Secret Mayhem (6 page)

six.

Ava stood behind Shay and her heart
raced. She was afraid of Shay, but it wasn't the terrifying fear that she felt
knowing the Lost Men would take her life without a second thought. No. Her fear
of Shay came from his unexplainable ability to see through her facade that none
of the others had been able to.

Now was the time and the
opportunity to break free of all this. If she could stick with Shay, she could
stay right here with the MC. When whatever they were doing there in Frelen was
done, the other guys would leave and she could take off. Disappear. Change her
hair color, again. Change her name. Find somewhere else to hide to create even
more distance from her asshole husband.

Everyone headed inside, leaving
nothing but motorcycles in the parking lot of the compound. Ava still couldn
’
t get the images of the fight
out of her mind. The way they all just attacked each other. Punching, kicking,
people getting stabbed. And then they all just
…

“
They
just stopped,
”
Ava
whispered.

“
What
was that?
”
Shay asked as he
turned around.

“
Nothing.
”

“
No.
Talk to me. Nobody
’
s
around. You look like you're about to pass out.
”

“
I
just never saw something like that.
”

“
That
was just a welcoming,
”
Shay
said.
“
A sign of respect.
”

“
Oh,
that
’
s all?
”
Ava asked, sarcastically.

Shay smiled.
“
Hey, we
’
re men here. We have to take our stand. We have
guns, knives, and cocks. I sure as hell ain
’
t
taking my cock out in front of a bunch of guys.
”

“
Why
not?
”
Ava asked.
“
Afraid it
’
s too small?
”

Ava bit her lip, regretting the
question. She had learned that sometimes it was okay to push back. To make
comments. To try to take her own stand. But that was only because the Lost Men
thought she was Stein's old lady, and if they did anything to Ava, there'd be
hell to pay. But Shay knew nothing of that and he wouldn
’
t care even if he did.

Shay moved closer to Ava, his body
touching hers.
“
You couldn
’
t handle my cock, love. I
’
d make you scream so loud you
wouldn
’
t talk for days. I
’
d fuck you so hard you wouldn
’
t walk for days.
”

Ava swallowed hard.
“
Then I guess it
’
s a good thing I
’
ve got time to waste
…”

Ava was shocking herself. Why
couldn't she stop talking? She was definitely overstepping a line of respect
somewhere, but when she looked up at Shay, she couldn't help herself. She
wanted to push at him. She wanted to tempt him. She wanted to anger him. It was
crazy, but Ava couldn
’
t
stop. She reached out and touched Shay
’
s
leather cut. Her fingers were shaking as she ran them over the sewn on patches.

“
You
like those?
”
Shay asked.

“
I'm
just used to seeing the outlines.
”

“
Yeah.
Well, that
’
s what happens
when you bail on your club. When you can
’
t
function under authority or handle the realities of life.
”

“
And
what are the realities of life?
”

Shay smiled and touched Ava
’
s face.
“
Are you going tell me why you
’
re so afraid to be here? What
are you hiding behind that dyed hair and those pretty eyes?
”

Ava looked away.
“
I think you
’
re supposed to be inside there
with your friends.
”

“
Not
friends, Ava. Brothers. There
’
s
a difference. Learn it.
”

“
Sorry.
”

Ava suddenly moved to her toes and
pressed her lips to Shay
’
s
neck, twice, before Shay's hands clamped down on her shoulders. He moved her
away and stared at her.

“
You
were on the back of a ride,
”
Shay said.
“
Trev
’
s ride.
”

“
I
’
m not with him. Not even close.
”

“
He
said you were an old lady.
”

“
Stein,
”
Ava said.
“
He was the unspoken leader for
the guys. They
’
re grieving.
Mourning. Whatever. Trev is just protecting me for a little while. That
’
s why I
’
m here.
”

“
What
a world we live in then. It's no safer for you here, I don
’
t know what to tell you. You
need to earn your keep around here, and there
’
s
only one real way to do it. Sorry, love.
”

Shay turned and Ava licked her
lips. She tasted Shay on her lips. If earning her keep meant what she thought
Shay meant, she could handle that with Shay. If he wanted her...

The clubhouse was just a bunch of
men talking, laughing, and arguing. Setting up pool games. Grabbing bottles of
whiskey. Carrying six packs of beers in one hand. Throwing darts. It was the
same scene she had grown used to, but now there were twice the amount of men,
and she could see trouble escalating very quickly.

“
Let
me get us a drink,
”
Shay
said.

He knocked on the bar and put up
two fingers. The guy behind bar got two beers. Shay gave a bottle to Ava and
then they sat down next to each other.

Ava looked around and spotted Nile.
He was next to the guy who everyone called Blaine. Blaine was a good looking
guy, but he was scary too. The way he talked. The way he handled getting
stabbed like it was no big deal. Ava was realizing that these men - all of them
- were of a different world and mindset.

“
How
good can you be with one fucking eye?
”
Blaine asked.
“
Look at you,
man. How the hell do you get pussy?
”

“
I
take what I want,
”
Nile
said.

Ava caught herself standing from
her barstool and moving closer to Shay.

