Page 56 of Devil in Disguise

“I’m fine,” he snapped, his gaze challenging. “I can handle it.”

“Are you handling it?” Dr. Walker interjected, her voice calm and steady. “It looks to me as though you are avoiding it. I understand your desire to get back to your routine, but we need to ensure we’re taking the steps for your long-term well-being. For now, let’s focus on your recovery and work on managing your symptoms. We can re-evaluate your involvement in club activities once we’ve made some progress.”

Danny’s jaw clenched, and I could see the frustration building within him. “Fine,” he relented, his voice tight. “But I can’t just do nothing. I need something to take my mind off...” His voice trailed off, and his eyes clouded with pain.

I placed a hand over his, offering what little comfort he would allow. “We’ll find something, okay? Something to keep your mind active and engaged. But for now, let’s take this one step at a time.”

And for the first time since before the accident, I got a real response from him.

He squeezed my hand back.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Danny

The days bled together, each one bringing a fresh wave of Dr. Walker’s relentless probing. We covered everything—my parents’ deaths, the raw, agonizing grief I still felt, the electrifying first sight of Dante, even the mundane details of my childhood. She left no stone unturned, yet a wall remained impenetrable whenever she touched upon the Biker Federation.

It wasn’t a simple unwillingness to speak. It was a terrifying compulsion to silence, a knot of fear and loyalty that tightened in my gut.

I knew Dante’s frustration—and Dr. Walker’s—mirrored my own impotent rage. The information stored in my head was a venomous serpent coiled around my heart, and revealing it felt like suicide.

By the fifth day, they didn’t come alone.

Bane’s presence, and the cold fury in his eyes, was enough to ignite my fury.

“Talk,” Bane snarled, the command a physical blow.

“I can’t!” I shouted. My words ripped through me, a desperate, futile attempt at maintaining control. “You can’t order me around. I don’t work for you.”

A chilling calm settled over Bane’s face as a familiar voice cut through the air when Bane placed his phone on the table, and Reaper’s name blazed on the screen, confirming my worst fear.

My loyalty, the bedrock of my being, was being brutally tested.

The club was my family, my lifeblood, but revealing its secrets felt like betraying everyone I had ever sworn to protect, including myself.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

This was worse than any physical beating.

“No, but you do work for me.” Reaper’s voice, amplified through the phone, was a cold judgment. The room stilled. “Your head’s a mess and you can’t do your fucking job if you don’t talk. So, what the hell is the holdup?”

“It’s club business,” I insisted, my voice tight. “Dr. Walker wants me to discuss club matters.”

The conflict was unbearable.

My gut screamed that betraying the club was akin to selling my soul, yet my own sanity and perhaps my very life hung in the balance. The choice was a poisoned chalice.

“Then fucking tell her!” Reaper roared, his voice a tremor through the phone. “Sypher, I’ve got enough on my plate. Everyone’s doing their part. Get that stick out of your ass and do yours.” He paused, then addressed Dr. Walker, “Yo, Doc. Patient confidentiality?”

“Yes,” she replied, her voice steady. “As long as he doesn’t tell me about anything he is planning to do in the future, nothing said here will go further.”

“Good enough for me. Start talking, kid. Now!” Reaper’s order cut the silence like a knife before the connection ended.

The weight of Reaper’s command, the blatant disregard for my internal struggle, crushed me.

My moral compass spun wildly. I was being forced to choose between my fiercely held loyalty and the preservation of my own sanity. The choice was agonizingly clear, yet each option felt like a devastating failure.

My mouth opened, not in defiance, but in a surrender to the inevitable unraveling because I fucking knew with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that what I was about to tell her, the consequences would be far-reaching and devastating.

---