My Darling Mayhem
: Chapter 17

I sat with my hands folded in my lap and my heart hammering against my chest. Thistle looked over at me and winced.

“I know you’re probably freaked out, but Archer can handle this.”

My smile was pathetically weak, as were our voices as we ensured the boys didn’t wake. “This is just new for me.”

It was dark outside the truck windows, but my gaze drifted to the side mirror where I watched the singular headlight following us. Two men rode ahead of us, and several more were behind Archer, taking up the rear. The second I had mentioned that man’s looks, Archer’s brows dipped then raised as if all at once it dawned on him who had been there, and then he stared at me as if he expected me to move my new property patch and reveal a bullet wound.

His panic shot through me as he pulled Kane into his arms, then told Thistle to take Cruz. I was so confused at the way his tone had turned militant and how everyone around him seemed to mobilize without question. Archer’s truck was up on the grass within minutes. Only the driver’s door and back passenger were open. His members had guns drawn, keeping them low to the ground while Thistle and Archer continued to usher us to safety. My head spun, still trying to piece together what had just happened.

The threat I’d felt from the man had settled in my chest like a poisonous fume, clouding and deteriorating tissue with each second that passed, but there was too much going on for me to even have a moment to wrap my head around it. The man who’d spoken to me was obviously dangerous, and as I tried to collect the pieces, I had to assume that perhaps this was Archer’s father. He’d told me he was dangerous, wanted to potentially take Kane, and looked so much like them both.

I climbed over the console to the passenger side while Kane and Cruz were buckled into the back. Thistle took the driver’s seat, and Archer approached the side of the truck moments later. He pulled the door open, and within seconds, his hands cradled my jaw and pushed into my hair.

“I need to watch from the road in case something happens…” His voice caught, and as he started to pull away, I gripped his wrists to keep him with me.

His eyes searched mine, and I found fear in his gaze, making my stomach flip. I knew Archer wanted to hear what the man said to me, but it seemed he needed to ensure we were safe first. I wanted him in the truck with us, but I also knew this was his role with this club. He needed to be the president, and I needed to trust him.

“Be safe.” I pressed my mouth to his in a quick kiss.

Archer held my face as he kissed me back, then pulled away. “Thistle will drive you home. I’ll be right behind him, but in case something happens, I will ask him to stay outside to protect you. A few members will be down the street, scouting as well. Don’t be alarmed by them, okay.”

I nodded, and then, with his eyes on mine, he moved out of my space and shut the door.

Thistle glanced over at me, bringing me back to the moment. We’d been driving for a while, but I had no idea how long. It wasn’t like I could text Archer, so I hadn’t looked at my phone. Instead, my only connection to him was watching his headlight as he followed us.

“Are you able to tell me who that man was?” I asked, letting my voice echo softly in the cab, knowing the boys wouldn’t hear us.

Thistle shifted his hand on the steering wheel before checking the rearview mirror.

“I didn’t see him, but based on what you said…I assume it was Saul Green. Archer’s old man.”

Just as I thought.

“How would he have gotten the chance to be around your club without anyone noticing?”

I stared ahead. The taillights of a few motorcycles showed, and then the brake lights as we took a turn.

Thistle seemed to think this over before giving me a simple answer.

“He was wearing a cut with our colors. Blended right in.”

I perused the side of Thistle’s head, seeing his hair was shaved, leaving him bald with the smallest bit of growth. His bushy beard covered his mouth, making it difficult to read his expressions, but his eyes were kind, and those were much easier to understand.

“What does it mean that he was wearing your colors?”

Thistle’s long, tatted finger came up, pointing to his patches. “We call these our colors. It’s a way to identify which club you’re affiliated with. Can be dangerous if you’re in the wrong part of town.”

His comment only reminded me of what the man, Saul, had said about my connection to El Peligro and how it seemed that Archer would have known who I was or should have known. It made me think back to when Archer had recognized my tattoo…and asked about my name.

“Thistle?”

His head turned quickly, then returned forward. “Yeah?”

“Did you know who I was…when you met me and knew my last name?’

I observed his features, but they didn’t change at all.

“As in, knew that you were Archer’s neighbor or that you worked at the same place he bought his house from?”

That answered how Archer knew where I worked before I had told him. How did I bring up what Saul had mentioned without bringing up my family? What if Thistle kidnapped me and my son, thinking he was being loyal to Archer…I trusted Archer, but did I trust the man he considered his second?

Something in my stomach flipped with nerves, making me look out the window. Archer would be asking what his father had said to me, and he’d tell Thistle if not all of his men. There was also a chance more of his men knew, especially if Saul did, which might put Archer in danger. I had no idea what Saul’s affiliations were, but if he knew who I was, I might be in danger not telling Archer’s men.

There was no running from this.

With a deep sigh, I turned to face Archer’s second.

“The man who talked to me…Saul. He knew about my family.”

Thistle flipped his blinker as we turned onto the main freeway, which would take us back to Atlas.

“Your family?”

Did he really not know, or was he just pretending? I hated not knowing.

“I’m the daughter of Manny Vasquez.”

I waited, watching his reaction to my confession, knowing I didn’t need to say anything else. His eyes remained forward, and then I saw his chest move with a deep inhale.

