RUTHLESS HOLD (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) Read online

  Her knees shook at the sight in front of her eyes.

  “See these two guys?” Trev whispered into her ear. “These two are members of our MC.”

  Eden shook her head. She had seen enough already.

  The two men had chains around their wrists and those chains were hooked around a bar across the ceiling of the building. They were dangling, the tips of their toes barely touching the floor. They were shirtless, their skinny bodies exposed, wearing nothing but jeans and black boots. They had blindfolds on and gags in their mouths.

  “They fucked up,” Trev said. “They fucked with me. With my club. We actually just took a vote right before you showed up, Eden. You know what that vote was for?”

  “What?” she asked.

  “To kill them or not.”

  “Jesus.”

  “The vote went the way we wanted,” Trev said. “They’re dead men breathing right now.”

  Eden started to shake even worse.

  Trev then pushed Eden forward. He then walked toward the men and reached for his knife.

  “Hey, Stevie!” Trev yelled. “You awake, my man?”

  The guy started to thrash and try and scream.

  Trev put the knife to the guy’s throat and looked at Eden. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to talk to me or I’m going slit his throat. Either way, I win. Because when I’m done with Stevie here, I’ll take care of Keith. And if they’re both dead and you’re still not talking… hope you don’t mind chains…”

  Eden felt her heart pounding in her chest. This guy was real. This guy was the epitome of outlaw biker. For a second, she thought about running but she knew he’d catch her in a second. Or someone else would. And maybe that someone else wouldn’t be so nice.

  Nice? He’s got a knife to guy’s throat and he’s the nice one?

  Eden shivered and put her hand out. “Stop.”

  “What?”

  “I saw someone get murdered last night.”

  “Keep talking.”

  “I work at a tattoo shop,” Eden said. “Okay?”

  “You don’t have any ink.”

  “Who says I need ink to be a tattoo artist?”

  “It’s weird.”

  “Says the guy with a knife to another man’s throat.”

  “Fair enough.” Trev took the knife away. “Keep talking. How does this connect with your father?”

  “He sent me a letter.”

  “You’re father sent you a letter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bullshit on you,” Trev said.

  He started to move at Eden, knife in hand. She tried to walk back and lost her balance. She turned and fell into the wall. She rolled to the door and Trev was right there. His hand grabbed her ass and Eden jumped, yelping. As she tried to smack him, she felt his hand cupping her tight.

  Eden wiggled away and swung again, managing to get a slap across Trev’s face.

  He smiled and lifted his hand, showing her that he hadn’t been getting a cheap feel but rather getting the picture out of her back pocket.

  “No,” she said. “Please don’t damage it. Someone already burned the letter.”

  “Stay right there,” Trev said. He unfolded the picture and his eyes went wide. “Holy fuck.”

  Then there was silence.

  Eden could only hear and feel her heart.

  “I wasn’t lying,” she finally whispered.

  Trev turned the picture around. “Where the fuck did you get this?”

  “My father sent it to me.”

  “With a letter?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s… it’s just impossible,” Trev said. “When did you get this?”

  “A long time ago, okay? Almost a year ago.”

  “Ah, fuck,” Trev said. “You’re not fucking with me?”

  “No. Why?”

  Trev folded up the picture and put it in his pocket.

  Eden jumped forward. “Please. That’s the only picture I have of him.”

  Gently, Trev put a hand to Eden’s shoulder. “Okay, here’s what is going to happen next. We’re going to trust each other. You have no idea that bomb you’re about to set off, sweetheart. I’m willing to help your ass as long as you help me.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “These guys that busted up the tattoo shop. Did they give a reason?”

  “No. They shot Dimitrio dead. He owns the place. They didn’t realize I was there. Then they started to come on to me. When they saw the letter and the picture, they wanted to rape me and kill me. They knew you guys.”

  “Fuck,” Trev said. “Okay. I’m going to give you someplace to settle for a minute. Okay? I need to address this. Move with me right now.”

