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I was trying hard not to laugh as Phil raced out of the old building we were investigating.

He’d been setting up the monitors and had switched a camera on just as a shadow figure appeared.

Phil had seen it, but I hadn’t, and Phil fled.

It was highly unprofessional, but the look of sheer panic on Phil’s face had done me in.

My phone rang, and I glanced down and saw it was Polly.

“Hi,” I answered.

“Hey, are you in South Dakota?” Polly asked.

“No, I’m in Texas investigating an old prison. We’ve got activity already, it’s exciting.”

“That’s good,” Polly said dismissively. That rankled a little. Polly had made it very clear she didn’t believe in ghosts and viewed my job as a bit of a joke. The fact my podcast had become extremely popular had confused and then bemused Polly.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“That is blunt. I was wondering if you were local, none of us ever seem to know where you are.”

“Am I meant to be checking in?”

“No, it would be nice, Callie, for a little communication,” Polly chided.

“I’m an adult. I do not need to check-in, and I’m not accountable to anyone. Don’t you dare judge me!” I snapped.

Polly’s attitude rankled. “I’m not! We never see you,” Polly said quickly. I heard the realisation in her voice that she’d overstepped the mark.

“Polly, whether you like it or not, this is my job. I don’t see you or Clio dropping your jobs and running off for fun times.

No. Just because you do not believe in the paranormal, it doesn’t mean my career is bullshit.

I have debunked several claims of hauntings while proving others.

And by the way, I’ve signed with a network, your sister will be on TV.

Good job we’ve got different surnames, isn’t it?

I won’t embarrass you,” I snapped and hung up.

My confidence had grown by leaps and bounds over the last two years.

Living the dream of a paranormal investigator had given me courage.

My podcasts had started slowly, but social media had soon picked them up.

I was known as ‘the honest investigator.’ If we didn’t find anything, we said so.

If we did, we would show where everyone was during the event so we couldn’t be accused of setting it up.

We did not run around screaming or exaggerating shit. We were straight up and to the point. Even with things like what just happened to Phil. He entered the room we were using as a base and gaped at me.

“Did you see that damn thing?” he snapped, and I could not help it. I put Polly’s call out of my head and began laughing. Phil would edit Polly’s call out later, but the laughter would stay in the episode because that’s what made us unique.

Sunny

He’d been back a year, and things were different with Hellfire. The changes were obvious from the past. No drugs were tolerated, anything illegal was shut down. Chance worked hand in hand with the police and helped keep the streets clean.

Sunny had been shocked at how different the club was.

They had candidates who had to do a minimum two years in that role before hitting prospect.

And prospect could take just as long. He was surprised at how little growth the MC had actually had because they were now being so picky.

Applicants underwent a thorough vetting before even getting an interview.

They were rebuilding what had been blown to hell in a bombing.

Sunny was up to his neck in shit organising builders and other stuff. Rooster was recovering, as was Fanatic, alongside a couple of the others who’d got wounded. But Fanatic and Rooster had suffered the worst. Rooster lost his lower leg below the knee, and Fanatic had lost his liver.

Rooster was now walking with a prosthetic, but Fanatic was healing more slowly.

He’d been told to rest but kept getting infections and was run down.

Building him back up was taking time. The new clubhouse had been built and was far nicer than the original one, and Hellfire plans were marching along with building also happening on their old site.

As of yet, Cherry and Liv hadn’t set foot on Hellfire.

Some of those who remembered Liv asked when she’d be visiting, but Sunny always had an excuse.

In the end, they’d stopped asking, although Chance and Bear regarded him with suspicion.

They knew something wasn’t right but couldn’t put their finger on what.

It had taken time for Sunny to find his place once again in Hellfire. He had been VP before, and now he was lieutenant. A step below VP, and it smarted a bit. But Sunny couldn’t demand VP; he’d walked away and faked his own death. Even so, despite old and new faces, Sunny was watchful.

A year ago, his team had also quit the army, and they’d stayed in contact.

Sunny was paying them to watch members of the club, and he planned to get one in as a candidate as soon as possible.

He needed two sets of eyes on the club. But right now, Chance was on high alert.

After being bombed and nearly losing his baby and Clio, Chance wasn’t looking to accept candidates.

