Page 27

Carly

It was late when I looked up from the computer and saw that Christian was fast asleep on the couch and his brothers had left. Stretching my arms over my head, I got up from the uncomfortable chair, rubbing my back.

Needing coffee, I walked into his kitchen, hoping he had something strong enough to keep me awake so I could finish my research. It was all here. Everything Shame had been investigating. Along with my research, the truth had to be buried here somewhere. I just needed to find the connection to the Trick Pony, and then everything would reveal itself.

“Maybe I’m overthinking this,” I absentmindedly whispered to myself as I turned around, my eyes focused on the large board. Forgetting about the coffee, I walked toward the far wall in the living room as my eyes scanned the many faces. Frowning, I started removing them, before placing a picture of John Doherty at the top, in the middle of the board. From there, I added his known children, William and Kathleen, and subsequent grandchildren, creating a family tree of sorts. On the right, I placed a picture of Gregory Stone and his descendants, then placed Edward Goldman on the left, along with his descendants.

Then I added known associates to each line.

Three families connected by the act of one heinous crime.

The problem I was having was, until medical testing proved who the guilty party was, I had no way of knowing how to proceed.

Taking a step back, my eyes scanned the board, willing myself to find a connection, when I heard, “You forgot Dakota.”

Jumping, I spun around to find Christian looking at me. “What?”

Yawning, he repeated, “You forgot Dakota. George and Virginia had four sons: Montana, Dakota, Arizona, and Kansas.”

“No, they didn’t,” I whispered. “Virginia only gave birth to three sons. Dakota is the bastard son from an affair George had with a woman named Lucy McLaren.”

Slowly sitting up, Christian seethed, “Say that again.”

“George had an affair with a woman named Lucy McLaren. There wasn’t much on her in Mother’s files.”

“That’s because that bitch was a fucking member of the Trick Pony. One of Devlin Scott’s favorite associates. Of course he would protect that bitch. My God! It all makes sense now. Why George kept a tight rein on Malice. George knew that if Malice ever figured out who his side piece was, Malice wouldn’t think twice before killing him.”

“You know her?”

“Of course I fucking knew her. That bitch tortured and abused Malice his entire fucking life. The woman was a sadistic cunt until Silver killed the bitch. Jesus Christ,” Christian moaned rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s like Stocks said back in Nebraska. It’s another episode of As the Biker World Turns .”

I chuckled at that. “I never understood daytime soap operas, but after researching the intricacies of this world, it makes sense.”

“It’s confusing as hell. Everyone is related and no one knows. I say, print out a fucking family tree and we just email it to everyone and let the chips fall where they lay. This shit is giving me a headache.”

“Well brace yourself, because it’s about to get worse, I found evidence that Eamon O’Malley was a member of the Trick Pony and this Lucy McLaren woman, she was the half-sister of Braesal O’Malley.”

Christian sighed, shaking his head as he got to his feet. “What the fuck did these men do? Go out and find every fucking female relative in the underworld to solidify their claim. Fuck! Was it like a goddammed game to them? See who they could knock up fast and fuck everyone else. Do you know what Montana will do with this information? He will lose his motherfucking head. I don’t even want to contemplate what O’Malley will do. Jesus, if George wasn’t dead already, I’d kill him myself on principal!”

I said nothing while Christian ranted, muttering to himself as he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a beer. Twisting off the cap, he drank half of it, before he looked at me and asked, “No more games. No more secrets. Are you looking for Thena Hartley? Is that why you needed to come back here and go through Shame’s files?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Who is she, and what does she mean in the grand scheme of things?”

Looking down at my hands, I whispered, “I can’t tell you.”

Before I knew it, Christian was standing before me, his hands holding my upper arms tightly and he growled, “Charlotte, I can’t take any more of this cloak-and-dagger shit. I’m at my breaking point. I don’t have my girls. Two of my best friends are in hiding. There is a fucking war looming. If you have information that can stop it, I need you to tell me now.”

Nodding, I muttered, “Thena Hartley is connected to everything. Your club, the Golden Skulls, the IRA, the Irish Mafia, everything.”

