“Wraith.” Ghost’s stern warning was muttered under his breath.
But they all heard it. Ace jerked his head to Ghost who folded his arms and lowered his stare to the floor. Cypher had taken the same position, averting his eyes.
“Then, tell me what I’m fucking missing,” Ace snapped. “’Cause it’s pretty fucking clear you three know more than we do.”
Wraith had said too much out of his own anger. Backpedaling wouldn’t be an easy task.
“Wraith,” Ace said.
He stared back at his president then over to his VP. Cross shifted his gaze between him, Ghost and Cypher, furrowing his brows. Wraith suspected over the years Knox may have confided in Cross about the night they’d taken Cleo from her house. It seemed Knox had stayed true to his vow.No one will ever know about this.
Wraith drew in a breath. “She needs to stay here.”
Ace’s jaw squared. “Tell me why!”
Wraith cupped his mouth. There was no getting out of this. He looked over at Ghost who was now staring back at him. He subtlyshook his head. He was trying to keep Cleo’s secret safe but they were beyond that. Ace and Cross wouldn’t just let it go. Wraith was at a crossroads. The club or Cleo? He had to make a choice.
Cypher sidled up next to him. “The night before Knox brought in Cleo, he was going to see her. Been out a month and figured it was a good time to finally get down there since he was settled up with the club. We had a job close to the area, so he was going to swing by on our way back.”
Cross circled the table. “The job up in Allendale. You, Wraith, Jekyll, Ghost, and Knox.”
Cypher nodded.
“Yeah, we know all this. Knox told us he stopped in. Living conditions were shit, and he thought they were beating her. That’s why he brought her here.”
“Or is there more?” Ace asked. “Wraith?”
Wraith shared a look with Cypher then glanced over at Ghost. He dragged his hand over his face. It was too late to come up with a plausible lie to cover the story and they all knew it. Even if they tried, Ace would see through it. And that wasn’t how the club was built. They didn’t have secrets among the brothers. Except Cleo’s. Regardless of what he said, Wraith would be betraying one brother.
“Whatever the fuck you three are doing right now isn’t worth shit ’cause none of you are leaving this fucking room until we” —he pointed to Cross— “know everything.”
Wraith folded his arms, straightened his back, and turned to Ace and Cross.
“Knox wasn’t just going to see her. His plan was to get her outta the house that night. He was gonna set her up in a hotel for a bit until he could secure an apartment close to Killcreek. Asked us to come with him so she could bring as much of her stuff as possible and needed the extra room in our saddlebags.”
Ace looked over at Cross. “You knew about that?”
“Yeah, he’d been looking into apartments in Birch.”
Ace slowly nodded. “Alright.”
“We get there, and it’s quiet. Old car in the driveway and a beat-up truck. House is pretty dark. He never told Cleo we were coming.” Wraith took a breath, dragging his hand over his head. His blood started racing through his veins. “Ghost, Cy, Jekyll, and me wait out front and Knox gets halfway to the door and just stops. Like I said, it was fucking quiet, but something was just off. Then we hear a woman’s voice saying ‘open your goddamn mouth’. Knox ran up the stairs, charging through the door, busting it open. We all follow. Get inside and see him at the end of the hall in front of a closed door. Follow him down, he opened the door, and…”
Wraith drew in a breath, knowing he had to finish. But not wanting to say the words out loud. He wouldn’t go into detail.
“Cleo was on the floor, half-dressed, and fucking out of it.” Wraith dragged his hand over his beard, staring at the wall. “Her mom’s old man was standing in front of her with his pants around his ankles.”
The room was completely silent. Wraith watched their reactions shift from horror to complete rage.
“Where the fuck was her mother?” Cross asked, eyeing Wraith.
Cypher snorted in disgust, and the angles of his face sharpened. “In the corner, watching.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Ace’s jaw squared, and his nostrils flared.
“Why the fuck didn’t Knox tell us?” Cross shouted.
Being the closest, one would think Knox would’ve told him. But this was never about Knox. It was about Cleo and preserving the very last shred of dignity she was holding on to.
