"Better than expected."I glance toward the kids.Mason's got his arm around Emma, both of them trying to act tougher than they feel."They're resilient.Calla raised them right."
"And Evangeline?"
The question hits like a sucker punch to the gut."What about her?"
"Don't play dumb, brother.You've been wound tight since she walked into that foster home yesterday."Ghost leans against the bar, his voice low enough that the kids can't hear."Tempest filled me in on the situation with the fiancé."
Of course he did.Tempest's got a mouth like a sieve when it comes to club business.
"It's complicated," I say.
"It's always complicated with you and that woman."Ghost's tone isn't judgmental, just stating facts."The question is: what are you planning to do about it?"
Before I can answer, the chapel door opens and the brothers start filing out.Savage, our VP, looks grim as he approaches us.Behind him come Rogue, Sniper, Renegade, Ruin, Onyx, and Nemesis.The core of our brotherhood, the men I'd trust with my life.
And now, with the lives of five kids who didn't ask to be part of this world.
"We need to talk," Ghost says, jerking his head toward the chapel."All of us."
I follow them back into the meeting room, the familiar ritual of club business helping to center my thoughts.But even as I take my seat at the long wooden table, part of my attention stays focused on the main room, on the soft sounds of the children, and the knowledge that Evangeline is somewhere in this building.
"Alright," Ghost says, calling the meeting to order."Let's talk about what we know.Hades, you spoke to the detective again this morning?"
I nod."Isaacs' good people, but she's got her hands tied.The official line is home invasion gone wrong.But off the record, she's got questions."
"What kind of questions?"Rogue asks.He's leaning back in his chair, but I can see the tension in his shoulders.After everything he's been through with Willow and their daughter, he understands what it means to have family in danger.
"Too many things don't add up.The security system was disabled, but only the motion sensors.Cameras were still rolling.Marcus' wallet was still in his back pocket and had three hundred in cash inside.Calla's jewelry box was untouched."
"Professional hit," Savage says flatly.
"That's what I'm thinking.Question is: who wanted them dead and why?"
Tempest shifts in his seat."Marcus was clean, right?No connection to any of our business?"
"Clean as they come.He worked for some boring accounting firm downtown, handled small business taxes and estate planning.Nothing that should have put a target on his back."
"What about Calla?"Nemesis asks.His scarred face is impassive, but I can hear the edge in his voice.None of us like the idea of innocent people getting caught up in club business.
"She was a kindergarten teacher, for fuck's sake.The most dangerous thing in her life was finger paints and playground duty."
"Someone wanted them gone," Ghost says."The question is whether this was about the club or something else entirely."
The possibility that my sister died because of my association with the Saints makes my stomach twist, but I have to consider it.We've got enemies, and some of them are crazy enough to go after family.
"I want to review everything," I say."Police reports, security footage, financial records.Whatever it takes to find who did this."
"You got it, brother," Rogue says."We'll tear this city apart if we have to."
The solidarity in his voice settles something in my chest.This is what the club is about.Family.Brotherhood.Protecting the people who matter.
Ghost's about to speak, when the main door to the clubhouse slams open with enough force to rattle the windows.The sound carries into the chapel, and we all go still.
"Where is she?"
The voice is sharp, entitled, carrying the kind of authority that comes from money and privilege.I know who it is before I even see him.
Ethan.
