Sentinel - Devil Riders MC Book 1 (MC Romance Novel with FREE Bonus Novel!) (18 page)
Read Sentinel - Devil Riders MC Book 1 (MC Romance Novel with FREE Bonus Novel!) Online
Authors: Ashley Rhodes
Table of Contents
The Mojave Desert sun beat down relentlessly, searing any exposed skin. It seemed to radiate from the ground too, in waves of enervating heat. The landscape was flat for miles around - sand, cacti, and scrubby grass was all there was as far as the eye could see. The mountains on the horizon shimmered, making them seem almost unreal.
The air was hot and dry, and each breath that Eli took seemed to burn his lungs and suck the moisture from his mouth. He was desperate to take a drink from the flask full of water at his hip, but he couldn’t. Not yet. The situation was tense, as these things always seemed to be.
He risked a glance either side of him, to see how everyone else was holding up. Tex stood to his right, almost shoulder to shoulder. The gang leader’s eyes were hidden behind his shades, as ever, but he stood straight and inscrutable. If he was feeling the heat as much as Eli was, he was doing a damn good job of hiding it.
Shank stood on the other side of Tex. The older man’s thinning, wispy hair blew in the hot gusts of desert air, and his raptor eyes were narrowed in suspicion and distrust. Not that this was anything new with Shank. That was how he always looked, and his natural demeanour was probably a big part of what had let him survive so long in this line of work. Letting your guard down, even for a second, was something that Eli had learned never to do.
Eli swallowed, his saliva thick and hot and gritty. This damn sand got everywhere. He’d be washing it out of his hair for days once this was over.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned his attention back to the reason they were in this godforsaken hellhole in the first place.
Four guys, standing opposite them in a line. Their faces were red and they were all sweating profusely. They looked as uncomfortable as Eli felt, in sharp contrast to Tex and Shank who looked as if they were just out for a Sunday stroll.
“Can we get this done?” said the guy in the middle, who Eli took to be their leader. “I’m fucking roasting alive out here.” Eli didn’t know any of their names. Safer that way, as Tex always said.
“What’s the matter?” Tex wheezed, looking amused (or at least, as amused as Tex ever got) at the other guy’s discomfort. “‘Ain’t you never been out in a little sun before?”
The guy’s lips thinned, his eyes narrowed.
“Listen, jerkoff. I ain’t here for a fuckin’ picnic, you hear? Let’s make the trade and go our separate ways.”
Tex stared the guy down, before spitting loudly onto the ground. Eli felt a rivulet of sweat roll down between his shoulder blades.
Why did it always have to be like this? Why was it always so tense, as if violence could explode at any moment? It just seemed to make things more difficult than they needed to be. But Tex and Shank always seemed to revel in these sorts of situations. They lived for shit like this. Eli, on the other hand, would probably rather have been anywhere else than out there in the middle of the goddamn desert. There was just one reason he was here.
“You got the money?” Tex drawled.
A nod from the other guy. He gestured to one of his crew, who produced a suitcase.
“Show me.”
Tex’s voice was tight with excitement. This was one of the biggest jobs that the Sons of Flame had ever landed, and Tex stood to make a whole lot of cash if things went smoothly. Hell, they all did, even Eli. Enough that he was considering getting out of this game once it was all done with.
“Show us the goods first.”
Tex glanced sideways at Shank, who, after a moment, nodded once sharply. Tex fixed the other guys with a stare that would have wilted even the cacti that somehow thrived in this place.
“OK, we’ll meet in the middle there. Nice and slow, no sudden movements. Hands where I can see ‘em.”
A nod from their leader.
“Deal. Same for you.”
Tex bent down and hefted the bag that was lying at his feet. It was heavy, and Eli could see the wiry muscles of Tex’s arm bunch with the effort of lifting it.
“Stay close to me, and keep your eyes peeled young’un.”
These words were spoken to Eli from the side of Tex’s mouth.
“If they try anything, you better be ready to act. I don’t want you letting me down, you hear?”
Eli swallowed, his nerves jangling, and then just nodded once. He didn’t know if Tex saw, but it didn’t matter anyway. The leader of the Sons of Flame took a step forward at the same moment the buyers did, and Eli and Shank kept pace with him.
Eli’s heart was pounding and his knees felt shaky and weak. Adrenaline surged through his veins. He just hoped that nobody would notice. Tex and Shank looked calm and inscrutable. They’d done this so many times before, and they’d always come out one way or another, so Eli trusted in their experience.
A few more steps and they were face to face with the other guys. Up close, Eli could see the tension written on their faces too. Both sets of men came to a halt and Eli could sense that Tex was sizing them up.
