Page 108 of Sinner's Redemption

My mom nodded, crying. “I’m so sorry Montana.”

“Get out,” I growled. “The both of you get the fuck out.”

Dad wasted no time, taking mom by the hand and removing her from my sight. Illyria bowed her head before turning to leave. Standing with his arms crossed over his chest, Maxim glared at me. “What they did was wrong, but their hearts were in the right place.”

“Go away, Max. I don’t want to hear it.”

“You know I’m right, my friend.”

“Because of those two women, my Tessa was in the city for Petrovitch to grab. If they had just stayed out of my business, she would have been in West Virginia, safe.”

Maxim shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t have. Petrovitch would have found her and used her to get to you anyway, and you know it. Be angry at them all you want, Montana, but the truth of the matter is Tessa stayed. She stayed for you.”

“They coerced her.”

“Then explain the messages. I saw them. I even know what the voice mail said. You are not the only one with people, Montana. The fact is, Tessa stayed to fix things with you. The ball is now in your court. What you do next will decide your fate.”

I said nothing as Maxim turned and left.

I just wanted to be alone.

Two women that I trusted the most had gone behind my back and deceived me. It was a hard pill to swallow, but deep down, way down, I knew Maxim was right. As fucked up as it all was, I knew Illyria and my mom only meant to help.

I just wished they hadn’t.

“He’s gone underground. We’ve called all our contacts and they will call as soon as he pops back up on someone’s radar,” Mercy said, standing at the foot of her bed three days later. “Also, Malice is gone. He left a message saying he had a lead and would be back when he knew more.”

“What was the lead?” I muttered, holding Tessa’s hand. She still hadn’t woken from the coma August put her in. He had given her the drugs to bring her out of it two days ago, but so far nothing.

“Just said he had a lead.”

Shaking my head, I sighed.

After the Gala, I learned that Malice took a bullet to the back in the crossfire. While Silver wasn’t shot, she had a nasty head wound that caused a lot of brain swelling. The doctors weren’t sure the swelling would ever go down. Or if it did what cognitive deficiency she would have. Malice took the news the hardest, demanding he share a room with her, which shocked all of us. The brother never gave two shits about Silver and yet, he was the one who spotted her right away at the Gala.

To add to the confusion, none of us knew why Silver was even there. When I asked Kali if she invited Silver, my sister-in-law informed me that Silver wasn’t even on the guest list.

After the hospital released Malice, he parked his ass beside her bed and never left. Then one day, while he was taking a leak in the bathroom, he walked out to find the bed empty.

Silver had vanished.

No one had seen her since.

Malice lost his shit and tore up the room, along with taking down three orderlies and two security officers. It took a lot of talking and bribery to get my brother out of jail. When I did, that fucker stayed locked up tight in the mailroom, refusing to come out for days.

“If you are worried, activate his tracker. I don’t see a problem here.”

“I wouldn’t be bothering you if I hadn’t already thought of that. The stubborn fuck removed it. We found it in Silver’s bedroom on top of her dresser.”

“Jesus Christ,” I moaned, rubbing my face. “Okay, call Father Dominick at Saint Agatha’s and tell him Malice has gone off the reservation. Then put in a call to all our clubs. Let them know to keep an eye out. Tell all of them not to approach. Just call with a location.”

Mercy nodded, typing what I said into his phone.

“Then I want his room and Silver’s scoured with a fine-tooth comb. Go through everything, and I want the rooms dusted for prints. They left something out from that story they told me, and I want to know what it is.”

“What story?” Mercy asked, looking at me.

Waving him off, I shook my head. “Not my story to tell. Just find me something. Is that all?”