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Dante

I walked away, because if I didn’t, I would strangle her.

Rachel was too stubborn for her own good. All she had to do was talk to me, and allow me the chance to explain, and she wouldn’t have been upset.

She had tried to hide her tears, but I heard the telltale sniff as she forced herself to hold back, and I saw her clenched fists swipe at her eyes to clear away the drops that couldn’t be contained.

I’d brought enough hurt into her life the past few days, and I felt a complete asshole to be adding more, but this had to be done.

She would thank me in the future. I would have loved to spend the evening with her and Bee, all three of us finding a way to connect and move forward as a new, blended family.

However, when I spoke to my mam and dad about bringing Rachel home today, Macbeth had been listening, and told me I might want to put the happy reunion on hold.

He told me he had an in with Ben – the new club owner who Alex had once considered his best friend.

I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to size the place up and figure out the best plan of attack.

“All good, brother?” Vienna asked as I entered the bar. The rest of the lads were already there, gathering whatever information they could. Vienna waited for me, as he always did. He was my right-hand man, and where I went, he went.

“Better than expected, I suppose.”

“She’ll come around, man,” he said, giving me a reassuring slap on the shoulders. “Think of what she’s been through. Can you blame the girl for wanting to be alone for a while?”

“I can’t blame her for thinking the worst of me.”

“Well… I didn’t want to be the one to say,” he joked, flashing me a grin.

“Ahh, come on. We’ll go take care of some of her demons.

You’ve got the rest of your lives to make it up to her – although might I suggest not pissing her off too much, or else the rest of your life might be much shorter than planned. ”

Ben’s club was in the heart of Leeds – bold move for someone who was part of the grooming scene. He took hiding in plain sight to a whole new level.

Hacksaw had sent a text just as we left the clubhouse telling us that they were all inside and were talking to various people.

Macbeth was last seen talking to Ben himself, and so it was him who I scanned the floor for, wanting to know what information he had found.

“There,” Vienna muttered, his head nodding ever so slightly in Macbeth’s direction. I knew better than to look directly at them, so I turned slightly, looking at them through my peripheral.

Macbeth was laughing at something Ben said, and the pair of them clinked their glasses together in response to Macbeth’s answer. “Looking awfully friendly for two people that just met yesterday,” Vienna muttered.

“He’s either playing his role well—”

“Or he’s living up to his name.” Vienna finished for me.

Feeling a growing lump forming in the pit of my stomach, I made my way over to my brother and Ben, ready to find out for myself.

“Ahh, here he is,” Macbeth boomed, his speech already beginning to slur. “The little brother, in the flesh!”

“Alright, Cole?” I said, using his real name for a change. The less these guys knew about who we were, the better.

Most people in the country had heard of the Devil’s Disciples, and I had no doubt in my mind Ben was well aware of all the clubs local to him, motorcycle or otherwise.

“Cole, is it?” Ben asked with a wry, calculating grin. “When did we stop using Macbeth?”

Ahh, fucking hell.

The useless bastard hadn’t kept his mouth shut.

“And I take it you’re Dante?” He addressed me.

“In the flesh,” I said, using Macbeth’s earlier line as I shot him an angry look.

It didn’t matter. It wasn’t public knowledge that I was with Rachel, and even if he did know about her, she had changed so much from the pale, skinny, dark-haired girl he had helped abuse, it was doubtful he’d know she was the same person.

“Macbeth here tells me you’re looking at expanding your club?” He says to me, and I shot another look at Macbeth.

“Did he?”

“Don’t be mad,” Ben said, a happy beam on his face.

“I’m glad we respect one another enough that you came to me beforehand.

I’ve no problem where you place your club, so long as my business remains my business, and your business remains your business.

Which, I’m sure we’ll be in agreement there,” he laughed, looking between me and Macbeth.

“Go and get us some drinks,” I said to my useless brother. “Now, Mac. And ask Vienna what he wants. He’ll be parched.”

He knew what I meant.

“Dante,” he warned, but I brushed him off.

“Go, before our new friend here gets bored with us.”

I kept my eyes on Ben as Macbeth left, and the minute he was out of eyesight, I let the happy grin fall from my lips.

“Something on your mind, Dante?” Ben asked, having also lost the pretence of there ever being a friendship between us. His eyes were as cold as I knew mine were.

“How did you come to own this club? Seems an awfully big place to run for someone so young. Don’t most new businesses crumble within the year?”

“There’s always an exception to the rule.”

“And you just so happen to be the exception, right?”

He gestured around him, “what do you think?”

“It’s not what I think, it’s what I know. And I’ve heard other things about how this club came to be so popular, and how it came to be in your hands.”

He paused for a brief moment before answering. “I inherited it from a friend.”

I gave a low whistle as I looked around. “That’s one generous friend.”

“You know what they say. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

I saw a shadow move around the edges of the club, and my spine stiffened. However, I made sure to relax in time before Ben realised I had noticed anything.

“That’s true. You’ve just got to know the right person.”

“Here, here,” Ben said, but he didn’t raise his glass.

“I think we might actually have someone in common, you and I – since we’re speaking of people we know.”

Ben’s eyes snapped back to mine, eyeing me with growing caution. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I gave a small laugh. “It’s been some years now, but I’m sure you haven’t forgotten her.”

Ben laughed, the relief evident. His eyes cleared up, the suspicion clearing away. “Sorry about that, man. For a second there, I thought I might have fucked over one of your friends.” I grinned back, trying not to recoil as he slapped me over my back.

“Easy mistake to make around here. Everyone’s fucked over someone at some point.”

“Ain’t that the truth? So who’s the female? Shit, I didn’t fuck her, did I?”

“Something like that.”

“Man…” he half whistled; half laughed. “These women. They don’t half get about. What’s her name? I’ll see if I can place her?”

“Rachel.”

“Rachel?” He frowned. “I haven’t met a Rachel in years.”

“I didn’t say how long ago it was,” I muttered. The shadow kept moving, and so I moved closer to Ben. He strained his neck to look up at me.

“What’s her surname?” He asked, the sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“You know which Rachel I’m talking about.

You see, I’ve been researching you, Ben.

I know all about who you got this club from, and what the pair of you used to get up to with underage girls.

I’m sure after all these years, you thought you had got away with it.

It’s just unfortunate for you that one of those girls turned out to be my future old lady. ”

“Look, man,” he said, backing up from me. “I don’t know what she told you, but whatever happened between her, and Alex was their business.”

“So, you do know which Rachel I’m talking about?” I said through clenched teeth, still backing him up to the edge of the room.

Ben looked back and forth, his eyes frantically looking around the room.

“It’s ancient history. She killed him. He paid for his crimes.”

“He did, didn’t he? Shame it wasn’t earlier, but at least my girl got her vengeance in the end. He paid with his life.”

“Exactly. He—"

“But did you?”

“What?” He spluttered.

“Did you pay, Ben? Did you suffer the consequences of your actions, or were you happy to let Alex take the blame entirely?”

“I—”

“I know everything, Ben. Did you think you would spend the rest of your life going unpunished?” I nodded into the corner, and Ben spun his head around at the same time as Vienna clamped a hand around his mouth and dragged him kicking and screaming into the shadows.

I took a quick look around the room, meeting the eyes of Shark and Hacksaw – fuck knows where Macbeth had gone.

I nodded to them, and they followed as we dragged Ben out of the back door leading to the alleyway.