The Devil's Curve: a Back Down Devil MC romance novel

by Jaxson Kidman

  “I’m sorry for the way that looked, Reese. My bag is my business though.”

  “Until you hand it to me to keep because you’re scared,” Reese said. “Funny how you hate the life and everything about it until it benefits you.”

  Josie swallowed hard. She sipped the cold beer and rested against the dresser. “Right. I didn’t expect for the police to just show up like that.”

  “It wasn’t for your girls either.”

  “I know,” Josie said. “Still doesn’t lessen the headache. And for the record, I found that stuff on Starla when she crashed at my place…”

  “Starla at your place?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “I’m not going to. Who’s pregnant?”

  Josie hesitated. She looked away.

  Reese stood up and put the beer bottle down. “Jesus Christ, sweetheart. You know what this life is for me. What we’re always up against. And now you want to play games? What is it? You want to be in this room with me? Trying to bring back some memories.”

  He moved toward Josie, closing the distance between them.

  He got close, way too close for comfort, and just stared down at her.

  She looked up at him, feeling her heart beginning to race faster by the second.

  “I never said that,” Josie whispered. “Everything is crazy, Reese.”

  “Of course it is, sweetheart. That’s what life is. Fucking crazy. You just breathe. You don’t catch your breath. You just keep breathing.”

  “You were jealous when you thought I was pregnant,” Josie said. “Admit it.”

  Reese smirked. “That’s what this is? You’re stringing me along now? I’ll leave the goddamn room and tell Levi to send the guys down to visit Jefferson and the girls. Then go to each one of their apartments and houses. Oh, I can think of a handful of guys that would love to tear through a stripper’s dresser drawers.”

  “Fuck you, Reese,” Josie said. “Don’t threaten me.”

  “Don’t mess with me, Josie.”

  “I’m not. You were jealous.”

  “Who is pregnant?”

  “Steph,” Josie said, feeling uneasy as she said it.

  “What? Steph? Lasz’s stepsister?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She’s only eighteen.”

  “I know.”

  “Fuck,” Reese said.

  He backed up a few steps and Josie caught his wrists. “Wait.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know what to do, Reese. Okay? Steph’s pregnant. I have to help her. And now that crap happening at the club. I feel like I’m drowning a little.”

  “You know how to swim, sweetheart.”

  “Right,” Josie said. She let Reese go. “Sorry. Let me just get my bag and I’ll go.”

  She took a step and Reese shot his hand out, touching her waist. It made her jump as a raging fire ignited instantly throughout her entire body. Some places on her body were more sensitive than others though.

  “Don’t leave,” he said. “Or if you go, I’m coming with you. To talk to Steph. Figure this out.”

  “What about the drugs?”

  “We can handle that next. Family first, sweetheart. I promised Lasz I would look after Steph if something happened to him and I didn’t do that.”

  “Neither did I, I guess,” Josie said, feeling her heart twist a little.

  Reese inched closer again and slipped his hand around to the small of her back. For a few seconds, he pulled her close, so their bodies touched.

  Reese lowered his mouth down to her ear. “You were right, sweetheart. Thinking you were pregnant by someone else made me jealous. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  Something about letting Reese into her apartment made Josie really uneasy. It was a mix of worry and the feeling of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. It was kind of dumb to feel the way she did, but she couldn’t help it. There he was, stepping through the open door, wearing his leather cut, taking his black sunglasses off his face, running a hand through his messy blonde-brown hair, his dark eyes looking as wicked as ever.

  She watched the way he looked around the apartment. It wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t some dive place on the north side of town either. That’s where a lot of the drug activity had been for a long time. Right up until the MC overtook the issue from the police and drove the stuff right out of town.

  “Hey, Steph?” Josie called out.

  From the living room Steph appeared, wearing a dark red hoodie, her hair pulled back, her face looking tired and pale. She was in PJ bottoms that had fruits on them, her bare feet shuffling along the carpet.

  When she saw Reese, she stopped, her eyes going wide.

