Ink's Devil: Satan's Devils MC Colorado Chapter #5

by Manda Mellett

  “What fuckin’ waypoint?” I ask.

  “Weren’t you listening to a fuckin’ word in the truck?”

  Pal nudges Cad. “He was thinking about fucking. Saw him adjusting himself.”

  His words make me look down. No, I’m not sporting a fucking hard-on. Though with Beth up behind me, I might well be by the time we get to Pueblo.

  Beth, my old lady, who’s currently tugging at my sleeve. “I think I should go back with the prospects,” she says. “I’ve never ridden before.”

  “Here, have this.” Karl’s walked over and has passed her his thick leather jacket he must have had in the back of the truck. I thank him. As I hold it out, she automatically threads her arms through the sleeves while still protesting.

  But the truck’s engine has already started, and I give the dismissive signal that makes Karl pull away.

  Opening my saddlebag, I take out a helmet and place it on her head. “You’re coming with me. Sooner we get to Pueblo, sooner we can have that conversation we need to have.” I then extract my spare bandana and show her how to wrap it around her face.

  I get on the bike. She huffs, looks at me, then at Cad and Pal who are waiting for us, Pal looking amused, Cad looking impatient. Then, gingerly, she throws her leg over the saddle and climbs up behind me. I swear, as soon as her hands go around my waist, it feels like I’ve really come home.

  I’m conscious no one’s ever ridden behind me before. I tug on her hands to pull them around me more securely, then give her the instructions all new riders need. She carefully places her feet on the pegs and looks down at the exhaust I’d warned her about in consternation.

  “Here,” I pass her Karl’s gloves he’d also given to me before he left, “put these on. It’s going to get cold.” I wish the weather was warmer for her first ride, but my body should shield her from the worst of the wind which will become biting when we pick up speed. I know I’m being selfish, but I meant it when I vowed not to let her out of my sight. At least not yet.

  “Huh,” she huffs in protest. “I should have gone in the truck.” But then her arms tighten around me and she rests her head on my shoulder for a moment, allowing me to feel her warm breath against my neck. I swear she inhales as if reminding herself of my natural scent.

  Cad and Pal start their engines, I follow a moment later, taking a few seconds to allow myself to believe she’s really here.

  Then I press the start button, kick down into first, let out the clutch and we’re off. At first her arms have a death grip on me, but my new seat has a sissy bar attached and after only a few minutes, her hold starts to relax as she realises there’s no way she can slide off and land on her ass on the road.

  Still, when we come to a red light, I throw the question back over my shoulder, “You doing alright?”

  “Fine.”

  I allow myself to believe, in this instance, when she says fine, she really means it.

  As we head out of the city and onto the open road, I’m congratulating myself that I’ve found a natural. She moves with me as though she’s been doing it all her life and this isn’t her first ride. She’s not unbalancing the bike at all, even though I’m also a virgin when it comes to having someone riding behind.

  It’s a two-hour ride give or take, and I just want to get her home. I take the lead then open the throttle and pick up the speed, Cad and Pal easily keep up. We’re about half-an-hour from the compound when we reach the arranged waypoint, not having to wait long for Karl to catch up. He collects what we need from the back, and quickly I slide into my cut, welcoming its weight on my shoulders again.

  “Drop the kid off okay?”

  “Yeah, no problem. Saw her being hugged at the front door and took off,” Karl reports.

  Then, due to the decided chill in the air, we get straight back on our bikes. Soon after, I’m forced to slow. Red and blue flashing lights ahead warning me there’s been an incident or accident.

  Well, fuck me. Cars are queued up on the road and they’re not moving. Being on bikes I cockily wave at Karl as we go past the truck and the rest of the cars and make our way to the front. A firefighter approaches us.

  “Can we get past?” I can understand why they’d stop cars, but it looks like there’s room for bikes to pass. “Fuckin’ cold to hang around.”

  The firefighter views us carefully, and I swear it probably helps having a shivering bitch on the back as he appears sympathetic. “There’s been an explosion. There’s some sort of chemical on the road.” I realise the mask he’s wearing isn’t to protect him from the cold. “We don’t know what it is yet, probably not dangerous but there’s always a risk. Keep your nose and mouths covered and don’t hang around to gawk.” Then he stands back and, thank fuck waves us past.

