Page 18

Sunny

E very day for a week straight, Sunny sent Callie gifts.

Chance looked confused at what he was doing, which appeared to be nothing.

Chance wasn’t aware of his slow courtship of Callie.

However, Freddie had spilled the beans to Lavender, and Lavender had told Clio, who was ecstatic.

Clio kept dropping hints of things that she knew Callie liked.

Thalia wasn’t much better, but Polly regarded him suspiciously.

Let her. The bitch had been taken down several notches after her two weeks with Callie.

There was even talk of the five quints doing a special episode for the network, which would be interesting.

But that was up in arms at the moment. Right now, Sunny was watching Callie from a distance as she received his latest gift.

She was outside Ravenberry Manor, and her team were milling around as usual.

Callie unwrapped the parcel, and a squeal left her lips.

“What is it? Holy damn, how did he get hold of that?” Phil exclaimed.

Callie was holding a prototype of a new spirit box.

It hadn’t even been released for commercial use yet.

With Phoe’s help, he’d tracked the inventor down and invested some money to get Callie one.

It was the buzz item in the paranormal community, apparently one of the clearest and most powerful boxes created. And now my girl had it.

Sunny watched Callie’s face light up as she opened the box it came in and yanked it out.

The team all crowded around her as she examined it.

Callie’s face was alight with sheer pleasure, and Sunny smiled.

He had scored a winning goal with that. Callie passed the spirit box to Phil as she read the card.

He’d signed it and told her to be ready for seven tonight and to dress nice. Callie blushed as Freddie snatched it from her hand and squealed. Callie laughed as Freddie began babbling at her and shook her head.

A warm feeling flooded Sunny as he realised that was what Callie looked like happy. It was rare, as she kept herself tightly locked down. But for a brief moment, Callie shone. Sunny wanted to see more of that and would break his back ensuring Callie was always content.

Knowing he’d see Callie tonight, Sunny turned away. He had a mission.

Sunny hit his Harley and disappeared before Callie realised he was there. He headed into the Black Hills and left his bike in a parking lot. For an hour and a half, he hiked into them before turning to where Zeus was buried.

Today he wanted to tell the asshole’s remains that he’d not only survived but thrived.

Even though Zeus had been killed after Sunny had left, Bear had brought him out here when he had returned.

Sunny had needed to know where Zeus laid, and Bear had understood.

The bastard had caused so much pain, Sunny needed to see the unmarked grave.

The route had been burned into his brain, and Sunny found it easily enough. He stood and looked at the slight depression in the ground where the body had decomposed and the dirt had resettled.

“I won, asshole. I’m still standing,” Sunny murmured.

Naturally, there was no answer. If he’d received one, Sunny would have died of shock.

“You thought you beat us when you killed Engima, Bullet, and Slash. Stingray wasn’t a loss, he was as dirty as you. But you were wrong. I thrived in the army and had a beautiful daughter and rewarding career. And now I’m back in the club you perverted.

“Hellfire is clean, it’s a wonderful thing.

Yeah, I know you’ve got someone in there still, and I’ll find and deal with them.

But you’d not recognise the club. It is stronger than before, and Chance is a great president.

All you are is a cautionary tale. Shit, you don’t even have a legacy, Zeus.

Hellfire has legacies, it has princesses, and it has love and loyalty. Something you never understood.”

Sunny paused and drew in a deep breath. Around him, birds chirped, and the sun shone. It was quiet here and far too beautiful a spot for Zeus to be buried in. He deserved to have been melted in lime.

“Asshole, you’re nothing but a bad memory.

One that caused pain and grief to many, but we came through it.

Hellfire is so strong no one will break us again.

And I stand here knowing I won, and you lost. Motherfucker.

You took your best shot, and it wasn’t enough to put me down.

How does it feel? Does it make you burn in hell?

“I bet having no legacy hurts even more. There’s nobody to grieve or mourn you.

No one who gives a shit that you’re no longer breathing and are worm food.

Thought you were something you weren’t, all your attitude and asshole ways.

And what’s left? Nothing. Hellfire has nothing of yours except a harsh lesson.

Nobody will ever take over the club again like you did, the charter has been amended for that.

I hope your evil soul is rotting in hell because that’s where it belongs. ”

Sunny grew quiet and looked at the grave. There was nothing to state a body was buried here. Not even a stone marker, Zeus had been left to rot—to be forgotten. Sunny’s head snapped up as he heard movement, and he faded away into the overgrowth. His eyes widened as he saw several uniforms appear.

