Maverick (Devil’s Deviants Book 1)

by C. M. Allen

  “Axle, get me that radiator fluid will ya.” Maverick said.

  “On it.”

  Axle left to go get the fluid, and now just the three of us remained. “So, where’s this diner of yours at if you don’t mind my askin՛?” Butch inquired.

  “It’s up in the Beaufort area.”

  Suddenly both Maverick and Butch exchanged glances with one another as if communicating something between the two of them. But then silently came to some conclusion when Axle arrived back with the radiator fluid.

  Maverick stuffed the radiator fluid into the satchel on his bike, then motioned me over to get on, and I went to him. “Ok, let’s get you back to your car and on your way. Axle bring your travel toolbox and follow us just in case there’s somethin՛ else you need to fix really quick.”

  “Sure thing Mav. Be right back.”

  “Well, it was nice meetin՛ you Harper.” Butch smiled at me as Maverick helped me with my helmet again.

  “Nice meeting you too.”

  When we arrived back at my car, Axle looked under the car to make sure the radiator didn’t have a leak. Once he gave the all clear, Maverick poured in the radiator fluid and told me to go start the car up. Turning the key over, it took a couple of tries before it finally started right up. Getting back out of the car, I went around to the front to thank them both. Slamming my hood shut, Maverick turned to look at me. “I-I just wanted to thank you for all you and your friends did for me today, I really appreciate you helping me out like this.”

  Moving towards me, Maverick handed me a business card.

  MC’s have business cards?

  “I know you don’t know any of us for shit right now, but I can tell you that we are not the type of bad news that The Satanic Slayers are in your town. So if you ever have any trouble with them, give me a call, all right?”

  Taking the card from him, I slipped into my pocket. “Ok… and Maverick?”

  Looking down at me with the most intense eyes I had ever felt on me, he smirked. “Yeah?”

  “I’m really sorry for judging you the way I did, I—.”

  Throwing his hand up in the air, he cut me off. “It’s nothin՛ I’m not used to by now Sweetheart. Kinda comes with the territory, you know.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t have to be so nice and help me after I judged you so harshly the way I did. I know you’re not like those MC guys in my town. I don’t think if they had showed up today that I would be standing here thanking them right now. They don’t seem like the type of guys who would stop and help a woman out.”

  When he closed in on me, a breath I was about to take suddenly became trapped in my throat. Reaching out, he grabbed a few strands of my hair off my shoulder and rubbed them between his fingertips as he stared at me. His actions caused me to feel as if he was trying to restrain himself from touching me, and I had to admit, so was I. “You be careful around those guys Harper, they’re no good, you hear me? Stay away from them. And if they bother you or yours, I want you to use that number I gave you, got me?” he said, releasing the strands of hair from his fingers.

  Nodding my head, I tried to decipher if this hot biker that just appeared out of nowhere in my life today was for real right now. No man besides my father had ever helped or cared about me so much in such a short time of knowing me. “I will. And again, thank you for your help today.”

  When he nodded back at me, I took it as my dismal and headed to get back into my car and on my way back to the diner. As I pulled away from him and Axle, I couldn’t help myself, I had to take one last peek at the beautiful, hot biker before I was finally on my way, and God willing free from any more trouble getting back home.

  CHAPTER

  6

  Skull

  As my VP Hatchet and I sat here watching the whole thing unfold through our binoculars, I couldn’t help but see the light that shined down on this great moment. Who knew we would hit pay dirt this fast when we set out to follow Maverick and his men today. “I’ve got you now you bastard.” Looking over my shoulder, I saw the same smirk I wore on Hatchet’s face. “Call Worm, tell him I need him to tail that bitch and find out just how close her and Maverick really are. I want everything on her down to her bra size, and I want to know who she’s fuckin՛, now or ever has in her life. I want her family and friends’ names, addresses, and I want to know where she lives and works. I want to know about anyone important to her. And tell him he had better not fuck this up.”

  “Not a problem, I’ll call him now. Hey, you really think it’s them that’s been hittin՛ our shipments?”

