Secret Mayhem (8 page)

Jon brought plates of food and then
coffee and orange juice.

Ava didn
’
t speak as she ate.

Part of Shay felt bad for laying
into her like he did, but there was no time for fucking around anymore. Every
time the club got distracted lately, all hell would break loose.

After eating, Shay put a hand to
Ava
’
s barstool.
“
Look at me, Ava.
”

She looked at him.
“
What?
”

“
That
hand of yours
…
is fucking
perfect. I
’
m not done with
you. You
’
re going to be in
my bed tonight and tomorrow
…
and as long as I say so. I
’
ll
fight for you to stay right here. If you go back with the Lost Men, they
’
re going to fuck you and then
kill you.
”

“
I
know that,
”
Ava said. She
blinked fast.
“
Last night
was the first time I
’
ve
slept in
…
a long time
…”

“
Even
before the Lost Men?
”

When Ava didn
’
t reply, he knew he was right
about her running from something.

“
You
are going to start talking soon,
”
Shay said.
“
You will let me
in."

“
I
already let your fingers in
…”

Shay smiled. He moved close and put
his lips near Ava
’
s ear.
“
Just wait until you feel my
cock.
”

Ava sat up straight. Her lips were
parted but she didn
’
t
speak.

“
It
’
s not easy living this life,
”
Shay said.
“
Every second is a second closer
to death. Which I guess is true for everyone. The difference is that our
countdown is much faster.
”

Miller appeared in the clubhouse
and let out a long whistle. The entire clubhouse shut up.
“
I want a meeting in five
minutes. Time to get to the real business.
”

“
That
’
s my cue,
”
Shay said.
“
You
can go hang in my room. Lock the door and nobody will bother you.
”

“
Nile
…”

“
He
’
ll be in the meeting with the
rest of us. Don
’
t think
about it.
”

“
Okay.
Thank you, Shay.
”

“
No
thanking me. Just earn your keep
…”

Shay waited for Ava to stand and
walk away. His hands balled into. He didn
’
t
want, or need, to be attracted to Ava, but he couldn
’
t stop it. Maybe once he fucked her a few times,
the feelings would pass. He just needed to satisfy the urge of wanting
something he shouldn't have.

“
Hey,
you hit that last night?
”
Blaine asked as he walked by Shay.

“
None
of your fucking business.
”

“
I
didn
’
t hear her screaming,
”
Blaine said.
“
So if you did, you didn
’
t do it right.
”

“
Fuck
you, man.
”

Blaine winked and laughed.

A few minutes later, the meeting
room was jam packed.

Back Down Devil guys sat around the
table while the walls were lined with the Lost Men.

Miller cleared his throat.
"Alright boys, the fun is over. Time to get to work."

eight.

Shay's room was obviously much
bigger than her little closet area she was used to, but this was still no way
to live. It was no way to survive either. She unlocked the door and held the
doorknob as she looked back to the bed. That was the most comfortable she had
been in such a long time. Shay had pleasured her and then held her while she
fell asleep. But it wasn't fair. She didn
’
t
deserve this. She wasn
’
t
some old lady and she never would be. She knew nothing about living the MC life
and it wasn
’
t her place to
be in the mix of it. Ava's plan to find her father and disappear from her
husband ended with her father being killed and her somewhere in California. She
had no idea what she was doing.

Shay made it clear what a war
really meant for Back Down Devil. It wasn
’
t
about a bunch of guys wanting to fight each other because they've been
disrespected. No. This war involved bombs and serious people. The club needed
to focus on their task at hand and nothing else.

Ava opened the door and stepped
into the hallway. She didn
’
t
want to leave her stuff behind, but it was the only way to make her wrongs
right somehow. Maybe once Shay read the information about who she really was,
maybe he would understand why she had to leave. Ava had a couple hundred
dollars rolled up in her back pocket. With that she could resupply herself and
get a train ticket or a cab ride out of town.

Three steps into the hallway, Ava
froze when Nile came around the corner. Tall, dark, disgusting. His face was
covered in swelling and bruises from what Shay had done to him already.

