Devil's Angels Boxed Set: Bikers and Alpha Bad Boy Erotic Romance (30 page)

CHAPTER THREE

Reaching towards the poker table, Kat picked up one of the cigarette cartons one of the guys had left and pulled out a smoke. Reaching for a matching lighter, she took a drag and blew the smoke out, along with a deep breath she’d been holding in since morning.

“Three years smoke free, and now look at me,” Kat mumbled as she took another drag and leaned further back in her chair.

The bar was quiet, only a few regulars crowding around the TV with mugs of beer in their hands. It was still early morning, much earlier than Kat usually woke up, but there she was. And it was all because of Solomon Parker.

How many times had they danced around each other? Smiled, flirted, suggested, but never actually got around to the actual fucking? Probably too many times for Kat to count. But then Jamison died and suddenly they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, because they knew that everything was about to go to hell.

“What to do? What to do?” Kat thought aloud as she finished her cigarette and crushed it in an ashtray.

Mindy had called her sometime during the night, after Solomon had passed out on her bed and told Kat that she suspected the biker was her husband's murderer. No, surprise there. Things only got worse as texts and calls came through, all saying the same thing, all coming to her. It was obvious who the new president was going to be, but even more obvious what the new president would have to do.

Hours, that was all the time Solomon Parker had left. The Free Guns would track him down, and tonight at their rally accusations would fly, and unless Solomon had some evidence that he didn’t do it, or evidence that someone else did, the man was dead.

“You alright over there, Kat?” Billy, one of the recent hires, called out to her from behind the bar. The kid barely looked old enough to drive a car, but here he was serving alcohol.

“I’m alright, kid,” Kat called back, resisting the urge to go over and run her fingers through his black curls as she got up and stretch, every muscle in her body sore from overuse. It was a nice soreness, but on the back of a bike, it felt like shit.

Throwing some cash on the table, Kat pulled out her phone and checked her messages.

@ Woods 10. Got S.

Balling her hand into a fist, Kat texted a confirmation and walked straight out of the bar, got on her bike, and rode till all she could hear was the blood in her ears and the wind rushing by.

***

Moonbeams bounced off the seductive crimson paint on the side of Kat’s bike as she rolled into the clearing and saw the Free Gun’s assembles, most of the members wearing grim faces. A tiny cluster of men stood off to the side, looking like they were circling someone. Kat didn’t have to guess who that someone was.

Rolling to a stop, Kat set her kickstand and climbed off her bike. All eyes turned to her as she took off her helmet and set it on her motorcycle. Faces that she’d known for years, girl friends and father figures, all watching her with respect and trust.

“Let’s get on with it then.” Kat nodded to the circle of men and moved towards the group, her boots digging into the soft grass.

Cigarettes fell to the forest floor and were crushed beneath boot heels as the members stepped away from their bikes and gathered closer. Kat felt their eyes bore into her back, assessing her, sizing her up, and determining if she was really the new president they wanted. The election was more like a popularity contest that Kat knew she would win hands down any day of the week, but tonight was just her cementing her role.

“Glad you could make it, Kat. Hopefully this won’t take too long,” A man named Ryan said as patted her on the shoulder.

Kat nodded, knowing that he was among the many who believed Solomon was guilty. Perhaps sex was clouding her brain, but Kat didn’t think Solomon was guilty anymore. If anything his continual silence made her think he was trying to protect someone.

Still, if push came to shove, she’d stay beside the Free Guns and honor their wishes, even if those wishes left stains on her soul. She was already stained, one more wouldn’t hurt.

Stopping in front of Solomon, Kat tried to look at him objectively, like the criminal everyone saw him as. Bruised and bloody, but still smiling, the man was on his knees, one eye swollen shut and a cut lip. Kat had no doubt there were more bruises and if the slightly darker stains on his navy t-shirt told her anything, there was probably more blood as well.

“Solomon,” Kat greeted the man, her tone ice cold reflecting none of the warmth from only a few hours ago. Even at that moment Kat could still smell him on her skin, feel his hands running through her hair, his nails digging into her hips as he thrust into her body with such vehemence she thought he might actually break her.

But then again, he’d been right. A part of her desired him so fiercely that she didn’t care if he broke her.

“Kathy,” Solomon returned with a slight cough and then turned his head and spit out blood.

