Page 49 of Devil's Due

Okay, then. Ink doesn’t want a seat at the head of the table. I’m beginning to understand Demon’s problems.

I start pulling at my fingers as I sum up. “First, Stevie doesn’t want to be parted from her guide dog. Not only is Max her salvation, but also her friend. The likelihood is if she’s whisked somewhere else, the dog will be left behind. Second, we don’t know who she’s running from, who might have turned, or who to trust; the leak could have come from the very people who have guaranteed to keep her safe. Third, we do have somewhere we can hide her, at least until Max is recovered enough to go with her, wherever she might go.”

“And four,” Demon takes over with a glint in his eye, “you would never see her again.”

I shrug as if that’s no matter while ignoring the thought deep down that it is.

“Alright. Beef, we go with the plan we discussed earlier. But you stay with her, talk to her, get her fuckin’ drunk, don’t care how you do it, but I want to know what we’re fighting here, who we should be looking out for.”

“You got it, Prez.”

By the time we’ve finished all the discussions, it’s late in the evening. Violet informed me that the events of the day had caught up with Stevie, and she showed her the bed in my room. I resign myself to an uncomfortable night on the sofa, can’t intrude or ask if she wants to share. We’re barely friends, and far from lovers.

The lack of accommodation here makes me long for Tucson. The clubhouse is quieting down but still a few brothers are talking and drinking. Knowing there’s no point in trying to get my head down right now, I grab a beer and take myself outside into the pleasant warmth of a Colorado summer evening and place a call to my prez. Myrealprez.

“You got Drummer.”

Knowing him of old, I don’t introduce myself. He’d only tell me my name’s displayed on his phone. “Sorry to call so late, Prez.”

“Nah, I was still awake. Zane’s got a cold and don’t we all know about it.” I don’t hear complaint in his voice, just sympathy tinged with pride. In the background I can hear a baby wailing, and Sam’s voice soothing him. “What you got for me, Beef?”

Pleasantries over, I get right down to business. “First off, Prez, my situation has been resolved. Sally was here.” When he stays silent, I go on, “Did what I should have done in the first place. Told her how it is.”

“She accept it?” When I reply in the affirmative, he continues, “So, you telling me you already want to come home? You haven’t been there five minutes.”

“Got a job to do here, Prez. Not plannin’ on lettin’ you down.”

I believe I hear a sigh of relief.

“How’s it going? You have a sit-down with Demon yet?”

I shift to get comfortable on the hard wooden bench. “I can see his problem. At least one man here could do the job from what I’ve seen, but no one possible has any desire to step up. I’ve made a few suggestions, but nothing positive has been decided about a new VP yet. I’ve, er, I’ve been distracted.”

“Tell me it doesn’t involve a woman. You only just got rid of one bitch.”

I laugh, as I’m meant to. “Nothing like that, Prez. But yeah, there is a woman involved. And a dog.” I raise the beer bottle and take a long swig. Then, my throat wetted, I explain what’s been going on, and what Demon has proposed.

“You go off the grid, that means you’re not doing the job I wanted you to do.” Drummer’s not so much complaining, as stating the facts. “Demon should have run this past me, not you.”

“I expect he’ll make contact, Drummer. But I’m sort of doing this on my own. I was there, he wasn’t. Can’t walk away from this, Prez.”

“Knowing you, I’d expect nothing less.” He goes quiet for a few seconds. I’ve no worries he’ll object, he’s just thinking it through. When he speaks again, as I thought, he gives me his blessing. “Yeah, you do what you have to, Beef. You need any help from this end? Need somewhere else to go? You come back home. Bring this woman with you if you need to.”

I explain the Satan’s Devils connection. He agrees to warn the other chapters too. They all might get visitors trying to find where Stevie could have gone. As the national president Drummer takes the protection of all his chapters seriously.

I promise to let him have the number of my burner, then end the call.

In the end my night turns out not to be as bad as I feared. Due to the explosion that destroyed a lot of the clubhouse, the sofas are new and not lumpy, just short for my tall frame. The ability to catch a nap anytime, anyplace, was honed when I was a soldier, and this is far from the worst I’ve ever experienced. But as I try to get comfortable, I hope there will be more than one bed in the cabin. I’m getting old and prefer my creature comforts.

The next morning we get an early start, leaving immediately after we’ve grabbed some breakfast. Driving the club’s SUV with darkened windows out of the compound, I decide to take the opportunity to discover the back streets of Pueblo, to ensure I haven’t picked up a tail. Leaving the clubhouse, I thought I saw a truck pull out behind us, but I lost him a while back, then a white Chevy seemed to be getting a bit close, but after a few twists and turns and a short stay in a parking lot out of sight of the road, he disappeared as well. Eventually when it’s all clear, I start following the instructions that Demon had imprinted onto my mind.

Stevie’s quiet in the back seat. A precaution we’d taken so she wouldn’t be visible as a passenger. Beside her is a bag crammed full of essentials that she and I might need over the following days. Luckily it’s summer, so lightweight tees, shorts and jeans, don’t take up much space. We’ve also both got a couple of sweaters, having been warned the nights can get chilly. Both Violet and Jay contributed to Stevie’s haul. She’s also got shampoo, conditioner and other, what the girls called, essential stuff. I’m no stranger to living with a woman, so suspect that includes tampons, the item they didn’t want to discuss. Like I hadn’t told them about the condoms. Hey, I’ve been a boy scout.

We’ve both got burner phones—hers fancier than mine. She’d been holed up in a corner with Cad for a while, why she got a brand-new model we haven’t discussed.

I know she hates leaving Max, hates that she can’t keep checking up on him. Demon’s promised a brother will find out how he is every day and let her know if there are any problems. The other worry she must have is that she’s literally putting her life in my hands. She’s only known me a few days, knows nothing about me at all except I’m a biker.

What would I have done in her place?Part of me is pleased it’s me she’s decided to trust. Not that she’s got much choice, the authorities haven’t done a good job to date, and if they found her, they’d whisk her out of my life. She would lose her dog, and I’d never see her again. That thought bothers me causes me to wonder whether that would be for the best. Still, I’ve agreed on this plan, now I’ve got to go along with it.

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