STEEL TEMPTATION (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (25 page)

Blaine grinned and then started to
run.

Nate hesitated for a few seconds,
realizing everything was on his back.

To keep himself alive. To save the
MC. To save Mia.

“
Fuck,
”
Nate whispered.

Love made people do some crazy
shit, didn
’
t it?

twenty-six.

Mia
’
s
wrists hurt, again. This time it was from the scratchy, tearing feeling from
the rope Uncle Jake had put on her wrists. She was against the back of the van.
Her heart raced and tears were still streaming down her face. Right behind her
in the van was the body of Jacob. And somewhere out there in Frelen was Nate
and Back Down Devil MC. Mia had no idea if they
’
d
ever find her. If Miller would allow Nate to try and find her.

Uncle Jake ended a call on his
cell, talking so calm and normal, rescheduling some appointments, saying he
needed a couple days off for personal reasons.

Twenty feet away from him stood
three men with guns. They had no shirts on but leather cuts were on their wide
bodies.

Coast Road MC

Uncle Jake walked to Mia, smiling.
He touched her cheek for the tenth time since they got there. And, yes, Mia had
been counting. Because she knew that eventually touching her cheek wouldn
’
t be good enough. That he
’
d want more from her and he
would fucking take it.

“
Oh,
be still,
”
Uncle Jake
whispered.
“
I took a few
days off for us. So I can take you home and take care of you. I
’
ll start with you in my bed.
That big bed I used to share with that cunt of woman you called an aunt. Maybe
we
’
ll even play a little in
Jacob
’
s room, just for fun.
”

“
You
’
re a fucking pig.
”

Uncle Jake slapped her across the
face. It stung and Mia sucked in a breath, refusing to scream. She then looked
at her uncle again.

“
What?
What else do you have to say?
”

“
How
can you do this? With Jacob in the van behind me.
”

A barking laugh escaped Uncle Jake
’
s mouth.
“
You think he
’
s
still in there? Please.
”

He grabbed Mia by the shoulder and
threw her out of the way. He opened the van and pointed.
“
Look. All gone.
”

The van was empty. And the sight of
the empty van hurt almost worse than if Jacob was in there.

“
Where
is he?
”

“
Oh,
Mia, he ran away. Remember?
”

Mia stepped back. She shook her
head.
“
You
’
re sick. So fucking sick. You
can
’
t get away
…”

“
What?
I can
’
t get away with it? I
did. I
’
ve been. I
’
ll get away with anything I
fucking want. Stand in my way and I
’
ll
take you out. Got that?
”

“
You
’
ll pay.
”

“
You
know what? Fuck this.
”
Uncle Jake whistled. The Coast Road guys turned around.
“
Hey, Mav, come here. Why don
’
t you show my niece what it
’
s like to have a gun shoved up her ass.
”

Mia screamed. She shook her head
and screamed.

Uncle Jake charged at her. He had
his hand around her throat, stopping her scream and cutting off her air. He
then walked her around to the van. He pushed and Mia went into the back. She
instantly began to kick, picturing Jacob
’
s
corpse there. The entire thing freaked her out. Even with Uncle Jake
’
s hand away from her throat she
still couldn
’
t breathe. It
was like a panic attack.

He was then on top of her. Crawling
up her body. His hand moving along her side.

“
Relax,
Mia,
”
he said.
“
And nothing will happen to you.
And when it comes time for you to disappear, it
’
ll
be quick. You
’
ll shut your eyes
and be
…”

A gunshot rang out.

Uncle Jake kicked off Mia and out
of the van. Mia sat up and looked out. The guy that Uncle Jake had called -
Mav
- lay on the ground, dead.

“
What
the fuck?
”
Uncle Jake
yelled.

The other two men were spinning in
circles. Looking for the shooter.

Another gunshot rang and another
guy fell to the ground.

Mia huddled at the edge of the van,
her knees drawn up, wishing she could hug them.

“
Get
them!
”
Uncle Jake cried.
“
Fucking get them!
”

The Coast Road MC guy ran toward a
gate and that
’
s when Mia
saw Nate. He kicked open the gate, gun drawn, eyes on fire. The biggest,
sexiest, most powerful man she had ever met. The man she loved dearly. He was
here to save her.

Uncle Jake reached back for a gun.

Fearing Nate
’
s life being cut short, Mia jumped up and lunged
from the back of the van. She landed on Uncle Jake
’
s back, wrapping her legs around him, still unable
to move her hands. He dropped the gun. He then bent over and threw Mia over his
head. She landed on the ground hard, her hands behind her back hitting first
and hardest.

She gasped for air, the wind
knocked out of her.

She strained to look back as Uncle
Jake bent to reach for the gun. That
’
s
when Blaine appeared, ramming his shoulder into Uncle Jake, sending him flying
back.

