I end the call and turn to Nash and Kyle.
“Keep digging,” I order. “Find something. Anything. If there’s a trail, I want it. Don’t leave until you’ve turned this place inside out.” They nod without question.
I swing onto my bike, East right behind me, engines growling to life with the same fury burning in my veins. The cold night air hits my face, but it doesn’t clear the static in my head. Just sharpens it. Donovan’s awake. And it’s time to get answers.
The ride back to the clubhouse is a blur of asphalt and fury. My engine roars under me, eating up the distance between the warehouse and the truth I’ve been chasing for years. East rides at my flank, his presence a steady hum beside the chaos building in my chest. The streets are still half-blocked near the blast site, charred barricades, melted signage, the echo of sirens in the distance, but we wind through the mess as fluidly as smoke.
The sound of my breathing fills my helmet. Shallow. Focused. Deadly.
When the compound gates come into view, my stomach knots. Not from fear. From purpose. Donovan’s awake. He’s going to give me answers.
The moment we roll in, prospects are already moving, alerted by the rumble of our bikes. One nods and opens the door leading to the basement.
Sloane’s voice echoes up the stairs before I’m even inside. “Vitals are stable, but you need to make it quick. If he crashes again, I won’t bring him back.” The basement is dim and smells of blood, sweat, and antiseptic. A single overhead light buzzes faintly, casting long shadows that flicker across Donovan’s face. He’s pale. Worn. But not dead.
Candace sits in the corner, her arms crossed and eyes burning with the intensity of fire, aimed straight through his skull. Sloane works quickly, adjusting bandages, checking the IV line. She doesn’t look up.
“He’s lucid, but fading. Get what you need.”
I move in front of him and crouch, eye level. “You remember me?” I ask.
Donovan coughs, his breath wet and shallow. But the corner of his mouth twitches in a mockery of a smile. “Hard to forget the bastard who ruined my favorite coat.”
I grab the front of his shirt and yank him closer. “You’re going to tell me everything. About Alice. About Cornelius. About the night my siblings disappeared.”
He wheezes a laugh. “Still clinging to that old ghost, huh?”
My fist clenches. I don’t hit him. Yet.
“You think this ends with you bleeding out on our floor? Nah. You don’t get that kind of mercy. You’re going to choke on every secret you kept.”
His eyelids flutter, but he fights to keep them open.
“I remember that night,” he mutters. “Alice was the one who called it off. Said the girl, your sister, was too valuable to waste. Said the boy might still be useful to someone else.”
A chill rolls down my spine. “She handed them over?” I growl.
He nods slowly. “To someone bigger. A buyer with connections. I wasn’t part of the trade. She kept that one close.”
“Where?” I bark. “Where were they taken?”
His lips part. “She never told me. Only that the girl would be groomed for something... important. The boy, he was resistant. Needed breaking.”
My stomach turns. Rage threatens to explode.
“But I know one thing,” he whispers. “Your sister... she’s not lost. She’s been hiding in plain sight.”
My heart stops. “What the hell does that mean?”
But he’s already fading. Sloane rushes back, checking his pulse. “He’s crashing,” she snaps. “Back off.”
I don’t move. My voice is low and lethal. “I’ll be back. You’re not dying until you give me names.”
As Sloane and a prospect rush to stabilize him, she meets my gaze. Just for a second. There’s something sharp in her expression, a look that holds the weight of an argument, a silent reminder she said she wouldn’t bring him back again. But she doesn’t say it. She doesn’t stop me.
In that one look, I see it. The contradiction. The quiet give. We both know this isn't about rules anymore. I nod once, and she turns her focus back to Donovan without a word.
Then I head back upstairs, my mind racing. Hiding in plain sight. I need to know who she is. Where they are. And how the hell this fits into the bigger picture. Because if Donovan’s telling the truth, my brother and sister might already be in trouble. If there’s even a chance they’re still alive, I have to find them. I have to get to them before it’s too late.
