“Yes.”
But the voice that responded wasn’t Hailey’s.
I turned and saw, in the doorway, her boyfriend.
Satan.
I’d only met Satan a couple of times during my time with Corey, as he’d tried to keep me away from club events as much as possible. For all of Corey’s faults, he knew I wasn’t a great fit for the culture of the MC. But I never forgot a man with the name “Satan.”
“Hi, Melissa.”
“What the fuck is going on?” I shrieked, going from quiet to yelling in a second. “Is this some kind of sick fucking practical joke? Are you just deliberately trying to see how far you can throw your life down the gutter, Hailey? Are you fucking sick?”
“Melissa…”
“Did you learn nothing from me, Hailey?” I said, starting to get emotional. “Did you not see how much shit I went through from dating a Devil’s Patriot? Do you see me now? I’m broke and broken! And you suddenly think dating one that you…that you shot footage of? Jesus Christ!”
I shook my head and scoffed.
“At least it makes sense now why you shot the news footage the way you did. You were fucking one of them.”
“Melissa, please.”
I sighed and looked at Hailey. She looked wounded, hurt by my words. But she also did not look like she was backing down.
“Can you sit down? Let me explain things to you. And Sam, too.”
“Sam?”
“My real name,” Satan said. “I don’t give it out. Ever. But it was important to Hailey that you understand I’m not going to treat you as Spawn did. And it’s important for you to understand that Spawn never meant to hurt you.”
“Hah, I’m so glad intentions can make up for scars.”
Also, that was a complete bullshit statement.
“He’s at least apologetic now.”
These two had a long, long, long fucking way to go to make me think this wasn’t all some incredible stupid fucking bullshit.
Seriously? You learned nothing from me?
“Please, Melissa, can you sit?”
If it was a friend, even a close one, I would have stormed off. Only because Hailey was family did I take a seat at the kitchen table.
“And move that shit.”
Satan—or Sam, whatever—did actually move the centerpiece, to my surprise. It was the right step on the surface. But I’d been around Corey, or Spawn, or whatever stupid nickname he had now too much to believe it was sincere. These guys, dumb as they appeared to be, could play some wicked long games.
“I could sit here and give a whole spiel about how we’ve had plenty of time to know that we are serious, but I know you wouldn’t believe that, and I can sort of understand it. I can only tell you that Sam here is telling you his real name, which these guys don’t do. But he’s doing it for me because he cares about me.”
“For now,” I growled.
“I kept her here when things were at their most dangerous because I knew she’d be safest here,” Sam said.
I turned to look at him. He wasn’t a man who sounded contrite. He seemed like once he got set on his ways, he wasn’t changing. But he at least didn’t come across as a jackass who insisted everyone deal with him on his terms.
Of course, he probably was; he was just really good at masking it here.
