STEEL TEMPTATION (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (7 page)

Mia nodded.
“
Okay.
”

Nate stepped forward and crouched
down. He put a hand out and Mia took it. He pulled at her. His other hand touched
her face.
“
You were
following me?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Mia said.

“
Someone
put you up to it.
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Another
crew?
”

“
I
don
’
t know what that means.
”

Nate gritted his teeth.
“
Another motorcycle club?
”

“
No,
”
Mia said.
“
I swear.
”

“
Someone
we know?
”

“
I
don
’
t know. Honestly.
”

Nate heard the sounds of chains
clanging together as the prospects approached the room. Terror filled Mia
’
s face.

“
Please,
”
she whispered.
“
I never meant
…”

Nate put a finger to her lips.
“
You don
’
t beg unless I tell you to beg. You
’
re going to keep quiet until I
come get you.
”

“
Am
I free then?
”
Mia asked,
her eyes big and hopeful.

“
Babe,
I don
’
t think you
’
ve ever been free in your life,
”
Nate said.

He then stood up and backed away
from her.

He stood there and supervised the
prospects as they chained her to the wall. He made sure she was secure but not
hurt. She did this to herself. Nobody fucked with Back Down Devil. No matter
how beautiful
…

Nate left the underground garage
and ran to the clubhouse. He busted into the meeting room and took his seat.
There was already a heated conversation between Jace and Griffin.

“
Just
kill her when we
’
re done,
”
Griffin said.
“
This is a no brainer.
”

“
Wait,
”
Blaine said as he put a hand
out, a cigarette between his ring filled fingers. He cocked an eyebrow.
“
What do you mean by
done
?
Because I want a shot at her. Man, that body looks tight. Get it?
”

“
This
is what we
’
re talking
about?
”
Nate asked.

“
No,
”
Miller said.
“
Everyone shut the fuck up.
”
He rose from his chair.
“
We
’
re
under attack. I
’
m not
wasting time on words. We
’
re
under attack every fucking day, I get that. This is deeper. Maybe everything we
’
ve known is wrong. We have no
friends. But those we trust are turning their backs. Griffin, I appreciate your
input on the bitch
’
s fate.
And Blaine, we all know you want to fuck her. You want to fuck everything. You
probably would fuck half the guys at this table.
”

A chuckling murmur broke out.

“
Whoa,
whoa,
”
Blaine said.
“
That would take a lot of whiskey
…
and not many of you ugly fucks
could handle me.
”

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Gaige said.
“
He
’
s
thinking about it right now.
”

“
My
ass still hurts,
”
Blaine
said.
“
Did one of you
…”

“
Nobody
wearing a Back Down Devil cut touched your ass,
”
Miller said.

Blaine grinned and leaned back.
“
Then I have to find that woman
from last night. Find out what she did. I actually don
’
t mind it now. You get used to it.
”
Blaine winked.

Everyone groaned.

Nate stood up.
“
Her name is Mia. We caught her
following us up toward the edge of Frelen. Her car is up there still. If she
’
s working for Chief Jerry
…
and he finds the car
…”

“
Okay,
”
Miller said.
“
We have to get rid of her car.
”

“
Get
rid of her along with it,
”
Griffin said. He put his thumb to his throat and made a motion across.
“
Send a message.
”

“
And
pour gas on the fire?
”
Nate
asked.
“
Chief Jerry came by
because he
’
s scared. He
thinks I
’
m going to
remember what I already know. That
’
s
why he made a comment about him being there when I woke up. If we hurt her
…”

“
You
want to let her go,
”
Blaine
said.

“
I
want to use her,
”
Nate
said.

“
Who
wouldn
’
t?
”
Blaine shot back.
“
Just the thought of her chained
to a wall is making my dick throb.
”

Nate made a fist and punched the
table.
“
I want to kill him.
”

“
Wait,
”
Miller said.
“
Before we start killing
…
what
’
s your thought, Nate?
”

“
I
told her she could trust me,
”
Nate said.
“
You scared her
to death, Miller. Which is good. I told her if she talks to me, I
’
ll help her.
”

“
You
want to fuck her,
”
Jace
said.

