Christ, all I’ve had were nightmares since coming back to the clubhouse. In a drugged up stupor I was brought back there. Layne on one side, Talon on the other. Apparently I had asked both of them to help me. I vaguely remembered it all. Layne pulled me to the left, but I fought to the right. To go to Talon’s room. My heart completely torn into so many pieces. One second I have Talon touching me and I’m saying Layne’s name… and then I’m in the clubhouse with Layne wanting him to take me to his room and then I pull to go to Talon’s.
All that after the vote.
The vote.
Talon lost the vote.
I was still feeling numb over it.
I touched my leg and cried out again in pain. I must have been trying to kick my leg during my nightmare. The pain was swelling so bad, I couldn’t stop crying. I tried to reach for the nightstand for my cell to call for help. My hand jerked as I reached for it and I knocked it to the floor.
“Fuck,” I whimpered.
A second later, the bedroom door opened.
Talon stood there, almost like in my dream.
“Fuck, beautiful,” he said. He rushed to the bed, touching my face. “What’s wrong?”
“My leg. I need…”
“Okay,” he said. “Deep breaths, Everly.”
Talon dropped to one knee. He reached at the bottom of the nightstand where my medicine was located. He hurried to get me a pill that would take the edge off the pain. This was my life now and would be for another week or so. All because of a fucking bullet… it still hadn’t really hit me that I’d been shot.
Talon stood back up and gave me the pill. He ran into the bathroom and got me a glass of water. He returned to the bed and gave me the glass.
“Okay, let me get you up,” he said.
“Shouldn’t I get you up?” I asked, trying to break up the tension.
Talon looked at me and smiled. “Fuck. I…”
You love me? Then say it. Say it again. Please say it again.
Talon kept silent. His hands touched my sides. His thumbs grazed the edges of my breasts, not meaning to do so. But the most subtle of touches drove me wild. I was instantly warm, wet, between my legs aching with a need that only Talon could take care of.
But he hadn’t touched me since I said the wrong name. And we hadn’t talked about it. Why it happened. What it meant. How he felt about it.
Talon wasn’t the kind of guy to sit and talk about his feelings though.
He grabbed me under my arms and lifted me up. I was then sitting and my leg hurt even more. The pain flared up and then died out. I bit on my lip, tears in my eyes again. I split my own lip and tasted blood.
I took the pill, drank the water, and the only thing I could do then was wait a few minutes for the medicine to kick in. To take the pain away.
Talon moved one hand to my face. His other hand stayed tucked up tight to my armpit. And he just stared at me. Looking at him wasn’t quite the same now. His eyes were tough, but sad. His face cut from stone, but hurt. He had bruises and cuts all over him from getting beat half to death by someone in Rilen Lost. They got him with baseball bats. I figured that’s where my nightmares were coming from. To see the toughest and sexiest man I ever met being so beat up right now just hurt. And there was nothing I could do to make it go away.
My heart ached for Talon and there was nothing I could do about that either.
“Christ, beautiful,” he whispered. “I hate myself for this.”
“No,” I said. “I shouldn’t have…”
“You shouldn’t have been there,” Talon said. “I shouldn’t have done any of it. I’m trying to clean this up.”
“I guess you don’t have to anymore, right?”
I could tell my question hurt Talon some.
He shook his head. “Jade and Vaughn are bad people. They’re not going to stop. Not until they’re gone. All gone. Layne won’t command it. I don’t blame him either.”
“But if it hurts the club… you…”
“What’s for the greater?” I asked. “That’s how he’s going to do all this. The side shit will fall away.”
“And when they try to hurt Devil Call?”
“That’s when he’ll care,” Talon said.
I started to feel angry. More pain. But then came a sense of warmth. Not the sensual warmth Talon provided, but the warmth from the medicine starting to kick in.
Talon’s thumb stroked up and down my cheek. I closed my eyes and sighed. I turned my head a little and kissed his thumb.
“Talon, I’m in love with you,” I said.
I opened my eyes, smiling, wanting to see Talon smile. I wanted the moment. The fucking moment when two people tell each other they love each other. That tender, romantic time when two hearts finally open to each other. But I’d never have that with Talon because the MC life didn’t allow it.
Talon was staring at me, looking ready to explode with emotion. I had no problem with him crying in front of me. I would never think any less of him. In fact, it would be kind of hot to see such a tough man act tender and vulnerable.
But it didn’t happen.
Instead, there was a knock on the door and it flew open.
Layne. The Devil Call MC President.
“Everything okay?” he asked, stepping into the room.
Talon stood up, his hands leaving my body.
“Yeah,” he said. “She was crying, in pain. I gave her medicine.”
“Why didn’t you call?” Layne asked, angry.
“I was having a bad dream. I woke up and knocked the phone off the nightstand. Then Talon came in. It’s fine, Layne. I’m fine.”
Layne made fists and released them. He did three more times. I knew he was fucking angry over this. Because it was Talon’s fault it happened. But for good reason.
“I’m taking my hits,” I said, trying to ease the tension. “I went to jail. I got shot. I’ll get a leather cut soon, right?” I smiled.
Talon smirked.
