Chapter 4 - Sadie
My heart pounds against my ribs as we walk toward his Harley.
What the hell am I doing? Twenty-four hours ago, I was getting beaten by a man I once considered family, forced into a white dress and told to smile pretty while Jake explained how our marriage would unite what was left of the Outlaws.
Now, I'm willingly walking into enemy territory with a man I barely know, ready to spill secrets I've been taught to protect since birth.
The morning sun catches on Maverick's bike, and I remember all the times I watched Outlaw bikes gleaming in the same light, thinking they represented freedom, family, loyalty. What a joke that turned out to be. Everything I thought I knew about loyalty shattered the moment Jake's fist connected with my face, when my supposed brothers stood by and watched.
And yet... watching Maverick check his bike, his movements confident and sure, I feel something I haven't felt in weeks: safe. Maybe I'm just trading one dangerous situation for another, but at least this time, it's my choice. There's something about him that makes me want to trust him, even though everything I've ever learned screams that I shouldn't.
"You good?" he asks, holding out a helmet to me.
His eyes are concerned but not pitying. I've had enough pity to last a lifetime.
No. Not even close to good. I'm about to walk into a clubhouse full of men who've spent years trying to destroy my family. I'm going to betray everything I was raised to believe in. But the Outlaws betrayed me first, didn't they? They stopped being family the moment Jake decided I was his property to claim.
"Yeah," I lie, taking the helmet. My hands shake slightly as I try to fasten it.
He steps closer, his fingers brushing mine as he helps with the strap.
"We can still figure out another way. You don't have to do this."
"No," I shake my head, wincing as the movement pulls at my bruises. "The Outlaws made their choice when they stood by and watched Jake..." I can't finish the sentence, but I don't need to. The bruises tell the story well enough. "Now I'm making mine."
The ghost of a smile touches his lips as he swings his leg over the bike.
"Then hold on tight, princess. This ride might get interesting."
I climb on behind him, trying to ignore how natural it feels to wrap my arms around his waist. His body is solid and warm, and despite everything, I feel myself relaxing slightly against his back. The engine roars to life, and with it comes a strange sense of finality. There's no going back now.
As we pull away from his apartment, I tighten my grip. I can't help but wonder if I'm making the biggest mistake of my life or finally doing something right. The information I have about the other escaped leader - about the plans Jake let slip during his drunken rants - it could change everything. Or it could get me killed.
But looking at the Iron women weren't welcome in their inner sanctum.
Maverick pauses before opening the door. "Ready?"
I nod, not trusting my voice. He pushes the door open, and my heart nearly stops.
Sitting at the head of a massive wooden table is Hellfire himself - the President of Iron & Blood. His face is more lined than in the surveillance photos, but his eyes are just as intense as I'd imagined. Next to him stands a young woman about my age, beautiful in a fierce way, with long dark hair and a familiar set to her jaw. Angel - Hellfire's daughter.
"Well," Hellfire's deep voice fills the room as he takes me in. "Looks like you brought us a stray, Maverick."
"Sir," Maverick starts, but Angel cuts him off.
"Jesus Christ," she moves around the table, her eyes fixed on my face. "Who worked you over? No, wait - let me guess. Jake Russell?" When I flinch at the name, she nods grimly. "That tracks. He's got a history with women who say no."
Hellfire leans forward, his massive forearms resting on the table.
"Maverick, you want to explain why an Outlaw princess is standing in our Clubhouse?"
I feel Maverick tense beside me. This is it - the moment that decides everything. I just hope I'm worth the risk he's taking.
"She has information," Maverick says, his voice steady despite the tension. "About Jake and Marcus Cooper."
At the mention of the second name, Hellfire's eyes narrow dangerously. Marcus Cooper - the other Outlaw leader who escaped, the one whose name I haven't dared speak until now.
"That so?" Hellfire's gaze shifts to me, and suddenly his expression changes, recognition flooding his features. "Well, I'll be damned. You're Johnny's little girl, aren't you? Got your mother's face, but those eyes..." he shakes his head. "Those are all John Miller."
I blink in surprise. "You knew my father?"
"3rd Battalion, Desert Storm," Hellfire says quietly. "Your old man saved my ass more times than I can count. I couldn't believe it when he patched into the Outlaws instead of joining us.”
The revelation hits me like a punch to the gut. All these years, and I never knew. How many other things about my father were kept from me?
"The Outlaws killed him," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "Jake told me yesterday, right before..." I gesture to my face. "Said my father was weak because he opposed their trafficking ring. That his death wasn't an accident like they told me - it was a message to anyone else who might get a conscience."
Angel mutters something that sounds like a curse, while Butcher's massive hands curl into fists on the table.
"Jake was drunk, celebrating his new position after you took out most of the leadership," I continue, finding strength in their reactions. "He kept bragging about how the trafficking ring might be gone, but there were other opportunities. How my father never understood that sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. Called him weak," my voice breaks with anger. "My father had more integrity in his little finger than the entire club combined."
"That he did," Hellfire agrees, surprising me. "John Miller was a lot of things, but weak was never one of them."
"Now Jake thinks he's untouchable," I say, forcing myself to continue. "Him and Marcus both. They're planning something big - something that'll make the trafficking ring look tame in comparison. And they're using what's left of the Outlaws to do it."
"And you're willing to tell us everything?" Crow asks from his position by the door. "Turn on your club completely?"
"They stopped being my club the moment they murdered my father," I say firmly. "The moment they stood by and watched Jake..." I can't finish the sentence.
"When he tried to make you his old lady," Angel finishes for me.
I nod. "Said it would be poetic - the dead traitor's daughter becoming his property. Teaching me my place, just like they taught my father his."
Hellfire studies me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he looks at Maverick. "You vouch for her?"
"With my life," Maverick responds without hesitation, and I'm baffled. I can't believe it. Why is he doing all this for me? Someone he just met?
"Well then," Hellfire leans back in his chair. "For Johnny's daughter? For the chance to finally end Jake and Marcus?" He nods slowly. "I think it's time we had a real conversation about the future of Cedar Falls."
I feel Maverick's hand press reassuringly against my back as Hellfire gestures for me to sit. Looking around the table at these people - these supposed enemies who seem more like family than my own club ever did - I realize there's no turning back now.
And for the first time since my father died, I'm okay with that.