Page 75 of Devil in Disguise

Raking my hands through my hair, I sat back down, my body shaking violently.

The relief was immense, but my underlying terror remained. “I thought I’d messed everything up. She threatened to kill my daughter. She said she knew where she was. She showed me a picture of Danika at the park... The same park I took her to. She said if I didn’t tell her where Dante’s sister was, she would kill my little girl. I couldn’t let that happen. I traded one life for another.” My words hung in the air, a confession, a damning indictment of my choice. A choice I knew, deep down, I would regret for the rest of my life.

“No, you saved your daughter. It’s my understanding that King’s had Amber on lockdown for a while now. She doesn’t question it. Amber is rather resilient in that fact. She really does fit in with the club life.”

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

Resilient? Or broken? The thought gnawed at me, a constant counterpoint to the relief I felt at Amber’s safety. My own moral compass spun wildly, accusing me of accepting a twisted form of victory.

“Haizley, I need to tell you something. Nav and King know, but when the truth comes out, someone needs to have a clear head to help everyone make sense of it all. Can you be that person?” The desperation in my words was palpable. The request itself was a violation. She was supposed to be on the outside, a detached observer, the one who could offer unbiased judgment. Now, I was thrusting her into the heart of it all, forcing her to become complicit. The weight of my secret pressed down on me, a suffocating burden. My loyalty to Dante warred with my deep-seated aversion to the very people involved. I needed to help them clean up my mess, even if it felt like I was betraying every instinct I possessed.

Yet, the alternative—abandoning them in the face of impending chaos—felt far worse.

It was a choice between lesser evils, a choice that would stain my hands either way.

“I can try,” she replied, barely speaking the words.

I knew, with a chilling certainty, that whatever I did, whatever I revealed, would only lead to more suffering. More regret. More broken lives. And I would be the one left holding the pieces, forever marked by this inevitable catastrophe. Looking at the woman, I nodded, the betrayal of my conscience a silent scream swallowed by the suffocating silence that followed.

My secret, once a burden, now felt like a poisoned chalice I was forced to drink.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Danny

The second Dante learned Danika was safe in Diamond Creek, he forgot about everything else. Part of me knew he would. He was singular when it came to our little girl, and I was banking on his need to reconnect to occupy most of his time. He sat next to me, his relief etched so deeply on his face it felt like a physical weight pressing down on me. He listened intently to everything Haizley said, her words confirming Danika’s safety and well-being washing over him. But the hollow ache in my chest remained, a constant, throbbing reminder of my failure.

I missed her first word.

The knowledge gnawed at me, a festering wound. Haizley’s words, meant to reassure, felt like tiny, sharp needles. Melissa, our daughter’s therapist, had taken such good care of our daughter and formed a bond... a bond that now included the usurpation of a title that didn’t belong to her.

When Haizley said Danika was calling Melissa‘mama,’a wave of nausea washed over me, threatening to spill my carefully constructed façade of calm I’d maintained. My anger unfurled like a burning ember, but a deeper, more insidious emotion dwarfed me: guilt.

I had chosen this.

I had made the terrible, heart-wrenching decision to send Danika away, to sacrifice her immediate presence for her safety.

Now, the consequence was a bond I couldn’t undo, a bond forged in my absence, fueled by my fear. My rational mind knew Melissa likely meant no harm, that she was a good woman, but a savage, primal part of me wanted to tear her apart, to scream at her, to claw back my stolen moments, the stolen word, the stolen... love? Was it even love I felt? Or was this possessive jealousy a twisted reflection of my inadequacy? The worst part? A chilling voice whispered the dreadful possibility: if I confronted Melissa, if I tried to reclaim what I felt was stolen, I risked jeopardizing Danika’s safety. I had traded one fear for another, a precarious dance on the edge of a precipice. My choice, my terrible, regrettable choice, forced me to swallow my pride, my anger, my heartbreak and pretend everything was alright, even as my soul crumbled under the weight of my hypocrisy.

“How much longer until we get there?” Dante asked, damn near bouncing in his seat as I drove from Albin, Wyoming to Diamond Creek.

“We should be there in about five minutes,” I muttered, gripping the steering wheel.

“I bet she’s gotten so big. I’m gonna have to buy her all new clothes.”

“I’m sure she has plenty. Let’s just get reacquainted with our daughter before you go spending more money.”

“Haizley said she would be there to help with the transition. I can’t wait to see Ellery and Jessica. Do you think they will be there?”

“I hope so.”

“It will be good to see Missy again. We had gotten close before I left.”

“I’m sure she can’t wait to catch up with you, too.” I groaned, slowing the truck and turning into the Silver Shadows’ compound, and parking near the entrance.

“What if she doesn’t remember us?” Dante asked, staring at the clubhouse doors. “We’ve been gone a long time.”

“We will figure it out. Now come on. I’m freezing my ass off and I want to see our daughter.”

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