Page 90 of Thor

Tyson moved to sit at the table, positioning himself so I was caught between him and Duke. Classic pincer move. I'd taught them that.

"Have you considered that maybe she doesn't want to be found?" Tyson asked quietly. "At least not by you?"

The words hit like a physical blow. My head snapped up, blood rushing to my face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Tyson replied, unfazed by my reaction. "You know what those pictures would do to her career, her reputation. Then you confronted her in the park, and from what you've told us, it didn't go well."

"She lied to me," I spat, the betrayal still fresh and burning. "She was feeding information to the Serpents about the club, about me."

"Was she?" Duke asked, his tone maddeningly calm. "Or was she caught in an impossible situation and trying to protect both you and herself?"

"What difference does it make? She still—"

"It makes all the difference," Duke cut me off. He leaned forward, elbows on the table. "She was blackmailed, Thor. Threatened. Backed into a corner by our enemies who used her feelings for you against her. And when she finally worked up the courage to tell you the truth, how did you react?"

The question hung in the air between us. I remembered the rage that had overwhelmed me, the accusations I'd hurled at her. The way I'd stalked toward her, my size and strength suddenly not a comfort but a threat.

"That's not fair," I muttered, but the defense sounded weak even to my own ears.

"Let me lay this out for you," Duke said, his voice dropping to that quiet, dangerous pitch he used when he was deadly serious. "It means you've been on a bender for days while a woman who trusted you with her deepest vulnerabilities is dealing with her life falling apart. Alone."

I bristled at the accusation. "She lied to me."

"And your reaction proved exactly why she was afraid to tell you in the first place," Tyson said quietly. "Think about it, brother. She was caught between two impossible choices—betray the club or lose everything she'd worked for. And when she finally chose to tell you anyway . . ."

His words trailed off, but they hung in the air, heavy with meaning. For the first time in days, the fog of anger and betrayal thinned enough for me to see beyond my own hurt.

Mandy had been backed into a corner. By the Serpents. Our enemies. They'd used her against me, against the club, knowing exactly what buttons to push. They'd exploited her vulnerability, her desire to protect her career—a career she'd built from nothing, one that helped support her sick sister.

And when forced to choose, she had chosen me. She had tried to tell me the truth, risking everything.

"Fuck," I whispered, the weight of realization crashing down on me.

"Yeah," Duke said, seeing the change in my face. "Fuck is right."

I dropped my head into my hands, shame burning through me hotter than any whiskey. "I scared her."

"You're a scary guy when you're angry," Tyson said simply. "And for a woman like Mandy, with no experience in our world, seeing that side of you directed at her . . ."

"I wouldn't have hurt her," I insisted, looking up. "I would never—"

"We know that," Duke said. "But does she?"

The question cut deep. How could she know? I'd never given her reason to trust that part of me—the volatile, dangerous part I'd always kept carefully contained around her. Until that day in the park when it had exploded out of me, confirming her worst fears.

"Those first photos," I said slowly, "the ones at the garage. How did the Serpents even know to target her? She wasn't wearing colors. She wasn't obviously connected to the club."

Duke and Tyson exchanged another look.

"We've been asking ourselves the same question," Duke said. "Someone had to point her out to them. Someone who knew she was important to you."

"We've got a leak," Tyson added grimly. "Or worse, a traitor."

The realization should have made me angry, should have triggered that familiar rage, but instead I felt hollow. Tired. The past four days of drinking and searching had left me empty.

"So while you've been drowning in whiskey and feeling sorry for yourself," Duke continued, "Mandy's out there dealing with the fallout alone. Job gone. Reputation in tatters. Probably terrified the Serpents might come after her again—or that you might."

Each word was like a knife, precise and cutting. But I needed to hear it. Needed the clarity that came with pain.

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