Page 5 of Brandishing Betrayals (Devil’s Psychos MC #2)

Maya

I heard the Harley from a block away. Luke was laying on the couch, head in my lap, and completely zonked out. The TV played softly, some Marvel movie or something. I had been reading on my Kindle since he turned the movie on.

The Harley engine grew louder, until it cut off down the driveway. Marcos knew my parents went to bed early, so he parked his bike at the end. It was a few a minutes before he walked up to the door. He paused in the picture window, looking into the living room.

I waved him in, unable to get up and answer the door for him. He was quiet as he entered, pulling the screen door shut softly, not letting it slam. He was equally quiet as he closed the heavy wooden door and turned to face me.

I watched him carefully. There was something different about him tonight—something softer. “When did he pass out?” he asked softly, his voice deep.

“About an hour ago.”

Marcos nodded and bent over to untie his boots.

I watched him warily; I didn’t want him to stay. I needed him to leave in fact and soon. “What are you doing?” I asked, when I couldn’t take it any longer.

“I’ll put him to bed for you, so you don’t have to wake him,” Marcos said, not looking up from his laces.

I went to say something, but stopped, and closed my mouth. It would be nice for him to move Luke to bed without waking him up. God knew it had been years since I had been able to carry him to bed.

I set down my Kindle as Marcos walked toward me.

When he slid his hands under Luke’s body and carefully lifted Luke into his arms. My heart fluttered as I watched the careful concentration on Marcos’s handsome face.

He was thinner than I remembered, his cheeks no longer as full as they had been ten years ago.

At forty-one, Marcos was only getting more attractive with age: the hard edge of his jaw and sharp lines of his goatee, his dark chocolate eyes that were dark as night.

He was broad-shouldered and corded with muscle, his leather cut hung to his frame, and the muscles in his back rolled as he lifted Lucas effortlessly from the couch.

I stood up and walked in front of him, leading the way down the hall. I pulled the blankets down on Luke’s bed and stepped out of the way, giving Marcos room to lay Luke into bed.

Once Marcos pulled the covers up around his son, he pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before he stood up. He didn’t leave turn to leave though. He hovered over Luke a moment, just watching him, before he slowly stepped back.

I waited in the doorway, leaning against the frame, watching him.

It broke my heart seeing how tender and careful Marcos was with Lucas.

He was a great father already, in such a short period of time.

I hated that he missed out on the first nine years, hated that he wasn’t able to be with Luke full-time.

Before Marcos turned for the door, I turned around first and headed back to the living room. I took a seat on the couch again and picked up my Kindle. Marcos didn’t stay once Luke was down, so I opened my book and started reading while Marcos took his time in the bedroom.

I glanced up when he stopped in front of me.

He was looking down at me… for the first time in months, he met my gaze.

I couldn’t decipher the emotion on his face.

Gone was the blank mask or his blatant annoyance when I was around, instead there was a questioning look and a slight frown on his face… like he was trying to figure me out.

I kept my features neutral and waited for him to speak up. He opened his mouth to say something, but then there was a buzz from his pocket—his cellphone vibrating.

Whatever peaceful calm that had settled over him while in my home had vanished the moment the phone buzzed. He turned away from me and shook his head. He reached into his pocket as he headed for his boots by the front door. “Yeah,” he answered his phone with a grunt.

I watched him slid his feet into his unlaced boots, not bothering to lace them.

“I’ll be right there.” He didn’t even bother to turn back or acknowledge me, he just turned for the front door and walked out, quietly shutting it behind him.

I glared at the door. Somedays I really hated him. He treated me like I wasn’t there. It drove me crazy. I didn’t know what to do…if there was anything I could do.

I shook my head and stood up and walked to the front door. I flipped the deadbolt, letting the snick and click of the bolt sliding home echo through my soul. A finality.

I left him . I needed to remind myself of that fact. I left him for a damn good reason, and that reason was sleeping down the hallway. I would have to harden my heart and get over my feelings when he was around. He would be around a lot moving forward.

It was the only way I would survive, the only way I had been surviving the last ten years. I pushed back my shoulders and steeled my spine. I could do this, I had already come so far, I could keep my walls up and keep moving.

