Steel Temptation (Back Down Devil MC #6)(32)

“You shouldn’t be here!” Nate shouted.

He pulled his trigger and hit one of the guys in the leg. The guy screamed and fell of his ride. Miller followed up Nate’s shot with three of his own, hitting two of the guys.

Suddenly, the tides had turned and Back Down Devil was winning.

Jace and Erik worked forward and got to the injured prospect on the ground.

Then one of the Coast Road guys threw a small canister… it hit and rolled just beyond the gates to the compound.

Nate turned, shirtless, grabbing Miller and pushing. Strong as an ox, Nate was able to lift and push Miller into Gaige and push both of them to the side of the railing where they could take shelter.

“Cover! Cover!” Nate warned. “Cover!”

Nate turned, reached back with his gun, and shot.

The bullet hit the canister, causing it to go off prematurely. The shrapnel hit the gate and attacked the Coast Road MC guys. That’s when they hurried to retreat. Their large, muscular bodies - ‘roid bodies, as Miller called them - were big and easy targets. They’ve never had power like this before and it only stemmed from Chief Jerry and that damn judge.

The rumbling of the motorcycles kicked up, their throttling roars echoing as they all sped away.

“Close the gates!” Miller yelled.

They all knew it was a matter of time before Chief Jerry would send some guys or just show up himself to investigate the scene.

The lone prospect hurried to shut the gates. Three others joined Erik and Jace, taking over to take care of their injured friend.

“This isn’t done,” Gaige said. “This is in the open. This is wanted. This is all approved, man.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Miller said. “Everyone needs a breath. We need to protect this compound. Nate, is your back okay?”

“I’m fine,” Nate said. “No more of this shit though.”

Nate started to walk away, knowing right where he needed to go. What he needed to do. And personally, he didn’t give a shit what Griffin, Gaige, or even Miller thought. This was about right from wrong. Following a hunch, some feelings, whatever.

Miller grabbed Nate by the shoulder. His thumb dug into one of the marks on his back, sending a hot pain through the left side of his body.

“What?” Nate growled.

“Thank you,” Miller said. “You basically jumped on that thing for me.”

“President,” Nate said. “I know my place. I’ll never forget it. You die and this club implodes for good. Right now, if I could speak out of place, we need to fight back. No more hiding, Miller. It’s going to get us nowhere. We’ll be in some kind of chess match. We don’t want that. We don’t function like that.” Nate lifted his hands and balled them into fists. “We fight. Headstrong. Eyes forward. We f*cking fight.”

“You going to get your leather cut off the ground?” Miller asked.

Nate grabbed the leather cut and left his shirt on the ground. He ran to the ramp and charged down it. Shit had hit the fan, big time, and it was only going to get worse. Now was the time to either take charge or sit back and get bombed. And that had more than one meaning.





fourteen.



The explosion caught Mia off guard. Of course, she couldn’t see a f*cking thing from the room. There were no windows, just cool concrete walls. The room didn’t shake, but the noise was enough to send her to the door, grabbing the handle, wondering what was happening and if she’d ever get out. She did trust Nate though. He would come back for her. That gave her little hope though knowing that if Nate ended up killed, she’d be next. None of the other guys in the MC wanted her alive.

Life had always been a sick and twisted uphill battle. All Mia wanted to do was get some extra cash… not this. Fuck, definitely not this.

Mia stepped back from the door and kept going until she hit a wall. Then she slumped down to her ass. She just stared at the door. Her mind raced with what Uncle Jake was capable of doing. Making Aunt Theresa disappear. The way it all happened. How he claimed they were arguing too much and she wanted out. That she went to some town outside Boston and wanted nothing to do with the family. Not that there was much family left or that anyone actually cared. Plus, everyone was terrified of Uncle Jake. That, and they liked to keep on his good side in case they got in trouble. So they had someone to call with a little legal muscle.

Thinking about Jacob… if he was hurt…

Mia shook her head.

The silence in the room, and then in her mind, made her shiver. Teasing herself, she wondered how many days she could survive without food or water. Just stuck in the room until her body gave in and she simply died.

The fear started to creep in on Mia again. She sat as long as she could, until her nerves got the best of her. Climbing to her feet, she approached the door. There was no chance of getting out of the room though.

Until the door opened.

Mia blinked fast, wondering if her mind was messing with her. Better yet, not only did the door open, it was Nate standing there. Without a shirt on.

Without a f*cking shirt on.

Mia lost her breath for a moment. The tattoo over his chest - right over his heart - made her panties pull as her sex became a slick mess. His shoulders, arms, chest, cuts of lines defining muscles was just too much to accept at once.

Then there were scars.