by London Casey
“Brody,” Heather said. “That really happened to you?”
She sat next to him on the bed again. “Yeah. That was my life, sweetheart. And my mother, with him gone, couldn’t live without him. I’ll never understand it. He was gone and she just slipped away. Ended up killing herself a few years later.” Brody looked at Heather. “That’s why… the makeup… I knew what it was. My mother did that everyday for years. Painting her face, covering up the shit my father did to her. He hit her so hard one time in the eye, she wore an eye patch and told everyone she splashed floor cleaner in her eye. I saw that on you, Heather. On a woman so beautiful. I just… I can’t allow it.”
“I’m not a good person,” Heather said. She put her hand to Brody’s. He turned his hand and interlocked their fingers. “At all, Brody. I’ve been running…”
“You’ve been beaten into it,” Brody said. “But you’re right here, right now. That’s good faith, sweetheart. And that goes a long way in this club.”
“If they want to kill me, I’m okay with it,” Heather said.
“Fuck, no. You’re not going to die, sweetheart. Unless I find out you lied about anything.”
“No. I wouldn’t lie to you. You saved me. It’s the least I could do.”
“We’re even. You let me fuck you and then you just sucked me dry. I think we’re good for now.”
“For now?” Heather asked playfully.
Brody stroked her cheek. He kissed her. “Take is easy right here. I have to get dressed and talk to the club. We need to get something in order and fast.”
Brody stood and let the towel fall off his body. He could feel Heather staring at his bare ass. He looked back and laughed.
Maybe having a chick around wasn’t a bad thing… as long as she’s the right one.
thirteen.
Gaige finished off his smoke and put it out. He folded his hands and stared at the bar. Miller stood with his back to the bar, arms crossed. Nate had a beer. Jace looked pissed off. And Blaine rubbed his forehead, wincing.
“What’s wrong, Blaine?” Miller asked.
“Bitch punched me.”
“What?” Gaige asked.
“Yeah. Some crazy whore. We were going at it, man. Really hard. Really wild. I was buried deep in her. She was saying some nasty shit to me. So I licked two of my fingers and I jammed them up her ass. Really hard and rough. The fucking bitch screamed and punched me. Right in the forehead.”
Everyone laughed.
“So what happened then?” Brody asked. “She leave?”
“Fuck no,” Blaine said. “She sucked me off. Good enough I guess. But as I started to come… she… well, returned the favor.” Blaine held up two fingers and winced.
“Christ,” Miller said.
“That’s wild,” Brody said.
“I bet he liked it,” Nate said.
“Of course he did,” Gaige said.
“Shut up,” Blaine said. “My fucking forehead really hurts.”
“Can we maybe get to business here?” Miller asked. “I mean, we have a war brewing with someone… and we have drugs being run through Frelen…”
“I got it all from Heather,” Brody said.
“I bet you did,” Gaige said with a grin.
“Fucking right,” Blaine said. “Make that little nurse pay. You be the big, bad doctor…”
“Listen to me,” Brody growled. “He’s running drugs through the hospital. Forcing her to distribute.”
“She’s in on it?” Miller asked.
“Forced. By Lyle’s hand. She gets nothing. We can stop it though. He needs her. I know this game, Miller.”
Miller turned and looked at Brody. “Drugs? That’s the one thing…”
“She’s not using. She’s not dealing. She’s not collecting. She’s passing them along. Because she’s afraid for her fucking life. I know it when I see it. Give me that much.”
“He’s right,” Gaige said. “We ripped Lyle’s pet away.”
Pet?
Brody hated the sound of that, even if Gaige was right.
“So what do we do?” Miller asked.
“Send Heather back into the fire,” Brody said. “And then we take care of it.”
Gaige eyed Brody. “You okay with that, bro? Sending your girl into that?”
“I just met her,” Brody said. “This club is at war. We can’t risk anything else going wrong.”
