The Devil’s Reward: An Opposites Attract Romance (The Devil’s Soldiers)

I will not lose them.

“That was so much fun!” Macy practically screeches as we all walk out of the restaurant and head for the vehicles. She’s holding on to my hand and her mother’s, and I can’t help the smile on my face. I don’t look over to where Rose and the other women are grinning at me. My only focus is the little girl who has somehow accepted me effortlessly. Quinn smiles at me softly, and I have to figure that Macy’s acceptance will result in another date.

At least I hope so.

We walk over to Quinn’s car, and I ignore all the chatter and noise behind me as the group hugs and says goodbye and starts getting into their vehicles. My focus is on Quinn and Macy. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” I tell Macy happily as she lets go of my hand and beams up at me when Quinn unlocks her car.

“Can we go on another date?” Macy asks sweetly. “Maybe next time we can go to the pool. Go for a swim,” she suggests coyly.

I hear Quinn sigh, exasperated with her daughter, and I just chuckle. “Maybe,” I reply, hedging. I have a feeling that it’s best to never give in quickly with this one, because if you don’t there will be hell to pay.

She pouts but then shrugs. “Okay. Bye, Shadow. Thanks for the pizza and the ice cream. It was the bestest time ever!” Then she rushes forward, hugs my legs tight, steps back, and opens the car door to hop inside, slamming it shut behind her.

Quinn looks at me with a shy smile. “Thanks, Shadow,” she says softly when I step towards her. “I had a good time.”

“Even with so many interruptions?” I tease.

She smiles. “Even with them. Maybe they even made it a little better,” she remarks, a teasing light in her eyes.

I smirk down at her. “Is that so? Well then, I think I need to take you out again, away from them, to prove differently,” I suggest smoothly, reaching up to play with her hair.

“You think so?”

“I do,” I murmur. “So if I text you later with a date and time, will you let me know if it works for you?”

She nods, eyes holding mine. “I had a good time, Shadow,” she murmurs. “And yes, I’ll answer you.”

“Mom, come on, let’s go!” Macy suddenly shouts from inside the car, breaking the moment between Quinn and I.

Quinn huffs out a laugh. “I guess I should go. I need to stop at the pharmacy before we head home.” She glances over at the car, and I look to see that Macy is facing the back windshield, waving at everyone behind us as they’re calling out their goodbyes. When I look back, Quinn goes up on her tiptoes and presses her mouth to mine in a quick kiss, then blushes and steps back. “Bye,” she whispers before she walks around the car and climbs into the driver’s seat.

I step back and give a quick wave when Macy turns in her car seat and waves at me. I wait until they disappear down the street, then I turn around and head for my bike. All the Lincolns are gone, as well as Alice and Dale Lane, leaving Rose, Bullet, King, and Sage standing there, waiting for me. Only now, Izzy and Torque have joined them.

“Thought we would crash the party,” Torque says when I shake his hand. “Though we’re a little late, I see.”

“That’s what happens when you end the work day banging in your office,” King drawls.

Izzy and Torque share a heated look, but neither disagrees with his statement. I roll my eyes. “Horn dogs,” I drawl at them.

Both just grin. Izzy looks at Rose and Sage. “You guys alright if I catch a ride back with you?” she asks them.

Rose smiles warmly at her. “Of course, honey. My son being a pain in the ass again?”

“Or something,” Izzy smirks, making Torque roll his eyes and mutter under his breath.

Sage snickers. “It’s a man thing. They’re always pains in the ass.”

“Literally in your case, Goddess,” King leers at his woman, who gives him a cool stare. It’s no secret that King and Sage’s sex life is a bit wild.

Bullet says, “Prospect is just around the corner and he’ll be here to grab you. We’ll follow you to the clubhouse.”

“Maybe we want to make a couple of stops on the way,” Rose says with a smirk at her husband.

Bullet arches a brow at her. “A couple of stops?” he repeats.

Her smirk spreads into a wicked grin. “Maybe I want to pick up a couple of things that I think would be a little fun later,” she purrs at him. Bullet’s eyes glitter with interest. King and Torque groan, while Sage and Izzy share a grin.

I turn when I hear the sound of an SUV and watch as Kaleb pulls up, looking resigned to his fate. I nod at him because I know just how he feels. I don’t want to be alone with these women any more than he does. “Straight back to the clubhouse, son,” Bullet orders Kaleb when the women crawl inside. He gives Rose a warning look when she glares at him. “You think I don’t know that you’re trying to meet up with the rest of your group?” he asks her drily. “I wasn’t born yesterday, woman.”

