Page 29 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

CREED

“ R oses,” 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.”

“Good for you.”

“We’ll be searching the entire grounds.”

I cocked my brow. “Do what you gotta do.”

The asshole actually thought he was finally getting one over on us.

Preacher and I stood there, arms crossed and pissed as hell, watching as he and his team swept inside.

They searched every inch of the place, from the VIP rooms to the storage closets, flipping cushions, checking under counters, and even pulling up loose tiles in the office.

Nothing.

Because there was nothing to find, we’d made sure of it.

That didn’t stop Maddox from trying to rattle cages. He kept shooting me looks, like he was waiting for me to flinch.

I didn’t.

When they were done tearing through the place, Maddox came up to me and announced, “I’m going to need that camera footage.”

I gave him a nod and led him into the security room. He was practically salivating as his computer tech started trying to retrieve the footage. But there was no footage. “It’s not here. The footage only goes back to ten last night.”

“Where the hell is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s not here.”

“Clearly.” Maddox glared at Shep. “You know it’s a felony to tamper with evidence.”

“Is that right?”

“Holds hefty fines and time in the slammer.”

“Damn, that’s rough, but no tampering here.” Shep stepped forward and shrugged. “It must’ve been a glitch or something.”

“Bullshit.”

“See for yourself.”

Maddox pushed past his guy, and the blood drained from his face when he saw that the system came up blank. It was a look I wouldn’t soon forget. He tried to cover it with a smirk, but I could see it in his eyes. Asshole was pissed.

“Mighty lucky glitch.”

“No luck about it,” I told him flatly.

I held his stare as he stood and stepped away from the computer. He stopped, just for a second, and that mask he’d been wearing slipped. It was only for a second, but I saw him. He was just a fucking prick who was hiding behind his badge and using it to cover his tracks.

His smirk returned as he said, “We’ll be needing access to the clubhouse next.”

“The clubhouse wasn’t on the warrant,” Preacher bit back.

“No, but you can save us both the trouble and just give us what we need.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“No matter. We’ll have it in a few hours.” He gave me a wink, then turned and started out of the room. “Tell Devin I said hello.”

Motherfucker.

I was about to lunge for him when Grim reached out and grabbed my arm, holding me back as Maddox led his crew towards the front door.

It took everything in me not to go and beat the ever-loving fuck out of him.

The only thing truly stopping me was knowing that I would get him as soon as he was off the clock.

And when I did, he’d find out exactly what happened when you tried to threaten what was mine.

We all walked out front and watched as they piled back into their cars and drove away. I wanted to think that was the end of it, but I knew better. This douchebag was going to keep pushing, but that was okay. Because I was going to push right back.

Half an hour later, we were back at the clubhouse and in Shep’s office, searching for anything we could find on Maddox and his partner.

I hadn’t even had a chance to check up on Devin.

But I’d managed to get a call into her and placed the order for her roses.

It wasn’t much, but for the time being, it was the best I could do.

I was about to go back into Shep’s office when Preacher came charging down the hall. “You seen the fucking news?”

“No. Why?”

Instead of answering, he pulled out his phone and turned it so I could see the screen. The video was already playing, and my throat tightened when I spotted the reporter standing in front of the Vault.

Her voice was void of expression as she announced, “Sources say local authorities are investigating Satan’s Fury Motorcycle Club and their strip club, the Vault, for possible ties to sex trafficking.

While no arrests have been made, officials claim they are exploring whether the club will be allowed to continue operations during the ongoing investigation. ”

“Goddamnit. When did this run?”

“No idea. Goose just sent it to me,” Preacher said, slipping the phone back into his cut. “You got any idea how bad this shit is? This could fucking ruin us!”

“Only if we let it.”

“And how are we supposed to stop it. You know how this shit goes. We’re guilty until proven innocent.” His eyes grew intense. “You brought this guy to our back door, brother. Deal with him and deal with him now.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Maddox was after me for many reasons, and Devin was surely at the top of his list. Didn’t matter. I was going to do whatever I had to do to shut him down.

“We’re working on it.”

“Bury him, brother. Don’t care how you do it. Just get it done.” He clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder before turning away. “Let me know when you boys figure it out. I’m gonna make some calls and try to do some damage control.”

I gave him a nod, then watched him head back down the hall and into his office. I stood there for a moment, stewing over that fucking news report, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Devin had seen it. If she hadn’t, it was only a matter of time before she or one of the kids came across it.

