Devil’s Vengeance (Devil’s Disciples MC #6)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

CHASE

“Load up, assholes!” Brewer barked.

He had his kid propped on his arm, his eyes narrowed, a deep scowl on his face. You’d think he’d have gotten more patient after becoming a dad. If anything, it made him more surly. He had better things to be doing than be chasing after the crew to get them on the road.

Sitting on my bike, I scanned the crowded lot. A portion of the crew was staying back to watch over the clubhouse, including the prospects. Everyone else was joining in on the run. We were heading for a rally, mostly as a show of force, reminding the other clubs nearby who we were and what we were capable of.

I tracked the girls out of habit, making sure each of them was with their men where they were supposed to be. Protecting women was an old habit I took fucking seriously. Even landed me a job as head of security at Lacey’s club. If anyone wanted to get close to the girls who worked there, they had to go through me first. No one dared try twice.

Once I was sure they were covered, I relaxed, leaning on the handlebars of my bike while I waited for everyone else to hurry up. I felt the urge to get on the road like an itch under my skin. I needed the high like a damn addict.

Not that I knew what that was actually like. Never touched the stuff. Didn’t want to end up like Clink. He followed his old lady around like a damn golden retriever, but underneath the surface, I saw the tension there. He still got urges, despite being six months out of rehab. He dealt better with support. When he passed me, I tossed him a pack of gum. The intense mint shit sometimes knocked him out of the urges.

He caught it, shooting me a bemused look. “What are you? My keeper?”

“Maybe I’m hoping I don’t have to babysit you this time.”

He flipped me off, but he didn’t give the shit back. He knew we were only looking out for him. Brewer was his go-to, but a bunch of us stepped up when he admitted he was struggling a month out of rehab. We were his crew. We watched his back. That kind of camaraderie was why I joined in the first place.

Well… part of the reason, anyway.

Shaking the thought off, I turned my attention to our Prez, Croy, who was coming out of the clubhouse with his old lady on his arm. Finally. If he was here, we’d get a move on.

He wasn’t a man for speeches, heading straight for his bike and climbing on. Riley hopped on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. My chest tightened automatically, just like it did every time I watched the women with their men. I had that once. For a little while, anyway.

Where the hell was my head at today? Too fucking focused on the past. None of that shit mattered anymore. I had my crew. That was all I needed.

The ride was long, long enough to clear my head. I rode in the middle of the pack, behind the officers. I didn’t pull stupid stunts, which made me trustworthy enough to get that close. Meanwhile, Bandit and Snake Eyes were behind me to my left, popping wheelies like fucking kids. If they crashed, I wasn’t going to rescue them. And I was pretty sure Socket would make them pay out the nose to fix their shit. He might be the club mechanic, but if you did stupid shit to your bike on purpose, he’d charge you extra for the inconvenience. You didn’t piss off Socket if you wanted his help later .

Bear pulled up alongside me, lowering his sunglasses long enough to shoot me an irritated eye roll and jerk his chin at the two idiots behind us. I shook my head. Not my circus, not my monkeys. If Croy had a problem, he’d send Reaper to deal with it. One of the reasons I’d never go officer was because I didn’t want to deal with shit like that. Luckily, those spots were filled and unless someone died, it’d stay that way for a while.

We pulled off the highway and followed a long road into a town only a little bigger than ours. A town I was intimately familiar with. My hackles went up, and I scanned the area warily. No one told me exactly where we were going, just that there was a rally. It wasn’t my job to know. And even if I did beforehand, there wouldn’t have been a thing I could do about it. None of the crew knew my story, and I wasn’t about to share it with them to get them to avoid coming out here. Knowing a few of them, they’d only push to drag me back out here just to fuck with me.

There was a spot designated for our crew that we parked at and everyone dismounted, the energy picking up with the excitement of the event. Most would be drunk by the end of the night. Knox was already heading for the nearby motel to make sure there were rooms available for people to crash. I looked around uneasily, tracking the colors on the backs of crews passing by.

A heavy hand clapped my shoulder, and I had to fight the urge to jump. Glancing over my shoulder, I glared at Viper, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Problem, brother? You look a little spooked.”

I shrugged him off with a scowl. “No fucking problem. Watch it.”

He put his hands up in surrender, snickering. “Woah. Someone’s got his panties in a twist. Problem, teacher’s pet?”

I fucking hated that nickname. Since Croy trusted me to watch over the girls right after I got inducted, the crew teased me a lot. Called me things like kiss ass or teacher’s pet. They never asked why I took on the job, not that I’d tell them anyway. But looking out for the girls didn’t make me a simp for Croy. It made me fucking smart. Women didn't belong around the crew. They were always the first targets. Some assholes weren’t man enough to face us head-on and went after them instead.

“Man, why you always lookin’ for a fight?” Bear wondered out loud, giving Viper a bored look. “You looking to compete with Clink for most annoying? He’ll take it as a challenge, you know.”

