Chapter 30
Bane
I’m the Four Horsemen wrapped into one, and I come heralding doom for anyone who ever tries to hurt this beautiful woman again.
Antwane Vanderall. Who, from the brief glimpse I got into Slade’s hell based on her fractured confession, had made her watch while he tortured and killed his victims. He tortured her psychologically, and from the scars I felt, he tortured her physically as well.
After Slade’s stunning confession, she collapsed into my arms and wept.
I held her fiercely; I’ll never let her go. It doesn’t matter that her revelation exposed just how serious the potential threat is against her and the MC.
Slade cried for almost an hour. I didn’t try to convince her to stop; I instinctively knew she hadn’t been able to get that toxicity out of her until now.
Then she fell asleep in my arms. I gently laid her on my bed and covered her with my blanket.
I texted her brothers, telling Breaker to go to Ash’s office, and Tyr and Sten to come to my room.
When they arrive, I speak to them in the hallway. “No one but me gets into this room.”
Sten’s eyes are wide with worry. “Is Slade okay?”
I nod. “She’s sleeping now.”
“What’s going on? What happened?” Tyr demands.
“I need to talk to the Council. Breaker will update you with what he can.”
Tyr’s hands clench. “Because we’re not patched in yet? That’s fucking bullshit. Slade is our sister. Our family.”
I surge into him, fisting his cut and pushing him into the wall. “She’s mine.”
“She’s not yours,” he grits with a fucking death wish.
If he wasn’t Slade’s brother, I’d toss his ass out of the club or bury a bullet between his eyes—probably the latter. But because he is Slade’s brother, I let him go and step back.
“I know she’s your sister, and I’ll do right by her.”
“What does that mean?” Sten asks.
I don’t have an answer that might make sense to them, but it doesn’t have to make sense to them, only to me. And Slade, of course. “Slade is part of the Havoc Guardians. She’s family on all scales.” To the MC, to them, and to me.
“I need to get to Ash’s office. Keep her safe.” They both straighten their spines and nod. “Call me if she needs me.”
Then, I’m storming down the hallway. The fastest route to Ash’s office takes me down the stairs and past the doorway that leads into the bar area.
Destiny, Sunshine, and Tawny see me. Two of them wisely stay where they are, but Destiny smiles and flutters her lashes, strutting with hips swaying, trying to intercept me.
I sidestep her, but she still reaches for me. I grip her wrist before she can touch me. “Touch me, and you lose your hand.”
Her eyes widen in shock and fill with tears, but the cunning calculation quickly comes back. “If Slade can’t meet your needs, I’m more than happy—”
I shove Destiny away from me. “Speak of Slade again, and you’ll not only lose your hand, but I’ll shove it down your throat.”
Not waiting to see how Destiny takes that rebuke—and if she gets it through her fucking head that I want no part of her—I resume my storming path toward Ash’s office.
When I arrive, the Council is there, plus Breaker. They’re staring expectantly at me as I shut the door. This room is soundproof, but I’m not taking any chances.
“Jam it, Digits.”
He frowns. “Ash’s office and the whole clubhouse have just been scanned for bugs per my schedule.”
“I don’t care.”
Ash stands from behind his desk and motions for Digits to do as I commanded. Digits then pulls out his phone and types something.
“What did Slade reveal, Bane?” Pix asks, perched on the back of a chair.
I start with the small part of this that brings me relief and joy. “She’s not married.”
Breaker stiffens, as does Ash. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Ash demands.
Gives me a green light to explore this insane chemistry between us. But I keep that to myself.
“The ring was a prop to protect her if needed.” And after seeing their confused looks, I elaborate, “Her friends have fathers in powerful positions; it would be a last resort to use the fake marriage to protect her.”
Tension escalates within the room.
“Did she say who her friend’s fathers were?” Breaker asks.
“Her supposed fiancé isn’t the key concern here,” I warn.
Ash paces. “Who is she running from?”
“Antwane Vanderall.”
Ash jerks to a stop, and there’s silence until Army murmurs, “Holy fucking shit.”
Breaker sits shakily in a chair. “But he’s dead.”
We all know who Antwane Vanderall was—you’d have to be living off the grid not to.
The infamous serial killer, whose family is the elite of the elite, and who was only exposed when one of his victims killed him and escaped.
Antwane was found in his cabin of hell, along with the body of his last victim still strapped to the table and all the evidence of his crimes, including the sick trophies he kept from all his kills.
Ash’s eyes lock on mine. “Antwane may be dead, but his family isn’t.”