Maya

The yellow carnation was tucked under the wiper blade of my beat up Honda Civic. One simple, beautiful flower in a happy shade of yellow. It looked friendly and nonthreatening…but I knew better.

The sight alone, chilled the blood in my veins. Ice trailed down my spine as I froze in my tracks. My heart pounded in my chest as my breaths came out in short pants.

This wasn’t happening…This cannot be happening.

“Mom?” Luke asked from beside me, his voice cutting through my alarmed distress.

Startled, I shrieked and flinched away from his voice.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Luke asked, turning to face me. The nine-year-old boy was immediately on alert.

My hand flew to my chest and I gasped for breath as I turned toward my son. He looked worried, scared even. Lucas reached for my hand and I pulled him toward me. “Come on, let’s go,” I ordered, my voice sharp.

I looked around the main street frantically, searching for any sign of anyone watching—any sign of him watching. I pushed Luke toward the car all while pulling my keys out of my pocket and scanning the street.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Luke questioned, clearly frightened and picking up on my distress.

“Get in the car, Luke. Now,” I ordered, pushing him toward the vehicle.

He moved quickly and climbed in the backseat without another word. I tossed my bags in the passenger seat and quickly climb in the beat-up old car. I glanced around the busy main street again, before I pulled out of the parallel space and onto the street.

“Mom, you’re scaring me,” Luke said softly from the back seat. “Why is there a flower on the windshield?”

I hadn’t removed it. I had left it there and drove off as quickly as I could. Now, driving down the street with a stupid yellow carnation under my wiper blade, I knew I couldn’t stop. I had to get out of there, get far away from Mourningside as I could…only I couldn’t.

I had my parents to take care of—the whole reason I moved back to Mourningside in the first place. I had hoped after ten years he wouldn’t care about me any longer, not since I kept my mouth shut all this time. I had done what he asked.

I’d proven at this point that I wouldn’t talk… why was he harassing me again?

I didn’t stop driving until I pulled into the long driveway of my parents’ house. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel and I was barely breathing when I shut the engine off.

“Mom?” Luke asked softly from the backseat.

“Yeah, baby?” I asked, hanging my head. I finally released the steering while and took a deep breath.

“What’s going on?”

I took another deep breath and let it out slowly.

I leaned back in my seat and forced myself to relax.

No one had followed us, I hadn’t seen anyone in the street, I was relatively safe at the moment.

“I’m sorry I startled you honey. The flower was just a surprise…

from an old friend. I didn’t mean to frighten you.

” I put a brave smile on my face before I turned to face him.

Luke eyed me skeptically. He wasn’t stupid. He was nine years old and wise beyond his years—an old soul as I often referred to him—he would see right through my bullshit if I wasn’t careful. “You were terrified, mom,” Luke said softly.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, baby. Let’s just get your equipment in the house. We can order a pizza for dinner and watch that new action hero movie you were talking about.”

“Alright! But no peperoni!” Luke shouted, before he threw open his car door and climbed out.

I pushed the button to release the trunk before I too climbed out of the car. I grabbed my purse and groceries bags. I doubled checked for my phone before I closed my door, just as Luke finished in the trunk and shut the lid closed.

We made our way into the house, trying to be as quiet as possible when we walked in.

My parents usually took afternoon naps together, as much as they could with my father in a hospital bed.

My mother had pushed her twin bed up next to my father’s, after we’d removed the king-sized bed, to make room for the hospital bed.

My mother made it work though.

I quickly unloaded the groceries while Luke put all his new football pads and gear away. It was supposed to be a fun summer day. We had hit the football pre-camp equipment pick up, met the coaching staff, and Luke had seen a couple of his friends from the day-camp he went to while I worked.

I had been able to meet the moms of his friends and exchange numbers; we even set up a playdate for the boys the following weekend at the local pool.

Then Luke and I, had hit the grocery store for some odds and ends things we wanted, plus the ice cream that Luke had requested.

We had talked about going rollerblading or bike riding that afternoon, depending on how my parents were, but now I wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

Fucking hell man… I’d been back in Mourningside nine months now. Nine months and I’d had no sign that HE even knew I was back. HE lived in Creekton anyways, not Mourningside.