Page 1 of Demo

PROLOGUE

Ron “Demo” Snyder stood between two of his club brothers, Jumper and Bear. The night air was heavy with tension and anticipation of what was about to happen. They were all gathered around the moonlit, snow-covered field. Every patched member and prospect of theVia DaemoniaMotorcycle Club was present. The club’s hands were not as clean as they had been for the first five years of their existence. Blood now stained them red. One could argue the justification of their actions, but it did not change their new color.

And now? Their red hands were about to become even darker. The club had never had an execution like this before.

Though none of the ol’ ladies or club kids were present, they knew something was amiss from the tension around the clubhouse.

Demo looked over at his club brother, Pumpkin, and did not envy the man. His son had been born less than four hours ago yet here he was, stuck in the snow with the rest of them. Though Pumpkin’s face was devoid of any emotion, Demo knew his friend and brother well enough to know how badly he was hurting. His son’s birthday would forever be tainted. He would never be able to celebrate without having this moment stuck in his head.

As much as Demo knew that Pumpkin didn’t deserve that, he also knew that Steel had to make a point. That point was simple:do not betray your club. If the Honeys hadn’t already been dismissed of their duties, Demo had to wonder if Steel would have made them be present too. After all, it was one of them who had betrayed the VDMC.

Cheryl knelt in the snow. For all that she had just given birth four hours before, she didn’t look sleepy. Pale, certainly, and shaky with nerves. Silent tears streamed down her makeup-less cheeks. Steel had allowed her one final meal and a shower before escorting her out to the field himself. She wore a pair of medical scrubs but no jacket or shoes.

The club’s President stood stoically behind her. Demo knew Steel’s only reservation about what was to happen was because Cheryl was a woman. It went against the grain, but Steel would never ask someone to do a job he wasn’t willing to do himself.

Which was why he was standing behind Cheryl with a gun and a silencer as she said her final prayers. Angel had offered to do it. As the only female member, she knew how the rest of them felt about executing a woman. She’d taken care of Evette, Cheryl’s partner in crime. The only reason Cheryl was still alive was because she’d been carrying Pumpkin’s son up until four hours before.

Steel, however, had declined Angel’s offer. Perhaps Steel did not want to put another death on Angel or perhaps he wanted to make an example of Cheryl. Regardless, he would be the one to pull the trigger today.

Pumpkin and Bulldog flanked him. The only reason Pumpkin was there instead of Lucky, the club’s VP, was because he’d asked. He expressed time and time again that he did not have feelings for Cheryl. That she’d been nothing more than a convenient fuck. But Demo had to wonder if Pumpkin was as detached from what was about to happen as he claimed. He had spent a lot of time with Cheryl over the past three months. He said it was taking care of his son, which he couldn’t do without also taking care of Cheryl.

Demo hadn’t held the baby or seen him yet. He’d gotten the message that the baby had been born and then to come outside. They all had known this was coming. In the past, the club had circled around the pregnant ol’ lady, protecting and helping her as much as they could as they all impatiently waited for the new club baby to make his or her appearance. This time, it had felt more like aguillotine watch. Demo wasn’t even sure where the baby was, though he was certain he hadn’t been left alone. Most likely Tessa, Bear’s wife and ol’ lady who had helped deliver the baby, was caring for him until Pumpkin could get back.

The number of club kids had exploded in the past year. Steel and Lucky used to be the only ones with kids, and then suddenly Bear, Bulldog, Angel, Cage, and now Pumpkin had joined the ranks of parenthood. Demo loved his club nieces and nephews, but there was no doubt he was closer to Sissy, Lucky’s adult daughter, than he was Lila, Bulldog’s six-year-old daughter. Kids? Well, they terrified him.

When the question of paternity had come up for Cheryl’s unborn child, Demo had nearly shit a brick as Bear had come towards him with a mouth swab. All of the unattached members had been tested with the exceptions of Angel, who was a woman andcouldn’thave fathered a child, and Jumper, who had been celibate prior to pairing up with his ol’ lady, Jasmine, due to his severe PTSD.

Demo knew that he would have stepped up to care for the baby had it been his. Hewouldhave—at least, that’s what he kept telling himself. But he also knew he had been praying with every fiber of his being that he wasnotthe father. Kids were observant and loud and needed constant protection.

The idea of holding a small little person that was solely dependent on him? That wasn’t the terrifying part. No, Demo knew down to the marrow of his bones that he would doanythingfor his child. Thatunknown futurewas what terrified him.

His own mom had made the ultimate sacrifice for him. He’d been raised by a single father who loved him, but also blamed him for his wife’s death. None of it was Demo’s fault—his father knew that—but it didn’t stop the looks, thepain. Demo had joined the military in hopes of finally proving to his father that he wasn’t selfish. He wanted to honor his mother’s sacrifice by making something of his life.

Though his relationship with his dad had gotten better over the years, it wasn’t the greatest. They talked on holidays and birthdays. Demo went out to Wyoming to visit him two times a year. His dad had never come to Pennsylvania to visit him.

He didn’t remember much about his mom. Since he was five years old, it had been just his dad and him…and the guilt. It was hard to imagine ever blaming his child for something that was entirely not his fault. Demo knew that nothing short of unconditional love would be how he would raise his children. No sacrifice would be too great. He would give his childeverythinghe was andeverythinghe had to ensure they had a bright and happy future.

Andthatterrified him.

Not the idea of dying for his child as his mom had. He’d gotten past the fear of death while in the military. But not knowing what he would do for his kid. How far he would go to protect them.

Pumpkin’s son was four hours old and now Pumpkin was about to watch his club’s President execute the mother of his child.

All the times he’d pushed off the idea of having his own kid, Demo had never paused to wonder about that kid’s mother. Of course, he or she would have to have a mother. That was biology. But Demo had never pictured her before.

He liked women. Hell, helovedwomen. He loved their shapes and their laughter, their hips and their lips, their sassiness and their coyness… He loved the challenge of the chase and the thrill of the win once they made it to a bed, or a wall, or a cage, or a closet.

But come morning, Demo never had the desire to stick around for seconds. The game was won, the chase was over. There was nothing left to discover. He didn’t even have it in him to say he would call, knowing he never would. It was just a quick goodbye, the occasional ‘thank you’, and off he went. The only repeats in his history had been the club Honeys and that was because they had known the score. There had never been the concept of ‘more’ with them.

Now that the Honeys were a thing of the past, there were some changes to Demo’s routine. Getting shot hadn’t helped that either. He’d needed time to recover too. Sex hadn’t been a priority when he’d been worried about dying.

Nearly dying had given him some perspective though. He saw the relationships of those around him and had to wonder if that was in his future. Hell, ifCage, the biggest man-whore the club had, could be tamed and domesticated by love, there had to be hope for Demo too.

Right?

Steel stepped forward. He placed a hand on Cheryl’s shoulder. Though her back was to the club members there to bear witness to her execution, Demo saw her wince.

He wondered what was going through her mind. Was she worried about going to Heaven or Hell? Was she concerned about her son and how he would be raised? Maybe the fact that he would never know her? Perhaps, she was contemplating how she’d lived her life. Did she have regrets or was she satisfied with the life she led?

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