Devil's Reach Trilogy: Books 1-3

by J. L. Drake

  “Then why take me out here?”

  “Had to do what the boss said.”

  Whatever. I turned on my heel and headed inside.

  Morgan caught my eye when I entered the bar and shook his head as a warning to leave. I ignored him, which I was sure he predicted. Rail stiffened and cleared his throat at Trigger, Brick stepped back, and I saw a chick with a little boy who looked an awful lot like…

  The lines deepened across his forehead. He didn’t have to say anything; I knew it was bad. It hit me like a punch to the gut. Sure, I never really wanted kids, but I would have liked the option to decide. There was a fucked-up part of me that thought I might have kept Clark’s baby, but that was all before I met Trigger.

  “Tess!” Denton blurted, and I felt a tug on my sleeve that broke my gaze with Trigger. “Mom passed out again. I ate most of my food and—” He caught the mood of the bar and whirled around when he heard the baby squeal.

  “Why is that here?”

  My hands landed on his shoulders to ground myself.

  “Oh,” Melissa cooed, directing her attention to us, “aren’t you a cute little thing?”

  Denton looked up at me, unimpressed, before he directed his gaze back to her. “Your fuckin’ baby has a big head.”

  Melissa’s focus jumped up to me. “Wow, sweet kid.”

  “Tess,” he ignored her and turned in my arms, “if I eat all my carrots, can I have my iPad for twenty minutes before bed?”

  “Yeah.” I barely heard him.

  “Yes! You hear that, Uncle Trig?” He cheered, but when everyone stared at him, he dropped his arms. “Who is she, anyway?”

  “I’m your uncle’s friend, and this is your Uncle Trigger’s child.”

  I nearly fell forward at her words.

  “No, she’s,” he pointed to me, “Uncle Trig’s old lady. Not you.”

  “I know it’s confusing.”

  “Tess?” His little face held so much confusion that I almost wanted to cry for him.

  “Why don’t you ask Cray to grab your iPad? He’s out by the pool.” I ruffled his hair and gently pushed him out back.

  Once he was out of sight, I glared back at the bitch who had just stirred up that little boy’s mind to a shitty place.

  “You came, you made your point, now it’s time for you to go.” I couldn’t hide the clip in my tone.

  “Um…” She glanced back at Trigger, who was still stuck in some parallel place where he was rendered useless. Big Joe stepped forward and held out his hand as if to help her through the door. “Maybe I overstayed my welcome.” She reached for her bag and pulled out a card. “I’m not asking for anything but the opportunity for you to get to know your son.” She waited for him to say something, and he took the card and ran a hand through his hair.

  “Go home, Melissa. I need time to think about this shit storm.” He pushed her out the door.

  Acid flowed around the inside of my cheeks and nipped at my tongue. What the hell just happened?

  “Tess, we’ll talk in a moment.” He hurried to his office.

  Oh, is that so?

  The door slammed shut, and I was left with a bar full of eyes all on me.

  Morgan slid a bottle of whiskey in front of me, and instead of pouring a glass, I grabbed the bottle by the neck and left.

  I didn’t give two shits that I took Trigger’s bike. I was getting pretty good at riding the beast. Plus, it meant he wouldn’t be able to come find me right away.

  “Hey,” Big Joe stopped me at the road, “just tell me where you’re going.”

  “For a ride.” I inched out to the curb.

  “But where?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Tess.” He removed his sunglasses, and I saw he was genuinely nervous for me.

  Dammit!

  “Pier, I think. Not far. I just need a moment to think.”

  “No pier, okay, it’s—”

  “Neutral ground, I know. Trust me, it’s been beat into my head.”

  “Then why go?”

  I dropped my head, not wanting this conversation. “Makes me remember an easier time.”

  “He’s gonna kill you.”

  “Nothing left to kill.” I slammed down the visor and shot onto the road.

  I watched as Morgan joined him and yelled something. I flipped the mirror up and ran a red. I was still too chicken to split traffic, so I eased in with the flow and tried to settle my nerves.

