The Devil’s Pair (The Road Devils MC #4)

Chapter Twenty-two

Denver, Colorado

“So,” Scars said, a bit perplexed. “Briley thinks that it’s too soon for them all to all live together – a bit of a weird thing to say since she’s pregnant – but they can all take the time to get to know each other differently? Like, as co-parents?”

“Uh-huh,” Cole set down the tray of coffees on the conference room table, started handing the cups around to his brothers. “She wants them to put the babies first for now, and of course the boys agree.”

“Huh.” Saint took a cup of coffee, turned it around in his hands, reflected on that. “I actually think that’s pretty damn reasonable.”

“Right?” Silver said. “Although I got the feeling that Dux and Drake are dying to get into her bed… they’ll wait, though, ‘cause they want things to be right. I mean, it was a big chance, them just showing up out of the blue and announcing that they had moved to Pennsylvania.”

“Not really,” Viking piped up. “Elle and Briley have talked a lot over the past few weeks, and she was really missing the twins out there on her own. Said she knew she could do it, but she wished the boys would be around for their kids. Elle told me more than once that the best thing for everyone involved would be for them to be a real family.”

“Yeah, well,” Holt said, gratefully sipping the scalding-hot black coffee. “They will be, in time. I think we all know that.”

Wolf entered the room then, and right away, the men stopped talking. Everyone stood a bit straighter, a bit more still, and watched their President take his place at the head of the table. They sat then – a dozen chairs scraping – then complete silence fell as they waited for Wolf to speak.

He regarded them all, those keenly intelligent eyes missing exactly nothing, especially not the chair that had been set aside for Rebel. Wolf looked at the empty space – remembered yet again that it would always be empty – and then snapped his ferocious gaze around the room.

“So,” he growled. “I just got off a call with King’s FBI cult expert, Denton.”

At his tone, the men held their collective breath. Even Ice looked mildly unnerved, which was pretty much a first.

“He’s managed to keep Briley’s involvement in that fucker Michael’s death a big secret,” Wolf continued. “He also followed the truck tire tracks, and found the cabin where she was taken. Denton found Crusher’s body up there – fuckin’ stab wounds on both sides of his neck, just like Briley told us, with Michael’s fingerprints all over the blades. Back in Utah, his FBI boys stormed the Hellions clubhouse and found out about a safe house, out by a lake. There, they found Violet’s body rolled up in a canvas in a shed outside, her neck broken. So it seems that Scars’ worries about her were bang on. Looks like she did steal money from us to get back to Michael, and she was probably the reason that Briley got grabbed up… and Rebel got killed.”

The men sighed a bit, nodded as one. None of them had wanted anything bad to happen to the woman, of course, and every one of them wished that they could have helped Violet settle into a life of freedom and independence. She’d been too far gone, though, and her actions had hurt people that they cared about. They could understand what had driven her, but there would be no forgiving Violet. Not ever.

“Denton also said that thanks to Ice and Holt and Cain’s work over in New Mexico, the FBI got some of the best intel they’ve ever had on those cult motherfuckers. They stormed the compound and they completely demolished the place, and took everyone in. The fuckin’ Garden of Desert Lunatics is officially wrecked , man, done and dusted. Nothin’ left, and nobody had any time to step up and into Michael’s place, ‘cause it was news to them that he was dead. They were all just sittin’ around, waitin’ on word from him.”

Wolf paused and looked uncertain; that was when the other men went into high alert. They knew that anything that made Wolf look even slightly off-balance was a fucking wrecking ball to a mere mortal, so all they could do was brace for impact.

“But we still have a problem,” Wolf said. “Crusher’s guys.”

Another collective sigh, no more than the hint of a breath, but to a man, they got it.

“They’re on the warpath,” Wolf told them. “They know about Crusher bein’ dead, of course, courtesy of Denton and his boys showin’ up, and takin’ them all in, and askin’ a million questions about him and Michael. The Highway Hellions weren’t super forthcomin’ about those two Prospect assholes killin’ Rebel and snatchin’ up Briley, but then again, they didn’t have to be. We all know what they did, thanks to Briley herself. But Denton told me that Viper Grant was pissed beyond all belief, and lost his head a bit and said somethin’ to his new Veep about us, just under his breath.”

“He mentioned The Road Devils by name?” Jinx said quietly. “The club as a whole?”

“Yeah.” Wolf ran his hands through his dark hair. “Viper shut up again and dropped the subject pretty damn quick, and Denton didn’t follow up at all, acted like he hadn’t heard anythin’. But of course he told King right away, said that we need to get ready for whatever’s comin’. No doubt Crusher talked about us plenty, so it doesn’t matter what info Viper’s got or believes he’s got – all that matters is we’re still on the Hellions’ radar.”