“OK, gentlemen. This is how this is gonna go down. One of you steps forward with the money, and I step forward with the goods. We open each at the same moment. No funny business, no jerking around. Let’s get this done quick and clean. Got it?”
Their leader gestured to his man, who handed over the suitcase.
Tex nodded, and took a step forward at the same moment the other guy did. They met in the middle.
“Ready?” Tex said.
“Ready.”
Tex set the bag down at his feet and put his hand on the zipper.
“On the count of three.”
The buyer followed Tex’s lead.
“One. Two. Three.”
Time seemed to slow for Eli. This was it. This was the most dangerous, the most tense moment. This was where everything could go wrong in an instant.
Tex unzipped the bag, revealing the contents to everyone present. Even though Eli knew what was in there, he was still in awe of the sheer amount of hardware contained in that bag.
Guns. It was full of guns. Rifles, handguns, even grenades. Some it ex-military, some of it smuggled up from Mexico.
But where Tex had opened his bag, the buyer’s suitcase remained closed. Tex’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Don’t play games with me. Open the fucking bag. The hardware is all here.”
The buyer swallowed, looking unsure and nervous for the first time since they’d turned up. He looked around at the guys either side of him, as if he didn’t know what to do.
Eli’s throat constricted. Something didn’t seem right. The way these guys were acting all of a sudden...it was giving him a bad feeling.
“Are you deaf?” Tex snarled. “Show me the goddamn money. Now.”
The buyer held up his hand.
“Okay, okay.”
He set the suitcase down on the ground and knelt in front of it, before hesitating once more. By now Eli knew something was up.
The buyer, painfully slowly, popped open the clasp on the suitcase. Tex leaned forward eagerly, his greed overshadowing his usual natural caution. As he did so, Eli caught a movement in his peripheral vision.
One of the buyer’s hands was moving to his waist, slowly, trying not to attract any attention.
Despite the heat, Eli’s blood turned to ice in his veins. He could see the gun, tucked into the guy’s waistband.
“Tex!” he screamed. “It’s a setup! He’s got a gun!”
From that moment on, it was as if everything moved in slow motion - but Eli, even years later, could recall every last little detail.
How Tex’s head had snapped up, his eyes narrowing. How he’d lifted the suitcase and flung it with all his strength at the guy going for his gun. How that guy had been struck in the face, blood spraying from his mouth as he crumpled to the floor.
Tex and Shank had turned and run immediately, preferring to escape with their hides intact than worry about the guns or the money. Eli had reacted a split second later than the two more experienced men, and ended up eating their dust as the three of them raced back toward their bikes, parked in the shade of a nearby Joshua tree.
Then the fateful words that confirmed everything, ringing out from behind them.
“Stop! This is the police! Do not try to evade capture. Raise your hands above your head or we WILL fire on you!”
Tex and Shank hadn’t even spared a glance backwards, but Eli couldn’t resist. The men who were still standing all had handguns raised, aimed at the three of them. Somehow Eli wanted to stop, to turn around and explain how it was all just a mix-up, a misunderstanding.
But he couldn’t do that.
So he kept on running, legs pumping, heart pounding, breath ragged in the searing heat. The three bikes were getting closer and closer - if he could just reach his, he could get away. He could hide, lay low for a while, wait for this all to blow over and then get out of this game, find something less risky to do with his life.
Eli could have sworn that he
felt
the first bullet whizz past his head; he certainly heard the crack of the shot as the undercover police opened fire. A moment afterwards three more shots rang out - *crack* *crack* *crack*.
Puffs of sand were thrown up where the bullets just narrowly missed and hit the ground either side of him. All Eli could focus on were the bikes, so close now, so close.
Tex and Shank reached theirs first, throwing themselves onto the big machines. Eli was just a few yards away now - he was going to make it, he was going to get away!
And then it happened.
Eli was running so fast, and so focused on the bikes and his salvation, that he didn’t see the rock that tripped him. Searing pain exploded from his ankle and shot up his leg. It was pure agony.
At the same moment, Tex shouted in shock as a bullet hit his bike, tearing a ragged rent in the gleaming metallic body. Fuel began to leak from the hole, pouring down the bike and dripping into the sand. Tex saw what had happened, and looked up to meet Eli’s eyes.
The shouts from the police were getting closer and closer as they gave chase. They were gaining fast, and there were only moments to spare now.
Tex jumped off his bike and clambered onto Eli’s.
Eli was doing his best to struggle to his feet, but he was too slow. The pain was immense.
“Tex!” Eli screamed. “Help me up! There’s still time!”
