Page 6

Kyle

A couple of hours later, after Jagger and I had madeverygood use of the shower and each other, we were all gathered around, about to eat, when my phone rang.

Bo.

I put it on speaker immediately, every nerve in my body tensing as I waited.

“You’re not being smart, Kai,” she murmured, her voice low, cautious. “I can’t take this risk.”

Before I could respond, Hunter jumped in, his desperation bleeding through. “Bo, it’s me.It’s Hunter.”

A sharp inhale.

“She’s okay, Hunter,” she whispered. “I’m working on it.”

The relief that hit me was immediate, we had her on our side. But Hunter waspissed, understandably.

“That’s it?” His voice snapped like a whip. “That’sallyou can say?”

Bo’s breath was shaky on the other end. “I don’t have a lot of time.” Her voice dropped lower. “I didn’t know what they were planning until it was already done. You need toclean shop, Preacher.”

My stomach turned at the words. Clean shop?

Preacher leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, his jaw clenched. His eyes flicked around the room, scanning like we were already being watched. “How did you know I was here?”

She gave a soft, almost pitying laugh. “You were part of the retrieval.” Her tone turned sharp, urgent. “Youneedto clean shop.”

Something was wrong.

Noah sat forward, his expression tight. “Bo, when I see you?—”

A sharptutcut him off, dismissive, like she already knew what he was going to say, and then the line went dead.

Silence. Thick. Heavy. Ominous.

Jagger was the first to break it. “Oh,fuck. I know who she meant.”

Before any of us could react, my phone buzzed again, Data’s name flashing on the screen. I snatched it up, barely getting out a greeting before he spoke.

“Got ‘em.”

The room was dark, damp, the air thick with the stench of sweat and fear.

And her, the bitch I’dhatedfor years.

I paced in slow, deliberate circles around her, my boots scuffing against the concrete floor. She was tied to a chair, her breathing sharp, her eyes flicking around, searching for an escape that didn’t exist. I forced myself to stay level-headed.

The old emotions—the rage, the bitterness, the betrayal—I pushed themdown. This wasn’t about the past. This was aboutnow.

She had beenselling outthe Knights, feeding information to the very pieces of shit we were at war with. Butwhy?

If I went off half-cocked, I could miss something important, I had to stay in control. I had to keep myKai mentality.

The rational, stable-minded soldier.

I stopped in front of her, crossing my arms, tilting my head slightly. “Tell me,” I murmured, my voice eerily calm. “Why?”

She swallowed hard, her eyes darting between me and the door like she thought someone was coming to save her. We both knew that no one was.

I crouched down, leveling my gaze with hers.

“No more lies, no more bullshit.” My voice was a whisper, but the steel beneath it was unmistakable.

Her lips trembled, but she didn’t speak.

I leaned in closer, letting my breath ghost over her cheek. “Youwilltell me,” I promised, my tone soft. “One way or another.”

Her breath hitched, and I smiled because I wasn’tleavingthis room until I got what I wanted.

“Ahhh,Store,” I murmured, circling the chair she was sitting in, slow and deliberate. She was trying to act unaffected, her posture perfect, her expression neutral. No fear, at least, not yet.

I could change that, easily.

“What are you going to do,Kai?” she sneered, her lips curling in disdain.

Even now, she looked immaculate. Polished. As if she wasn’t sitting in the middle of a room filled with people who wanted nothing more than to break her apart. That would change soon enough.

We hadn’t been far when Jagger put the pieces together, tracking her to one of the MC’s other chapters. A couple of calls later, and we werehere. The chapter’s President had done his part, they’d kept her distracted until we arrived, ensuring she had no time to run. The element of surprise had been onourside, and it had beenfucking glorious.

“You know,” she drawled, voice laced with venom, “yourdaddyalways had a hell of a dick. How he madeyou, I’ll never know.” Her gaze flicked over me, smug and cruel. “But then, he always wanted aboy, didn’t he? Couldn’t stomach the idea of adaughter. So, he named you like a guy.”

For years, I’dhatedthis woman. The way she treated me. The words in my mother’s letter. ThetruthI had learned about what Preacher had done with thispiece of shit.

And what had happenedafter.

I inhaled slowly, keeping my expression carefully neutral, I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction.

“That’s nice, Store.” I exaggerated a yawn, sitting back in my chair and stretching like I wasboredof her existence. “But here’s the thing—it’s notmeyou have to worry about.” I leaned forward slightly, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “See, mydaddy—” I barely swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat at the word “—has somethinghewants to say to you.”

