SAVAGE LOVE (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (41 page)

“
My
guys are fine,
”
Miller
said.
“
I think we share
common ground.
”

Gaige stepped next to Miller,
holding Emily
’
s hand. She
stayed close to Gaige. On Miller
’
s
left, Nate stepped up, his hands balled into fists. He eyed down Mutty, the
second in charge of the crew. He had no shirt on and was ripped with muscle.

“
Looking
at something?
”
Mutty asked.

“
Nice
tits,
”
Nate said.
“
I bet your boyfriend loves
sliding his cock between them.
”

Mutty charged at Nate, head butting
him.

“
Oh,
fuck,
”
Gaige said.

This was their way of proving
respect. There was only one true way to work things out.

Nate touched his face and his
bloody lip. Mutty flexed his massive biceps and smiled.

“
Want
to do this?
”
he asked.

Nate made a fist and walked toward
Mutty. Mutty threw a fist, but Nate saw it coming. He ducked and punched Mutty
in the gut. He cried out and hunched over, reaching for Nate. Nate took a
handful of Mutty
’
s hair and
came across with another fist. Blood sprayed from Mutty
’
s face as he spun around and went down to one knee.

Gaige whistled and Emily gripped
his hand tighter. He looked at her and nodded.
“
It
’
s okay, beautiful. They
’
re just working some things out.
”

Mutty got back to his feet and
jumped at Nate. Mutty
’
s two
hands went around Nate
’
s
throat.

“
Roid
rage,
”
Gaige called out.
“
Be careful.
”

Miller, Blaine, Shay, and Griffin
laughed.

Nate slammed his head forward and
smashed Mutty
’
s nose. Mutty
stumbled back but threw a quick fist, connecting with Nate
’
s face. Nate
’
s nose opened, but it still didn
’
t deter Nate. He was right back
with two more heavy fists, sending Mutty back. Nate then wound up a big punch
and hit Mutty in the chest. When Mutty spun and went down to one knee this
time, the fight was over.

“
Okay,
okay,
”
Miller said.
“
I think we
’
ve made our points.
”

Nate shook his hand and backed up.
When Mutty stood there were deep red imprints of Nate
’
s rings on his chest.

“
Aw,
come on,
”
Blaine said,
“
I want to fight someone.
”

Another big guy stepped forward and
cracked his knuckles.

Lenny put a hand out and stopped it
from happening.
“
Cool it,
Cres. No more fists. We need to talk.
”

Miller took off his sunglasses.
“
We need to find Eight Under.
Your guys have a problem with them, so do we.
”

“
Why
would we want to help you?
”
Lenny asked.

“
Because
we have the balls to do what you can
’
t,
”
Gaige said.
“
I need to find them. I need them
alive.
”

“
Which
one?
”
Lenny asked.

“
There
was a shooting meant for us,
”
Miller said.
“
Killed the
best friend of our girl over there. Tragic. Her father is Mr. Strokner. Know
that name?
”

“
Fuck,
”
Lenny said. He looked at Emily.
“
I
’
m sorry about your friend.
”

“
And
you
’
ll keep being sorry if
this doesn
’
t end,
”
Gaige said.
“
Strokner is going crew to crew,
shaking shit up.
”

“
We
weren
’
t there,
”
Lenny said.

“
Strokner
won
’
t believe you,
”
Miller said.
“
We know you
’
re out looking. All we
’
re saying is to just keep your
eyes open and give us a call when you see something.
”

Lenny looked left and then right.
“
Yeah, okay, we
’
re looking. Pretty shitty what
they did to one of my guys
’
woman. Kind of hoping I can run a couple of them down for payback.
”

“
Perfect,
”
Miller said.
“
You see them and you call. We
’
ll come and collect and you run
down whoever you want.
”

“
After
we get our guys,
”
Gaige
said.
“
I need them alive.
”

“
I
heard you the first time,
”
Lenny said.

“
Yeah,
well fuck you,
”
Gaige said.
“
Just making sure you
idiots can listen.
”

The big men all stepped forward.
Gaige opened his leather cut and showed his gun.

“
Whoa,
whoa,
”
Lenny said.

“
It
’
s all good,
”
Miller said.
“
All good.
”

“
I
get the pain of loss,
”
Lenny said, looking at Gaige and Emily.
“
But
you can
’
t let it cloud your
mind. We
’
ll be in touch.
”

“
These
guys are fucking pricks,
”
Gaige said.
“
Skip the surf
for a few days and find them.
”

Mutty pointed at Gaige, his eyes on
fire. Gaige wished for something to happen. He would love to take on Mutty,
hand to hand, and prove that steroid muscles weren
’
t worth shit compared to real fists.

Before anything could escalate,
Lenny yelled and dropped to his knees. Gaige turned his head and saw two
motorcycles and a SUV rolling by. He saw the guns a second before the bullets
starting flying. He wrapped his arms around Emily and had her on the ground in
less than a second. Gaige heard the return gunfire and saw Nate standing tall,
shooting back.

