Ruthless Hold (Back Down Devil MC #9)(58)

“You can wash your face and hair, beautiful,” he whispered. He kissed her ear. “I’ll be waiting in bed for you. We only have a few more minutes before I have to go.”

“Trev…”

He exited the shower and Eden stood there in a state of shock. She then caught herself and hurried to finish the shower. She didn't want a second to go by without Trev in her life. Not when he was leaving soon.

Eden scrambled out of the shower and to the bedroom. There she found Trev standing there, fully dressed, wearing his leather cut. The giant logo on the back faced Eden. It was like staring at her destiny. She hoped she wasn’t staring at her tragedy though.

“Trev,” she said.

He looked back. “Get dressed, beautiful. I need you to do something for me.”

“Okay,” Eden said.

She tossed on some fresh clothes and then grabbed for Trev’s hand. He quickly pulled away and shook his head.

“Listen to me,” he said. “I want you to reach up to my neck and then slowly take off my leather cut.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m giving up the cut, remember? I want you to take it off of me. It means something to me.”

“Trev, you don’t have to do this. I’m sure you guys could figure out a better way.”





“No, this is the only way. Take the cut off me right now.”

Eden reached up and did as told. She gripped the collar of the leather cut and felt it slide down his arms. He stepped away and stood there in just his t-shirt. Trev was a monster. Eden had never seen a man so big before.

“Put it on the bed,” Trev said.

Eden placed the leather cut on the bed.

Trev then turned around. He reached for Eden’s hand and put it to his chest. “What I need you to do while I’m gone is get closer to your mother. She needs it. You need it. Nobody is going to ever hurt you both again. You listen to anything Miller says. Trust anything Gaige says. And if Blaine comes within two feet of you, punch him in the gut. If you hit him in the balls, he’ll get hard. If you scratch his face, he’ll get hard.”

“Are you serious?” Eden asked.

Trev grinned. “Sort of. You listen to Miller and Gaige though. Respect the club. Okay?”

Eden touched Trev’s face. “Anything for you, Trev. I love you.”

“I love you, Eden,” he said. “I have to go now. I’ll be back soon.”

Eden nodded. She forced herself to smile.

Trev grabbed the leather cut held in Eden’s hand. They walked through the apartment in silence. When Trev opened the door, Jenn stood there, smoking.

“They’re waiting for you,” Jenn said.

At the bottom of the steps stood the entire table.

Eden smiled bigger, loving that they were all so close. They were ready to see their brother off and knew the impact of Trev’s decision and what he was willing to sacrifice. As Eden stood there, she reached for Trev as he reached back and they touched hands until the last possible second.

Her mother then stood next to her. “You’ll be okay, sweetie. I’m here.”

“I know,” Eden said. “He’s going to make this work. I believe that.”

“You just have to get through the hard part.”

Eden nodded.

She thought the hard part was Trev going away.

She was wrong.

Trev got to the bottom of the steps and handed his leather cut to Miller. Miller put a hand to Trev’s shoulder. He then shoved Trev, spinning him around. Blaine was there, punching Trev square in the jaw.

The sound surprised her as much as the action did. She stepped forward and her mother grabbed her arm.

“No, sweetie. It has to be done.”

“No,” Eden said.

Gaige took a swing and hit Trev in the face.

Trev stumbled back, arms out. Nate came at him, the only man in the MC bigger than Trev. He lumbered at him and let out a grunt as he swung, hitting Trev so hard, he went up and over the hood of a car.

Then Trev was on the ground.

The entire club attacked, keeping him on the ground.

Eden tried to move again but her mother wrapped her arms tight around her and held her back.

“It has to be done like this,” Jenn said. “Don’t look. Don’t think about it.”

“Let me f*cking go!” Eden yelled.

Her scream was unheard. What she heard was the sounds of Trev being attacked by his own club.

It was the worst sound she’d ever heard in her life.

How was Trev supposed to help the MC if he was beaten up?

The assault came to an end and the guys all walked away. Eden leaned forward a little, wanting to make sure Trev was still alive. Instead, her mother dragged her into the apartment.

“You don’t need to see him like that,” she said to Eden. “He’ll come back.”

Eden broke out of her mother’s hold and ran to the bedroom. She shut the door and locked it. She then climbed into the bed and rolled up in the covers, clutching at Trev’s pillow.

She could still smell him.

She cried.

Please, Trev… don’t die.

__



twenty-four.



The wind burned the cuts on Trev’s face. He had told the guys to rough him up and make it look believable. Yeah, they had done that and then some. Trev’s right side hurt like f*cking death and for a minute or two he worried about controlling his motorcycle. Whoever had been working on his side had been working a little too hard.