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

“Not sure what the plan was,” Shay said. “Car looked clean, then it blew up.”

“He blew it up,” Nate said. “The guy we are looking for.”

“We saw him meeting with Eight Under,” Shay said.

“Fucking Christ,” Miller growled and shook his head. “Those morons have no idea what they’re dealing with.”

“Wait a second,” Blaine said. “Eight Under is dealing with this guy?”

“That guy is probably trying to gain as much muscle as he can to take us out,” Gaige said.

“Muscle?” Landon scoffed. “Eight Under doesn’t have any muscle.”

“They have men and guns,” Miller said. “That’s good enough to get in our way.”

“The meeting was planned,” Shay said. "The car explosion seemed to be a demonstration to Eight Under of what this guy is capable of."

“You were that close?” Jace asked.

“Close enough,” Nate said. “We tried to shoot, but the car blew up.”

“You had a shot?” Blaine asked.

“Not much of one,” Shay said. He felt his chest tighten. He was a master shot. He could be a f*cking sniper if need be. He was that good. “But that’s not the point here," Shay continued. "Eight Under met with our enemy. He took out some kind of detonator and the car exploded.”

“He’s going to use Eight Under to plant bombs everywhere,” Nate said.

“Shit,” Gaige said.

“More like f*ck,” Blaine said.

“Shit, f*ck, it don’t matter,” Miller said. “We have to do the right thing from here on out. We have to get Eight Under out of this.”

“How are you going to do that?” Shay asked. “Ask nicely? Send them flowers?”

The table all chuckled. Miller folded his hands and leaned forward. “We bring bodies down here. We fill the streets with men. Men who don’t give a f*ck. Men who smell worse than Blaine does after an all-nighter…”

The table laughed again.

Blaine pulled at his shirt and smelled himself. “Ahhh… leftover *..."

“What are you suggesting?” Gaige asked.

“We make a call to the Lost Men and bring as many down as we can.”

“Lost Men,” Shay whispered. “Christ.”

“You sure about that?” Gaige asked.

Miller looked at Gaige, then to Shay. “Think we have a choice?”

As Miller gazed around the rest of the table, nobody spoke a word.

The Lost Men were rogue bikers who hit the road to live a much different kind of life than those in a MC. They didn’t abide by rules and had their own version of justice. They were still under the control of Back Down Devil MC, but there was a wide range of respect, allowing the guys to operate as they wanted, as long as they stayed outside state lines, in the Nevada dessert.

Bringing them here would help protect the MC, but it would send a very loud and clear message that a war was brewing. And that message wouldn’t just be received by Eight Under, Shay’s brother, and the other local MC’s. The message would be heard by the people and law enforcement of Frelen.

Miller slowly rose to his feet. “Let me review our case. We have Strokner still up our ass. Still wanting to get into this club. Still wanting to help. Of course, his version of help isn’t what we need. However, we owe the man some kind of respect since his daughter was killed on our watch.” Miller paused. “Next, we have those pests called Eight Under that are bringing in young, impressionable guys from big cities that are willing to just start shooting and chasing us down. Now look at them. Look at the decisions they’re making. They are getting into bed with evil. How far does it go?”

“We need the help,” Gaige said.

“Shit,” Nate said. “I hate that f*cking word.”

“We all do, brother,” Griffin said. “But it’s either this or we strike a deal with another MC. You want to ride next to the Coast Road boys?”

“Those f*cking steroid *s,” Jace said. “No. Not with their cut off shirts and tits hanging out.”

“Someone say tits?” Blaine asked.

Everyone chuckled.

“We can’t afford to pay anyone to protect us either,” Griffin said.

“We owe a protection run,” Miller said. “Something that was brokered months ago. Jakey is paying a visit to some family and we were asked to help.”

“Jakey?” Landon asked.

“Jakey,” Gaige said. “An old president and older friend. A living god within any MC."

“That’s right,” Miller said. “Jakey made it possible for us to be here. I promised to pay homage to him when the time came. The time is here. Now we can properly protect him. Without question. Without worry. The bottom line…” Miller sat back down and put a finger to the table. “… we need bodies here.”

“Lost Men,” Shay said with a nod. “Okay. We do what needs to be done. At least one of them is dead.”

“Should have been my shot,” Erik said.

Shay looked at Erik and curled his lip. “My trigger went faster, brother. Take it easy.”

“That was my f*cking shot,” Erik growled. “That was the deal.”