Chapter Sixteen
Diana
I couldn’t do this. I left Texas because of backstabbing club drama and instead of studying and preparing for my future, I allowed myself to be sucked into another club, all because I fell in love with a Soulless Sinner. Shaking my head, I stood. “I can’t do this.”
“What?” Shame turned to look at me. “Can’t do what?”
Waving my arms around the room, I snapped, “This! I’m a college student who is five months pregnant.
Instead of being with the father and preparing for the birth of our child, I’m here in some stranger’s house listening to the two of you go at each other’s throats, talking as if I’m not even in the room.
If I wanted to be ignored, I would go home! ”
“Diana...”
“No, Shame,” I said. “I’m done. I just want to go back to my dorm room and forget this day ever happened.”
“But it did happen, my dear,” Sinclair stated.
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at the pompous asshole.
“Call me my dear one more time, Sinclair, and I won’t hesitate to shove Shame’s gun down your throat and pull the trigger.
You see, my dad taught me many things, and one of those things was how to shoot a gun and never to point it at someone unless I intended to pull the trigger. ”
Shame’s eyes widened at my outburst, and for a moment, the anger between them faded as they both regarded me with surprise.
I stood there, my heart pounding, the weight of my words hanging heavy in the air.
Sinclair was the first to recover, his icy composure returning as he leaned back in his chair, a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
“It seems, Shame, that your companion has more spirit than you give her credit for. A trait I’m sure Bane finds. .. enchanting.”
Shame’s jaw clenched, his gaze flicking between us, the unspoken tension between them thickening the air. “You know nothing of Bane or his interests,” Shame bit out, as his eyes narrowed. “And you know nothing of Diana. She is not a player in one of your games, Sinclair. Leave her out of this.”
Sinclair’s smirk faltered, just a fraction, but it was enough to show that Shame’s words had struck a chord.
“I have no intention of involving her any further,” he replied, his tone measured.
“But the fact remains that she carries Bane’s child.
Their paths are now connected, whether we like it or not. ”
I shook my head, my hands balling into fists at my sides.
“I won’t be a pawn in this,” I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me.
“I refuse to be dragged into some dangerous game, used as a bargaining chip, or put in harm’s way because of some twisted club politics.
My child will not grow up in that world.
” I took a step back, my eyes flashing between the two men.
“This ends here and now. I’m leaving, and you will not involve me or my child in your affairs. Am I understood?”
Sinclair’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, his icy composure cracked, as a flicker of something akin to respect flashed in their glacial depths.
“And where would you go, Ms. Cooper? My apologies. But your leaving changes nothing. Your family will still come looking for you, and when they do, they will find Bane. Your child ensures his safety, and by extension, yours.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Sinclair held up a hand, silencing me.
“I do not make the rules of this world; I only navigate them. And sometimes, those rules demand sacrifice.” His gaze softened, just a fraction, as he added, “But I give you my word, no harm will come to you or your child because of me or mine.”
Shame’s eyes blazed, his posture rigid with anger. “You can’t make that promise, Sinclair. You know how these things work. You’re playing with fire.”
Sinclair’s expression remained impassive, his eyes steady on Shame. “Then perhaps it’s time someone challenged the rules of this game. Perhaps it’s time for a new order.” His words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.
I felt a chill as I realized the magnitude of what was unfolding.
This was more than just club politics; it was a potential power play, a reshuffling of the deck that could change everything.
“You’re mad,” Shame hissed. “You have no idea what you’re stirring up. This isn’t some game, and Diana and Bane are not pawns; this is their lives.”
Sinclair’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, a shadow passed over his features, a fleeting glimpse of some hidden pain. “I am well aware of the stakes, Shame. But sometimes, great risk is necessary for great gain. And make no mistake, I always play to win.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Shame turned away, his shoulders tense, while Sinclair stared through me, as if he could calculate a future none of us could yet see. I refused to let fear claim me, even as doubt gnawed at the edges of my resolve.
After leaving Sinclair’s, I didn’t know what to think.
I knew I didn’t trust that man. Not one bit, but he did seem to understand the gravity of my situation.
The fact of the matter was, I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t.
I couldn’t go home without starting a war, and I couldn’t disappear without starting a war.
There was another option, but I quickly dismissed it, refusing even to go there.
I wanted this baby.
He was a part of me and August.
“There is another way,” Shame whispered as he parked his bike in front of my dorm building at NYU. I was tired and wanted to sleep.
“What?” I said, stepping off the bike as I stretched my back.
“There is another way to protect you, Bane, and the child, but neither of you are going to like it.”
“What are you talking about?” I said, then thought better of it. Heading inside the seven-story building, I shook my head. “You know what? Don’t answer that. I don’t care.”
I was done with all this cloak-and-dagger shit. I just wanted to sleep and forget everything. I had tests to study for, and that was all I wanted to concentrate on.
