by Bella Jewel
She can’t go too far when she knows she’s being watched.
“She came to me probably four days ago and told me she found out she has a sister. A sister that was sold by Dax and that was the reason her mom got killed, because she was trying to find her. She said she also has an idea where Dax lives, and said something about breaking in to find information. I made her promise she wouldn’t, but ... I don’t trust that.”
My blood runs cold.
How in the ever-loving hell did Briella find out about Cova?
I’ve known about Cova for a long time, I also know that my dad has been spending every waking hour of his life trying to find her. What I don’t know is how the fuck Briella found out. Better yet, how the fuck she knows where Dax lives.
I stand, my seat skidding backward. “We need to find her, now.”
I know Briella, I know her better than anyone.
She’s not going to stop until she finds Cova.
She’s not going to let this one go.
She’ll get herself killed.
Karen stands and the two of us rush out the door, me on my phone calling Mykel.
“Yo,” he answers.
“Tell me you’re with Briella?”
“Yeah, she’s sittin’ at Cohen’s joint on his laptop. Got eyes on her right now. Why’s that?”
“Tell her not to move.”
I hang up and turn to Karen. “I gotta go stop this shit before it goes further. Appreciate you tellin’ me.”
Karen nods, but she already looks like she’s regretting it.
I don’t have time to worry about that right now.
I get into my truck and hot tail it over to Cohen’s, my mind racing the entire time. What the actual fuck is happening right now.
How does Briella know all of this stuff?
Better yet, why is she keeping it from me?
Fuck.
This is not good.
It’s not good at all.
“WHAT’S GOING ON, FLICK?” Briella asks me when I practically haul her up and drag her outside so we can talk.
I narrow my eyes, and in a rough voice, I say, “I’ll give you one chance to tell me what you know, how you know it, and explain why the fuck you’re thinkin’ of riskin’ your own life. Go.”
She stares at me, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Do not fuckin’ lie to me, Briella. I can handle a lot of things, lyin’ ain’t one of them. Now speak, or I’ll make you speak.”
I’m angry, fucking wild.
She’s keeping shit from me, and she’s doing it with the inteintion of sneaking around behind my back for her own answers.
I’m not okay with that.
At-fucking-all.
“Excuse me?” she whispers, her voice low and angry. “Me? A liar?”
Fuck.
“We’re not here to play games, Karen came and told me everything. Now you tell me the fuckin’ truth.”
For a moment, Briella looks like someone has slapped her. Betrayal washes over her face, and she jerks back just a little. Then, I see the same wild anger I’m feeling fill her features. She steps closer and growls, “The truth? Are you serious right now, Alarick? The fucking truth? You’re as big of a god damned liar!”
“How did you find out about Cova?” I demand.
She looks startled for a moment, completely shocked. “What?” she gasps.
“Cova, who the fuck told you about her?”
“You knew about Cova?”
Fuck.
I stare at her, and the realization that she had no idea I knew becomes apparent as the betrayal in her face becomes so deep I can feel her pain.
“Briella ...”
“You knew about Cova?” she screams, stepping closer again. “For how long?”
“Briella ...”
“How long, Alarick?”
“For fuckin’ years,” I bark.
She looks like I’ve just ripped her heart out and stomped on it.
“All these years, all that time, you’ve seen me suffer and you’ve watched me sink and all along you knew I had a sister out there. All along you knew why my mother got killed.”
“I didn’t fuckin’ know it back then,” I tell her, but it’s beside the point. “I only found out after you’d gone.”
“You. Still. Knew.”
“I had good fuckin’ reason to keep it from you. It’s dangerous, and it wasn’t worth the risk of gettin’ you killed tryin’ to find her.”
“That wasn’t your call to make!”
“I didn’t fuckin’ make the call,” I bellow.
“No, King did, right?” she laughs bitterly. “He makes all the calls and you just go along with it, like a good little boy.”
“You fuckin’ watch your god damned mouth,” I growl.
“How long did you know he was alive?” she snarls, her face so fucking angry it’s hard to see and not want to pull her in and make this whole fucking thing better.
“I’ve known the whole time,” I say, my voice scarily calm all of a sudden.
A tear breaks forth and rolls down her cheeks. “All this time, all these years, all this pain, and you knew two of the biggest secrets of my world. You knew them and you didn’t share them with me. You didn’t even try to share them with me. We are supposed to trust each other, supposed to love each other. I understand King, I do. I know you were doing what you had to, to keep the club safe, but Cova? I will never understand why you didn’t share that with me. Not ever.”
“You weren’t about to share it with me, Briella,” I tell her. “You were keepin’ the same secret.”
“Because I was instructed to do so by King. Were you instructed not to tell me?”
I go quiet, because fuck, I wasn’t. I wasn’t instructed. I could have told her. Could have, at any point, sat her down and told her. But the idea of losing her if she went looking and got killed meant more to me than letting her know. I see now that was the wrong choice, but I don’t know how to fucking take that back.
“I’m sorry, Briella. Whatever I did, I did because I love you and nothin’ more.”
