Page 71 of My Darling Mayhem

Something in my stomach flipped with nerves, making me look out the window. Archer would be asking what his father had said to me, and he’d tell Thistle if not all of his men. There was also a chance more of his men knew, especially if Saul did, which might put Archer in danger. I had no idea what Saul’s affiliations were, but if he knew who I was, I might be in danger not telling Archer's men.

There was no running from this.

With a deep sigh, I turned to face Archer’s second.

“The man who talked to me…Saul. He knew about my family.”

Thistle flipped his blinker as we turned onto the main freeway, which would take us back to Atlas.

“Your family?”

Did he really not know, or was he just pretending? I hated not knowing.

“I’m the daughter of Manny Vasquez.”

I waited, watching his reaction to my confession, knowing I didn’t need to say anything else. His eyes remained forward, and then I saw his chest move with a deep inhale.

“Fuck. That complicates things tremendously.”

“Why?” I searched what I could of his face, desperate for more information. How did my family and Mayhem Riot interact? How did they know each other?

Thistle glanced over; his brows crumpled.

“Because we’ve been at war with your family for nearly twenty years.”

Archer still hadn’t arrived home by the time Thistle pulled into my driveway. He turned off the engine, and we sat in silence, with the awkward tension that I was the daughter and sister of their enemy.

“What will happen now?”

Thistle peeked over the seat, seeing the sleeping boys.

“I’m sure Archer will talk to Kane’s foster parents and get an extension to have him overnight. But we should head inside, get you somewhere safe.”

“So you won’t…” I started, nervous about what I was going to ask. “You won’t hurt me or hold me as leverage or something?”

I had no idea how they operated, but from what I could remember from how my father ran El Peligro, that was something they would have done.

Thistle narrowed his gaze like he was confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Because I’m your enemy.”

His chest shifted in what I thought might be a laugh. “Wren, you’re family. That patch on your back means Mayhem Riot will be there for you forever. You’re not just a patched Old Lady. You’re our president’s woman. You have our loyalty; we only ask that you remain faithful to us.”

The knots in my stomach eased as I let out a relieved breath. “I haven’t spoken to my brother in nearly twenty years. We had a falling out…so, I don’t know what or how he runs El Peligro.”

Thistle tilted his head like he was confused. “Don’t you mean brothers?”

My mouth parted in question when someone knocked on Thistle’s window. He turned, opened his door, and began talking to one of the members who wanted to help us get inside. I allowed them to open my door and usher me to my house. There were three men aside from Thistle helping us.

Thistle checked the house while I waited on my couch with both boys curled up under blankets. My heart beat erratically as he moved from room to room, a gun drawn but pointed down at the floor while his eyes were alert. A member was at my back door, and another two were standing near the front.

This was crazy.

But it was also familiar. My father’s men were always around as I grew up, even after I moved in with my aunt Maria. Her husband worked for my father, so the men were always around.

Once it was clear, Thistle came back into the living room. “I’ll be outside with the rest of the men. Archer will want you to get ready for bed, get some sleep, and don’t worry about anything. You’re safe.”

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