Inferno: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (4 page)

He was feeling uneasy about that night’s run, but he hoped that Ace and Sheppard would be able to handle whatever came up. The Diablos had been getting lazy. The past few runs hadn’t gone well because they were making careless mistakes. They had more prospects than members, and they didn’t seem to mind when one of their brothers was killed during their encounters with the gangs. Several of their men had been arrested for drug possession, and their numbers were dwindling quickly. The Diablos were now dealing with rival gangs in the area too, and it was only a matter of time before it all caught up with them. These gangs didn’t like competition, and once they realized that they were being duped, there’d be hell to pay. Bishop didn’t want his men in the middle of the shitstorm that was about to break out. He’d always believed in safety first when it came to his brothers, so he’d started sending extra men during their deliveries just in case something went wrong. He didn’t like surprises, and he knew he should expect anything when he was dealing with the Diablos.

Chapter 5

Tessa

Myles and Tessa had a great afternoon. They started painting the signs to be displayed throughout town to advertise the fair. Drake and several of his friends came by to help. They also made a list of people to call for donations. They would need to ask for lots of food and prizes. The more they could get donated, the more profit they would make for the fundraiser. By the time they finished, they were a mess. They had paint everywhere, and Myles had a huge smile on his face.

“You seemed to enjoy yourself today, Myles. I think you did an awesome job again. You better go and get cleaned up. Your dad should be here any minute,” Tessa said with a smile.

“Sure thing, Ms. Campbell,” Myles replied as he headed to the bathroom to clean the paint off of his hands and face.

“Myles seems pretty cool, Mom. So, you made him do all this because he got in a fight in your class?” Drake asked.

“Yes… but he’s a great kid. It wasn’t really all his fault. The kid he hit was kind of asking for it. Anyway, I thought this might be fun for him, and he seems to be enjoying it. Thanks for coming and helping me today. Are you riding home with me, or are you headed off somewhere?”

“I’m gonna go eat pizza with the guys if that’s okay. JT’s mom said she would take us and then drop me off at the house when we’re done.”

“That sounds fine. Don’t be too late. We still have to finish your project for Language class. And tell your friends I said thanks for today. I’d love to have them back next week if they can make it. I’ll buy the pizza next time if they’re up for it,” Tessa said as she finished cleaning up the paint.

“Cool. See ya back at the house!”
 

Tessa met Myles in the hall and walked him to the front door to find his dad. Courtney came rushing up the hall with a big grin on her face. She had a personality that made you smile just thinking about her. She was bubbly and fun, and she never had a bad thing to say about anything. She had shoulder length red hair and bright green eyes. Her figure was on the heavier side, but it never seemed to bother her. She always wore the latest fashions whether they flattered her or not.

“Hey girlie girl! You ready for our girl’s night out tomorrow night? I’m so ready to get my dance on. I wanna line dance. Are you up for line dancing? You need to wear your comfy shoes so you can shake your thang girlfriend! I’m so tired of work, and if I hear another kid call my name, I think my ears will bleed. Yes, actually
bleed
! I need to drink.
A lot
,” Courtney said as she cocked her head to the side. “Oh… Hey, Myles. How’s it going?”

“Court, you really need to come up for air sometime. I can’t keep up at my age. Yes, I’m more than ready for tomorrow night. Mom’s meeting me to get the kids right after school. We’re meeting halfway, so I’ll be ready in time. How bout we just plan to meet at Matt’s Pub around 9?”

“Yay! I can’t wait!” Courtney said as she jumped up and down. The sound of Bishop’s motorcycle froze her mid jump. “Whoa! Who is that? Myles, is that your dad?”

“Yeah, that’s him. See ya later, Ms. Campbell,” Myles replied as he headed out the door. Tessa’s focus was drawn to Bishop. She felt a quiver of excitement just seeing him sitting on his motorcycle. He gave her a wave with a sexy smile. Tessa smiled and casually waved back. As she turned to Courtney, she noticed that she was waving like a nut in a parade with a goofy grin on her face.

“Jesus, Court! Stop that!” Tessa laughed as she grabbed her waving arm.

“OH. MY. GAWD. He’s a
total
hottie. You have
got
to get you some of that, girl! Imagine you with a sexy motorcycle dude. That would be so cool…you snuggled up on the back of his bike with your arms wrapped around him. Yeah, that would be so hot!” Courtney said as she nudged Tessa’s shoulder.

“That’s so not gonna happen. He’s Myles’s dad, and besides, I doubt he would be interested in some school teacher like me in the first place.”

“Girl, you need to look in the mirror. You totally have the hot teacher thing going on. He would definitely go for you. We’ll talk tomorrow night,” Courtney said as she headed to her car. “Wear something hot!”

This should be interesting.
Tessa gathered her things and headed home. She needed to get to the house and pack for her kids. Her mom was really looking forward to their visit, and she always had a particular dress or pair of shoes she wanted Izzie to wear. She wanted her to look perfect when she took her out to see her friends or when they went to church on Sunday. It could get a little annoying at times, but the small amount of freedom that it gave Tessa made it all worthwhile. Her parents loved their grandchildren dearly, and it meant a great deal to Tessa that they wanted to stay involved in their lives.

Chapter 6

Ace

We make good time getting to Memphis without any major issues going through Interstate 40. The usual undercover cops aren’t making their rounds tonight, so we make our way through the city pretty quickly.

The surroundings change instantly as we make our way into the Frayser area. Frayser has become the new Chicago with its dilapidated houses with large bars on the windows and miles of low-income housing. The apartments look run down with graffiti marks on the walls. There are only a few cars out, but the ones we see have dark tinted windows playing loud thumping music as they drive by. Prostitutes stand on the corners waiting to make their next dollar, calling out and strutting around to the cars passing by. We pass several liquor stores and gas stations also tagged with gang graffiti. There are a few motorcycle clubs in the Memphis area, but this is definitely gang territory. They have marked their terrain, and any fool would know to be cautious. Everyone knows you don’t mess around with these gangs. They are known to shoot first, and they don’t stop to ask questions.

