Chapter Twelve

Malice

Sitting in my spot, I watched as my brothers all filed into the boardroom. Not a single one of them said a damn word. Not that I expected them to. The funny thing was, they were ignoring Montana too. It was odd. Montana sat at the head of the table while I was at the other end. The brothers in the middle. None technically on either side, but all waiting, watching the both of us intently, almost like they were sitting at some tennis match and it was the last set. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see who would emerge victorious.

My brother Payne pulled out his chair, plopping down next to me, placing an apple before me.

"Thought you might want one."

I looked at the piece of fruit and grimaced.

While I was hungry, I didn't want one.

I thought it odd, since apples were my snack of choice.

Frowning, I ignored the offending fruit and said nothing as I glared at Torment. The brother was on thin ice with me with that stunt he'd just pulled. I didn't want nor need his help.

I was more than capable of handling Montana all on my own.

With all the brothers seated, Mercy looked at Montana, who sat fuming at the other end of the table, shooting daggers at me. I got he was angry at me for what I did. I was angry too, but the deed was done. Arianwen was mine and there was nothing he could do or say to change that fact.

"Are we just going to sit here and say nothing? Because I've got more important shit to tend to than dealing with you two," Storm spoke up when no one else did.

And that was all it took.

"I WANT HIS MOTHERFUCKING brAND!" Montana shouted, jumping to his feet, gesticulating like a madman.

Mercy sighed. "It's not that easy, Montana."

"The fuck it isn't!" the uncontrollable blockhead yelled. "Malice went against my direct order. I have every right, and I demand that all of you back me up on this."

"You can't touch him," Torment clearly said.

"You shut up!" Montana rounded on Torment. "You don't have the right to tell me what to do. I am the motherfucking president of this club. I don't give a flying fuck if you agree with my orders, but I expect you to follow them. And throwing down your marker to save that asshole doesn't mean I have to enforce shit!"

"It's club law, Montana." Mercy groaned, rubbing his forehead. "You can't change the rules just because they don't benefit you. Torment may use his one and only marker for whatever he deems necessary."

"Not if I take his brand too!"

Mercy rolled his eyes. "That's your plan? You are going to take everyone's brand if they don't agree with you?"

"Yes!"

Mercy sighed. "Jesus fuck. Will you shut the hell up and sit the fuck down? We can discuss Malice and Silver later. Right now, I want to know why the fuck we are all here on a Saturday. What was so fucking important that you called for a board meeting?"

"I would like to know that too," Fury added.

"Me too," Vicious said.

"Popeye has something on me," Bane spoke up.

"What is it?" Storm asked.

Bane shrugged. "That's the million-dollar question. Malice, did Popeye give you anything?"

Before I could respond, the boardroom door opened and in walked the intern, Pippen, looking a little worse for wear. The young brother looked like dog shit, and he was sporting an impressive black eye.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Montana asked, taking notice. "And where the fuck have you been?"

The intern grumbled. "You should know. You gave me to him."

"Intern, now is not the time to be flippant," Mercy cautioned, shaking his head. "Montana is threatening brands."

"Well, since I don't have one yet, that point is moot," the kid snarked, standing his ground. "I am here to inform you I am withdrawing my application for membership."

Sitting up straighter, I looked at the kid.

Was he joking?

From the moment Pippen walked into this club, all he cared about was obtaining the Soulless Sinner brand. The kid was methodical, single-minded, driven to achieve that goal. Now he was just going to walk away from all his hard work.

I called bullshit.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Montana growled angrily.

"Excuse me?" Storm slowly said, getting to his feet. "The last time we talked, all you cared about was what it would take to become a brother. If you walk, there is no coming back, Pippen. You know that."

"I know, Storm," the kid whispered. "I wanted to come tell you in person and thank you all for everything. It has been my pleasure getting to know all of you and working with you, but I have seen the error of my ways and need to move on."

Narrowing my eyes, I took a really good look at the kid.

He was hesitant, scared, distant.

He didn't want this any more than I wanted to be in the same room with Montana.

No.

Something else was at play with this kid.

Someone else was pulling his strings.

"Is this because of your brother, Silas Sharp?"

Now, that got my attention.

I should have known.

Fucking Sin would never just let me go.

Smirking, I shook my head and asked, "You're Dante?"

How did I miss that? Of course, Pippen was Dante Sharp. The little brother to Silas Sharp. The resemblance was uncanny. Pippen was the spitting image of his older brother.

I could clearly see that now.

The intern nodded.

Sighing, I reached for my phone. "Is this really what you want, or is Silas forcing you?"

The kid mumbled, "I wasn't really given a choice."

"Gonna ask you one more time, Intern. Is this what you want?"

