Page 5 of Colt

Ice nodded his head. “We’ll be ready. I’m going to put the club on a modified lockdown until we know what we’re dealing with.”

It was a smart move. If the Phantoms caught wind we were on to them, they might strike before any of us were ready. If they were in Idaho like we believed, then Reno was more vulnerable than we were here in Vegas.

After the update, most everyone emptied out of the room, either to go back to sleep or get breakfast. Before Ice walked out, Viking took the opportunity to ask him how his family had been holding up since Joker’s death.

“Mom’s having a hard time. She’s been talking about going to visit her sister in New York. Now might be a good time for her to go. I want to send Phoebe and Ember with her, but I doubt this one will let Ember go,” Ice joked while pointing at Torch.

I couldn’t control the humorless chuckle that escaped.

Torch turned his attention to me. “Got a problem?”

I wanted nothing more than to punch the fucker in his smug face. To be honest, I’d never liked his cocky attitude and it seemed to have gotten worse since he became VP. When Ice had chosen him, I hadn’t fully endorsed it, but the majority had ruled.

My brain told me to ignore him, but my mouth had other ideas. “I didn’t get a chance to ask you last night, but how’s the wife? She know you’re out here with your side piece?”

A deep growl from across the table was thrown in my direction, but this time it was from Ice. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

“I know who the fuck I’m talking about. I’m just surprised you’re letting your married vice president fuck her and parade her around like a whore.”

Chair legs scraped across the floor as both men jumped to their feet, ready to defend Ember. I stood, ready to throw down if necessary.

“Knock it the fuck off.” Viking’s voice was calm yet stern. The same way you would expect a father to talk to his rowdy teenagers. We all sat back down begrudgingly and turned to Viking. The glare Viking leveled me with told me I had gone too far. I gave him a curt nod, letting him know my outburst was finished.

Once we calmed down a bit, we finalized things with Reno. Since we had a firm plan in place, Ice and his crew were going to head back home later this morning. It wasn’t a moment too soon.

I’d made a promise to myself a year ago that I wouldn’t get twisted up over a woman ever again. I preferred a no-strings approach to sex, and so far, it was working for me. I wasn’t going to allow Ember’s reappearance to fuck with my head. But I couldn’t deny that seeing her again and thinking we could rekindle something, only to see her with Torch, bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Back then, I’d always thought she’d be the kind of old lady who’d make a man proud, not like one of the club girls. I couldn’t have been more wrong, but it was for the best. As soon as she left, I would forget all about her. At least that’s what I told myself.