Page 23

Pippen

July 22, 2024, Soulless Sinners’ clubhouse, a short time later,

Mumbling to myself, I hurried into the clubhouse, the smell of stale coffee and old wood filling my nostrils as I headed straight for my office. My God, my life was already a chaotic mess and now I had to deal with her. The tension in the clubhouse reached its peak when Malice laid claim to Silver, sparking chaos and turmoil among the members. Montana’s behavior had become completely unhinged, his actions erratic and unpredictable. Malice was in the fucking wind. No one had seen him since he violently claimed the bartender. Safely tucked away inside the clubhouse, under the ever-vigilant gaze of Montana, Silver remained hidden. With my brothers stumped and unable to locate the club’s most dangerous member, the added stress of Danny’s situation, the search for my daughter, and the shocking reappearance of Mia Doherty, I felt completely overwhelmed and at my breaking point.

I was surrounded by chaos and impending disaster. Unless a significant change occurred very soon, I knew I was about to lose control and completely unravel. God, when Silas learned she resurfaced, he was going to murder the messenger.

Fuck . Why couldn’t the dead just stay dead?

During my junior year as an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University, unexpectedly and rather dramatically, Silas appeared in the dead of night, issuing a peremptory command that I immediately find and locate one Mia Doherty. Unfortunately, she had been pronounced dead, and despite my attempts to convince him otherwise, he remained unconvinced and refused to believe my report.

He wanted definitive fucking proof. The difficulty in obtaining that proof stemmed from the fact that she had technically been buried on property owned by the Golden Skulls in the town of Purgatory, located in the state of California. I was all for a little grave digging, but the idea of my head being separated from my body was a step too far. The very thought sent shivers down my spine. I had already heard the chilling tales of Reaper’s volatile temper, each story a testament to the fear he inspired and his terrifying skill with his blades. A skill that carved a path of destruction wherever he went. Hell, I knew what that son of a bitch did to his own damn club in Louisiana—I’d seen the pictures—so I could only imagine the gruesome things he would do to me if I desecrated his sister’s grave. The thought sent chills down my spine.

Nope. I liked my head right where it was.

Unable to verify Mia Doherty’s death, Silas was forced to abandon the investigation, a decision that left him seething with impotent rage. Silas was nothing but efficient. The thought of her reappearance reigniting Silas’ obsessive game of hide-and-seek, a game he played with chilling intensity and terrifying consequences, made me hesitate.

The entire chain of events began when the Golden Skulls made the decision to send Mia overseas to an extremely expensive and prestigious private school. She was supposed to receive a superior education, not pursue the entirely antithetical, risky and clandestine activities associated with the infamous and so-called “Devil’s Playground.” The mystery of how she bypassed Silas’ sophisticated security system, encompassing numerous cameras and motion detectors, remained unsolved among those involved. However, the events that transpired during her five-hour encounter with Silas constituted an even more significant enigma. Silas flatly refused to utter a single word, and considering Mia’s swift departure and suspected death, it was clear to me that he believed the matter was closed.

Too bad for him, his little nightmare rose from the dead.

With Silas and Mia momentarily forgotten, I grabbed my trusty headphones—the worn leather still soft beneath my fingers—and slipped them on, blocking out the world. My club responsibilities felt like a runaway train. If I didn’t rein them in quickly, everything would fall apart.

To center my attention, I searched for an insignificant, commonplace task, something so trivial that it would serve as a point of concentration. I had to clear my head to think clearly and that was the only way I could manage to do it. As I performed my standard diagnostic tests on the club’s database and security systems that morning, the usual rhythmic clicking of the keyboards surrounded me. Unexpectedly, I discovered a file I didn’t recognize within the club’s central data file, a repository of all member details. As the vice president, it was Mercy’s duty to maintain comprehensive and detailed records for each and every one of the brothers in the clubhouse. Everything from family, to who they did business with, to who they fucked. I only found the file because I was bored one day and had nothing better to do. Of course, I was really intrigued when I saw the file was password protected. I was disappointed when it only took me seconds to break in, but what I found was interesting.

The Soulless Sinners had a colorful past, to say the least.

Yet, this file was new.

Clicking on it, my computer screen went black, before it opened into a database of every club brother, wife, acquaintance, and club piece since the club first started. More importantly, each file was highly detailed and left nothing out. I knew who everyone slept with, bribed or killed. It was a treasure trove of information right at my fingertips, but what grabbed my attention was the history of the club and how it was connected to the Golden Skulls.

Not thinking, I picked up my phone and called Danny.

“What?” he snipped angrily.

“Did you know the Soulless Sinners and the Golden Skulls were connected?”

Silence. Dead motherfucking silence.

“Danny?”

“Where did you learn that?”

“I’m looking at the club’s database right now. There was a file I hadn’t seen before. Danny, it has everything, and I mean everything about everyone and the club in it.”

“What kind of file is it?”

“It’s just a pdf file named ghost ,” I said, scouring the files when I muttered, “Oh my God! Danny, there is a file here that says Montana is the father to—”

“FUCK!” he cursed, making me jump as he shouted, “Dante, delete that fucking file!”

“I can’t. It’s part of the club’s mainframe. If I delete it, Mercy will immediately know someone was in his files. I only found the file by accident. What the hell is going on? This is the shit you’ve been working on and won’t talk to me about, isn’t it? Because if it is, then you have a bigger problem, because according to this file, his brother Dakota knows. Why would Dakota know and not Montana?”

“Dante, listen to me. Make a copy and come home now. I need to see that file.”

“Will you tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“Yes,” he groaned. “Just bring me that fucking file and don’t let anyone know you have it. Biker clubs are fucking funny when it comes to internal shit being passed around. Just act like nothing is wrong and get your ass home fast.”

