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“The first time I saw him, I was sure I had imagined him. It happened so quickly, and everything about him was off. The next time, though, I knew. He wanted me to see him, wanted me to know he knew about Lilah. The minion he sent to follow us confirmed as much.” Murmured curses rang out across the table.

“You’re gonna sit with Keys. Give him all the locations you were at, go through the footage with him. In the meantime, we get any hits off the body?” Reaper asked, the focus shifting to Keys.

“Yep. Meet Ronald Dower. Been in and out of jail for the last twenty years for everything from robbery to attempted murder. Last stint was busted for statutory rape. Shoulda made him a mark as soon as he got to the prison, but he lucked out on his cellmate.” Mugshots and rap sheets loaded on the screen shifting from Ronald to his former bunkie.

“Meet Wyatt Beck. He is a mid-level criminal with ties to various illicit organizations. In and out of jail for petty charges but has managed to avoid any of the more serious ones. He’s big enough to have a few cops and politicians in his pocket.” Keys paused, pulling up the most recent picture of Wyatt. I almost did a double-take; the resemblance to Crow uncanny.

“He is also Crow’s paternal uncle.” The connection was clear, and the picture developing was much bigger than we anticipated.

“He has ties all over the U.S., as well as in Mexico and Canada. He’s out on parole and has to stay in Kansas. Just because he can’t leave doesn’t mean Crow has the same restrictions, especially with Wyatt’s resources at hand.” Bash weighed in, his eyes scanning all the information Keys laid out.

“Alright. Let’s put the club on alert.” Looking at Bash, Reaper continued.

“I want mandatory check-ins every four hours. No one rides alone, and I want extra eyes on every woman and child connected to this club. We’ll work out coverage schedules before the day’s over.”

“What about Charlie?” Bash asked, and eyes shifted, not wanting to be put on her ass.

“She’ll have extra guards on her. I’ll handle it,” Guard answered from the back of the room. There was no room for sensitivity—safety was the priority. I had no doubt that, under normal circumstances, Charlie could handle her own better than most, but this was different. Crow had proven time and again that he was unpredictable and he wasn’t pulling his punches.

“Match, you’re on perimeter duty. I want rotating patrols around the compound and a man watching every route leading in and out of town. Keep it quiet.” Match nodded solemnly.

“Bring Dagger and Atlas in on this. Secure all the safe houses and assign extra guards and surveillance. Crow’s sniffing around. We find out before he gets close enough to make a move.”

“Bull, head to the Nebraska charter and touch base with Gunner. Fill them in. See if they can spare any brothers to help do checks and protective duties.”

“On it.” Bull nodded.

“Keys, get a hold of the tech teams at the other charters. I want every camera feed, license plate hit, and social media breadcrumb connected to Crow or Wyatt flagged and pulled.”

“Already working on it,” Keys replied

Turning toward me, Reaper hesitated for a moment.

“Work with Keys on the footage. The sooner we get an updated image of Crow, the better. After that, I need you to go on a run once we track down anyone worth questioning.”

“Absolutely,” I replied, the idea of having a personal, intimate and bloody convo with Wyatt was very appealing.

“Alright. We got plenty of shit to do. Let’s move, brothers. Crow wanted our attention. Well, now he’s got it.” Reaper smacked the table, and everyone started standing up to leave.

As I pushed back in my chair, he caught my eye, shaking his head. As the room emptied out, he cleared his throat. Once we were alone, his eyes met mine, a mix of wariness and something else in his eye.

“It was really him? How…You’re sure?” he asked.

“Known Crow since I was twelve, Prez. You wouldn’t recognize him. The man I saw looked nothing like our brother, your son. The eyes, though. They’re the same. It was him. I wish it wasn’t.” Reaper sighed, leaning back in his chair looking as if the wind had left his sails.

“And what about leaving your girl for a few days? You okay with that” he asked, concern marring his expression.

“Can I tell her…about Crow…and Seph’s trail?” I asked, afraid that I was disappointing him further.

“She the one?” he asked. I nodded, my body responding before I even had to speak.

“Yes. Without a doubt. She’s my reason for breathing.” I swore I could feel my ears burning at the confession.

“Happy for you, son. She’s a good woman. And look, this is your story too. Tell her what you need to, but not enough to put her at risk. Think you can toe that line?”

“Yeah. Her safety is my number one priority,” I answered honestly.

“Good. Go talk to Keys and give him somewhere to start looking for footage. Then go to your girl. Figure out how to explain this mess.” Clearing his throat, he then said, “I’m sorry. That Crow did this…Attacked your woman. Never could have imagined this is where we would be. I was hoping…lying to myself that this was some sort of tantrum or early midlife crisis. But now I know there’s no coming back. That’s not my son. The man we raised wouldn’t hurt a woman.”