Chapter Fourteen #4
Wraith shared a look with Cypher then glanced over at Ghost. He dragged his hand over his face.
It was too late to come up with a plausible lie to cover the story and they all knew it.
Even if they tried, Ace would see through it.
And that wasn’t how the club was built. They didn’t have secrets among the brothers.
Except Cleo’s. Regardless of what he said, Wraith would be betraying one brother.
“Whatever the fuck you three are doing right now isn’t worth shit ’cause none of you are leaving this fucking room until we” —he pointed to Cross— “know everything.”
Wraith folded his arms, straightened his back, and turned to Ace and Cross.
“Knox wasn’t just going to see her. His plan was to get her outta the house that night.
He was gonna set her up in a hotel for a bit until he could secure an apartment close to Killcreek.
Asked us to come with him so she could bring as much of her stuff as possible and needed the extra room in our saddlebags. ”
Ace looked over at Cross. “You knew about that?”
“Yeah, he’d been looking into apartments in Birch.”
Ace slowly nodded. “Alright.”
“We get there, and it’s quiet. Old car in the driveway and a beat-up truck.
House is pretty dark. He never told Cleo we were coming.
” Wraith took a breath, dragging his hand over his head.
His blood started racing through his veins.
“Ghost, Cy, Jekyll, and me wait out front and Knox gets halfway to the door and just stops. Like I said, it was fucking quiet, but something was just off. Then we hear a woman’s voice saying ‘open your goddamn mouth’.
Knox ran up the stairs, charging through the door, busting it open.
We all follow. Get inside and see him at the end of the hall in front of a closed door.
Follow him down, he opened the door, and… ”
Wraith drew in a breath, knowing he had to finish. But not wanting to say the words out loud. He wouldn’t go into detail.
“Cleo was on the floor, half-dressed, and fucking out of it.” Wraith dragged his hand over his beard, staring at the wall. “Her mom’s old man was standing in front of her with his pants around his ankles.”
The room was completely silent. Wraith watched their reactions shift from horror to complete rage.
“Where the fuck was her mother?” Cross asked, eyeing Wraith.
Cypher snorted in disgust, and the angles of his face sharpened. “In the corner, watching.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Ace’s jaw squared, and his nostrils flared.
“Why the fuck didn’t Knox tell us?” Cross shouted.
Being the closest, one would think Knox would’ve told him. But this was never about Knox. It was about Cleo and preserving the very last shred of dignity she was holding on to.
“If we hadn’t been there” —Cypher said standing shoulder to shoulder with Wraith— “Knox would be the only one who knew what happened that night. Cleo was so out of it. They must’ve drugged her or something but I don’t think she remembers.”
Yes, she does.
Cross circled around the room. A visual was emerging for the VP and president. Dark, sadistic, and brutal.
“Fuck,” he drove his hands through his hair. “Knox carried a lot of guilt when it came to Cleo. Now I know why.”
After Knox gave them instructions on how to approach Cleo the next morning, he’d never mentioned another word about that night. None of them did.
Ace sighed. “What happened to the stepfather and mother?”
Cypher shared a look with Wraith. “Knox took care of his mom before any of us could get a chance.”
“And the guy?”
“I slit his fucking throat.” Wraith’s feral voice echoed through the room.
“They were unrecognizable by the time Knox and Wraith were done with them.” Cypher said.
“The rest happened pretty quick. Cleo was completely out of it but easy to move. Like a zombie. Knox took the truck in the driveway and brought her to a hotel. We packed up her shit, as much as we could fit on the bikes. I took all the electronics, and we did a sweep of the house. Once Knox had her outta there, we torched it.”
“No witnesses?” Ace asked.
“In that neighborhood?” Wraith raised his brows.
“No one’s paying attention to anything. Knox went to her job, offered a lot of cash to say she was working that night.
Her boss refused to take the money, but gave her an alibi of leaving town months ago.
Said that would be better, and since she worked in the back, customers wouldn’t be able to give a statement.
She was paid off the books, so there was no way to track it. ”
“It was probably the fastest open and shut case in the history of that town. Didn’t even make the local news. As far as I know, they never even looked for Cleo.” Cypher said. “Went through their electronics. Didn’t find anything.”
“What were you looking for?”
“They were some sick fucks, Ace. Thought maybe they’d recorded it before.” Cypher said.
Ace jerked his head to Wraith. “So you don’t think this was the first time they’d done this shit to her?”
He ground his teeth. “No.”
Cross balled his fists, and his face turned a dark shade of red. “Fuck! If they weren’t already dead…”
Wraith shared the same sentiment.
“Like I said. Rough doesn’t even cut it when it comes to Cleo. And there’s no fucking way as long as I’m breathing, that’ll ever happen again. She stays here!”
Wraith had every intention of keeping Cleo and while it would take time, he’d get her back.
Together, they could live outside the clubhouse.
Make a life separate from the MC. But until then, she wasn’t living alone.
He expected some opposition from Cross again but he didn’t get it.
The brother slowly nodded, staring across the room. “Yeah.”
The room was stretched in silence for a minute. No one spoke a word.
“This has to stay between us, Ace.” It was the first time Ghost had spoken up and he gained the attention of every man in the room. “This isn’t club business. It’s Cleo’s.”
And it would remain that way.