Page 53 of Tico

“Wire. I want you to pull the feed for the last three months. See if there’s anything we missed. I also want you to check the books with Shuriken. If someone’s tipping off our locations, then I wouldn’t put it past them to also be stealing from us as well. Don’t discuss your findings with anyone except for Taco or me. Same for Shuriken. I have a feeling Ember may be right. Something’s telling me it isn’t those five, but we need to be sure.”

Taco’s and Wire’s eyes harden but Wire gives me a curt nod, already turning towards his computer.

“You got it, Prez. I’ll get things rolling and meet you in Church in a minute.”

Taco follows me out of Wire’s room and once we’re all in Church with the rest of my officers, I let them see my fury.

“Mis hermanos(My brothers), what I’m about to say to you does not leave this room.” I pause as I look at each of my officers and wait until they all nod in agreement. “There’s a rat in our walls.”

Instantly, the air fills with their rage, rage so thick you can practically taste it.

“Is there anyone you already suspect?” Cobra asks, his hands clenching and unclenching on the table.

“Yes. Wire, show us what happened last night before the attack.”

For the next few minutes, Wire plays the video feed from the hotel.

“I tracked Zane’s phone, but the tracking went dark a few minutes before the hotel feed loop started. It came back online fifteen minutes later, which coincides with the timing that wepulled back most of the guys from the hotel because of the attack here.”

He goes on to explain what else he found out. Daemon and Radar both wear identical shocked looks when Wire says their names.

“I’m not a rat,” Daemon says, his jaw clenched so hard I’m surprised he hasn’t cracked a tooth. “You can trace everything on my phone, my personal laptop, my room, anything. I know what it feels like to be betrayed by a club and I’d never do that to the Royal Bastards. The Royal Bastards are my family.”

“You can check my room and devices, too,” Radar says, his voice tight and barely restrained with anger. “Whatever the fuck you need. I’m not a rat. This club is my family.”

I dip my chin in thanks, hating that I have to suspect them, even though my gut tells me the rat is someone else.

Shuriken rasps his knuckles on the table. “Prez, there’s been other problems besides what Wire just mentioned. For the past two months when we discussed numbers, several books were off and I’ve been digging into them. I’ve been tracing the money, but Wire, I need your help to confirm everything.” He turns from Wire to look at me. “The tattoo parlor, the gym, the garage, and our weed businesses all have numbers that aren’t aligning. However, the biggest discrepancy was with our mules and slingers.”

Everything in me goes still at that.

Shuriken and Radar oversee our weed sales and routes. We don’t run or sell anything harder.

Not anymore, anyway.

The club used to run and sell harder drugs, but then my cousin, Julio, died from an overdose. That happened back whenPapá(Dad) was alive and I hadn’t earned my Enforcer patch yet. His death rocked our club because even though he wasn’t a member, he was always here at the clubhouse or workingin our garage. While we know the laced drugs that killed him didn’t come from us—the baggie found on him when he died had a nearby gang’s logo on it—neitherPapá(Dad) nor I could stomach selling those drugs anymore.

To this day, I still don’t fully know howPapá(Dad) got us out of the business. All I know is that a club about two hours south of us picked up our contracts in our stead. Some ofmis hermanos(my brothers) weren’t happy about losing the cash but likePapá(Dad) and me, they also felt responsible for Julio’s death despite the fact that it wasn’t our drugs that killed him. Now we only sell and run weed.

However, a few years ago, some of our other businesses expanded and new ones opened. Those changes started pulling Shuriken away from helping oversee our weed business more frequently since he also does all of our books. That’s where Corvus came in. By then, he’d been making comments about wanting to get into the trade, so we brought him in. His integration was slow at first, but then he worked his way up to overseeing it alongside Radar and Shuriken.

Now there’s money missing from several businesses, Zane’s security feed on a loop, Zane’s phone going dark, and someone leaking our locations when we’re on runs.

But if it is Zane or Corvus…then why are they betraying us? Is it both of them? Or just one of them?

Or is it someone else just trying to point fingers towards someone else?

Pushing those worries aside, for now at least, I look at each ofmis hermanos(my brothers). “Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t hesitate just because someone isnuestro hermano(our brother). That said, we need proof before we accuse, or punish, anyone.”

All ofmis hermanos(my brothers) dip their chins in understanding. I rasp my knuckles on the table in thought and then turn to Daemon.

“Ember agreed to help lure out the Chrome Vipers.” I pause and look at each of them. “We need to discuss how we’re going to do so. And when.”

For the next hour, we hash out a plan that I’m not one hundred percent behind, mainly because it’s my Ol’ Lady that we’re putting in danger, but it’s our best shot to stop these fuckers once and for all.

I’m the last to leave Church, and when I walk out into the main room, I’m immediately on edge.

Ember, Pyper, and Rochelle are all sitting at a table together, talking, but Ember’s posture is rigid. I glance around and force my face to remain calm when I notice Corvus is sitting a few tables away. He’s drinking a beer and appears to just be scrolling through his phone, but he’s positioned himself so that he’s directly across from Ember. Every few seconds, his eyes flick up at Ember before returning to his phone. A phone that seems to be pointed straight at Ember. I look around the room, but nothing else seems to be amiss. Though I do note that Zane isn’t in the main room—he must be in his room or with one of the bunnies. My gaze goes back to Corvus.