“Shit,” Scars muttered. “What the hell am I going to tell Zoe now? She and Keira just got home again.”

“And Jolene,” Silver added with a despairing tone. “We came back here because she wanted to face down what happened with her fucking ex-husband… but she knows that he was mixed up with Crusher’s boys, and if they come after us now, it’ll be partly because of her ex. That’ll kill her.”

“We’ve got some time,” Wolf said. “Viper Grant ain’t the brightest bulb in the box, and my intel says that he doesn’t have the trust of his own people, so he’s got some shorin’ up and strengthenin’ to do in-house. Maybe even some clearin’ out, bringin’ in some new blood that will be loyal to him from the jump. We’re in his sights, make no mistake, but he can’t do much for a while. That gives us an opportunity.”

“To do what?” Arrow asked.

Wolf looked around the room and his eyes settled on Ice. The other men watched Ice’s face flicker with comprehension, then disquiet.

“To make Viper an offer he can’t refuse,” Wolf said slowly. “Right, Ice?”

“Yeah.” Ice nodded reluctantly; it was clear to the other men that he hated what was about to happen, but his profound respect for Wolf overrode his own feelings. “How far do you go back in?”

“ What !” Cowboy totally forgot himself for a second. “Wolf, what the fuck ? After all you’ve done to get us out of the life, you're going to just walk us right back in? And with fucking Crusher Alcott’s people, of all clubs?”

“Whoa,” Wolf said, holding up his hands in a calming motion, not even slightly offended at the outburst and the questioning of his authority. “That ain’t it.”

“What’s not it?” Scars asked, now mentally packing Zoe and Keira’s bags and shipping them out to live on an iceberg in the Arctic. “What part of ‘how far do we go back in?’ did we get wrong?”

“All of it,” Wolf said crisply. “Because Ice never said ‘we’.”

Silence descended again as the men replayed Ice’s words:

How far do you go back in?

“Oh, no,” Kansas said softly, even as his brothers’ murmurs of dismay rippled through the room. “Wolf. No. You can’t.”

“I can ,” Wolf asserted. “Because King and Denton and me have got a plan to end The Hellions, and we’ll be workin’ together. This doesn’t involve any of the rest of you, and not even Ice all that much, after the first little while.”

“But –” Ice began.

“No ‘buts’, man,” Wolf interrupted him. “ None . I decide how far I go in, and King and Denton have my back when I do. I’m gonna need you here, supportin’ Scars as he basically steps up as temporary Prez. You all need to do that.”

“What?” Scars stared at Wolf in utter shock and horror. “ Me , Acting-President? No, Wolf… I can’t take the role when you’re still alive and kicking. That’s not how it works.”

“And just how exactly does it fuckin’ work, man?” Wolf said. Despite his harsh words, there was no rancor or even challenge in his tone. Instead, he sounded weary and a bit questioning, like he was actually requesting an answer. “ How ? Because if you know somethin’ that would help this diabolical situation, now’s a great time to tell me.”

Wolf looked round the room again, saw that he had the complete attention of every man there. He shook his head, decided to talk to his brothers really openly, right from the heart. He rarely did that – it made him feel weak and vulnerable, two things that Wolf Connor swore to never be again – but things were bad. Really bad. Maybe some frank honesty was the only way forward now, and if that went against a whole lifetime of learning and conditioning, then Wolf had better learn a new skill and fast. Things were changing, and they all had to change with them. As President, he had to lead by example – so he took a breath a dove right in:

“Guys, look… nothin’s workin’. You’re right, Cowboy, that I pulled us out of the life years ago, and we’ve all taken some direct hits for that. Dawson leavin’ and takin’ a lot of our brothers with him, startin’ up The Blood Crew, stabbin’ us in the back, pickin’ up all of Jensen’s dirty contracts and money. We all took personal financial hits, ‘cause workin’ honest jobs is nothin ’ like doin’ shady shit, but we accepted that and we adjusted. You’ve been there with me every step of the way, supportin’ my decisions and stayin’ the course with me. I haven’t said it enough, I know, but I’m so fuckin’ grateful to you guys for doin’ that. I really, truly thought that if enough time passed, if we just put some distance between us and our old lives, all that shit would fade away. Just kind of get smaller and then disappear in the rearview mirror, you know?”

Wolf sighed.

“But that ain’t what’s happened, and I mean at all . It’s been mayhem and chaos for years now, just one crisis after another, and all we’ve done is cope by bein’ exactly who we were before I tried to take us straight. What that means is that we ain’t out of the life, like at all . Oh, I’ve fooled myself, told myself that we are and have been – but I’ve been lyin’. We all know that hidin’ what happened to Jo’s ex was our classic old-school shit, and so was takin’ down the cult compound to rescue Elle. So was killin’ those fuckers in New Mexico for information, and coverin’ up what Briley did to Michael. So was puttin’ our women and Keira into King’s safe house so they don’t get kidnapped or killed… so was what happened to Rebel. It’s all connected, guys, and none of it is what happens to a bunch of good, law-abidin’ citizens. It’s what happens to MC members, and most especially to one-percenters.”

