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PROLOGUE

SADIE

“Shut up!” I hiss over my shoulder at the thumping against my trunk as I pass Mason in the guard shack on the way through the gate. I swear Kayce is going to owe me for the rest of his fucking life for making me do this shit. It’s bad enough I had to get Thomas back on the clubhouse property undetected. Now I have to get his ass into the clubhouse, bypass the security system again , and get him back into the basement . You would think once he escaped, he’d stay the fuck away, but apparently, he has a death wish. Wouldn’t be so bad if he would’ve just kept me out of it.

It’s not like you owe the asshole any loyalty.

But I do owe my loyalty to Vincenzo after everything he’s done for this club and the people I love. If this wasn’t a personal ask for him, I wouldn’t be doing it.

Hawk doesn’t need Nate’s death on his conscience.

“The price I pay for making a deal with the devil.” I mumble to myself.

I pull Loretta around to the back doors of the clubhouse and back her ass almost all the way up to the wall. Digging deep into my bag, I find the cloned copy of Hawk’s phone I made last week. He would lose his shit if he knew I did this, but what he doesn’t know won’t get me killed.

All of his apps and passcodes are already installed and work with my facial recognition. Opening the security system app, I pause the camera above the back door and get out of Loretta, taking my keys, the phone, and my bag with me.

Checking the perimeter to make sure there’s no one back here, I then knock on the trunk twice. Thomas knocks twice in return, and I open the trunk to let him out.

“Goddamn. For such a large trunk, you sure can’t breathe for shit in there.” He grumbles.

“First of all, keep your voice down. Second, don’t you dare disrespect Loretta, or I’ll drop you on your ass myself. Don’t listen to him, baby. You have a beautiful ass.” I soothe the car. Thomas looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind, but everyone knows you never talk shit to your car unless you want it to break down on you in the worst possible moment. “Loretta’s not used to a man packing her ass full. But I’m starting to think it might be our new thing. But next time, I’ll make sure I bring duct tape so the body in question isn’t able to bitch or complain about their accommodations.” I cock my brow, folding my arms over my chest.

The nerve of him talking shit about my baby.

“Fine. Fine.” He says throwing his hands up, checking both directions for any movement. Stroking a hand through his hair nervously, he lowers his voice and says, “Let’s just get this shit over with. I’m not exactly comfortable sneaking back into the basement .”

“We can always leave.” I suggest, waiting for him to do what he does best and run.

He stands tall, meeting my gaze. “No. I deserve an explanation. You deserve the truth, and Nate deserves to die.” His voice is cold as steel.

“Then follow me, and don’t deviate from the plan. I’ll get you in. We’ll ask a few questions. You’ll do what you came here for and then you’ll go out the tunnels and meet Tate and Kayce where they pulled you out last time. Once you’re off the property, don’t come back. You get gone. As far away from here as you can, because they won’t hesitate to come after you this time and not even Kayce will be able to stop them.”

There’s something in his eyes. An apology. Fear. Determination. I don’t really know. “I won’t fail you again, Sadie. I’ve done enough of that over the years.”

I don’t respond. What’s there to say? He’s right. He abandoned me and my mother, even after he learned of her medical condition and how she was placed in a mental institution leaving me parentless. He knew, and he never came back - for either of us.

I shake my thoughts loose and open the backdoor of the clubhouse. We’re entering in through the hallway near the bathrooms. The same hallway that leads to the basement door. There’s noise down the hall. People are arriving for Skyler’s gender reveal party. From the sounds of it, the women have all arrived. Which means the guys are probably at the bar getting drinks. Typical.

I hear Avery laughing at something that’s been said and take the opportunity while everyone is distracted to shove Thomas further down the hall toward the basement. Opening the phone again, I unpause the outside camera and go into the control panel for the basement. Since Thomas escaped before, Hawk stepped up the security measures. Fortunately for Kayce and his crew, I know all of Hawk’s tricks and how to bypass them.

The student has become the master.

I smile to myself knowing how pissed he’s going to be when he realizes I bested him, again .

He’s also going to want to ring your neck, and not in the good way.

