Mercy: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (New Devils MC Book 3) Read online

  MERCY:

  A Bad Boy Biker Romance

  (THE NEW DEVILS MC BOOK THREE)

  by JADE KUZMA

  Copyright © 2018 Jade Kuzma.

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All persons appearing on the cover are models and being used for illustrative purposes only.

  MERCY: A BAD BOY BIKER ROMANCE

  (THE NEW DEVILS MC)

  First edition. August 22, 2018

  Copyright © 2018 Jade Kuzma.

  Written by Jade Kuzma.

  Jade Kuzma Romance

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  Table of Contents

  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

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Thank you!

  The New Devils

  The Black Reapers

  Chapter 1

  ADEN

  You wouldn’t have thought much about Mia Palazzo if you saw her walking down the street. Not to say that she was an ugly dame. She caught plenty of attention. But if you weren’t some asshole trying to get some action, she’d look just like some sweet, quiet, unassuming girl.

  “Keep going… One, two… One, two…”

  She threw her fists at me and I caught each one.

  “Don’t stop, Mia… One, two… one, two…”

  Her hands thudded with a soft smack. She put her hands up and prepared for another couple of swings but I stopped her.

  “Hold on, hold on…”

  “What?” she said. “What’s wrong?”

  She put her hands on her hips. The combination of confusion and exhaustion on her face was something I was used to seeing around here.

  “Come on. You can punch harder than that.”

  “I’m punching as hard as I can,” she sighed. “I’m tired.”

  “Just because you’re tired doesn’t mean you can’t punch hard. If you can put your hands up, you can throw a punch. Show me.”

  I put the boxing pads back up and she threw her fists at me. Her pitter-patter was the same as it was the last time.

  “No, no, no,” I said, shaking my head. “Not like that. Punch harder than that.”

  “I’m punching as hard as I can,” she said with a big smile on her face. “I don’t know if you noticed but you can’t expect me to punch as hard as someone like you.”

  “Just because you’re small or not a man doesn’t mean you can’t punch hard.”

  “Oh, I think there’s a difference.”

  “Maybe there is. But you can still punch harder.”

  “All right, teach…”

  She put her hands back on her hips and raised an eyebrow at me.

  “…Why don’t you show me how to punch harder? I mean, I’m doing it exactly how you showed me.”

  “Maybe I should tell you then.”

  Mia was focused. I never expected much from the people I trained, so that alone was enough for me to be grateful. If someone was willing to listen, I was willing to talk.

  “People are different sizes,” I started. “They’ve got bigger muscles. They’re stronger. They’re faster. Some people even have giant hands. That all affects how hard a punch can be thrown. But it’s all irrelevant when it comes to knocking someone out.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Right here.”

  I put my hand up and pointed a finger at my temple.

  “Your brain is swimming in a pool of fluid that’s protected by your skull. When you punch someone, your brain moves around in that fluid. You punch someone hard enough, their brain slams into their skull. Short-circuits ‘em. Sometimes their legs go out. Sometimes they go to sleep.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “It doesn’t matter how big someone is. It doesn’t matter how much they train or how much they ate or much weight they lift. There’s nothing you can do to make your brain stronger. It slams into your skull and…”

  I snapped my fingers.

  “…Just like that, the lights go out.”

  Mia twisted her lips and nodded.

  “I get it,” she said. “I don’t see what that has to do with me punching harder.”

  “When you punch someone in the face, you’re not just trying to hit their skin. You’re not trying to break bones, even if that shit does hurt. You’re not trying to make ‘em bleed. All you’re trying to do is move their brain around.”

  “I still don’t—”

  “Don’t punch the pads,” I said as I held them up. “Punch through the pads. Punch what’s behind it. Man. Woman. Big or small. You can move it. Just punch as hard as you can.”

  Mia gave me a straight face and put her hands back up. She reared her fists back and slammed them into the pads I held. Her hands thudded with a snap louder than any I’d ever heard so far.

  “Good,” I said. “Again… One, two… One, two…”

  Mia had gotten my message. She was punching so much harder that the exhaustion finally took over. Her hands dropped to her sides and she gulped deep breaths to try and recover.

  “Gimme a second,” she gasped. “I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

  “I think that’s enough for today. You don’t wanna wear yourself out. Keep punching as hard as you’re punching and you’re just gonna fuck your hands up.”

  “Right, right…”

  She took her gloves off and made her way over to her gym bag. I stood by her side and watched as she lazily put her things away.

  “How was it?” I asked.

