STEEL TEMPTATION (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (23 page)

Nate grabbed the piece of paper. He
wished he could see into Chief Jerry
’
s
eyes right then. To see what kind of eyes they were. Deadly? Cold? Dead? High?
Because this wasn
’
t the man
who stood shoulder to shoulder with the MC for a long time working on deals.
Yeah, there had been a lot of fights, a lot of murders, a lot of dark days and
nights, but the end result had always been the same. It was always about
protecting Frelen and keeping it clean.

That
’
s
what Chief Jerry used to care about.

Not anymore.

Nate tucked the paper away and
started his ride. It came to life with a thundering roar. Nate throttled the
motorcycle as he stared at Chief Jerry, letting the beast roar again and again.

“
Gaige!
”
Miller yelled.
“
Go with him!
”

Nate wasn
’
t waiting though.

He had to get to Mia and save her.

It took Gaige only a couple minutes
to catch up to him. Nate looked at Gaige as he got alongside him. He nodded at Nate.
Nate nodded back. They had an understanding. Whatever was going to happen, they
stayed close, together, as brothers. They take care of the town, the patch, and
they keep their respect for each other. That
’
s
how Back Down Devil got through so many storms before.

And Nate wanted to believe they
would get through this storm.

His cell started to vibrate and
Nate hurried to dart to the side of the road. Kicking up dirt and dust, he
turned the ride off and answered the phone.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”

“
Holy
shit.
”
It was Mia.
“
I
’
m
getting pulled over.
”

“
What?
”
Nate asked.

“
I
have a gun in the car. I
’
ll
go to jail, Nate.
”

“
What
happened?
”

“
He
pulled a gun on me. He knows everything. What do I do? Nate
…
if I stop and he sees the gun.
Or searches the car. I should have stayed with Uncle Jake.
”

“
No!
”
Nate bellowed.
“
You keep going, babe. I swear to
you, just keep going. Do not stop. No matter what.
”

Fuck.

This was bad.

The pieces had officially went from
crumbling to completely collapsing. Everything was in the open and exposed now.

Nate ended the call and looked at
Gaige.
“
Mia! Cops are
tailing her. This is going to get bad, bro.
”

“
Let
’
s go get her,
”
Gaige yelled.

He then surprisingly took the lead.
Nate sped up and they were blasting along the streets of Frelen. They rode from
the commercial section into the residential, right to the hills where the upper
class could afford seven figure homes. Their kids went to private schools, had
their own sports and leagues, living a life like they existed in some kind of
wealthy bubble. That
’
s
where the judge lived.

That
’
s
where Nate saw Mia driving with a cop car behind her. His lights flashed, siren
beeping every few seconds. He was holding a gun out the window. This was all
controlled by both the judge and the chief. They were going after Mia now. They
were going to get her, take her in, and then hold her there. To fuck with Nate.
To fuck with the MC. Anything to throw the guys off course. Chief Jerry had
been around long enough to know how to get to them. Attacking straight forward
would never work - unless the club wasn
’
t
focused.

As Mia drove by, Nate realized he
and Gaige had no damn plan. They had to somehow take out a cop? That wasn
’
t part of any of this shit. That
was a dangerous move to make. It was one thing to go after a crooked judge and
chief, but to go after an officer? Unless the guy was in on things. Even then,
what kind of message would that send to the rest of Frelen?

The cruiser was right behind Mia.

Gaige throttled his motorcycle and
then took off right toward the cruiser. Nate hurried behind him and watched as Gaige
came damn close to hitting the front of the cruiser. The car quickly swerved,
losing traction. The car darted left to right a few times.

Nate took the lead then and both he
and Gaige got the car off to the side of the road. They both put their front
wheels to the driver
’
s door
of the cruiser. The lights were still flashing, but they were far enough away
from anything that resembled the general public so they were in the clear for
whatever was about to happen.

“
Turn
it all the fuck off!
”
Nate
bellowed.

The car turned off. The lights
turned off. He showed his hands, they were shaking.

“
He
’
s not in uniform,
”
Gaige said to Nate.

“
Are
you even a cop?
”
Nate
asked.

The guy just stared.

Nate took out his gun.

The guy cringed and rolled down the
window.
“
Fucking hell, man.
I
’
m just doing favor!
”

“
Are
you a cop?
”
Nate asked
again.

“
No,
”
the guy said.
“
No, not at all.
”

“
Who
are you?
”
Gaige asked.

“
I
work in Judge Jake
’
s
office. He offered me a job. To help with his niece. That
’
s all. To get her to stay close
to him. From you guys. You
’
re
going to kill her.
”

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Gaige said.

“
Where
did you get the car from?
”
Nate asked.