Her lips parted, eyes narrowing slightly, but she recovered quickly.

“Probably the same thing he was saying to me two nights ago,” she taunted, her voice saccharine sweet, knowingexactly what she was doing. “The same thing yourbitchmother walked in on years ago… before sheblew her brains out.”

I stood in one slow, controlled movement, and then walked back toward her.

Standing in front of her, I watched her closely.

There. A flicker. She was good, but notthatgood.

Fear flashed in her eyes for half a second before she masked it.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Itutted, bending slightly so we were face-to-face. “See,Iknow exactly where my father was two nights ago, and itwasn’twith you.”

Her expression faltered and I smirked.

“In fact,” I continued, my tone dripping with amusement, “you’ve been anothingfor alongtime now, haven’t you?” Her face twisted in rage. I’d scored a direct hit. “That’s why you did it, isn’t it, Store?” I murmured. “Figured you’d get some payback because you weren’tlooked at anymore. Not in the MC, not by Preacher, not byanyone.”

I cocked my head slightly.

“It’s been a while since even theprospectswould touch you, huh?”

The snap was instant.

“Youbitch—” She lunged, spitting at me, but I was already moving, stepping out of the line of fire before she could do anything.

She was way too predictable.

Before she could open her mouth again, the door creaked open, and Preacher stepped inside.

Store stilled immediately.

“Well, isn’tthisinteresting,” he murmured, his voice deceptively calm as he strolled toward me.

I had tofightthe instinct to move away from him, but Iforcedmyself to stay still. We had to present aunited front forher. Preacher grabbed a chair, flipped it around, and straddled it, resting his forearms against the back.

She latched onto him like a lifeline.

“She’slying,” she whined, her voice turning desperate. “She’s lying, Preacher. I went to see Dragon because I needed abreak?—”

The door opened again, and in walked Dragon himself. I didn’t remember him much from my childhood, but he was the kind of man youdidn’tfuck with. And the look he was giving Store? Well, that look would makemostmen shit themselves.

I’m fairly certain it had the same effect on her because her entire body went stiff.

Behind me, Hunter walked in, followed by Coleman and Mace. I didn’t turn, but I couldfeelthe shift in the room as even more bodies filtered in.

Preacher leaned back slightly, looking at her with lazy disinterest. “You were saying?”

Store’s mouth opened and closed, and for the first time, I watchedrealfear settle in her expression.

Jagger let out a low, disgusted noise. “JesusChrist, Preacher.” His voice was rough, tinged with somethingoff, something I couldn’t quite place. “Youfuckedthis?”

The room went eerily silent. I refused to take my eyes offher, but I couldfeelthe weight of Jagger’s words, and I had the sickest feeling thatthiswas just the beginning.

The guys all let out low chuckles at Jagger’s jab, but something about it hit a nerve deep inside me. Yeah, this was what had led to my mom putting a bullet through her skull.

And no, Store wasn’t fucking worth what I really wanted to do to her. No one was, including Preacher.

I forced myself to push past it, to bury it under the disgust and hatred I had carefully cultivated for my sperm donor. With a slow inhale, I squared my shoulders, letting my expression go completely blank. Every ounce of training, every lesson in control, every brutal experience that had honed me into the weapon I was today—I drew on it all, keeping myself composed and prepared.

Because if there was one thing I knew, it was that people struck when you least expected it. And in a room full ofpredators, only fools let their guard down.

Jagger’s comment hadn’t just hit me—it had struck a chord withher, too.

Store snapped.

Her face contorted, twisting in a way that looked inhuman, warped and furious. Maybe it was the layers of cheap makeup cracking, or maybe it was just the reality of the situation finally settling in.

“Fuck you, Jagger.Fuckallof you,” she spat, her voice sharp, manic. “You don’t know who you’re up against. You don’t know whathecan do.” A smug sneer curled on her lips. “He’ll come for me, andyou’llall befucked.”

Silence. Not a single reaction came from the room to her threat. Not a blink, not a muscle twitch.

Notoneperson in the room gave a singlefuckabout what she was claiming, because we all knew the truth—she wasdelusional. And even worse, sheknew it, too. I had studied behavioral psychology as part of my training—language patterns, subconscious tells, the way emotions twisted words and betrayed intent. Right now, her speech, the short, basic sentences, and repeated use of the wordfuck, told me exactly what I needed to know.

