Riding Darkness (Back Down Devil MC #4.5)(20)

Brooke shook her head. “Probably not. How can I stop you?”

“You can’t,” Ares said. “Bad men get early graves.”

“If you murder Armen, won’t that make you bad too?”

“I am bad,” Ares said. “I’m just good at dodging my grave. For now.”

“Is that what this scar is? Another close call?”

Ares ran a wet hand up Brooke’s body. He moved over her breast and then to her neck. He leaned close, his lips just inches from hers. Brooke was soaking wet. She quivered with need.

“It was punishment,” Ares whispered.

“For what?”

“I used to be in another club. Patched in. Sat at the table. Drank, smoked, f*cked. Did what I wanted when I wanted. Had the respect of a lot of men and the panties of a lot more women.”

“What happened?”

“I let my emotions win a small battle. And that created a bigger war. One I’m still fighting.”

Ares let Brooke go and backed up. He turned and faced the wall. He made fists and put them to the tile. The cuts of muscles were almost as impressive as the sight of Ares’s cock just hanging there.

“Ares, please,” Brooke said. “I’m supposed to stand here and accept that you’re going to kill my brother. And I’m supposed to trust you. How can I…”

“I don’t give a f*ck if you trust me,” Ares growled. “I took you from danger and gave you a warm bed. You were lucky to get that. Now you’re an asset to the club and me. That means you’re going to help us find Armen.”

“Fuck you then,” Brooke said. “I’ll take your other offer and leave.”

“Too late,” Ares said.

“Fuck you.”

Brooke tore open the curtain and grabbed a towel. She hurried to wrap it around her body and fled the bathroom.

Kill Armen?

It didn’t register in her mind or body yet. Armen was the only person she had known since her parents were killed. He had been the one to run, to teach Brooke how to run. They were always on the run, waiting for the fight and revenge on the person - or people - who killed their parents.

Now Ares and Back Down Devil wanted to kill him.

He’s a bad person… you know that…

Brooke shut her eyes and shivered. Of course Armen was a bad guy. He had always been bad. Not tough bad, like Ares. But weak bad. The kind of man that was a weasel and manipulated people into getting what he wanted.

Brooke crouched down and grabbed her bag. She started to dig for clothes when a voice spoke behind her.

“I let one of my brothers die.”

Brooke turned her head. Ares stood a foot away, a towel around his waist. His muscles looked like they went for miles.

“Now stand the f*ck up and listen to me,” Ares said.

Slowly, Brooke stood. She stared into his eyes, daring herself not to start falling for him. Because that nonsense had started last night. And that was simply insane to imagine. But it was happening.

“He sat across from me at the table,” Ares said. “He was a shady * and I’m pretty sure a lot of us wanted to kill him. But we couldn’t. He was patched in. He was a brother. And he was loyal to the club. I had a girlfriend at the time. Skinny little thing with fake tits. Opposite of you, and that’s fine with me. I wish I never met her after what happened. She wanted money and cock. Her two favorites. Being with me meant just one cock. And when she started using, she tossed all her money into a black hole of addiction. That’s when it got bad.” Ares turned his head and looked at Brooke. “The club was in a war. Brutal and bloody. When she came to me for money, I cut her off. Honestly, I had nothing. The entire club got together and put all their money into guns.”

Brooke reached out and touched Ares’s big shoulder. “Tell me everything, Ares.”

“She told me she f*cked someone in the club. Someone at the table. Someone on the f*cking table. And I was dumb enough to believe it. Under different circumstances I wouldn’t have believed it, but my head was a mess. And Buzz was an *. He would f*ck anything with two legs. Probably as twisted as Blaine. Except Buzz was a dark man. And I f*cking believed it.”

“Did you kill him?”

“No. Well, yes. It ended up he and I in a room together. We were leading some other guys to a roof where our men were waiting to light them up. I hesitated, on purpose, and the men came into the room we were in. We were supposed to be moving, but I held up. He was screaming at me. Christ, I’ll never forget the sound of Buzz’s voice. He looked at me and for the first time ever I saw fear in his eyes. The door busted open and I dove out the window. Buzz was shot over and over. Left for dead.”

Brooke moved closer to Ares. She wasn’t going to judge him. Not for his past decisions.

“I found out later that Buzz never did anything to betray me. I let my damn emotions get in the way and get the best of me. I could have talked to him about things. We could have finished off the other crew and then fought each other. Man to man. Nose to nose. But I didn’t allow that to happen. That’s why the club kicked me out.”

“What does that have to do with the scar?” Brooke asked.

Ares faced Brooke now. He touched the scar. “This? This was a going away present. They sliced me open, took my patches, and then left me with my t-shirt and a bag of clothes. They blindfolded me and drove me to a hospital and dumped me. I got fixed up and was gone. A wanderer because of my actions.”