“
Slit
her throat,
”
Griffin said.

“
Let
Nate finish,
”
Gaige said.

“
If
I can get her to open up
…”
Nate looked at Blaine.
“
Shut
up.
”
He looked back at
Miller.
“
If I can get her
to open up then we have something. She already told me it wasn
’
t another crew.
”

“
And
you believe her?
”
Miller
asked.

“
I
don
’
t know. But we keep her
tonight. Then we set her free. Take her to her car. Trail her all goddamn day.
Give her a time to come to us. See if what she says is true. If it is, we have
an in. A way to find out what
’
s
happening and when.
”

“
That
’
s risky,
”
Miller said.
“
She
can run and say anything.
”

“
Then
the bullets fly,
”
Nate
said.
“
She opens her mouth
and she
’
s dead.
”

The table fell silent. All eyes
slowly shifted to Miller.

Nate didn
’
t want to see Mia dead. Not unless she truly
deserved it.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Gaige said.
“
We could string her up and get
everything we want anyway. Then use her as leverage
…
force our hand with the Chief and Coast Road.
”

“
Then
they
’
ll just arm up and
attack,
”
Nate said.
“
Chief Jerry would be here in a
heartbeat. With a fucking warrant and a forensics team looking for even the
smallest droplet of blood to nail us to Mia.
”

“
Shit,
”
Miller said.
“
You shouldn
’
t have grabbed her then.
”

“
We
have to use her,
”
Nate
said.
“
If she talks then we
make her disappear. But not in this compound. They
’
ll come barreling for us.
”

“
Prez?
”
Blaine asked.

“
Vote?
”
Miller asked.

“
No,
”
Griffin said.
“
This is different. This is
executive action, Miller. You make the call. Nobody else matters.
”

“
Agreed,
”
Gaige said.

“
Aye,
”
Nate said.

Everyone agreed.

Miller took a minute and then said,
“
Nate. Go talk to her.
”

Nate rushed from the table. He
opened the door and Miller called his name.

He then said,
“
If you do end up inside her,
wrap your dick up. We don
’
t
need evidence.
”

“
Or
a baby,
”
Gaige said.

“
So
much for a good blow job then,
”
Blaine said.

“
Fuck
all of you,
”
Nate growled
and slammed the door.

If you do end up inside her
…

Nate shook his head.

That wasn
’
t going to happen. She was a fucking enemy. A
beautiful enemy.

seven.

Babe, I don
’
t think you
’
ve ever been free in your
life.

The truth fucking hurt. Worse than
the clasps cutting into Mia
’
s
wrists. Each time she moved, it hurt. She had a desire to fight and then
flight. She couldn
’
t just
sit there and take all this. These guys had no right to what they were doing
right now. This was simply illegal. It was a bad decision and they would pay
for it.

The second Mia could get to police
…
or better yet
…
Uncle Jake
…

A thought crushed upon her chest a
second later.

If I get out.

The place stunk of wet concrete. A
light barely lit the room.

These guys were big, mean, and
serious. Mia wondered how many people took their last breath down here. She
wasn
’
t the first and she
wouldn
’
t be the last.

She pulled on the chains and
groaned. They scratched against the floor. The noise made her angrier. So she
pulled hard, twisting and thrashing, wondering if she could have some of that
dumb luck like what happens in the movies.

No such luck for Mia.

All the noise did was attract the
men with guns.

They opened the door, holding long
weapons.

They were young, baby-faced, and
their leather cuts didn
’
t
have the same patches Nate
’
s
did.

“
What
the fuck is your problem, bitch?
”
one asked.