She wasn’tconfident, she wasgrasping. Store hoped he would come, shewantedto believe he would. But deep down, she knew he wouldn’t.

Preacher shifted in his seat, getting more comfortable, completely unimpressed by her little tantrum. Then, with the same calm as someone ordering a drink at a bar, he lifted his cell and turned the screen toward her.

“This guy?” A photo ofJose Demingofilled the screen.

Store’s expression flickered—recognition, relief, triumph. She nodded, chin lifted slightly like she thought she had us all exactly where she wanted us.

Preacher just looked past her. “Hunter,” he asked lazily, “do you think he’s on his way?”

Hunter barely stifled a laugh, shaking his head. “No fucking way.”

Preacher turned toward Jagger and justlookedat him. Jagger smirked, not even needing the full question before answering, “She’s off her fucking meds if she actually believes that.”

The words landed like gunfire, and Store’s confidence wavered. Shefeltit now, the shift in the air, the weight of what we knew, and her smile faltered.

I met Jagger’s gaze for a brief moment before turning my attention back to the train wreck in front of me—JoseDemingo. A man with alegacyof deception. He had started as a government agent, a rising star, known for intercepting major trafficking operations, shutting down high-level cartels. Theperfectsoldier, thegoldeninvestigator. All that was until the truth surfaced.

He hadn’t been intercepting shipments toshut them down, he’d beenreroutingthem. Drugs, weapons, and worst of all—human lives. Instead of stopping crime, he hadbuilt his own empire from it.

Hunter had worked the case when two major shipments were hijacked on U.S. soil. A total oftwenty-six young women andthree billion dollars’ worth of drugs and specialized munitions had vanished into thin air. Hunter’s team had workedalongsideDemingo to recover what was stolen, only to realize, too late, that they were chasing aghost.

Nine women had been found. Small stashes of the drugs and munitions were recovered. Then three of the missing girls were dumped, their bodies mutilated, a note pinned to them: Back. The. Fuck. Down.

It had taken months for Hunter to see the cracks, and by then, he had come tome. I’d joined the mission to take Demingo down, and we hadalmostsucceeded. But just as we were closing in, just as we were exchanging fire with his men, a fireball erupted where Demingo had been standing.

We thought he’d beendouble-crossed. To be honest, we’d thought he wasdead, but after Perry’s snatching, we knew better. Theghostwas still walking. And if Store thought she meantanythingto him, she wasdead fucking wrong.

One by one, those of us whoknewDemingo shook our heads.

Store’s eyes darted around, panic setting in.

“No,” she whispered. “But… he told me… hesaid…” The crackssplitwide open. “He’s…”

Her voice broke, and her body shook. Tears welled up in her overly made up eyes, but I didn’t feel pity.

I felt satisfaction.

Moving behind her, I fisted her hair, yanking her head back until she had no choice but tolookup at me.

“Now,” I murmured, my voice eerily calm, “you’re going to answer the nice men and tell themeverythingthey need to know.”

She almost scalped herself with the ferocity of her nods.

Twenty minutes later

The men were filing out, discussion murmuring between them. Store had given up everything shethoughtshe knew—worthless crumbs, just like we expected. Demingo had never trusted her. She was a pawn, disposable and insignificant, and she’d had nothing valuable to offer. Which meant—she was mine now.

I had been promisedthismoment with her, the deal had been clear. If I let her live, if I didn’tend herthe moment we realized she had been feeding intel back to Demingo, she would bemineto deal with.

And now, it wasmy turn.

I stepped forward, letting the carefully controlled malice bleed into my expression.

Store saw it.

She felt it.

Her whole body started shaking as she tried to shrink back.

“No,” she whimpered, shaking her head frantically. “No, no, no, please?—”

I grinned. She screamed for help, but no one would come.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.Sorry, sorry, sorry!” She was hyperventilating, stammering, babbling the same word over and over again.

How pathetic.

I crouched down, staring into her tear-streaked, terrified face.

“Oh, sweetheart,” I cooed mockingly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Then my smile dropped. “Youwillbe.”

Her sobs turned into a broken, terrified wail.

And I drank ineverysecond of it.

Reaching for the knife on the table beside me, I pressed the tip against my fingertip, testing its sharpness. A satisfied hum escaped my lips as I felt the sting—a small bite of pain, just enough to confirm the blade was honed to perfection.

