Semua Bab Bad Boy Biker : Bab 41 - Bab 48

The Riot Kings clubhouse felt different when Valentina walked in two days later. The usual easy camaraderie had been replaced by tension thick enough to cut.Axel met her at the door, his expression grim. "We need to talk. All of us."Inside, the club members were divided—literally. Half sat on one side of the room, half on the other. Denny stood in the middle, looking torn."What's going on?" Valentina asked."Connor happened." Axel gestured to the divided room. "He came by yesterday. Made some compelling arguments about Duke's leadership.""What kind of arguments?""That Duke's arrest is putting the whole club at risk. That his secrets and lies have made us all targets." One of the members on the left side stood—Jake, a heavyset man with a graying beard. "He's not wrong, Valentine. Sierra's been harassing us since Duke got arrested. Pulling us over, searching our bikes, making life hell.""Because she's trying to pressure you," Valentina said. "To turn on Duke.""Maybe." Jake shrugg

Valentina woke at dawn, her neck stiff from sleeping on the couch, her mind immediately snapping to the ticking clock. Seven hours until Duke signed his life away.She showered quickly, dressed, and was out the door by six-thirty. The sheriff's office didn't open until eight, but Valentina knew Sierra would be there early. She always was.Sierra's car sat alone in the parking lot. Valentina took a deep breath and went inside.Sierra looked up from her desk, eyes red-rimmed, a coffee mug clutched in both hands. She looked like she hadn't slept at all."I'm not ready to talk," Sierra said before Valentina could speak."Then listen." Valentina sat across from her. "I know you loved Duke. And I know he hurt you. But helping Connor destroy him won't fix that hurt. It'll just add guilt to the pain.""You don't know what it was like." Sierra's voice was raw. "Loving someone who was in love with someone else. Knowing you'd never be enough because you weren't her.""You're right. I don't know

Duke's apartment felt different when they walked through the door. Smaller somehow, despite being the same space Valentina had lived in for months. Or maybe it was just that Duke took up more room now—his presence filling every corner, his freedom tangible and overwhelming."Home," he said, the word cracking slightly. He stood in the middle of the living room, looking around like he'd been gone years instead of weeks. "I never thought I'd see this place again."Valentina set down his few belongings—the clothes he'd been wearing when arrested, now in a clear plastic bag. Everything else was exactly as he'd left it. She'd kept it that way, refusing to pack up his life even when it seemed hopeless."You hungry?" she asked. "I could make something, or order—"Duke pulled her against him, cutting off her words with his body. His arms wrapped around her waist, face buried in her hair, holding on like she might disappear."Just need this," he murmured. "Just need you."They stood like that f

The courthouse was packed. Press, spectators, curious townspeople—everyone wanted to see the Reynolds brothers' saga play out. Valentina sat behind the prosecution table, Duke beside her, their hands clasped so tightly her fingers had gone numb.Connor entered in an expensive suit, flanked by two high-priced lawyers. He looked thinner, his charm dimmed but not extinguished. His eyes found Valentina's across the room, and he smiled. Cold. Calculated. Unrepentant.She looked away."All rise for the Honorable Judge Patricia Morrison."The trial began with opening statements. The prosecutor, a sharp woman named Davis, laid out the case methodically. Connor Reynolds had murdered his father, framed his brother, and attempted to kill a witness to cover his crimes.Connor's lead attorney, a silver-haired man named Whitmore, countered with reasonable doubt. The evidence was old, contaminated, unreliable. Connor had been a traumatized teenager, and his recent actions were those of a desperate m