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Ana W. Fawkes is the author of several bestselling series including:
The billionaire erotic romance serial - BY HIS COMMAND
The paranormal romance series featuring bikers who are werewolves - FULL MOON MERCY
The edgy and gritty erotic romance series - WITH THE ROCKSTAR
The intense and wild MC romance - DEVIL CALL MC
The seductive paranormal shifter series – RAW RIVER WILD
Don’t miss out on *new releases* *excerpts* *cover reveals* and some great *contests* … sign up for the *official* Ana W. Fawkes newsletter RIGHT NOW: http://eepurl.com/ADM0j
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RAW MERCY (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book Six)
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The vote is in and Devil Call MC is officially changed. Talon may not agree, but he knows his focus must remain the same... settle his debts, win his wars, fight his demons, and make sure precious Everly never gets hurt again. At any and all cost.
Everly is wounded and still hurting. Her heart and mind can't agree on how to get over everything that's happened. One thing is for sure though - she loves Talon. So what is she to do when temptation elsewhere becomes all too real?
With only two books to go after this one, the rebuilding of Devil Call MC faces a path of destruction... in which love and death collide.
1.
(Talon)
Three shots of whiskey. Lined up right next to each other. Perfectly poured, with the exception of the last shot glass where a droplet of whiskey slowly slid down the outside of the shot glass. My hands were balled into fists, resting on my legs. I stared down at the shot glasses, my mouth desperately dry, my mind desperately in pain. I’m not sure I ever felt this kind of pain before. The leather cut on my body never felt wrong, until now. When people say they give blood, sweat, and tears most of the time it’s complete bullshit.
I worked really hard on these reports, Mr. Bossman. I stayed up until eleven! I really believe I deserve this raise. Or a bigger project. I think I’m ready for that, Mr. Bossman. I’ve given blood, sweat, and tears for this company.
Nobody knows what it’s really like.
The scars that were on my body proved everything I’d given. I didn’t need to list them, and Christ, I shouldn’t have had to think about it. There were much bigger problems on the horizon out there in the world for the MC.
Behind me, I heard the cackling bellow of Buzzy’s laugh. He and Drave were shooting some pool. Austin and Ash were throwing darts. Gabel sat on a couch with a drink in his hand. Still sipping and taking good care of the jaw I had shattered.
But for me, it was about the whiskey in front of me. Three shots would be a great start. They would sit well with the three beers I had already pounded down. Getting blasted and sitting at the table for a meeting wasn’t the smartest move to make, but what the fuck did I care? I was supposed to just muster up respect for Layne? For what the MC had done? This decision… Layne as the voted in President. Of Devil fucking Call MC.
My MC. My life.
I wore a leather cut now. I was just a patched in member. And even that I was lucky to have after everything Layne and I had been through.
Deep within my heart I had to accept the decision. I had to trust in what the guys wanted and I had to keep the club moving forward. It was going to be a disaster but I would be there to clean it all up when it toppled down.
I stood up and grabbed my beer. I looked at the prospect standing behind the bar and then at the shot glasses again.
“I don’t want them,” I said.
“What? You don’t…”
I grabbed one of the shot glasses and threw it at the prospect. He ducked and it missed him, hitting the wall and shattering.
“I said I didn’t fucking want them!” I yelled.
I swatted the other two off the bar and stared down the prospect. His face was white and he slowly put his hands up.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice shaking. “I didn’t mean any disrespect, sir.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said.
I turned and the entire clubhouse was looking at me. I knew the tension was still high and would remain high for a while around the clubhouse. It was understandable. I wasn’t stripped of my President’s patch. I didn’t lose it. I didn’t lose the club. I gave it up when I went to prison. Maybe everyone around me forgot about that, but even then, it wasn’t my place to go around preaching how wrong the decision was. It was about moving forward. Settling all the bullshit with the outside crews. Making sure everyone out there knew that Devil Call was a solid MC and would remain that way. No more drugs. No more senseless violence. No more bullshit.
That didn’t mean the situation with Jade and Vaughn would go away though. There was some serious shit lingering and I had to take care of it. Of course, that meant I’d have to go through the new fucking President for some things, which rocked me to my core.
I slowly walked to the door and glanced over my shoulder. I knew down the hallway and to the right, in my fucking room, in my fucking bed, that’s where Everly rested. Her leg was healing and would continue to heal. The bullet from Vaughn’s gun had come too damn close to hitting a main artery and killing her. The entire thing was a mess and was my fault. Jade and Vaughn really had me by my balls over shit and there was nothing I could do. Except kill them. But I wasn’t even sure how it would all go down. To kill two people in such high power… the last thing the MC needed was major drug players coming after us.
God, I fucking loved that woman.
I was in love with Everly.
And I had admitted it to her when she was shot. She heard me and she wanted to say it back to me. But that was right after she had just said Layne’s name while I was fingering her. I was two fingers deep into her beautiful body, bringing her to the edge of climax, and she says Layne’s name.
