Temperance (Defiance #4) Read online

  Rebel yanked Declan’s hips off the bed, forcing him to balance on his elbows, as his wrists were bound and tied to the headboard. Rebel put his hand between Declan’s shoulder blades, allowing Declan to put his head down against his arms and anticipate what was to come.

  Declan’s legs trembled, from nerves, from want and need, from a desire so strong that oftentimes he had no idea what to do with it or how to manage it. That was, until Rebel came into his life like a fucking freight train, running into him at full speed, forcing him to confront every sexual ache he’d ever had…

  “Open for me, Dec. Come on, give it up to me.”

  Declan relented, the pressure off since he’d been bound. “I’m yours, Reb.”

  “Mine for sure,” Rebel growled, then bit the back of Declan’s neck, sinking his teeth in as he inserted two lubed fingers inside of Declan. He quickly added a third and Declan spread his legs further, jolted as those fingers hit the sweet spot, rubbing his gland, making him howl with pleasure. “Don’t come,” Rebel warned. But both men knew it would be impossible for Declan not to. That was part of it—the breaking of rules, the punishments…it was all a part of the game Rebel played so well with him. For him.

  “Fuck. Missed you. Missed this,” Declan panted against his cheek as Rebel stroked him, then bit his shoulder, hard.

  His way of saying, “Missed you too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Siobhan

  “We’re never getting out, Siobhan.”

  Siobhan looked at Sashi’s face, the tiredness etched on it like it had been painted on. Sashi was only five years older, but she looked at least double that. “I don’t think anyone is. Then again, where would we go?”

  Sashi sighed. “This is as good as anyplace.”

  “No, it’s better,” Siobhan said, hating to have to constantly remind her sister of that fact. But she forced herself to be patient. Between the medications Sashi was on, and the other factors, Siobhan was lucky that Sashi was as functional as she was.

  “Better than the other compound,” Sashi said hoarsely, before she gripped Siobhan’s hand. “Promise me we don’t have to go back there.”

  “Never,” Siobhan told her fiercely.

  “Good. Because I’d die first,” Sashi said.

  Her sister meant it. Siobhan didn’t dare tell her that the Chaos hadn’t been a picnic for anyone, that actually, they were doing all right, all things considered. That they had a roof over their heads, and a tube beneath it, and there were here at Keller’s generosity. And Declan’s too, maybe even more so.

  Siobhan didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to.

  “Sorry, Sib. I know you’re working hard.” Sashi turned to her. “You’re not still stealing, are you?”

  “What if I am?”

  “You suck at it,” Sashi murmured. “It’s almost embarrassing.”

  Siobhan waved her off and went to start dinner. It wasn’t much—soup and a grilled cheese, but they had food and shelter. And each other.

  Siobhan ate quickly, because she had to get out there. Tonight was Carnivale—Keller had it twice a week, and it was the most party time of all the parties that took place here.

  *

  Kev

  For the past week, Kev—along with Carter and several others handpicked by Caspar—had been making trips between Defiance and Keller’s. Getting to know the routes, the roads, dealing with all kinds of weather. They always took a van and a bike. Always a SAT phone to connect with Caspar and Keller.

  Most times, they spent the night at Keller’s, hanging out with Bishop and Luna. It was a different world on Keller’s compound.

  Each time, Keller reiterated the fact that he’d hire Kev in a second. Then he’d ask about Declan. When Kev would lie and say things were going okay, Keller would almost wince, but he never pushed. Like he wanted to accept that answer, and so he did.

  Today was no different. He hadn’t expected to make another trip to Keller’s, but Caspar had grabbed him after lunch, and an hour later he was riding on the rain-slicked road doing the ten-mile stretch that now separated Defiance from Keller’s.

  Carter rode behind Kev, while Kev looked out for danger.

  Really, danger was fucking everywhere. He’d never actively had to look for it. As he maneuvered his big Harley that he’d rebuilt from scratch, it rumbled pleasantly beneath him.