Miller clamped a hand to Brody’s shoulder. “I’m telling you right now. I’ll give it one chance. If it goes wrong, then I’m taking people out personally. I respect your connection to all this. Your old man and shit. So I’ll let this one ride out. But one chance, Brody.”
“That’s all I need,” Brody said.
Miller looked around the clubhouse. “Day’s over. Drink to our brother, Erik, and his recovery. Tomorrow, we take care of our problem with these drugs.”
Miller walked away.
“Bro, you okay with this?” Gaige asked.
“I have no choice,” Brody said. “I know what she’s been doing and she’s sincere about it.”
“Look at you,” Nate said. “The right pussy comes along and you’re happy.”
“What’s she made out of, chocolate?” Jace asked.
“Chocolate pussy,” Blaine said. “You know, I’ve had that perfect, interesting taste. I mean, it was fun to watch her squat over a bowl…”
“I wish one of those whores would shoot him,” Nate said.
Gaige laughed and Brody followed. They stared at Blaine. He smiled and took his drink and left, rubbing his forehead.
“Hey,” Nate said to Brody. “What head are you using on this?”
“The right one,” Brody said. “If she dies, she dies, fine. But she can’t get thrown back into Lyle’s arms. He’ll kill her slowly. Day by day. Fist by fist. Taking her freedom and hope. That’s the worst death. I’ve seen it.”
Brody swallowed hard and walked away.
When he opened the door to his room, he found Heather on the bed, sleeping. He walked to the bed and touched her hair. She let out a soft purr and smiled.
She’s comfortable here. With me. What a fucking mess.
fourteen.
Heather woke and jumped up. She was disoriented yet really relaxed. She looked around the room, bringing the details back one at a time. To her right the bed was messy but empty. Had she slept alone? Had Brody come back?
The door opened and Brody was there, leather cut on his strong body and two plates of food in his hands. In the middle of each plate was a mug of coffee.
“Quite the balancing act,” Heather said.
“Yeah. Watch me. I have a second career in the making, in case this badass biker thing falls through.”
Heather giggled.
She tried to move from the bed but Brody stopped.
“Ease up, where are you going?”
“I don’t want to mess up the bed,” Heather said.
“What? Because of breakfast? You’ve never had breakfast in bed?”
Heather lowered her eyes. “I…”
“Fuck that,” Brody said. He put the plates right on the bed. “Eat in bed. Make a fucking mess, sweetheart. Live a little.”
Heather smiled and blushed. “I’m living a lot right now. More than I ever thought.”
“Yeah, well don’t get too comfortable. Enjoy your breakfast in bed. Because after this, you’re going to fucking work.”
Heather had a piece of bacon in her hand. She looked at Brody and dropped the bacon. “What?”
“You’re going to work,” Brody said. “I’m sure you have a shift today.”
“I…”
“Even if you don’t, you’re working today. We’re going to check on Erik and you need to be there to work.”
“Why? Brody, if Lyle…”
Brody sat down on the bed. He took a piece of bacon off his plate and bit at it. He wouldn’t look at Heather now, leaving her feeling even more worried.
“Listen,” Brody said soft
ly, “I’m not going to apologize for who I am. Or for what my club has to do to survive. I’m not going to apologize for what’s happening. The bottom line is that we need you, sweetheart. And you need us.”
“You’re fucking blackmailing me?”
“No. This isn’t an information play. This is a fucking mission.” Brody finished his bacon and looked at Heather. “This is real shit, sweetheart. And I’m going to protect you when it’s all done. But right now, Lyle is going to come looking for you. You’re going to sweet talk him to death. I need to know the next play.”
“He’s going to hit me,” Heather said. “If he gets me alone…”
“Not in the hospital.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Give him what he wants,” Brody growled. “Play into him. We get information and we end this.”
“End this by killing Lyle?”
Brody stood up. “I didn’t want to ruin your breakfast, but you’re starting piss me off.”
