Page 28 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

DEVIN

I was elbow-deep in laundry, my hair was up in a messy bun, and I had no plans to do anything but go to bed early and read my book when the front door swung open, and Laura appeared in my living room.

She was wearing short athletic shorts and a tank top, and she was sporting a rather large bottle of wine. “You dirty little slut.”

“What?” I gasped, dropping the towel I was folding. “Why am I a dirty slut?”

“Oh, you know.” She glanced around the living room as she asked, “Where are the kids?”

“At Brian’s.”

“Good.” She charged past me with her wine and giant tote and ordered, “You. Kitchen. Now.”

“Oh God.”

“Don’t ‘oh God’ me, Devin,” she said, dropping the wine bottle and tote on the counter. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

“About what?” I asked as I reached for the glasses.

“Jameson… Creed... Whatever you call him these days.”

“Oh.”

“I can’t believe you!” I pressed my lips together, fighting a smile as I took the wine from her and started pouring. “You’ve been back with him for who knows how long, and I had to find out from your mother? I’m your best friend.”

“I was going to tell you, but...”

“But you didn’t!”

“Maybe I was trying to avoid the theatrics.”

“Don’t get smart with me.” She snatched a glass and took a big sip before sitting down on one of the stools. “Start talking and don’t leave out anything.”

I took a breath and leaned against the counter with a smile. “I’m not gonna lie. It’s been good, Laura. Really good.”

I took a few minutes and tried my best to fill her in on the past couple of months, and she hung on my every word.

And it meant the world to me. Laura had always been my closest friend and biggest supporter.

I don’t think I would’ve made it through those last few years with Brian if I hadn’t had her to lean on.

She’d heard all the stories about me and Jameson from our earlier years. She knew he’d hurt me, and she had no problem of reminding me of that fact any chance she could. She didn’t seem to care that I’d done some of the hurting myself. She was protective that way.

So, I wasn’t surprised when she said, “It was good before. You were head over heels for him, and it all fell apart. What makes you think this time will be different?”

My chest tightened, and my eyes dropped to my glass. I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew exactly what made it different. But saying it out loud made me feel like I might burst the little bubble we’d created. I knew she wasn’t going to let it go, so I said it. “I’m not a cop anymore.”

“Yeah, but I don’t get it.” Laura tilted her head. “Why does that matter? Why did it ever matter?”

“I don’t know,” I lied, swirling the wine in my glass.

“I think you do.” She leaned in, her tone gentle but firm. “I think you know it has something to do with that club. It’s why he never took you there or let you meet any of them. He was afraid you’d finally see that something was up.”

I opened my mouth to deflect, but nothing came out. Instead, I let out a shaky breath and lowered my eyes. “I thought the same thing until I actually met them and got to know them.”

Laura’s eyes softened, but she didn’t back down. “And?”

“They’re nothing like you’d think they’d be. They’re funny and smart and… they’re good people.” I looked over at her as I said, “And their women are impressive. Tallie is a lawyer. Jenna is such a good mother, and Tabitha has this massive barn where she helps neglected horses. Who does that?”

“They sound pretty cool.”

“They are cool.” I giggled under my breath when I thought back to Jameson referring to himself as a cool dude. He was right. About more than I’d realized. “They’re like one big family.”

“That doesn’t mean there’s not something shady going on.”

“No, it doesn’t.” I took another sip of wine, letting the warmth settle over me. “But for the first time in a long time, I feel like I can breathe. I’m not constantly waiting for the next call or the next face I couldn’t save. I’m happy. I’m happy loving him and letting him love me back.”

She watched me for a moment, then reached over and put her hand on mine. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. Not like you did before.”

“I know.” I squeezed back. “But I think this is where I’m supposed to be.”

“Then I guess I’m gonna need to get to know these biker boys.”

“Yes, you will,” I answered with a giggle. “And they are gonna love you, but you’ll have to watch out for Goose. He’s a big ole flirt.”

“Is he hot?”

“Yeah, he’s attractive, and totally your type.”

“And what’s my type?”

“Trouble with a sexy smile.”

She took another big sip of wine before saying, “Oh, yeah. I’m gonna need to meet the Goose fella.”

“I’ll bring you the next time they have a gathering at the clubhouse.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” Her brows furrowed as she said, “Wait a minute. It’s Saturday night, and you don’t have the kids. Why aren’t you with Mr. Wonderful tonight?”

“He had to work, but he’s going to try to stop by later tonight.

” I glanced over at the clock and was surprised to find that it was almost eleven.

I’d expected to hear from him by now, so I grabbed my phone from the counter and checked to see if I’d had any messages. When I didn’t, I mumbled, “Hmph.”

“What? Something wrong?”

“No, I was just…”

Without finishing my thought, I sent Jameson a message:

Me:

Hey.

Everything okay?

Jameson:

Been a busy one.

Not looking like I’m going to make it by there tonight.

Me:

Okay. No worries.

I hope things settle down soon.

Jameson:

Me too. Sorry about tonight.

I’ll make it up to you.

Me:

It’s fine.

Laura stopped by with a bottle of wine.

Jameson:

Ah. Now I know why my ears have been burning.

Me:

I might’ve talked about you a little.

Jameson:

Good things, I hope.

Me:

Mostly.

Jameson:

Mostly?

Devin:

You have nothing to worry about.

Jameson:

Good.

You girls behave now.

Me:

I make no promises

Jameson:

I’ll call you tomorrow

Me:

Okay. Goodnight.

Jameson:

Night, babe.

I put my phone down, and when I looked up, I found Laura staring at me with a big smirk on her face. “What?”

