RIDING DARKNESS (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novella) (4 page)

six.

Brooke fell back and the corner of
the wall hit her in the back. Pain shot up to the back of her head and down to
her feet. She then lost feeling for a second and went down to her ass.
Struggling to keep her dress down was impossible and Brooke sat there damn near
exposing herself to everyone in the warehouse.

But everyone wasn
’
t looking at Brooke.

Not once a gun went off.

They
’
re going to kill you,
Brooke. They
’
re
the ones
…
they did it all
…

That
’
s
what Armen had whispered to Brooke before hitting the drink tray from her hand.

Now on the ground, Brooke had some
protection from the flying bullets.

Poker tables were quickly flipped
up on their sides to be used as shields. There was no security hired for this,
that was all bullshit. But suddenly there were men rushing into the warehouse.
They quickly grabbed at the men in suits and started to get them out of there
safely.

“
Brooke,
”
Armen cried out.
“
You have to fight back. You have
to shoot. We have to get out of here.
”

Brooke looked and saw Armen on the
ground, crawling like an infant would, scrambling to grab as much cash as he
could get. He stuffed the money into the inside of his suit jacket and went
from table to table, keeping himself protected.

“
Armen
…
what
’
s happening?
”
Brooke asked.

“
Just
get up and move. Quickly.
”

Armen moved up to his knees and put
his gun over the table. He started to shoot. Brooke touched her leg and felt
the gun. She reached up her dress and grabbed the weapon. She then pressed
against the back of the wall and slowly brought herself to her feet. There were
men running toward the front of the warehouse, making their escape. There were
a few men on the ground. They were bleeding. Maybe dead.

Brooke started to shake. She had
never seen this before at one of Armen
’
s
game nights. There had been fights before. Guns had been drawn. There had been
times when Armen set it up for alarms to go off and he and Brooke made their
wild escape with money. But nothing like this. Not motorcycle clubs shooting at
each other. Not bodies on the ground. Not Armen looking terrified.

And certainly not Brooke holding a
weapon, ready defend herself.

Brooke turned with the intention of
running to the back of the warehouse and hiding. She could grab her bag, get
changed, hide, and just wait for all of this to blow over.

Brooke didn
’
t make it one step before she crashed into someone.

Someone big. Thick with muscle.
Someone hovering over her with a deadly power.

“
You
…
you
…”

“
Ares,
”
his voice growled.
“
That
’
s my fucking name. And if you
’
re going to pull the trigger on
that gun, make it count.
”

Brooke looked down and saw that she
had her gun right against Ares
’
s
body.

“
Do
it!
”
Armen yelled.
“
Kill him!
”

Brooke looked back up to Ares.
“
I won
’
t
…”

A gunshot rang out and Ares jumped
back, his hand quickly moving to the small of Brooke
’
s back and pulling her with him. They turned and
Ares had Brooke pinned against a wall.

“
Fuck,
”
Ares said.
“
We have to get out of here. You
’
re going to get killed.
”

“
I
can
’
t go. My stuff
…”

Ares pressed his body to Brooke.
“
One of my brothers is out there
dead. Because of your brother. You want to go back out there?
”
Ares backed up.
“
Go. Get fucking shot.
”

Ares turned and Brooke jumped at
him. She couldn
’
t believe
her hands were around the sexy biker. They froze and Ares looked back at Brooke.

Brooke gave Ares her gun and said,
“
I need to get my bag. Please.
”

Brooke went to the back room and
found her bag waiting at the door. She grabbed it and Ares hurried to tear it
from her hand. He tossed it over his massive shoulder and then grabbed Brooke
by the hand.

They moved fast and Brooke couldn
’
t help but feel her breasts
bouncing like crazy as they ran. The dress seemed to hug her body tighter by
the second. And, just like before, seeing Ares - and now having him touch even
just her hand - had her body going wild and her thong wildly wet.

Ares led the way out of the
building and pulled harder. Brooke almost fell and reached for Ares to keep
herself from going down.

“
What
the hell?
”
Ares bellowed.

“
I
can
’
t keep up.
”

Ares stopped and turned. He put his
hands to Brooke
’
s waist.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Inside the warehouse more gunshots
rang out. The backdoor opened with a rusty squeak. Ares threw Brooke behind him
and lifted his gun.

“
Easy.
Just me.
”

Brooke watched one of the guys from
Back Down Devil approach.

“
Fuck,
Bale,
”
Ares said.
“
Gunner is down.
”

“
He
’
s dead,
”
Bale said.
“
We
have to get him.
”

“
No.
We can
’
t. You know the
rules. He
’
s a prospect.
That
’
s it. We report it and
they make the call.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Bale said.
“
Gunner was my
…”

“
We
have to go,
”
Ares said.

