Page 40 of Shadow Strike
Regan stared at the dark screen, and the anger she’d been holding at bay all night finally broke through.
She’d let herself believe that CB was different, that he wasn’t defined by his family’s legacy, that he was genuinely on her side.
But actions spoke louder than words.And his actions tonight had told her everything she needed to know.
He was keeping secrets.And until she knew what they were, she couldn’t afford to trust him with anything else.
Not her investigation.Not her family.
And definitely not her heart.
CHAPTERTEN
CB took the back roads to the campground, headlights cutting through the dark.Ryder had chosen the meeting spot carefully.Remote.Private.No witnesses for whatever came next.
The campground lodge—he’d known it was a trap.He’d gone anyway.
The image of Regan’s face when he’d refused to let her come haunted him.The hurt in her eyes, shading into anger.The way she’d looked at him like he was a stranger again, after everything they’d shared.
He gripped the steering wheel harder.He’d explain later when he understood what Ryder was holding over his head, when he had a plan.Right now, bringing her anywhere near his cousin would put her in danger.
The campground entrance appeared in his headlights—a weathered wooden sign, its name faded to near illegibility.He turned in and followed the gravel road toward the lodge, his truck bouncing over ruts that hadn’t been smoothed in years.
The building emerged from the tree line like a memory taking shape.Single story, log construction, a covered porch running the length of the front.CB hadn’t been here since joining the Army, but he could have found it blindfolded.He and Ryder had spent summers in this place as kids, racing through the woods, swimming in the creek, and playing hide-and-seek in the storage rooms while their fathers conducted business in the main hall.
Back when business had meant something different.
He parked and killed the engine.Ryder’s motorcycle sat alone in the gravel lot.A single light burned inside the lodge, visible through the front windows.
CB got out and walked toward the porch, his boots crunching on the stones.The night air smelled like pine and wood smoke.Somewhere in the distance, an owl called.Crickets and other nocturnal insects kept up a steady drone.
He fingered his phone in his pocket and pushed open the door.
Ryder stood at the far end of the main room, leaning against the old stone fireplace.No fire burned in the grate, but a camping lantern sat on the mantel, casting harsh shadows across his face.
“You came.”Ryder straightened.“Wasn’t sure you would.”
“Of course I did.”CB stopped just inside the doorway, letting his eyes adjust.The room looked smaller than he remembered.Someone had started decorating for July 4th, a red, white, and blue banner strung along the far wall where the Outlaws emblem marked the place.“I’m listening.”
Ryder moved away from the fireplace, his boots echoing on the wooden floor.He stopped at a card table in the center of the room and pulled out a chair, gesturing for CB to take the one across from him.
CB moved closer but didn’t sit.Kept his hands in his pockets.
Ryder smiled, the expression thin and humorless.“Come on, CB.I won’t bite.”
“It’s late, and I’m tired.Get to the point.”
“Fine.”Ryder dropped into the chair, sprawling back like he owned the place.Which, CB supposed, he did now.“You’re causing problems.Your presence here, your involvement with the Hill woman—it’s destabilizing the organization.The men don’t know whose side you’re on.Some of them still remember you as Wade’s son, the heir-apparent.Others see you as a traitor who abandoned the family.Either way, you’re a disruption.”
“I’m not here to disrupt anything.I’m here to take care of my father.”
“And play bodyguard for Regan.”
“She’s a client.”
“A client.”Ryder laughed.“Is that what you call her?Because from what I saw at the bar, it seems more personal.”
CB didn’t take the bait.“What do you want, Ryder?”
