Page 45 of Sinner’s Torment

I stared at him, disbelief and fury warring inside me. “You’re telling me I can’t claim my own kid because of some bullshit rule about her father?”

“I’m telling you,” Montana said slowly, “that this is more complicated than you think.”

“It’s not complicated,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s pregnant. I’m the father. End of story.”

“It’s not the end,” Mercy said. “It’s just the beginning. Because if Hex finds out you’ve been fucking his daughter and got her pregnant, he’s going to come for you. And if he finds out we’re trying to claim her under club protection despite Federation law, he’s going to come for all of us.”

“Let him come,” I said.

“You don’t understand,” Montana said, and there was something in his voice I’d never heard before. Respect. Maybe even fear. “Hex isn’t just some ex-brother. He’s a fucking force of nature. My old man—George motherfucking Stone—backed down from Hex. Do you understand what that means?”

I understood.

I just didn’t care.

“I’m not leaving her out there alone,” I said. “I’m not abandoning my kid because some old man might get pissed off.”

Montana stared at me for a long moment, then reached for his phone.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Calling King,” Montana said. “If anyone knows the truth about Hex, it’s him.”

He dialed, put the phone on speaker, and set it on the table.

It rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then King’s voice came through, rough and wary. “What?”

“King, it’s Montana. I need to ask you something.”

“Make it quick. I’m in the middle of something.”

Montana leaned forward, his eyes locked on the phone. “What do you know about a former brother named Hex?”

Silence.

Not the kind of silence that meant King was thinking or considering his answer.

The kind of silence that meant the question had hit a nerve.

The kind of silence that meant we’d just stepped into something far more dangerous than any of us had realized.

The seconds stretched out, each one heavier than the last.

Finally, King spoke.

“Where the fuck did you hear that name?”

Montana glanced at me, then back at the phone. “Shame dug up some information on Brandy’s family. Turns out her father is Hex. Former Silver Shadows VP out of Little Rock.”

Another beat of silence.

Then King exhaled slowly, the sound crackling through the speaker. “Jesus Christ.”