The Long Road Home: A Devil Chaser's MC Novella

by L. Wilder

  His head was still facing down, and I assumed he was checking out my dark purple toenail polish when he asked, “You got everything you need?”

  “Yep. All good here,” I told him as I turned back and looked around the room. My clothes were all hanging in the closet, my make-up was on the small dresser, and my bed was made up with fresh sheets. The guys had done everything they could to make the room as nice as possible. When I turned back to face Maverick, he was still staring at me with a peculiar look on his face. “The guys really did an amazing job here. It was really sweet of them. Did you need something?”

  “Good,” Maverick said with a nod. “It’s late. I just wanted to make sure you were settled. I’ll be back in the morning. We have a few things to discuss.” Without another word, he turned around and left.

  I stood there, staring at the empty doorway, wondering what the hell we had to talk about. Something told me he wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to keep an eye on me, but the way he just looked at me? Yeah, that was hot. This man had me all kinds of confused. I was tempted to just pack up my stuff and get the hell out of here. I told Cotton everything I knew, so there was really no point in me staying.

  Chapter 9

  Maverick

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going, Henley?” I growled. I was on my way to the kitchen when I found Henley tiptoeing down the dark hallway, her arms crammed full with all of her shit. An exasperated curse rumbled under her breath as she stopped dead in her tracks. With her hip cocked out to the side, she stared at me with a frustrated pout. Too fucking cute. Her long hair was pulled up high on her head in some kind of bun, with loose strands falling down around her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes looked black as coal as she stood there, staring at me, wearing nothing but that damn t-shirt. My eyes trailed down the length of her long, sexy legs, and I instantly imagined them wrapped around me. Damn. This girl was getting under my skin.

  “I’m… uhhh… I’m going home?” she sputtered.

  “No… you’re not. Get your ass back to your room and go to bed,” I ordered. There was no way I was letting her leave, at least not yet.

  “And why should I do that? I’ve already told Cotton everything I remembered about the shooting, so there’s really no reason for me to stay here,” she said, sounding like she actually believed what she was saying.

  “What are you going to do when these guys come knocking on your door? Huh? You gonna take care of it on your own? Hit them over the head with one of your fancy fucking pillows? Hear me when I say this, Henley Gray. Once you leave here, there’s no coming back. No one will be there to help you when they come for that pretty little neck of yours. And let’s be clear… they will come for you,” I warned. A defeated look crossed her face as she stood trying to decide what she was going to do. Then a spark of anger crossed her face when she realized I was right, making me almost smile with satisfaction.

  She glanced up to the ceiling as a frustrated burst of air rushed from her lungs. “Well, thank you for clearing that all up for me, Maverick.”

  “Henley…” I called out to her.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “You’ll be safer here. Club protection is the best thing you’ve got going right now.”

  “Whatever you say, boss.” She rolled her eyes as she turned and walked back into her room, slamming the door behind her. I stood there for a minute, listening to her endless stream of profanities as she tossed her things around in her room. A part of me was tempted to go in there and set her straight and explain what kind of danger she was really in. If she had left here tonight, I have no doubt they would have found her and killed her. Even though having her here was going to be a pain in my ass, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her.

  “You lost, Maverick?” Peyton asked playfully. She was one of the club girls. Most of the brothers called them Fury’s Felines… pussies that were always eager to please, and Peyton was a club favorite. She had a way with her mouth that could make any man forget the world around him, even if just for a little while.

  “Hey, Peyton. You’re up late tonight.”

  “I was just spending a little time with Clutch. He’s having a hard time with … you know… everything. I was trying to cheer him up a bit,” she explained. “But he’s asleep now, and I was just heading back to my room. Want to join me?”

  “Yeah, I’m up for that,” I told her as I followed her back to her room. I needed to let off some steam, and Peyton was just the girl to help me out.

  “I haven’t seen much of you lately,” she told me as she hastily began to unbuckle my belt. Without hesitation, she dropped down to her knees. Her long, black hair fell around her shoulders as her fingers worked to release the zipper of my jeans. “We have some catching up to do, handsome.” She smiled up at me, and her brown eyes filled with eagerness. She began lowering my jeans down below my hips. She took me in her hand and brushed her warm, wet tongue around the head of my cock. As her hand began to slowly stroke up and down my now hardening shaft, she said, “I heard you’re going to be around more since you’re helping out with Henley and all.”

  As soon as the sound of Henley’s name left her lips, my dick went limp. Fuck. She’d only been here one night, and she was already turning into a cock-block. I took a step back and said, “I’ve got to go.”

  “What? Baby, we were just getting started. Let me make you feel good…” she whined, her hands dropping down to her sides.

  “Maybe some other time,” I told Peyton as I pulled up my jeans and headed for the door. Still pulling up my zipper, I stepped out of her room. When I started down the hallway, I found Henley standing in her doorway, watching me with a look of disgust on her face that I wasn’t expecting to see. Before I had a chance to say anything to her, she slammed her door and locked it. I almost called out to her, but stopped myself. I knew there was no reason for me to fucking explain myself to her, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that was scratching at the back of my mind. I decided to ignore it and headed to bed. I was ready for this fucking day to end.