Rose sighs. “It’s a good thing you’re handsome, Bullet, otherwise I’d have made your life a hell of a lot harder the past thirty-something years.”

King and Torque scoff at that, while Bullet reaches out and grabs her by the chin through the open door before leaning down and putting his mouth quick and hard on hers. “I’ll see you at the clubhouse,” he says when he pulls away and drops his hand. “Where you and I will discuss that sassy mouth.”

“I look forward to it,” Rose purrs. I roll my eyes. These two can be gag-worthy sometimes.

I step back and head for my bike while the Prospect puts the SUV in drive and pulls out onto the road. Bullet, King, and Torque saddle up and we pull out behind him. The drive through the city center and then to the outskirts towards the clubhouse, gives me time to think about my date with Quinn.

It may not have gone the way I wanted, but I also got to see Quinn interact the important people in my life. She didn’t flinch when the women were talking to her or when I called in their men. She didn’t cringe when I told her the reason behind them not being allowed to all congregate together unsupervised. She also didn’t mind that Macy liked to play with their kids.

I would think most mothers wouldn’t want their kid playing with strangers or talking to people they barely know, but she seemed comfortable enough. Maybe because I was there. Or at least, I would like to think it played a role in it.

It was nice to sit and talk to her about mundane things. Answer questions that seemed trivial, but were enough that I now know she has a weakness for cheesecake, hates pineapple, and has a small secret dirty romance book collection. That, I had to drag out of her, because when she started to talk about some of the books she reads, she clammed up like she was ashamed. When I convinced her to tell me, she opened up. Which of course led me to tell her about King being a cover model, thanks to Sage and her favorite hobby of messing with her man.

I also learned that Macy is as inquisitive as her mother, but where Quinn is shy and a bit awkward at times, Macy hits it with everything she has and then embraces the fallout. She asked all kinds of personal questions before her mother finally put a stop to it and sent her back to play. The only one that shook me was when she asked why I didn’t have a wife or kids.

It’s been no secret that I want a family of my own. Except that fate has given me a kick in the teeth with my new potential family. I can almost see Sam up there laughing at me. She’d think this was all a good joke. Hell, Macy reminds me of her. Sam was a no holds barred kind of woman, and she wasn’t afraid to go after anything she wanted, information included, much like Macy.

It’s like Sam sent me two parts of herself. Something to make me sit up and take notice. The shy, sweet woman that is the spitting image of her, and her go-getter daughter who could take over the world if she set her mind to it. Sam’s idea of a joke, I’m sure. Quinn and Macy Holt are not Sam Nolans, and I’m slowly starting to come around to the idea of that.

They are their own people, and I need to let Sam go. Sam is gone. I never dated Sam, never kissed her, never slept with her, and I know Quinn and Macy are my future. Sam is my past, and my shrink was right about it being time to let the past lie.

The sound of a roaring engine pulls me out of my thoughts and I glance behind me to see a large black SUV coming up behind us. I frown because that SUV is moving too fast. My senses tingle and that itch at the back of my neck starts. I rev my engine and in front of me, my brothers all glance back at me in surprise. When they see the SUV, their expressions harden.

Bullet barely has time to speed up before the SUV is on our asses, bearing down on us. “Evade!” I scream, hoping they hear, quickly jerking my bike over just far enough to keep from getting clipped. Except I quickly realize that I am not the target. The SUV clips the back of Bullet’s bike, sending his bike into the ditch and Bullet flying through the air.

I don’t stop or look at Bullet. Torque and King will see to him, because I know he’s not after us. He’s after the women. I need to get to them. Fast.

Only I’m not fast enough.

Suddenly, the black SUV hits the back driver’s side of their vehicle, sending it swerving towards the ditch. I automatically reach back and pull out my gun, aiming at the SUV that is getting ready to hit them again. I’m close enough that I can see Kaleb’s determined gaze as he pushes his foot on the gas, ready to get the women out of here. I aim for the tire of the enemy’s SUV, but my bullet misses the tire and hits the door instead.

I don’t stop firing until I unload the entire clip, but the SUV doesn’t slow down. With one last effort, he rams into them again again, hard enough to send their SUV flying towards the field on the right side of the road, and I watch in horror as it rolls, over and over from the force of the impact. Metal screeches and crunches with each turn. I don’t follow the SUV as it races off. My only thought is for the women and Kaleb.

“Sage!” King roars, terror clear in his voice. “Mom!”

I don’t even stop my bike, I just let it fall on the side of the road and I run. Smoke billows from the wreckage where it’s laying on its side and I pray. Pray that they’re alive. King is keeping pace with me as we reach it.

