Page 34

Fury

“Find the forgotten hall of slain fighters, for they are the true warriors. There you will find what you seek. What the hell does that mean?” Payne asked as we all stared at the words Carly had written on a whiteboard.

Even I had to admit, I had no clue. I fucking hated riddles, and the more we discovered, the more confusing everything was. Taking a seat on my sofa, I leaned back and rubbed my hands down my face, moaning, “Who the fuck knows? At this point, everything is on the table.”

“Well, if you break it down, you have three components. First, you have the forgotten hall. Then, there are the slain fighters, and finally, whoever these fighters are, they are true warriors,” Torment stated, leaning forward in a chair while he scrutinized the board. “You sure this is what he said, Charlotte?”

“Yes,” she muttered, never looking up from the file she was reading, then sighed as she got to her feet. “Christian, I need to run to my apartment. There is a book there I need.”

“Alright, baby,” I said, just as Rage interrupted.

“Well Google ain’t got shit.”

“Where in the hell are Mercy and Malice?” I asked, noticing their absence when Carly walked past me, leaving the penthouse.

Payne chuckled. “Montana and Reaper got arrested.”

“No!” I gasped, then smiled as I sat up. “What the hell happened?”

“What the hell do you think?” Torment chuckled. “Montana was being Montana and stuck his foot in his big fat mouth.”

“Apparently, the idiots got a flat tire in the middle of bumfuck-nowhere on Interstate 80 in Iowa. Well, one thing led to another, and before they knew it, a state trooper showed up. Montana got lippy and well, both fuckers are behind bars in some po-dunk hillbilly sheriff station.”

“Oh, please tell me they are sharing a cell.” I laughed.

“They are,” Payne chuckled.

“So, Mercy and Malice are flying out to Iowa to bail them out?”

“Nope.” Torment snickered. “The judge denied bail because Montana got mouthy with the judge. Now, Montana is in contempt of court.”

“What about Reaper?”

“That’s the best part.” Rage roared with laughter. “That fucker won’t stop laughing. Every time Montana opens his damn mouth, Reaper fucking loses his shit. The judge is keeping Reaper in jail for instigating the situation.”

“So, where are Malice and Mercy?”

“Mercy is holding down the fort, and Malice is babysitting him.”

Sobering, Torment asked, “Have you heard from Storm or Vicious?”

“Storm, no. Last I knew, he was taking Delany and Harlow out west. Something about family in the Wyoming/Montana area. As for Vicious, I saw him when he showed up at the Silver Shadows’ clubhouse in Nebraska with Bane.”

“Bane?” Rage questioned. “What the fuck was Bane doing in Nebraska?”

“No fucking clue, but the brother didn’t look good. Kind of pawned him off on the Silver Shadows. Maybe they can dry him out.”

“And Vicious?” Torment asked.

Nodding, I said, “He looked good. Told me Linsey is healing and she is safe. She sends her love.”

“This shit fucking blows,” Payne groaned, walking over to the windows and looking out over the city. “Instead of rallying around each other, we’re all over the place. Got two brothers fucking gone. Our Prez is in fucking jail, and the rest of us are standing around with our thumbs up our butts.”

“It’s not like we have a choice, Payne,” Rage muttered.

“The fuck we don’t. While we sit around and chew the fucking fat like a bunch of bitches, Steele is out there, causing more fucking damage. That motherfucker tried to kill Linsey. Our Linsey,” he enunciated by thumping his fist against his chest. “Our brother’s woman, and what are we doing? Not a fucking thing.”

“Has anyone heard where Steele ran off too?” Rage asked.

Shaking my head, I groaned. “No. With Montana otherwise occupied, we have no way of contacting the table. Even if they knew, they are not obligated to tell us anything because it’s biker business.”

“Well, someone has to know where the fucker ran off too,” Payne sneered. “There has to be someone you can call. What about the Bloodletter? Vladmir’s wife was married to the fucker once. Maybe she might know something.”

“Can’t,” Torment muttered. “After the tree ceremony, Fedorov cut off all communications. No one’s seen or heard from him or his crew since that night. Rumor is, he’s regrouping and preparing for war.”

I was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Thinking it was just Carly, I got up and opened it, only to find Joshua Stone and a few others standing on my doorstep.

“Where is Carly?” Joshua asked, wasting no time as he pushed past me into my penthouse.

“She went to go grab a book. She will be right back,” I said as the others followed him in. Closing the door, I snarked, “Just what in the hell are you doing here? Who’s watching Drew?”

“Kid’s fishing with his grandfather. He’s fine. I need to speak with Carly.”

“Like I said, she went to get a book.”

“Lynk, go find her,” Joshua firmly ordered and a man I’d never met quickly left my penthouse.

“Dude.” Payne grinned and walked over to greet my former mentor. “How the hell have you been?”

“Been better.” My former mentor looked around, then asked, “Where the fuck is Montana?”

Torment snickered. “In jail with Reaper, somewhere in Iowa.”

“Then he hasn’t heard.”

“Heard what?” Torment asked, looking at me as I shrugged.

“That his brother, Dakota, has aligned himself with Gray Greer. They are hiding Steele.”

“Do you know where?” I asked, and Joshua shook his head.

“No. That’s why I need to talk with Carly. She would know where Steele is hiding.”

“How?”

“Because Steele and Sienna were fuck buddies until Savage put a fucking bullet in the bitch’s head.”

And just like that, the fucker’s words from that night came rushing forward. ‘ This is all your fault! All you had to do was let me have her, but you had to interfere. ’

“Steele wasn’t talking about Aksana like we all thought, was he? He was talking about Carly,” I muttered as everyone turned to look at me.

“What are you talking about?” Rage asked slowly, getting to his feet.

“The night of the tree lighting ceremony. It was total fucking chaos, but when Sinclair showed up, Steele said something that made no fucking sense to me. He blamed Sinclair for interfering. Steele said all he had to do was let him have her.”

“He’s right.” Mercy walked in, along with Malice. “I was there. I tried to ask Silas what the hell he was talking about, and the fucker said Sinclair tried to tell us. When I pressed, he clammed up, then all hell broke loose.”

“What do you guys know about the Craven Family?” Joshua asked, looking about the room. When no one spoke up, Joshua continued, “That family is behind everything going on. This war, all the lies, everything. All because they wanted revenge for what one man did.”

“You’re talking about William Doherty and Elizabeth Craven,” I stated.

“Yes. When Reaper and the Golden Skulls took out Sienna Mitchell, they unknowingly opened Pandora’s box when they failed to kill Jane Craven, the silent partner to Devlin Scott and the actual owner of the Trick Pony.”

“Holy fucking shit. That’s the connection Charlotte was looking for,” I muttered just as everything started falling into place.

“What does that have to do with Steele?” Mercy asked.

“Steele wasn’t there that night for Linsey or Aksana,” I stated. “He was there to bring Carly out into the open. He blames Carly for Sienna’s death.”

“I still don’t understand?” Mercy asked.

“Because it was Carly’s half-brother Savage who killed her. Steele wants an eye for an eye. He’s been after Carly all this time.”

“We’re too late. He’s already got her,” Lynk said, standing in the doorway.