your friend.
”

“
Help?
How?
”

“
You
said the voice. The laugh. Right?
”

Eden nodded.
“
I
’
ll
never forget it.
”

“
Good.
Don
’
t forget it. When I
find out who did it
…”

“
You
’
ll kill them?
”

“
What
do you think?
”

“
So
you really kill people?
”

“
I
’
m not a serial killer, Eden. I
do what needs to be done for my club. We don
’
t
run with the kind of justice you
’
re
used to. There
’
s no
speeding tickets and lawyers in my world. There
’
s
action, consequence, and punishment.
”

“
Aren
’
t you afraid of getting killed?
”

“
No.
We run with the reaper every day of our lives,
”
Trev said.
“
When he decides
to strike, so be it. I just hope I
’
m
in my cut, defending my club. Like your old man was, beautiful.
”

Eden felt her chest tighten. She
hated the image of her father getting shot. She forced food into her mouth and
her eyes filled with tears. She looked down and tried to hide them.

“
Aw,
don
’
t get upset,
”
Trev said.
“
I
’
m
sorry. When you
’
ve seen as
much as I have, it doesn
’
t
have the same grab.
”

Eden swallowed and sucked back her
raw emotion.
“
I just want
to know why.
”

“
Don
’
t ask. He died as a good man.
That
’
s all you need to
know. If you dig too deep it gets dirty.
”

“
No,
Trev. Not him dying. But him and my mother giving me up.
”

Trev nodded. He reached across the
table and took Eden
’
s hand.
“
Let me ask you something.
Did you have a good life?
”

“
What?
”

“
You
heard me. Did you have a good life?
”

“
Not
really.
”

“
You
were adopted?
”

“
Yeah.
But then my adoptive parents were killed.
”

“
Shit.
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
My
aunt then took me in.
”

Trev nodded.
“
Did you get beat?
”