Bayou Devils MC: The Complete Series

by A. M. Myers

  “You’ve been looking into the girls’ cases, too, right?”

  He nods. “Yeah.”

  “Have you looked into Mitch at all?”

  “Mitch?” he asks, scowling. “Dina’s Mitch?”

  I nod, grabbing a chair and dragging it next to his desk before I sink into it. “Yep. I was just going through the cases downstairs…”

  “As per usual,” he interrupts, rolling his eyes.

  “Yes, as usual. Anyway, I was thinking how when you add in the death of Laney and Sammy, Mitch killing Dina doesn’t make sense…”

  “Right. And?”

  “But what if it makes perfect sense?”

  His head jerks back as he looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I’m saying,” I shoot back. “What if Mitch was so pissed that we took Dina from him and pissed at Chance for pulling a gun on him that he started coming after us?”

  He studies me for a second before shaking his head and turning back to his computer. “Well, shit.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So,” he starts, turning to face me again. “You think Mitch has been behind all of this as a way to get revenge against the club?”

  “I don’t think anything right now but it’s a possibility and that’s better than anything else I’ve come up with.”

  Nodding, he stares at a spot on the wall and I can practically see his wheels turning. “Or it could be the husband slash boyfriend of any girl we’ve helped since we started doing this.”

  “But why start with Dina?”

  “Okay,” he agrees, nodding as he turns back to his computer as he starts typing. “I’ll start looking into him. What all do you want?”

  “Everything you can find.”

  He glances at me with an arched brow. “Everything? Like… everything?”

  “Maybe everything from six months before Dina died until now.”

  “You got it.”

  He starts typing furiously and I know that’s my cue to get the fuck out. I close his door behind me as I step back into the hallway and check my watch as I head back downstairs. I still have a little time before my date this afternoon and I’m feeling damn good after what feels like my first major break in this case. Sure, it might still be nothing but, at least, I’m doing something other than staring at those damn files and floundering. Which is especially irritating because this is what I did for almost a year before joining the club. My mind drifts back to my time as a Baton Rouge police officer and I shake my head. God, what a shitty time that was in my life. I had just gotten out of the Marines and I was looking for a fresh start but joining a department that had more dirty cops than legit ones made it hard to achieve that. Once I found out about the Devils and the work they had started doing, I got out of there as fast as I could.

  Back downstairs, I slip behind the bar and grab a beer from the fridge before slipping onto a bar stool and popping the cap off as I turn my focus to my plans for the rest of the day. It’s weird but I’m actually looking forward to this date. Eden has been easy as hell to talk to and she seems sweet and carefree. Plus, we’ve already gotten all the important questions out of the way so hopefully I won’t be blindsided again. Although, I’m serious this time when I say if this date doesn’t go well, I’m deleting my profile and throwing in the towel.

  The door to the clubhouse opens and sunlight streams into the room. I glance over my shoulder to see who just walked in and as soon as the door closes again and my eyes adjust, I almost fall off my bar stool. Every eye in the room turns to look at the woman standing in the doorway as a hush falls over the room.

  What in the fuck is she doing here?

  “Uh… is Moose here?” Tawny asks, shifting from one foot to the other before going back again as her gaze shifts between Chance, Storm, and me as we all stare back at her. The nerve of this bitch…

  I shake my head in disbelief. A while back, Tawny and Moose were seeing each other but it was casual as hell and when Tawny pushed him for more, he ended things with her. Not that she took the rejection well. She kept coming around, trying to get him back and when that didn’t work, she went down to the police with a mysterious black eye and claimed that Moose hit her. It’s a load of shit. Especially in this club. I mean, you don’t join a club that helps women being abused if you’re secretly smacking them around on the side. In the end, she dropped the charges and Moose was able to get back to his life and his new woman but she still isn’t welcome here.

  “Please?” she pleads, her hand shaking as her gaze lands on me. I take a step toward her and shake my head.

  “Nope. He’s not here.”

  She flicks imploring eyes to me. “I saw his bike outside. Please. I just need to talk to him.”

  “Hell, no. You can turn right the fuck around and walk back out that door.”

  Tears fill her eyes but she blinks them away. “Look, I know what I did was fucked up… and I know I’m not welcome here but I need to talk to…”

  “Tawny?” Moose growls from behind me as he walks into the room and she sucks in a breath as her gaze snaps to his. He stops next to me and crosses his arms over his chest, anger radiating off him in waves. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “Can we talk?”

  “Fuck, no. I don’t have shit to say to you.”

  He releases a breath, her gaze falling to the floor before meeting his eyes again. “Please, Moose? I really need to talk to you. It’s important…”

  Moose stares at her for a second before his gaze flicks to me. I shrug my shoulders as I take a sip of my beer and he turns back to her.

  “Fine. Talk.”

  “Uh,” she whispers, looking at the rest of us watching on. “Could we go somewhere more private?”

  “No. Apparently I need witnesses around you.”

  She flinches and nods. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Get on with it, then,” he snaps, raising a brow as he waits for whatever she feels she needs to say to him. She sucks in a breath as she takes another step into the room.

