by London Casey
Welcome to world of BACK DOWN DEVIL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
~
A romance novel by London Casey
London Casey is the pen name for bestselling romance author Karolyn James
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SECRET MAYHEM
A Back Down Devil MC Novel
Shay’s guilt is becoming unbearable, and with the war raging on, the number of deaths are piling up. It’s only a matter of time before Shay must confess what he knows. Even if it costs him his leather cut - and his life.
When Ava Winline finds herself unexpectedly hiding among untamed MC outcasts, it becomes even more vital that she keeps her true identity a secret. When the Lost Men are called upon to help Back Down Devil, it is the perfect opportunity to find a new escape… or so she thinks.
When Ava arrives with the Lost Men, Back Down Devil doesn’t exactly welcome her warmly. But as she climbs off the back of a motorcycle, the terror in her eyes has an unexpected effect on Shay. When he offers to keep her safe, neither of them realize the danger it will bring to the club.
When Shay’s secret is uncovered, will his club turn him over to the enemy in order to stop the war, or will his loyalty to them be enough to save his life?
one.
In the darkness, there were monsters. Not the kind that children believed waited under their beds, but actual monsters that were capable of a level of destruction that even the most dangerous men feared.
It was that kind of monster that Shay feared; the one that tried to kill him already.
It was that monster who placed a bomb in a car that forever changed the MC. Erik’s life would never be the same after the explosion, but it helped that he had the comfort of a woman who knew what it was like to carry scars around for the rest of your life.
Shay rode along, Gaige and Nate on either side of him, their motorcycles echoing like thunder on an otherwise quiet night in Frelen. Inside, Shay harbored guilt, fear, and in a twisted way, love. He harbored love because the monster the MC was chasing down was closer to Shay than anyone else knew. So close that they shared the same blood. Shay’s next mission in life was a harsh one.
He needed to track down and kill his own brother.
To be fair, his brother was the one who started this current mess. Always quick to pull the trigger because asking a question. But it didn’t make it any easier, especially since Shay could have prevented all this if he just killed him when he had the chance to ten years ago.
Now that monster was back with a vengeance.
Tonight’s ride had nothing to do with Shay’s monster of a brother though.
Tonight it was about Back Down Devil and protection for the MC. The local chief of police, Jerry, had called Miller to tell him that a couple people reported an abandoned car on the side of the road and that a group of bikers were spotted near the car. The entire story seemed shady and Jerry feared it was another setup for a bombing. In exchange for MC protection, Miller and Back Down Devil agreed to check it out instead of sending law enforcement into a dangerous situation.
Miller gave the orders for Gaige, Nate, and Shay to head down to the scene. If the car turned out to just be abandoned and nothing else, then Jerry could step in and have it towed and deal with it. If it was something more serious, the MC would handle it.
The empty roads made Shay feel lonely. He belonged to this loyal club that had his back no matter what, but he was withholding information in fear of the repercussions that would surely come once the identity of the suspect was revealed. The truth was, Shay didn’t know this man anymore. This monster was not the brother he once knew, so telling the club about his relation to him would be of no help. Unless, of course, they wanted to know that back in the day of innocence, his brother feared spiders, sharp rocks in the local creek, and thought it was terrifying to lose his teeth because he thought the Tooth Fairy was scary because she snuck around children’s bedrooms in the middle of the night.
The three motorcycles went around a bend and Shay spotted the car up ahead. He pointed and gave a thumbs up. They all pulled to the side of the road. One by one, they took their helmets off, keeping their eyes locked on the car and the surrounding area.
“Feels like a trap,” Gaige said as he put a cigarette between his lips.
He offered Nate and Shay one. They both declined. What Shay really wanted was a big bottle of whiskey and two women. One with a huge chest and the other with a very deep throat and tight body. That was the only way to take away these feelings.
“I don’t know,” Nate said. “All the way out there? A random car?”
“We can’t underestimate anything right now until we know who we are dealing with,” Gaige said.
“Yeah,” Shay said as he stared at the car. “Doesn’t look familiar at all though. I’m not sure what to think.”
“What do we do?” Nate asked. “Draw straws and hope the loser doesn’t get his mouth blown through his asshole?”
Gaige chuckled and took a drag on his smoke.
“I have an idea,” Shay said. He reached down and picked up a rock. He tossed it up in the air and caught it. “Throw some rocks at the car. See what happens.”
“I like it,” Nate said.
Nate grabbed a rock and threw it. It hit the road, missing the car.
“Nice throw,” Gaige said.
“Fuck off,” Nate snapped. He grabbed another rock.
Shay lined up his throw and launched the rock. It smacked the trunk of the car. He braced for the explosion, but there was none.
Gaige threw a rock and it hit the top of the car. Nothing happened.
After three tries, Nate managed to knock out a tail light.
“One more,” Shay said. He lifted a large rock.
“Not a chance,” Gaige said. “You can’t throw a rock that big that far.”
“Want to bet?” Shay asked.
“Yeah, what?”
“Give me a night with Emily.”
