Page 96 of Misery

"Yeah. A lot more."

"Does she know?"

"About the surveillance?" I take a long drag, let smoke burn my lungs. Hold it until it hurts. "Probably not. I've been careful."

"Careful." He laughs but there's no humor in it. Just disappointment that cuts deeper than anger would. "That’s what we're calling lying now?"

"I'm protecting her."

"You're protecting yourself. From her reaction. From her anger. From losing her when she finds out." He drops his cigarette, crushes it under his boot with deliberate precision. "Secrets are cancer, son. They eat everything good from the inside. Learned that the hard way with your mother."

"It's not that simple?—"

"It's exactly that simple. You love her?"

"Yes."

"Then tell her the truth. All of it. Let her decide if she can forgive you. That's what love is—giving someone the power to destroy you and trusting them not to."

"She's dealing with enough?—"

"She's dealing with lies. From you. From everyone. You think that's easier than the truth?" He lights another cigarette. "Let me tell you something about women, son. They're stronger than we give them credit for. They can handle the truth. It's the lies that break them. The betrayal of trust. That's what leaves scars."

Before I can answer, his phone rings.

He answers, face changing as he listens.

I can hear Rio's voice, fast and panicked.

"Understood. Bring them all to the club side." He hangs up. "That was Rio. Your woman's losing it. Helle and Starla showed up at the bar, emotional as fuck. Starla's got a head wound, blood everywhere. Gwen and Vail already stitched her up and wrappedit. Helle's trying to hold them both together. Rio wants to move them all to a safe house, but I don’t like the idea of taking them away from the club, or Emil and Saga’s place. These are the two safest places for them."

We head back inside where Runes is already coordinating.

The chapel's energy has shifted from hunt mode to protection mode.

"Where?" Runes asks.

"Rio suggested the safe house on Maple," someone offers.

"Too exposed," I counter. "Windows on all sides. Multiple entry points."

"Then where?"

"Emil's compound," Runes spits out. "It's still the safest place, even safer than the club. Biometric locks. Cameras. The dogs. One way in, one way out."

"All three women together?" Magnus questions. "That's a lot of emotion in one place. Lots of trauma."

"Better than spread out," Runes counters. "Easier to protect. Easier to control. Rio, you copy?"

Rio's voice comes through the speaker phone. "Yeah. But Elfe's bad, boss. Real bad. Talking about her dad being dead. About everyone lying to her. She's not handling this well. Keeps saying she should have never said those things to him. That her last words to him were cruel."

My chest tightens like someone's got their hands around my heart.

I should be with her, should be the one holding her together, but I'm here, failing to find her father while she drowns in guilt.

"Get them to Emil and Saga’s place," Runes orders. "We'll figure out our next moves from there."

"Copy that. Moving now."