Shadow’s Heart (Devil’s Inferno MC #3)

Prologue

Wreck

Sitting in my office after a long day tattooing and designing a new piece for a longtime client, I quickly take a quick glance at the security cameras surrounding Devil’s Ink.

It’s something I do every night that I’m here once we’ve closed.

This place is my baby, and I always need to reassure myself everything is how it should be.

I can’t help myself.

I may not own Devil’s Ink; that honor goes to my MC, but I’ve sunk blood, sweat, and tears into making it everything it is today.

It’s not really all that surprising how protective I am over the place.

What I see on screen causes my blood to run cold.

What fresh load of hell is this? The entire fucking building is surrounded by men dressed in all black, faces covered by ski masks.

Some are holding weapons, and by weapons I mean handguns, while others have no weapons in hand that I can see.

If I were to take a guess, that’s because their abilities would be hindered by holding a gun; their body is their weapon.

I’m not liking this situation at all.

Not one bit.

There’s only me and Sera, my apprentice, who just happens to be my best friend Shadow’s younger sister, here right now, and as much as we’re both capable of defending ourselves, we’re most definitely in trouble.

The odds are well and truly stacked against us.

Keeping one eye on the screen, I pull my phone out and go straight to my President Wrath’s contact.

I know there’s no point in contacting Shadow like I normally would; he’s not in the area right now.

He’s off on club business with his Dad Blaze and Sera’s Ol’ Man Blade.

Well, I say club business, but what they’re doing is so much more than that.

It’s far too personal to just be classed as club business.

Wrath is my best option right now; not only is he President of Devil’s Inferno, the MC, which I’m a member of and who owns Devil’s Ink, but he’s also Sera’s oldest brother.

Wrath is going to be beyond pissed when he finds out Devil’s Ink is currently under attack.

He isn’t exactly known for his understanding when someone or something associated with his MC is targeted.

In this case, it’s going to be ten times worse than it normally would be because Sera is here.

There’s no doubt in my mind that his big brother instincts are going to be flaring on all cylinders and that he’s going to be fucking livid when he learns what’s going down right now.

Fuck, I need to focus and not get lost in my own head.

I need to let everyone know we’ve got trouble and that I could seriously do with some backup.

As I go to make the call, I realize there’s just a small problem with my plan.

I’ve got no motherfucking signal! Meaning whoever these guys are, they’re more than likely using a signal jammer to stop me from calling for help.

That’s the only explanation for why my phone wouldn’t be working right now.

On a normal day I have fucking exception signal.

Fuck.

This isn’t good.

This is far from fucking random.

This is planned, and either myself, Sera, or the MC itself is the damn target.

Unfortunately, it looks like it’s just going to be me and Sera dealing with whatever the fuck this turns out to be.

It doesn’t matter who their actual target is now; me and Sera are the ones here.

Were the ones at risk.

We’ve got to do something to keep ourselves safe.

I’d rather not involve Sera at all, but needs must and all that.

I despise that she’s going to have to be involved in whatever this shitshow is, but I’m out of options.

There isn’t time for someone to realize something isn’t right.

We’ve got to do something ourselves; there’s no way I’m going to allow us both to stay here like sitting ducks for whatever these assholes have planned.

Pigs will start to fly before I allow that to happen.

Rushing out of the main office, I head straight towards Sera, who last I checked was cleaning up her workroom.

Sera hasn’t been my apprentice for that long, but god, she’s fucking talented as hell.

I really don’t think she’ll need more than a year as an apprentice; she’s just that good.

I wish I wasn’t about to taint her memories of Devil’s Ink; I know how much she loves it here; she’s like me in that sense.

Devil’s Ink is more than our workplace; it’s our passion.

A place where we get to create our art the way we want.

In a way that nine times out of ten has a massive emotional impact on the person we’re creating the art for.

As I enter her space, she immediately looks towards me, taking in my distressed state, which in turn causes her to immediately go on alert.

That’s the thing about Sera; she’s been through and seen so much she can read a situation fast and know when things aren’t right.

That’s another thing I hate; Sera shouldn’t have to deal with this shit.

She’s so fucking young; she’s only in her early twenties, and she has already lived through some of the worst things a person can experience.

Here and now is meant to be her fresh start, away from the worst of the worst; instead, it looks like we’re currently being surrounded by them.

“What’s wrong?” she asks worriedly.

“The building has been surrounded.

I have no idea who they are, but we’re in trouble, Sera.” I don’t hold back; there’s no point.

She needs to know just how fucked up things are.

She needs all the facts so she can prepare herself for what’s about to happen.

I watch as my words register, causing her hand to drop towards her stomach.

I don’t have time to ponder her reaction.

We need to move fast and come up with a fucking plan on the fly to get out of this.

As much as I’d rather Sera didn’t have to fight, we don’t have much of a choice.

It’s just us with no backup in sight.

I suppose it’s a really good thing Sera is so damn talented at hand-to-hand combat; at least I know she’ll be able to hold her own and fight back against these assholes.

As I turn back towards the door, Sera draws my attention back to her by calling my name.

Turning to face her, I’m met with words that change everything.

“I’m pregnant with Wrath and Flame’s child.”

As much as I want to jump for joy at the news she just shared with me, because fuck if it isn’t some of the best news I’ve ever heard.

