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

Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

CHASE

It took a few hours, but me and Bear were released at virtually the same time. Joe, one of the prospects, was waiting outside with his shitty little hatchback. He leaned against the driver’s side door, playing with his phone, but popped to attention when we came out.

“Only two? What about Bandit and Gunner?”

The door to the station opened, and Gunner came out with the public defender following behind him. She was fuming, stalking across the parking lot like a woman on a mission. Her car was parked next to Joe’s, and we all shot her a questioning look when she ripped open her door and tossed her bag inside with an excessive amount of force. She scowled.

“They’re not releasing Bandit tonight. He’s got a record and they’re looking to prosecute him for whatever they can pin on him. I’ll figure it out. For now, the three of you are good to go. Do me a favor and don’t get into any more shootouts tonight. I’ve got enough paperwork to deal with.”

“No promises,” Joe snorted. It got him a smack on the back of the head from Bear, who gave Erin a polite nod.

“Prez will want to talk to you,” Gunner said, rocking on his heels. He was staring at the poor woman like a piece of meat. He obviously didn’t see the huge fuck off sign over her head.

“I’m sure he will.” She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to me. “He can call me here. Or email. I check both religiously. I’m heading home for the night so I can get a head start on Bandit’s case. Bye, boys. Don’t do stupid shit.”

She dropped into her little sports car and sped off with a two-finger salute out her window. Gunner pointed at the tail lights in the distance.

“I’m gonna claim that woman.”

Bear snorted. “Sure you are, kid.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t give him false hope. Not a chance in hell he can catch a woman like that. He’s too young.”

His face screwed up as he slid into the back seat of Joe’s hatchback. “I’m twenty three!”

“And she’s got a law degree. She’s probably in her late twenties, early thirties. She won’t waste her time with kids like you. She’ll want a real man,” Joe pointed out.

I gave him a droll look from the back seat. “Lemme guess. That man’s gonna be you.”

“He’s only two years older than me!” Gunner protested.

Joe was older, but he started prospecting after Gunner did. It would take longer for him to even be able to look Erin’s way. Personally, I didn’t say any of them had a shot with her. Women like that needed men who could handle a girlfriend in a powerful position. Public defender or not, she was a lawyer. But I wasn’t going to point that out. They’d think I was interested, and I really wasn’t. There was only one woman on my mind, and I couldn’t guarantee I’d survive long enough to claim her. Croy said it depended on how tonight went. And tonight was a fucking shitshow.

We were on our way to the clubhouse when Bear’s phone rang. He put it to his ear, grumbling, “Hello?”

I couldn’t hear who was calling him, but out of nowhere, his whole demeanor shifted. He straightened in his seat and sucked in a breath, shooting me a wide-eyed look over his shoulder. “Yeah. Yeah, I understand. We’re on our way now. No, not everyone. Bandit’s still in lock up. The public defender gave us her card to give to Prez. She said she’ll get him out as soon as she can.”

I leaned forward, trying to listen to what was going on, but Bear didn’t keep the volume on his phone high enough for us to hear him. We all waited quietly as he grunted out a few acknowledgements before finishing up with, “Ten minutes out. Yeah. Okay.”

The caller hung up and Bear let his hand drop to his lap, staring out the window in front of him. I gripped his shoulder.

“Bear? What is it, man?”

“Nevada’s dead. Bled out.” He looked over his shoulder again, his expression worried. “Prez wants to see you.”

Fuck.

Any chance I had at getting out of this alive went out the window the second someone died in my fight. Especially someone as important at Nevada. He was the VP of the Devil’s Disciples long before even Croy took over. He was an institution. The stories people told about him when he was younger were legendary. And he fucking died because of me.

Bear tried to say it wasn’t my fault, that I couldn’t have seen that attack coming, but I didn’t believe them. And I doubted the officers did either. It was my fault. Trick was coming after me. Nevada just happened to get caught in the crossfire. It felt like I couldn’t draw in a deep breath and my stomach twisted in knots. I got Nevada killed. For what? An old grudge that should’ve stayed buried where it belonged? What the fuck had I been thinking? I drew Trick here by searching for him. I brought him straight to Mariah, then to Nevada. Who the fuck else had to die before this ended? Or would it all end once Trick got to me? Would that even be enough for him? Or would he keep coming after the people I cared about long after I was dead and buried, just to spite me.

I was spiraling, but I didn’t have time to dwell. We pulled up in front of the clubhouse and I forced myself to get out of the car, staring up at the logo on the side like it was the last time I would ever see it. It damn well might be. I trudged down the sidewalk like a man on his way to the gallows.

