Never Let Go (Devil's Chariots Motorcycle Club Book 2) (7 page)

CHAPTER TEN

Phil looked at the guys in the club. They were waiting patiently on him to tell them all what was going on. Dan's old lady had distracted them, but only briefly. Her nonsense hadn't held their attention, and he knew that he was going to have to continue. All he wanted was the moment it took to form the right sentences in his head.

“What's up Phil?” Aaron was the first to break the silence. “What's going on?”

Phil took a deep breath before he spoke. Clearing his throat, he made sure that his voice was heard by everyone.

“There's some trouble brewing,” he answered, and that got everyone's attention.

“What kind of fucking trouble?” Stan asked.

“Hell's Order.” Phil looked down.

There was no need to say much more. They would know. Hell's Order was a familiar name. All too familiar lately. The grim expressions of his brothers told him that they understood.

“What are we gonna do about it?” Stan asked

***

Well, they had his attention. Johnny heard the name and that was all it took. Hell's Order. Holy shit. They were really going to start some trouble with them?

Hell's Order. The name itself implied negative feelings for everyone, but especially for him. They were another motorcycle club. One that wasn't so decent. Johnny knew that he and his brothers did some things that would bend the scope of what most call decent, but he also knew that they were nothing compared to Hell's Order.

The guys from Hell's Order had no sense of decency, honesty, or loyalty. They were the ones who had come after him. Multiple times. The last time they'd killed Dan. His best friend. Beth's husband. The father of her child. So, the name automatically garnered his attention more than the others. He had a personal vendetta.

How the hell could those guys even think they wanted to start any kind of trouble with the Devil's Chariot? Did they have a death wish? Obviously so, considering they were starting trouble.

“What kind of trouble?” he asked before Stan's question had even been answered.

***

Beth was listening at the top of the stairs. They wanted to make her feel like she was unwelcome in her own home, then she'd find out why. She knew from being with Dan when she needed to leave the room. Something about those guys preferred their bitches to be gone. Well, Beth was no ordinary bitch.

She'd never been a club girl and had met Dan elsewhere. She considered herself far above those club girls. Plus, they were sitting in her own fucking living room; so, if she wanted to listen in, then damn it she would.

She recognized the name Hell's Order, but she didn't know why—probably something Dan had mentioned at one point. She wasn't sure, but she heard the tone of Johnny's voice, and it wasn't a good thing, keeping her attention on the conversation they were having.

***

“Threats,” Phil answered.

“What kind of fucking threats?” Stan asked.

The guys sat still and focused on their leader. It was times like these that the brothers showed their loyalty. In one moment, with the mention of one club, all of the troubles amidst them were gone. Johnny and his attention to Dan's old lady wasn't important because—in that moment—they were one.

Phil looked over at Johnny. He was one of them; so, he would have to hear what was going on. However, Phil wasn't positive about telling him—and for a number of reasons.

Johnny wouldn't take the threats in the same way the rest of them would. He would take it far more personally. He was the one they were originally after. His best friend had died. Now, he had a personal stake in the family left behind. Mostly, he was a man with a grudge and a reason to be protective.

That could make him dangerous—to Hell's Order, yes—but also to his own brothers. It could also cause even more chaos in his own personal situation. However, Phil had no choice. He had to include Johnny unless they tabled the threats and decided what to do about Dan's old lady.

***

Johnny was tense. His body was so stiff that he wasn't sure he was going to be able to move when he stood. What the fuck was Hell's Order up to? Phil seemed hesitant to say anything. He'd also been eyeballing Johnny for a minute, and he got the distinct impression that he was the reason for the hesitation.

“Look Phil,” Johnny stood and felt the tension in his calves, “you need to tell us what the fuck is going on. Your face is pale. Your eyes are wide. Something serious is up. We need to know what if we are going to stop it.”

Phil nodded. “What if it can't be stopped?”

“Anything can be stopped Phil,” Aaron said.

“I wish that had been the case last time,” Phil looked down.

Suddenly, there was silence. Everyone knew what Phil meant. If they could have stopped it, Dan would be here. The mere mention sent a stab of pain and guilt through Johnny. He knew he wished he could bring his friend back. He also knew if he could that'd mean he lost Beth. How the fuck could he have even a small hint of happiness over his brother and best friend's passing?

