SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (4 page)

Ella swallowed the lump in her
throat.
“
You look like
shit, Jerry. You keep it up
…”

Jerry swung his hand. The pain
stung Ella
’
s face. Jerry
then stepped back to the island and put his hands to it, still facing her. She
touched her cheek and stared at her husband.

“
You
don
’
t
…”

“
No,
”
Ella said.
“
No.
”
She slid off the counter. Her body was still
shaking. She tried to step and Jerry was right there, reaching for her. Ella
wiggled free.
“
Fuck you!
”

Jerry grabbed her shoulders.
“
Fuck me? Let
’
s go!
”

He shook Ella and she threw her
hands up and out, breaking her husband
’
s
hold. She made fists and pounded at his chest, which was stupid. Her mind told
her to go for his face. Claw his eyes out. Or kick him in the balls. Yet she
couldn
’
t help but remind
herself that Jerry was the chief of police. That if he went to work with cuts
and scratches on his face, there would be questions and problems.

So Ella pounded on his chest.

Jerry backed away, putting his
hands out.

“
Goddammit,
woman,
”
he growled.

“
Fuck
you!
”
Ella yelled again.

Beck then let out a cry from
upstairs. Jerry snapped his head to the side and curled his lip. Then he shook
his head.
“
Look what you
fucking did.
”

“
You
did it,
”
Ella said.

She moved and Jerry grabbed her,
pulling her back to his front. An arm around her neck, keeping her tight to
him.

“
No,
woman,
”
Jerry said.
“
You wanted a fucking baby. I
didn
’
t. This is all
bullshit because of you. Now go take care of your kid. I
’
m leaving.
”

Jerry threw Ella forward. She
stumbled and caught herself. She looked back, wanting to say something to
really get to Jerry. But she feared the backlash. So she rushed  upstairs to
the bedroom.

Beck whined with his eyes shut.

Ella scooped him up and cradled
him. She rocked left to right, then up and down, sending the baby back to
sleep. When the front door slammed, Beck jumped but didn
’
t wake up.

Tears filled Ella
’
s eyes.

Jerry had lost his mind. She didn
’
t love him anymore. It had been
a long time coming and now it was too far gone.

Ella needed help. There was nowhere
to turn.

Well, there was one person to
call
…
but he
’
d never answer
…
he
’
d never help
…

four.

Miller stood outside and stared at
the table. The prospects had cleaned up the mess a long time ago but Miller
still saw it in his mind. Just he and Griffin sitting there, talking, shooting
the breeze. Two old brothers in the MC staring out to the horizon. Across the
massive lot that they had built together. Yeah, the President
’
s patch was on Miller
’
s cut, but that didn
’
t mean he did any of this alone.
Especially with Griffin. The guy had a good mind with finances and did a great
job at keeping the business front not only legit but away from the MC.

Griffin was now in the ground.
Officially. Miller had watched the dirt cover the coffin and then he tossed a
bottle of whiskey into the ground and walked away. He rode back to the
clubhouse with the wind pounding his face and his heart bleeding all around.
For all Miller knew, maybe there was a trail of blood from the cemetery to the
clubhouse.

Angry, Miller grabbed the side of
the table and flipped it. It went up and over with a thud. Miller was still
angry. He looked to his left, to his motorcycle. He wanted to go for a ride in
the worst way. Hit the open road and shed the pain away. That wasn
’
t possible though. Not with the
pressure and job at hand.

When Miller turned, Gaige, Blaine,
and Nate stood there.

“
What?
”
he growled.

“
Got
a call from the chief,
”
Gaige said.

“
What?
”
Miller asked.

“
Jerry,
”
Nate said.
“
Wants to meet you. Just let me
put a bullet in his head, Miller.
”

Miller lunged at Nate. He grabbed
the big guy by his shirt and jammed his knuckles into Nate
’
s throat.

“
You
listen to me,
”
Miller said.
“
That kill is mine.
Everyone else can stand the fuck down.
”

“
Okay,
Miller,
”
Gaige said. He put
a hand to Miller
’
s
shoulder.

