STEEL TEMPTATION (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (18 page)

Uncle Jake snickered and Mia fought
back anger and pain.

Nate likes me
…
my body. My chest. He
holds me. His tongue
…
flicking my nipples
…

“
I
thought about asking your co-workers to come, but I
’
ll save that for another night.
”

Mia nodded.
“
Okay. That
’
s
fine.
”

“
That
’
s fine?
”
Uncle Jake shook his head.
“
Do this for me, Mia. Help me get all this. I
’
ll take care of you.
”
Uncle Jake touched her cheek.
“
I realize what happened between
us before was wrong. I shouldn
’
t
have come on so strong. But you know my intentions with you. And we
’
ll get there. Slowly. Build
trust. I like the thrill of the hunt. And eventually
…
I
’
ll
feast
…”

He leaned in like he wanted to kiss
her.

Mia turned her head and slipped
away.
“
I
’
m going to get some coffee.
”
She rushed to the coffeepot and
poured herself a cup.
“
Hey,
where
’
s Jacob?
”

“
Friend
’
s house,
”
Uncle Jake said, coldly.

“
Again?
”

“
Him
and his best friend
…
they can
’
t get enough
…”

Mia watched how quickly her uncle
dismissed it. Like he had already found a way to live life without Jacob
around.

“
Is
he okay?
”
Mia asked.
“
I mean, with all the school
stuff
…”

Uncle Jake looked at her.
“
Stay out of it. It
’
s a delicate situation. It
requires a delicate solution.
”
Uncle Jake
’
s cell phone
rang. He grabbed the phone and started bellowing and barking orders about
judgements, dates, hearing, and other legal stuff.

He stormed out of the house and Mia
stormed to the stairs.

She had to see Jacob
’
s room again.

Mia rushed up the stairs and opened
the bedroom door. How badly she wanted to see Jacob in the room. On the floor
playing with cars or a video game or something.

But the room was the exact same as
before. Like nothing had been touched or moved. The sight absolutely scary.
Like someone who lost their child and refused to touch the room for the sake of
memory. Mia knew that Uncle Jake ran a tight ship and would definitely make
sure Jacob had the room clean everyday. But nothing had been moved. The pillows
on the bed were in the exact same position. The bottom corner of the comforter
was slightly pulled up. Just like before.

There was one thing different. And
that was a white piece of paper on the bed. As Mia approached, she realized it
was a note. A typed and printed note. She leaned over the bed and was about to
grab the note when she realized what it was.

A goodbye letter
…
from Jacob. He had run
away and didn
’
t
want to be found. If anyone tried to find him, he
’
d be dead. He missed his mother too much to
go on
…

Reading it sent chills through Mia
’
s body. Her bottom lips started
to quiver with a paralyzing fear. She suddenly felt watched in the room.

This was what happened with Aunt
Theresa.

The so-called fights and then a note
…
a phone call
…
then she was just gone. Never
to be found again. Uncle Jake accepting that his wife had left him. Everything
had happened to sudden and so smooth.

He was doing it again, now with
Jacob.

Mia felt like she could throw up.

Knowing what happened last time she
was upstairs, she hurried to shut the door and rush downstairs. She was back at
the counter, holding her mug of coffee, drinking it, as Uncle Jake came back
inside. He looked at her and knew something was up. But he didn
’
t talk about it.

“
I
have to take care of some things,
”
he said.
“
I expect you to
leave before I
’
m out of the
shower. I
’
ll send you the
address for tonight. You need to look like a fucking whore.
”
Uncle Jake reached into his
pocket and put money on the table.
“
Go
get whatever you feel you need to make that happen. Got it?
”

“
Yes.
”

Uncle Jake walked to the archway of
the kitchen and then paused. He looked at Mia.
“
You
need to leave Jacob alone. He
’
s
fine. He
’
s at a friend
’
s house. Don
’
t stick your nose where it doesn
’
t belong. That
’
s how bad things happen.
”

The message was clear and as a
threat.

Uncle Jake left the room.

Mia grabbed her keys, the cash off
the table, and ran. She left the house and made to the edge of the lawn before
she hunched over and got sick. Uncle Jake had taken out his wife and now his
son. He was hell bent on taking over Frelen from Back Down Devil MC.

And Mia was smack dab in the middle
of it all
…
with nothing to
gain from the situation
…
maybe except Nate. But they weren
’
t
supposed to fall for each other.

eighteen.

Miller turned and threw the cell
phone against the wall. It shattered into dozens of pieces. He then attacked
the wall, punching hard enough to make a few nice dents. He tore a picture off
the wall next and slammed it against a table. Glass flew everywhere. He spun,
facing the full table, everyone standing.