She shakes her head. “This isn’t love, Alarick. It’s possession. It’s control. If you love me, you would have told me. You would have shared that with me. There is no possible explanation as to why you wouldn’t talk to me about something so huge in my life, especially when I lost my sister and my mother.”
“I didn’t want you to go through the fuckin’ pain of findin’ out you have another sister, only to find out she could be dead. Didn’t think you could handle that. I didn’t want to bring any more pain into your world, Briella.”
“That wasn’t your call to make,” she whispers, and the tears flow harder down her cheeks.
I step toward her, but she puts a hand up. “I need time, Alarick. My whole world is in such chaos, I can’t think straight. The one person I am supposed to rely on, has kept so much from me.”
“I can’t fuckin’ take that back ...”
“I know you can’t, but the damage, it’s done.”
“What does this mean for us?”
“It means, I don’t know ... I just don’t know.”
With that, she turns and disappears inside.
I feel like my heart is being ripped from my chest.
Fuck this.
Fuck everything.
Fuck King.
Fuck Dax.
Fuck the lies, and fuck the god damned truth.
Fuck it all.
11
BRIELLA
My heart feels like it’s slowly ripping apart.
Piece by piece.
Little by little.
It feels like every part of me is fading away until I can’t feel anything at all—I’m completely numb.
My life.
My world.
It’s all upturned and in utter chaos.
How am I supposed to get through this?
Alarick and I just had the biggest
fight we’ve probably ever had. I don’t know what to do. My heart belongs to him, but to know all this time he has known about my sister and never told me, that’s soul crushing. It makes me feel like I will never get through, like no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to trust him again. A love without trust, is a pointless love.
He has kept so much from me.
So damned much.
Right now, I’m so angry and so hurt, that I can’t even look at him.
I can’t think straight.
Then there’s Karen, my friend, someone I trusted.
I know why she went to Alarick; I know she was worried about me, and I know she was confused and wouldn’t have meant to hurt me, but she did hurt me. Without her, without that friendship, I’m left with nothing. Who can I talk to if the one person I trust doesn’t keep my secrets?
I just can’t do this right now.
I need someone to talk to, someone to confide in, and I don’t have anyone. No mother. No sister. No family.
I feel sorry for myself right now, that much is true, but it’s hard not to when you’re in crisis mode and you don’t have a single soul that you can just sit down with and cry until your heart feels just a little better.
I need someone.
My phone rings, and I stare down to see Waverly’s number flashing across the screen. We’re becoming good friends, and I’m glad for it.
“Hey,” I say, answering the phone and swiping my eyes where the tears are still fresh.
“Hey, girl, are you okay? You sound like you’re crying?”
“Yeah, I’m just having a hard time right now. How are you?”
“I’m okay, I was wondering why you haven’t been at the club the last few days. Judging by the mood Alarick is in, I’m guessing you two are having issues?”
“Something like that, I don’t know when I’ll be back there. I have some things to sort out here and I just need some space.”
“You don’t sound like you’re doing so good; do you want me to come over?”
“I don’t think we’re really allowed to be seen together. You know, for obvious reasons ...”
She snorts. “I am stealth, honey. I’ll find a way. Do not doubt it.”
“Alarick isn’t going to be happy with that.”
“Alarick can fight me then.”
I chuckle. I do like her, there’s no doubt about that.
“You leave it with me, I’m going to find a way to you. I promise you that. Sit tight.”
I hang up after a few more laughs and swipe my tears. I reach down in the room I’m staying at back at Cohen’s, and pick up a picture of Magnolia and myself. My heart aches and my nostrils burn at the threat of even more tears. I miss her so much. I miss them both so much. I wish they were here right now so I had someone to talk to, someone to tell me we’re going to get through this.
I put the picture down and stand, walking out into the living area. The house is quiet, Cohen is at the club, and I made him promise not to let Alarick come here for a few days, that I needed space. He agreed, but told me he can’t get involved and isn’t going to keep Alarick out for long, that he’s got to respect his President also.
I get that.
But I only need a few days.
The reason being that I’m going to get out of here. I’m going to find somewhere to go and look into Cova myself.
I know it’s wrong.
I know it’s dangerous.
But I also know I can’t sleep until I know more about Cova.
I’m going to go through Mom’s things, the things we packed into boxes and never read through. I know she’s got to have something in there, some information, anything at all. Even a picture. I want to help King, I want to find where my sister was sent, I want to get her back.
I know there is one place I can find that information.
One place where it’ll be easy for me to access.
But I’ll be going into the devil’s pen.
I have a plan, though. A plan that could ultimately put me in harm’s way, but I think it’ll work.
I think I can convince Dax to tell me where Cova is.
I just have to have something to give him, that’s going to mean more than her life.
I only want one thing and, in exchange, I will give him something he’s wanting.
The club off his back.
I know it’s a risk, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Right now, the only thing that matters is getting the information he hangs onto so dearly.
I’m not making a smart choice, but I’m making a choice all the same.
