Haunted (Devil’s Blaze MC: Second Generation #3)

1. Pez

Pez

Two Years Ago

I round the corner of the damn subdivision where mine and Nora’s house is with a sigh.

I’m in my truck, with my bike loaded behind me on a trailer.

The damn thing broke down on me about an hour before I got home.

I had to ride on the back of King’s bike—which fucking sucked—not to mention the fact that I’ll probably be raked over the coals by the brothers.

This was supposed to be a good evening. I’m coming home earlier than planned.

I needed to talk to my woman tonight. King and I drove nonstop so we could get home earlier than planned.

He didn’t want to be away from Gabby. Those two are attached at the hip.

King’s leaving and going to run Gabby’s dad’s club, the Devil’s Blaze.

He’s asked me to go with him, and I’m going to tell Nora tonight.

Nora is my old lady and we’ve been together for two years.

I care deeply for her. She’s the first woman I’ve lowered my shields with.

I’ve allowed her to see the real me. I’ll admit, I thought she’d cut me loose.

It shocked the hell out of me when she told me she loved me.

From that moment on, I’ve made it my mission to make that woman happy.

The thought makes me smile. If she is happy— I’m happy.

Her smile lights up my day. I’d do anything for her—which is why we live in this pricey-as-hell, upscale subdivision where you take a piss in the commode, look out the window, and see your neighbor in his bathroom doing the same damn thing.

I hate it. Hell, I can’t even have a dog.

It’s against the rules of the HOA. Still, she loves the damn place, so I deal.

It’s not like I care. I have Nora and she’s in my bed at night.

That makes it all worth it. She’s mine and I’m hers.

I can make allowances for the things that I don’t like, when Nora’s my reward.

I’ve always longed for a real home and relationship—something I’ve seen from afar and never experienced in my life until Nora.

I frown as I pull up and notice her Lincoln Navigator in the driveway and not in the garage where it stays when she’s home.

I bought it for her for our anniversary this year.

She’d been asking for it for a while. I’d been holding off.

It’s not that I minded buying her a vehicle.

This one just seemed over the top and expensive.

I mean I’d already gone into debt for this house.

I wanted some time to regroup the downpayment I had made.

Adding a payment for a vehicle, along with the payment on this place sucked.

The club makes good money, but I’m just a new member, so my portion isn’t phenomenal.

I’m damn glad to be part of the club, though.

When Diesel found me, I was working as a bouncer.

It wasn’t great money, but I have a record and it’s hard as fuck to get a good job when you have felonies on your record.

I could pretty it up, but when someone dies and you’re to blame there’s no way of making that sound or look good.

Diesel looked beyond that and gave me a job and a place to belong.

King’s offering that, too. Yet, with his club there’s a need for me.

I may have to start as a prospect like here, but he promised me a position once roles were established.

That’s a big draw, because here, there are so many of the original members’ kids around, advancing will not be easy.

I want a chance to prove my worth—to shape a club for the future.

Plus, there’s a camaraderie with King that I’ve not had with the other brothers—not even Diesel.

I like them all, but King and I grew up similarly.

We understand one another. I respect the fuck out of him.

I also see what he’s building with Gabby. That’s exactly what I want with Nora.

The outside light shines above me as I hop out of my truck.

I’ll deal with the trailer and my bike later.

I’m just anxious to surprise my girl. She’s going to be shocked I’m back early.

The bigger surprise will be the ring I have in my pocket.

She’s been after me to marry her for months—ever since her best friend Amanda got married.

I didn’t see the need. I mean we’d been together for a while.

I claimed her as my old lady. As far as I was concerned, I was hers and she was mine.

I guess all women want that ring and white dress though.

This move to Kentucky will mark a new beginning.

Nora wants a wedding? Well, we’ll have a big one.

Besides, the lakes here drive up the housing market.

It will be cheaper in Kentucky. We’ll be able to sell this place, pay for her big-ass wedding, and still have enough for a nice house in Kentucky.

Hopefully, I can talk her into a house with property.

These damn cookie-cutter townhomes kill me.

I’d like a big yard, one large enough for a dog to run around in and maybe kids.

Nora doesn’t want kids right now, but I’m hoping that will change once we’re settled in Kentucky with my ring on her finger.

That thought makes me smile as I let myself in the front door.

It’s late so I imagined Nora would be sleeping, but there’s music playing on the Bluetooth speaker on the fireplace.

It’s playing a popular pop song that she always listens to.

I can’t tell you the name of it. It’s not my type of music.

She plays it a lot, though. Nora has a playlist that she likes to play when she wants sex.

It’s become my signal that she’s in the mood.

If I could change one thing about my woman, it’s that I would rather sex be spontaneous—not to mention more often.

I don’t suppose anyone is perfect, though.

