Page 26 of Brandishing Betrayals (Devil’s Psychos MC #2)

Maya

“ G irl, you look so much better today, than you did when you got here Friday night,” Jenna exclaimed Sunday morning as we sat down to breakfast in Jenna’s dining room, while Jenna’s husband Brad entertained the kids in the eat in kitchen.

I let out a self-depreciating laugh, “Oh you mean, when I was exhausted and stressed to holy hell after a week of too much shit happening? Then rolled in here at eight p.m.? Of course, I look better than I did then.”

Jenna shook her head, a sad smile gracing her lips. “Not what I meant, and you know it.”

The week dragged on for me, by the time I was loading up the car Friday evening after work, I was exhausted and more than ready to hit the road.

Between work, seeing Marcos and the guys at football—all three of them had shown up for Wednesday and Thursday’s practice.

Then add in the fucking flowers that Dax Hillcrest had left me everywhere I fucking went, plus the stress of taking care of my sick father, it had been a godsend to get some time to unwind with my sister.

The stress that had melted off of me as she drove down Lake Shore Drive through downtown, following the lakefront as I headed to my sister’s home in Lakeview.

Even though I had shown up looking haggard Friday night, I had still felt the weight of the world lift away the moment my sister wrapped her arms around me.

It had taken everything in me not to break down and cry.

“I’ve been under a lot of stress,” I sighed. “The guys are always around now. They stay through Luke’s football practice. I get there and they’re hanging around. He’s loving every moment of it, of course. And I can’t fucking blame him, but it’s so hard.”

“Don’t you think it’s time that you told those guys the real reason you left? You didn’t have a fucking choice, that dirt bag practically chased you out of town.” Jenna practically growled the words.

I swallowed thickly, dropping my head and staring into the cup of coffee I cradled in my hands.

“I don’t know.” I sighed heavily. “In the days before I left them, Dax had shot both Marcos and Jason, had his girlfriend infiltrate their clubhouse, and had Nico framed for something he didn’t do.

The man is utterly dangerous and holds sway with the police.

He’s already threatened Luke and our parents.

Do you really think it’s smart to tell Marcos, Jason, or Nico?

They would fly off the deep-end and start a fucking war with Las Serpientes, and then we’d really be in danger.

” I sighed again, setting down my mug and running my fingers through my messy hair.

“I think you’re not being fair,” Jenna said slowly.

My eyes shot to my sisters, not believing what I was hearing.

“Hear me out,” she hedged, raising her hands up in surrender, “just a minute.”

I kept my mouth shut and waited.

“What if you still don’t tell them, and Dax doesn’t care that you’ve been keeping your distance and he STILL decides to lash out? What then? Now your boys have no idea what happened to you, or Luke, and they’re left in the dark forever.”

“But he—”

“OR!” Jenna spoke over me. “Or, you confess to your men. Come clean about why you left back then, how utterly fucking terrified you were, and tell them how it’s all starting again.

Tell them Dax Hillcrest has been harassing you for fucking YEARS—because I know he’s sent people out here to check up on you—don’t fucking deny it. ”

Tears welled in my eyes as my sister called me out. Dax had been checking up on me for years. Once a year, I had received a flower in my mailbox, like a fucking reminder that he was still out there, and could get to me anywhere I went.

“What if the club could help? What if starting a war with Las Serpientes is exactly what needs to happen?” Jenna pressed on. “Aren’t you tired of living your life in fear?”

A broken sob choked out of me, as I tried to stifle it.

I was tired of living in fear, so fucking tired.

Every day I it got harder to get up and go to work, harder to make it through the day.

I was constantly looking over my shoulder, expecting to see him creeping in around a corner.

Then the added stress of being around my men every night this week and unable to touch them, knowing that if I broke down and sank into their arms, I’d feel better for a moment, only to fear that Dax had seen me and would try to kill someone I loved.

“Oh honey,” Jenna cooed, and immediately wrapped her arms around me.

I fell apart in my sister’s arms, letting out all of the stress and pressure I had been carrying around for months. “They hate me.” I choked the words out between gasping breaths.

“Maybe they do,” Jenna said, not one to sugarcoat things, “but you haven’t given them a reason to trust you either.”

I knew that of course; I’d purposely been pushing them away. I’ve needed to push them away.

“You need to think about telling them the truth. At this point, it’s the only way. You’re only going to make yourself sick with worry, when they could be protecting you and Luke. You owe it to your son to make sure he’s taken care of.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded minutely. There wasn’t anything I could say. I was making myself sick with worry.

Maya

The drive home from Chicago was quiet. Luke played on his tablet with headphones in while I set my music low and zoned out while driving.

I pulled into my parents’ driveway right at five p.m. Marcos’s black truck was already parked on the street in front of the house, three doors opened immediately as I pulled in.

Luke jumped out of the Civic as soon as the car was in park. He tossed his tablet and headphones to the seat next to him, and greeted his dad loudly, running toward the truck.

I sighed and took my time undoing my seat belt.

I was sure I looked like crap, my hair a mess and my eyes were likely bloodshot.

I had spent the drive lost in thought with tears swimming in my vision every now and then.

Between the chat with my sister that morning and my appointment with my therapist the morning before, my nerves were fried.

