Page 21 of The Riders’ Reign

“Okay, what can we use?” I say. “We can cut ‘I’m’ and ‘okay’ to get him to say ‘I’m okay.’ Maybe add in ‘I swear.’”

Rook taps the paper. “‘I’m not hurt’ could work as well. If Hector asks anything else, we’ll just interrupt and say that’s all he’s getting. He asked to hear Ledger’s voice and that’s what we’re giving him.”

Big Mike scrubs a hand over his mouth. “What if he demands a video call?”

“We refuse. Say we don’t want to give him any idea of where we’re keeping Ledger or something.”

I speak up. I know how these people think better than anyone else in this room because my own family thinks the same way. “I don’t think he will push if we say no. Everything is a negotiation to them. Like Rook says, we can simply state that’s all he’s getting.”

Rook blows out a breath. “Let’s hope so. But if he does insist, maybe we can put a bag over someone’s head, someone who has a similar build, in a darkened room, so Hector can’t see much.”

Big Mike nods, considering this. “Yeah, that could work. Ideally, though, he’ll be placated enough by hearing Ledger speak.”

It occurs to me that it will be the last time Hector will hear his son’s voice.

8

ACE

It feels strange being at the compound with neither Jack nor Ghost. It’s like the lynchpins of our organization are missing, and we’re not entirely sure how to function without them.

I’m so fucking proud of Camile, though. If she hadn’t thought up this new part of our plan, Ghost would be about to lose body parts. While I’m obviously not against cutting off fingers, I’d prefer if we were the ones doing the cutting.

A knock comes at the office door, and Cash sticks his head around the corner, his expression grim. “We’ve got the cops at the main gate.”

My stomach drops.

Fuck. “What do they want?”

Normie should be dealing with their shit, surely?

“The hospital had to report the shooting because of Jack’s gunshot wounds. They’ve also got access to the footage of the vehicles because Normie had it pulled for us. They know something has gone down, and I guess the news of it has spread beyond those in our pockets.”

I grind my teeth. This is the last thing we need.

“Does it look like a raid?” I ask.

“No, it’s just a deputy and a couple of local uniformed cops. They’re only asking questions. For the moment, anyway.”

“Goddamn it. We don’t have time for this shit.” I look around the room. “Take Big Mike and go and speak to them.”

Mike gets to his feet. “What are we going to tell them?”

“That we don’t know anything. We were on a ride out and got attacked, but we’ve got no idea by who. We’re the victims in this shit, remember that. But we also can’t have the cops tracking down the cartel. If that happens, people are going to end up dead, and one of them is most likely going to be Ghost.”

“And the cops,” Camile says softly. “The cartel will kill whoever is asking questions. They won’t even hesitate.”

I let out a growl. “Dead cops are always a bad thing, and if we’re linked to this, it’s going to get even worse for us.”

The last thing we need is everything spiraling out of control. We might have a chunk of the department in our pockets, but dead cops would totally override that.

Big Mike smacks me on the back as he passes. “Don’t worry, Ace. We’ve got this.”

I hope he’s right.

They’ve barely left when Caroline appears.

“Hey, Jack’s daughter has just called from the hospital. Jack’s awake now, and it looks like he’s got some idea of what happened. He wants one of you to go in there and bring him up to speed. Oh, and he’s asking for Camile, too.”