Blaine then hurried to Mia
’
s side.

Another gunshot rang out and that
was the last one. Nate had taken out all the Coast Road MC guys.

“
Fuck,
”
Blaine said.
“
I
’
m
not going to lie
…
I
’
ve been fantasizing about you
tied up like this
…
but
under the circumstances
…”

“
Cut
my fucking hands free,
”
Mia
growled.

“
Christ,
she
’
s feisty now.
”

Nate scooped Mia up. Blaine cut the
ropes and she was finally free. She quickly turned and threw her arms around
Nate
’
s neck.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
she cried.
“
I should have never went
outside. I should have never
…”

Nate kissed her. Stealing her
words. Stealing her apology. Stealing her breath.

Mia opened her mouth, wanting to
taste Nate. His tongue darted into her mouth, and for a second she forgot about
all the destruction around her.

“
Stay
the fuck down!
”
Blaine
’
s voice yelled.

That
’
s
when the kiss ended and Mia realized Uncle Jake was still alive.

Nate got her to her feet and then
he turned, addressing Uncle Jake.

“
You
’
re done,
”
Nate said.

“
Fuck
you, asshole. You have no idea how powerful I am. I
’
ll bury you.
”

Nate grinned.
“
Actually, I
’
m going to bury you.
”

Uncle Jake let out a scream and
Blaine was right on him. He reached for the rope and tied Uncle Jake
’
s arms behind his back. Nate
kept a knee to Uncle Jake
’
s
back and a gun to his head.

In the back of the van Nate found a
shovel. There was some dirt on it. The sight let Mia shivering with hateful
fear, knowing that her uncle had buried his son somewhere.

Nate then brought Uncle Jake to his
feet and walked him out of the abandoned lot to where the dirt began. Ten feet
in, Nate swung his foot and dropped Uncle Jake. By now the man was crying his
eyes out. Begging for forgiveness.

“
I
’
ll work with you,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ll
call all the deals off. It
’
ll
be us together. We
’
ll take
out that fucking chief and it
’
ll
be us. The ultimate power.
”

Mia stood and watched as Nate dug a
hole. He moved efficiently and with purpose. It told her this was something
Nate had been used to doing. Blaine stood next to her, a gun pointed at Uncle
Jake, just in case.

“
He
’
s good,
”
Blaine said.
“
Digging.
”

“
I
can
’
t
…”

“
It
’
s okay now. This is how it
works, okay? Right and wrong
…
it
’
s not the same for us.
There
’
s no judge and jury.
”

“
Well,
there is a judge,
”
Mia
said.

Blaine laughed. So hard that he
wiped the corner of his eye.

They were about to bury a man alive
and Blaine was laughing.

And Mia was smiling
…

I
’
m sick
, she thought.

No. She wasn
’
t sick though. This was true justice.

Once the hole was done, Nate
grabbed Uncle Jake and put him in it. With his face pointed toward the sky.

“
Start
with his face,
”
Nate said.
“
Let the sky be the last thing he
sees as he chokes on dirt and suffocates.
”

“
Fuck
you!
”
Uncle Jake yelled.
“
Mia! Please! Mia
…”

Nate jammed the shovel into the
pile of dirt he made.

Mia grabbed his wrist.
“
Wait. Just
…
wait
…”

“
Yes,
”
Uncle Jake said.
“
Yes. Wait.
”

“
Tell
me the truth,
”
Mia said.
“
Did you kill them both? Jacob
and Aunt Theresa?
”

Uncle Jake nodded.
“
Yeah. I did. Okay? Fine. I
’
ll admit it. Now get me out
…”

Mia grabbed the shovel and threw
the first mound of dirt to Uncle Jake
’
s
face.

He instantly started to scream.

She turned and dropped the shovel.

Blaine put an arm around her and
walked her away as Nate finished the job.

Uncle Jake screamed for a good
minute
…
until he was
completely covered
…
and
soon
…
he
’
d be dead.

twenty-seven.

Nate had Mia by the wrists. She was
against the wall. Completely naked. He was dressed and had full intentions of
devouring every inch of her beautiful body. But when he started kissing her he
couldn
’
t stop himself. He
just wanted her. Everything she had to offer.

When he stopped kissing her, his
nose teased hers. He moved down to her breast, playing with her nipple. He then
gently kissed up her chest, back to her mouth.

“
Fuck,
”
he said.
“
I love you.
”

“
I
love you too, Nate,
”
Mia
whispered.

