Page 41 of Cipher

Hawkeye had watched the entire process. “She survive the fourteen-foot journey to the back porch?”

“Twenty,” I corrected.

Bishop leaned back in his chair. “Good thing we have military-grade surveillance.”

My stare moved between them. “You boys done?”

Neither answered, although the line beside Hawkeye’s mouth deepened and Bishop’s eyes carried open amusement. Stryker gave me a look containing more understanding than humor, probably because he had spent the past several months checking every camera pointed toward wherever Jacqueline was while out of his reach. Then he shifted his attention back to business.

“We’re talking about people who sold confidential victim information to predators, handed stalking victims’ routines to the men hunting them, and sold patrol gaps to anyone willing to pay. I don’t give a fuck whether they wore a badge, carried a county contract, or convinced themselves they were only passing on useless information. Every willing participant is a Black Crowns target.”

The ruling was what each man expected. We already understood that using official systems to isolate vulnerable people violated everything the club protected, and putting Bex in the operation’s path had only sharpened consequences that were coming anyway. Pike, the unknown deputy, and whoever controlled Stowe’s credentials had built their business around the belief that frightened victims possessed less power than the people buying access to them. The Black Crowns were going to correct that imbalance.

“Continue with your current duties,” Stryker continued. “Unless someone reaches for another victim.

“And then?” Skyfall inquired.

“The quiet watch ends.” Stryker’s gaze moved across the room. “We stop the threat, secure whoever they targeted, and make sure the bastard survives long enough to name every person attached to him.”

We spent another twenty minutes dividing the narrowed names, reviewing surveillance gaps, and agreeing on what information Raines could receive without forcing him to ask how we obtained it. Nomad and Falcon left first, already discussing vehicle changes and observation points, while Bishop followed with the county list folded beneath one arm. Judge paused long enough to warn me that anything pulled from restricted systems came through him before Raines heard about it, then walked out beside Ledger without waiting for my response.

Skyfall stopped as he passed me, then looked toward my tablet, where the small porch tile still showed Bex talking with Jacqueline. “She’s still there.”

“No shit.”

The lines around his eyes creased as humor drifted into his dark eyes. “Figured you knew. Just thought I’d make sure.”

“Keep walking.”

He grinned as he left. Hawkeye pushed away from the desk and clapped one hand against my shoulder on his way past.

“Cipher,” Stryker called before I made it to the door. I turned to see him leaning back in his chair as he studied me. His expression had lost the hard command he wore during church without becoming soft.

“Keep Bex updated. Anything involving her safety, Nina, the dispatch system, or something she can help you interpret, she should hear from you. You know where the line is.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t use that line as an excuse to shut her out whenever explaining something becomes inconvenient.” His fingers tapped once against the arm of the chair, the small movement carrying more weight than a lecture.

I nodded but waited silently for him to finish whatever thoughts he was obviously chewing on.

Stryker crossed his arms over his chest and watched me steadily as he continued. “Finding a woman willing to stand beside us while accepting that some doors stay locked is rare. Jacqueline understands it, and from what she’s told me, Bex does too. Never lie to her.”

“I wouldn’t do that to Bex.” The idea left a foul taste in my mouth. “If I ever do, I deserve for you to kick my ass.”

Stryker snorted. “It’s not me you should worry about. It’s Jacqueline you need to fear.”

I chuckled as I nodded and turned to leave, but then I paused again before I crossed the threshold. A thought that had been sitting in my mind finally moved toward my mouth. Bex was mine, and just saying it was no longer enough. She belonged beneath my name.

Before I even opened my mouth, Stryker muttered, “Already ordered it weeks ago.”

He didn’t even look up from the paperwork spread across his desk.

I was speechless for a moment, then croaked, “How did you know?”

He looked up, and a rare smile cut across his face.

“Told you, Cipher. Jack’s the one you gotta watch out for. She told me to order it after the wedding because you’d ‘better not be stringing her best friend along.’” The smile widened into a grin. “Fair warning, if she finds out Bex doesn’t need the vest, Jack plans to bury you in it.”