Page 16 of Echoes of Temptation
With nothing left to say, I grab my bags, leave the building, and head towards the waiting taxi. I somehow managed to tell the driver my address before closing my eyes with the onslaught of not only the images on the video but the harsh cruelty at the words of the man that I thought I could one day love.
Chapter Eight
King
“King, I don’t think she stole from that man,” Bitsy says. “Something isn’t right.”
“I agree,” Sophie says, wiping away her tears. “You weren’t with her this past week as much as the rest of us. That’s not the type of person she is.”
“You can’t really know a person in a week, Sophie,” Blaze says. “I thought I knew who she was, too, until I saw that video. She had us all fooled.”
“I saw the video, too,” Bitsy glares. “I watched it several times. I can’t explain why I think so, but the woman we saw wasn’t Maddy. Somehow, it’s been changed.”
“It wasn’t messed with, Bitsy,” Knox sniffs as he exits the room. “Trust me when I say that I really searched with everything I had.”
“Maybe it was AI-generated,” Sophie suggests. “Maybe it really hasn’t been altered but was created as a new video using some sort of software.”
“I would have been able to tell the difference,” Knox explains. “It leaves a binary code behind that is easy to follow. Listen, girls, I’m with you. Regardless of the proof that I, myself, have confirmed, I don’t think Maddy could do something like that.”
“Regardless, you won’t ever see her again,” I grump. “I need to fucking sleep.”
Ignoring the conversations behind me, I make my way to my room here at the clubhouse for some much-needed sleep.
I know I was a bastard when I brought her weight into the conversation but I needed to hit her where I knew it would hurt. I hate liars.
Fuck, I’m exhausted.
***Two Weeks later***
“Where the fuck is she?”
“Why is there a member from another club in my territory?” Ghost growls when he walks into the room.
“Ghost, this is Blackhawk,” I introduce. “He’s the Enforcer for the Wounded Souls. He’s Madeline’s friend.”
“Which brings me back to my question, where is my girl? Why did you drop her case and make her leave?”
Blackhawk glares at me but I don’t back down.
“Because she’s a fucking lying bitch,” I smirk.
Blackhawks rushes for me but is quickly grabbed by Venom and tackled to the ground.
“Get the fuck off me,” he yells.
“I will as soon as you settle your ass down,” Venom says.
“Fine,” he growls, shrugging Venom from his back. When he’s standing, Sophia walks over and offers him a bottle of water.
She, along with Bitsy and Knox, haven’t spoken much to anyone these past two weeks. They’re very pissed. Venom and Viper are even more so because their women won’t give them the time of day. Both women and Sophie and Venom’s daughters, have been staying with Knox and are showing no signs of returning to their homes. I’m surprised to see them all here.
Knox is a patched brother so he has no fucking choice but to show up and do his fucking job at keeping our security in check. He’s here daily, even if he has shut himself off from the rest of us.
“I’ve seen the video,” Blackhawk informs us.
Ghost glares at Knox who simply shrugs. He doesn’t give a flying fuck what Ghost has to think about it. My lips twitch with the urge to smile. Something they haven’t done in weeks.
“I have known that woman for years,” Blackhawk says. “She has never taken a drug in her life.”