Page 31

Remi

It had been weeks since I left New York, and things had finally begun to settle down. It was odd getting regular updates from Sypher, but I dealt with it. I still didn’t know what to make of everything and the more I thought about it all, the more questions I had.

The problem was the only one with answers was back in Purgatory with our kids. Apparently, he decided to finally do the right thing and refused to leave them. While I was happy he made the right decision, I worried if I was doing the right thing.

All the secrets were out in the open now. There was nothing between us anymore. Sypher made sure of that. I just didn’t know what to do with the information overload. Sure, I could formulate my own ideas, but I was so fucking tired of it all. This life cost me the one thing I held dear and I wasn’t sure I would ever get it back.

Life was hard enough without all the lies and deception, but to lose faith in the one man I loved with all my heart, well, that was something I was having a hard time reconciling.

I didn’t know how to get past it all.

I still grappled with conflicting emotions, dreams, and desires. One minute, I never wanted to see him again; the next, I couldn’t wait to hear his voice. It was all so confusing.

And now I was second-guessing my current situation. In the mounds of ghost files Sypher gave me access to, something kept jumping out at me. I didn’t notice it at first, but when I did, it was like a flashing neon sign almost compelling me to investigate.

So, I did, and I found myself right back where my nightmare began.

“Remi, are you sure this is the right address?” my father asked while I stared at the house that used to be mine.

I don’t know what made me come back here. I never wanted to see this place again. But something told me if I was ever going to make the right decision, I needed to go back to the beginning, and for me, that was in Nebraska, where I grew up.

The house hadn’t changed much in the years since I’d lived here. In fact, from what I could tell, the house was in relatively good shape. Whoever lived here now, cared about the house. Flowers that weren’t here before, now lined the sidewalk and the front of the house. Planters hung from every window. The house looked like an idyllic family home.

Not a place of nightmares that I remembered.

“Yes,” I said, opening the car door, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

Nothing had changed, but everything looked different.

Felt different.

I couldn’t explain it.

It was almost as if I’d walked into some third dimension.

Nothing made sense.

“What is it?”

Shaking my head, I looked down the street at the perfectly trimmed trees, yards, and bushes. Houses in perfect mint condition, flowers blooming everywhere. Almost like someone tried to hide the truth behind layers and layers of makeup.

“I grew up on this street, but nothing is the same,” I muttered while I watched a garage door open next door and a large man slowly back a motorcycle out. Then, as if all at once, several other garages opened and men backed their bikes out.

“I think we should leave,” my father whispered, stepping closer to me.

Turning toward my former home, I stared at a man that wasn’t there before.

Tall, muscular and covered in tattoos, he stood on the front porch glaring at me, waiting to see what I would do.

When I didn’t move, he asked, “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I used to live here,” I replied, pointing at him. “In that house.”

“I own everything. Have for several years now.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude. We will leave,” I said, turning to get back in the car when the man clearly said, “Didn’t say you had to.”

Stopping, I turned back toward him when a woman stepped out of the house to stand next to him.

She was beautiful, shy, and she looked vaguely familiar.

I couldn’t place her, but I felt like I knew her somehow.

The large man whispered something to the woman before he walked down the sidewalk toward me. Extending his hand, he said, “My name is Joshua Stone, and you are?”

Taking his hand, I frowned. “Stone? Are you related to Montana Stone?”

The man growled, yanking his hand out of mine. “Get the fuck off my property.”

“Wait,” I quickly said, holding up my hand. “I didn’t come here to start anything. I’m just looking for answers.”

“Go fucking find them somewhere else,” the man sneered, marching back toward the house.

Running after him, I shouted, “My name is Remi. My husband is Maxwell Doherty!”

The woman gasped while the man stopped dead in his tracks.

Turning to face me, he seethed, “What the fuck did you just say?”

“My husband is Maxwell Doherty.”

The man looked at the woman, who now stood frozen to her spot, tears running down her face. Rushing over to her, he whispered something in her ear as she nodded and quickly returned inside the house, shutting the door behind her.

