Connors' Devils (Devil's Riot MC Book 5) Read online

  Connors’ Devils

  Devil’s Riot MC Book 5

  E.C. Land

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Warning

  Playlist

  Silence In The Night

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Epilogue

  Available Now

  Coming Soon

  Kenny’s Beginning

  Social Media Links

  To those who have a loved one with special needs, whether it be severe or minor. No one should do it alone. Special needs or not— a child is a child, and they deserve to be treated the same no matter the reason.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to those who have always been in and are a part of my life. You all make life easier. Especially my husband, who is also my best friend. Thank you for listening to me going on about different ideas and plans for my characters, for being an amazing dad to all three of our kids, and for being patient with our boys, who both dealt with speech impediments.

  Thank you to my Knox Publishing family. You all are amazing and hold a special place in my life. Elizabeth Knox not only for taking a chance on me when I first started but for becoming my best friend. Courtney Lynn Rose for being patient with me as I learn from you in making sure my books are edited. My beta readers and ARC team for getting my books ready for my readers.

  And last but not least, my Readers. Thank you for standing behind me as I write each of our characters’ books. You’re all fantastic in your own right!

  Warning

  This content is intended for mature audiences only. It contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations, murder, rape, and extreme violence.

  Playlist

  Lost Soul’s Prayer – Brantley Gilbert

  Reload – Colt Ford (feat. Taylor Ray Holbrook)

  Backyard Lullaby – Demun Jones

  Southern land – Taylor Ray Holbrook

  The Ones That Like Me – Brantley Gilbert

  Girl Like You – Jason Aldean

  Slow Ride - Colt Ford (feat. Taylor Ray Holbrook)

  My World - Seckond Chaynce

  Feeling Good – Demun Jones

  Follow That Dust – Taylor Ray Holbrook

  Shotgun - Sarah Ross

  Beautiful Crazy – Luke Combs

  One More Light – Linkin Park

  Way Of Life – Cypress Spring

  Man of Steel – Brantley Gilbert

  Ballad of an Outlaw – Seth Anthony

  Follow That Dust – Taylor Ray Holbrook

  Silence In The Night

  In the midst of the night, I see nothing

  I can hear nothing

  Silence consumes me, all around

  Scared, I run through the brush

  Nowhere in sight, I can see

  I’m blinded by darkness

  Everything is shadowed

  Nothing is what it seems

  Silence fills the air

  Voices can’t be heard

  The world has gone dark everywhere around

  Night has come for me

  Light is nowhere near

  Silence is my life

  Within, I can grow strong

  No matter how long

  Whether my sight or my ears

  I won’t be held down

  Silence fills the night

  Though brightness fills my day

  Nothing may be able to stop the dark

  However, my heart will always hold true

  No matter the silence in the night

  Light will always come through

  ~ E.C. Land

  Prologue

  Connors

  Five Years Ago

  “You stupid fuckin’ bitch, did you think you could get rid of me that easily?” Nick, my soon to be ex-husband, screams. He must have received the papers I filed today after finding out I’m pregnant. “Told you, Steph, you’re mine. I won’t share you, not even with that baby I fuckin’ told you to get rid of.” I can smell the stench of alcohol pouring off him as he yells in my face.

  I turn away from him as the smell sends a wave of nausea through me. Nick snaps his hands to my throat, squeezing to the point I can barely breathe. “Steph, I’m not gonna keep having this talk with you, either get rid of it or I’ll do it for you. You’ve got about ten seconds to pick, otherwise, I’ll handle it for the both of us,” Nick says, taking his hands from my throat but not moving out of my space.

  “I-I-I ca-can’t do it. P-Ple-Please let me go. I swear I’m not asking you for anything,” I sob, unable to keep the stutter out of my voice. It’s what I do when I get scared. Nick isn’t someone you usually go against. Then again, you don’t go against any bikers— especially members of the Dragons Fire MC. I never wanted to marry Nick, but on a drunken night, I’d gone to a party with a few friends from college and the next thing I knew, I woke up married. That was two years ago and since then, he’s made my life a living hell. I’m lucky he let me finish med school. Only reason was his brother Ratchet said it would be good to have an in-house doc who knew what the hell they were doing.

  I only finally got the courage to file for divorce to protect my child. I’d do anything to keep this baby safe from the man who would never be a father for him or her.