I really didn’t want to sit through a family dinner with my ex-boyfriends when my walls were crumbled around me. I was too raw, too fucking emotional. I ignored the rowdy boys at the end of the driveway and popped the trunk on the Civic.

Climbing out of the car, I steeled my spine, but kept my head down. I really didn’t want to draw attention to myself, at least not until I managed to grab a shower and clean up. “Mom!” Luke called out as we walked up the driveway.

Forcing a smile on my face, I glanced over my shoulder at the four guys walking my way. “Yeah, babe,” I called back.

“Dad brought pizzas!” Luke’s enthusiasm always warmed my heart.

“That’s great!” I said, grabbing my duffle bag out of the trunk and slinging it over my shoulder. “Why don’t you help me unload the car really quick, then you can find plates and silverware for your dad. I’m gonna take a quick shower.”

“Sure mom!”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I grabbed my pillow and headed for the front door.

It wasn’t until I was behind my closed bedroom door, did I finally let my shoulders fall.

This was going to be an epic nightmare. I was going to have to get my walls up and cemented quick, or I was going to have a break-down during dinner.

Marcos

The guys and I followed Luke and Maya into the house. Maya immediately headed for her bedroom to shower, leaving Luke to help the guys set up pizza and gather plates and silverware. “How was your weekend, bud?” I asked my son.

Luke grinned broadly. “It was great. I hung out with my cousins and got to see all my old friends. Mom invited them to come down here to visit down here for my birthday.”

I paused, “And when’s your birthday again?”

“November 11 th . It’s on a Saturday this year.

Mom was going to talk to you about plans, but she was thinking my friends might be able to come down too.

” Luke’s excitement warmed my heart, even if I was annoyed to not have been included in the initial planning stages.

It would be my first birthday with his son.

Was it asking too much to want to spend the day alone with my kid, without a bunch of strangers hanging around?

I plastered a smile on my face for my son’s sake, though. “Yeah, I’ll talk to your mom and we’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks dad! I really want you to meet all my friends! And my Chicago friends to meet my friends here!”

Sensing my mood, Nico spoke up. “What else did you guys do when you were in Chicago? Did your mom go meet any old friends?”

“No,” Luke shook his head. “She hung around Aunt Jenna most of the time, but she did go see her therapist on Saturday morning.”

“Therapist?” Nico asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Mom’s been seeing one for a while now. She says she gets sad sometimes or overwhelmed and that it helps to talk to someone.”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering what that was all about. I shared a look with Jason while Nico kept the conversation going with Luke. “Yeah, that sounds helpful. Does your mom get sad a lot?”

Luke’s shoulders dropped and he looked away from Nico to stare out the window.

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly. “She gets really scared sometimes. Usually after she finds flowers on her car. I think someone leaves them for her. She gets really freaked out and then I usually hear her crying her room later. She doesn’t want me to know she’s upset, but then she’s sad for days after. ”

My whole body tensed. “When was the last time this happened?” I tried to keep my voice even and not spook my son, but my blood pressure was rising quickly.

“I dunno, a couple weeks ago maybe? The day we picked up my football equipment, there was a bouquet of yellow flowers on the car when we got back to it. Mom seemed really scared. She doesn’t seem happy that we moved here…

” Luke’s voice trailed off. He dropped his gaze to his hands and sighed. “I think she was happier in Chicago.”

“Did the flowers ever happen in Chicago?” Nico asked, setting a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

“No, I don’t think so. Not that I know of anyways. Like I said, Mom seemed happier there.”

I swallowed thickly, my warning bells ringing in my head—something wasn’t right with this picture. I shared a look with Nico then turned to Jason.

Jason was staring at Luke with narrowed eyes, his head tilted slightly, like he was trying figure out a puzzle.

“It’s possible your mom was happier in Chicago,” Nico hedged. “There’s a lot going on here. Your grandparents’ accident was hard on your mom, and she’s still dealing with that.”

“Grandma isn’t very nice to her either.” Luke spoke softly glancing around to make sure that Elaine wasn’t around. “And I know mom worries about money. I was honestly surprised she was able to pay for my football. I know it was really expensive.”

I had to grind my molars not to react to that. Maya hadn’t said a word to me about money trouble. She hadn’t said a word to me about a lot it seemed.

“What’s child support?” Luke asked, turning to look at me.

I had to take a moment to gather my thoughts, but Nico beat him to it. “It’s when one parent pays money to help the other parent take care of their child.”

“Oh.” Luke doesn’t look at me, but I can see the wheels turning in his head.

“Usually, child support is set up through the courts, meaning a judge tells which parent is allowed to raise the child and the other pays to support that. Your mom and I never set that up, because she’s done such an amazing job raising you.”

“And you didn’t know about me,” Luke deadpanned.

I nodded immediately. “And I didn’t know about you. I also didn’t know your mom was struggling. But that won’t happen anymore, ok? You don’t worry about it; those are grown up problems. I’ll talk to your mom and we’ll figure it out.”

Luke nodded solemnly.

“What else did you guys do this weekend? Anything fun?” Jason asked, changing the subject.

“Aunt Jenna took us to play laser tag while mom was at therapy! It was awesome! I totally killed my cousin Chase.”

Nico, Jason, and I all laughed at his enthusiasm. I faintly heard the click of a door opening down the hall, signaling that Maya was done with her shower. “Come on, let’s get food.”