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

Chapter 1: Kill or be Killed

~Maggie~

I was wide awake, barely catching more than an hour of sleep all night. I had been awake well after my mother had gone asleep, I'd heard when my dad came back from St. George, I'd watched the sunrise come and go, and still, it was like I just couldn't turn my brain off. No matter how hard I tried, every time I closed my eyes, all I saw were flashes of Owen, our struggle, and the moment I took the life from his eyes.

I didn't regret what I had done, I was firm on that, but I couldn't stop thinking about it either. As much as I knew I had no other choice—it was either kill or be killed, I still felt remorse for my actions.

I guess that was a good sign that I wasn't a sociopath, but that was hardly reassuring.

I was tempted to stay curled up in my bed even longer, cos even though I hadn't moved a muscle in hours, I was fucking exhausted. Just sitting up had taken more energy out of me than I thought possible, but I had done it anyway. My body ached everywhere, and my head was spinning when I stood to my feet. When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror I nearly winced, cos fuck I looked terrible—worse than yesterday, if that was even possible. My eyes had black bags under them, my skin was blotchy and red. My hair was a tangled bird's nest, and my shoulders were sagged and limp. In short, I looked as bad as I felt.

I could hear the sounds of what must have been my parents already whispering downstairs, and although I was tempted to just pretend that I didn't know they were awake yet so I could avoid them for a little bit longer, I knew I would have to face them eventually. It was Christmas morning after all, and I had made one hell of a homecoming. I needed to know how things went in St. George, I needed to know if I was safe to start over, or if I should be preparing to go to jail for the rest of my life.

Quite a fucking future I had made for myself.

I couldn't help the way I was suddenly questioning every one of the life decisions that had got me to this point, but then I remembered how much life I had lived in my short twenty-seven years. If I had to go down for killing Owen, so fucking be it. I would miss being free, It'd been fun.

I tip-toed down the stairs to the main floor, hoping I could eavesdrop on whatever my parents were talking about before I entered the room. I tried, but even when I approached the living room and hovered by the entryway, they were so damn quiet I could barely make out even one word.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to woman the fuck up and I walked into that living room like I hadn't just committed murder and had my father and his friends clean it up for me.

"Good morning," I said, more cheerfully than necessary. "Merry Christmas," I added, walking over to each of my parents to give them both a kiss on the cheek.

They couldn't hide their confused and surprised expressions, but they hadn't said a word, only stared at me like I had two heads as I sat across from them.

The living room was decorated just as I remembered it from my Christmases at home as a kid. Nothing had changed in at least the last fifteen years, but that was reassuring and comforting somehow. No matter how much time went by and how many things changed over the years, this place would always be the same. The garland was hung expertly over the mantle, wrapped in twinkly lights and red sparkly ribbon. The tree was set up in the corner of the room, the delicate glass ornaments the same ones I remembered from my childhood. Even the angel I swear was older than me was still resting on top of the tree with a delicate white gown and fluffy wings. I could remember the days as a child when I would stare at the damn angel and wish that one day I could be like her and wear a dress like that.

Twenty-something years later, I couldn't be farther from a fucking angel.

Clearing his throat, my father turned to me with a serious expression. "So, we took care of Owen. He won't come back to bite you in the ass," he promised.

Letting out a relieved breath, I felt a thousand-pound boulder suddenly release itself from my chest.

"Thank you," I all but whispered.

Nodding his head, my father sent me a curt smile, but it was far from the warm expression I felt like I needed from him right now.

I couldn't blame Bear for acting so cold toward me—hell this is how I had been with him and my mom for years, but damn I wished things were different right about now. I know I fucked up the last time I was here, but parental love was supposed to be unconditional right?

"You're safe now, Maggie," my mother began gently, but I could sense she had more to say. "But we need to know more."

"Your mother is right, kid," My dad agreed. "I went into this all guns blazing with the guys, but now I need you to tell me the truth—no bullshit, Mags."

Nodding my head in agreement, I knew my dad was right, I just didn't know how to tell him everything I had done that got me to this point.

"What do you wanna know?" I questioned.

My father's eyes widened, almost as if he didn't expect me to be so agreeable. "Well for starters, did you know about the drugs?"

I let out a breath and shook my head. "Not at first. I found out a little while ago, but I didn't know the extent of it," I told him honestly. When I first got the job, Owen was just the owner of the bakery, I didn't know the rest of it until a couple of months ago when shit hit the fucking fan.

"And the supplier?" My father went on.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion, cos that seemed like an oddly specific question. "What about them?" I questioned, not seeing how that had anything to do with this.

"Do you know who they are?" he clarified.

"No," I answered simply. "How the hell would I?"

"He's just asking, Mags. Don't get your panties in a knot," My mother urged.

"I have no idea who the supplier is," I admitted. "Do you need me to find out?" I questioned, hoping the answer would be no. I wanted to be done with this entirely, never to be thought of again.

"I already know," My father added cryptically. "I just don't understand how everything escalated so quickly."

Letting out a breath, I explained it as best as I could. "I knew Owen did drugs and sold a little on the side, but I didn't know he was dealing on such a large scale. I'd kept quiet about the little I'd seen before because of his relationship with Lizzie, but when I saw all of those keys, I think he just freaked out. He probably thought I was going straight to the cops, but really, I just wanted to get out of there. I saw this look in his eyes, and I knew he might try to hurt me. I panicked, and I ran, and he reached for his gun and started shooting," I told them.

It was pretty close to the truth, I was just missing some minor details, but they didn't need to know that.

"He thought you were a rat," my father figured.

"I guess," I shrugged. In a sense, I guess I was a rat.

"He didn't know you don't talk to cops?" my mother questioned.

"It was never really a topic of conversation," I deadpanned.

Nobody other than the people here in Tooele knew about my connection to the Tribe. It was never something I shared, and always something I was trying to run away from. I fucking hated the backwards way the Tribe ran and the hypocrisy that this so-called "brotherhood" was built on. They were all about living free and breaking rules until someone else tried to join in on that fun, and I'd had enough of that shit. So no, Owen didn't know that I was a daughter of an outlaw biker or that I knew better than to ever talk to the cops, but that was a moot point now.

"One last thing," My father added.

I already knew what he was about to ask me, but I gestured for him to continue anyway.

"Were you fucking this Owen guy?" my mother questioned instead.

It was a simple question, but the answer was far from fucking simple. I knew that I would tell them the truth of it all one day, but I was still processing it all myself, I couldn't get the words out of my mouth if I tried. While I knew I should come clean to my parents now that they were giving me the chance, I did the exact opposite.

I lied.

What is Maggie hiding? Why is she lying to Trudy and Bear? Keep reading to find out! Chapter 2 is out now!!