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CHAPTER 6
Our souls are made of stories. From the moment we’re born, we’re surrounded by fiction — fairy tales, nursery rhymes, pop-up-books. Beginning, middle, end. That’s what we’re told life is, and so, that’s what we become. We’re always looking for the next twist in the tale, for the next narrative development. And of course, everyone, everywhere, is desperately holding out for their happy ever after.
As we get older, we start to get a sense of how each of our stories compare to the stories of the people around us. We have our fair share of joys, our fair share of sorrows. The more life you’ve experienced, the more you come to realize just how hard life is for everyone. You start to understand that all of us, eventually, will suffer terrible grief and loss. It’s inevitable.
Still, though, sometimes, you meet someone who’s story — who’s history — is so outrageous and sad that you can scarcely believe it. Stories like this, lives like this, bend and break our understanding of the world, and make us question everything we’ve ever been through.
Sophia Ragusa had a story like that. If she was her story then she was struggle, she was sadness, and she was endless, relentless resilience.
Wolf was stunned. ‘I’m not surprised you don’t like bikers.’ Sophia sat in the only chair that was still standing in the bar. As she’d shared her truth with him, he’d listened, occasionally asking a question or two. But mostly, he’d just listened. ‘Honestly, it’s a miracle you likeanyoneafter what your dad did to you.’
‘I do struggle with it,’ she said. She hadn’t made much eye contact with him as she’d spoken. It was as though she was ashamed of what she was telling him. Wolf, though, felt as though a noble, beautiful spirit was being shared with him.
‘How did you survive? How did you make it this far?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I didn’t have a choice, I guess. So. Here I am.’
‘Fuck,’ he said, shaking his head.
Finally, she lifted her head. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy with tears. ‘Do you think I’m a coward?’
‘A coward?’ Wolf baulked. ‘You must be kidding. Why?’
‘I ran away.’
He was sitting on a half-destroyed crate next to her. He leaned in and put a hand on her shoulder.
‘Sweetheart, you ran away from a fucking crazy situation. Damn — I wouldn’t say you ran away at all. You ran headlong into a hard life. You did what you had to do to survive. That’s not cowardly — that takes an insane amount of courage. Now, I’m not saying that people who decide to stay in an arranged marriage are cowards, of course. Some people are happy with the arrangement, I guess. And there’s all sorts of pressures that people are under that folks like me don’t understand. All I mean is what you did took guts and you should feel proud of yourself.’
‘So,’ she sniffed, ‘do you know him? Hank Groat?’
Wolf had been wracking his brains ever since she’d said that name, trying to think if he’d ever heard of a biker called Groat before.
‘I haven’t,’ he said. ‘Not by name. Course, lots of us bikers havechosen names.’
‘What was your real name?’
He snorted. ‘Wolfismy real name, sweetness. My dad chose it. Meant to make me tough. And when I wasn’t tough enough for him, he did other stuff to harden me up.’
‘Doesn’t sound very nice,’ Sophia said.
‘Never mind that now — I’m not trying to derail the conversation. I imagine that Groat’s a Deather.’
‘A what?’
‘Member of a club called the Death Division. Although calling those psychopaths anything other than a gang does legitimate clubs a disservice.’
‘Sounds charming.’
‘Believe me, they’re not,’ Wolf said earnestly. ‘A more disgusting collection of criminals you’re unlikely to find. They have a chapter in Boston. He must have transferred over. Don’t know who the Prez of the Boston chapter would have been, though. Plenty about the Death Division we don’t know, honestly.’
Sophia looked so scared. He wished that they were still embracing. He hated the thought of her being so frightened. If anyone had the right to feel grounded and secure, it was her.
‘Thanks for looking after me,’ she said. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve been living in your property for free, illegally, for years.’
‘Forget it,’ Wolf said. ‘Like I said, I want you to stay.’
‘Youstillwant me to stay? Even though I’m connected to these Death Division guys?’