  Once the pier came into view, I felt right about my choice to come here. I pulled into Trigger’s spot and headed down to the shoreline.

  The sand was warm, but once the sun went down, the air grew cool. I wrapped the black and red plaid blanket Trigger kept in his saddlebag tightly around my shoulders and balanced the bottle of whiskey between my legs. Orange and red reflected off the calm sea and made for a quiet sunset.

  My body was tingly, and my belly felt full, so I was happy to numb the pain in my chest.

  “I thought about sending Minnie, but,” Brick shrugged and took a seat next to me, “you got me.”

  “All I ever wanted, anyway.” I flipped the side of the blanket over his leg as he pulled out a fat joint. He took a long drag and handed it to me, so I handed him the whiskey.

  He smirked at the bottle. “He’s rubbed off on you.”

  “Don’t,” I warned. I wanted more than anything to be with Trig tonight, but the image of the baby and him carrying the bag into his office cut too close to the core.

  “She’s a bitch,” he huffed between sips.

  “She had every right to do what she did today, but she fucked up telling Denton.” I felt my anger rise. “Those boys have been through enough shit. A fucked-up mom, a missing father, and now an uncle who knocked up some chick.” I felt my throat stick, and my words fumbled on their way out.

  “No one blames you for leaving Gus, Tess.”

  “I do.” I thumped my chest. “I blame myself. He was so weak and tired, and Allen beat him over and over for my mistakes.” I felt tears prick my eyes, so I chased them back. Crying got you nowhere. I hated it. “All I got was being given to Zay. What the fuck was the point of taking me?”

  “You know the answer to that.”

  “It didn’t even work!” I snatched the bottle back and downed a few more sips.

  Brick smiled, but it was followed by a dark expression. “Yeah, it did.”

  I waved my hands in the air to tell him I was listening.

  “Tess, settle down and listen. That man sat in a prison for weeks with multiple people working to track you down. He put your rescue before anything else. That’s something that has never happened before. The club has always come first, and the guys have always come after that. You’ve changed him, Tess. Allen may not have won this round by taking you, but never underestimate him. He is the devil incarnate, and he’ll be back and play dirtier than ever. I know Allen from years of being at the club, and I’m telling you to watch your back. He got to you once, and he won’t stop until he gets you again. He wants whatever will hurt Trigger the most, and that’s you.”

  “Well, he won’t get me. I won’t let him.” I turned away and took another deep drag of the joint.

  Chapter Nine

  Trigger

  Gus always warned me that my dick would get me into trouble. I just never saw that coming. I leaned back in my seat and rubbed my head. Gus. I had my guys scouring every corner looking for where they might be holding him. Fuck Allen. My guys had plenty of kills to show for it but hadn’t turned up much info. I knew he wouldn’t give up and wished to hell I had an idea of what he was planning.

  “Whiskey?” Minnie slammed a shot glass down in front of me. “Or a condom?”

  The fuck!

  I opened my mouth to tell her off, but she held up her hand.

  “Yell at me all you want, but I am the one friend who’s willing to give you some free advice, even if you don’t want it.” She pressed her hands flat on the bar top as she leaned down to get in m
y face.

  Fucking hell, don’t kill her.

  “You’ve sunk your dick in every hole known to man. Whatever, that’s your thing, but with that comes major consequences. One being that if you don’t handle this correctly, the one and only person who can handle your bullshit will walk out of your life again,” she tossed back my drink, “and that’s on you.”

  “Done?” I felt my temper rise.

  “Nope.” She narrowed her bright green eyes at me. “Fuck what that chick is saying, you get a DNA test now. Are you even sure the timelines fit? I mean, you were mostly with Tammy at that point.” She took my joint and held it up in my face. “Quit this shit until you can remember, or kiss Tess goodbye.” She gave me a dramatic pause. “Or she’ll meet someone else, someone who didn’t get some random broad knocked up.”

  A strange ache in my stomach came on quickly. I fought it back, but it burrowed its way through.

