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“What? No!”

I’m gripped harshly by one of the guards, and even though I try to fight, it’s no use. I’m dragged from the room, my eyes on my father as he watches. The room I’m dumped in this time isn’t as pretty as the last. It’s nowhere near a room—it’s a cell. And once the heavy metal door clicks, I’m left in the dark.

I don’t know how much time passes until the door opens and I’m dragged out of the cell. The man holding me can lift me without breaking a sweat. He takes me down a dark hallway, and we enter another dimly lit room, which I notice has chains on the walls and a metal chair right in the middle.

He plops me down and begins binding my ankles to the chair legs, while my arms are forced behind me and tied with cuffs.

Patrick saunters in and smiles at me. I want to claw his eyes out. Anger and hatred burn their way through me. “I want you to answer some very important questions, Miren.” His voice echoes in the room. The man who brought me here stands to the side, ready for an order from his boss.

“I told you, I don’t know anything,” I tell him, and a hand slams against the side of my face.

“I want names, all the names of the colleagues yer mam brought into that house,” Patrick says, his tone so light and carefree it’s as if he’s talking about the weather.

“I told you I don’t know,” I scream, but it’s no use. Each time I respond honestly, the man hits me. His hand stings against my cheek which causes me to wince in pain. The blood trickling into my mouth from my split lip coats my tongue. And I’m convinced I’ll most probably die here.

The guard pulls a knife out of a shoulder holster and brings it to my neck. The sleek blade bites into my skin as I look up at Patrick. A devil with a sinister smile.

“I’ll get the truth out of you,” he tells me, “one way or another.”

He turns and walks away, and the warm liquid dribbling down my neck into my cleavage is evidence the bastard has cut me. I don’t know what else to do but cry as I’m taken back to my cell. I have a feeling this isn’t over, not by a long shot.

FOUR

MONSTER

Each daythat passes makes me anxious. We’re so close, yet still so far. As much as I want to avenge my mother’s killer, I know I must do it with a level head. I’ve never been known to have patience, but for her, I’ll do this the right way.

When Tye, our tech expert, looked into Bragan, there were things that didn’t make sense. His private plane was out of the country, so instead of making our way to the address Moore gave us, we waited. The plan is to go straight to the house the moment I know he’s there. The man has to be within my reach when I attack, because if he isn’t, the whole raid will be fruitless.

Since I have Tye tracking his whereabouts, I can focus on the shipment of weapons coming in from Europe. The Italians have been working with us for years, and I have to make sure they’re happy. The more they send our way, the more income we have. And that ensures my brothers have the money to enjoy their lives. We all have different pasts. None of them are from wealth, though. What we have we’ve worked for. And I believe it’s what brings us together. We’re a family, not by blood, but by loyalty.

I make my way through the clubhouse, where some of the brothers are milling around, waiting for their old ladies. I find Tye, along with Rebel and Racer, sitting in the lounge on the sofa with a few of the club whores who hang around just to get attention. I can’t help but shake my head. Tye and Racer are single, but Rebel has his eyes on one of our girls. He hasn’t yet made a move, and I wonder if he’ll ever tell her he’s in love with her. He may deny it, but it’s clear as day whenever she’s close. His gaze follows her around like a magnet.

“I’m headin’ out to the harbour,” I tell them. “Need to meet with Venier. Once I have the shipment times, we’ll make our plans for the weekend. I reckon we’ll keep a few men here to make sure the women are safe.”

“Need me to come along?” Rebel asks. As my VP, I would usually have him riding with me, but for now, I need some time to think. Even though I have managed to run the club all these years without losing my mind, it feels as if now that Bragan is so close, I’m more anxious than usual. And a long ride out to the docks will sort my thoughts out.

Shaking my head, I tell him, “Nah, I’ll be all right.” I turn and make my way out of the house. It’s the only place I can let down my guard, and even then, it’s still a concern to let anyone too close. My brothers know me, but I still keep things to myself. Ma taught me when I was younger to never let anyone see yer cards while you’re playing. If they do, they’ll be able to knock you down. They’ll win, and you’ll end up the loser. And I refuse to lose this time. I can’t. Not for me, my brothers, nor for Ma who I know is watchin’ down on me.

Da did that. He was too much of a prideful bastard, and it ended up with him being killed. He didn’t think about the future, about his family. But then again, he didn’t see us as a family. He was far too focused on the club. Our home wasn’t a place he spent his nights in. There’s no doubt he was fuckin’ every club whore he could get his hands on. And when I realised my father wasn’t a hero, but a savage, I lost respect for him. Which is why I never want to end up like that. End up in the grave.

With the rumble of my bike filling my ears, I allow myself to think back to the day we got the news. When my father was murdered in cold blood.

The knockon the door has Ma panicking. She’s always told me if it’s early morning or late night, it can never be good news. Same with the telephone ringing. She insists on keeping the landline. I don’t know why. I’ve tried showing her how to use a mobile phone, but she’s refused. Technology is the devil. At times, I think she’s right. But at twenty-five, I’m more connected to it than I thought I would be.

I’m shrugging on my jacket when I hear Ma wail. The agony in the sound twists at my chest like a knife slicing through me. Racing from my room, I rush into the lounge where the front door stands open, and on the threshold are two of my father’s men.

“What’s happenin’?” I ask, looking from Ma to them. The expression on their faces tells me what’s going on before I have a chance to speak. I go to my mother and hold her. The sobs that tumble from her are heart-wrenching. “What’s gone on?”

“Yer da wanted to ride out and talk to those feckers down south,” Hag tells me. The man looks like he’s had a tough life. One day, Da called him haggard, and the shortened version of his name stuck. He wears his patch proudly, but I wonder if he ever hated my father for the moniker.

“Where is he?”

“We tried to stop him, but he and a few of the new patch-ins went anyway.” This comes from Jonesy. The man is always high or drunk. I’m not even sure how the feck he gets on a bike, but for the first time in years, he seems to be sober. He looks at me with guilt written all over his face, and I know what’s happened. Da has got it in his head that he’s invincible. I have a feeling that’s just been proven wrong.

“Go,” I tell them before leading my ma to the sofa. I sit her down and crouch so we’re eye level. Seeing the heartbreak in her eyes is enough to force my decision to never fall in love. It brings about pain, nothing more than that. I’ve watched for years how my mother loved Da. But all he did was take advantage. He didn’t truly love her. His club came before she did, before I did.

“He’s…” Her voice is a whimper, which crushes my heart. I’ve never considered myself a ma’s boy, but she’s everything to me. “He’s gone.” The two words that once again shatter Ma more than I’ve ever seen. All my life she’s never allowed her emotions to show. The only time Ma has shed tears was when she heard news about children being slain in bombings. But now, she’s slowly breaking before me. I’ve never seen her truly sob like this. I didn’t think she would break, but when she looks up at me, I see the resolve slowly clearing her tears. “I don’t want you to be like him,” she tells me. “Promise me, one day when you’re running that damn club he loved so much, you’ll also love yer family.”

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