  The palm to my face brings me out of my thoughts. “Why do you have to make everything difficult, Steph?” Nick says, bringing his other hand back to my throat, squeezing yet again. I know I’ll have bruises. If he doesn’t end up killing me tonight, I’ll be lucky.

  “N-Ni-Nic-”

  “Shut the hell up, you stupid stuttering bitch,” he roars, throwing me to the floor. “Since you didn’t give me the answer I want, I’ll just have to beat that kid out of you.” Nick kicks me right in the ribs. Oh God, he’s really going to kill a child he helped create.

  I scream out with the impact of his foot against my body each time. I don’t know how long he goes on for before the crashing of the front door brings everything to a halt.

  “Police,” someone yells. I can’t see anything happening due to Nick’s blows. He’d gotten a kick right to my face. I can feel the blood seeping down my face. Thrashing around, I know Nick is fighting whoever is here from the shouting and banging against the walls.

  “Nick Lancer, you’re under arrest,” a stern voice says just before I pass out.

  Beeping noises are the first thing I hear when I come to. I know that sou
nd, and I inwardly groan at the idea of being a patient where I work. What my co-workers must think of me right now? I’ve prided myself on keeping my home life private. Being a medical resident, I don’t want any of them to know what I deal with outside of work.

  “Stephanie, I know you're awake.” I groan at the sound of my sister and best friend Emerson’s voice. How is she here? She lives a good five hours away from me.

  I open my eyes slowly, blinking against the lights. “Em, wh-wha-what are y-you do-doing he-her-here?” God, my stutter is in full force right now, another thing I usually pride myself on is keeping that under control.

  “I’m here to bring you home with me. That asshole isn’t gonna be getting ahold of you again.” Emerson's voice is stern as she speaks.

  “I-I filed for divorce like I said I was going to and he didn’t like it,” I say, looking directly in her face. Her nod tells me she understands. “Plea-Please te-tell me my baby is okay,” I whisper, placing a hand on my stomach.

  “Yeah, he or she is a fighter. That asshole didn’t take that baby from you,” Emerson says, placing her hand over mine. “I’ve already asked the director of the hospital about you transferring to another hospital. He says it’s for the best. Asshat muttered something about ethics and some shit I didn’t agree with, but I know there are openings at the hospital where I live. When you're cleared to leave here, we’re heading home.”

  My head spins at everything that just came out of Emerson’s mouth. But front and center is the fact that my baby is okay. That’s all that matters right now.

  “Okay,” is all I can manage to get out.

  I don’t want to worry about anything having to do with Nick or his club. Thankfully, in the two years we’d been married, he knew nothing about where my sister lived. Any time we saw each other, she came to me. I never understood why she always insisted she come to me, but I guess she knew I’d need a sanctuary one day and that day has come.

  Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. It’s all gonna be okay. I’ll make sure of it. With everything Nick’s done, I won’t let him control me anymore. Or any man for that matter. All I need now is my child. He or she will know nothing but love from me. With Em’s help, I know I can do this on my own. It’s always her and I against the world.

  1

  Connors

  Present Day

  I never knew my heart could feel as if it was being torn from my chest. At least, not until the day he was brought into the hospital due to a gunshot wound that almost killed him. Granted I don’t really know him or even his brother but the first time I saw them I felt an instant connection. A connection I’ve never known before with a man let alone two. It’s something I haven’t been able to understand yet, nor speak aloud. I swore the day I woke up in that hospital bed I’d never let a man in again, let alone two. Does it make me sound weird that I’m attracted to two men at the same time? Maybe it’s that they both look so much alike. They are twins after all. Hell, the fact that I'm even attracted at all is a miracle. I haven’t had sex with anything other than one of the vibrators in my collection. Yes, vibrators— just one doesn’t always cut it.

  Shaking my head, I move closer to the bed to examine my patient. I suck in a breath as I take in Gadget's features. Normally, he looks fierce, the same as his brother Dragon, though now he seems peaceful, even with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was lucky the bullet missed his heart. Another centimeter and he wouldn’t be here now.

  “How’s he doin’, Doc?” I jump at Dragon's rough voice filling the room. For the love of God, this man is silent on his feet. You’d think him being built like a mammoth, he’d walk like one. Nope, not the case with either of these two men.

  “Everything looks good. He should be waking anytime,” I say, keeping a distance between Dragon and myself. I don’t know what it is when it comes to these two men, but each time I’m close to either of them, my stomach flutters. It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before.

