Page 18 of Dev

“Dev is Corey’s brother; he’s going to be crushed. He’s always been so protec—” Suddenly, I remember the last conversation I had with Corey. He left thinking that I was going to make him choose between me and the club. I lied to him, and I hurt him, all because his brother thought it would save him. In an instant, all my sympathy for Dev turns to anger.

“I have to go.” I barge past my parents to get to my ensuite, locking the door after me and quickly getting changed. Throwing water over my face and patting my cheeks, I stare at my reflection, then quickly head back out so I can get out of here.

“You're not going there, Millie, I won’t let you.” Mom looks ready for a fight when I open the door. “It's too dangerous. We should never have let you date that boy in the first place.” I march straight past her into the hall, and I’m surprised when my father holds her back and shakes his head at her. Neither of my parents has ever been happy that me and Corey were together, and the only reason for that was because of his brother’s involvement with the club.

“Let her go, Julia,” he tells Mom calmly.

“Let her go? Let her go there, are you crazy?” Mom bellows back at him.

“Have Greg drive you there.” He points his finger at me. “And I want you to stay in touch. Home before nightfall,” he warns sternly.

“No, Frank.” Her voice sounds shrill.

“Just this once, Julia. She needs answers. Greg will make sure she’s okay.”

“Greg is a butler, not a bodyguard,” she reminds him as he holds her back, and when he nods at me to continue, I smile at him gratefully before rushing off to find Greg.

“I’ll call you when I need picking up,” I tell Greg when he pulls up on the sidewalk opposite the gates.

“I think your father would prefer me to stay here,” he tells me. I see one of the members hosing down the tarmac in front of the gates, and when I notice that the water washing away is red, I feel sick.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll call when I’m ready,” I tell him assertively before getting out of the car and making my way across the street. My palms are so clammy, and my nerves are starting to really kick in, but I have to be here.

“I need to speak to Dev.” I interrupt ass grabber from the diner when I see that he’s the one using the hose, and when he looks up at me, his eyes are black and cold.

“Dev ain't taking visitors right now,” he tells me blankly, before getting back to work.

“I’m Corey’s girlfriend, and I want to know what happened.” I grip hold of the guy's arm to still it, and he stares at my hand so fiercely, I swear I feel my skin burn.

“I know exactly who you are.” His eyes remain fixed on my hand until I sheepishly remove it. “And like I said, Dev ain’t taking visitors.”

“Screw you.” I march straight past him, through the arch, and into the yard. A few Soul members are sitting around on plastic chairs with their heads lowered, as I find my way to the clubhouse. I’ve never been inside it before, I’ve only ever gotten as far as the beach, and I muster together all my courage before I swing the door open. I spot Dev straight away, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room with a bottle in one hand while a woman bathes the knuckles of his other hand in a bowl. I march straight for him, feeling rage consume me when I remember that last disappointed look Corey gave me before he left my house.

“Millie?” Dev stands up, looking confused to see me here, and when he shakes the water off his hand and steps toward me, I greet him with a hard swipe of my palm across his cheek.

Gasps come from all around me, and I watch how he inhales deeply through his nostrils, making them flare while trying to ignore the pain in my hand.

“Millie? I don’t think you–” One of the girls steps forward, and Dev holds up his hand to silence her. His eyes still fixed on mine, and looking murderous.

“It’s okay, I’ve got it. Come on, darlin’, let's get ya home.” The member with the ponytail who was also with him at the diner wraps his arms around my shoulders and tries to coax me away, but I find strength in determination.

“No.” I force him off me. “I’m not going anywhere.You…” I point my finger up at Dev’s face. “...You made me give him an ultimatum.Youmade me lie to him, and that will be the last memory he’ll ever have of me. I want to know what happened to him, Dev. I deserve that much.”

Dev remains silent, and I can see all the rage he’s holding back tensing in his muscles. The veins in his arms look liketunnels, and I can hear the heaviness in his breathing. I shouldn’t have slapped him. I doubt it actually hurt him, but my hand feels as if I slammed it into a brick wall.

“Now’s not the best time.” The guy beside me makes another attempt to drag me toward the door.

“Wait.” Dev calls out, and the harsh growl in his voice makes all the nerves dance in my stomach. “She’s right.” He lowers his head, and after the president steps forward from behind him, he whispers something in his ear that makes Dev nod.

“Follow me.” Dev looks back up at me, turning his back and marching toward what looks like an office at the back of the room. I immediately do as he says, following him and stepping inside what does turn out to be an office. Dev pulls the blind down over the glass window that separates us from the bar while I close the door, and being alone with him suddenly feels very intense.

“Dev, I’m sor–”

“Don’t be sorry.” He drops to sit in the nearest chair, resting his elbows on his knees, and clutching his tattooed hands together. “All this is my fault.”

“What happened to him?” I take the chair opposite and wrap both my hands around his. His eyes peer down at them before he speaks, and the way he clutches his jaw makes me scared that I’m pissing him off again.

“They put a fuckin’ bullet in his skull,” he growls. “He was tryin’ to prove himself to me, and to them, and those fuckers fuckin’ killed him.” I hear the agony in his tone, and when he stands up, he takes all that pain out on the desk, flipping it over in a rage.

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