I couldn’t stand by and watch my father ruin everything my grandfather built.
He and his men became cruel, sick and twisted men who thrived on power.
Of course, getting out from under my father’s thumb wasn’t easy. We might have left the compound, but we didn’t leave the state.
He made it known he would track us down and kill us for our betrayal if we tried to leave. It’s why we have worked hard for years to save up enough money to make the world believe we died and start over new as different people.
And this is the year, after we sell off everything in that van, that we’d have enough. Everything was going according to plan until Nova came along and fucked it all up.
“What did that motherfucker do now?” I growl, anger flowing through my veins.
“Well... he got himself and almost half of his men killed.”
All the air in my lungs leaves my body. “What?”
“They got into business with some really powerful people and tried to betray them. A fight broke out and from what I’ve heard, no Steel Devils walked away.”
“Fuck.” I blow out a harsh breath, the smoke in my hand drops to the ground and sizzles out as it hits the snow. “Fuck.” My hand grips my hair harshly.
There’s this pain that grows inside my chest as I start to pace. Not because of my father, I couldn’t care less that the motherfucker is dead. If he didn’t end up taking close to thirty lives with him, I’d be having a fucking party.
But there are people in that MC that I care about. My friends, my family. People I grew up with but who didn’t have a chance to leave like me and my brothers did.
“Please tell me Rafe wasn’t with them.” Rafe is our little cousin. His father is—well, I guesswas—the VP. Rafe was forced into this life too. He’s got to be maybe twenty by now? He’s so young. Too young to die at the hands of the club.
“I don’t know. I don’t know who was with your father, except Viper, Bandit, and Wrench.”
Viper was my uncle, the VP. Bandit was my father’s enforcer, and Wrench was their treasurer.What the fuck was he doing with them? He’s never gone on runs with them before, so why now?
Doesn’t matter, none of it does.
All that matters is they’re dead. Good fucking riddance with those fuckers. But I need to know who else went down with them. And I swear if Rafe is one of them, I will find a way to bring my father back to life and kill him my fucking self.
Scrubbing a hand over my face I let out a harsh breath. “What the fuck do we do now?”
“That's why I’m calling. How far are you from home?”
“We should be there tonight, why?”
“I want you to go and check in on everyone. Make sure they’re okay. We’re on our way down, but won’t be able to get there for a few days.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I told you, I’m never stepping foot within those compound walls again.”
“I know. And normally I wouldn’t ask you to. But as your best friend, please do this for me? Your father may not have given a shit about the Steel Devils, but I do. They might not be my MC, but they are my brother chapter. It’s my right to make sure the family of the fallen ones aren’t going to suffer. I need to comedown and assess things, to see what needs to be done. But until then, I need you to just go and make sure everyone there is safe.”
I want to tell him no. That it’s not my job. But I won’t. I know I can’t.
Even though I’ve left that life behind, it doesn’t change the fact that some of those people were my family. Both in blood and in heart. My mother still lives there, despite my pleas for her to leave. I have aunts and cousins, people I’ve grown up with.
“Damn it, Kane,” I growl.
“Thank you, brother. It means a lot to me. I’ll see you soon. We have a lot to catch up on.”
“See you soon.”
We hang up and I stare down at the phone for a moment, processing what just happened.
Despite how much I want nothing to do with the MC and vowed to leave that life behind me, this changes everything.