  “There’s nothin՛ I wouldn’t put past Maverick and Butcher. They’re both still pissed that I killed as many of their family members as I could get bullets for that day. No, I would bet my life right now that those two pricks are the ones behind my missin՛ shipments. But the question is… are their brothers aware of the war those two are bringin՛ on? And most importantly; just how loyal are they to him and the club?”

  “There’s always someone who’s pissed off enough about the way things are run, just got to find that person and make them an offer they can’t refuse.” Hatchet adds.

  “Or. Now here’s a thought. What does Maverick’s new little interest have to lose that she’s willin՛ to do anythin՛ to keep it?”

  God, I even amaze myself sometimes.

  “Shit. You are one brilliant motherfucker Skull.” Hatchet grinned, slapping me on the back.

  “Yes, I am. Now make that call so we can get this little surprise party of mine in motion.”

  “Calling right now.”

  CHAPTER

  7

  Maverick

  As Harper pulled away, I couldn’t help but watch her go, and that’s when I caught Axle’s stare burning a hole in the side of my head. “Got somethin՛ on that mind of yours, Ax?” I asked, moving to put my helmet on and mount my bike.

  “You sure that was a smart idea, givin՛ her your number like that? We’re already pushin՛ the limits with fuckin՛ over Skull. You go gettin՛ involved with this chick and when he comes at us for answers, and he will, he’s goin՛ to take that shit out on everythin՛ and everyone in his path that means somethin՛ to us. You really want to put her in that kind of danger?”

  Glaring over at him, I hated that I knew he was right and that I did fuck up by giving her my number, but it also pissed me off that he even had the balls to question me on this right now. “Let me worry about that. Besides, I highly doubt we’ll ever see Harper again.”

  “Shit!”

  “What the hell is your problem now?”

  “You! You’re usin՛ her fuckin՛ name! You’re makin՛ her into a someone instead of what she should be to you, just some chick you helped out of a jam.”

  “And you’re startin՛ to sound like a naggin՛ bitch with how much you’re readin՛ between the lines. Do we need to stop at the mini mart on our way back and pick you up some tampons Felicia?” I snapped back pissed off as I started up my bike and took off.

  Back at the clubhouse, I finally called church. Everyone made their way in and took their seats. Pounding the gavel, I brought the meeting to order. “Ok, so where are we at on the last shipment of guns our Atlanta chapter is handlin՛? Have you heard from Rollins, Butch?”

  “Talked to him this mornin՛ and everythin՛ is still on track. He’s meetin՛ up with the head of the Divanti family in a couple of weeks to sell him the guns and then it’s done. Everythin՛ we do from here on out will be legit.”

  Looking around the table at all the faces, I couldn’t help but feel the negative vibes coming off a few of my brothers who still weren’t sure about this whole going straight thing.

  Well, I mean, as straight as a biker gang could go anyway.

  “I know some of you here still have concerns with the shift in our business. But I am here to assure you that with the bar, strip club, and motorcycle repair shop we’ve purchased we are goin՛ to be enjoyin՛ a very lucrative income gentlemen. Now, even though we are takin՛ this
club legit, it doesn’t mean we won’t have our share of trouble. There will always be a someone like The Slayers tryin՛ to fuck our shit up. If that happens, then we’ll deal with it. As. A. Club. I don’t want anyone in this room goin՛ off halfcocked on their own and bringin՛ the law to our doorstep. Am I clear?” Everyone mumbled their yes’s and ok’s. “Is there any new business that needs to be brought up?”

  Rigs raised his hand up, and I nodded for him to go ahead. “Word on the street is Skull thinks that it’s us messin՛ with his shipments and rippin՛ him off. With shit like that goin՛ around, it’s goin՛ to cause a war with him we don’t need right now. I’ve got a family and I am in full favor of this whole goin՛ legit thing and everythin՛, but how are we goin՛ to be able to do that when fuckin՛ lies like these are circlin՛ over our heads?”