  For the next week, Henley did her best to avoid me. Every time we were in the same room, she would make herself busy talking to Cassidy or one of the guys. Even though she wasn’t exactly sharing it with me, she always had a beaming smile on her face. It was like she was immune to all the negative shit swarming around her. Hell, nothing seemed to get her down. As much as I hated to admit it, I found myself being drawn to her light, and each day I was finding it harder to ignore. From time to time, she would notice me watching her, our eyes locking for just a brief moment before she would smile and turn away. I couldn’t help myself. I started to look forward to those smiles.

  With everything going on at the club, the next few days became a blur. After we buried Skidrow, I spent most of my time working with Big Mike, looking for anything that might help us find the guys who killed Skid. From everything Henley had told us, we had completely ruled out Tony’s old crew. We already knew they didn’t have the manpower to back that kind of threat. It had to be someone else.

  Cotton called Henley into his office again. He was getting impatient with the lack of information we’d collected, and he wanted to make sure she’d told us everything she could remember. Unfortunately, she didn’t have anything to add to what she’d already told us. We were running out of ideas when Big Mike suggested, “Why don’t we use her as bait?”

  “Who?”

  “Henley. We already know they want her. They went to all the trouble of putting that tracker on her car. It’d be easy. We could send her back home and wait for them to come after her,” he explained. “We could hook her up with a wire and a GPS.”

  “No.”

  “Hear me out. We have to do whatever we can to find these guys, and she might be the only option we have right now. You know we wouldn’t let anything happen to her,” he promised. “I’d make sure of it.”

  “Not taking that chance,” I growled. I was sure h
e wasn’t expecting my reaction, but there was no way in hell I was going to take a chance with Henley’s life. It was my job to keep her safe, and I intended to do just that.

  “Let’s at least talk to Cotton about it. See what he thinks,” he suggested, not willing to let his idea go.

  “Drop it, Mike. It’s not going to happen,” I told him firmly. “We’ll just have to find another way.”

  Chapter 10

  Henley

  I was starving. I’d been helping Cassidy with inventory for the past two hours, and I hadn’t had a chance to eat. As soon as we finished sorting everything at the bar, I went to the kitchen to see if the guys had anything made up for lunch. When I walked in, the room was empty except for Maverick. He was sitting all alone at the long kitchen table with a not-so-subtle scowl on his face. I wondered what he was thinking about, sitting there alone in the quiet. He was in a daze; totally unaware I had even walked into the room. When I looked at him, I could see a world of hurt hidden behind those beautiful, green eyes. He sat there, slumped down in his chair, and I could almost see the weight of the world sitting on his broad shoulders. He was completely lost in his own thoughts, and it didn’t look like a place anyone needed to be.

  Trying to knock him out of his stupor, I sat down beside him and asked, “Do you ever smile?” He let out a deep sigh of frustration, making sure I knew he wasn’t exactly thrilled I was interrupting his lunch. He didn’t even acknowledge my question as he took a big bite of his ham sandwich.

  “Seriously, does anything make you happy, or are you always such a grouch?” I pushed, trying to get some kind of reaction out of him.

  “Are you bored, Henley? Trying to pick a fight with me so you’ll have something to occupy your time?” he asked with his mouth full.

  “I just don’t get it. You’re a good-looking guy, the new Sergeant at Arms of the club, and the guys seem to really respect you.”

  “So, you’re flirting with me now?” he asked, looking over to me with a sexy smirk. Damn. That smile could melt hearts from a mile away.

  “Oh, please, don’t flatter yourself. I’m just trying to get inside that head of yours.”

  “Don’t,” he barked. “You don’t know shit about me, and…”

  “That’s not exactly true. I know you have a son. A son you loved enough that you gave him up so he could have a life you didn’t think you could give him on your own.” His eyebrows furrowed as he glared at me, but he didn’t try to stop me from continuing. “And I know that had to be hard—really hard, but you didn’t let it stop you. You kept living, working to make your club better… safer. I also know that you helped your brother get in that other club in Tennessee, even though you probably wanted him to be here with you. You did it, because it was the best thing for him.”

  “Cassidy talks too damn much,” he grumbled.

  “You’re missing the point,” I snapped.

  “What’s the point then, Henley? Tell me. What exactly do you think I should be smiling about?” he said as he glared at me angrily, warning me to shut the hell up, but I was determined to make my point.

  “As far as I can tell you have plenty to smile about, but you’re focusing on the wrong things. You have to learn from your mistakes and let the past go. Just live your life the best way you can and forget about the things that you can’t change. Don’t be so hard on yourself about everything. Lighten up,” I explained, wishing he would actually listen to what I was saying.

  “The past makes us who we are. I live it and breathe it. It’s not something I can just let go of,” he said as he turned his attention back to his sandwich.

  “That may be true, Maverick, but you can either dwell on your own misery, or try to find your way back to some kind of happiness. You just have to take that first step.”