“I’m pissing you off?”
“Stand up. Right now.”
“Fuck you.”
Brody turned and looked down at Heather. “You don’t get how powerful I am. How powerful Back Down Devil is. I didn’t want to show you something… but I think I have to now. To prove it to you.”
“What? What Brody?”
“Come with me.”
“I’m half naked.”
“I don’t care. Come with me right now.”
Brody put a hand out and Heather took it. She was an idiot for taking it, but damn, Brody was just too sexy when was mad. He wasn’t mad the same way Lyle always got mad. This was a different kind of mad. Whatever the hell that actually meant.
“I’m serious,” Heather said. “I have just…”
“A shirt and a thong on,” Brody said. “I see it. It’s making me hard. But that’s good enough. Come with me.”
Brody led the way from the room and down the hall. He turned to go toward the main part of the clubhouse and Heather pulled at him. Brody growled and then opened another door. They walked into a room that was wide but small. Maybe some kind of storage closet. But in the middle of the floor was a chair. Someone was tied to the chair. Hanging above the person was a light with a chain.
“This is what I didn’t want to show you,” Brody said.
He pulled on the chain and the light came on. He pulled Heather to the front of the chair and when she saw who it was, she let out a gasp.
“Mr. Peter?” she whispered.
“His name is Peter,” Brody said. “No Mr. Peter. Right, asshole?”
Brody smacked Peter in the face. His eyes opened, bruised and swollen. His face was destroyed, the white gag in his mouth stained red from blood. He had one foot in the grave, the other just seconds away.
“How?” Heather asked. “He was picked up… he was…”
Brody grabbed Heather by the arms and made her look at him. “This is what I’m telling you. Back Down Devil owns and runs Frelen. We get what we want when we want it. Peter has been telling us a lot of interesting shit. Useful. That’s why he’s not going to be suffering much longer. But we need you next, sweetheart. You have to get to that hospital. You have to fuck with Lyle’s head.”
“I don’t understand…”
Brody grabbed the gag and pulled it from Peter’s mouth. He slapped him in the face again. “Tell her, Peter. Tell her the next deal.”
Peter swallowed. “He’s… he’s got a pickup truck. It’s got a cover on it. He’s moving a lot this time. The truck is registered in your name, Heather. He’s… he’s fucking you… just like he fucks everyone…”
Peter’s head nodded.
Brody fixed the gag.
Heather’s world started to spin.
“That’s the truth,” Brody said. “He has a truck coming into Frelen full of drugs. If it gets picked up, you’ll be in jail for the rest of your damn life, sweetheart.”
Heather shook her head. “I would never…”
“We know about the truck, the shipment, the timing, everything. That’s what a few fingers gets you…”
Heather looked down at Peter’s hands and felt her stomach flip. His left hand was missing his pointer, middle, and ring finger. Even as a nurse, and seeing some wild and deadly things come through the hospital, nothing ever seemed so violent and real.
Heather turned and threw up. She fell to her knees and Brody crouched down next to her. He rubbed her back as though she were just sick with a stomach bug.
“I’m sorry,” Brody said. “But now you understand it. We’re going to blow the truck up. Griffin is on it already. He’s good with that shit. The truck goes up, the drugs are gone, and Lyle will be fucking livid. All his rage and anger will come to you, sweetheart. That’s why we need you. And the second he’s ready to explode… well, he will explode. But he won’t hurt you.”
Heather turned her head, tears filling her eyes. “This is what you do? For a living?”
“This is my life,” Brody said. “It’s not beautiful, but it’s honest. And you won’t be hurt today. Tomorrow. Or forever, sweetheart.”
Brody reached out and wiped the tears from Heather’s eyes.
Behind them, Peter let out a painful and weak groan.
Heather shut her eyes and began to nod.
She would do it.
She would help take down Lyle.
