MasukI stepped out of the house with Darren, the warm sun hitting my face as we walked toward the garage tucked away in the corner of the compound. It was one of those fancy setups where the wealthy kept their cars lined up like trophies, all shiny and protected under a wide roof with high walls around it. Darren clicked the remote, and the sleek black SUV beeped to life. He opened the passenger door for me with a small smile, like he was trying to make this feel normal."Your chariot awaits, milady," he said, and I felt my lips stretch into a ridiculous, shit-eating grin that threatened to split my face. My cheeks burned, and I had to press a hand against my mouth to stop myself from laughing outright."Very well," I said solemnly, lifting my chin as I slid into the seat. "But pray tell, good sir, does this noble steed come with refreshments, or must I endure the journey in royal thirst?""Only the finest for my esteemed passenger," he beamed. "Climate-controlled comfort, imported sound
Kasey’s POV I hung up the phone, and the world shattered around me. My hand shook as I set it down on the kitchen counter and watched it until the screen went dark.Hot tears streamed down my face, blurring everything in the bright morning light filtering through the windows. My chest hurt so bad, like someone had reached in and squeezed my heart until it couldn't beat right anymore. I still loved Landon. God, I loved him with every piece of me. But saying those words to him; telling him I loved Darren, telling him to move on, it was the only way to make him stop. To keep him from chasing this impossible dream that would drag everyone into hell.If I'd told him the truth about the baby, that it was his, he would've burned everything down to get to me. Landon didn't think straight when it came to us. He'd start a war with the Falcones, with Darren's family, with the whole damn club if he had to. And we couldn't afford that. Not now with the club already on edge. It had to end. But en
The home screen was a photo of Tess, Maeve, and Kasey. They were squeezed together on a couch, laughing. Kasey was in the middle, her brown hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders and those warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners with a joy so real it felt like a physical punch to my gut. She was blowing a kiss to the camera. A playful, carefree gesture that belonged to a different world. My world. On her wrist, glinting in the light, was the silver chain-link bracelet I’d bought her for her twenty-second birthday. She’d cried when I gave it to her and said it was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever given her. She never took it off. Now it was sitting on my bedside table back at the mansion, gathering dust since she left it behind. Seeing that it was on her wrist, the picture had to be from back when everything was good. Before the lies, before the club politics, before Darren fucking Antonellis. She looked so happy. So completely, perfectly mine. I swallowed hard an
My whole fucking body shook with a tremor I couldn’t control, something that rattled all the way down to my bones. My breath stuttered, breaking into short, useless gasps. A hot, traitorous wetness spilled over and streaked down my cheek. I swiped at it furiously, only for my torn knuckles to drag against my stubble and make me hiss through my teeth."Ah, fuck," I choked out. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."Tyler stepped in and pulled me into a rough, brotherly hug. He didn’t tell me it would be okay; didn’t offer platitudes or empty reassurance. He just held on while I shook with my face buried in his shoulder and the worn leather of his cut scraping against my skin as he refused to let go."I’m sorry," he kept murmuring in a thick voice. "I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t know how to tell you. I’m sorry."I clung to him for a second, the sobs catching in my throat. Kasey was pregnant. With Darren’s kid. It felt like the ground had dropped out from under me. Everything we’d had, everything I’d clung
Landon's POV The chill of the basement was finally getting to me, seeping through the adrenaline and settling into my bones. I looked down at Malcolm Reeves, slumped in the metal chair, with his head tipped awkwardly to one side.Another fucking blackout.His face barely looked like a face anymore. He had bruises blooming in sick shades of purple and yellow, and dried blood crusted along his cheek and jaw. His lip was split wide and swollen to twice its size and one eye was nearly swollen shut. All me.A masterpiece, courtesy of yours truly.I watched his chest for a second, just to make sure it was still rising.It was.Barely."God dammit," I muttered, tossing the wet rag I’d been using in his face onto the concrete floor. It landed with a dull splat. Hours. Hours of this, since last night, and the bastard hadn’t given up a single useful thing. Just kept spitting insults, calling me a pussy and telling me my club was gonna burn for this."Jovi!" I called out in a hoarse voice.The
Kasey’s POV "Why aren't you saying anything?" he pressed. "Apart from that time at your brother's house, did you two hook up again before that?" "I'm sorry," I said awkwardly. "On our first date... he lured me into the bathroom, and it sort of happened." He stared at me. "What do you mean 'sort of happened'? He lured you. Into a bathroom. And it happened." He blinked slowly. "Kasey, I need you to be extremely clear with me right now. Did you trip and fall on his dick in the bathroom? Or did you, of your own free will, have sex with your ex-boyfriend on our first date, while you were supposedly trying to move on and marry me.” I winced at his bluntness, but I probably deserved it. "It was my own free will, okay? I'm not proud of it. We barely knew each other back then—you and me. It was just a stupid mistake. I was confused, and Landon... he has this way of pulling me back in. But that's it. No more after that." Darren leaned back against the seat, exhaling slowly. He looked out







