“Calm down, Santana, calm,” Mack yells.
“Let me go, you lying son-of-a-bitch!”
“You need to hear him out, you need to understand—”
I jerk forward, forcing him to let me go. I spin around, charging towards him, fists clenched. “Understand?” My voice is a frantic, desperate scream. “Understand? You want me to understand that the man I love lied to me for five years, and that everyone I thought was my fucking family stood by and let it happen? She was alive all this time, and you all let me believe she was dead!”
“It was for the best. If you’ll calm down enough to let us explain—”
I don’t listen to anymore; I just turn and run towards the gates. Mack barks a curse, calling on the guys to “stop me”. I’m a fast runner, faster than most of these bikers. I’m out the gate and across the road in the thick forest before they’ve even had the chance to reach the gates.
I shove through the thick bushes and trees, tears pouring out of my eyes as my heart falls into a thousand more pieces. Not only have I found out the girl I fought so hard for has been alive all this time, but the man I have fallen in love with knew. He knew. Oh God, he knew. A strangled bellow of raw anger rips from my throat.
I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t even know what I’m going to do.
Right now, I have no one.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
2014 – Maddox
My phone rings, and I glare at the man over from me. He’s got information, but gathering it is proving to be fuckin’ hard. He refuses to give me answers, even with Krypt’s persuasion in the forms of punching, stabbing, and burning.
We’ve been at it for two hours, and the fucker refuses to give us what we want. Kennedy’s lead is a fuckin’ flop, and our next best option is killing the fucker. My phone stops ringing, for less than a second, before it starts again. Fuck, someone wants me.
I lift it out, not taking my eyes from the bloody, battered male in front of me. “What?” I bark.
“Maddox, we have a huge fucking problem.”
It’s Mack, and by the sounds of it, the man is frantic.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Santana came by . . . She was in your office and decided to start organizing papers. You left your safe open and she went into the filing cabinet . . .”
I’m already rushing forward, even before the words leave his lips.
“She knows, Maddox.”
No.
Fucking no.
“Where is she?” I bark.
“She ran. I’ve got the guys looking for her but so far, we’ve not been able to find her.”
“Well fuckin’ find her,” I roar. “I’m on my way!”
I throw the phone so hard against the wall it smashes. Krypt turns to me, his eyes narrowed.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“She knows, she fuckin’ knows.”
“Shit.”
“We gotta roll; kill that fucker. I don’t have time for this shit.”
“What?” The man croaks. “No.”
“You gonna tell me what you fuckin’ know?” I bark, pulling out my gun.
“I can’t . . . they’ll . . . they’ll kill me.”
“Then allow me to make it easier for them.”
I lift the gun and I shoot him right in the middle of the eyes. I don’t even watch the blood explode from the back of his head before I turn and charge out of the room with a bark to Krypt. “Clean that up.”
I have bigger things to worry about, including how the hell I’m going to get my girl back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
2014 – Santana
My hands tremble as I shove my clothes into my suitcase. I’m not sure where I’m going to go, but I’m not staying here. I can’t be at Mack’s house, and I certainly can’t go back to Maddox’s. I need to find somewhere to base myself before I get to work on finding my sister. I won’t leave her in hell a second longer than necessary. I’ve let her down.
This is all my fault.
“Santana!”
Maddox’s booming voice fills my ears. I don’t move. I don’t even look up when I hear his booted strides coming up the stairs. My door swings open, and my fingers tremble as I try to avoid staring at the man who broke my heart. He stops, and the room is so silent I can hear his panting breath.
“You’re leaving.”
It’s not a question, but even if it was, I wouldn't answer it. I don’t owe him any explanations. I just keep packing with shaky hands, trying to keep the hysteria inside.
“Santana, I know you’re hurtin’. I fucked up lettin’ you believe Pippa was dead, but you need to understand it was the best thing at the time.”
I say nothing. My fingers clench around the shirt in my hands, but I don’t answer. Be calm. Leave. Don’t get into it with him.
“You were in a bad way. I went looking for her and she was gone. When I found out what’d happened, I came back to tell you.”
Breathe. Breathe.
“You were scratching your arms to pieces, screaming and thrashing. I knew then and there you couldn’t handle it. If I’d have told you, you would have rushed out, desperate for drugs, and killed yourself before you could ever help her.”
I begin to shake all over.
“So I told you she was dead. I wanted you to get better. That was the only way you would pick up your life. I never stopped lookin’, not even for a fuckin’ second. I was going to tell you when I found her . . .”