Good. The knife was meant for her.

I was just about to drag it across her chest, to carve a lesson into her skin, when she spat out words that stopped me cold.

“I wasn’t fucking him the day your mom killed herself,” she screamed, her voice hoarse, raw. “He wouldn’ttouchme!”

I froze.

She wasn’t done.

“Ideservedthe fucking head of the MC,” she seethed, her face contorted in rage. “He wasmine. But thatwhore—” she sneered “—sheknewwhat she was doing when she got knocked up. She came in, lost her shit, soPreacherkicked me out.”

The fight drained from her in an instant. Her head slumped forward, shoulders sagging. I stared at her, my grip tightening around the knife handle. For thefirst timein my life, I couldn’t tell if someone was lying. I was trained for this, to read people. To dissect their words, analyze micro-expressions, pick up the nuances in body language that betrayed even the best liars.

But now?

Her words tangled in my mind, looping with the ones from my mother’s letter, overlaying the image of her lifeless body. The gun still clutched in her hand, the blood soaking into the floor. If Store was lying, Preacher would have told me the truth by now. OrDukewould have. Wouldn’t they?

I forced myself to breathe, I couldn’t let this get inside my head. She was lying, she had to be.

My face remained unreadable as I stepped forward. I grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back roughly. Her lips parted in a silent gasp, but I ignored her as I lowered the blade and, with precise, deliberate strokes, began slicing through her dry, bleached strands. Her screams echoed in the room, but I tuned them out.

The knife glided through, separating chunk after chunk until her scalp was nearly bare, the brittle remains of her pride falling in clumps at her feet. Once I was satisfied, I lifted the largest mass of hair, twirled it between my fingers, and then, I dropped it in front of her with a grin.

She stared at it, chest heaving, as if somehow the strands of her own hair on the floor were more horrifying than anything else I could have done to her.

Pathetic.

JAGGER

We all heard what Store had said to Kyle. The door had been left slightly open, just in case Kyle needed backup, and her words had carried through to where we waited outside.

And Preacher, well, hehad tensedthe second she started talking. I had never seen him thatstillbefore. His body was locked up tight, fists clenched at his sides, his jaw like iron. But the moment Kyledidn’tbelieve what was being said, the moment sherejectedthe possibility that her entire life had been built on a lie, that tension doubled.

His face might as well have been stone, but his wholepresencewas screaming. He wanted to correct her, to tell Kyle something, but he didn’t. And that silence spoke volumes.

Duke was the first to break it. He stepped directly in front of his brother, his usual easygoing nature replaced with something sharp. Unforgiving.

“You need to sort that shit out,” Duke said, voice low but lethal. Preacher barely blinked, but Duke wasn’t backing down. “It’skilledme lying to her all these years,” he went on, his tone vibrating with restrained anger. “And before you start your shit, yeah, itisa lie—even if it’s one of omission.”

Preacher’s mouth parted, an argument already forming, but Duke cut him off with a raised hand. “No.Grow apair and put that poor girl out of her misery.”

And then, without another word, he turned and stalked off in the same direction as Kyle.

Preacher stood motionless, staring at the floor.

I wasn’t done with him either. Taking a slow step forward, I met his gaze, speaking to him in a way I never had before.

“She’s filled with hurt,” I said, my voice measured. “And she’s putting herself intoinsanelydangerous positions just to avoid thinking, just to avoidfeeling. She’s diving headfirst into situations that could get her killed—because ofthis.” I let that sink in before delivering the final blow. “Youknowwhat I’m talking about, Preacher. I told you what she told me about her mom. Youknowwhat this is doing to her. Youknowhow much of a cancer it is, eating away at her from the inside.”

His jaw locked. Heknew, and hewasn’t stopping it.

I leaned in, lowering my voice, making sure my next words hit their mark. “It’s the samecancereating away atyou.”

Preacher flinched. His head turned sharply, gaze snapping away from me.

Bingo.

“You might be able to live with that, butIcan’t,” I continued, my tone dropping into something cold and totally unforgiving. “Iwon’tkeep this much longer. She trusts me, and Icareabout her, so I’mnotabout to fuck that up.” I took a step back, straightening. “Eitheryoutell her…” I let it hang there, waiting, making sure he wasreallylistening. “…or I will.”

And then I walked away, leaving him standing there alone. Forced to absorb every damn thing I had just said.

But this? This wasn’t just a warning.

It was a promise.