Chapter Twenty-Eight

Storm

Pushing Stephanie off me, I grabbed her around the neck, squeezing tightly as the bitch grinned, her body undulating like she was in fucking heat.

Bitch was fucking crazy.

No doubt about it.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I growled, tightening my grip as she licked her lips.

"Come on, baby. I know you missed me. That little fucking mouse you married will never give you what you need. I can. Leave the bitch, and I will become whatever you need."

"You are nothing more than a fucking whore. Stay the fuck away from my wife!"

Stephanie laughed.

Like full-on freakishly laughed, sending a fucking chill down my spine, and then she looked me dead in the eye and said, "Don't worry, darling. She will be dead by morning and then we can be together again."

I didn't think when I snapped her neck.

Her body fell to the floor in a heap of limbs and taffeta.

Stepping back, I shook my head when I heard footsteps running toward me. Turning, I sighed when I saw it was my brothers, along with Maxim and Illyria.

Seeing that Delany wasn't with them, I looked at Montana. "Where is my wife?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? She was with you when I spotted that bitch walking toward her. I barely got the bitch out of the ballroom before she started spewing her shit."

Illyria looked at Maxim before facing me. "Storm, Delany was upset. She was leaving when I saw her. I tried talking to her, but she wasn't listening. She knows George Stone ordered her dad's death."

"Who the fuck told her?!" I shouted angrily as Mercy and Fury both stepped forward.

"She overheard us," Fury admitted, looking at Mercy, who added, "Fury and I were at the bar. We didn't see her until we heard her gasp before disappearing into the crowd. We tried to catch up with her to explain, but we got stopped by one of the benefactors. By the time we could step away, we couldn't find her anywhere."

"She's the only one here in red!" I sneered. "How could you not find her?"

"Storm, calm down. She couldn't have gotten far," Montana said, making a call. "We will find her."

"No, we won't," I shouted. "None of you get it. She doesn't want this life. She wants nothing to do with our club or the Golden Skulls. She isn't like us. I meant it when I said she was innocent. She really is. All she cares about is raising Harlow and being a good mother. She never wanted this life, and I forced her into it."

"Storm is right," Illyria added. "She said the same thing when she was with us. Delany may know where she came from, but she was adamant about our life and it having nothing to do with her."

"Montana!" Pippen shouted, running over to us.

"Kid, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"The Rejects. They're gone."

"The fuck you say?"

"I'm serious, Prez. I was working in Shame's office when the alarms went off. They are gone. Happy too."

"What the fuck is going on?" Montana roared, rounding on the group.

"Fuck the Rejects. We need to find Delany," I clipped angrily. I wasn't fucking playing around. I wanted my wife found.

Fast.

"Mercy, send out a mass text. I want everyone at the clubhouse within an hour. Storm, go pick up your daughter and bring her to the clubhouse. Your wife may be running, but she won't go far without Harlow. Maxim, Illyria, I could use your help on this."

Maxim slowly shook his head. "Sorry, my friend. Not this time. You need to fix this one yourself. I cannot interfere."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

Illyria smirked, looking at her nails before saying, "He means the families will not help you clean up a mess your club created. Your father killed an innocent. A Golden Legacy. The Soulless Sinners will have to do this one alone. Fix the problem and we're good. Don't and you will find yourselves alone in a war of your own making."

"What?" Mercy gasped.

"Illyria's right. Our club created this mess. Therefore, we have to be the ones to clean it up." I sighed as Maxim and Illyria walked away, leaving us standing there, holding our dicks.

Running into the penthouse, I shouted, "Delany!"

When no one responded, I ran down the hallway, throwing open her bedroom door, to find the room empty. Walking across the hall, I opened Harlow's room to find the same.

They were gone.

"Are they here?" Fury shouted, running toward me.

"No. They're gone," I muttered, seeing my daughter's favorite teddy bear sitting on her bed. Grabbing the bear, I held it in my hands, noticing for the first time the name on the bear's shirt. "Stormy."

"What?"

"My daughter's bear. Its name is Stormy."

"Storm?"

"I lost them. I promised to protect them, and I failed. She has every reason to leave. I kept the truth from her, Fury. How is she ever going to trust me again? I fucked up."

"Look, man. We will fix this. I swear we will, but first we need to get our asses to the clubhouse. Montana is blowing up my phone."

Standing there, I looked around the room and realized I had everything I ever wanted and because I couldn't see past the end of my nose, I lost it all in the blink of an eye. If I had just stopped and listened to her. Really listened. I would have known she wasn't made for this life.

She tried to tell me.

Many times.

This life would destroy everything good and wholesome about her if I let it. And instead of listening, I forced her into a life where she had no hope of surviving.

That was on me.

"Come on, brother. We can't do anything here."

"If I find her and she forgives me, I won't be bringing her back to this life, Fury. I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if she forgives me, she will never step foot in the clubhouse. She will live her life in peace, far, far away from the death and destruction that surrounds us."

"Are you telling me you're out?"

"No." I shook my head. "As long as she's in my life, I'll never be out. I swore to protect her, and I will. But she won't ever have to deal with this life again. I'm going to make sure she lives her life free of this. I'm going to give her everything she's ever wanted and more. If she will let me."

"Sounds to me like you love her."

"Maybe I do. Who knows. But I know one thing, brother, I can't do this without them. I won't. Never thought I'd find myself in this position, but now that I am, I understand. I understand it all. Why you, Vicious, Mercy, and even Montana, do what you guys do. Life isn't worth living without them. I get it now."

"Welcome to the club, brother," Fury said, slapping me on my shoulder. "Now let's go find your girls."