  “I… uh, when you ended things between us, I was really pissed and I went out drinking for a couple of nights…”

  His head jerks back. “I don’t give a shit what you did.”

  “Just… listen,” she mutters, shaking her head as she draws a breath into her lungs. “I met this guy there and we got to talking. I told him all about us and how you had ended things with me. He was sympathetic and the more we drank, the more he started suggesting that I find a way to get back at you.”

  “And you thought pretending that he had abused you was the way to go?” I ask, disgust rolling through me. “How the hell did you even get that black eye? Did you punch yourself?”

  She shakes her head. “No, actually… that was his idea. He knew who you guys were and the work you do and said it would be hilarious if one of you got arrested for hitting a woman…”

  Chance stands and kicks his chair back as he shakes his head in disgust. “Yeah? Did you two get a good laugh out of it?”

  “No,” she whispers, shaking her head. “After I sobered up and I woke up with a giant black eye, it didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.”

  Moose glances at me before turning back to Tawny. “You never answered Fuzz’s question. How did you get the black eye?”

  “He did it… After we were completely wasted, he talked me into going out behind the bar and he…” Tears sting her eyes again as she looks up at the ceiling. “He punched me in the face a couple times.”

  “So, this guy hit you, ” Moose starts, tilting his head to the side, studying her as he tries to understand her flawed logic. “And you decided to take advantage of a bad situation by going to the police?”

  “I wasn’t going to go through with it but then my roommate saw me and asked what happened… I didn’t know what else to say so I just told her the story we came up with and she made me go to the police.”

>   “Great,” Moose snarls, turning away from her. “Thanks for the fucking explanation.”

  “Wait!”

  He turns back around, arching a brow and she straightens her shoulder as she meets his eyes.

  “I wanted to tell you how sorry I am, Moose. It was a lot of stupid decisions fueled by your rejection and my anger, not to mention alcohol but I wish I could take them all back.”

  He stares at her for a second before nodding. “Is that all?”

  “Yes,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to the floor. Blaze walks out of the office and as soon as he sees Tawny, his eyes narrow into a glare.

  “What the fuck did I tell you would happen if I ever saw you in my clubhouse again?”

  Tawny takes a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. “I’m leaving.”

  “Get, then. And don’t let me catch you around here again. You are not welcome.”

  She turns and practically runs from the building and when the door shuts behind her, everyone lets out a breath. Blaze sighs as he turns to Moose and slaps his shoulder.

  “You all right?”

  “Yeah,” Moose says with a nod before nodding his head to the closed door Tawny just disappeared behind. “Ready to finally put that mistake behind me though.”

  “You have, brother,” Chance tells him as he slides back into his chair and crosses his legs. “You got your old lady now.”

  Moose nods, fighting back a smile. “Yeah, I do.”

  “You fuckers disgust me,” I growl, rolling my eyes as I turn toward the bar and down half of my beer, jealousy ripping through my gut.

  “Speaking of which,” Moose continues, ignoring me. “I have some news. Juliette is pregnant.”

  A huge grin splits his face as Chance and Storm jump up to run over and congratulate him as bitterness twists through me and I finish off the rest of my beer. Shit, I’ve got to be the worst fucking brother to these guys because all their good news only reminds me of everything I don’t have and no matter how hard I try, I can’t force the jealousy down. As everyone disperses after giving Moose a slap on the back, I slip into a bar stool and grit my teeth. Moose sits down next to me and looks up at the TV as a rerun of a football game plays on the screen.

  “You all right, brother?” he asks and I nod, reaching over the bar to throw my beer bottle away.

  “I’m good.”

  He nods for a minute before turning to me. “You know we’re not fucking idiots, right? We can all see that you’re going through something.”

  “Don’t worry. I really am working on it,” I tell him, my mind drifting to my date in a couple hours before going back to Tawny’s confession and apology. Something about it nags at me but I can’t figure out what it is. “Hey, let me ask you something…”

  “What?”

  “Who do you think that guy was that Tawny met at the bar?”

  Moose stares up at the TV for a second before shrugging and glancing over at me. “Who fucking knows? If I had to guess, I would say it was Gavin but, at this point, I’ve got better things to focus on.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you do. Congrats, by the way,” I tell him and he nods.

  “Thanks. I’m just glad Juliette wasn’t here when Tawny walked in,” he replies, his eyes widening as he blows out a breath and I laugh.

  “Your girl got a jealous streak?”

  He scoffs. “No, more like protective and someone would have had to hold her back.”

  “Sounds like a good problem to have.”

  “I suppose,” he answers with a laugh. “Just not while she’s got my baby in her belly.”

  I nod, my gaze drifting back to the TV. “Good point.”

  “How are the cases looking?”

  “Good,” I answer, nodding my head as I continue staring up at the TV, my mind consumed with thoughts of what it would be like to finally have all the things in my life that I’ve been looking for. The guys in this club have always been good men, the kind of guys you know you can always count on but after they each met their women, there was this peace that settled over them and I feel like a caged tiger every damn day as I watch their happiness play out in front of me.