Walking back over to me, the large man glared. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you are looking for, but you won’t find answers here. I have absolutely nothing to do with my fucking cousin or that goddamned club of his. I run a clean club, the way it was supposed to have been run all along. So, take your ass and get the fuck out of here and tell your fucking husband—”

The sound of glass shattering had the large man running toward the house.

I don’t know why, but I followed.

The second I entered, I felt a wave of nausea wash over me as memories of my time here assailed me, almost suffocating me. I could feel the walls closing in as the surrounding air screamed, begging me to leave.

“Put down the glass, honey,” the man cautiously said. The frightened woman held a shard of glass to her throat.

Tears streamed down her face while her body shook in terror.

“He’s coming for me.”

“No one is coming for you, honey. Just put the glass down.”

“I can’t go back. I won’t!” the woman screamed as someone in a Soulless Sinner cut carefully walked up behind her, grabbing her while he held the hand with the shard of glass away from her neck. The woman fought, screamed, begged to be let go. Another man, wearing the same cut, rushed in from behind me, quickly sedating the woman.

Standing there, I said nothing when the man who held her gently picked her up and carried her out of the room. Joshua Stone turned toward me. “I should fucking kill you where you stand.”

“I wouldn’t suggest it,” my father sneered, stepping closer. “No one will touch my daughter and live.”

“Do you have any fucking idea what you’ve done!” the man roared, raking his hands through his dark hair. “That woman is barely hanging on by a fucking thread. She lives in a perpetual state of nightmares. She never leaves this fucking house. It’s all I can do to keep her sane half the time and you fucking waltz in here and fuck everything up.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stone. I didn’t mean to cause her any problems. I just wanted answers.”

The man sighed. “Answers to fucking what?”

“I don’t really know,” I admitted. “I’ve recently come into some information that doesn’t make sense, but something is telling me the answer is here, somewhere. I was hoping if I came back here, something would jog my memory.”

“What information?”

“Regarding the Golden Skulls and the Soulless Sinners.”

“I told you already. I have nothing to do with that fucking club or my cousin.”

“But the man next to you is wearing a Soulless Sinner cut.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re affiliated.”

“George Stone is dead,” Vladmir informed.

Joshua smirked. “Thanks for the good news. Now leave.”

Looking around the house, something caught my attention.

Walking over to the mantel above the fireplace, my eyes locked on a photo. It was of the woman and Joshua.

They were younger, in their early teens.

Picking it up, I stared at the young girl.

The girl who looked so much like… “Oh my God,” I gasped as the framed photo fell from my fingers. “She’s — ”

“Yes,” Joshua growled, grabbing the photo before it fell to the ground. “And if you know what’s fucking good for you, you’ll keep your fucking mouth shut.”

Staring at the man, I knew he was right.

If Max ever learned the truth, he would start a war unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Then again, if I knew my husband like I believed I did, then he already knew, and that’s when the conversation I had with Ghost popped back into my head.

“He calls them his ghost files.”

“So it’s true then. He’s known all along who the players were.”

“Yeah, and he’s been waiting, biding his time, taking them out one at a time. Say what you want about your husband, Remi, but the man is patient.”

Shaking my head, I grinned. “That conniving, lying, rat bastard. I should have fucking known better.”

“Remi?” Vladmir frowned.

Ignoring my father, I shook my head and stated, “He knows. Max has known all along.”

“What do you mean?” The man stiffened.

I smirked, looking at my father. “Everyone I’ve talked to told me in their own way. They knew what I didn’t. Everything Max has done has been to protect me. He did it because I wasn’t ready to learn the truth.”

“Sweetheart, you are not making sense,” my father said, walking over to me. “The truth about what?”

Shaking my head, I muttered, “I need to talk to Max.”

My father stiffened, then sighed. “Then you will need to go home.”

Looking up at him, I tried to control my shaking hands, but I knew he saw.

“Take me home.”