Payback (Dueling Devils) (2 page)

Chapter One

D
emon paused on the edge of the bed, glancing back to take in Ardy’s form in the early morning sunlight. Her creamy, brown curves were a temptation he almost couldn’t resist. Any other morning, he’d be slipping his dick into her moist folds and waking her up properly. He ran his fingertips over her warm flesh.
She looks so damn young right now.
Supple and soft, her skin was the opposite of his calloused, blood-stained hands.
A better man would’ve let her go. Mine…
Everything in him balked at the thought of letting her go. He’d staked his claim last night, put her under the list of people you didn’t fuck with, unless you wanted your heart ripped out.

I guess I never claimed to be a good man.

Moaning softly, she rolled onto her back and exhaled. Her eyelids fluttered. She spotted him seated on the side of the bed and her eyes went wide. Pushing her sleep tousled curls from her round face, she studied him with slightly unfocused gaze. “What’s going on?” she asked in a husky voice.

The vibration of her voice filled his mind
with erotic images of their bodies entwined. She licked her lips and he cleared his throat.
Time to get my mind on the business at hand.
“Going to church.”

She gasped
and sat up, suddenly, fully awake. “Is this about last night?”

Demon paused. “You know we don’t talk about business to women. But you’re not stupid either, so I’ll say yes and leave it at that.”

“Are they going to come back?”

The fear that crept into her eyes hit him like a fist to the gut.
His heart raced and he fisted the covers, willing himself calm. She’d had enough drama over the past twenty-four hours. The last thing she needed to add on top of it was seeing him lose his temper. He didn’t earn the name Demon by chance. If he unleashed his rage here, he’d destroy this room and set Harley and Rocket off. “Fuck no. They’re not that stupid or suicidal. They caught us with our pants down. It won’t happen again. I have men doing drive bys and two Prospects sleeping in the front room with enough firepower to take down a small army.” He leaned down and palmed the side of her face, rubbing the petal soft skin of her cheek with his thumb. “I’ll keep your safe. That’s a promise you can count on.”

She blinked
and the moisture in her eyes receded. “I know that, really I do. I’m just—scared as fuck.”

“And that’s okay. I don’t expect you to be anything else. “

She bit her bottom lip. “I wish you could stay.”

“
You know I need to handle this. The boys will keep you safe. I need you to be there for the kids.”

“I will.”

“I know.” A feeling of pride rose in his chest. She’d protected his children with the fierceness of cunning of a lioness guarding her cubs. He would never forget that. “Now, I need to leave. I’ll probably be gone all day. If you need anything let Rambler or Mumble know.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Get some more rest. It was a long night and the kids won’t be up anytime soon.”

“Right.”

He wanted to linger and reassure, but duty called. The M.C. came first always. Technically, that included his family, but as with soldiers, family members often were placed on the back burner when duty called. He stood from the bed and moved to the dresser. He grabbed a pair of clean boxers, jeans and headed to the bathroom without looking back. He could feel her eyes burning a hole in his back. This was the reality of life with him. She’d have to get used to it sooner or later. He’d never been coddled and he wouldn’t do it for her. It only made reality more painful when the time of pretense came to an end.
I’m many things, but a liar ain’t one of them.

Beneath the steamy spray of the shower
, he mentally plotted his revenge. Louis fucked up, coming after him. They’d seen their cuts. Even from a distance, it was unmistakable. No one else wore that particular dusty sand color on their cuts. The Sidewinders were about to get their head lopped off. Louis fucked with the wrong man. The beady-eyed bastard was a lot like the snake his crew was named for. With his greasy black hair, nervous countenance and questionable reputation, the man inspired no trust. Demon hadn’t wanted to cut a deal with him in the first place, but after Natasha, he’d been a fucking mess. That was no time to go to war.

He
clenched his jaw and the muscles there ticked.
I’m all better now and I’ll sure as fuck have my revenge.
Nothing short of watching the light go out behind Louis’s eyes would soothe the burning going on inside his chest. Finishing his shower swiftly, he dressed and headed out into the living room.

Rambler sat up
straighter on the couch. “Prez?”

“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 han
dle 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 hi
s 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.”