“What the fuck?” he muttered.

“Are you sure these are the right co-ordinates?” a state trooper asked.

“Yes. These are what were sent to us.”

“Don’t see any sign of a grave,” the first trooper replied.

“I do not imagine we would. It’s been twenty years. We need the cadaver dogs up here,” the park ranger said, turning to the trooper.

Sunny stiffened. What the hell? Quietly and with an ease his bulk belied, Sunny slipped away. He needed to inform Chance now. They had a rat, and the motherfucker had just given state troopers Zeus’s body.

Chance

Chance stared at Sunny in disbelief. “They found Zeus?”

“They are about to dig it up,” Sunny confirmed, looking pissed. “Somebody gave them the coordinates from what I heard.”

“Fuckin’ lucky we bleached the body before burying it,” Chance muttered.

“They’re going to identify it as Zeus. They’ll come here asking questions. You need to move the other bodies,” Sunny insisted.

“Shit.”

“The cops got a tipoff. That means someone here told them. We have a rat,” Sunny exclaimed.

Everything in Chance screamed a denial. These men had been by his side nearly twenty years. They’d fought to get the club clean. He trusted them all implicitly. But he could not deny Sunny’s evidence.

Chance’s stomach knotted up and twisted. He couldn’t imagine which brother was betraying them. And why now? Sunny had been back a few years, so that couldn’t be the trigger. Chance had missed something, but he’d no idea what. He shook his head, wanting to deny Sunny’s words, but he couldn’t.

“I’ll contact Drake. He’ll send some brothers to move the bodies. They’ve got that crematorium. This is an order, you don’t tell anyone about Zeus being found. You watch and listen,” Chance ordered.

“Bear?”

Chance felt a stab in his heart, but he had to protect the club. “Not even he is to know.”

Sunny looked at him as if he wanted to say something else. Whatever it was caused Sunny difficulty.

“You’re gonna hate me, but understand, I did this for Hellfire.” “Did what?” Chance bit out and wondered what new shock was heading his way.

“Bear, Celt, Big, Al, Rooster, Diesel and Chatter are all clean. They’re not the traitor.”

“How the fuck do you know that?” Chance demanded.

Sunny looked around them. They’d met in the Hills, away from the club and anyone listening. Chance could bellow, and nobody would hear, and he’d a gut feeling Sunny was going to send him nuclear.

“I had a team when I left the army. They quit after me and contacted me,” Sunny said.

“Yeah?”

“I put them on the club. They have spent the last couple of years watching brothers to find the traitor. They’ve cleared those I just mentioned,” Sunny admitted.

Chance felt his temper rise, and he was sure he’d turned red with anger. “You did fuckin’ what?”

“We’ve got a rat, today proves it. I acted to protect the club and hunt him down. My team is also sure Pyro is clean, although they found out he’s Justice,” Sunny snapped.

Chance stepped back because every single fibre of his body was screaming at him to put a bullet in Sunny’s head. Pyro’s alter ego was one only a few knew of, namely him, Bear, and Bunny. Now Sunny knew, and so did others.

“How many on your team?” Chance ground out through gritted teeth.

“Four. Two watch the brothers, one does part-time as she also watches Liv and one…” Sunny broke off and flushed.

“One what?” Chance roared.

“Is a candidate,” Sunny admitted.

Chance blinked as a whole new level of betrayal hit him. Sunny had snuck a spy into his MC.

“He is out. I want his name,” Chance bellowed.

“Nope. Not giving you it.”

“Then I’ll get rid of them all,” Chance replied angrily.

“You can’t fuckin’ do that to Jinx! The club means everything to him!” Sunny exclaimed.

“Watch me. A name Sunny, now.”

“Sailor. He has been helping eliminate brothers,” Sunny admitted.

“He’s gone.”

“Chance, Sailor really wants to join the club. He started undercover, but he’s grown to love the lifestyle. And with nobody knowing who he is, Sailor is an asset,” Sunny argued.

“He. Is. Gone,” Chance gritted out.

“Fuck you, asshole. This is the war all over again. You doing what you want and ignoring the bigger picture,” Sunny exploded.

Chance reeled back at the venom in Sunny’s voice.

“Chance fuckin’ Michaelson. King of Hellfire.

Always gotta be right and does not listen to advice.

This is why the war went on so long to get clean.

Because any opinion other than your own doesn’t have merit.

If I didn’t have a team on the club, we’d be watching all of them.

Hear me? But we know nine of us are good thanks to me setting my people on them.