Hello everyone, it feels like its been forever since I've posted on here. I am so excited to bring you the fourth installment in the Hell's Tribe MC series. As always, I hope you enjoy it just as much, if not more than the book before it. Please share your thoughts in the comments and be sure to vote! Follow me on Instagram @slowridebook for teasers, updates, and all information regarding book 4. Thank you all for the continued support for the last few years, I am truly grateful for every single one of you.
So, without further ado, happy reading.
xoxoxox
Mary.
~Nora~
I was frozen, stuck in place with a crippling fear that had slowed my breathing. I couldn't move my hands to reach for my phone, my fingers to dial, my legs to run, or my mouth to scream for my sons to get back in the car. My front door was kicked in, windows smashed and garage graffitied with just possibly the most terrifying words I could imagine.
Painted in red were the words See you soon, Angel.
Only one person had ever referred to me as Angel and he was dead—at least he was supposed to be.
I had somehow managed to pull myself together if only for my very confused and terrified children. I had safely refastened them in their car seats and managed to drive to the nearest place I felt I might be safe without getting into an accident. It just so happened that I found myself parked outside the police station, yet I felt anything but safe.
If Rigs was actually somehow alive, the last people I would turn to for help were the police. I had tried that once and it had only made things worse. They picked him up, filed domestic assault charges and kept him for exactly one night. He was back home by the morning after pulling strings with his dirty cop buddies to drop the charges. He had beaten me within an inch of my life that night. I couldn't get out of bed or leave the house for a week. I still had a scar spanning across my forehead from the picture frame he'd bashed across my head. Sometimes, on a bad night, I could still feel the dizziness and burning from that blow, and on really bad nights, I could still hear the sounds of Ethan and Lucas crying as I lay on the floor completely helpless.
"Mommy, what are we doing here?" Lucas asked from the back seat, ending my trip down memory lane hell. "I wanna go back home. I'm tired," he whined.
I let out a breath, knowing I had to come up with something and fast. Lucas might have only been five years old but he was wise beyond his years and he knew when I was lying to him or if something was wrong. I hated the fact that my son had already been forced to grow up after dealing with a man like Rigs as his father, but there was only so much I could do to help him. He was only three when Rigs died, but he remembered certain things about him and it broke my heart to know that he would be apart of Lucas forever. Luckily, Ethan had only been a baby and he had no idea who his daddy was or what he was like. At three years old he had still never asked about him, but that didn't mean that one day I wouldn't have to explain to both my sons the kind of devil the man who fathered them was and what he had done.
But, today was not that day.
"Something bad happened at the house, Booger. We can't go home right now," I lied.
I watched Lucas's eyes narrow from my rearview mirror while Ethan just shrugged carelessly.
It was dark when we'd gotten home so they hadn't seen what was written on the garage or the damage, but that didn't mean they didn't understand that something bad had happened. My reaction was far from calm and collected and my sons knew how to read me better than anyone.
"What happened?" Lucas questioned.
Fuck. Why did my kid have to be too damn smart for his own good?
I didn't want to scare him into thinking that our house wasn't safe because it had already taken a lot of convincing to make both boys feel comfortable there. It was no palace—in fact, it was kind of a shitbox, but the rent was cheap and it was the best area I could find that was both close to my job, and a decent school, while also being just in my budget.
I let out a breath. "There was a problem with the gas and if we go inside breathing the air is really dangerous," I lied.
Lucas's mouth widened. "Is the house gonna be okay?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, kiddo. But, we need to find another place to stay tonight."
"Like a sleepover?" Lucas asked so innocently it literally hurt me to think of how evil the person who was doing this to us must be.
I nodded, fighting tears. "Yeah, baby, like a sleepover."
If that monster was really somehow alive, there was only one option for me—one place for me to turn to for help. I really did not want to ever do this again, but I had no choice. I promised myself that I would keep my distance and that I wouldn't get back into that life, but I had no other choice. I had moved out to Park City on my own thinking that I was safe and free, but clearly, me and my children were both still in danger. As much as I hated what I was about to do, I sucked up my pride and decided I would call the person I had avoided for the last year.
