Page 10 of Savage Loyalty

CHAPTER FOUR

DELILAH

The streets of Ridgewood were quieter than I remembered, though it might have been the funeral that silenced them. People here knew when to stay out of the way, especially when bikers were involved. The Black Vipers and Crimson Reapers weren’t just clubs—they were forces of nature in this town, and no one wanted to be caught in the storm.

I walked aimlessly, my boots splashing in shallow puddles as the smell of rain lingered in the air. The cemetery’s weight clung to me, pressing down on my chest, but I couldn’t bring myself to go back to the clubhouse. Axel’s words still echoed in my head, his fury directed at the world but somehow managing to hit me, too.

I needed air. Space. Anything to drown out the chaos in my mind.

As I passed an old diner, the kind with peeling paint and flickering neon signs, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass. For a moment, I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. Her face was pale, her hazel eyes tired, her dark hair wild from the damp air. She looked like someone who didn’t belong here, someone who had been gone too long to find her footing again.

And maybe that was true.

The reflection in the glass pulled me back, and suddenly, I was seventeen again.

The Black Vipers’ clubhouse was alive with noise that night, but it all faded into the background the moment I stepped into the main room. The usual rowdy laughter, the sharp clink of pool balls, the blaring rock music—it all stopped when Dad turned to face me.

His presence filled the room, just like it always did. Broad shoulders clad in his leather cut, dark eyes sharp as a blade, and an expression that could stop a man in his tracks. His boots were planted firmly on the worn hardwood floor as if daring anyone to challenge him. The air felt heavier, thick with smoke and tension, and I could feel every eye in the room shift to me.

“You think this is a game, Delilah?” Dad’s voice was a thunderclap, sharp and commanding, cutting through the lingering noise like a blade.

I froze for half a second, my heart lurching in my chest, but I forced myself to keep walking. I wasn’t a little girl anymore, and I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me. Not tonight.

“It’s not a game,” I shot back, my voice sharper than I intended but trembling just enough to give away my nerves. “But it’s not my life, either.”

His dark eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching as he took a step toward me. The men around him shifted uncomfortably, glancing at one another like they weren’t sure if they should stay or clear the room. Even Axel, leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, didn’t move to intervene.

“This club is your life,” Dad said, his voice low but laced with steel. “It’s in your blood. Everything you have, everything you are, comes from the Vipers. Don’t you forget that.”

I glanced around, my heart pounding. The room felt suffocating, the weight of a dozen pairs of eyes pressing down on me like a physical force. Some of the men were watching with curiosity, others with thinly veiled disdain. They weren’t used to seeing someone stand up to their president, especially not his own daughter.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I said, my voice cracking as my emotions bubbled to the surface. “I didn’t ask to be born into your world. I didn’t ask to grow up surrounded by violence and blood and?—”

“Enough!”

The sound of Dad’s fist slamming onto the table was deafening. Bottles rattled, one of them tipping over and spilling whiskey across the wood, but he didn’t even glance at it. His focus was on me, his dark eyes burning with fury.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “Not here. Not ever.”

My chest heaved as I struggled to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. But I wasn’t going to back down. Not this time. “Maybe I don’t want to be part of this family,” I said, my voice shaking but steady enough to cut through the tense silence. “Did you ever think of that? Maybe I don’t want to live in your shadow or clean up your messes or?—”

“Delilah.”

He said my name softly, but there was no kindness in his tone. It was a warning, quiet and lethal, the kind of voice that sent shivers down your spine.

I froze, the fire in my chest replaced by a cold, sinking feeling.

“You’re my daughter,” he said, taking another step toward me, his voice calm and deliberate. “And that means you don’t get a choice. You think you can just walk away? You think the world out there is better than what I’ve given you? It’s not. And if you try to leave, you’ll find out just how unforgiving it can be.”

The room was dead silent. No one dared to move or speak. Even the men who had been watching with amusement a moment ago looked uneasy now.

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest, my nails digging into my palms. For the first time, I felt small. Not because I was afraid of him, but because I knew he believed every word he was saying. He truly thought I couldn’t survive without him, without the club.

But he was wrong.

“Maybe I’ll take my chances,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Dad’s expression didn’t change, but the slight flare of his nostrils told me I’d struck a nerve. He stepped back, his gaze sweeping over the room. “Get out,” he said, his voice cold and clipped.

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