“I can’t fucking believe this,” says Brandon with a bitter laugh. “It felt fucked up, you know? These past few years. Like shit kept getting weirder and heavier. If this is what you say it is, then this whole club has been a complete fucking joke.”
“Don’t say that,” says Cipher. He waves a hand around the space. The empty chairs, the quiet bar. “This was still something. For better or worse.”
“But not what we thought,” says Pluto. “We all knew Silas was a creep, but…” He stops and shakes his head. “That’s not a brother. That’s a rat.”
Babydoll’s eyes are bright with fury. “And Billy let him.”
“Billyusedhim like he used all of us,” Jade cuts in.
“This used to feel like my fucking family,” says Brandon, eyes glistening with emotion. “But instead it was just Billy’s fucking operation.”
Pluto makes a sound like he’s choking and then he reaches up and starts peeling his cut off. He folds it with a kind of sad reverence, like he’s putting something to rest that meant a lot to him, and sets it on the floor.
Then Knox does it too, but rougher. Rips his off and tosses it down like it burns him.
Brandon’s hands shake as he pulls the vest off.
Cipher yanks his off in one violent motion.
Jade—who never wore one, who never got to—laughs softly and cruelly.
Babydoll says nothing. She just watches me with a strange kind of pride, like she’s seeing me finally stand up straight.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WHEN WE GET home, we all shuffle inside fast, like we’re afraid of getting caught. Like something’s chasing us.
Damian shuts the door and Wyatt swings the case onto the kitchen table with a dull thud.
“We need eyes on the perimeter,” Ryder says to Jake. “You got the cameras on?”
“They’re off,” says Jake.
“I’ll get them going,” says Damian, shrugging out of his jacket. “I’m going to work out, anyway.”
Ryder nods once. “Fine. Keep an ear out.”
Damian heads downstairs.
“I don’t think we’re gonna have any problems,” says Wyatt.
“Don’t be so sure,” says Ryder. “Always assume the worst.”
“None of them are loyal,” says Wyatt, “I promise you. They were throwing their cuts on the ground when we left. They feel cheated. They didn’t know Hargrove funded the club, they didn’t know they were wearing patches for a lie, and they’re mad.”
“We’ll see,” Ryder says, unconvinced. His gaze flicks to the case.
Jake is already at the table, flipping open the latches and lifting the lid. His whole expression changes to pure gratification at the sight of the drives packed into the foam-lined interior.
“No way.” He reaches in and lifts out the little black brick. “HSM token,” he says. “Hardware Security Module. It’s the key. Means the drives are encrypted, just like I thought.”
He looks up at all of us.
“This is good news.” He can’t quite hide the edge of excitement in his voice. “If Silas encrypted his archive with this, the drives Hargrove’s cleanup team stole are probably locked the same way. Without the key—” he dangles the brick slightly, looking smug, “—they might’ve hauled off a bunch of locked boxes.”
“Ha,” says Wyatt on a low breath. Ryder doesn’t say anything, but I think his shoulders ease a fraction.
Jake sets the token back in the foam, snaps the lid shut, and grabs the handle.
