Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
I felt the fury burn deep in my gut, my fists tightening at my sides. Linden’s haunted expression and the fear in her eyes replayed on loop in my mind, fueling a deadly determination. They’d tried to take her from me. Now, they’d lose everything.
Cross spoke up, breaking through the tense silence. “They’ve gotta have tight as fuck security.”
King met Cross’s gaze and nodded. “Tactical precision as usual. You, Rebel, Tomcat, and I will be primary. Echo and Kevlar will handle external surveillance and perimeter security. Cruze, I want you with Fallon to infiltrate and disable any internal alarms.”
King’s attention shifted to me. “Tomcat, you know these planes, their systems, and the override tech better than anyone. You’re our lead on taking out their control lab. You know what specifically needs to be destroyed to break the remote connection. Once we breach, that happens first. Make it irreversible.”
I gave him a tight nod, resolve burning through me. “I’ll look through the specs tonight and update you so we aren’t flying blind on the tech.”
King glanced around the room one last time, his expression lethal. “This shit ends tomorrow night.”
A chorus of murmured affirmations filled the room, determination etched into the faces of my brothers. I felt it too—the pulse of collective fury, the unwavering loyalty of men who would lay everything on the line for their own.
The window was closing, but we were ready.
We had a plan.
18
LINDEN
Keegan’s bed had become my new favorite place, especially when he was in it with me.
We’d just spent the entire afternoon wrapped up in each other. He’d worn me out, and I wanted nothing more than to cuddle against him and nap the evening away. Unfortunately, he had other plans that couldn’t be changed.
His fingers traced lazy circles over the curve of my hip, dipping into the hollow where my thigh met my body. I shivered at the heated look in his eyes as he stared down at me.
“Gotta head out soon.” He brushed his lips against my shoulder. “Should be wrapped up by morning if everything goes smoothly.”
I stopped asking for details when he explained the situation had moved into club business territory. He didn’t want me involved in the takedown, and I couldn’t blame him since I wasn’t equipped to help like I’d been during the research phase.
I got that Keegan and his club brothers knew what they were doing, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about him. Aegis had already taken my brother from me. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Keegan, too.
I swallowed the knot in my throat and asked, “You’ll be careful?”
“Always am, little dove.” He captured my mouth in a deep kiss that left me breathless. When he pulled back, his thumb brushed my bottom lip. “Stay inside. King beefed up security, with extra guys at the gate and around the perimeter.”
“Okay.”
He rolled out of bed, and I watched him dress in the dim light, completely in black. When he was done, he came back to bed, braced his hands on either side of my head, and kissed me one last time.
“Should be back before you wake up.”
I stayed in bed and listened to the low rumble of engines starting up outside not long after he left me. They faded into the distance until the clubhouse fell quiet again.
Too keyed up to take a nap, I got dressed and moved to the chair to call my parents. With the time difference, it was late at night for them, so my mom’s voice was worried when she answered. “Sweetheart?”
I took a deep breath. “Hey, Mom. Sorry to call so late. Can you get Dad, too?”
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m good.” Or I would be when Keegan got back. “But I need to tell you guys something about Carson, and I only want to go through it once.”
“Just a moment, dear.”
Her voice was muffled as she explained to my dad that I was on the phone, then put the call on speaker.
Then I heard him. “Hey, kiddo. What’s your status?”
“I’ve been better, Dad.”
“Oh, dear,” my mom cried. “I thought you said you were good?”
“I’m safe now, but I stumbled into something here in Georgia, connected to Carson’s crash.” I squeezed my eyes shut to hold back my tears, then I told them most of what had happened over the past few weeks.
The information we’d pieced together, skipping over how Wizard had gotten the black box because my dad was a stickler for the rules.
There was a moment of silence after I broke the news that the crash wasn’t Carson’s fault or a mechanical failure. That someone had murdered him.
Then Dad spoke, his voice cracking in a way I’d only ever heard before at my brother’s funeral. “You’re sure?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Mom started crying, which made my eyes burn even more. Dad thanked me, then insisted I stay out of it from now on so nothing happened to me too.