  “Maybe, just maybe, I don’t want to take that step. Maybe I like things just the way they are.” His green eyes darkened with the anguish that churned inside of him. I wanted to reach out and hold him in my arms and take all his pain away. I had to find a way to make him see things differently, to distract him from his despair, even if it’s just for a little while. I have to try to get him to take that first step.

  “We’ll just have to see about that,” I told him, smiling.

  “Just leave it alone, Henley,” he said, his voice full of irritation, all of which was directed at me.

  “Don’t be such a grump. I might just end up surprising you,” I told him as I stood up. “I’m going with Cassidy to see Dallas.”

  “You’re not going alone,” he snapped, dropping his sandwich down on his plate.

  “I won’t be alone. I’m going with Cassidy.”

  “You don’t go anywhere without a member of this club. Period. I’ve got to meet with Cotton, so I’ll get Clutch to go with you. Go straight there and back. No stops,” he said firmly.

  “Whatever you say, boss.” I gave a quick salute as I turned to leave.

  When I finally made it outside, Cassidy was already waiting for me in her car. The engine was running while she sat there, talking on her phone. When I got in the car, she brought her finger up to her lips, letting me know not to say anything.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll tell her,” she said with her voice oozing with sweetness. I knew right away she was talking with Dad. “Yeah, she got her scores last night. I think she aced them all,” she said as she rolled her eyes at me. She wanted to act like she didn’t care about my grades, but I knew she was proud of me. “I love you too, Daddy. I’ll have her call you as soon as she gets home. Talk to you later,” she said as she hung up the phone.

  “Did you tell him about what happened?” I asked, praying that she had enough sense not to worry him.

  “Of course not. You know how he overreacts about stuff.”

  “Good. You ready to go?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Yeah, we better get going. I don’t want to be late,” she said as she slipped the car into reverse.

  I’d made plans with her to go over and help babysit Dallas’ kids, so she could take care of some things with her lawyer. Apparently, her insurance company was giving her a hard time about her husband’s life insurance policy, and they didn’t want to give her the full payout. Her family really needed that money, and she had to do whatever she could to make sure they got it.

  When we got to her house, Clutch parked his bike in the street out front. I thought he would follow us inside, but he stayed put. He was just sitting there, watching us. I gave him a quick wave as we got out of the car, but I got nothing in return. When I noticed the serious look on his face, I wondered if he was pissed he had to come. I wondered if he thought it was as ridiculous as I did that he even had to be here.

  “Don’t worry about it, Henley. He’s just doing his job,” Cassidy assured me as she shut her car door.

  “I feel bad. He doesn’t look like he wants to be here and—” I started.

  “Henley, stop fretting over Clutch and let’s get inside. Dallas is waiting for us,” she urged.

  I looked toward the house and saw that Dallas was already waiting for us at the front door. It was a great little ranch style house with white rockers on the front porch and a big shop in the back. Cassidy told me that Guardrail’s construction company helped her husband build the house several years ago, just before Dusty was born. In the front yard, there was an amazing tree house with swings and a slide, and several bicycles were scattered on the grass.

  “Thank you both for coming. I appreciate it more than you could ever know,” Dallas said as she picked up her purse and keys from the side table. “I shouldn’t be long. I think I just have to sign some papers or something, and then I’ll be back.”

  “There’s no rush. Take your time,” Cassidy told her. “We’ve been looking forward to babysitting.”

  “They’re hanging out in Dusty’s room, playing video games. That should keep them entertained for a little while, and there’s sandwich stuff in the kitchen if they get hungry,” Dallas
explained. “Call me if anything comes up.”

  “We’ll be fine,” I assured her.

  As soon as Dallas pulled out of the driveway, Cassidy said, “I’ll go make up some lunch for them. You go make sure they aren’t up to anything.”

  “Gotcha,” I said as I went in search of Dusty’s room. Considering everything that had happened, the house was extremely neat and organized. Everything seemed to have its place. As I walked through the house, the walls were filled with pictures of their family, and each photo told its own story. They were happy, and it broke my heart to see such a precious family destroyed by such a malicious act. Those men really had no idea what that one night, that one act of violence took away from this family. I was looking at one of the most recent pictures of the kids sitting on Skidrow’s motorcycle when the sounds of the children’s voices rumbled down the hallway. When I peeked my head through the doorway, both of them stopped what they were doing and looked at me with mischief in their eyes. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I’d been around enough kids to know something was going on.

  “So, what are you guys up to?” I asked, smiling. They looked so adorable sitting there together side by side with their video game controllers in their hands. Looking at them made it hard for me to believe they would ever misbehave.

  “Playing Batman. We’re trying to get the bad guys, but Katie won’t do it right,” Dusty complained. His nose crinkled with frustration as he looked over at his sister.

  “I am doing it right, Dusty. Stop being such a twerp,” Katie protested. Her face flashed red with anger as she tossed the controller toward Dusty. “You do it. This game is stupid anyway.” She stood up and started for the door. Dusty watched her walk out of the room, his long, blond hair falling into his eyes, almost covering the tiny freckles that dappled the bridge of his nose. I had always heard that Down’s children were extremely lovable and happy, and Dusty certainly fit that description.