This is bad. As in, ‘we could get fucked up the ass with a truckload of C4’ bad.
The Vanderalls aren’t in official power positions leading this country, but they have close ties to the Department of Defence, which could wipe our club off the face of this earth.
No wonder Slade was so desperate to leave; she knew the risk that was coming for her. Even though she had no intention of fighting, she wanted to stop anyone else from being hurt because of her.
“There’s no sign that the Vanderalls are anything but sympathetic and remorseful for what Antwane did,” Digits says. “But we all know the public face can be very different from the private one.”
“I know this is asking too much, Digits,” Ash says. “But I need you to be all over this.”
Army pushes away from the wall. “It’s time I call that favor in from Len.”
Breaker looks between us, not knowing who the hell Len is, but remains silent.
“I don’t want anyone else knowing that Slade is here,” I argue.
Army comes over to me and sets his hand on my shoulders. “Len would rather gut herself than cause harm to an innocent.” His hands tighten. “And Slade is one hundred percent innocent in this.”
I can feel again the unmistakable thick, long ropes of scars under her shirt, and rage flares within me.
“But I’ll only contact Len if you give the okay, Bane.” Army seems to have quickly come to the understanding that I’m calling the shots when it comes to Slade.
Ash clears his throat. His jaw is tight, and his stare is hard. I know he and I will be having words—maybe trading blows—soon, as his papa bear protectiveness of Slade rears up. But as soon as he accepts that it’s not about me trying to wet my dick, he’ll relax.
Hopefully.
But that’s at the bottom of my list of concerns.
Pix gets off the back of the chair, twirling her long, thin blade. “According to what was leaked about Antwane’s death, someone stabbed him multiple times.” Her eyes glitter with grim approval. “Through the eyes. The neck. His face. His torso… Well done, Slade.”
Breaker looks like he’s going to puke, and he grips his hair. “What the fuck did we do when we left Slade alone with Mom?” He looks up at me with a tortured, guilty look. “What did we do? What did we make her go through?”
I crouch down in front of him. “We can’t change any of that. We just have the road in front of us. We’ll control whatever we can and kill anyone who threatens her or the Havoc Guardians.”
My plan has the effect I’m looking for. Breaker pulls himself out of the useless guilt spiral and gives me a curt nod.
I stand, facing my best friends. “There are too many people who know Slade is here.”
Digits pauses working on his small laptop and looks up at me. “There’s no chatter about it.”
Ash rubs his chin. “We haven’t kept it a secret from our crew that Slade is back.” His eyes meet mine and understanding passes between us—Cutt has just become an even bigger threat.
Trust is high with us and the members we’ve sworn into the Havoc Guardians—it had to be; otherwise, we would’ve never patched them in.
However, there are multiple other people to consider—the Brothers we had ‘inherited’ when Ash took over as Prez, including the old guard, and then there was the Old Ladies, the Prospects, and the ClubPussy.
We’re managing risk that could become impossible to contain.
“I’ll take Slade from here, someplace no one knows about, and keep her safe until we figure this out.”
Breaker shoots to his feet with a scowl. “You aren’t taking my sister anywhere.”
“I can protect her,” I growl. “We need to do that while managing the risk to the MC.”
Ash doesn’t like it, but I know he knows I’m right.
But Army intervenes, “Let’s just calm our tits and see what Digits and Len’s team can dig up first before you and Slade go on the run.”
Pix wedges herself between Breaker and me, planting one hand on each of our chests and shoving us apart. “Slade needs you guys to unite, not battle over protecting her like she’s a bone.”
I heave a deep breath and step back, and Breaker does the same.
He glances at me with that tortured look in his eyes again. “Did Slade tell you what Antwane did to her? Why he kept her alive instead of killing her like all the others? How long did he have her?”
His voice breaks and his eyes brim with tears, but there’s no shame. Nor any judgment from any of us in this room, least of all from me, because I’m barely keeping it together.
“No, Breaker.” I grip his shoulder. “But Slade is a warrior through and through. None of us, me included, gets to view or treat her as a victim. Understood?”
“Help her.” His voice is pure pain. “Bane. Please, fucking help her.”
I blink back against the sting in my eyes. “You have my word.” Swallowing hard against the lump of emotion in my throat, I say gruffly, “Go and check on Slade. Update Tyr and Sten with what we talked about, but no one else.”
He needs no other order; he’s out the door and closes it quickly.
I hang my head in my hands momentarily, then face my family. “This is a massive clusterfuck.”