Page 64 of Savage Loyalty

I held my breath, clutching the banister as I watched them. Dad took a step forward, his jaw tight, his hands clenching and unclenching. "I told you, it’s not what you think. And even if it was, it’s none of your damn business."

Mom flinched at the venom in his voice, but she didn’t back down. "None of my business? I’m your wife! This family—this house—is falling apart, and all you can think about is your goddamn club and whatever trash they drag in!"

"Watch your mouth," Dad snapped, his voice low and dangerous.

"Or what?" Mom’s defiance was sharp, but her hands trembled. "You’ll walk out again? Leave me here to explain to our kids why their father cares more about his brothers than he does about them?"

The tension was suffocating, and then it broke. Dad reached out, shoving her back just hard enough to make her stumble. The sharp gasp she let out echoed in the room, slicing through my small frame like a knife.

Mom caught herself on the arm of the couch, her eyes wide with shock and hurt. She didn’t say another word. She just stood there, staring at him like she didn’t recognize the man in front of her. And Dad? He turned away, walking out the front door without another glance.

I stayed on the staircase, frozen, my small hands gripping the wood so tightly it hurt. I didn’t understand what I’d just seen, but I felt it—deep in my chest, in the pit of my stomach. A fracture, small but irreparable, spreading through the foundation of our family.

And now, sitting on the floor of that same living room, the weight of those memories crushed me. My hand went to my stomach, protective and desperate, as the echoes of the past blended with the chaos of the present.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

RYDER

The clubhouse was tense, the air thick with something I couldn’t quite name but knew all too well. Betrayal. It had a way of tainting everything it touched, like a poison seeping into the cracks. And tonight, I was going to find the source of it.

Steel had been the one to bring us the evidence. A scrap of paper, a burner phone, and a whispered name that sent a rush of fury straight through me. Dagger. One of my own. A Reaper lieutenant who’d stood by my side through countless battles, someone I’d trusted with my life—and he’d sold us out to the Black Vipers.

Now, he was sitting in the meeting room, surrounded by the rest of the club, his face a mask of indifference. But I knew better. The way his fingers twitched against the armrest, the slight shift of his eyes every time someone spoke—he knew the noose was tightening.

I stepped into the room, letting the door slam behind me. The sound silenced the murmurs, all eyes turning to me.

"We’ve got a problem," I said, my voice cold and deliberate. "And it’s sitting right here in this room."

The tension ratcheted up, the brothers exchanging wary glances. Dagger didn’t flinch, but his jaw tightened just enough to confirm what I already knew.

"Dagger," I said, locking eyes with him. "You want to explain why I found a burner phone in your stash? Or why Steel intercepted a message from that phone to the Vipers?"

The room went still, the weight of my words crashing down like a hammer. Dagger leaned back in his chair, his lips curling into a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.

"You sure about that, VP?" he said, his voice calm but laced with defiance. "Because it sounds like someone’s feeding you bullshit."

I took a step closer, my fists clenching at my sides. "You calling Steel a liar? Because last I checked, he’s not the one cozying up to the enemy."

The smirk faltered, replaced by a flicker of unease. "I don’t know what you think you’ve got, but it’s not me. I’ve been loyal to this club since day one."

"Loyal?" I barked out a harsh laugh, leaning over the table until I was inches from his face. "You think loyalty means feeding intel to the Vipers? Selling out your brothers for a fucking paycheck?"

Dagger’s mask cracked, the confidence slipping as his eyes darted around the room. "I didn’t?—"

"Don’t," I cut him off, my voice a low growl. "Don’t insult me by lying to my face. We’ve got the messages. The money transfers. Hell, we’ve even got the Viper who handed it over before we put him in the ground. So don’t sit there and act like you’re innocent."

The silence was deafening, every eye in the room fixed on Dagger. He shifted in his seat, his hands gripping the armrests like they were the only thing keeping him grounded.

"I needed the money," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "You don’t know what it’s like, Wraith. Trying to keep it all together. The debts. The pressure."

"The pressure?" I repeated, my voice rising. "You think you’re the only one with shit to deal with? We’re all in this together, Dagger. That’s what this club is supposed to mean. Brotherhood. Loyalty. But you threw all that away for what? A few stacks of cash?"

He didn’t answer, his gaze dropping to the table. The room buzzed with anger, the brothers muttering curses under their breath. I straightened, stepping back as I looked around the room.

"This is what happens when we let weakness in," I said, my voice hard. "This is what happens when someone forgets what it means to wear this patch."

I turned back to Dagger, the weight of my decision settling in my chest. "You’ve got anything else to say? Now’s the time."

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