by Evelyn Glass
This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, events, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Devils copyright @ 2017 by Evelyn Glass and E-Book Publishing World Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEVILS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
DECEIT
DAMAGED
OTHER BOOKS BY EVELYN GLASS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEVILS
CHAPTER ONE
“Boot,” Kevin’s voice came over the radio.
“You’re going to have to honk it, Murphy,” Dixon said into his headset as he glanced at the stopwatch on the clipboard and wrote the number down. “You’re almost a full second behind.”
Kevin and Dixon’s communications were terse and business like, Dixon only speaking if spoken to. Kevin would call out markers as he traveled around the Green Hell, the seventeen mile loop in the Siuslaw National Forest that the Cutthroat ‘99’s had marked out years before, and Dixon would write down the times. Kevin had lost a lot of time at Kink, a nasty, tight, right-hander that would spit you into the weeds without a second thought if you got in the marbles.
Dixon listened to Kevin grunt, the Yamaha YZF-R1M barking and growling as Kevin banged the bike down through the gears, followed by the rise and fall of the banshee-like wail as the big bike clawed for speed on the exit.
“Cut me some slack, Montague,” Kevin complained. “This bitch is a handful.”
Dixon chuckled. Kevin had traded up from his trusty 2007 Honda CBR1000RR to the Yamaha and he was trying to master the bike. He’d lost twice last year, the aging Honda no longer able to compete against the newer bikes. This was his second trip around the Hell at speed on the new bike, and he’d knocked six seconds off his first pass and was now within a second of his best time, the track record in the over seven-fifty class.
When he got back to the start they would talk about the bike and Dixon would tinker, adjusting preload, damping, rebound rates and tire pressure, trying to squeeze every bit of speed possible out of it.
“Finger,” Kevin said, and once again Dixon could hear the bike banging down the gears then wail back up to speed. “Goddamn does this thing have brakes. I can’t get used to how deep into the corner you can go, and holy fuck, since the exhaust and ECU flash, does this bitch pull.”
“Hooray for ABS and traction control,” Dixon chuckled as he wrote the number down. “I have you right on.” Using a stopwatch, he couldn’t really tell if Kevin was faster or slower. That would have to wait for the sophisticated timing equipment at the race, but there was no doubt that once they got the bike dialed in and Kevin adjusted to the feel of the machine, he’d be faster than on his Honda. A lot faster.
They would probably make one more run then call it a night. It was mentally exhausting out on the Hell, and after two or three runs the mistakes started. That’s when the speeds went down and somebody got hurt.
Dixon was waiting for the call at Wiggles, the final timing marker, when he heard the crash. “Kevin!” he screamed while his headset roared and banged as Kevin slid and tumbled along the road. “Kevin!” he cried again, his heart in his throat. He could hear Kevin breathing in the silence, but nothing else. “Kevin, speak to me, pal! Kevin! Fuck!”
He dashed the two-dozen steps to the support truck, slamming the Dodge into gear the minute the engine raced. He floored the truck, the rear tires howling as he pulled onto the road, racing to where his friend had gone down. The lights of the truck speared into the darkness as he drove recklessly fast, slowing way down when he reached Wiggles. He knew Kevin had gone down between Wiggles and Finger and didn’t want to run over the man if he were still in the road, and to give him time to see him if he weren’t.
“Fuck!” he snarled, banging his hand on the wheel when he reached Finger. He pulled over to the side, stabbed the throttle and spun the truck around in the road, before driving back the way he came, moving even more slowly this time as he strained to peer into the darkness to the side of the road. There were no houses, no streetlights, and no people this far out in the forest. It made it perfect for illegal street racing, but he’d give anything right now to have more light.
He slammed on the brakes, the truck lurching to a halt, when he saw the scrapes and gouges in the pavement. Grabbing his light, he bailed out of the truck and ran to the side of the road. He swept the light, hoping he wouldn’t see Kevin while simultaneously hoping he would. The brilliant beam glinted off something a vibrant blue. He snapped the beam back.
“Oh…no,” he breathed as he hurried down the slight embankment. Kevin was lying in a heap next to a tree, his body twisted into a position no man could replicate. Dixon knew not to move him, but he knelt beside the broken man and carefully reached under his helmet and pressed two fingers to his neck.