“Oh, you’ve got it bad, girl.”

“I know. I can’t help it.” I let out a breath. “This man gives me all the feels. He always has.”

“Does he have a brother?”

“He has plenty,” I giggled. “And you will meet them all soon enough.”

“I can’t wait.”

Laura and I finished off her bottle of wine, and another that we’d grabbed from my secret stash.

We talked and laughed for hours, and for a short while, the world outside had gone quiet.

I hadn’t meant to drink as much as I did, but Laura had a habit of topping off my glass when I wasn’t looking.

By the time it was well after midnight, we were both feeling the effects, so Laura decided to skip the drive home and crash on the sofa.

“You need to make sure Mr. Wonderful knows that you and I come as a set,” she’d declared, pulling the throw blanket over herself dramatically. “He can’t have you without me.”

“I’ll let him know.”

“You better. Because you’re mine first.” She closed her eyes and rolled to her side with a huff. “I’ll share and all, but only if he plays nice.”

“Noted. Now, get some sleep.”

She let out a yawn and a mumble, and I knew she was already halfway there. I turned out the light and slipped off to my room. I slipped on my pajamas, and I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. The next morning, she was up and gone before I even got out of bed.

She left a note on the counter:

Had fun, lightweight.

Can’t wait to meet your sexy biker and his brothers.

Love ya- Laura

I smiled and shook my head as I dropped it on the table next to the grocery list I still hadn’t tackled. I would get to it, along with the laundry, but I needed coffee first. So, I started a fresh pot and got to work.

I spent the next few hours cleaning up the kitchen, folding the laundry that had been in the basket for a day, and finishing all the little tasks I hadn’t gotten to the night before.

As I scurried around the house, I found myself wondering about Jameson. I hadn’t heard from him since our last few texts, and even though it shouldn’t have bothered me, it did.

I kept telling myself he was probably busy and that he would call when he could, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It would have been so easy to call him and ask him flat out what was going on. It might’ve eased the worry twisting in my stomach, but I resisted the urge.

I’d promised myself this time would be different.

I would try my best not to always think the worst.

I would believe that he wouldn’t put me off unless he had to. That one was tough, especially with that gnawing feeling in my gut. But I managed.

I kept myself busy right up until I heard Brian’s truck pull into the driveway. I walked over and opened the front door, watching as they grabbed their things from the back and started up the sidewalk.

It felt good seeing their adorable faces coming towards me, but that little uplifting moment quickly vanished when I saw that Brian was following them up the walk.

Damn. He usually just dropped them and drove away, and I really wished he would’ve done the same today. I was in no mood for his bullshit.

“Hey, Mom.”

Chrissy gave me a quick hug before darting into the house. Austin followed behind, pretending he was too old for hugs. “Hey, Bud. How was the weekend?”

“It was alright.”

He gave me one of his looks that let me know that it was anything but alright, and then, he eased past me and made his way into the house.

Brian stood there with his arms crossed, glaring at me with one of his disapproving expressions.

I hated how easily that look could still rattle me.

It had a way of pulling me right back into that place where everything felt like it was my fault.

It was a place I’d worked hard to get away from, and I wasn’t going back. “What do you want, Brian?”

“We need to talk.”

“About?”

“I know you’re back with him.” There was no missing the annoyance in his voice as he said, “I saw his motorcycle parked in the driveway last week.”

He was pissed, but I knew he would be. I knew how he felt about Jameson, and it had to be eating him alive that I was seeing him again. But that was his problem. Not mine. “My personal life is none of your business.”

“It became my business the second you brought that trash around my kids.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Brooklyn isn’t a fucking criminal, Devin,” he snarled. “You think I’m gonna just sit back and let you play house with this guy and my kids.”

“In case you forgot, they’re my kids, too.”

“You’d think you’d remember that when you brought this guy around them. You were a cop once, remember? Did you forget what happens to people who get too close to trash like that?”

“You don’t know anything about him.”

“I know more than you think.” His eyes narrowed. “He and that club of his are being investigated.”

“Investigated for what?”

“ Trafficking.” He answered so final and so confident, and it hit me like a punch to the gut. And he wasn’t done. “We have reason to believe that they’re behind that night at the mattress warehouse.”

“That’s not possible.”

“But it is,” he countered. “They had an attempted abduction over at the Vault just a few weeks ago.”

“That’s not true.”

“Damn. You’re so fucking hard-headed.” I tried to step back, but he moved with me. “You need to end this and end it now.”

“Or what?”

“I’ll take them from you, Devin. Don’t think for a second I won’t. And I won’t have to work hard to do it. You know how easy it would be to prove you’re putting those kids in danger just by knowing this guy, much less fucking him.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would, and I will.” His smile was cruel, satisfied, as he took a step back and cocked his brow. “Think about it, Devin. Because the next time we talk about this, it won’t be on your porch.”

And then he turned and started back towards his truck like it was any other day—like he hadn’t just gutted me. I stood there for a moment, clutching the doorframe, trying to catch my breath, when I heard the kids talking in the kitchen.

They didn’t know that their father had just threatened to take them from me. They didn’t know that he’d just pulled the rug from under my feet and broken my heart. I had no idea what I was going to do if Brian decided to make good on his threat.

I couldn’t lose my kids.

I wouldn’t.

They were my everything, and I would put my life on the line for them.

They knew that, and Brian knew it, too. He was using them against me.

I don’t know if he would actually go through with trying to take them from me, but the fact that he would go so far as to tell me that Jameson and his brothers were involved in trafficking and had a part to play in that night told me a lot.

I don’t know if it was true or not.

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.