  The sun had been out at three different times this week, and he figured that helped his mood—or maybe it was the fact that he was actually doing a job that counted for his MC.

  After the drop was made, it was still early enough—no matter the darkness—to turn around and make the trip back. That’d been the plan, until Bishop wound an arm around his shoulders and said, “Come on, you guys need to stay for the party.”

  Kev tensed. That was code for, LoVs spotted on the road. And it was something Bishop only shared with Kev, who then would share it with Carter. The way they figured it, no sense in scaring the other guys. Then again, he didn’t want them to get complacent either, but he was trying to figure out a happy medium.

  Later, Kev wandered away from Carter and the guys who’d begun drinking. He grabbed a pretzel, the kind Hammer used to buy for him at the amusement park when he was a kid, and he chewed it thoughtfully as he looked at the mayhem around him.

  She was fast. If he hadn’t turned at that moment, he definitely would’ve missed her behind him, attempting to pick his pocket.

  She didn’t. Being a practiced thief himself from the time he was young enough to reach people’s back pockets, he avoided putting anything important in the easiest place to grab from.

  He went after her anyway, tailing her through the partiers as the music pounded in time with his footsteps. She took him on a wild goose chase—although he wasn’t really sure if she knew he was behind her or not, but she still ran like the devil was at her heels, through the windy roads. At one point, Kev wasn’t really sure they were still on Keller property, but he wasn’t turning back. He was too damned intrigued.

  Finally, he caught sight of her as she disappeared into a small house that was well set back from any other property. At first glance, Kev realized he wouldn’t have actually noticed the house at all—that’s how well it was camouflaged, and not just because of the darkness. It looked like it had grown out of the woods that seemed to overtake it.

  Because of that, the house was as dilapidated as most these days. The real living spaces were underneath, the tubes Defiance patented and got rich from.

  Hell, most importantly, the tubes were the only reason Defiance lived through the Chaos.

  He debated on whether or not to go up to the house, but in the end, he did. In a compound full of thieves, a woman stealing was pretty ballsy…even if she sucked at it.

  “I don’t suck at it,” she shot back, her chin jutting defiantly toward him.

  He had enough practice in dealing with life’s surprises not to react. Instead, he tilted his head and told her, “You’re going to piss off the wrong people.”

  “Looks like I did. No one’s ever followed me here.”

  “Maybe you just didn’t know.”

  “Honey, I know everything.”

  Honey? Who was this chick? And better yet, what the fuck was she thinking? “So if you know everything, you tell me why I’m the only one who’d come here.”

  “Because you’re not from Keller’s. You don’t know any better to avoid me, or this house.”

  “Fuck. Tired of riddles.” And tired in general. Riding the way he had took a lot out of him and they had to turn around in the morning and do it all again.

  “Don’t,” she said suddenly.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Leave first thing. Wait until after ten in the morning.” With that, she slammed the door hard, in his face, and he heard a heavy lock turn.

  How the hell did she know when he was leaving? More than that, how did she know about the danger? Was she privy to Keller’s plans? Or working for the Kill De
vils?

  He backed away from the rickety porch slowly, not sure if listening to her was the biggest trap of all.

  It took him less time than he’d thought to wind back through the roads to the main portion of Keller’s. He followed the spotlights from the Ferris wheel…and the pounding of the music also kept him moving in the right direction.

  Once or twice, he could’ve sworn she was following him, but he didn’t bother to turn around. He didn’t want to hear any more goddamned disturbing news couched in the form of a psychic prediction.

  Still, when he caught up with Carter, he simply said, “We’re leaving later than planned tomorrow,” and realized that he trusted what she’d told him. Or rather, his instincts agreed.

  Carter didn’t question him—none of them did. Mainly, they’d be happy to sleep in, and Bishop had already turned in for the night with Luna, so Kev didn’t have to deal with telling him anything.

  When morning came, he could always lie and say they overslept. Wouldn’t be the first time someone had too much of a good time at Keller’s. It was pretty much a prerequisite.