  “Here, boss.” Morgan handed me a clean glass. “Are you fucking insane?” he hissed at Minnie, who hadn’t broken her eye contact with me.

  “I’m being honest.” She turned to look at him. “Can’t say the same for you.”

  “Enough,” I mumbled. She’d made her point and was lucky I didn’t kill her for it.

  She started to speak but stopped herself. “Look.” She closed her eyes for a moment.

  I snapped my neck because if I didn’t, it would be hers.

  “I’m half the person Tess is. She’s hot, smart, and a damn good friend. I would be crushed to see her go because this blows up in your face.”

  “No more, Minnie,” Morgan warned.

  She got smart and nodded once with her hands in the air and left. Morgan went back to cleaning the beer taps.

  “Wait.” Peggy stopped short when she saw me. “How are you here and your bitch isn’t?”

  “What?” I glanced at Morgan as he tried to slip out. “Morgan,” I shouted, and he whirled around.

  “She left,” Minnie called from the hallway.

  “Where?” The place rattled like thunder.

  “Don’t know, but Brick is with her. She’s fine.”

  I rolled my eyes at Minnie’s choice of words. She wasn’t fine!

  “Trigger,” Cray called from my office with his phone in the air, “they’re ready for you.”

  I had to shove all the bullshit aside and get my head in the game.

  “Morgan and Rail.” I signaled for them to follow me.

  “Hey, boss.” Morgan stopped me before we went in and held up the phone I had taken off the dead biker. “Name’s Eddie Red. He’s some hit man from North Carolina, long-ass rap sheet, worked a bit for the cartel and some indie jobs. No direct link to your father that I can see, but there was a string of texts between him and someone else. Interesting that three times he was at your exact location. He even was at…” he turned the phone around and showed me the Google map that tracked where he had been in the last month, “the prison.”

  What the fuck? He was there twice?

  “Can’t imagine where he got all that information.” Morgan gave me a knowing look.

  I handed him a list. “I’ll need that by the end of today.” His grin grew wicked when he saw it was supplies for the slaughter room.

  The map was stretched out on the meeting room wall, the conference phone was in the center of the table, and fifty-nine VPs waited to hear what their next move would be.

  “Two of our own were taken.” I didn’t waste words. “One’s back, but the other’s still out there.”

  “Your Uncle Gus,” Cameron, my Nova Scotia VP, confirmed.

  “Right. Last we knew, he was in Tennessee.” I paused to make sure they listened and spoke slowly and clearly. I needed them to understand how important the next part was.

  “I want every single chapter to comb through their territory with a fuckin’ fine-toothed comb. Round up every Serpent and Stripe Back and beat every detail out of them you can. I want anything they have on Allen. Once they tell you all they’ve got, if they don’t give you anything, slaughter them. The word will spread, so you’ll need to act fast. I don’t care if you think it’s the smallest piece of shit, it’s information, and you will report it back to me or Morgan. I will decide if it’s worth our time or not. The one who brings me some valuable info gets a new bike, on me.” The mic started to buzz with chatter, which meant I had their attention.

  “Now, go!”

  Morgan pushed the button to hang up and glanced around the room at me and Cray.

  “Let the bloodshed begin.”

  My phone rang, and I saw it was Melissa. I stepped out of the room and into the bar to get away from the excitement.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “Oh, um, sorry,” she stuttered. “I left in such a hurry. I wondered if you’d have a coffee with me and, you know, work out the details and whatnot.”

  So, I don’t get time to think about this? Pushy bitch.

  My gaze snapped over to Minnie chatting with Big Joe at the pool table, her words finding their way inside. “Kiss Tess goodbye.”

  “Where?” I needed this shit over with.

  “Rusty’s Surf?”

  “Fine, be there in fifteen.” I hung up and reached for my keys then cursed. “Where the hell are they?”

  “Here,” Morgan tossed me his but failed to answer my question.

  I raced out the door and kicked the bike in gear. I despised riding another man’s bike, but I didn’t have time to find out if Rail was working on my clutch or not. My luck, it was hoisted up on the lift anyway.

