Everyone says, “Yes, Prez.” from around the table.
"Dakota doesn’t leave this property without Spur and one other patched member. I don't care if she's going to the gas station. Two patched men, every time."
"Yes, Prez," I tell him.
"Marlena, Cal, Grace, and Waylon stay at the main house with me.All of them. Shadow's there as second. Nobody splits up."
Shadow nods once. "Grace and I will get some stuff together before sundown."
"Good. Banshee—same goes for the women on patrol. If Bex comes out to the property for farrier work, she stays at the main house too."
"Yes, Prez."
Phantom takes a breath and looks at me. "So, about Friday."
Everyone in the room knows what Friday is.
The Abilene qualifier.
Dakota's already entered, already paid her entry fee.
She’s already on the schedule.
"You want her to ride," Phantom says. Not a question. He's testing me.
"I want her to ride, yeah."
"Why?"
I think about how to answer. Take my time. The room is quiet around me.
All of them looking at me, waiting.
"Because if we pull her, this man wins. If we pull her from Abilene, we tell him he was right. We tell him she's afraid of him. We tell him he gets to choose what she does with her life. And the woman in that house is not built that way. She would ride Friday with a fractured rib if her father told her to scratch. So, my answer is she rides. With me at the rail. With anotherpatched member surveying everything. With a perimeter on her motel room, she should be able to ride."
Phantom looks at me a long time. "And if something happens at Abilene?"
"Then I handle it, Prez. The way you taught me."
He’s quiet for a long time.
"All right," Phantom says. "She rides."
He looks around the table. "Spur and Rogue on the road with her. Rogue, you're running the digital end—anything that hits her phone, you see it before she does. Banshee runs the property while we're gone. We leave Thursday night. Back Saturday before sundown."
Rogue nods once.
"Anything else?"
Nothing else.
Phantom dismisses church. Brothers stand up.
Some go back to their farm duties, while some go for coffee.
Phantom waits until the room has cleared. Then he tilts his head toward the back hall. "Spur, office."
I follow him.