“
Look
at you, beautiful,
”
Nile
said.
“
Out here all alone.
”

“
Get
away from me,
”
Ava said.
“
You can
’
t touch me anymore.
”

“
Oh?
Why
’
s that? Were you chosen
by one of these guys? I get it
…
it
’
s the guy who I tangled
with, right? Did I look weak in front of you? Trust me, I
’
ll show you some strength. You
little cunt whore.
”

Nile licked his lips. Ava tried to
ignore him. She tried to cut around and keep walking. But Nile wasn
’
t having it. He moved to the
left and blocked the way. When Ava moved to the right, he moved to the right.

“
Tell
me,
”
Nile said,
“
did you suck his cock? Did you
let him fuck that sweet pussy of yours? What did he do to you last night?
”

Ava looked at Nile. She told herself
don
’
t say
anything stupid
…

But it was too late.

“
He
did more to me in one night than you have done or ever will do in your
lifetime.
”
Nile curled his
lip and stepped at Ava. She stepped back.
“
You
can
’
t hurt me. Shay will
kill you. They will all kill you. Even your own guys, because you don't belong
to anyone."

Nile laughed.
“
You think I
’
m afraid of death? If taking you
in that bedroom to do everything I
’
ve
ever wanted meant my death, so be it.
”

Now Ava was scared. She always knew
the Lost Men were insane and weren
’
t
afraid of death, but would they really give up their lives for a few minutes of
pleasure?

It certainly seemed so.

“
Want
me to tell you what I want to do?
”
Nile asked.
“
Or should I
just do it and surprise you?
”

“
Get
away,
”
Ava said.
“
I
’
ll
kill you.
”

Nile smiled and took a step back.
“
I
’
m
late for my meeting. Lots of people to kill. But I
’
ll be back. Don
’
t
worry. It just turns me on even more.
”

As soon as Nile turned around, she
started shaking. The fear spread through her body like a wildfire. Without Shay
and protection, what was going to stop Nile from tracking her down if she did
leave?

When Ava found her strength, she
slowly made her way down the hall. Just as she rounded the turn, she ran
straight into two beautiful women.

“
Oh,
sorry,
”
Ava said as she
tried to sidestep around them.

The two women stopped.

“
You
came with the Lost Men, right?
”
the one woman asked. She had scars on her face.
Was she bombed too?

“
Yeah
…”

“
I
’
m Avery,
”
the other woman said.
“
I heard you were an old lady.
”

“
Something
like that,
”
Ava said.

“
By
the way, I
’
m Kaity,
”
the woman with the scars said.

“
Nice
to meet both of you. I
’
m
Ava.
”

“
Ava,
”
Avery said.
“
That
’
s a hot name. No wonder Shay is all over you and
risking his ass by stealing a woman from the Lost Men.
”

“
Not
stealing,
”
Ava smiled.
“
I was leaving to go for a walk
or something.
”

“
Leaving
the clubhouse?
”
Kaity's
eyes widened.
“
That
’
s kind of dangerous right now
with what
’
s going on.
”

“
I
’
ll take my chances,
”
Ava said.

“
Shay
will be pissed,
”
Avery
said.
“
I
’
ve seen him pissed before. He
’
s nasty.
”

Ava swallowed. She shrugged her
shoulders.
“
I just need to
escape sometimes."

Kaity came forward and touched Ava
’
s arm.
“
And sometimes you need protection.
”

Ava couldn
’
t help but look at the marks on Kaity
’
s face. Even with the scars, she
was beautiful and her eyes were dark and sexy.

“
She
’
s not shy about it,
”
Avery said.
“
Her face. You keep looking at
it.
”

“
I
don
’
t care,
”
Kaity said.
“
I just don
’
t want the same to happen to
you.
”

Ava shook her head.
“
Why would that happen to me?
”

“
Because
you
’
re here. The second you
stepped foot in this clubhouse, you became part of it all. Part of the war.
Part of the MC. Sorry.
”

“
I
’
ll take my chances still,
”
Ava said.
“
Living with the Lost Men does
that to you. Accepting death is more comfortable than anything they have to
offer.
”

“
Pretty
rough with them, huh?
”
Avery asked.

