“Meg, slow down. I have no idea what you are talking about. Why are you banished?”
“Big A. Crazy fucker is trying to start shit. Well, I guess he’s technically trying to finish it since Lo, and the boys started it.”
Her explanation was making everything clear as mud. “You think you could start at the beginning?”
“No time for that. GPS says I’ll be to the cabin in five minutes. I’ll tell you everything when we get there. Slider is probably pulling up right now.” Meg disconnected the call, and she was gone as fast as she was there.
“Baby, go put some pants on. We’ve got company coming.”
I held my phone up dumbly and pointed at it. “That was about the only thing I understood from the strange phone call from Meg. Except, I still don’t understand why.”
“Pants, and then I’ll try to explain as much as I can to you.”
As much as he could? He better explain everything to me. I heard a car door slam and knew I had only seconds before Slider and whoever Fayth was, would see me in Demon’s shirt and basically nothing else.
I scurried down the hall and shut the door just as I heard the front door open. I dived into my suitcase trying to find a bra and something that would cover my ass. There went any plans that Demon and I had for tonight, although the night was almost over. I glanced at the bedside clock and saw that it was edging in on eight thirty.
I managed to find a pair of pajama bottoms and an oversized sweatshirt that would hopefully hide the fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra. I swept my hair up into a messy bun and headed back into the kitchen to find out what in the hell was going on.
“Where in the hell are you all going to sleep? It’s a one fucking bedroom cabin,” Demon growled at Slider.
“Aren’t there some fucking cabins for rent around here? It’s the middle of the god damn week. I’m sure there has to be,” Slider replied.
“I’ll google it. Maybe we can find a place with a hot tub,” Meg mumbled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and plopped down on the couch. Remy, her rather handsome son, sat down next to her and pulled his phone out too.
“I saw a couple of cabin rentals we passed.” My eyes landed on a woman who was standing by the front door. She had a white, puffy vest on over a long sleeve purple henley and the most perfect fitting pair of jeans ever. She looked like she had just walked off the ski slopes. Her pitch black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and I couldn’t help but notice how stunning she was.
“That would have been something to say as we passed them, Fayth,” Slider grumbled.
“How was I supposed to know what we were doing? You herded me out of the house so fast I barely had time to grab clothes and my toothbrush,” she snapped back.
It was a little comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one in the room that didn’t know what in the hell was going on. Five minutes ago Demon and I were the only ones here, and suddenly we had turned into a group of six in a one-bedroom cabin.
Slider growled low and headed back out the front door.
“He sure is feisty,” Meg laughed. “Lo was telling me you’ve been giving him a run for his money, Fayth, but it’s nice to see it in person.”
“I’m not trying to give him a run for his money, but he is the hardest headed man I have ever met. Just one wrong word can set him off.” Fayth pulled her vest tight around her and gazed out the window next to the front door. “I never know what he’s thinking,” she mumbled as she watched Slider pace back and forth.
I looked at Demon who had his phone in his hand and was busily typing. “Welcome to the mystery that is Slider, darling. You never know what kind of mood the fucker is going to be in.”
“Oh! I found a three-bedroom cottage on the lake that has availability.” Meg held her phone over her head, and Demon walked over and looked at the cabin she had found.
“Where’s it located? King said he wanted us to stay close.”
Meg pulled her phone back down and scrolled down. “GPS says it’s one mile from here.”
“Really? I wonder where.”
“It’s probably one of those driveways that snake back into the woods, and you can’t see the house from the road,” I mumbled. I had always wanted to just drive down one of those driveways to see if there was a shack or a mansion at the end.
“You want me to call and see if it’s actually available?” Meg asked.
“Yeah. There’s no way you guys are going to be able to stay here.”
“If you wouldn’t have gotten rid of the sofa sleeper they might have been able to,” I teased.
Demon just shook his head and pulled me into his arms. “If I hadn’t gotten rid of that old couch, I never would have gotten you into my bed Sunday,” he rumbled into my ear. He pressed a kiss to the side of my neck and a shiver coursed through my body. Damn, this man was sexy as hell. “I should send Saul a bottle of scotch for getting rid of the damn thing.”
“Can you guys turn to look at me?” I peeked over Demon’s shoulder and saw Meg holding her phone up as she took a picture of us. “Gwen is going to shit a brick when she sees this. She’s been freaking out since Demon pulled a caveman and kidnapped you.”
“I did not fucking kidnap her. I asked.”
“Mmhmm. That’s not what I heard, but whatever.” Meg flipped back around on the couch, and I assumed sent the picture to Gwen.
“How about you find a place to sleep for the night instead of taking pictures,” Demon growled.
“So grumpy,” Meg teased. “Maybe you should go cool down with Slider outside.”
“Sounds like a good idea. I need to talk to him anyway.” Demon pressed a kiss to the side of my head and walked into the bedroom.
“Score! They have a hot tub, too. Good thing I packed my swimming suit.” Meg put the phone to her ear and gave Fayth a thumbs up.
