Page 27

Sypher

August 21, 2024, New York City.

I watched as Dante sat at the table, his shoulders slouched while he leaned on his hand, eyes cast down at the plate before him as he slowly pushed his food around. He still hadn’t said a word to me regarding his time at the Playground. Or why Crispin Sinclair had a goddamned dog collar around his neck with a chain attached. When I got Dante home and into bed, I did a quick preliminary search of the Playground and learned that the place was the city’s most exclusive BDSM club, that was previously owned and operated by Malice and Mercy, before the building was sold to Crispin Sinclair a few weeks ago.

Now, that motherfucker was a piece of work.

I hated my job sometimes, because it was inevitable that working with the underworld lines would be crossed, and fuck me sideways and twice on Sunday, when it came to Crispin motherfucking Sinclair. Like any job, I did my due diligence, leaving nothing to chance. So, when Payne told me that Crispin Sinclair showed up with two others, I already fucking knew who those men were.

Crispin Sinclair was a product of the Trick Pony, and if my information was correct, which it generally was, Crispin Ulysses Sinclair was nothing more than a stone-cold killer, who didn’t think twice before beheading a woman named Veronica Meeks. The very woman who tortured him during his time at the Trick Pony.

Now, according to my client, when Sinclair left the Trick Pony, he specifically hand-picked three others to go with him: Silas Hayes Sharp, Rowen Descartes Shay, and Gideon Aurelius Scott, all named after famous men throughout history. Too fucking bad they didn’t inherit their namesakes’ temperament. More importantly, in the underworld, they were simply known as Mr. Ess.

Yeah, that one was too fucking easy to figure out.

Not very inventive, but it worked.

From what my client told me, she was in the Trick Pony’s nursery when Sinclair showed up and grabbed her and the baby she was holding, forcing her to flee with the others. It was only after they fled that Sinclair realized that she was holding the wrong baby. When she demanded to be taken back, Sinclair threatened to kill the baby if she returned to the Trick Pony.

My client knew that Crispin Sinclair wasn’t a man to fucking cross. She had seen first-hand what his temper could do. So, she stayed long enough to ease his temperament, and when his back was turned, she fled, returning to the Trick Pony. She knew that by doing so, it would send Sinclair into a rage, and he wouldn’t ever stop until he recovered her. As to why Sinclair specifically rescued her and not the others, my client never said.

Over the years, I kept my eyes on Sinclair and his associates as they amassed a tremendous wealth. With his hands in everything, Crispin Sinclair quickly became someone the table kept a close eye on, even contracting with me to do just that. The man was a self-made billionaire who didn’t give two fucks about anything or anyone. If he wanted something, nothing would stop him from achieving his goal. The man was singular and extremely fucking dangerous. He gave nothing without expecting something in return, and he never stopped looking for my client, Thena Hartley.

Only now, it wasn’t just Crispin Sinclair looking for her. Everyone wanted her, and I knew exactly where to find her.

Too bad for everyone involved, I never narked on my clients.

When I took my client on, she informed me of the baby’s true identity, and while I didn’t put two and two together before I claimed Dante, knowing who he truly was and who he belonged to, didn’t negate the fact that he was mine and nothing was going to change that.

“You gonna talk to me?”

“What more is there to say?”

“You should have told me, Dante. I could have protected you.”

“No one can protect me.”

“Told Reaper I claimed you.”

His head snapped to mine. “When?”

“Before the shit went down with Baranov last year. He promised me the club would have your back.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re mine.”

“Sin won’t ever let me go.”

Reaching across the table, I took his hand in mine and added, “You’re mine, Dante. I don’t care who fucking raised you. They ain’t no blood relation to you. They never were. You’re mine now and that makes you Golden. Now tell me why Sinclair had a fucking dog collar on you?”

Removing his hand from mine, Dante sat back in his chair and looked toward the window. I knew he didn’t want to tell me, but I wasn’t going to let this go. I couldn’t help him if I didn’t know everything, and the faster he told me his truth, the easier it would be for me to help him heal.