“Well, it wasn't,” Stan injected. “Dan's gone. So what do the bastards that killed him think they are going to do to us now?”

***

Beth's heart stopped for a moment. She tried not to make her gasp noticeable. She didn't want anyone to know that she was at the top of the stairs listening to what they said; but, she had been thrown off-guard by the comment.

That's how she knew the name. That was the club that was responsible for taking her husband. The father of her child. The man she'd loved with all she was. Until Johnny. She couldn't even think of what life would be like if Johnny weren't there. And she refused to think of who she'd choose if she could have either of them.

So this club was the one that took him, and now they were threatening them again? Did that put Johnny in danger? The question seemed stupid. Of course it put him in danger. He was one of them—at least for now. God, she hoped those guys would decide to leave it alone.

***

“Us? Nothing,” Phil answered solemnly.

Nothing in him wanted to share the rest. He wanted to just make this problem disappear. Something told him that would never happen, so he sat down on the edge of the empty recliner beside him. How the hell was he going to repeat this to the guys?

“I don't understand,” Aaron commented.

Phil's eyes dropped to the floor, wanting to bypass the whole conversation and pretend he hadn't been told. He wanted to go back to arguing over Johnny's love life; but, he couldn't.

“It's not us they are threatening,” he replied. “At least not directly.”

***

Johnny saw it. The rest of them didn't. He saw Phil's eyes dart towards the stairs, as he was speaking. It was subtle. Body language that most didn't pay attention to. However, Johnny used body language a lot to get by in the world; so, he noticed.

The implication of that glance wasn't lost on him. The words spoken at the same time gave it away. Phil wasn't referring to any personal threats. The Hell's Order was threatening her. Beth. Her baby. They were threatening to come after them.

His breathing was staggered, and he felt sweat forming along his brow. He wanted to punch something right that moment. However, common sense and self-preservation told him to calm down and not react. The guys couldn't see him that angry over her.

“What did they say?” Johnny asked and nodded so that Phil understood he got it.

“You know them, Johnny,” Phil answered. “Take your best guess”

The mere thought of his own guess angered Johnny even more. What gave those assholes the nerve to threaten anything or anyone?

“Who are they threatening?” Stan asked. “Us?”

Phil shook his head, and again Johnny noticed his eyes glance towards the stairs. His blood began to boil stronger and harder.

“I don't fucking think so,” Johnny exclaimed, and all eyes turned towards him.

***

She heard him yell. Holy shit, he'd scared her. What the hell was going on? This gang, and yes she knew they didn't like that term—but these fuckers killed her husband and she'd say what she wanted—was making threats. About what or towards whom, she wasn't sure. However, whatever had just transpired pissed Johnny off worse than she'd ever seen.

Beth felt a little scared. She didn't like to hear that anger from him, reminding her of who and what he was. When they were sitting in the living room watching movies, it was easy to forget about the biker side of him. The side that ended up in dangerous situations.

She hated herself in that moment. She was doing it again, pretending that the man she loved wasn't who he really was—much like she'd done with Dan and look where that had gotten her. She didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't want to know what Johnny was thinking or planning to do. She just wanted to go to bed and forget the emotions soaring through her body. Baby was making her sleepy, and the stress she was feeling wasn't helping.

***

“Johnny, we have to remain calm,” Phil stated. “We need to tend to this, but we have to do it right.”

As he watched Johnny fidget on the sofa, Phil regretted telling him. He had known what would happen. There was no way to hide emotion when danger was present. None of the guys would believe that Johnny wasn't involved with Dan's old lady.

Shit, the Hell's Order didn't believe it. That's why she was the target. Their original goal had been Johnny, but Dan got in the way. Then, some things had happened to one of their guys, and now they wanted revenge. It was justice in their minds, which meant Johnny.

What better way to handle it than to go after what mattered the most to him? At this point, a person would be hard pressed to find someone that didn't realize that Dan's old lady was his weakness. Shit, before that nobody would have guessed he had a fucking weakness.

