I hated those lies the most.

Isaac Blackwood is a man with a dark soul and I’d stared into that darkness on more than one occasion. It terrified me. He terrified me.

And I despise that he did.

I never wanted to be this shrinking little girl, afraid of my shadow, but that’s what he made me.

Until I found the strength to leave. It took me a long time, but I still feel pride in myself for running. Life hasn’t been easy, but it’s better than the hell I lived with Isaac. I began to become the little girl I’d left behind again. I found joy in small things and that just increased when I met Sasha. She changed my life completely. She thinks she owes me everything, but it’s the other way around. Sasha saved me.

Then Nox came along and my life upended again.

He taught me love doesn’t always hurt. He taught me that men can be kind, soft, loving.

He also taught me that betrayal is the worst sin of them all, and I’ve betrayed Nox in the worst way.

Whizz doesn’t ask anything more, moving over to the bar and leaving me sitting there alone. I chew on my thumb and my stomach sinks, because I know that I have to do whatever it takes to protect Nox and the Untamed Sons. There’s no other option because I am completely and irrevocably in love with Nox, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right again. Even if it means making a deal with the devil.

22

Nox

Rav leads us down to the basement. It’s not only our hidden kill room, but also where we store our weapons. Guns are illegal in the UK, getting caught with one is a five-year prison sentence. Getting caught with the amount we have we’d never breathe fresh air again.

I hate coming down here. It’s the stuff of nightmares and I can’t stop the chill that runs through me. The smell of bleach hangs heavily in the air, but it can’t quite cover the copper tang of blood that stings the back of my nose. The bare concrete walls are lined with polyethylene sheets, and a single drain sits in the middle of the floor, which slopes towards it to ensure drainage. There’s a sink on one wall, and a hose that can be used to clean up. There’s also a tool trolley in the middle of the floor, filled with instruments that can be used to torture a victim. I’ve killed my share of men down here, but I don’t have the same lust for blood as Fury. I’d rather leave the dirty work to him.

Rav stops at the wall on the far side of the room and removes a fake panel in the floor. It comes free with a scraping sound that hurts my teeth. From the box buried in the floor, he pulls out an AK-47, which he hands to me. I take the gun, relishing the weight of it in my hands, the heaviness of the metal. It feels more substantial than my handgun, which I keep on me at all times.

He loads up all the lads and finally takes a weapon for himself. Under normal circumstances, we’d bring all the families here, but as the clubhouse is likely to be the target of this upcoming attack, we’ll move them to my gram’s farmhouse, outside of London.

My stomach twists as I watch my brothers check their ammo. I brought this shit down on our heads. I trusted Lucy, and I shouldn’t have. Betrayal snaps at my feet, the ugly feeling of it settling in my gut. My life might be forfeit here. It might be the only way to stop this war and save my club, but I’d gladly give it to protect my brothers. They didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for this either, but I’ll take whatever the fallout might be. She’s mine. I claimed her as mine, even if the club didn’t accept it. I take my duties as her old man seriously, which means I’m responsible for whatever she does.

The others start to move out of the room, but Rav grabs my arm stopping me. The pressure of his fingers on my bicep is enough to bite.

“Don’t give a fuck what happens out there, you ain’t sacrificing yourself for lying snatch.”

Rav could always read me best. Not surprising, considering how long we’ve been friends. I see the sincerity reflected in his eyes, see the purpose in his expression.

“She’s my responsibility,” I bite back.

“The fuck she is,” he snarls, anger flashing in his irises and his fury comes to the forefront. He hisses through his teeth like a vicious viper, ready to strike. “I won’t forget what she did for Sash and my daughter, but Lucy brought this shit down on her own head the moment she lied.”

I run a hand over my shaved head, my anger a smouldering burn that destroys everything it touches. He’s right. If Lucy had been truthful from the start we could have helped, kept her hidden, safe. The lies have put us in a position where the only choice is to defend ourselves from whatever wrath Isaac Blackwood is going to bring down on our heads. It doesn’t matter what happened, we’re in this situation now and all we can do is deal with it.

“Rav, whatever happens here, you should take the VP patch. I ain’t worthy to wear it.”

It cuts through my heart to admit it, but it’s true. My poor decisions brought us here. My trust in the wrong person gave us this trouble. If my own judgement is this skewed, how can I be expected to run the club with Rav? How can I ever be someone he trusts?

Rav snorts at my words, and rage flickers behind his eyes. “Shut your fucking mouth. Ain’t taking that patch off you, ain’t doing shit but surviving the next few days, you got me?”

I shake my head. Loyalty can only go so far and I’ve used as much of that loyalty as I’m owed. “It comes down to it, you do whatever you have to in order to save the fucking club. That means handing me over, you hand me over.”

“Nox—”

“No, Rav. You do what you have to.”

He scowls at me, his face contorting into a mask of rage. “Ain’t happening. You’re part of this club. A key part. I’ll hand her over before I let anything happen to you.”

That won’t happen either. No way in fuck would I give her to Blackwood. If his reputation is to be believed, he’s a sick bastard.

We lock the clubhouse down, making sure no one is here but brothers, the prospect and Lucy. The bikes are pulled into the garage and put safely behind the big roller shutters. Fury organises perimeter checks and shores up the rest of our defences.

During a slight lull in activity, I call mum and my sister, Bailey, ordering her to get my nieces, round up the other families and go to Gram’s. She lives out in the country, far from London—safe. I hope these cunts are the type of men who will not hurt women to get at the men, but you never know what lines other people are willing to cross and Blackwood’s reputation is as dark as his fucking name.

I’m sitting in the common room, positioned at the window that overlooks the gates when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see Sasha’s name flash up. Fuck. She’s the last person I want to speak to, but it could be important, so I slide my finger over the screen.

“You okay?” I ask immediately.

“What the fuck is going on, Nox? Ty won’t give me answers and I’m losing my mind here. Why are we on lockdown outside the clubhouse? Bailey said we need to leave, but didn’t know why. You guys in trouble?”

“It’s club business.” I trot out the line that we all use to hide anything we don’t want to talk about.

It earns me a growl. “Fuck club business. If you won’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll call Lucy.”