  “Hey, kid,” Reese said.

  “Reese!” she cried out.

  A second later she started to run toward him.

  She all but jumped into his arms and Reese held her tight, shutting his eyes as he did so.

  “Goddammit, Steph, what’s going on with you?” he asked her as he put her down.

  She stepped back and put a hand to her stomach. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing? You’re pregnant?”

  “You told him?” Steph asked.

  “I snooped,” Reese quickly said. “I went through her bag and saw the test.”

  “You could have taken the fall for me,” Steph said.

  “What? Fake a pregnancy?” Josie asked. “Don’t be like that, Steph. Own your…”

  “Mistake?” Steph asked.

  “Actions,” Reese said.

  Steph looked down and started to play with her fingers.

  “Hey,” Reese said. “It’ll be okay.”

  When Steph looked up, she was in tears.

  Josie hated to see her like that. But Josie wasn’t the one who slept with someone without protection.

  “I didn’t mean…,” Steph said but stopped.

  “Of course,” Reese said. “Come on, sit down for a second.”

  Josie carefully watched how gentle Reese was being with Steph. The way he took out a chair and helped her sit. The way he pulled out a chair and sat next to her. Leaning close and touching her shoulder.

  “You have to know who the father is,” he said. “Please tell me it’s not that bad.”

  “Not that bad?” Josie asked. “Christ, Reese…”

  “No, it’s okay,” Steph said. “I’m trying to think it out.”

  “Meaning there’s more than one guy,” Reese said.

  “Yeah,” Steph said.

  “Shit. What the fuck were you thinking? You’re eighteen. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

  “I don’t know.” Steph shot back. “Are you going to talk to me like I’m a child?”

  “You are a child to me,” Reese said to her. “My best friend’s little sister.”

  “Stepsister,” Steph whispered.

  “Who gives a shit about that? Goddammit, Steph. I’ve known you for forever. I said… I promised…”

  “You were never around anyway,” Steph said. “Not after Lasz died.”

  Reese curled his lip and stood up, throwing the chair back.

  Josie felt a lump in her throat. “That’s enough. We’re not doing that today. We’re not going to pick fights over that shit right now. Reese, you should go.”

  “No,” Steph said. “I’ll go. I’m tired anyway. Being a whore takes a lot out of you.”

  “Steph, wait a second,” Reese growled as she jumped up and tried to run away.

  “What?” she asked him.

  “You’re not alone,” he said.

  “Whatever, Reese. It’s my life. Not yours. Don’t worry about it.”

  Reese made a move and Josie hurried for him, touching his hand.

  “Let her go for a minute,” Josie whispered. “She’s hurt and confused. And her hormones are out of control. She cried her eyes out this morning over some insurance commercial that showed a family.”

  “Yeah, right,” Reese said. “Give her space. It’s her life, right?
She got herself pregnant. Now you have to carry that weight, huh?”

  “I’ll help her in any way I can.”

  “She needs to tell you who the father is, so he can get his ass in gear too.”

  “Reese, take a deep breath.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah,” Josie said. “She just found out she’s pregnant.”

  Reese turned his head. “Fuck.”

  “I know this is hard.”

  “Hard. Right. Lasz’s little sister is pregnant at eighteen. You have one of your girls with a bag full of drugs. Colt has his paws all over the strip club and the MC. And charters are being wiped out all over the state. Yeah. Hard is a good word for it.”

  “Just do your thing then, Reese. I didn’t mean for you to find this out. You have your own life. I have my own life. It’s okay. We don’t need…”

  Josie trailed off, fearing the wrong words coming out.

  “We don’t need… what?” Reese asked. “Each other? This shit again? I agree, Josie. Next time, keep your drugs to yourself.”

  Reese broke for the door.

  She thought about letting him go, but decided at the last second to chase him down. She got to him in the hallway to the apartment and grabbed the back of his leather cut. This was a huge no-no, but she didn’t care. If that’s what it took to get his attention.