Johnny wasn't helping himself out by reacting like a jealous husband. He was actually making it worse.

“Calm down, Johnny,” Chris said to him.

“Calm down hell,” he answered. “They are threatening her and the baby? They will have to go through me first.”

Phil shook his head, as he realized that this situation was going to get worse before it would ever get better.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Beth heard the door shut, and the house fill with silence. They had left. She wondered if Johnny had left too—probably so. He was so busy trying to convince his brothers that he wasn't messing with her that he wouldn't have stopped to consider her feelings as he walked out.

She was so tired of coming in second to what amounted to a gang of men too old to be in a gang. Dan had always done that, and she'd begged and pleaded. Her love had kept her there when she didn't really want to put up with it. Now, Dan was gone, and her baby would never know its daddy.

Yet, here she was doing it again. The same shitty people making threats. The same gang of bikers dictating her life. The love inside her holding her on. However, she had more to consider now. She had a baby. She didn't want this life anymore. Maybe it was time to tell Johnny she was done. If he was going to always choose them, then maybe she'd choose herself.

***

It killed him to shut the door and get on his bike without even saying goodbye. He knew it would hurt her, but he had no choice. The club called, and he had to answer—especially this.

As he drove along the streets towards the clubhouse, he contemplated everything that was happening. He wanted Beth and the baby, but the guys wouldn't have that. Now, they were in danger. So, he was about to try and defend their lives while telling her she had to sneak around with him.

What kind of a man would do that to someone like her? He didn't want to. Maybe he should just let her go. Then, she'd be happy and be able to raise her kid in peace. However, the thought of a life without her made him wish Hell's Order would have gotten to him the first time.

So, instead, he had to figure out how to tone down his own emotions so that he wasn't as obvious to the club. They'd never sit by and let this go. He had to keep them happy, keep Beth happy, keep himself happy—and all the while manage to take care of this problem with Hell's Order. It was a lot to tackle at one time, but he was damn sure going to try.

***

Chris heard Beth crying. She didn't know that he'd stayed behind. Phil had thought that someone should probably thank her for letting them be here and let her know that they'd be in touch soon but had some things to tend to. However, she hadn't come downstairs yet.

He felt like he should say something. Let her know he was there. But she'd started crying and that had made it awkward for him to speak. He didn't want to intrude in her private moments. But then again, sitting there silent while she cried and had no clue he was there felt kind of like an intrusion in itself.

Nobody had asked him to say anything to her about Johnny, and he was under the impression that the threats against her were to be kept to himself. However, he felt like she should know something. He didn't like hearing her cry.

“Bethany,” he called in a shy and quiet voice. “Bethany...”

The sobbing from upstairs stopped.

***

She heard a voice. Was that Chris? She wasn't positive, but she thought it must be. Why had she not known that he was there? Did he hear her cry? Suddenly, she felt like a jackass, sitting in her room and crying while some big bad biker dude listened from downstairs.

“Yes?” She faked a smile in her voice and hoped he didn't know. “Chris?”

“Yes, it's me,” he said and laughed. “Want a glass of water?”

“I'm on my way down,” she answered and got out of the bed.

Beth hoped he didn't know about the crying. At the very least, it appeared that he was not going to entertain a conversation about it, which was a good thing. She didn't need to feel any dumber than she already did.

“I'm going to order a pizza,” he stated, and she heard him talking on the phone.

Taking the steps slowly, Beth wondered how the hell she always ended up eating pizza with a dude from a biker gang.

***

The text made no sense. He read it and reread it and it still made no sense, “
I’m not and won't be and can't be and well that's just the way it is no matter what we want it to be and I'm sorry but that's the best I've got.”

What in the holy hell was she talking about? She's not what? She won't be what? She can't be what? Johnny needed a fucking drink and then maybe her nonsense would make some sense. But even then, he doubted it. Chances were good she didn't even know what the fuck she was talking about.

“Whiskey,” he told the bartender at the club house.

The club girls were all trying to approach him. Johnny had a way with them. They loved his look and mostly loved his aloof attitude. However, it wasn't aloofness. He just didn't give a fuck at that moment. He wanted to find Hell's Order and take care of them. He was worried, angry, and hurt.

