Page 77 of Sinner's Fury

Shaking my head, I said, “No. He couldn’t. Because when he located her, she was already back at the Trick Pony.”

“Why would she go back there?”

“Because her daughter was there,” I admitted. “Only when she returned, her daughter was gone. A woman named Amelia Scott escaped, taking Thena’s infant daughter and two other kids. Eventually, Thena was able to escape again, and no one has seen her since. She disappeared.”

I watched as Christian narrowed his eyes. “You left something out. What aren’t you telling me, Charlotte?”

“Don’t you see, Christian. History is repeating itself. The signs have been there all along, only no one saw them because they were so caught up in their own games. Don’t you see, Lucy McLaren’s son, why everyone is looking for Thena Hartley, all the chaos between the clubs, the pending war? George wasn’t protecting Montana; he was protecting Dakota. The biological grandson and son of two serial psychopathic rapists.”

Blinking, Christian took a step back, slowly shaking his head as he worked the puzzle. It was a lot to take in. I knew because I’ve been researching this mess for years and I still had a hard time understanding it all. But the one thing I learned about history was that those who forgot the past were doomed to repeat it.

“Shame released the ghost files as a warning. He was trying to tell us what he knew.”

“Yes.”

“The same thing with Popeye when he gave Silver that message in Central Park. He’s been protecting Thena’s daughter all this time.”

“Yes.”

“Oh fuck,” Christian cursed, turning toward the nearest wall, slamming his fist through the drywall. Taking a deep breath, he hung his head and whispered, “Dakota raped her, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why Sinclair wants her back. He’s trying to protect her, because if Dakota finds her first, he will kill her.”

“Yes.”

“The baby. Where is she?”

“No one knows.”

Christian didn’t waste time before calling the others back, only giving me a few minutes to gather my thoughts.

Montana sat, never moving as he listened to me tell him everything I knew about his father’s extramarital affair with Lucy McLaren and how Thena Hartley played into everything. While I spoke, he listened intently, never interrupting me once as the rest of the men gaped, either in shock or horror. Mercy,I noticed on more than one occasion, inched closer to Montana, who already had Malice, Rage, and Payne fuming behind the volatile man. But when I got to the part and informed Montana that Popeye was protecting his niece, well, apparently, Montana couldn’t hold his rage in any longer.

Christian quickly moved me out of the way as Montana roared like a beast, cursing and throwing items across the room. The destruction he was causing sounded tremendous as I buried my head in Christian’s chest.

“I shouldn’t have told him.”

“He needed to know,” Christian said quietly, then winced as I heard glass shatter.

“This was what I wanted to avoid,” I muttered, peeking out just as Montana ripped the large flatscreen TV from the wall and threw it at the shatterproof window.

“Charlotte, it’s better that he hears this shit now before he starts a war. Not saying he still won’t, but at least he knows who’s all involved now.”

“Christian, I left something out. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure you and your friends weren’t involved. Now that I know, I’m not sure telling Montana is a good thing, considering what he’s doing to your living room.”

Christian chuckled. “He’s just venting. What did you forget?”

“Who Thena’s parents are?”

Releasing me, Christian looked down at me and frowned. “Why do they matter?”

“Because her parents were Edward Goldman and Kathleen Doherty. Montana’s brother knowingly raped a princess of the Golden Skulls.”

“THE FUCK?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

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