Page 35 of Banner

I almost lost this because of my brother.He was the one who put me in Ivan’s path, knowing he was an obsessive sicko.Dragon had done some digging and had discovered that there’d never been a deal between Ivan and my father.Alessio had lied.He’d made it all up in some sick twisted ploy for revenge.Our father’s affair with my mother, all those years ago, was the catalyst for his mother taking her own life.And for that, he blamed me.

“Come on, little momma.Let’s get you both fed.”When my stomach grumbles loudly, he hits me with that boyish grin that makes my heart flutter and I smile and send my thanks to the man upstairs.

Thank you for giving him back to me.

Epilogue

Ghost

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

There’s a dangerous energy in the air tonight, and I keep wondering if it’s because of the message my brother sent.Two words: Stay alert.The short of it is that I need to keep my head on a swivel.

The warden is convinced I’m safe here in solitary, which is laughable considering he knows how fucking deep the city’s underbelly runs.He’s made a fucking business out of knowing who the biggest players are and how to extort favors and cash for turning a blind eye.

Climbing off the hard concrete floor, I peek through the bars, expecting to find what, I’m unsure.Seeing nothing, I move back to my bunk and fall backward onto the hard as fuck mattress.I’d give my right nut to be sleeping in my own bed tonight.

Thoughts of home trigger my fear of what awaits me when I get there.Payton—my daughter, for starters.Scrubbing my hands across my face, I blow out a breath.I don’t know the first thing about kids, but I sure as fuck ain’t about to bounce like fucking Jenny.If it’s the last thing I do, that bitch will get what’s coming to her.My dark train of thought is halted by the sound of—is that someone fucking whistling?I sit up straight and tilt my head to listen.

Seconds later two guards and an asshole in a suit appear on the other side of my cell.My eyes dart from the billy clubs clutched tightly in their hands to the suit with a smirk on his face.

“So, this is how it’s gonna go down, huh?”I ask calmly as I slip off my bunk and position my back against the wall.My instincts have kept me alive for the last twenty-nine years and I ain’t about to ignore them now.

“It’s always the filthy fucking bikers that cause me the most problems,” the suit snaps, nodding for my cell to be unlocked.

“Not a fan of bikers, huh?”I laugh, calculating the odds of making it out of here alive.

“Fuck you!When I’m done with your club…” he trails off.

I’d advise him not to take up poker with a face that can’t hide shit, but he didn’t come to chitchat.

I recognize the guard on his right as the asshole from cell block B.He’s doing his best not to make eye contact as he does what he’s been ordered.Pussy.

“You’re a dead man, Marshall.”He swings his head up and his eyes are huge.That got his attention.His name is going at the top of my hit list.

“The only dead man here is you, Bishop.Your fucking brother ruined everything!I needed that warehouse and… fuck!”I mask my surprise when the suit steps from the shadows and into my cell, revealing his identity.

“Well look who it is.”I grin.The photo Banner has on his phone is grainy but there’s no hiding that gnarly fucking scar slashed across his face.He must have pissed someone off, and good.

Shock flashes behind his eyes that I already know about him.

That’s right, asshole.You’re on our radar now and right behind your lackey on my kill list.

“No matter.You’re leaving here in a body bag.”His head tips to me and I lift my fists as the guards squeeze inside the tiny space.

A smile spreads across my face.“Boys…”

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