I push away the hurt building inside my chest. I know everyone will hate me when they realize I’m the one who helped Thomas get in and out of the clubhouse. It’s only a matter of time. It’ll get worse when they find out I’ve been working with Vincenzo behind the scenes for damn near a year on his personal mission. I’ll be labeled exactly what everyone assumed I would eventually become … a traitor just like my father.

It was a trade deal. Vincenzo funds my tech company, and I use my talents to help him locate and put an end to the sex trafficking ring that’s infiltrated our little corner of the world. He’s been even more laser focused on his cause since they roughed up Dr. D’Angelo and started stirring shit up in Oakridge. When we discovered Eleanor West was somehow attached to the bastards running the show, Vincenzo didn’t have to twist my arm too hard to get me to help him. The bitch deserves to die a painful death for all the pain she’s caused my family, my best friend, this club. I’ll see to it myself if I have to.

A few buttons and a passkey override and the basement lock disengages with a click.

“Go. Hurry.” I shove Thomas through the door, following behind him down the stairs. “You have ten minutes to get the info you need, do whatever it is you have planned and get the fuck out of here. Then I’m leaving your ass and resetting the alarms. If you set them off before Kayce gets to you, you’re on your own.”

“I got you. Let’s go.” I follow behind him as he expertly makes his way through the tunnel stopping once we get to the cell where Nate is laid out on his cot with one knee bent, his other leg straight with a bandage wrapped around it where Hawk’s bullet went clean through, and his arm over his face. He moves his arm and raises himself up to sitting when he hears us approach.

“Well, fuck.” Nate grumbles, swinging his legs over the edge of the cot, getting up and walking over to the bars of his cell. “What are you doing here?” His question is directed at Thomas, but I don’t miss the way he glares at me from the side.

Thomas stops a couple feet from the bars, crossing his arms over his chest. “You owe me some answers. My daughter deserves to hear the truth about what happened that day with Maggie and Avery on the road.”

“What difference does it fucking make? It happened a long ass time ago. What does it matter how it happened or why? We can’t go back and fix it now. Maggie’s dead. The little girl-she wasn’t supposed to die, but -”

“She didn’t die.” I snap, stepping out of the shadows where Nate can see me glaring back at him. “She didn’t die. But she didn’t get to grow up knowing her father or her family either thanks to you two, and those asshole Devils you were working for.”

Nate scrubs the back of his neck. “The girl wasn’t supposed to be hurt. We were supposed to pick her up and take her back to the clubhouse.”

“ For what?” I ask through gritted teeth. I can only imagine after learning about the Devils’ involvement with the trafficking shit. I have no doubt what their intentions were for Avery. “Did you know about this?” My question aimed at Thomas, who shakes his head.

“No. We were supposed to follow Maggie and when the Devils showed up, we were supposed to pretend to put up a fight and get run off the side of the road with her. No one was supposed to smash into the mountainside or get fucking shot. They were supposed to cause her to swerve and freak her out, that’s it. We were just supposed to scare her. Nothing more. It was meant to be a threat, not a murder.” Thomas answers.

“And the shit about Avery?”

“No. We were never supposed to…”

“We were supposed to hurt the wife and grab the kid to hand her over to Viper. Those were the orders.”

They both speak in unison, but it’s Nate’s words that have my blood running cold.

“And now? What are you doing here after all these years. What the fuck could you possibly want with the Kings? I know it’s not to make amends with your son because that will never fucking happen. So, tell me, Nate. What is it you came here looking to do?” I’m not waiting for Thomas anymore I want my own fucking answers.

“I did come here to see my son, but…”

“ He’s not your son. You lost the right to call him that when you left him to take care of his mother and pick up the broken pieces you left behind after you beat the shit out of her and ran off.” My body is shaking with the rage I feel on Hawk’s behalf. The pain of being tossed aside, abandoned and forgotten. I know how hard that was. It’s the one thing we’ve always had in common.

“Because of your bullshit, he grew up without a father. I grew up without both of my parents. Avery was raised in a cell by a witch. Gabe lost the love of his life, and you two got to fuck off and do whatever the hell it is you two have been doing all this time!” I shout, letting my temper get the best of me. “What could you possibly hope to have found by coming here? Forgiveness? Fat. Fucking. Chance.”