“Hey, fuck you, man. I’m a fucking delight,” Viper shot back, a smug smirk on his face.

“You’re a fucking idiot, is what you are. Let’s go. I could use a drink,” I growled, tipping my head toward the closest bar. We didn’t have to move as a crew, mostly we split off to enjoy ourselves, and a drink sounded fucking fantastic right about now. I followed Bear away from the group, tracking the girls over my shoulder one last time to make sure they were covered. I doubted the officers would let them out of their sights, but you could never be too safe with them.

My point was proven less than twenty minutes later. Riley and Allie strutted in alone, talking and laughing without a care in the world. They were smart enough to be wearing their property cuts, but that never stopped some guys. I tipped back the rest of my beer when I noticed someone step in their path, a lecherous grin on his face. Knowing those two, this was going to end up in a fight, so I was on my feet and moving before anyone noticed.

“Not interested, asshole,” Allie growled, glaring at the idiot who wouldn’t back the fuck off.

“Now, come on. Don’t be that way. I’m sure I can treat you better than your man could. They don’t call me Horse for nothing.” He grabbed his junk in emphasis, which only made the girls grimace. Had that line ever actually worked before?

I was inches from the guy, ready to remind him to show some respect, when someone else came up behind the girls, his drawl drawing their attention. “Now, now. That’s no way to act around a woman. Show them some respect. After all, they’re someone’s old ladies.”

My spine went ramrod straight, and I froze, eyes locked on the speaker. I almost didn’t recognize him at first. He’d changed over the years. His blonde hair was longer, and he’d put on muscle since the last time we spoke. His face was the same, though. Filled with arrogance and bravado. And his eyes were locked on me. He shot me a smug smirk, like he thought I wouldn’t kick his ass just because we were at a rally. He was fucking wrong about that .

But before I could get close to him, he stepped back, tossing his arms around the girls. “Come on, ladies. Allow me to escort you to a table. No need to sully yourself dealing with shitstains like him.”

“Don’t fucking touch them,” I snarled, shoving past the first asshole, who was too drunk to follow the conversation. His attention was already moving on. Which left me face to face with the ghost from my past, ready to gut him in front of the entire bar.

Trick grinned, dropping his hold on the girls. They were smart enough to step immediately out of range, coming around to stand behind me. Trick paid them no mind, looking me over with a condescending smirk.

“Look who’s all grown up. Joined a crew too? You always did love to copy me.”

My blood boiled, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of answering him. It’d only give him what he wanted. Instead, I jerked my chin toward the door. “Wanna go outside? Catch up?”

The undertone wasn’t lost on him. I wanted him outside so I could kill him. He wasn’t stupid enough to take the bait.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But if you’re gonna invite me out, you should invite my friends, too.” When he said that, a group of bikers stood up behind him. I heard the scraping of chairs as my own crew stood. They didn’t know what was going on, but they had my back either way.

Trick’s grin only grew when he realized I wasn’t alone. It would’ve turned into an all out battle if Reaper and Croy hadn’t come in when they did. They took one look at what was happening and stepped in.

“There a fuckin’ problem here?” Croy demanded.

Trick’s crew all whipped around, ready for a fight. They took one look at Croy and thought better of it. Croy was well known in our world. You didn’t fuck with him and live to tell the tale. And Reaper was worse, a fucking ghost who’d tear you apart and leave no trace that you were there in the first place. No one here was stupid enough to challenge them.

Trick eyed the men with a sneer. “Nope. All good. Isn’t that right, Chase?”

“Go fuck yourself, Charlie.”

His head snapped around and he bared his teeth at the insult of ignoring his road name, but before he could say shit, Croy shoved past him, going straight for his old lady. Reaper followed, standing beside his sister protectively.

“Chase. You got work to do,” Croy demanded. I didn’t, at least I hadn’t thought I did, but I took the order for what it was. A not-so-subtle request to get my ass moving or he’d hand it to me. With a grunt, I shot Trick one last scathing look before stalking outside. I made it about as far as the end of the block before Croy stopped me.

“Gonna fuckin’ explain yourself?”

With a heavy sigh, I turned around to face him, shoving my hands into my pockets. If I looked even a little bit aggressive with Riley right there, he’d hurt me. I wasn’t looking to fight him. I had someone else in mind.

“It was nothing. Just someone I knew way back.”

He looked like he believed me about as much as he believed Riley when she said she’d behave at a club party. Thankfully, Riley came to my rescue.

“I’m hungry. Is there anything good around here?”

He gave his old lady a look that said he knew what she was doing, but he went with it anyway. “Yeah, baby. We’ll find somethin’. Chase, you’re with us. You’ll watch over the girls when we’re busy.”

I resisted the urge to scowl. It wasn’t the job I had a problem with, I’d do that in a heartbeat. It was the fact that it made it that much harder for me to sneak away and find Trick. Me and him needed to have a chat. If it ended up with steel in his belly or a bullet in his head, that was his own fucking fault.