  Before Eden could say a word, Trev grabbed her by the hand and started to lead the way. Feeling his tight grip on her hand filled her with heat and made her feel protected. This coming from a man who just minutes ago had a knife to another man’s throat. Eden was beyond confused, beyond scared, desperate for an answer.

  They walked from one building to another. They went up a set of steps and Trev opened the door. He then turned and stuck his fingers into his mouth and whistled. Two men in leather cuts came rushing to Trev’s whistle. They barreled up the steps and halted right before him.

  Eden had to admit it to herself that it was kind of sexy to see a man command such power.

  “You two fucks stand guard at this fucking door. Got it? She is not allowed to leave, no matter what. If the place is on fire, piss on it to put it out. She takes one fucking step and you put a bullet in her leg. End of discussion.”

  “Got it,” one of them said.

  They both stood there, staring at Eden.

  Trev then looked at her. “Move inside for a second.”

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Insuring myself before all hell breaks loose.”

  “Why would all hell break loose?” Eden asked.

  Trev shut the door and locked it. He then ripped off his leather cut and took off all of his holster, letting his gun fall to the floor. Eden saw something like rage in his eyes as he grabbed for her. Hands at her waist, he picked her up and put her on the table in the small kitchen. He had his body against hers, staring down at her.

  “If you fuck with me or my club, I will have no choice but to kill you. I want that on the table right now.”

  “I swear, I’m not fucking with anyone. I’m just trying to talk to my father.”

  “He’s not here,” Trev said.

  “What do you mean he’s not here?”

  Eden saw something flash across Trev’s face.

  Guilt? Worry?

  Whatever it was, it didn’t fit on him well.

  He touched her face, his thumb against her cheek. “Don’t leave this place. Don’t make my guys have to shoot you. I need to go talk to Miller right now.”

  “Why? What’s happening?”

  There was a second of hesitation and Trev then planted a kiss to Eden’s cheek.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispered and then pulled away.

  Eden got a handful of his t-shirt and tugged at him. When she did, his shirt lifted. She saw skin, muscle, ink. He was ripped along the side of his body, his oblique’s twisted into the rest of his stomach. It was jaw dropping muscle, chiseled and toned.

  Trev grabbed her wrist. “Don’t fucking pull at me if you can’t handle what I’m going to do to you.”

  “When is my father coming back?” she asked.

  Trev broke Eden’s hold and walked to the door. He paused and looked back at her. “Let me figure this out and I’ll be back. Just know that I’m sorry.”

  Trev opened the door and left.

  “For what?” Eden called out.

  She slithered off the table and hurried to the door. She tried to ignore the fact that her panties were damp. No man had ever gone after her like Trev did.

 
She put her ear to the door and listened…

  __

  six.

  Trev touched his back pocket. He felt the picture.

  What the fuck was Griffin doing with a pregnant Jenn?

  Fucking Eden believed that Griffin was her father? And she had a picture of Griffin with a pregnant woman… a woman that was completely off limits. A woman that - for all Trev and everyone else knew - never had a baby.

  “What’s going on, Trev?” one of the prospects asked.

  Trev threw his hand out and grabbed the guy by the shirt. “Don’t fuck this up. Keep her in there. She can’t leave. She claims Griffin is her father and she wants to talk to him.”

  “But she can’t talk…”

  Trev put a hand over the prospects mouth. “Don’t fucking say a word. Both of you. Don’t talk to her. Don’t look at her. She opens that door, draw your weapons.”

  “Yes, sir,” the other prospect said.

  “I’ll be back in a few,” Trev said.

  He looked back at the door. He could almost sense Eden standing at the door, listening.

  Christ, if this was true, this poor woman just walked into a fire and was about to turn it into hell. Inside himself, Trev wondered if it wasn’t easiest to just get one of the prospects to take her out and cover it all up. Because the secret - if true - that Griffin had taken to his grave was still alive and well inside Jenn. She was a few hours away and best left right there.

