I stifled my fury. “Do you think my father’s death will dry your tears over having lost your father?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t just lose my father, he was ripped from me in the most barbaric way possible.”
“And you think by being barbaric, you’ll feel better.”
“This isn’t about feeling better, it’s about revenge.”
“But if you kill my father, you don’t hurt him. My father doesn’t fear death. If you want revenge, you need to hurt him like he hurt you.”
“And how could I hurt him?”
I smiled bitterly. If Maddox really wanted revenge, he should hurt me. My father would suffer in the worst way if I paid for his sin of the past.
Maddox tilted his head. “I suppose hurting you would do the trick.”
I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing here. I wanted to be freed as soon as possible, but knowing Dad, he’d hand himself over in exchange for me without hesitation.
“You aren’t the person we want. I have absolutely zero interest in hurting you. Your father will pay, not you.” The words sounded final.
“If you kill my father and let me live with the guilt of having been the reason for his death, I pay for his sins.”
“But if I hurt you to make your father suffer, you pay for his sins too, only in a more painful way.”
“I guess I’ll pay either way,” I said softly. “But you’re wrong, physical pain wouldn’t be more painful.”
“Unless you’ve experienced both, you can’t be sure.”
“I guess I’ll find out soon.”
“You won’t experience physical pain while you’re here, but I can’t spare you the grief of being the reason for your old man’s death,” he murmured. He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. “Maybe it’s a consolation to know that he deserves whatever we have planned for him.”
My stomach lurched as my mind imagined the gruesome details. “Maddox,” I said quietly. “Men like you and him always deserve death. At some point, the mutual killing has to stop. If you kill my father, my brother and uncles will seek revenge.”
Matteo loved my dad, and Romero respected Luca and was almost like a brother to him. They wouldn’t rest until every biker had found a painful end.
“I live for revenge.”
“Seems like a pointless life if it’s only filled with a desire for revenge.”
“Enough for me.”
“Will your club brothers and uncle mourn you as deeply as my family will mourn my father? Will anyone miss you as profoundly because they loved you with all their heart?”
He gave me a harsh smile. “I’m afraid I don’t have time for more chitchat. Have a good day.”
By not answering, he gave me the answer I’d expected. “That’s what I thought.”
He tilted his head in farewell and turned without another word. I had definitely hit a weak spot. Movement on the porch drew my eyes in. Another biker, much older than Maddox, with shoulder-long black-gray hair watched me. Goose bumps rose on my skin at the look in his eyes.
Maddox passed him by on his way into the clubhouse, saying something to him that had the man look away from me briefly.
But my reprieve was short-lived. Soon his greedy gaze returned to me, and now Maddox was gone. I could only hope my words hadn’t driven him away. I had a feeling he was my best bet to get through this unscathed.
Cody kept observing the kennels like a wolf on the hunt. He had his eyes set on Snow White, sensing easy pussy. He’d never had much of an understanding of the meaning of consent.
I stopped by his side on the porch. “Don’t you have better things to do than to salivate over the Vitiello girl?”
He scoffed. “I don’t spend half my morning gossiping with the cunt.”
“I’m trying to gather information from our captive while she’s in our hands,” I lied. It had been the original plan but whenever I was near her, any carefully laid out plans evaporated.
“What kind of info? How much cock she can take into that filthy mouth of hers?”
“Just stay away from her. We both know your dick has a life of its own.”
I strode into the house and was immediately hit with the smell of a wild party. After hours outside in the fresh air, the stench almost made me pass out. Gray had thrown up in an ice bucket and someone else had pissed into a beer bottle. That mixed with the odor of a dozen sweaty bodies was a potent mixture.
I found Earl already up and in his chair at our meeting table, smoking a cigar. He could hold his liquor pretty well after decades of training. A half-naked girl lay on top of the table, fast asleep.
“You left the party early,” he said, not bothering to take the smoke out of his mouth.