Devil's Pass: A Sinners' Playground Prequel Novella (A Harlequin Crew Novella Book 1) Read online

  DEVIL’S PASS

  A Harlequin Crew Novella

  by

  Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  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

  Special Surprise

  Welcome to the crazy world of Caroline and Susanne, sisters, authors, loons. If you’re new to our books then woohoooo we’re so excited to have you here and would love for you to join our tribe on Facebook too!! And if you’ve travelled through our book worlds before then, well, shhhh don’t tell the newbies that we’re gonna rip their hearts out and eat them raw. I mean there will definitely be some fun times along the way and if all goes well, you’ll defo get a HEA. Things ALWAYS go well in our books, right guys? Yup. So enjoy this book, we have literally poured a piece of our soul into it and a few tears too. It’s the best intro to this story we could possibly give you and we really hope you fall in love with Rogue and her boys just as much as we have.

  This novella is set ten years before The Harlequin Crew Series and book 1 will be releasing this November 2020 – you can preorder Sinners’ Playground now right here!!!

  P.S.

  If you didn’t think we could manage a cliffhanger on a novella, oh-ho! think again. We’ve softened the blow with a special gift at the end of the book though, so take a deep breath, pull up your big girl panties, and step into your new dark paradise, Sunset Cove…

  M averick:

  Hey, baby girl, you wanna come be naughty with me?

  My heart leapt as I read that message, a blush rising in my cheeks as I chewed on my bottom lip and rolled over in my bunk while I typed out my reply.

  Rogue:

  Baby girl? Seriously? You start calling me that then I'm gonna start calling you big daddy.

  Maverick:

  I can get onboard with that

  Rogue:

  Sugar puff, then

  Maverick:

  How about stud like in those old movies?

  Rogue:

  I'll give you stud muffin, but I'll go no further (the muffin is because of your fluffy centre)

  Maverick:

  There's nothing fluffy about me, beautiful. Now, are you gonna let me get you into trouble today or am I gonna have to come drag you out of your pretty flowery bedroom?

  I shuddered at the mention of this horror show I lived in, glancing up at the frilly flowery shit that was all over the room I shared with three other girls in this so-called home. Apparently the woman who ran this place, Mary Beth, thought that girls liked flowers and boys liked cars – even though she only housed teenagers. What a freaking psychopath. If this was the best the state could afford then they really needed to think about upping taxes.

  Rogue:

  Of course I'm coming. Give me five minutes to escape the dragon.

  I shoved my shitty brick of a cell phone into the back pocket of my denim shorts and scrambled upright, ignoring the way the springs squealed as I moved.

  "If you sneak out with those boys again, I'm gonna tell Mary Beth," Rosie warned from the bunk below mine, her prissy little attitude begging for a good slap.

  I reached up to the shelf above my bed, grabbed the flick knife I kept there, an elastic for my long, dark hair and finally snagged myself the chocolate bar I'd hidden behind a few books.

  I jumped out of my bunk and landed on the threadbare carpet, ignoring the two mousy girls in the bunk opposite mine as they sensibly averted their eyes then I flicked my knife out and pointed it at Rosie.

  "What did I tell you the last time you threatened to turn me over to that old witch?" I growled, pointing my knife at the shabby teddy bear she slept with.

  "If I get you in trouble with Mary Beth then you'll cut off teddy's head and feed it to me," she breathed, clutching the thing and looking at me like I was a monster. "But I think you're full of baloney and-"

  I snatched the bear and held the blade to its throat. "One more word and we'll see if I'm full of shit or not. Now. Are you going to be telling tales?"

  Rosie shook her head in horrified silence and I tossed the bear back at her with a roll of my eyes.

  "You're fifteen, Rosie. Maybe it's time you grow the fuck up and find some friends of your own to go running with. Because I'm getting seriously tired of this jealousy shit."

  I pocketed my knife and quickly pulled on my black boots - I was pretty sure the things were actually old military boots and I freaking loved them. They were my best thrift shop find to date and I was quite happy to never wear any shoes but them ever again. I looked like a badass about to go stomp some zombie heads in – or possibly like an idiot wearing boots in the summer but I didn’t give a shit because they were the coolest thing I owned.

  I eased the door open, glancing out into the dark hallway. It was five past nine but Mary Beth was a total nazi for early bedtimes because she liked to sit and get stoned while watching old re-runs of Sex and the City. She liked to think of herself as a total Miranda, whatever the fuck that meant. I didn't know why the rest of us had to suffer for that. I was perfectly happy to rock up here at some time past midnight every night, fall asleep and then fuck off again the moment I woke up. But apparently she liked to play pretend at looking after the kids in her care when it came to certain things and the nine o'clock lights out wasn't negotiable. Not that I ever hung around long after making a show of heading to bed, but still.

  I crept down the hallway, hopped over the squeaky floorboards and opened the door which led to the closest boys' room without bothering to knock. They knew the drill by now.

  "Hey, Rogue, big night tonight?" Clive asked hopefully and I gave him a dismissive glance.

