Sentinel - Devil Riders MC Book 1 (MC Romance Novel with FREE Bonus Novel!) (20 page)

Chapter Four

Eli

The sun was just setting on the horizon as Eli arrived home, casting a surreal orange glow over the landscape. He pulled into the parking lot and shut the bike’s engine off. The motorbike he was riding these days was nowhere near as powerful as the one that he used to ride when he was in the Sons of Flame, but it served his purposes for now.

He swung one leg over and stepped off the bike, but staggered a little as his feet hit the ground. His head was still pounding from where Tex had hit him from behind, and his vision had been swimming alarmingly from time to time. To top it all off, Eli’s stomach also ached something fierce from the kick that Tex had delivered.

After Tex and the others had left, Eli had dragged himself to his feet and cleaned himself up as best he could, before checking in on Mike before he left. The old bastard had slept right through the whole incident, and Eli had decided not to tell him about what had happened. Mike had enough on his plate, and Eli didn’t want to give him one more thing to worry about. He’d probably also tell Eli’s Grandma about the whole thing, and Eli didn’t want to concern her, either.

Tex’s veiled threat still rang in Eli’s ears. The Sons of Flame leader was a coward at heart, but Eli knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to follow up on his promise. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to working for Tex again, but Eli didn’t see what choice he had right now. Maybe if he just did whatever it was that Tex wanted, that would be the last of it.

Eli knew that was wishful thinking, but he couldn’t spare the energy to think too much about it right there and then. He wanted to go and take a bath, wash off the grime from the day, and get some sleep.

Things would look better in the morning - Eli would work something out, he was sure of it.

He walked slowly up to the house, careful not to make too much noise. If his luck was in, Grandma would be napping and he wouldn’t have to face her. Grace Flint was getting on in years now, but she was still as sharp as a tack, and Eli knew that she’d figure something was wrong.

He pushed open the screen door and tried to open the inner one as quietly as possible, wincing when it creaked loudly.

“Eli, is that you?” Grace called out, and Eli muttered a curse under his breath.

“Yup, just me Grandma.”

He stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. Grace Flint would be 76 next year, and while she was less active than she used to be, and her eyesight was getting worse, her hearing was better than ever, and she was still as sharp as a tack.

Eli had been hoping she was asleep because he knew that nothing got past her.

“Come say hello to your old Grandma before you disappear off into your room, Eli.”

He made his way into the living room, smiling when he saw her sitting there, swallowed up by her big old armchair. Her hair was grey, and her eyes a little watery, but her smile lit up the room when she saw him.

“How was your first day at work?” she asked, watching him intently as he came to sit in front of her.

Eli tried not to grimace as he sat, his head swimming once again.

“It was OK Grandma. The parole officer came and signed everything off, so I can officially start tomorrow. I don’t know why Mike hired me though, it’s not like there’s any work to do.”

Grace waved away his words.

“The work will come, Eli. He just wants to help you out, set you straight.”

Eli couldn’t help but bristle with indignation at that.

“I don’t need his help, Grandma. I can solve my problems myself.”

She frowned at him.

“Don’t be stupid, Eli. You know how hard it’ll be to find something else, you having just gotten out of prison. You’re as bad as your father was - let go of your pride for once.”

Eli knew that this was an argument he was never going to win, so he remained silent. As hard as it was for him to admit, she was right. There were barely any jobs around here at the best of times, let alone for an ex-con with no qualifications.

He stood, wincing involuntarily at a stab of pain in his stomach.

“What’s the matter?” Grace said.

“It’s nothing Grandma. Just a little headache - I think I need to eat something.”

She gave him a look of suspicion.

“What have you been up to? Only a few days out of prison and you’re already acting strangely.”

Eli felt beads of sweat prickle his brow. If only she knew the truth. She couldn’t though. It was too dangerous.

“Grandma, don’t worry so much. I haven’t been doing anything. It was just a hot day, is all, and I haven’t eaten much.”

She stared at him for a few more uncomfortable seconds, and then relented.

“There are some leftovers in the refrigerator. You just need to warm them in the microwave” she said curtly.

Eli leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thanks Grandma. Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m alright. Can you turn on the TV for me, though?”

Eli switched on her old TV set, and the raucous sounds of some talk show or other filled the room. It was doing no good at all for his headache, so he left her there to watch it, and padded out into the kitchen.

He opened the fridge and saw the leftovers, but he wasn’t hungry really. Taking a bottle of water, he swallowed two Tylenol and went into his bedroom, sagging down onto the bed with a groan. The headache was only getting worse.

Eli replayed the afternoon’s events in his mind. Tex’s leering face loomed up from his imagination. Eli didn’t know what to do. Tex and the Sons of Flame were too powerful for him to stand up to alone, and he knew that they were perfectly capable of following up on their threats.

The situation was made worse by the fact that if he was caught talking to any single member of the gang, it was a violation of the terms of his parole, and he’d immediately go back inside. Mike had been looking out for Grace this time, but Eli knew that she had struggled without him, even though she’d never admit it to him.

Going back to prison was just not an option. He could go to the police and tell them that Tex was trying to intimidate him, but as soon as the gang got wind of it...well, Eli didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

He eventually drifted off into a restless sleep, his dreams dark and foreboding.

*****

Chapter Five

Tess

“I ain’t seen ‘em. Not since I got out.”

These words were uttered with a smirk that said the speaker knew they were bullshit, but didn’t care who knew it.