Dixon stood, his teeth clinched tight, Kevin already beyond the help of mortal men. The light resting on his friend, seeing Kevin twisted and bent, Dix could feel his control slipping, so he flicked the light to the bike so he didn’t have to think about his dead friend a moment. The new Yamaha was an unrecognizable twisted lump of silver and blue among the trees.
He stood for many long moments then swallowed hard as he walked slowly back to the truck. He didn’t want to leave but there was no cell service this far out. He sat in the truck for a long time, staring into the darkness as he gathered himself. This was a shitty detail, but had to be done, and he was going to need help. Putting the truck in gear he reset the trip odometer, so he could find the crash site again, and drove out of the forest and back to civilization.
When he was close enough to highway 126 to get a signal, he pulled the truck to a stop. Steeling himself, he dialed the phone.
“Cale,” the voice on the phone said.
There was no easy way to break this. “Kevin’s dead,” Dix said, gritting his teeth hard to stop the tears.
“What?” Cale cried. “How?”
“Twenty minutes or so ago on the Hell. I need help.”
“Oh my God!”
“Yeah.”
The two men were quiet a moment. It’s always tough when you lose a brother. “I need an hour to get sh
it together,” Cale said softly. “Where?”
“Between Wiggles and Finger.”
“Okay. You doing okay?”
“Yeah,” Dix said, anything but. Kevin was one of his two closest friends.
“Hang tough, brother,” Cale said, trying to give him strength, though Dix could hear the pain in the man’s voice. “We’re coming.”
***
Ninety minutes later, Dix could see lights approaching on the road. It was probably the club, but he didn’t want any witnesses to what had happened here this night, and had parked the truck a hundred yards away from the crash site.
The Cutthroat van eased to a stop beside the truck. “Where?” Cale Johnson, President of the Cutthroat ’99s asked, another truck pulling to a stop behind the van.
“Up there,” Dix said with a jerk of his head before he turned and started walking, the van and truck creeping along beside him. He kept his light in the road until he saw the scars, then pointed the light into the woods.
“Jesus,” Thad murmured as he stepped out of passenger side the van, the destroyed bike and Kevin clearly visible in Dix’s light. Thaddeus Lymongood took Dix’s arm and turned him to face him. “You okay?” Dix was his best friend and he knew Dix would be taking it hard. They all were, but they weren’t here when it happened.
“Yeah,” Dix replied softly.
Thad stared at Dix. He could read the lie in his eyes, but said nothing. “What happened?” he asked as the other four members of the club clustered around. None of them wanted to be here, but they had to move the body and mangled bike. The police in Douglas, Oregon, were wise to what the Cutthroats were doing, but they never knew when or where their street races were held, and they had to keep it that way. They kept the racing out of the town, but a crashed bike in the middle of national forest would bring scrutiny. With the first race of the season so close, they couldn’t have that.
“Don’t know,” Dix said softly. “There’s no reason to crash here.”
While there were no true straights on the Green Hell, this was one of the straighter sections of the track. This should have been one of the last places where someone would go down.
“Do you think something happened to the bike?”
“Don’t know. He didn’t say anything was wrong. One second he was bitching about how he still wasn’t going in deep enough on the brakes, then the next…” He let the words trail off, unable to continue. “The bike sounded fine on the radio.”
“Fuck. Let’s just do this. Goddamnit!” Chuck growled as he stepped from the road.
They placed a blanket over Kevin out of respect then set to work hauling the mangled bike out of the woods. It took them over an hour to wench the bike up onto the trailer and pick up all the pieces, saying only what they had to in order to complete the work.
Bike loaded, they carefully, and with as much respect as possible, placed Kevin in the van.
“This is so fucked,” Dix said softly.
“Go home, Dix. We’ll take it from here,” Cale said softly, placing a hand on Dix’s shoulder. “You don’t need to see this.”
“No. We all knew the risks and what would happen. But it’s still fucked.”
“That it is, brother. That it is. “Thad, ride with Dix.”
Thad crawled behind the wheel of Kevin’s truck as Dix sat down. “It’s not your fault,” Thad said as he dropped in behind the van and other truck.
“I know,” Dix said softly.
“Do you?”
“Yeah.”
“We all know the risks, you most of all. We agreed what we would do if something like this ever happened. It sucks, but it has to be done to protect the club. Kevin was my friend, too. He’d understand.”
“What about Vicki?” Dix asked. “Will she understand?”
Thad nodded. “Marla, Jen and Steph are with her now. She’s hurting. But she knew it could happen, just like the rest of us. We’ll help her, take care of her until she gets back on her feet. You know that.”
