Page 83 of Reckless

This is it! This is the moment I tell them.

About the texts, the unknown number, every message that’s been slowly tightening around my life for weeks.

I should.

I know I should.

But all I can see is Ghost on that highway. His body shielding mine. The sound of his gun going off beside my head. The look on his face when he checked my arm after we’d stopped.

If I say the words out loud, if I tell them Ghost’s name started showing up in those messages, then they will all know why those men came after us today.

They will know he got dragged into this because of me.

That he’s a target because of me, that he’s still a target. Because. Of. Me!

And I don’t think I can survive watching that realization.

“I don’t know,” I say instead, and I hate how easily the lie leaves my mouth. “I have no idea why those men had a picture of me.”

Sin holds my gaze for a long moment. Long enough that my pulse starts creeping into my throat. He doesn’t call me on it or tell me he knows I’m holding something back. He just nods once before looking across the table. “Ghost.” Ghost looks up from the laptop balanced in front of him. “Find out who sent them. Everything you can pull. I want names. I want who’s paying them. And I want to know why Sage was sitting in the middle of it.”

“Already pulling everything from the highway cameras,” Ghost says. “I’ll have the SUV’s route within the hour.”

Sin nods once. “Good.” The room falls quiet. “I get why you did what you did back there.” Ghost doesn’t say anything. “You protected one of ours.” Sin’s voice stays calm, but it carries enough weight that every conversation around the table dies without him asking for silence. “I’d expect every brother in this room to do the same.”

Ghost meets his eyes. “They were there to take her out.”

Simple facts.

Sin nods. “I know.” He leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “But the second those two hit the dirt…” he taps the tabletop once with a finger, “… we lost our only chance to ask them who sent them.”

Ghost’s jaw tightens. “I know.”

“Do you?” Neither of them looks away. “Because the next time somebody comes after this club, I want the bastard behind it just as much as I want the one pulling the trigger.”

Ghost lets the silence sit for a beat before answering, “If I’d waited…” his voice is quiet, “… they’d have had another shot at her.”

Nobody in the room argues with that.

Hell, nobody can.

Sin’s expression softens by the smallest amount. “I’m not saying you made the wrong call.” His eyes don’t leave Ghost’s. “I’m saying next time, if there’s another option, I need you to leave me something to chase.”

Ghost drops his gaze for a second before giving a single nod. “Understood.”

I catch the flicker that crosses his face before it’s gone again.

Frustration, like he’s replayed every second of that highway in his head a hundred times already and still comes back to the same conclusion.

If he had to choose between answers or me, he’d choose me every single time. The thought settles heavily in my chest.

Because I know it.

And somehow, I don’t think anyone else in this room doubts it either.

Sin lets the silence hang for another beat before pushing back from the table. “Until we know who’s behind this, nobody rides alone. Church, work, grocery store, I don’t care where you’re going, you move with backup.” His eyes land on me. “That includes you.” I nod. “Good.” He looks around the room. “Let’s get to work.”

Chairs scrape back across the floor as the brothers stand. Conversations start up in low voices, plans already forming before anyone reaches the door.