A Wild Ride (Hell's Tribe MC Series) [Book 7]

Chapter 19: The Beginning

"That's a lot of money to keep you quiet," I mused.

Maggie shrugged. "I didn't know about the drugs yet, but my best guess was that he was using some of that profit to pad my paycheque. I figured Lizzie was a big girl and I had done my part by letting her know about the wife the first time. I kept quiet and he paid me under the table for months."

"So Lizzie thought he was leaving his wife and his wife thought he was being faithful?" I questioned.

"I guess," she nodded "Eventually, I learned to ignore it and sweep it under the rug. Owen was hardly around and was paying me stupid money to do my job and keep my mouth shut. When he and Lizzie started fighting, I knew I needed to remove myself from all the drama. She and I weren't really close, but she didn't deserve the way he used to talk to her. He was a total fucking ass-hat and whenever I tried to convince Lizzie she was better off without him, he would send expensive flowers to the house, a new pair of designer shoes, anything to keep her. Lizzie was so head over heels for him that it worked. One night she came home hysterically crying that they had gotten into a fight and he left her stranded in the middle of the road without her purse or phone. She was over three miles from our place and had to walk all the way home."

"What a fucking asshole," I seethed.

Only a poor excuse of a man did something like that.

"After that, I pretty much told her that if she didn't dump him right then, she was only asking for him to continue treating her like shit."

Fair enough.

"She didn't dump him. A couple of weeks went by when everything was good, but when I heard them fighting one night and heard the shit he said to her, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Lizzie was being a weak little bitch, so I went to work the next day and told him off. I told him he was a disgusting pig for not only cheating on his wife in the first place but also for treating Lizzie like shit while he continued to lead her on. He swore that he was gonna change and that he really wanted to leave his wife but hadn't figured out how yet. I knew better than to believe him, but somehow, he got me to think he was telling the truth."

"He manipulated you," I told her. "It's not your fault."

"He managed to convince everyone he was a stand-up, decent guy, but he was an absolute monster."

I was surprised that Maggie had been a victim to him since she seemed so perceptive of everyone around her. She knew when they were judging her, and was aware of someone spinning bullshit the second it left their mouths. I would think a girl like her would clock his bullshit from a mile away, but maybe that's just how good this guy was.

Maggie also had a history of making bad judgment calls, so giving Owen a pass sounded like something just up her alley.

"I didn't know why Lizzie kept going back to him until one night when I finally agreed to go out with her to meet Owen and his friends at some party. They were running underground gambling rings and sex parties in a warehouse just outside of town. The parties were crazy, but also the most fun I'd had since I'd moved there. I swear to god, it was like Mormons gone wild every Friday and Saturday night. There were so many men and women that I recognized as customers from the bakery, snorting up, playing backroom poker games and going at it in these cheap Ikea beds that were draped off all around the place. It was like a porno in a warehouse every damn weekend."

"And I thought the clubhouse was eventful on weekends," I deadpanned.

Maggie scoffed and shook her head. "You have no idea. I figured out very quickly that Lizzie kept Owen around not only for the gifts or his shit company but because he was supplying her with free coke whenever she wanted it."