RUTHLESS HOLD (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (36 page)

“
Trev,
I
’
ll do anything for you. I
’
ll wait here for you, no matter
what. I just have this vision of us together
…
in your bed
…
my belly
…”

“
Who
you talking to?
”
a voice
yelled.

“
Ah,
fuck,
”
Trev said.

“
Trev?
”
Eden asked.

Eden heard a scratching sound.
Maybe a scuffling sound? She looked at Miller and felt the color leave her
face.

“
What
is it?
”
Miller asked.

“
I
think
…”

There was another scuffling sound.

“
What
the fuck?
”
Trev
’
s voice yelled.

“
You
fuck
…”
another voice said.

Then there was a gunshot.

Then the call went dead.

Eden dropped the phone and reached
for her mother. Jenn scooped her up.

“
What
happened?
”
Miller yelled.

“
Gun
…
gunshot
…”
Eden let out a weak cry.
“
Trev got caught.
”

__

thirty.

Ripper knocked the phone out of his
hand and then shot at it twice. The first shot missed, the second hit the phone
and made it explode.

Then Ripper looked at Trev.
“
Care to explain?
”

“
You
really act fast, huh?
”
Trev
asked. Trev kicked the remains of the phone.
“
That
was a goddamn burner I gave to Eden.
”

“
Why?
”

“
To
tell her to sneak out of the lot and meet me so we could run away together. I
told her that the club was going to kill her.
”

Ripper curled his lip.
“
She buy it?
”

“
I
think so. Then you fucking came out
…”

“
Damn.
Look, I
’
m sorry. My head
’
s fucked up here. Okay? I
’
ve been sipping whiskey all day
now trying to get things calm up there. This is big for me.
”

“
Me
too, Ripper. I figured if we got Eden first, we can use her as leverage against
the charter. You know Miller. He
’
s
got a family now. He knows the feeling and all that bullshit. I
’
ve seen what he does down there.
Pancake breakfasts on Sundays with family. That plays right into his hand,
Ripper.
”

“
Shit,
”
Ripper said.
“
I fucked up good.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Trev said.
“
If she
’
s going to do this, there
’
s only one place she
’
ll
be.
”

“
Where
’
s that?
”

“
Do
you trust me to follow me?
”

“
As
long as we go to Frelen,
”
Ripper said.

“
Then
let
’
s ride, brother,
”
Trev said.

He put a fist out.

Ripper hit it with a fist of his
own.

This was it.

The final fucking ride
…

*

When they crossed into Frelen that
’
s when it all sank into Trev.
This was all going to happen and go down for real. One way or another, it was
going to get really crazy.

One thing was for damn sure - Trev
wasn
’
t taking Ripper to the
lot. Not with Eden there. Not with Eden pregnant either. That was a risk he
wasn
’
t going to take with
her. If something happened to her -
to their unborn child
- then Trev
would never forgive himself.

Before leaving, he and Miller had
set up meeting points outside Frelen and inside Frelen. This was designed to be
a quick job, but in case Trev got stuck up in Daurian, he would still have
contact with Miller and the MC.

Inside Frelen, there was one spot
to go.

The cemetery.

It was almost fitting, considering
what Trev was going to do to Ripper.

Somewhere in the cemetery should
have been two prospects to watch and wait for Trev. When they saw Trev then
they
’
d go to the lot and
report it back. That would bring in backup and things would continue forward.

Trev pulled through the cemetery
gates and cruised up the gravel path. He knew right where he wanted to take
Ripper to keep Ripper pissed off and ready for a fight.

He took Ripper right to Griffin
’
s grave.

In some odd way Trev wanted Griffin
to see Ripper one last time before Trev killed him.

Trev killed his engine and climbed
off his ride. He turned and nodded to Ripper.

“
What
the fuck is this?
”
Ripper
asked.

“
Visiting
an old friend first,
”
Trev
said.
“
Then Eden will be
here soon.
”

“
She
’
s just going to walk up to us?
”
Ripper asked.

“
No.
We have a spot. It was a secret spot that meant something once but not anymore.
Now that I have the truth
…”

Trev walked and Ripper followed.

They stopped at the grave.

“
Holy
shit,
”
Ripper said.
“
It
’
s
good to see him like this.
”

“
Yeah,
it is.
”

Ripper faced the grave, his hands
at his sides. He made fists.
“
This
fucker was with Jenn for a long time. Got her pregnant. Wanted to take it all
away from me. Wanted to really screw me over. But I guess he got his.
”
Ripper looked back at Trev.
“
Right?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Trev said.
“
Now you can keep delivering. Let
’
s take a walk.
”

From the corner of his eye, Trev
saw Pete walking the cemetery grounds. He had exited what looked like a tomb.
It was a small concrete structure and the black metal door slapped shut but
Pete didn
’
t lock it.
Instead, Pete had a shovel over his shoulder.

That
’
s
when Trev had an idea.