Turning away from him, Kat racked her gaze around the Free Gun’s members looking for any suspicious characters, anyone who might have just as much motive as Solomon. There were a few, but none so hopeless that they’d resort to killing.
And
, Kat thought as she returned her gaze back to Solomon,
none of these men have been sent to jail for attempted manslaughter except Solomon.

The Free Guns weren’t perfect, and jail wasn’t a new phenomenon, but they lived by a strict code. Jamison had made sure all of his members remained drug free and fight free, people got off the bandwagon sometimes, but they almost always got back up and back on.

“I’m not going to bullshit anyone; we all know why we’re here,” Kat began, raising her voice so everyone could hear her. “Most of you think Solomon here killed Jamison--that he tampered with his bike in some way--and you want retribution.”

A hush settled over the crowd, the tension skyrocketing. Kat held her breath wondering if anyone was about cry foul or stand up for Solomon.

Mindy screamed an outburst about how the rest of the Guns wanted Solomon's head and lunged. One of the guys held her back as she clawed and kicked to move closer. Kat glared at Mindy until she finally went quiet, with only silent tears racing down her cheeks.

“All because I wanted to restore this club to its former glory. The good old days, instead of the groups of pussies it’s turned into.” Solomon grinned and burst out on a laughing. One of the members standing next to Solomon raised his steel toed boot and kicked Solomon hard in the side.

“Knock it off, Isaac,” Kat snapped and placed her hand on the gun holstered at her side.

The kicking stopped immediately, and the members were silent again. Closing her eyes, Kat knew that she was running out of choices. She’d never be forced into killing Solomon, but if no one vouched for him, then she’d do what she had to do.

“Who thinks Solomon murderer Jamison?” Kat asked as she opened her eyes.

Hands flew up, and with every hand that went up, Kat locked eyes with its owner. Eyes were, after all, the windows to the soul. While her members harbored secrets, no one in the Free Guns had killed Jamison, at least no one present.

Sighing under her breath, she asked the final question. “Who wants Solomon Parker dead?”

A roar erupted from the member, deafening and blood thirsty all at once. Mindy hadn’t been wrong, they all wanted his head.

Removing her gun from the holster, Kat raised it to her eye level and aimed it at Solomon. His lips twisted in a sardonic smile as blood trailed out of the corner of his mouth. “You were so much warmer yesterday when I was fucking you, Kit-Kat,” his voice was loud and clear if a little rough.

Kat shrugged, and took off the safety, finger on the trigger. “I was a lot of things yesterday. But today, I am the leader of the Free Guns!”

The club cheered and threw around a few “fuck right”s and “Hell yeah's. If that didn’t cement her role as president, Kat wasn’t sure what did.

“Tell the Devil: Kathy Sullivan says hi,” Kat said coolly as she steeled her heart and--

A gasp, a shuffling sound: “Wait! Don’t shoot!”

--pulled the trigger.

CHAPTER FOUR

Kat smiled at Solomon, looking into his piercing blue eyes as the cry came from inside the group. Blood trickled from Solomon’s forehead, dripping onto his navy shirt, but he never stopped looking at Kat.

“You got spared, Parker,” Kat holstered her gun and turned to the voice that had issued the cry.

Billy, the new hire from the bar, was pushed toward Kat. Watching as Billy stumbled and shook, Kat didn’t feel an ounce of pity for the kid. He’d had plenty of time to come to Solomon’s rescue and say that Solomon didn’t kill the old president, but he waited until the last possible moment to do so.

Luckily for both men, Kat was a fantastic shot and she’d flicked her wrist at the same moment the gun had fired, grazing Solomon’s forehead.

“You got some nerve, kid,” a member sneered as Billy looked Kat in the eyes.

Kat stared into his brown eyes, wondering why he of all people had stepped forward and held off Solomon’s execution. It wasn’t that Kat wasn’t grateful for the kid. She was.

Taking a life was something she’d never thought she’d have to do, but being the president of the Free Guns meant that sometimes she needed to bloody her hands a bit for the good of the club. She’d seen Jamison do it and Kat knew that if she wanted to fill his shoes, she’d have to do it too. So she’d put aside her own budding feelings about the ruggedly handsome biker Solomon Parker, and done her duty.

... or would have, if it weren't for the kid.

“What is it, Billy?” Kat turned toward the kid and gave him her undivided attention.

“Don’t say a fucking word,” Solomon growled from his place on the forest floor, and was met with a swift kick in the side.

