Page 50 of Devil's Vengeance

My head came up, taking in Neo’s appearance. He always looked tired now. He was working himself to the bone to get back in the club’s good graces. At least his fuck up was for a good reason. He was trying to protect his family. His little brothers’ lives were on the line. I was just an idiot.

“You need something?”

He motioned to the tablet in his hand. “The name of the crew who’s targeting you. I’ve got movement on the edge of town, but I don’t know if they’re passing through or not.”

Pushing to my feet, I came to look at the tablet screen. “Where?”

“Near Outpost. I sent an alert to Aero, he’s in the area, but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I saw a partial on a logo though. Something Horsemen?”

My gut tightened at the possibility, and when I looked at the screen, I felt the defeat settle in my shoulders. If they were on the fence about it before, they wouldn’t be anymore. There was the goddamn proof that I screwed up. I recognized the logo. That was Trick’s crew.

“You need to tell Croy.”

He looked sympathetic when he asked, “It’s them, huh?”

“Yeah. Hurry up. If there was a reason to interrupt, this would be it.”

Trick had been quiet for a week. If he was coming back, he was looking to make a move. I dropped back into my seat and scrubbed my hands over my face. What were the chances that Croy would let me go with them to face him?

Neo knocked on the door and waited, stepping in when Brewer opened the door to report to Croy on what was happening. It didn’t take long before they came back out. Croy snapped his fingers and pointed at me.

“Go with Nevada. We’ll deal with you when we get back.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but choked on the word when he fisted my shirt and shoved me against the wall, his fury written all over his face. “Not a fuckin’ word. You’re lucky to still be breathing. You’re going with Nevada while I clean up your mess. Depending on how this goes will determine if you live or not.”

He stormed past with the rest of the officers, leaving just Nevada and Neo standing beside me. Nevada looked grim as he tipped his head toward the door.

“Come on. Your girl is with Riley. We’ll wait there.”

My brow furrowed. “I thought she went home with Lacey.”

“Apparently, she wasn’t done fightin’ for you. She went to the one person who had any sway with Croy. Not sure if it worked in your favor or not.”

Jesus. I knew Mariah and I were spending time together, and I would put my life on the line to protect her, but I hadn’t realized it went both ways. She was picking a fight with Croy and putting herself at risk by continuing to argue with him. She got away with it before because she gave him the answers I couldn’t stomach giving him. But going behind his back to Riley to save me from him was asking for trouble. If I came out of this alive, I’d need to move her somewhere safe from him too.

Or claim her to keep her safe.

Not even the president of the club could hurt another man’s old lady and get away with it.

During the drive back, I took a second to appreciate the wind on my face and the rumble of the engine beneath me. Aside from when we escaped from the confrontation with Trick, I never got to take Mariah on a ride. I would bet good money she’d love it. She was more adventurous than I’d originally thought. If I hadn’t had my head so far up my ass, I could’ve taken her out and really shown her what it was like to be with a biker. Reading about being on a bike was nothing like having one beneath you. I used to think it was better than sex.

That wasn’t true anymore.

I was so distracted by thoughts of her, the ride to Prez’s place ended way before I was ready for it to. We pulled up alongside the few bikes that were parked here. Probably security for Riley and a few guys just hanging out looking for a quiet night. I was walking toward the house when I noticed two bikes at the end of the block that I didn’t recognize. No one was on them, but it was strange and it raised red flags.

“Hey, Nevada. Those look familiar to you?”

He looked over his shoulder, following my line of sight to the bikes. He shook his head, but didn’t look too worried about it. “No, but it’s probably nothin’. A few of the guys were talkin’ about getting new rides recently. I think they pissed off Socket and he’s refusing to fix theirs again.”

That made sense, and I’d accept that if the current situation was a little less tense. But I kept scanning my surroundings on our walk up the sidewalk to the house, looking for something that might tip me off to intruders.

When we came inside, the girls were nowhere to be seen. I wanted to go straight for Mariah, since I knew she was here, but I also didn't want to give her false hope. I wasn’t off the hook yet. If things went poorly for Croy, I’d be in just as shitty a situation as I had been twenty minutes ago. Instead, I headed around the house, checking the locks on the windows and the back door. Nevada didn’t follow me, but he didn't need to. I wasn’t going to run and I think the guys knew it.

I found nothing that seemed suspicious, but it still bugged me. My instincts were what kept me alive since joining this crew, and right now, my instincts said those bikes didn’t belong here. But I was also fucking exhausted, both from the lack of sleep and the beating I took earlier. I could’ve just been imagining things.

“What’s wrong?” Bear demanded as I rejoined them in the living room. I shook my head, frowning, but gave in to the urge to check the lock on the front door. It was always locked, unlike the clubhouse, and you had to be let in by whoever was on security that night, but I couldn’t settle so it made me feel better to check it.

Footsteps on the stairs drew my attention and I looked over my shoulder to see Mariah and Riley standing at the top, their eyes wide.

---