Page 57 of Devil in Disguise

“Fine, I’ll talk, but only to Dr. Walker. No one else can be in the house.”

The second I agreed, Dr. Walker took control, and before I knew it, Dante, Nav and Bane left the house, leaving the two of us alone.

An icy dread seeped into my bones, colder than the steel I usually carried. I hadn’t felt this vulnerable since... since that night. The memory flashed, a searing image of my betrayal and blood, a night I’d vowed to forget, a vow I’d already broken by agreeing to this.

I still wasn’t happy about what I was about to do, but even I knew to challenge a direct order from Reaper was suicide. His word was law, but my conscience was a screaming rebel, a traitorous whisper in the back of my mind.

This felt different, dirtier.

This wasn’t about loyalty to the Golden Skulls; this was about something... personal.

Something Reaper wouldn’t understand, something I desperately wanted to keep buried.

“Alright, Danny, why don’t we start with something simple? You are a brother in the Golden Skulls. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” My voice was a thin rasp, betraying the tremor in my hands.

“When did you patch into the club?”

“I was born Golden, Doc. My dad was the President of the Tennessee Chapter. But I didn’t officially get my cut until I was in college.”

“I thought as long as you were in school, the clubs couldn’t touch you?”

I nodded. “There’s an exception to every rule, Doc, and I’m that exception.”

Each word felt like a razor blade twisting in my gut.

“How so?”

“Because I’ve been doing things for the clubs since I was sixteen.”

The things I’d done to protect those I loved, things that directly contradicted everything I claimed to stand for. Things I would never forgive myself for, regardless of the outcome.

“What kind of things?” Dr. Walker’s question was a calm invitation, and I knew, with sickening certainty, that answering her would be the worst mistake of my life.

Looking at the Doc, I asked, “Have you ever done things knowing it would alter everyone’s life?”

Dr. Walker’s eyes sharpened with interest. Her gaze unwavering. “And what kinds of things are those, Danny?” Her voice was gentle, but there was an underlying steel to it, a determination to extract the truth.

I swallowed. My throat dry as I grappled with the choice before me. I could feel the weight of Reaper’s command, the unspoken threat that hung in the air. Betraying the club felt like signing my death warrant, but defying Reaper was equally dangerous. I was trapped between the loyalty I’d sworn and the need to unburden my soul.

“I... I did whatever was necessary to protect my family and the club,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I made choices that... that I’m not proud of.”

“Choices that led you here, to this moment,” Dr. Walker said, her tone understanding. “It’s important to acknowledge those choices, Danny. They’re a part of who you are, and understanding them will help us unravel the complexities of your mind.” Her words were like a lifeline, offering a chance at redemption, at making sense of the chaos within me.

“My job is about secrets, Doc. Finding them and keeping them buried deep, and I’m damn good at what I do. For years, I’ve been searching, learning everything I could to help my club stop a war that started long before I was ever born. When I learned the truth, put the pieces together, I made a choice that had dire consequences, and now that choice is about to bite me in the ass.”

“How so?”

“Because when I tell Dante what I know, he will fucking leave, take our daughter, and I will never see them again.”

“It is clear Dante loves you very much. Revealing these secrets could strengthen an already solid bond further. Sometimes the truth can be freeing, Danny.”

I smirked, shaking my head. “In my line of work, Doc, the truth will get you killed.”

“I know little about the inner workings of biker clubs, only what I have read about and what I have observed at the clubhouse. What I do know is the mind. And I know that keeping this information bottled up inside of you will eat away at you until nothing’s left. Danny, do you know why psychologists and psychiatrists are called shrinks? Despite the amount of important knowledge contained in our brain, there are also pockets of emptiness. Within that emptiness is where we store fear, doubt, anger. All the unresolved trauma we accumulate in our lifetime. My job is to help you shrink those empty spaces. To remove the trauma that puts a burden on the important knowledge. Let me help you navigate that trauma, Danny. I can handle anything you throw at me.”

“You sure about that, Doc?” I challenged.

---