Chapter Twenty-Five
Bane
Present day, three weeks ago...
The rain pelted my face as I stood outside the clubhouse, knowing she was in there.
What the fuck was I doing? I knew the second I walked into that place, there was a damn good chance I would never walk out. I’d heard stories of what went on behind those doors, and the thought of my daughter in there with them was something I flat-out refused to even think about.
On some level, I knew Kane wouldn’t hurt her.
It was me he really wanted. Or so I believed.
It was the others I didn’t trust. Not that I trusted Kane much either—only about as far as I could throw him.
For as long as I could remember, my father told me horrific stories about the Brotherhood and the man who ran the place, Kalden Baudelaire.
His words painted a vivid picture: a den of iniquity, a viper’s nest of lawless thugs who cared only for themselves, men whose smiles hid sharpened knives.
He hammered the message home, etching a deep-seated fear of the Brotherhood into my soul.
He warned me to steer clear, a warning that echoed in my gut like a death knell.
But the whispers started subtly, insinuations from my friends, dropped hints of power, of respect, of the Brotherhood’s almost mythical influence on the city.
My father’s warnings felt like shackles, heavy and restrictive, yet a perverse curiosity gnawed at me, a fascination with the forbidden fruit.
My own morals screamed against it. My father’s words, his sacrifices, his unwavering honesty, formed the bedrock of my belief system. Yet, somewhere within those walls was my daughter.
An innocent who did not know the danger she was in.
The second I knew where she was, my decision was a no-brainer, visceral knowledge between filial duty and ingrained morality.
To approach the Brotherhood would be to betray my father’s memory, to violate the principles he’d instilled in me.
It would mean associating with the very evil he’d fought against his whole life.
Yet, to do nothing meant condemning my daughter to a fate she didn’t deserve.
“I don’t like this, August.”
“It’s not your decision,” I snarled, glaring at Meredith.
From the moment she walked back into my life, I wanted to wrap my hands around her neck and strangle her to death.
The scent of her perfume sickened me, and her touch—it was nothing but a reminder of everything I’d lost. So much could have been prevented if she’d just come to me or Montana when she escaped the Trick Pony and come clean.
Instead, she chose revenge, a cold, calculated vengeance that now ensnared my daughter, a child who didn’t ask to be brought into this world and sure as hell didn’t deserve to be a pawn in this war.
My daughter was in there because her manipulative mother wanted what she couldn’t have.
Me.
The irony wasn’t lost on me because I couldn’t have what I wanted, either.
Right now, she was the convenient target for my rage, and from what I knew, a strong enough vessel to withstand my fury.
But my fury was a shield, a desperate attempt to deflect from my own actual pain: the knowledge that I had somehow failed too.
My pride, my stubborn refusal to walk away when there was still time, my damn pride believing I was strong enough to protect her.
.. it had all fueled my actions, hadn’t it?
That thought twisted like a knife in my gut.
I would never forgive Meredith. I knew that deep down.
My father always preached forgiveness. But his words felt like ash in my mouth.
Meredith’s betrayal was unforgivable. To forgive the bitch felt like betraying her, condoning the years of pain and suffering she endured, all because I fell in love and couldn’t let go.
To forgive Meredith felt like admitting I was the weak one, the failure.
And weakness was something I couldn’t afford.
Not now. Not with my daughter caught in the crossfire.
So I raged. I lashed out and blamed her, feeding the flames of my conflict, all the while knowing I was perpetuating the very cycle of destruction I swore to break.
It was easier, so much easier, than admitting my culpability.
It was easier than swallowing the bitter pill of forgiveness, even if that forgiveness might be the only way to salvage what remained of my family, even if it meant betraying the hardened shell I’d built around my own broken heart.
But the regret, the icy dread of the choices I made, hung heavily and suffocated, promising to haunt me long after the dust settled.
And I knew, with a sickening certainty, that I would regret every decision I made. I was already starting to.
“If you have a better idea, then speak now or forever hold your peace, because my daughter is in there with him, and from where I’m standing, this is the only way.”
“He is going to kill you!”
“Better me than my daughter!” I shouted as a clap of thunder rocked the earth, then I sighed. “Look, Meredith. I don’t have a choice here. He wants me. Not her.”
“Montana is going to lose his shit,” she mumbled, shaking her head.
I smirked at that because she was right.
Montana Stone, my closest childhood friend, my president in the Soulless Sinners.
.. he was a volcano waiting to erupt. He overreacted, yes, but it wasn’t just that.
It was the possessiveness, the suffocating need for control that simmered beneath his bravado.
He’d always been like that, even as kids, hoarding the best candy, refusing to share his prized baseball cards.
And now, as president of the Soulless Sinners, that possessiveness had morphed into something far more dangerous.
Walking into the Brotherhood of Bastards’ clubhouse felt like a betrayal, a betrayal of everything Montana and I had worked for.
It gnawed at me, this violation of our unspoken code, a code built on brotherhood and mutual protection, a brotherhood I now willingly jeopardized for the love of a child.
The sickening truth was that I knew what Montana would do.
The vision of his furious face, his sneering contempt, his threats played on a loop in my mind.
It wasn’t just the damnation and the threats; it was the disappointment that even after all these years, a small part of me still didn’t trust him.
The deep, crushing disappointment in his eyes would be far worse than any physical punishment.
He’d always believed in me fiercely, blindly.
And now, I was about to shatter that faith, cracking the very foundation of our friendship.
But the worst part? The absolute gut-wrenching worst part was that I would do it willingly.
I’d chosen this path long ago, knowing full well the consequences, knowing I was making a terrible choice, a choice that would likely irrevocably damage everything I worked hard to protect.
I was about to make a deal with the Devil, a desperate gamble for a future I wasn’t even sure I deserved, a future built on the lies of a past neither one of us truly knew.
