I press my palms to my face, sucking in air like it’ll keep the rage from boiling over. Like it’ll drown out the truth punching through my ribcage. She told me she’d been traveling. She said she was drifting, searching for something, and found it with us.Withme. That being around the club felt like home. Damn, I believed her. She played her part perfectly. Sweet. Damaged. Loyal. Too loyal, and now I’m looking at everything with fresh eyes.
Did she manipulate me?
Did she manipulate my entire fucking club?
Why? What did we ever do to deserve that kind of betrayal?
Heather was persistent, yeah. Wanted me more than I ever wanted her. At first, I figured she just loved hard—maybe too hard. Claimed she had no one. Said she was alone in the world, like that gave her a pass to cling to me the way she did. And after the shit with Gabriella? I guess I was ripe for the picking. Broken. Hollow. Looking for something to numb the ache, to quiet the guilt. So I let her in. Let her wrap herself around me, again and again, thinking maybe she saw something in me worth staying for.
But I was a fucking idiot.
She didn’t seeme.She saw an opening. A weakness. A damn opportunity.
And she took it.
I fucked up. I let a viper sleep beside me. Let her wrap herself around my world and call it love. I lift my gaze to Gabriella. After what I just said, she should be spitting fire at me right now. But she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t curse my ass out or throw the betrayal back in my face. She’s steady. Still, her silence is somehow worse. I know what I said was out of line, and my Pop’s about ready to tear me a new one. I can feel the fury radiating off him, standing there with my brothers like a wall of judgment.
I deserve it.
Gabriella finally speaks, and her voice cuts through the room like steel on bone.
“Heather was sent here by her father to gather intel on your club—by any means necessary. If not from your father or your brothers, then fromyou.”
Each word is a blade. Meant to cut.
“Demon wanted information. Wanted access. He’s been trying to take this territory for years. Your club has always been in the way. You’ve been the thorn in his side since your father set up shop. So he sent Heather—his own fucking daughter—to infiltrate. To destroy from the inside.”
I go still.
“She was the weapon,” Gabriella says, tone flat and cold. “You were the target.”
I feel sick. Like my gut just bottomed out.
“When he came up with the plan, he’d been told you were liberal with your bed.” She doesn’t soften the words. Doesn’t sugarcoat it. Just throws it out there and lets it land.
It hits.
Hard.
I want to deny it. But there’s no point. It’s true. I gave Heather exactly what she wanted. I let her into my bed, my life, myclub.I handed her the keys and thanked her for the betrayal.
“He knew about your club’s bylaws. Knew if she got pregnant, she’d be in. The kid would tie her to the club even if youdidn't claim her. You’d protect her. Give her access. Give hereverything.”
It’s all so fucking clear now.
She lets out a cold, bitter laugh. “And it worked.”
That laugh makes my jaw clench. This isn’t funny. This is war. This is betrayal.
“This was always about infiltration. She used what you gave her. Your weakness. Your trust.”
I stare at her, feeling like the dumbest motherfucker alive. “For fuck sakes…”
“She and I got pregnant around the same time. My kids are a few months older than the one you lost.” Her voice softens, but it doesn’t waver. “From the messages we pulled from her correspondence with Demon, the plan had been in motion formonthsbefore she met you. The bitch was relentless.”
Gabriella chuckles again. Not amused—numb. Detached. But the sound cuts me all the same.
“I’m honestly shocked there aren’t more little Mastersons running around. I assume she tampered with your stash of condoms.”
