Eden's Joker (Devil’s Nightmare MC Next Generation, Book 7)

Chapter 26

I don’t know what I expected would happen when I showed her who I really am. Fear and crying, at the very least. What I didn’t expect was the fearless she-wolf staring me down in that room. It’s why I chained her to the bed like a dog. Maybe that’ll mellow her out. I have a nagging feeling it won’t, though. But that changes nothing. I always enjoyed a good challenge.

Scorpio and Sarge are smoking on the porch when I emerge from the house. I slam my shades back on, because even though the light is fading, it’s still strong enough to pierce my eyeballs after the darkness in that upstairs room.

“So what now?” Scorpio asks. “We secure the town and you get to work?”

“I’ll lock down the town myself,” I say. “You two stay here and make sure she doesn’t try to run. And that no one comes in.”

Scorpio grins wide, Sarge is just looking at me with a completely blank expression on his face.

“I can oversee the lockdown,” Sarge says.

He kinda sounds like I offended him by saying I’d do it, but I don’t care. I need a distraction. I need to get my head back into the plan. And I have to figure out how to scare Eden into submission.

I’ve looked forward to this day for years. Now I just want the whole thing over with as fast as possible. Anticipating a thing is always sweeter than actually getting it. I should know that by now. I do know it.

“I’ll do it,” I tell Sarge. “You hang out here.”

I jog down the three steps and head for my bike.

“You know the guys will all want a turn with her before this is done, right?” Scorpio calls after me.

I turn so fast dust flies up all around me. It makes the bastard laugh.

“You let me worry about that,” I say.

He laughs some more. “All right, all right, this is your show, I got it. I just wanted to remind you what you’re playing with.”

This is more of his bullshit about me having grown feelings for Eden while I wooed her. I got no time for that. I got no time for anything but making sure the rest of Mission Eden goes down without a hitch. For that I need this town locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

Several things went off plan today. I let Ruin and Ariel go to carry the message to the Devils, which was never part of the original plan. But it seemed like a brilliant last-minute addition when the opportunity presented itself. But the fucking Forsaken Outlaws turning on us at the last minute is a different matter. That could prove to be a real problem. Instead of riding off with us, Karma and her boys turned and made sure Ruin got away. The Forsaken don’t know much about me or my plans, but they’re most likely spilling what they do know to the Devils right now. Not that they’ll ever find us in this town. Especially after the lockdown is in place.

And as soon as that’s done, I’m gonna have Eden call her daddy. Maybe I’ll cut her up some first. That should bring tears to her eyes.

I raise even more dust as I race down the hill and into town.

The club hoes we left here when we went to Pleasantville seem really excited that we’re back. One of them—Candy, I think her name is—comes up to me as I dismount in front of the Saloon.

“You in the mood for a good time, Joker,” she coos as she interlaces her arm with mine. She smells cloying sweet, kinda like licorice, the candy I hate.

“Not tonight, Candy,” I say and free my arm from her grasp.

“It’s Cherry,” she says petulantly. “You could remember that by now.”

It doesn’t sit well with me that she’s called Cherry, the fruit that reminds me of Eden because of the pies, and looks a whole lot like Eden besides, with her long legs, dark hair, and pouty lips. Or like a whored out, ruined version of Eden. The version I’m gonna create if she lives.

“I could if I cared,” I snap and jog up the steps to the swing doors of the Saloon.

Just like everything else in this town, the Saloon is as intact as it was when they first built it about a hundred and fifty years ago, complete with the swinging half door at the entrance.

I found this gem of an abandoned town on one of my head-clearing rides into the desert. It was a good-sized-mining town and a lot of money, care, and planning went into its construction. And then, for some reason, everyone just left. Everything’s pretty much still new. Old, but unused.

The town’s not on any map that I’ve been able to dig up, and as surrounded by hills as it is, I doubt anyone even knows it exists. Only one road leads into it and it’s long and winding and seems to go on forever, before there’s any hint that a town lies at the end of it.

The main room of the Saloon is packed and rowdy. About half the MC seems to be in here, most of them already hitting the bottle. Yet more laughter, yelling and moaning is coming from the upstairs rooms. But that’s understandable. I’ve kept them in the forest compound with no female company for a long time.