Nate slowly took his gun out and
put it on the table. A sign of respect to the President, but a subtle warning
to maybe calm the fuck down. It took guts to pull a gun on the President of a
MC. But the anger in Miller
’
s
eyes told Nate that whatever he was feeling ran miles deep.

When Miller saw the gun, he gave a
nod. Nate took the gun back and put it away.

This was supposed to just be a
quick meeting before they broke up and worked their way to the poker game. It
was driving Nate insane to imagine Mia at the game right now, being harassed by
rich men. Keeping tabs on the underground illegal shit was impossible to do.
The MC had broken up enough games, mostly to chase away any outside visitors.
This was far different. They knew it wasn
’
t
just about poker and pussy. There was more to all of this.

“
Miller,
”
Gaige said.
“
Talk to us.
”

“
It
was all delivered.
”

“
What
was?
”
Nate asked.

“
The
van.
”

It was then like the air been
sucked out of the room.

“
Shit,
”
Gaige said.
“
The entire thing?
”

“
Driven
by Chief Jerry himself,
”
Nate said.
“
He must have
had the tires fixed and then did it himself.
”

“
We
know that for sure?
”
Blaine
asked.

Miller looked at Blaine.
“
I just talked to Johnny in
Crestman. They watched the fucking shit go down. Chief Jerry explaining that
the van had come under attack. But it was good. Promises were always going to
be kept.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige said. He punched the
table and stood up.

Soon, everyone was standing. It was
like a riot getting ready to explode in the clubhouse.

Miller put his hands out.
“
Okay. Let
’
s take a second here. Absorb this shit. Chief Jerry
is against us. We knew that though.
”

“
He
’
s getting bolder,
”
Nate said.
“
Because of Judge Jake. Coast
Road MC. It
’
s getting
thick.
”

“
It
’
s going to get thicker,
”
Griffin said.
“
Something has to give.
”

“
Tonight,
”
Miller said.
“
I
’
d
like to assume Chief Jerry will be there. Why not? He
’
s part of their group now. We
’
re going to bust into that game
and destroy everything. That
’
s
the plan. Scare the fucking shit out of them. Send a clear message to Judge
Jake.
”

“
This
breaks all silence,
”
Jace
said.
“
Not that I give a
shit. But this will
…”

“
This
is going to open it all up,
”
Griffin said.
“
Everything
we say, we do, it
’
s going
to be scrutinized. Police are going to be here driving us crazy.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Miller said.
“
I know.
”

“
If
we don
’
t,
”
Nate said,
“
they
’
re going to keep trying to overrun us. To keep
pushing drugs through town. I don
’
t
think we can trust Chief Jerry at all anymore. Not even if we needed a favor.
We knew he was going to set those Coast Road guys free. But he took the van and
made the delivery. Do we know who he
’
s
distributing to?
”

“
Suits
and ties,
”
Miller said with
a strong gaze at Nate.

“
No
fucking way.
Family
stuff?
”

“
Could
be,
”
Miller said.

Nate felt his chest tighten with
anger.

“
What
does that imply for us?
”
Gaige asked.
“
If we fuck
with them
…”

“
Doesn
’
t matter,
”
Miller said.
“
We
keep our town safe. This is ours. The MC is in control. We are not going to bow
to authority. And if this opens something bigger than we
’
ve ever seen
…
then we fight until there
’
s
no more fight.
”

“
Until
I
’
m dead,
”
Blaine said.

“
Agreed,
”
Gaige said.

“
In,
”
Jace said.

“
In,
”
Erik said.

Without calling for an actual vote
the entire table gave a vote. They would fight, as they were meant to do. To
represent the patch, the cut, the club.

In the back of Nate
’
s mind he thought about Mia.
Never before had he considered someone else when getting set to put his life on
the line.

It was getting too serious.

That meant it was time to get her
out of here for good. Rescue her from the poker game tonight and get her out of
Frelen. Nate could call in a favor from another charter to get to her and then
help her move. Maybe south, definitely east. Get the hell out of the way and
out of danger. Mia deserved more than all this bullshit.

“
Nate?
”
Miller asked.

“
What?
”

“
We
have the address and time?
”

Nate nodded.
“
Yeah. Mia sent it to me, as
promised. She
’
s there. If
we bust in
…
are we firing?
”

“
We
do what needs to be done,
”
Miller said.

Nate gritted his teeth.

