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

Chapter 35

CHAPTER 35

MARIAH

After what happened at the hospital, I made the request to go home. Not to my apartment. Trick would take any chance he got to grab me. I wanted to see my parents. My heart ached for Cleo, and I kept hearing her sobs on repeat inside my head. I needed comfort and familiarity. I needed the people closest to me. And surprisingly, they allowed it. Sam and her old man followed behind me on the road with a few other bikers at their back. Some would just shadow me. A few would stick around as security. I told them Trick didn’t know where my parents lived, but they weren’t sure if it was me or Chase they followed to Riley’s house. They weren’t taking chances. They didn’t want Nevada’s sacrifice to be in vain.

It was well after midnight when I pulled up in front of my mom’s house. I didn’t call first, so unless I was really quiet, she’d definitely wake up and have a lot of questions. I wasn’t ready to answer her yet. My heart hurt too much. I slid out of the car, pausing only a second to wave at Sam. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and she leaned heavily on her old man, barely lifting a hand to wave at me before latching back onto him. I was jealous that she had someone she could lean on tonight. I was too scared to ask what happened to Chase.

They waited until I slipped in through the front door before driving off, leaving two bikers I wasn’t familiar with sitting out front. I locked the door behind me, paranoid that Trick would burst in at any second. No one said if he was one of the ones arrested or killed. I never went near the bodies on scene to check. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds of the gun blasts, the images of the aftermath, and Cleo’s sobs. It was all there, haunting me, keeping me frozen at the front door until the kitchen light flicked on.

“Mariah? Baby? What are you doin’ here so late?”

When I turned around and she took in my appearance, her eyes went wide as dinner plates. “Mariah! What happened? Are you hurt?”

I looked down dumbly for a second. I’d forgotten about the blood on my clothes. Nevada’s blood. A sob escaped me before I could bite it back, and I wrapped my arms around my middle in an attempt to hold in all the pain. Mom raced over to me, her familiar smell surrounding me as she dragged me into a hug.

“Talk to me, Mariah. Were you attacked again? I knew we should’ve made you move home. Should I call an ambulance? How’d you get here? You didn’t drive like this, did you?”

It was hard to talk around the lump in my throat, but if I didn’t stop her, she’d have me in the back of an ambulance before I could tell her I was fine. I shook my head, pulling away enough so she could look me in the eye.

“I’m okay. It’s not my blood.” I couldn’t tell her everything, she’d lose her mind if she found out the truth and I didn't want to scare her, but I told her enough to get her to calm down. “There was a man who got hurt. I tried to stop the bleeding but…” My throat tightened. “It was too late. He bled out.”

“Oh, Mariah…” Mom’s voice went soft, soothing, and her hand ran gently over my hair. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. Did you know him?”

I lifted a shoulder. I had only met Nevada in passing. I didn't have any proper conversations with him. But that didn’t make it any less difficult to swallow.

“I knew his wife. She sounded so heartbroken, Mom. I can’t–” I choked on another sob. “I can’t get the sound of her crying out of my head.”

“I’m so sorry, baby.” She hugged me tighter until I swayed on my feet. Mom tsked and ushered me away from the door, leading me toward her room. “Come on. You’re staying with me tonight. You can borrow some of my pjs. You know, the appropriate ones. Not the ones I wear for your daddy.”

I choked out a laugh, shooting her a horrified look, but sobered up quickly. It felt wrong to laugh right now. Mom noticed the change and sighed, leaning her head against mine.

“I know it seems like a lot right now. It’s okay to be sad. You’ll get past it. For now, you’ll stay right here next to me, so you know you’re safe. Your daddy set up a hell of a security system before he left. No one is getting in here without us knowing.”

My brow furrowed as I sat on the edge of her bed, watching as she rummaged through her drawers for something for me to wear.

“When did he do that?”

“When you were meetin’ with that therapist in the city. Maybe you should give her a call. You can talk it out with her about what happened. Or me. You know I’ll always be here to listen.”

I knew that. I went to see a therapist after I was taken because I didn’t want to scare my mom with what happened to me. She was already freaked out without hearing all the nitty-gritty details. I only went twice, just to work past the shock of it all, but I didn't feel like I needed to go again after that. I was busy with work. It kept my head on straight. It might not be the worst thing in the world to call her again, but I’d have to leave a lot of it out. Reaper made it clear what would happen if I told anyone.

I wasn’t looking to get on that man’s bad side.

After a quick shower, I crawled into bed next to my mom. I hadn’t done anything like this since I was a kid, and I thought it’d be weird, but having the familiar smells of my family around me and my mom’s hand holding mine made me feel a lot better. I let my eyes slip shut when she kissed my forehead and eventually, exhaustion knocked me out cold.

It felt like I had just gone to sleep when I woke up again. My mind kept twisting what had happened, imagining what it was like to be in Nevada’s place, seeing his face replaced with Chase’s, hearing Cleo’s cries throughout the whole thing. It was horrible, and I woke up choking on sobs. Mom woke up with me, shushing me and petting my hair until I laid back down again. It happened twice more before I gave up and slipped out of bed. The sky was gray, the sun just starting to rise, but I couldn’t force myself to go through that again. And my mom needed some decent sleep. I headed for the coffee maker instead, pausing to peek out the curtains to the front yard. The guys were still there, smoking and talking low amongst themselves. I felt bad for forcing them to stay out there all night, but what other option did I have after gaining the attention of a monster?

The ache in my chest throbbed incessantly. It still felt a little like my fault. I mean, I didn't ask for Trick to target me. But maybe I should’ve been paying more attention on the drive home. I don’t think I even looked behind me. I was so focused on getting to Riley so she could save Chase that I didn’t stop to think.

I sat down at the kitchen table, clearing a little space for myself amongst my mom’s projects. She was a housewife and picked up little projects to bide her time while my dad was away. I knew she wanted me and my sister to settle down eventually so she could have some grandbabies to distract herself, but the one area where she never hovered was on that subject alone. She didn’t want us rushing into having babies before we were ready. I was looking through her newest obsession when Mom came out of the room. I frowned at her.

“Go back to sleep. It’s still early.”

She huffed, raising her eyebrow at me. “You hush. I’m fine. Did you make enough of that for me?” She pointed at the coffee in my hand.

I nodded and waved toward the machine. “There’s plenty. How long until Dad gets home?”

“A day or two. Not long. He made good time, so he should be back soon.”

That was good. I’d feel safer if he was home. Not that I felt unsafe with the guys outside, but they weren’t my dad. Or Chase. My stomach cramped as I went to take a sip of my coffee and I set it down again. I was still too afraid to ask about Chase. If he survived the shootout, he either got locked up or he had to face Croy right after. They were already considering ending his life. Being attacked on their own turf probably didn’t put them in life-sparing moods .

A knock on the door made me stiffen. Mom put her hand on my arm, stopping me before I stood.

“I got a camera on the door, baby. Let’s check first before we open it.”

Good idea. If it was Trick, maybe we could call the cops or slip out the back to where my dad’s truck was parked. There was a gate that wrapped around the backyard. We would’ve heard if they were prowling around back there. Right?

Mom sucked in a breath, frowning at the screen. “Baby? Why is there a handsome man in a biker outfit standing on our front porch?”

My heart pounded rapidly as I stood to look over her shoulder. Unfortunately, Trick was an extremely handsome man, so she could be referring to him. She tilted the screen to show me and I sucked in a sharp breath.

“Oh, my god.”