“
We
…
what the fuck is this? You
bringing presents to the clubhouse?
”

“
No.
Her fucking brother is the one who started this shit. She
’
s ours until we get the truth.
”
Ares looked back at Brooke.
“
And if we don
’
t, she
’
s not going to make it to the next illegal poker
game.
”

Ares turned and lifted Brooke off
her feet. For a moment, Brooke wanted to scream. But she couldn
’
t find the breath to do so. Her
mind and heart battled each other between what Ares had said and the way he was
touching her. The feel of his hands on the back of her legs. His hands were way
too far up her legs, but that was the dress
’
s
fault. His hand at her upper back and shoulders. Walking fast, his strength so
eminent.

It wasn
’
t the right time for it, but Brooke felt really
sexy right now. Being carried in mostly darkness toward a motorcycle. Ares was
so damn big and sexy looking, in a mean way.

At his ride, Ares helped Brooke on.
He touched her legs and looked at her.
“
Got
a shorter dress?
”

“
I
don
’
t wear this stuff,
”
Brooke said.

“
There
’
s nothing I can do about it
right now.
”

Brooke looked down. She gasped. She
looked back up and saw Ares smiling at her.

“
You
can see my thong,
”
Brooke
whispered.

“
Right
between those legs,
”
Ares
said.

Ares climbed on his motorcycle and
started it. Next to him, Bale started his ride. Next to that one was a third
motorcycle. It was unmanned and would remain that way. The man meant for it was
dead in the warehouse.

The motorcycle started to move and
Brooke looked back. She wasn
’
t
comfortable leaving Armen behind, but she couldn
’
t
go back inside there. Not with the bullets. Not with the bodies. Armen was
smart. He
’
d get out of
there alive.

Right now Brooke had no choice but
to go with Ares. He had a gun, he had orders, and being with him felt safer
than being with Armen.

It also didn
’
t hurt matters that he was really sexy and smelled
like muscle, man, sweat, and steel.

seven.

Ares held Brooke by her elbow and
walked her toward the door. He didn
’
t
care how hard he was gripping and he didn
’
t
care that she was struggling again to walk. He pulled, she almost fell, and
their journey continued. Bale stood at the door and held it open.

“
I
can walk on my own,
”
Brooke
snapped.

Ares pulled her close and gritted
his teeth.
“
I don
’
t give a fuck right now,
darling. I need to get you into the fucking clubhouse and figure out what the
fuck happened tonight.
”

“
They
’
re going to eat her alive, bro,
”
Bale said.

The words went through Ares like
knives. He looked at Bale. He looked at Brooke. Her fucking tits were pouring
from her dress and she couldn
’
t
help it. Her body had curves in all the right places and the fucking dress hugged
them in a way that almost made Ares jealous.

He dropped to one knee and looked
up at Brooke.

“
What
are you doing?
”

“
Proposing,
”
Ares growled.

He grabbed Brooke
’
s left foot and pulled. She
gasped and then reached down to Ares to keep her balance. He tore one of her
heels off and threw it across the parking lot. Brooke then offered her right
foot. When Ares touched her foot, his eyes crept up and he could see right up
her dress. The sight of her legs lead way to a black pair of panties that were
killer small, only covering the narrow slit of her pussy. Everything else was
exposed to Ares
’
s eyes. Her
inners thighs looked delicious. The curve of her body gave way to temptation,
leaving Ares
’
s mind racing.

After throwing the second heel,
Ares stood back up. He pulled Brooke to him.
“
You
keep your eyes down and don
’
t
say a fucking word. Don
’
t
look at anyone. You go where I take you. Got it?
”

“
What
’
s my other option in all this?
”
Brooke asked.

“
You
get spotted and claimed by one of the guys. Then you
’
re their property for the night.
”

“
So
if I go with you, I
’
m your
property for the night?
”

Ares didn
’
t respond. He turned and walked into the clubhouse.

The place was bustling and thanks
to whiskey, music, and
relievers
working their magic, a lot of eyes didn
’
t spot Ares and Brooke.

Of course, Blaine did. He let out a
whistle and started to clap, calling at Ares. That attracted the attention of
Gaige, Shay, and Erik. They started to circle in, putting the pressure on Ares
to stop walking.

“
Let
me take her somewhere,
”
Ares said.
“
Get Miller. We
need to talk.
”

“
Hold
on,
”
Gaige said.
“
Look at this. She
’
s gorgeous.
”

“
Look
at me, beautiful,
”
Blaine
said. A cigarette hung from his mouth.
“
Come
on, trust me. I
’
ll do you
no harm. I
’
ll just do you
…
all night.
”

“
Blaine,
”
Ares said.

