EMPTY SECRETS (A Back Down Devil MC Novella) (8 page)

Lena looked down at him and smiled.

She had a beautiful smile. And
something told Jett that she hadn
’
t
smiled in a long time.

Yeah, I know the feeling,
beautiful
…

*

Jett spotted Miller as he spoke
with Gaige and Griffin. They were next to a pool table and their hands were
going in all directions. Obviously talking about Erik, the bombing, and a local
businessman stalking the MC, Mr. Strokner. There was tension all around, yet
for Jett, he wasn
’
t sure
exactly what he felt. He knew the risk of stepping too far ahead of a
situation. It was his one fatal flaw, looking for someone to fill the void in
his heart. Did Ada do that? Fuck no. But she shouldn
’
t have been killed. Not for retaliation on Jett and
Back Down Devil MC.

That was the peril for any woman
who took a chance and walked through the clubhouse doors to be with one of the
guys. Not that Jett was with Lena or whatever, it was just something that
flickered in the back of Jett
’
s
mind. The right thing would be to get her some real help. Get her out of the
clubhouse and somewhere safe. Jett could make a few phone calls and find out
who Victor was and what kind of pull he had within
the family
.

When Miller saw Jett, he stopped
talking and gave a wave for Jett to join them.

“
Just
figuring some things out,
”
Griffin said.
“
Keeping our
eyes open.
”

“
Think
anything else will happen?
”
Jett asked.

“
Never
know,
”
Gaige said.
“
You know how it goes out there.
We had no idea that the bombing was going to happen, right?
”

“
True,
”
Jett said.
“
Eight Under? Coast Road? Outside
that
…
?
”

“
We
keep our guard up,
”
Miller
said.
“
Jett, you take care
of that thing?
”

“
Not
really, Miller,
”
Jett
admitted.

Miller stood and flexed his fists.
“
What did I tell you to do? We
don
’
t need
…”

“
She
doesn
’
t remember a thing,
”
Jett said, drumming up the same
lie Lena had given to him.

“
What?
”
Gaige asked.
“
Is this about that woman?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Jett said.
“
She
’
s connected though, okay? There
’
s something there. If I take her
to the police, what happens? There
’
s
blood on her shirt. There was blood on my ride. It
’
s
…”

“
Why
’
d you bring her back here?
”
Griffin asked.

Jett looked at Griffin.
“
I didn
’
t know if it was a sign or not, having her on my
ride. And I couldn
’
t dump
her because cops were on the way. Do I need to fucking explain this again?
”

“
Maybe
you do,
”
Miller said.
“
Since I gave you an order
…”

“
She
doesn
’
t remember a thing,
”
Jett said.

“
She
’
s faking,
”
Gaige said.
“
Simple
move.
”

Jett curled his lip.
“
Whatever, man. I
’
m just trying to help her. I
’
m trying to keep heat off the
club. If I throw her out there
…”

“
You
’
re hitting it,
”
Griffin it.
“
That
’
s what it is. You
’
re
hitting it hard.
”

“
Fuck
off,
”
Jett said.

“
So
what are you going to do?
”
Miller asked.
“
Keep her in
the bed? Let her regain her memory? Then what? Save her?
”

“
If
she
’
s here and she
’
s connected, then we may have
some more eyes on us.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Gaige whispered.

Jett stood defiant.
“
Let me handle this.
”

“
You
want it, you got it,
”
Miller said.
“
But if
anything happens, Jett
…”

Jett turned and walked to the bar.
He didn
’
t need to hear
anything else. If Lena was going to crash for a little while, it left Jett
feeling okay. It left him hopeful; something he hadn
’
t felt in a long time.

eight.

Lena dried her hair and pulled her
hair to one side of her head. She wiped the mirror with her hand and looked at
herself. Her body was still tingling because of Jett. Her toes were slightly
curled, thinking about stuff that didn
’
t
matter. Stuff like being able to fuck Jett all the time. Stuff like him and her
going out, and her climbing on the back of his motorcycle, and going for a ride
together. Maybe to the beach. Maybe for something to eat. Maybe to find a ridge
somewhere and just sit and waste time.

But their lives would never allow
it.

It was obvious the entire club was
on some kind of edge. Lena had picked that up several times so far since her
arrival. The guys were in constant movement, sometimes talking, sometimes
yelling. They were drinking, forceful partying, fucking anything with a pussy,
and always coming and going. They were preparing for something big and
something dangerous. All of it made Lena feel more uneasy than she normally
did. Because she didn
’
t
belong here.

