"What do we tell her?" Nash asks.
"The truth." I hold his gaze, then sweep the room. "Full cooperation. Answer her questions honestly. If you saw something unusual, tell her. If you remember a customer who seemed off, give her details. We've got nothing to hide regarding weapons trafficking because we're not trafficking weapons."
"But someone wants it to look like we are," Tate says.
"Yeah. Someone's setting us up, doing it professionally. Which means we need federal resources to find them." I lean against the table. "Monroe's smart. Thorough. Dangerous. But she's also the best tool we've got right now to prove we're being framed."
"You trust her?" Will asks. The question every Brother is thinking.
"I trust that she wants the truth. Whether that truth helps us or hurts us, she'll find it either way." I don't sugarcoat it. "But I showed her the ghost orders first, before she could findthem herself. Proved we're not hiding evidence. That buys us cooperation instead of obstruction charges."
"What about The Forge?" Shaw's eyes narrow. "One of those delivery addresses lists the property."
"She asked about it. Told her it's private property, events and storage. Said if she wants to search it, she needs a warrant." I pause. "She'll probably get one eventually. But The Forge isn't illegal. Consenting adults, everything documented, safety protocols in place. Worst case, she finds out we run a BDSM club and decides it's not relevant to weapons trafficking."
"Best case?" Mike asks.
"Best case, we find who's setting us up before she executes that warrant."
Will drums his fingers on the table once. The gesture I've seen a thousand times before he makes a presidential decision. "Vote. Full cooperation with the federal investigation, answer all questions honestly, help Agent Monroe find who's actually trafficking weapons. All in favor?"
Every hand goes up. No hesitation. Brotherhood consensus.
"Opposed?"
Silence.
"Motion carries." Will's voice carries the weight of finality. "Cole's got point on this. You cooperate with Monroe; you follow her lead on strategy. Anyone has a problem with that, speak now."
No one speaks. The deference isn't fear. It's respect for the VP position, trust in my judgment, and the shared understanding that we protect what's ours by whatever means necessary.
Even if that means working with a federal agent.
"Anything else?" Will asks.
"Yeah." I pull up property records on my laptop. "Running background on known gun runners in the region. Public records,military contractor databases, cross-referencing with people who'd have reason to set us up. Should have something in the next day or two."
"Keep me updated." Will stands, ending the meeting. "Church is closed."
Brothers file out, conversations already shifting to normal shop business and ball-busting. The crisis has been acknowledged, the decision made, and now we're back to the everyday rhythm of Brotherhood life.
Will catches my arm as I'm packing up the laptop. "You good?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you're wound tight. Even for you." He studies me with the same assessing look he's been giving me since we served together. "Is it Gemma and me, or the fed?"
Both. Neither. I don't know. "Gemma's happy. That's what matters."
"But you're struggling with it."
"She's my sister. I want her happy." The protective rage has nowhere to go now that she's with my best friend and President. The instinct to guard her from threats doesn't disappear just because the threat turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. "I trust you. I know you'll protect her. Doesn't make it easier to let go."
"You don't have to let go. Just have to share the job." Will's tone softens fractionally. "She's still your sister. I'm not replacing you. I'm just adding to the people who give a shit about keeping her safe."
Logically, I know that. Emotionally, the wiring's more complicated. But I nod anyway because Will's right and arguing won't change the fundamental truth.
"And the fed?" Will asks. "Because you've been looking at Agent Monroe like she's a tactical problem you want to solve with your hands."