  But this could be bigger than that.

  Had Griffin sent Eden a letter right before he was shot? Or did something else make that happen? Christ, why the hell would Griffin want to bring someone into this life? Maybe he didn’t. Well, obviously he didn’t, right? He and Jenn had Eden and then…

  Trev froze at the door to the clubhouse. He tried to process it again.

  Griffin and Jenn.

  Then it started to come back to him.

  “Fuck,” Trev whispered.

  When Griffin was running outlaw. When he gave up the patch and was with The Lost Men for a little while. Trev remembered Griffin having something on the side. He wasn’t shy about his feeling of disgust for the Frelen charter, but he also didn’t hide his attempt to get into another charter.

  “Another charter,” Trev whispered.

  It was a lot for Trev to remember. It was a time when he was still so goddamn young. Barely eighteen and running with a wild outlaw crew. Looking up to a guy like Griffin, who was older, wiser, who had been patched in to a real MC and then gave it up. It was almost heroic.

  He tore open the door and went into the clubhouse.

  Blaine stood there, holding his son. “What’s happening, brother?”

  Trev looked at Miller. “You and me. We need to talk right now.”

  “Table?” Gaige asked.

  “Just the three of us for now.”

  “What the fuck is that about?” Jace asked.

  He side stepped toward Trev and Trev wasn’t having it. He grabbed Jace and tossed him right over the bar. The clubhouse erupted with women screaming, babies crying, and men shouting. Jace jumped up and tried to get over the bar. Two prospects grabbed him and Jace threw elbows, shattering their noses like they were eggs.

  “Shit!” Nate yelled. He hurried to the bar and grabbed Jace. “There’s family here, man. Calm down.”

  Trev pointed. “Everyone stand down. Miller, Gaige, conference room.”

  Trev walked, not giving a damn who was looking at him or why. This was far beyond his control right now. He opened the door and went into the room. He walked to the table and grabbed his seat. Miller and Gaige came into the room and shut the door.

  “What the hell is going on?” Gaige asked.

  “It’s family out there,” Miller bellowed. “You don’t come in there like a raging fool.”

  “Fuck that,” Trev said. “Fuck this breakfast stuff.”

  Miller reached for his gun.

  Trev grabbed Griffin’s seat and threw it across the room.

  Gaige put a hand to Miller’s shoulder. “Holy shit. Everyone calm down. What the hell is happening?” He looked at Trev. “Who was the woman with the gun?”

  “She says she’s Griffin’s daughter,” Trev said.

  “What?” Miller asked. “How the hell is that possible?”

  “Well, anything is possible,” Gaige said. “I’m sure Griffin pounded a lot of pussy in his days.”

  “No, man, this isn’t like that,” Trev said.

  “How the hell do you know it’s remotely true?” Miller asked.

  “He wrote her a letter.”

  “He’s fucking dead,” Miller growled.

  “Exactly. But she had this…”

  Trev took the picture out of his pocket and tossed it across the table. Miller’s reaction was the same as Trev’s. His jaw dropped and then turned, balling his fists up tight.

  “Is that what I think?” Gaige asked.

  “Yeah,” Trev said. “When he was running outlaw, I guess.”

  “No,” Miller said. “How old do you think she is?”

  “I don’t know,” Trev said. “I can’t be much older, right?”

  Then it hit Trev… I can’t be much older.

  “Fuck,” Gaige said. “So he was doing this while patched in.”

  Miller nodded. “I heard some shit about something… but I never gave a fuck. It wasn’t my business then. I was just a patched in member.” Miller turned and put his fists to the table. “The President’s all met up and it was right around the time the gun deals were starting to come to life.”

  “She was pregnant though?” Trev asked.

  “Yeah. Jenn was pregnant. We didn’t see all that much though. It was kind of swept under the rug. I guess everyone feared that baby would become a type of leverage in our deals.”

  “She gave the baby up?” Gaige asked.

  “I guess so.”