Pippen looked at me, then slowly shook his head.

Dialing Sin's number, I pointed to the empty chair. The intern quickly sat as I laid my phone on the table. I hit the speaker button so the entire room could hear. The second the call connected, we all heard.

"Good morning, Gideon. And what do I owe this unexpected call on this magnificent Saturday?"

I could clearly hear the glee in Sin's voice as a woman whimpered in the background.

"Tell Silas no."

"And why would I do that? You know I don't interfere in family matters."

I growled.

That was a motherfucking lie.

Son of a bitch thrived on interfering.

Particularly when it benefited him.

"Oh, I see." Sin chuckled as the sound of a bullwhip swooshed in the air, seconds before a woman moaned. "Little Dante ran away again. Silas will not be happy about that."

Refusing to give the fucker any more ammunition, I stayed silent, waiting for the boom. Sin was many things, but reasonable was not one of them. I knew what would happen before I even called the bastard.

Tit for tat.

An eye for an eye, so to speak.

Crispin Sinclair gave nothing without expecting something in return.

"Fine," Sin conceded, as the whoosh of the bullwhip sliced through the air once more. "On one condition."

I growled.

There it was.

"You bring the lovely Arianwen to dinner and introduce her to your other family."

"No."

"Then you will return little Dante to Silas. One family member for another, Gideon. You, of all people, know the rules."

"I said no."

"I'm sorry, were you under the misapprehension this was a negotiation?"

"Sin," I sneered, ready to strangle the motherfucker.

"The choice is yours, Gideon. I will give you until five this evening to decide. Either Dante returns home, or I expect to see you and the lovely Arianwen at a dinner of my choosing. Goodbye, Gideon."

The line went dead.

SHIT!

Looking up from my phone, my eyes landed on Montana and if looks could kill, I would be a dead man.

"Other family?" the irate and fuming man sneered.

"Holy shit," Pippen gasped, slowly getting up from his seat, backing away from me. "You are THAT Gideon!"

Montana got to his feet, reiterating rather firmly, "Other family?"

"Malice, what the fuck is going on?" Mercy asked.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned back in my chair and simply answered, "You all know my background. What you don't know is that I had a life before I joined the Soulless Sinners. It's something I'm not proud of and would rather not talk about."

"Too fucking bad!" Montana yelled. "Who the fuck is that bastard to you and what the hell did he mean by other family?"

Looking around the table, every brother stared at me, waiting for me to say something, anything. Even Torment, who had laid his brand on the line for me, looked concerned.

Knowing there was no way any of them would let me leave without giving them something, I gave them the CliffsNotes version.

"We all were children of the Trick Pony and that's all I'm saying on the matter."

"Malice." Torment sighed. "Brother, it's not that easy. While you were gone, Crispin Sinclair showed up here, with two other men, Rowen Shay and Silas Sharp. He came looking for Arianwen. They talked."

My eyes shot to Torment.

"Did she ask him for a favor?"

"What?"

Jumping to my feet, I pressed, "Did she ask anything of him?!"

"Yes," Montana offered. "She asked him to find you."

"What did he say? Did he agree?"

Mercy frowned, looking from Montana to me. "Yeah, he did. Then Pippen left with Silas. Who the fuck are they, Malice? There is little known about Crispin Sinclair, and I've never heard of the other two men. Sinclair said you sold the Playground to him. That it was a done deal. Who is he?"

Plopping back down in my seat, I sighed, shaking my head.

I knew I should have stayed in the city. I shouldn't have left. I should have just gone to Montana and let the chips fall where they lay.

Now, shit was about to hit the fan and it was all my fault.

Fuck.

"Malice, who is Crispin Sinclair?"

Looking up at my president, I simply replied, "He's the Devil."

As I paced the room, no one spoke.

"All of us are products of my genetic material's sick game. There were five of us in the beginning. Only we didn't know it. As you know, when Devlin Scott found out that my mother was pregnant with me, he tried to beat me out of her. When that didn't work, he discarded her like trash. My mother ended up giving birth to me on the streets of Seattle, where she gave me away according to their Safe Haven laws. She thought she was protecting me. She was wrong. I was about two, maybe three years old when Devlin Scott found me for the first time and took me back to Florida. Every summer after that, he would come for me like clockwork. A never-ending cycle of abuse, torture, and psychological warfare. It was during my summers with him I met Sin. Like me, he was a product of the Trick Pony. We all were. Sin was older than me. He knew who my biological father was and what that fucker had planned for me. Sin never treated me like a victim. Instead, Sin helped me and the others escape. I was fifteen when we finally broke free. All because of Sin."

"What did Sinclair do?" Torment asked.

