RUTHLESS HOLD (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (3 page)

“
Hey,
”
a voice said from behind her.

Eden turned and saw Dimitrio
standing there. He was a beautiful man but they were far too close as friends
to let anything get in the way of that.

“
Hey,
”
I said.

“
Working
OT?
”

“
Just
sitting and thinking.
”

“
You
could do that at home. I need to make a drop at the bank in the morning. Are
you okay opening?
”

“
Sure
thing,
”
Eden said.

“
You
sure you
’
re okay?
”

“
You
don
’
t know a lot about me,
”
Eden said.
“
Do you?
”

“
What
I know I like.
”

“
I
was adopted, Dimitrio.
”

“
Oh,
shit,
”
he said.
“
I didn
’
t know that.
”

“
And
my adoptive parents were killed in a car accident. I never really had anything
go my way.
”

“
Don
’
t say that, Eden. You
’
re good at what you do.
Everything bad that happens comes with good. It balances the universe out.
”

“
You
really believe in that kind of stuff?
”

“
I
do,
”
Dimitrio said.
“
It
’
s
how I survive. Rain sucks, but it makes flowers grow. Right?
”

“
Sure,
”
Eden said and grinned.
“
This is going to sound crazy. I
got a letter from my birth father.
”

“
Whoa,
”
he said, eyes wide.
“
That
’
s deep.
”

“
Yeah.
He sent it like almost a year ago,
”
Eden said.
“
I got it just
as I was starting to settle in here. It was the first time I felt comfortable
and I just didn
’
t know what
to do with it. I mean, he laid it out pretty clear there was nothing good
waiting for me with him. It wasn
’
t
like my father was someone famous and rich.
”

Dimitrio nodded.
“
So what
’
s holding you back?
”

“
Now?
It
’
s the time. It
’
s been too long.
”

“
Don
’
t say that. Timing is never
right in life.
”

Eden smiled again. She looked into
Dimitiro
’
s kind brown eyes
and bit her bottom  lip. She opened her mouth to say something but her words
were stolen with the sound of a gun.

By the time Eden managed to
scream, Dimitiro was on the floor, dead.

*

As her scream started to ease,
running out of breath and sound, there were three men hovered around her. She
couldn
’
t stop looking at
Dimitiro
’
s dead body on the
floor, blood pooling all around him. The three men were in leather cuts and
wore black masks. One of them slapped her across the face and she looked at
him, seeing nothing but the white of his eyes and the brown color of his iris.

“
Fuck!
”
another yelled.
“
The bitch really is here. Our
work is cut out for us now.
”

“
Clean
it all out,
”
the third
ordered.

“
What
about her?
”
the guy that
slapped her asked. He grabbed her arm and forced her to stand. One swipe of his
hand cleared off her station and he pressed his body to hers, forcing her
against it.
“
She
’
s fucking gorgeous. I
’
ll love to have my way with her.
”

“
No
evidence,
”
the first guy
said.
“
Move. Now. Get all
the cash we can.
”

“
What
do you have in your hand, girl?
”
the guy asked.

“
Fff
…
fuck you,
”
Eden said.

The guy grabbed for the letter and
Eden hurried to slap him. It did nothing because the guy was wearing a black
mask. It distracted him enough that Eden was able to lift her knee into his
groin, sending him stumbling back. She lunged forward and someone else grabbed
her left wrist. This time when Eden swung, she did so with a fist, hitting the
second guy with a punch. He jumped back, grabbing for his face. The third guy,
the ring leader, he simply just blocked the way, crossing his arms.

“
Let
me go,
”
she said.
“
I have no idea who you are. You
killed Dimitiro.
”

“
Fuck
him,
”
the man said.
“
Fucking filth.
”

Eden tried to make a run but the
guy had his arms around her in a second. He lifted her up and twirled her
around, laughing as he did so. It was a deep laugh, throaty like he was sick.
It instantly stuck into her mind. He then let her go, sending her flying
through the air. She smashed into a wall and then fell, the letter floating in
the opposite direction. He walked over to the letter and picked it up.

“
Get
the fuck out of here,
”
he
said.
“
Of all goddamn
things
…”

As the guy read the letter, Eden
spotted the picture of her pregnant mother and her father kissing the round
belly. She reached for it, able to get it, and she quickly tucked it into her
back pocket. She then jumped up to her knees, palms on the floor, and started
to crawl toward the back of the shop. There was a security alarm she could hit,
alerting the need for help.

Scrambling, she heard the ripping
sound of a gunshot as it missed her by no more than six inches, hitting a wall.
She quickly rolled to her right and kicked back, putting herself against a wall
in another tattooing booth. Reaching up, she grabbed the tattooing gun and knew
she wasn
’
t going to go down
without a fight.

None of this made sense and maybe
it never would. They were three thugs looking to knock off a tattoo shop. But
why kill Dimitrio so fast?

Tears filled Eden
’
s eyes as she saw the man turn
the corner, gun and letter in hand. He slowly walked forward.