Miller eased his grip.
“
Sorry, brother.
”

“
I
get it,
”
Nate said.
“
I shouldn
’
t have said that.
”

“
We
all want the kill,
”
Miller
said.
“
This has to be done
right. There
’
s a bigger
picture at hand here. It
’
s
not easy to fucking deal with.
”
Miller looked at Gaige.
“
What
did he say?
”

“
Wants
to meet. Said two of us could come.
”

“
Gaige,
Blaine, gear up,
”
Miller
said.
“
Nate, you
’
re staying. No hot head shit.
Keep everyone here on guard. I don
’
t
trust a fucking thing.
”

“
Want
us to have anyone hanging behind?
”
Gaige asked.

“
No,
”
Miller said.
“
I
’
m
going to face that asshole the right way. Until it
’
s time to kill him.
”

“
Jesus,
”
Blaine said.
“
I just wish we could right now.
After what he did
…”

“
I
was there!
”
Miller yelled.
“
Don
’
t fucking paint it like you were.
”

“
I
saw the blood,
”
Blaine said.
“
I saw one of my brothers
on the ground, dead.
”

Miller threw a quick fist and hit Blaine in the mouth.

“
Shit!
”
Gaige yelled.

Normally, Blaine would just take
the punch. But not this time. Blood spilled from his lip and he jumped at
Miller. The two tangled until Nate put his head down and rammed his head into
Blaine
’
s gut and lifted him
up, carrying him away.

Gaige put a hand to Miller
’
s chest.
“
Hey, what are you thinking?
”

Miller licked blood from the corner
of his mouth. He eyed Blaine. With one swipe, he knocked Gaige
’
s hand away. He went after Blaine again. Blaine pushed Nate out of the way. The two faced off and then hugged.

“
Goddamn,
”
Miller said.
“
I
’
m
sorry.
”

“
Me
too,
”
Blaine said.
“
I shouldn
’
t have swung back.
”

“
This
is a lot for all of us,
”
Miller said.
“
A table
member gone and we know who did it. And we can
’
t
just act.
”
Miller patted Blaine
’
s face.
“
I promise, it
’
ll
work out. The pain, the anger, it
’
ll
work out.
”

“
Your
words ain
’
t matching your
eyes, Miller,
”
Blaine said.

“
I
know,
”
Miller said.
“
Let
’
s ride. Let
’
s
go meet this fucking prick and then find a way to kill him.
”

“
I
’
ve got it here,
”
Nate said.
“
Don
’
t worry about a thing.
”

Miller shook hands with Nate.
“
Thanks, brother.
”

“
Okay,
”
Gaige said.
“
Let
’
s get this over with. He
’
s going to flex his muscles. We flex harder. We
already fucked up his ambush attack on you, Miller. So he
’
s rattled.
”

“
He
’
s going to be dead soon,
”
Miller said.
“
That
’
s a promise.
”

That was enough talking as far as
Miller was concerned. He led Gaige and Blaine to their motorcycles. Out of
respect, Gaige and Blaine rode first, wanting to protect their President. With
so many enemies out there, Miller needed all the protection he could get.

Fuck that,
he thought.

At the gates, he throttled his
motorcycle and shot forward, almost taking Gaige and Blaine out. They hurried
to move to the left and right, giving Miller a path. He shot out of the lot and
took the lead.

The way a President should be.

He didn
’
t need to fucking hide from a thing. Hell, in some
ways, he
’
d spent years now
hiding. Hiding behind his own heart and a choice he made a long time ago. A
night when the entire world waited in his damn pocket. A night that got so
fucked up, it changed too many lives to count.

The thundering roar of his
motorcycle and smack of wind helped to chase away the thoughts. The freedom was
short lived as he led the way to the east side of Frelen, where old factories
stood as rusted and crippled skeletons. There had been lots of talks about
turning it into something, but guys like Chief Jerry and Miller worked hard to
keep politics and businessmen out of Frelen.

Now Miller felt more alone than
ever in this war. Especially if Frelen ended up developed into some shithole
suburbia lifestyle complete with retail shops, car dealerships, and everything
to give the illusion of a safe and good life.