“
Wow,
”
Shay said,
“
that guy really gets to you.
Want me to kill him?
”

Ava looked at Shay.
“
Can you do that?
”

“
Love,
I can kill anyone I want. Everything comes with a cost though.
”

Ava swallowed hard.

“
I
’
ll put money on it,
”
Blaine said.
“
Pussy on it. I
’
ll get you three relievers
and
give you my room for the night. You just have to hit a bullseye.
”

“
We
already knew that!
”
someone
called out.

Everyone shared a laugh.

Ava tried to comprehend her
surroundings. Trev was standing with the president of Back Down Devil, Miller.
The VP, Gaige, was close by, his hand tight in the hand of a beautiful woman.
There were two other guys who had women with them. Their body language and the
way they touched each other told Ava they were a couple.

Everyone else seemed to be single.
The rest of the women walked around with a sexy strut in their hips, hoping
that they'd attract the attention of at least one of the bikers.

Blaine looked over to the bar and
pointed. He let out a whistle and yelled,
“
Come
here. Now.
”

Ava watched as a guy climbed over
the bar. He wasn
’
t patched
in with Back Down Devil.

“
What
’
s happening?
”
Ava asked.

“
I
’
m not sure,
”
Shay said.

Blaine directed the guy to the
dartboard where he placed the guy
’
s
left hand. He made the guy spread his middle and ring fingers open, making a V.

“
Keep
your hand there,
”
Blaine
said.
“
Or one of the Lost
Men are going to take you for the night. Got it?
”

“
Yes,
sir,
”
the guy said.

Blaine turned and smiled.
“
There you go, one eye. Make that
shot. You stab my prospect and I
’
m
going to stab you. Make the bullseye without hurting him and you get my bed and
our pussy.
”

Ava couldn't look away. Shay even
stood from his barstool.

Nile grabbed a dart and threw it in
what seemed like sloppy fashion. But the dart hit the bullseye.

“
Holy
fuck,
”
Blaine said.

“
You
only need one eye to shoot darts,
”
Nile said.
“
And you only
need one good cock to fuck.
”

The Lost Men started to hoot and
holler, and Shay knew it was about to get out of hand,.

Nile reached down and took a
handful of darts. Before anyone could say another word, he started throwing
them. The first two connected with the prospect
’
s
hand and he fell to his knees yelling in pain. Nile then threw the rest of the
darts at the prospect
’
s
back and ass.

“
Sit
here,
”
Shay said.

He ran forward, leaving Ava alone
and scared. If a fight broke out in the clubhouse, it would be bad.

Blaine grabbed Nile and threw him
toward the wall. Shay was there a second later, pushing Blaine aside. He put
his hand to Nile
’
s throat
and held him to the wall.

“
Shay!
”
Miller bellowed.
“
Don
’
t you fucking do it!
”

Shay looked at Miller as he
contemplated whether he should stab Nile before he killed him, or stab him all
over and watch him bleed out.

“
That
’
s a fucking order,
”
Miller said.

“
That
’
s a fucking order,
”
Nile said and laughed.
“
Listen to your puppet master.
”

Shay opened his hand and stepped
back. He pointed at Nile.
“
I
swear to you
…
one misstep
and I
’
m going to kill you.
”

“
Promise?
”

Shay looked down at the prospect on
the ground. He swung his foot and kicked the guy in the ass. The guy rolled to
his side and lifted his hand.

“
It
hurts,
”
he whined.

“
Wimp,
”
Shay said.

There was so much happening at once
that Ava's eyes decided to just focus on Shay. She watched him walk right
toward her. He put his hand out and Ava offered hers.

“
We
’
re going for a walk,
”
Shay said.

“
Where?
”

Shay looked at Ava.
“
You want to stay here with
Nile?"

“
No.
Please, no.
”

“
Good.
Do you have a bag or something?
”

“
Outside.
On the back of Trev
’
s
motorcycle.
”

“
Go
get it. Now.
”

Ava rushed outside to Trev
’
s ride and grabbed her bag. The
bag contained her only belongings. Some clothes, feminine supplies, and the
envelope that could crumble her whole world.

When Ava turned, Shay was standing
at the door. He was really sexy and he was the only chance Ava had at being
protected in Frelen.

Shay waved his hand for Ava to
follow him and he took Ava to a room. He opened the door and pointed to go
inside. It was a surprisingly clean room. The walls were bare except for a Back
Down Devil banner that hung above the bed. The carpet was black, as was all the
furniture. In the one corner was a mini fridge. On top was an array of liquor.

“
You
like to be alone, huh?
”
Ava
asked.

“
I
like my club, my brothers, and my own time,
”
Shay said.

There were a few seconds of silence
as Shay walked to a dresser. He took off his leather cut and started to
unholster his weapons.

“
What
happens now?
”
Ava asked.
“
I mean
…
I don
’
t
know why they came here. I don
’
t
know what I
’
m supposed to
do.
”

Shay looked back at Ava.
“
You can go out there and get
wasted if you want. I have no interest in it right now. Tomorrow is going to be
a busy day. And it
’
s going
to get bloody. You figure out what you want to do and do it. If you want to
tell me what you
’
re hiding,
I
’
ll listen. But I can
’
t promise that I'll protect you.
”