Gaige made a fist. “Bro…”
“You sound like Blaine now,” Nate said and laughed.
“I’m joking,” Shay said. “well, half joking.”
“Throw the fucking rock,” Gaige said.
Shay grunted as he threw the rock. It smashed right through the back window.
“Oh, shit,” Nate said. “Nice shot.”
“Well, it didn’t blow up,” Gaige said.
That was good enough for Shay. He started walking toward the car. He looked around again. He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. He took a deep breath and chalked it up to feeling guilty about what was happening. Shay shoved the thoughts away and walked to the car. Reaching for the door handle, he let out a breath and closed his eyes.
“Shay,” Gaige growled. “Be car…”
Shay opened the door and jumped back. Nothing happened. He looked around the inside of the car and it seemed normal, so he reached down and pulled the lever to pop the trunk. Again he closed his eyes and winced, waiting for the explosion. But the only thing close to exploding was his heart from racing and pounding so hard.
Shay walked to the trunk and expecting to see a dead body inside. Hell, he half expected to find Jonesy in the trunk. The last communication the MC received from their hired man was when they received the second of Jonesy’s fingers.
The trunk was empty except for a half empty bottle of windshield washer fluid, a small kit with jumper cables, a white sock with blu
e stitching across the toes, and an atlas.
“Fucking nothing,” Gaige said. “What a waste of time.”
“Better than a bomb,” Nate said, standing like he was ten feet tall in the night.
“We’re going to need Strokner again,” Gaige said.
“That man is a swine,” Shay said. “He wants in on the MC.”
“Yeah, I know that now. He still has those eyes I delivered.”
“Sick man,” Shay said with a smile.
“A clear message,” Nate added.
“It put us in a corner though,” Gaige said. “Fuck.” He threw his cigarette to the road and it rolled, glowing in the night. “Let me call Miller.”
“I’m going to check up here a little,” Shay said. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“I’ll go with you,” Nate said.
Gaige took out his cell and walked the opposite way of Shay and Nate.
In silence, Shay walked ahead of Nate along the dusty side of the road. They climbed a small hill and stood there. To their left was complete darkness. To their right were the faint lights of Frelen. The town was mostly asleep, resting for another day.
Shay scanned the horizon and something caught his eye.
“Hey, get down,” he whispered to Nate.
“Why?”
Shay pointed.
Straight ahead there were four motorcycles. All of them side by side. One of them had its headlight turned on.
“What the fuck is that?” Nate whispered.
“Eight Under. I bet it. What the hell are they doing out here so late?”
“Think it has to do with the car?”
“I don’t know.”
A few seconds went by and then the faint echo of an engine sounded. It wasn’t a motorcycle engine though. A set of dim lights suddenly appeared and Shay watched as a car pulled up to the motorcycles. The passenger door opened and when Shay saw who got out, his hands balled into fists.
“Holy shit,” Nate whispered. “That’s our guy. He’s right here. Right under our fucking nose.”
“Talking to the enemy,” Shay said.
Shay watched as his brother approached the guys in Eight Under. There was conversation, but none of it could be heard. He then heard a rustling sound and looked over to see Nate pulling out a gun.
“What the fuck?” Shay growled.
“I’ll take him out right now,” Nate said.
“You can’t make the shot.”
“Then we scare the shit out of them. Let them know who’s watching…”
Shay pulled out his gun. “If you shoot like you throw rocks…”
“Fuck off,” Nate said.
“It’s my shot, brother,” Shay said. “He tried to blow up my car. Only fair, right?”
Nate looked at Shay and nodded.
Shay lifted his gun, his hand slightly shaking with nerves. There was a chance that a shot from here would reach his brother. Whether it would be a fatal shot or not wasn’t known. With his finger on the trigger, Shay suddenly felt himself being sucked into the past. And just like the past, he couldn’t pull the trigger.
He simply froze.
“Shay…,” Nate said. “Are you…”
Shay watched his brother reach into his pocket and pull something out. He made a hand gesture and then a split second later, there was an explosion.
The entire ground shook and Shay dropped to the ground and covered his head, waiting for something to come crashing down onto him. He gave it a few seconds and then rolled to his back. He sat up and saw that the car they were just inspecting was blown to pieces.
Shay looked back and saw his brother looking in their direction.
This wasn’t a setup. It was some kind of demonstration. Eight Under was jumping into bed with a monster.
“Holy fuck,” Nate said. “Gaige…”
Shay and Nate got to their feet and ran. They worked around the chunk of metal on fire that just a minute ago was a car. Gaige stood at the motorcycles, his cell in his hand. They ran to Gaige and Nate grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.
“Are you good, bro?” Nate yelled.
“We were just there,” Gaige said. “What the…”
“It’s not good,” Shay said. “We have to get out of here right now. There’s no time to waste. It’s just us three and we need a lot more to take these guys down.”
Shay climbed his motorcycle and put on his helmet. He waited for Gaige and Nate to do the same before they all started their rides. The rumble of engines would definitely be heard by Eight Under and Shay’s brother.