  Traffic was light, and I made it there in record time, arriving before Melissa.

  “You’re late.” I kicked out her chair when she walked in.

  “Sorry, Brad wouldn’t go down for his nap.” She flipped her long bangs out of her face. “Thanks for meeting me. I’m sure you’re busy.”

  “I am.” I took in the restaurant. It was bright, with lots of windows. I hated windows.

  She reached forward and leaned on her tangled fingers. She knew better than to touch me. “You look really good.”

  “How do I know he’s mine?”

  She half laughed. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, then,” she pulled some papers from her purse, “here.”

  I quickly read the first paragraph, but all that stuck out was the word match.

  Wait.

  “How did you get my DNA?”

  Her brows pinched together, and I saw guilt race across her face. “Doyle.”

  My blood grew thick and struggled to circulate.

  “Who gave you the right to do that?”

  Breathe. Fuck me, breathe!

  “I had to know.” She held her hands up. “It was between you and one other.”

  “So, how do I know you’re not making all this shit up?”

  “Right there.” She hit the paper in my hands. “Trust me, Trigger, I prayed it was the other guy.”

  I stood and tossed the papers at her. “I don’t trust you or your brother. We go down to the doctor together and get this shit done.”

  “Fine, but it can’t be until next week. I have work that’s taking me out of town.”

  “Whatever.” I walked out.

  She ran up behind me and out to the empty parking lot. “I’m sorry, Trigger. I know this isn’t what you wanted, but it’s not like I wanted this either!”

  I whirled around and jammed my finger in her face. “It was, Melissa, it was always your plan.”

  “It’s no secret I love you, Trigger.” She knocked the keys out of my hand and grabbed my arm so I’d look at her. I was fucking thankful no one was around to witness this freak show.

  Flip!

  I grabbed her around the waist and slammed her into the wall, careful not to hurt her, but my temper was at full throttle.

  The demons screamed at me for a fight.

  No.

  “Trigger,” she pressed her breasts into my ches
t, “I know how you like it. Why won’t you just give in?”

  I panted, not with need, but with hatred. Everything was crashing down.

  Suddenly, her lips were on mine. I shoved her backward, but she used the momentum to shoot back at me. Her tongue plunged into my mouth and tried to take control.

  “No,” I hissed and held her shoulders back. “Fucking desperate chick.”

  “Just take me,” she cried, ripping open her shirt. Buttons flew all around us like some cheesy soap show Cooper watched.

  “Go the fuck home, Melissa.”

  Wait. I squinted to see better. It was my fuckin’ bike.

  “Go home!”

  I pounded my way to the edge of the parking lot and looked down the beach, and sure as shit, there were Tess and Brick hanging out with some locals.

  My head was so jacked up, I wasn’t sure what I was capable of.

  Tess had a large black sweater wrapped around her shoulders, and she was laughing at something Mud was saying.

  “What up, brother?” Mud smiled at me through his joint. “Here for the party?”

  He was drunk, like he normally was on nights like this. A good ride on the waves meant a party.

  “Lookin’ for her.” I nodded at Tess cuddled up by the firepit. I swallowed hard to try to calm myself.

  Brick gave me a nod as a greeting. “Forgot my phone.”

  Tess suddenly stood, and Brick grabbed her arm and gestured over my shoulder.

  Fuck!

  Melissa had followed me and was closing in on us fast.

  “Who is this?” Mud squinted. “She’s got crazy written all over her face.” He dusted off his hands as he stood.

  “Trigger, baby,” she whined, “let’s finish what we started!”

  Tess’s face fell, but when she looked back up her expression had hardened.

  “Nothing will ever happen between us. Go the fuck home.”

  She came a little closer and eyed Tess. “He’s a good kisser, huh? But you already know that.”

  She smirked at the rest of the guys as she moved closer to Tess.

  “I spent years obsessing over him.” She put her hands through her hair, fucking up her ’do. “The way he fucks like he’s really into you.”

  “Stop,” Brick warned. “Your brother know you’re here?”