  “Not bad,” she said. “I think it’ll be useful.”

  “Useful?” I said, an eyebrow raised. “You planning on picking any fights?”

  “I don’t pick fights. But you never know if someone might pick a fight with me.”

  “No offense, but you don’t seem like the type who gets picked on.”

  “Not in the traditional sense, no. But you never know what can happen in my case. Do you know who Carlo Palazzo is?”

  “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “He’s a Mafioso. A made man. They tend to get involved with business where people are picking fights.”

  “And what does that have to do with you?”

  “He’s my father.”

  “Right… I get it. Well, if that’s the case, I recommend you skip the boxing lessons and just buy a piece.”

  “Who says I haven’t already?”

  The way she smirked made me laugh. It was rare that you’d find someone who could have a good sense of humor about some shit that was serious.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m not getting into any tr
ouble. Most of the business my father has to deal with is settled. And it all happens in the big city. Have you ever been there?”

  “Up north? I used to live there.”

  “Then you decided to come down to Ivory.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Interesting. You know…”

  She looked around the gym.

  “…You’re a better fighter than a lot of the guys here. You’re in better shape, too.”

  “Flattering me won’t get you a discount on lessons,” I said.

  “Not interested. I’ve got a wonderful boyfriend. But… you’re still interesting, Aden. What brings a man like you to a tiny, little town like Ivory?”

  Mia had a pleasant demeanor. More pleasant than most of the broads in this town. Even though she was polite, it wasn’t enough to make me wanna talk to her.

  “I have my reasons,” I said.

  “Which are?”

  “…Do you wanna schedule another lesson?” I asked.

  She laughed to herself and shook her head when I changed the subject. Even if she persisted, I still wasn’t gonna answer.

  “Sure,” she said. “I think I can—”

  “What the fuck are you doing? Get up!”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a sudden outburst behind us. I turned around and saw everybody rushing toward a scrap off to the side of the gym. I ran over and got between a couple of teenagers. One was on top of the other, hammering him with fists even though everybody was trying to break it up.

  “Hey!” I shouted. “Knock it off!”

  I grabbed the kid by the collar and pulled him off. The other teenager was on the floor. His face was bleeding with a cut on his cheek. While everybody else tended to him, I kept the other teenager tight in my grip. He glared at me while he struggled to break free.

  “Lemme go!” he yelled. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I said.

  “He wanted to spar. So, we’re sparring.”

  “That didn’t look like sparring. It looked like you were trying to fuckin’ kill him.”

  “Well, what am I supposed to do? A guy goes to the ground, you finish him, right?”

  I narrowed my eyes and stared hard at him.

  “All right, Isaac. You cut that shit out. You wanna spar with someone, you don’t try to finish ‘em. Sparring is just for practice, you got it?”

  He looked away from me. I pulled him toward me so that he couldn’t look away.

  “You got it?” I said.

  “All right, I got it.”

  I hesitated for a second before finally letting him go.

  “Bunch of bullshit,” he muttered to himself as he walked away. “Nothing but pussies in this place. Can’t get any proper training around here.”

  The other kid was doing all right while his cut was bandaged. As quickly as it started, the commotion in the gym was already over.

  “It looks like you handled that well.”

  Mia had been watching the scene the entire time. I shook my head at her.

  “Shit like that happens,” I said. “Put a pair of gloves on teenagers like Isaac and they just wanna break shit. That’s the problem with being in a gym sometimes. All this fuckin’ testosterone. You can’t find a place in Ivory where there’s more.”

  “I think I know a place,” she said. “Have you been to Hades before?”

  “Hades. Been there before.”

  “You should stop by again. My boyfriend runs the place. Him and the rest of his MC.”

  “MC?”

  “Motorcycle club. The Devils are in charge.”

  “The Devils… Right…”

  “Why don’t you stop by tonight? Have yourself a beer and relax. I think it’d do you good.”

  “Thanks but… I like to drink alone. The last thing I need is loud music and louder assholes trying to start shit with me. I get enough of that in here.”

  “Fair enough,” she said. “But the place could use someone like you.”

  She grinned at me like she was up to something.

  “What the fuck does that mean?” I said.

  “Sometimes things get out of hand at the clubhouse. A little extra muscle never hurt.”

  “That shit doesn’t sound very appealing.”

  “It shouldn’t. You seem to be well-adjusted—”

  “Ha!”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her. She gave me a second to myself before I finally stopped chuckling to myself.

