My blood turns to ice.
Me: What kind of deal?
Rogue: Unknown.But he's offering information in exchange for protection.
"What's wrong?"Evangeline asks, reading my expression.
"Morrison's making moves.He’s reached out to the Shadow Hawks, trying to trade information for protection."
"What kind of information?"
"Probably everything Ivy gave him.Names, locations, business operations.He's trying to sell us out to our biggest enemies."
The full scope of the threat becomes clear at that moment.This isn't just about getting Evangeline back or maintaining his criminal empire.Morrison's planning to start a war, using us as the opening salvo.
"We need to move faster," I say, already texting Ghost."Morrison's escalating.We can't wait for the perfect moment.We need to end him now."
"How?"
"However we have to."
Ghost responds immediately:Emergency meeting.Chapel.Five minutes.
I stand, offering Evangeline my hand."You should stay here with the kids.Keep the door locked.I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Be careful."
"Always am."
But as I head toward the chapel, I know careful might not be enough anymore.Morrison's raised the stakes, brought our enemies into play, and threatened everything I care about.
And that means the gloves are coming off.
* * *
The emergency meeting is tense, every brother present understanding the gravity of what we're facing.Ghost lays out what we know about Morrison's outreach to the Shadow Hawks, Rogue adds intelligence from his police contacts, and Tempest details the security breach.
"We've got a leak," Savage says bluntly."No way someone gets that close without inside help."
"Or they've got technology we don't know about," Sniper counters."Thermal imaging, long-range cameras, drones."
"Doesn't matter how they did it," Ghost says."What matters is Morrison's making his move.We need to respond before he brings the Hawks down on us."
"What's the play?"I ask.
"We accelerate the timeline.Morrison dies tonight.Clean, quiet, no witnesses."
"And the Hawks?"
"We deal with them if they become a problem.But right now, Morrison's the immediate threat."
The plan comes together quickly.Rogue's got a location on Morrison, Sniper's got the logistics covered, and I'm going to be the one who pulls the trigger.
"One problem," Tempest says."We leave Evangeline and those kids here, we're relying on security that's already been compromised once tonight."
"What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting we keep them close.Bring them with us, keep them in sight, make sure we know where they are every second."
