Page 57 of Devil's Vengeance

“Only two? What about Bandit and Gunner?”

The door to the station opened, and Gunner came out with the public defender following behind him. She was fuming, stalking across the parking lot like a woman on a mission. Her car was parked next to Joe’s, and we all shot her a questioning look when she ripped open her door and tossed her bag inside with an excessive amount of force. She scowled.

“They’re not releasing Bandit tonight. He’s got a record and they’re looking to prosecute him for whatever they can pin on him. I’ll figure it out. For now, the three of you are good to go. Do me a favor and don’t get into any more shootouts tonight. I’ve got enough paperwork to deal with.”

“No promises,” Joe snorted. It got him a smack on the back of the head from Bear, who gave Erin a polite nod.

“Prez will want to talk to you,” Gunner said, rocking on his heels. He was staring at the poor woman like a piece of meat. He obviously didn’t see the huge fuck off sign over her head.

“I’m sure he will.” She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to me. “He can call me here. Or email. I check both religiously. I’m headinghome for the night so I can get a head start on Bandit’s case. Bye, boys. Don’t do stupid shit.”

She dropped into her little sports car and sped off with a two-finger salute out her window. Gunner pointed at the tail lights in the distance.

“I’m gonna claim that woman.”

Bear snorted. “Sure you are, kid.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t give him false hope. Not a chance in hell he can catch a woman like that. He’s too young.”

His face screwed up as he slid into the back seat of Joe’s hatchback. “I’m twenty three!”

“And she’s got a law degree. She’s probably in her late twenties, early thirties. She won’t waste her time with kids like you. She’ll want a real man,” Joe pointed out.

I gave him a droll look from the back seat. “Lemme guess. That man’s gonna be you.”

“He’s only two years older than me!” Gunner protested.

Joe was older, but he started prospecting after Gunner did. It would take longer for him to even be able to look Erin’s way. Personally, I didn’t say any of them had a shot with her. Women like that needed men who could handle a girlfriend in a powerful position. Public defender or not, she was a lawyer. But I wasn’t going to point that out. They’d think I was interested, and I really wasn’t. There was only one woman on my mind, and I couldn’t guarantee I’d survive long enough to claim her. Croy said it depended on how tonight went. And tonight was a fucking shitshow.

We were on our way to the clubhouse when Bear’s phone rang. He put it to his ear, grumbling, “Hello?”

I couldn’t hear who was calling him, but out of nowhere, his whole demeanor shifted. He straightened in his seat and sucked in a breath, shooting me a wide-eyed look over his shoulder. “Yeah. Yeah, I understand. We’re on our way now. No, not everyone. Bandit’s still in lock up. The public defender gave us her card to give to Prez. She said she’ll get him out as soon as she can.”

I leaned forward, trying to listen to what was going on, but Bear didn’t keep the volume on his phone high enough for us to hear him. We allwaited quietly as he grunted out a few acknowledgements before finishing up with, “Ten minutes out. Yeah. Okay.”

The caller hung up and Bear let his hand drop to his lap, staring out the window in front of him. I gripped his shoulder.

“Bear? What is it, man?”

“Nevada’s dead. Bled out.” He looked over his shoulder again, his expression worried. “Prez wants to see you.”

Fuck.

Any chance I had at getting out of this alive went out the window the second someone died in my fight. Especially someone as important at Nevada. He was the VP of the Devil’s Disciples long before even Croy took over. He was an institution. The stories people told about him when he was younger were legendary. And he fucking died because of me.

Bear tried to say it wasn’t my fault, that I couldn’t have seen that attack coming, but I didn’t believe them. And I doubted the officers did either. It was my fault. Trick was coming after me. Nevada just happened to get caught in the crossfire. It felt like I couldn’t draw in a deep breath and my stomach twisted in knots. I got Nevada killed. For what? An old grudge that should’ve stayed buried where it belonged? What the fuck had I been thinking? I drew Trick here by searching for him. I brought him straight to Mariah, then to Nevada. Who the fuck else had to die before this ended? Or would it all end once Trick got to me? Would that even be enough for him? Or would he keep coming after the people I cared about long after I was dead and buried, just to spite me.

I was spiraling, but I didn’t have time to dwell. We pulled up in front of the clubhouse and I forced myself to get out of the car, staring up at the logo on the side like it was the last time I would ever see it. It damn well might be. I trudged down the sidewalk like a man on his way to the gallows.

Was it wrong to be glad that it’d all be over soon? I deserved whatever Croy had waiting for me. Even if I ended up in the damn chair in thatabandoned gas station on the outskirts of town. I’d take it because I fucking deserved it.

The clubhouse was crowded but quiet when we stepped inside. There wasn’t a soul on the crew that hadn’t been affected by the loss. The girls weren’t there, probably with Cleo–

Holy fuck. I just took a husband away from his wife. A father from his kids. For fucking what? For revenge?

I stumbled over my own feet as the horror hit me like a punch to the gut. What the hell had I done?

Bear’s steady hand landed on my shoulder, guiding me forward. It felt like my insides were shredding and I couldn’t do it on my own. Fuck whatever Neo did. What I did was so much worse. I deserved to die for this.

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