Page 106 of Devil's Dilemma

The next day my parents are getting ready to leave.

“Come back to Denver, Melissa.” My mom’s concerned eyes meet mine.

“No, Mom. I’ve got my job, my friends, and… Pyro.” I look at them. My parents dropped everything to come be with me and ended up in the midst of a biker club and seem to have taken it all in their stride. While they’ve stayed at a hotel, they’ve been here every day. I do wonder what they really think about my continued association with the club, which is why I hesitated before saying Pyro’s name.

“Skull dragged you into this world,” my dad starts, his face serious. “This club isn’t to blame for anything that happened to you, unless there were illegal activities for Skull to find out.”

I stop him. “We assume he found nothing…”

“I agree,” he replies fast. “I’ve had conversations with Pyro, got to know Red and Crash a bit too. I put my judgement on the back burner and listened to what they had to say. I’m an attorney, Melissa. To you I’m your dad, and I’ve not brought my work home, but I’ve seen, and heard, a thing or two. The Satan’s Devils may live by their own rules, but if they step over the lines, I guess it’s with good reason.” He glances at my mom. “I like the way this club supports you—not every MC treats its women in such good ways. What I have to admit worries me is that your mom and I, well, we accepted Skull, though we didn’t much like that he was a biker. He seemed a good man for you. I still can’t get my head around how he had us all fooled. I’m concerned about it happening again.”

“It won’t.” It’s all become clear in my mind. “Skull was an anomaly. There’s no reason to suspect Pyro isn’t exactly what he seems.”

Suddenly the arms of the man we’re discussing come around me, pulling me back against his firm chest. “I’ve nothing to hide. Get someone to investigate me.”

Dad looks at him with respect. “You understand it will be for our peace of mind?”

“Long as you know the club won’t share much. But I’ve managed the auto-shop for years, and my service is a matter of record.”

Dad reaches out his hand, Pyro takes and shakes it. Saying, as he does, “I’ll bring Mel up to Denver as soon as she’s ready.”

“I’ll start finding out what needs to be done,” Dad agrees. “And how to best put the case together.”

Then Mom’s hugging me, and I’m hanging onto her, a hairbreadth away from changing my mind and going home with them after all. The main thing that stops me is somehow sharing Pyro’s pain lessens mine.

All too soon they have to leave, and a prospect drives them away in the club’s SUV.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Pyro

“Good to have you back, Brother.”

“Fuckin’ good to be here.” I nod at Demon sat at the top of the table, then return chin lifts with each of my brothers in turn.

“Don’t know what to say to you.” Beef shakes his head, large sorrowful eyes meeting mine.

But they don’t need to put it into words. I hold up my hand. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard enough platitudes to last me a lifetime. “Mel and I know you’ve got our backs, that’s enough.”

“Is it though?” Hellfire spits out from the opposite end to his son. “I take as much responsibility as anyone else for not seeing what was wrong with Skull. I was the one who patched him in.”

“Whoa, hold up there, Hell,” Demon begins, “it was a club vote. If everyone hadn’t said ‘aye’, he wouldn’t have gotten his patch.” His eyes scan each one of us. “There are no fingers to be pointed. We all had concerns that he came back after that beating he took, but our only thought was that he might want revenge. Even the vague suspicions we might have had weren’t close to the mark. The question is, how the fuck could he have fooled us like that?”

Lizard holds up his hand. “I saw something on TV once. These cops who go undercover have tobecomethe person they’re pretending to be. Living a lie becomes living the truth. If he’d been part of an MC before, he’d have known exactly what behaviour we’d expect.”

I nod. I’m wondering whether Keys will get anything back about that. He’s promised to keep in touch should we get proof this wasn’t the first time he’d been undercover in a similar role. Of course, he’s liaising with Cad and their counterparts in other chapters. If there’s something to be found, one of them will find it.

“He played his part well,” confirms Ink. “Not a model prospect by a long shot, but we’d have been more suspicious of him if he was. I, personally, don’t think he’d been with another club. Didn’t come over that way. I think they put in a fresh face new to this particular type of job. Any prior knowledge or experience of a club would have made us look more closely at him.” He pauses, then continues, “Fuckin’ good at undercover operations though. I never suspected a thing.”

“Does it matter?” I ask them. “What we’ve got to deal with is now and not then.”

Prez interrupts, “It’s relevant if there were things we should have spotted and missed. Don’t want to be in this position again. Cad, have you completed those second background checks on Beaver and Karl?”

“Yeah, Prez. Turned nothing up. Been talking to Mouse, Keys and Hard Token about putting in a process to vet prospects and hangarounds better, sharing info between chapters. Trouble is, we’re dealing with the cops. They can concoct and support any background process so it would stand scrutiny.”

“So, we remain at risk?” Prez pinches the bridge of his nose. “Better keep our businesses clean then.”

“Stop prospects burying bodies?”

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