Chapter 7 - The Safe HouseTank took Lily to an abandoned cabin outside town.
Rain hammered the roof throughout the night.
Inside, a single lantern cast trembling shadows across the walls.
Lily sat wrapped in an old blanket while Tank stared through the window.
“You're scared,” she said.
Tank almost laughed.
“No.”
“You are.”
He turned.
The child wasn't afraid of him.
That frightened him more than anything.
“I don't know how to be a father,” he admitted.
Lily shrugged.
“Neither did Mom at first.”
Tank's expression softened.
“She talked about me?”
“All the time.”
“What did she say?”
Lily smiled.
“She said you were the strongest man she'd ever known.”
Tank looked away.
Lily continued.
“But she also said you were very good at pretending you didn't have a heart.”
For the first time that night, Tank smiled.
It was small.
May you like
Broken.
But real.
Related Stories
Chapter 8 - The Truth About ColeAt dawn, Cole appeared outside the cabin.
Chapter 9 - What Her Mother Left BehindThe evidence was hidden beneath an old floorboard in Lily's childhood home.
Chapter 10 - The Brother Who StayedTank returned to the clubhouse.
Chapter 11 - The Name in the FileThe digital drive contained one final folder.
Chapter 12 - The BetrayalThe traitor was Mason.
Chapter 13 - The Night of FireThe clubhouse erupted into gunfire.