Ava nodded.
“
As bad as you
’
ve
probably heard. They
’
re all
just shells of men. They're monsters. And they really do not care about a
thing.
”

“
Kind
of like the men around here,
”
Kaity said with a grin.

“
Yeah,
but at least there is order and rules around here,
”
Ava said.

“
For
the most part,
”
Avery said.
“
Are you really going to
leave the clubhouse?
”

“
I
have to,
”
Ava said.
“
I
’
m
sorry. I can
’
t explain it
right now to anyone. Not even Shay. Are you going to rat me out?
”

“
No,
”
Kaity said.
“
If you have to go, go.
”

Ava appreciated the women somewhat
helping her. She walked by them and kept her sights on the main floor of the
clubhouse. When Kaity whistled and called her name, Ava looked back.

Kaity touched her face and nodded.
“
I had nothing to do with this
war, Ava. I was just a woman on the run with a broken down car. But the club's
enemies were out for blood, so that
’
s
what these scars are. They force Erik to look at me everyday and remember what
his face looks like. You leave this clubhouse you never know what could happen.
I hope you
’
re okay with
that.
”

Ava nodded and started walking
again. Her heart rose to her throat.

She needed to do this.

Not a single person in the clubhouse
bothered her as she left. Once outside in the parking lot, she looked around
and then started to run. It was all she could do right now. She craved that
sense of freedom and escape.

Outside the compound, Ava felt the
worry roll through her body. She shouldn
’
t
be doing this. But anything an enemy of the club wanted to do to her would be
better than letting Nile have his way with her. Because that man would hurt her
in ways she feared to even think about. And ultimately she would end up dead
anyway.

As Ava continued to jog along the
sidewalks in town, she smelled the fresh, warm air and was overcome with the
smell of the ocean. It enticed her. It had been a long time since she saw a
beach or the ocean. When she was younger, the beach was a beautiful place of
peace, and she was in desperate need of peace. So that
’
s where Ava went.

As much as she wanted to leave
Frelen and leave Back Down Devil, she was shaken by what both Kaity and Avery
had said. They were involved with the MC so they knew what they were talking
about. Ava kept looking around, wondering if someone was looking at her.
Stalking her. Waiting for the right time to swoop in and attack her.

When Ava got to the beach, she
stood and looked around. There were plenty of people enjoying the day. Some sitting
in chairs, reading. Some throwing frisbees around. Some in the ocean, trying to
ride the waves.

Ava walked over to an empty, quiet
spot and sat down. She pulled her shoes off. The sand between her toes felt
amazing. It seemed so unfair that she was the one having to run and hide. She
didn't ask for this life, and she definitely didn't ask for the life her
husband had tried to force her into. His craving for fame and fortune was why
she had to leave. He wanted so badly for them to become
"camera stars"
as he would put it. Their sex life became increasingly scarier and more
dangerous as he got more abusive and forceful in his attempt to make her sign
the papers for films. So when she found out who her real father was, it seemed
like the best way to protect herself. She had no idea it would get him killed.

A warm breeze tickled along her
skin.

She took a handful of sand and let
the wind take it from her hand. She swallowed and thought about Shay. The
intense look on his face all the time made her so curious about him. He was
troubled and it was obvious that no one else was seeing his struggle. Ava
pictured his naked body and could still traced the lines of his muscles with
her mind. Then she looked down at her hand and blushed. That hand had
earned
her keep
.

Is that all it was though?

If Ava didn
’
t go back to the clubhouse, did that mean Shay
would just find another woman for the night then?

Probably.

Ava couldn
’
t help but feel as though her time was ticking
down. The lies were going to catch up to her.

“
I
need to run,
”
Ava
whispered.
“
I need to run
right now. Run fast. Run far.
”

But even with those thoughts, Ava
couldn
’
t find the strength
to stand. She sat there on the beach, staring at the crashing waves, listening
to the squeals of happiness and laughter around her. The sun's reflection on
the water was serene. Ava couldn
’
t
move. In both her heart and mind she hoped Shay would come get her. She hoped
he would want to find her and help her. To save her. Protect her. Maybe even
…
love her
?

Ava shut her eyes. Shay was an
outlaw biker. His heart only beat for his club.