Chef tips his chin at Omen before settling his eyes on me. “We’ll make sure your girls are safe.”
“Wait, how would Hitchens know about hidden cult shit?” Flack asks, TumTum nodding in agreement.
“Well, that’s where things get a little murky. We haven’t quite figured it all out yet, but he’s been in contact with someone the dark web calls ‘Ashfall’. We did a deep dive and it would seem that Ashfall knows a lot about Eden’s Keep.” Theo says rather blandly considering the bomb he just dropped.
“Wait, are you telling us that the fucker who spray painted Eden’s Keep shit on the wall of the murder house is working with Hitchens? How in the fuck did THAT happen?” Omen barks.
“We’re working on that.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that we need that information yesterday,” Dex says, knocking twice on the table. “How much did Chewy tell you about what we do here?”
“Just that you’re the new MC chapter and you’re based out of an ex-religious cult compound,” Jay answers.
“And some of you grew up here,” Theo adds.
“That’s all correct. What she didn’t tell you is that we’re a haven for those who need a place to deprogram and get all their paperwork for a new life. We have rescues from a cult from up north on site and the twins that the DRMC sent here for hiding. I’m sure you can appreciate that we need you all over this shit.Whatever threats are out there we need to know about them so we can shut them down. We can’t let any of this shit touch the people in our care, got it?” Dex hits the Matrix twins with a dark stare and again I’m thankful that Marx saw the potential in Dex to lead us.
“Understood,” The twins reply at the same time, creepy as hell.
“With that said, it’s time to get cozy.” Jay moves his seat a little, taps a few keys and pulls up what looks to be video footage in the corner and three mugshots on the screen. “Do you recognize any of these people?”
My brothers and I side eye each other, before Sniper sighs and moves to stand behind Jay. The rest of us all gather around, pushing and shoving a little to get a good view of the tiny fucking screen we’re working from.
“That one there is Hitchens,” Flack points out, leaning forward to jab a stubby finger at the screen, completely squashing Jay and fucking up his screen. “Shit, sorry.”
“It’s touch screen, so if everyone would please refrain from touching it, I’d appreciate it,” Jay says drily.
“What about the other two on the screen?” Theo says, obviously wanting to move shit along. I don’t blame him. Both brothers are hunched forward as the collective weight of the Keep chapter breathes down their necks.
I concentrate on the grainy footage, Hitchens in some cafe booth with two other men. There is something about one of them that tickles the back of my brain but for the life of me I can’t put my finger on it. Glancing at Saint and Omen, I notice they’ve spotted the same thing I have.
“Do you see it?” I ask them, not bothering to explain as I know they’re on the same wavelength as me.
“Something about the hair,” Saint mumbles, leaning even closer to the screen, Theo shrinking down until he’s almost nose to table.
Omen frowns at the laptop screen as if he wants to punch it before letting out a breath, “Prez, we need Justice and Loyal. They spent more time in Eden’s Keep than we did. They might be able to ID them.”
Prez nods once and Sniper makes his way to the door. His low mumbling tone makes it impossible to eavesdrop, not that it matters as Justice and Loyal file in. Justice stands just off to the side and my woman comes straight to me, hooking her pinky with mine as she settles her weight on me. It’s not a huge display of affection, but coming from Loyal it’s equal to her jumping into my arms and humping me like a dog in heat. She’s modest, my woman and I wouldn’t have her any other way.
“Quick recap - Hitchens seems to be working with someone called AshFall. We believe this person, or persons, has in-depth knowledge of Eden’s Keep,” Dex begins.
Loyal’s quick intake of breath is let out slowly, “So the two bad guys are working together?” she asks, voice a little shaky. One bad guy she could handle. One bad guy with Eden’s Keep? That’s something none of us want to see.
“That’s the theory we’re working on,” Theo answers before turning his screen toward Loyal.
Justice steps up behind her and they both lean a little closer. My girl stiffens and Justice lets out a curse.
“Well, I guess that answers it then,” Chef murmurs.
“Babe, can you tell us who that is?” I ask her gently, pressing my lips to her temple and smiling into her hair when she relaxes immediately.
“That’s Elder Goodson’s brother. I’m not sure what his name is, I was never allowed to address him, or make any eye contact,” Loyal says quietly.
“He’s a sadistic mongrel,” Justice growls and I have a feeling he knows this man in a way that he wished he didn’t. “Came to Eden’s Keep just before you left. Was friends with our father,” he spits.
“That explains why we recognized him but couldn’t ID him,” Saint says.
“I was part of your sister’s team when we ended Eden’s Keep. How’d he escape?” Sniper mumbles, turning to look at me.