  “Whatever you’re feeling, I’m sorry,” Josie said. “I should have never given you that bag and put you in this position. Okay? I was scared. And when I get scared, Reese, I… I want you to protect me.”

  “So that’s what I’m good for?” he asked. “Protecting you?”

  “Anything else and it’s an explosion.”

  Reese nodded. “Yeah. Explosion. I’ll be in touch tomorrow or the day after that to figure out this Starla thing. I’ll keep my word and try to have the MC approach it calmly.”

  “I’m sorry you found things out this way. I thought Steph was hungover, but she sat me down and said she thought she was pregnant. I hurried to get a test and it came up positive. Not sure why I put it in my bag. Maybe I planned on sitting alone in the club and looking at it. Trying to figure out what to do. Or what I should have done to keep it from happening.”

  “That’s not on you, sweetheart.”

  “She’s my family, Reese. She’s my cousin.”

  “And Lasz was my brother. I don’t care if it wasn’t blood. The cut means more than blood.”

  Josie nodded. “I know that. I know everything.”

  “I’d better go before I do anything else stupid here.”

  “Like what?” Josie asked.

  Reese turned to face her. “The longer I stare at you, the more I want to kiss you, Josie. And if I kiss you, sweetheart, we’re right back on that road. We know the ending and how it drops off a cliff.”

  Reese reached out and touched Josie’s face. The feel of his fingers sliding against her cheek made her knees weak. He gave a quick grin and walked away. Josie caught herself holding her breath and staying in the same spot until he was gone. She exhaled and reached for the door, wondering if she was going to be able to walk.

  She knew that being with Reese was like being in a speeding car, heading for a cliff.

  But what if the drop was worth it?

  Chapter Nine

  Reese threw the bag across the table.

  Everyone quickly shut their mouths and stared at it.

  “What’s that?” Luca asked in a rough voice. “We’re not moving that.”

  “No,” Reese said. “That was in our town.”

  “Shit,” Jason said. “Where? Who?”

  Reese looked at Levi. He nodded.

  “Starla,” Reese said.

  “Fucking hell,” Zac said. He punched the table. “Strippers moving junk behind our backs?”

  “That’s a lot, brother,” Ellis said. “That’s either for a hell of a party or someone trying to make some cash on the side.”

  “I know that,” Reese said. “Nothing you’re going to say about this I don’t already know.”

  “What I want to know is why we aren’t down there trashing the fucking place?” Hawk asked.

  “You just saw this,” Reese said.

  “Fuck you, Reese,” Hawk spat. “This was from the other night. When the badges were riding our ass down there. Your girlfriend gave you this to hide.”

  Reese looked to Levi again. Figures that Levi would tell Hawk everything. Hawk was his right hand man who did anything needed for the benefit of the MC, and the benefit of Levi.

  “Look,” Levi said, “Before we get all hot headed and throwing fists, it’s not exactly simple here. We have a stake down there. That place is a legit business on our books. Dealing with Jefferson is a pain in the ass. But if we go down there and burn it down, we’re only hurting ourselves.”

  “So, what do we do?” Hawk asked. “She’s supposed to do something with that shit. She doesn’t and the dealers, suppliers, whoever is running it, they’re going to come after her. And when they kill her, they’ll keep killing and eventually land right here at our clubhouse.”

  Hawk looked around the table.

  Reese did too, seeing the others nodding. Rightfully so. Under different circumstances, Reese would feel the same way. Shoot first, ask later. That was the shit that forever got him into trouble. But when it came to Josie, it was like the cards were reshuffled into a much different hand.

  “What do we do?” Brett asked.

  All eyes moved to Levi who then shifted his stare to Reese.

  Reese was still standing. “We have a problem with this. I want to go down there and bust shit up. I promise you that, brothers. But if you think this out, bringing heat to ourselves isn’t good. Yeah, Josie threw me this shit as I was leaving. Because she found it on Starla and took it. We know Starla is a little…”

  “Batshit fucking crazy,” Luca said.

