Riding Darkness (Back Down Devil MC #4.5)(26)

Fuck, I don’t want to die today.





eighteen.



They were a large group. The sight alone was scary, but to be on one of the motorcycles, holding tight to Ares’s leather was something else. She counted eight rides. Miller had been barking orders from the second they got outside. He was pissed off that Brooke was there, but she refused to leave. Miller made it very clear that her death was on Ares’s hands and nobody else’s. Ares argued back with the President of Back Down Devil, making it known that if Brooke didn’t go, then Armen would run.

The plan was pretty simple. They were going to ride toward the warehouse. Everyone but Ares and Brooke would cut off the road and come up through the back of the warehouse. Ares and Brooke would approach the warehouse and make it seem like Brooke had set him up.

Brooke’s heart pounded. The plan seemed too easy and calm. Bullets were going to fly. People were going to get hurt. Armen was going to die.

The motorcycles thundered through Frelen and beyond the main part of town. It quickly went from a busy little town to desolate areas. There were buildings in the distance and plenty of forgotten about properties.

The ride felt longer than it probably was. Brooke wondered what would happen if Armen was able to escape. Would he leave? Would he come back and try to kidnap Brooke? For a second, Brooke wondered if she could help her brother. Let him run until it all caught up to him. But then she remembered the sight of her parents on the floor. Her dear parents. They were good people. Honest people. They worked hard. They loved their kids. And Armen took all that away. Because of his stupidity and greed. His need to gamble and always come up big. But he always came up short and then cheated to get away from it all.

Brooke knew deep down that she should have been killed a long time ago, one of the nights when things went bad, but Armen always knew a way out. It was scary, risky, and he lived looking over his shoulder.

That would be no more after today.

When the time came, Miller made a hand signal and the group cut to the left. Ares throttled his ride and sped up. He powered down the road and hung a wide left. Up ahead was the warehouse where everything had happened. It was still taped off with police tape. Brooke feared the police would be lurking, but she remembered Miller saying something to Ares that someone named Jerry (or was it Chief Jerry?) would have the area open for them for about an hour.

That was their window.

To get in, fix the mess, and get the hell out.

As they rode toward the warehouse, Brooke saw three men near the door. They were big, in leather cuts, and there was three motorcycles near them.

Ares turned to the right and gave a wave, then threw the middle finger. All three men quickly drew their weapons.

Ares stopped his ride and turned his head. “Stay calm, darling. They won’t hurt you. They want me. But they won’t hurt you.”

As Ares stepped off the motorcycle one of the guys came charging toward him.

“Don’t move!” the man yelled.

“What the f*ck are you doing here?” Ares asked. “I thought Eight Under had learned their lesson…”

The man was close enough and swung his gun, smacking Ares in the mouth. He spun and fell. Brooke let out a scream.

“Come here,” the man growled and grabbed at Brooke’s arm.

She watched Ares rub his mouth and stand up. “Motherf*ckers. What is this?”

The man laughed. “She’s coming with me. And then we’re going to take you into that warehouse and cut you limb by limb. You f*cking punk. You’re not even patched in…”

Brooke was then dragged away from Ares. He started to come forward but the Eight Under guy lifted his gun again and Ares threw his hands up and remained still.

All of a sudden, everything felt wrong.

Brooke tried to plant her feet to the ground, but she was still moving.

“Don’t f*cking fight me,” the guy yelled in her ear. “I’m saving you.”

Brooke looked at Ares, unsure what to do. She then caught him giving a nod.

What the hell does that mean?

For a second she thought maybe it was a signal to the other Back Down Devil guys. Or maybe it was her cue to do something. Brooke knew that if she was taken into the warehouse alone, Ares would be shot dead.

Taking a chance, Brooke lifted her left foot. She brought it back and then down, hitting the Eight Under guy in the leg and then stomping his foot. He screamed and Brooke dropped to her knees. She looked at Ares and watched him scramble to grab his gun and shoot.

Brooke flinched and the man behind her fell to the ground. She turned around, still crouching and a second later there were more shots fired. The other Eight Under guys fell to the ground, dead.

“What the hell?” Ares bellowed as he grabbed Brooke and lifted her. “You weren’t…”

“Give me your gun,” Brooke yelled. “I’m going inside there.”

The Back Down Devil riders came into view, Miller and Blaine with guns at their sides. They had been the ones who shot the other Eight Under men.

Everything was moving fast now.

“Christ, Brooke,” Ares said. “We have a plan…”

“And it’s f*cked up now,” Brooke said. “He’s in there. He’s going to run.”

The motorcycles roared close and Brooke saw Ares curl his lip.

He put his gun into her hand and kissed her forehead. “Don’t get killed.”