Owned & Untamed (Back Down Devil MC #11)(53)

“No,” Peter said. “No.” He pointed to Jim. “He sold land. He dies. Right now.”

“You can’t kill him,” I said.

I let Jim go and turned to see the look on Trev and Jasper’s faces. They were considering it. Letting Jim die would definitely give us a huge boost of respect from the Russians. It would be the ultimate proof and would make them ease up a little.

Then an idea came to me.

“No f*cking way,” I said. “You kill Jim you don’t get your money back.”

Ivan chuckled. “Then I burn it all down. I rule the town.”

“Listen, you like to place a wager here and there, huh?” I asked. “Betting men. I have something for you. We weren’t going to share this…”

“What the hell are you doing, Duke?” Trev asked.

Saving my best friend’s life… and possibly the entire MC.

“You can get your money back easily,” I said. “And it’ll be covered in blood.”

“How so?” Peter asked.

“Fight.”

“Fight?” Ivan asked.

“Bet on a fight with us. The club will pull our money together. You pull some of yours. Whatever we win, you get it. And I’m sure it’ll be more than sixty-five.”

Ivan growled. “Fuck that. You show up and who’s going to bet against you? It’s all a setup…”

“We’re not f*cking fighting,” I said. “Jim is. His proof to you and to this club that he didn’t do this on purpose.”

That got everyone’s attention.

“Really?” Peter asked.

“What the f*ck,” I said, shaking my head. “You think we’d just let someone like him into this clubhouse? Tell him Trev.”

“We’re not idiots, Ivan,” Trev said, picking up right where I left off. “We know what we’re doing here. Truth is… the money with the Hell Five is tied up. We don’t want you worried about that or tied up in our affairs here. Every time you come around, it’s a waste of my f*cking time. So we’re putting Jim in a fight. He has to prove he can be trusted. We’re throwing in cash and we’ll make something to give to you. But if you put up some of your own, you’ll make a lot more.”

“Why?” Ivan asked.

“Show him,” Trev said.

I looked at Jim. “Do it.”

Jim picked up on what we were doing. He pulled up his pant leg and showed Ivan and Peter his fake leg.

“Christ,” Peter said.

“Lost it in Iraq,” Jim said.

“And you can fight?” Ivan asked.

The greedy prick had dollar signs in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jim said.

“It’ll be heavily favored the other way,” I said. “We throw him in and see what happens.”

“And what happens if he loses?” Ivan asked. “Huh? Then we’re out even more money.”

“That answer is easy,” Trev said. “If Jim loses the fight, we take our turns killing him, Ivan. And then Duke is on the line for the cash lost. Personally. Right Duke?”

“Sure thing,” I said.

“There’s no other way,” Jasper added. “You want your blood money, Ivan, this is your shot. We need you off our backs.”

Ivan grinned. “I like a good gamble. Either way I win. I’m going to get everything I want in the end, Trev. I hope you know that.”

“Now get the f*ck off my lot,” Trev said. “Before another war starts.”

They walked to the SUV and got back inside. We all stood and waited until they were gone before anyone spoke.

“That’s what you came up with?” Trev asked.

“We need a good fight,” I said. “Jim could do it.”

I looked back at Jim. He was nodding. “I’ll do it. I don’t care. If I did this, I’ll help to fix it.”

“I f*cking hope so,” Jasper said. “Christ. What a f*cking mess.”

I was then left alone with Jim right there in the lot. I walked to the railing and leaned against it. Jim walked to the railing and grabbed it.

“What the f*ck is this?” he asked.

“Reality, brother,” I said. “You’ve been floating around for a long time. This is the extreme version of reality. But this is where we’re at. I’m sorry I threw you under the bus there.”

“You had to do it,” Jim said. “I could use the action.”

“Seriously, you think you could pull this off?” I asked.

Jim looked me dead in the eyes. “Do I have a choice?”

“No, you don’t. If you f*ck this up, we’re all dead.”

“We used to say the same shit over there, brother,” Jim said.

I patted Jim on the back. “Welcome back.”

I walked away from Jim.

I needed a drink and I needed Belle.

I suddenly felt safer being at war halfway across the world.

**

I got my drink and I got my girl. I threw back a couple beers and had my arm around Belle’s waist. I loved digging my fingers into her side and feeling the natural curve of her body. Feeling her hip made my cock pulse and start to fill.

The clubhouse was busy but it wasn’t the same free-as-f*ck kind of attitude. It was obvious every guy in there had some shit on their mind. That always happened when our lives were threatened to be rattled. Having the Russians showing up like they did put a kink in Trev’s Presidency. I could tell the guys were wondering if voting in working with the Russians was a bad idea. Shit, it brought up a ton of money, so it wasn’t a bad idea. Everything with Ivan and Peter would smooth over on its own. They were old school pricks and they enjoyed killing people just to say they did so. But they also needed us to help them. If they really thought they could come to Daurian and take control, they were out of their minds. They would muscle it though with murder and power, ruining the town, which they didn’t f*cking want either.