  “Nobody asked?” Trev asked.

  Miller looked at Trev. “He wanted to transfer and it was voted nay. He lost his mind and chose outlaw. He started to run all over the country. The thing was, wherever Griffin went, things got easier, smoother. Everyone wanted him back here. It took years of convincing to bring him back. Shit, there was the notion of creating a small charter for him to run. He didn’t want that.”

  “That’s when I met him first,” Trev said. “Shit. And he was working with another charter then. Guns.”

  “Was that the real reason?” Gaige asked.

  “Fuck,” Miller said. “This picture is bad.”

  “That bitch is going to be worse,” Gaige said.

  Trev tensed up. “Hey. Cut her some slack. It took guts to show up with a gun.”

  Miller rubbed his chin. “Things with Ripper have always been touch and go. This makes sense as to why. Shit. Maybe he knew Griffin was hitting his old lady.”

  “A President’s old lady?” Gaige asked. “That’s serious.”

  “What can they do now? He’s dead.”

  Trev looked at the table.

  Shit, Trev was probably playing with toys on the bedroom floor when Griffin was fucking Ripper’s old lady. It just proved his destiny as an outlaw even more.

  One thing was for sure - the easiest thing to do would be to kill Eden. Stop this shit from getting worse than it already appeared.

  There were just too many questions to answer though.

  “There’s nothing against our laws,” Miller said. “It’s an unspoken thing.”

  “What would you do?” Gaige asked.

  “I’d fucking gut someone if they touched my old lady,” Miller said.

  “And Griffin is dead. This shit just dropped on us. We haven’t talked to Ripper or the rest of the Daurian charter in a while. Not since the last gun vote went bad. This will really set him off.”

  Miller looked at Trev. “Where is she now?”

  “Eden?”

  “Eden?” Gaige asked.

  “That’s her fucking name, brother.”

  “Oh, you go
t the name, huh? You better calm yourself down.”

  Trev stepped to the side and opened his arms. “Come calm me down, VP.”

  “Whoa,” Miller said. “Where the fuck is Eden right now?”

  “In the apartment above the garage. I have two prospects at the door.”

  Miller nodded. “Okay. I want to talk to her. Right now. Let’s move.”

  Trev rushed forward and shut the door as Miller opened it. “Miller, look at me. She got fucked up last night by some guys. Something with a shooting at a tattoo shop. The guys knew us when they saw the letter and the picture. She’s terrified. She got the letter from Griffin right around the time he died. She doesn’t know…”

  “You didn’t tell her?” Gaige asked.

  “No,” Trev said. “I didn’t know what the hell to do.”

  Miller nodded again. “Well, then it’s time to deliver some really bad fucking news, isn’t it?”

  __

  seven.

  Eden rummaged her way through the cabinets and found a glass and poured herself some water. This was not the homecoming she had expected to have. She thought her father would have come through the door and grabbed her. Lifted her up, hugged her, spun her around. He would have welcomed her into the clubhouse, demand protection from the club, and life would be good. Then she could see her mother - her real mother - and that’s when the world would feel right again.

  The door opened and Eden stood up from the table.

  Three men came through the door.

  One was Trev. The other was about Trev’s height and build, Trev’s age, making him way too young to be her father. The other guy was tall, wide, and had age to his face. But his patch read President.

  “Miller,” she whispered.

  “She knows your name,” Trev said.

  “State the fucking obvious some more,” Miller said. He pointed to Eden. “You’re Eden. You claim to be Griffin’s daughter?”

  “Not claim,” Eden said. “It’s the truth.”

  “Sit down.”

  “No.”

  Miller turned his head.

  Trev came forward and walked to Eden’s chair. He pulled it out a little more. “Don’t fuck with us, sweetheart. We’re your last hope to get out of this shit alive.”

  “What shit?” Eden asked.

  Miller pulled out a chair and turned it around. He straddled it. The other guy, Vice President, stood with his arms folded. Eden looked over at Trev.