DARK FALL (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel)

by London Casey

  The man in the middle of the floor had a booming voice as he kept getting the crowd of rich men fired up. He teased them with promises of catfights. Of punches and kicks. Of beautiful women tearing each other to shreds. Oh, and that getting naked is allowed and encouraged.

  That part caught Kaity’s attention.

  Naked?

  It made sense that some of these women would win by any means necessary. Hell, maybe Kaity would find herself doing the same.

  It became very clear she was not prepared for this at all.

  The man then asked a question… “Is everyone ready for some action?”

  The crowd cheered and it was time to fight. It was time for Kaity to fight. Her name was called first. She was labeled a newcomer and as Kaity stepped out into the eyes of the crowd, she was nervous. Crazy nervous. To the point where she started to shake again.

  Her opponent?

  A woman named Sasha.

  When Kaity looked over her shoulder, she swallowed hard.

  It was the woman who had slapped her across the face.

  Tall, muscular, thick black curly hair and dark eyes that were almost as scary as Blaine’s eyes. Hell, the only difference between this woman - Sasha - and Blaine was that when Kaity looked at Blaine, he was thinking of sex. With Sasha, she looked ready to kill.

  Kaity didn’t know what to do so she put her fists up. She thought about what Gaige said to her. Keep your fists up. Watch the shoulders. Kaity had been in fights before. But those fights were bullshit. A slap. A punch. Hair pulling. Usually only lasting a minute or two before someone pulled them apart.

  But this was going to be a real fight. A fight until someone was down, hurt, knocked out, or tapping out. Something big would have to happen to end it.

  The man waved a hand and gave a thumbs up.

  The fight was on.

  Kaity stepped with Sasha. She kept her hands up, watching Sasha’s shoulders. The woman was just so big and looked so strong. After a few seconds, some of the men started to call out at them. They wanted action. That prompted Sasha to take action. She came at Kaity, both hands swinging. Kaity saw the punches and they both connected to her face. They fucking hurt like hell and one good slap sent Kaity to her ass. She landed hard and stared up at Sasha. Kaity had tears in her eyes. The crowd cheered and then booed. They wanted more. A lot more.

  Kaity knew she couldn’t give up this easily. She forced herself to stand and took a few seconds to gather her courage. Sasha looked cocky and Kaity took advantage of it. She ran at the woman and threw a hard right. Kaity’s fist hit Sasha in the arm. She screamed and Kaity stayed with the tall woman. Fist after fist, Kaity soon found herself backing Sasha up. Then Sasha kicked Kaity in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of her body - and her fight. Kaity hunched over and Sasha grabbed Kaity’s hair. Sasha pulled as her fist came down on Kaity’s back like a hammer over and over again.

  Quickly, Kaity fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath. But Sasha wasn’t giving up. She wanted to hurt Kaity. Kaity clawed at Sasha, trying to get at anything. At one point she grabbed Sasha’s left breast and pulled. Sasha screamed and the crowd cheered. Sasha pushed Kaity to her back and tried to get on top of her. Kaity saw a small opportunity and took it. She kicked with her right foot, her heel connecting with Sasha’s chin. The woman’s head snapped back and she fell away.

  The crowd let out a long oooohhh as Kaity hurried to her feet. She moved her hair out of her face. She wiped her mouth. When Sasha stood again, her mouth gushed blood. Kaity lunged right at her. This was a fucking fight and Kaity was going to win it.

  Kaity grabbed Sasha’s hair as Sasha grabbed Kaity’s shirt. Kaity pulled. Sasha pulled. Sasha screamed and Kaity’s shirt started to give way. Kaity then jumped and kicked, knocking Sasha back. Kaity took a few steps back and looked to her arm. Her shirt was ripped, her bra showing. That caught the attention of a lot of men who started to cheer. Kaity went right back in for more. She punched Sasha in the face, then clawed at her eyes. Sasha stumbled back and fell. Kaity jumped on top of her. Swinging, clawing, grunting and screaming. Sasha tried to fight back, but Kaity had her down. Suddenly, Sasha landed one good punch to Kaity’s left side, knocking the wind out of her again. Kaity thought she heard a pop sound, so she scrambled off Sasha and stood, holding her side.

