Page 31 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

CREED

“ D id you let them search the clubhouse without a lawyer present?”

“They haven’t come to the clubhouse.”

“Good. If they do, make sure your lawyer is there.”

“What’s this about?”

“I just want you to be careful.”

Like he could read my mind, he pushed, “What have you done?”

“Nothing.”

“Devin.”

“I might’ve reached out to a couple of old friends and asked about what’s going on with the investigation.”

“I don’t want you involved in this, Devin.”

“You’re involved, so I’m involved. End of story,” Devin argued. “Besides, I didn’t really do anything. I was just asking questions. I wanted to see what they have and if they were close to pressing charges or anything like that.”

“And?”

“There’s nothing, and I mean nothing. That’s why I’m telling you not to let Brian or anyone else come in that clubhouse without someone watching every move they make.”

“You think he’ll pull a fast one?”

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling he might. Something about all this just doesn’t feel right.”

“Because it isn’t.” I knew the truth. I knew Maddox was behind all the bullshit, but I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell her anything. “But that isn’t for you to worry about. I need you to do what I said and trust me on this. We are handling it.”

“I know you are, and I do trust you. But I don’t trust Brian, and I want you to be careful.”

It meant something to me that Devin trusted me like she did. With all the secrets and our past, I’d given her plenty of reasons not to, but she was here and giving me all the support I could ask for. “I appreciate that, and I will. Now, let it go and leave the worrying to me.”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, baby. I’ll call when I can.”

I ended the call and went straight to Preacher’s office, letting him know about Devin’s warning. He shook his head and grumbled, “I’m over this guy’s bullshit. It’s time to show him who he’s fucking with.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I’ve got an old military buddy that is high up in the Bureau. If I can just get him some solid evidence against Maddox, we could bury him.”

“We’ve got plenty. You’ve seen what Shep found.”

“Yeah, I know he’s dirty. You know he’s dirty, but the bank statements and time stamps are all circumstantial.

We need something real. Something they can’t ignore.

” He ran his hand over his beard. “We gotta catch him in the act. Video footage of him with these trafficking guys or at the very least, him admitting that he’s involved. ”

“Alright. We’ll find it.”

“I’ll get my guy at the Bureau ready, but I’m not giving him shit until we have something that’ll stick.”

I nodded, turning toward the door.

“And Creed?” Preacher’s voice dropped, his eyes hard. “We do this smart. I know you want this motherfucker gone. I want him gone, too, but we gotta be careful with this shit. One wrong move, and we’re done for.”

“Understood.”

I walked out of his office and started down the hall to find Shep and Grim. We were close. I could feel it. And once we had him pinned, there would be no badge, no cop buddies, and no bullshit that would save Maddox from what he had coming.

I made my way back to Shep’s office, and as soon as he spotted me, Shep proudly announced, “I’ve got him tied to three burners. One of them pinged off a tower near the Vault the same night Gabby was snatched. Another near…”

“It’s not enough. We gotta have something more than burners and bank statements.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe. “We gotta have something concrete, or we’re just wasting our time.”

“I’ll find something.”

“You have to. Preacher’s on standby with his guy at the Bureau. We get one more piece, one clean, irrefutable piece , and we hand him over.”

Shep cracked a rare grin. “On it.”

He turned back to his laptop, and we spent the next couple of hours going through hours and hours of CCTV videos from all over town trying to hunt down Maddox. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. We were all reaching our wits end when my cell phone started to ring.

I pulled it from my back pocket, and I was surprised to see that it was Devin calling. It wasn’t like her to call from her landline, so I answered, “You okay?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Mom and Dad are fighting,” Chrissy answered. “It sounds pretty bad. They’ve fought before, but not like this. Dad’s really mad, and I think he’s been drinking.”

“Where’s Austin?”

“He’s at Malcomb’s house.”

“Okay. Stay put, and I’ll be there in a minute.”

I was already grabbing my keys from my pocket when I told her, “I’m on my way now.”

“Okay.”

In the background, Brian’s voice bellowed, “Chrissy, open this goddamn door!”

“Don’t open it!”

“O-okay.”

“I’m coming, kid. Hang on.”

I ended the call and immediately dialed Devin’s number. She didn’t answer, so I tried the landline. Again, no answer. Fuck. Rage vibrated through my chest as I headed for the door. Grim’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “What’s going on?”

I didn’t even slow down. “Maddox is over at Devin’s place.”

The words had barely left my mouth when he and Shep stood and followed me out to the parking lot. I didn’t bother telling them not to come. I knew nothing would stop them, so I just kept moving forward, praying we could get to her before Maddox did something stupid.

Devin’s face flashed through my mind. Her beautiful eyes. Her scent. Her full lips when they curled into a smile. Damn. I’d kill him if he hurt her.

This motherfucker was asking for war, and I was about to give it to him.

I drove too fast.

I knew my brothers were behind me and doing their best to keep up, but I wasn’t concerned about them. All I could think about was getting to Devin and making sure she was okay.

The engine screamed beneath me as I twisted the throttle harder, cutting through the night with nothing but rage and fear pounding in my chest. I tore down Devin’s street and skidded to a stop when I reached her driveway. And that’s when the world went cold.

Devin was lying crumpled on the concrete, and she wasn’t moving.

My heart stopped.

I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Everything else fell away. The club. The bullshit with Maddox. The trafficking allegations.

None of it meant a damn thing if I lost her.

I killed the engine and dropped the bike where it was and rushed to her side.

I knelt next to her, and that’s when I saw the rise and fall of her chest. She was breathing.

