Page 26

Knox

I hated game night. Once a month, the Devils from Sons of Sin—all members except those on delicate assignments—were to gather at the clubhouse for our game night. It was an activity meant to build trust and foster camaraderie.

But over time, I started hating it. Not only because of the games—let's face it, what was the point?—but because of the people. The Sons were loud on normal days. Add alcohol, competition, and money into the mix, and they became unbearable.

The clubhouse had been vibrating with noise for the past two hours. Cards slapping against tables. Men yelling accusations of cheating. Someone arguing over a bet they definitely lost. Someone else threatened to throw a chair because apparently losing at poker was a personal attack. While everyone else laughed and poked fun at the loser, I remained stoic, refusing to twitch my lips, not even when Mason shook his head at me.

I stood near the bar, arms crossed, watching the chaos with the same expression I wore when someone annoyed me, which was usually.

“You look thrilled.”

I didn’t look at Viper. “I’m considering leaving.”

He laughed. “You’ve been saying that for thirty minutes.”

“I mean it this time.”

“No, you don’t.”

I looked at him. He grinned. That was the problem with these people. They knew me too well.

I could pretend otherwise, but you didn't spend over twenty years of your life in this club without knowing more than enough about everybody. My father was a Son. I was basically brought up in this fold except for the part where my mother took off with me one night because she found someone better, only to return three years later to drop me at my father’s doorstep. Apparently, I was too much for her to take care of alone.

We have been past that since then. These were the only people I knew, and while I was grateful to them, there were moments when everything felt too much. When I felt like I was a part of the whole, just playing the role everybody expected me to play—Graves, the enforcer, just like my father.

The man people called when they needed a problem handled. My father’s reputation preceded him. I didn't have to doubt if I was carrying on his legacy well. I was already doing better than expected. I had my father's temper and the same violent streak he walked around with. These people knew that. But somehow, these idiots had decided they were immune.

“You brought her.”

My jaw tightened slightly. Viper’s eyes flickered past me toward where the women were gathered with the men around the table. I didn’t need to turn around. I already knew who he meant. Wren. The reason every single person in this room had been pretending not to stare since we arrived.

“I did.”

A slow smile pulled at his mouth. “Interesting.”

“What is interesting about that?”

“You voluntarily brought someone here.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t start.” He continued to smile. “I couldn't leave her home alone.”

He raised both of his hands, mischief gleaming in his eyes. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

“Damn, Graves.” His chuckle vibrated over the cacophony of noise in the room. “That’s the thing about you. You think people don't notice when something is going on with you. But, brother, you grew up in this house with all of us. We know you.” He leaned against the bar. “Well, as much as you wanted us to.”

I licked my bottom lip, knowing there was truth in his words but unwilling to admit them. I looked across the room and immediately found her. Because apparently that was something I did now. I looked for her without thinking. She stood near Sloane, laughing at something the woman said. And it shouldn’t have affected me. It was just Wren smiling. Just Wren being herself. But now that I knew what she sounded like when she laughed, it was all I could think about. It was enough for my own lips to twitch in response.

A whistle cut through my fawning. “Oh, brother,” Viper stated, shaking his head with an amused smile. “I wasn't wrong.”

Then he added, “She fits.”

I looked at Viper. “What?”

He nodded toward her. “She fits,” he repeated like it made all the sense in the world.

It did. Viper and I had a way of communicating without really using words. And I was starting to learn there was someone else who spoke that language too. The only question was if I wanted to understand.