Ride or Die (Devil's Edge MC #1)

by Terri E. Laine

  The guy tried to nod, but couldn’t manage it. Ender pushed him roughly back, sending the guy to brace his hands toward the counter and the wall, so he wouldn’t fall head first into the toilet.

  Ender gave him a final warning glare before he backed out of the room. The guy held his hands up in peace as Ender’s game face generally made the toughest guy pee in his pants. The asswipe stumbled over his own two feet and fell into a heap between the tub and the toilet. Ender rolled his eyes heavenward and headed casually back into the room, leaving his back exposed. That was how little he thought of the other man being any sort of threat.

  Inside the room, Piper lay innocently on the bed.

  “What the hell was that about?” he demanded.

  She shot up and braced her arms behind her to glare at him. “He assaulted me and got—”

  All the breath left her as he dove onto the bed. He covered her mouth, not to mention her body, as he raised a finger to her lips.

  “Go with it,” he whispered.

  A second later she heard footsteps in the hall. Just as the door opened, he kissed her. Unable to stop herself, she melted in his arms.

  The taste of her was like the best beer ever brewed. He used his tongue to engage her mouth. He didn’t care who came in the room a few seconds before his brain came back online. He turned to glare at the men huddled in the door.

  It only took a few seconds of his death by glare glance before the men muttered apologies and closed the door as they departed.

  Piper, ashamed of her body’s response to the man on top of her, shoved him off. He rolled off, chuckling. He had to believe that Taylor would forgive him. He’d only kissed her to keep up the ruse to keep her safe, not because he wanted to, or so he told himself.

  “Don’t act like you didn’t like that, baby. Your nipples are so hard under that shirt they are like diamonds.”

  “Fuck you,” Piper muttered, rolling away from him to land on her side. She closed her eyes and willed her body to calm the fuck down.

  “Never going to happen. You’re Taylor’s property.”

  That got her heart ratcheting up to nuclear self-destruct levels. She turned back to face him.

  “I’m no one’s goddamn property, but my own.”

  She didn’t wait for him to respond as the corners of his eyes and lips were lifted in a smirk of epic proportions.

  “Who is Mandy?” He stilled, but didn’t speak. She prodded him further. “The asshole said I had to be taught a lesson same as Mandy.”

  A homicidal look took over his face. “He said what exactly?” It was as if frosted air blew out with each one of his words except it wasn’t winter.

  “Fuck you? I asked first.”

  They stared at each other, neither giving ground. If he wasn’t going to tell her anything, she wasn’t either. Finally, she rolled back to her side to face away from him. And it took forever, but she finally found sleep.

  He lay there and contemplated killing Darryl. Rocky would understand if he did and blew the deal. But he owed the club his life. They’d given him purpose when he would have self-destructed. So he bided his time. Darryl would die with a crowbar up his ass after he told him everything that happened that night so he could carry out justice to anyone involved.

  When she woke, she saw the room was filled with golden light. The next thing she noticed was Ender was wrapped around her with a possessive hand cupping her breast, and she realized he was still sleeping. His quiet breaths fanned across her neck evenly. She hated that she felt comfortable in that position. He wasn’t hers and had probably thought she was someone else when he spooned behind her.

  Carefully, she lifted his hand. He didn’t stir, which was surprising. They both had a hair trigger. Yet, she hadn’t woken up when he spooned her and he didn’t wake as she scooted out of his hold. What did that mean? Were they that comfortable with each other to let their individual guards down? She didn’t like the implications. Silently, she put on her clothes. She needed to find Katie’s mom and tell her the plan. And she needed to find a few household things she would need to pull off her plan.

  24

  Plan in place, Piper played it cool as she made her way back to the main house. Some of the guys from the day before were setting up a couple of grills and moving tables and chairs in the backyard when she walked up. Ender wasn’t in sight, and neither was the jackass who'd tried to get in her pants last night.

  A guy stared at her from a couple of paces off before he got to his feet. Immediately on alert, she hoped she wouldn’t have to put him in his place and embarrass him in front of the other guys.

  Scruffy unlike the others, the man making his way straight for her had a mop of oily hair crowning his head. He thumbed his nose like a coke head before sniffing up and then clearing his throat before he spoke.

  “Piper, that’s your name, right?”

  He was too close for her comfort. Unfortunately, it was too late to backtrack or ignore him. Too many eyes had followed his bold journey to intercept her and she couldn’t risk pissing him off lest it put Ender in a bad position, not that she should care.

  “It is,” she said softly.

  “I heard you biker chicks get nicknames same as them bikers. What’s your name mean? You good at giving good pipe?”

  That got a chorus of laughter from those nearby as they continued to pay attention to them while working at the same time. Great, for once men can multitask, she thought.

  She let disgust show on her face as she gave him the once-over. That drew the smile off his face and a frown to form in its place as he no doubt wondered what she would say next. “Not exactly. The name came when I killed a man who dared to touch me when I didn’t want him to. And I did it with a pipe.”

  The peanut gallery went silent as they wondered if she was telling the truth. While they were all stunned by her words, she walked right by them and into the house.

