Saving Sami

Chapter 20 Burn The Silence

Sami- Pain had become part of her now.
Not just in her side where the blade had gone in. Not just the bruises or the phantom weight of Ghost’s arm around her throat.

It was deeper than that.
It was in her soul.
It was in the silence.

The silence that came when Ace tried to pretend he wasn’t watching her every breath.
The silence that hung in Grimm’s eyes when she caught him at the doorway at 2 a.m.
The silence of her phone—still off. No texts from her mom. No life outside these walls.
Sami was alive, but parts of her were still buried in that concrete room where Ghost had smiled while she bled.
And now she wanted those parts back.
She waited until Ace left to take a call from Grimm—some update on cartel movement near the state line. As soon as the door clicked behind him, she swung her legs over the bed.

Her feet hit the floor like thunder in her ears.
The cold shocked her system. The pain lit up her side. But she stood. One step. Then another. Hands braced on the wall like her life depended on it.
She pulled a hoodie over her thin tank top, every movement slow and jagged.
Then she made her way down the hall.
Her destination: the basement.
The cage.
Ghost.

 
She wasn’t supposed to be here.
She knew that. She knew there were a dozen reasons not to come down the narrow stairs, past the steel door, to the back room that always smelled like oil and blood and regret.

But she also knew something else.
She’d been silent long enough.
He looked up when she entered.

At first, he didn’t recognize her. Her hair was pulled back. Face still pale, lips chapped. But her eyes…
They weren’t the same eyes he’d seen in the clearing.
They were clearer. Colder.
And still burning.

“Well, well,” Ghost said with a sick grin. “Little Red lives.”
Sami stood just inside the doorway, the hum of the overhead light casting long shadows on the wall behind her.

“You look like s**t,” she said.
He laughed, the sound raspy. “That’s rich coming from you.”
She didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
“Why me?” Her voice was quiet. Deadly. “Why really?”

Ghost shifted in his restraints, eyes glinting. “Because you’re his heart. And hearts are soft. Easy to stab.”
She stepped forward. “Did you ever think maybe I’m the blade?”
That made him pause.

She knelt—slow, controlled—so they were eye level.
“You thought I’d die out there,” she whispered. “You thought I’d break.”
“Everyone breaks eventually.”
“I didn’t,” she said. “But you did.”

His lip curled. “You came all this way to play tough, little girl?”

“No,” she said, her voice trembling. “I came to remember your face. So that when I finally forgive myself for not fighting harder, I know exactly who to bury in my mind.”

That shut him up.

 
Her chest was tight. The air in the room burned her lungs. She didn’t want to be here.

But she had to be.
“I’m not your victim,” she said, rising to her feet. “I’m not a pawn. I’m not collateral.”
She stepped back toward the door, fingers trembling where they curled against her side.
Ghost leaned forward as far as the chains would let him.

“He’ll lose you anyway,” he said softly. “Men like him always do.”
Sami turned slowly. Her voice was raw.
“No,” she said. “You lost me. And you don’t get to speak him into pieces.”
Then she walked out and left him in the dark.

 
Back Upstairs
She made it halfway to her room before her knees buckled.

And that’s where Ace found her—on the cold floor, back against the wall, shaking so hard she thought her ribs might crack.

He dropped to his knees beside her. “Sami—*Red—*what happened?”
“I went to see him,” she whispered.
Ace froze.
“I had to. I had to look at him. I had to know he couldn’t break me.”

Ace pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck.
“You didn’t have to do it alone,” he said.
“I think I did,” she breathed. “Just once. I needed to see it through.”

He didn’t say anything. He just held her tighter.
Sami cried. Not because she was scared. Not because she was in pain.
But because she survived.
And she wasn’t going to hide anymore.

 
Same Night – In the Chapel
The clubhouse chapel wasn’t sacred in the traditional sense, but it had its own kind of gravity. Every patched member sat around the long wooden table, the lighting low, tension high.

Grimm leaned forward, arms braced on the table. Buster, Crow, and Axe sat in near silence, their faces grim. Reaper stood at the head, one hand gripping the edge of the table like he was barely holding something back.

“The cartel’s making moves,” Grimm said. “They’ve gone quiet since Ghost got caught, but that’s not a good sign. They’re regrouping.”
“They know they didn’t finish the job,” Reaper added. “Which means they might be looking for a second shot.”

Ace stood near the back, jaw clenched, arms crossed tight over his chest. He hadn’t said a word since Sami’s breakdown in the hallway. He hadn’t told anyone she went to see Ghost.
But he couldn’t stop seeing her face when he found her—fighting to breathe, fighting to stay upright even when she’d fallen apart.
Then—the door opened.

Every head turned.
She stood in the doorway like a ghost—pale, still healing, wrapped in one of Ace’s old hoodies. But it was the look in her eyes that silenced the room.
Not fear.
Not weakness.
Fire.

 
Reaper’s brows lifted in surprise. “You should be resting.”
“I’ll rest when I know what we’re doing,” she said, stepping into the room.
Crow looked between her and Ace, confused. “You serious?”

Grimm leaned back in his chair, arms folding slowly. “Let her speak.”
Sami walked to the center of the room. Each step was careful, but not timid. She stood at the end of the table, spine straight, chin high.
“I know I’m not patched, let alone have my own cut,” she began. “I’m not family by blood. But they came after me to get to you. That makes it my war too.”
Reaper’s expression was unreadable.

Sami’s voice wavered for just a second, then steadied. “I almost died. And I’m still trying to figure out what that means. But I do know one thing—if they want to come for me again, they better be ready to burn for it.”
The room was dead silent.

 
Then Grimm nodded once. “She’s got more balls than half of you.”
A few chuckles broke out, low and tense, but respectful.

Reaper stepped around the table and stood in front of her. For a long moment, he just looked at her.
Then he said, loud enough for everyone to hear: “You’ve got a seat at this table anytime you want one.”
Ace’s throat bobbed. His eyes burned.
Sami blinked slowly, overwhelmed—but she didn’t show it.
She just nodded. “Then let’s figure out who did this. And let’s end it.”