Dark Fall (Back Down Devil MC #3)(43)

Erik felt himself getting dizzy. The room spun, his body desperate for air.

“Blaine!” a voice yelled.

“Nnnooo…,” Erik said.

It came to deaf ears.

A fist connected with Blaine’s face, sending him spinning, releasing his hold on Erik’s throat. Both men fell to the ground.

“What the f*ck is this?” Gaige boomed.

“Just talking,” Blaine said as he wiped blood from his lip.

“Erik?” Gaige asked.

“Nothing,” Erik said.

He held his throat. He tried to stand and stumbled. Gaige grabbed him and Erik threw an elbow, almost hitting Gaige.

“Fuck,” Gaige yelled and jumped back. “What the f*ck is wrong with you?”

“I have to do something,” Erik said. “Personal. Then I’ll be back.”

“You don’t ride alone,” Gaige said.

“Like f*ck I won’t.”

“I’ll go,” Blaine said.

“No,” Gaige said. “I’m going. My orders. Blaine stay here. Gather everyone else up.”

Erik stood almost nose to nose with Gaige. VP or not, Erik wasn’t in the mood to take shit.

“I’m not giving up on you,” Gaige said. “And I’m not going to kill you. I’ll ride right with you into the fire, brother. If that’s where we need to go, let’s go.”

Erik walked into Gaige. He thought about throwing a punch but instead let out a breath.

“I’m leaving in ten minutes,” Erik said. “Taking Kaity to get her f*cking car. It has to be fixed by now. I want to ask those two *s if they remember anything else about the car auction. I can’t wait around anymore, Gaige.”

“We’re not,” Gaige said. “We never have been. Time is just…”

“Fucked,” Blaine called out. “It’s all f*cked.”

Erik looked back at Blaine. Blaine nodded and smiled. All was right between them now. They were brothers, their bond deep for the MC.

Erik nodded back at Blaine. “Yeah, it’s all f*cked.”

Erik stepped forward and one of his heavy boots stepped on a piece of Blaine’s coffee mug. It made it pop sound and Erik kept walking.

Ten minutes later, Erik sat on his motorcycle. Gaige was next to him. Their engines were fired up, rumbling into the beautiful morning.

And speaking of beautiful… the door opened and Kaity came walking out. Her hair was still a little messy from sleep and sex. She ran a hand through her hair, tossing it back. It fell forward right away. The sight drove Erik’s heart insane. He knew if he kept Kaity around everything would get worse. Someone would get hurt, definitely. If she was used to sleeping in her car, running and hiding, then that’s where she belonged.

Erik handed Kaity his helmet. She took it and stood there for a few seconds.

“I don’t have time,” Erik said.

Kaity nodded. She put the helmet on and then leaned in and kissed Erik’s cheek. The unexpected move made Erik close his eyes. He swallowed down the emotion that came with the kiss. He then felt Kaity’s lips to his ear.

“I’m not mad at you,” she said. “I never will be.”

Kaity got on the motorcycle and without a signal, Erik took off. The engine roared, the sound bouncing through the lot. Gaige hurried right behind him and they headed to the shitty auto garage to solve some problems.

The ride felt like an eternity. Erik didn’t need to tempt himself into thinking about the regret of his decisions. He regretted most of the things he did the moment they happened. Like not killing himself before he met Kaity. Or not killing himself this morning. He regretted hiding his feelings for Kaity and the urge to send her away. He regretted allowing his body to fight through the pain and injury of the bomb. That would have been the honorable death. To go down by being murdered… that was the way to do it…

Erik turned down the road that led to the auto garage. The shithole place was mostly hidden. He stopped and Gaige came right up next to him.

“Get off,” Erik said after killing the engine.

Kaity climbed off.

“What’s the…” Gaige started to say.

Erik got off the motorcycle and walked toward the open garage bays. He heard Gaige finish his question but ignored him. There was no real plan. Plans were worth shit. This was about action.

Jack stepped from the garage bay, wiping his hands. His face was still beat up and swollen from their previous encounter.

“Hey,” Jack said.

“Came to check on the car,” Erik said.

“Oh, yeah. That’s good to go, man.”

“Who is it?” Willy’s voice boomed. He rolled out from under a car and sat up. His eyes went wide. “Oh. Hey there.”

“I told you to call me when the car was done,” Erik said.

“Just finished it,” Jack said.

“Well, yesterday we did,” Willy said. “Got caught up in other shit and I wanted to take it out for a test drive.” Willy walked toward Erik. “Hate to have her take it without making sure it ran perfectly."

“Fixed that window?” Erik asked.

“Of course,” Jack said.

Erik grabbed Jack by the shirt and pulled him close. “I also wanted to know if you remembered anything else about that car auction.”