He didn
’
t want Mia to get hurt. Or killed. He wanted to
speak out and make the club promise nothing would happen to her. But that would
never happen. This was do or die. All in. And rightfully so. Nate couldn
’
t protect Mia right now. He
could get into that poker game, destroy some shit, and hope to leave with her.
If it didn
’
t happen
…

Anger boiled and Nate grabbed his
chair. He spun, throwing it against the back wall. It hit the wall with a loud
thud and he kept his back to the table. No woman had ever cut through his shell
like Mia had.

“
Bro,
”
Gaige said.
“
It
’
s
okay. We
’
re not going in
there to kill her. I know what it
’
s
like to send someone you care about into danger. It hurts pretty fucking bad.
”

“
She
didn
’
t ask for it,
”
Nate said.

“
Not
many people do,
”
Blaine
said.

Nate turned his head and saw Blaine
approaching him. The crazy son of a bitch put a hand to Nate
’
s shoulder.

“
Hey,
”
Blaine said.
“
I
’
m
not usually a fan of small tits, but that woman is pretty hot. I can almost
promise you I won
’
t shoot
her tonight. I mean, I won
’
t
be aiming. Maybe with my cock, but that
’
s
a whole other thing. And, hey, when we get out of there
…
you and I could double team her.
”

“
I
fucking hate you,
”
Nate
said. He stepped away from Blaine and turned toward the door. He then looked at
Miller.
“
This fucking
changes everything.
”

“
That
’
s what all the fights do,
”
Miller said.
“
The end result we try to keep
the same. That
’
s Frelen
being ours and the people in it being safe.
”

“
No,
”
Nate said.
“
Think about it. We
’
re going to take out a judge. We
’
re going to bust into a poker
game with some powerful people. And our biggest contact
…
is gone. We won
’
t
be able to take a shit without someone there, ready to cuff us and take us
away. And we have a lot of enemies behind bars, man. We could survive the
inside life, but for how long? How long do we keep getting fucked with
…”

“
I
get it all,
”
Miller said.
“
But principle says we fight.
Yeah, we
’
re going to take
out a judge, but you
’
re
going to do it the right way.
”
Miller grinned.

“
Me?
The right way?
”
Nate asked.

“
Old
school style,
”
Miller said.
“
From where you came from.
The right way.
”

Everyone looked at Nate.

“
What
the hell does that mean?
”
Griffin asked.

“
Nate
knows,
”
Miller said.
“
That
’
s all that matters. We will not be broken. We will
break those in our way.
”

Nate heard enough. He walked to the
door and left. A bold move, considering Miller hadn
’
t called the meeting done yet. For Nate there was
nothing left to hear. Nothing left to do. He had to get to Mia.

The entire thing was going to be
blown wide open tonight.

Sitting at the bar, Nate tried to
think around it all. If there was some other way to handle this mess. If they
waited
…
all those at the
illegal game would be under the spell of Judge Jake. Who knew the power in that
room
…
it could easily end
up the entire world against Back Down Devil MC. More than usual.

The club could move. They could
easily be on the road and out of Frelen within hours. There were charters
everywhere. Hell, they could make calls of their own. Bring in over a thousand
bikers to stand ground right in town. The attention that would get though
…

A hand clamped down on Nate
’
s shoulder.

It was Miller. He put two fingers
on the bar and two shots were quickly served.

“
I
’
m not pissed,
”
Miller said.
“
You walked out when you had to
just then. Your mind is going fucking wild. I know you dealt with these types
before.
”

“
Types,
”
Nate laughed.
“
Sometimes I think suits are
scarier than leather cuts, Miller. It
’
s
not a joke. I don
’
t know if
he
’
s connected or not. It
’
s burning in my mind
…”

“
And
if he is?
”

“
We
take out a guy who
’
s
connected
…
it
’
s bad for us.
”

“
So
what you think?
”
Miller
asked, leaning against the bar.
“
We
wait? Let this keep happening?
”

“
No.
”

“
Connected
…
meaning more powerful than the
businessmen?
”

“
Yeah.
Who do you think controls all of it? The judges, cops, businesses, everything.
The mob
…
mafia
…
family
…
whatever you want to call them
…
they are everything. Christ,
they
’
re one rung away from
the top of ladder, next to God.
”

“
You
believe in God?
”
Miller
asked.

“
I
believe in the ground I walk on,
”
Nate said.
“
I can feel it.
”

“
Good.
Stay straight, Nate. I have to face the fact of Chief Jerry now. There
’
s a
…
ah, shit. He
’
s
got a wife and kid.
”

“
That
mean you
’
re not going to kill
him?
”

Miller lifted his shot glass,
ignoring the question.
“
Lift
it up with me.
”

Nate did.

“
Now,
”
Miller said,
“
if our ride of freedom ends
tonight, then we ride some more. Somewhere else. A different life.
”