“We don’t have to be at war. Our gangs can work together. We’re both bikers. We live by a code. We can find a way to work together Figueroa,” Devin urged, softening his voice. He knew there was no way he could enforce violence on this man or his men, not in his current position. Trying to reason with him and buying time was his only option.
Jimmy regarded him intently like he was looking at Devin’s face for clues. He clearly wanted to believe Evangeline, as he was in love with her, but he also seemed to find some truth in Devin’s words too.
***
“I live by a code. I have never broken the code. I’m not a rat!” Devin was screaming again. He had been trying to talk reason with Jimmy Figueroa for ages. He had lost all track of time, but his body clock was telling him that it was morning now. Jimmy’s men were growing weary too. Their boss had still not decided whom to believe.
“Why would she lie to me?!” Jimmy yelled back. He must know, somewhere at the back of his mind, that Devin had no reason to lie. He wasn’t under police investigation and his men had found no evidence that proved that he had been talking to the cops.
But on the other hand, there was Evangeline, a woman he was obsessed with. He couldn’t look past her or the information that she had fed him. He couldn’t think of one reason why she would make this stuff up, and Devin had yet to convince him that she would do all this just to get back at him for breaking up with her.
“Give me a chance to prove it then,” Devin said.
Jimmy threw him an indignant look. “You want me to just let you go? So you can run directly to the cops with this evidence, all these bruises?” He laughed, still unsure of himself. But Devin jumped on the opportunity. They were headed in the right direction of thought.
“If I run to the cops, you’ll know where to find me, where to find my men, and if I’ve ratted on you. All the evidence will be there. Then, you can really do me in.” Devin was speaking evenly again. There was no need to scream at Jimmy anymore. What was needed was calm and calculated rational thinking. He needed to save his own skin first before he could think of an appropriate way to handle the mess that Evangeline had made.
“You want me to let you go so you can go and sit pretty in your clubhouse?” Jimmy shook his head.
“I can prove to you that I’m not a rat. My biker code and loyalty to our gangs is stronger than anything else,” Devin said.
Jimmy was staring at him and a new sly smile formed on his face. “Your loyalty to us is stronger than your feelings for that new young thing you have around your hip?” he asked, smirking.
“Camille?” Devin felt like his heart stopped for a few moments. “She means nothing to me. She’s not a part of our world. She’s just a girl I know. I can prove my loyalty to you in so many ways. Tell me how,” Devin replied, trying to change the topic.
Jimmy smiled and shook his head again. “A biker’s code is above all. It’s why I haven’t killed you yet. I should have killed you when Evangeline told me you were snitching to the cops,” Jimmy said, bringing his face close to Devin’s again.
“I understand. I know you uphold the code and let me show you that I do the same. Let me go and see if I go to the cops. Investigate and see if the cops know anything about you.” Devin kept the strength in his voice. The only way he could play with Jimmy’s fire was by showing him that he had nothing to hide and that he was willing to do anything to demonstrate his loyalty to their biker gangs against government authority.
“Good,” Jimmy said, taking a few steps away from Devin. He clapped his hands together and dusted them like he had just finished a tasty meal.
“Prove it then,” he added, and Devin held his breath in silence. “I’ll let you go, and I’ll make sure that my men follow you. Make sure that you stay away from the cops.”
Devin nodded and smiled genuinely for the first time in several hours. He had finally managed to convince this madman to free him.
“Untie me then. Let me go, and we’ll forget this little misunderstanding ever happened,” Devin said, looking Jimmy directly in the eye.
“Not so fast, Mr. Rock. You also have to prove your loyalty to us. Your loyalty to the biker code above all else,” Jimmy said, waving a hand to his men behind him so that they didn’t yet take a step in Devin’s direction.
Devin glared at Jimmy. By the look in the man’s eyes, Devin knew that nothing that he was about to tell him would be anything he wanted to hear. But he was willing to agree with him, buy some time - just to get out of this place alive. By now he knew that Jimmy Figueroa was capable of anything. He wasn’t a rationally thinking man.
“What do you want me to do?” Devin asked when Jimmy hadn’t spoken in several minutes.
“I have a special request. Something that’ll prove to me just how truthful you are about upholding the code.” He walked up to Devin and leveled his face with his. Devin could see the man’s chapped lips, the hair in his nostrils, and the cold, flaky, pale skin on his head where his hair was thinning. Evangeline was using Jimmy for her own gains - that much was clear.
“What is it?” Devin asked, noting the dull ache at the back of his head returning. Just a few minutes more in this place, without water, without light, and he felt like he might go completely mad.
“Boys, make sure that he has none of his precious dogs to go home to if he doesn’t follow through with the plan,” Jimmy called out to his men while keeping his eyes on Devin.