But we can’t relax yet. I resist the urge to fire a few rounds into the ceiling to get their attention. Instead, I just pound the bar counter a few times.

“Who’s watching the road if you’re all in here partying?” I ask once they’re all looking at me.

“Hey, we were waiting for orders,” Manic pipes up. He sounds more than a little drunk and I doubt he’s in any state to carry out any orders I have to give. “And we figured you’d be busy at the big house for a while.”

Lots of guttural laughs and grunts follow his words, all of them carrying a degree of dark lust. They thought I was up there raping Eden. And they want to do the same. It makes bile rise in my throat.

“I’m here to give the orders now,” I say and look around the room, searching for the most dependable brothers.

I call on ten of them and tell them to follow me outside. To their credit they only groan a little bit at being cut off from the party.

Ten others are already waiting for me outside. They’re the most dependable of the bunch. Ones who never drink and only rarely screw the hoes. Because of that they’re not the best fit with the others, but they’re always first in line when it’s time to beat at the Devils. They’ll also be first in line when Eden gets passed around. The thought actually makes my stomach clench painfully. It was always part of the plan to let the guys take their turns. So why am I reacting like this to it now?

“Where do you want us, Prez?” Doom asks. He’s something of a frontman of this group of purist revenge seekers.

“I want you in the hills,” I tell him and turn to the ones that followed me from the Saloon. “And you take the road. Just like we discussed, two men teams, no one gets in or out of town. Change in shifts every four hours to keep you alert.”

“And who’s gonna make sure we’re relieved on time?” Manic asks. He’s not happy to get the first watch of the night. And I’m not happy he got drunk the moment we returned home.

“I’ll make sure of it,” I counter. “Now you know what to do.”

No one says anything more, they don’t even grumble much as they head for their bikes.

Razor hangs back, eyeing them pensively. “The brothers are just happy to be home.”

“We’ll celebrate when the mission is done,” I say. “Now come with me to round up the others so we can set up a watch schedule.”

It’s pitch dark out by the time all that is done and every single Lost Son knows when they’re to report for duty to guard the perimeter of the town. The level of security I put in place is staggering and probably overkill. But the Devils are cagey and full of tricks. And they are all gunning for us now.

I’m facing the last thirty of my brothers.

“You haven’t told us what you want us to do,” Razor says.

“You guys won’t be on watch duty,” I tell them. “I have a much more important job for you. Razor, you’ll be in charge.”

Even in the faint light reaching us from the Saloon, I can see the expression on his face change to pride. He’s done good work for me. I want to acknowledge that now. Even though this job I’m sending him on doesn’t guarantee survival.

“I want you to take a couple of the hoes and some booze and go to Roaring Brook and set up camp there. Stay safe, but don’t hide your presence too hard.”

The expression on Razor’s face changes in a flash. “You’re sending me away?”

“On a very important job. The Forsaken Outlaws betrayed us,” I tell him. “By now, they’ve told the Devils about how that town is our HQ. Your job will be to hold them back when they come. Stall them, tire them out and kill as many as possible.”

The other thirty gathered here grumble, but it’s an agreeing sort of sound. They like hearing they’ll get the chance to kill some Devils. Who doesn’t?

“Good,” Razor says. “We’ll ride tonight.”

“When the Devils come, you make them believe Eden is there with you,” I tell him. “That way they won’t burn and crash their way in. And then you pick them off one by one.”

“We won’t let you down,” a brother named Sting assures me darkly. Several others promise the same thing.

“I have no doubt of that,” I tell him then watch them mount up and ride into the darkness, the dust their bikes kicked up scratching my throat and making my eyes water.

It’s not a suicide mission I just sent them on. Roaring Brook is a small ghost town encircled by a very thick wall. Thirty guys can hold it against a hundred, easily. The Devils will hit the town hard, just like they always do, but not all of them will walk away from that fight. I’m hoping less than half will, actually.

This buys me a couple of days, a week maybe, to break Eden. And then, while they’re mourning her, I’ll gather up the other MCs still fighting against them and we’ll hit them with everything we’ve got. And end them once and for all.

Now all that’s left is to break Eden. But I have a very annoying feeling that a week won’t be nearly enough time for that.