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

Chapter 5

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 not that outgoing.

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 my favorite 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.”

“She doesn’t belong here,” he accused, gesturing at me. “She’s a librarian, for fuck’s sake.”

My head jerked back like he’d slapped me. What did my career have anything to do with it? And saying I didn't belong here was messed up. What? Because I liked to read in my spare time and worked in a quiet environment, that automatically made me boring and innocent?

“No one asked you,” I snapped, glaring at him. “What the hell is your problem? ”

“What’s going on here?” a rough voice demanded from behind Chase.

I got one last irritated look from Chase before he spoke again. “Nothing. She’s not staying long.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he stormed off before I could respond. I probably would’ve left after talking to Lacey, since I had work the next morning, but that seriously pissed me off. He had no reason to act that way. I didn’t understand why he was so bent out of shape, either. He was so much nicer to me the first time we met. The entire ride to the hospital, my hands shook while I was trying to put pressure on his wound. He talked to me the whole way, telling me how much he appreciated my help and how he and his crew would get me somewhere safe. Maybe the blood loss made him into a nicer person.

“What’s his problem?” a rough voice asked.

“No clue. Mariah?” Sam’s voice jostled me out of the memory and I turned to find her and an absolutely enormous guy standing where Chase had been a minute before. Seriously, the guy was easily a foot taller than me and wide like a truck. My mouth fell open in shock and Sam burst into giggles.

“I think I responded the same way the first time I met you. Mariah, this is Bear. He’s one of the nice ones. Bear, this is Mariah. She’s here to talk to Lacey.”

Bear’s thick eyebrows drew together slowly. “You a stripper?”

My eyebrows shot up, surprised. “Do I look like one?”

I thought I looked pretty tame compared to the rest of the women at the clubhouse. Only Sam’s outfit was tamer, though she pulled off the jeans and tank top combo really well. She had her own vest on, like the guys, but hers had a property patch on the back.

Bear snorted, giving me a bland look. “I’m not fallin’ for that. I got enough on my plate without adding a pissed sweetbutt to the mix.”

“Not a sweetbutt,” I corrected automatically. I wasn’t here to hook up. I preferred dating over hookups and even if I was so inclined, I felt like meeting someone at a biker club was like diving into the deep end and I wasn’t the world’s greatest swimmer. “Lacey saved my life. I want to thank her in person. ”

“Ah.” He nodded slowly, taking a sip of his beer. “Honestly, that don’t surprise me. Lacey’s almost as protective of the women as Chase is. And she ain’t afraid to kick some ass.” He shot an exasperated look at Sam. “Can’t tell you how many times I had to get between her and some drunken asshole lookin’ for trouble. She don’t back down for nothin’ if her girls are bein’ mistreated.”

Sam smiled brightly. “Yeah, Lacey’s awesome.”

“You say awesome. I say a hazard,” Bear countered. “Wish she’d just let me do my damn job, but if I argue with her, Brewer will kick my ass.”

“Damn right, he will,” a familiar female voice said behind him. When Bear winced, Sam snickered.

“Bear, you aren’t seriously over here complaining, are you?”

Bear shifted out of the way and shot Lacey a sheepish grin. “Nope. All good, Mama Bear. Where’s the little man?”

She gave him a flat look. “With the babysitter. I told you guys, I’m not bringing him to parties anymore. You screw with his routine by passing him around all night. You want to see him, go to the main house.”

He chuckled and nodded before lumbering off. Glancing over my shoulder, I said to Sam, “His name really suits him.”

“You should see him when he’s pissed,” Lacey interjected. “The man goes full grizzly. He just hides it really well.” She narrowed her eyes, tipping her head a little. “Do I know you?”

Right. The whole reason I was here. I stepped forward a little, chewing on my bottom lip as I considered what I wanted to say. “Uh, sort of, I guess. I was in the truck the night we were all taken? I wanted to talk to you the day after, but you were already gone by the time they released me from the hospital. When Sam mentioned she was in the same crew as Chase, I told her I wanted to thank you in person, so she invited me here to meet with you.” Drawing in a deep breath, I gave her a small smile. “You saved my life that night. You and Chase both. I can’t thank you enough. If there’s anything I can do in return…”

Though what I could offer was pretty slim. Putting her name first on the list for new releases to borrow from the library, maybe? My dad was a truck driver, so if she needed something delivered from another city, I could ask him to grab it. You know, as long as it was legal. I wasn’t getting him involved with a gang notorious for its involvement in the drug trade.

Lacey considered me for a moment before she smiled. “I appreciate that. Though, technically, I didn’t do it for you. I had a kid to get home to. You lot were just along for the ride.”

I shrugged. “I’d rather be along for the ride than still in that truck.”

She chuckled and nodded. “That’s fair.”