Like right now, I imagine she’s sound asleep and I’d love nothing more than to wake her by burying my dick deep inside her.

Unfortunately, Nora doesn’t like to have her sleep interrupted—not even with sex.

I push those thoughts aside, and head toward our bedroom.

I’ll need to find her phone to disconnect the speaker.

As I walk down the hall, sounds hit me that leave me feeling stunned.

I shake my head, not quite believing what I’m hearing.

I feel like I can’t breathe. The sounds of skin slapping against skin is almost as loud as the grunts and moans echoing from the room in front of me.

Our bedroom door isn’t closed all the way, and I stand in front of it, looking inside as my woman is in our bed, on all fours, getting drilled from behind by Devil’s kid, LD.

He’s a good ten years younger than Nora—fuck maybe more.

He’s a man-whore who enjoys having a different woman (or women) in his bed nightly at the club.

He’s been prospecting, but has just been voted in.

There’s word that the club is pushing him to take a serious role in it.

It’s one of the reasons the offer from King meant so much.

After seeing this shit, it means even more.

I wonder if my whore of an old lady knows that LD has some chick that he’s supposedly serious about despite fucking everything coming or going?

I’d enjoy watching her fall back to reality, but I don’t plan on hanging around.

“That’s it, baby, right there. Fuck me harder,” Nora whimpers, her head bent down into the mattress.

LD slaps her ass with a groan. “Going to blow my load so hard you’ll feel my cum dripping down your legs for hours,” he vows as he smacks her ass.

Anger fills me, but I step back. It feels like my heart has been cut out of me.

The betrayal is deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced.

I push it away, forcing my feet to function.

I leave the house, hop in my truck, and head straight back to the club.

I’m not going to warn Nora. Fuck, no. I know she has a doctor’s appointment in the morning.

I was there when they called to confirm it.

It’s to get the whore’s birth control renewed.

She won’t miss that. She’s been very emphatic that she doesn’t want kids for a few more years.

She felt I should be moved up in the club and our financial security firm before kids.

I should have known then she was just a fucking user.

I’ve been blind, but thank God that won’t be an issue anymore.

I actually owe her a thank you—especially since she’s fucking around on me.

I’ll wait until I know she’s gone to the doctor, and then I’ll come pack up my shit.

I stomp into my room at the club, ignoring the other members as they call out a hello. I’ve got one thing on my mind—calling Eagle. He’s the club lawyer and it pains me, but I need him. I want to arrange an extra special thank you for Nora.

I spend the next thirty minutes having Eagle agree to drawing up papers relinquishing any right to the house I purchased and giving her the option to sign and switch it all into her name—including the outstanding debt.

Eagle put me on hold while he reached out to the bank and easily got them to agree that if Nora didn’t take over the debt and house, they would agree to a short sale.

I was the only one that had paid a dime on the place, and that included a substantial down payment—which is the only reason the bank agreed to have it signed into her name.

They knew that if she defaulted, they’d still get their money back easily with the sale of the place.

As for me? I sure as fuck didn’t want the place any longer.

Plus, I was losing money as it was. I didn’t care if the short sale resulted in just paying the mortgage off.

I’d actually preferred it and made that clear.

I’m sure Nora would demand half of whatever equity we had from the sale, and I didn’t want to give her a dime.

Once I was done with that, I sat on the edge of my bed, held my head down until it could almost touch my knees, then called King. “Damn, Pez. You’ve seen me constantly. Can’t a man spend time with his woman? I thought that’s what was on your mind when we parted?”

“I didn’t want you to ask someone else. I’m coming to Kentucky.”

“Fuck, yeah. I was hoping you’d say yes. I’m just surprised Nora agreed to this quickly.”

“She won’t be going.”

King goes silent for a minute and then takes a deep breath. “Listen, brother. I’d love to have you with me. I want my own man with me, especially one I can trust. I don’t want you breaking up with your old lady because of this, though?—”

“She doesn’t know about Kentucky. I came home early and found her fucking Devil’s boy in our bed.”

“Shit, Pez. Man, I … Well, hell, I don’t know what to say. Jesus, man, that’s rough. I’ve been on that side of the coin and it sucks.”

“I’m dealing. I want to go to Kentucky early. You and your old lady are heading out tomorrow afternoon, right?”

“Yeah. I went and checked it out. The place needs a lot of work and capital coming in. The potential is there, though. The clubhouse is rough, but there are rooms free if you want to crash there until we get up and running.”

“That sounds good. I don’t need much. I need to recover from the loss of money on the shit I bought for the bitch here in Tennessee. Leaving is the best damn thing for me.”

“I got your back. It may take us a bit to get settled, but I’ll do right by you brother.”

“Thanks man. I appreciate it,” I mumble before clicking my phone off.