The Diablo’s warehouse is behind an old local liquor store off of Whitney Avenue. It is actually an old loading dock with large roll-back doors on the front. There is one security light over the main door, otherwise it’s dark around the warehouse. We can hear their loud voices over the music as we pull to a stop. When laughter breaks out and a bottle crashes inside, we realize they must be drinking. Not a good thing under the circumstances. This is not a time to be careless.

“Tell me those motherfuckers aren’t in there drinking right now!” Sheppard shouts.

“We gotta play this cool, brother. We gotta get in and get out. Let’s unload this shit as fast as we can, and head out,” I say to Sheppard.

“No doubt. I’ll go get them to roll up the door so you can pull in,” Sheppard says as he jumps out of the truck. He walks over to knock on the side door. Shortly after, the roll-back door begins to rise.

I slowly pull the trailer into the warehouse and ease out of the truck. I check out the surroundings and notice several men standing around with beers in their hands. I quickly move to the back of the truck and begin to open the trailer. I have to release the hidden compartment, so we can get to the crates. “Where do you want us to put the crates?” I ask one of the guys closest to me.

“Just put ‘em over by that black Tahoe. We’ll have to separate ‘em and load ‘em from there,” he replies with a slur. He’s a big guy with a scraggly long red beard. He’s wearing his worn out Diablo’s cut and looks to be about fifty years old. He takes another slug from his beer and just stands there glaring at me. He looks like a real tool.

Sheppard and I begin stacking the crates by the truck while the prospects, Otis and Bulldog, stand watch. A young, pimple-faced kid with an old cap and jeans comes over to us. He can’t be over fifteen years old, but he walks with confidence. He asks, “You guys need any help?”

“Nah man, we got this. Thanks, though. Why don’t you go help my guys keep a look out? We should be done here in a minute,” I say to the kid, wondering what the hell he is doing here with these guys. I can tell this kid has no business running with these pricks.

When we are almost done, Otis calls over to me, “Hey, Ace? I think someone is out there.” He points his finger to a light shining through the window. One of the Diablos also sees the light and quickly pulls out his weapon.

“We got company!” the red-bearded Diablo shouts. The Diablo crew starts moving to the windows with their guns drawn.

“Let’s get moving guys!” I shout to my brothers. “Get in the truck. We need to get out of here before all hell breaks loose.”

Sheppard and I quickly start gathering the guys up into the trailer. As we are loading up, gunfire explodes throughout the warehouse. Total chaos surrounds us. The gunfire continues as the Diablo crew shouts back and forth.

“It’s the cops! You gotta take him out!” one of the Diablos shout. “Shoot the motherfucker, and let’s get the hell out of here!”

Things go to shit fast. Several of the Diablos continue to fire shots at the cop outside, and I know we have to get out now. It won’t be long before more cops arrive. As I lift the door, I see a cop look at me with his gun pointed right at me.

“Watch out, Ace!” Sheppard screams, and I feel a crushing pain as the smoldering metal erupts in the middle of my chest. I look down and see warm blood flow down my shirt. I instantly feel weak and drop to the ground.
Oh, shit. How did I fuck this up so bad?
I can hear the Diablos continue to shoot at the cop, as Sheppard pulls me into the truck. I know Sheppard is trying to talk to me, but as we pull out of the warehouse, everything goes black.

Chapter 7

Bishop

The guys had gathered at the clubhouse immediately after Bishop shared the news about Ace. He’d died just as they’d pulled out of the warehouse. Bishop had called everyone in to the clubhouse to let them know what had happened, and the news hit them hard. They had lost brothers in the past, but never like this. The Diablo’s negligence had cost them one of their best men, and there would be a reckoning.

“I’m gonna get those motherfuckers if it’s the last thing I do,” Sheppard shouted as he threw his beer bottle against the wall. “They’re gonna pay for this shit. They’ll wish they’d never crossed paths with the Devil Chasers!”

“I can’t believe those goddamn idiots were actually drinking during a delivery in the middle of the damn hood. They deserve to be taken out just for being so damn stupid,” Doc bellowed.

“Damn straight, brother. I say we ride out tonight and take their whole club out. We’ll send them straight to hell one by one!” Bulldog growled and slammed his fist through the wall. His fuse was about to blow.

Pops was one of the older brothers and always tended to voice his opinions at the wrong time. He was set in his ways, and he didn’t care who he pissed off. He turned to Bulldog and said, “He should’ve never opened that gate without checking things out first. That was a rookie mistake, and he should’ve known better.”

Doc clenched his fists, and stepped face to face with Pops. “You best shut your goddamn mouth before I knock you on your ass, old man.”

“Is that so? I’d like to see you try, motherfucker,” Pops sneered.

Bishop knew things were about to head south if he didn’t intervene. “Fucking STOP! You need to pull your shit together. I know that you’re all pissed. Hell, I’m pissed. But we’ve gotta handle this the right way and keep a level head. They’ll pay for their fuck up tonight, one way or another. We’re done dealing with those assholes. Anyone that had doubts about ending our arrangement with them should know now that this was the final straw. Not only are we done with them, they’re going to pay for this shit tonight. Ace will not die in vain,” Bishop said with determination.

Shortly after Bishop spoke, the guys began to settle down and spent the rest of the night together drowning their sorrows. As the morning light began to creep through the clubhouse window, Renegade and Pops began drinking again. Several of the other members were in their rooms sleeping off their hangovers.