Then my mind flicked, uninvited, to Cole.
He was in church.In a meeting.Whatever they wanted to call it to make it sound less like a biker version of a boardroom.
They still hadn’t found the men who hurt me.
I didn’t say it out loud to the girls because I didn’t want to sour the moment, but it sat in the back of my mind like a weight.
If they were hiding, it meant they knew the Fallen Lords were looking.
And if they knew that… how were they going to find them?
I finished my food anyway.Ate until my plate was empty and my stomach was full in the best way.I leaned back in my chair, satisfied, and listened to the chatter around me.
Adley was telling a story about Calla trying to cook once and nearly setting off the fire alarm.
Cora was teasing Raven about her “murder face” when she got competitive.
Wendy was laughing at something Eden said, Eden laughing too, stuttering through it like she couldn’t get the words out fast enough.
And me?
I was full and happy.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself just sit there.
And I hoped, selfishly, that whatever happened next didn’t steal this feeling from me.
Not yet.
Chapter Sixteen
Cole
I sat at the long table between Slayer and Ender, our forearms resting on the scarred wood like I could will answers to rise up through it.Wrecker stood at the head, shoulders squared, with my dad on one side of him and Pipe on the other.
“How does no one know where these guys are?”I asked, breaking the silence.
Mason lifted a shoulder.“I don’t know, man.That first day Thorn and I asked around, we got a couple people saying they thought they knew who we were talking about.Now it’s like everyone’s got amnesia.”
It didn’t make sense.People always talked.Especially when they thought it might earn them favor.
“Maybe someone got to them,” Slayer suggested.
“But who?”Wrecker shot back.
“Maybe these guys threatened everyone to shut them up,” Kingston said.
“But who?”Wrecker repeated, his voice flat now.“There ain’t no way we’re hitting a wall because these dumbasses scared everybody.There’s something else going on.”
That was the question hanging over all of us.What else?
Pipe glanced toward Basil.“Anything more on that plate?”
Basil shook his head.“Could only get the first two letters.”
“My guy’s still working on pinning down the vehicles,” Wrecker said.“Apparently, there’s a shit ton of black Dodge Rams with plates starting with BM.”
“So now what?”I asked.