“No.” Nate says, his head and shoulders dropping in defeat. “I was hoping Hawk would be willing to help find my daughter.”

“Come again.” Thomas says, looking as confused as I am. “What daughter?”

Nate breathes deep then exhales. “I have a daughter. Shea. She’s a couple years younger than Nathaniel. The Devils took her from me after a deal went bad. I haven’t been able to find her since. The Feds said they’d help, but they’ve done fuck all to find her. So, I came here hoping I could convince my son to find his sister and bring her home.”

“The Feds?” Thomas asks, but I don’t wait for the response. I need to know what the hell Nate is talking about. If there’s a girl out there, alone at the hands of the Devils I need to know more.

“Wait. Hawk has a sister? Y-you have a daughter? With who?” I ask, trying to connect the dots. The two men exchange a look I can’t decipher. “Hawk’s always been an only child.” I say looking to Thomas for an explanation. He shrugs his shoulders.

“I got a Devils’ club girl pregnant when I first got involved with them. She was a gift, for the night, ya know?” Nate shrugs, smirking like it’s normal to get a woman as a gift. Fucker. “Hawk’s mother knew about her. The pregnancy was what our last fight was about. She discovered I’d cheated on her and wanted a divorce. I was high out of my mind and beat her for even suggesting she could leave me.” Nate looks at the ground, his hands clasped through the bars. “I was in a bad place.” Nate offers as explanation.

“Anyway, Shea’s mother died when she was twelve. Overdose. The club helped me take care of Shea. I raised her up, best I could, but I knew she deserved something better than the club life. So, I pulled off every job they asked of me. Most I’m not proud of. But I did it and then stashed the cash away for her to go to college-to get her as far away from club life as possible.”

Sounds like what Uncle Mack has been trying to do for me.

It’s not the same. And it doesn’t matter. Soon enough I’ll be far enough away from the club, building my own business, and they’ll all get their wish.

“What happened? Why did they take Shea from you? Where did they take her?” Thomas asks, crossing his arms and listening intently.

“A while back, I was supposed to pick up a tractor-trailer full of women and girls from Baron’s Edge. I was at the rendezvous point, but the truck never showed up. The shipment was intercepted and the merchandise taken. Pres saw it as my mistake.” Nate grits his teeth. “These ladies were supposed to be for a group of very important people. People of power. When the clientele arrived at the auction and there were no women, some of them lost their shit. Deals were postponed. Some fell through. Money was returned. Pres was the angriest because he had plans to get video of some of these sick fucks and use it for blackmail. Politicians, judges, lawyers, doctors, social workers. We had a little of everything in that deal. Could’ve covered our asses for years to come, ya know. But without the merchandise, there was nothing to bargain with. As part of my punishment, Pres decided to take Shea. I was still out on the road when it happened. I never knew until I got back, and not one of those assholes would tell me where he stashed her. He said she could work off part of my debt while I found a way to make up for the rest.”

“And how was Shea supposed to do that?” I ask, though I already have a pretty good idea of what he means. Mili has told me numerous times about the women Kayce and his team have rescued on a number of occasions. People she’s helped escape their fate. Vincenzo even told me stories about foster care transition homes and children who have mysteriously runaway or disappeared, like the one they found Carter in.

This is why you have to help.

I resolidify my decision to myself, knowing if Gabe had any idea about any of this he would have my ass on lockdown in the cell next to Nate.

“You know how they would use Shea, girl. You’re not that na?ve.” Nate growls.

“And what about you? How were you supposed to earn enough money to buy back your daughter’s freedom? Or were you ever planning to?” Hie eyes snap to mine. I’ve touched a nerve. Good.

“If you want me to tell you anything else, I want something in return.” Nate demands.

“If you’re about to plead for your life, the answer is no.” Thomas growls. “You owe more than one life sentence for everything you stole from this club.”

