STEEL TEMPTATION (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (10 page)

ten.

They were supposed to keep on Mia
’
s ass, but when the white van
passed right through the heart of Frelen, plans quickly changed. Nate didn
’
t want to lose sight or Mia or
not be within striking distance if things went bad, but club business always
came first. It was exactly why he never cared enough to have a woman. He would
never become Gaige, Erik, Jace, or the other fucking guys tied down to a woman.

Mia had been dropped at her car.
She had been warned, again, not to fuck anything up. If things went bad, she
’
d die. Miller made it clear that
if her uncle or anyone else figured out that she had been with the MC and
wanted to kill her, they wouldn
’
t
protect her. This was all part of the mental fuck of handling a war.

For Nate, it bothered him. And that
wasn
’
t a good thing.

It was him, Blaine, and Griffin on
the road when they saw the van. They were just outside the fancy neighborhood
where the judge lived. They couldn
’
t
actually get into the neighborhood without attracting attention, so they
lingered.

The van cruised right by, two meat
necks behind the wheel, without a fuck to give. The cockiness drove Nate
insane. Because they had help from Chief Jerry and Judge Jake, they thought
they could just do this.

“
We
’
re going for it,
”
Nate said. He started his ride
and throttled it hard.

“
Fuck,
”
Griffin yelled.
“
You can
’
t
…”

“
Fuck
this,
”
Nate bellowed.

They couldn
’
t win the war today, but that didn't mean they
couldn
’
t fight.

Nate led the way, Blaine and
Griffin playing catch up. Nate tore through traffic, cutting in and out of
cars, taking chances through stop signs and red lights. He was on the van in a
matter of a minute. Then came the time to wait and see where it was going. But
they were all quickly made. Three barreling motorcycles that weren
’
t actually trying to hide didn
’
t give them any kind of cover.

The passenger in the van leaned out
and produced a sawed-off shotgun. He aimed and fired. Nate cut his ride to the
left and took out his gun. He shot at the back left tire and it exploded with
ease. Shards of rubber flew up and by him like shrapnel. The passenger pumped
the shotgun for another chance, but Nate was too quick. He aimed, fired, and
hit the guy in the shoulder. He dropped the shotgun out of the window. It
bounced like a toy and all three motorcycles rode by it.

Nate shot out the second back tire.
The ass of the van cut left, right, the rims dragging on the pavement, sparks
flying around.

The motorcycles had more power and
speed. Nate crept up the left side of the van. The driver was trying to
concentrate on too much at once. The van, the road, keeping the van moving, his
passenger leaning against the dashboard, bleeding from a gunshot wound.

Nate got close enough and kicked
the door. The driver had a phone to his ear and then threw it out the window at
Nate. It hit the ground and exploded into pieces. Nate shot the front left tire
of the van and that finally did it. The van moved back and forth, as Nate
hitting the brakes so he didn
’
t
get crushed by the bigger vehicle. The van pulled to the side of the road. All
three Back Down Devil MC riders were right on the van.

Nate ripped open the driver
’
s door and pulled the hunk of
muscle driver and threw him to the ground. The Coast Road MC member fought his
way up and pushed back at Nate. Always being a fighter, Nate threw the first
punch. He hit the guy in the jaw and sent him back against the van. The guy
pushed off the van and attacked Nate. He wrapped his arms around Nate and
squeezed. Lifting Nate, he turned and threw Nate. Nate hit the van and pain
shot through his shoulder. The Coast Road guy came at him and Nate made a fist
and swung with a wicked backhand. It hurt Nate
’
s
hand, but the Coast Road guy collapsed to the ground.

A second later Griffin came rushing
around the van, gun drawn. The Coast Road guy was on his elbows, face bleeding.

“
Don
’
t fucking move!
”
Griffin growled.

Nate stretched his shoulder and
walked to the back of the van. He opened it. The back was full of white
containers. And just like what Jace had previously said, and what Nate fucking
knew was going to be there, he opened one of the containers which had seafood
on top and drugs underneath. That
’
s
how Coast Road was moving things.

“
Fuck,
”
Nate said.

Nate backed up and checked the
other side of the van. The other Coast Road MC member was on the ground,
holding his shoulder, crying. Actually crying. Blaine stood with his foot
between the guy
’
s legs,
crushing his balls.

“
What
the fuck do we do now?
”
Blaine called out.

Nate looked back and saw two police
cars flying up on them. One cruiser had lights and sirens, the other was just
an unmarked black car. An officer came out of one car and had his gun drawn,
unsure who to point the weapon at.

The other vehicle came up next to
the van and stopped.

It was Chief Jerry.

Nate instantly thought about the
cellphone. The driver had been on the phone and then threw it out of the
window. That was the call to Chief Jerry. To let him know what was happening.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Chief Jerry asked.

