Chapter 121
-Hailey-
When I turned the shower off, I heard my phone buzzing in the bedroom.
My heart dropped into my stomach. Nobody had been calling me with any good news lately.
I wrapped a towel around my hair and went to find it.
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When I saw Logan’s name on the screen, my heart jumped back up into my chest. I swiped to answer, tucking the towel behind my ear. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Are you in the apartment?” He sounded urgent.
“Yeah, I was just taking a shower.”
He murmured something under his breath. “Okay, get dressed and get back downstairs. Now. Don’t go back up there for anything until I get back.”
His tone left no room for questions, but I couldn’t help myself. “Logan, what’s—”
The line went dead before I could finish. I tossed the phone onto the bed and hurried to pull on clothes. Underwear, jeans, t–shirt, sweatshirt, socks. My mind was racing, and my clumsy pace was trying to match it.
I threw my wet hair into a bun on top of my head, then grabbed my boots and shoved my feet into them without bothering to lace them up.
I stuffed my phone in my pocket and left the apartment, bounding down the hallway and taking the stairs two at a time.
What had happened? What had Anatoly done now? The memory of my nightmare flashed through my mind – Logan’s neck sliced open, his lifeless eyes staring at nothing.
—
My stomach clenched and I forced the image out.
I rounded the corner into the main room and found Trina, Laura, and Scarlett clustered together at the bar, murmuring quietly with Stella. They all looked up as I approached.
“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Laura reached out and touched my arm. “We don’t know yet. Logan just called… told us to stay in the main
room.”
I nodded, sinking into a nearby chair. My head was spinning with possibilities, and they were all horrifying. The silence in here was suffocating.
I glanced around the room, searching for my sister. She was at a table in the corner with River, Ruby, and Link, and she gave me a small nod when our eyes met.
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Minutes felt like hours as we waited. The worry was like a noose tightening around my neck. Finally, the rumble of bikes broke the silence.
The prospects swung the front doors open, and Talon, Ledger, and Dex strode in with Logan on their heels. His face was all fury, but when his eyes landed on me, I saw relief there too.
“Logan-” I started, hopping up from my chair and meeting him in the middle of the room.
He grabbed my face with both hands and cut me off with a deep kiss.
“Stay here,” he said, pulling away. “I just needed to make sure you’re good. We’ll be right back, I gotta see something.”
Before I could respond, the four of them were heading toward the back hallway.
I heard them take the chains off the emergency exit door that led out into to the alley.
Then I heard something glass smash against an exterior wall.
And then I heard a wild string of expletives come out of Logan’s mouth.
I started to follow them out there, but Trina caught my arm as I passed the bar.
“No,” she murmured quietly. “Stay here, Hailey. They’ll fill us in.”
-Logan-
The alley was covered in broken glass now. My boots crunched over it as I stormed back inside.
My chest was heaving. The image of that goddamn graffiti was burned into my brain. Taunting me every time I blinked.
Round and round in circles.
That smug bastard had been right under our noses. Inside our walls. Laughing the whole time.
I felt like a fool. Like a goddamn rookie. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.
Talon and the others came in behind me. Dex had his hand resting on his pistol, scanning the alley like Anatoly might be hiding behind the dumpster.
Back inside, every pair of eyes locked on me and Talon. Waiting for answers we didn’t fuckin have.
Hailey opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off before she could. I couldn’t handle her questions
yet.
“Boys,” I growled. I turned and headed for the chapel with Talon and Ledger on my heels. The rest of the guys filed in after us.
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The chapel felt smaller than usual, and I couldn’t sit. I was pacing the length of the room. When everyone else was in their seats, I stopped and looked at Ledger.
“Show them the picture,” I grunted.
Ledger set the phone on the table and tapped the screen to life. Even from here I could see the graffiti mocking me. He slid it to River, and it made its way around the table so everyone could see it.
“He’s been inside our walls,” Talon said to the room.
My temper flared. “No shit,” I snapped, pacing again. “The question is, how the fuck did he get in and out without us noticing?”
Talon leaned forward in his chair. “We got eyes everywhere. Tight patrols. Cameras. How the hell did he slip past all of that?”
Ledger shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’m gonna find out. I’ll see if there’s anything else on the phone, and I’ll see if our security systems have been tampered with. There’s gotta be something.”
“Something,” I echoed, almost yelling. “Give me something. I gotta find this bastard.”
“Logan,” Talon muttered quietly.
I ignored him. My boots were thumping hard across the floor now. “We need to lock this place down. Double the patrols. Triple them if we have to. And I want every square inch of this place searched. If he was here, he left something behind. A trace. Something.”
