Page 11 of Finn's Future

Noah had screamed half the night before, and I’d spent hours pacing the motel room with him against my chest so Kate could get some sleep. She was no use to the kid exhausted.

Reaper stood at the head of the table with Riot at his side, shades on as always. They waited for everyone to settle before they took their seats.

“The girl claims the kid’s Ghost’s,” Reaper said flatly. “She’s running. We need to decide what that means for this club.”

Spider leaned back in his chair, arms folded. “Means trouble. We don’t know her. Don’t know who’s chasing her. We gonna risk the whole club over a maybe?”

Riot’s voice cut clean through the room. “Ghost can’t confirm, so proof’s what matters.”

All eyes shifted to me. “She’s not running from strangers,” I said evenly. “She’s running from her parents.”

That pulled a few frowns.

Reaper’s expression hardened slightly. “Explain it to them.”

“Her stepfather’s in debt. Big debt. Gambling, loans. She didn’t give us every detail, but it’s serious.” I paused briefly. “She mentioned the name Volkov.”

Spider swore under his breath.

A prospect frowned and asked, “Who’s Volkov?”

Riot leaned back slightly in his chair. “Russian outfit. Loans. Trafficking. Guns. Whatever makes money.”

The prospect shrugged uncertainly. “So?”

Keno barked out a humourless laugh. “Another club crossed him a few years back.”

“Lost six patched members in a month,” Spider muttered.

Keno nodded once. “Wives. Kids. Houses burned. Anybody they thought could hurt.”

“Jesus,” the prospect muttered.

Reaper finally spoke. “Volkov doesn’t care about rules. Doesn’t care about patches. Doesn’t care about family.”

“She also mentioned Rosewater,” I added.

“Ghost contacted me around that time,” Reaper said flatly. “Said he was renting a place in Rosewater for a woman and kid. Told me he’d explain when he got back.”

Spider frowned. “And?”

Reaper’s jaw tightened slightly. “He never got the chance.”

The room stayed quiet for a long moment after that. Brothers thinking, weighing risk and thinking about Ghost.

Spider leaned forward slightly. “So, they think the baby is a payday.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Kate says they want Noah. Not to raise him but to use him.”

Keno swore under his breath.

“She thinks they’ll either ransom him to us, Lucy’s parents, or sell the story.” I rubbed a hand over my jaw. “Caleb Kane’s secret kid, Dead Knights and Kane heir. They think there’s money in that.”

Spider shook his head. “So, she brings family drama and serious threats right to our door.”

“She brought Ghost’s son,” I corrected.

I reached into my kutte and pulled out the folded paper Kate had handed me earlier that morning. I laid it flat on the scarred table.