  Everyone chuckled.

  “Yeah. She’s batshit fucking crazy.”

  “But she’s fucking great in bed,” Hawk said.

  “No way,” Ellis said. “You never…”

  “Please,” Hawk said. “I’ve run through all the pussy at that place. Twice over.”

  “There’s a new girl there now,” Jason said.

  “I almost feel bad for her,” Hawk said. “When she meets Hawk’s cock…”

  “I really feel bad for her,” Zac said.

  “My point is this, assholes,” Reese said. “We need to approach Starla calmly. Or have Josie approach her. There’s a way to get the information we need.”

  “And you reclaim that old pussy you lost,” Hawk said.

  Reese looked at Hawk and curled his lip. “You know, brother, you’re really starting to fucking piss me off. Why don’t we take these cuts off and settle this?”

  Hawk rose up. “You don’t need to challenge me, bro. I’m there. You fucking get a catch like that and ignore it because of your girlfriend? After preaching to us about being legit? You’re a fucking hypocrite.”

  “Fine,” Reese said. “You’re right. I’m a fucking hypocrite.”

  The table fell silent.

  Levi slowly stood up. “Why don’t we all grab a drink and come back to this in a bit…”

  “No, Prez,” Reese said. “Hawk is right. Why sit back on this? There’s obviously something really big happening here. So, let’s take a ride. Find Starla right now and make this all work out. Ready?”

  “VP, take it easy,” Levi said. “We need to figure out where she got this from. How she paid for it.”

  “If she didn’t and it’s on good faith and bad debt, she’s fucked already,” Brett said.

  “We walk along the chain until we find who did this.”

  “With the badges on our ass?” Ellis asked.

  “What else do you want to do? Drop this off on Colt’s desk?” Levi asked.

  “That might not be the worst idea, Prez,” Jason said. “Think about it. Give Colt something else to look into. Leave us the fuck alone.”


  “Until he asks how we got it,” Zac said.

  “We found it on a park bench,” Jason said.

  “You ain’t finding that kind of shit on a park bench,” Ellis said.

  “Now, we can put out feelers about DRM and the runners but I’m against it,” Reese said. “I don’t want anyone catching wind of this.”

  “I agree with that,” Hawk said.

  “So, we keep this in house for now,” Levi said. “We have to approach Starla.”

  “With fucking flowers and chocolates,” Hawk said.

  “No,” Reese said. “I have another idea for that.”

  “What’s that, VP?” Levi asked.

  Reese nodded and stared at the bag on the table. His lip curled as he swore to himself things with Josie wouldn’t get in the way of the MC.

  “It’s simple… forget the flowers and chocolates… let’s bring her exactly what she wants…”

  Reese saw Josie and he hurried over to her. He was alone in the strip club with a bag on his back.

  “Reese?”

  “Sweetheart,” he said. “I need to talk to Starla.”

  “Wait a second…”

  Reese touched her waist. “Don’t fight me on this. This is the only way to do it.”

  “Shit,” Josie said. “Do you need Jefferson?”

  “I need Starla. Get her to the back. I’ll be there waiting.”

  “What are you going to do?” Josie asked. She grabbed his arm.

  Her hazel eyes were beautiful.

  “Trust me,” Reese said. “I’m going to try to help everyone.”

  “She’s a good person, Reese. She works hard.”

  “Don’t do that, sweetheart.”

  “Right.”

  “How’s Steph doing?”

  “Sick all morning again,” Josie said. “She has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”

  “Good. Get her checked out. If you need anything for her, let me know. I don’t know if she has insurance or whatever. I can help with that. Pay for some stuff.”

  “That’s not your job, Reese.”

  “It’s not my job, Josie. I know it’s not my damn job. But that’s Steph. That’s Lasz’s little sister. After everything that happened… she was basically a kid when Lasz was killed. And now this…”

  “One thing at a time, outlaw,” Josie said with a quick smile. “I’ll go get Starla. Please don’t hurt her.”