Chapter Forty-Six
I SAT AT the long table with a bottle in front of me that was already past half gone, the amber inside sloshin’ when my hand shook.
I didn’t remember pourin’ the last drink or liftin’ it to my mouth.
Just remembered the burn. Strong. Welcome.
The only thing still willin’ to cut through the noise in my head.
Devil sat across from me, elbows on the table, eyes unflinching and watchful. Mystic leaned against the wall a few feet away, arms crossed, quiet in that way that meant he was clockin’ every damn move I made.
Neither of them said a word. Didn’t need to. They were keepin’ me here.
“Pour me another,” I muttered, slidin’ the bottle toward Devil.
He didn’t move. “You’ve had enough.”
I laughed, rough and ugly. “Ain’t even close.”
Mystic pushed off the wall and stepped in, takin’ the bottle before I could reach it. “You’re drinkin’ like a man who wants to forget somethin’ permanent.”
“Good,” I said, the slur in my voice makin’ my jaw tighten. “’Cause I already did.”
“Chain,” Devil said.
I looked at him, eyes burnin’. “She played me. Don’t dress it up. Don’t defend her. She went behind my back. Lied straight to my face. Met another man in a motel like I was some kinda fuckin’ joke.”
Mystic cursed under his breath.
Devil didn’t. He watched me harder. “You sure about that?”
I slammed my palm on the table, the crack echoing through the room. “I saw it. I was there. His hands were on her. She didn’t stop him fast enough to matter.”
“That don’t always mean what you think it means,” Mystic said carefully.
I turned on him slow. “You callin’ me blind?”
“I’m callin’ you hurt,” he said. “And pissed. That’s a dangerous mix.”
I dragged a hand down my face and stared at the empty glass like it might explain somethin’. “I let her in,” I said quieter. “Broke every rule I ever lived by. Imagined a life with her. Took her to meet my family. Let her walk around this place like she belonged to me.”
Devil leaned back just enough to breathe. “And that scared the hell outta you.”
I barked a laugh with no humor in it. “What scares me is realizin’ it was all bullshit.”
“That bastard,” I went on, words heavier now, sinkin’ deep, “he was her first. Thought dead. Turns out he’s real damn alive. You don’t sneak around like that unless there’s somethin’ still there.”
Devil’s gaze flickered. “Or unless you’re scared of blowin’ up your whole life.”
I shook my head hard. “Don’t do that. Don’t make this about sympathy. I’m not the fuckin’ bad guy here.”
“No,” Devil said quietly. “You’re not.”
That stopped me.
Mystic uncrossed his arms. “But you’re not thinkin’ straight either.”
I shoved back from the table, the chair screechin’ across concrete. The room tilted just enough to piss me off. “If I see him again,” I said, voice low and deadly, “I won’t stop until he’s dead.”
Devil was on his feet instantly. Not aggressive. Just there. Solid. “That’s why we’re here.”
Mystic stepped closer, blocking the door without makin’ a show of it. “You’re not leavin’ tonight, brother.”
My chest heaved, fists curlin’ like my body was still huntin’ for a fight.
“She made me a fool,” I said hoarsely. “I gave her everything I had that was worth a damn, and she walked it straight into another man’s bed.”
Devil’s voice dropped, rough with truth. “Or she walked into something that came back to haunt her, and you were standin’ there when it did.”
I laughed again, but it broke apart halfway through. “Same difference.”
Silence settled heavy, broken only by the hum of the lights overhead.
After a moment, Devil reached out and slid the bottle farther away. “You’re stayin’ here tonight. On the couch. One of us’ll be nearby.”
“I’m not a child,” I muttered.
“No,” Mystic said evenly. “You’re a man who just got his heart ripped out. And men do real stupid shit in that state.”
I sank back into the chair, exhaustion finally creepin’ in beneath the rage. The room felt too big. Too empty.
“She looked at me like I was already gone,” I said quietly. “Like she’d already decided I wasn’t worth fightin’ for.”
Devil didn’t answer right away.
When he did, his voice was softer than I expected. “Or she looked at you like she knew she just lost you.”
That thought hit harder than the whiskey ever had.