I just hope it works out.
Because if it doesn’t, I’ll lose everything.
Everything.
“QUICK, BEFORE ANYONE sees me.”
I stare at Waverly, halfway through Cohen’s open back window. She’s flushed and red and looks like she’s been running.
I literally have no idea how she got here, how she got the window open, and why she’s stuck halfway through it. But I can’t help the laughter that bursts out of my mouth at the sight of her.
“What are you doing, you crazy woman?” I laugh.
“I told you I’d find a way to get here, and I did. But my god, those bikers can run fast.”
Oh, god.
“You’re going to give them a damned heart attack!”
She climbs in and then waves her hand. “Eh, it’ll do them good. Keep them on their toes.”
“Until you get back.”
She grins. “Yeah, that. But, I had to see you and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way. Not even a bunch of angry bikers.”
I’m grateful.
So grateful.
Even so I text Cohen and tell him she’s with me and not to barge in the front door and carry on. Just let her stay here and watch the house. He replies back and lets me know that Mykel is going to have her ass on a platter, but that’s for a later date. I laugh, show Waverly, and then the two of us flop back onto the couch with a bottle of vodka.
Exactly what I need.
“So, tell me,” Waverly says, pouring a drink. “What’s going on between you and the king?”
I snort. “You have such a way with words.”
“Well, he is the high ruler and all of that. Might as well call it as I see it. He is a grumpy bugger, though, isn’t he?”
I nod, sipping the vodka and squinting as it burns my throat. “You’re not wrong.”
“What did he do to upset you so much?”
I exhale. “It’s a long story.”
She leans over and refills my cup. “We’ve got all night.”
I tell her everything, excluding King being alive, and then wait as she processes it. For a moment, she just stares at me, eyes wide, and then she says, “Oh lordy, I’m starting to get it. He didn’t tell you that you had a sister?”
I shake my head. “No. He knew for years, at least. He didn’t tell me because he said he didn’t want me to get hurt, or risk my life trying to find her, but it wasn’t his place to decide if I knew about her or not. I wonder, if I didn’t find out, if he would have ever told me. Those kind of secrets destroy people, and I feel like I can’t trust him like I used to. What else is he keeping?”
Waverly nods. “Yeah, that’s a big one. I’m feeling you. I wouldn’t react well to that, either. You deserved to know you have a sister, even if it was a risk to tell you.”
“And it bodes the question: what if we took Dax down, and I never found out. Would he have gone on forever never telling me about her, leaving her out there? She might not be alive, of course, but what if she is? What if she’s out there and he was going to leave her forever in hell, just to keep me safe?”
Waverly takes another sip of vodka, and then exhales. “Yeah, look, this is a tricky one for sure. I can’t imagine that he’d never tell you, but then if he hadn’t told you thus far, maybe he wasn’t ever planning on doing that. He’s the only one that can answer that for you.”
“He may have been trying to keep me safe, waiting until Dax was gone to go searching, but the fact is, Dax is the only person who knows where she is. If he dies, and I don’t get those answers ...”
Waverly nods, fully understanding. “I know. You’ll never find her. Well, that’s what I’m here for. I am going to make sure you guys get hold of that slime ball, I promise you that.”
“Alarick is never going to let me near this situation, he’s going to keep me away from it. I just ... I need answers.”
Waverly purses her lips. “Well, you know, I am going to be finding out where he lives, hell, I’m probably going to be in his house ... Maybe I can help you, while helping them. I’ll work both ways. They will think they’ve got control, and in the meantime I’ll be looking for you, also.”
“I can’t ask you to risk your life like that.”
She snorts. “Honey, I’m already risking it by going in there. What’s a little more research. I might be able to help you out. Like you said, they plan on killing Dax and being done with him, but maybe we can get the information on your sister before that happens, and it’s a win win for everyone.”
“You’d do that for me? You don’t even know me.”
She smiles and, for a moment, I see full warmth shining through her eyes. She reaches over and takes my hand. “I don’t know you, but I do know that having nobody, that’s a sucky feeling. You’ve lost so much, the very least you can do is get your closure on this.”
I swallow and smile warmly at her. “Thank you, so much.”
“Oh, honey, it’s nothing. I’m happy to do it.”
I know this is wrong, on so many levels, but if I can get this information without ever having to speak to Dax, then maybe this will go down smoothly.
It’s a hell of a lot better than my plan, and right now, it’s the only option we have.
Alarick isn’t going to let me close to this, especially now I know about Cova.
The only way I’m getting what I need is through Waverly.
If the club ever finds out about this, we’re going to know about it.
But it’s worth the risk.
It just has to be.
12
FLICK
“You’re goin’ out with Bennett tonight,” I say to Waverly. “You gotta put on a show, more so than the one you put on the other day. You’ve got to make out like you have nothin’, no family, no friends, no nothin’. You can say you’re usin’ drugs, anything to make him think you’re weak and vulnerable. If he sees even a glimpse of you bein’ a strong woman, he’s goin’ to know and it’ll be over.”