“
Stay
down,
”
Gaige said to Emily.

He jumped up and pulled out his
gun, but the wasn
’
t able to
take a shot as the motorcycles and SUV was already speeding away.

“
Motherfuckers,
”
Gaige growled.

“
What
the fuck?
”
Mutt yelled.

“
Eight
Under,
”
Nate said.

“
We
have to do this,
”
Miller
said.

The crew ran to their motorcycles.
Gaige rushed back to Emily and helped her up. He looked her dead in the eyes
and nodded. Emily nodded back, acknowledging what needed to happen next.

She was in for one hell of a ride
…

eighteen.

The six motorcycles sped down the
street. Gaige, Blaine, and Nate worked their magic, cutting in and out of
traffic, across lanes when need be, cutting off other vehicles without fear.
Gaige had a burning sense of guilt knowing that Emily was in grave danger, but
there was nothing he could do about that now. They needed to get to end this.

At the next intersection, the other
motorcycles cut to the right and at the last possible second, the SUV went
left.

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige yelled.

Back Down Devil went to the right.
They could chase down the other motorcycles. This could easily became a hostage
situation. Gaige could hold these assholes until the shooter came forward.

They were able to get within reach
of the other motorcycles. Gaige wanted to smash into one of the bikes, but he
had to think of Emily. So he had to hang back a little and let Nate and Blaine
take care of the dirty work. Blaine got up alongside one of the motorcycles and
the rider pulled his gun. Blaine did the same.

“
Shit,
”
Gaige said.

Gaige pulled out his gun and shot
the back tire of one of the motorcycles. It was instant chaos. The tail of the
motorcycle started to kick left to right. The speed was decreased and Gaige hit
his brakes. Nate and Blaine looked back and the other motorcycle took off.

The guy with the flat tire tried to
take a sharp left and he dropped his motorcycle. He slid to the side of the
road and Back Down Devil officially had someone from Eight Under.

Gaige came to a stop and went after
the guy. The motorcycle was on his leg. He reached for his gun and Gaige took a
shot, hitting the guy in his hand. He dropped his gun and screamed as blood
sprayed everywhere.

“
Check
him,
”
Gaige ordered Nate
and Blaine.
“
Maybe he
’
s the one we want.
”

Miller, Shay, and Griffin all pulled
up.

Nate kicked the helmet and the guy
screamed again.

“
Don
’
t kill him, bro,
”
Blaine said.

Blaine crouched down and pulled the
helmet off the biker. His thick black hair and facial hair made it obvious he
wasn
’
t the one who killed
Emily
’
s friend.

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige said.
“
Get the motorcycle off him.
”

Nate lifted the motorcycle and then
pushed it to the side. The rider started to scramble back, but Gaige and Blaine
had two guns on him.

“
Okay,
okay,
”
the guy said.
“
I
’
m
not going to move.
”

“
Fucking
right,
”
Gaige said.
“
Where
’
s the rest of them?
”

The guy shook his head.
“
It was nothing. Just a warning.
”

“
More
bullets?
”
Nate asked.
“
That
’
s a warning?
”

“
I
wasn
’
t there for what
happened,
”
the guy said.
“
You fucking killed our men.
”

“
I
’
ll fucking kill you,
”
Gaige said and stepped forward.

The rider cringed and put a hand
out.
“
Okay. Okay. You want
Vinny, okay? He was the one who got that whole thing together. He shot.
”

“
You
rat out your crew that fast?
”
Blaine asked.
“
What a piece
of shit.
”

“
I
’
m not ratting a thing,
”
the guy said.
“
Just sharing a name.
”

“
Stand
the fuck up,
”
Gaige
ordered. He pulled at the guy
’
s
shirt and brought him to his feet.
“
Look
me in the fucking eyes and tell me where this guy is.
”

“
I
don
’
t know.
”

Gaige sighed.
“
I
’
ll
ask again. I
’
ll pretend
falling fucked up your head. Where the fuck is Vinny?
”

“
I
…
I forget. I hit my head.
”

Gaige curled his lip. From behind,
Nate swung a fist and punched the guy. He crashed into Gaige and cried out in
pain. Gaige grabbed the guy by the throat and kept him standing.

“
I
’
m going to fucking kill you
right here,
”
Gaige said.
“
Unless you tell me
…”

“
We
got company!
”
Shay cried
out.

Gaige looked and saw the SUV flying
toward them. He pushed the rider away and began to shoot. They all shot at the
SUV even as the SUV shot back at them. Emily did the right thing by dropping
behind Gaige
’
s motorcycle.
Within seconds, the SUV was gone down the street, tires screaming as it made a
hard left.

“
Oh,
fuck,
”
Blaine said,
pointing to the ground.

“
What?
”
Gaige asked.

He turned and couldn
’
t believe what he saw. The rider
was shot at least eight times. A bullet in his forehead, and several more down
his body.

