Outside, the night was still waiting.
I grinned behind the mask, and let myself disappear into it.
The next day was Saturday, and the clubhouse buzzed with bodies—Juliet, Ms. Pearl, Bronc’s sharp-tongued sister Maddie, and a handful of women who kept glancing my way like I’d hung the goddamn moon. Their laughter prickled my skin; their perfume cloying. My wolf snarled low, restless beneath my ribs.Not her, it growled.None of them smell like her. Parker’s absence clawed at me even here, even now.
Since we were all here, it was a good time to debrief. Bronc gathered us all together, then called the meeting to order, slamming a fist on the table. “Toy run’s on Christmas day. We need routes finalized, gifts sorted.”
His voice was gravel, but my focus fractured. Two women lingered near the door, whispering, their eyes darting to me. One flicked her hair, smiling like she’d practiced it. My jaw tightened. Sad thing was, I couldn’t remember if I’d ever slept with her ornot. I’m not proud of it, but I’d had a run at more than my fair share of women around here.
Doc leaned over. “You got a fan club workin’ at the back of the room, looks like.”
“Hell if I even know their names. That’s the fucked up part of it.” I laughed. “You’d think they’d have more pride than that, since I clearly never gave them a second go at it.”
He just shook his head. “You’ll never be accused of being a gentleman, Wrecker.”
“Hey, I guaran-fucking-tee I never made one promise to any of ‘em. If they expected something more, that was a delusion they created in their own minds.”
Bronc gave us both the stink eye. “Anything you two sons of bitches wanna share with the class?”
“Not anything you’d have any interest in hearing. Uh, sir.” I added with a grin.
He shook his head with a chuckle. “Then shut the fuck up and pay attention, how ‘bout?”
I gave him a mock salute.
When the details drained into arguments over wrapping paper and pickup trucks, I jerked my chin toward the back office. Bronc nodded, and the team followed—Arsenal scowling, Ghost silent as smoke. I shut the door hard.
After everyone was seated around the table, I started right in. “First off, I stopped the flow of any funds leaving Iron Valor coffers going anywhere we don’t expressly want. I know the who and why now as well. Parker Reidisour hack. There is no question.”
Every face had looks of hurt and anger all over them.
“Now, as far as getting to the why. Her slimeball, piece of shit, twin brother Axel dragged her into this. Sold her out, more like,” I said bluntly. I opened my laptop and pulled up the video from the camera I had put in her house. The screen on the wall suddenly had the feed. The video glared out at them.
Axel’s face appeared big as life: “I’m dead if you don’t do this. You know Silas. He’ll make it hurt.”
Then Parker’s reply: “Cry me a river. You act likeI’mnot dead if I do. Do you think when Wrecker figures out that I’m the one who did this, he’s not gonna burn this whole thing down and me with it? I’m just doing this so Silas doesn’t cut you up into tiny pieces and feed you to his dogs while you scream my name.”
Axel’s laugh came through the speaker. “Iron Valor doesn’t give a damn about you. They never did.”
Arsenal lunged forward, palms slamming the desk. “And that excuses her selling us out? Burn her. Now.” His rage hung thick, but my own flared hotter.
“You think I don’t want to tear someone apart?” I snarled, stepping into his space. My wolf surged, teeth bared. “She was scared. Stupid, loyal, and scared.” The admission burned my throat. I’d replayed that video a hundred times—the tremor in her voice, the way she’d flinched when Axel spat Greenbriar’s name. “She should’ve come to Bronc. Should’ve trusted us. But fear makes a fool of everyone. She did leave a backdoor open for me to get through. Shewantedus to find this. She’s one of the best hackers I’ve ever come across. If she’d wanted to keep me out, she could have. I’d have gotten in eventually, but not this quickly. So you need to fucking back off.”
Bronc’s hand clamped my shoulder, yanking me back. “Enough.” His glare silenced Arsenal first, then pinned me. “You’re soft for her, Wrecker. Fine. Use it. Get close, play nice. If she’s tangled with Silas and Greenbriar, we get to them through her.”
The order landed like a blade. Arsenal scoffed. Doc, Gunner, and Big Papa stood. I felt their support. But Bronc’s stare held me. “Do you have a handle on this, Eli?”
“Didyouhave a handle on Juliet?”
He shook his head. “That’s fair.”
“Bottom line, brother, do you trust me?” I held his eyes.
“With my life.” He told me, his confidenceclear.
“I swear, I won’t let you or this pack down.”
“You need help, you tell me.”