“Or,” River said, resting his elbows on the table, “we get everyone the fuck out of here. I know we talked about it before, but there’s gotta be a way to move everyone out without them seein‘ it. To the compound. Or to Washington.”
I slammed my palm down on the table. “No. Too dangerous. And we’re not running. This is our goddamn home.”
I hated the way the words tasted, because I knew River was right. The smart play was to get everyone clear. The women, at least. Especially Hailey,
But the thought of tucking tail and letting that smug Russian bastard chase us out of our own territory made my teeth grind together.
And the thought of putting Hailey somewhere I couldn’t keep my eyes on her was even worse.
Talon’s voice cut through. “Son, look at me.”
I did.
“Your girl’s out there,” he said. “Your mother. Your sister. You really wanna bet their lives on pride?”
Ledger cleared his throat. “Let’s not be too hasty. Logan has a point. We should search the clubhouse first…. search the neighborhood. Talk to some of our people out there. Someone has to have seen something. We need to find out if they’re actually watchin‘ us, or if they set up cameras somewhere to do it for them.
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The chapel felt smaller than usual, and I couldn’t sit. I was pacing the length of the room. When everyone else was in their seats, I stopped and looked at Ledger.
“Show them the picture,” I grunted.
Ledger set the phone on the table and tapped the screen to life. Even from here I could see the graffiti mocking me. He slid it to River, and it made its way around the table so everyone could see it.
“He’s been inside our walls,” Talon said to the room.
My temper flared. “No shit,” I snapped, pacing again. “The question is, how the fuck did he get in and out without us noticing?”
Talon leaned forward in his chair. “We got eyes everywhere. Tight patrols. Cameras. How the hell did he slip past all of that?”
Ledger shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’m gonna find out. I’ll see if there’s anything else on the phone, and I’ll see if our security systems have been tampered with. There’s gotta be something.”
“Something,” I echoed, almost yelling. “Give me something. I gotta find this bastard.”
“Logan,” Talon muttered quietly.
I ignored him. My boots were thumping hard across the floor now. “We need to lock this place down. Double the patrols. Triple them if we have to. And I want every square inch of this place searched. If he was here, he left something behind. A trace. Something.”
“Or,” River said, resting his elbows on the table, “we get everyone the fuck out of here. I know we talked about it before, but there’s gotta be a way to move everyone out without them seein‘ it. To the compound. Or to Washington.”
I slammed my palm down on the table. “No. Too dangerous. And we’re not running. This is our goddamn home.”
I hated the way the words tasted, because I knew River was right. The smart play was to get everyone clear. The women, at least. Especially Hailey.
But the thought of tucking tail and letting that smug Russian bastard chase us out of our own territory made my teeth grind together.
And the thought of putting Hailey somewhere I couldn’t keep my eyes on her was even worse.
Talon’s voice cut through. “Son, look at me.”
I did.
“Your girl’s out there,” he said. “Your mother. Your sister. You really wanna bet their lives on pride?”
Ledger cleared his throat. “Let’s not be too hasty. Logan has a point. We should search the clubhouse first… search the neighborhood. Talk to some of our people out there. Someone has to have seen something. We need to find out if they’re actually watchin‘ us, or if they set up cameras somewhere to do it for them.
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“Dependent on that, then we can discuss ways to move forward. It’d be easy to hack cameras. Set ‘em on a loop so we can move everyone out. If there are people watching, it’ll be a little tougher.”
Talon looked at him for a minute, then nodded. “Alright. Get on that, Ledger. And the rest of you, go out in groups of three to canvas the neighborhood.”
Ledger was already tapping away on his laptop. “I’ve been saying for years we need more cameras in that back alley,” he muttered to himself.
I turned to Talon. My father. My president. “We need to keep the women safe. Hailey and her friends they’re targets now more than ever. I want eyes on them 24/7.”
He nodded. “We’ll keep them safe, son.”
–
“I’m not letting him win,” I added. I took a couple steps toward the door and then turned back to face the room. “Not again. Ever. This ends here.”
My brothers murmured in agreement, and I could feel the tension shift in the room.
We were the Warriors. We didn’t back down. We didn’t run.
Losing was new for us, and I didn’t know what to do with it. I wasn’t gonna let it happen again.
I was the first one out the chapel door, and I almost plowed straight into Hailey.
“Can I see it? The message he left?” she whispered, crossing her arms over her chest.
I sighed hard. I should’ve known she’d be listening at the door.
My girl had never been good at staying where I put her.
I grabbed her hand, lacing our fingers together. “C’mon, Ace.”
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