Nate takes a deep breath, looking up to the ceiling then back at me. “I’m not asking for my life. I already know I’m not going to make it out of this alive. Whether it’s this club or the Devils. Hell, it might even be the Feds at this rate. Who fucking knows. Point is, I know my days are numbered. But Shea’s don’t have to be. Parisi said if I came willingly, if I exchanged myself for you, and gave myself to the Kings, he would help find my daughter and get her the help she needs. He’d make sure she was safe and lived a long, happy life away from all this shit. You promise me you’ll uphold the deal we all made, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Vincenzo keeps his word.” I tell him. I don’t fully understand what he’s talking about. No idea what deal was made, but I do know Vincenzo to be a man of his word. Thomas nods his agreement.

Nate sighs, wringing his hands through the bars. “I was supposed to start meeting with these foster care families. People that take in runaways and strays off the streets. The cops and social workers they send them to what they call transition homes, where they stay for about two to three days until they can place them with a family member or in a more permanent foster home. But these homes, some of them, are run by other Devils family members or friends. People loyal to the club.”

“You mean loyal to the money and the drugs the club supplies them.” Thomas snaps.

Nate shrugs.

“Anyway, after the kids are taken from the sheriff’s station, or the hospital, wherever they were being detained I was sent to scoop them up. Take them to their next destination.”

“And where exactly is that?” If he’s dumb enough to tell me, I can get on the phone with Vincenzo and maybe we won’t have to follow through with his elaborate scheme.

Nate shrugs again. “Each one is a different place.” He makes eye contact with Thomas. “Sometimes we take the kid to another holding house. Others might be given directly to the buyer. Some are taken to the island.”

“What island?” Thomas steps forward, his voice taking on a steely warning.

“I don’t know how to get there. I only know where to drop the merchandise off.”

“What fucking merchandise? These are not cars or cattle you’re boxing up and shipping overseas. They are fucking people!” I shout, lunging for the bastard. Thomas reaches out grabbing my arms, keeping me back.

“ No.” Thomas says quietly where only I can hear him. “Remember the agreement. You and Hawk are not going to have his blood on your hands. Nate is my responsibility. Nod if you understand.”

Begrudgingly, I do.

“Good. Now you need to head back upstairs before someone realizes you’re not at the party. I have a few more questions, then I’ll finish up here. But you need to leave.”

“I just have one more question. Then I’ll go.” My voice cracks a little as I plead with him. Thomas lets go of my arms but stands ready just in case. With my voice as controlled as I can manage with the lump steadily forming there, I ask, “Where do you drop them off? And how do these people know how to order their …”

“Merchandise?” Nate supplies, smirking. Bastard.

“Yeah.”

“Pres has someone he works with. A man they call Cusenza.” My breath hitches. Thomas does nothing to acknowledge his boss’s name. It makes me wonder how much he knows and has been keeping to himself.

“He and this woman friend of his, some rich hoity-toity type, they organize parties. People who want to sell their loved ones. Wives, kids, or girlfriends, whatever. They go to these parties and make it known they want to make a deal. The people they bring in don’t know of course. The rich broad, she makes contact. Sets up an appointment. It could be at another party, a casino, a club. It’s different every time to throw off the Feds. Anyway, they meet and Cusenza lays out the contract and makes the desired payment. Once the contract is signed, the woman or whoever was sold is collected and shipped off immediately.”

“And what happens after they’ve been shipped off? Where do they go?” Thomas asks before I can gather up the nerve.

Nate shrugs. “I really can’t say. All I do know is they don’t come back. Once they get on the ship to the island, we never see them again.”

“Fuck.” I hiss. My eyes burn with the need to cry, but I won’t. Not here. I need to get back upstairs and clean myself up before I do something that will expose us all.

Turning to Thomas, I place my hand on his chest and look him straight in the eyes, then look around the room at Mack’s trophies. Thomas follows my line of sight. This is the room where Mack has all his tools of the trade displayed about. This is the place he uses his special brand of torture skills to make people tell him what he wants to know to protect this club. “Whatever you’re going to do … make it hurt .” Thomas nods his understanding, and I turn away and head for the door.

Rot in fucking hell you sick, twisted bastard.