by Nicole Fox
Jake's eyes lit up, but then he frowned. “Don't want to leave you,” he muttered, practically pasting himself to Halley's side.
Halley looked stricken at that, biting her lower lip.
“Hey, bud,” I said, reaching out to him. He reluctantly came closer to me, and I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You know me, right?” He nodded mutely. “And do you think I would ever do anything to hurt your mama?”
After a long moment, Cole shook his head. “You beat up Daddy 'cause you thought he was being mean,” he said slowly.
I winced but nodded. “That's right,” I said. I looked pointedly around the room. “And if any of these guys gave your mom a hard time, I'm going to be right here with her, okay? So you can trust me to keep her safe.”
Cole cocked his head to the side for a long time, considering me carefully. Finally, he nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said. “But if you don't help her...”
One of the bikers gave a low whistle. “Pity the poor boy who tries to take home his sister one day!”
Cole, for his part, looked a little confused at that comment, but he let me lead him into the other room and get him settled in front of the large screen that was up on the wall. As Halley and I left the room, he was giggling at whatever was happening in front of him.
“Thanks for that,” Halley said under her breath as we rejoined the others. “I needed that for him.”
I smiled gently over at her. “Any time. I mean it.”
“Thanks,” she said again.
I led her out into the living room again. “Everyone, this is Halley.”
Bryce was the first person to come up and introduce himself. “Hi,” he said. “You might remember me from Reaper Custom Choppers—I work for Jake.”
And then it was Frank. “Hello,” he said, squeezing Halley's hand in his firm grip. “I'm Frank, the head of this chapter of the Devil's Route MC. Jake has been like a son to me.”
On and on it went, each member coming up to shake hands with her, and I could tell Halley was probably not going to remember a single name by the end of the night. The only person who was conspicuously absent was Max.
I leaned towards Frank, just as we were wrapping up the whole thing. “Hey,” I said, quietly so that no one else could overhear. “Where's Max?”
Frank pursed his lips, looking around the group as though his son might suddenly disappear. “I don't know,” he said finally.
I frowned and folded my arms over my chest, wondering what the kid was plotting now.
Chapter Fifteen
Halley
Just like that, the meeting was over and everyone was filing out, leaving just me and Jake sitting in there. I sighed with relief and sank down into a chair next to him, finally done with all of it. “Uh oh,” Jake said, taking one look at my face. “Was it that bad? You didn't like them?”
“No, everyone's great,” I said, shaking my head. “I love them, especially Frank. God, every time I was starting to feel overwhelmed, it seemed like he was right there, offering me something to drink or moving me on to meet with someone else or something. He was so great, I can't even tell you.”
Jake smiled a little at that. “So what's the problem then?”
“It was all just so…overwhelming,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “Trying to remember who everyone was and who I had already met and who I hadn't met and… Well, it was just a lot.”
He winced at that. “Yeah, I probably should have just introduced you to a few people first, before I really threw you to the wolves, huh?”
“It's fine,” I said, “I'm just exhausted now. And there's no way I'm going to remember all of those people the next time I see them.”
Jake laughed a little at that. “Don't worry,” he said. “No one really expects you to remember them.” He stroked my cheek lightly. “I'm really proud of you, though,” he told me.
I blushed and ducked my head. “I mean, it's not like I really did anything special,” I told him. “I just—”
“Met a couple dozen biker dude and didn't run screaming from the room,” Jake surmised. “I'm proud of you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“In fact, if you were interested, I'd like to show you exactly how much I appreciate what you just did.” Jake said.
I looked around, biting my lower lip. “Here?” I asked. It seemed like anyone could just walk in at any time.
Jake laughed, though, and shook his head. “No, not here. And I don't know what you think I was thinking. I just wanted to take you and Cole out to dinner. I know this great little diner that specializes in dino nuggets for the kids.”
I laughed as well. “That sounds really good, actually. I really don't feel like cooking tonight.”
“Then let's go see what the little rascal's up to, shall we?”
Cole was still in the other room just where we'd left him, but he was totally passed out asleep, and the cartoon that he'd been watching had ended already. I smiled a little, seeing him like that, and was surprised to see Jake smiling tenderly at him as well.
It was Jake who went over to the couch and sat down next to him, gently shaking the boy's shoulder. “Hey buddy,” he said as Cole sat up groggily, wiping at his eyes. “We were thinking about going to get some dinner. Are you hungry?”
Cole blinked at him for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah,” he mumbled. He held out his arms to Jake, and Jake, although he looked a bit surprised, obediently picked the kid up, carrying him easily over to me.
“He's going to be asleep again by the time we get out to my car,” I said, rolling my eyes fondly at the two of them.