“That blonde over there seems really interested,” Aaron told him, as he took the stool beside him.

“That's nice,” Johnny answered. “Unless she can get me to Hell's Order, I don't give a fuck.”

With that, he walked off. He wasn't playing games right now. He may not be able to admit he loved Beth, but he sure as hell didn't have to play sexual escapades with the whores to prove himself. He had bigger fish to fry at the moment.

***

“That was delicious,” Beth nodded her approval.

She had to admit that Chris was good company. She wondered how he ended up with the Devil's Chariot. He just didn't seem to fit in. He was a good guy—not that they were bad so to speak. Well, some of them maybe. However, Chris was different. He had a very distinct good side.

“I'm glad.” He smiled at her.

“So why'd you stay?” Beth was always straight to the point.

She watched him contemplate his answer. He gave it a lot of thought before he opened his mouth to speak.

“Phil wanted someone to let you know what was up,” he started. “But really I wanted to. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I wanted to tell you that Johnny wanted to stay. I just wanted to be here.”

Beth nodded and didn't speak a word. She wanted to ask him questions. She wanted to see if he'd be loyal to them or her, but she didn't. She knew he cared, and she decided not to push him the wrong way.

***

“He's going to be a problem,” Stan suggested to his old friend.

“I hope not,” Phil commented.

The two of them were watching Johnny at the bar. He was downing whiskey and glaring at the wall. He didn't even notice the club girls who kept trying to talk to him. Hell, he'd barely acknowledged Aaron when he was sitting with him.

Phil hoped like hell that Johnny wouldn't fail them at this moment. He was trying to believe that Johnny would hold up to their expectations—and not the ones that said he'd fuck it all up for a broad, especially a broad who had belonged to one of their brothers.

“We'll see,” Stan said.

***

Johnny worried about Beth. He hadn't talked to her since he'd left with the club. He wanted to know if she was okay, especially since Hell’s Order was threatening her.

If anything happened to her or the baby, Johnny wasn't sure what he'd do. Over the course of time—since the funeral—Beth had become very important in Johnny's world. Actually, she'd become the most important person in Johnny's world.

He knew if he had said those words to her, then she'd have asked him why he chose the club if that were true. He didn't have an answer—only that they were his family. It was his oath to them, and he couldn't just back out of that.

Johnny didn't have a lot in the world. His bike. His biker family. His clothes. That's why his word and his pride meant so very much. He may not be able to offer others the money or things they wanted, but he sure as hell could be honest and loyal.

Even if it meant hurting the person he most wanted to protect.

***

Beth sat still and quiet. She tried to avoid the awkwardness that came with Chris sitting through a movie with her. She didn't want to spend the evening with him. She wanted to talk to Johnny, but he'd never even replied to her message.

Reading back through it, she could see why. It said far more than he would want to deal with, so she didn't expect he would reply.

Chris had told her that the club was going out to do a group job. She presumed it had something to do that gang that had killed Dan. She probably didn't want to know what they were doing, so she didn't ask.

All she really wanted was to go to sleep. Having this baby had made her really sleepy most of the time. However, it was rude to ask him to leave so suddenly, wasn't it?

***

“What do we do?” Aaron asked. “We need to do something,” he finished.

The club was gathered around to discuss their plans for handling Hell's Order. They needed to be organized and well-prepared. This club was one of the worst and one of the toughest. While Phil had no doubt they could handle them, he knew it would be a fight.

He had just spent the last hour telling them all of the threats and the danger that everyone was in. The main goal was of course to get Bethany and her baby. They wanted retribution for a fellow brother in their club who was hurt severely after Dan's death.

They would take out anyone in the process, but for the most part they were focused on families and significant others. This put a few of them who had spouses and kids in a bad spot.

“She was Dan's old lady,” Stan said. “Regardless of our current issues, we protect her.”

The guys, Johnny included, nodded in agreement.

“I say we go after them,” Johnny piped up. “Before they have a chance to attack.”

The guys looked at each other, and Phil decided to take a vote. Looking around the room, he smiled. “Guess it's decided,” he said. “We are going to launch an attack on the Hell's Order Motorcycle Club.