“
Judge
explained how to steal it.
”

“
The
gun?
”

“
Stole
that. With cuffs.
”

“
Cuffs?
You were going to cuff Mia?
”

“
Yeah,
”
the guy admitted.
“
I
’
m
just doing my
…”

Nate climbed off his ride. He
walked to the open window and grabbed the guy by the shirt. He pulled him out
of the car and put him to the ground. Nate then stomped on the guy, a heavy
boot to his chest, stomach, back up, wanting to smash his skull to the pavement
and let his brains leak all over the ground.

But Gaige pulled Nate back.
“
Bro, easy. Go get Mia and get
out of here.
”

The two prospects then rolled up on
the scene. Nate looked at them. He wanted to believe that they would have done
the right thing to save Mia. Hell, they had basically done the right thing
already by calling him. He pointed to the prospects and then waved.

“
Keep
tailing!
”
he yelled.

They both gave thumbs up.

“
I
got this one,
”
Gaige said.
“
I
’
m
going to cuff him to the front of the car and give Miller a shout. Let the
chief deal with this. Not like it fucking matters.
”

“
This
is bad,
”
Nate said.

“
Yeah,
it is. Go. Now.
”

Nate got back on his motorcycle and
rode up to Mia
’
s car. She
had pulled over and was waiting. She got out of the car and threw her arms
around him. Nate slid his right hand around Mia
’
s
waist and hugged her. He kissed her neck and then hurried to take his helmet
off. He gave it to Mia and she put it on. Their eyes were locked together and
Nate felt a pulse going through his body.

“
He
did something to Jacob,
”
Mia said.
“
I know it. He
’
s going to make me disappear
next.
”

Nate thought about the paper in his
pocket. The picture. The directions. The van. That
’
s where Jacob probably was. He hesitated, not
wanting to say anything to Mia.

“
I
know,
”
Nate caught himself
saying.
“
I might know where
he is. Let me take you to the clubhouse first. So you
’
re protected from all this.
”

“
No,
”
Mia said.
“
If you know where Jacob is
…
I have to see him. I have to know
the truth
…”

Mia
’
s
eyes were big and sad. Like she already knew the truth that could be waiting.

“
Babe,
I don
’
t want you in
…”

“
Nate,
”
Mia yelled.
“
Please. I can
’
t be away from you anymore. All
those lines we weren
’
t
supposed to cross? They
’
re
fucked. I
’
m lost. I
’
m over the line. I
’
m past even falling for you. I
’
m in
…”

Nate gritted his teeth.
“
Get on the ride.
”

He didn
’
t want to hear it. He couldn
’
t hear it. A woman in love with him
…

It made the anger flow through his
body.

She wanted to see it all? Fine.

Nate took out the paper and looked
at it. He knew right where it was. Just a few miles away. In another rundown
industrial part of Frelen. Against the edge of the town that bled out into the
desert. Buildings, factories, warehouses that would never sell because the
people - the entities - needed the buildings and the lots for their own
personal use.

As Nate rode through a peeled back
chain link gate, he wondered if this was a set up. To kill him. To get Mia. He
looked back to make sure the prospects were tailing him.

They were.

Nate rode around to the side of the
building and saw the van. The white goddamn van. The tires were still shot out
from when Nate took care of them. There wasn
’
t
going to be any drugs in the van though. Those were already delivered.

When Nate stopped, Mia hurried off
the motorcycle. Nate tried grabbing for her. She twisted her wrist, did a full
spin, and broke away. Moving fast, Nate went after Mia. He got to her as she
grabbed the handle to the backdoor of the van. She pulled as Nate
’
s left hand was around her belly
and her right hand down at her wrist.

“
Babe,
let me do it,
”
Nate growled
in her ear.
“
Please
…”

Mia threw a left elbow to Nate
’
s gut. It didn
’
t hurt at all, but he knew she
wasn
’
t going to give this
up.

So Nate backed up.

He let Mia open the door to the
van.

Nate wanted to see Jacob sitting
there. To see him tied up, hurt, whatever, but his eyes open, staring at Mia
and Nate.

Not a fucking chance
…

The door opened and Jacob was in
the back of the van.

Dead.

twenty-four.

Mia saw Jacob in the van. He was
just there. On his side. For a second she thought he had curled up in a ball.
Maybe he was sleeping. Maybe he was just scared, thinking he was going to die.
But then something else happened
…
Mia
’
s eyes were in control
before the rest of her senses. When the smell hit her nose, she finally turned
her head. She took two steps and dropped to her knees. She heard the door click
shut and turned her head to see Nate standing there. His face looked pale. He
was afraid. He was terrified.

