“He’s not sure how deep she runs,” I say. “He saw her. He knows she’s around us. But he doesn’t know what she is to us.”
Ryder’s gaze sharpens.
That earlier look again.
Me.
Zane.
“You sure about that?” he asks quietly.
The question isn’t just about Cole.
It’s about us.
Zane doesn’t answer.
I hold Ryder’s gaze.
“She’s not a weakness,” I say carefully.
“That’s not what I asked.”
There it is.
Leader mode.
“You think this fractures us?” I ask lightly.
“I think anything undefined can,” Ryder replies.
Zane steps forward slightly. “We’re not competing.”
It’s simple. Firm.
Ryder studies him.
“And you’re clear on that?” Ryder asks.
Zane doesn’t flinch. “Yeah.”
I add, because deflection is my coping mechanism, “If we were competing, you’d know.”
After a beat, Ryder nods once.
“Good,” he says. “Because Cole will look for cracks. He always does.”
And he’s right.
Cole exploited tension before. Used internal disagreements as leverage. Pushed members against each other until loyalty got blurry.
“He’ll try to bait you,” I tell Ryder. “Make it personal. Maybe through the club. Maybe through business.”
“He’ll test suppliers,” Zane says. “See who still answers to him.”
“He might try to provoke a public scene,” I add. “At the bar. Make us choose between restraint and reputation.”
Ryder stands slowly.