Devin clenched his fists but kept the smile on his face. He was going to do just what Jimmy Figueroa wanted him to do.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Camille
The previous night had been a rollercoaster of emotions, but business had never been better. Camille was behind the desk, and a queue had already formed right to the front door of the comic bookstore with people excited to get their own copies of Country Crowns.
The media coverage, the vandalism and all the photos and reviews had played their part. People wanted to know about the secret authors and wanted to get their hands on their own copies of the comic book.
Shayna was showing customers around the store while Camille was manning the till. It was only midday, but they had made more money in three hours than they did in an entire month. She didn’t have time to think about anything else. The exhibition was a huge success, and they were going to be famous.
Shayna and Camille had both received calls from agents, including from the person who had called some days ago. Agents wanted to represent them as artists, and publishers were sending emails about buying the copyrights. Camille had all but forgotten the fact that she still hadn’t heard from Devin. She had no idea where he was, even though he was the one who had made all of this possible in the first place.
Camille smiled at a customer at the desk, and when she looked up, she saw Shayna reading an excerpt from the book. She smiled to herself, happy that things were finally coming around for them after so many months and years of hard work.
But Camille couldn’t get that nagging feeling out of her system; that Devin wasn’t there by her side.
He had completely changed her world. Initially, he had seemed like a bad idea. Like a man who could be nothing other than trouble. But she had been unable to resist him - his charm, good looks, and how absolutely hot he was in bed. And then she had begun to realize that he meant more to her than just a sexy man. She needed his company; she yearned to hear his voice. He had pushed her and encouraged her to do all this. He had gone out of his way to make sure that she made a name for herself.
But then he had disappeared. She knew his business - the one that he insisted was completely clean and yet she knew it wasn’t everything that he pretended it was. She knew he was involved in things that he was keeping hidden from her. But was it actually more dangerous than he was willing to admit? Than she was willing to admit?
But maybe it was as simple an explanation as that he went away with Evangeline - that they had rekindled their romance and he had gone away to spend the night
with her. After all, she and Devin weren’t exactly in a marriage or even a committed relationship. He was free to do what he wanted.
Then she thought about the previous day at the boutique, how he had hinted at buying her an engagement ring. Maybe she had looked too deeply into that. Maybe he was just joking. Maybe he told all the girls that.
Camille smiled at the next customer, even though her brain was swimming with thoughts of Devin again. Just when she thought that she had forgotten about him.
Maybe he had done all this out of charity. Maybe he saw talent in her and just felt sorry for her being unrecognized, and did all this because he was a good person. Thus, there were no feelings involved. Camille breathed in deeply. She couldn’t think of him as anything else other than the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She knew she was in love with him, even if she didn’t know everything about him. Whatever she did know, she loved. She had never felt this way about someone else before.
But now the truth was revealed. He had vanished without a trace. He was like one of those superheroes from the comic books she read. He had done his good deed and gone. He didn’t have anything else to give her. The only problem was that she had given him her heart.
“Hey, those kids over there want to take a picture with us.” Shayna had appeared at her side, with a huge smile on her face. Camille snapped out of her thoughts and turned to her friend.
“You okay?” Shayna asked, apparently noticing the sullen expression that had overtaken Camille’s face. It had been a long rough night; neither of them had gotten much sleep.
“I’m fine. Let’s go,” Camille said, smoothing out her denim skirt with the palms of her hands. She welcomed the distraction - anything to keep her from thinking about Devin. The sooner she accepted it, the better her life would be: she had meant nothing more to him than a charity case. He had a life of his own that he didn’t want her involved in, and he probably had several other women to worry about. She wasn’t the only one.
Shayna and Camille walked over to the group of teenagers who were waiting with their camera phones poised to take pictures.
Camille accepted their handshakes and greeting hugs with a cold smile and then posed with them for the cameras. She tried to smile as she looked directly into the lens. She hoped that the cameras wouldn’t capture the sorrow in her soul; the deep pinching pain she could feel in her heart, of loss and misery. She might have become a successful cartoonist, artist, and storyteller, but she had also lost the one person who had made her feel true happiness. The one person who had given her the hope and confidence to achieve all that surrounded her right now.
“Smile, Ms. Griffin, you’re on camera,” a boy said as he flashed his camera at her, and she did what she was told because there was nothing else to do.
***
“Chin up, sweetie,” Shayna said as she finished counting the money from the till.
Camille looked up at her friend and smiled. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” She folded her arms over her chest.
Shayna bundled the cash into a bag, stapled it, and then sighed. “You look exhausted. It’s been a long day. Last night was long too. We both need some rest,” Shayna added and came around to Camille who was standing in the center of the bookstore.
It was six in the evening now, and they had to finally close the door on more customers. They needed to restock, count their cash, and prepare for the next day. Their new agent predicted that there would be long queues at the store for the next few weeks until all the media uproar about the vandalized artwork died down.