I go to the driver’s side and look in. Kaleb is unconscious in his seat, the airbags deployed. I look past him and see the women, bloodied and unconscious. And another thing hits me. I smell gas. “Fuck, we need to get them out,” I yell at King. “I smell gas. It could blow any second.”

King’s eyes are hard as granite, and he doesn’t waste any time climbing up and wrenching at the crumpled door. I get up with him and we’re grunting and roaring as we try to get it open. Finally, it gives after one final hard pull and I throw the offending piece of metal away. “Try to be careful, we don’t know how bad their injuries are,” I warn King.

King ignores me, the only thing on his mind is getting to his woman and his mother. I get to work on freeing Kaleb, getting Rose and Sage out will be the hardest with them on the passenger side. Kaleb gives a soft groan as I pull out my knife and roughly cut the seatbelt holding him in. I know I need to be worried about his neck, but the smell of gas is getting stronger and I don’t have time.

I snarl as I lift him out of the vehicle, my old training kicking in. Images flash in my head of pulling my team out of the line of fire as the enemy tried to take us out, but I push them firmly out of my mind as I drag his body away from the wreckage. I lay him on the ground, King right behind me with Izzy. He lays her down and runs back to the wreckage.

I follow and climb in through the driver’s door and check on Rose, while King works hard to get Sage out of the backseat. Both women are passed out, blood dripping down their faces. I put my finger to Rose’s neck to check for a pulse, and I feel the breath rush from my lungs when I feel it. It’s faint, but it’s there.

The only problem is that the seat belt has locked, making it damn hard to get it unclipped. I take my knife and start sawing away at it. “I got Sage,” King cries out to me, and I glance back to see he’s pulling her along the back seat as carefully as he can. “I’ll get her out and come back to help you.”

I open my mouth to answer him, but then I smell it. Smoke. Fuck, we’re out of time. “Get her out of here, this thing is going to blow,” I yell back at him.

“What?” he says, stopping.

“Get out!” I scream, furiously hacking away at the seatbelt. “I have Rose. Go, King!”

“I’m not leaving her,” King screams even as he continues to drag Sage out.

“I will get her out,” I vow, everything in me coiling in determination. Because I will not lose another person in my life. I’ve lost enough. I will not fail. Not again.

So I ignore the smoke; I ignore the memories flashing; I ignore the panic building inside me. I only focus on getting Rose free and clear. The smell of gas and smoke grows stronger and I work like a madman, sweat dripping off me as I finally cut through the belt and drag her with me.

I hear the hissing first, just as I reach the open door, and I hear King screaming my name. Screaming for his mother. I tune it all out and I move. Faster than ever before. With every bit of strength I have, I yank Rose out of the SUV and into my arms, turning and running as the hissing grows louder behind me until the vehicle explodes.

The heat singes my back, knocking me off my feet, and I instinctively tuck my body around Rose’s and roll, protecting her.

When I finally stop, I carefully release her, laying her in the grass as King rushes over to me. “Mom,” he gasps, getting on his knees beside her. “Mom, mom, answer me,” he pleads. “Wake up, please.”

I roll to my knees, coughing and panting as I try to get my bearings. My ears are ringing, my back tingling, and my mind cloudy and blurring. Between blinks, the field becomes the forest, the sky rains with bullets, and Armon’s standing there, returning fire and screaming for us all to retreat.

I shake my head, trying to clear it, and then I hear sirens. There were no sirens in the jungle. King looks at me with fear in his eyes, and I know I have to keep it together. Push it away. With every ounce of control I have, I shove the memories back and get to my feet. “Where’s Torque? Bullet?” I rasp.

King looks around in confusion, like he’s only just noticed that they’re not with us. “He’s back with Dad,” he rasps out. “He probably called the ambulances.”

“How’s Sage and Izzy?” I ask King as he moves back towards them.

“They’re alive,” he answers, the relief in his voice clear. He turns and waves his arms when cops and an ambulance stop on the edge of the road. “Over here!” he screams at them. “We have two more injured down the road,” he yells to the cops, pointing in that direction, and two cops come running over, paramedics after them.

“We have men on the way there,” the first cop to reach us assures him as they quickly get to their knees with the paramedics.

King starts to snarl when one of the paramedics tries to force him out of the way, but I quickly put my hand on his shoulder. “You need to let them do their job, brother,” I tell him quietly.

King slowly nods, but his eyes don’t leave Sage. “Call Sniper,” he tells me coldly. “I want that bastard found.”

He and I both. But who are we looking for? Our mole? Or Dmitri and his crew?