  The dude was a year older than me and you'd think being seventeen would mean he'd have a bit more of a clue about how to sort his own life out. Apparently he'd just decided he wanted a piece of mine instead though. He was one of those kids who got an early growth spurt but instead of embracing it he’d adopted a hunch and his dirty blonde hair was always falling in his eyes and making me wanna get the kitchen scissors on it.

  "Sure," I replied vaguely.

  "Mind if I join?" he asked predictably. The guy was a level five clinger with no shame.

  "Not a chance in hell," I replied which was actually pretty polite for once because he was seriously getting on my last nerve.

  "Can you grab some jelly beans if you see them somewhere?" Jake asked me, shifting aside and pushing the window open for me while ignoring my interaction with Clive.

  "I got you," I assured him. I'd just steal some somewhere and if I couldn't tonight then I'd do it tomorrow. It was the price of my freedom and their silence and I was happy to pay it. Jake would beat the shit out of any of the other guys if they didn't go along with the arrangement so this way, we all got to win. Well, me and Jake did anyway.

  "I'll just tag along," Clive insisted.

  I huffed irritably but just ignored him. Maverick would have his bike anyway so Clive could follow me down the road if he liked but he wouldn't be coming any further than that.

  I squeezed out of the little window and onto the top of the porch outside befo
re tiptoeing along the creaky wooden roof while hugging the wall all the way to the apple tree at the far end of it.

  Clive was still trying to get out of the window when I reached the tree and jumped for the familiar branch before swinging to the one below it and then letting go, dropping to the grass with a solid thump.

  The air was still balmy from the hot day and my boots may have been a bit warm, but they were cool as fuck so I didn't care.

  I hurried out onto the street, taking the sidewalk past the few houses down this way and hurrying my pace as I came up on my neighbour Axel's house. The guy was a serious perv and it felt like running the gauntlet every time I passed his porch where he liked to sit and drink whenever he wasn't working. And working was a loose term really as he was a member of the Harlequin Crew and I was pretty sure his day job included drug running and beating people up. Whatever else he was, that fact alone made him untouchable and kinda terrifying, so mostly I just tried to avoid him noticing me.

  "Looking good, sweet thing," Axel called as I drew closer to his house and I looked up to find him leaning over the railing which lined his porch, smoking a joint as standard and smirking at me in a way that made my skin crawl. His hair was a badly dyed shitty brown and slicked sideways to hide his bald spot and he had a ton of shitty old tattoos on every piece of exposed skin which had bled and faded since he’d gotten them done. His eyes slid down to my bare legs in a way that made me wish for pants and he licked his lips as he took the joint from his mouth.

  "Hi, Mr Phillips," I said, hunching my shoulders and trying to appear younger than I was. He never used to look at me like that before I got boobs.

  I upped my pace, but of course he didn't take the hint.

  "You out with Luther's boy tonight?" he called.

  Luther Harlequin was the leader of their gang and the reason people in this town went to bed afraid of their own shadow at night. He also happened to be Fox's dad and Maverick's adopted dad which meant I was also loosely associated with his crew. But like, seriously loosely. I ran with my boys and none of us associated with the actual gang. Still, Axel seemed to think that made us...friends? I didn't know and I didn't fucking want to. He was like forty something and a total creep.

  "Yeah," I replied, making it to the edge of his porch and spotting Maverick's bike parked up beneath the streetlight at the far end of the road.

  "Well, keep it tight, sugar plum. Maybe I'll see you on your way home and you can come in for a beer?" Axel suggested like that wasn't weird as fuck and I just shrugged.

  "See you later," I muttered, breaking into a jog as I set my gaze on Maverick and tried to forget about the creeper king.

  Rick was leaning against the seat of his black motorcycle, his arms folded over his broad chest and a grin on his face that he was trying to hide in an attempt to look cool. He did that a lot recently, like smiling was going to be outlawed soon and he needed to try and lock it down.

  I upped my pace as I ran at him and his grin broke free of its restraint as he stood up and opened his arms to me.

  I leapt into them, wrapping my legs around his waist as he lifted me up, using the position to scrub my hands through his perfectly styled hair and fuck it up good and proper.

  "Stop it, Rogue, you fucking asshole," he cursed, switching his grip on me to try and drag me off again and I laughed as he wrestled with me and my weight made the two of us fall over.

  Maverick took the brunt of the hit, landing on his back in the road and I punched him in the chest, laughing wildly and leaping to my feet as he tried to catch me. The shitbag would have me in a headlock before I knew it if I didn't escape fast.

  I hopped onto his bike, started the engine and grinned at him as I pointed at the seat behind me.

  "I'm driving tonight, hop on Tonto," I said as he got to his feet and dusted off the ass of his black jeans.

  "No chance in hell," he growled, stalking over and holding his fist out to me while he tried to fix his black hair with the other hand.

  "Oh, come on, Rick, I don't have a bike or a car or anything. Give a girl a break."

  "No." He nudged me with his fist and I groaned as I held mine out too, bouncing it in time with his and settling on paper as I revealed a flat hand.