Layne folded his arms. “Oh, Everly, if it were possible. Christ, I’d give you a cut and whatever fucking patches you want. You deserve it. For all you’ve put up with and been through.”
Silence fell.
The room was way too serious.
The medicine was working fine now. My leg tingled, was getting warm, and the pain was finally subsiding.
“It’s working now,” I said. “The medicine.”
“Good,” Layne said. “I’ll make sure someone keeps an eye on you. Two prospects at your door at all times. And a woman here just in case you need help with personal stuff. Okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
I tried not to look at Talon, knowing this hurt him. Not being able to command help for me. But he was enough for me. He was the help, the reason, the everything.
But yet my heart… I still wasn’t done with Layne.
“Talon, we’re riding,” Layne said.
His tone was manly, commanding, done on purpose to leave Talon ripped into more shreds of the biker President he used to be.
Talon nodded. “Can I finish up here?”
“Yeah,” Layne said. He then looked at me. “Rest, sweetie. Okay? Nothing to worry about. Those prospects know that they have to put their lives on the line for you. I promise you.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
I should have said Thanks again, but I feared Talon would lose it for good. I couldn’t help but constantly fear what Talon would do next. It wouldn’t have shocked me if he went off the deep end and started hurting people. Within Devil Call MC.
Layne left the room and Talon looked down at me again. “I’m out for a ride. We’re going to meet with Los Ahn.”
“You don’t seem happy about it.”
“I think it’s a terrible idea. But I have no option right now. I’m stuck, Everly.”
“I know,” I said. I reached and took Talon by the hand. The medicine was really kicking in now. I started to smile, knowing it was the wrong time to smile. “But…
I feel good. Really good, Talon. Like… I want you to touch me… that kind of good.”
Talon curled his lip. “Are you going to say the right fucking name this time?”
I gasped. My heart sank.
Before I could respond, Talon grabbed the top of my PJ bottoms and ripped them down. I let out a whimper as his fingers then slid between my legs, rubbing my wet center. Two fingers curled against my folds, pressing, tempting against my pussy.
“Christ,” I growled and jumped, a quick surge of pain going through my leg. “Talon, fuck.”
“Good girl,” he said. “You said the right name. Never fucking forget my name again.”
“I didn’t… forget…”
“Shut up, Everly.”
He came down at me, making me slink back. His lips came to mine and we started to kiss. Our tongues collided as he thrust two fingers deep inside me. I sucked in a breath through my nose and moaned into Talon’s mouth. He twisted, turned, curled his fingers, and pulled. I was nothing compared to him. My desire rolled over its banks, ready to explode already, which was good because he only had a minute or two to spare.
Talon opened his mouth and let our lips linger. “Fuck, beautiful, how can you still be tight? After all I’ve done to you?”
I touched his face, my nails starting to dig into his wounds. He didn’t flinch once. He was, hands down, the toughest man I ever met. My thumb grazed a rough scab just below his left eye.
“I’m…”
Talon gritted his teeth and dug harder at me. He was perfect at this. No man should be able to finger a woman this hard, this aggressive, and especially make her come this easily. But leave it to Talon to do such a thing. And I was the lucky person on the receiving end of it.
“I’m…”
I lost the sentence again. I wanted to tell him I was sorry. That he got hurt. That he lost the vote. That he was broken. I wanted to tell him I would fix him. Just like my leg would heal, he would too. We could have scars together. We could do anything together…
But instead…
“I’m coming!” I cried out.
I slid my hand down to his shoulder and squeezed as tight as I could. My lower half convulsed with an intense pressure. I kicked my legs - good and bad - and felt no pain. Just a warming surge of pleasure all around me.
Talon gently placed his thumb to my clit and made small circles. I thrust at him, again and again as I came, working up and down through waves of pleasure that seemed like they would never end.
As fast as Talon started was as fast as he ended. His hand pulled away from me, his fingertips rubbing the inside of my leg, letting me feel my own wetness.
“I have to go,” he growled and walked away.
I tried to reach for him and almost fell out of the bed.
“Talon! Wait.”
The bedroom door shut.
I was warm, numb, feeling so good.
Yet tears were in my eyes again.
“I… love you…”
It was all I could say. But Talon didn’t hear it.
3.
(Talon)
I was at the end of the ride. I wasn’t sure if that was done on purpose or done to try and rattle me, and I didn’t give a shit. What did bother me a little was seeing Layne at the front of the pack and Jagg riding like shotgun right next to him.
We were cruising through Brocke, slower than normal. Maybe it was Layne trying to show everyone that he was in the front and I was in the back. But there was one thing to remember. Anyone who saw me at the back of the ride saw the Devil Call MC patch stretching across my back. And anyone who followed the MC knew who the fuck I was and knew that if I was riding in the back, we must have meant serious business.
Yeah, we meant business. How serious? Probably very. But there’s something Layne wasn’t considering… why the fuck would Los Ahn just want to talk? They wanted to fight. They wanted to kill. They wanted to deal their nasty drugs all around Brocke, and every once in a little while they would try to step over their lines and we’d kick them back. That’s how it worked. Could we run into the other towns and fight? Of course we could. But it wasn’t worth the war. At least not with the MC trying to find its path and vision.