He shut his eyes for a second, then looked at the other men again.

“It’s time for me to stop pretendin’, and that means acceptin’ reality. More than that, actually, it means embracin’ it, goin’ after it. Really livin ’ it.”

“But why does that mean walking into Viper’s viper pit?” Cain asked. “You’d be like – like – a human sacrifice.”

“Not quite.” Wolf managed a quick grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’d be more of a canary down a coal mine.”

“Not making me feel any better,” Cain muttered. “The canaries died , Wolf.”

“Better me than all of you. Or the women. Or the kids.” Wolf stared around the room. “I offer myself up to Viper and work with him in exchange for everyone’s safety. I act like I’ve come down to heel, and the whole time, I’m workin’ with Denton and King to finish The Hellions once and for all.”

“Jesus, Wolf,” Holt blurted. “You’d be a triple-turncoat, or something equally messed up. And what do we do in the meantime, with you gone, with Rebel and the twins gone? Our numbers are dropping and we’re losing people left and right… how do we deal with all of that?”

“You follow Scars, and Scars leans on all of you. You all get to stay on the straight and narrow, and you’ll be safe. So will the ladies, so will Keira and the babies out in Pennsylvania. Everyone will be OK.”

“How the hell can you say that?” Scars demanded. “ You won’t be OK, Wolf.”

“You think I’ve forgotten how to live the criminal MC life, Innis?” Wolf said, and he almost sounded amused. “As I think I just said, I’ve never really stopped livin’ it.”

“That was here, with us,” Ice said quietly. “We had your back, Wolf, one hundred percent. If you wander on over to Utah and offer to give Viper your help, and you set him up for whatever you and King and Denton have planned, you’ll do it alone. We’d have no way of helping you, or protecting you. What you’re proposing is not the same thing that you’ve been doing for the past few years, not by a long shot, so stop trying to convince us that it is. We know you’re bullshitting us.”

“Guys.” Wolf was almost pleading. “I don’t know what else to do. I need to keep everyone safe, and I need to trade what I can to do that. Like I said, if you have any better ideas, if you know how to make this work better for all of us, I’m beggin’ you, please tell me.”

“What exactly are you planning to offer them?” Viking asked. “How do you expect to just show up at The Hellions clubhouse and not be shot on sight? What have you got that they want so badly that they’ll overlook everything?”

Wolf was silent, but once again Ice surprised everyone by speaking up:

“You’re going to give him Dawson Kinney and his Blood Crew boys, aren’t you?”

Wolf’s eyes flickered, but he still said nothing.

“ Jesus , Wolf,” Scars said, scarcely believing this new drama. “Is Ice right? Are you going to help Viper take all of the old Kirk Jensen work and money away from Dawson, and then end him? I mean, you could do it, easy enough – you have all the insider knowledge, and you know all the players, and you know the terrain. I mean, until a few years ago, you were running everything.”

“I’m right,” Ice said flatly. “You all know that I am.”

“Shit,” Saint muttered. “I hate everything about this plan.”

“Take me with you,” Ice said. “Offer us to Viper as a package deal, you with the logistics, me with the enforcement. Don’t go by yourself, Wolf. It’s too fucking dangerous.”

Wolf smiled now, and it was a real smile. “I knew that you’d say that, man, and I thank you for it… but my final answer is no. I need you here, keepin’ watch. I know that I can negotiate everyone’s safety in exchange for a waterfall of dirty money to go direct to The Hellions, but I’d still feel better with my Chief Enforcer on-site and watchin’ everyone’s backs.”

“Dammit, Wolf.” Ice was losing his legendary cool at roughly warp-speed. He got to his feet now, and the other man all froze in shock as he turned his back on his President. “Fuck you.”

And without waiting to be dismissed, Ice wrenched the door open and stomped out.

“Holy shit,” Jinx breathed. “Never thought I’d see the day that happened.”

“You want me to go after him?” Holt asked Wolf. “Bring him back?”

“Nah.” Wolf leaned back in his chair, not looking even slightly pissed off. “I’ll talk to him later. Let him go.”

**

Victoria ‘ Vixen ’ Shaw looked up from wiping a bar table, saw Ice striding down the hallway from the conference room. She knew that all the boys had been called back there, and even though she obviously wasn’t privy to Road Devils business, she knew that things had been incredibly rough lately.

