Secret Mayhem (Back Down Devil MC #4)(32)

Fuck.

“Give me the name,” Miller said. “Then take that goddamn bomb off yourself and I’ll have some of my guys make sure you get where you’re going. Safely. As always.”

Strokner laughed. “I don’t need your protection. I don’t need anything. I can stare into the eyes of the man that killed my daughter. I have Gaige to thank for that."

“You look like hell,” Gaige said. “Go sleep.”

Strokner laughed again. Then he looked at Shay. “And what’s your story? You were the one he wanted first. If you had been in that car… none of this would be happening…”

Shay stepped forward. Nate put a hand out. “Don’t, Shay.”

“Give me the goddamn name,” Miller said.

Strokner looked at Miller and spoke the name Shay didn’t expect to hear from anyone else's mouth.

“Caius,” Strokner said. “That’s who you’ve got to deal with.”

Strokner turned and walked away. Nate went with Strokner to escort him out of the clubhouse.

Shay could see Miller's mind spinning. He waited for the barrage of questions to come, but they didn’t. There wasn’t enough time. The second Strokner left, Jace, Landon, and the six members of the Lost Men came back. Landon had a bloody face along with two of the Lost Men.

“Christ,” Miller said. “What the hell happened there?”

A second later, Griffin came into the room and shut the door. He looked at Shay and pointed to the gun in his hand. “What are you doing with that?”

“I was going to make Strokner shut up,” Shay said.

“Hey,” Gaige said. “We still need him. He gave us a name. Caius. That’s the guy who is trying to hurt us.”

“Well, there’s another problem,” Griffin said. “Your rides with the Lost Men are getting old. They picked a fight for fun with two guys and it turned ugly and bloody. They’re getting angry and it’s going to get worse.”

“Then we use them,” Miller said. “I wanted them here to build a presence. We have that.”

“You need to keep it,” Griffin said.

“What do they want?” Gaige asked.

“What we all want. *, booze, fighting.”

“Then make the call for a fight,” Miller said. “Say we have some new guys in town that are looking to get bloody. I’m sure we can satisfy their needs for the moment, right? We have a name, Griffin. We can’t hold back. We can’t slow down.”

Griffin sighed. “Goddamn. When does this arrangement with the Lost Men end?”

“I want a meeting with Eight Under,” Miller said. “I want to face them and tell them the truth of their little arrangement. They won’t listen, I know that. But it’s a small offering to explain how serious this is. Our war with the Eight Under can continue, but it doesn’t need any outside influence.”

“Until then?” Griffin asked.

“Until then, we keep our guests happy. A fight will do that. Hell, maybe that’s what we all need.”

“I’ll make some calls,” Griffin said. “Be ready to go when it’s time.”

“We’ll be fine,” Miller said.

Griffin left the meeting room and left the door wide open. Shay looked out to the busy clubhouse. Jace held a once white towel on his face to stop the blood. The rest of the guys were scattered along the bar.

Ava was on the other side of the room sitting with Emily, Avery, and Kaity. She looked like she fit right in, and that bothered Shay. He hadn't had time to process her story yet and he didn't want her getting settled before he had the chance to decide what he wanted from her.

She’s married.

The last thing the club needed was another guy coming after them. It couldn’t happen anymore. Not with the mess waiting outside.

“You okay, brother?” Gaige asked as he elbowed Shay.

“Don’t know,” Shay said. “This is all weighing hard on me. I want it done.”

“It will be. What about her?” Gaige nodded to Ava. “What’s her story?”

“Not what it seems,” Shay said. “We just have to protect her from those guys. They will hurt her if we don't."

“I can imagine,” Gaige said. “Keep her safe here then. You know they won’t take her. They won’t give a f*ck. We’ll run them out of here once we’re done.”

“I hope these fights work.”

“Not our problem, Shay. It works or it doesn’t. Trust what Miller is doing, too. Let him meet with Eight Under and get a feel for things. Then we make our attack. You know how he operates.”

“I trust him with my life,” Shay said. “You, too, Gaige. The whole MC.”

“Good.”

Shay let a few seconds go by. “Hey, want to do me a favor?”

“Yeah, name it,” Gaige said.

“I need you to arrange a meeting with Chief Jerry.”

“Really? Why?”

Shay rubbed his chin and gritted his teeth. “I need your trust on this. It’s for Ava.”

“Chief Jerry isn’t a fan of meetings that don't include me or Miller,” Gaige said. “Can I come?”

“I’d rather not, bro. I’m sorry. She's in a mess that could end up hurting the club. Remember what happened with Emily?”