“
Come
back here,
”
Nate said.
“
Now.
”

Chief Jerry walked slowly to the
back of the van. He looked, saw the drugs, and nodded. Then he looked at Nate.
“
How
’
d you know?
”

“
Know
what?
”

“
This
…”

“
We
’
ve told you before about it.
”

“
The
last time it was empty.
”

“
Now
it
’
s not,
”
Nate said.
“
And one of the guys is shot.
”

Chief Jerry gritted his teeth. He
turned and pointed to the officer.
“
Malone.
Put your fucking gun away. Go take the shot one to the hospital. Ask for
Peters. They
’
ll know. I
want him patched up and quiet until I get my hands on him.
”

“
What
are you doing?
”
Nate asked.

“
Hey,
”
Chief Jerry said.
“
This is my investigation now.
Got it?
”

“
Investigation
…
Coast Road MC is moving drugs.
Like we
’
ve been saying.
”

“
I
see that,
”
Chief Jerry
said.
“
I have sight now. I
fucking see it. I know it
’
s
there. You all need to get out of here.
”

“
Why?
”
Blaine asked as he approached.

The officer was helping the shot
guy to the police cruiser.

Nate watched the scene with
cautious eyes. Nothing seemed right. Nothing felt right.

“
You
want to be dragged into this?
”
Chief Jerry asked.
“
As far
as I can see
…
you
’
re all carrying illegal weapons.
Those weapons were used on the van. Two blown out tires. One guy shot. Another
one attacked.
”

Nate looked at the other Coast Road
MC guy. He was just sitting there on the ground. Too quiet. Looking fucking
guilty as hell.

“
Do
you want to be here for this?
”
Chief Jerry asked.
“
That
’
s what you want? Stay.
”

“
How
are you going to cover all this up?
”
Griffin asked.

“
That
’
s my fucking job,
”
Chief Jerry said.
“
You guys did good. Did great.
”

Chief Jerry walked to the guy on
the ground. He shook his head and reached for his cuffs. He made a head nod and
the Coast Road MC guy stood up. Hands behind his back. Accepting to be
arrested.

There was no way this was normal.

Chief Jerry cuffed the guy and
walked him to the undercover car. He put the guy in the backseat.

“
There,
”
Chief Jerry said.
“
Two pieces of shit taken off the
street. I
’
ll have the other
guy patched up and brought down to the station. Then I
’
ll pit these two against each other and see what
happens.
”

“
What
about the van?
”
Nate asked.

“
I
’
ll take care of it. We
’
ll try and see if we can find
out where the drugs came from. You know? Hand it off and see what kicks down.
You guys said it
’
s coming
in via the water, right? If that
’
s
so, that
’
s way beyond
Frelen. That
’
s serious
heat. That brings a lot of attention and eyes.
”

“
So
you don
’
t want to report
the drugs,
”
Griffin said.
“
Jesus Christ.
”

“
This
is why I deal with Miller,
”
Chief Jerry said.
“
You can
’
t see the bigger picture.
”

Nate stepped toward the chief.
“
And just what is the bigger
picture?
”

Chief Jerry stared him down.
“
How
’
s your headaches? You remember anything that could
be of use?
”

“
I
don
’
t need anymore
serious
heat,
”
Nate said.
“
But when I see Coast Road MC
cruising through Frelen like they own the town, something
’
s going to happen.
”

“
Brother,
stand down,
”
Blaine said.
He inched his way between Chief Jerry and Nate.
“
Everyone
take a breath.
”

“
You
smell like shit,
”
Chief
Jerry said.

“
Really?
It
’
s usually pussy. Must
have been working the wrong hole last night.
”

“
Fucking
sick.
”

“
You
don
’
t know the half of it,
”
Nate said.

Griffin
’
s phone started to beep. He snuck away to the side
of the van.

“
You
all need to disappear from this scene,
”
Chief Jerry said.

Nate turned and sat at the back of
the van. He folded his arms.
“
Yeah?
”

“
You
really want to fuck with me?
”

“
I
want the truth.
”

“
Thought
you had all that,
”
Chief
Jerry said. He tapped the side of his head.
“
Or
do you remember something, Nate?
”

“
Fuck
off.
”

Chief Jerry grinned. He pulled out
his gun and pointed it at Nate.

“
Whoa,
”
Blaine said.
“
Chief. My man. Hold up.
”

“
I
’
ll call this in on Back Down
Devil then,
”
Chief Jerry
said.
“
I
’
ll call anything I want it. You
want to take the heat for the drugs?
”

“
You
have a guy in the back of your car,
”
Nate said.
“
A guy at the
hospital.
”

“
A
guy you shot. I can tie this van to you, Nate. To anyone. Do you want to fuck
with that?
”

Nate slowly stood back up. He
stared down at the chief. His mind begged to be rational. This was a dark and
silent war right now. Everything had to fall in place the right way.

“
Okay,
”
Nate said.
“
You do what you have to do,
Chief. We
’
ve been telling
you about Coast Road for a while. These drugs. And that
’
s what I saw when I was attacked. The drugs. The
deals. Right here in Frelen. Where the fuck are you in all this?
”

“
You
trying to imply something, Nate?
”

“
Nate,
get over here,
”
Griffin
’
s voice yelled.

“
Go,
bro,
”
Blaine said.

Nate walked to the side of the van.