  Ender stepped out the kitchen door, missing Piper’s entrance into the house using the other side. He held a tray of meat the women had prepared for the grill.

  “Son, have you thought any more about my proposal?” his dad asked, sidling up next to him.

  He hadn’t. Living at the ranch again wasn’t an option.

  “I think you being back may make the guys feel a little easier about your gang taking root in our territory.”

  Ender knew better. His father ruled shit, and him paying lip service to his men didn’t mean it was a true democracy, like it was with Ender’s club.

  “We’re not a gang. We’re a club. And the fact that I’m your son should be enough, along with the money we gave you.”

  “I’m not sure that is enough. You left without asking, showing me no loyalty.”

  Bobby spotted them and barreled in their direction. Ender knew his half-brother was jealous and wouldn’t take a shine to the idea that their dad wanted him to return to the fold and take over eventually.

  With his finger, Bobby pointed at Ender before starting his rant. “I don’t think that girl is none of yours. And you know the rules about women in the compound.”

  Ender knew the rules all too well, but he wasn’t taking shit from the cocksucker.

  “Don’t even think about her.”

  “Wait.” Ender’s dad held up his hands. “Bobby has a point.”

  “Damn right. I haven’t seen you touch her once, and your room was mighty quiet last night. And Kim said you took her up on her offer last night.”

  Fucking bitch couldn’t keep her mouth shut. It served him last night, but he didn’t need that shit. And apparently the two assholes who'd barged into his room last night could keep quiet. It was turning into a clusterfuck, and Rocky was counting on him getting this deal done.

  Piper took that moment to walk out the back door looking freshly showered. Her hair was still somewhat damp and curled around the edges. She wore a white tank top and jeans that clung to her tight little body.

  He saw his brother salivating while glancing at
her over his shoulder. Ender grabbed his collar and dragged him close to the point the guy was on his toes. “If you touch her, I’ll kill you.”

  It wasn’t an idle threat. Brother or not, they were never close. Bobby never once acted like they were kin. It was all in the blood that didn’t matter one second.

  Ender let him go with a little shove. Bobby stumbled backward and glared at their dad for help. The man said nothing, and Ender hadn’t expected him to. Each man should be able to protect himself. Only in outside threats did the group band together.

  The rest of the men watched on. Ender let his instincts take over. He dropped off the tray of meat he held one-handed before he stalked toward a wide-eyed Piper. She stood just at the bottom of the few stairs that led to the house.

  When he reached her, he took a handful of her soft hair at the nape of her neck in his hand. Then he angled her head and took her mouth the way he wanted to plunder her pussy. He felt her hand meet his chest, and he thought for a second she’d push him away. Instead, she gripped his shirt like she wanted to pull him closer, giving him full access to her mouth. He sucked her tongue like he wanted to suck her clit. He grabbed her ass and hauled her flush to him so she would know exactly what she did to him.

  She sank her hands into his back pockets, liking the feel of him. She wasn’t sure what came over him, but she was ready to take advantage of the opportunity, not to mention the ache he’d created inside her over the last several days. Just as she started to feel drunk off his kiss, he pulled away. His eyes were dark, but his face wasn’t filled with passion. In fact, he looked more pissed off than anything else.

  He licked his lips, and she watched, wanting him to kiss her again. Only he stepped back and eyed her for a second more before turning around and stalking away. He grabbed the arm of a passing brunette, who squeaked in surprise. Ender only had to give her a glare for her to know what he wanted. Piper watched in disbelief as he steered the woman toward the barn with heated eyes that had been on her seconds before. She wanted to curse him for being an asshole, but she kept her mouth shut. He would get his in the end.

  As Ender walked by his speechless brother, he murmured, “You don’t touch what’s mine. But around here, a man is entitled to a little variety.”

  Kat was still as pretty as he remembered, if not rough around the edges. That was true of most of the women after a few years of ranch life really kicked in. He needed to fuck and couldn’t have what he wanted. So Kat would get his worst. He wanted to feel bad about it, but couldn’t muster the emotion. She knew what was expected of her and had willingly stayed in the fold.

  He found his way inside the barn that smelled like horse shit, but that didn’t matter. He worked at the button of her shorts to pull them down as she worked on his.

  Outside, Piper turned her attention toward the trees in the opposite direction of the barn. The little girl and her mother should be making their way toward the road with little to no cover. The distraction would begin at any moment if the plan had gone as strategized.

  There was a ruckus and Piper slowly turned to see the back of the barn engulfed in flames. That happened fast, she thought. It must not have rained there recently.

  “Fire!” someone shouted, and the madness began.

  Some ran toward the growing flames, while a few moved toward the house where someone was frantically attaching a hose to a spigot. There was no way that hose would reach the barn, which was yards and yards away. Piper didn’t have time to find out. Absently, she prayed Ender would get out safely, but she had to act while everyone else’s attention was diverted. She ran around the house and stopped as the gate guy zoomed by. She hoped he wouldn’t remember her heading in the opposite direction. He didn’t seem to notice her in his frantic run to help.

  She checked around and saw that the coast was clear. She bolted for the sparse trees and being better in shape, caught up with the mother and daughter team as they made their way through the tall grass and wound around the few trees to the road.

