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“And if I had half a fucking brain, I wouldn’t have left you alone with him. The moment we saw him attack you were the longest seconds of my life. I wasn’t sure we’d get to you in time.”
“If you knew, then why didn’t you do something about it?”
“There was no fucking way Mercy was letting me take you out of that penthouse. Not without a fight. Regardless of how you feel or what you think, that man loves you deeply. Will do anything for you. Be anything you need him to be. For the last three years, that man has patiently waited, bided his time, knowing that someway, somehow, you would come home. And when you did, you inadvertently unleashed the devil that resides inside him. Inside all of us. We all have darkness, Largo. That’s why we’re able to do what needs to be done.”
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head, confused. “Caleb’s never shown me that side of him.”
“And he never will again,” Payne spoke up. “Mercy knew that when you left, something happened, but he couldn’t figure out what caused you to run. Instead of forcing you to tell him, he gave you space, in the hope that you would come to him. Even when you divorced him, he allowed it, Largo, believing it was what you needed. But the truth of the matter is, the longer you stayed away, the angrier he got. So, when you came home, he couldn’t see past his anger to the root of the problem. And when that root finally surfaced, he blamed himself. We all did. Had we known about Cynic, we would have taken care of the fucker long before. Instead, you ran, and that fucker went unpunished for three years. While you’ve had time to move on, we haven’t. We’ve got three years of pent-up anger to get rid of, and Mercy is just getting started.”
Turning to the screen on the wall, I grimaced when my husband nailed a metal spike into Cynic’s dick. We could all hear his screams from the mailroom. Swallowing the bile that threatened to come up, I turned my head. “I can’t watch this.”
“Oh, you will watch every fucking minute of it, Largo,” Montana declared, leaning back in his chair. “My brother has gone dark because you kept the truth from him. Because you ran.”
Sitting there, surrounded by the brothers of the Soulless Sinners MC, I didn’t move while Caleb exacted his justice. From cutting the brand off his back, to peeling the flesh from his body, Mercy gave no quarter. He spoke no words, just applied strategic torture to exact the maximum amount of pain one could inflict. Even when Cynic was no longer conscious, Mercy gave no mercy.
In the end, all that Mercy had left of Cynic was his barely beating heart, which now sat exposed, and Mercy reached inside the man’s chest, ripping out his heart, killing him instantly. Standing there with Cynic’s heart in his hand, Mercy turned to the camera before dropping it on the floor.
The second he walked out of the mailroom, I turned, rushing for the trashcan in the corner and threw up. I knew those images of Mercy would never leave me. Branded into my mind, just like his mark on my back. A constant reminder of the man I was now married to.
Montana stood and stretched. “Now that the fucker is dead, we can get back to the matter at hand. Shame, how is the timeline coming along?”
“We think we know what happened, but we’re still waiting for more evidence. Romano’s been helpful in filling in some holes. We should have everything wrapped up in a few more weeks.”
“And the fucker who tried to kill Largo?”
The club prospect, Pippen, piped up, “I’m running his face and prints through all the standard databases. I should have something soon, Prez.”
“See that you do, kid,” Montana sighed. “Largo, follow me.”
Wiping my mouth, I muttered, “Huh?”
“Now, woman.”
Doing as I was told, I followed Montana to his office. Letting me proceed him, he closed the door behind him, before he walked over to his desk. “Take a seat, Largo.”
I sat quietly, wondering what more he wanted from me.
Leaning forward, he began, “This is how things are going to go. Until Mercy is in his right mind again, you are under my protection. What I say goes. There will be no deviation. Any infraction and I will lock your ass down, and, honey, I won’t be nice about it. While I understand why you ran, you should have gone to your husband. If you couldn’t do that, then you should have come to me. You knew damn well my door was always open for you. Not blaming you for anything, so get that fucking look off your face. What I’m saying is you could have prevented all this shit if you had just told someone. Right now, Mercy is in no position to care for you, so that only leaves me. The penthouse is yours. Sophia will be home in the morning, and she needs one stable parent. Mercy is on lockdown at the club until his head is on straight. You are not allowed on club grounds until then. I am also ordering you to speak with a psychologist and marriage counselor. I’m ordering Mercy to do the same. Do you understand?”
I nodded, looking at my hands.
“Largo,” he softly added. “I’m not doing this to punish you. It’s the only way I can protect you. Mercy almost killed you tonight, honey. I can’t have you anywhere near him until his head is on right.”
In the days and weeks that followed Montana’s decree, I found myself ensconced back in my old life almost like nothing happened. Being denied entrance to the clubhouse stung, but I tried not to let it bother me much because my days were now filled with taking care of my daughter, as well as other commitments. With Tessa and Virginia’s help, I soon found myself back on several charity boards I once championed.
Along with my so-called scripted freedom, Malice became my constant shadow. Not that I minded. I actually liked Malice and we got along.
Well, most of the time.
The few times we butted heads were when I asked about Caleb. The brother flat-out refused to respond, which pissed me off. Not even Sophia could get Malice to tell her how her father was.
In the end, I stopped asking.
If the club wanted me to know how Caleb was doing, Montana would tell me himself.
“Sophia, let’s go. We’re going to be late!” I yelled as I grabbed my bag and coat. Malice stood stoically near the elevator doors, waiting patiently for my daughter to show herself. “Sophia, now!”
“I’m coming,” my daughter yelled back, strolling toward me like she had all the time in the world. Handing Malice an envelope, she added, “Uncle Malice, can you give this to my dad?”