  Looking at Butch, I gave him a nod to answer Rigs’ question. “When it comes to those lies Skull isn’t stupid enough to start a war with us over somethin՛ he has no proof of. So keep your ear to the ground and let me or the Prez know if you hear anythin՛ more about it.”

  “Make no mistake gentlemen, even though these are just rumors, it doesn’t mean Skull won’t try to fuck with us. So, keep your eyes and ears open for anythin՛ out of the norm. Now, if there’s nothin՛ else I’m going to call this meetin՛ adjourned. Not hearing anyone else speak up, I slammed down the gavel again and everyone moved to exit the room. “Butch, Axle, Repo, Gunner and Roman. I need you four to stay behind for a minute.”

  After everyone else left the room, I motioned to Roman to shut the doors. Once he’d joined us again at the table, I began. “We need to find out who’s spreadin՛ these rumors and how valid Skull thinks they really are. We don’t need everyone else lookin՛ inside for those missin՛ shipments. And I think it goes without saying again that this shit with Dekes stays just between the six of us. We all know that some members of this club are against us goin՛ legit and I don’t trust that they couldn’t be bought off for information.”

  “I agree. We all know there’s a few brothers pissed off about it. Though I would like to believe all our members are solid and loyal. It wouldn’t take much from Skull to sway one of them who’s not.” Butch added.

  “You know I’m with you after what that piece of shit did to our families Mav.” Roman spoke up.

  “I’m solid too. Nothin՛ that prick could ever offer me will override the satisfaction I will feel when he’s dead.” Axle said.

  “Always have your back Prez.” Gunner and Repo both chimed in.

  “Good,” I nodded to them with appreciation.

  “Now, what do you say we all take this party to the strip club and have some fun boys?” Butch announced with his arms open wide.

  “Hell yeah! Titties!” Roman, Gunner, Repo and Axle all shouted out at the same time, making me almost laugh.

  Getting up to leave, I looked back at the four of them. “I swear, you assholes never moved pass puberty.”

  At the mention of tits though, I couldn’t help the thought that drilled into my head; I wonder what Harper’s tits look like?

  Shit!

  CHAPTER

  8

  Harper

  As soon as my phone got a signal, it must have chimed over ten times with texts messages and missed calls. Quickly I scanned through them, knowing that it had to be Ava freaking out that I hadn’t returned yet and she wasn’t able to reach me. Calling out the diner’s name over my Bluetooth in the car, a ringing tone sounded. It only rang once before Ava answered. “Countryside Diner.”

  “Hey Ava, it’s me.”

  “Oh my God! Do you even know how close I was to calling Linc over at the police station to start looking for you? Where the hell have you been? And how come you didn’t answer your phone?”

  “I had no signal, but I will explain everything when I get back because it’s a long story.”

  “Okay, as long as you’re alive and safe. See you in a few.”

  Once I arrived back at the diner and had all the supplies unloaded, Ava and I grabbed some lunch and I told her everything that happened.

  “You have to be kidding me?”

  “Nope. I knew you wouldn’t believe it.”

  “What I can’t believe is that they actually helped you out without harassing you or wanting something in return from you. Guys like them are bad news, and I can’t even freaking believe that you, Harper Lancaster, were on the back of a motorcycle! I mean, I know I told you that you needed to start living and all, but I meant sticking your toes in the water, not jumping into a shark infested ocean!”

  I laughed at her. “It wasn’t like I really had a choice with the car breaking down and no signal on my phone. Besides, Maverick was right, the next guy who came along may have not been so nice.”

  “Maverick, huh? Just who is this hero biker of yours?”

  “Well, I can tell you he’s nothing like the scary bikers we deal with around here, that’s for sure. None of them were… well, I mean besides this one named Vulture.”

  “Vulture? These names they come up with for themselves,” she rolled her eyes. “So what did he do?”

  “He just looked scary. He has a large scar on his face, oh and he thought I was some sort of undercover cop. That was a fun few moments when he had me pinned down against the hood of a car.”

