Ruthless Hold (Back Down Devil MC #9)(24)

“Fair enough,” Trev said.

He ripped through two more burgers and another three beers as the rest of the guys lingered around the lot.

It was twilight when Landon came over and said, “Prospects are still alive.”

“I know,” Trev said.

“Thought you were slated to take care of that.”

“I am,” Trev said. “Got a problem?”

“They’re just hanging there. It’s kind of bad. Even for us.”

“Gives them time to think about what they did,” Trev said. “Now leave me the f*ck alone.”

Trev walked away and saw Gaige and Miller at a different table, a map open.

They were discussing territory rights, something that scared Trev. Debating cities and borders between charters of the same MC was touchy to begin with. Add to that a little inner beef and it was worse. If Chief Ethan got wind of it…

Trev kept walking, eyeing up the apartment. Prospects had taken food to Eden a while ago. She was fed, sheltered, and safe. That’s all Trev could offer her for right now until the rest of the bullshit started to really show itself.

As Trev walked a line of junk cars, he saw a lighter flicker with a flame. The lighter clicked shut and the cherry of a cigarette glowed bright.

“Brother,” Nate’s voice said.

“What are you doing back here?”

“Avoiding the noise,” Nate said. “You know me.”

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure.”

“You got your head bashed in once, left for dead. You were let down pretty bad by some close people in this town. Hell, even the MC. You ever think Griffin was…”

“Never once,” Nate said. “He was a fat pain in the ass, but never a traitor.”

“He was hitting Ripper’s old lady.”

“So what?”

“If this goes bad, Nate…”

“It always goes bad,” Nate said. “That’s our life, Trev. You’ve seen enough dark shit to make the reaper fear you. What are you worried about?”

“Eden. She walked into a storm thinking she was finding the end of a rainbow.”

“That’s poetic. You should write that down and sell it in a card or some shit.”

“You’re a real f*cking prick sometimes.”

Nate put an arm and grabbed Trev’s shoulder. “Hey. If a war between charters broke out, we’re the charter, Trev. The Charter. No questions. Ripper is a f*cking *. I was kind of hoping Miller would start to address the other charters soon. Now that it seemed Frelen was quiet, to me, it’s time to think north.”

“Christ, Nate. You want to patch over up in Daurian?”

“No. Just put the right power in place. Then again, I’m a f*cking prick sometimes, right? I don’t trust anyone.”

“Thanks for the talk,” Trev said.

He went back to the apartment and grabbed a fresh beer.

It was too quiet in the damn place. For a second, he thought maybe Eden had gotten an escape.

When he opened the bedroom door, it was almost like before. She was in the bed, asleep. This time she was tucked in and rolled up in the covers. Trev looked at the ground and sure as hell, her jeans were on the floor. He thought about her panties, her sweet *, the way her mouth looked so full of his dick. It made him start to get hard.

Leaning against the wall, Trev slowly dropped down to his ass. He then sat there, in the dark, and finished his beer. He stared at the bed and tried to replay everything in his mind over and over. He thought about killing those prospects, but he didn’t feel like leaving Eden.

Then he thought of something to do with Eden tomorrow… to see how strong she really was in all this…

__



eleven.



When Eden woke up she had a crazy rush to her head. She sat up and felt like she had been hit by a truck. The sun was shining outside the window and she tried to refuse the idea that she had slept all night. It was the most sleep she’d had in one night in a very long time.

She looked around the bedroom and saw that it was empty.

Trev.

She had no clue where he had gone. They had fooled around, he left, and he never came back. Eden had a feeling of letdown squirming through her heart and stomach. She quickly fought it off, reminding herself that she was dealing with a bunch of bikers. They weren’t going to be her friend. She had to stay safe and then get the hell out of there. Eventually.

The door opened and Eden tensed back.

“Hey,” Trev said. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Eden said. “I didn’t think you were here.”

“I came back last night. You were passed out.”

“I haven’t slept like that in a long time.”

“Good. Hope you’re rested. Want coffee or something?”

“Coffee is fine,” Eden said.

Trev left the room and Eden sat there, still waking up a little. She hurried to try and fix her hair. Running her fingers through the knots from sleeping, she couldn’t believe she was actually worried about her appearance in front of Trev.

He came back into the room and gave her coffee.

“Prospects brought us food,” he said. “Plenty out there before we get moving.”