“
Fuck
off, prospect,
”
Blaine
said.

Ares stopped. He let Brooke go. She
looked at Blaine.

“
What
’
s your name?
”
he asked.

“
Brooke.
”

“
I
want to fucking lick every curve on your body,
”
Blaine said.
“
Then I want
to take my big cock and spread myself everywhere. Claim my territory from these
other assholes. They won
’
t
know how to take care of you, beautiful.
”

Ares made fists. He considered his
options if he punched Blaine in the face right now. While Ares wasn
’
t technically patched in, the
offer had been presented.

“
I
mean, look at those tits,
”
Blaine said.
“
I could get
lost in those for months. Hold my breath and go wild. Fuck, I think I could die
in those tits and be a happy man.
”

“
Don
’
t mind Blaine,
”
Gaige said.
“
He
’
s
an asshole. I
’
m VP here.
You need protection? You come to me.
”

Brooke looked around and then
reached for Blaine
’
s face.
Fire shot through Ares
’
s
body. He grew angry at himself for being jealous because of this woman. It was
insane. But Brooke was smooth and beautiful. Her fingers grazed along Blaine
’
s cheek.

“
You
’
re making me hard,
”
Blaine said.

Brooke then grabbed Blaine
’
s smoke right from his lips. She
took a deep drag and blew in Blaine
’
s
face. She turned the smoke around and put it back between Blaine
’
s lips.

“
That
’
s as close as you
’
ll ever get to me,
”
Brooke said.

“
Holy
fuck, I
’
m in love,
”
Blaine said.
“
Come with me. Right now.
”

“
Stop,
”
Ares said. He put a hand to
Brooke
’
s lower back.
“
I have to
…”

“
Ease
up,
”
Gaige said.
“
What the fuck is going on?
”

Ares reached his breaking point. He
spotted Miller standing at the door to the meeting room, a beer in his hand.

“
The
night was a big fucking mess,
”
Ares said.
“
All hell broke
loose and Gunner is dead.
”

Everyone fell silent.

Ares
’
s
hand slid to the right side of Brooke
’
s
body. His fingers spread, feeling the curve of her hip. It was driving him
fucking crazy right now. It had been a long time since Ares had a beautiful
woman like Brooke near him, not to mention while he was sober and would
remember anything that would happen.

Nothing is going to happen. Her
brother is a fucking murderer and enemy to the club.

Miller stepped forward and drank
from his beer.
“
Take the
woman to your room, Ares.
”

“
My
room?
”
Ares asked.

“
I
offered you a patch and you didn
’
t
take it,
”
Miller said.
“
You
’
re taking a room, at least for the night. I want
her locked up and out of the hands of everyone else. I trust you.
”
Miller then looked at Gaige.
“
I want you, Griffin, Blaine, and
Nate at the table.
”
Miller
eyed Ares again.
“
You too,
Ares. I want to know everything.
”

Ares was shocked. Prospects were
never invited to the table, let alone even allowed in the meeting room.

Not wanting to question anything,
Ares set his attention back to Brooke. He pushed at her, his body touching
hers, guiding her along the bar and away from the main part of the clubhouse.
They walked down the hall and cut to the left. Down and around another bend were
the spare rooms. They were kept for prospects to share. Some were for
relievers
if they got drunk and out of control. Other rooms were just for storage.

After checking three different
rooms, the last one on the right seemed clean enough for the night.

“
Where
do you sleep at night?
”
Brooke asked.

“
Doesn
’
t fucking matter,
”
Ares said. He threw Brooke
’
s bag on the bed.
“
You
’
re going to stay here. Take a shower, get changed,
whatever. Do not leave this fucking room. You hear Miller. His word is final. I
can protect you in this room. You leave and you
’
re
up for grabs, darling. Nothing I can do then.
”

“
Who
are you, Ares?
”
Brooke
asked.
“
You
’
re not like the other ones with
stuff on their leather.
”

Ares put his hands to Brooke
’
s waist. She was really sexy.
Really seductive. Her innocent eyes were worth filling with sin, just for fun.

“
I
’
m nobody,
”
Ares said.
“
You
forget me as soon as you can. And if you
’
re
lucky, you
’
ll get out of
this alive.
”

Brooke bit her bottom lip and made
a move at Ares. He quickly backed away and then turned. There was no way he
could do this. Not right now. Not like this.

Ares made fists and refused to look
back. If he did
…
if he saw
Brooke in that fucking dress just one more time, he
’
d lose it. He
’
d
lose all control.