I frown at Diesel.
He gives the smallest shake of his head. He has no idea either.
“We’ll finish this later,” I snap at Fern and Diesel. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Then I follow Jimmy into my office, dread pooling in my gut.
Jimmy is drinking straight from the bottle, hand shaking so badly the whiskey sloshes over the rim. I’ve never seen him like this, wired and pale. He’s as jumpy as a cornered rat.
“We talked about you turning up here like this,” I warn, stepping inside. Diesel moves up beside me, silent and alert.
Jimmy barely hears me. He drags in a harsh breath and takes another long swig. “Something’s happened to Liam,” he mutters, voice cracking around the edges.
My brows pull together. “Liam?”
Jimmy looks up at me then and his eyes are wild. “He’s dead.”
The room seems to shrink. Diesel stiffens beside me, his hand drifting toward the gun tucked at his back.
I stare at Jimmy, waiting for the punchline, the explanation, anything.
But Jimmy just laughs once, a short, broken bark, and takes another shaky gulp of whiskey.
“He’s dead,” he repeats, quieter this time. “Slaughtered. Bled out like a fucking pig.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EDEN
We sit in a tight circle, all the women who now share my secret.Mynightmare. For a brief minute tonight, I thought maybe it was coming to an end. Maybe, now my rapist is dead, I can finally breathe. But then this. Even when Kade looked at me with hatred, even when he said the words that he was done, all I could think to tell him was that my period was late.Fuck.
“We have to tell them,” Fern insists, gripping my hand so tightly it hurts. “This has gone way beyond wanting to protect the club now,” she adds. “We don’t have a choice.”
“Fern’s right,” Lucy agrees. “Kade’s tearing himself to pieces. And now this.”
“I’m leaving,” I mutter. “It’s irrelevant now.”
“Kade won’t be angry when he knows the truth,” Darcie says gently.
“He’ll ask a thousand questions,” I snap. “He’ll look at me differently. Ilook at medifferently. I know he won’t handle it.”
“Right now, he thinks you cheated,” Lucy whispers. “He’s devastated. Just tell him the truth.”
“My job as the president’s old lady is to protect him. That’s what I’m doing,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion. “The club doesn’t need to be dragged into this. Besides, Liam’s dead. Problem solved. Everything can go back to how it was.”
“Everyone except you and Kade,” Lucy mutters.
“And things won’t go back to normal for you,” Darcie warns softly. “Not after this. When the adrenaline stops, you’re going to crash. Liam’s face will haunt you. Murder changes you.”
“His facealreadyhaunts me,” I hiss. “And because of him, I had to change. I don’t regret what I did tonight. I’ll never regret it.”
“He got what he deserved,” Fern agrees, “but that won’t stop it messing with your head. You need us. You need Kade.”
“If I tell him, it becomeshisnightmare too,” I whisper. “He’ll suffer worse because he’ll blame himself. I have to go, for all of us.” I stand, staring towards the office where Kade, Jimmy and Diesel are talking. My chest tightens. “And honestly? I’m done with men treating me like shit.”
Maddie hurries over, breathless. “Jimmy’s asking the club to help him deal with Liam’s killer.”
“How do you know that?” Fern asks.
