“Most of us do,” Axle replied. “They’ve been trying to make themselves bigger than they are. Betting heavy, poaching racers, pushing into routes around race nights, and sniffing around crews that don’t belong to them.”
Kane’s gaze stayed on the screen. “They want a bigger seat at the table.”
“They wantourtable,” Edge corrected, his grin gone now. “Or at least enough crumbs from it to pretend they matter.”
Axle’s expression darkened. “They’ve crossed my path on runs too. Nothing big enough to justify action before now, but enough to piss me off. One truck was delayed outside Perry because a couple of their riders boxed in the route and acted like they'd gotten lost. A fuel transport got followed for twenty miles before they peeled off. A couple of them showed up near a meet location they had no reason to know about, then played dumb when my guys clocked them.”
I looked at him. “Why didn’t I hear about that?”
“You did,” Axle shot back. “In reports you probably skimmed while painting naked women on gas tanks.”
“They weren’t naked.”
Kane explained, “Axle reported it. We watched. They hadn’t done enough to make a move worth consequences.”
“Until they cornered Saylor,” I muttered.
Kane nodded.
The Redline Kings didn’t move on every annoyance, insult, or little territorial sniff from clubs trying to prove they had teeth. We were patient when it served us, violent when only it solved the problem, and strategic every time. But Saylor had changed the board.
The Diesel Serpents hadn’t just gotten bold near our races. They had stepped into my woman’s path and threatened her.
Jax turned the laptop slightly toward me. “From what Saylor repeated, they think Sutton was supposed to get close to you. That means her twin didn’t just randomly stumble into The Burnout drunk and decide to crawl into your lap because she liked your personality.”
“She didn’t make it to my lap,” I pointed out.
Edge’s mouth twitched. “Tragic for absolutely no one.”
I ignored him. “So it wasn’t me. She was fishing.”
“That’s my read,” Jax agreed. “Question is for what. Technical specs? Race schedules? Crew vulnerabilities?Something tied to your custom work? You’re the one they apparently targeted, which means whatever they wanted, they thought you had access.”
“Which is a long fucking list. But if she was supposed to manipulate me, she fucked up before she got past hello.”
“Comforting,” Axle muttered. “The enemy’s plan died of tequila and boundary issues.”
A muscle in my jaw twitched. “They’re still breathing. So not comforting enough.”
Kane folded his arms, the shift small but final. “For now, the play is patience. Jax keeps digging. Axle tightens eyes on runs. Edge and I will watch where they move and who they talk to. We figure out what they wanted from Sutton, why they wanted it from you, and how far they’re willing to go before we decide how to end it.”
Patience was the right call. I knew that. Didn’t mean I liked it. “And Sutton?”
“Jax will start looking for her,” Kane replied. “Unless we need her to prove Saylor’s identity, or Sutton becomes a bigger problem for us, she isn’t worth chasing hard. Right now, the priority is figuring out why the Diesel Serpents wanted her close to you and making sure they stay the fuck away from Saylor.”
Jax nodded, his fingers moving over the keyboard. “I’ll run Sutton Everett through the obvious channels first. If she’s as messy as Saylor says, she’ll leave tracks. People like that usually think disappearing means using cash and changing motels. They forget cameras, phones, and stupid friends exist.”
“Sutton stole Saylor’s identity once.” The reminder made my teeth grind. “Took out a loan in her name and left Saylor to clean it up.”
Edge’s eyes went colder. “Lovely.”
“Yeah,” I snorted. “Real charming family dynamic.”
Kane studied me across the desk then, going quiet in a way that made the whole room shift. I didn’t bother masking my expression. When it came to Saylor, there wasn’t much point. My feelings were probably written all over me in permanent marker.
He finally asked, “Saylor is it for you?”
No pretending the answer needed thought. “Yes.”