  I spare a grin for the cars waiting who haven’t been so lucky.

  Of course, I look. There’re two trucks, or what’s left of them. The one in front has disintegrated entirely, looks like some kind of explosion to me. The one behind burned out on its side, the front smashed in as though it couldn’t stop and drove into the first.

  There are firefighters hosing down the road with some sort of foam, and a dust still blowing in the air.

  What the fuck is it?

  But I heed the firefighter’s advice and pick up my speed, leaving the clearly fatal accident site in my rearview. An idea is forming in my mind, and I only hope that I’m right. An idea that’s confirmed when we reach a turn off and two bikes come down from the hillside and join us.

  Pyro raises his hand in a confident salute as he falls in by my side, allowing me to know while Beth doesn’t know it, but she’s just ridden past the remains of her dad.

  When we reach the compound, she’s still unaware of the implications. I tap her leg, then turn. “Off, babe. Then I’ll park.”

  She puts a hand on my shoulder, then stiffly eases herself off. Having cut the engine, I hear her groan, and she balances herself on me for a second. When she lets go, I waste no time paddling my bike back into my space.

  She’s shivering, so I wrap my arm around her, and lead her straight into the clubhouse as fast as I can. Which is slower than normal.

  “My legs have seized up. And my ass is numb,” she hisses. “I can’t feel my fingers or my nose.”

  I slide down her bandana, her nose is such a delightful red, I can’t resist leaning forward and kissing it. Then quickly I take her hands and start rubbing them vigorously.

  “You’re as cold as me,” she complains, pulling away, and briskly brushing one palm against her other.

  “Bethany!” Patsy’s voice sounds shrill and more than half-disbelieving as she comes running over. “Oh, Bethany. Are you okay?” Her arms go around Beth’s waist, and Beth bends to cuddle her mother. For a moment there’s silence, then Patsy pulls away. “You’re a block of ice,” she says, her accusing eyes coming my way.

  I’m unrepentant. I’ve had my old lady up behind me. Wasn’t going to let her come back with anyone else.

  “Mom, I’m fine. I survived Phil and the ride.” Her eyes, I notice, are shining with excitement. “Yes, I’m cold.” She nudges me so hard I stumble. “But it was great.”

  “What did Phil do? Did he hurt you?” Patsy’s concerned questions come fast.

  I lean in anxious to know myself but have only time to hear Beth answer that she really is okay, when my name is called.

  “Ink!” Demon’s loud shout interrupts us. “Church, now.” I notice Pyro and Lizard are already heading that way.

  Damn. Can’t get out of church and I think Demon might notice if I took her in and sat through the meeting with her on my lap. Think my cock would too. I’m reluctant, but I’ve no choice about it. Fucking vowed not to spend one moment without her and breaking it already.

  “Babe…”

  She catches my eye. “We’ll talk later. You go do your stuff. I’ll stay with Mom.”

  “Don’t go anywhere,” I warn, but it comes out almost pleadingly.

  “I won
’t.”

  I curl my hand around her neck. “I shouldn’t be long. Get warmed up and visit with your mother. Oh, and when Karl gets here with those women, can you watch them for a bit?”

  “I’ll speak to Vi or Jeannie. Whoever’s here.”

  “You’ll stay? I want, need to talk to you.”

  “I know.” She bites her lips again. Christ, I’ve never wanted to get out of a meeting as much as I want to do now. “I promise I’ll stay. And I’ll make sure the women are made to feel comfortable.” Her face falls, and her voice drops to a whisper. “If you hadn’t have come…” As her voice trails away, I guess she knows what was ahead for the women would also have been her fate.

  Patsy doesn’t seem able to take her eyes off her daughter. I don’t think she knows tears are flowing freely down her face. “Bethany, I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you, as well as Connor. I couldn’t take that.” I realise how much effort it had taken for Patsy to keep herself together. It’s now she seems about to break, now knowing her daughter has come back to her.