“Well, you can count me out of hot tubbing. I’d be surprised if I remembered to grab underwear and pants. Slider rushed me out the door so fast you would have thought the house was on fire.” Fayth sat down next to Meg and kicked her feet up on the coffee table. “Thankfully Manny is with his uncle right now. Those two were butting heads so badly, I was ready to bang my head on the wall.”
“Um,” I mumbled as I walked around the couch and held my hand out to Fayth. “I’m Paige. I figure you must be Fayth.”
“Yup, that would be me.” She grabbed my hand and gave it a quick, but firm shake. “I’m Leo’s sister.”
“That doesn’t help her. She has no idea who Leo is,” Meg laughed.
“Oh, well, I thought everyone around here knew who Leo is,” Fayth laughed. “It’s kind of nice to have someone who hasn’t heard of my family or me before they meet me.”
“Now that right there just made you even more intriguing to me than you were before.” I sat down in front of the fireplace and pulled my legs to my chest and crossed my legs at the ankles.
Meg got up and headed down the small hallway as she talked to the person about the cabin for rent.
“So, you really don’t know what’s going on?” I asked her.
“If mom asks, tell her I went outside,” Remy mumbled as he stood up and walked out the front door. I gave him a finger salute and turned back to Fayth.
“I am so clueless. I think the problems you guys are having are entirely different than the ones I was having before we moved here.”
“Oh, really? I’m pretty sure we are equally clueless then,” I laughed. “Demon said he would tell me what was going on, but here I am, still clueless.”
“Well, hopefully, we find out what’s going on before it’s too late.”
“All booked. Thankfully they had a last minute cancellation so they were able to fit us in. Three bedrooms with a futon in the living room. Plenty of room for all of us.” Meg shoved her phone back in her pocket and walked into the kitchen. “Gwen texted me back, by the way. I’m supposed to get all the details of what is going on with you and Demon.”
I rolled m
y eyes at Fayth and leaned back. “We’re together.” That was the short and simple explanation.
“Well, a blind person could see you two are together. I think she, and by she I mean all the girls and me, want to know all the dirty details.” Meg opened the fridge and wrinkled her nose. “How do you have barely any food in the fridge? You’re on vacation. This thing should be filled with every junk food known to man.”
“Um, we have been distracted.”
“Ah,” Meg said, closing the door. “There are those juicy details I’ve been wanting. Too distracted to even worry about eating.” Meg crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter.
“That is the only detail you are going to get out of me.”
“That’s fine. I’ve got a good imagination and an extensive backlog of steamy books I’ve read that can fill in the blanks,” Meg smirked.
“Well, I don’t have that good of imagination and my love life has more than been lacking these past years. I’m gonna need details,” Fayth laughed. “All you girls involved with the Devil’s Knights seem to not be wanting at all in the passion department.”
“I can confirm that,” Meg said, raising her hand. “Lo sure knows how to show this girl heaven. Total Lo daze,” she said dreamily.
“I don’t know about the whole Lo daze thing,” I laughed, “but I can say that Demon has always known what he’s doing.”
“See, this is the story we all want to know. How did you and Demon become something so long ago and no one knew about it?” Meg asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and wrinkled my nose. “I don’t know. We had met at a party, and we just clicked. He was just starting with the club. I think he was what you call a prospect.”
“How long did you two date for?”
“Um, a year or so.” I could have told her exactly how long, but I didn’t want her to try to dig any deeper.
“Hmm, fascinating.” Meg tapped her finger on her chin and studied me carefully. “There’s more to that story, but I can tell you aren’t going to let that cat out of the bag.” Meg pushed off the counter and headed to the front door. “I’m gonna call Lo and let him know where we are staying.”
She slipped out the door, leaving me alone with Fayth again. “Have you spent much time with Meg and all the girls?” Fayth asked as she crossed her legs.
“Um, well, Gwen is my sister, so, yeah, I have spent quite a bit time with them.”
Fayth nodded her head and tucked her pitch black hair behind her ear. “I’ve just never really met such a tight knit group of women before. Typically the women I’ve met treat each other like competition, and it’s everyone for themselves.”
“That doesn’t seem like much fun.”
“Well, I’m sure that partly has to do with who my family it. Being Fayth Banachi hasn’t been easy the past twenty-nine years.”
“I’m sorry.” I still had no idea who she was. I had never heard of anyone with the last name Banachi.
“You still are clueless as to who I am, aren’t you?” she laughed.
I threw my head back laughing, “Ding, ding, ding. You are correct.”
“You have no idea how refreshing that is. My brother is Leo Banachi who has recently taken over the family business in Chicago. I’m sure the reason you’ve never heard of my family is because you’ve probably never had the need to contract a man of his business dealings. Leo and the family are all good men, but they are on the other side of the law.”
A light bulb went off in my head, and I realized that Fayth was saying her family was mafia related or something like that. She was right saying they ran in circles that I didn’t even know existed.
“Oh, well, that’s cool.” I wasn’t exactly sure what to say when someone tells you that their family is part of the mafia.
Fayth laughed and shook her head. “You don’t need to look so terrified, Paige. I promise not to put a hit out on you. I leave that all up to Leo.” Fayth winked.
“Well, I guess that’s good to know.”
“Pizza is here,” Demon called as he walked through the front door with the two boxes with a bag on top in his arms.
