Page 32 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

DEVIN

“ H ow are you feeling?”

“I would be better if I knew the kids were okay.”

“I’m sure they’re fine.”

“You don’t understand. You didn’t hear him. You don’t know…”

“Brian is a lot of things, Devin, but he loves those kids. He would never hurt them.” Mom placed her hand on mine. “So, you need to try to calm down and let’s try to focus on making sure you are okay.”

I appreciated my mother being there and trying to take care of me, but nothing she could say was going to calm me down or make me stop worrying about the kids. Too much had happened.

She’d pulled up just about the time the EMTs started checking my vitals.

Chrissy had called her right after calling Jameson.

She didn’t call the police. Maybe it was instinct or maybe she was afraid of getting her father into trouble.

Either way, she’d made the right call, even if Mom was driving me nuts.

I was on the verge of losing it when Shep stepped up to the door of the ambulance and announced, “I just got a message from Grim. They’re at the friend’s house a couple blocks over, and the kids are there and they’re okay.”

“Oh, thank God! We need to go get them.”

“He’s got it covered.” Shep was calm but firm as he told me, “You’re going to the hospital. You’re gonna let them check you out, and when he’s able, Creed will bring the kids to you.”

“Okay, I’ll go, but I need you to do something.”

“Alright. Whatcha need?”

“Find my phone. I think it’s in my purse. Maybe on the kitchen table.” I inhaled a breath. “When you find the phone, pull up the ring camera. See if you can find tonight’s footage. I think you might find it interesting.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

One of the EMTs leaned forward and forced a smile. “So, are we set to go?”

“We are. Thanks for being so patient.”

“No worries. It happens all the time.”

With that, she closed the door, and Mom and I were on our way to the hospital. I reached over and placed my hand on her knee. “Do you really think they’re okay?”

“Of course they are. You’d feel it if they weren’t.” She gave me a wink. “I’d feel it, too.”

She sounded pretty sure of herself, so I leaned back and closed my eyes.

I thought about Shep going into the house and finding the footage of my argument with Brian.

I won’t deny that he’d caught me off-guard.

It was late, and Chrissy and I were winding down for the night.

When I heard the knock at the door, I thought it was Austin.

I figured he’d forgotten his game or decided that he’d rather stay the night at home.

I was looking forward to teasing him about it, and I was smiling, almost laughing, when I opened the door.

That smile immediately disappeared when I discovered that it was Brian standing on my front step, and I could tell by his fierce expression that he hadn’t come by for a cordial visit.

"What do you want, Brian?”

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“I might be able to answer if I knew what you were talking about.”

He stepped closer, and I could smell the cheap liquor and stale cologne. “I know you’ve been asking questions about my investigation with those Fury assholes.”

Damn.

One of my friends wasn’t as close as I thought.

I did my best to sound unbothered as I replied, “I might’ve asked around a little. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Ah, she’s worried about her little boy toy.”

“You’ve been drinking!”

“Yeah, and you’ve been talking to my crew behind my back!”

“I wanted to know the truth about what is going on.”

“I told you the truth. He’s a criminal, and you had the nerve to bring him around my kids.”

“They’re our kids,” I corrected. “And you know nothing about Jameson or any of those men in that club. You’re just doing everything you can to force your agenda.”

“You think you’re so smart.” His eyes were full of hate and rage as he snarled, “You best be careful or you’ll end up losing everything.”

I took a step forward. I was done letting him scare me.

“You’re the one who should be careful, Brian.”

“And why’s that?” he scoffed.

“Because I know,” I said quietly, watching the way the color drained from his face.

“You know what?”

“Everything.” I kept my eyes trained on his as I told him, “A part of me always knew you weren’t the man you pretended to be, but I never expected this.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I didn’t answer.

I just tilted my head and glared at him with a knowing look.

“What the hell do you know?”

Again, I remained silent.

Before I realized what he was doing, his hand flew out, and he struck me across the cheek. The pain shot through me, but I didn’t stumble. I didn’t cry. I stood there with my cheek burning and heart pounding. I looked him dead in the eye as I whispered, “You’re going to regret that.”

“Tell me!”

