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

Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

MARIAH

“No, he’s not fucking dead,” Riley snarled. “But he will be if this asshole doesn’t let me go! I’m an ER nurse at Sierra Vista Medical Center! Let me help him, damn you!”

She sounded pissed, but I could hear the panic in her voice. The crew was more than just her husband’s people. They were her people too, and she was scared. I took a step closer, my hands still above my head.

“Please. Let her help him. We didn’t have anything to do with this. We were just upstairs on the phone with the 911 operator. She said someone needed an ambulance, so we came down to help.”

“She was fucking armed,” the officer snapped.

“And she’s not anymore,” I pointed out. Riley’s gun was on the floor by her feet. I gestured to it with my chin. “Take it away. Pat her down. Hell, pat me down. But don’t stop her from doing her job. She was just trying to defend herself.”

He was jumpy, and I got the feeling he knew exactly what crew he was dealing with, because he didn’t move to release Riley until someone else came inside to help. The new officer picked up her weapon, patted her down, and made the man release her before turning to me.

“Ma’am. Can you tell us what happened?”

“Shit. Shit!” Riley interrupted, whipping her head around to glare at us. “Where the hell is that ambulance? ”

“Two minutes out,” the newer officer answered. “Are you a medical professional?”

She didn’t answer, her focus on Nevada as she barked out orders. She told the cop where to get towels and demanded I join her, shoving my hands against Nevada’s chest where blood seeped constantly. My heart pounded rapidly in my ears and I had to strain to hear Riley’s choked out demands.

“Harder, Mariah! You need to put more pressure! Tell the ambulance to come here first! He won’t survive if we don’t get him to the hospital now!”

The cops showed up with towels just before the paramedics charged in. They nudged me out of the way, listening to Riley’s rapidfire report as they worked to help her save him. I could only stand off to one side and stare. There was so much blood.

“Mariah? Mariah!”

My attention snapped back to Riley, who was holding pressure while looking up at me. “Huh?”

“Go get Cleo. She’s down the block. Hurry!”

“Who is that?” the cop behind her demanded.

“Go, Mariah!” She wasn’t interested in explaining, and I knew better than to argue. If she was asking for Cleo, she needed to get here fast. I took off out the door, the second cop hot on my heels as he followed me down the block. He didn’t stop me, though. He kept pace and diverted the other cops from following me. I went straight for Lacey’s front door, pounding on it with my fist. Blood from my hands left a mark on the wood, taunting me with the reality of what was happening. Did they follow me to Riley’s? Or did they follow Chase? Would he have shown up there if I’d gone with Lacey instead? Or would the attack have happened at Lacey’s house with her son in the next room?

It felt like everywhere I went, I made things worse for Chase and his people. And now, someone might die because of me.

The door ripped open and Lacey stood on the other side, a gun in her hand but not pointed at me. She must’ve seen me coming.

“What is it?”

“Cleo. She needs to come. Now. ”

Cleo came running from the back room, her purse already in her hand and her eyes wide. “Is it Nevada?”

I nodded, but didn’t offer more of an explanation. I spun on my heel, running back toward the main house again. For an older woman, Cleo kept up easily, and we arrived just as Riley and the paramedics were loading Nevada into an ambulance. He had a tube in his mouth to help him breathe that Riley was squeezing methodically, and he was shirtless and covered in bandages.

“Oh god, Rob!” Cleo cried, rushing towards them.

“We need to get him to the hospital, Cleo. Get in!” Riley demanded.

Cleo didn’t hesitate and climbed in after her. I wasn’t invited, nor was there space, even if they wanted me to go. The last paramedic slammed the doors shut just as Cleo grabbed Nevada’s hand and Riley started shouting about stats dropping. My heart lodged in my throat as they sped off, nearly hitting the mass of bikers coming around the corner. A blare of a horn made them split off and make way for the ambulance, and the cops around me all stiffened when they saw the group head our way again.

“Ma’am. We need to get you somewhere safe.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t see anyone else around that would be able to tell Croy where Riley went. Chase was nowhere to be seen. A few cop cars had people in the back, but I couldn’t see who, and I doubted the cops would let them talk. I stood in the middle of the yard and waited for the worst to happen.

