Page 4 of Riding the Edge

“I need to talk to you,” I said hoarsely.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he snarled and grabbed a hold of my vest. Pushing me out of the way, he advanced toward Artie like a man on a mission.

“What about Cain?”

“Parrish, listen to me goddamnit!” I bellowed.

If anyone was going to share the deceit of Cain, it was going to be—not some fucking gangster with wounded pride.

“Oh, I see what you’re doing,” Artie began, laughing sarcastically. “You’re going to blame it on the crazy and pretend you didn’t know your president was wheeling and dealing with Yankovich, right? You’re going to tell me you were having a mental breakdown at the time and don’t remember Cain taking the little girls off the street. That your pockets didn’t get fat on the drugs he was selling overseas. Is that how you’re going to play it? You sick fuck.”

“He didn’t know,” I ground out, meeting Artie’s gaze. “No one knew Cain’s involvement with Yankovich.”

The second the words left my mouth, I turned to Jack and peered into his narrowed eyes.

“But you did?” he questioned, closing the distance between us.

“Not exactly,” I admitted, drawing in a deep breath. Beads of sweat spread across my brow like a rash as I struggled with my words. “I found out a week ago.”

“What did you find out?” Pipe snarled from behind me.

Hearing his strained voice, another realization dawned on me. I had been too consumed with Jack’s response to the truth that I didn’t think how Pipe or Blackie might be affected by the news. The four of us were all that was left of the originals. We had formed this brotherhood together and received our colors under Cain’s rule. The truth wouldn’t only send Jack into a manic breakdown but it would also devastate Pipe and Blackie too.

Swiping a hand over the front of my face, I shook my head.

“Everything Artie is saying is true, Jack,” I revealed hoarsely. “Cain was working with Yankovich for years.”

“No,” Jack said defiantly. “I would’ve known that,” he added, shaking his head in disbelief. Lifting his chin, he looked past me. “You,” he rasped. “Did you know Cain was in bed with Yankovich? Am I the only one who didn’t know?”

“No,” Pipe growled. “I didn’t know,” he said, turning his gaze to me. “You better start talking Scotto,” he ordered, lifting the barrel of his gun.

Over the last thirty years, I’ve always been the brother they call upon in their times of need and have fought tooth and nail to save this club. Fighting out of every dark alley and impossible situation to defend their honor, I have proved my loyalty over and over.

But, secrets and lies are the cancer of a man’s soul. Exposed, they eat away all that is good and leave nothing but destruction in their wake. They ruin the strongest bonds and turn brothers against one another. They prove the best intentions sometimes fail and leave you staring down the barrel of a gun.

“I’ll tell you everything I know, everything I uncovered over the last few weeks. All the missing pieces we’ve been searching for, I found them but, before we get into this we need to figure out how we’re going to save Linc,” I demanded.

“What’s Linc have to do with any of this?” Jack questioned.

“Linc is Cain’s son,” I revealed to the silent room.

The burden of truth slipped from my shoulders and I exhaled a breath of relief.

Little did I know; the Devil was just getting started.

You see, while I was too busy worrying about saving another man’s son, Yankovich was busy killing mine.

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