Page 110 of Devil in Disguise

“She wanted you.” I gasped, the realization slamming into me with the force of a physical impact. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat in the suffocating silence. Sinclair’s smile was pure evil, a chilling, triumphant expression.

“Yes. But I refused. There was no way I would ever set foot in that place again. Not even for you. But Silas... Silas and Rowen refused to leave you there. Silas knew Rowen wouldn’t survive another night with that... woman. So, he offered himself. And because of what Silas endured to save you... Rowen took over Silas’ debt to me.”

The rage that exploded within me was a blinding, searing inferno.

“You son of a bitch!” I roared, the sound tearing from my throat, raw and unfiltered. “You are a vile, contemptible piece of shit! You could have gotten me out of there without either of them sacrificing themselves to that bitch’s whims!”

Sinclair simply nodded, his smirk unwavering, his eyes glittered with a cold, cruel satisfaction. “Yes, I could have.” His unspoken words hung in the air, heavier than the suffocating silence that followed. “But I chose not to.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Bane

Soulless Sinners’ clubhouse,

The stench of stale beer and cheap cologne hit me first, a thick, suffocating wave as I bulldozed my way past my brothers, their slack-jawed stares burning into my back. My boots thundered on the polished floor, each step a hammer blow against the silence.

Montana’s office door splintered under my rage. The empty room mocked me, a hollow echo of his cowardly absence.

“Motherfucker.” I spun on my heel, a whirlwind of fury, and slammed open Mercy’s door from its hinges. “Where the fuck is Montana?” I roared, my question a raw, guttural sound. I was so over this fucking shit.

Mercy’s voice, weak and raspy, dripped from the shadows. “Running down a lead on Dakota. Why?”

“So he’s fucking off?” I spat, my words sharp as shards of glass.

A groan, a shuddering exhale spoke volumes of despair. Mercy looked like death warmed over. His eyes hollow, his face a roadmap of sleepless nights and bad decisions. He swiveled in his chair, a slow, agonizing movement. “Bane? I’m not sure if you are aware, but shit hit the fan while you’ve been drying out in Nebraska with the Silver Shadows. What do you want?” His words hung in the air, thick with unspoken accusations.

My voice dropped to a venomous hiss. “Crispin Sinclair took my son.”

Mercy’s face paled, the blood draining from his lips.

He rose, his movements stiff and jerky. “Sinclair took... Pippen?” His question was barely a whisper, choked with disbelief as he held up his hand. “And before you jump on your soapbox and chew my ass for not telling you, I learned that shit a few weeks ago.”

“Are you fucking deaf?” I snarled, the roar tearing through the silence, the pain a white-hot brand on my soul. “That son of a bitch took my son. I need Montana’s help to get him back!”

A guttural curse ripped from Mercy’s throat. He bolted, a blur of motion down the hallway, a raw, animalistic urgency driving him. He burst into Payne’s office, the lights snapping on like a sudden, blinding flash, revealing the disheveled figure sprawled across a couch.

“What the hell?” Payne’s voice was thick with sleep and irritation. “I was fucking sleeping, man.”

“Call Malice. Tell him to get his ass here, now. Sinclair has our intern.”

My voice cut through the room like a knife. “Not an intern anymore. Storm branded him.”

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke an elephant. Payne and Mercy stared, their mouths agape, faces etched with a mixture of shock and dawning horror.

Their unspoken questions hung heavy in the air.

“Excuse me?” Mercy stammered, his voice small and unsure.

I leaned in, my voice dangerously low. “Seriously? I’m making you an appointment with an audiologist. Today.”

“Shut the fuck up, Bane,” Mercy snapped, pushing past me again and yelling, “OFFICERS, IN THE BOARDROOM. NOW!”

“Where the hell is everyone?” I asked, looking around the boardroom at the empty seats.

“Fury is in California with the Golden Skulls. The second Carly woke from her coma, he got her the hell out of dodge. Storm is still M.I.A. No one has heard a word from him since the tree lighting ceremony and last I heard, Vicious is refusing to leave Linsey’s side.” Torment yawned.

“And Montana is playing hide and seek with his fucking brother?” I asked, clarifying as my club brothers nodded.

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