Learning Wrath and Flame are about to grow their family is certainly news that deserves celebrating to the nth fucking degree.

But I can’t react how I want.

I can’t celebrate.

Sera being pregnant means she can’t help me.

No way in hell would I ever risk her health while pregnant.

That life she’s carrying is totally fucking innocent.

They deserve every chance to live, and I’m going to make sure they get it.

Even at the risk to myself.

“Come with me right now.” I say, waving her after me.

I already know just what I need to do.

I didn’t plan on doing this because of how well I know Sera, but her pregnancy changes everything.

I know she’ll do whatever she needs to in order to protect that life she’s growing inside her.

I’m thankful that she doesn’t argue, which honestly I was a little worried she might do and instead follows me into the main office.

As soon as we’re both inside, I close the door, flipping the lock in the process just to be on the safe side, and walk towards the desk, placing my hand underneath, searching for the hidden button.

A button I’ve never had to use before.

A button I hoped I’d never have to fucking use.

As soon as I hit it, the bookcase in the corner of the room starts moving, revealing the hidden room behind it.

“Get inside, Sera.

You’ll be safe inside; it’s a safe room.”

“What about you?” She asks as she starts to move inside.

I can see she doesn’t want to hide away; it’s not who she is.

Sera isn’t a person to run and hide from a fight; it’s not how she’s built.

But I can tell by the look on her face that she knows it’s what’s best for the sake of the child she’s carrying.

It isn’t just about her wellbeing anymore, but that of the life growing inside her too.

I know for a fact if she wasn’t pregnant she’d fight by my side; it’s just the type of person she is.

Things would certainly be very different if she could make a stand with me, but that’s not on the cards.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m all that stands between my pregnant friend and the assholes here for nefarious reasons.

“They know someone’s here.

I can’t hide with you, or they’ll never leave.

Don’t even try to argue with me; you need to get inside and protect yourself and that child.

You’ll see everything from the system inside.”

Before she can say anything or even think about arguing with me.

I gently push her inside and close her in.

Briefly closing my eyes, I take a couple of deep breaths as I prepare myself for whatever is about to happen.

I know I could end up dying when I leave this office or something equally horrific could happen to me, but I’ll happily give up my life or go through whatever else I need to if it keeps Sera and that child safe.

Sera’s had a hard enough life and is just starting to enjoy her new beginnings here with her family, and she has her relationship with Blade.

Then there’s the baby she’s carrying; they’re totally innocent; they haven’t even gotten to draw their first breath yet.

I will do everything in my power to ensure that happens.

Opening my eyes, I take one final look around the office, unlock and open the door before stepping out and heading toward the main reception area, acting like I don’t know anything is wrong.

I don’t want them to be aware that I know they’re here and have potentially hidden someone away.

I refuse to risk Sera.

I’d rather die than let anything happen to her.

I can hear both the front and back doors opening as soon as I hit the reception area and know that I’ve now got company.

I have no idea how many of the men who were surrounding Devil’s Ink have entered the building and how many stayed outside.

One thing I’m certain of is that I’m outnumbered no matter what.

It makes no difference that I’ve trained with both Flame and Blade, who are Devil’s Inferno’s Enforcers and are downright fucking lethal.

The numbers game is going to be too much here.

I’m only one person after all.

God, I wish I had at least a few members at my back right now.

It would make all the difference.

Hell, I’d take the triplets who work for me.

They may not be MC members, but I know they wouldn’t go down without a fight either.

Unfortunately, it’s just me, myself, and I.

I stand in the middle of the reception area as three men come towards me from the back of the shop and three through the front door.

I couldn’t have stood in a more perfect place if I tried; I have the perfect view of the only two ways they can approach me.

They all move with determination, totally in sync with one another.

Yeah, these aren’t some run of the mill guys; they’re a fucking trained team.

The way they’re moving gives that away.

I didn’t think this situation could get worse, but clearly I was wrong.

Before I can come up with a suitable plan to take down as many of them as I can before they inevitably take me out, because I’m under no illusions that that’s the way this is going to go down.

They all attack.

Six men all come for me at once in total sync with each other’s moves.

I’m utterly fucked.

There’s no doubt in my mind about it.

I somehow, and I have no idea how, manage to get in a couple of blows on the two smaller members of the group, but that’s all.

It’s no use, though.

The numbers game is too much.

Within minutes of them entering Devil’s Ink, they’ve got me on the floor of my reception area, blood pouring from both my mouth and nose.

I suppose I should take it as a win that I’m still breathing; these guys could have easily killed me if that’s what they wanted.

The biggest member, who I’m guessing is the leader by the other men’s body language and the way they look to him for direction, pulls his foot back and kicks me straight in the side of the head.

Almost immediately, my vision blurs and starts to go black.

The last thing that passes through my mind before I succumb to the darkness is Shadow’s face.

I know without a doubt that when he gets back later tonight and finds out what’s happened to me, he’ll do everything in his power to find me and save me from my fate.

There’s no way they’ve gone through all this trouble and plan to leave me behind.

That would make no sense to me at all.

No, once I’m out cold, they’re going to take me, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.

I’m about to become this group prisoner.

I just need to survive whatever they have planned for me until Shadow comes and saves me because I know he’ll be coming, and I pity the fool who stands in his way.