  “Finish the fight!” someone yelled.

  Sasha was down but nobody had stopped the fight. Kaity looked around. The warehouse full of men wanted more. Kaity’s body hurt. Her face throbbed. Her heart raced. She tried to look for someone from the club but couldn’t see anyone. Sasha started to get up. Kaity knew what she had to do to end the fight. There was no more time. If Sasha got a second wind she would win.

  Kaity walked to Sasha and kicked her in the stomach. Sasha cried out. Her black curly hair touched the ground. Kaity reached down and pulled Sasha’s hair back. She showed everyone her face and then made a fist. The crowd cheered and cheered. It made Kaity sick that these men wanted this. But it was about survival. That was something Kaity knew all too well. Sometimes survival meant sacrifice. Sometimes it meant cutting corners. Sometimes it was about a means to an end, no matter what happened.

  “I’m sorry,” Kaity said.

  Sasha looked at her and closed her eyes.

  Kaity brought her fist down and hit Sasha in the face. Sasha fell down, out. Kaity fell back to her ass, holding her hand, crying out.

  The short man ran onto the floor, waving his hands.

  The fight was over.

  Kaity won.

  The crowd cheered.

  But Kaity didn’t feel like a winner at all. She struggled to her feet and backed up. She needed a way out of the warehouse. She needed to get into Erik's comforting arms. Tears filled Kaity’s eyes as she turned to get off the floor. She made it two steps before she felt arms around her.

  She screamed but nobody heard her. She fought and thrashed, but she had next to nothing when it came to strength. She looked up and it was obvious the man holding her wasn’t Erik, or someone else from Back Down Devil.

  One thing did stand out for Kaity…

  Scar on the neck…

  twenty-five.

  Erik knew he needed to move fast. He walked along the wall, Shay at his side. They had their hands on their guns, ready to make the kill when needed. The crowd erupted every few seconds when something happened and it took all of Erik’s will to not look to make sure Kaity wasn’t getting hurt.

  But there was business to be handled.

  Shay bumped into Erik. “Right around this corner, brother.”

  “I want this done. Both of them.”

  “We’ll get it. Just play safe. Smart.”

  They worked through the crowd and when they turned the corner, Erik spotted the man. Mr. Arengson. He spotted Shay and Erik. The way his eyes went wide indicated that he knew exactly who they were.

  “Fuck!” Shay yelled.

  Mr. Arengson turned and started to run. Shay took off, leaving Erik for a few seconds to look around wondering where the other man was. When he didn't see him, Erik took off after Shay. He caught up to him as they cornered Mr. Arengson at the back of the warehouse. It worked in their favor, because he had moved away from the crowd. Mr. Arengson reached for his gun and pointed it back. Shay was fast, but Erik was faster. He would die to get his revenge. Erik jumped and tackled Mr. Arengson. They both hit the ground with a thud. Erik ended up on top of the man and started to unload on that way, but Shay grabbed Erik by his leather cut and pulled him off.

  “Christ!” Shay yelled. “Stick to the plan, brother.”

  Erik stood and looked down at the bloody man. He put a hand up and then pointed to Shay.

  “We’re coming,” Mr. Arengson said. “You need me. I’ll help you. I’ll tell you where they all are.”

  “What the fuck is…”

  Erik couldn’t finish the question before Shay shot Mr. Arengson between the eyes. His head snapped back and body went limp.

  “What t
he fuck Shay! That was mine!”

  “He needed to die right now,” Shay said. “You got your punches.”

  “What was he trying to say?”

  “Nothing. We have to move.”

  There was a loud cheer from the crowd and then Erik heard the whistle of a man and words that made his stomach sick.

  “This fight is over!”

  “Oh fuck,” Erik said.

  He started to run and once he heard that Kaity had won the fight, he smiled and ran faster. All he needed to do was get her to safety. Erik looked back and saw Shay making the call to Miller so they could all get the fuck out of the warehouse.

