Chapter 6: Another Devil*ed
1049 Words
The bike didn’t stop.
Sinner read the text over my shoulder. His whole body went rigid.
“D,” he said. Voice like ice. “Diablo. President of Reaper’s Sin MC.”
The cartel and the club. Two devils. One city.
He took a corner too fast. Tires screamed. Sirens wailed behind us. FBI and Reaper’s Sin both chasing.
“Who has your number?” he asked. Not looking down. Eyes on the road. On survival.
“No one,” I said. “Witness protection gave me a new phone. New number. Only the feds had it.”
Sinner cursed. Violent. Low. “Leak. Inside the bureau. Diablo bought him.”
We cut through alleys. Jumped a curb. The bike landed hard. Pain shot through my arm. I bit back a scream.
Sinner felt me stiffen. “Hold on tighter, Angel. I’m not losing you to Diablo.”
Hold on tighter. To him. To the devil I knew.
We reached the compound gates. They flew open before we got there. Brothers spilled out with guns. A war party.
Sinner killed the engine and lifted me off the bike. Didn’t put me down. Carried me inside, past the chapel, past the bar, to a room underground. Steel door. No windows.
“Safe room,” he said. Set me on a cot. Locked the door behind us. “No signal. No phones. No way in.”
He turned. Ripped his shirt. Made another bandage for my arm. His hands were rougher now. Shaking.
“Fever’s worse,” he muttered. “Doc!”
Footsteps outside. Pounding on the door. “Boss! Reaper’s Sin hit the east perimeter! They want her!”
“Not happening,” Sinner said. Pressed his forehead to mine. “Listen to me. Diablo doesn’t want testimony. He wants you dead because you saw his face the night your father died.”
My blood ran cold. “You knew?”
“I knew he was there,” Sinner said. “I didn’t know it was him pulling the trigger until tonight. Until he texted you.”
The door shook. Gunfire. Explosions. The compound was under attack.
Sinner pulled me up. “We’re moving. Now.”
He took my hand. Dragged me to a hidden panel in the wall. Pushed it. A tunnel opened. Dark. Damp. Smelling of rust and old blood.
“Club escape route,” he said. “Leads to the river. Boat waiting.”
We ran. His gun in one hand. My hand in the other. The ring between our palms.
The tunnel sloped down. Water dripped. Behind us, shouting. Ahead, darkness.
A voice echoed. Not Sinner’s. Deeper. Amused.
“Running, brother?”
Sinner stopped dead.
Diablo stood at the end of the tunnel. Blocking the light from the river. Tall. Scarred. A cut with Reaper’s wings on his back. A gun in his hand.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Sinner said. Stepped in front of me. Shield again. Always shield.
“I came for what’s mine,” Diablo said. Eyes on me. “She saw me kill her father. She testifies, my empire falls. So she dies. Or she marries me and keeps her mouth shut.”
Marries me. Same word Sinner used. Different devil.
“Over my dead body,” Sinner said.
“Gladly,” Diablo smiled. Raised his gun.
Sinner fired first. The bullet hit Diablo’s shoulder. He didn’t fall. Didn’t flinch.
“You always were the faster draw,” Diablo said. “But I have more men.”
Footsteps behind us. More Reaper’s Sin. We were trapped. Tunnel. River in front. Devils on both sides.
Sinner shoved me behind him. “Run when I say run.”
“I won’t leave you,” I said.
“You will,” he said. “Because I order it.”
Diablo laughed. “She loves you. That’s her weakness. Love makes you stupid, brother.”
Sinner didn’t answer. He just looked at me over his shoulder. One last look. Gun-barrel eyes. Gold flecks gone.
“Now,” he whispered.
I ran.
He stayed. Firing. Buying me seconds with his life.
The river was cold. Dark. The boat was there. A brother waiting.
“Get in!” he yelled.
I did. Turned back.
Sinner was still standing. Still shooting. Blood on his side now. Not mine. His.
Diablo walked toward him, slow. Gun aimed at his head.
Sinner didn’t raise his gun. He raised his left hand. Showed Diablo the ring on his finger. The matching cut on his palm.
“She’s my wife,” he said. “Blood sealed. Club witnessed. God damned.”
Diablo stopped. Lowered the gun an inch. “Marriage means nothing in war.”
“It means everything to me,” Sinner said. “You want her? You go through me. And I don’t die easy.”
He fired again. Hit Diablo’s leg. Dropped him to one knee.
“Go!” Sinner roared at me.
The brother started the boat. We pulled away.
I watched from the water as Diablo stood, limping, and Sinner turned to face him fully. No cover. No escape.
Just a president protecting his queen.
Gunshots lit the tunnel.
The boat rounded a bend. Darkness took them.
My phone buzzed again. Same unknown number.
*SHE’S ALIVE. HE’S NOT. FOR NOW. -D*
I dropped the phone. Screamed his name into the night.
The brother grabbed my shoulders. “Boss said you run. So we run. That’s how you honor him.”
Honor him. By living when he was dying.
The boat hit open water. Moonlight on the waves.
And then I saw it.
Another boat. Coming fast. Headlights cutting the dark.
Not Reaper’s Sin. Not FBI.
Devil’s Blood.
The VP at the helm. Gun in one hand. Sinner slung over his shoulder with the other. Blood soaking his cut.
But breathing.
Sinner’s eyes opened. Found mine across the water.
Weak. But alive.
He lifted his cuffed hand. The one with our blood still drying.
Tapped his chest. Over his heart.
Mine.
Then the boat lurched. An explosion behind us. The tunnel collapsed.
Fire lit the sky.
And in the fire, I saw Diablo standing. Watching. Smiling.
He wasn’t dead.
He was coming.
The VP gunned the engine. “Hold on, Mrs. Blackwood. The war just started.”
- Writer