The woman I loved. The woman I was ready to start figuring out life for… and I had no idea what the fuck she wanted.
Talk about feeling helpless in every way possible in life.
I walked out to the compound lot and stood in the middle of the ground. Motorcycles were parked to the left of me, and to the right. The clubhouse sat behind me. Down the end of the lot there were black gates that mostly kept us protected. I thought about Everly telling me how she had been standing outside the gates, tempting freedom. Freedom wasn’t about being out there. It was about being inside here. Inside the compound. Because we ran the show. Devil Call MC took care of the town of Brocke. Police couldn’t touch us. And if someone got a stick up their ass and wanted a piece of the club, they couldn’t do it. We were the biggest, the toughest, and the smartest.
But in that moment, I started to get it.
Losing everything. Feeling empty.
Goddamn, it had a lingering feeling of prison. Only I had fresh air and nobody was breaking my balls.
Two cars and two motorcycles suddenly came rolling up on the compound. The big wheels and long handlebars quickly gave way that it was members of the Los Ahn MC crew. The two cars stopped and the motorcycles were right up on the sidewalk, right next to the gate.
“Holy fuck,” I whispered.
We were under fucking attack.
I looked around. Nobody else was with me. I had no time to get inside and yell for help. I could only take some shots and hope someone fucking heard them and would come out to help.
If not, I’d get lit up with bullets and that would be it.
I’d be on
the ground, dead, ready to be found by my brothers.
For a second I tried to think about the funeral. About the dark ride I’d get. What Layne would say. What Everly would do. How’d she feel. Fuck, how long it’d take for her to climb back into Layne’s bed and then have everything with the world be right.
I grabbed my gun and pointed it. I started to walk, my lip curled, ready for the fate that awaited me. I wasn’t sure who to shoot at first. Probably the guys on the motorcycles would be easiest to take out. The cars could roll up their windows and speed away. But at least I’d be able to send a message.
Don’t fuck with Devil Call MC.
My finger was on the trigger when a hand clamped down on my arm, making me point my gun to the ground.
“What the fuck?” I yelled as turned my head to see Layne standing there.
The first thing my eyes did was look to the patch. The fucking President’s patch.
Oh, it fucking hurt even more now.
“Stand down, Talon,” Layne said.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked.
“We’ve got it covered,” another voice said.
I looked and there was Jagg standing there, in front of me, blocking my view, arms crossed.
I could see his patch on his chest slightly folded. Vice President.
The fucking VP of Devil Call MC.
I wasn’t even given the respect or honor of being Layne’s VP. That’s how far I’d fallen from all this shit.
I was just a patched in member.
And if the President - and the fucking VP - tell you to stand down then you stand the fuck down.
I reluctantly took my finger off the trigger.
I looked at Layne. “Take your fucking hand off me.”
“Are you ordering me to do that?” Layne asked.
“No,” I said. “You said stand down so I’d like to put my fucking gun away.”
Layne took his hand off my arm. I put my gun away. Oh, how badly I wanted to put a bullet between Jagg’s fucking eyes. And then take Layne down.
I held it all back.
I then watched in shock as Layne gave a wave to Los Ahn. The guys on their motorcycles waved back and the four vehicles all left.
“What the…”
“Table meeting in five,” Layne said.
He turned and walked away, Jagg behind him.
The two walked into the clubhouse, leaving me there alone.
I should have fucking had those shots.
That was the only thought that kept me semi sane as I walked back into the clubhouse and then into the meeting room, to take my seat at the opposite end of the table. To see Layne sitting at the head of the table, the President’s seat. The gavel right next to him. Jagg sitting to his left, a cocky grin on his face. Austin to his right. The rest of us sitting there, just patched in members.
Hell, there was a time when being a patched in member meant everything to me. There was a time when Layne and I were punk kids doing anything to get the attention of Devil Call MC. And now here we were, running the fucking show. Well, Layne was. I used to. Past and present all colliding together.
“Everyone shut up,” Layne bellowed.
The table instantly went quiet other than the sounds of drinking and deep drags on cigarettes.
“Jagg,” Layne said with a nod.
“We’re arranging meetings,” Jagg said. “Get ahead of everything that’s going on. Make it well known around Brocke - and outside Brocke - that Devil Call MC is not only intact but we’re stronger than ever.”
Layne looked right at me. “Our first business is with Los Ahn. They’ve been silent and they’ve been working. I fear they’ve been planning an attack on us. Rilen Lost is hurting and down. They lost a member because of us, and their VP was shot.”
Layne never took his eyes off me. Jack from Rilen Lost was shot by Vaughn. Because of me.
“So it’s pretty clear we need to make it known our stance,” Jagg said.
I gritted my teeth, wanting to explode.