Jett told her he had convinced the
President - Miller - and the rest of the guys that she couldn
’
t remember anything. It made the
whole Blaine looking up her shirt thing worth while because he was able to
vouch for it.

The one thing about lying that Lena
learned was that as fun as it seemed, it was a terrible burden. It was too much
memorizing. Too much to think about and too much to carry all the damn time.
Plus, what did it matter if she was here? When Victor wanted her, he
’
d get her. If Victor was already
dead and
the family
blamed Lena, an army would be sent out to find her.
Ultimately, she was putting everyone in Back Down Devil MC in danger.

Which left one choice.

Run.

Fucking run like hell.

Sneak out the way Jett had showed
her and then make a run for it. She knew how to steal a car, thanks to Victor.
She could even steal a motorcycle, but she didn
’
t
want to do that to the MC.

Lena dressed in the same jeans and
dug through Jett
’
s bag for
a fresh shirt. All of his shirts were huge on her. The closet in the room had
something a little more comfortable and it made Lena wonder just how in the
hell clothes ended up in a random room in a MC clubhouse. Either way it was
better than wearing a bloody shirt.

She dug in Jett
’
s bag again and was able to find
an empty envelope and a pencil. She quickly scribbled a note to Jett. Maybe she
shouldn
’
t have even
bothered with this much, but she fucking hated this. In her heart, she really
wondered if she and Jett could have
…
been something.

Jett -

I can
’
t hurt you the way they
all want to hurt me. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for reminding me what
it feels like to be alive. To be looked at. To feel like I matter. But your
life matters more than anything with me. Please be safe. Don
’
t look for me. I
’
ll be fine. And if I
’
m not fine, pretend I am.

Lena

Frowning, Lena put the note on the
bed and hurried to the door. Any thoughts of regret or second chances were
pushed aside. This was simply the right thing to do. The thing that needed to
be done. For everyone. Hell, if Lena could get out of Frelen with her life,
then she would even go as far to making a couple phone calls. Find out if
Victor was dead and let
the family
know that she was gone. To take eyes
off Frelen and make sure eyes were off Back Down Devil MC.

Lena snuck down the hallway. She
heard a few booming voices and looked over her shoulder. She took notice of
Blaine and Gaige. They were in a heated conversation. Lena darted to the right
and then found a door. She bit her lip and turned the knob. The door was
unlocked. She opened it and found it was some kind of closet. And it stunk like
dirt, sweat and body odor.

When the voices went away, Lena
opened the door and continued her journey to escape. It was such a weird
feeling right now. Escaping somewhere safe. With someone who would help her.
Someone who listened to her, touched her, made her feel really good.

By the time Lena found the door and
started down the steps, her heart was pounding in her chest. When she got
outside and felt the sunlight hit her in the face, her heart started to ache.
Of course it had to be a beautiful day, right? It couldn
’
t be dark and dreary, the kind of sad day that
would make all of this somehow romantic and poetic.

Romantic? What the fuck is
romantic about my life?

Lena chased away the questions and
ran to the railing on the side of the building. She eased her way along, always
looking around, fearing that there had to be more than just the MC guys around
here. The place was just far too big. She considered running through the junk
parts and cars, but she had no idea where that would end up taking her. Plus,
what if they had junkyard dogs or something? That would be a horrible fate
…
trying to get away and then
getting mauled by dogs.

Near the front of the building Lena
saw that there were a handful of motorcycles missing. A lot of the guys were
out on a ride. That was good. Lena took a few more steps and then peeked back
to the clubhouse. There wasn
’
t
a soul around. The remaining guys -
including Jett
- were inside. A
moment of hesitation attacked Lena and she caught herself just standing there,
staring.

What if
…

“
No,
”
she whispered.

There were no
what ifs?
in
this.

She turned and crouched a little,
running behind all the motorcycles. Trying to stay low and out of sight. And by
some damn chance of a miracle - or maybe it was simply fate - she made it to
the front of the lot without being spotted. She tugged on a door at the gate
and it swung open. Again, another sign of fate. That this was the right thing
to do, even if it left her heartbroken, empty, and completely terrified.

Lena made it out of the lot and
turned to the right. She made it out. That was the first part of this plan. The
second part was to find a vehicle. She could just bust into a car and go for it
…
maybe think of something else.
Or just start moving.

Lena walked two steps when she saw
a black car approach and stop. The doors opened and the two men that climbed
out put Lena in a state of total paralyzation. They were big, they were in
suits, and they were ready for a fight. To make matters worse, they took their
suit jackets off, showing that they were wearing weapons.

Bottom line
…
they were Victor
’
s men.