  Erik pushed through the crowd and looked to the floor. There was a woman trying to sit up. She had black hair and her face was a mess. But there was no sign of Kaity. Erik looked around and for a split second he thought he saw Kaity’s feet.

  Kaity’s feet dragging on the floor.

  “No,” he whispered.

  Erik ran faster, hitting everyone he could with his shoulders. People yelled, threw things at him, and when Erik produced his gun, all hell started to break loose. Someone yelled GUN! and the crowd started to shift. Erik realized how stupid and dangerous the situation had become, but he needed to get to Kaity.

  Where the fuck was she?

  What was happening?

  Who had her?

  Erik moved through the crowd as fast as he could and then he tripped over something. He went down. The floor was unforgiving, but the sight on the ground was even worse.

  “No,” Erik said.

  Kaity's lifeless body lay on the ground. Her face was covered in blood. It wasn’t blood from the fight either. Someone had sliced her face open.

  Erik crawled to Kaity and looked around. There was so much movement it was impossible to see anyone. It wasn’t until Erik saw Gaige and Miller dropping to their knees that Erik remembered he had come here with other people. He just held Kaity, trying to wipe her face of the blood. He touched her neck and felt a pulse.

  “She’s alive,” he said to Miller. “But she was attacked.”

  “By who?” Blaine called out.

  “Motherfucker,” Shay said as he caught up.

  “We killed one,” Erik said. “Mr. Arengson. He’s gone.”

  “We have to be gone too,” Gaige said. “Hurry.”

  “What do I do?” Erik asked.

  “Carry her,” Miller said. “Go out a side door and we’ll get you.”

  “What about the motorcycles?” Erik asked.

  “Just fucking move,” Miller bellowed.

  Erik scooped Kaity up and ran with her. The crowd was still moving. People were shouting commands, yelling for help. The sight of a gun made all these businessmen uneasy.

  Once outside, Erik fell to his knees with Kaity in his arms. He touched her face again, feeling the blood. The cuts were deep. Could someone die from being cut in the face? Maybe. Maybe not.

  He needed to find the other guy. He did this.

  Erik’s mind raced, wondering why the hell Shay killed Mr. Arengson before he finished saying what he was trying to say.

  The thunder of motorcycles echoed and along with the guys came Strokner’s SUV. The back door opened and Strokner hurried out.

  “Jesus Christ,” he said.

  “Come on,” Gaige said. “Put her in the SUV. I’ll take you to get your ride and we have to get to the hospital. Right now.”

  Erik nodded and placed Kaity in the back of the SUV. The door shut and Strokner jumped in the backseat and screamed for the driver to move. Erik looked at his bloody hands and started to shake.

  This was supposed to be about revenge, not more blood. Not more pain. Not more… war.

  “Come on,” Gaige growled as he touched Erik’s shoulder.

  Erik spun, ready to fight.

  “Easy now, brother,” Blaine said. “Let’s get your woman patched up, okay? She’s going to be okay.”

  Erik shook his head.

  No.

  Nothing was going to be okay.

  Erik looked at Shay and Shay turned his head.

  If there was one thing that could tear a club apart in seconds, it was a secret.

  Shay was keeping a fucking secret.

  twenty-six.

  Kaity opened her eyes and Erik was next to her. He leaned forward, his leather cut crunching as he did. The background noise was filled with beeps of different pieces of medical equipment hooked up to Kaity. She blinked a few times and reached for Erik. He took her hand and squeezed it.

  “Am I dead?” she whispered.

  “No,” Erik said. “We’re all alive.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “Two days, babe,” Erik said. “You’re okay though. Stitched up. Patched up. None of the cuts were deep enough to really hurt you. Looked worse than it was.”

  Cuts?

  Kaity closed her eyes and it all rushed back to her. She shuddered and started to panic. She hurried to open her eyes and looked at Erik.

  “What is it?”

  “I remember,” Kaity said. “The man with the it, and a few seconds later there was a gathering in Kaity’s room.

  Miller, Gaige, Nate, Landon, Griffin, Shay, and Jace.

