Kevlar’s eyes narrowed, and he cracked his neck from side to side. “Try it, pretty boy. We’ll see who ends up on the wrong end of a sniper rifle.”
King cleared his throat, the sound breaking through the banter instantly. “If you jackasses are done trying to measure your dicks, I’d like to get back to work.”
There were a few snickers and some smirks, but with one look from King, the atmosphere shifted abruptly from teasing camaraderie to something far more severe as the weight of the situation settled over the room. All eyes turned toward me, their expressions now reflecting a grim understanding of the magnitude of the shit show we were dealing with. Even Cerberus, who’d returned to his dog bed by King’s desk, lifted his head, feeling the tension in the air.
“This goes deeper than we initially thought,” I began, my voice edged with barely restrained anger. “Aegis has been conducting unauthorized tests of remote override systems during active test flights.”
Kevlar’s eyes hardened dangerously, his jaw clenched tight. “They’re fucking with aircraft in-flight?”
“Yeah.” My hands fisted on the table as cold fury coursed through my veins. “They’ve overridden controls without pilot consent. Partially to test pilot response, but we’ve found evidence that they’ve intentionally crashed planes to see how much interference they can inject before fail-safes trigger.”
Silence blanketed the room, heavy with anger and disbelief. Any aviator would have been enraged at such a violation. For me, it was personal. A pilot’s plane was fucking sacred, and Aegis had desecrated that sanctity.
Wizard spoke up, his voice tight. “We were right that Carson Holbrook’s flight wasn’t mechanical failure or pilot error. His aircraft was hijacked remotely and deliberately crashed as part of a risk trial.”
Blaze let out a low curse, disbelief coloring his tone. “They’re crashing multimillion-dollar military prototypes just to see how much control they can seize? How the fuck can they afford it?”
“Not just multimillion,” Ace interjected as he leaned forward and set his tablet on the coffee table in front of him. “These aircraft cost hundreds of millions each, but since Aegis has been making it look like pilot error or mechanical malfunctions, the military’s been footing the bill. They’ve been getting away with it, but that shit ends now.”
I looked at King. “The only reason Aegis would risk exposure this way is because they already have a buyer lined up. Someone who wants this override capability badly enough to make these tests worth it.”
His gaze sharpened, his voice dropping to a deadly rasp. “That means Linden is in even deeper shit than we thought.” He paused, his eyes flicking to Wizard. “We need to know exactly where these override signals originate from, then burn it to the fucking ground.”
Wizard nodded, his gaze already locked on his tablet again. “I’m on it. If there’s a server or signal hub within fifty miles, I’ll find it.”
Our prez turned his chair toward Ace. “Stay on the financials. Track deposits, offshore accounts, and shell companies. Anything that ties Aegis to the buyer or evidence that they’ve had previous dealings like this. Find the money trail, and we’ll know who’s pulling the strings.”
Ace nodded. “Consider it done.”
“Echo,” King continued, his tone unyielding, “you’re our eyes and ears. Get full surveillance on every building Aegis owns—admin offices, hangars, and warehouses. I don’t care how many prospects or resources you need, whatever it takes.”
“Got it,” Echo responded quietly, already pulling out his phone to send messages.
King’s eyes landed on Cruze, whose cool, calculated expression sharpened under the weight of the order he knew was coming. “Get inside the airfield’s admin building. I want every physical file, record, or document Aegis hasn’t digitized yet. They’re hiding something, and I want it in our hands.”
Cruze’s mouth curved into a ruthless smile. Before he’d patched with the Hounds, he’d been a ghost—one of the most elusive and renowned thieves in the world. His real identity had never been confirmed, but his alias still whispered in elite circles like a legend. Now, he used those unparalleled skills for the club.Mostly.
King turned to Kevlar. “Start putting together anything you think we might need when we finally find the lab and plan to breach. Blaze’ll work on the pyro shit.”
Finally, he turned to Fallon and me. “You two keep working with Linden and Wizard. Comb through the files. She seems to have a knack for finding patterns in all the noise.”
I started to protest, something protective flaring in my chest at the idea of Linden staying tangled up in this mess, but King cut me off sharply. “She needs to stay busy and focused. Being locked in the clubhouse with nothing to do will make her restless, and that’s dangerous. Trust me on this.”
King was right, and I fucking hated it. Linden wasn’t the type to sit idle, and giving her purpose might be the best way to keep her safe. Even though every instinct in me screamed to lock her away and shield her from everything.
“Fine,” I grudgingly agreed.
The meeting broke up quickly after that, each of my brothers focused on their tasks with determined efficiency. I rose from my chair, the urge to get back to my woman riding me hard. I needed to see that she was safe. Feel her in my arms. I just needed her.
14
LINDEN
Aphone buzzed on the nightstand, shattering the quiet and waking me from a dead sleep. I jolted awake, my heart already hammering before my eyes even opened. Keegan’s arm tightened around my waist, his body curling protectively over mine as he reached for the phone with his free hand.
“Tomcat,” he answered, his voice rough with sleep but instantly alert.
I couldn’t hear the other side clearly, just the low murmur of a man’s voice. Keegan’s jaw locked so hard I felt the shift in his muscles against my back.