They were right here, ready to get
Lena.

Maybe Lena should have just ran to
the big guys and took her punishment. But the want and desire to survive got
the best of her. Slowly, she started to back up. She put her hands out and kept
going, step by damn step, until she reached the gate. She retraced her steps right
back into the lot of the Back Down Devil MC compound.

Lena pulled the gate shut and
swallowed the lump in her throat. She was shaking with fear, wondering what the
hell to do next.

Jett. I need Jett. I need him
…

Lena spun around and let out a
scream.

“
Hey
there.
”

It was Miller. The President of
Back Down Devil MC.

“
People
are coming. Two men. They have guns.
”

“
You
seem terrified,
”
Miller
said.

“
They
have guns.
”

“
They
might be friends of mine. Right?
”

Lena shook her head.
“
No
…
they
…”

Miller grinned.
“
So your memory is back?
”

Lena felt her stomach drop and
flip.

“
What
’
s going on out there?
”

Lena recognized the voice as Jett
’
s. She saw him walking toward
the scene.

Miller turned and said,
“
Seems like she remembers a lot
more than we know.
”

“
Jett,
they
’
re here,
”
Lena said.
“
Two of Victor
’
s guys. They
…”

“
What
are you doing out there?
”
Jett asked.

Lena saw the hurt on Jett
’
s face. He knew what she was
doing out here. It was obvious
…
trying to make a run for it.

“
I
don
’
t want anyone hurt,
”
Lena said.
“
I
’
m
sorry. I just
…”

“
Fuck,
”
Jett growled.
“
Miller, we have to hide her.
”

“
Do
we?
”
Miller asked.
“
If these men are here for her
…”

“
Christ,
don
’
t do this,
”
Jett said.
“
Let me handle this.
”

“
Let
you handle it,
”
Miller
said.
“
Like you
’
ve been doing? So what do we have
here? A liar? A rat?
”

“
I
’
m not a rat,
”
Lena said.
“
I didn
’
t
…
they attacked me. I stabbed Victor. I was knocked out. Jett helped me
…”

“
Miller,
”
Jett said.
“
We can figure this out.
”

“
I
guess we have no choice,
”
Miller said.

He gave a nod and Lena turned. The
two men were at the gates. Their shoulders massive, their arms even bigger.
Their faces cut like stone. They were almost robotic and were paid to be that
way. Everything they did was programmed by command from Victor. Lena wasn
’
t sure if their presence meant
Victor was alive or dead.

“
No,
”
Lena said.

“
What
do you want?
”
Miller asked.

“
Her,
”
they both said at the same
time.

Lena saw them reaching for their
weapons. She started to shake, realizing the guy on the left was the one who
had knocked her out. The entire night replayed in her mind. From poor Annie
spilling cold coffee on her hand, to stabbing Victor, to waking up with Jett
hovered over her.

She then heard the sound of a gun
go off and saw the big guy on the left jump back and grab at his shoulder.

“
Next
one
’
s in the head,
”
Jett yelled.

Lena then watched as Jett walked
forward, gun drawn. Miller was suddenly quick to pull out his gun, both of them
pointing their weapons at the men at the gate.

“
Get
the fuck out of here,
”
Miller growled.
“
You have
no business.
”

“
That
we do,
”
the man who wasn
’
t shot said.
“
We have to get her. We have to
take her.
”

“
Then
fucking kill me and take her,
”
Jett said.

“
We
will. Trust me, we will.
”

The man shot held his shoulder and
growled. There was blood on his hand as he tried to stop the bleeding.

“
Is
Victor dead?
”
Lena managed
to ask.

“
No,
”
the shot man said.
“
And he
’
s going to get you.
”

A second later there was the sound
of shotguns pumping.

Lena looked back and saw there were
ten other guys standing there. Back Down Devil MC protecting their compound.
Their space. Their lives. Their club.

“
No
more warnings,
”
Miller
said.

“
You
’
re starting a fight you cannot
win,
”
the shot man said.
“
We come with a warning
…
two of us with weapons. Now
…
good luck.
”

The two men turned and walked away.

Miller looked over his shoulder.
“
Jace. Take two prospects and
make sure they fucking leave. Now!
”

Lena stepped back and tried to get
out of the way. She felt something touch her back and she jumped.

“
Don
’
t move,
”
Jett
’
s
voice growled.

“
Is
that your gun?
”
Lena asked.

“
Fucking
right it is. What the fuck were you thinking?
”

Lena saw Miller set his eyes on her
next. He tucked his gun away but still approached.
“
You never forgot a thing. You fucked with us. Didn
’
t you?
”