“Rilen Lost will come after us,” Layne said. “We know that. This isn’t a MC thing. This is a fucking war. There’s no pointing fingers at this. It’s years of bullshit and it’s going to come to an end. It’ll be a bloody ending. So I want to control everything else around it first. Starting with Los Ahn. We’re having a meeting with them. To discuss our situation as two rival clubs existing together.”
“You think clubs can exist together?” I asked.
“What choice do we have?” Layne asked.
“Letting Los Ahn roll up to our gates without action… that’s a sign of weakness to me.”
“That was the decision for the meeting,” Layne said. “That was their way of agreeing to it.”
“So they have the power. They made the decision to meet.”
“That’s fine with me,” Layne said.
“You’re okay with giving the power to them?” I asked. “So they control the meeting?”
“Talon, shut up,” Jagg said.
Layne put a hand out. “No, no. Let him say his mind here. What would you have done?”
“Me?” I asked. I looked around the table. Some of these men voted for me as President and more of them didn’t. “I would have just showed up. We control the meeting. The situation.”
Everyone fell silent.
Layne nodded. “I appreciate the advice, Talon. It’s solid advice. But this is how we’re handling it. I contacted Los Ahn. I set up the meeting. They rolled by to let me know it was happening. At the time and place I said. I’m discussing because the pointless fighting has to stop. We are not going out there looking for trouble right now. We need to stay here and rebuild this club. No more death. No more fighting. No more prison. It’s time for this MC to reset itself.”
Reset itself?
What the fuck did that mean? It was all signs of weakness. Nobody needed to know about our intentions. Nobody needed to know about the shift in power or the voting. It was club business. Opening those gates out there meant letting everyone and everything else inside.
“The meeting is today,” Layne said. “We’re getting ready to ride right now. I’m only taking a few of us, just in case. The rest of you I want here in the clubhouse. Just waiting and making sure Los Ahn doesn’t try anything stupid.”
Bravo, Layne, bra-fucking-vo. Keeping people here in case we get attacked.
Even still, I didn’t agree with this. Any of it. But what the fuck could I do? I lost the vote. I lost the patch.
“Talon?” Layne called out.
I snapped out of my own thoughts. “Yeah?”
“You’re coming with us.”
I stared at Layne. He stared at me. When he slowly started to grin, I knew he had me. He liked the power. He liked the control. He liked having revenge in the back of his mind.
For the first time in my life, I feared… for the club.
We’re not going to make it.
2.
(Everly)
I’m running down the alley. My leg is bleeding everywhere. I touch my leg, it hurts, and now my fingers are covered in blood. Really thick blood too. Almost like syrup. I hold my hand up and watch the blood slowly pull itself from my fingers and dangle before letting go.
I hear another gunshot and know they’re close.
They’re coming to get me.
Fuck that, they’re going to get me.
They’re going to get me and they’re going to hurt me.
It won’t just be putting a bullet in the back of my head. No fucking way. That’s way too easy for this. They’ll shoot my other leg. They’ll keep me down. And they’ll…
I trip and go flying into the air. My arms are out and I scream. I feel like the world is slowing. I’m sailing… through the air… and then I hit the ground.
My breath is stolen and I look back. There’s a body on the ground.
It’s Layne.
Holy fuck, it’s Layne.
They got to him. They got Layne and
killed him.
There’s a bullet hole between his eyes. They’re open. They’re lost. Dead. Gone.
I see their shadows coming down the alley.
I scramble to my feet, my leg throbbing in pain. I run harder, faster. This alley is never fucking ending. I’m going to just pass out soon.
But then I see the light. A white light. It’s shining. It’s beautiful. I’m about to escape. I’m going to get the fuck out of here and be done with this. I’ll steal a fucking car if I have to.
The light grows bigger, brighter.
Then someone steps into the light.
I try to stop and scream, but I realize it’s Talon.
Talon!
He’s here!
He’s here to save me.
Layne couldn’t do it. Layne’s dead.
I jump right into Talon’s arms. He catches me easily and spins me around.
“It’s okay,” he says.
“It’s not!” I cry. “They’re coming.”
Talon looks and his eyes go wide.
“Oh… fuck…”
He hurries and turns again, putting me in front of him, putting his back to the men chasing us down.
“Talon…”
He looks at me. “I love you, Everly. I’ve always loved you. I always will. I don’t believe in anything… except you. Me. Love. Devil Call. But right now I’m really hoping there’s something beyond this. Because I can’t…”
The guns start to go off.
Talon holds me tight and his body jerks with each bullet he absorbs. Each bullet he takes for me. His eyes wide, staring in pain. His mouth open, shaking, wanting to finish what would be his last sentence.
And I didn't even get a chance to tell him I love him.
My eyes popped open. My leg throbbed in pain and I tried to cry out but it came out hoarse. My throat and mouth were dry, my head heavy, and tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe I was crying right there. Sobbing like a baby, as I looked around Talon’s room, trying to tell myself that it was only a dream.
RAW MERCY (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book Six) (Devil Call MC Talon & Everly 6) Page 1