"Boys, I'm just gonna make a call outside," I said, leaning into the back seat to plant kisses on both their foreheads.
I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. I put minimal distance between myself and the car, making sure I still had a clear view of both of my sons and that I was only a few steps away from them.
My shaky hands dialled the number hesitantly. The line only rang twice before I heard his voice on the other end.
"Nora?" he questioned, immediately on high alert.
He knew something was really wrong. I wouldn't have called otherwise.
"Knox, I need you," I breathed.
I heard him let out a breath on the other line. "What happened?" he asked instantly.
"Rigs is alive," I blurted.
The words sounded just as crazy out loud as they did in my head, but I knew they were true. All this time I think I knew that it was too good to be true. The last year had gone too well for me. I had been too happy.
I could hear Knox's surprise on the other end. "What are you talking about? Nora is everything okay? Are you on something?" he asked, firing one question after another.
I huffed in frustration. "No everything is not okay! And no I am not on anything!" I yelled. "I am stone-cold sober and went home tonight to find my house broken into and vandalized," I explained.
Knox sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. Are you and the boys okay?" he asked.
"Yes, we're fine, but that's not the point. It was Rigs. He's alive, Knox and he's coming for us."
Knox's voice softened again. "Nora, he's dead. I made sure of that myself."
I shook my head as I felt tears well up at the back of my throat. "He left a message, Knox. He said, See you soon, Angel," I told him, choking on the words as they left my mouth.
Knox was silent for a second letting my words sink in. He knew Rigs was the only person who called me Angel, and he knew that I hated it beyond words.
"Where are you right now? Are you safe?" He asked instantly, panic rising in his throat.
I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "For now, I think. I'm in the police department parking lot but I don't trust them, Knox. I don't trust anyone right now."
"Fuck," he cursed under his breath. "How is this possible? Are you sure?" he asked.
"I don't know how, but yeah I'm sure. No one else called me that. If it's not him, who else would know about him? Who else would care enough to find me and wreck my house?"
"Okay, calm down, Nora," he said soothingly. "We're gonna figure this out, I promise."
I let a cry fall from my throat. "I know I've avoided you for the last year and a half, but I need you, Knox, please." I knew I didn't deserve his help—it seemed like I never did, but for some reason, he continued to give it to me, even when he really shouldn't have. I'd been a pretty crappy friend for the last few years. Not only had I let all of that shit with Rigs and the club happen, but I'd avoided speaking to him after he'd moved back to Arizona and even skipped his and Ronnie's wedding a couple of months back.
"It doesn't matter, Nora. I'll help you any way I can, you know that."
I nodded my head, fighting my tears. I couldn't let the boys know I was upset.
"Okay," Knox began as if he was formulating a plan in his head. "I won't be able to get there until morning. Maybe I can find a flight for sooner but it will still be at least a few hours. I'm gonna call Cash and have him and the guys head your way now, Tooele is only an hour from Park City. They'll get there before I ever could."
I bit my lip. "You trust them?" I asked. The Tooele guys had done nothing but help me, but right now I wasn't sure who I could trust besides Knox.
"With my life, Nora. None of them would ever put you in danger like this."
"Okay," I agreed. "Please, just hurry."
"I'll get as many of the guys down there as I can. If this is somehow real, we're gonna need whoever we can get."
"Thank you, Knox. I know I only call when I need you, but I right now I can't risk trying to figure this out on my own."
"Don't think twice about it. I promised Doc I would keep you safe and I intend to do just that. I'll call you back when I hear something."
I held my breath and waited for what felt like hours to hear my phone ring again.
I was hoping I was crazy—like I had somehow imagined it all. But deep down I knew this new life I made for myself was too good to be true. The new job, the house, the great guy—that kind of stuff just didn't happen to me. I was always in the middle of chaos, and if I trusted what my gut was telling me, this was just the beginning.