Page 65 of Carver’s Crusade

The men grumble, and I know they’re thinking the same thoughts as me. Fucking dangerous of her to do what she did. Just wait until they hear the rest of it.

“Raven discovered that Tony has five close friends. These same friends have given Tony, and each other, convenient alibis whenever they needed one. Raven followed Tony to the house of one Andrew Rollings.” Byte adds Rollings's image next to Tony’s. “Their other four friends also showed up.” Byte adds the images of the other men as Shield names them. “Three of the men left the house, including Tony. Raven followed him to a bar, the Check Mate, and stopped him from leaving with a girl who had been drugged. Raven tasered the asshole.”

Chaos snorts. “Sounds like an Old Lady in the making,” he says, smirking at me.

I manage a grimace in return. She’s definitely Old Lady material, even though she’s just as likely to give me a heart attack.

“We think the other two men who left at the same time as Tony kidnapped two other women. We had reports of two women going missing from two other bars around the same time. Maestro found traffic-cam footage of the two guys near the bars in question, but we don’t have confirmation that they were inside. I have Axel and Simon watching Rollings’ house.”

“You think these guys kidnapped two girls and took them back to the house so the six of them could play with them?” Grimm growls.

Shield nods. “Yeah, that’s what we think. Raven found several photos of these assholes. They are always together. If there are women, there are only two or three women, never more. The women in some of the photos look drugged. Maestro is running their images through his software to see if he can identify them.”

“You think they might be victims?” Reaper asks.

“I do.”

I lean forward slowly, staring at Tony’s image while rage coils tightly in my chest.

“They rely on each other,” I say finally.

Dante’s eyes shift toward me. “Explain.”

I nod at a picture with all six grinning at the camera. “Every time one of these assholes gets accused of something, the others step in with an alibi. Same pattern over and over.”

“Because they trust each other,” Shield says.

“Exactly.” I nod. “And that trust is their weakness.”

Torch leans back in his chair. “What’re you thinkin’, brother?”

I look around the table. “We set them up. We already know their pattern. If we follow them, we can catch all six of them together. Their alibis won’t work. They may turn on each other.”

Dante’s expression hardens thoughtfully.

“They’ve probably gotten comfortable,” I say. “Too comfortable. Men like that start believing they’re untouchable.”

“Especially after getting away with shit for years,” Ranch mutters.

“Exactly.” I glance toward Shield. “Once we prove they’re all guilty of working together to commit a crime, the cops can reopen old cases. Every dropped charge, and every assault can come back to bite them in the ass.”

“Maybe we should just end them,” Flame suggests. “Why get the cops involved?”

“There are women out there who need justice,” Shield says. “But I think if we play this right, we can get them justice and eliminate the trash.”

“Let’s put together a plan,” Dante says.

CHAPTER 26: RAVEN

I head downstairs slowly, one hand skimming the polished banister while the smell of coffee and sizzling bacon drifts upward from the kitchen. My stomach knots with nerves that I can’t quite explain. Maybe it’s guilt. Maybe embarrassment. Maybe I’m just tired of feeling like I bring trouble everywhere I go.

The clubhouse common room is already alive when I reach the last step.

Jinx stands behind the long counter, arranging trays on the breakfast buffet with practiced efficiency. Steam curls around her as she transfers scrambled eggs into a warming tray beside pancakes, sausage, biscuits, and gravy. Her hair is pulled into a messy bun streaked with bright colors, and she hums softly under her breath while she works.

She notices me immediately and flashes a warm smile. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” I hesitate before walking closer. “Can I ask you something?”