As he started to drop down,
touching Mia
’
s back, she
shut her eyes and felt the world spinning. So fast, so hard
…
Jacob
’
s dead. He fucking killed
Jacob. Gone forever. Just like he did with Aunt Theresa. And he
’
s going to kill me next.

Mia opened her eyes, but it was still
all dark. Her body shook and she fell forward. Hands grabbed her, touched her,
held her.

“
Babe,
I
’
m right here,
”
Nate
’
s voice echoed.
“
I
’
m right here. You
’
re okay. I promise, you
’
re okay. You
’
ll be okay. I
’
ll protect you through this.
”

Her lips were moving, but Mia
couldn
’
t talk.

She blinked a few times and the
world started to come back to her. The first thing she saw was Nate
’
s sexy cut jaw and face. His
eyes staring down at her. Sweat on his forehead. She felt his strong hands
holding her. Keeping her safe.

Slowly, she reached up and touched
his cheek.
“
Nate
…”

“
I
know,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
so sorry, babe.
”

“
He
killed his own son.
”

“
I
know,
”
Nate said again.
“
I don
’
t know what to say.
”

“
How
did
…
how did you know
…”

Emotion finally caught up to the
scene. Mia lost it. Tears filled her eyes and spilled with ease. She tried to
suck in a breath and it turned into a deep sob. She put her hands to the warm
pavement and pushed, bringing herself to a seated position.

“
Let
’
s get out of here and I
’
ll explain everything,
”
Nate said.

“
I
need to know right now. The truth. Everything.
”

“
Okay,
”
Nate said.
“
Okay. Just take a deep breath.
”

Mia nodded. She looked at the van
and the tears kept flowing. Poor Jacob was in there. Gone. Just his body.
Whatever happened after death
…

“
He
’
s gone,
”
she whispered.

“
The
chief in town,
”
Nate said.
“
You know it
’
s all connected. He gave me a
piece of paper with Jacob
’
s
picture on it. He wanted me to find the body. Maybe even bring you here. Mia,
babe, I need you to look at me carefully.
”

Mia looked at Nate.
“
I
’
m
looking.
”

“
They
’
re trying to fuck with our heads
and hearts. They know they can
’
t
fight Back Down Devil. So they
’
re
working to throw us off our guard. I need to get you back to the clubhouse and
keep you safe. Okay, babe? Just you and me now. I
’
m
so sorry about this. About Jacob.
”

“
It
’
s
…”

“
We
really need to go,
”
Nate
said.
“
We have to play all
this off. I hate myself for saying that. I hate myself for being cold. But we
’
re outside right now. We
’
re in the open. That guy who was
following you wasn
’
t a cop.
He was someone working for your uncle, pretending to be a cop.
”

“
Shit.
”

“
And
he pulled a gun on you?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
It
’
s getting bad. It
’
s going to get worse.
”
Nate then stood up. He offered
his hand to Mia.
“
We have
to do this together. I can
’
t
go alone anymore. Not today, tomorrow. Not in my life. You destroyed me, babe.
From the second I saw you in your car, following me, you fucking destroyed me.
I can
’
t waste anymore time.
On anything. So I
’
m telling
you right now that I
…
I
really can
’
t live without
you.
”

Mia
’
s
chin quivered. How could something so tragic collide with something like this?
Nate was bearing his heart to her with death all around. There would be a lot
more coming soon.

Mia gave Nate her hand and he
pulled her up.

They then set off together, back on
Nate
’
s motorcycle, putting
distance between them and the van. Mia did look back one last time, feeling her
heart ache.

Right behind them the entire time
was two more motorcycles. At first, the sight of them scared Mia, but she
quickly realized they were there for protection.

The ride to the clubhouse was
eerily quiet. Just the motorcycles on the open road. Mia hands were tight
around Nate
’
s body, knowing
that holding on like this had more meaning than just falling off the motorcycle
right now. She wanted to hold onto him forever. That meant accepting death in a
way she never thought possible. Sure, everyone would eventually take their last
breath and be gone, but Nate
’
s
life made it that he tempted death with each breath he took. He didn
’
t stare at death out on the
horizon like most people did, he chased it down, almost wanting it to come.

But with Nate, Mia never felt so
alive. And being that alive made death worth it.

Once they arrived, Nate quickly had
a hand around Mia
’
s waist,
keeping her close, keeping her feeling safe. Everything he did now had the
appeal of romance, whether he meant it or not.

