Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

Vox

He has lost his goddamn mind! He has seriously gone crazy!

“If you think for a second I am going to let that little cunt touch my sister, you’re out of your fucking mind!” Ezekiel snaps as he shoves Archer and Hayze away from him.

“I’m not your?—”

Ez cuts Nova off before she can continue. “Deny it all you want but the truth is in our fucking DNA. I was a bastard to you and I am sorry for what I did Tay—Nova, I know my apology means nothing to you, but I swear I will make it up to you. If you want Taylor to die then so be it, but I won’t let Nova cut me out of her life. I lost you once and I can’t fucking do it again so don’t ask me to… please.” I stare at my best friend in shock, I’ve never heard him sound so vulnerable before.

“I can’t,” she murmurs. “My best friend died because of all of you and this bullshit brotherhood. He spent his last moments scratching 4221 RUN into that coffin lid.” The watery tone of her voice has guilt churning inside me for the loss she has suffered.

“We never meant for him to get hurt, I swear that to you, Nova,” Ez pleads.

“His last words, his last fucking moments were spent warning me to run and telling me we would always be together to love one another. Don’t you get that? If I let you all back in, then his death was for fucking nothing! Those bastards took him from me. Waylen was innocent and his only crime was fucking loving me.” A strangled sob tears out of her. I step forward but she shoves me away. “Don’t.” That one word has me staying in place. It kills me that she won’t let me near her—I need to start learning how to wall my emotions off and not allow my feelings for her to cloud my judgment.

“They may know that you have helped her and turned against them but they still don’t know that it was me that you helped,” Nikoa says.

“How does that help us?” Archer asks.

“It means that they cannot outright go against you or even banish you or your families from The Brotherhood without alerting them to the fact they have killed an innocent and used their positions inside the Saints to boost their own wealth and power. Thomas is getting sloppy and I just need a bit more time to get my hands on the information we will need to take them down.”

“What information is that?” Hayze pushes.

“I need to find the eye witness that saw him run your father’s car off the road and put the bullet between his eyes.” A choked grunt escapes me at his words and I shoot a look at Ez who looks just as perplexed as I feel.

“The fuck do you mean a gunshot?” Ez snarls.

Nikoa looks between me and Ezekiel with a frown on his face. “Both of your fathers were shot after the accident.”

I shake my head trying to deny his claim, then drop my gaze to the ground and force myself to think back. I saw my father and I know for a fact there was not a fucking hole in the middle of his head.

“You’re wrong,” I whisper. I can feel everyone looking at me but I turn to my sister and the pitying look in her eyes that are mirrors of my own robs me of air. “Vivian?”

Her features soften. “Even as young as we were, I know makeup, Vox. I questioned Mom about why Dad’s face had makeup on it and she brushed me off. I always knew there was a reason behind the makeup, but it wasn’t until I found out that dad was murdered that I knew why.”

“And you never thought to say anything?” I shout. Nova whirls around and pins me with a hard look.

“You get to be upset but you don’t get to take out your anger on her!” she seethes.

“You don’t get to tell me to stay the fuck away from you and then decide to speak to me when it suits you, witch. Know your fucking place.” Her brows raise in surprise.

“You don’t get to fucking speak to her like that!” Ezekiel roars but I ignore the fucker, he can fuck off and so can his sister.

“You and I have never hidden things from each other?—”

Vi cuts me off before I can finish. “Don’t you dare pull that shit on me! You hid the truth about the Saints from me and let's not forget about the Filthy Few .” The snark in her tone fuels my anger.

“I did all of that for you !” I defend.

“Bullshit. You did that for you! You wanted to feel like you were the one in control and that you hold the power. Look at where we are now, Vox, because you tried to hide everything.” Her words hit me like a sledgehammer. I look around at everyone and fuck me if it doesn’t sting to see the look of blame in each of their gazes.

“Fine. You want me out and to deal with this shit on your own, go for it. I’m out.” I don’t wait for a reply as I stalk away from them and head for the woods. They want someone to blame for all their pain and their losses, I’ll be the bad guy so they can sleep better at night, but they better not fucking forget that they are the ones that made me turn my humanity off. If Nova thought I was a cunt before, she is in for a rude fucking shock when she turns up to school and sees who I really am.

When I pull up out front of his house I debate my choice for a moment until the front door opens and he steps out. I climb out of my car and cross my arms over my chest and eye him with hatred.

“Why are you here, Vox?”

“Because I want to watch them all fucking burn, I want in on whatever you have planned.”

He scoffs. “And I’m just supposed to trust you after everything you fucking did?” he snarls.

“Considering I’m the one who got rid of the evidence of your son’s murder spree, yeah I think you are.”

His eyes widen for a split second before he schools his features and tightens his lips. “You have my attention, boy.”

“I pledge my allegiance to the Haven Saints and hereby vow to serve the lord in all his endeavors.”

A dark smile tugs at the corners of his lips. “You know what this means right?”

“Yes,” I grit out.

“Your sister will never take over, am I clear?”

My nostrils flare at the mention of my twin but I force my emotions down and remind myself about how they all betrayed me.

“Agreed.”

“Your feelings for the girl will do you no good, she is promised to my son, Vox.”

A wicked smirk crosses my face. “I want nothing more than to see her suffer and be forced to marry Nexus. She deserves every fucking thing that is coming her way.”

“I never thought I would see the day where you actually fell into line and realized the good I can do for all of us.” I keep my face blank of the hatred I feel for him, he has done no fucking good for anyone in this town. He’s lied, cheated and stolen from everyone just to further line his own pockets.

“I want in on everything, Thomas. I want to see Nova and those other traitors fucking burn.”

“I always knew you were the smart one.” I snort. “You need to prove to me that you can be trusted.”

“How exactly do I do that?”

A dark look overtakes his features. “You start by killing Ezekiel Tempest, I can’t risk that fucking fool marrying your sister and overturning the decree before my son can marry Nova.”

“Consider it done.”

“You make it look like an accident, The Brotherhood can never know about this. We are beholden to our laws and if they find out you killed another member, they will kill you and your family. Am I clear?”

“How long do I have to plan this?”

“You have one week to make the fucker disappear, prove to me you can do this and you will be welcomed into my fold and then and only then would you have earned my trust.”

“Consider the traitor dead,” I say with a grin.

“I want evidence, Vox.”

“I’ll record it all for you,” I promise.

“You stay out of Nexus’ way at school, those other three cunts and your sister are permitted to return. Once you take care of Tempest, I’ll give you the next order.”

“Fine,” I grit out, then climb inside my car and peel out of the drive.