“
Let
me out,
”
Mia yelled.
“
Right now. You can
’
t do this.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
the other said.
“
We are doing this. You
’
re ours.
”

“
Hey,
if she doesn
’
t shut up, we
could make her shut up.
”

“
Yeah,
yeah. Unzip my jeans
…
reach
inside
…”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Mia said.
“
You
’
re not even real members.
”

Wrong thing to say.

The two bikers charged at Mia. She
had no way to defend herself.

The first guy put the gun to the
top of her head.
“
I
’
ll pull the trigger, bitch.
”

“
Then
do it,
”
Mia tempted.
“
I don
’
t care. You
’
ll
never get a thing from me then. If I
’
m
dead.
”

“
Bro,
she
’
s right,
”
the second guy said.
“
We can
’
t kill her.
”

“
Right,
”
the first guy said.
“
But I can make her take care of
me
…”

As he touched his pants, Mia kicked
at him. The heel of her foot crashed between his legs. He screamed and jumped
back, almost falling.

Mia saw the second guy getting
ready to swing his gun like a baseball bat. She cringed, bracing herself for
what would certainly be a jawbreaking smack to the mouth.

“
You
bitch.
”

Mia shut her eyes.

Then she heard,
“
Don
’
t fucking think about it.
”

When she opened her eyes, Nate was
there. He charged at the guy with the gun and grabbed him by the shoulder.
Spinning him around, Nate threw a punch and sent the guy flying back into the
wall. He dropped his gun and just stood there, in shock. Nate charged and had a
hand to the guy
’
s throat.

“
What
the fuck just happened?
”

“
She
fought,
”
the guy struggled
to say.
“
And, and, Johnny
was getting her calm. She kicked him in the balls
…”

Nate looked at Mia.
“
I told you to stay calm. Wait
for me.
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Mia said.
“
He
put the gun to my head. Then he touched himself.
”

“
What?
”
Nate growled.

He spun around. The guy behind him fell.

Nate went after the first guy,
Johnny. He ripped the gun from Johnny
’
s
hand and put it to his head. He walked Johnny back to the wall.

“
You
fucking put a gun to her head?
”
Nate asked.

“
She
was
…”

Nate had the guy against the other
wall.

It was an amazing sight for Mia to
see. This big and powerful biker commanded two people at the same time. One guy
against the wall, able to move if he wanted to, but too afraid to do so. The
other guy with a gun against his head, begged Nate to ease up.

“
You
had your hand on your pants?
”
he asked.
“
What were you
going to do to her? Take advantage of a woman? You fucking piece of shit. Is
that what we do here?
”

“
Nate,
bro
…”

“
Don
’
t call me
bro
,
”
Nate said.
“
You
’
re shit to me.
”

“
She
kicked me in the balls.
”

“
I
don
’
t care. You had orders.
She had orders. Everyone will be punished.
”

“
Punished?
”
Johnny asked.

“
Yeah.
I
’
m going to put a bullet
in your head.
”

“
Jesus
Christ, no,
”
Johnny said.

Mia pushed back against the wall,
trying to prepare herself for the sight of someone being killed. Her life had
shown her some dark shit, including a dead body here and there, but she never
saw someone get killed.

Before Nate could pull the trigger,
Johnny started to piss himself.

The dark spot on his jeans grew and
grew as he held his eyes shut and turned his head. Nate stepped away from
Johnny and offered him the gun back.

“
There,
”
Nate said.
“
I
’
m
done now. Get the fuck out of here. Both of you.
”

The two men wasted no time in
leaving the room. They shut the door. For a second, Mia wanted to feel
relieved, but then she remembered who she was with right now. Alone with Nate.
The guy who had pointed a gun at her, held her wrists, made her come with him.

He approached her, hooked his
thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. Looking down at her, he asked,
“
You okay?
”

“
I
’
m chained to a fucking wall.
”

“
Other
than that?
”

“
Fuck
off.
”

“
Tough
words.
”

Mia spit, imagining a world where
she could reach Nate
’
s face
from the angle and distance. Her spit hit the bottom of his leather cut.