Inside, Erik and Jace were right
there, waiting. Miller behind them. Miller pushed through.
“
What happened?
”

“
The
judge killed his kid,
”
Nate
said.
“
He was in the van.
The one I shot the tires out on. The one that was once filled with drugs. The
one that Chief Jerry wanted me to go to.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Jace said.
“
No
…”

“
Yeah,
”
Mia said.
“
I saw
…”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Nate said.
“
You
don
’
t have to talk.
”
Nate kissed the top of her
head.
“
Miller, I have to
get to the room. She was being tailed by someone that worked for the judge. In
a stolen cruiser.
”

“
Stolen,
”
Jace said.
“
Probably fucking took it without
care or punishment.
”

“
We
have to kill them all,
”
Erik said.

“
Christ,
man,
”
Nate snapped.
“
Easy.
”

“
The
judge killed his own kid,
”
Miller said.
“
Chief Jerry
knew the kid was dead I bet. That the kid was in the van.
”

“
It
’
s ending,
”
Nate said.
“
You
want
old school,
Miller? I
’
ll
give you old school. But it
’
s
happening right fucking now. I
’
m
not waiting anymore. We know where the lines have been drawn. Where everyone
stands.
”

“
Okay,
”
Miller said.
“
You
’
re right.
”

“
Good,
”
Jace said.
“
I want to gut that judge
…”
He looked at Mia.
“
Sorry.
”

“
Don
’
t be,
”
Mia said. She felt so cold and empty.
“
He killed my aunt, too. The same
thing. She left a note and disappeared.
”

“
I
’
m really sorry,
”
Miller said. He touched Mia
’
s shoulder.
“
Hey, we all are. You did a great
job for this club. You
’
re
welcome in this clubhouse. My orders. You have full protection from all my
guys. I
’
ll make sure at the
next meeting they all know. They are ordered to take a bullet for you.
”

“
Thanks,
”
Mia whispered.

Tears filled her eyes.

“
Let
me get her out of here,
”
Nate said.
“
Then we can
talk.
”

“
Go,
brother,
”
Miller said.
“
Go.
”

Nate walked Mia to the room. The
second he shut the door, Mia felt his strong hands on her shoulders. He pulled
her back to his body, her back to his front, and slid his hands around Mia
’
s body.

“
I
wish there was more I can do,
”
Nate said.
“
But all I have
is my word. And my word is that he will pay. For everything he
’
s done to you and to your
family. To your aunt. To your cousin. That
’
s
a young life gone now.
”

“
Maybe
it
’
s for the better,
”
Mia said. That truth stung.
“
He won
’
t be hurt anymore, Nate. He
’
s
…
free. I mean, whatever happens after death.
”

“
That
’
s something you have nothing to
worry about. No more death. I
’
m
going to cause the death, Mia. It
’
s
going to be on my hands. To protect you. To
…
love you
…”

Mia turned her head. She hurried to
her toes and kissed Nate.

The taste of his lips set her on
fire. When she tried to move, Nate
’
s
hand touched her cheek, keeping her head turned, wanting to keep kissing her.

So they kissed, and kissed, and
kissed.

Mia
’
s
breathing started to get wild. Her body slipped into instinctive need mode and
she started to rock her hips left to right against his body. She felt him
thickening, so hard, perfect; she wanted him deep inside her body. Her hand
reached back, touching his cock over his jeans.

“
Fuck,
babe,
”
Nate growled.
“
You don
’
t have to
…”

“
I
need to feel you. I need to feel alive. So shut up and fuck me right now.
”

Mia grabbed Nate
’
s zipper and pulled it down. She
walked forward to the bed, opening her jeans, her hands cutting to her waist,
pushing the jeans and panties down to her knees. She got to the bed and bent
over, hands grabbing the sheets. Nate was there a second later, his fingers
slicing between her legs. He touched her and she jumped.

Mia purred, the heat of Nate
’
s touch taking over the cold
feeling of tragedy. She looked back and watched as Nate had his cock free. He
stroked himself and placed his shaft to her ass. He started to gently thrust,
letting the bottom of his shaft rub against her ass. Mia reached back and
pressed the palm of her hand to the top of his shaft and felt him moving.

“
Fuck,
”
she groaned.

“
I
want to hear you scream my name again. Don
’
t
fucking hold back.
”

Nate bent his legs a little, his
cock sliding between her ass. For a brief second she felt him touching
somewhere else, but he kept going. She shivered and tingled from between her
legs down to her toes. Nate pressed against her center and then thrust,
grunting, forcing her wide open.

Mia
’
s
body bucked forward as she cried out. Nate
’
s
hands held her hips and pulled her right back to him, plunging deep into her.
The sensation was mixed with a breathtaking pressure and pleasure that sent the
tingling feeling up her body. As Nate pulled back and thrust forward again, Mia
tried to scream out and she lost her voice completely for a few seconds.