And the regret... it was already a bitter taste in my mouth, a taste that promised to linger long after the dust settled.
It was the price of my freedom, or perhaps, the price of my folly.
“Say what you want about Montana, but he’s at his best when his back is against the wall.”
“What wall?” she shouted. “You are about to shove him through the fucking wall! There is no wall!”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. My daughter’s life was at stake, and I’d do whatever it took to get her back.
“I know the risks,” I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me to throw her to the wolves instead.
“Shut up, Meredith. It’s not your decision.
I can’t just stand here and do nothing.”
With a last glance at the bitch who started it all, I took a fortifying breath and stepped towards the clubhouse, my heart pounding.
I felt like I was stepping off a cliff, the weight of my decision pressing down on me.
The rain seemed to intensify as I moved, each drop like a bullet hitting my skin as the door loomed before me, a portal to a world I’d been taught to fear and despise.
The moment I crossed that threshold, everything would change, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.
The air was thick with the scent of smoke and something sinister.
The clubhouse was dimly lit, the only light coming from a few scattered lamps and the flickering glow of a TV in the corner.
Figures loomed in the shadows, their eyes cold and calculating.
I recognized some faces; men I’d heard stories about, men who were as dangerous as they came.
My heart hammered in my chest, but I forced myself to keep moving.
This was it.
The point of no return.
“A prodigal son returns,” a gravelly voice seethed from deep within the shadows. “Welcome home, August.”
“I want my daughter, Kane.”
Laughter billowed all around me, sending a shiver of unease down my spine.
“You want?” His voice vibrated around me. “And what will you give in return?”
“Me,” I said, my voice steady, but my insides were churning. I knew the moment I uttered those words, I had sealed my fate. The room fell silent, the laughter dying as quickly as it had erupted.
Kane stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. “You would give your life for a daughter you never knew about? That’s a bold move, August. But then, you were never really that smart.”
I held his gaze, my heart pounding. I knew Kane was right. This was a bold move, perhaps the boldest I had ever made. But I would do anything for my daughter, for any of my children, even if it meant facing the Brotherhood of Bastards alone.
“So be it,” Kane said, a slow smile spreading across his face. “The good doctor has always been a man of his word. I will give you your daughter, but I demand your loyalty.”
My stomach dropped. This was the moment I had been dreading, the moment I knew would come. To join the Brotherhood was to betray my family, everything I had stood for, everything my father had taught me. But I had made my choice, and I would see it through.
“You have it,” I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil within.
“But first, I want to see my daughter. I need to know she is safe.” As I issued my demand, my heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the laughter that echoed through the room.
The weight of my decision bore down on me, but I stood tall, my gaze fixed on the shadows where Kane lurked.
“You always were a stubborn one, boy,” Kane’s voice echoed. “But we’ll see how long that lasts. Bring her in.”
A door swung open, and my blood ran cold as a figure emerged from the darkness, leading a small, trembling form by the hand. It was my daughter, her eyes wide with fear, and in that moment, I knew I’d made the right choice.
“Let her go, and I’m all yours,” I stated, the firmness in my voice masking the anguish within. “You have my word.”
The room fell silent, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. I held my breath, waiting for Kane’s response, knowing that my life and the life of my daughter hung in the balance.
“You betray me, and I will kill you and her,” he seethed as he stepped to the side.
“Amber!” I shouted her name, and she looked up, then ran toward me before collapsing in my arms as she cried.
“You motherfucker,” I roared. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
“I was more than generous.” Kane sighed. “Be thankful she’s still alive.”
My grip tightened, knuckles white at the small of her back, as I clung to my terrified daughter.
“Choose,” Kane commanded, his tone like gravel dragged over asphalt. “Or step away from her.” Even with her in my arms, I felt the chill of his presence—cold, inexorable.
I turned, shielding her behind my body. “If you so much as touch her again—”
A laugh, low and joyless, slithered through the air. “You’re in no position to make threats. Not here. Now choose!”
Kane stepped into the light, the harsh light carving his features into sharp relief—calm, almost bored, a set of keys dangling from his hand. His gaze met mine for a fraction of a second, and something unreadable flickered there.
Lightning struck somewhere beyond the cracked windows, casting his shadow long and monstrous across the floor. I squared my shoulders, my jaw set in desperate defiance of someone who refused—would not—let go.
“You do this and it’s war,” I seethed.
Kane threw his head back and laughed. “Fuck, you’re funny. You think I’m scared of Montana or even Reaper? Now choose.”
Standing my ground, I clearly said, “Baby, I need you to run. Run fast.”
“Daddy, no!” my daughter cried, holding onto my arm for dear life.
“Go, Amber. Tell your mother. A life for a life. She will know what to do.”
“Dad, please come with me.”
Turning to face her, I grabbed her face and kissed her forehead, then leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, my sweet girl.”
“Fuck this shit,” Kane intoned, ripping her away from me and shoving her toward the door. “Tell those fuckers outside. They’ve got twenty minutes before I send my brothers to run them out of town.”
“Amber, RUN!” I shouted as several brothers held me back.
Watching her run from the clubhouse, I regretted nothing.
I would do it all over again if it meant she would be safe.
If both of them were safe. I never thought I would get to know them, let alone be able to spend time with them.
Even those short few months with her were enough to fill a lifetime.
They would continue on, free to live their lives, to carve their own path in this unforgiving world.
That was all that mattered.
Nothing else.
Kane’s smile widened, and he clapped me on the shoulder. “You’ll see her soon enough. But first, we must initiate you into our fold. It is a process, but one that will bind you to us forever.”
My heart sank as the full weight of this decision hit me.
I had just committed to a lifetime of allegiance to the Brotherhood of Bastards.