Page 10 of What Lies Within

“You better be telling us the truth,” I hiss at Connor as he rubs his sore throat.

“Fucking am, asshole.” He swallows, wincing. “But I was fucking serious, too. I want my time with Rae.”

"You'd be lucky to get an hour," I grit, stepping close enough to force him back against the building.

“I’ll give you time, Connor,” Rae says, setting a hand on my arm. “But onmyterms.”

“Name them.” He’s a man desperate for a meal, and I fucking know how he feels watching her stand there, blades weighed in her palm.

“You come to the Reapers’ compound. I want to meet you where I feel safe.And…" she stresses before Connor can speak. "We talk with one goal in mind."

“Which is?”

“To fucking end this thing between you and me.”

4

TYKE

"He's to be kept alive, Min," I grumble to my Enforcer. "I want to talk to the asshole myself and hear his fuckin' excuses for this shit."

“Sure thing, boss.” The sounds of men mobilizing filter through from the background of the call. Engines roar, words are hollered, and doors slam. "You want me to keep Maddie company 'til you get there?"

“Get her home,” I instruct. “I don’t want her to be where she doesn’t feel safe for a minute longer than she has to.”Fuck.I want nothing more than to hold my little girl in my fucking arms like I did when she was a kid. Rock her side-to-side, feet swinging off the ground, and hear her nervous giggle. But I'm no fool. We get her back from this and she'll be one of many things: scared, mad, tired, upset. She won't be fucking happy to see me. That's for sure.

“Sweetie’s prepping her room, and Jamie said she’ll stay with her tonight if she needs it.”

I glance at Rae, the woman my daughtershouldwant to be with in her time of need and flinch.I’mresponsible for theirdivide, for that loss of trust. "She'll have Rae, too, if she needs anyone."

"Of course." The wind cutting across the mouthpiece distorts his voice. "I'll send you live updates."

“Wouldn’t expect anything less.” I draw a deep breath and bite down on my fucking lip before confessing, “Thanks for being there when I couldn’t, brother.”

He’s silent a beat before uttering a quick, “Ain’t nothin’, boss,” and hanging up.

I pocket the phone and swallow hard.My fucking girl.To my fucking brother.

It's usually easy to switch off from my enemies' humanity when they cross the line. I don't know the people personally. They have no ties to me, no meaning.

But how am I supposed to string my fucking brother up and gut him?My fucking brother.Jesus.

Family. It’s the fucking foundational principle of our club, and yet the people Idon’tshare blood with are better defined by the word than the asshole who came out of the same fucking sperm donor as me.

"You good?" Digger approaches from the cabin's direction.

I glance around and find Connor vaulting the fence line a hundred yards down from the gate and Rae seated on the steps of the ramshackle building. "Be good soon, brother." I drag a hand over my face and sigh. "How did I let this happen?"

"You let shit all happen," he growls. "You there when he snatched her? You standin' by and watchin' while he did it? No. So stop blaming yourself.”

“Natural to,” I bitch back.

I’m her goddamn father, for fuck’s sake. It’s my goddamn life’s purpose to keep her safe.

Connor's truck rumbles to life, lights speckled behind the trees soon after. I track his taillights down the fence line andpast our bikes, his engine roaring as he opens it up on the wider access road.

"She did good, don't you think?" I nod toward Rae. We're close enough to read the stiffness in her shoulders but far enough away to be out of earshot.

“Yeah. She did.” He chuckles. “Fuck me—when she held that knife to his hand…”

---