“That's fine,” Jake said. “I don't mind being used as a pillow. Anyway, he doesn't seem like the type of kid to wake up grumpy, so it's all fine, right?”
“Yeah,” I said.
At the diner, we got a little booth in the back, and Jake spent the time before our food arrived showing Cole how you could scrunch up straw wrappers and then drop a little water on them to make the grow like snakes across the table, which was funny until Cole tried it himself and dumped water everywhere.
“Look what you did,” I sighed to Jake.
He just laughed and mopped water off his jeans, as though it didn't bother him that it looked like he had had an accident. And maybe it didn't matter. I was starting to realize that behind Jake's macho biker persona, he was actually just a really good, sweet, and caring guy. It was surprisingly, but I really liked realizing it about him.
Cole looked at me with his lower lip wobbling. “Can I still get dino chickens, Mama?” he asked, looking for all the world like he was about to cry.
“Oh honey,” I said, sliding around our booth and pulling him into a hug. “Of course you can still get dino nuggets. That was just a simple mistake. But what do you say to Jake, after you spilled water all over his pants?”
Cole looked at Jake for a long moment and then giggled a little. “You look silly now!” he said.
I couldn't help laughing at that. Definitely not what I'd meant for the kid to say, but I wasn't about to scold him when he'd already looked so upset a moment before. Jake seemed to be of the same mind as me, because he decided to take things even further.
“Oh yeah?” he asked Cole. “You think I look silly now?” He picked up a couple forks and stuck one in either side of his mouth as though he were some sort of strange walrus. “What do you think now?” he asked, his voice comically distorted by having the metal in his mouth.
That set Cole off practically shrieking with laughter, and I shook my head at the two of them. “If we manage not to be kicked out of here before our food arrives, it'll be a miracle,” I said.
“Mama, don't you want to look silly too?” Jake asked, handing me a couple spoons.
I shook my head but picked up the spoons, putting them in my mouth to mimic him, making Cole laugh even harder.
I had to admit, it was good to hear him laugh. I hadn't heard that all that much lately. I looked over at Jake, considering him. H
e wasn't really anything like I could ever have expected him to be, and I had to wonder if my parents could meet him, to see him with Cole and to see him with me, what they would think of him. I wondered if they still would have sent me off to Louisiana back when I'd found out that I was pregnant.
But I guess that wasn't something that I'd ever know. Better just to enjoy the moment.
I hugged Cole a little tighter, and something settled a little inside of me as Jake reached an arm around both of us, pulling us all together.
Like a family.
Chapter Sixteen
Max
I didn't know what to expect, walking into the Holy Flames' clubhouse. It wasn't a place that I, as a member of the Devil's Route MC had ever thought that I would enter. And the thing was, it was very similar to our own clubhouse. Just the people were different.
I glanced around at the unfamiliar faces and swallowed a little. But I didn't have any moment of crisis, any moment where I lacked the confidence to continue. I knew that Devil's Route needed this, and I was going to do whatever it took to ensure that we had a solid future because the club was my whole family.
When Emilio finally came in to see me, I was restless, though. “Well, well, well,” the man said, eyeing me thoughtfully, “if it isn't Max Cordell.” He tented his fingers in front of his face, continuing to stare at me.
“Emilio,” I said, nodding at the man.
“You know, I've tried to negotiate with your father for a number of years,” Emilio said, “and he's never bothered to listen to me. But tell me, why are you here?”
I took a deep breath. “We've talked about this Emilio, at least to a certain extent. You want to take over our club, and I don't blame you. Nor do I hold any grudge against you. That said—”
Emilio interrupted me by waving my words away with his hand. “That's not what you're here to talk about,” he said.
I frowned and stared at him for a moment. “I'm sure you've heard of Jake Ryce,” I finally said.
Emilio laughed a little. “At this point, chico, everyone in the country has heard of Jake Ryce who beat up a rich guy right in the middle of a white, middle-class, suburban neighborhood!”
“The very same,” I muttered dryly. “Emilio, I need to get rid of him but he's my father's right-hand man. I need your help.”
“And why should I help you?” Emilio asked suspiciously.
“Because if you help me with this,” I said patiently, “then I'll owe you a debt. And if I owe you a debt, then you basically have the Devil's Route MC in the palm of your hand, albeit under another's authority. But you and I together...”
“You and I together...” Emilio mused.
“We would take over the region,” I said confidently. “All of the arms sales, all of the drugs trafficking. Whatever we set our minds to, we could do. It could be extraordinarily lucrative for the both of us.”
“But you wouldn't just be doing this for free,” Emilio said flatly. “Well, of course not,” I said, rolling my eyes a little. “The thing is–”
“It's your father and his successor,” Emilio said slowly. “You need to get rid of Frank and Jake, and then you would be able to do everything that you want.”
