DARK FALL (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (15 page)

“
Yeah,
I picked up on that. Why?
”

“
We
all have scars, Erik. Some are hidden, some aren
’
t.
Who cares?
”

“
I
do,
”
Erik said.
“
How
’
s that for a fucking answer?
”

Kaity kept her hand at his face.
“
What about Shay? Are you angry
with him?
”

“
Why
would I be?
”
Erik asked.
“
This is our life. Our world.
Sometimes we take a bullet, sometimes we take a bomb. You damn near got
yourself killed almost taking a bullet for the club.
”

“
That
bullet was for you,
”
Kaity
said.

Erik turned his head. He had to
look away. Kaity had gone from some woman who needed a ride, and would maybe be
a decent fuck, to someone who dug into him and pushed him like no one else. Now
Erik held her in his bed, tears in her eyes, and he actually wanted to hear
what she had to say. He wanted to help her.

eighteen.

Kaity ran her hand down Erik
’
s face and didn
’
t stop until she touched his
shoulder. The muscle was like steel. It made her squirm in her panties, feeling
uncomfortable because of how turned on and wet she was. Yet it felt like they
were having a moment, or maybe they weren
’
t.
Kaity didn
’
t know what to
do or what to think about this.

“
That
’
s all there is to it,
”
Erik said.
“
We hired a guy to help us and
that guy ended up kidnapped. And now two of his fingers have been delivered to
us.
”

“
You
didn
’
t get the guy?
”

Erik shook his head.
“
It was another set up. We
tracked the car down and it was some older guy's house. He was stabbed.
”

“
Is
he dead?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Shit.
”

Kaity swallowed hard. She hung her
head and tears filled her eyes again. There was so much death and violence, yet
Kaity didn
’
t want to leave.
In the comfort of Erik
’
s
arms, the death, the violence, the never knowing what waited, didn't seem all
that bad.

“
I
need to know about you,
”
Erik said.
“
Right now.
”

Kaity squeezed her eyes shut and
nodded. Of course one of the nightmares would cause this to happen. Usually she
would wake up in the backseat of her car and comfort herself. Now she had
someone else to comfort her.

Erik touched her chin and forced
her to look at him.

“
Open
your fucking eyes,
”
Erik
whispered.
“
I need to know
everything. Who is Brad? Are you in trouble?
”

Kaity opened her eyes and a stray
tear escaped.
“
There
’
s nothing to worry about.
”

“
Convince
me.
”

“
He
’
s dead,
”
Kaity said.

Erik nodded.
“
That
’
s pretty convincing. Who is he?
”

“
I
didn
’
t work for him,
”
Kaity said,
“
but I helped. That
’
s important to know.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Because
Brad was a detective.
”

The entire mood in the room
shifted. The comforting, warm feeling was suddenly gone. Erik leaned back and
put his hands to Kaity
’
s
shoulders, keeping her at length.

“
Say
that again,
”
Erik said.

“
No.
”

“
You
were an informant?
”

“
I
don
’
t know.
”

“
Better
yet, you were a rat?
”

“
I
helped,
”
Kaity said.
“
Because I needed money. It was
something I enjoyed
…
or at
least I thought I did.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Because
Brad promised me a good life.
”

“
A
job or his cock?
”

“
Sometimes
both,
”
Kaity said.
“
Sometimes just one. I don
’
t know.
”

“
You
fucking stuck your nose in business that wasn
’
t
yours.
”

“
It
was serious stuff. Drugs. Murder. Abuse. That kind of stuff.
”

“
You
weren
’
t on the payroll?
”

“
No.
They were all back door deals.
”

“
How
did you meet this guy?
”

“
I
travel a lot,
”
Kaity said.
“
Okay? I
’
m always on the run. I think for myself. But I can
’
t get away from myself. One
night I was sitting in my car and two cars pulled up near me. Next thing I
knew, there was a tied up woman being exchanged and I found myself getting
involved. I pretended to be drunk and stumbled around the scene after I called
the police. Guess who I met then?
”

“
Yeah,
I can fucking guess,
”
Erik
said.

“
Brad
offered to pay me on the side to get involved. I enjoyed the work. It made me
feel like I had a purpose. He told me that if I did
just one more thing
…
he would pull me from being
undercover and give me an actual position. Full pay, benefits, recognition. All
that bullshit.
”

“
When
did you first fuck him?
”

“
After
someone I got close to was killed,
”
Kaity admitted.
“
There was
a young woman who was hooked on drugs. I tried to save her and had her
convinced to get into rehab. So the night of the big bust, we were supposed to
save her. Her dealer shot and killed her, fingering her as a rat.
”

“
But
you were the rat,
”
Erik
said.

“
Yeah.
I carry that guilt everyday.
”

“
And
you just let this guy fuck you?
”

“
It
wasn
’
t like that. Brad shot
and killed two men that night. We ended up at a bar and then at his place.
”

“
How
long?
”

“
The
sex?
”
Kaity smiled.

Erik wasn't buying it. His hand
started to slide near her throat, a silent warning not to fuck around right
now.

“
It
was a long time, okay? There were times he threatened me. He never actually
abused me. But he fucked with me. He would bring me in close and then push me
away. I found out he had other women in his life but convinced myself it didn
’
t matter because he made me feel
like I was the most important. The jobs got more and more dangerous and the
promises got bigger. Then we were wrapped up in a big drug and gun ring. I was
playing the part of a broken woman, how fitting for me. Brad was undercover
too, which made no sense. By the time it was all said and done, Brad ended up
shot and killed. The bust was fucked up and that was it.
”

Katey hung her head, still hiding
the darkest truth.

