by Nina Levine
I curled my hand around her neck and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry, baby.” There wasn’t anything else I could say to ease her pain. “Where is Jean?”
“Kree organised for her to lie down in your room. I hope that’s okay. She didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Fuck, yeah. That’s good.” I frowned. “Have you heard from Bronze?”
“Bronze?”
“Shit, Aaron.”
“You call him Bronze?”
“Yeah.”
She stared at me in silence. I couldn’t get a read on her. Not since she’d discovered Bronze was dirty. She’d been quiet after he and I fought the night before, but thank fuck she hadn’t pulled away from me. It was Bronze she was upset with.
Finally, she placed her hand on my chest and said softly, “I feel like the biggest bitch.”
That came out of left field. “Why?”
Tears fell down her cheeks again, and she madly wiped them away. “I was awful to him last night. It’s none of my business what he chooses to do with his life. I mean, that’s what I hate about my mother—the way she thinks she has a right to judge my choices in life.”
I smoothed her hair. “I didn’t think you were judging him so much as trying to come to terms with learning something new about him.”
She swallowed a sob. “What if”—her hand flew to her mouth—“he’d been beaten to death this morning? I wouldn’t have had a chance to tell him I love him always, regardless of what he does.”
I moved one hand around her waist and the other around her back, and pulled her close. “He knows that, baby.”
She buried her face against my chest, nodding while the tears flowed. I heard her sobs—deep in my fucking bones, I heard them. And I fell for Hailee even more than I already had because of the way she loved unconditionally.
The moment was broken between us when King’s voice bellowed from the doorway of the clubhouse bar. “This is fucking war!”
I turned to find him stalking my way, a look of complete fury on his face. “The motherfuckers set fire to my place, too. And Bronze’s.” His face softened a little as he glanced at Hailee and said, “We’ve also had word that the place you worked at was targeted. Bronze is working to get me more info, but so far he’s advised me that a few of the staff members have been taken to hospital.”
Hailee’s eyes widened with worry. “Are they okay?”
“I don’t know.”
Her body sagged against me as King’s gaze met mine. “We need to talk, brother.” His meaning wasn’t lost on me. We had to talk privately.
I nodded, my own fury building. “Give me a minute.”
After he left us, I tipped Hailee’s face up to mine. “We’re going to find who did this. And I promise you, they will regret what they’ve done.” I meant every fucking word. No stone would be left unturned as far as I was concerned. And it seemed like King was on the same page.
“I need to call Leona.”
“I’ve gotta go talk to King. You good here on your own?”
“Yeah, go.”
I found King in his office, barking orders into his phone. He had his back to me. When he ended the call and turned to face me, I sucked in a breath at the level of crazy I saw in his eyes.
“That was Bronze,” he said, and I knew by his deadly tone that I wouldn’t like what he was about to tell me next. “It was Silver Hell.”
My insides twisted with hatred and a deep desire for vengeance. “They’ll pay, King. For everything they’ve done to our club and our families, this time and all the other fucking times. If it’s the last thing I ever do. They will fucking bleed for what they’ve done.”
“Fuck.” He hissed as he clenched his fists. “We’ve got a problem with that, brother. The fucking feds have eyes on us twenty-fucking-four-seven.”
I stepped further into the office. “I know, but I’m telling you, I give no fucks. That’s my woman’s family they’ve messed with. And my club family. I will fucking lay down and die for my family.”
His breathing turned ragged as he nodded. “Okay. But you don’t do this on your own. And we make sure there’s no fucking survivors.”
I exhaled a long breath. “Agreed.”
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I set Hailee and Jean up at my place while Bronze chose to stay in a motel. I’d offered him a bed, but he’d said no. It was probably for the best. This way there was less chance of conflict between the two of us.
Hailee had finally located her friend, Leona, late that afternoon. She’d been admitted to hospital with burns to her arms. Her friend was worried about miscarrying, but after tests were done, it was determined she hadn’t been pregnant to begin with. I was just relieved she’d survived the fire, because Hailee had been freaking out all afternoon while waiting on news. No one had died. Five staff members had been hospitalized, including her old boss, Rachel. Hailee showed me her heart when she spent time visiting Rachel, even after Rachel had treated her so badly.
Just after midnight, Hailee fell asleep, giving me an opportunity to go over the plans King and I had set in motion late that afternoon. Silver Hell wouldn’t fucking know what hit them when we got started.
26
Devil
“Scott fucking Cole!” King greeted the president of the Brisbane chapter with a slap on the back early the next night when he entered the clubhouse bar.
“How are you, brother?” Scott asked, a look of concern in his eyes.
“Ready to get to work,” King answered.
He’d called for reinforcements yesterday afternoon when we sat down with Hyde and Nitro to work out our plan of attack. With the fed’s eyes on us, we knew we needed numbers. Scott had been all too willing to bring his members down to help.
“I managed to round up twenty-six members. That gonna be enough?” Scott asked.
“Yeah, that should do it,” King said. “You bring Havoc? That crazy motherfucker gets shit done.”
Scott nodded. “He’s outside.”