I smirked. "He killed my father's favorite toy."

"What?"

"Her name was Veronica Meeks. She was a striking woman. Blonde hair and the bluest eyes that could enthrall any man she was around. To the blind eye, Veronica looked sweet and kind, like an angel, but like most things, looks could be deceiving. Veronica Meeks was evil and just as sadistic as Devlin Scott, maybe worse. She got off watching others bleed. The more blood, the happier she was. She loved Sin the most because she couldn't break him. All she desired was to bend Sin to her depraved will. Not even Devlin Scott could persuade her to kill him. She wanted Sin. Only Sin. I was about fifteen when Rowen and Silas woke me, telling me it was time to go. I didn't think. I got dressed and followed, to find Sin and Devlin Scott in a heated discussion. The argument ended when Sin threw Veronica's head at Devlin Scott's feet. From that moment, Sin declared loudly that if anyone dared come near us again, they would receive the same treatment."

"Let me get this straight." Montana sighed, rubbing his hands down his face. "This Sinclair guy, the same one who was in my clubhouse a few days ago, killed a woman. Cut her head off and gave it to your father as a parting gift?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Jesus fuck."

"How old was Sinclair when this happened?" Pippen asked.

"Seventeen," I stated, looking at the intern, who looked white as a ghost.

"Silas never told me," the kid whispered.

"He didn't want you to know. You were still a baby when we left."

"Go on, Malice," Torment coaxed.

"It was hard at first. None of us knew where to go, what to do, where our next meal would come from, but Sin had a plan. He took care of everything. Over the next few years, Sin did things to ensure we had everything we needed. Because of Sin, we all got educations and made a life for ourselves. Everything all of us have is because of Sin. We owe him our lives."

"What did he do?" Fury asked.

Looking at my brother, I admitted, "He sold his body, so we didn't have to."

"So, let me get this straight," Montana said, leaning forward in his chair, resting his hands on the table. "This fucker wants you to bring Silver to dinner or we hand over the intern to his big brother. Call me crazy, but it's a fucking no-brainer. No fucking way in hell is Silver going near that crazy motherfucker. Sorry, kid, but you're out!"

Pippen paled further.

"It's not that simple, Montana." I glared. "She asked him for a favor."

"I don't care if she asked him for the time of day. Silver isn't going anywhere near that fucker. Over my dead body."

"It's not your choice."

"The fuck it isn't!" Montana roared. "I'm not letting Silver anywhere near him. That's final. Pippen, go pack your shit. I want you gone within the hour."

A gold medallion hit the table.

"The kid stays."

All eyes turned to Vicious, who sat stoically in his chair.

"Enough. I will not stand by and let you force a young man to return to a place he clearly wants nothing to do with. And I am getting real fucking tired of all your blustering. I get you love Silver, but she belongs to Malice. Always has. He claimed her and branded her. Per club rules, it's done and there is nothing you can do about it. And before you threaten to take my brand, let me say this. I left one club because a president couldn't get his head out of his ass long enough to see the writing on the wall, and I'll be damned if I stick around and watch another travel down the same path. You call me the voice of reason, well this is me telling you, Montana, you are going down a path I will not follow. You don't stop, you will find yourself alone."

Leaning back in my chair, I smirked.

Didn't know Vicious had it in him, but the brother was right. There was nothing Montana could do about me and Silver's situation. That was a moot point. Plus, the club had bigger problems, like this shit with Popeye and whatever he had on Bane, who, by the way, hadn't said shit since the meeting started.

As for Sin and his decree, I would worry about that later.

"Bane?"

The good doctor looked at me and snarked, "Oh, is it my turn yet? Or would you and Montana like to go at each other's throats some more?"

I growled.

"Doc." Payne snickered. "While I'm all for pushing Malice's buttons, now is not the time. Unless you are proficient at doing surgery on yourself."

"Vicious is right, enough of this shit." Mercy groaned. "Montana called this meeting ‘cause Popeye has something on Bane. We need to find out what that is."

When nobody said anything more, Pippen whispered, "It could be about his relationship to Silver."

And like that, all eyes were on the intern.

"Come again?" Bane snapped, jerking his head toward the kid so fast, I knew the fucker got whiplash.

However, when the kid stayed silent, Torment leaned toward him and whispered, "Now would be the time to explain that statement, kid."

Pippen gulped, looking about the room.

"I thought you all knew?"

"Knew what?" Montana, Bane and I growled menacingly.

"That Bane is Silver's biological father."

"The hell you say?" Bane roared, jumping to his feet so fast, his chair slammed against the back wall.

Vicious chuckled, shaking his head.

"Jesus Christ. Do any of you know how to keep your dicks in your pants?"