“
Fucked
up?
”
Erik asked. He touched
Kaity
’
s face.

“
It
was fucked up. The bust. Everything went crazy and I ended up standing behind
Brad. I had a gun in my hand
…
he turned and saw me, smiling. I could see it in his eyes that he was going to
kill me. Kill me and I
’
d
end up as some woman dead. No name. No story.
”

“
Oh,
shit,
”
Erik whispered.

Kaity nodded.
“
So I shot first. I killed him. I
killed Brad.
”

Kaity
’
s
body shook. She never spoke those words before. She never confessed to anyone
what really happened that night.

“
Damn,
baby,
”
Erik said.
“
That
’
s okay. You took care of yourself.
”

“
I
did,
”
Kaity said.
“
But the memory
…
I think he
’
s coming for me still.
”

“
He
won
’
t. Dead is dead, baby.
What happened with the police department?
”

“
That
’
s when I found out I had no ties
to the police department. Brad never mentioned me. There was no formal
paperwork. I was just some woman. The only thing I was given was a few bucks by
another detective and told to go away. So I did.
”

“
And
the nightmares?
”

“
He
made it very clear that if that last bust went wrong, he would hurt me. Somewhere
in my mind I keep thinking he
’
s
bigger than death. By the time I killed him, Brad had a serious drinking
problem. I try to blame that for his death, but it was me. I pulled the
trigger. I saw the moment and seized it.
”

“
But
you didn
’
t,
”
Erik said.
“
You were tough undercover,
right?
”

“
No.
It
’
s not like that. Fuck,
Erik, I have nothing to do with anything. I
’
ve
been on the run since. I keep thinking he
’
s
coming to kill me. I fucked up my car
…
because I parked in a used car lot and someone saw me. I drove away as the guy
ran after me and I almost crashed the car. I didn
’
t
plan to come here, yet here I am.
”

“
I
didn
’
t plan for it either,
”
Erik said.
“
And here you are.
”

Kaity leaned back and felt numb.
She missed her car. She missed the open road. She stared at Erik and could
sense the hate and pain in his eyes.

“
If
it means anything, I hate myself too,
”
Kaity whispered.
“
I wish I
could die. I fear death only because I think it will allow Brad to get to me.
Is that fucked up?
”

“
Yeah,
it is,
”
Erik whispered.
“
Very fucked up.
”

Kaity touched Erik
’
s hand. Her fingers tightened
and she pulled. Erik
’
s hand
moved. Reliving those old demons made Kaity's stomach churn. She took Erik
’
s hand and placed it to her
chest.

“
What
the fuck
…”

“
Don
’
t talk,
”
Kaity whispered.
“
Just
…
do
…”

Kaity put her head back and felt
Erik
’
s hand squeeze her.
She hurried to move her legs, opening them. Her jeans suddenly felt
constricting. Her moist panties clung to her. When Kaity looked at Erik again
he was coming at her. She fell back to the bed again, her mouth open, waiting.
When she felt Erik
’
s hot
breath on her neck, she moaned. His lips touched, once, twice, then were gone.

“
Look
at me,
”
Erik ordered.

Kaity looked at Erik. He curled his
lip as he touched her face. She couldn
’
t
tell if he was angry or horny. Probably both. Not that it mattered to Kaity.
Erik
’
s hand moved to the
back of her neck and he pulled her in and kissed her. Kaity clawed at his shirt
and tore it off his perfect body. Erik's chiseled body hovered over her. Tattoos
covered his arms and chest, but in the dark room Kaity couldn
’
t make out what the ink said.
Her hands were busy pulling at Erik
’
s
belt buckle, wanting him naked and inside her.

Erik ran his hands up Kaity's
stomach. His fingers were greedy, slicing right under her bra. He held her bare
breasts and grunted.

“
Fuck,
”
he groaned.

“
Yes.
Right now.
”

Erik took his hands away and went
to work on Kaity
’
s jeans.
Kaity ripped her shirt and bra off while Erik opened her jeans and pulled at
them. She watched Erik slither down the bed, jeans in his hands. He moved his
hands up her legs and touched her panties. Kaity thrust up and whimpered. Erik peeled
them from her ready body. When his hands came up again, he cut straight to the
insides of her legs. The tips of his fingers touched her wet slit and Kaity let
out a cry.

“
Go
ahead and scream,
”
Erik
said.
“
Nobody will give a
fuck.
”

Erik thrust two fingers into Kaity
and she arched her back. The pleasure overtook the pain and regret. This was
why she ended up in bed with Brad. This exact feeling and reason. Because
pleasure took away reality. It was the same reason the guys in the MC fucked so
many women. In all honesty, Kaity's life wasn
’
t
that much different from Erik
’
s.

His fingers exited her body and his
hands moved up. Kaity felt a streak of her own moisture deposited to her side
from Erik
’
s fingers. Her
grabbed her breasts again and then was gone. Moving from the bed, Erik stood
tall and strong. He dropped his pants, his cock popping free, long and hard.
Erik opened the nightstand drawer and took out a condom. He opened it and Kaity
felt bold. She grabbed the condom and held it in her hand. There was a split
second when she considered just throwing the condom aside. Although she wasn't
sure what that would imply; maybe it would show that she was giving everything
to Erik. Trusting him. Chancing risk. Or maybe it would show that she didn't
give a fuck at all.