"I'm asking you to trust a man who's spent eight months in hell to bring down the people hunting your family." Tyler met Hawk's gaze without flinching. "I'm not asking you to like me. I'm asking you to recognize we have a common enemy."
Silence stretched. I watched Hawk's face, trying to read the calculation happening behind his eyes. "The kill order on Kai," Hawk said finally. "That's verified?"
"I heard it myself. Chen called Viper two nights ago. She said, and I quote, 'The nurse is a liability. Handle it.'" Axel's hand found mine under the table. Squeezed hard enough to hurt.
"There's something else." Tyler's expression shifted. Something darker moved through his eyes. "The reason I broke cover now, specifically."
"What?"
"Viper's planning something. An attack on Phoenix—not a skirmish, not harassment. A full assault." Tyler's jaw tightened. "He's been stockpiling weapons for weeks. Recruiting from other charters. Chen's arranged for local law enforcement to be conveniently absent from this district for the next week—some kind of joint training exercise two counties over. Convenient timing."
The room went cold.
"When?" Hawk's voice was sharp.
"Soon. Maybe next week. Maybe the one after. I couldn't get specifics—Viper doesn't trust me that much yet." Tyler spread his hands. "But it's coming. And if you're not ready..."
He didn't need to finish.
Irish was the first to speak. "So let me get this straight. We've got a corrupt fed with a kill order on Kai, a rival MC planning to wipe us out, and our only ally is an undercover agent who's been riding with the enemy for eight months?" He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Just another Tuesday, I guess."
"I know it's a lot to take in," Tyler said. "But I'm not your enemy. I never was."
"The cut says otherwise." Tank nodded at the Devil's Dust patches.
Tyler looked down at the vest like he'd forgotten he was wearing it. Then, slowly, deliberately, he shrugged it off. Let it fall to the floor.
"I've been waiting eight months to do that." His voice was raw. "Wearing that thing, pretending to be one of them, watching them do things I couldn't stop—" He stopped. Swallowed. "I'm not Devil's Dust. I never was. And I'll do whatever it takes to prove that to you."
Another silence. Then Hawk stood. "We vote. Officers only." He looked at Tyler, then at me. "Both of you, wait outside."
We stood in the hallway, shoulder to shoulder, like we had a hundred times as kids waiting outside principals' offices and social workers' doors. "I'm sorry," Tyler said again.
"Stop apologizing." I leaned against the wall, exhaustion finally catching up. "You did what you had to do."
"Did I? Because from where I'm standing, all I did was make everything worse." He laughed bitterly. "I thought goingundercover would protect you. Instead, I painted a target on your back."
"The target was already there. I'm the one who stopped to help Axel that night."
"Yeah." Tyler glanced at me sideways. "Speaking of which—you and Reaper, huh? That's... unexpected."
"Is it?"
"I mean, I knew you were gay. But I figured your type was more, I don't know, gentle librarians? Not six-foot-five biker VPs with body counts."
I couldn't help it. I laughed.
"He's more than his reputation," I said. "He's... complicated. Wounded. Trying to figure out who he is."
"Aren't we all." Tyler was quiet for a moment. "He treats you well?"
"Better than I deserve."
"Doubt that." His shoulder bumped mine—a familiar gesture, achingly nostalgic. "You deserve everything good, Kai. You always did. I just wish I'd been there to make sure you got it."
"You're here now."
"Yeah." He exhaled. "I'm here now."
