Page 1 of Demon
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Demonfinishedcleaningupafter his closing shift at Drifters.He locked the cash bag into the safe in the office then let himself out the back door and headed out to his bike.He was headed home, or at least the only home had for now, the Demented Souls clubhouse.He glanced around the empty parking lot then pulled his helmet on, threw his leg over his bike.It took a moment for him to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be.Only then did he turn the key and start the engine.
The engine roared to life and Demon took a deep breath and rolled his shoulder, letting some the ache of working for the last several hours drain from his muscles, before he gripped the handlebars and twisted the accelerator.
Once on the road he let the vibrations of the bike and the wind in his face carry away every thought but staying on the road and staying alive.Not that there was much traffic on the streets of Tucson at nearly three A.M., but Demon knew that what little there was would likely be less careful, whether because they’d been drinking, they were tired or some other reason, it didn’t matter.He had to stay as alert to traffic as he did during the day when there were easily ten times as many cars on the road.
The clubhouse was less than a mile away from the bar where he’d been working, when he wasn’t busy with club business, for the last six months, but once he got on the road, the call for a longer ride made him pass the multiple buildings and businesses clustered together that belonged to the Souls.Not that everything they owned was in one place, Drifters was an example of that.It just happened that the mechanic shop that Mac ran was next door.It made it convenient for them, not as much for those who worked farther away, like Demon or Sadist at his tattoo shop.
Demon didn’t have a destination in mind, only that he wanted to ride for a bit.He rode every day, but was often too busy with club business to do more than go from one place to another.And on club rides, he usually got stuck in the truck.Well, that depended on what they were doing, but it happened more often than he wanted to think about it.Hopefully soon they’d pick up another prospect or two, then there would be someone newer than him and they’d get the shit job like driving the truck when everyone wanted to be on their bikes.
Hell, with a couple more prospects, they might decide to hold a vote and patch him in.Hopefully not just him either.He’d like to see Puck and Boomer patched in too.He rode through town, enjoying the quiet of the streets this late, or rather early.By the time he made it back to the clubhouse, pulled into the yard and parked his bike in line with the others already there, it was pushing four.
In the clubhouse, he ducked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler.Twisting the top off, he scanned the room.There didn’t appear to be too much of a mess, not that he could see much in the dim light from the neon signs scattered on the walls around the room.He didn’t see anyone down here passed out, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if one or both of his fellow prospects were sprawled out on a couch with one of the club girls draped across them.
Hell, one night he’d come in and found Puck and Honey, one of the newer girls, bent over the pool table, Puck’s jeans pooled around his ankles and his ass flashing the whole clubhouse.Close as Demon could figure, they’d been going at it and passed out in the middle.He still wondered how they’d managed that.But he wasn’t about to ask.Hell, he was still trying to forget the sight of Puck’s pale ass hanging there in mid-air.Some things seemed to stick with you no matter how little you wanted to remember them.
Still, he had to admit, if only to himself, he’d rather those unwanted memories be of his brother’s bare ass than some of the things he’d seen and done before he’d gotten out of the Marines.
With a shake of his head, he tipped back the water bottle and drained it.After tossing it in the recycling bin, he grabbed a second bottle and headed for the stairs, and his room.He needed a shower and his bed.Tomorrow was another day with another list of shit to get done.At least he wasn’t on the schedule at Drifters.That didn’t mean much, the Souls would find plenty to keep him busy, he had no doubt.
Demoneasedthepickupthrough the snarled traffic at the intersection and wished, not for the first time, that he was on his bike instead of in the truck.Traffic would be easier, but it would make this assignment much more difficult.And it wasn’t like he was even working alone, even if he was alone in the truck.He checked his mirrors for what felt like the hundredth time.Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on just what.
He shook his head and wondered again how he’d managed to get roped into this.At least he wasn’t the only one stuck in a truck.He, Boomer, and Puck were all driving different trucks full of Sackett’s shit from his old apartment to the house he was moving into with his girl.Not that there was much about Selena that was girlish.No she was all woman.As much as Demon had enjoyed his wild days, he was getting tired of not having anyone to go home to, not having anyone to talk to, not the normal stuff that he shared with his brothers but someone to lay in bed with at night and talk about what they wanted from life, what they wanted to do, things they wanted to accomplish.He remembered hearing his parents’ voices late at night, muffled through the wall enough that he couldn’t tell what was being said, only that they were talking, and as a kid, he’d tried to figure out what they talked about, until one day he’d asked Mom.That’s when he found out that wives weren’t just for kissing and hugging on, though he saw lots of that growing up.As a teen he’d been embarrassed that Dad couldn’t keep his hands off Mom.
Now, he just wished he could see them again.Hug them both, talk to them.He wondered if they’d be proud of the life he lived or if they would tell him he could do better.
But that wasn’t possible.
He took a deep breath and pushed away his thoughts of what if as he checked traffic again and hit his blinker so he could move into the turn lane.He’d almost reached Selena’s house, when he realized that there was a large SUV several car lengths back that had made every turn he had for the last several miles.The tiny hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end.
Something wasn’t right.
Were they following him for some reason?
Glancing in the mirror again, he wanted to be sure they were still there before he did anything, then he took the next right.It didn’t go where he was headed but he needed to know if they were following him or not.It hadn’t been that long since Selena was kidnapped.Granted, she’d been in Colorado when it happened, but they’d followed them at least part way back to Arizona, and Demon didn’t want to be the one to lead someone to her if he could help it.
He hadn’t gone a hundred yards down the side street when the same SUV appeared behind him, having made the turn too.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered to himself then hit the screen on the dash, telling his phone who to dial.
“Yo,” Gizmo said as he answered the call.“I thought you were on your way over here.Did you get lost?”
Demon ignored the dig and started with the important information.
“I just noticed an SUV on my ass.It’s been there at least a couple of miles and followed me when I turned onto 5thoff Country Club.”
“That’s not where you should have turned to get here.”Gizmo sounded confused.“Oh shit.Give me a sec.”
Demon heard rustling and he wasn’t sure what Gizmo was doing to his phone, but it sounded like he was rubbing it back and forth over a cheese grater.Demon winced at the noise as he made another turn that didn’t lead anywhere, or at least not where he wanted to go.
A couple more turns, and Gizmo was back on the line.
“Where are you now?”
“Skirting the parking lot at El Con.They’ve lost all their cover, but they’re still right behind me.I don’t know if they think I haven’t noticed them, or they just don’t care.”
“What’s your plan?We’ll send someone out and you can meet them somewhere.”
