Page 59 of Avenging Devil: Part 2

“I promise I’ll never fuckin’ lie to you again, Saffie. I never wanted to deceive you.”

“I want to believe you.”

But it’s clear she doesn’t yet. I hate that I’ve lost her trust. “Before Duke turned up, had I ever let you down before? Had I ever spoken an untruth to you?”

Her brow creases, then she shakes her head, and a little of the tension leaves her.

I decide to change the subject. “Where have they put you up? Is it okay?”

“Sure. The hotel is comfortable, and a woman called Cat has been speaking to me on the phone. She had some clothes ordered and delivered.” She grimaces slightly. “I’m not sure I want to go back to San Diego right now. I’m not ready.”

I’m not surprised, not if she’s returning to that shitty apartment alone. It’s full of memories, and all bad ones.

“You’re safe here, Saffie. No one’s ever going to be coming after you again. It will take you a moment to stop looking behind you. Just take some time and decide what you want your future to look like. And in the meantime, you can visit and keep me company.”

That warning bell tinkles at my mind again. But why? Saffie’s safe, all the Wolves are dead. I saw them mowed down myself. And if the bullets hadn’t found their mark, I’ve a vague recollection of the clubhouse burning down when I’d been taken out of it.

I’m wondering how long I’ll be able to play the needing-a-visitor card. In my experience, hospitals don’t keep you any longer than necessary, and with nothing more wrong with me than my leg being in a cast, it probably won’t be long before I’m kicked out.

She stares at me for a moment, then she tries a small smile. “Okay.”

Thank fuck. I rest my head back on the pillows and allow the aftereffects of the anaesthetic to take me under again, content in the knowledge that Saffie won’t run away, and I won’t have to chase after her. Fuck knows how I’d do it, immobile as I am. I haven’t even got a fucking prosthesis, or, in other words, a leg to stand on.

I’m woken intermittently so the nurses can check me, and each time I open my eyes, I see Saffie has stayed. When I finally wake and have all my wits about me, she’s not alone. Dart is seated alongside her.

Seeing me rousing, he sits forward, giving a weighted sideways glance toward Saffie. “Want anything, Niran?”

His stance suggests he wants me alone. “Yeah. I’d kill for a coffee.”

“Take a break, Saffie. Go get yourself something to eat and bring back a coffee for your old man. I’ll be right here with him.”

She glances at me, and I raise my chin. Then, she studies Dart for a moment before standing and leaving.

I push the button to raise the head of the bed. “Thanks for being here, Brother. Utah’s a long way from home.”

Dart raises his chin. “Had to leave someone to look after your sorry ass. Salem and Pennywise are here too.”

“Brothers treating you okay?”

He snorts. “Utah’s a different fuckin’ club. No sweet butts for a start. Not that it worries me, but the guys are a bit put out. They’d have preferred to go with the first idea, for you to hole up in Vegas.”

I’m sure they would. Lots of entertainment in Sin City. I start to chuckle, but then it fades as something is bugging me. I just can’t bring it to the forefront.

Knowing not thinking about it is the best way to bring it to mind, instead I ask, “Any fallout?”

“Nah. Apart from two who went scavenging earlier that day and didn’t return, all four-legged rodents were put down. Or that’s the assumption. We only got a rough body count before the exterminator went in and cleaned it up. Oh, the girls were found okay.”

“Girls?” I ask, then frown. “Ah. The Wolves’ stable.”

He leans in, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Snatcher put out that it was a mafia hit. A tip-off was leaked to the cops, and they went in and freed the girls. Nothing to lead them back to the club. They don’t know the Satan’s Devils were there.”

“I killed Slit, their sergeant-at-arms.” The events of that day are coming back to me now. Was it today, yesterday, or last week? “He was trying to rape Saffie. I had no fuckin’ choice.” I close my eyes, remembering how blind rage had taken me, though I know I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“We didn’t stop for a roll call, but all that were there were taken out.” He grimaces. “I know you probably wanted your own revenge on Duke, but we were focused on getting you out, Brother. We might have that pair in the wind, but not enough to resurrect the club. The Crazy Wolves have gone forever.”

My mood sours. I’d wanted to tear Duke from limb to limb, but he’s already met Satan by now. Well, at least Saffie’s in the clear.

“Any of ours lost?” I ask through gritted teeth.

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