Payback (Dueling Devils 2)

“Guard them with your life. They so much as get a paper cut and I’m taking that shit out of your hide, you understand me?” He stared at Rambler.

“Yes, Pres.” Rambler swallowed. Fear colored his eyes. A heightened sense of awareness would help him stay sharp.

“Good, you two handle this shit properly and there might be a cut in it for you.” Demon turned away and walked out the newly installed door, locking the two dead bolts behind him. Everything had been stepped up. Mounting his bike gave him no pleasure. Instead, he felt like a warrior on his steed, moving into battle. This shit was going to get ugly before it got better. The Sidewinders had no code of honor and if they felt brave enough to go for blood, they must be packing. Their crew wasn’t very big, so they did have help, caught a case of idiocy, or had this planned down to the letter. Either way, the shit needed to be squashed before the bodies started to pile up.

He pulled up to the entrance to the club. Swifty darted out and pulled back the gate. The metal on metal never sounded so sweet to his ears.

Inside this tiny building were a group of men ready to ride or die for him. He pulled forward, parked and exited, donning the persona that had earned him the right to be president when he hit twenty-three. He’d been young, but not green by any stretch of the imagination. From the moment his old man got caught ass out on the wrong end of a gun deal, Prez had groomed him to take his place. Life then had been ultra violent. Blood had been flying left and right as they carved out their place in the small town, offered their protection and grew. When Harley had become causality, Demon went gone off the deep end. The beginning of his reign had been full of danger, bloodshed and life as far on the edge as you could get without falling off.

It took a long time to come back from that kind of damage. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed and people were fucked up, mentally and physically. They partied hard in an attempt to offset the Posttraumatic stress. That shit was real. Having to come down from constantly looking over your shoulder and being ready to unleash hell at a moment’s notice if shit went sideways. He didn’t want to take them back to that time if he could help it. His boots felt heavy as he strode into the club.

Silence fell and all eyes turned to him.

“It’s time for church. We all know I won’t stand for this bullshit. Bitches make you scarce. This is M.C. business and I don’t want any distractions.” Demon sneered. “Or leaks. I know you hoes ain’t loyal. Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t put a bullet in your brains if you as much as think about telling anyone else our business.” He zeroed his gaze in on Rain and Crystal. Two of the newer additions he didn’t trust as far as he could throw them.

“Oh, Demon you know we’d never do you wrong,” Lacey replied. The genuine hurt in her hazel eyes made him want to offer comfort. She’d been with him pretty much her whole life. Born to one of the whores she eventually fell into the same lifestyle. There were women here he trusted, but right now he was trying to flush out any potential rats.

Crystal and Rain exchanged a concerned glance.

Got you bitches. “Go back to your complex. Now.”

The girls got to their feet and scurried outside to their vehicles. They owned an apartment building not too far away where they put up brothers, members of others chapters and the club whores. It kept them out from under foot, cut down the chances of an Old lady running into one of them by accident and brought in revenue where they could wash their money. Most of their shit was legal nowadays, but they had no problem getting their hands dirty. Gunrunning made a pretty penny with a little amount of work. Especially with the town looking the other way, because they offered their protection. It was a sweet deal.

The minute the door slammed shut, he turned his attention to the Prospects. “We all know Church is a patched member only affair, but this shit is too deep to leave you out of the loop. You bring your asses in here, keep your mouths shut and pay close attention to every word said. You hear me?”

“Yes Prez,” they chorused.

He nodded and walked into the giant meeting room at the back of the club. His men filed in, taking seats in the chairs and he watched their faces carefully. Lefty came to stand at his side and some of the stiffness eased from Demon’s shoulders. He had tried and true soldiers to go to bat with him. If nothing else, this would separate, the men from the boys as far as their newer recruits were concerned. Their territory around them had been peaceful for years.

The last prospect closed the door and Demon lifted his arms. “Let the church session begin. The Sidewinders seem to think we turned bitch? That we’ll turn over and take it in the ass while they shit and piss all over the legacy we’ve built here in Newcomb. Louis has always had his wires crossed. I’m not surprised he’d go back on our truce. What I need to know is what inflated his head and made him think he could take us. This rebellion takes big balls, something that fucking snake has never had.” Demon shook his head. He flared his nostrils and his chest heaved as his breathing gained speed.

The men in the room sat silent, their expressions deadly.

In need of a way to expend the energy building inside him, he paced the length of the room. “They came close to taking everything I fucking care about. That never should’ve happened. Ardy is no longer a house mouse on loan. She’s my old lady. You will treat her with respect and lay down your life for her if necessary, you hear me?”

“Yes, Pres.”

The thunderous response eased the lump in his throat. He alone was one man. Together, they were many. “I’m not going to sleep until the Sidewinders M.C. is fucking decimated. Cut down to numbers so low, it’d take them years to regroup and even then, I want the horrors they witnessed to keep them from trying it.”

“How do you want to play it?” Lefty asked.

“They’re new, unliked and not trusted. Chances are, no one will come to their aid, but let’s meet up with the local M.C.’s to be sure. I don’t want to turn this into a total blood bath. They’ll be expecting us to retaliate. I’m not a patient man, so I want this done yesterday. We pound the pavement, set up meeting and deal with this shit.”

“Okay, what do you want the rest of them to do while we play nice with the bordering M.C.s?” Lefty asked.

“Prepare to go to war brothers. Go home, clean your weapons, pull the gear out of storage. When I say I want their compound blown up and burned to the ground, I’m not saying that shit figuratively. You don’t come to the Dueling Devils, take their manhood and threaten their family. We’re going to make sure everyone watching, knows that by the time we’re done.”

After Demon left, going back to sleep wasn’t possible. Her body might be weary, but her mind was alive and thriving. God, why can’t I ever turn off my brain? Ardy rolled onto her side and re-lived the horrific experience. Things could’ve turned out far worse. This life never felt more real than it did at this moment. None of the shit you saw on the television or heard about from others prepared you to actually be in it. Thank God, he had a back-up plan. His life is completely out of control. What are you doing? The sane part of her brain told her she needed to backtrack. Agreeing to be Demon’s old lady was more than choosing to go steady with a beau. It’s a lifelong commitment that practically placed a target on her back. He’s the President for Christ’s sake. In the light of day, away from the trauma, she wanted to back pedal.

I can’t take that decision back.

Abandoning the pretense of sleep, she sat up in bed and brushed her wild curls out of her face. She loved him. There was no confusion there. She just wondered if love would be enough. Her phone vibrated against the wooden nightstand and she jumped. Her stomach knotted. Her palms grew clammy as she picked up the phone. The sight of her mother’s name on her view screen had never been so beautiful. She held the phone to her ear. “Hey Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

A million answers dangled on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed them down. Her mother didn’t deserve to have this burden on her shoulders. “I’m good. The kids are amazing, growing and thriving. It’s like any other nanny job.”

“Is that so?”