“So I wouldn’t forget what Silas did to save me.”

“Gonna need more, babe.”

“I think I knew before I could walk what I was. I wasn’t ashamed. I embraced it, and Sin, Rowen and Silas encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be. When I was kidnapped and taken back to the Trick Pony, I didn’t know what to expect. They never told me what went on there, keeping their own pain close to the vest. I wished they would have said something because maybe I could have prepared myself. You already know that I fought her, held out as long as I could until I couldn’t anymore. What I left out was how she brought me to heel.”

“The collar.”

He nodded as tears streamed down his beautiful face.

“It was the same one she used on me, and Sin kept it as a reminder of what Silas endured to save me. You see, when they realized what happened to me, he and the others moved heaven and earth to find me. It didn’t take them long to figure out who took me, and when they showed up demanding my return, the bitch flat out laughed in his face, refusing to let me go unless Sin gave her something in return.”

“What did she want?”

Slowly turning toward me, he whispered, “Silas. To get me back, Silas had to submit to her for twenty-four hours, returning to the one fucking place on earth he vowed never to return to. Sin flat out refused, demanding she ask for anything else. But she refused, and his hands were tied. He fucking knew that bitch wouldn’t give in. She never did. Silas either gave her what she wanted, or I would be lost to them forever. Sin considered himself my father. He and the others raised me. It was at that moment I knew Sin would burn the earth to the fucking ground around him to get me back, but not at the price of another. Yet it wasn’t Sin’s choice. I knew the second Silas made his decision, and I pleaded with him to leave me there, but he refused. Even Rowen and Sin tried to change his mind, but I knew Silas. When he made up his mind nothing would change it.”

“What did she want Silas to do?”

Dante closed his eyes and whispered, “To fuck me.”

Shaking my head, I sat back in my chair as Dante continued.

“She knew Silas gave me his last name and raised me to believe that he was my older brother. I wasn’t stupid. We looked nothing alike. I was thirteen when I sent off for one of those home DNA tests. The results just proved what I already knew. I wasn’t related to any of them. Yet, they were my family, and I loved Silas as a brother. I loved them all.”

“Jesus fuck.” I got up and started pacing the dining room.

I didn’t want to hear anymore. Just thinking about the pain Dante and Silas suffered at the hands of that cunt made me sick, but to know that the man he revered as his big brother, the one who helped raise him was forced to rape him to save him, was the ultimate mindfuck.

“She was true to her word, because twenty-four hours later, Silas and I walked out of the Trick Pony. Silas took off that day, and I never saw him again until he showed up at the clubhouse. As for the others, they never asked what happened, but I think they knew. Sin escorted me back to school and made me promise to never speak of it again, and I haven’t until now.”

Kneeling before him, I cupped his face. “Babe, I need you to explain this to me. Why, after everything that happened, are you still doing what they say.”

“Because they are the only family I have.”

“You have me, Dante. You’ve always had me.”

“And you have us.”

Turning quickly, I stood protectively in front of Dante when he gasped. There, standing in my living room, stood Reaper, Remi, Sandman, and Bullseye.

“How you holding up?” Reaper asked, sliding a bottle of beer toward me.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, turning to look down the hallway Dante disappeared into with Remi and Sandman.

“He’s safe, Sypher. Remi and Sandman will take care of him.”

Nodding, I turned back in my seat. “Can’t take much more of this, Reaper. It feels like my world is imploding around me. How can I protect Dante and still do what needs to be done when all I want to do is find that cunt and kill the bitch?”

“I know what you mean,” Reaper replied. “When Remi walked into the clubhouse all those years ago, my life shifted. One minute I was on a path of self-destruction, the next I wanted to burn the fucking world down to protect her. So trust me, I know what you are feeling, but, brother, you need to channel that anger and focus it on what really matters. This cunt, whoever she is, will get hers, I promise you that, but until then we still have other adversaries that need our attention.”

Reaper was right.