More so, she would do anything to make Brody and Back Down Devil happy. And yet, somewhere inside herself, she didn’t quite understand why. But it felt right.
fifteen.
Brody hated the idea of being so far away from Heather right now. There was too much trust being left in the hands of prospects. While guys like Lane and Jack were okay, there was a good goddamn reason why they weren’t wearing Back Down Devil patches.
Griffin was in the hospital, along with Jace. The rest of the guys were busy dealing with the other situation, meaning the bomb that almost took Erik’s life. If that wasn’t busy enough, Landon had taken on some unneeded guilt and had a woman with him in the clubhouse trying to escape some of her own violent demons. The entire club and clubhouse was a big fucking mess. But that’s how the life treated those in it. It would pile on and slowly go away.
One by one, the battles were won.
Brody remembered a very drunk Miller saying that to him one night years ago. It stuck and it always held true.
“Bro, we good here?” Gaige asked. His cigarette was perched between his lips.
“I’m losing it,” Brody said. “I can’t stand waiting.”
“Griffin will call. We have to let the rest of the shit fall into place.”
They were near the hospital but not close enough for Brody’s comfort. He wanted to be next to Heather. He knew the peril of sending her back into the arms of Lyle. He gave her fear and that fear was a crutch and a curse. If she showed anything out of the ordinary, including accepting punishment for leaving with Brody, then Heather would be screwed. And not the good kind either. Lyle would fucking kill her.
Brody gripped the handlebars on his motorcycle and growled. “I can't wait much longer on this shit.”
“Take it easy. Save the energy for when this goes down.”
“This town… sometimes…”
“It needs us,” Gaige said. “We let one thing go and it all goes to hell.”
“We’ve been shot at. Attacked. Bombed. I mean…”
“Would you want anything else?”
The question was honest. And it hurt. This life was all Brody knew. It kept him alive during times that were dark. It always gave him a purpose. And while right now his mind thought way too much about Heather, if it wasn’t for this damn life, he would have never met her and had the chance to save her.
“This is my life,” Brody said. “I just don’t want anything to hurt… outside people.”
“That woman? Heather.”
“I’m not talking about my feelings,” Brody said with a grin.
Gaige’s cell beeped. H
e pulled it from his cut and Brody jumped at him.
“Whoa,” Gaige said.
“Let me… please, man…”
“You don’t need to talk about your feelings,” Gaige said. “Not when you’re showing them like this. You big pussy.”
Gaige gave Brody the phone.
“Griffin, bro. What’s going on?”
“All is calm,” Griffin said. “Gaige okay?”
“He’s fine. I grabbed the phone. Where’s Heather?”
“She’s making her rounds, brother. Just saw Erik. She got a cup of coffee.”
“Lyle?”
“He called. He’s on his way. She’s playing it, man. She’s doing good.”
She’s not fucking playing anything. She’s fucking scared.
“Okay,” Brody said. “What about the shipment?”
“The shipment is on its way,” Griffin said with a laugh. “Everything is right on schedule. It’ll cross into Frelen and then… well… it goes away.”
“And Lyle?”
“Jesus, man, relax. It’s all going to go according to the plan. Ease up on this one. I mean, what are you falling for this chick?”
Brody handed the phone back to Gaige and shook his head. “I’m done with this shit. I have to get in there. I have to be there to make sure…”
“Fuck,” Gaige said. He put the phone to his ear. “Griffin, just keep me updated. I have to talk this love sick puppy off the edge.” Gaige killed the call and climbed off his motorcycle. He took a deep drag on his cigarette. “Look, I get it. What you went through as a kid and what’s happening to Heather. I get that it’s eating you alive right now. You want to save her. Like you couldn’t save your mother.”
“Fuck,” Brody said. He moved at Gaige and grabbed him by the shirt. “What the fuck do you know about any of that?”
“And how the fuck do you think I survived?” Gaige asked. “You think I ate off a silver spoon?”
“I never…”
