Secret Mayhem (Back Down Devil MC #4)(51)

Shay could hear Caius speaking the words and it angered him. He stood there with fists, wanting to hit something. Jonesy pointed across the room at a bottle of whiskey. He stormed over and spun the lid off and took a long, stinging drink. Behind him he heard the soft squeak of the marker on the board as Jonesy wrote some more.

Jonesy let out a grunt and Shay turned.

“He won't stop until he has you. He let me go because he wanted you to see his handy work so that you would feel responsible. So you would be tortured."

“Fuck. I’m so sorry, Jonesy. I’ll kill him. I promise you. I will kill him and make him suffer the way you did."

Jonesy nodded and erased the board. His lips moved as he wrote like he desperately just wanted to talk. He showed Shay the board, but Shay didn’t read it out loud.

Hell is here. Go face hell, Shay. That’s what he wants. I’m sorry.

“You don’t get to be sorry,” Shay said.

Jonesy motioned for Shay to come to him. Jonesy grabbed Shay by the hand and looked him in the eyes. He nodded.

“It will be okay. You’re safe here.”

Jonesy nodded. He took the whiskey bottle from Shay’s hand and drank. He put it on the nightstand and reached for his marker and board again.

Get out of my room. And if you come back, bring your woman. She’s beautiful.

Shay laughed and patted Jonesy on the shoulder. “Calm down. You have a wife. Tomorrow we will track her down and let her know what’s going on. It’s going to be okay.”

The sound of Jonesy trying to drink from the bottle was all Shay heard as he left the room. He returned to his room and climbed into his bed. He scooped Ava up and held her tight again. He laid awake again for hours, unable to shut his mind off. When Shay finally closed his eyes, he fell asleep. He woke in the same position he fell asleep in. He looked at the clock and realized he had slept pretty damn good. Ava was still in his arms. She still smelled great.

Shay rolled Ava away and she stirred. She let out a little purring moan and opened her eyes. He put a hand to her hip and kissed her cheek. “Just me, love. Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay,” Ava whispered. “I meant what I said. I do love you.”

“Yeah,” Shay said. “You picked a hell of a time to say it. Right after you jerked off another guy. That’s love right there.”

Ava smiled. “I came back to you.”

“You came all over me,” Shay said, winking at her.

Ava’s face burned red.

Shay ran his hands over his face once he got out into the hall. He thought about his late night (well, early morning) conversation with Jonesy. It bothered him that Caius tortured Jonesy just to deliver a message. Back Down Devil needed to deliver their own message to Caius.

“Brother, how’s it hanging?” Blaine asked as he stepped from his own room.

As the door shut, Shay peeked inside and saw two women in his bed and two on the floor. All naked.

“How many women you have in there?” Shay asked.

“I think four. Maybe five. Didn’t get to the bathroom yet to check.”

“What a life,” Shay said.

Blaine smiled. “And they’re all full of me.”

Blaine put an arm around Shay as they walked. They stopped at Jonesy’s door and Blaine knocked.

“Why are you knocking?” Shay asked. “He can’t f*cking answer.”

“Oh shit,” Blaine said. “The tongue. That’s right. Man, I couldn't do it. Imagine having no tongue. Not being able to swallow whiskey. Fuck, you couldn't eat * anymore then…”

“Get out of the way,” Shay said.

He opened the bedroom door, took one step inside, and froze.

Jonesy was in the exact same spot as when Shay left him the night before. The whiskey bottle was empty and on the floor. But there was blood dripping all over the floor.

“Fuck!” Shay screamed. “Fuck. Get help. Fuck.”

“Miller! Help!” Blaine screamed.

Shay ran to the bed and one look at Jonesy told him the man was dead. Shay looked at Jonesy’s wrists and then to the night stand. Sure enough, there was a razor blade. Jonesy had taken care of himself.

Moments later, the room was filled with club members. Their reaction of anger was all the same, followed by a deep silence. Miller pushed through the guys and touched Jonesy’s shoulder.

“Motherf*cker,” he whispered. “He was forced into this.”

“His bag,” Shay said. “Christ, his bag.”

Shay’s first thought, again, was that there was a bomb in it from Caius. His second thought, and the thought that proved right, was that Jonesy would have a note.

Shay grabbed the paper note and stared at it.

“Read the f*cking thing to us,” Nate said.

“This is my legacy. The end of it all. All I’ve done. All I’ve said. My wife and family will no longer be in danger because of my choices. Being tied to that chair and tortured made me think of all of you. And your lives. This isn’t a suicide note, this is a warning. Caius made it very clear that if I didn’t end my own life he would kill my family. I didn’t do this because I’m ashamed or afraid of the world. I did this to save my family and to help the club. Caius is waiting for his brother. If Shay doesn’t show, then he’ll kill my family and he’ll kill all of you. If Shay does show, then my family survives. Caius will know I've fulfilled my part of it. I’m sorry that I didn't do a better job. Then again, I always knew I’d face the devil… but for some reason, I thought I’d win. I guess not.”