“Which means they could have too,” Cross surmised.
“One of them did. He was watching her carefully after that, and I could tell she was uncomfortable. The whole thing made me uneasy, and it was clear real fast that she needed protection. Despite her intuition picking up on their unusual behavior, she’s oblivious. Too sweet and innocent to see the dangers all around her. Wizard tapped into any surveillance available, traffic cams, security feeds at the bar, and all that.”
“Not that he needed it,” Wizard piped up, tossing me a smart-ass grin. “He was stalking her in person most of the time.”
I glared but didn’t take the bait. “Over the past five days, we’ve caught the same black SUV trailing her multiple times. Never the same driver or parked in the same place twice, but always the same car. She had no clue she was being watched.”
Ink stopped tapping the table. “You think it’s recon?”
“It was recon,” I confirmed. “Now it’s targeting. Scout came into the diner last night. Obviously a pro. Looked harmless. Forgettable. Asked all the right questions disguised as small talk. Confirming patterns and her schedule. Security, her awareness, anything that gave him the last pieces he needed to plan a grab.”
“And you’re sure this ties to the pipeline?” Blaze asked.
Wizard spun the laptop to face the table. “Credit card from last night led to a shell corp. I’d already dug it out from under the layers and layers of smoke screens. Whoever buried the parent pipeline did a damn good job, but I got to the bones eventually. So when Kevlar had me run the alias, it pinged on their server. It not only confirmed that the scout was tied to the pipeline, but it also unexpectedly helped me narrow down all the branches to the one that led me to the elusive ghost in charge.”
Wizard was a genius, but finding the guy running the operation behind the scenes had been a fucking miracle. Dunbar was damn good at staying hidden. Almost as invisible as the people we helped disappear.
King’s jaw tightened. “Name?”
I leaned back and gave it to them. “Russell Dunbar.”
Blaze’s brows lifted slightly. “That’s one I haven’t heard in a while.”
I hadn’t let that name leave my mouth since King had done his deep dive on me while I was prospecting. Blaze and Wizard had been privy to my past as well, but I wasn’t much of a sharer. After so many years in the military, particularly as a SEAL, secrets came naturally to me. And breaking wasn’t an option.
“Shocked the fuck outta me when Wizard told me.” I smiled, but it was humorless and a little more blood thirsty than normal. “Time for the devil to get his due.”
“You know him?” Tomcat asked.
I nodded once. “From before the club.”
There was a beat of silence.
Ace broke it. “He was on your SEAL team?”
“He wasn’t one of ours,” I clarified. “But he was connected. Logistics analyst embedded with procurement ops. Smart fucker. Shuffled contraband through gray channels and black-bagged distribution points. Nearly got my unit torched in a deal gone wrong. We hunted him after that, but he disappeared. Too many friends in shadowy places.”
Wizard added, “He’s got skill. Always on the move, elusive as air, never leaving even a fingerprint. But there’s never been anything that tied him to something tangible that left even the smallest detail for me to grasp onto. Going after Maren is a mistake that’s gonna cost him.”
“You think he knows she’s connected to you?” Ace asked.
“Not sure one way or the other. But she left with me last night, on my bike.” King’s eyes were laser-focused on me, and one corner of Blaze’s mouth ticked up. “If there was any doubt, it’ll be gone now.”
The silence was longer this time while everyone digested the bomb I’d just dropped.
Finally, King relaxed into his chair, and his stare became less intense. “You’re not just protecting anymore.”
“No,” I confirmed. “I’m claiming.”
That pulled a grunt of approval from Wizard. “About time. You’ve been sitting in that booth looking like a predator trying to pretend he wasn’t hunting.”
“So she’s yours now?” Ink asked, his eyes glinting with amusement. He wasn’t just teasing, though. He was making sure I sent a clear message to my brothers.
“She’s mine.” My gaze swept the room, particularly the guys who were single. “And anyone who forgets that won’t be breathing for long.”
King gave a slow nod. “From now on, Maren is under club protection. Even if she wasn’t Kevlar’s woman, the shit Dunbar is up to in our territory makes this club business.”
Wizard turned the screen back and resumed typing. “Already laid the groundwork for deeper digs now that we have a thread to pull on. I’ll trace Dunbar’s logistics trail, and we’ll dismantle him piece by piece.”