  “Well-adjusted,” I said. “You’re the first person I’ve ever met that used that word to describe me.”

  “When you’re around some of the assholes at Hades, you start to forget what a normal person looks like.”

  “Right…”

  “My boyfriend can pay you well. It wouldn’t be a serious gig. Just something to think about.”

  “I don’t know if I wanna deal with the type of assholes at Hades.”

  “Tell you what, first beer is on the house. You might want to drink alone but nothing’s better than drinking free.”

  “Free. The magic word. Don’t think you can get out of paying for your lessons though.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got more than enough money to pay you. Business is good.”

  Mia grabbed her gym bag and put the strap over her shoulder.

  “I’ll see you tonight, Aden,” she said as she walked out of the gym. “Don’t disappoint me.”

  Life in Ivory wasn’t interesting. I worked during the day then drank at night. It was exactly the kind of boring shit that I was looking for.

  Maybe I needed a change of pace though, at least for tonight. Worst case scenario, I have a few beers and things go back to normal. That’s what I was hoping for. With my luck, some motherfucker would try to push his luck with me.

  It didn’t matter though. My curiosity was getting the best of me.

  I sighed because I knew I couldn’t talk myself out of it. Tonight, I was heading to Hades.

  Chapter 2

  DANICA

  I looked out on the old bar. Club members who were a few drinks away from getting drunk. Women who were trying to get the attention of every man who walked by them with their skimpy outfits and seductive stares. Ordinary men who were just trying to get away from their jobs or their friends or even their family. The start of the weekend brought out all kinds of familiar faces.

  Then there was me.

  I stood at the bar with my empty glass in my hand, pondering what my next move was.

  “Hey.”

  The bartender got my attention.

  “You need another drink?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

  I thought about it for a second. I wasn’t sure what kind of mood I was in, so getting another drink may or may not have been a good idea.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  I laughed at the bartender’s confusion then leaned forward across the counter.

  “It means I don’t know.”

  “What don’t you know? You either want another drink or you don’t.”

  “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

  He rolled his eyes at me then turned his attention to everybody else who was waiting for a drink. My eyes shifted back to the bar as more people started coming in.

  Hades Pub wasn’t anything special compared to all of the other places in town. Just some clubhouse that belonged to yet another one of the motorcycle clubs. There was a good amount of people but not so many that I was rubbing shoulders with anybody.

  Maybe I’ve got the wrong place…

  I shook my head and laughed as soon as I thought it. I tried to convince myself that I’d made a mistake even though I knew that wasn’t the truth.

  Men. Men were always the one thing that could get me down. But I was old enough to know that I couldn’t let them keep me down forever. I wasn’t upset but if I was, I was going to drown myself in my sorrows.

  The
re was a small group of girls right next to me. Four younger women who all looked like they were trying to snag a man for the night. I was only a few years older than them but I felt compelled to talk to them since I was sure they could relate.

  They were busy in the middle of a conversation when I walked up and interrupted them.

  “Hey, ladies…”

  They all turned to me, their mouths half-open and their brows twisted in confusion.

  “…Listen,” I said. “I was supposed to meet a guy here. And… it doesn’t look like he’s showing up. Being stood up… Well, it’s not the best feeling in the world.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” one of the ladies said.

  “Don’t be. I’m out here. You’re out here. I figure we’re all out here to have a good time. How about a round of shots, on me? What do you say, ladies?”

  They all looked at one another like children asking for their parents’ approval. Frankly, it didn’t matter what they thought. I just needed another reason to get myself another drink.

  The smiles formed on their faces and they all nodded to me.

  “If you’re buying,” one of them said. “Sure.”

  “All right! Bartender!”

  I snapped my fingers at the bartender. He rolled his eyes at me again and dealt with a few customers before finally serving me and my new friends our round of shots. We all held our glasses up in the air.

  “What should we toast to?” one woman asked.

  “Do we need a reason to toast?” another said.

  “No,” I said. “We toast to ourselves.”

  I pounded the shot of whiskey along with the rest of them. The liquor burned down my throat and made me wince for just a split-second but after that, there was nothing but the satisfaction that came with alcohol starting to loosen you up.

  “That’ll make you forget you ever got stood up,” one woman said.

  “Who got stood up?” I said.

  We all shared a laugh together as another round of shots headed our way.

  I didn’t know their names. I’d never seen them in my life. There was a good chance that I would never see them again. But this was Ivory and apparently Hades wasn’t any different from any of the other bars. It never mattered what was going to happen after. The only thing that mattered was right now.