Sunny would bide his time. It was what he did and what the army had taught him.

Sunny – 2022

She looked so fuckin’ sad. Callie, he knew it was her by her style of clothing, sat alone as everyone partied.

Out of the quints, Callie was the one who’d kept herself aloft.

Even the taciturn Polly had come around and was more open.

But Callie expected rejection, and it showed.

Sunny had been fetching two beers when he’d seen her.

Sunny wasn’t feeling the party either and, for some inexplicable reason, wandered over to her. He placed a bottle in front of her, and Callie looked up, startled.

“What’s wrong, little flower?” he asked.

“Little flower?” Callie repeated, amused.

“Yup. Babe, darling, sweetness… the usual ones get boring. Little flower is unique,” Sunny said, sitting down.

“I guess I’m one of many in your garden!” Callie quipped.

Sunny chuckled. “Nope, just you so far. What’s up? You seem sad.”

“Not really, more overwhelmed.” “Apprehensive?” Sunny asked.

“Yeah, that’s a good word for it. I don’t like crowds, and while everyone tries to reassure that nobody here will hurt me, it’s hard to trust.”

“I get that, Callie. After my betrayal by the club… I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to step foot in here,” Sunny agreed.

“How did you? I mean, you were clear, fifteen years free, but you came back. Why?” Callie asked.

“Because I had unfinished business.”

Sunny felt like squirming under her steady gaze. He was shocked when she whispered a moment later.

“You think there’s dirt here still. It’s in your eyes. You don’t fully trust those around you,” she murmured.

Sunny was stunned. “What makes you say that?”

“I’m quiet, shy, but not a fool. I was shipped from home to home, some good, some bad.

But I learned lessons. One of which was when people were on edge and said things they didn’t feel.

You do not feel easy here. The question, then, is why?

If the MC was as clean as everyone says, you’d be relaxed.

But you’re not. You are constantly alert and on guard.

“Your daughter hasn’t been seen since you moved here. Which means you’re keeping your family separate from the club. If you were comfortable, there’d be no need. Your actions belie your words,” Callie stated, and Sunny began to smile.

“Pretty direct.”

“No point in beating around the bush.”

“And I thought you were the quiet one,” Sunny teased.

Callie flipped the lid off the bottle of beer he’d given her.

“I am. But that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. I may not be as confident as my sisters and brother, but nobody walks over me anymore. I don’t like lies, deception, or bullshit.”

“Good to know. So, tell me, why are you here in a corner and not with your family?”

“Because I don’t fit in. For years, I yearned for a family, and now I have one, I am being ungrateful.

But I’m used to being alone, and even in a crowd, I feel lonely.

Honestly, I’d hoped for bonding experiences.

Yeah, I got them, but while my siblings bonded, I didn’t.

Not even with my twin. Shit, my paranormal team is more my family than them,” Callie said, and Sunny was surprised.

“They know you feel like that?”

“Hell no. Sunny, I don’t like or enjoy hurting people, which means my sisters won’t know how I feel.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Sunny offered.

“No. Thank you, but I guess it’s just time. When you’ve been by yourself most of your life, you tend to be wary of those who come into your life.”

“That’s hard for me to understand. My childhood was surrounded by some of those present, and I basically grew up in the club.

When I left here and joined the army, I found a new family.

You must have felt so alone, yet had siblings you knew nothing about.

That had to be gutting to discover,” Sunny said.

Callie looked at him in surprise. “It was. Nobody has considered that.”

“I’m a deep thinker. What you see isn’t always what you get,” Sunny quipped, and Callie nodded.

“That’s true.”

“What else is bothering you?” Sunny questioned, and Callie shook her head.

“You don’t want all my problems. Why aren’t you partying with your brothers?”

“Maybe because, like you, I feel like an outsider looking in.”

“Do you regret leaving the army?” Callie asked.

Sunny thought about it for a few moments. “I regret losing being part of something huge. I miss my brothers in arms, but I don’t miss the danger.”

“Not even with this rumoured war between clubs?” Callie inquired softly.

“I’ve no doubt of the danger from the Venomous Fangs, but compared to fighting abroad, they’re easy to handle.”

“Do you think people will die?”

Sunny gazed at Callie for several long moments. “In war, there is always death.”

“That’s not answering my question, Sunny.”