  “You got any leads?”

  I nod. “Maybe. I’ve got Streak looking something for me so we’ll see.”

  “Fuzz… are you really okay?” he asks and when I turn back to him, he’s studying me with concern on his face. I release a breath as I nod and slip off my bar stool, slapping him on his shoulder.

  “Yeah, brother. I’m good.”

  I can feel his eyes on me as I walk out of the clubhouse and into the parking lot where my bike is waiting for me. I swing my leg over and brace my hands on my thighs, thinking about my date this afternoon. Jesus, I need this to go better than the last two and I hope like hell, the next time I tell someone I’m good, I’ll really mean it.

  Chapter Eight

  Piper

  Drawing a nervous breath into my lungs, I yank down the visor and check my reflection in the mirror before climbing out of my car. As I look up at the restaurant, I smooth my hands over the short little skirt Eden forced me to wear to my date and mentally prep myself for this. It’s not like I haven’t dated since leaving Wyatt but I still don’t have a ton of experience and when you add in the fact that I have no idea who I’m meeting, it makes it even more nerve-wracking.

  I can’t believe I agreed to this.

  After Eden agreed to not contact Wyatt, she sat next to me for nearly two hours flicking through endless guys on her dating app and forced me to choose three that I could see myself going on a date with. Then, she skipped off to the back of the studio and told me not to stress my pretty little head, that she would handle everything. I spent all morning peppering her with questions but all she would tell me is that my date would meet me at our favorite table at Mama Adele’s - a cute little comfort place that Eden and I absolutely love - and the mischievous little smirk on her face as she sent me off an hour ago only made my nerves worse.

  Shaking my head, I push off the car and hold my head up high as I walk through the parking lot toward the front door. You know, it’s not even whatever guy is waiting for me on that other side of the door that I have a problem with. It’s that I’m almost thirty damn years old and I don’t want to date anymore. This isn’t what was supposed to happen with my life and even from the time I was a little girl, I always knew what I wanted and then… one night changed everything and I still haven’t recovered. Sighing, I reach up and run the tips of my fingers over the raised skin of the scar running down the side of my neck as a shiver works its way down my spine. I shake my head, pushing the unpleasant memories from my mind. That is the very last thing I need to be thinking about before I go on a date with a man I’ve never met before.

  As I walk alongside the building, I turn my head and gaze in the big picture windows, trying to get a look at our table and my mystery guest. I stumble as my gaze lands on the man sitting there. I press a shaking hand to my chest as my heart starts racing and my stomach flips. Every thought in my head screeches to a halt and all I can see is him.

  Oh, God.

  She didn’t…

  “No,” I hiss as he turns in my direction and hoping to everything that is holy that he won’t see me as I race back to my car as fast as I can in the four inch heels Eden insisted I wear.

  I’m going to kill her.

  Pulling my phone out of my purse, I slip behind the wheel and slam the door shut before dialing her number and putting it on speakerphone. My heart thunders out of control and I can’t keep my eyes off of the restaurant as the phone rings. Jesus Christ. What the hell was Eden thinking? My body is in chaos, conflicting emotions waging war in my chest and tears sting my eyes as I lean my head back against the headrest and suck in a stuttered breath.

  “Yes?” she answers, her voice bright and cheery and I clench my fist. Oh, she’s been waiting for this damn call since I left the studio. I swear to God, I could strangle her with my bare hands right now.
/>
  “What have you done?!”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Pip-Squeak.”

  “The hell you don’t,” I growl, glancing up at the restaurant again. “What kind of game are you playing? What happened to the three other guys I picked?”

  “You were never going to go out with any of them,” she scoffs like it was obvious and I should have known better. “You and Wyatt belong together but the two of you just needed a little push so… I pushed.”

  “This isn’t a game, Eden,” I snap, pinching the bridge of my nose as I try to slow my heart rate. How could she think this was a good idea? She knows about everything that happened between Wyatt and me so I just can’t understand why she would think that her plan would work. She scoffs.

  “I never said it was.”

  “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

  She sighs. “Go on the date, Piper. It’s not that hard to figure out.”

  “I can’t go in there!” I screech, gesturing wildly to the restaurant. A few people walk by my car and flash me a look before looking away.

  “Are you really going to stand your husband up?” she asks, her voice full of faux shock and I grit my teeth. This is insane. She has lost her ever-lovin’ mind if she thinks I’m going to go in there and have a date with Wyatt.

  “What would I even say to him, Eden? The last time he saw me was before he was deployed and now I’m just supposed to show up and go ‘hey’ like the last ten years didn’t happen?”

  As she scoffs again, I can almost picture her rolling her eyes at me. “Oh, I’m sure you guys will have lots to talk about and then, you know, ask him if he wants to have a baby with you.”

  “What? No!”

  “Oh my God, stop with the dramatics and trust me when I say that I have a good feeling about this.”

  I shake my head. “You went too far this time, Eden.”

  “No,” she murmurs. “I think I went just far enough and look, if this doesn’t work out, if the two of you don’t end up in wedded bliss again, I’ll never push you to go on another date.”

  “Really?”