Kat turned to the member who had kicked Solomon–the same one who’d kicked him before. Voice deadly calm, Kat stared at the young man. “Do it again, Ryan, and you’re going to lose
something.”

Ryan took a step away from Solomon. Kat smiled internally, reveling in the authority she’d just wielded. It was yet another sign of her place in the club, her position. She had it, no one wanted it, so she wielded it any way she wanted.

“Answer my question, Billy, or I put one right between his eyes,” Kat warned as she touched her gun meaningfully. She wouldn’t do it though; Solomon Parker had already faced death once today, she wasn’t going to put him through it again. Kat might have been willing to be a murderer two seconds ago, but times changed, and one adapted.

“He didn’t do it,” Billy whispered, his hands shaking so badly it pained Kat to watch.

Peering closely at the kid, who looked like he was barely out of high school and far too pure to be working at a biker bar, Kat took her time. There was something about the kid that didn’t sit right with her, something that gave her pause.

Kat watched Billy’s chest expand as he sucked in a breath, noted the shaking hand he used to push back his black hair as he exhaled, “I did it. I killed Jamison.”

***

The clearing grew deadly silent, as every member turned and looked at the young bartender. Billy didn’t flinch away from everyone’s gaze or take a step back; he stood his ground and stared at Kat defiantly.

“You,” Kat drew out the word as she crossed her arms and cocked her hip in disbelief, “killed Jamison St. John?”

Kat eyed the kid up and down, trying to see the murderer beneath the scrawny arms and legs, those innocent eyes. The kid didn’t have the mark of a killer, didn’t give off any strange vibe. In fact, the only vibe Kat got from him was a protective one.

Billy nodded his head vigorously as his eyes darted to the still-kneeling Solomon Parker, “Yes, I—”

“Shut your mouth!” Solomon barked angrily at the kid, surprising everyone. Kat turned her head to look at the dark-haired rider, taking careful note of his features. The man looked pissed, like he was about to clean up a child’s mess.

Turning his head to Kat, Solomon growled, “He didn’t do anything. Idiot’s just trying to protect me.”

Kat carefully shifted her gaze from one man to the other, and slowly realization dawned on her. They both had rainwater eyes and midnight-black hair, but whereas Solomon was ripped and corded with muscle, Billy was scrawny with youth. She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before, but under the bright light of the moon, the similarities couldn’t be missed.

A collective gasp escaped from the club members as Kat said the words clearly and loudly. “You’re Solomon’s brother.”

Goodness. Things are getting confusing,
Kat thought as she rubbed her head. The Free Guns began to murmur and whisper, theories flying across the clearing. It was hard to know what to believe with a relative that no one knew thrown into the mix. But on top on everything, it was late, emotions were running high, and Kat didn’t want to make a mistake she would regret the rest of her life. She’d been a millisecond away from one already tonight.

Taking her hand away from her eyes, Kat looked out at the sea of bikers clumped in small groups. Kat could see the dissension in the group and knew that it needed to stop. The Free Guns needed to stay together and stay strong, and Kat needed to remind them of that.

“Everybody be quiet!” Kat shouted over the voices, pitching her voice high so she could be heard.

Heads whipped in her direction with lips curled in anger and distaste. “I suggest all of you go home. It’s late, emotions are high, and no one wants to do anything they might regret in the morning.”

Mindy broke from her group and walked toward Kat, arms spread wide in anger. “Solomon did it, Kat! The monster killed my husband! Now put him–”

Kat’s voice was deadly low, her eyes so hard that they stopped Mindy’s tirade immediately. “I suggest you go home.”

There were a few more tense moments before members finally began to get on their bikes and leave the grove. Kat turned to the men surrounding Solomon and called them by name. “Joseph, Dominic, and John, stay.”

Once the other bikers were gone, Kat turned to the few men still left. “Dominic, take Billy. John, take Solomon. Joseph, you’re riding in front. I got the back.” The orders were issued with speed and certainty. Not a single man protested as they followed her orders, nor did a single one question her authority. It was at that moment that Kat realized she hadn’t needed to kill Solomon to become a leader. She just needed to overcome a challenge. And now that she’d done so, she knew she was the president. In practice if not yet in name.

Climbing on her sleek and shiny crimson bike, Kat nodded to the men as she tugged on her matching red helmet. “Let’s head to the bar.”