Was it wrong to be glad that it’d all be over soon? I deserved whatever Croy had waiting for me. Even if I ended up in the damn chair in that abandoned gas station on the outskirts of town. I’d take it because I fucking deserved it.

The clubhouse was crowded but quiet when we stepped inside. There wasn’t a soul on the crew that hadn’t been affected by the loss. The girls weren’t there, probably with Cleo–

Holy fuck. I just took a husband away from his wife. A father from his kids. For fucking what? For revenge?

I stumbled over my own feet as the horror hit me like a punch to the gut. What the hell had I done?

Bear’s steady hand landed on my shoulder, guiding me forward. It felt like my insides were shredding and I couldn’t do it on my own. Fuck whatever Neo did. What I did was so much worse. I deserved to die for this.

Bear knocked on Croy’s office door. Brewer opened it, taking us both in, before looking over his shoulder. “He’s here.”

“Send him in. Then fuck off.”

He dipped his chin in acknowledgement and stepped aside for me to enter. Forcing my head up, I strode forward. I could accept whatever was coming for me. Didn't mean I could look any of them in the eye. I stared at the wall as I passed each officer, stopping in front of Croy’s desk. One by one, they filed out in silence. The door shutting behind me had a note of finality to it. Closing me off to the life I loved and the people I would give my life for. What had I been thinking?

“Sit,” Croy said, his voice terse but quiet. It wasn’t like him. He was almost always yelling. But this wasn’t the time to yell. And he didn’t need to. I wasn’t gonna cry about it. I wasn’t going to beg. I deserved this.

I sat in the chair across from him and dropped my gaze to his desk. I was a coward. Couldn’t face the crew I’d betrayed because of my own selfish desire for revenge.

“I take it you heard.”

I nodded, but I didn’t look up.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” he asked, forcing me to look up at him. It wasn’t the Croy I knew sitting across from me. He was angry, sure, but he also looked broken. I’d only ever seen him look that way once before. When Mass died. Losing someone he was so close to wrecked him and he was quiet and somber for weeks afterward. He and Nevada had been family to each other. Hell, Nevada had been a father figure to a lot of us. Called anyone younger than him son and treated them the same. Treated me like his kid, too.

Unlike before, I couldn’t bring myself to lie again. It didn't matter anymore. The truth was out there and it got someone killed. Why lie?

“Yeah, Prez. I… I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t think–”

“No. You fuckin’ didn’t. If you had, you would’ve told the crew the minute you knew a rival crew with a grudge was in our territory. You would’ve said something when they showed up at Lacey’s club, or at the bar. You had plenty of opportunities to come clean. You didn’t. Why?”

He grew more heated with every sentence until a familiar fury overtook his face. It was the Croy I knew, always pissed at something unless Riley was there to settle him. And she wasn’t going to rescue me twice tonight. She already stuck her neck out for me. It nearly got her killed right along with Nevada.

I shook my head, eyes locked on his. “I thought I could handle it. It was between me and him. I just wanted to get him alone and deal with him myself. I never planned to include the crew because it wasn’t about them. Or his crew. It was between us.”

He stared at me for a long minute, a muscle in his jaw jumping as he ground his teeth together. I kept waiting for him to pull out his gun and shoot me in the face. Every minute he didn't reach for it only made me more nervous. What else did he have planned for me?

After what felt like hours, he finally spoke. “I wanted to haul your ass to the gas station. Wanted to drag it out for as long as possible for putting Riley at risk.”

I nodded and dropped my head a little. I deserved that. But I wasn’t expecting what came next.

“I can’t do that anymore. It’d be a dishonor to Nevada’s memory.”

Whipping my head up, I frowned at him. “What?”

He scowled at me, leaning back in his chair. “He vouched for you. Said he believed you made a mistake, and you’d punish yourself plenty for it. He wanted you to have another chance to make it right. And since he died a few hours later, before we could make a final vote, the officers agreed to honor his decision as his last request. He died to save you tonight. You’re gonna have to fuckin’ live with that.”

A whole host of emotions slammed into me. Horror, pain, relief, hope. But it all was weighed down heavily by regret. I shook my head.

“No, Prez. I don’t deserve that. I should–”

He slammed his fist onto the desk, silencing me.

“You don’t get a choice. Nevada gave his life for yours. You’re going to live every damn day with that regret. And you’re going to live a long fuckin’ time. I’m not lettin’ you waste his sacrifice. If I even hear a word of you wanting to take your own life, I’ll hand you to a mental institution and watch you rot in there, alive and kicking, until old age takes you. That’s what you owe him for giving up his life for your bullshit plan for revenge. He died. You lived. Deal with it.”