King motioned for Kree to pour drinks as everyone filed into the bar. Soon the room was chaotic as we all greeted each other. I hadn’t seen some of the members in years.
Jason Reilly’s gaze met mine with a grin. “Devil, brother. Long fucking time.”
“Heard you got married,” I said.
Before he could reply, King bellowed, “Drink up. We’ve got shit to do.” He raised his glass and then drained it.
Drinks were passed around the room, and we all followed suit before breaking apart into the groups we’d been designated.
Each group consisted of about eight men, and we had six groups in total. Each would be leaving separately in an effort to distract the feds assigned to trail us. There were only so many cops to go around; our goal was to send them out with the first few groups of members who left. The last couple would be the members who would head over to Silver Hell’s clubhouse.
Night had fallen by the time the first group left in a dark, tinted van just after nine. We’d received information from different sources that Silver Hell was celebrating what they deemed a victory at their clubhouse that night. We figured the party would be in full swing by the time we got there.
The next three groups were each about eight strong, and the members left on their bikes. The last two groups were in vans, similar to the first one that left. Our plan worked when the feds followed the first three groups, leaving the last few to ride out undetected.
I was in the second van with King, Hyde, Nitro, Scott, Havoc, and Kick. We travelled the first fifteen minutes in silence, until Havoc spoke.
“You’re confident we can pull this off? With the helicopter.”
Hyde, who was sitting across from him in the back of the van, nodded. “Yeah. Our pilot knows his shit.”
Havoc seemed happy with that answer. After that, we sat in silence again for the rest of the hour trip.
When we drew near the Silver Hell clubhouse, Kick slowed the van to ease it into the bush whe
re we’d worked out we would park until the helicopter pilot had completed his task. It was far enough away to prevent us being injured.
Griff’s voice crackled over the handheld radio. “We’re in position. You?” He was with the other group of eight members in the third van positioned on the other side of the clubhouse.
“Good to go,” King spoke into his radio.
The helicopter pilot’s voice filtered through. “Two minutes for me.”
Adrenalin flooded my body as I gripped my rifle.
I was ready.
Ready to finally annihilate the club that had caused ours so much pain and loss.
Time ticked by slowly while we waited out the two minutes. My breathing slowed when the helicopter finally came into sight. I followed its lights and watched, with deep satisfaction, as it dropped the satchel bomb over the clubhouse. I couldn’t see the bomb, but I knew it was there. And when it detonated forty-five seconds after it was dropped, I almost held my breath waiting for the fire that was our goal to blaze through the building.
“Go, go, go!” King roared into the handheld radio, and Kick drove the van out of the bush where we waited.
He planted his foot, driving like a mad man to get us closer to the clubhouse. When he skidded to a stop, Scott yanked the back door open, and we all jumped out, rifles in hand.
Fanning out into a line, we stormed the perimeter, ready to shoot anyone who exited the building. The team led by Griff were doing the same thing on the other side.
Fire had consumed most of the clubhouse and had begun to spread. We didn’t have long before police and fire would arrive, but the short time we did have would be spent making sure there were no survivors.
King raised his hand, and at his signal, we all lifted our rifles and fired into the clubhouse. Screams and chaos had taken over the Silver Hell compound, but not many members had tried to flee. We gunned down the few that did, and hopefully our bullets that we sent into the building took care of any remaining members who were still breathing.
Kick signaled with the horn when our time was up. Everyone stopped firing and turned to head back to the van. As I turned, I caught sight of Dragon stumbling out of the building.
He has to die.
No fucking way was I leaving the Silver Hell president alive. I deviated from the plan and ran towards Dragon instead of towards the van.
“Devil!” Scott yelled, but I ignored him.
Running as fast as I could, I met Dragon within a matter of a minute or so.
“You fucking cunts will pay for this!” he roared.
I pointed my rifle at him. “How do you figure that, asshole? Your club is all dead, and I’m the one standing here with a fucking rifle.”
“You didn’t kill everyone,” he spat.
“Just fucking shoot him!” Scott called out from behind me, getting closer.
My finger hovered over the trigger, ready to squeeze. However, I wanted more from this moment than to simply kill him. I took a step forward right as the first siren sounded.
“For fucks sake,” Scott yelled. “Take him out, Devil, so we can get the fuck out of here.”
Ignoring him still, I closed the distance between Dragon and me. Blood roared in my ears as I got closer. It was finally time to end this madness.
“You’re a fucking pussy.” Dragon tried to provoke me, but I was focused on my outcome.
More sirens rang out in the night air.
I dropped my rifle and took a swing at Dragon. My fist connected with his face, and I knocked him down with one punch. Automatic pilot kicked in then, and I was on top of him without realising it, landing punch after punch onto his face and body. It wasn’t until hands slid under my shoulders and pulled me off him that I came to my senses.
King’s voice filtered into my consciousness. “He’s almost dead, Devil. Take your fucking rifle and finish him off so we can get the fuck out of here before the cops turn up.”
He shoved my rifle at me, and waited for me to do as he’d said. I turned the gun on Dragon, squeezed the trigger, and ended his shitty life.