“
They
weren
’
t shooting at us,
”
Miller said.
“
They were killing one of their
own to keep him quiet.
”

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Shay said.
“
These guys are sick.
”

“
No,
”
Gaige said,
“
they
’
re fucking dead. He looked at Miller. We have a
name now. Vinny. I want him alive.
”

“
We
’
ll get him,
”
Miller said.
“
Better take care of your girl.
”

Gaige turned and saw Emily huddled
next to the motorcycle, hugging her legs, staring at the dead body.

“
Move
this mess further back,
”
Miller said to Nate and Blaine.
“
Let
’
s get this out of sight and then
get the hell out of here.
”

Gaige dropped to one knee.
“
Emily, it
’
s okay.
”

Emily shook her head.
“
I saw
…
the back of his head
…
it exploded
…”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Gaige said.
“
You
’
re safe with me. Come on, stand
up for me.
”

Gaige helped Emily to her feet. She
was shaking. She looked at Gaige as she was ready to burst into tears.

“
This
is life, beautiful,
”
Gaige
said.
“
I can
’
t fucking control it. I can only
protect those in it that I care about. That I love.
”

Emily slid her arms around Gaige
and hugged him.

“
Bro,
we have to get out of here,
”
Blaine said.
“
I know it
’
s touchy
…”

Gaige nodded.
“
We
’
re
ready.
”

Everyone got back on their
motorcycles and peeled away from the scene of the crime. They rode back down to
where they had their meeting with the Coast Road crew. Of course, those guys
were all gone, obviously afraid to get involved with any bullshit. It pissed
Gaige off but he kept his sights focused. He needed to get Emily back to the
clubhouse and get her to feel safe.

When they pulled into the compound
lot, Gaige found Chief Jerry standing at his cruiser, a cigarette hanging from
his mouth.

When Gaige stepped off his motorcycle
he pointed to Blaine and Nate.
“
I
need a favor.
”

“
Anything,
bro,
”
Blaine said.

“
Take
Emily inside to the bar. Get her a drink. We
’
ll
be right in.
”

Blaine looked at the chief and
shook his head.
“
This guy
needs to mind his own fucking business.
”

“
Give
it time,
”
Gaige said.

Gaige kissed Emily on the cheek and
put his lips to her ear.
“
Beautiful,
go with these guys. You
’
re
safe, I promise.
”

Gaige walked toward Chief Jerry and
stood with Miller. Shay and Griffin walked slowly to the clubhouse, leaving Gaige,
Miller, and Chief Jerry alone.

“
What
do we owe this honor?
”
Miller asked.

“
Funny
how witnesses see one thing but remember another,
”
the chief said.

“
I
see you
’
re smoking again,
”
Gaige said.
“
What
’
s the old lady think of that?
”

“
She
doesn
’
t know,
”
Jerry said.

“
Long
nights with that baby I bet,
”
Miller said.

“
Beautiful
long nights,
”
Jerry said.
“
Nothing like being a man who
provides for his family. An honest living.
”

“
Honest,
”
Miller laughed.
“
Nothing in this world is honest.
”

“
Yeah.
Well, the junkyard over there had some blood in it. Really fascinating shit.
Our victim
’
s blood was
there. Other blood, too. Too much for us to afford to test, but I
’
m sure someone with deep pockets
wouldn
’
t mind. Someone
brokenhearted.
”

“
Strokner,
”
Miller said.

“
Bingo.
He
’
s pulling in heat,
gentlemen. I
’
ve done my job
as far as I
’
m concerned. We
’
re investigating with the
resources we have. But Strokner
…”

“
You
have to stall him,
”
Gaige
said.
“
Keep him happy with
something.
”

“
Why?
”
Jerry asked.
“
The bikers are going to solve
the crime?
”

Miller put a hand up.
“
No need to get heated here.
”

“
That
dead girl
’
s best friend
just climbed off the back of your motorcycle, Gaige. What does that say?
”

“
That
says nothing,
”
Gaige said.
“
Our business is private.
”

Chief Jerry nodded. He pushed from
the car.
“
Well, Strokner
wants a bigger investigation on this. I can
’
t
speculate much but if he pulls in bigger power
…”

“
We
get it,
”
Gaige said.

“
We
appreciate your concern,
”
Miller said.
“
But I feel
our consciences are clear right now.
”

The chief let out a laugh. He
tossed his cigarette to the ground and then pulled a mint from his pocket and
popped it into his mouth.

“
Gentlemen,
”
he said.
“
Have a good day.
”

Once Jerry was in his cruiser,
Miller leaned down and smiled.
“
Just
to let you know
…
we were on
a nice ride near the beach and I heard some gunshots. You might want to check
that out.
”

Miller patted the roof of the
cruiser and walked away. He smiled and then Gaige smiled too. They walked back
to the clubhouse together. Gaige looked over his shoulder and saw the chief
peeling out of the parking lot.

Good luck, Chief.