Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
Spike/Shane
I blink hard, letting the damn tears flow.
My vision clears, but the sight is still the same.
Heath. Staring lifelessly at nothing.
He was a good man. Took a bullet a few weeks ago for Hound’s Ol’ Lady—only to end up here.
Fuck.
Brothers are yelling behind me, filing out to secure the perimeter again. But I can’t seem to move from this crouching position.
Sure, I had suspected both Heath and Joe.
More so, Joe, because he kept swapping his patrolling duty with the other prospects.
Now Ruin has confirmed it. Paid in blood for it.
I force myself to stand up again. My whole body is sagging with the weight of what this means.
I know how it happened. But I’m struggling to accept that reality. If that’s true, then—
I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the painful grip around my chest.
Walking back to where everyone’s huddled, I watch.
Wolf is blankly staring at the cracked phone in his hands. Probably Charlotte’s phone considering the purple case.
I swallow hard, recalling the night she’d arrived. I’d recklessly opened my mouth to spew that bullshit, calling her a traitor. Ruin and Wolf made sure I paid for my stupidity, though.
But I went further with fixing my fuckup and apologized to Charlotte, profusely. I wanted to make sure she knew I wasn’t the stupid club brother out to get her.
I think the fact that I shielded her that day when that Rosca fucker came in uninvited helped.
Speaking of, Mihai is standing right here, silently watching the brothers unravel.
I can see he’s itching to open his mouth like always.
The bastard still carries that playful glint in his eyes while knowing that our club princess and VP were just taken.
I keep my eyes on him. Maybe even on Wolf. And force them to never stray.
“How?” Wolf croaks, but there’s a dangerous edge to his tone. He looks straight at Mihai then, his whole frame vibrating with fury and terror. Then he snaps, almost yelling. “How the fuck were they able to get away when you have your fucking men guarding the perimeter?”
I chance a glance at Tudor, who’s unblinkingly watching Wolf fall apart. His eyes blank, and not a twitch in sight.
“I called them off,” Mihai says simply and for once, he isn’t smiling.
Thank fuck. I’m not sure if Wolf will handle that well.
“Why?” Hound growls from beside me.
“Well, we now have three of my men following Hell’s Army’s convoy. I’d say that’s a good thing, prietene.”
Bulldog throws an arm out, bracing his hand into Hound’s chest before he can lunge at the Romanian bastard.
“I told you I won’t use my sister as bait,” Wolf grits out, his voice shaking despite the fury behind it. “I FUCKING TOLD YOU!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tudor shift slightly. Protective. Positioned between Mihai and the storm that’s about to break.
“Wolf,” Mihai says, infuriatingly calm. “Nothing will happen to Charlotte. She’s invaluable to them. So is your VP. They won’t kill her, I promise you.”
Wolf drags a hand through his hair, pacing like a caged animal. His breaths come sharp, uneven—rage barely leashed.
I know that feeling. It’s clawing through me, too. But I lock it down. Force it into something controlled. Something usable.
“Why did you—how did you fucking know to call off your men?” Wolf roars, his voice splintering at the edges. “FUCK!”
He’s not really asking, but I have the answer anyway. “It was my fault,” I rasp, and every head snaps toward me. “I suspected Joe and Heath. Tudor knew.”
My gaze lifts—lands squarely on the burly fucker. “I’m guessing you told your boss and let this night play out?”
He just shrugs, like this is nothing. Like isn’t burning us alive from the inside out. Burning me.
“What?” Wolf snaps, rounding on me. “Why didn’t you fucking tell me?”
I drop my gaze, jaw tightening. “I wasn’t sure, Prez. I needed more time to confirm it. And I wasn’t going to just t-throw accusations out so—”
That hits him. I see it. Understanding flickers.
But it doesn’t erase the anger or the doubt. And the damn question I know that’s coming.
“But you told—”
“I did,” I cut in, forcing myself to look back at Tudor. “I told Tudor.”
Silence thickens. I can feel it—what’s coming next. Sitting heavy on my tongue. Bitter. Painful.
He knows it too. It’s in the stillness of his face, the way he watches me without a single flicker of concern.
I exhale slowly, the weight of it carving something hollow inside my chest. “I told him in confidence,” I say flatly, “after he fucked me in my bed last night. Then he went and told Mihai.”
I catch a twitch, barely there.
And still—no reaction. No denial. Nothing.
I ignore Mihai’s amused grin that he throws at Tudor.
I ignore the stares of my brothers because they didn’t know this part of me.
Now they do.
Their silence is heavier than the accusation. I let critical information slip through me because I was thinking with my dick.
I can’t bring myself to look at them. So, I just stand there. Stuck in the quiet, crushing realization of what I’ve done. Not just to the club but to myself.
Those stolen moments over the last few weeks? I naively let myself believe they meant something.
Look at how easily he used me. How cleanly he turned my trust into a weapon against my own people.
And he’s still standing there, un-fucking-bothered. I probably meant nothing at all to him
I finally look at Wolf. His face is wrecked—shock, fear, anger—all tangled into something raw and unsteady. “I made a mistake, Prez. I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “But you don’t have to worry.” My gaze flicks back to Tudor, cold now and empty. “This will never happen again,” I add.
Before anyone can respond, I step back out of the circle. Out of the suffocating weight of their eyes.
I can’t stand near him.
In my periphery, I catch his frown. A small shift in his breathing.
I don’t fucking care.
He takes a step toward me. Hesitant, like he’s not sure if his fucking master will give him permission to act on free will. Like he doesn’t even know how to move without it.
I don’t wait to find out.
I turn and walk the fuck away.