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His revelation hits me like a ton of bricks. I don’t know what to think or how to feel, but I do know that I can’t let Travis know that Zeke kept secrets from us. Secrets that could take down the entire Brotherhood if he made one false move. Grant Maddox may be long dead, but the Syndicate is very much still alive and kicking without him.
“That’s when you ended up here in Havok Hills?”
He nods, “Yeah. Living on the streets until Rodney found me, took me in… the rest you know and it’s all true I swear.”
I nod in response.
“I don’t understand though Zeke, what’s this have to do with the drive?”
“When Travis handed it over, I wasn’t lying. It really was going to take me forever to crack the files… but there was this spreadsheet. I - I found her name.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter. “You’ve been at this ever since?”
He gives a silent nod, looking back down at the floor.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” I demand. My heart is cracked wide open for Zeke, but I’m also pissed the fuck off. He should have come to me. We could have handled this the right way. He would have had everyone’s support. Everyone would have had his back.
“I need to know what happened to her. But I don’t need anyone else dying for my mistakes.”
“The fuck?!” I snap, releasing his hand and pushing up to my feet. “You saw what the fuck they did to us when we rolled in 5 deep, all of us highly trained. Travis and I barely made it out alive. You were just, what? Going to take them out yourself? Are you fucking kidding me Zeke?!”
I’m seeing red now. Everything we’ve been through and he couldn’t trust me?
“It’s not your battle!” he cries. “I can do it. I just need to find a way in an-”
“A way in?” I yell. “Inside? You’ve lost your goddamn mind!”
“I can do it,” he whispers. “I cracked the encryption. I can find her location, and find a way in too.”
Son of a bitch.
Without saying a word, I go right back to pacing. This time I’ve gotta be wearing an actual fucking hole in the floor.
Think Riot, think.
“You’re not doing this alone,” I stop, turning to face him. “I’m helping.”
“No,” he shakes his head, “I can’t let you, I -”
“Zeke! Stop! I might let you make the rules in the bedroom but this is my world and I won’t let you fucking die in it. So we figure this out together. Do you understand?”
He doesn’t answer, he just hangs his head in defeat.
Striding over to him, quickly closing the space between us, I drop to my knees nudging his chin up with my index finger. Forcing him to look at me, I repeat the sentiment, and I make It clear that I’m not taking no for an answer.
Closing his eyes, he simply nods his head in understanding.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” he murmurs as the tears roll down his cheeks, drenching my the pads of my fingers.
In this very moment, I choose him. Above my loyalty to Travis. Above my loyalty to the Brotherhood. Above my loyalty to my best fucking friend.
I pick him.
Chapter ten
Riot
Weaving through a sea of sweaty bodies grinding on the dance floor, the smell of sweat, sex, and liquor infiltrates my senses. The Underground is an all night club in Reaper territory, and I’ve never set foot in here before tonight. However, considering I need something from the Knox Brothers - the men who run the Reapers - when I called Arsenal Knox a couple of nights ago and he asked that I come here for the meet, I agreed.
