Page 70 of The Devil's Pair

“Youdo?” The relief was so huge, she thought she’d pass out from it. “How far away am I from you?”

“Over an hour, but the way we’re gonna drive, thirty minutes,” he told her. “So you sit down at one of the picnic tables there, you stay the fuck away from the truck, and you stay on the phone. We’re comin’, baby. You hear me? We’re comin’ for all three of you.”

Chapter Nineteen

One week later

Briley sat outside Satan’s Bar, drinking green tea and staring at the mountains. She was all bundled up against the early September chill, the blanket that Dux had gently wrapped around her shoulders now hiding her somber, sober black dress.

It had been a beautiful funeral, she supposed, as much as one could be and considering that Rebel had died a slow and painful death… all because ofherstupid fucking ID thatshe’ddropped.

Everyone had told her over and over that it wasn’t her fault, that Crusher and Michael had had a plan in place for ages. All they were looking for was an opportunity, an opening – it could have been anything at all, and the two goons who followed Rebel would have just followed someone else. She’d have been grabbed up one way or another, no doubt about it. Nothing she did or didn’t do was going to stop it.

Logically, Briley knew this was all absolutely correct; emotionally, she couldn’t seem to get on board with any of it. All she knew was thatshe’dkilled Gideon,she’dpissed off Michael royally,she’dled those two kidnapping pricks straight to the twins’ house,she’dopened the door to Rebel.

She didn’t think she’d be able to survive the guilt of her shitty decisions and actions. Not this time. The twins had begged her to stay in Denver for a while, at least until the babies were born, and she’d reluctantly agreed, a decision mostly driven by that very guilt.

“Hey. I thought you might be hungry.”

She looked up at Elle holding a plate of delicious-looking and -smelling food, and blinked a bit. It occurred to Briley that she hadn’t eaten that day, despite Dux and Drake begging her to have something before the funeral. She knew that she’d just promptly throw it all right back up or, worse, she’d lose all control and vomit at some crucial point in the ceremony. She hadn’t wanted that. She owed Rebel that one last bit of respect.

“Ummmm.” Her voice came out hoarse and Briley cleared her throat; it came to her now that she hadn’t spoken to anyone for almost five hours. “I’m not really, but I’d better have something.”

“You should.” Elle padded over, set the plate on the small wooden table. “I know it’s cheesy and probably annoying to say, but you’re eating for three, hon. Those babies need some nourishment.”

“I know. You’re right.” Briley sighed. “This isn’t just about me.”

“Not anymore. Not for a while.”

Briley took a bite of the best veggie wrap even assembled, then looked up at Elle; she took in the shadows under her eyes, the strain around her mouth. She knew that Elle had taken over the kitchen full-time since Rebel’s death, and although the food coming out was amazing, she had to be tired.

“You OK?” Briley asked her. “I mean, you’re obviously not, stupid question. But what I mean is, how are you finding the extra work?”

Elle shrugged those slim, graceful shoulders, brushed her dark hair off her forehead. “It’s not actually any extra at all. Wolf took me off cleaning duties and he hired a new woman to do all of that, so now I’m just in the kitchen. Same number of hours, just different work. Well, nottotallydifferent, but you know what I mean. It’s food prep and cooking only, no morevacuuming the back rooms, or prising God-knows-what off the bar floor with a chisel.”

“Is that – do you like it better?”

“Oh, for sure.” Elle sighed. “I mean, Ilovecooking and baking, normally. But I’ve come to see that what I loved about ithere– a bit part of it, anyway – was working with… with Rebel. He was an incredible kitchen manager, a great guy.”

“I’ve heard,” Briley said quietly. “Dux and Drake have told me about him.”

Elle gave her a sharp look. “It’s not your fault, Briley. You know that, right?”

“Well.” Briley looked away from the other woman’s dark purple eyes, looked hard at the plate, suddenly not as keen on the food as she had been a few seconds before. “I know everyone keeps telling me that.”

Elle studied her, then said, “You know that if it was your fault, then it wasminetoo.”

Startled, Briley stared at Elle. “Uh… how’s that?”

“You’re joking.”

“No. Not at all.”

“OK,” Elle said crisply. “How’s this, then:I’mthe one who escaped the cult and climbed into Viking’s van, which led me here to Denver, which brought The Road Devils to the attention of Gideon. I’malsothe one who thoughtlessly waltzed out of the clubhouse early one morning on a quick food-run without telling Viking, and soI’mthe one who got scooped up and dragged back to Gideon.I’mthe one who needed rescue – this is whereyoufinally came into the picture in a big way, as you may recall – and so you had to risk life and limb and walk into that compound and get me out.I’mthe one who actually started this whole goddamn mess, and if you see it that way, you’ll realize that you didn’t make an appearance until about the third act of this fucking twisted play. You’re not the main character, Briley, andyou haven’t driven the action in any significant way –Iam andIhave.”

“Wait – no –”

“Yes. Fuckingyes.” Elle sighed again. “Look… we can do this all day and night, and start again tomorrow. I can take the blame, you can take the blame. Viking can for bringing me here, Wolf can for letting me stay, Ice can for not clocking the connection between Michael and Crusher sooner than he did. Dux and Drake can too, for having you stay at their place that night. EvenRebelcan, since he insisted on bringing you that ID instead of letting me and Viking do it. You get me, Briley? Weallcan, in our own ‘let’s-split-hairs’ and ‘rummage through the past with tunnel vision’ ways, so you’d better get your head on straight, and soon. If you don’t, your totally unjustified guilt is going to eat you up… and those babies need their mother to be as healthy as possible, and that includes mentally.”

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