His leader’s eyes narrowed as he judged the distance of the men behind them. He shrugged nonchalantly.
“Sorry kid. C’ya around.”
He turned the key and Eli’s bike roared to life with a throaty growl. Tex didn’t even spare another glance at his young protégé as he tore off into the desert after Shank, the powerful bike speeding away easily and quickly.
Eli was speechless. How could Tex just leave him here like that? He’d always known that the Sons of Flame leader was ruthless and cold, but he always talked about brotherhood and solidarity. About how you never leave a brother behind.
That was Eli’s last thought as he slipped into unconsciousness, the pain of his shattered ankle finally overcoming the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Tex and the Sons of Flame had betrayed him, abandoned him.
*****
Tess
“New case here for you Tess.”
A heavy slap as the manila folder landed on her desk. Tess looked up from the paperwork she was doing, a frown on her face.
“A new case? Melody, I’m swamped as it is. Look at all this.”
She gestured to the stacks of paper scattered haphazardly on her desk.
“I’m already weeks behind on everything, and you want to give me more?”
Melody just shrugged.
“Hon, we’re
all
swamped. Welcome to the California justice system.”
And with that she left Tess to it.
With a deep sigh, Tess lifted the folder and laid it on top of the papers she’d been trying to struggle through. She’d been working for the California Department of Corrections for a couple months now as a parole officer, and it wasn’t going as she’d envisaged.
She’d taken the job because she wanted to help people - wanted to see them reintegrate into society and change their ways.
But, so far, she felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the task in front of her. It seemed like every week she’d take on a new case. Right now, she had 63 parolees in her charge. Almost all men, most of them gang members, drug dealers, thieves.
Where she had envisioned working with these guys to help them, they were, on the whole, almost wholly resistant to any efforts on her part. They did the absolute bare minimum to meet the terms of their parole, and not a single thing more.
Tess knew that most of these guys were simply going to slip back into their old ways, just go back to whatever it was that they’d been incarcerated for in the first place. It was all they knew. And it broke her heart.
Tess swigged a mouthful of coffee, grimacing at the cheap bitterness of it, and flipped open the new folder.
She spent the next half hour acquainting herself with her newest ‘client’.
Eli Flint, twenty-nine years old. Arrested for intent to distribute illegal weapons. Links to The Sons of Flame, a notorious biker gang operating out of Joshuaville in the Mojave. Just released after three years inside, half of his original sentence. His only family was his elderly grandmother, Grace Flint, also of Joshuaville. He’d been offered a job as a motorbike mechanic.
Tess ran her fingers through her hair and checked her watch. Flint was due to report in for his first probation meeting with her that same afternoon according to the file. If she was quick she’d have just enough time to grab a sandwich before that appointment.
She downed the last of her coffee, grimacing again and noting that she needed to start buying some better stuff from outside. This machine coffee was rancid, but it kept her going at least. With one last despairing glance at the mounds of paperwork, she strode out of the office.
*****
Eli Flint was a half hour late for his appointment, and Tess was about to record him as a no-show when he nonchalantly wandered into the little interview room she used for her appointments with the parolees.
Tess was immediately struck by his good looks - strong jaw, short dark cropped hair, intense blue eyes that sized her up immediately upon seeing her. Tess had often noticed this about the guys she worked with. It wasn’t always a sexual thing (although that did happen), but they would take stock of her the moment they met. She’d asked Melody about it once, shortly after she started the job.
“It’s a prison thing, hon,” her boss had said. “To survive in there, you gotta know where you stand. You gotta know who you can mess with, and who you can’t. It becomes an instinct with these guys.”
Melody had leaned in and put a friendly hand on Tess’ shoulder.
“My advice? Don’t show any weakness, ‘cos these assholes are gonna take advantage of that in whatever way they can. Always remember that you’re in a position of power. You have the power to take away their freedom, so don’t let them forget it.”
Tess had taken Melody’s words to heart. She was naturally quite quiet and averse to conflict, but to survive in this job she’d had to toughen up, and fast.
“Take a seat, Mr Flint.”
He pulled out the chair on the other side of the desk and sat facing her. He hadn’t spoken a word yet, and didn’t look like he was about to start either. In fact, he looked downright unfriendly, but this, too, Tess was used to.
She placed his file on the table between them and flipped it open. He glanced at it, and then studiously ignored it, looking around the room, anywhere but at her or the file.
“How have you found things since you were released, Mr Flint? Have you had any trouble adjusting?”
No response. Just a shrug. Tess took a breath. He was going to be one of
these.
Great.