She was alive. I brushed her hair back, searching for blood or any sign that she was injured.

That’s when I noticed the knot on her forehead and the bruising on her cheek.

“Devin.” I gave her a light nudge. “Come on, baby. Wake up.”

Nothing.

Grim and Shep stood over me, watching as I tried to get her to come around. When she didn’t respond, Grim announced, “I’ll call an ambulance.”

I nodded and continued trying to get Devin to come around. “Hang in there, Dev. We’re gettin’ help.”

“I’ll go check on the kids.”

Shep turned and started up to the house while Grim talked to the dispatcher. “911, what’s your emergency?”

“I have a woman who’s unconscious,” Grim barked. “She’s breathing, has a pulse, but we can’t get her to wake up. We need an ambulance at 127 Mill Creek Drive, now.”

“Is she injured?”

“Don’t know. We just found her like this.”

“Sir, help is on the way. I’m going to need you to stay with her.”

“Yeah, we’re not going anywhere.”

Shep came back and shook his head. “Door’s locked and no one’s answering.”

“Where the fuck is Chrissy? She said Austin was at a friend’s house, so she is all alone,”

“You think he took her?”

“No idea.” I turned my attention back to Devin and urged, “Baby, I need you to wake up.”

I forced myself to take a breath, listening for sirens and hoping that they would hurry the hell up, all the while silently cursing myself. I’d fucked up. I let that piece of shit get too close, and Devin paid the price.

I felt her stir, and relief flooded over me when her lashes started to flutter against her cheek. “Devin?”

“Jameson.”

“Yeah, baby.” She inhaled a deep breath and whimpered. “I’m right here.”

“Brian,” was all she could muster.

“I know. We’ll get him. You just try to lie here and breathe.”

“The kids…”

“They’re not here. Shep just checked.”

“No,” she pressed. “Brian… he has Chrissy.”

“What?”

“I tried to stop him… He’s going after Austin.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Please.”

“We’ve got her,” Shep interjected. “You go.”

“I’m coming with,” Grim announced.

I didn’t like leaving her, but I didn’t have a choice.

I needed to get to the kids before Maddox made an even bigger mess of things.

I stood, and blue flashing lights pulled into the drive as Grim and I started for our bikes.

The EMTs parked and had just gotten out when I called out, “She has a pretty nasty contusion on the left side of her head and a bruise on her cheek, and she’s been out a good two to three minutes. ”

I turned the key and sped down the street.

I’d barely rounded the corner when I spotted Maddox’s truck idling on the side of the road.

The driver's door was open and the lights were on, but no one was behind the wheel. I pulled over and parked, and as soon as I killed the engine, I could hear Austin shouting, “No, Dad! I’m not going!”

“The hell you aren’t! Get your ass in the goddamn truck, Austin!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Have it your way.”

Grim and I started walking toward the sound of their voices, and it wasn’t long before I spotted them in the backyard. I motioned my hand to the back corner of the lot as I whispered, “They’re around back.”

Austin was in nothing but a pair of plaid sleep pants, and his father had him by the arm, pulling him towards the road. It was dark, and there was no sign of his friend or his friend’s parents.

Austin was trying everything he could to break free from his grasp as he shouted, “Dad, stop! Get off me!”

They both stopped cold when I shouted, “Maddox!”

Maddox glanced back over his shoulder, and when he saw Grim and I standing there, he let go of Austin and growled, “You assholes have a lot of nerve showing up here.”

Ignoring Maddox, I looked to Austin and asked, “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s in Dad’s truck.”

“Get her and get in the house.”

“Don’t you dare,” Maddox snarled at his son. “You and your sister are leaving with me.”

“Go get her,” I pushed. “Now.”

Austin’s eyes skirted over to his father, and I thought for a moment that he was too scared to move. But then, he let out a defeated breath and started towards the truck. Grim and I kept our eyes on Maddox, making sure that he didn’t try to pull something stupid.

Austin opened the back door and waited as Chrissy got out. She was crying and looked terrified. The normally too cool teenager took his sister’s hand and led her up to the house. Once the door closed behind them, I snarled, “You went too far this time.”

Maddox started towards me with his chest puffed and roared, “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

I didn’t answer.

Didn’t need to.

As soon as he got close enough, he threw a wild punch and missed, hitting nothing but air. I grabbed his arm, twisting it back until he let out a howl. I lowered my mouth to his ear and snarled, “You hurt her. You’re gonna pay for that shit.”

I slammed my fist into his ribs, once, twice, three times, feeling the crunch under my knuckles. He swung again. It was desperate and overthrown, but it managed to graze my jaw, which just seemed to fuel my anger.

I drove my fist into his face, splitting his lip, and without giving him a chance to recover, I hit him again. My fist landed right at the bridge of his nose, and blood began spewing. He stumbled, but I caught him by the collar, dragging him back upright.

“You’re nothing but a fucking coward.”

I drove my knee into his gut, and he let out a choked grunt, folding in half. I slammed my elbow into the back of his head, and he went sprawling across the gravel.

He tried to get up, but I grabbed him by the back of the shirt and flipped him over, straddling him as I grabbed him by the collar. I pulled it taut, choking him as I warned, “If you ever touch her again… if you ever lay a hand on those kids, I will end you.”

I hit him once more, and he was out.

I stood over him, breathing hard and knuckles bleeding. I looked down at the sorry excuse for a man, and I wanted to believe this was it.

That this would be the end of it.

But I knew it wasn’t.

Hell, this was only the beginning.