Page 27 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

CREED

D evin:

You still awake?

Me:

I am.

Devin:

It’s late.

You should be asleep.

Me:

Why you texting me then?

Devin:

Maybe I missed you.

Me:

Maybe I missed you, too.

Devin:

Ah, look at him being all sweet.

Me :

Don’t push it woman.

You’re talking to a man with little sleep over here.

Devin:

Flirt

Me:

Not flirting. Just truth.

Can’t sleep.

This bed’s too damn empty without you in it.

Devin :

Mine feels pretty empty, too.

Me :

We need to rectify that.

Devin:

Won’t be much longer.

Me:

I’m done waiting.

Devin:

Oh, really? And what exactly are you planning to do about it?

My thumb hovered over the keyboard as I stared at her message, smirking like an idiot in the dark. I could lie. I could keep it light and tell her I’ll deal. But we’re past that now. I wanted something more, and I had a feeling she felt the same.

Me:

You’ll see soon enough.

Devin:

Oh?

Me:

I want you in my bed every night, Dev.

Not just on the weekends.

Three blinking dots pop up, disappear, come back again. I can picture her in her bed, biting her lip, debating what to say.

Devin:

You’re serious?

Me:

Dead serious.

Get some sleep, beautiful.

We’ll talk soon.

Devin:

Goodnight, Jameson.

Me:

Night, baby.

I set the phone on the nightstand and stared at the ceiling. I’d meant what I said. My bed felt empty without her. I needed to get a fucking grip. The fact was, she was it for me. Always had been.

And the time had come for me to do something about it.

The next morning, I took my time getting up.

Took a shower and made some breakfast, and then, I got busy doing all the shit I’d been putting off.

Laundry. The lawn. The dishes. Hell, the place was a mess, and it was almost noon before I got it all done.

Once I started the dishwasher, I grabbed my cut and drove over to the Black Crown.

Sergei was still monitoring the situation with his Russian mafia friends, and from what I could gather, there hadn’t been any new revelations. They had interest in the casino. There was no question about that, but as of now, they hadn’t acted on it and there was a possibility they wouldn’t.

We were all hoping for the latter, but we were taking precautions.

Sergei and Viktor had upped the security, and we were doing our best to monitor things on our end. So far, all was well, so I was hoping for a quiet afternoon. I just planned to check in with the boys and make sure their shifts were covered, and then, I was going to head over to the Vault.

I’d barely made it through the front door when Memphis rushed up and said, “Hey, brother. I was just about to call ya. There’s a girl here to see you.”

“Who?”

“No idea,” he said, giving me a shrug. “But she’s in rough shape, man.”

“Alright.” My stomach tightened as I stood. “Where is she?”

“Took her to the staff lounge, got her something to eat and drink.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah.” He grimaced. “That bad.”

I didn’t waste another second.

I pushed through the door and down the hall to the staff lounge area.

When I walked in, I found Gabby sitting at one of the tables.

She was clutching a soda like it was the only thing keeping her upright.

She looked like she hadn’t showered in days, and she had a black eye and a busted lip.

Her clothes were disheveled, and she had no shoes on her feet.

Damn it.

I crossed the room and sat down in front of her, trying to keep my voice steady as I said, “Hey, Gabby.”

“Hey,” she answered, looking like she was barely hanging on. “I was looking for you.”

“I know. I’ve been looking for you, too. I was worried about you. I’ve been by your place a couple of times, but I haven’t been able to track you down.”

“I was lying low. Been staying with a couple of friends, but that didn’t stop him.” She looked up, and her eyes were red and filled with tears. “He still found me.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know.” Her shoulders started shaking, and the tears fell. “I don’t know his name. I just know he’d been looking for me since that night. Been asking around my crew, trying to find out where I was. He kept flashing his badge and trying to scare them into talking.”

“This guy was a cop?”

She nodded. “He had a badge and everything.”

I motioned my hand towards her face as I asked, “And he did that to you?”

She nodded again, and fear riddled her voice as she said, “He was crazy, man. Like off his rocker kind of crazy.”

“What the hell did he want?”

“Wanted to know what happened that night. He kept asking who was there and where it happened. The car. The guys. He wanted to know what happened to them. He kept at it. Asking over and over again. Kept smacking me around.” Her voice cracked as she admitted, “So, I—I told him.”

“You told him what?”

“ Everything .” It was hard to keep from coming unglued as I sat there waiting for her to drop the bomb I knew was coming. “About those guys drugging me and trying to take me and how you stopped ‘em.”

Dread washed over me when I asked, “And how’d you tell him I stopped them?”

“Told him you fought ‘em and beat the hell out of ‘em before you locked ‘em in the trunk.”

“Who’d you tell him I was?”

“That you were a biker named Creed.”

“Damn.”

I let out a breath, and she lost it. She covered her face and started sobbing.

“I’m sorry. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but I didn’t know what else to do.

He hurt me, and he said he’d have me arrested for drugs and prostitution if I didn’t tell him everything.

He told me I’d go to jail… I’m so sorry. ”

“Fuck.”