  They stopped when they got there, and Piper checked her phone. The mother-daughter pair cuddled close with tears slipping from both of their eyes.

  “Keep my daughter safe,” the woman said softly.

  “I won’t have to. You’re going with her.”

  The mother’s eyes grew in size as well as her daughter’s. “But—”

  “She needs you more. You have a mile or so until the main road. I called a taxi to meet you there. You need to hurry.” Piper pulled out some more money she’d taken from her dwindling stash. “Have the cab driver take you to the bus station. Buy a ticket on the first bus leaving, no matter where. At the next big depot, you get off and buy a ticket anywhere else. Pick up a prepaid phone and text me that the weather is great, and I’ll know you are okay. If you say the weather is bad, I’ll assume something went wrong. If you decide on NY, you can call this number, and he’ll help you out.”

  She handed the woman a scrap piece of paper she found and had written Kings’s number as well as hers on. Piper knew Kings would get the woman a job and a safe place to stay, most likely her apartment she’d abandoned. No matter, if she returned, she’d work it out.

  The mother took her in a fierce embrace. “Thanks for everything.”

  Piper nodded. “Just get out of here and go.”

  They nodded, but Katie came in and hugged her as well. Piper couldn’t help the overwhelming emotions that rolled over her. She waved them off and watched as they disappeared in thicker brush and trees. She stayed for a while before heading back.

  The shouts were dying down as she made it to the house. She started to peek around the corner of the house she was rounding when she barreled into a solid chest. She glanced up but didn’t need to see his face to know who it was.

  He took her shoulders into his grip and forced her back against the side of the house.

  “Leaving?” Ender growled.

  25

  Piper met his midnight blues and showed no fear. “Nope.”

  Ender wasn’t buying it. The fire was too damn convenient. “You’re up to something.”

  Piper tried to wrench out of his grasp because her skin became flush and heated just by being that close to him. He wouldn’t let go, focusing on her mouth. Her eyes felt heavy as she rolled her lower lip inward and gently bit down.

  “You’re playing with fire,” he murmured.

  Her lids fluttered open and met his dark gaze.

  “I don’t play.” It was the truth. She didn’t want to play. She wanted him in the worst way.

  Though she knew if she could break him, she might be able to get free.

  “If I weren’t crazy, I would think you were jealous and started that fire just so I wouldn’t fuck Kat.”

  She tried to show indifference by shrugging away, but his hand kept her shoulders from moving. “Jealous of what? That you’re like every other man out there who would screw anything that moved? I’m not impressed.”

  That time she got her back inches off the wall before he pushed her firmly back against it.

  “You think this is a game, don’t you?” he asked, a hair’s breath away from her mouth.

  “The only game is the one you’re playing by holding me here,” she complained.

  He huffed and leaned further in as if he were going to kiss her. She licked her lips in response. He stepped back, but didn’t let her go.

  “You want me. I can see it in your eyes, but it’s never going to happen. You belong to Taylor.”

  He was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving her to stew on the truth of his words. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. She was supposed to be seducing him, not getting trapped by her own game. She turned and slammed her fist on the side of the house before walking around back. The barn had survived somehow.

  A guy walked forward, holding up a jar, and she nearly froze. It was the one Piper had left earlier in the back of the barn near some carefully planted hay. Of course, there was more to it, but it’d worked.


  Ender strode back into the fray where glares of mistrust aimed in his direction. If Piper had something to do with the fire and it cost him the deal, he would throttle her no matter the consequences.

  His dad marched in his direction with determination in his stride. “You didn’t have anything to do with this?”

  Kat came running up. “I told you he was with me the entire time. We could have burned.”

  Ender said nothing, just gave his biological father a bored look.

  “Get back to cooking the food. We still have to eat,” his father directed at Kat.

  The fire had been caught early with little damage. The cookout would go on as planned.

  Kat gave Ender a sorrowful glance before walking off and doing what she was told. The old man’s eyes held him as he spoke.

  “Eric, I need the truth.”

  Annoyed, Ender all but spit his next words. “Why the fuck would I burn down your barn, especially with me in it? What would it gain me?”

  His father seemed to ponder that before he nodded, seeing the truth in his words.

  “Let’s get this show on the road,” his dad called out to the crowd. “We stopped the fire. Now let’s eat.”

  Piper kept to the fringes and out of the limelight. She ate food, killing time because she wasn’t sure about Ender’s mood. He wasn’t at all happy, not that she’d ever seen him be. But, he only grunted at her when it came time to go.

  Word came as the party wound down. He’d been given the answer he’d been waiting for. It was time to make tracks. He needed to get Piper home before they killed each other. She didn’t complain when he all but demanded her to get her shit so they could go. Ready to leave especially since Katie and her mother’s disappearance hadn’t yet been noticed, she acquiesced without a fight.

  Piper watched the eyes of the lumberjack’s father. She didn’t think he noticed, but she saw strong emotion as they prepared to leave. Piper would guess that his father loved Ender in his own way. But the big man made no attempt at a hug or kind words as they were about to depart.