Secret Mayhem (Back Down Devil MC #4)(13)

Shay turned and Ava clawed at his leather. She jumped off the motorcycle.

“Don’t do that,” she said, her voice cracking.

Shay looked back at Ava. There were tears in her eyes.

“Christ, you're that scared of him?” Shay asked.

“Please… don’t let any of them hurt me…”

Shay gritted his teeth. “Stay on my motorcycle. Nobody will bother you.”

Shay shook Ava away and went back to the fight. He approached another guy who was bleeding from his cheek. The guy nodded and put up his fists. Shay was ready to throw a knockout punch when he heard Blaine scream.

Everyone stopped and looked.

Blaine stumbled back and stared at the knife sticking out of his shoulder.

“Come on!” he yelled. “A f*cking knife? We’re f*cking around here…”

Just like that, the brawl ended as everyone waited for Miller and Trev to react. Miller nodded to Trev. He stepped forward to Blaine.

“You tough?” Trev asked.

“Toughest guy I know,” Blaine said and smiled.

Trev grabbed the knife and pulled it out of Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine spun around, growling under his breath, “Motherf*cker.”

Shay watched as Trev pointed to the guy who stabbed Blaine and called him over. The guy was covered in blood, but he seemed arrogant and proud of what he had done.

“Fucking moron,” Trev said. He raised the knife and stabbed his own guy in the shoulder. The guy fell down to his knees. “Keep that in there for a little while.”

Miller came forward and let out a whistle. “Now that we have that out of our system, can we get down to business?”

As a sign of respect, Shay looked at the guy in front of him and the guy nodded. Slowly, Gaige, Nate, Jace, Erik, Landon, and the rest of the guys backed off. Down Devil stood on one side, the Lost Men on the other. They were beat up and bloody. Miller walked between the two groups.

“Welcome to Frelen,” Miller said. “Welcome to Back Down Devil MC.”

Shay looked over his shoulder at Ava. She was doing what she was told. The connection he felt with her was because he knew she was hiding something from everyone, and he needed someone else like that in his life right now so the guilt wouldn't tear him apart. It didn't hurt that she was gorgeous and that she was free to take care of his needs if he told her to.

Miller stopped walking at the opposite end of the crowd where Trev was standing. He crossed his arms and looked around.

“You’re welcome in this compound and in this clubhouse as long as you find your ability to respect what’s here. I know that word means dick to you all and I respect that. But here, we have relationships that cannot be ruined. We have a President. We have a VP. We have members who appreciate a table, a gavel, and the decisions that are made. I made the decision to request you all here and I can make the same to send everyone away. At one point in your lives you were part of a MC. You respected what needed to be done. Now you’re Lost Men. You wear cuts that are the bones of what you used to be. You’re the baddest and meanest motherf*ckers around. And that’s why we need you. You respect us, we respect you. Now, are we good with our little welcome?”

Trev stepped forward. “Well, it’s better scenery than the f*cking desert. Plus, there’s booze, *, and plans to kill. What else do we need?”

Miller met Trev halfway. They exchanged a handshake that solidified the agreement to respect each other.

But Shay knew better.

It was all bullshit.

Any one of the Lost Men could grab a knife or gun and just start killing guys in Back Down Devil. There was no respect and absolutely no trust.

But Back Down Devil needed the Lost Men. They needed the presence. They needed sick men to do a sick job.

Nile was back to his feet and he had fixed his eye patch. He glared at Shay, but Shay had had enough for one day. He headed for his motorcycle and put his hand out for Ava to take.

“Ava, right?” he asked.

“Yes. And you are…?”

“Shay.”

“Sounds girlish.”

“Funny. You think you’re tough. You’re not. I can see through you, love.”

“Can you now?”

“Yeah.” Shay reached out and twirled one of his fingers in Ava’s hair. “That’s not your real hair color. Your story is complete bullshit.”

“My hair is dyed,” Ava said as she slid down from the bike. “Just like every other woman in the world.” Her body was just an inch from Shay’s. “But don’t worry, Shay, everything else is real. Very real.”

Shay chuckled. Ava took two steps, but as soon as she saw the mass of men heading toward the clubhouse, she slithered behind Shay, obviously intimidated by the violence that had just happened. Shay watched Blaine walk up to the guy who stabbed him and put an arm around him.

“Come on, pull that f*cking thing out,” Blaine said.

“You do it.”

Blaine grabbed the end of the knife and pulled. The guy let out a quick scream and they kept walking.

“It’s madness,” Ava whispered.

Shay looked back. “It’s not going to get any calmer, love. Stick by my side.”

Ava nodded. Her hand squeezed Shay’s tight.

This was the last thing Shay needed. However, the comfort and touch of a real woman could distract him just enough to not give a f*ck about anything.