  “Good,” Dragon mutters, keeping his eyes focused on me.

  Clearing my throat, I look away, unable to keep up with the staring contest. If I stared long enough into his eyes, he’d be able to see all my dark secrets. Secrets I’m sure his club would either find useful or tell me to get out of town.

  “Umm, yeah, so I’ll let you two be. When he wakes, be sure to call the nurse immediately,” I say without looking up as I go to move past him.

  “Know what to do, Doc,” Dragon growls out as he grabs my arm. I flinch unintentionally even though his touch is gentle. He drops my arm just as quickly. Dammit, he must have caught the movement. Should’ve known he’d catch it even if I wasn’t looking up at him. “Not gonna hurt you, babe,” he murmurs softly, lifting his hand to cup my chin to look at him.

  Furrowing my brow, I follow I take in his pained expression. It’s a look he’s gotten each time he’s had to use his voice. I barely know the man but if I had to take a guess, he’s suffered damage to his vocal cords.

  Mentally shaking my head to clear it, I look up at him. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my other patients,” I say, stepping away from his touch. Dragon’s touch may have been simply gentle, but I’ve never been touched like that. Not even by Nick. He was always rough and ruthless when it came to me. So, you can say Dragon’s gesture confused me. I mean, I’m not blind, I’ve seen him and Gadget both staring at me. Just as I’ve gawked at them.

  I don’t let him get another word in as I dart around him, my stomach still fluttering.

  Making my way down the corridor, heading to the ER, I let my mind wander. Maybe I should see about getting one of the other doctors to take over for the day. I could seriously use a day off, that’s for sure. Shoot, to be honest, I could use a month off and it wouldn’t be enough. Being a single parent isn’t easy, and right now, I’d love nothing more than to spend as much time with my kiddo as I can.

  With the holidays coming up, I might be able to swing it where I have time off to spend with Logan. He’s such a sweet kid, no matter the difficulties he deals with speaking. That’s why I noticed the difference in Dragon's voice. Logan has a speech impediment where he barely uses his voice, preferring to use sign language. Granted, he does use his voice sometimes, but at four years old, he hates being picked on for the sound of his voice. Kids are mean, and even some adults have said some hateful things about the way he talks. It’s not cool in my book and I’ve flipped out on more than one person who’s hurt my child. No child is perfect. But in my eyes, Logan is perfection. Whether he wants to use his voice or not, he’s perfect as is.

  A few months ago, the school sent home a flyer about an afternoon program to help build self-esteem and also taught sign language. Logan had been excited about it and wanted to join so, of course, I got him in the program at once. Granted, I’m usually at work when he needs to be picked up and haven’t had the chance to go up there and see how he’s doing myself. All I really know is Logan loves the program and Emerson says he’s a big hit in the group.

  It makes me feel guilty to miss out on so much, but I’m simply doing what I can to give him the life he deserves. A life where he can grow up and be happy without worrying why his dad didn’t want him.

  “CODE ORANGE, CODE ORANGE.”

  At the sound of the intercom, I put my head back in the game. Running the rest of the way to the ER, I do what I do best— save the people who need me here.

  2

  Dragon

  Fuming, I sit in the chair next to my twin brother. “You can wake up now,” I mutter, looking at the only person who I’ve ever had constantly in my life since birth. Gadget may technically be my big brother by a whole two-and-a-half minutes but he’s my twin. I’d felt him getting shot like it was me who’d been hit.

  The connection the two of us share on a psychic level is remarkable. It’s one we don’t talk about with anyone. Our brothers from the club know a little something about it because we don’t hide shit from each other but n
o one else knows.

  “I don’t wanna wake up yet,” Gadget groans without opening his eyes. “She was in here for a good bit before you came in. She didn’t say anything, but I knew it was her.”

  “Yeah, Doc was in here,” I mutter, clenching my fist at the way Connors flinched at my touch. I wanted to demand answers from her. With the way she refused to meet my eyes and then hightailed it out of here, I know there’s a story behind it. We all have our own story we don’t want to talk about. Gadget and I both know this firsthand.

  “Damn, that light is bright,” Gadget grumbles, blinking several times.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like hell, man. Feels like I’ve been hit with a ton of bricks in the chest.”

  “Considering you got shot and I almost lost you, I bet it does.”

  “Fuck, everyone okay? The women?”