I was doing my best to remember that she was just a kid and none of this was her fault, but it was rough. She’d just fucked me and the club. I was trying to think of how to play it when she said, “There’s something else.”

“Ah, shit. What else?”

“He wanted me to tell you something.” She hesitated for a moment, then said, “He said you’ve been fucking around in his backyard, and now, he’s about to fuck around in yours.”

That sounded like a fucking threat, and that had my blood boiling. I stood and looked down at her as I said, “We’ll handle him.”

“You think you can?”

“I know I can,” I told her, biting back my fury. “You hang here for a bit, and I’m gonna make some calls.”

“Okay.”

I stepped out of the lounge, closing the door quietly behind me. I pulled out my phone and dialed Preacher. As soon as he answered, I told him, “We've got a problem.”

“That seems to be the theme of the day,” Preacher groaned. “What is it now?”

“The girl from that night at the Vault just showed up here, and some cop’s done a real number on her.”

“A cop?”

“Yeah, she said he was asking questions about that night and what happened to the guys who tried to take her.”

“And what’d she tell ‘em?”

“Everything.”

“Damn.”

“There’s more.” I drew my hand into a fist as I added, “This cop told her to give me a message. Said that I’d been fucking around in his backyard, and now, he was about to fuck around in mine.”

“The fuck? Who the hell is this asshole?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Bring her to the clubhouse, and we’ll let Shep have a run at her. Maybe he can piece something together.”

“I can do that, but it’s going to take him some time. This guy wasn’t afraid to make a threat. We need to be ready in case he follows through on it.”

“The Vault is good. We already made sure of that. We need to do the same at the clubhouse. I’ll get the boys to move everything over to the storage unit out east.”

“And what do you want to do about the girl?”

“What are you thinking?”

“She’s pretty rattled, and she’s on her own. Doesn’t have anyone to fall back on. Need to find her somewhere to hide out until this thing blows over.”

“You trust this girl.”

“Got no reason not to, but you never know.”

“I’ll put her up at the stables with Misty. She can keep an eye on her until we can figure something out.”

“Sounds good. We’ll see you in ten.”

I ended the call and stepped back into the staff lounge. Gabby was still sitting at the table, clutching the half-empty can of soda, and she looked just as freaked out as she had when I first spoke to her, only this time, it looked like she’d been crying. “You okay?”

“No.” The tears started streaming. “I didn’t ask for none of this. I didn’t do nothing. It wasn’t my fault those two assholes tried to take me.”

She was right.

None of this was her fault, but that didn’t stop it from happening. And now, we had to find a way to put an end to it. I wanted to ease her mind, but I couldn’t. I had no idea how this shit was going to play out, so I told her, “I know you’re scared, but you’re gonna be okay.”

“Yeah, right.”

“We’re going over to the clubhouse. We’ll get you a shower and some clean clothes and some shoes, and you’ll be safe there.”

While hesitant, she nodded and got to her feet. I led her out front, and she followed me out without a word. We drove to the clubhouse in silence, but I was watching her. Every time a car would pass, her eyes would dart to the windows, like she was waiting for someone to show up and drag her back.

I had a hundred questions rolling through my head, and as much as I wanted to push her for answers, I knew it wasn’t the time.

She was already shaken up, and I didn’t need to make matters worse by saying something that might spook her.

Besides, Shep and Grim would know how to pull information without breaking her any more than she already was.

When we pulled in, it looked like utter chaos but looks were deceiving.

While rare, we’d been in situations like these before, and the brothers knew exactly what they were doing.

They had prospects loading crates into the SUVs, clearing out anything that might get us heat if the wrong badge decided to poke around.

They did what they were told and worked fast, quiet, and efficiently.

Preacher was waiting by the back door with Shep and Grim, and all three were stone-faced as I led Gabby inside.

We didn’t waste time. After a quick introduction, we went straight to the conference room.

Gabby lowered herself into one of the chairs, and Shep grimaced when he got a better look at her face and bare feet.

He knelt in front of her and kept his voice low and calm as he told her, “We’re gonna help you, Gabby. But we’re going to need you to help us sort through some things.”

“Okay.”

“So, Creed told us that a cop was asking questions about what happened to you that night?”

“Yeah. He wanted to know what happened to the guys who tried to take me.”

“Okay. Slow down a bit. I need you to tell me where he picked you up.”

Her voice was small, trembling. “Outside the gas station on Fifth. He said he’d give me a ride.”

“What’d this guy look like?” Grim asked, sounding on edge.

“Tall and kind of muscular. He had dark hair and was wearing slacks and a white shirt. He had… he had a badge.”

She kept talking, words pouring out like water through a crack. “Once I got in the car, he locked the doors and drove down this dark alley. He started asking about that night at the Vault. I told him I didn’t want to talk about that, and he started hitting me.”

She kept rambling on. But I didn’t hear anything she said. I was stuck on the description.

Tall.

Muscular.

Dark Hair.

Slacks and a white shirt.

And just like that, the pieces started clicking together and cold settled in my bones.

Maddox.

Motherfucker.