  “Hey,” Kaity whispered.

  “Look at you,” Miller said. He touched Kaity’s leg. “I’m sorry. This one is on me."

  “No,” Erik said.

  “No,” Kaity said. “I wanted to do it. I wanted to fight. I really hurt that bitch.”

  Everyone laughed.

  The door opened again. “Fuck, man, my balls are sore. My left one is like… tender or something…”

  Kaity didn’t need to look to know it was Blaine. He walked to the side of the bed, one hand down his pants. He smiled and said, “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Blaine,” Erik growled. “Not with your hand down your goddamn pants.”

  “Listen,” Miller said, “I’m sorry this happened.”

  “We all are,” Blaine said. “That was brutal.”

  “But you got what you wanted?” Kaity asked.

  “We did,” Gaige said. “We got one of them.”

  “The other one did this to her,” Erik said. “He wanted to scar her.”

  Scar her.

  “Can I see?” Kaity asked.

  The crew looked to Erik. He motioned to the door and they all left. Each one patted the end of Kaity’s bed as they left.

  Once it was just her and Erik, he sat back down. “I wanted you to see that the club is behind you, Kaity. We care about you. What you did means a lot to the club.”

  “You trust me?” Kaity asked.

  Erik swallowed. “I trust you, babe. I trust you.”

  “Then let me see my face.”

  Erik went into the bathroom and Kaity heard the sound of something breaking. He walked from the bathroom carrying the damn mirror. Kaity laughed and Erik smiled. This guy didn’t give a shit and it was sexy. She loved him. She really did love him.

  Erik put the bathroom mirror in front of Kaity. She saw her face and gasped. There were stitches almost everywhere. Different angles and patterns. Red blotches of cuts and scars. It was bad. It was really bad.

  “I’m sorry this happened,” Erik said.

  Kaity pushed the mirror away and looked at Erik. “I don’t care. We can wear our scars together.”

  Erik slowly and gently touched Kaity’s face. He nodded. “You make me want to stay alive, babe. For so long I wanted to end it all. But you make me want to keep going. If I ever have to wake up alone or with some other woman, I’d rather be dead. With you, I feel incredible.”

  “I love you, Erik,” Kaity said. “I want to be here. Just like this. Well, not in a hospital…” Kaity smiled. “But with you. I'll be whatever you want and need.”

  “Right now I want you to know something,” Erik said. “I want you to know that I love you too.”

  “Kiss
me.”

  “Fucking right,” Erik said.

  He moved toward Kaity and the taste of his lips was better than any drug the doctors could hook up to an IV for Kaity. She put her hand to his face and felt the ridges of his scars. She would have scars of her own now, because of Erik. Because of the club. But wearing her scars on the outside for the world to see only meant she was strong enough to do so.

  Strong like Erik.

  And strong like Back Down Devil MC.

  twenty-seven.

  Shay sat alone in his room. An old box next to him. A gun and bottle of whiskey rested on the nightstand. His body felt weak and tired. The weight of the world pressed on his shoulders.

  He couldn't believe that all the bullshit was coming back to haunt him after all these years.

  He thought about Erik. He thought about Kaity. He thought about the bombings, the fights, the war. Shay touched the box and opened it. It had been a long time since he looked inside. The memories were hidden in that box.

  The first thing Shay touched was a knife. A small blade with a slight curve to it. He remembered the day he stole that knife off a man he killed. It felt like a lifetime ago though. That was the knife. The killing knife. Shay had done a lot of damage with that knife. The last time it was used, however, Shay swore he would never use it again for the rest of his life.

  Until now.

  Next to the knife was an old, faded picture, creased from being folded and opened hundreds of times. Three young boys stood next to their bicycles. It was years before they were old enough to ride motorcycles. Shay was in the middle. The boy to Shay’s left was his best friend. A guy he grew up with and loved like a brother. A guy he trusted for such a long time.

  “Arengson,” Shay whispered as he shook his head.

  Shay used to call him Angel to piss him off. He hated being called Angel.

  Now he was dead. Dead before he could run his fucking mouth and make this worse.