Tess massaged her temples - she could feel a headache coming on, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. She lifted her eyes and stared at the man sat opposite her. His name was Frederick Stapleton, and he’d gotten out of jail a couple of months beforehand. He’d been in for drugs, robbery, and intimidation. Nothing unusual there. He had a weaselly face with narrow, shifty eyes that were constantly darting around the room, as if he was expecting a SWAT team to come bursting in through the door at any moment.

“Mr Stapleton,” Tess began, but he cut her off.

“Call me Moose. Everyone else does.”

Tess just blinked at him. She couldn’t have thought of a more unsuitable nickname for this creature if she tried.

“I think I’ll stick to your real name, Mr Stapleton, if you don’t mind.”

He sniffed.

“Suit yourself.”

Tess closed her eyes and counted to five, slowly, before opening them and beginning again.

“As I was saying. I have some reports here, Mr Stapleton.”

Tess picked up a manila folder with his name on it, and showed it to him. He eyed it warily, but didn’t say anything.

“It says in here that you’ve been seen with known gang members and engaging in ‘suspicious activities’.”

Tess cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for a response that didn’t come. He just sat there looking like a kid being scolded by his teacher, and she sighed in frustration.

“Look. You keep hanging around with these guys, we both know what’s going to happen. You’ll end up back inside, and I
really
don’t think you’ll be up for parole again for a long time if that happens, do
you
?”

He was now quite blatantly staring at Tess’ breasts, making no attempt at subtlety. Tess felt anger and frustration and rage bubble up inside her.

She leaned forward across the table until she was right in his face, staring into his bloodshot eyes.

“You look at my chest again,
Moose
, and I promise you that you’ll live to regret it. You seem to forget that, as your parole officer, I ultimately have the power to send you back behind bars.”

His face went pale.

“Y-you can’t do that...I ain’t done nothin’.”

Tess didn’t blink, didn’t move an inch.

“You wanna take that bet with me, Mr Stapleton?”

He opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it and just shook his head.

“I’m sorry? I didn’t catch that.”

Tess’ voice was ice.

“No ma’am,” he muttered.

Tess sat back in her chair.

“Good. See how things are much easier when you just cooperate and let me help you? Now, I don’t want to see any more reports about you landing on my desk, Mr Stapleton. When you check back in with me next month, I expect to hear that you’ve been a model citizen. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

He looked cowed and fearful now, eager to please. Tess let him sweat for a few seconds longer than necessary, before plastering a saccharine smile across her lips.

“I’m glad we understand each other. See you next month.”

He sat for a few seconds longer, unsure of what to do, waiting for a prompt from her.

“You can go now.”

He looked grateful, bowing his head before ducking out of the room quickly.

When he was gone, Tess leaned back with a sigh. As good as that had felt, she was disappointed in herself that she’d let him get to her. The main thing that she always tried to remember with most of these guys was that they could smell weakness, and they’d take advantage of it in whatever way they could. Sometimes she needed to remind them of who was holding all the cards, but Tess didn’t like losing her temper.

She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. She had a stack of paperwork on her desk that wasn’t going away anytime soon, but she took a few moments to gather herself in the meeting room before she went back out into the office.

Tess’ thoughts wandered to Eli Flint, as they so often had been recently. She found herself wondering how he was doing at that decrepit old machine shop, and hoping that he had managed to steer clear of the Sons of Flame. She was worried that there wouldn’t be enough work there and that he’d be tempted to go back to his old life, but she also felt that he was strong enough to resist the temptation.

Tess laughed softly to herself as she pondered Eli’s situation. Here was an ex-con that she barely knew, and she was making him out to be some sort of misunderstood guy with a heart of gold. In reality he was probably no different than all the others, but there was just something there that Tess couldn’t deny. Something in his eyes, and about the way he held himself.

Tess sat for a few more minutes, a faraway look in her eyes, before she forced herself to her feet and dragged herself back to her desk, back to the endless paperwork.

She’d only just gotten started when she a shadow fell across her desk - Tess looked up and it was Melody, with an apologetic look on her face. Tess didn’t need her to say anything to know what it was that she wanted.

“Melody, look...I’m already so far behind on all of this crap. Please, I can’t take on any more cases right now.”

Melody spoke quickly, placatingly.

“I know, I know, but I’m not asking you to take on the whole case. It’s just a workplace check - Dan’s out sick today and he was supposed to go to Joshuaville this afternoon.”

Tess stopped writing at the mention of Joshuaville. That was where Eli lived. She looked up at Melody.

“Just the one visit, right? No follow-up, no extra paperwork?”

Melody smiled, because she knew she had her now.

“I swear. Just a half hour, sign it off and Dan will do all the rest.”

Tess deliberated for a few seconds. She felt stupid for accepting more work, but at least it would get her out of the office. That was the reason she was going to give herself, at least. In truth, there was always the slight chance that she might run into Eli...or she could pay a visit to him at work, and call it a ‘surprise inspection’ or something along those lines. It was within her rights as his probation officer…

Tess smiled at Melody.

“OK, I’ll do it. But just this once, right?”

Melody beamed at her, obviously delighted that she wasn’t going to have to drive all the way out to Joshuaville herself.

“You’re a real sweetheart, Tess. I’ll remember this. Here, this is the address. The meeting is booked for 3pm.”

Tess took the paper. She knew the place; she’d passed it the previous week. She watched Melody walk away, a bounce in her step, and then checked her watch. Just enough time to grab some lunch before she started the drive.

She gathered her things and headed for the door, her thoughts firmly fixed on Eli Flint.

*****