Outlaw Revenge (Back Down Devil MC #1)(10)

Gaige walked to the front of his motorcycle and stood for a second. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked back at the building.

“We need a meeting,” he said.

“Yeah,” Nate said. “Want me to call Miller?”

“You f*cking better,” Gaige said. “He’s on a run, but we need him back to the table. This shit can’t go without something happening. That was a f*cking ambush.”

“I was there, brother,” Nate said. “What about…”

Nate nodded toward Emily. When she had both sets of eyes upon her, she grew worried. Would they kill her? She was a witness to something very serious, wasn’t she? Not only had she seen illegal fights and gambling, she had been the witness to a shootout and a murder.

“Let me talk to her,” Gaige said. He grabbed Nate by the shoulder. “I’ll be okay. Go in the office and call Miller. Head up to the clubhouse and see who’s there. We need to round this up fast and make a decision. I don’t want these f*ckers to think they got to us.”

“They think Blaine is dead,” Nate said.

“Hopefully,” Gaige said.

Emily’s lips quivered. Blaine survived because Rachel had been used a human shield, taking all those bullets to her back. Without warning. Without need.

“It’s not fair,” Emily finally said. Her entire body started to shake. “It’s not fair…”

“You better get to that,” Nate said.

He hugged Gaige and then walked away, the leather chains dangling from his jeans clanking together.

Emily saw Gaige turn to face her. His eyes and face looked sympathetic, but she knew this part. It was part of the life. The life that Emily didn’t want. The life that she ran from before. The life that Rachel never knew anything about.

“Beautiful, I need you to look at me,” Gaige said.

“It’s not fair,” Emily said again.

“Emily…”

“She didn’t get it. She wouldn’t listen to me. She thought it was a game. She thought it was fun.”

“Listen to me,” Gaige said. “I’m sorry for what happened back there. That was retaliation on the club. That will never happen again.”

Gaige put his hand out Emily stared at it. She noted the size of his hand. She wondered how many people he had hurt with that hand. How many times that hand hit other people’s faces or pulled a trigger.

She slowly lifted her gaze to Gaige.

“Look, I’m not here to play f*cking games, beautiful,” Gaige said. “I took you to save you. I could have left you back there in that f*cking mess. I’m doing you a favor and trying to help you.”

“Fuck you,” Emily said.

“Yeah? Is that what you want to say to me right now?”

“Fuck… you…”

Gaige took his hand away, but then came at Emily. She didn’t even flinch as her body was still in shock from what had happened. Gaige had her by the waist and lifted her onto a metal railing. When she turned her head, she saw a massive drop off above more garage bays. If Gaige let her go, she would crack her skull open and probably break her neck.

But Gaige didn’t let her go. He held her tight at her waist and he shook her.

“Fuck, beautiful, snap out of it,” Gaige commanded. “If you’re going to act like this, I’m taking you somewhere. I’ll take you the f*ck home. I’ll take you to the f*cking police station. I’ll take you to the f*cking hospital. Is that what you want?”

Emily shook her head. She looked in Gaige’s eyes again and in the darkness she swore she could see them glowing at her.

“This is where we need to start some kind of trust, Emily,” Gaige said.

Emily put her hands to the railing and gripped it. It was cool. Her hands were sweating and when she moved her hands she could feel small slivers of paint chipping away.

“Can we do that?” Gaige asked.

Emily wasn’t sure what to do. Could she trust this man? This biker? This really sexy biker?

“I will help you,” Gaige said. “I promise, Emily. I will find the man who did this and I will… take care of it.”

“Will you kill him?” Emily asked. The question made her stomach queasy, but strangely it turned her on.

Gaige took a hand from Emily’s waist and touched her face. “This is where trust begins. I’m not going to just start telling you things. That’s something you have to earn.”

“Okay,” Emily said. “Okay. I trust you then.”

Emily opened her hands, showing her trust by not gripping the rail. It was just Gaige holding her steady with one hand to keep her from falling. The odd part was that she had a sensation running through her body that she was falling. She slowly lifted her left hand and placed it over Gaige’s hand. She gripped Gaige’s hand and had the sudden urge to kiss him. The need to feel protected and to be held ran rampant in her body. Bullets had been flying, bodies falling, and all Emily wanted to savor some kind of reassurance that it wouldn’t be her next to fall dead at the hands of an angry biker. And the only way to come close to ensuring that was to have a biker protect her.

Gaige was gorgeous and powerful, and he could do that for her.

“What are you thinking right now?” Gaige asked.