Page 8 of Devil's Vengeance

“She doesn’t belong here,” he accused, gesturing at me. “She’s a librarian, for fuck’s sake.”

My head jerked back like he’d slapped me. What did my career have anything to do with it? And saying I didn't belong here was messed up. What? Because I liked to read in my spare time and worked in a quiet environment, that automatically made me boring and innocent?

“No one asked you,” I snapped, glaring at him. “What the hell is your problem?”

“What’s going on here?” a rough voice demanded from behind Chase.

I got one last irritated look from Chase before he spoke again. “Nothing. She’s not staying long.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he stormed off before I could respond. I probably would’ve left after talking to Lacey, since I had work the next morning, but that seriously pissed me off. He had no reason to act that way. I didn’t understand why he was so bent out of shape, either. He was so much nicer to me the first time we met. The entire ride to the hospital, my hands shook while I was trying to put pressure on his wound. He talked to me the whole way, telling me how much he appreciated my help and how he and his crew would get me somewhere safe. Maybe the blood loss made him into a nicer person.

“What’s his problem?” a rough voice asked.

“No clue. Mariah?” Sam’s voice jostled me out of the memory and I turned to find her and an absolutely enormous guy standing where Chase had been a minute before. Seriously, the guy was easily a foot taller than me and wide like a truck. My mouth fell open in shock and Sam burst into giggles.

“I think I responded the same way the first time I met you. Mariah, this is Bear. He’s one of the nice ones. Bear, this is Mariah. She’s here to talk to Lacey.”

Bear’s thick eyebrows drew together slowly. “You a stripper?”

My eyebrows shot up, surprised. “Do I look like one?”

I thought I looked pretty tame compared to the rest of the women at the clubhouse. Only Sam’s outfit was tamer, though she pulled off the jeans and tank top combo really well. She had her own vest on, like the guys, but hers had a property patch on the back.

Bear snorted, giving me a bland look. “I’m not fallin’ for that. I got enough on my plate without adding a pissed sweetbutt to the mix.”

“Not a sweetbutt,” I corrected automatically. I wasn’t here to hook up. I preferred dating over hookups and even if I was so inclined, I felt like meeting someone at a biker club was like diving into the deep end and I wasn’t the world’s greatest swimmer. “Lacey saved my life. I want to thank her in person.”

“Ah.” He nodded slowly, taking a sip of his beer. “Honestly, that don’t surprise me. Lacey’s almost as protective of the women as Chase is. And she ain’t afraid to kick some ass.” He shot an exasperated look at Sam. “Can’t tell you how many times I had to get between her and some drunken asshole lookin’ for trouble. She don’t back down for nothin’ if her girls are bein’ mistreated.”

Sam smiled brightly. “Yeah, Lacey’s awesome.”

“You say awesome. I say a hazard,” Bear countered. “Wish she’d just let me do my damn job, but if I argue with her, Brewer will kick my ass.”

“Damn right, he will,” a familiar female voice said behind him. When Bear winced, Sam snickered.

“Bear, you aren’t seriously over here complaining, are you?”

Bear shifted out of the way and shot Lacey a sheepish grin. “Nope. All good, Mama Bear. Where’s the little man?”

She gave him a flat look. “With the babysitter. I told you guys, I’m not bringing him to parties anymore. You screw with his routine by passing him around all night. You want to see him, go to the main house.”

He chuckled and nodded before lumbering off. Glancing over my shoulder, I said to Sam, “His name really suits him.”

“You should see him when he’s pissed,” Lacey interjected. “The man goes full grizzly. He just hides it really well.” She narrowed her eyes, tipping her head a little. “Do I know you?”

Right. The whole reason I was here. I stepped forward a little, chewing on my bottom lip as I considered what I wanted to say. “Uh, sort of, I guess. I was in the truck the night we were all taken? I wanted to talk to you the day after, but you were already gone by the time they released me from the hospital. When Sam mentioned she was in the same crew as Chase, I told her I wanted to thank you in person, so she invited me here to meet with you.” Drawing in a deep breath, I gave her a small smile. “You saved my life that night. You and Chase both. I can’t thank you enough. If there’s anything I can do in return…”

Though what I could offer was pretty slim. Putting her name first on the list for new releases to borrow from the library, maybe? My dad was a truck driver, so if she needed something delivered from another city, Icould ask him to grab it. You know, as long as it was legal. I wasn’t getting him involved with a gang notorious for its involvement in the drug trade.

Lacey considered me for a moment before she smiled. “I appreciate that. Though, technically, I didn’t do it for you. I had a kid to get home to. You lot were just along for the ride.”

I shrugged. “I’d rather be along for the ride than still in that truck.”

She chuckled and nodded. “That’s fair.”

CHAPTER 6

CHASE

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