“
Everything
is okay now,
”
Nate said.
“
I promise. It
’
s all gone.
”

“
What
if they find him? You know there
’
s
going to be a search party
…”

“
Then
we cross that bridge later. I
’
m
sure he had plenty of enemies. Think about it. Drug dealing, smuggling, working
with other crews and gangs. Fuck. Coast Road MC is going to take some serious
heat when the next delivery fails to show up. It
’
s
all taken care of.
”

Nate pressed his body to Mia
’
s.

“
I
feel like I have a purpose now,
”
Mia said.
“
I still don
’
t
…
I don
’
t know what it is,
but if I
’
m near you, I feel
okay.
”

“
Then
you
’
ll just have to be near
me all the time. Never leave my fucking side.
”

“
That
’
s hard to do, isn
’
t it?
”
Mia asked.

Nate grinned. He then pulled back
and swung Mia by her wrists. She let out a playful cry. Nate dropped to his knees
and reached under the bed. He then kissed just below Mia
’
s belly button and stood back up. In his hand, he
had a set of chains.

“
I
’
ll chain you to my fucking bed
then,
”
he growled.
“
So you can never get away.
”

Mia grinned. She put her hands to
the chains and gripped them, pulling them from Nate
’
s hand.

“
You
don
’
t need these. You have
your chains around my heart. Always pulling me along.
”

“
Fuck,
I don
’
t do this shit,
”
Nate said.
“
I don
’
t do romance.
”

“
I
don
’
t need you to do
romance
…
just do me
…”

Mia jumped and Nate caught her. She
wrapped her legs around him and he lowered her to the bed. And there he stayed,
kissing her for what felt like hours. Until their lips were raw red. Until they
were out of breath. Until Nate
’
s
heart couldn
’
t pound any
faster or harder.

But then he broke the kiss and
stared into Mia
’
s eyes.

And just like that
…
his heart found a way to pound
faster and harder. For her.

***

Miller couldn
’
t stop thinking about it all.

How the fuck did Chief Jerry get so
fucked up? Especially considering their past. What should have been.

Miller looked at his hands.

In his memory he thought of
that
night.
The night he had a diamond ring
…
ready to slide it on the finger of a beautiful woman. Someone who deserved it.
Who deserved true love and happiness. He had squeezed the damn ring so tight it
cut his skin.

The funny part
…
he wasn
’
t nervous about asking Ella for her hand in
marriage. He was ready to do it. Hell, from the second they met, he was ready
to do it.

What stopped him was someone else.
A clean cut, young man who was rocking through the ranks of the Frelen PD. A
guy that Miller knew all too well. A guy that rode Miller
’
s ass and busted him on every
occasion.

That night
Miller was going
to corner Ella and give her everything.

But that never happened.

Instead, Miller threw the diamond
ring into the ocean. He let the waves eat it up. He let it all go. And from the
sideline he watched Ella fall in love with Jerry. Miller became President of
Back Down Devil MC and Jerry rose up until he was Chief of Frelen. They shook
hands, worked together, and Miller swallowed lump after painful lump, fighting
off the feelings for Ella. He endured their fucking engagement, marriage,
buying a house, buying a car, and even the pregnancy. The fucking baby
…
the little family that Miller
always thought about.

But looking around the lot right
then, what kind of life would that be? There were blood stains on the ground.
Bodies underground that needed to be tended to. The gunfight had ended with one
of Chief Jerry
’
s guys dead
and the chief backing over the other, killing him. Then he sped away.

Nate came back with Mia; they were
both safe.

The judge was buried and definitely
dead by now.

“
What
’
s on your mind, President?
”

Miller turned and saw Griffin
standing with two beers.

“
Shit,
”
Miller said.
“
The past
…”

“
Ah,
you can
’
t go there,
”
Griffin said.
“
It
’
ll
kill you
…”

Miller grinned.

There was a soft
ping
sound
and Miller saw Griffin
’
s
eyes go wide. His face went white. His neck then went slump. All of this before
the blood started to pour from his neck. The two bottles of beer fell from his
hands, hitting the ground shattering.

Griffin took two steps, his eyes
already white and glossy, before he collapsed to the ground. He hit the seat of
the picnic table on the way down and it flipped him to his back.

The blood poured from his neck.

A single bullet wound.

Miller then looked out and saw a
car at the end of the lot.

The sunset in the background, Chief
Jerry behind the wheel, some kind of rifle in the window.

Miller rolled back and off the
table as another
ping
sounded.

He hit the ground and started to
yell for help.

He looked through the table and saw
Griffin
…
a patched in
member of Back Down Devil MC
…
a fucking table member
…

Dead.

“
Brother
…
,
”
Miller said.
“
Rest in peace
…”

He then shut his eyes.

And he saw Anne
…
the woman he once loved and
used to call
Ella
. It hurt, bad.

Nobody killed a table member.

This was beyond war now.

This was going to be the end of
Back Down Devil
…