Anyone with eyes could tell that Wolf and Scars were stressed beyond all belief, nor could anyone miss the fact that everyone was still reeling from the tattoo parlour burning down, and Elle and Violet escaping a cult, and Violet disappearing, and Rebel being killed, and then the twins being released from their MC obligations to be fathers… and that was only the stuff that Vixen had a clue about. She knew enough about the club to understand that her knowledge was barely scraping the surface of what was really going on.

She’d been trying to talk to Ice alone for weeks now, ever since Rebel’s funeral, but he’d been studiously ignoring her. He hadn’t even invited her to join him in one of the back rooms at Satan’s, and that was highly unusual. For almost a year, the two of them had been visiting the rooms a couple of times a week – usually more, rarely less – and she’d loved very second of it. Watching Ice literally heat up in front of her, all that strength and muscle at the mercy of her lips and fingertips, was addictive. No man could ever come close.

The truth was that although Vixen flirted wildly with every man in the place, and flaunted her body with confidence, and she’d been with quite a few of The Road Devils, Ice was the only man she was with anymore.

Oh, sure, she played up her sex appeal for tips and to pass the time during a waitressing shift, but she turned down any and all invitations with a laugh and a toss of her long, blonde hair. She had a reputation for being easy, and it had been fairly earned – but she wasn’t that woman anymore. Not that anyone would believe it.

Seeing her chance to cut Ice off at the end of the hall, she hurried over to meet him. His eyes – normally so cold and emotionless – met hers, and Vixen stopped dead in her tracks at the rage in those blue depths. Whatever had happened in the conference room, Ice had lost his mind over it, and although Vixen had seen Ice hot as hell, she’d never seen his anger before.

“What happened?” she said to him, unable to stop herself, knowing that it was a mistake to ask the second the words were out of her mouth. “Ice, what’s wrong?”

And just like that, that menacing, implacable cold settled over him again, so fast and so completely that she shivered. She didn’t like this side of him, though of course she knew that it was a big part of who he was: there was a reason that he’d been the head MC Enforcer for years, and why she suspected that he was still the one who was called to deal with messes. Or to create them.

He was gazing at her now, that full, sensual mouth curled in a sneer, that heart-stopping face pure stone, and her heart sank. He was right there, just inches away from her, but he might as well be a thousand miles away. A prairie distance was in his eyes, a look that levelled her where she stood. It meant that he was far away from her, and she’d been brutally dismissed, and he’d walked out of the room in every way except physically.

It made her feel small and cheap, which seemed an odd thing to say, considering how people thought of her around Satan’s. It was true that even though Vixen had been with plenty of men, and she knew that many women thought she was a slut, she’d never felt like one. No, she’d enjoyed sex, and she’d enjoyed the men, and she’d enjoyed feeling wanted.

She’d chosen it, every single time, and she still stood by that. It was that decision to own her desire and her sexual appetite that saved her from shame. Vixen could look at herself in any mirror in the world and like what she saw, and from what she knew about many women, that sadly wasn’t the norm.

But Ice was looking at her like she was nothing –for the first time ever, she realized – and it made her want to crawl into a hole and hide and cry. No, they weren’t anything official, and no, he’d never been to her place or her to his, but from the very beginning, he’d looked at her like she was a beautiful woman that he wanted. And from the first time they’d had sex, she’d felt seen and taken by this complicated, rough man. Sometimes even cherished.

Vixen knew that she should shut the fuck up, turn and go back to waiting tables, but the look on his face stung her. Suddenly desperate to reach him, she fumbled and stumbled for a conversational topic to bring him back to her, and she chose the worst possible one.

“I just wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry about Rebel,” she said quietly. “And even though Dux and Drake are doing something amazing with Briley and the babies, I know you guys were really close. You’ll miss them, huh? All of them?”

That gorgeous faced closed even more, and she thought he’d just turn away without a word. But then Ice said:

“The only useful part of you is between your legs, not between your ears. Keep your fucking inane thoughts to yourself, whore.”

Feeling like he’d just thrown a bucket of icy water over her head, Vixen gasped, absolutely unable to believe what Ice had just said to her. All this time, she’d assumed that he’d liked her , not just her pussy. It was a complete shock to find out she’d been wrong about that, but it was far, far more hurtful. He had the power to hurt her, she’d just discovered, and that made her vulnerable with a man, for one of the first times in her entire life.

She watched him walk away now, taking a little part of her self-respect with him, then she remembered where she was. Vixen shot a few quick glances around Satan’s, and was relieved that nobody had been watching them: all the customers were focused on their drinks and meals and each other, and none of them were close enough to the hall to have heard anything, anyway.

Reminding herself that she still had to get through seven more work hours, she plastered a smile on her face, tossed her shining waterfall of hair, licked her full lips. Then she sauntered over to the kitchen – lifting her skirt slightly higher and making sure to flash her firm thighs at the table in the corner, the one that was tipping so well – to ask Elle if she could get her lunch now. Vixen needed a break.