“So this is how it’s going to go? I expected different.” The heavily accented voice trailed off. “Friendlier.”
I smirked, knowing exactly who was on the other line, but I still didn’t have a clue what he wanted. Sabre raised his hand, making a motion for me to talk to him.
“You’ve ignored the Iron Shield, Alex. How did I get so lucky?”
He drew in a sharp breath, and it echoed through my phone’s speaker. “I don’t answer to incessant whining.” Sabre’s eyebrow went up. “My girls have shitty taste in men. I blame their shit-stain of a father for that one.”
“That’s one thing we can agree on.” I paused for dramatic effect. “Liz chose you, and you’re just as shitty as the rest of them.” I didn’t know what to expect, but the laughter that bounced through the line surprised me.
“True, true, but does Elizabeth know about your foul deeds, Robert? It’s alright. I already have plans for them.”
I wasn’t a saint. I’d never try to rewrite the past, but I’d left the Corps as a broken man. Angry at my country. Hiding my service because I didn’t want to admit I’d followed orders for the wrong reasons. “Did you really make a deal with Gerry for an arranged marriage?” I rolled my eyes.
“He gave his blessing, and I already have better men selected for them.”
I wouldn’t have believed it, even though I saw it with my own eyes. Liz was never weak in my eyes, but sometimes the world moved around her, not the other way around. She patted Sabre’s arm, stood on her own, and before I could stop her, she grabbed the phone out of my hand.
“What do you want?” she asked without a break in the sentence.
“Mi amor—“
“No.” The word was sharp, and I shared a look with the other men in the room. Liz wasn’t a weak woman, but she’d softened as she’d healed, and to hear her now, it was the best kind of whiplash. I wouldn’t claim any part in whatever this was, but it was hot to watch her stand her ground.
“There she is,” he chuckled.
“I’m done,” she said, teetering on her feet. I reached out to steady her, placing my hand underneath her elbow, but she shook her head, waving me off. “No more. Either show or leave.” She didn’t wait for him to say anything else, hitting the red button on the phone.
“Damn, Aunt E.” Cyph didn’t look up from his tablet as he hit the screen repeatedly. “I got a lock on his phone. He didn’t mask the number.” Cyph shrugged, hitting a few more buttons. “No fucking way.”
Liz sat back down on the bed, exhaustion clear on her face, and Sabre wrapped an arm around her.
“He’s at Diego Lopez’s building.”
“He’s wa…wait…waiting for…you,” Liz spoke. “You…can’t.”
Sabre tightened his arm around her. “I’m not rushing off into a war I can’t win. We’re all safer if we go about our business and pretend he’s not here.” He looked at the two of us. “Church in thirty.”
Chapter 14
No Quarter
Thunder
The prospect closed the door to church, and the chatter instantly stopped. Sabre didn’t call emergency meetings on a whim, and while I knew what to expect, most of the brothers didn’t. Scrub’s seat was the only one empty. He’d already left for his shift at the hospital, and someone would fill him in later.
“What a fucking day,” Sabre said, scratching his scalp. “Grizz?”
Grizz shifted in his seat. “Some of you will remember the kid in the holding cell during our arrest. He clearly had a drug problem, begging any officer who passed for help.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “I told him if he wanted to kick the habit, he should show up at the gate. Well, today he cashed in.”
“What do we know about him?” Sabre prompted.
“I ran a background check—the same as we do for everyone else. It reads like a kid from a broken home with a drug habit,” Cyph answered. “No known cartel affiliations.”
“He’s detoxing downstairs, and it ain’t pretty.” Grizz shuddered. “I’m not asking the club for help. I’ll get him situated, but you all need to know he’s here.”
“Is he going to make it? When we picked him up, he was awfully thin,” I asked.
“Scrub says yes. Has him on fluids and gave him something for his stomach. Kid’s asleep now, so when we’re done, I’ll go back and sit with him.”