I closed my eyes, jaw clenched, breath shakin’ as the weight of it all pressed down.
I didn’t know what I’d do tomorrow.
All I knew was that if Devil and Mystic hadn’t been here tonight, I would’ve burned the whole damn world down just to feel somethin’ other than this.
***
MORNING CAME IN mean.
Light punched through the clubhouse windows like it had a vendetta, settlin’ straight behind my eyes and splittin’ my skull clean down the middle. My mouth tasted like old whiskey and regret, my head poundin’ hard enough that every breath felt personal.
I lay there on the couch for a long minute with my arm slung over my face, listenin’ to the place wake up around me. Boots on wood. A chair scraping. Somebody coughin’ like they’d made the same bad choices I had.
Didn’t matter.
None of it mattered because the one sound I didn’t hear was hers.
No soft footsteps. No quiet hum under her breath. No sense of her driftin’ through the room like she belonged there.
She chose another man.
That thought settled heavy in my gut, sour and sharp.
I pushed myself upright and immediately regretted it. The room tilted just enough to remind me I wasn’t fit company for anybody. I dragged a hand down my face and stood anyway, because lyin’ there thinkin’ wasn’t doin’ me any favors.
Devil was already up, coffee in hand, lookin’ entirely too clear-headed for my taste. Mystic leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watchin’ me like he was takin’ inventory.
“Morning,” Devil said.
“Fuck off,” I muttered, my head throbbin’.
He didn’t smile. “You remember last night?”
“Every goddamn second.” And I did. Whiskey hadn’t dulled a damn thing.
Devil took a slow sip of his coffee. “No one’s seen Lark.”
That landed harder than the hangover.
“She didn’t come back,” Mystic said, his tone careful now.
I grabbed a mug and poured coffee that tasted like burnt dirt. “Guess not.”
Mystic straightened. “Aren’t you worried?”
I shot him a look. “Why the hell would I be?”
Silence stretched tight.
Devil set his mug down. “I need to talk to her.”
“About what?” I snapped.
“About Zach,” he said evenly. “About who he is, why he showed up now, and what he knows.”
My jaw locked. “Good luck.”
Devil studied me for a long second. “You know where she’d go. We called Miriam. None of the women here have heard from her.”
I shook my head, the movement hard enough to make my skull scream. “No. I don’t.”
Mystic muttered a curse. “Chain—”
“Don’t,” I cut in. “I’m not chasin’ her down.”
“She might be in trouble,” Devil said.
I laughed, short and bitter. “Or she might be exactly where she wants to be. With him.”
“That’s an assumption,” Devil said.
“It’s a conclusion,” I shot back. “She didn’t come back here. Didn’t go to Miriam’s. Didn’t tell anyone where she was goin’. She walked out and disappeared. That tells me plenty.”
Devil leaned back against the counter, his voice calm but firm. “It tells me she was scared.”
“It tells me she lied,” I said. “She looked me in the eye and lied. Snuck around. Met another man in a motel. I’m not playin’ detective to make myself feel better about that.”
Mystic stepped closer. “You care about her.”
“That’s the problem,” I said flat. “I cared enough to let my guard down. Won’t be makin’ that mistake again.”
Devil watched me like he was weighin’ the cost of pushin’ harder. “If she’s with Zach, and if he’s tied to the cult coming back around—”
“She made her bed,” I cut in. “I’m not draggin’ her out of it.”
The words tasted bitter, but I swallowed them anyway.
Devil exhaled slow. “I’ll find her.”
I turned toward him. “You do what you gotta do. Just don’t expect me to come runnin’.”
“This isn’t like you.”
I met his eyes, hard and unyieldin’. “When it comes to Lark, this is what you’re gonna get.”
The room went quiet after that.
I took my coffee and headed for the door, every step driven by stubborn pride and the kind of hurt that hardens instead of bleeds.
She hadn’t come back.
So in my mind, that settled it.
She was with Zach.
And if that was the choice she made, I wasn’t about to humiliate myself by beggin’ for the truth.
I’d already given her more than I’d ever given any woman.
I wasn’t givin’ her the satisfaction of watchin’ me chase after her too.