  If he’d seen Bishop, Kev would’ve asked him about the girl—hell, he hadn’t even gotten her name. Maybe next time.

  Maybe. And he knew there’d be a next time—his instincts told him they’d make it home okay, even though his sleep that night was restless, broken at best.

  Halfway home from Keller’s, he discovered that there’d definitely been something to the girl’s story. He slowed at first when he saw shadows on the road, but he didn’t stop completely. Sometimes other gangs or MCs would put shit on the road and then ambush the convoys when they stopped to check on things.

  He soon found out that that’s exactly what had happened—the shadows he’d passed were enough to get a convoy to slow down. Where exactly it had been going and who it carried was something Kev couldn’t tell.

  That’s how bad the carnage on the road in front of him was, his headlights highlighting the extent of the bloody brutality.

  This time, he had no choice but to stop, mainly because the van was unable to get around the wreck. But Kev didn’t let Carter stop for long, urged him to back up and pull into the woods, onto a narrow, windy road that would go around the wreckage, putting them out a mile past of it.

  Still, after they’d parked their bikes, none of them could help but go over to check for survivors.

  There was no way whoever did this was hanging around, waiting for another convoy. Either this was planned, or a message for Defiance and Keller’s.

  If that was the case, the message was most definitely received.

  He used a small flashlight, as did the others. There were most definitely no survivors. What lay strewn on the ground around him couldn’t be called bodies anymore…it was more like…pieces.

  Kev wanted to lie on the ground in the fetal position and rock with his eyes closed, but a sudden strength surged through him. It was as if someone—something—touched his shoulder, pushed him forward. In that moment, he grew up more than he had in his entire eighteen years of life.

  In that moment, he’d become the man his father would’ve wanted him to be.

  Behind him, he heard one of the younger guys puking. Kev sucked the bitterness of the scene down, leading by example and not letting the sick kid feel too bad while still taking control.

  Jesus, what a shitshow.

  He forced himself to look more closely at the bodies, looking for evidence of who these men had been. When Carter called, “I’ve got heads here,” Kev noted the fraying patch lying in blood on the ground. He picked it up, brushed it off and saw the Kill Devils MC symbol.

  “They’re Kian’s men,” Kev said.

  “Should we go back to Keller’s?” Carter asked.

  “No, we head to Defiance—quickly,” Kev answered decisively, without hesitation. “First, get the tarps. Gather what you can for burial.”

  “Are you fucking kidding?” one of the younger members asked.

  Kev turned on him fast, grabbing him by the throat. “We don’t leave our men behind. And the Kill Devils are our men.”

  After that, everyone shut up and concentrated on the brutal task at hand.

  *

  Siobhan

  “He seems nice.”

  Siobhan turned from the door to her sister. “Nice?”

  “Well, for an MC guy anyway. He’s MC, right?”

  “Yes. Defiance. I recognized the patch.” She’d also gotten a splitting headache, which meant that she’d have to deal with the two dead men who’d come up behind him and now waited just outside the salt line on the property.

  “Those men were killed last week. They’ve been following Kev,” Sashi confirmed.

  “They don’t want to hurt him,” Siobhan agreed, having long ago gotten used to the fact that she and her sister simply knew things, like Kev’s name, despite the fact that he’d never introduced himself to either of them. “They’re just…lost.” She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.

  “I can do it, sis.” Without waiting, Sashi pushed past her, and Siobhan didn’t have the strength to tell her not to do it. As if she knew, Sashi turned and said, “The medication’s helping. I won’t fall apart.”

  Siobhan chose to believe her. She hadn’t lost her mind from their shared ability, not the way Sashi had for a while post-Chaos, but seeing the dead—and being able to communicate with them—was a terrible, insane-making thing for anyone to deal with.

  And Sashi had never been completely mentally stable. Maybe because her gift was stronger than Siobhan’s…or maybe because Siobhan was stronger. It didn’t matter. All that did was keeping Sashi medicated at times to keep her from hurting herself.

