Chapter 15 #2
“I’m taking her with me,” I reply to him. “She won’t be your problem anymore. They say when you save a life, you’re responsible for it.”
“Fuck,” Devon breathes. “Goddamn it, I’m going to owe you for this forever, aren’t I?”
“Oh yeah,” I promise. “Whatever and whenever I want.”
“Woah,” someone says, stepping into the room.
Guess our conversation wasn’t as private as I thought it was.
“You think you’re going to own my president’s ass? I say we kill you and be done with it,” he growls.
“Would you like a baby?” I ask, raising my brow as he comes closer.
The shitgoblin almost trips as he sees the baby in my arms, which was obstructed by the back of the couch that Devon was sitting at.
“You’re going to want to sit this one out, Addict,” he says. Damn, these road names just get more and more ridiculous. “She got rid of the Marauders for us today.”
“That’s who you hire?” Addict asks. “You’re always so weird after you talk to her. She’s a tiny thing.”
“I always go everywhere dressed for bear,” I say cryptically. “I work solo, always make a statement, and it’s always done right. However, when I don’t have all the information, I’m unable to do my job.”
The baby lets the nipple of the bottle slip free, and I take the hint. Putting the bottle to the side, I hold her up to my chest and pat her back. I have no idea if I’m doing this wrong, but it feels correct.
“She torched the clubhouse and heard a baby,” Devon says. “Isolde ran back inside to find her.”
“Holy shit balls.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of how I felt about it too,” I sigh.
The baby burps and I relax marginally. Now, hopefully she’ll sleep. Listening to screaming for three hours would really suck. Her weight against me is comforting, and I feel her breathing begin to calm.
“Do you want to go retrieve that package from my car?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Devon says, his eyes on the baby. “How are you so good with her? She’s not even upset about the mask.”
“I thought she’d be upset too, but she’s just taking it in stride. It says something that I’m the better option than disgusting bikers,” I say.
“You’re something else,” Addict mutters. “One day, you’re going to find yourself in trouble and we’re going to look the other way.”
A gun is whipped out and pointed in his direction so quickly, he doesn’t have a chance to gasp. Surprisingly, it’s not by me, it’s Devon.
The president grabs his shirt and pulls him closer, pressing the cold barrel of his weapon against his temple. I probably would have already pulled the trigger.
“If she needs help, we will be there,” Devon rasps. “She cleaned up Toad’s mess without blinking an eye, and we didn’t need to lose one person for her to do it. Isolde didn’t need to be pulled out of bed to deal with this, but she did.”
He doesn’t mention anything about how much he’s paying me for this, so I keep my mouth shut. Addict makes a strangled noise, and I decide as I look down at a sleeping baby that it’s time to go.
“Devon, I’m leaving,” I announce, closing the diaper bag and putting away the bottle.
“I’ll wash out the bottle you just put away and help you,” he says. “Addict, I don’t want to hear another word about this. She’s a friend of the club for life.”
My body stills as I glance at him. Devon puts his weapon away, his knee propped on the couch cushion from when he got up to draw on Addict. I don’t think all this drama is worth little old me.
Devon stands and collects the diaper bag, leaving me with Addict as he walks to the kitchen to wash out the bottle. This is all such odd behavior for him.
“Are you fucking him?” Addict asks.
“Why would I shit where I eat?” I ask dismissively, leaning back on the couch to both piss him off and rub the angel in my arms’ back. “Think about what this place would look like if you’d gone to war instead, and then go help Martyr with my package.”
“You can’t tell me what to do!” he explodes, amusing me even more until the baby startles and begins to scream.
“Don’t shoot him!” Devon yells, running out of the kitchen with a wet bottle and a drying cloth.
The scene would almost be funny if I wasn’t so furious at Addict.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I’ll get right on that miss…ah, ma’am,” Addict says, pale as he stumbles out of the clubhouse.
“He woke her up,” I sigh, standing to figure out what to do.
I end up doing some kind of rocking and bouncing motion that makes me feel ridiculous as I soothe her.
“I should at least be allowed to stab him,” I grumble.
“I’ll do it and then make him drive to Minneapolis while bleeding,” Devon grunts, putting the bottle away and hefting up the diaper bag. “Let’s go check on the car seat. Walking and fresh air may help her fall asleep. It used to help with my sisters.”
