She was silent for a minute. “I’m not trying to fake it, but if I spend my days wallowing in my unhappiness, I’ll feel like shit. I’m working through my feelings but I’m not going to do that with constant tears. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, but when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you come to me. I’ll work through whatever shit you need to work through with you,” I said firmly.

She clasped her hands around my neck and pulled my face down towards her so she could kiss me. When she’d finished, she said, “I’m not used to having someone to count on like you, Griff. My natural reaction is to deal with stuff on my own, but I’ll try not to do that. I just need you to know it might take some time for me to get used to it, okay?”

As usual, her raw honesty hit me in the chest.

This is a woman I can trust.

The thought flashed through my mind, unexpectedly, but clear as day.

Fuck.

I’d never expected to believe in a woman again, but I found myself unable to discount this truth. Sophia was a woman I could put my faith in. It would take me time, and I would do it slowly, but I knew without an ounce of doubt that she was a woman I could build a life with.

“We’ve got all the time in the world, baby,” I finally said.

The smile she gave me in return was the kind of smile I would do anything to earn.

She pointed at me. “I’m going to finish making breakfast for you so you need to sit at the table and wait.”

I shook my head. “No, Sophia, you need to get your ass into the bedroom and get naked for me. Breakfast can wait,” I growled.

Her eyes widened, and I watched as heat flared in them. A moment later, she did as I’d said, and as I took in the sight of her discarding her t-shirt while she walked, I decided that lunch could also wait. Sophia would be busy for the rest of the fucking day.

* * *

My phone rang at six the next morning. It was the call I’d been waiting for, but hoping would never come.

“Danny,” I said, noting his name on my screen.

“Today’s the day, Michael. There will be a media conference and the case will be announced. Your name won’t be revealed yet, but it won’t take long before it’s out there.”

Goddamn.

We’d just needed a few extra days for Bond to be taken care of. Maybe Blade could still pull it off, but with each passing day, I felt a level of concern I’d never felt before.

You’ve got something to lose now.

Sophia.

“Thanks for the head’s up,” I said and ended the call.

Sophia rolled to curl up next to me. She reached her arm across my chest and laid it there. “Everything okay?” she mumbled.

“Yeah, baby. Go back to sleep.”

I have to take care of this.

I’d worked out a worst-case scenario plan in my head, and I now knew I was going to have to put it into action. I only hoped it didn’t backfire on me, because if it did, I would find myself not in control for the first time in many years, and that was not a place I wanted to be.

* * *

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Scott asked, disbelief written across his face.

I nodded. “Probably, but I don’t see many other options.”

We were in his office, a few hours after my phone call from Danny, and I had just shared my plan with him.

“When do you want to do this?”

“Today. Call Church for one hour’s time. We need to get the ball rolling.”

He stared at me for a while and then scrubbed his hand over his face. “This is your call, brother. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“You and me both,” I said as he sent the text out calling the boys in.

An hour later, he announced to our members, “Griff’s got something to discuss with you all, and before he does, I need to say that I’ve known about this for a little while now, and I have his back fully. Before you make any snap decisions regarding what he tells you, take a minute to remember everything we’ve all been through. This club isn’t just about family and loyalty, it’s also about sticking together through the shit, and accepting that none of us are fucking perfect.”

The mood in the room turned sombre and all eyes turned to me. I made a point to look everyone in the eye as I spoke. “Ten years ago, my family were tortured and murdered. My father was a cop and had been investigating Storm, and in particular, Marcus. I was working in private investigations so I used my skills and contacts to investigate my family’s deaths, and everything led me to believe Marcus was behind them.” I paused for a moment, mentally preparing myself to share the secret I thought I’d take to my grave with me – the secret that could change my life completely. “When I couldn’t pin it on him, I walked away. Years passed, but I had to come back and avenge their deaths, and to do that, I had to get close to Marcus…I had to join the club.”

I stopped talking as many of the boys swore, their faces revealing their shock.

“Fuck!” J roared as he shoved his chair back and stood. “You’ve been fucking deceiving us all this time?”

“Let him finish,” Scott said, his hard eyes on J, warning him to let it go for now.

“You better have something good to say, Griff, ‘cause at the moment, I’m struggling to grasp this,” J said as he sat back down.

“A year or so after I joined the club, I discovered Marcus hadn’t killed my family, and I could have walked then, but I didn’t want to. Storm was my family by then, and my loyalty was and still is one hundred percent with the club.”