Doing like Danny said, I quickly made a copy of the file and transferred it to the personal sim card I kept on my keyring. Logging out of the system, I cleaned up my desk, making sure nothing was out of place, before turning up the music on my headset. Making my way toward the front of the club, I ignored everything, jamming to the tunes blasting in my ears, when I looked up and stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes widening in fear.

Gulping, I slowly removed my headphones when I heard my worst nightmare growl.

FUCK!

I fucking knew he would eventually come for me, but did he have to choose today to do it?

Backing up a few steps, I held my hands out in front of me, and cautiously sputtered, “Now, Silas. Think before you do anything stupid.”

“When I get my hands on you,” Silas sneered, walking menacingly toward me.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I squealed like a little girl, running toward the bar like that would protect me, only to run smack dab into Payne.

“Grow a pair, Intern.” Payne groaned, pushing me off him.

“Come here, you little shit,” Silas sneered, reaching for me, but I was too fast and ran straight for Montana, pleading.

“Please, boss. I’ll do anything. Just keep him away from me!”

“ENOUGH!” Montana roared, shoving me off him. “Maybe you can explain, Intern. Like fucking now.”

I nodded, looking over my shoulder at Silas, who was standing within arm’s reach of me, grinning evilly.

“Go ahead. I dare you.”

“I don’t have all fucking day. Speak!” Montana roared.

Gulping, I looked from Montana to Silas several times, before turning to the one man I knew with one word could save my ass, and whispered, “Parlay?”

The man crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

“Not this time, Dante.”

My shoulders slumped as I sighed. “Well, this is just great. I tell my Prez and Silas will beat my ass. I don’t—”

“And I’ll beat your ass,” Montana finished for me, glaring.

No one moved as they all looked at me.

Fuck this shit. If I was going to die, then so be it.

Thumbing my thumb behind me, I clearly said, “That evil bastard behind me is my older brother, Silas Sharp, and those two standing over there are Rowen Shay and Crispin Sinclair.”

The second I said their names, Montana turned to Sinclair and glared. “You are the fucker who wants to buy the Playground?”

“Have.”

“Have what, asshole?”

“Purchased the Playground.”

“What?” Mercy asked as he walked toward Montana. “I just got the email last week. I didn’t sign shit. As co-owner—”

“But you’re not, are you?” Crispin interrupted, totally relaxed, as if being in a motorcycle club surrounded by big, badass bikers was nothing to him and technically it wasn’t. That scary motherfucker had been in several shady places in his life. This club was nothing more than a fucking vacation for him. “You signed over your shares to Malice after your wife returned. Unless I am mistaken?”

“How the fuck did you know that?” Montana growled.

“I know quite a bit, Mr. Stone. Quite a bit.”

Yep, I nodded. That was the damn truth. Sinclair knew fucking everything about everyone. The man was methodical, diligent and gave no quarter.

Nothing got past Sinclair.

Nothing.

“Boss,” I muttered, inching closer to my prez as I stared at my brother. “Silas is looking at me funny.”

Shaking me off, Montana glared at Silas. “You really his brother?”

Silas grimaced, crossing his arms over his chest. “Unfortunately.”

Montana smirked. The next thing I knew, my president shoved me toward my brother as Silas grabbed me by the back of my neck hard.

Leaning close to my ear, Silas threatened, “Your ass is mine when I get you home.”

I gulped as Montana looked at Sinclar. “Where the fuck is my brother?”

Sinclair simply said, “Which brother do you mean? Kansas and Arizona are in Lawton, Oklahoma with your mother, Virginia, and her partner, Happy. As for Dakota, he’s taken a government contract and is out of the country.”

Montana growled and took a step closer.

Reaching for Montana’s arm, Silver stepped in front of him and pleaded, “Please don’t.”

“I’d listen to her,” Sinclair advised.

Yeah, I’d listen to Silver. I wouldn’t aggravate Sinclair, but I kept my mouth shut. Fucker threw me to the wolves. He could navigate Crispin Sinclair all on his own.

Silver approached Sinclar and said, “This is my family, Mr. Sinclair. I care for them very much. Please. As a favor to me, just answer Montana’s question. If you know where Malice is, please tell us.”

Sin looked at her and I watched his face soften. Taking a step closer to her, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a card, handing it to her, clearly stating, “I’m sorry, Little One. I would very much like to help you with this, but this is Malice’s journey. He needs time to understand everything and accept who he is. Until that happens, my hands are tied. However, if you ever have need of me, I will make myself available.”

Taking the card, she looked at it and nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. Sinclair.”

“You may call me Sin, Little One.”

“Let’s go, Dante,” Silas growled, his grip tightening as he forcefully escorted me out of the club.

“You fucking little shit!” Silas roared as his fist connected with the side of my face, knocking me to the floor. “What the fuck have you been doing?”

“Silas,” Sin sighed, placing his hand on Silas’ shoulder to stop him from hitting me again, before removing his coat and placing it over an expensive Victorian winged back chair.

“Don’t, Sin.” Silas rounded on the head of our dysfunctional little family. “That little fucker was supposed to gather information on Gideon and the Soulless Sinners then report back. He hasn’t done shit since we let him off his fucking leash. Now, he’s shacked up with that fucking boy from school. If that wasn’t bad enough, that fucker is a goddamned Golden Skull!”

“Yes,” Sin sighed, walking over to me. Standing tall, the head of our family looked down at me and shook his head. “That is a problem.”

Kneeling before me, he added, “Tell me, Dante. Was he worth it?”

Gulping, I nodded. “Yes.”

“I hope you’re right, because your life depends on what he does next.”

Stiffening, I sputtered, “What do you mean, Sin? What are you going to do?”

Standing to his full height, Sin turned to Rowen Shay and kindly said, “Rowen, you’re up.”

“Sin, NO!”