  Beth understands her mother’s concern. “Mom. I’m fine. I’m safe. I’m…” her voice breaks off as she looks at me, and there’s a hundred questions in her expression, mirrored in mine I suspect. “I’m home,” she finally finishes.

  Yes, she is, and here is where she’s going to stay. Even if she and I currently have a different understanding of where her home is.

  I catch her eye, and before walking away, say once again, “We’ll talk later.”

  I take my seat in church, a whole different feeling than when I was last here. Last time I was battling with elation at my freedom and bone-chilling horror my old lady had disappeared. Today? Well, Beth’s back. I frown. I’ve just got to convince her that this is where she’s staying. Patsy will have to get used to living alone.

  “Ro?”

  Demon’s banged the gavel and looking to Pyro for an update.

  “Worked like a fuckin’ charm.” The man in question grins.

  “Back up.” I raise my hand. “What happened here? Any problems?”

  Prez nods at me and raises his chin to the others also looking his way. “So, Pyro came to me and the VP late last night with an updated plan. We adjusted the details as we went along. Didn’t let anyone know in case anything was given away.”

  “And?” Hell prompts, looking as confused as me.

  “You know Mel bakes?” Pyro says, rather unnecessarily. We all do. The shit she keeps the clubhouse stocked with is good stuff. Even if it tends to add inches to our waistlines.

  “What’s that got to fuckin’ do with it?” growls Bomber.

  “Brown flour,” Pyro says. “I remember she was experimenting with it.”

  For a moment I’m lost, then my lips start to curve as I realise where he might be going with this.

  “Yeah, well, it took all night, that stuff’s fucking hard to handle, but I managed to get it into the bricks so they looked identical to the Mexican Horse, Phil was expecting. Of course, I also had to add in a detonator and explosive, but it was easy enough to adjust the weight for that.”

  “Saw the results,” I tell them, miming pointing a gun and pulling a trigger.

  Rusty slams his hand down on the table. “So that’s why you capitulated and just handed that shit over. Thought you’d gone out of your fuckin’ head.”

  “You knew I was going to blow it up,” Pyro reminds him.

  “Yeah, but a brick or so to keep him happy. Not the whole fuckin’ lot. Thought it was needed to keep Connor out of jail.”

  “It is. And can be,” Demon explains. “Pyro blew up eight kilos of fuckin’ baking flour.”

  It’s probably a release of tension, but we’re all cracking up. Suddenly I let out a loud barking laugh. “Firefighters were trying to clean up the shit, was worried it was some sort of chemical. Can’t wait to see their faces when they find out what it really is.”

  “You ran a risk.” I frown. “What if Phil had been suspicious and tested it?”

  “Yeah, well, we brought one brick down and had it ready in case he wanted to open it. Luckily, he didn’t.”

  “The good news,” Beef says, “is that there aren’t eight kilos of Mexican Horse literally blowing around Pueblo. When the cops find out Phil Foster was in that car, I doubt they’ll come looking for us. There could be any number of people looking to take him out, and cops will probably be pleased someone’s put him away for good.”

  “Yeah,” Prez takes over, “there’s nothing to link him to us.”

  I’m still chuckling to myself, wondering what the cops will make of a highway closed because of Mel’s baking flour. Then I frown. “Really wanted to make him hurt, Prez. He was going to sell Beth.”

  Prez has sympathy in his eyes. “I knew we had to protect the club. Fastest way of doing that was to take him out clean.”

  “Dead is dead, Brother,” the VP says. I suppose he’s right. Now Beth won’t need to keep looking over her shoulder.

  “Ink. What’s your update?”

  “Got the propane tank in one hit, Prez. Must have been full, it exploded, set the house on fire.”

  “You risked burning your old lady?” Judge’s eyes are wide.

  “What the fuck do you take me for? Pal’s drone worked like a charm. Showed us exactly where she was, in the opposite side of the house.”

  “Casualties?”

  “We made sure of it. All the men Phil had left are dead.” My face hardens. “We found something else there. Phil was keeping women in his basement. A teenage girl, who the prospect dropped back at her home in Denver, and two women with nowhere to go. I, er, well, Karl’s on his way back with them now.”