But maybe this was our path and vision. Instead of being strong outlaws we were going to be vigilante talkers.
It made me shiver.
We rode to the edge of Brocke where a line of cars and motorcycles had been set up. It looked like a goddamn scene from a movie or something. The way two black cars were facing each other, another two cars on each side facing us. And then there was a line of motorcycles, strategically placed. They made some kind of formation, probably something that had meaning to their club.
Layne rode up and cut his wheel, stopping. He didn’t look back at any of us. He didn’t give us a formation. We were stacked on each other, which was really stupid. We should have all fanned out, just in case shit hit the fan.
But, hey, Layne was President.
This was his meeting.
This was his show.
I stepped from my ride and leaned against it, arms crossed. The guys in Los Ahn were big guys. They were all showing their weapons, but nobody touched their guns. If it were me I would have had all the cars put their windows down to make sure there was no ambush in place. For all any of us knew, they could have been packing autos or semi-autos in there. They could take all of us down without blinking.
And normally I wouldn’t believe something like that could happen.
But with Layne as President…
I watched Layne walk to the middle of the space between the two clubs. He offered his hand first to the Los Ahn President, Acey, and then they hugged quick. They broke away and two men stepped up to Acey.
Layne stood alone, talking.
He was trying to be tough, but he was too damn vulnerable.
And here I was standing with the likes of Ash, Austin, and Drave. Good men, yes. Strong men, yes. Men who would take a bullet for Devil Call, sure. But they weren’t leaders. I didn’t belong back here. I belonged up front with Layne. To hear what the hell was going on.
I respected the situation and remained still.
Layne and Acey were talking. Acey smiled at one point. Then he looked right at me. His stone cold eyes connected with mine. I didn’t give a fuck that he had a patch that said President on it. The day I got out of prison some of his boys shot at me and then made comments about Everly.
A few seconds later, Layne looked back at me. He pointed and gave a nod.
I touched my chest. “Me?”
Layne nodded.
I walked along the side of the motocycles and joined Layne up front. That’s when Jagg stepped forward too. Stupid prick.
I stepped next to Layne and folded my arms.
“Talon,” Acey said. “Never thought I’d see you again.”
“Still ticking,” I said and touched my heart. “Takes a lot to take me down.”
“Even losing your patch?”
I gritted my teeth. “I never lost it. There was a vote. Layne’s a good man. Strong and smart. I promise you, Acey, if you fuck with Devil Call, you’ll end up dead.”
“See?” Acey said to Layne. “Still can’t help himself. Even after I sent him a few messages.”
“It’s okay,” Layne said. “We’re not here to shake hands and make amends. I think that’s at least one thing we all can agree on.”
Everyone chuckled a little. I kept my eyes open, waiting for something to give here.
“Then why are we talking?” Acey asked.
Layne stepped forward. He put a finger to Acey’s chest. “Because Talon is right. If you fuck with us, you will die. We’ve gone through some shit as a club. That’s been settled now. No more bullshit. We’re whole. We’re ready. And the rules still apply. You do not fuck around in Brocke. I find anything that points back to you…” Layne slowly lifted his finger and put it between Acey’s eyes. He gave a push. “I’ll kill you.”
Acey stepped
back and tensions flared.
Everyone started to scream. Guns were drawn. I had my gun out and pointed it at Acey. I looked around, waiting for Layne’s next call.
“You motherfuckers are going to pay,” Acey said.
“We’ll see,” Layne said.
“We’re not backing down right now,” Acey said. “I’ll have my boys stand here all day. In a long stand-off. Is that what you want?”
“Try me,” Layne said.
“Fuck you, Layne.” Acey looked at me. “Fuck you, Talon.”
“You look scared,” I said.
“You look beaten up,” Acey threw at me.
“You’ve got the warning,” Layne said. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
“Not happening.”
Layne looked at me from the corner of his eye.
Yeah, good job, President. You put us in a hole here.
Los Ahn had more bodies than us right now. And whatever the hell were in the cars.
“How do we settle this?” Layne asked.
“Fight,” Acey said. “It’s been a while since my two boys here…” Acey looked left to right. The guys had some big ass shoulders and they cracked their knuckles. “… had a good fight. Everyone has been paying on time lately. God bless the economy getting back on its feet. Good for business. Good for this beautiful country we live in.”
A fight?
I thought about stepping forward and throwing the first punch. Hell, if I was wearing the President’s patch, that’s exactly what I would have done. And the guys behind me would have been prepared for all hell to break loose.
“You want to fight?” Layne asked.
“They do,” Acey said.
Layne didn’t hesitate a second. He lowered his gun and stuck it in the back of his jeans. He then crossed his arms and gave a nod. “Talon will fight.”
I… what?
I looked at him. He wouldn’t even look at me. The tone of his damn voice was condescending and manipulative. Like this was some kind of punishment for me.
“He looks half beaten already,” Acey said.
“I can fucking fight,” I said.
RAW MERCY (A Devil Call MC Book) (Talon & Everly Book Six) (Devil Call MC Talon & Everly 6) Page 2