The tidbit humanizes him a little, yet I can’t fully appreciate it since I’m ready to get home. Watching his club members attempt to measure their dick sizes next to mine is annoying. Everyone knows that if I had one, mine would obviously be bigger.
Walking outside with Devon, I wrinkle my nose. I can smell the smoke now, and in the distance, the sky is a black cloud. Glad to see I did a good job combining torture and efficient arson together.
“Is this the package?” Addict asks, peering into the trunk with the back door wide open.
“If you let smoke into my car because you can’t connect the dots, I’ll have Devon stab you twice,” I spit out as I come closer.
“Got it,” he grunts, picking up Brea.
“She’s sedated and shouldn’t give you any trouble,” I say, watching as Martyr closes the trunk.
Devon opens the back passenger door for me, and I find that the car seat has already been installed. Devon pulls the seat back and forth to ensure it’s installed properly before stepping back to allow me to put the baby inside of it.
Fuck, I am going to need to name her. I need to explain this to the guys too. Everything is so new, we haven’t discussed anything remotely close to children, much less one that isn’t theirs. This is going to be an awkward conversation to have.
The baby isn’t screaming anymore, just looks around as I gently thread her arms through the straps and figure out how to adjust things so she’s secure inside.
“Don’t forget, Devon,” I say cryptically, taking the diaper bag from him as I shut the door.
“Oh yeah. Don’t drop her, Addict,” he says, moving toward them.
“Why would I… Goddamnit Prez!” Addict yells as Devon pulls a knife and stabs him in the upper thigh.
“Take it like a man,” Devon snarls, pulling out the knife only to shove it back in at the back of Addict’s thigh.
“Two, fuck that’s mean!”
“I think the odds are pretty high that you managed to get smoke into her car, fuckhead. Go wrap that up and drive Brea to Minneapolis. I’ll send you a text with where you’re going,” Devon grunts. “Martyr, get your car and go with him.”
“I’m out, Devon. Do you want to see evidence of what I did before I leave and delete the images?” I ask.
“I wouldn’t usually when the smoke explains it pretty well, but go for it.”
Turning, I open my car door quickly and start the engine before closing it again. This way, the warm air is blowing for the baby.
Pulling out my phone, I find the photos and move closer to Devon.
“Come see this,” he tells Martyr and Addict. “Maybe it’ll help you find some respect for Isolde.”
I explain each photo in graphic detail for shits and giggles once Addict hobbles over with Brea in his arms. At some point, Addict gags at the vision of Toad ass up, head down on the dirty mattress with a steel pipe in his ass, but he doesn’t puke.
“Holy…Jesus, Mary, and Jehoshaphat, Isolde,” Devon breathes.
“Now I’m leaving,” I say, hearing the sirens begin to wail in the distance. “I was never here.”
“Nope,” Martyr mumbles. “I’m definitely going to have nightmares though. We’ll take Brea wherever you want.”
“Good boy,” I say without thinking.
Devon snorts as he gives me space, and I wince behind the mask because I’m typically more professional than that. I’m unsure of how I feel about recent events.
My mind is reeling, and I feel a little lightheaded as I get into my car without a second thought. Glancing behind me at the baby, I see that she’s beginning to nod off.
Maybe driving will help her get the rest of the way there. Putting the car into reverse, I watch as the men give me a wide berth. My phone buzzes in my hand, and I glance down at it before dropping it into the cup holder and pulling my bag up and over my head to stash next to me.
Devon just paid me way more than he was supposed to. Directing the SUV to drive through the gates, I drop my head back and release a sigh. My first instinct was to take the baby with me.
What does that mean? Everything inside of me screams that she’s mine now as I check the rear view mirror to find that she’s fast asleep.
Pulling off my mask, I hide it away and put on giant sunglasses as the world is flooded with sunlight. While I’ve been here, the sun has been steadily ascending into the sky.
I make sure to drive past the clubhouse by using a street adjacent to it and see that there are firetrucks attempting to get a handle on the burning building. Slowing down, I watch as the firemen shake their heads and step back to stare at it.
I know it’s not a natural fire, but one made by my hand. It’s not going to go out any time soon. They’re better off waiting until it dies down on its own from lack of wood since nothing is around it.
Thanks Toad for using your asshole to the detriment of the Reaping Marauders. Snorting a laugh, I cover my mouth and drive the three hours back to Bargersville.