A really good idea.

“
Ripper
…”

“
Wait,
”
Ripper growled.

Trev waited and listened as Ripper
unzipped his jeans.

No
…
fucking hell no
…

A few seconds later there was sound
of liquid hitting the stone. Stepping to the side, Trev saw that Ripper had his
dick in his hand and was pissing right on Griffin
’
s
stone.

Trev started to reach for his gun.

This was it for good.

Ripper then turned, facing Trev,
still pissing.

Trev jumped back.
“
Whoa! What the fuck?
”

Ripper took out one of his guns and
pointed it right at Trev.
“
Time
’
s up. Game over.
”

“
What
are you doing?
”

“
You
think I trust you for a second?
”
Ripper asked.

“
What?
”

“
You
brought me here for what? Where
’
s
Eden? Huh?
”

“
Behind
you. There
’
s a small
storage building. It
’
s
unlocked right now. That
’
s
where she
’
s meeting me.
”

Trev waited for his moment to
strike. It came when Ripper turned his head to look at the storage building.

Right then, Trev had to take his
life into his hands.

He lunged forward and smacked the
gun in Ripper
’
s hand out of
the way with his left hand and punched Ripper in the face with his right hand.

Ripper didn
’
t drop the gun though.

Instead, he started to pull the
trigger.

*

Trev felt a hot pain in his arm but
that wasn
’
t going to stop
him. He was on the ground, wrestling with Ripper, right in front of Griffin
’
s grave.

“
You
don
’
t get what
’
s coming,
”
Ripper growled.
“
You
can
’
t stop it. You can
’
t fucking stop me.
”

Trev landed another right. Ripper
threw his head forward, smashing against Trev
’
s
nose. Trev
’
s nose exploded.
Ripper then rolled on Trev and swung with the gun. Trev felt the thud and felt
it roll through his entire head. Then Ripper had a hand to Trev
’
s throat.

“
You
fuck,
”
Ripper said.
“
Who are you? Huh? What do you
want out of this?
”

Trev grabbed Ripper
’
s fingers and twisted, easing
the pressure on his throat. Ripper lifted the gun and Trev grabbed Ripper
’
s wrist. He twisted and then
pushed with all his strength, sending Ripper flying off him.

As Ripper fell into Griffin
’
s headstone, he fell into his
own piss.

Trev kicked at Ripper, finally
getting the gun out of his hand.

But Ripper was still packing more.

Trev reached for his own gun,
finally, but Ripper was already armed again.

They then sat there in a standoff,
staring each other down.

They were bleeding. Trev
’
s shoulder throbbed with intense
pain.

“
How
does this end?
”
Ripper
asked.
“
I
’
m a goddamn President. You can
’
t just take me out.
”

“
I
’
m outlaw, remember?
”
Trev asked.
“
I speak to nobody.
”

In the distance there was the
growling cry of motorcycles.

“
They
’
re coming,
”
Trev said.
“
They
’
re going to take us both out. You fucked this up.
”

“
No.
You did. I
’
ll kill them
all. You don
’
t get it,
Trev. What
’
s done is done.
”

“
Put
your gun down, Ripper,
”
Trev said.
“
I
’
ll put you in that storage
building and hide you. Nobody will know where you are. There
’
s how many of them? And one of
you?
”

“
Fuck
yourself, Trev,
”
Ripper said.

“
Fine.
Fuck myself.
”

Trev had to pull the trigger and
make it count.

Any shot could result in Ripper
pulling his own trigger, killing Trev. It wasn
’
t
all that long ago Trev would have already pulled the trigger. Getting killed
was just a part of the life. He never saw himself getting old, visiting the
doctors for aches and pains, and then dying in his sleep. He was going to go
out big. With a bang.

Not anymore.

He had Eden to love and care for.
He had a baby on the way.

A baby.

That meant family. That meant the
Back Down Devil MC family was going to grow again.

So that left Trev with another
plan.

He moved quick, shooting Ripper
’
s arm. The bullet blasted
through Ripper
’
s forearm,
forcing Ripper to drop his gun. He grabbed for his arm, screaming.

Trev pointed his gun at Ripper.
“
Now you
’
re my bitch, Ripper. You never get to make a call
again. This is it. This is your dark ride.
”

Ripper tried to make a move for
another gun and Trev shot him through the shoulder. Ripper screamed again and
slumped to the left. There was blood on Griffin
’
s
headstone, along with a chunk of the stone cracked from the bullet.

Sorry, brother.

Trev climbed to his feet. He walked
to Ripper and reached down, stripping him of his other weapons. He then forced
Ripper to his feet. There was blood everywhere on Ripper and he looked at Trev,
his eyes already getting weak.

“
You
’
ll pay for this,
”
Ripper said.
“
All of this. You need me alive
to survive, Trev.
”

“
Nobody
needs you alive,
”
Trev
said.
“
Walk.
”