The rapping of knuckles on the door has both our heads twisting towards it.

“Go and shower, sweetheart.”

Sasha leans in to kiss me once more before she pushes up off the bed, her eyes straying towards the door. I watch her long legs as she walks into the bathroom, waiting until I hear the door snick shut before I make my body start to move. Snagging my boxers off the floor, I pull them on quickly over my semi hard-on, before stepping into my jeans, buttoning them as I walk to the door.

When I pull it open, I’m greeted by Nox leaning both forearms against the top of the door frame.

He eyes me, his gaze taking in my rumpled hair, my bare chest and then going beyond me to the bed.

He brings his attention back to me and I don’t miss the slight curl of his lip. “Don’t fucking hurt her.”

His tone grates on my nerves. What the fuck does it have to do with him what me and Sasha do?

“Ain’t your business, Nox.” My voice is pitched low, caution crackling through the words.

He doesn’t take the warning.

“Sash is one of us. That makes it my business.”

I narrow my gaze at him, my mouth pulling into a tight line as my nostrils flare.

“Don’t ever fucking question me.”

We both stare at each other. After a few moments, Nox nods tersely before he scrubs a hand over his jaw. I see the tension radiating in every line of his body. “We’ve got a lead on Sin.”

My stomach lurches and icy talons dig into my heart at his words.

“You didn’t think to fucking start with that?”

I quickly move back into the room and snag a clean tee from the dresser. It goes over my head before I grab my kutte from where I dropped it earlier. I shrug into it. The old leather, soft from years of wear, fits my body like a glove. The smell of cigarettes, marijuana and stale beer clings to the material. It’s a reassuring smell that reminds me of who I am. Of what I am.

I drag open the top drawer of my dresser and grab my knife. Bending at the waist, I slide the sheath into my boot, pulling the leg of my jeans over the top of it.

When I straighten, I push past Nox. “Let’s fucking go.”

I know he’s behind me as I walk out of the clubhouse, my mind on what I’m going to have to do. Killing my brother has to happen. I’ve never given a single thought for any life I’ve taken, but I know this one will add to the demons that plague me. I raised that boy like he was my own, so taking his life isn’t something I do lightly, but he signed his own death when he raped Sasha and took her from me, from her family, from her life. He destroyed everything about her with that one act and now I will destroy him. I’ll end his life as payment and not just for Sasha, but for her father too. If Priest was still around, he would have hung Sin up and gutted him, made him pay for days.

As we approach our bikes, I see my other brothers are mounted and ready to ride. Daimon gives me a look as I climb on my Harley, no doubt wondering how level I am. Titch, Levi and Whizz are pulling their helmets on while Fury sits astride his bike, ready, waiting. My sergeant-at-arms won’t have to get his hands dirty today. No, Sin is all mine.

I look at each of their faces. This is what it’s all about—having brothers at my back. This right here is what makes us the club we are, what makes us the Untamed Sons.

I tie my skull bandanna around my neck and tug it up over my face. Swinging my leg over the bike, I sit gripping the handles until my knuckles turn white as I wait for Nox to get seated on his. As we start up our engines, the roar of Harley pipes is loud, the smell of the engine oil heavy in the air. It drowns out everything else, clearing my head, helping me to focus on the task ahead.

Nox rolls out of the compound first, followed by me then Fury and Daimon. Titch, Whizz and Levi take the rear, watching our arses.

London is busy, cars and buses choking the roads. The smog lingers in the air, and would catch the back of my throat if it wasn’t for the material covering my face.

We weave through the vehicles as exhausts splutter fumes into the air. I don’t like lane splitting when we’re riding as a group, but I want to get to my brother fast, which means I don’t want to be sitting in gridlock.

I follow Nox closely, in sync with his movements as he navigates through the line of vehicles. I can hear the bikes behind me, a reassuring presence at my back as Nox leads us. It feels strange to ride behind him. My place is usually up front, leading, but I don’t know where the fuck we’re going.

My thoughts should be racing, but I feel oddly calm as we head towards the place where my brother was last seen. I have no idea how things will go down, but what I do know is I can taste vengeance on my tongue. It burns like hot ash.

I’m coming for you, brother.

Eventually, Nox pulls the bike into the parking area of an abandoned warehouse and rolls to a stop. I move in next to him and tug the bandanna down as I peer up at the crumbling brickwork and smashed windowpanes. It doesn’t look like anyone has been using the place for a while. The weeds are thick on the ground and graffiti is spray-painted on the exterior wall. There’s a heavy-set door on the front that looks secure, but from here I can see it’s been unscrewed from the hinges and is leaning against the frame. In this life, I learnt a long time ago not to underestimate anything. It might look safe, abandoned, but that doesn’t mean shit.

I kick down the stand and cut my engine, the others doing the same. My eyes lock on the building and my lip curls into a snarl. Before Sasha came back, the thought of my brother being holed up somewhere like this would have made my blood boil. I did everything for us never to return to a place like this. Now, I can’t help thinking this shithole is too good for him.

Tugging my helmet off, I climb off the bike and pull my knife from my boot.

“You know I’ve got your back, Prez, but if I’m taking another brother’s life, pulling his kutte off his back and taking everything that makes him blood to us then I’ve got to know what I’m doing it for.”

I glance at my brothers, seeing the same resolute expressions staring back at me. They’re not my brothers by blood, but by a bond that runs deeper—loyalty. Which is why Titch’s question doesn’t surprise me.

I shift my gaze towards Nox who lifts his shoulders slightly. Bylaws say a brother can’t harm another brother. I should have told them when I first found out, but I didn’t want Sasha’s life out there for gossip.

It’s Nox who speaks, saving me from having to say the words I can’t say, saving me from breaking her confidence. His arms fold over his chest, his mouth turning down at the corners, as if he’s tasting something rotten. “He raped Sasha.”

The finality of how he says it makes my body jolt. I’ll never get used to hearing those words, I’ll never get used to knowing what he did to her, knowing he took her against her will. Icy claws dig into my heart and tear it apart. It’s going to haunt me for the rest of my days, as much as I tell Sasha it won’t. I can never forgive or forget what was done to her.

“The fuck?” Titch’s voice raises an octave, his expression twisting in disgust. “When?”

Nox lets out a heavy breath and I can see how difficult he’s finding this. I don’t blame him. My words are stuck in my throat, refusing to come out. “Right before she took off. She didn’t betray us or Prez. Sin fucking made her feel like we weren’t behind her, that we wouldn’t believe her.”