But Shay didn’t care at that moment. He needed to get away from the monster, from his brother. He needed to be close to his true brothers. And he needed to prepare himself for the finale of a war that started a long time ago.
two.
Shay drank a shot and then nodded to the bartender for another. The prospect behind the bar started to tip the bottle of whiskey to fill the empty shot glass and Shay slapped the shot glass away. It hit Cade in the shoulder and then fell to the floor.
“Give me the fucking thing,” Shay barked as he grabbed the whiskey bottle from the prospect’s hand.
“Sure. Sorry.”
“What’s your fucking name?”
“Jon.”
“You want this life, Jon? Bullets coming at you… enemies lining up to slit your fucking throat… nothing to call your own… not even family…”
“You have family,” Jon said with straight, honest eyes. “They’re all around you right now.”
Shay curled his lip and turned around. He looked around the clubhouse. Landon and Erik were arguing over a pool shot. Blaine was holding a dart between his lips as he held his cigarette like he was going to throw it at the dartboard. Brady and Aiden were laughing with beer bottles in their hands. Gaige and Nate were hanging out on the couches talking.
This was Shay’s family. He knew that already and had known it from the second he put on the leather cut and became a table member of Back Down Devil MC. He’d taken punches for these guys. He’d had plenty of bullets zing right by him, inches away from killing him. He’d killed people for these guys. People that he didn’t even know, because his brothers needed him to.
His family was based on respect, not DNA.
Shay glanced back and the prospect gave a head nod and a half smile.
“Fucking prospects,” he muttered to himself as he pushed from the bar.
The doors to the main room opened.
“Meeting,” Miller bellowed. “Now.” He looked around and then said, “The rest of you keep drinking. Savor the night while you can.”
Gaige and Nate were first to walk into the room. Landon, Griffin, and Jace went in next. Blaine, with the dart still between his lips, walked up to Shay and hit him with his elbow.
“What are you doing?” Shay asked. “Trying to be funny?”
“Try’n’ not t’ poke m’ fugin’ tong’…,” Blaine said.
Shay grabbed the dart from Blaine’s mouth. “Asshole.”
“What? I’m trying to ease the mood. Can’t you smile?”
“Yeah… by doing this,” Shay jabbed the dart into Blaine’s arm. Blaine screamed and then Shay pulled the dart out and threw it toward the board. The dart smacked bullseye, leaving everyone speechless.
“Nice shot,” Blaine said and put his arm around Shay’s shoulder. “My arm is fucking killing me now.”
“Good. Maybe it’ll take your mind off fucking around.”
“That won’t happen,” Blaine said. “Unless I’m dead, all I see and smell is pussy. Pussy. Beer. Fighting.”
“Get in here,” Miller said.
Shay shook Blaine away and walked into the room.
“No, wait,” Blaine called out. “Pussy, beer, whiskey, fighting.” He stopped walking. “Wait a second. Let me start over. Pussy. Beer. Whiskey. My ride. And fighting.”
“Are you done?” Miller asked.
Blaine held up his hand and wiggled his fingers. “Do bl
ow jobs count as pussy?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Miller yelled.
“Telling Shay my favorite parts about being alive.”
“Pussy and blow jobs are different,” Jace chimed in.
“Damn,” Blaine said. “I need to revise my list then. Pussy. Blow jobs. Beer…”
Miller slammed the door. “Can we get down to business?”
Blaine froze with three fingers up and nodded. He retreated to his chair and looked at Shay. He winked once and Shay shook his head.
Sometimes he really fucking hated Blaine.
Miller walked to the head of the table and sat down. He just stared at everyone for a few seconds to give them all a chance to calm down and focus.
“I take it our night didn’t go as planned,” Miller said, eyeing Shay.
“Not sure what the plan was,” Shay said. “Car looked clean, then it blew up.”
“He blew it up,” Nate said. “The guy we are looking for.”
“We saw him meeting with Eight Under,” Shay said.
“Fucking Christ,” Miller growled and shook his head. “Those morons have no idea what they’re dealing with.”
“Wait a second,” Blaine said. “Eight Under is dealing with this guy?”
“That guy is probably trying to gain as much muscle as he can to take us out,” Gaige said.
“Muscle?” Landon scoffed. “Eight Under doesn’t have any muscle.”
“They have men and guns,” Miller said. “That’s good enough to get in our way.”
“The meeting was planned,” Shay said. “The car explosion seemed to be a demonstration to Eight Under of what this guy is capable of.”
“You were that close?” Jace asked.
“Close enough,” Nate said. “We tried to shoot, but the car blew up.”
“You had a shot?” Blaine asked.
“Not much of one,” Shay said. He felt his chest tighten. He was a master shot. He could be a fucking sniper if need be. He was that good. “But that’s not the point here,” Shay continued. “Eight Under met with our enemy. He took out some kind of detonator and the car exploded.”
“He’s going to use Eight Under to plant bombs everywhere,” Nate said.
“Shit,” Gaige said.
“More like fuck,” Blaine said.
“Shit, fuck, it don’t matter,” Miller said. “We have to do the right thing from here on out. We have to get Eight Under out of this.”
