Page 13 of Ride with the Devil

OFFICER BURNS

LUCA

“What are you—ow!”

My stomach twists at her cry of pain, but what else can I do? I’d rather her be blissfully unaware of what happens next. Whether it’s a ride in the trunk or… or whatever Devil has planned for her, it’s the least I can do.

Or is it?

Before I can see the renewed look of fear and terror and hurt in her big, brown eyes, I firm my resolve and grab the trunk. I feel the shake all the way to my bones, and only hope there’s enough oxygen in there to keep her breathing.

Devil is already in the back seat by the time I’m sliding into mine behind the wheel. With the engine on, I shift the car into drive and peel off down the empty street.

I don’t say anything for the first few minutes of the drive. My thoughts are with the girl in the trunk and how I laid her out on trash bags meant for a bloody body. I haven’t prayed in years, but I find myself muttering ‘Our father…’ under my breath as I sneak a peek in the rearview mirror.

Any car that I use to drive Devil around comes with a glass divider. I prefer it. There are certain elements of the business that I was uncomfortable with at first. I didn’t need to hear the details of how the girls upstairs are trained and treated—especially when more than a couple of them offered me a freebie once they realized how screwed up I am—or where and when a gun drop-off would be happening. He’s the boss. I’m the driver. I’ve earned his trust, and I did that by insisting on keeping that divider up.

We both have a control to lower it. If Devil has directions for me or other orders, he can drops the divider so that he doesn’t have to raise his voice. In the three years that I’ve been his driver, I’ve never used the control on the dash.

Until now.

I don’t know what comes over me. I can see that he has his phone up to his ear; from the shape, style, and color on the back, I know it’s the phone he uses for business, not the one that is devoted solely to his wife’s calls.

I clear my throat, catching his attention. “Boss?”

“Hang on, Royce.” Devil lowers his phone. “What is it, Luca?”

I drop my gaze from the rearview mirror, staring out through the windshield instead so that I can’t see the boss’s reflection as I ask him plainly, “Can I have her?”

I don’t have to say who.

Devil sucks in a breath. “What do you mean? You wanna keep her?”

Yes.

What?

“No. Not like that. Not like?—”

“You mean, not like Devil who blackmailed his wife into marrying him so that I could keep my Ava?”

There’s a dangerous edge to his voice when he reminds us of his first wedding to his wife. Most of the Sinners don’t knowthe true story of how Devil convinced his wife to marry him for the first time. Their second wedding was a syndicate affair; after a large church wedding, they even had a reception at the Devil’s Playground that we all attended. But their first wedding is an open secret in his inner circle—including the driver who sometimes hears more than he should.

It worked out for him. Ava Crewes is head over heels for Devil, and the mother of his child. She would do anything for him…

…and, suddenly, I have an idea.

“Let me keep her, boss. Let me make her mine. If I win her heart… if I win her loyalty… she won’t snitch.”

“A dead girl won’t snitch, either,” Devil says. “I’m sorry, Luca, but facts are facts. The DA’s salivating over someone who’s willing to talk. You know how many Sinners and Dragonflies we’ve had to disappear because they were willing to turn state’s witness against me and Damien? Fuck, no. Especially with Winter close enough to buy off Collins, we can’t dick around. The girl has to go.”

My fingers flex around the steering wheel. I dare a peek in the rearview mirror. “What if I take responsibility for her? Make it so she won’t blab?”

“She’s a liability.”

“She doesn’t have to be.”

For a moment, Devil stares into my soul, dark eyes meeting mine in the reflective surface… and then he lifts the phone back to his ear. “Royce? Yeah. Take care of Collins for me.” A pause. “No. Don’t worry about the girl yet. I’m still making up my mind on that. Yeah.” Another pause. “Right. Call you back. Oh, and tell Nicolette sorry for pulling you out of bed. If it makes you feel any better, me and Luca won’t be turning in anytime soon, either. Bye.”

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