His jaw flexes, anger rolling off him. “You think I’m gonna risk the club for her? For you?”
Stepping closer, voice hard, I say,
“If anything happens to the Bastards because of this, you take it out on me. My life for theirs. I’ll pay that price.”
The room goes silent. Brothers shift in their seats, watching. Mav’s eyes bore into mine, testing if I mean it.
Finally he shakes his head. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”
I don’t blink. “Maybe, I am. But with or without the Royal Bastards, I’m helping her. There’s no scenario where I walk away from this.”
Maverick leans back, expression unreadable. “You’re putting yourself in the crosshairs, Night. And if you drag us into it, you better be ready to bleed.”
I nod. “I already am.”
He finally shifts his gaze from me to Londyn. His tone changes. It’s still sharp, but lighter, almost teasing.
“Well, damn. Londyn. Last time I saw you, you were a wet-behind-the-ears rookie, slapping cuffs on me outside Peaches. Think you got me twice that year, didn’t you?”
Her lips twitch, just barely. “Three times, actually. You kept running your mouth.”
Mav chuckles, shaking his head. “Sounds about right.” Then the humor drops out of him. “Enough small talk. Tell me everything you know about what happened to your family.”
Londyn straightens, voice steady despite the heaviness, and lays it out… the massacre at her parents’ house, the FBI and DEA visit in the hospital, Ty’s undercover work against the cartel, the execution-style hit. She doesn’t sugarcoat it. She tells him about the suspicion of a leak inside her precinct, someone feeding intel to the cartel.
He listens, arms crossed, jaw tight. When she finishes, he nods once, then calls out, “Turbo!”
A few seconds later, Turbo strolls in, laptop already under his arm. Mav jerks his chin toward Londyn. “Run backgrounds on her captain and her partner. Dig deep. I want to know who they talk to, where their money goes, what they’re hiding.”
Turbo grins, sliding into a chair. “On it, Prez.” Flipping the laptop open, his fingers fly across the keys.
Londyn shakes her head. “Wait, why them?” Her voice has a protective edge. “Captain Herrera treats me like a daughter, and Tony’s had my back since day one. What makes you think either of them could be involved?”
Mav’s eyes bore into hers. “Your family’s location reached the cartel. It had to be someone close, someone with access… someone who betrayed you.”
“They wouldn’t do that,” she fires back. “Not them.”
Mav shrugs. “Sweetheart… people are capable of anything when money, fear, or power’s on the table. Some are born that way. Some get bought. Some just… break.” He leans forward, voice dropping low. “Your loyalty doesn’t make them clean, and it’s Turbo’s job to look where you won’t.”
Londyn shakes her head, disbelief flickering across her face. “Not him. Not Herrera.”
Mav doesn’t flinch. “I’ve seen brothers sell out blood for less. Seen men I trusted put a bullet in someone’s back because it was easier than staying loyal. You think being treated like a daughter makes you safe? That just blinds you to what he’s hiding.”
“He’s not calling them dirty. He’s saying he’ll check. That’s what matters,” I cut in, meeting her eyes, showing her we’re on her side.
Londyn’s jaw flexes, but she doesn’t argue. Not because she agrees, but because she knows she can’t afford to be wrong.
“If you want answers, you better be ready to face the truth, even if it’s ugly. Especially if it’s ugly,” Steel says, giving it to her straight.
Turbo glances up from his screen, smirking. “And if there’s dirt, I’ll find it.”
I watch Londyn, her face is pale but steady. She’s rattled, but I can see the fire in her eyes. She’s not backing down.
“Which cartel is it?” Mav asks.
“The Mendaro Syndicate.”
Everything in the room stops… talk, movement, even the air feels different. Like the walls themselves know we’ve just stepped into something bigger than all of us.
