Page 12 of Pain

But what the fuck had turned him? When I knew Devil, he was a decent human being with a quick temper but an ability to recover quickly. A brutally dry sense of humor. A laugh that was impossible to resist.

What the hell had changed that made him willing to kill his best friend and torture his old lady?

“If you hadn’t gotten her out of there, he would have killed her,” Mandy said simply. “She’s too tough to take abuse like that lightly. I’d bet my life she’s been fighting back. And I’d bet my life that at some point, he’d take it too far.”

I met Mandy’s eyes, knowing that she was right. I’d known it already. Known it from the moment I saw her sitting on the sidewalk looking at me with an expression that bordered on both fear and hope. I just hadn’t put it into words.

Instead, I’d reacted on instinct. Just like I always did.

“We can’t send her back,” I said quietly. “We have to keep her.”

She tipped her head back and forth. “Then I’d suggest you get in there and make sure she can keep her mouth shut. Because we also can’t afford to take a spy into our midst.”

I still didn’t think Saraya would ever turn on us. Something, some instinct, told me that she’d play by the rules, no matter what. I’d saved her, and she’d return that favor. She was just that sort of person.

The problem was, I didn’t know that for a fact, because I’d never actually met her before. Never talked to her, never asked her opinion on anything. I’d never known her as anything more than just the girl on the back of Devil’s bike. I didn’t have any real reason to believe she’d do the right thing.

Mandy was right. I had to make sure of that before I committed to keeping her here with us.

***

SHE WAS LYING ON A bench when I went in, covered with a blanket and still shivering. I grabbed another blanket from the cupboard where we kept them and laid it gently over her, then went to my knees so I could see her face better.

I’d thought Mandy was covered in sweat, but it had been nothing compared to Saraya. The girl was dripping with perspiration, her teeth chattering together and her eyes squeezed tightly closed. And for a moment, the sight of her, the thought of how alone and frightened she must feel, made me pause.

But I needed to know. I needed to know for sure what had happened to her, and that she’d protect us if it came down to it. This girl couldn’t be more important than the rest of the club. I couldn’t give in to this ridiculous need to curl her into my chest and protect her from anyone who would ask her tough questions—including me.

I took a deep breath and put a single finger to her cheek. She opened her wide, green eyes and stared at me, her lips pressed together.

“Who did this to you?” I asked quietly. “I need to know.”

She paused for only a moment. “Devil and his gang. He used everyone in the club to keep me in line.”

The entire crew? The entire club? Keep her in line? Why? What had she been doing that he thought he needed to keep her in line? If he’d thought she was selling him out, why hadn’t he just killed her and been done with it?

Why had he kept her alive? Just so he could torture her?

I wanted to hit something. Break it, smash it, kill it. I wanted to find Devil and destroy him. Make him feel every inch of the pain he’d rained down on this girl. I didn’t know if I’d ever been so furious in my life. Saraya Post was a tiny girl, barely over five feet, and had always had the sweetest smile I’d ever seen—not that I’d seen it often. Everyone knew she’d been as loyal as anyone could possibly be to Devil, protecting him from everything she could and making sure he had a soft place to land at night.

Why the fuck would he have done this to her?

The bastard deserved to bleed for this. He deserved to die.

“Why?” I ground out, knowing that my voice was low and terrifying and not caring.

She swallowed heavily, her eyes on mine. “I don’t know. When I asked, he hit me harder, and I eventually... I eventually stopped asking.”

I jumped to my feet and got the hell out of there before I could ask her any more questions.

Before I could tell her what I wanted to do to the man who’d hurt her that badly.

Most importantly, I got out of there before I had to stop and think about why the fuck I cared so much for a little girl I’d never even truly met before.

CHAPTER 7

KNIGHT

I dropped into the chair behind the makeshift desk I’d created for myself in the makeshift office the club house had come with.