Page 144 of Hidden

The last night I slept in this house.

The last time I walked these halls as a Rider.

Tonight, Luke would come for me. Together, we would tell my dad, and all the other Riders that we were a couple, and we would leave.

As simple as that.

Luke’s club—our club!—would be waiting for us. We would have a celebratory party when we shared our news, and we’d wait for the inevitable fallout. But my dad wouldn’t strike tonight. He never acted without a plan. He’d take a few days to plot before he made his move.

And we’d be prepared. Luke would see to everything.

But as I walked further into the house, something felt… off.

Usually, there were bikers coming and going. My dad was usually barking commands, my mum was always around, drunkenly complaining.

Today, everything was still… silent. What few men remained in the corridors grew silent as I passed them, their faces turning to stone, their eyes following me as I made my way to the stairs.

A chill raced up my spine, and I hurried my steps, my hand on the banister.

“Gabby,” I heard my dad call from his office. “Can you come in here a moment?”

Every instinct inside me screamed at me to run. To turn around. To get out before it was too late.

But, idiot woman that I was, I ignored it, plastering a smile on my face as I turned around and headed to the office.

“Everything okay, Daddy…?” I asked, my voice trailing off as I took in the scene before me.

My dad was sitting on the desk, his legs crossed at the ankles, facing the door with a fake smile. Three of his enforcers were against the back wall, their guns already in their hands. His VP was muttering into a phone, and his Sergeant-at-arms struggled to subdue the girl kneeling on the floor.

The girl with the black eyes and split lip.

The girl with the broken nose and blood-shot eyes.

The girl who was my best friend.

Natalie…

“What’s going on here?” I asked, jumping as a prospect crept up behind me and slammed the door shut, locking me in the room.

My heart stopped. The air grew cold.

I looked at Natalie, my chest tightening as she gave the smallest shake of her head.

And then she mouthed two words.

I’m sorry.

My stomach dropped so sharply it almost took me with it.

“Dad? What’s going on?” I repeated, my voice quieter now, thinner, as I forced myself to drag my gaze away from her and back to my father.

He didn’t answer straight away. Instead, he pushed himself off the desk and adjusted his cut, like this were nothing more than a routine conversation. Like the men lining the walls, the guns already in their hands, and Natalie kneeling on the floor, didn’t exist.

“Where have you been today, sweetheart?” he asked pleasantly, his smile reminding me of a crocodile.

The question threw me just enough that my mind scrambled for something believable. Anything that sounded normal. I swallowed heavily and then replied.

“I went into town,” I said, forcing a shrug. “Met up with some friends. Did a bit of shopping. Same old, same old.”