I couldn’t do anything about the bitch who tortured Dante until I learned her true identity. In the meantime, I had other obligations that seriously needed my expertise, and while I wanted to hole up in this place and protect Dante, it would solve nothing.

Rubbing my hands down my face, I took a deep breath and focused my mind and said, “Everything is on schedule and going according to plan.”

“Ace came through?” Bullseye asked.

“Yeah. He found the information I planted and, like I knew he would, he destroyed the servers, but not before downloading everything into my MicroDrive.” Looking at my watch, I added, “And if I’m right, Ace should have already showed up in Lawton.”

“What information?” Bullseye asked, looking at me as Reaper slowly shook his head. Reaper wanted Ravage’s identity kept secret for as long as humanly possible and I didn’t blame him.

“It doesn’t matter,” I cautiously replied and continued, “I’ve got my algorithm running the traces now. Once it’s done, I’ll have the list of everyone associated with the Trick Pony and the last remaining sympathizers of the Society . From there, you and the club can do your thing.

“And Montana?” Reaper asked.

“Still oblivious. The sooner you bring him into the fold, the faster we can get this mess over with ‘cause I really hate lying to everyone. As it is, I’m already walking a fine line, and if the table gets word I’m double dipping, my ass is grass,” Looking at Reaper I added, “Which means you need to play your part perfectly, because if that fucker even thinks for one fucking second he’s being set up, it’s game over.”

My president smiled. “Not my first rodeo, kid. You leave fucknuts to me and worry about the other shit.”

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and groaned.

Taking a deep breath, it was now or never.

“While I have you, Dylan, there is something I need to tell you. Something that’s going to come as quite a shock. I’m only telling you this now because I need you to not lose your shit and go on a killing spree when Dante, Phantom and me hack into the Hoover building and the FEDs show up to arrest us before sending us to an off-site instillation.”

Bullseye frowned, confusion written all over his face as he looked at Reaper, who gave nothing away, knowing what I was about to say. Sitting up slowly, Dylan sneered, “Why the fuck would my wife hack into the fucking Hoover Building? Since when was that fucking part of the plan?”

“Let him finish, brother,” Reaper firmly ordered.

“Then he better talk fast.”

“When I approached Reaper with my plan, it was rudimentary at best, and he wasn’t sold on the idea, but I knew it was the only way. Over the last few years, I’ve been biding my time, collecting data, plotting and planning because I didn’t have all the missing pieces. When I learned about Dante’s past, I started connecting the dots and everything fell into place. I knew I couldn’t get rid of the Society if the Trick Pony was still active, but every time I tried, I couldn’t breach its security wall. Well, about a year ago, when the club was in the city to bring down Baranov and Petrovitch, I learned that Harbor Security did the security systems for the Trick Pony, and I also learned Ace used my tech to do it. I tried creating a new algorithm, but the problem was, Ace was slick and added biometrics to access the Trick Pony’s servers. The only one with access was Devlin Scott.”

“Fucker’s dead.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “He is now, but that still didn’t get me access to his servers. I needed Ace because he set up the damn thing. Only he could walk in and access the servers.”

“And he did.” Dylan huffed. “But that doesn’t explain why my wife will be arrested by the fucking FEDs.”

“When I told Ace that Dante was at the Trick Pony, he agreed to help me, and when I started working with Ace and Harbor Security, I learned two astonishing things. The first was Phantom’s brother Gadget is alive. He’s been working with his brother Jason Collins and Delta Team, trying to find a way into an unsanctioned off-site military instillation.”

Dylan looked at me like I’d lost my motherfucking mind.

Shaking his head, he whispered, “Jared’s dead. Lena and I flew his body to Chicago and buried him. Jason was with us. Lena cried for months, grieving him.”

“Finish it, Sypher,” Reaper growled. “Now.”

“When I saw Gadget, he showed me something I didn’t believe myself, but it’s true, Dylan. I verified it. She’s alive.”

Slowly getting to his feet, Dylan sneered, “Who’s alive?”

“Aunt Donna. She’s alive.”