Shame didn’t follow me inside. Instead, he lingered at the curb, engine rumbling in the hush, a silent sentinel lost in his own storm of worries.
I pressed the elevator button with fingers that trembled despite my best efforts, heart pounding against my ribs as though trying to fight its way free.
The familiar hum and flickering lights of the lobby felt alien now—distorted by the weight of choices I had yet to make.
On the ride up, I leaned my forehead against the cool metal wall, eyes closed.
Memories spilled over: August’s laugh, the warmth of his arm around my shoulders, the secret hopes we’d whispered into the dark.
I pressed a hand against my belly, as if I could shield the fragile future growing inside me from the chaos lurking beyond those glass doors.
Back in my room, city sounds muffled beyond the window, I found myself pacing, the echo of Shame’s words refusing to fade.
There is another way . But what price would that path demand from me?
From us? I was bone-tired, yet my mind spun, caught between desperation and the fierce, aching love that bound me to both Bane and this unborn child.
Sleep felt impossible. Somewhere out there, Sinclair was plotting his moves, and Shame was brooding over impossible choices.
I sank onto my bed and let the city’s pulse carry me, promising myself that come morning, I would choose.
Even if it meant stepping off the map, forging a path none of us could see.
For now, I listened to the city that never slept and braced myself for the storm to come.
Sleep eluded me when I heard the pounding on my door. Groggily, I made my way to the door and unlocked it to find Shame standing on the other side, looking harried and worried.
The second he saw me, he pushed past me, slamming the door closed behind him.
“What the hell?”
“Get packed,” he firmly ordered. “You’re leaving.”
“I’m not going anywhere. What’s going on?”
Shame didn’t say a word at first as he paced my small dorm room, then he stopped and looked me dead in the eyes. “George has August locked in the clubhouse’s mailroom, demanding that he tell him where you are. He’s threatening to kill him if he doesn’t. So far, August is refusing.”
I gasped. “What?”
Shame’s words hung in the air between us, and for a moment, I could only stare at him, my heart pounding in my ears. “Why?” I whispered again, my voice cracking as the reality of his words sank in.
“George knows about the baby, Diana. Dr. Wilcox told him.”
“So much for doctor-patient confidentiality,” I snapped, sitting on my bed. “I guess it’s only a matter of time before he calls my father.”
“I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”
“I don’t like any of this, Shame, but what are you thinking?”
“You are going to transfer schools. I can backdate the applications so it looks like you weren’t in the city for the last few months or so and even fix a couple of courses so it looks like you’ve been there instead of here in the city.”
Glaring at the man, I asked, “Why do I get the feeling there is more?”
“Because there is,” he said, grabbing a chair out from under my desk. Spinning it around, he quickly sat, leaned forward, and started talking. When he was done, I stared blankly at the man, in shock.
“Does August know the truth?”
“I’m not sure. He hasn’t said.”
“What about my father? Does he know?”
Shame admitted, “Yes. He’s been protecting her from the moment he met her.
I’m so sorry you got caught up in this war, Diana.
Honestly, it has nothing to do with you or Bane.
The two of you are nothing more than collateral damage in the grand scheme of things, but if anyone were to find out, they would use either of you to strengthen their hold in the underworld. ”
“I can’t go home, can I?”
“No.” Shame shook his head. “No, you can’t.”
Shame’s words hit me like a physical blow, and for a moment, I could only sit there, frozen, as the full weight of my predicament crashed down on me. My father, the man I had always trusted and admired, was caught up in this dangerous underworld, and now I was too.
“What about August?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “If I leave, what will happen to him?” The thought of August, my brave and loyal August, suffering because of me was almost too much to bear.
Shame ran a hand through his hair, his expression grim.
“I’ll handle George, but you need to get ready to leave.
Pack only what you need and be prepared to move quickly.
We don’t have much time. I’ll do my best to get him out, but it won’t be easy.
George is determined to use him as leverage, and with what he knows and the risk he might get your father involved, it becomes even more complicated.
” He paused, his eyes searching mine. “But I promise you, I will not leave him there to rot.”
I nodded, my throat tight with unshed tears.
“Okay,” I said, my voice steady, though my insides were churning.
“Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll transfer schools and disappear.
But you have to promise me something.” I looked Shame directly in the eyes, my gaze unwavering.
“Promise me you’ll keep him safe. I don’t trust Sinclair.
Swear to me that no harm will come to him because of me. ”
“I promise.”
As I packed, my hands moved mechanically, my mind elsewhere.
I thought of August, brave and defiant, facing down George.
I thought of my father, caught in a web of secrets and lies.
The weight of it all threatened to crush me, but I pushed the emotions aside.
I had to stay strong for my baby, for August, and for myself.
I would face whatever came next, but first, I had to get out of the city.