Page 7 of Devil's Vengeance

I tried not to let the disappointment show on my face. Why was it so hard to thank these people properly?

“But if you want, I can bring you to the clubhouse tonight? There’s always a party on the weekends and Lacey has tonight off. She actually gets along with the sweetbutts, so she doesn’t mind going as much as the rest of the old ladies do.”

Thanks to a wide variety of romance novels in my history, I knew what she meant by that. Sweetbutts were the hang arounds of the club, looking for a good time with a biker but not girlfriends or wives. Those were the old ladies. The name was unflattering, but the distinction was important. Anyone could have a sweetbutt if they were interested, but no one could touch another man’s old lady.

“Sure. That sounds great.”

CHAPTER 5

MARIAH

It was a little nerve-wracking showing up to a notoriously dangerous motorcycle club party. Even though I was invited, I felt out of place as the rideshare pulled up along the street in front of the dark warehouse building. Pulsing music could be heard from outside, but the front door was shut and two bikers stood guard, eyes narrowed on women as they approached. They never stopped anyone from going inside, but from a few of the flirtatious waves, I assumed that’s because they knew them. They wouldn’t know me, and I wasn’t sure I’d be allowed in without Sam. I texted her to let her know I arrived before pushing the door of the rideshare open and sliding out.

I dressed up because I didn’t want to stand out any more than I probably already would. But even in my favorite clubbing outfit, I wasn’t as dressed up as the sweetbutts who stalked past in their sky high heels. Their boobs looked like they were going to burst out of their tops with every step and their asses were almost out, too. I was pretty outgoing, but notthatoutgoing.

Figuring I would just explain that Sam invited me to the guards at the door, I approached with the next little group of women, but someone calling my name stopped me right as I stepped up to the guard on the right.

“Mariah!”

Sam came from around the side of the building, a biker’s arm tossed casually over her shoulder. I’d expected her to be inside, so I was surprised to see her. At least until she stepped under the streetlight and it lit up her features. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was a mess. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she’d been doing.

Abandoning my spot, I went to join her instead, offering her a smile. “Hey. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything. I’m not early, right?”

The guy at her side smirked and his eyes danced mischievously. Sam didn’t even have to look up to know his expression. She elbowed him in the side, grimacing at me. “Nope. Not early. We were just, uh… talking.”

The biker snorted, though in his defense, he tried to muffle the sound with his face in her hair. It didn’t really do anything, and he got another elbow into his side for the effort.

“Ouch! Woman, stop abusing me,” he complained while rubbing the spot she’d elbowed him, though he still looked like he was enjoying himself.

“Shut up, Clink. Come on, Mariah. Last I checked, Lacey wasn’t here yet, but she might’ve slipped in when I was… distracted.” She shot another dirty look at the biker before ducking out from underneath his arm and lacing hers through mine instead. She leaned in, whispering so she wouldn’t be overheard. “I know they can be a little intimidating, but they aren’t that bad. Most of the guys here are single too, so if you want to say hello, you can.”

I shot her a bemused look, raising my eyebrows at her. “Playing matchmaker already?”

She snickered, pulling me past the guards and inside. The biker she was with smacked her ass once they were inside and winked at her before wandering off. When I shot her a curious look, she rolled her eyes.

“That’s my old man, Clink. He’s adorably annoying and a troublemaker. Ignore him.”

She led me to the left and toward a bar along one wall, where a man in a vest without a patch on it was serving up drinks. He nodded politely when Sam leaned against the island, making us each a drink upon request. A prospect if I had to make a guess. I may or may not have dug out myfavorite MC romance series and flipped through it as a refresher before coming out to the party. I’d just picked up my drink to take a sip when a familiar voice growled behind me.

“What are you doing here?”

I startled hard, spilling a bit of the cocktail onto the bar. I shot the prospect an apologetic look, spinning around to face Chase. He didn’t look happy to see me, that was for sure. I tried not to take offense. If I’d come here looking for him, it might come off as a little stalker-y.

“Sam invited me. I wanted to thank Lacey in person.”

He didn’t look happy about my answer, but he couldn’t exactly argue against it either. He never said I couldn’t come. I didn’t need his permission anyway. We weren’t a thing. He made it perfectly clear he wasn’t interested in getting to know me.

“I told you I’d pass on the message,” he grumbled with a scowl.

“And did you?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

The look on his face was answer enough. He didn’t. Whether it slipped his mind or he didn’t care enough to pass it along, he didn’t tell Lacey thank you for me. And she deserved to hear how much I appreciated her help. Honestly, if I could afford it, I’d buy them both a gift as thanks. I couldn’t exactly google ‘what kind of gift do you buy for the people who saved you from human trafficking’ anyway.

“Point made,” I insisted.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what his problem was. It wasn’t like me being here affected him in any way. Sam must’ve been thinking the same thing, because she frowned at Chase, tipping her head at him.

“What’s going on? You’ve never cared if we invited people before.”

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