  Shaking her head, she asked. “Wait, what? He had you pinned down against the hood of a car?”

  “Yeah, but it was fine. Maverick came out and took care of him. Vulture even apologized to me. I think they got busted by an undercover cop or something, I don’t know, so he was sketchin՛ about me.”

  “I’m sorry, sketchin՛? What the hell does that even mean?”

  I laughed. “Oh, that’s what Axle calls it when you’re freaking out about something.”

  “Axle? Sounds like you had quite the lesson in the biker world today.” She looked at me like I had grown a second head during this conversation.

  “Look, it just really opened my eyes that not all MC’s are made up of bad people like The Satanic Slayers are. In fact,” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the business card Maverick gave me with his number on it out. “Maverick gave me this and told me that if those guys ever bother us to give him a call.”

  Taking it from me, she looked it over before looking back up at me. “Bikers have business cards now?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her, knowing I had that exact same thought. “That’s so funny, I asked myself the same question when he gave it to me.”

  Getting a serious look on her face, she handed the card back to me. “Please tell me that I’m not going to have to worry about some biker coming after you or you falling for this guy. I can tell you find him attractive Harper.”

  Losing the smile on my face, I stared down at the table a few beats before looking back at my only friend. “That’s not something you have to worry about, trust me. This guy is way out of my league. He’s like an extremely good-looking man that can, and probably does have his pick of any woman he wants.” What I didn’t say out loud, however, was the fact that after my ex Robert, before he broke my heart, reminded me every day of just how unworthy I was to keep his love. I didn’t have the confidence inside of me to even consider a man like Maverick being interested in me.

  No matter what I thought it meant when he was playing with my hair.

  “What do you mean out of your league? Girl you are a knockout.” Pointing her finger in my face, she added. “I know this crap that’s coming out of your mouth right now has everything to do with the way that asshole Owen treated you. It’s been three years now; you need to let that bullshit he was feeding you go. He was an awful human Harper.” When she grabbed my hand, it caused me to look up. “You. Are. A. Beautiful. Woman. Period! I don’t give a shit about what that asshole said. He was an ugly man inside, and I will not allow you to continue to look down on yourself because of that jerk.”

  Trying to pacify her that I didn’t really buy into all those horrible ins
ults he used to sling at me, and often, I pasted a smile on my face. “I know. Thank you. You’re always such a good friend to me.”

  “That’s right, and don’t you forget it Missy,” she pointed at me. “Now, come on, I have to get Maggie out of here. She needs a ride home today and I told her I would take her since I needed to run a couple of errands this afternoon anyway.”

  ***

  It had been about two weeks since my encounter with Maverick, but I still couldn’t seem to get him off my mind, no matter how busy I kept myself with the diner and remodeling my parents’ house. It was now late in the afternoon and the lunch crowd had thinned out, leaving us with only a few customers in the dining room. So I decide to use this time to catch up on some paperwork. Sitting at the register, so I could watch for customers, I began going over all the week's receipts when I heard the bell chime over the door. I looked up to find a sight I could have gone my whole life without seeing. There were three of The Satanic Slayers standing just inside the door looking around before all three pairs of eyes landed on me. When I scanned my eyes quickly around the diner, it seemed as if life had just came to a complete halt. Peoples spoons, or forks were stranded in midair as if they’d been frozen in place. Swallowing down the spike of fear I felt take over, I tried to put on my bravest face. “H-hello, three for lunch today?” I asked, fumbling for the menus.

  The guy in the front gave me a once over that made me want to pour bleach over my whole body before he smirked at me. “Yeah, sounds good to me, Doll.”

  Taking a deep breath, I finally got my hands to grab a hold of the three menus I needed. “Ok, this way please.”

  As I led the three of them over to a table, I could feel the heat of their stares burning a hole into my backside, and if I thought I might have been overreacting, the next words out of one of their mouths confirmed that I wasn’t. “Check out the ass on this one boys. I’d like to just split those luscious firm cheeks of hers open and—.”