  “The girl. She know who we are?”

  I shake my head. “No. We weren’t wearing our cuts and didn’t offer any information.”

  “So we’ve got strangers coming to the compound?”

  “Sorry, Prez. Couldn’t think what else to do with them.”

  “Nah, you did okay. We’ll sort it out.” Just one more problem dumped in his lap to solve, but like everything, Prez just takes it in his stride.

  “There’s a women’s refuge in town,” Cad puts in. “I agreed with Ink. We couldn’t do anything else. Oh, and there were some of Phil’s staff, illegal immigrants I suspect.”

  “Yeah, your Spanish came in useful, Pal.” Credit where credit’s due. He’s done well today with that and the drone.

  Pal just shrugs.

  Demon drums his fingers on the table. “The only loose end, as I see it, is Connor. When is this Agent Caruso back in town?”

  “Saturday. Connor’s getting twitchy staying in his room, but we can’t let him loose while Beth and Patsy are here. I’m presuming Ink will want Beth to stay around. I was thinking he could go to the cabin?” Beef raises a brow at me.

  I give him a what do you fuckin’ think? look back. Then ask, “He still dead, now that Phil’s gone?”

  Beef thinks for a moment, and exchanges gestures and facial expressions with Demon, then speaks his mind. “I think so. Phil’s gone, as you said, but Alder’s still around.”

  Christ. I’d forgotten about him. “You think he’ll come sniffing around?”

  “Hopefully not. But it’s best if Connor stays underground.” Prez looks at Beef. “I understand why you said the cabin, but Connor probably still needs care. Beth and Patsy have had enough to go through, why not tell them the truth? Let him have some time with his mom and sister, before he has to disappear.”

  “You trust them to keep their mouths shut?” Hell doesn’t look so sure himself.

  “Beth will,” I tell them. “And I think Patsy would too. Wouldn’t you rather know your son was alive, even if you had no contact?”

  “Went through this with Steph,” Beef puts in. “Her family missed her like hell, but they stayed clear knowing it was her life at risk. It was hard for her, but she made it work, as we all know. I’ve spent time with Connor. Once he knew what Phil was into, he wanted out,
just couldn’t get out of his clutches. A fresh start is what he needs. If we can trust Patsy and Beth, I think they’ll see this is the best opportunity he could be given.”

  “You wanted them to arrange a funeral and be able to act genuine in case Phil turned up to watch. Phil’s gone now.” I’d been filled in on the details last night.

  “Funeral still needs to go ahead. Want Connor’s body burned and destroyed. That will get Alder off his back too if the official records have everything straight.” Demon pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay. We’ll resurrect him from the dead, for now. As long as they understand it’s not safe for him to remain local, and as far as anyone else knows, Connor is dead and gone.”

  I just hope Beth and her mom won’t die of shock when they see a ghost alive and breathing.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Beth

  By the time Ink emerges from church, I’ve just about thawed out from the cold journey home. I might have given him shit about it, but I wouldn’t have preferred travelling any other way. I’m not going to give up the chance to have my arms around the man who I want.

  Ink’s giving me signals I can’t quite compute. Having accepted whatever he might have started feeling for me had been killed stone dead when he’d gotten arrested that night, I can’t understand why he’s so concerned and friendly now. I wasn’t surprised once I got over my shock at seeing him out of jail, that it had been him to come rescue me. I’d known he was an honourable man, whatever his feelings toward me were.

  But to want me behind him on his bike? That’s surely not the sign of someone wanting to part ways.

  Then there’s the not so small question of how he’s free, and whether he’s going to stay that way. Perhaps he’s just out on bail.

  Neither Mom nor the other women could satisfy my curiosity in that regard. Mom had been too distraught over Phil kidnapping me to take notice of what was going on around her, and Vi told me that there’s been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and club business going on. From what she’d picked up though, she thought he was home to stay. I hope she’s right. I found out, also under the heading of club business, that the women and sweet butts had spent most of the morning at Mo’s house and had only returned an hour or so ago.