“
Hey!
”
he yelled.
“
You two fucks up there! Clean
out everything. If it
’
s
worth anything, I want it.
”
He then set his eyes on Eden. He shook the letter.
“
This true?
”

“
I
guess,
”
Eden said.
“
Who are you?
”

“
You
don
’
t want to fucking know.
Tell me this letter is true.
”

“
I
said I guess. I haven
’
t
talked to him or her. It came almost a year ago.
”

“
And
you
’
re still reading it?
”

“
I
was asking Dimitrio for advice before
…”

Eden felt her lips quiver.

“
Aw,
sweet thing,
”
he said and
crouched down.
“
When I
’
m done with you, you
’
re going to wish all I did was
put a bullet in the side of your fucking head.
”
He then took out a lighter and lit the letter on fire.

Eden leaned forward and the guy
pointed the gun at her, winning the battle easily.

The letter burned into nothing, all
the words from her father gone. They were, of course, locked in Eden
’
s memory, but that too seemed to
be counting down to an end.

“
Now
that we have that gone,
”
the guy said,
“
you can
decide how you want to take this. Turn around and give it to me or I
’
ll knock you out and take what I
want.
”

“
What
do I have to do with this?
”
Eden asked.

“
You
’
re now my enemy. For where you
came from. The cunt you crawled out of and the cocksucker that put you there.
Talk about bad timing. Bad luck. Goddamn, girl, has anything gone right in your
waste of a life?
”

The guy laughed again. Eden saw the
gun move away from her.

It was her only chance to strike.

She brought her right hand forward
and wanted to jam the tattoo gun and needle right into the guy
’
s eye and somehow kill him.
There was a small hesitation and Eden ended up stabbing him in the chest. It
was hardly enough to really hurt him, let alone kill him. But it was enough
that he dropped the gun, fell back, and screamed.

Eden jumped over him and ran. He
quickly grabbed her ankles, bringing her to the floor. A jolt of pain shot
through both her knees up into her back. For a split second she was paralyzed.
Looking to her left, she saw one of the men. He started to reach for what she
knew had to be a gun.

Eden quickly looked over her
shoulder and saw another chance. She kicked with her other foot and blasted the
guy in the face. It took two hard kicks to get him to let her go. She then
kicked away, got to her feet, and ran like hell. Voices were screaming at her
and her body shook with intense fear, waiting for a bullet to take her life
away.

She got to the back room, peeled
open the plastic casing of the alarm system, and pressed the emergency button.
There was no time to stand, wait, talk, whatever. Eden then bolted for the
backdoor, making her final escape into the night. Somehow she had managed to
keep her cell, her keys, and the picture of her mother and father. Her
apartment was close enough to the shop that she didn
’
t have a car. That
’
s
probably why the intruders were surprised to see her there, they only saw
Dimitrio
’
s luxury car out
front.

As Eden ran, she looked back only
once, but saw nothing but darkness. Maybe a minute or so later she heard
sirens. They could have been for anything, but somehow she knew they were
heading for the tattoo shop.

The second she got into her
apartment, she shut the door, locked it, and collapsed to the floor in a heap
of sweat and tears. She hugged her knees and shook with fear and anger, trying
her hardest not to relive what had just happened.

She forced herself to her feet and
rushed to the kitchen sink. Leaning over, Eden lost her stomach. It ended with
her dry heaving, crying, shaking. She reached for her pocket, knowing she
should probably call the police and explain what had just happened. She was the
only eye witness. But to what? Someone killed Dimitrio and threatened her. It
was pretty obvious whoever they were, they instantly knew who her mother and
father were.

Eden grabbed the picture from her
pocket and examined it. She ran her thumb across the picture.

Maybe this is my sign.

“
To
do what? Run?
”
she
whispered to nobody else in the apartment.

It was the most insane thing to
think and perhaps do, but there was a chance those men were still out there,
still looking for her. It made her want to finally do it. To go see her father.
To get his help. She could explain what had happened and see what kind of man
he was, if he would help her, protect her, show her a place to actually call
home. With Dimitrio dead, that meant no more tattoo shop and no more job.

In the matter of a second, Eden
’
s entire world had been turned
upside down.

She went to her bedroom and looked
around. Everything was bought used. Everything had no meaning to her. The
closet was full of clothes, all of which easily packed into two large
suitcases. She cleaned out the bathroom of supplies she needed and grabbed a
few bottles of water for the car ride.

Frelen was only a couple hours
away.

This entire time, her father was
just a couple hours away.

And better yet, those guys in the
black masks thought they were tough?

Eden
’
s
father was a member of an outlaw motorcycle club.

Her father part of Back Down
Devil MC.

__

four.

Miller stood at the head of the
table. There was a massive spread of breakfast foods, a regular Sunday meal for
the table. It was something Miller started a few months back, trying to bring a
greater sense of family to the clubhouse. Considering there were now lots of
decent women and babies showing up, he wanted to clean up the image a little.

Well, at least on the outside of
the conference room.

Prospects threw some tablecloths
over the pool tables and cooked breakfasts for girlfriends, mistresses, any
relievers
that were hanging around, trying to throw up the last bit of cum and vodka from
the night before. You know, just family shit.