Damn.

Everything around me seemed to be unraveling.

I was struggling to keep it together as I made my way back into Shep’s office.

Memphis and Grim were talking with Shep, but they could tell something was wrong and went silent when they saw me walking towards them.

I filled them all in on the news report, and as expected, they were just as pissed as I was.

“Well, now we know what he meant by fucking around your backyard. Damn.”

“Yeah, and I got a feeling he’s just getting started with this shit.”

“I think you might be right.” Memphis crossed his arms. “What did Pop have to say about it?”

“Said to take care of it, and that’s what we’re gonna do.” I looked over to Shep as I said, “We gotta shut this motherfucker down, and we need to shut him down now.”

“Working on it.”

Shep turned back to his computer and started hammering away while Memphis and Grim peered over his shoulder, studying every file that popped up. I walked over and was trying to make sense of what I was seeing on the screen when Shep announced, “I think I got him.”

“Is he dirty?”

“Can’t be for sure just yet, but it’s definitely looking that way.” Shep motioned his hand towards the screen. “These are his bank statements from the last six months. He’s been making large deposits of cash on random Fridays, and they don’t match up with his pay schedule.”

Grim leaned in. “How large are these deposits?”

“Three to five grand at a time.” Shep clicked over to a spreadsheet. “It’s consistent. Always cash and always right after certain raids or sting operations.”

“And let me guess, Maddox was the lead detective on those raids.”

“You got it.” Shep clicked to another screen. “And he’s got a Venmo under an alias. MaddMox 29. It’s directly tied to Brooklyn Henderson. It’s got rental payments, utilities, and even furniture deliveries on here. Two years’ worth.”

“So, he’s using his dirty money to pay for his side piece all while acting like he’s fucking father of the year.” I felt a muscle twitch in my jaw. “What a fucking asshole.”

“Yeah, but there’s more.” Shep’s jaw tightened. “Look at this.”

He pulled up a map with a series of markers across the city. “I don’t get it. What are you showing me here?”

“These are his patrol logs.” Shep pointed to the screen, noting exact dates and times as he spoke. “There are a lot of nights when girls went missing in the exact area where he was working, but there are no calls logged, and no reports filed.”

Grim’s face darkened. “So, he’s running cover for these pricks.”

“It’s looking that way.” Shep kept hammering away, and then the blood drained from his face. “Oh shit. You gotta be kidding me.”

“What?”

“You’re not gonna like this.” Shep leaned back in his chair. “I tracked patrol logs for Maddox for the last eighteen months. Guess who was on duty the night Devin was attacked at the warehouse?”

“No fucking way.”

“Not only that, but he was the first on the scene.” Shep pointed to the time log as he said, “Here’s the report. He signed in as the responding officer, and it’s at least thirty minutes before any backup arrived, and that includes EMS.”

“So, Devin was lying there wounded for God knows how long before this asshole called for an ambulance.”

“Unless I’m missing something.” Shep thought for a moment, then asked, “What did Devin tell you about that night?”

“That she and her partner took a call about possible prostitutes at a local mattress warehouse. They went to check it out, and when they got there, they found six or seven women bound and drugged. Looked like they were about to be trafficked. She and the partner were working to set them free when shots were fired. Partner was killed, and Devin was jumped and knocked out cold. She woke up in the hospital a few hours later.”

“So, she was out when Maddox showed up.”

“Yeah. Had no idea what happened. Just knew her partner was dead, and the girls were gone.”

Memphis turned to me with a scowl. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“He used the time to cover their tracks and move the girls.” I shook my head, “God, this motherfucker.”

“What about the night at the Vault?” Grim asked. “Where was he then?”

“Let me see.” After a few strokes of his keyboard, Shep let out a breath and announced, “He was on patrol in that sector, parked less than half a mile away.”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“So, he’s deeper in this trafficking bullshit than we thought?” Grim asked.

“Yeah, and he’s out there trying to pin this shit on us.”

“So, what are we going to do about it?”

“We gotta turn the tables on him.”

“But how?”

“Right now, we have bits and pieces. We gotta figure out exactly how this all fits together and get it into the right hands.”

And with that, we buckled in for the night. We spent hours on end searching for anything that could help us build a case against Maddox. Every click, every file, and every log entry was another nail in his coffin, and we were going to bury him with it.