“I don't want to get rid of them,” I protested. “Especially not my father, Frank. I just—”
“Oh no,” Emilio said, holding up a hand. “There is, I'm afraid, no other way to do things than to get rid of the man. And the snake who has usurped you. Your father is too close to things and commands too much of a following. There is no way that you could seize power while he was alive, especially not now that he has scorned you in favor of someone else.”
I scowled at the man. “He hasn't—”
“He has,” Emilio said firmly. “Those may not be the words that are used within the Devil's Route, but that doesn't mean that intention doesn't appear as broad as daylight to those of us who are not members of your club. Max Cordell, you are an outcast.”
I frowned at the man, wishing I could hit him, or wring his head from his neck. I would do neither of those things, of course. But...
“How are you going to help me?” I asked peevishly.
“First, you need to help yourself,” Emilio said. “Your father is on his last legs. It would be easy for you to ensure that he was...” He shrugged expressively, and I scowled at him. “As for your father's chosen successor, Jake.” He tapped his forefinger against his chin. “You know that the man is unstable at the moment, that he has weaknesses. You need to figure out a way to exploit those weaknesses. Put Halley in danger. Better yet, put Cole in danger. And when Jake goes to rescue them, make sure that you pull the trap tight so they can't escape.”
I stared at him for a long moment, weighing his grim words in the back of my mind. Finally, I nodded firmly. “And after that…?”
“After that, the Devil's Route will have no choice but to hire you back,” Emilio said confidently. “And with such a clear sign that you are on our side — because you will have then killed off our greatest enemy — we'll be able to rest in peace and give you the tokens that you have earned by fulfilling these deeds.”
I frowned at the man, but I could detect no deceit there. Finally, I shrugged and nodded. “You're right,” I told Emilio, standing and sticking my hand out over his desk to seal our agreement. Emilio smiled at me, his teeth all sharp angles and points.
I left, feeling a shudder travel up my spine. But this was for the best of our club, I reminded myself. Even if Emilio was a scumbag, at least he was a scumbag that I could trust.
Chapter Seventeen
Jake
I ducked my head around the corner, still surprised that there was no one there. “Jake, you're looking good. Wait there until we're ready to bust,” the voice said over my radio.
I obediently dug my heels in to wait, thinking over the past few days.
We'd had another group meeting, the third one in five days, as Bryce had complained. Max had called this one, and I'd been tempted to just skip the whole affair, but I was already in enough hot water with Frank at the moment, so I had reluctantly showed up to it.
“I'm telling you,” Max said impatiently, scowling at Ryan, who had dared to ask him a question about the proposed mission. “I have it from a leading source in their organization that the Flames have a new meth lab. And with the outputs of that lab, their hoping they can continue to encroach upon our territory—and eventually take over the full drug trade in this city!”
I couldn't help snorting. “You have that on what authority?” I asked. “I mean, it's all well and good to–”
“Don't interrupt me,” Max growled, whirling to face me. “I swear to god, Ryce, if I didn't know better, I'd guess that you were plotting with them. After all, you always seem totally unconcerned with what the Holy Flames are up to, despite the fact that you are supposed to be our second-in-command. I shudder to think of what our club will become when, god forbid, my father is no longer able to lead us.”
There were a lot of narrowed eyebrows at that. Max should have known better than to say something like that, given that many of the members of the club were on my side, as evidenced by the recent votes on whether we could protect Halley and Cole and on whether or not I should receive punishment for my public beating up of Brian.
I felt my heart sink, wondering if those two votes had somehow played into what we were seeing right now.
But nobody else seemed to be thinking about that. Instead, when there was a vote, most people voted to bust the Flames' new lab. And I had no choice but to go along with it…
The headset buzzed annoyingly in my ear, and I wanted nothing more than to rip it out. There was a reason I didn't usually do missions like this — raids — where there were tons of people involved. I didn't like having to watch out for more people than myself, didn't like having to calculate what everyone else was doing. But I had no choice this time.
Anyway, Frank had agreed to be part of the raid, had staked his life on it, no doubt be
cause Max was making his position as leader look very precarious and past-minded. I had to make sure that Frank, despite his ailing health, walked out of this okay.
The first bout of gunfire caught me by surprise. I hadn't heard anything on the radios for a while now—nothing except for breathing, that was. I jumped, managing to not knock anything over in the process, and sprang into action, drawing my gun and running towards the noise that I had heard.
I pistol-whipped the first guy that I came across, and then I ran into Max.
“You fucking bastard,” I snapped, lining up my gun so that it was pointed boldly at his head. “You led us into a trap!”