“Fuck. That complicates things tremendously.”

“Why?” I searched what I could of his face, desperate for more information. How did my family and Mayhem Riot interact? How did they know each other?

Thistle glanced over; his brows crumpled.

“Because we’ve been at war with your family for nearly twenty years.”

Archer still hadn’t arrived home by the time Thistle pulled into my driveway. He turned off the engine, and we sat in silence, with the awkward tension that I was the daughter and sister of their enemy.

“What will happen now?”

Thistle peeked over the seat, seeing the sleeping boys.

“I’m sure Archer will talk to Kane’s foster parents and get an extension to have him overnight. But we should head inside, get you somewhere safe.”

“So you won’t…” I started, nervous about what I was going to ask. “You won’t hurt me or hold me as leverage or something?”

I had no idea how they operated, but from what I could remember from how my father ran El Peligro, that was something they would have done.

Thistle narrowed his gaze like he was confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Because I’m your enemy.”

His chest shifted in what I thought might be a laugh. “Wren, you’re family. That patch on your back means Mayhem Riot will be there for you forever. You’re not just a patched Old Lady. You’re our president’s woman. You have our loyalty; we only ask that you remain faithful to us.”

The knots in my stomach eased as I let out a relieved breath. “I haven’t spoken to my brother in nearly twenty years. We had a falling out…so, I don’t know what or how he runs El Peligro.”

Thistle tilted his head like he was confused. “Don’t you mean brothers?”

My mouth parted in question when someone knocked on Thistle’s window. He turned, opened his door, and began talking to one of the members who wanted to help us get inside. I allowed them to open my door and usher me to my house. There were three men aside from Thistle helping us.

Thistle checked the house while I waited on my couch with both boys curled up under blankets. My heart beat erratically as he moved from room to room, a gun drawn but pointed down at the floor while his eyes were alert. A member was at my back door, and another two were standing near the front.

This was crazy.

But it was also familiar. My father’s men were always around as I grew up, even after I moved in with my aunt Maria. Her husband worked for my father, so the men were always around.

Once it was clear, Thistle came back into the living room. “I’ll be outside with the rest of the men. Archer will want you to get ready for bed, get some sleep, and don’t worry about anything. You’re safe.”

I gave him a solemn nod, wishing we could talk a bit more about the conversation we’d started but understanding that he needed to leave. I watched as he exited through the front door, and I decided I would sleep on the opposite couch so the boys weren’t alone while we waited for Archer to return.

Hoping that once he did, he’d still want me.

The next morning, I woke up to a note under my face.

Plucking it up, I read it and felt my stomach tilt.

Wren,

I didn’t want to wake you or Cruz, but I had to return Kane to his foster parents. I know we need to talk, and we will, but for now, you and Cruz are safe. We were able to track down Saul, my men are watching him. I’m going to see if I can push Kane’s court date up. If you leave, a few of my men might trail you; otherwise, they’re staying out of the way. – I love you, Archer.

… I’m on my cell if you need me.

That was great news, and while I knew I should be grateful, I couldn’t help but feel completely thrown off balance. I wanted to sit down with him and ask how last night went. He was gone, but I had no idea for how long, or if he encountered any trouble. I hadn’t heard if Thistle had told him about my father or the fact that we were essentially enemies.

This almost felt silly. I’d been removed from that world for so long that it was about as believable as hearing I was once related to a monarch centuries ago. It had no bearing on my current life situation whatsoever, but still…I couldn’t understand that someone had brought it up, pinned me to it, and then acted as though my life was about to be upturned because of it.

Now that I knew Saul was under surveillance, my biggest concern was how to tell Archer.

Deep down, I felt like he’d understand…but the smallest piece of doubt lingered on the fringes of my mind. Stretching, I watched the white blanket drop from around my chest. Archer must have brought it out from my bedroom for me. Cruz was still asleep on the other end of the couch, curled up with his own blanket. I smiled, feeling my heart thump happily in my chest, remembering what Archer and I had said to each other on top of that canyon. With only the sunset as our witness, we moved to a new level. I had a piece of leather that felt nearly as important as a ring on my finger.

He’d told me he loved me.

How could he really feel that way for me, though, if he didn’t know my family was his enemy? Saul’s words came back, whipping against my conscience. If Archer knew about your connection to his biggest enemy, do you really think he’d place that piece of leather on your back?

What if I lost him?

I’d pushed him away so effectively in the beginning, yet he kept coming back, trying, and never giving up. What if he realized all that was a waste…

I was spiraling, and the fact that Archer and his men seemed to have left made me feel even more off-balance. I wanted time to slow down and just give me a second to acclimate.

Coffee.

I needed to caffeinate first, then I could figure out how to break the news to Archer.

Right as I slid my mug under the Keurig, my doorbell rang.

Cruz lifted his little head from the couch, being woken by the sound, then covered his ears when it was pressed again.

My feet moved, and I wasn’t even thinking about who might be watching us or if Archer deemed it safe to go about my life now, when I swung the door open.

My mouth dropped.

‘Mom?’

Amber eyes that I’d inherited narrowed on me as she pushed me aside.

“¿Entonces soy un extraño ahora?’