“Gonna need more than that, babe.”

“Thena was born and raised in the Trick Pony. According to Mother’s file, they called her the Sphinx because of who she was—a problem, an enigma, a wrinkle she never foresaw. You must understand, Thena was never supposed to be born. Mother and her associates tried to have her killed, but in his own way, Devlin Scott protected her. He hid her behind the walls of the Trick Pony until she escaped with Sinclar and the others.”

“Why would he do that? He worked with Sienna and the others.”

“Because Devlin knew when Thena came of age, he could use her to disrupt Mother’s plans. Mother hated Devlin Scott. She tried for years to oust him, but when she learned that Thena escaped, she paid Steven Hartley millions to find her and kill her.”

“But Popeye didn’t do that, did he?”

Shaking my head, I said, “No. He couldn’t. Because when he located her, she was already back at the Trick Pony.”

“Why would she go back there?”

“Because her daughter was there,” I admitted. “Only when she returned, her daughter was gone. A woman named Amelia Scott escaped, taking Thena’s infant daughter and two other kids. Eventually, Thena was able to escape again, and no one has seen her since. She disappeared.”

I watched as Christian narrowed his eyes. “You left something out. What aren’t you telling me, Charlotte?”

“Don’t you see, Christian. History is repeating itself. The signs have been there all along, only no one saw them because they were so caught up in their own games. Don’t you see, Lucy McLaren’s son, why everyone is looking for Thena Hartley, all the chaos between the clubs, the pending war? George wasn’t protecting Montana; he was protecting Dakota. The biological grandson and son of two serial psychopathic rapists.”

Blinking, Christian took a step back, slowly shaking his head as he worked the puzzle. It was a lot to take in. I knew because I’ve been researching this mess for years and I still had a hard time understanding it all. But the one thing I learned about history was that those who forgot the past were doomed to repeat it.

“Shame released the ghost files as a warning. He was trying to tell us what he knew.”

“Yes.”

“The same thing with Popeye when he gave Silver that message in Central Park. He’s been protecting Thena’s daughter all this time.”

“Yes.”

“Oh fuck,” Christian cursed, turning toward the nearest wall, slamming his fist through the drywall. Taking a deep breath, he hung his head and whispered, “Dakota raped her, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why Sinclair wants her back. He’s trying to protect her, because if Dakota finds her first, he will kill her.”

“Yes.”

“The baby. Where is she?”

“No one knows.”

Christian didn’t waste time before calling the others back, only giving me a few minutes to gather my thoughts.

Montana sat, never moving as he listened to me tell him everything I knew about his father’s extramarital affair with Lucy McLaren and how Thena Hartley played into everything. While I spoke, he listened intently, never interrupting me once as the rest of the men gaped, either in shock or horror. Mercy, I noticed on more than one occasion, inched closer to Montana, who already had Malice, Rage, and Payne fuming behind the volatile man. But when I got to the part and informed Montana that Popeye was protecting his niece, well, apparently, Montana couldn’t hold his rage in any longer.

Christian quickly moved me out of the way as Montana roared like a beast, cursing and throwing items across the room. The destruction he was causing sounded tremendous as I buried my head in Christian’s chest.

“I shouldn’t have told him.”

“He needed to know,” Christian said quietly, then winced as I heard glass shatter.

“This was what I wanted to avoid,” I muttered, peeking out just as Montana ripped the large flatscreen TV from the wall and threw it at the shatterproof window.

“Charlotte, it’s better that he hears this shit now before he starts a war. Not saying he still won’t, but at least he knows who’s all involved now.”

“Christian, I left something out. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure you and your friends weren’t involved. Now that I know, I’m not sure telling Montana is a good thing, considering what he’s doing to your living room.”

Christian chuckled. “He’s just venting. What did you forget?”

“Who Thena’s parents are?”

Releasing me, Christian looked down at me and frowned. “Why do they matter?”

“Because her parents were Edward Goldman and Kathleen Doherty. Montana’s brother knowingly raped a princess of the Golden Skulls.”

“THE FUCK?”