Nate nodded.
“
I
’
m
the reason you
’
re still
alive.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
They
wanted to vote you dead. I stood up for you.
”

“
Thanks
then,
”
Mia said. She looked
away.

She couldn
’
t look at Nate. Christ, he was too sexy. That
dirty, scruffy look was perfected by him. A complete opposite to all the brass
and fancy guys that came into the club night after night. The smooth guys would
tell Mia they
’
d rather take
her home since they
’
d seen
the other women naked. Those guys did nothing for her though. They were
completely fake.

Nate
…
was far too real.

“
You
ready to start talking?
”
Nate asked.

“
Anyone
else going to try and take advantage of me? Or kill me?
”

“
Maybe.
”

“
This
is wrong. You can
’
t get
away with it.
”

Nate crouched down. He made a fist
with one hand and put his other hand over the fist. He gritted his teeth.
“
No, babe, that
’
s where you
’
re wrong. The law
…
there is no law here.
”

Mia tried to stare back without
being afraid. Looking at Nate made her feel warm. The clamps on her wrists were
so damn tight. She wanted to pull. Scream. Fight. Attack. Get loose and climb
on top of Nate.

Stop it. He
’
s going to hurt you.

“
Look,
”
Nate said.
“
You have two choices. You either
talk to me or talk to my guys. Either way, we
’
ll
get what we want.
”

“
Which
is what? Me dead?
”

“
If
that
’
s what you deserve,
”
Nate said.

His eyes were cold, deadly, fucking
beautiful though.

Mia sat against the wall. She put
her hands to her legs. With a deep exhale, her eyes filled with tears. The
emotion of the day caught up to her. She had thought she
’
d be working one of Uncle Jake
’
s parties and that was it. Then
he said to just follow the bikers. See what they were doing. He warned her that
they were crazy. But Mia never guessed this.

“
Look
at me, babe,
”
Nate ordered.

Mia looked at him. He reached
forward with both hands and wiped the tears off her cheeks. He then left his
right hand lingering on her face.

“
You
’
re on borrowed time right now,
”
Nate said.
“
My advice is to start talking.
”

“
Ask
me something,
”
Mia said.

Nate took a few seconds and then
dropped down to his ass. Knees bent. Looking even hotter now that he was down
at Mia
’
s level.

“
You
were told to follow us?
”
Nate asked.

“
Yes.
”

“
You
have nothing against Back Down Devil?
”

“
No.
”

“
You
’
re not with another crew or
anything?
”

Mia shook her head.
“
No. I
’
m just me.
”

“
I
’
ve never seen you before. Not
around town.
”

“
I
come around when needed.
”

“
And
what are you needed for?
”

Mia swallowed hard.
“
Nothing good.
”

“
Yeah,
obviously. So what do you do? Strip?
”

“
No.
I don
’
t strip. I work
behind the bar at a strip club.
”

“
You
could make more stripping.
”

“
Is
that why I
’
m chained to a
wall? A bad career choice?
”

Nate grinned.
“
Yeah, I guess so. You were
following us. Why? What did you want to see?
”

“
What
you were doing. Where you were going.
”

“
Why?
”

Mia shrugged her shoulders.
“
I don
’
t know.
”

“
Yeah,
you do. Why?
”

“
I
wasn
’
t given a reason.
”

“
By
the person who sent you.
”

“
Exactly.
”

“
So
…
that leads to the obvious
question. Who had you follow us?
”

That
’
s
when Mia went silent. She lowered her head.

Nate touched her chin and forced
her to look up at him. He was shaking his head.
“
Don
’
t start closing up now.
”

“
Nate
…”

“
If
you don
’
t give me
everything I want, they
’
re
going to kill you. I
’
m
going to kill you.
”

“
You
know I
’
m innocent.
”

“
But
we need answers or a body to get answers.
”