“Thank God. I was starving,” Slider muttered as he followed Demon.
“You? I looked in the fridge thinking I could make something to eat for all of us, and all I was greeted with was a half brick of cheese and a can of cool whip. I didn’t even want to think about all the kinky things going on with only those things in the fridge,” Meg mumbled.
“Do you think for one conversation you could not embarrass me, ma?” Remy said as he plopped back onto the couch. “I do not want to hear my mom using the word kinky. Ever.”
“Oh, my dear boy. I thought by now you would have realized the only reason I’m on this earth is to embarrass the hell out of you.”
Remy threw his arm over his eyes, and you couldn’t help but feel a little bit sorry for the kid. Meg had no filter and said whatever came to mind. I could only imagine what it would be like having her for a mom.
I crawled off the floor and made my way into the kitchen and grabbed plates while Demon opened the boxes. “I call at least three pieces of the veggie.”
“Veggie?” Slider sneered as he grabbed a slice loaded with meat and shoved half of it into his mouth. “Who the hell eats veggie pizza?” he asked around a mouthful.
“I’m so hungry I would eat anything.” Remy grabbed a slice of veggie and folded it in half and bit off a chunk.
“Baby, you better grab you a slice before Remy eats it all,” Demon laughed. He had a slice loaded full of meat held up to his mouth and winked at me before he ripped off a huge mouthful.
I grabbed two pieces of veggie as Meg and Fayth both grabbed some for themselves. We all camped out in various spots in the living room and kitchen, sitting wherever we could find room. This cabin was definitely only made for two people.
“I booked the cabin just down the road for the next three nights. I told the lady I didn’t know exactly how long we were going to be here.” Meg said.
Slider nodded his head at her. “You let King know?” Meg nodded her head, and Slider walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. “Three days is good to start with until we figure out what we’re dealing with.”
“And what are we dealing with?” Meg asked.
“Talk to your ol’ man. He’ll tell you what you need to know,” Slider gruffed. Meg rolled her eyes but didn’t try pressing Slider for more information. “What time can we get into the cabin?”
“Anytime. She lives in the cabin next door and will be waiting for us.”
“Good. Eat up and then we’ll head over there. King wants us settled in.”
“Hmm, I thought Lo going all bossy biker was sexy, but I’m beginning to see the drawbacks of it,” Meg pouted.
“I call my own room,” Remy called from the couch.
“I’ll sleep in the living room. I need to keep a watch out anyway.” Slider grabbed one more piece of pizza and headed out the front door again.
I moved over to Demon and leaned into him. “You do know that as soon as they leave, you are going to tell me everything that is going on.”
Demon shook his head, a smirk on his lips and tossed his arm around me. “I’ll tell you everything I can.”
I rested my head on his shoulder and could only think that Demon wasn’t going to tell me everything, and I wasn’t sure how well I liked that.
________
Chapter 23
Demon
“Is that how Meg is all the time?” Paige was peeling back the blanket on the bed while I was undressing in the bathroom.
“You mean how she says whatever she’s thinking?”
“Um, yeah. It’s kind of refreshing but hilarious at the same time.”
I flipped off the light in the bathroom and headed to the bedroom. “Yeah, that is Meg one hundred percent. She doesn’t really know when to stop.” I slid under the covers and pulled Paige into my arms.
“You forgot to turn the l
ight off,” she mumbled into my chest.
“Just close your eyes and you won’t even know that it is still on,” I joked.
“Oh, is that how that works?” she laughed.
“If I turn it off, do we have to talk about whatever has been bothering you all night?” Paige stiffened in my arms, and I knew the answer was no. I tossed the covers back, turned off the light and pulled Paige back in my arms. “Ask whatever questions you got, baby.”
She sighed and tilted her head back to look at me. “I’m really not sure what question to ask first.”
“Just pick one. I’m sure you’ll get around to asking them all.”
She tapped her finger on her chin, and I couldn’t help but notice how fucking cute she was. “
“Who is Big A?”
Jesus Christ. She went straight to the gut shot. “Big A is a cockroach that won’t go away.”
“I assumed he wasn’t one of the club, and I’m going to need more details than that.” Paige poked me in the chest, and I knew she wasn’t going to let this go.
“I’ll tell you what I can, baby.” She settled into me, ready to hear the fucked up story of the Devil’s Knights and the Assassins. “Cyn used to date this guy. Hell, I can’t even remember his fucking name anymore, but he was an asshole. I only know the bare details, but Cyn told the fucker she was pregnant, and he beat the hell out her.”
Paige gasped and sat up. “He beat her up?”
“Yeah. Cyn lost the baby and Rigid lost his shit.”
“But what does this have to do with Big A?”
“Asshat and Big A were cousins.”
“Oh…” Paige gasped.
“Yeah, and when Asshat well, um, disappeared, Big A pointed his finger at us as the ones who were responsible.”
“You guys didn’t, I mean, you weren’t…” Paige trailed off unable to say what she wanted to.
“He wasn’t a good guy, Paige and he got what he deserved. That’s all you need to know about him.”
Fighting Demon: Devil's Knights Series Page 14