“I know.”
Thad knew Dix was in shock, as any of the brothers would be, as they were. They had been running this race since 1999 when the club was founded, and this was the first time they were going to have to execute their emergency plan. There had been crashes, and plenty of them, but this was the first fatality. The Green Hell was an unforgiving bitch and one mistake could cost you, as it had cost Kevin everything.
***
They hauled the remains of the crash thirty miles to a deserted section of road. The national forest was crisscrossed with roads, some paved, many not. They had picked this spot after a thorough scouring of the surrounding area, a hairpin right with a near sheer drop to a rocky bottom with no guardrail.
This section of the country was a mecca for bikers, where riders came to enjoy the twisting, winding roads and beautiful views. Inexperienced riders occasionally ran out of skill, piling their bikes up in a sudden switchback, or crossing the centerline and hitting an oncoming car. Other, more experienced riders often tested their skill with the same result. Lane County police were used to motorcycle crashes, and though rarely fatal, they did happen.
Cale backed the trailer, pushing it into the weeds until the end was hanging over the edge of the sixty-foot drop. Grunting and straining, the six men muscled the wad of metal off the end of the trailer, letting it tumble and roll until it hit bottom. That was the easy part.
They stood around several minutes, saying nothing as they summoned their courage. Finally, Dix and Cale carefully lifted Kevin out of the van and, teeth gritted hard, dropped him over the edge. The six men stood silent, lips pursed, mouths hard, occasionally wiping a tear. They had never had to do this before, and each silently prayed they never would again.
Dix couldn’t take it anymore and broke the silent vigil by turning and storming to Kevin’s truck. He was going to return it, pay his condolences to Vicki, then he was going home and getting drunk out of his mind.
“Go with him,” Cale said softly to Thad. “Make sure he gets home.” As Dix and Thad left, Cale looked at his feet. “I’ll call the cops in the morning, report him missing, and tell them where to look. Jesus, this is fucked up.”
The rest of the Cutthroats nodded in silent agreement.
CHAPTER TWO
“Are you telling me the State wishes to drop all charges against Ms. Watson?” the judged intoned, looking over his half-glasses at the prosecution table.
“Yes, your Honor,” the prosecution attorney said. “Further, we would like to have Ms. Watson’s arrest record expunged.”
“Care to inform me why you are wasting the court’s time, then?”
“Yes, your Honor. Several credible witnesses have come forward who place Ms. Watson elsewhere during the time of the crime.”
The judged looked at the prosecution, clearly annoyed about something. “Perhaps the next time the District Attorney’s office might investigate before bringing charges.”
“Yes, your Honor,” the woman said, unable to meet the judge’s eyes.
“I expect the paperwork for the expungement to be ready for my signature and on my desk by lunch tomorrow.”
“Yes, your honor.”
The judge then turned his attention to Daisy. “Ms. Watson, you’re free to go.”
“Thank you, your honor,” Daisy said respectfully, but inside she was leaping for joy. Once outside the courtroom, she hugged her attorney. “Thank you.” “They should have never pressed charges in the first place,” the woman said.
“We should sue the Eugene police for false arrest,” Rich Tyrell growled.
“Daddy, I just want to go home,” Daisy said, desperate to put the whole thing behind her. Her attorney had gotten her arrest expunged by threatening a false arrest suit, and that was enough for her. “Thank you, again,” she said shaking the lawyer’s hand.
She didn’t have much, and she now she had even less. Her parents had posted her bond when she was arrested, but she wasn’t sure how she was going to pay
her lawyer fees and court costs. She smiled as she stepped out of the courthouse, free of her ordeal at last. It was perfect spring day, the sun was shining, and she would worry about paying her lawyer tomorrow.
Now that she was sure she wasn’t going to do three to five for robbery, she could start to get on with her life, start over, and maybe build something for herself and Riley.
As they began the three-hour drive home to Prineville, she and her dad spoke little. She knew he was disappointed in her. She was disappointed in herself. Twenty-six, dead broke with a kid, and going through a nasty divorce, she was going to have it rough for a while. But she’d beaten the robbery charge, and she would beat this, too.
Rich’s phone began to ring and she picked it up. “Mom?” She’d just spoken to her mom twenty minutes before, telling her the good news as they were pulling out the courthouse parking lot.
“They took him!” she sobbed. “I tried to stop them, but they took him!”