Miller gritted his teeth as he
turned off the main road to a side road. He spotted Chief Jerry
’
s SUV up ahead, parked along the
side of a building. He put up a fist, ordering Gaige and Blaine to stop. This
was going to be face to face and that was it.

When Miller stopped and climbed off
the motorcycle, he felt his heart beating a little faster than normal. There
was a chance that he could walk around the side of the building and another
ambush would be waiting. This time, however, there would be no warning and no
plan.

Miller made fists and walked toward
the SUV. As he turned the corner, the door to the police vehicle shot open and
Chief Jerry climbed out. The first thing he did was draw his service weapon and
put it on the hood.

“
No
guns,
”
Jerry called out.

“
Fair
enough,
”
Miller said.

He took out one of his guns and put
it on the ground. Miller knew damn well that the chief was packing more than
just one gun.

Jerry touched his breast, at his
badge.
“
Pretend this isn
’
t here.
”

“
I
’
m not pretending a damn thing,
”
Miller said. He stepped
forward.
“
You took out one
of my guys. A fucking table member. A man that put his ass on the line for the
MC and for you. A man that helped you with finances when your department was
struggling. A smart man. A good man. A fucking loyal man.
”

“
And
let me guess,
”
Jerry said.
“
You
’
re thinking about killing me.
”

“
Oh,
I
’
m not thinking about it,
”
Miller said.
“
I
’
m
going to do it.
”

They now stood just feet apart.
Chief Jerry slipped his hands into his pockets. So cocky. So confident. It was
the reason why Miller hated that right side of wrong and justice. It gave guys
like Jerry power they didn
’
t
deserve.

“
You
’
ll never take me out, Miller. I
know it. You need me. I need you.
”

“
I
thought you were cashing out? Wasn
’
t
that the plan?
”

“
Yeah,
it was. But since you took out Jake
…”

“
What?
You needed the judge to suck your dick?
”

“
That
’
s why I have my wife. Sweet and
perfect Ella.
”

Miller felt his blood boiling now.

“
What
the fuck do you want?
”
Miller asked.
“
I have a
club to go take care of. Guys are on edge. Guys are mourning. Guys are ready to
lose their minds.
”

“
Sad,
”
Jerry said.
“
Such a tragic thing. I mean, it
’
s what happens though, right?
When people poke around and they
’
re
not supposed to.
”

Miller grabbed Jerry by the shirt
and put him against the building.
“
And
what about putting a hit on me? Trying to have Coast Road take me out?
”

“
I
had nothing to do with that,
”
Jerry said.
“
I heard about
it. I wanted to see you, to make sure you were okay.
”

“
Fuck
you, pig.
”

Jerry laughed.
“
Calling me a pig doesn
’
t offend me.
”

Miller pushed away from Jerry.
“
You can
’
t defeat us. I don
’
t
care about your badge. Your department. It
’
s
all bullshit. You
’
re in as
deep as we are. Everything is tied to you, Jerry.
”

“
I
can get out of anything.
”

“
And
what? Take your family on the run?
”

“
No.
I
’
m not interested in that.
I
’
m going for a fresh and
clean slate.
”

“
So
you
’
re going to leave your
wife and kid behind to suffer?
”

“
Suffer,
”
Jerry said.
“
I
’
m
on my own. It
’
s the only
way to be, Miller. You know that. That
’
s
why you never showed up that night. You knew better than to take it somewhere
else with her. So I took control. I had the balls to do it.
”

“
You
fucking piece of shit,
”
Miller said.
“
You brought
me here to talk about the past?
”

“
Boo-fucking-hoo,
”
Jerry said.

“
Hey,
Chief?
”

Miller turned his head and saw a
woman standing there. Short shorts, a tight black top, her hair pulled back and
messy. Everything about her screamed southside drug induced slut.

“
Get
in the fucking SUV,
”
Jerry
ordered.

“
That
guy is making noise. I
’
m
trying to sleep. This is when I sleep.
”

“
How
about you spend the next six months in prison, bitch.
”