Deep Redemption (Hades Hangmen 4)

Rider’s head fell forward, a fucking devastated look over his face. If I’d been a better guy, I’d have felt sympathy for the pathetic loser. But I was a cunt too, so I didn’t even feel a fucking twinge.

“Yes,” Rider croaked. “It was all for nothing. My whole life, all the shit I’ve done . . . it was all for nothing.”

When the laughing didn’t stop at his confession, I whistled, the deafening call silencing the room. I lifted my head to each of my brothers, my cold stare silently telling them all to shut their fucking stupid mouths.

They all did.

“Bella was in the defectors’ commune? How?” I signed, pulling the focus back to the clusterfuck that was clearly coming our way.

“Yeah. It was in Puerto Rico,” Rider said, raising his head. “She was nearly killed by the elder that schooled her her whole life, Brother Gabriel.” Rider’s voice dropped, and it was clear—the fucker wasn’t lying about his feelings for Bella. The fucker sounded murderously mad about the pedo we all thought had killed her. ‘Bout as mad as we all were when we put bullets and knives in their heads.

“One of the defector commune’s guards was visiting the old commune, meeting with the elders—it was a front they had to put on, a role they had to play so no one would discover that they were just waiting to take them down. It was the day Mae was due to marry Prophet David. The other guards were busy, so he was ordered to dispose of Bella’s body and give her a Cursed’s burial—an unmarked grave. But when he opened the cell and saw her inside, it all changed. At first, he thought she was dead, but when he saw she wasn’t, he managed to take advantage of the commotion caused by Mae running away and smuggle her out.

“When she arrived in Puerto Rico, Brother Stephen knew who she was straight away—her coloring, the Cursed’s Revelation tattoo on her wrist. So he cared for her, and hid her away in that commune from that day on. Some people in the commune didn’t even know she existed . . . until my twin’s men came to close the camp. She could have tried to run, but she agreed to go back to help bring down the commune. She was told her sisters had all died when you last attacked, so she wanted to see the place burn and the innocent freed . . . Her nightmare started again that day.”

“Until today,” Smiler said, shocking the fuck out of me that he had spoken. Rider stared at his former road brother. And just like before, I could see the pure hurt in his eyes. He’d fucked over his best friend for nothing. Smiler hadn’t been the same since Rider had betrayed us. He’d vouched for him years ago, brought him into the club. The brother barely spoke to anyone now.

And it was all Rider’s fault.

Rider ran his hands through his hair in frustration, the chains pulling on his wrists. “We tricked Judah on the day of his and Harmony’s wedding—today—to come to me in my cell. The defector guards had infiltrated Judah’s personal circle—they are hard and strong, and they played their roles to perfection. They seized him and I took his place. We had only minutes to do it right. And it worked. After the wedding, I got Harmony out of there.” He looked up at me. “When I found out Harmony was their sister, I knew I had to get her here . . . and tell y’all about the attack.” Rider sat up straighter. “Because make no mistake about it, if he isn’t stopped, he will come, they all will. And they’ll be coming in their hundreds. The Klan will get them here unnoticed, and all the people—women and children included—will be bringing hell to your door.”

“And why the fuck should we believe you?” AK asked tightly. “That’s your twin you’re sellin’ out. You expect us to believe that after all the shit the pair of you have brought to us lately, you’re just gonna hand him over, no questions asked? I don’t believe it.”

Darkness washed over Rider’s face. “He’s gone too fucking far this time. He’s hurting everyone. He hurt Harmony. He’s letting Phebe be beaten half to death without a care. But worse than that, he’s letting kids get assaulted. In fact, he’s pushing it. He’s keeping the people who want to leave trapped behind the fences against their will. If they try to escape, he’s killing them.” Rider’s entire body tightened. “He may be my brother, but he needs to be stopped.” Rider went silent. He closed his eyes like he’d just taken a dagger to the heart. “He needs to be . . . killed. It’s the only way to stop him. It’s the only way to stop the pain he’s inflicting on others . . . and I’ve kept him alive for you. He’ll be there for you to kill.”