27
Hailee
I stared silently at the burnt remains of my home late the next afternoon, willing the tears not to fall. But as Devil put his arms around me and pulled me against his body, they cascaded down my cheeks.
“Fuck,” I muttered, wiping them away. “I swore I wouldn’t cry again today.”
“Baby,” Devil murmured against my ear, “cry. Let it out.”
Gran joined us. She’d left to circle the property, but there really wasn’t much to see. “It’s just a building, child, and a few belongings. They’re not the important things in life.”
I sighed. “You’re always so practical. Those things meant something to you. I’m sad that you lost them.”
She shook her head, dismissing what I’d said. “You mean something to me. Aaron means something to me. If I’d lost either of you in that fire, then I’d be sad. Things can be replaced.”
It had been a long two days, and my emotions were all over the place. Between Aaron being beaten, losing our homes and belongings to fire, and Leona and my old workmates being hurt, I was close to tears all the time. It overwhelmed me, and I was thankful to have Devil by my side helping me function.
“You ready to leave?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. You ready, Gran?”
She hobbled in the direction of the car, calling out, “Yes,” as she went. I loved how she seemed to always be able to just get on with life. Some days I wished I was more like her.
Devil drove us back to his place, all of us lost in our own thoughts. I knew he had a lot on his mind, too. He’d told me that the people who burnt our houses down had been taken care of. I hesitated to ask him what that meant, but I had a good idea. And it didn’t bother me. It felt just.
I wasn’t hungry that night, but Devil insisted I eat. He cooked spaghetti, and I picked at it while he watched me with concern. After dinner, we set Gran up in the lounge room with her favourite TV shows and then did the dishes together.
Reaching for his hand once we finished the dishes, I said, “I’m sorry I’m so low today. I just need a day or two, and then I’ll be back to my usual self.”
Before I knew what was happening, he lifted me and sat me on the kitchen counter. Moving in between my legs, he wrapped his arms around me and said, “Darlin’, there’s no rush. You take your time getting your head together. I’ll be right here for whatever you need.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve someone as amazing as Devil in my life. Smiling at him, I said, “You never did tell me how you got your nickname.”
He grinned. “Weren’t you meant to give me something in order to get that out of me?”
I returned his grin. It was infectious. “I’ve held up my end of the bargain. You wanted a drink with me, and I gave you that, so spit it out, bossman.”
“King gave me my nickname. He said I could lead someone into temptation just as easily as I could cause mass destruction.”
“The devil,” I murmured.
He brushed a kiss across my lips. “Yeah.” He let me go and placed his hands on my thighs. He then slid one hand down to the inside of my thigh and along my leg towards my pussy. Meeting my gaze, he said, “I want you in a dress every day.”
His demand caused an ache between my legs, and I spread them to allow him access.
He shook his head. “Not here. Jean might come in.”
I lifted a brow. “And here I was thinking you loved sex in public.” Not that I wanted my gran to walk in on us. In the heat of the moment, I’d forgotten that was a possibility, but I liked to play with him as often as I could.
“Darlin’, there’s a difference between fucking you in public and fucking you in front of your grandmother. I do have some standards.”
My lips curled up into a smile as I slipped my arms around his neck. “In that case, we should move this to the bedroom.”
He scooped me up and carri
ed me into his bedroom, laying me out across his bed. Grabbing hold of my legs, he pulled me towards him so that my ass was on the edge of the bed and my legs rested over his shoulders while he knelt in front of me. After he pushed my dress up, he slid my panties off, dropping them on the floor after pressing them to his face and inhaling my scent.
Bending his face to my pussy, he said, “I could live off your smell. It gets me so fucking hard.” Taking hold of my ass, he licked along my pussy before sucking on my clit.
I threaded my fingers in his hair, and scrunched a handful of it as I cried out, “Yes!” My back arched up off the bed, and I closed my eyes when his tongue slid inside me.
He groaned as he tasted me, pushing his tongue deeper inside while his mouth sucked me. Wave after wave of pleasure consumed me, and just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, he stopped and growled, “Fuck, Hailee, I want to live between your legs.”
I lifted my head and reached down so I could hook my hand around his neck. I pulled him to me, and he slowly made his way up my body, tasting my skin everywhere as he moved.
I was greedy for him, and as soon as he was close enough, I dragged his mouth to mine, and kissed him. He grabbed one of my boobs and squeezed it hard enough that I cried out in pain. It was the kind of pain that felt good, though, and I begged him for more.
“You like that?” he demanded while squeezing my other breast.
I nodded, desperate for more. “Oh, God, don’t stop,” I pleaded.
Suddenly, he stopped everything and moved off me. Reaching for his button on his jeans, he undid it and yanked his zip down as fast as he could. His eyes never left mine while he did this. Moving back on top of me, he rasped, “Wrap your legs around me, darlin’, and hold on tight. This is gonna be rough and dirty.”
I did as he said while he sucked one of my tits into his mouth. I hardly had my legs secured around him before he slammed his cock as far into me as he could.
“Fuck,” he roared, pulling back out. Pushing back in, he forced himself deeper the second time, groaning as he did that.
