All Chapters of The Devil's Ice (The Road Devils MC 5): Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Helena, MontanaChristmas DayThe shouting and sound of things being thrown and broken had gone on for a while, with an intensity and pitch that would alarm pretty much anyone. But for the little blond boy in the smiley-face pajamas hiding under the bed covers, this was nothing new. It was, in fact, his life as he’d always known it.He’d watched his father all day, watched him get drunker and more belligerent with every shot of whisky, and he’d been proactive in the only way available to a small child: he’d hidden his Christmas toys – a bright-red Matchbox car and a chocolate Santa the size of his finger – under the loose floorboard in his tiny bedroom. He’d known full well that it was just a matter of time before his Dad would start to wreck the Christmas tree, the decorations, the dishes from dinner… and the gifts. After all, it happened every year.Honestly, he’d have thought by now that his Mom would know better than to put any real effort into the holidays, beyond a turkey and so

Denver, ColoradoIce Johansson jolted awake, a scream locked in his throat. He sucked a shaky breath into his broad chest, then another, felt his heartbeat go slow and steady. From almost three decades of hard-won experience, he knew that that implacable and menacing something was going to come to his rescue: it always showed up when Ice needed to regain control of a situation. Or of himself.Sure enough, here it came, that cold, emotionless darkness, and it was nothing but a relief to Ice when it washed over him, washed him away. He lay there staring at the ceiling, waiting for the wave to carry off the last vestiges of horror that always clung to him after the nightmare, as strangely wispy and solid as cobwebs. Or ghosts.He could take a deep breath now, and he knew that his resting heart rate had dropped back to its usual fifty-seven beats per minute. But just because he’d calmed right down didn’t mean that he’d be going back to sleep; he was up now, up for the rest of wherever wa

Ice roughly shoved any and all thoughts of Christmas out of his mind; he hadn’t celebrated it since he was six, and he avoided anything and everything to do with it. The fact that it was just around the corner – just under a month away now – was yet another reason that he was feeling pressured and cornered and weirdly panicky. None of this was like him… he’d earned the name Ice fair and square, but right now, he was a melting iceberg.Too much going on all at once – and no way for me to get any control over it. Goddammit.He poured his third cup of coffee and went back to his chair. He sank down into the leather, saw that the stars had moved and dimmed a bit. Ice glanced over at the clock in the kitchen and was startled to see that it was now going on six-thirty. Time was going fast today, a bit too fast for his liking, because as much as he detested sitting here and fretting and stewing, he wasn’t at all ready for the day’s events. He hated weddings at the best of times, but consider

The day of Scars’ and Zoe’s wedding dawned bright-gold and violet and pink. The late-November chill was refreshing and crisp as opposed to freezing, and the sky was a clear blue that went on as far as the eye could see. Zoe stood on the cabin front porch at Open Skies Ranch, clutching a cup of coffee and staring up at the Rockies. As always, they both humbled and inspired her. She’d left Denver for years, and she had missed exactly two things when she’d done so: her childhood friend, confidant and champion Wolf Connor, and the mountains. As far as she’d been concerned, the rest of the city and its inhabitants could just get flattened in a damned avalanche.Coming back almost four years ago to work for Wolf had been, hands-down, the best decision that she’d made in ages. Giving Scars Innis a chance had been yet another smart move… and asking him to marry her was her personal watershed Einstein moment. She’d made her fair share of mistakes with Scars, mostly because she’d stubbornly re

Four hours later, Zoe was standing behind the flower arch with Wolf, watching Keira walk sedately down the aisle, throwing handfuls of wildflower petals left and right. Her daughter’s dress was a pale, shimmering pink and the white faux fur scarf threaded with gold was so large that it covered her throat and most of her upper body for warmth. Her cheeks were glowing with a dash of blush, and her little rosebud mouth had a whisper of pink gloss. Her hair had been rolled into a loose twist at the nape of her neck, and the tiny gold tiara was proudly placed on her shining head, picking up the gold flecks in her brown eyes. Keira had been absolutely beside herself with it all, and Zoe had to admit that the excitement had been contagious.She’d handed herself over to Melissa that morning with a carte blanche and without any major expectations of what the woman would or even could do in terms of making Zoe look very different. Zoe had always been pretty comfortable with her appearance: she