Page 85 of Creed

I wanted to believe that it was all lies, but I couldn’t deny that it was a possibility. It would certainly explain a lot. But I saw the look in his eyes when I told him about that night. I heard the mix of anger and regret in his voice.

In my heart, I simply couldn’t believe that he was behind it.

But my head wasn’t so sure.

And I had no idea what I was going to do about it.

19

CREED

“Roses,” I told the woman on the other end of the line. “Doesn’t need to be a whole damn bouquet. Just enough to let her know I’m thinking about her.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

“And I need a basket of her favorite snacks.”

I didn’t normally do this kind of shit. I was more of a hands-on type of guy, but things were feeling off, and I was scrambling to fix it. I was late calling Devin, and even though she said she understood, there was hesitation in her voice that made me think otherwise.

She was pretending that everything was fine, but something was up. I could feel it. I pressed her, hoping she would tell me what was going on, but no such luck.

Regardless, I knew something was bothering her, and since I couldn’t head over there, I decided to send something over to the house. I thought it might lighten her mood or something. At least, I hoped it would.

The florist came back on the line and asked, “Do you have a list or something?”

“Yeah, she likes all kinds of stuff. Sour Patch Kids. Twizzlers. Reese’s. M&Ms. Takis. Cheetos. Pretzels.” I figured I’d throw in a couple of things for the kids, too. I knew they’d be all about it. “Whatever will work.”

“I can do that. When do you need it?”

“As soon as possible.”

“I can do it within the hour, but it’ll be extra.”

“Do it.”

“Okay. I’ll need the address and what you want me to write on the card.”

I gave her the address to Devin’s office and paused only a second before saying, “Keep the card simple.Hope this brought a smile.”

“Sure thing.”

I ended the call and took a moment to catch my breath.

It had been a rough couple of days. The mess with Gabby had done a number on us all, especially when she confirmed my suspicions about Devin’s ex. He’d beaten her and coerced her, and that shit didn’t fly with any of us. But we knew he wasn’t done. Hell, it was just the beginning.

It was why we’d spent the better part of the night clearing out the clubhouse and making sure we were ready for any possible visitors, and it was a good thing we did. Just as we were wrapping up, Preacher got a call from one of his informants, letting him know that a request had been made for a warrant on both the Vault and the clubhouse.

He was coming.

And even though it pissed us all off, we were ready for him.

At eight the following morning, we got the call that they were at the Vault’s front door. Preach and I headed over, and sure enough, Detective Maddox was standing front and center with his warrant in hand.

“Hello, boys.” He had that smug, self-satisfied look on his face as he said, “Creed, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I got that warrant.”