“If you are, there are some programs I can sign you up -”
“No. No
programs
.”
They were the first words he had spoken, and he practically snarled the word. Tess was a little taken aback, but she pressed on.
“Well, that’s your choice for now Mr Flint, but as your probation officer I’ll have to make a call going forward, depending on how well you integrate back into society.”
He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
“Look, Miss Bailey, I came here because I
have
to. I need you to approve my job so I can start work. That’s all I want. I ain’t gonna commit any crimes. Promise.”
A hint of a smile playing around his lips.
“So can you just sign whatever you gotta sign, or do what you gotta do so I can start working and put all this shit behind me?”
Tess smiled at him, taken aback by his candor.
“Well, I do have to say that I’m impressed you got a job offer so quickly. Most parolees don’t manage it so fast.”
He shrugged.
“Yeah, I’m lucky. So, what do I need to do?”
Tess flipped open her notebook and grabbed a pen.
“Well, I’ll need to pay a visit to your employer and check out the workplace first. If you give me the address and contact details, I’ll head over there in the next couple of days and you can start work once I’m done.”
He leaned back and let out a sigh of frustration, running his fingers through his coarse hair.
“Really? The place is legit, I guarantee you. Mike, the owner, wants me to start ASAP, and to tell you the truth, I really need the cash.”
Tess sympathised with him. Most parolees were completely broke once they got out of prison, but regulations were regulations, and she had to follow them.
“You can’t start until I approve the job. I’m sorry, but that’s just how things are. However, I’ll free up a slot in my schedule tomorrow afternoon so that you can start quickly. Would that be acceptable?”
Tess was surprised at herself for making the offer. She was already completely snowed under, and keeping the promise she’d just made would only make things worse, but there was something about Eli Flint that made her want to help him out.
He was brusque to the point of being rude, but that smile he’d shot her seemed genuine and he really did seem as if he truly wanted to put his past behind him.
He studied her with those intense eyes of his, not saying anything for a short while. Tess started to feel a little bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Damn if he wasn’t good-looking, though.
“OK,” he eventually said. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He reached over and took the notepad, scribbling a name and address in untidy, scrawled handwriting.
“It’s called Mike’s, in Joshuaville, around an hour’s drive from here.”
He slid the notebook back over to her and leaned back in his chair once more.
“So, is there anything else you need from me? I got stuff to do, Miss Bailey.”
Tess checked over her notes. This being the preliminary meeting, they were pretty much done for now.
“No, that’s everything Mr Flint. I’ll contact you once I’ve paid a visit to your workplace tomorrow and let you know my decision.”
“Thanks,” he said gruffly. “And, well, I guess we’ll be seeing a little bit of each other, so why don’t you call me Eli? Mr Flint sounds too weird for me.”
Tess smiled at him.
“Sure thing, Eli. See you soon.”
He stood to leave, and Tess couldn’t help but notice his toned physique, his sun-bronzed skin, his long, muscular legs. He looked around and caught her looking, and it was all Tess could do to stop herself from blushing, immediately cursing herself for acting like a little schoolgirl, with one of her parolees no less.
He grinned knowingly at her.
“See ya around Miss Bailey.”
He pulled open the door and strode out purposefully, leaving Tess to sit there and wonder just how he’d managed to have such an effect on her so quickly. She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. The guy was an ex-con, and he’d been involved in one of the area’s most notorious gangs, but there was just something about him that made him seem a bit different from the rest of her parolees. Something earnest, almost innocent.
She stood and gathered her files and documents, and went back to her desk. She did her best to stop thinking about Eli Flint, burying herself in her paperwork, but time and again her mind would turn to him.
Eventually she opened his file once more and began to read it. He’d been arrested in the Mojave Desert on the outskirts of Joshuaville in a sting operation. The notes said that the other gang members had made their escape and Eli had been the only one arrested.
His story was pretty typical. He’d been recruited by the gang as a teen, lured by the promise of easy money and the biker lifestyle. From all accounts he’d only been a low-level member, just tagging along and learning the trade.
David ‘Tex’ Murphy, the leader of the Sons of Flame, was still at large, and the gang continued to operate in and around Joshuaville. Mostly weapons smuggling, some drugs and intimidation. Typical biker gang activities.
Tess knew from experience how difficult it could be for young guys like Eli to get out of the lifestyle, even after they’d been in prison. The gang would often approach them after release, promising them work, a way to get back on their feet, and many would quickly slip back into old ways, old habits.
Tess just hoped she could work with Eli to make sure that didn’t happen with him.
Unfortunately, as it turned out, things just weren’t going to be that easy.
They never were.
*****