I drop my arm, but keep my eyes locked on my father. “You’re lucky they’re here, why don’t you fucking tell me what you’re doing looking for Gloria?”
A disgusting grin spreads across his face, but his gaze never strays from mine. “We’re together. Her husband couldn’t satisfy her, so for the last five years, I have.”
“You son of a bitch,” Brooks howls.
Things are being thrown, glass is breaking, but I refuse to break my connection with my father. He’ll say anything to get back at me right now and I intend to take full advantage of that. They won’t be able to get answers, but I sure as fuck will.
“Every time I think you couldn’t be a worse human being; you prove me wrong. Why the fuck do you think Shattered Souls stole drugs from you? It’s not their thing, so fucking explain it,” I say, shaking with rage.
“You always think you know the truth, dear daughter, but you’re always wrong. I don’t act without knowing for sure and this I know for sure. Shattered Souls stole a shipment from me and profited a large amount of money. I took my time getting my revenge and I’m happy to tell you that I’ve gotten it,” he says, smiling.
“How?” I yell.
He laughs and searches my eyes. “You always were hot headed.”
“Answer me,” I hiss.
“I opened that strip club and made back the money ten times over. I got more information than I ever could’ve by falling for Gloria. She’s been an amazing help in all this. When she told me they stole the drugs, she also told me every weak link in the chain. I’ve used that to my advantage. Zane should’ve died, but you got in my way. Brooks is failing as president, Souls is failing as a business, and my daughter finally learns that she became a traitor to lying, thieving scumbags.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. They stole the drugs? Gloria is a fucking rat? Plus, I know now that he didn’t open Club Kingsley because it was my idea, he did it to hurt them. The hate I have grows and I’m shaking with anger. Not only for him, but for everyone around me. How could they lie to me? How could Zane lie to me?
“Who stole the drugs?” I ask.
“That my darling daughter isn’t important. You see, once you have a trusted insider, that’s all you need. She told me the club took it and that’s all that matters. If you hadn’t gotten in the way, I could’ve ended this sooner. I could’ve blown up Souls, taken them all out, but you had to get involved,” he confesses.
I laugh, narrowing my eyes. “You want me to believe you grew a conscience? After everything you’ve done?”
“Believe what you want. You always have. I told you to stay away from Zane Madden, yet here you
are. I told you not to put your nose in my business, but you didn’t stop you from opening my safe. I’ve always told you to do as you're told and you’ll be taken care of, but the older you got, the more you fought my every demand. But now you know the truth and I can die knowing you’ll handle the rest for me,” he says with a sickening smile.
“Fuck you. I will never do anything for you. You might not have blown me up in Souls, but you had no problem leaving me threatening notes, destroying my house, and taking away the only memories I have of my mother!” I yell.
“No, sweetheart, that was me.”
This time I do break my stare down with my father when my head snaps to Gloria. Before I can even say a word, Zane knocks the gun out of her hand and Brooks grabs her by the hair, tossing her down on the couch. He points the gun at her with tears running down his face. It’s fucking heartbreaking.
“What the fuck did you do?” he asks, but it’s more of a yell.
She tries fighting him off, but it’s no use. His adrenaline is coursing through him so hard; she’ll never get him off. His one hand wraps around her throat, while the other still points the gun at her head.
She claws at his hand, cursing. “I did what was best for me,” she screams.
“You lied about us stealing drugs from Kingsley, why the fuck would you do that? What did you gain?” he yells in her face.
“Money. I took the drugs, I sold them, and I kept the money. I did it over and over. All while I had you believing it was from my parents and Kingsley believing I was falling for him,” she cries.
For the first time since I pushed Zane away, I glance at him. His eyes are hard, but they are also filled with tears. His own aunt caused him to question his uncle’s loyalty to the club, to him, to everything. She played everyone against each other. While she gained her power, everyone else was losing theirs. The shock of it all is sickening. Brooks is going to lose his wife. Zane is going to lose his aunt. Adalyn is going to lose her sister-in-law and Nora is going to lose her friend. But was she ever any of those things or did she just play the role so well we all believed her?
“Why the fuck did you threaten Harper with those notes?” Zane whispers.
“She became a problem. Kingsley wouldn’t finish what he started until she was gone. The notes were meant to drive her away. I didn’t think she was as fearless as she is,” she says, crying.
She knows her life is about to end and Brooks will be the one to do it. It’s hard to watch, so I turn away. She fucked everyone in the worst possible way, but everyone in this room loves her. It’s painful for them, but I can’t imagine how it is for Brooks. His wife, the love of his life, did worse than rip his heart out. She destroyed him.
“How could you do this to me Gloria?” Brooks cries out. I close my eyes against the pain in his voice. “You didn’t just betray the club; you betrayed our marriage. Everything I’ve ever done since the day I met you, has been for you. I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive without you, but now I have to.”
I hear the gunshot and my eyes close tighter, tears squeezing through. The sound that Brooks makes will haunt me the rest of my life. It is pure heartbreaking agony. I can’t look, but I hear them rushing to his side.