Page 54 of Devil's Vengeance
“Cleo. She needs to come. Now.”
Cleo came running from the back room, her purse already in her hand and her eyes wide. “Is it Nevada?”
I nodded, but didn’t offer more of an explanation. I spun on my heel, running back toward the main house again. For an older woman, Cleo kept up easily, and we arrived just as Riley and the paramedics were loading Nevada into an ambulance. He had a tube in his mouth to help him breathe that Riley was squeezing methodically, and he was shirtless and covered in bandages.
“Oh god, Rob!” Cleo cried, rushing towards them.
“We need to get him to the hospital, Cleo. Get in!” Riley demanded.
Cleo didn’t hesitate and climbed in after her. I wasn’t invited, nor was there space, even if they wanted me to go. The last paramedic slammed the doors shut just as Cleo grabbed Nevada’s hand and Riley started shouting about stats dropping. My heart lodged in my throat as they sped off, nearly hitting the mass of bikers coming around the corner. A blare of a horn made them split off and make way for the ambulance, and the cops around me all stiffened when they saw the group head our way again.
“Ma’am. We need to get you somewhere safe.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t see anyone else around that would be able to tell Croy where Riley went. Chase was nowhere to be seen. A few cop cars had people in the back, but I couldn’t see who, and I doubted the cops would let them talk. I stood in the middle of the yard and waited for the worst to happen.
Croy stopped right in front of me, his eyes narrowed. “Where is she?”
“She’s not hurt,” I began, because I didn't want him to think the worst when I told him she was in an ambulance. “Nevada is, though. She went with him to the hospital.”
“Fuck! Who the fuck did this?”
I shook my head again. “I don’t know. We were in the panic room and then we were helping Nevada. I didn’t see–”
“Sir, I’m going to need you to calm down and answer some questions for me,” the officer behind me demanded.
Croy shot him a dirty look. “Mind your business, asshole. I’m going to the hospital. Where the fuck is Chase?”
Tears pricked my eyes and I just looked at him helplessly. “I don’t know.”
With one last scathing look at me, he started his engine again, ignoring the cop’s demands for him to stop and wait. He tore off again and the officers who’d been with him all turned with him. Only one stayed behind. The one I was most afraid of.
“Who else was here?” Reaper demanded as he strode up to me.
Thankfully, I knew the answer to that because of Riley’s phone call to Sam and Lacey. “I, uh– Chase, Nevada, Bear, Bandit and Gunner. That’s what Riley told me. I didn’t see anyone when I came down, though. No one except for Nevada.”
His gaze flicked to the cops. “Where are they?”
“If they were involved, they’re taken down to the station for processing. I need you to answer some questions for me about what happened.”
“No, the fuck you don’t,” Reaper replied, grabbing my elbow. “Come with me. Prez will want to speak with you.”
I wasn’t going to fight the man, but the officers weren’t happy about it and ended up in a standoff with me in the middle. I was terrified and worried I’d be thrown into another shootout, this time without a panic room to hide in, but in a surprising move, Reaper shoved me behind him.
“Put the fuckin’ weapons down,” he snarled. He hadn’t drawn his, but they must’ve known he was a threat because there were three guns aimed at us anyway. “We haven’t done anything wrong and you’re not allowed to hold us without cause.”
“We can if we think you’ve been involved in criminal activity,” one officer shot back. He was the one who grabbed Riley originally and prevented her from helping Nevada.
The one in the middle, who’d gone with me to get Cleo, shook his head. “He arrived after the shootout. We all saw him. We can’t keep him here, but she needs to stay and answer some questions.” He gestured to me with a tip of his head.
Reaper glanced at me over his shoulder. His face said it all. Keep my mouth shut or die. What the hell did I get myself into?
It took a while to get through the cops’ questions, but in the end, I didn't have to lie much. I didn’t actually know who or why or what happened beyond us coming downstairs to see Chase and running back up to hide. I wasn’t even sure if the crew who attacked was Trick’s crew or not. I had no information to give them. They asked about the Devil’s Disciples, but even in that area, my knowledge was limited. I didn’t know anything about crew dynamics, outside of who the officers were, and I never wanted to know. I went to a party, met a few female friends, and that was it. Until recently, I couldn’t even say I was seeing anyone in the crew. Chase might not have even counted it as a relationship outside of sex. I had no ties to the crew that anyone could actually trace. So, despite me being in the house during the attack, they couldn’t keep me there.
“If you can think of anything else, please let me know,” the cop said. He introduced himself as David Storm. He was new to the area, so he didn't seem as troubled by the MC as the rest of his friends did, and he was the calmer of the officers. He took over when the asshole who’d grabbed Riley started shouting at me that I had to know something and I was lying to him.
Reaper was on the phone, ignoring the officers who tried demanding he answer their questions. He wasn’t part of it, and he didn’t owe them anything. When I came back over to him, he murmured something into the phone and hung up, tipping his head toward the street.
“Aero will give you a lift. We’re going to the hospital. Croy has questions for you.”