  Maverick went with scissors of course and laughed his ass off.

  "How do you win every damn time?" I growled.

  "Get in the bitch seat and let's go," he commanded as he grabbed my hips and dragged me backwards so that there was room for him to take the spot in front of me.

  "Hey guys!" Clive called as he jogged over like he'd been invited or something. "Where are we heading?"

  "I tell you what, dude," Maverick said, a cruel little smirk tugging at his lips. "If you can keep up with us then feel free to join."

  He climbed onto the bike and I dutifully wrapped my arms around his waist as I scooted closer to him.

  Clive called out some protest as Maverick revved the engine, pouring smoke over him like a douchebag before dropping the clutch and the bike tore away down the street with the two of us laughing like assholes. I would have felt bad if it had been absolutely anyone else, but that guy just couldn't take a hint. Me and my boys didn't need anyone else and we sure as fuck didn't want anyone either. It was the five of us against the world and that was how it was always going to be.

  We sped through the familiar streets of Sunset Cove, taking the road that curved around the cliff and into the upper quarter where the rich folk liked to spend way too much money on shit that wasn't worth it and pretend that the lower quarter where the people like us lived didn't even exist.

  I turned my head towards the sea as I looked out over the water where the full moon was peeking out between the clouds and shining off of the waves where they raced towards the golden sand.

  I tipped my head back as I enjoyed the ride, tugging the chocolate bar from my back pocket and tearing it open with my teeth before taking a big bite. I reached around Maverick and pressed a chunk between his lips too, snatching my fingers back as he bit them playfully.

  Maverick finally pulled up beside some fancy new hotel that had just gotten a fresh white paint job and had a sign out front saying it was opening next week.

  "Here we are, beautiful," he announced as he cut the engine, all cocky swagger and smouldering looks that made my heart beat harder than the ride had.

  Shit, he was getting really nice to look at these days, and I wasn't the only girl who had noticed either. Last week Eloise Rochester had been all over him when we were surfing and I'd had to punch her in the eye to remind her that the boys were mine. She'd told me that I was a deluded bitch and that none of them were my boyfriends, which may have been true, but it still didn't mean she could come and start hanging around with us.

  Rick offered me his hand and pulled me off of the bike before shoving me aside to ruin the sweet gesture so that he could lift the saddle and pull a couple of cans of spray paint out of the storage compartment.

  "So you saw this beautifully fresh white wall and thought, do I know a delinquent girl who might enjoy ruining it? And then landed right on me?" I teased.

  "Damn straight I did," he agreed. "Pink or orange?"

  "Pink is really more your colour," I said, winking at him as I snagged the orange and he shrugged as he turned to look up at the wall. "Are the other guys meeting us here?" I asked, wondering if we should wait for them to show before we started.

  "Err, nah, I just thought of this kinda last minute. Fox had something with his dad tonight and you know he can't say no to Luther anyway. And...to be honest, I just didn't invite JJ and Chase." Maverick didn't look at me while he said that and I frowned but then shrugged it off. It wasn't like we always had to hang out in a group, we just usually did.

  "Okay," I said, turning my attention to the wall and trying to decide where to begin.

  Maverick ran a hand through his hair to try and fix it again and I smiled wickedly as I shook my can up and then proceeded to spray paint a mermaid onto the wall w
ith jumbo boobs and a fish kissing her ass while she made out with a shark. It was pretty freaking beautiful.

  Maverick went for a skull with a cock in its mouth and I snorted a laugh at the masterpiece. I finished off my shark tail and then swung my arm out, aiming to give Rick a nice orange hairdo but he caught onto me at the last second and ducked aside, making me paint his shirt instead.

  I burst out laughing a second before he lunged at me, spraying pink everywhere while I tried to run for it.

  "Stop!' I shrieked, half choking on the fumes as I blindly sprayed revenge orange in his direction and his deep laughter filled the air.

  "Hey! You kids! What the hell are you doing?" a man shouted and I gasped in alarm as Maverick released me and we spotted a cop hanging out of his car window to get a look at us.

  "Oh fuck," I breathed, rooted to the spot but Maverick was faster to react, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards his bike.

  "Come on, beautiful, we gotta run," he urged, tossing his can and making me move as the cop yelled after us to stop.

  I leapt onto the back of the bike, dropping my own can of paint as Maverick started her up, loosing the throttle and aiming for an alley beyond the hotel as I clung on tight.

  "Stop!" the cop bellowed, blue and red lights flashing as he turned on the siren and a laugh tore from my lips as Maverick raced away down the alley.

  "Holy shit," I gasped as he sped on faster and faster, navigating back alleys in the dark from memory alone, swinging left and right before bursting back out onto the street.

  The cop was far behind now, but I could still see his lights when I looked over my shoulder and I yelled out for Rick to ride faster as he turned off of the main road and headed down a side alley again. He kept his lights off to make it harder for the cop to keep track of us, but that meant we could hardly see down in the dark alleyways.

  This one cut behind a row of stores and ejected us on another street where he turned right and sped away from the town towards the forest and one of our favourite hang outs.