Page 56 of Sinner's Storm
“I don’t understand. How am I to blame for something that happened over fifty years ago?”
“No one blames you, Delany. It’s just how things are.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but this has nothing to do with me. I didn’t even know my dad had a brother until you told me. I don’t care about some convoluted war that’s been going on since before I was born. I just want my daughter back and to live my life in peace.”
“We want the same, sweetie. But that’s never going to happen until we remove every threat to us.”
“But my father was nothing like that. He was loving and funny. He cared about me. Coached my middle school soccer team. He taught me to ride my bike and drive a car. He was the best dad a girl could ever ask for.”
“Sweetie, I’m absolutely thrilled you had the best dad,” Layla said, leaning forward and reaching for my hands. “But that doesn’t change the fact that your grandfather was one of the Original Seven members of the Golden Skulls Motorcycle Club. In fact, it was your grandfather who came up with and founded the Golden Skulls.”
“I thought my dad was an only child,” I whispered, trying to absorb everything.
“Delany, I know this is a lot, but because of who you are, you and Harlow are going to be in danger until this war is over.”
“I’m a nobody.”
“Delany, look at me,” Illyria Valentinetti said. Doing so, the beautiful woman added, “I know all of this is overwhelming, but I need you to listen to me. We will not let anything happen to you. You are family now, and we protect our own. Blood is just genetics, Delany. Family is what you make it.”
Shaking my head, I muttered, “God, this is all so confusing. I still don’t understand how my marriage to Jason has created so many problems. He’s Harlow’s father. He said he only wants to protect us.”
“Jason married you without permission,” Layla stated bluntly.
“See, that’s what I don’t understand. Why would he need permission to marry me?”
“Because you are Golden,” a petite blonde woman said, walking out of the shadows with a man covered in tattoos.
Illyria and Layla gasped as Giovanni and Maxim slowly rose to their feet. I didn’t know who this woman was, but from the way everyone was staring at her, I knew she had to be someone important.
“Remi?” Layla whispered before rushing over to the woman, hugging her tightly.
Sitting there, I watched while everyone took their time greeting the pretty woman and the man. Even Maxim Fedorov, who had sat showing no emotion since I arrived, looked lovingly at the woman, cupping her face, before placing a kiss on her forehead.
Turning to me, the woman smiled. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances, and I am so sorry you are being thrown into the deep end of this, but what you need to know is whatever you decide, I will support you. I know you didn’t ask for any of this. Neither did I. Nor Layla. We are just trying to survive it, like you. All I can tell you is to trust your husband. From what I hear, he is smart and cunning. He won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Did he know who I was before he married me?”
The man, covered in tattoos, nodded. “Yes, he did. I warned him what would happen, and he still married you. Which is why his life is now in danger too.”
“He promised to protect me.”
“And he will,” Maxim confirmed. “I’ve known Storm for many years. Giovanni can back me up on this. The man you married doesn’t quit. He’s single-minded when it comes to something he wants, and Delany, he wants you and Harlow.”
“Then where is he? I’ve tried calling and texting him, but he doesn’t answer.”
“Delany,” Remi said my name, getting my attention. “Storm can protect himself. You, however, can’t. That’s why I’m here. I need to make sure that you are protected, no matter what happens.”
“And how do we do that, Remi?” Layla asked. “Because right now, she’s got her foot in one club and the other knows nothing about her.”
“That’s why Sypher is here,” Remi stated, looking at the man next to her, who smiled. “Sypher is a patched brother in the Golden Skulls and, last I knew, I am still the president’s wife. Together, we can claim Delany.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, looking around the room when Layla turned to face me and clearly said, “It means she is here to brand you.”
Shaking my head, I got to my feet. “No one is branding me with a hot iron again. I refuse.”
Remi and Layla smirked as Sypher grinned. “Yeah, we don’t do that shit in our club. We prefer a more colorful way.”
“What does that mean?”