  There were so many days Siobhan wondered why she was bothering, though—she was causing her sister more suffering.

  “You’re causing it for yourself too,” Sashi told her gently now.

  And yes, at night, Siobhan would come home and break down…and here she’d thought Sashi too medicated to know that. “I want you to have peace.”

  Sashi smiled. “Ditto.” And then she stepped down from the porch and began to attempt to dispatch the dead.

  After a few moments, Siobhan heard her sister yelling—it didn’t sound like it was going as peacefully as it should be. Sometimes, the dead got angry and they didn’t understand they weren’t supposed to be there, especially if they’d had a violent death. From what she’d divined from another dead man, what was supposed to happen on the road to Defiance last week was supposed to be brutal. And it was supposed to happen to the Defiance crew…

  She couldn’t feel guilt over changing Kevin’s fate. But she hadn’t realized who was responsible for the massacre…not until she ran out and found Sashi lying on the cold ground, sobbing.

  “Sashi, come on—get inside.” She half dragged her sister in, Sashi clutching her head the entire time. Since Siobhan didn’t see the two dead men anymore, she assumed they’d been sent on their way.

  She grabbed her sister’s pills—the ones to calm her down—and she forced them into Sashi’s mouth. An hour later, Sashi was sufficiently drugged enough to stop crying. She latched her hand onto Siobhan’s wrist and said, “Nomads.”

  Siobhan’s body went numb. She was aware that she was moving her mouth but nothing was coming out. She wasn’t sure how long she remained like that—could’ve been hours or minutes—but she was aware that her sister wasn’t letting go of her hand.

  Finally, she managed to whisper, “Why are they back?” in a voice that sounded broken, like she’d been screaming for hours for real, and not just inside her head.

  “I don’t know. But they are. And they’re close,” Sashi whispered. “We need to leave.”

  Her voice was slurred from the drugs, her body limp. Even if she wanted to run, she couldn’t, and Siobhan took comfort in that. She’d spent too many days and nights chasing her sister when she attempted to outrun things she couldn’t possibly. “We can’t, Sashi. We’ll be okay.”<
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  Later, in the cold, dark of the house, Sashi asked, “Are you going to tell Kev?”

  Tell him what, exactly? She had so much baggage she dragged around with her, she didn’t know when or how to begin unpacking it. “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do,” Sashi told her. And then, by silent, mutual agreement, they dropped the subject entirely. For the moment, anyway.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rebel had done as he’d promised, sticking closely to Declan. Declan, for the most part, allowed it, although over the next several days he did pull his Houdini act a few times, mainly just to prove he could.

  He’d always show up ten minutes later, looking way too satisfied.

  Tonight, though, it was longer than ten minutes. It was more like an hour, and Rebel was pissed as fuck when he returned without explanation.

  “You don’t want your secret shared, and I don’t want a keeper,” Declan said, his tone haughty. “But I do have a job to do.”

  “You’re doing it.”

  “I meant, off this compound. I’m still on the job for Keller,” Declan reminded him. “I’m not here to hang out and be watched like the Keller sacrificial lamb.”

  “Can’t go alone¸” Rebel pointed out. “You never let Bishop out of your sight on jobs. He never worked alone. Convenient coincidence?”

  As Rebel mused, Declan smiled unapologetically. “Hell no. But Bishop’s Bishop. I can work alone. And I will. You’ve got a problem, call Keller. You’ve got his best assassin, but that doesn’t mean you can castrate him.”

  “Things are different now.” He didn’t want to say that the MC members would no doubt freak about letting Declan off the property unsupervised. They’d be worried he’d be bringing back some kind of army to destroy them.

  “Not used to answering to anyone but Keller about my jobs. Actually, I don’t even have to answer to him—just need to tell him the job’s done,” Declan said tightly.

  “You need someone to watch your back. If you’re not bringing Bishop, you’re bringing me.”

  “The job’s not in the direction of Keller’s,” Declan said.