“Lower your voice. Chrissy is in her room.” I lifted my chin, and even though my eyes were stinging, I refused to shed a single tear. He was glaring at me with rage in his eyes, but I didn’t back down. Instead, I pushed him even further. “It must be exhausting. All the lying and manipulating.”

“You were the first one on the scene that night,” I said, letting the words hang in the space between us.

“Of course, I was.” His jaw tightened. “I was your husband. I was worried something happened to you.”

“Why would you think that?” I pushed. “You had no reason to worry. It was just a routine check.”

“It was a bad area.”

“Yeah, it was.” I tilted my head. “And you came because you were making sure I was okay?”

“We’ve been through all this. What are you trying to get at?”

“What happened when you first arrived on the scene? What happened during those thirty minutes that weren’t logged in your report?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your camera footage and your call logs don’t match up.”

His eyes flickered, just for a second, and I knew I’d hit the mark. “I was taking care of you, Devin. You were hurt.”

“What happened to the girls?” My voice was calm, almost gentle.

“What?”

“The girls, Brian. What happened to them? Where did you take them? Where did they take them?”

“They were already gone.”

“You can do a lot in thirty minutes,” I pushed. “You could’ve taken care of the camera footage. You could’ve helped those men escape. You could’ve helped them move the girls.”

“ I was making sure you were okay .”

“What did you do, Brian?”

“This is insane.”

“What happened to the girls?”

“I was trying to help you!” His nostrils flared, and he stepped closer. “I’m the only reason you walked out of there that night. They would’ve killed you if I hadn’t told them you were off limits.”

My heart stopped, but I didn’t flinch.

I didn’t dare breathe.

“Who, Brian?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “Who did you tell?”

“Goddamnit. You have no idea what you’ve done.”

Panic flickered across his face, and the silence that followed was deafening. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. His eyes darted toward the hallway where the kids’ rooms were, and before I could react, he turned and stormed inside.

“Brian,” I shouted, chasing after him. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking Chrissy, and I’m going to get Austin.”

“You can’t do that,” I argued, but he was already yelling at Chrissy to open the door. When the door remained locked, he rammed it with his shoulder, busting it open before charging inside. “Brian, don’t do this!”

Chrissy’s eyes grew wide when her father knelt and scooped her up in her in his arms. “What’s going on?”

“You’re coming to my house.”

“But I don’t want to.”

“It’s doesn’t matter. You’re coming.”

“Brian, stop!” I tried to pull his arm back, but he shoved me hard enough that I stumbled into the wall. “You can’t do this!”

Just thinking about the horror in my daughter’s eyes made my stomach turn.

I never would’ve dreamed that he’d pull a stunt like this, but he was desperate, and desperate men do desperate things.

It didn’t help matters that he’d been drinking.

Booze had a way of turning him into an obstinate asshole. It certainly did tonight.

In a blink, we were in the driveway, and Brian was putting Chrissy in the backseat of his truck. Every instinct I had screamed at me to stop this and not let him take her, but nothing I was trying worked. He just kept going. “You can’t do this!”

“The hell I can’t,” he snarled, slamming the door. “She’s my daughter, and I am concerned for her well-being.”

“You know they are safe here.”

“They were until you started fucking that asshole. That’s on you.” He opened his door and got behind the wheel as he yelled, “They will be with me until you get your head straight.”

Panic clawed up my throat as he started the engine, and the headlights pierced through the dark. I saw the fear in Chrissy’s eyes as she looked back at me through the window. “Brian, please!”

When he didn’t stop, I did the only thing I could.

I stepped in front of the truck.

For a split second, I thought he would stop. I thought he would see me standing there and remember that I was his children’s mother, and that there was a time when he cared for me. I thought he’d see the tears and the panic on my face, and he would stop.

He didn’t.

He didn’t even slow down.

I let out one last cry, and then the world exploded in pain as the front of the truck hit me, knocking the air from my lungs, sending me sprawling backward onto the hard concrete. My head bounced, and then the sky tilted, the stars spun, and then everything went black.

I hoped the Ring camera caught everything, because if it did, Brian was toast. When we got to the hospital, they carried me straight back and started running tests. Other than my pounding headache and few aching muscles, I felt okay. But the constant beeping of all these machines had me on edge.