Croy stopped right in front of me, his eyes narrowed. “Where is she?”

“She’s not hurt,” I began, because I didn't want him to think the worst when I told him she was in an ambulance. “Nevada is, though. She went with him to the hospital.”

“Fuck! Who the fuck did this?”

I shook my head again. “I don’t know. We were in the panic room and then we were helping Nevada. I didn’t see–”

“Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down and answer some questions for me,” the officer behind me demanded.

Croy shot him a dirty look. “Mind your business, asshole. I’m going to the hospital. Where the fuck is Chase? ”

Tears pricked my eyes and I just looked at him helplessly. “I don’t know.”

With one last scathing look at me, he started his engine again, ignoring the cop’s demands for him to stop and wait. He tore off again and the officers who’d been with him all turned with him. Only one stayed behind. The one I was most afraid of.

“Who else was here?” Reaper demanded as he strode up to me.

Thankfully, I knew the answer to that because of Riley’s phone call to Sam and Lacey. “I, uh– Chase, Nevada, Bear, Bandit and Gunner. That’s what Riley told me. I didn’t see anyone when I came down, though. No one except for Nevada.”

His gaze flicked to the cops. “Where are they?”

“If they were involved, they’re taken down to the station for processing. I need you to answer some questions for me about what happened.”

“No, the fuck you don’t,” Reaper replied, grabbing my elbow. “Come with me. Prez will want to speak with you.”

I wasn’t going to fight the man, but the officers weren’t happy about it and ended up in a standoff with me in the middle. I was terrified and worried I’d be thrown into another shootout, this time without a panic room to hide in, but in a surprising move, Reaper shoved me behind him.

“Put the fuckin’ weapons down,” he snarled. He hadn’t drawn his, but they must’ve known he was a threat because there were three guns aimed at us anyway. “We haven’t done anything wrong and you’re not allowed to hold us without cause.”

“We can if we think you’ve been involved in criminal activity,” one officer shot back. He was the one who grabbed Riley originally and prevented her from helping Nevada.

The one in the middle, who’d gone with me to get Cleo, shook his head. “He arrived after the shootout. We all saw him. We can’t keep him here, but she needs to stay and answer some questions.” He gestured to me with a tip of his head.

Reaper glanced at me over his shoulder. His face said it all. Keep my mouth shut or die. What the hell did I get myself into?

It took a while to get through the cops’ questions, but in the end, I didn't have to lie much. I didn’t actually know who or why or what happened beyond us coming downstairs to see Chase and running back up to hide. I wasn’t even sure if the crew who attacked was Trick’s crew or not. I had no information to give them. They asked about the Devil’s Disciples, but even in that area, my knowledge was limited. I didn’t know anything about crew dynamics, outside of who the officers were, and I never wanted to know. I went to a party, met a few female friends, and that was it. Until recently, I couldn’t even say I was seeing anyone in the crew. Chase might not have even counted it as a relationship outside of sex. I had no ties to the crew that anyone could actually trace. So, despite me being in the house during the attack, they couldn’t keep me there.

“If you can think of anything else, please let me know,” the cop said. He introduced himself as David Storm. He was new to the area, so he didn't seem as troubled by the MC as the rest of his friends did, and he was the calmer of the officers. He took over when the asshole who’d grabbed Riley started shouting at me that I had to know something and I was lying to him.

Reaper was on the phone, ignoring the officers who tried demanding he answer their questions. He wasn’t part of it, and he didn’t owe them anything. When I came back over to him, he murmured something into the phone and hung up, tipping his head toward the street.

“Aero will give you a lift. We’re going to the hospital. Croy has questions for you.”

“Okay…” I murmured. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to give him any more than I gave the officers, but I wasn’t in any place to argue. I followed him toward the bikes, watching as a few bikers parked themselves just on the edge of the property to watch the cops while they were poking around. I’d stupidly invited the police into their territory, thinking it would help, but I only dragged things out.

How much worse could this get?