“Yes, definitely need some sleep,” Camille said, accepting Shayna’s hug.
“We should start working on some new art like that agent suggested. He said he’ll be getting in touch with galleries all over Florida in the coming weeks,” Shayna said. Camille nodded. Somehow working on new art didn’t thrill her as much as she would have liked. She was still reeling from the ordeal from the previous night. Talks of new work were too soon. But Shayna didn’t seem to think so; she was rightly looking ahead.
“Camille, you need to snap out of it, sweetie. He’s gone, or gone missing.”
Camille wriggled free from her friend’s grip. “I just need some time to heal. Is that all right? Can I just get a few moments to breathe in peace?” Camille hadn’t realized that she had raised her voice to Shayna.
Her friend stared back at her with wide eyes. Then she held her hands up and started backing away. “I was only trying to help. Suit yourself,” Shayna said.
“Good. Just leave me alone then!” Camille snapped and waited in silence while Shayna collected her things and walked to the front door.
Before she left, she suddenly whipped around to look at Camille. “You know, Camille, I warned you about him. I didn’t have a good feeling about him or Evangeline. We’ve made the best out of a shitty situation. But he’s left, disappeared. You should accept that and just move on,” she said, a silent bitterness creeping into her voice.
Camille rolled her eyes, amazed by Shayna’s tone. All their success had been possible by Devin. But clearly, Shayna didn’t see it that way.
“Just go, Shayna. You’ll never understand,” Camille threw back, making sure that her face did most of the talking. She wanted Shayna to leave. She didn’t need her backlash.
“All he has done is tried to pull you and me apart. When are you going to wake up and see that?” Shayna accused, and then rattled the door open and slammed it as she left.
Camille clenched her fists and jaw and turned around. She just needed a few moments of peace and quiet, just a few moments to think.
After a few seconds, she realized that she was finally alone. The store was silent, she was by herself, and she could finally clear her head and figure out her next steps. If Devin was really gone, out of her life… then she needed to move on. She needed to figure out a way to survive.
“Hello, darling!” Evangeline’s cold, smooth voice took her by surprise, and Camille’s hand flew to her heart as she whipped around to find the other woman at the door. She was standing with one hand holding the door open. Then she stepped in and shut the door, locking it just like Devin had done that first time he had come into her store.
Camille’s heart was beating fast. She didn’t understand what was going on. She didn’t greet Evangeline, she couldn’t. All she could do was stand there in silence, staring at her angrily.
“What are you doing here? Please leave,” Camille told her, realizing that her voice was shaky. She wasn’t exactly the picture of confidence and Evangeline could see that.
While Camille was in a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized t-shirt, with her spray of tight blond curls around her face, Evangeline was as impeccably dressed as usual. She was in a sleek black jumpsuit with a gold belt around her waist. Her hair was shiny black and straight, and she had gold earrings and bangles. Her high-heeled shoes were also gold and clicked against the floor with every step she took.
“I came to see if you were doing alright. Charlene mentioned that we had an epic night.” Evangeline had a cold stare in her eyes but a smile on her face that Camille couldn’t trust anymore.
“You did it to my art, didn’t you? I know you did that!” Camille couldn’t keep her voice down; especially not now that Evangeline had locked the door. She was beginning to feel afraid. Even though Evangeline didn’t look particularly strong, Camille was beginning to feel dizzy with weakness. It was like her body was shutting down, and she was losing all control of her muscles. She was going to have a panic attack, and Evangeline would be able to overpower her if she wanted to.
Evangeline laughed and walked towards Camille while she took a few steps away from her. She couldn’t think straight or decide what to do; just the sight of Evangeline approaching her was enough to make her want to make a run for it. But she knew she didn’t have the strength to do that.
“I told you last night, darling, it wasn’t me. Why would I do something like that to a woman who was thank
fully keeping Devin away from me?” Evangeline said, and her smile grew.
“You wanted me to keep him away from you?” Camille asked, her mouth dropping open from horror. Evangeline’s face changed from a smile to a surprise.
“What did you think was happening?” she asked, walking closer to Camille now.
“I thought you were jealous of us. Why would you want him to stay away from you?” Camille’s heart was pounding. None of this was making any sense. How could any of this actually be true? From the first time she had met Evangeline, all that Evangeline seemed to want was to be close to Devin. Were all her instincts wrong from the start?
Evangeline hurried over to Camille and clutched her hands. Camille couldn’t shake her hands free and instead met Evangeline’s gaze. She didn’t care anymore that the other woman could see the tears in her eyes.
“Oh, my poor girl! Why would I be jealous of you both? I was happy that he had finally found someone else to horrify.” She laughed a little. When she saw that Camille wasn’t laughing, she took a deep breath and carried on talking.
BAD BOY’S SURPRISE BABY: The Choppers MC Page 18
