“That’s not a healthy way to look at it. I need to call your therapist.”
I throw her a mock glare. Something she returns with the same defiance.
A resigned sigh escapes me. “Fine, maybe it’s not a healthy parallel. But… you see what I’m saying?”
She nods reluctantly. “You only saw Savage’s last few years of presidency, Charlotte. Before that—”
“It was enough for me to know how awful he was.”
She shakes her head, eyes narrowing on her lap. A memory gripping her. “No. It wasn’t enough.”
I think back to the fact that we’re talking about a man who swapped me with another girl—sent her to the monsters. Relegating her to a life I can’t even fathom.
“He started this club with Paul,” she says, a cold detachment in her voice. “They were ruthless in the beginning. Paul was ruthless, but he softened when he met me. The club was still small back then. Four, maybe five brothers in total?”
“When Paul made me his Ol’ Lady because I got pregnant with Theo,” she continues, “Savage was against it. When he kicked Sandra out for cheating on him, he was convinced I was cut from the same cloth. Sandra and I used to hang out a lot, so…”
My heart sinks.
What the fuck did Savage do to her?
“A few years after Sandra was gone, I was coming back from my parents’ place. I hadn’t told Paul about my visit because it was a surprise. I was… I was pregnant.”
No. No, no, no!
“Savage found me when I walked into the clubhouse. Took my five-year-old to a different room and me to his office. He hadpictures of me and my… OB. Exiting the clinic near my parents’ place.”
God!
“I was in the basement cell for two hours before Paul came back from the club run. I was shaking, vomiting, wondering what would happen if Paul believed Savage instead of me.”
She looks up, finally, a sad smile marring her face. “He didn’t believe a single word out of Savage’s mouth. Got me out of that cell and took me home. It was that day when it became a standard practice for Ol’ Ladies and club princesses who betrayed the club—to be sent to that… t-that cell.”
My vision swims, image after image of the cell pours in. My mouth sours, and I can feel the gag crawling deeper in my throat.
“I lost the baby that night. Curled up against Paul in our bed, b-blood and tears soaking everything.”
My God!
She chuckles, the sound unsettling. “I don’t think Paul ever forgave Savage. I’d like to think he felt guilt, maybe a little bit of shame for what he almost did…” Blinking rapidly, she sniffs. “But I don’t think he did.”
She looks up, forcing me to meet her ravaged face. I want to hug her, cry with her for what she went through. But my body is locked with horror.
She smiles. “That’s who raised them, Charlotte. And I’m so happy for the clogged artery that gave him that stroke. I’d have given the bastard buttered up, red meat steaks way before, had I known.”
A shaky smile pulls at my lips at the vehemence in her tone, but it doesn’t last.
BANG! BANG, BANG!
The violent pounding on my door makes us both flinch. Mama and I jump to our feet at the same time, striding to the door. I yank it open.
Wolf stands on the other side, looking wrecked. Haggard.
Torch is right behind him, just as tense, but he barely seems aware of anything around him. The moment his gaze lands past me—on his wife—his entire body sags.
His hands drop to his knees. “Christ!” he croaks. Then he pushes past me and grabs Mama, pulling her into his arms so tightly she squeaks. “Paul, what—”
“Please,” he breathes, voice shaking. “Just… just a second.”
