Page 31 of The Riders’ Reign

“Baby, do you really think he’d agree with you? You think he’d prefer you to have been raped and married off to that asshole? Not in a second. He’ll choose you every time.”

“Even over Ghost’s life?” I whisper to Ace. “I don’t want that.”

He hugs me, and this time I let him. “None of us do, but yes, if it comes to it, he will pick you, and you know what? So will Ghost. In a millisecond. We love you. Any one of us will burn down the whole damned compound if it means keeping you safe.”

“But I don’t want that! Can’t you see? Asking you to make those kinds of sacrifices is too much!”

“You’re not asking, Princess. We’re offering. And this isn’t your fault. Always know that you can come to us, over and over, if you need to. We will always choose you.” Ace hugs me tighter.

Fresh tears pool in my eyes, and I cover my face and sob again, until I can’t breathe. I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve to be loved so hard by these men when all I’ve ever done is cause them pain.

Rook puts his hand on my thigh. “Come on, Cami. You need to breathe. Slowly in, then blow it out, like you’re blowing out a candle. You’re panicking, and that’s understandable, but you’re going to be okay. Your brain just needs convincing of that.”

I follow his breaths and drag more and more air into my lungs. But even as the panic fades and my sobs lessen, tears continue to flow.

“I wish we could say goodbye.” I’m talking about Ghost. “I wish I could tell him how sorry I am, and how I love him, too.”

“You can still tell him. This isn’t over yet.” Ace squeezes me tight again. “Don’t underestimate us, and don’t underestimate Ghost, either. He’s a smart motherfucker, and he knows the exchange can never happen. He’ll be coming up with some ideas on his end, I promise you.”

“We have two things over Hector right now,” Rook says. “We believe we know where they’re holding Ghost, and we know this exchange is an impossibility. Hector will be approaching this with the mindset of getting his son back. That’s going to create a weakness for him.”

I manage to catch my breath, and my mind starts whirring. I’m no good to anyone hysterical. I created this mess. I need to think of a way to get us out of it again.

I blow out a shaky breath. “What about the idea we had in case Hector asked for a video call? We’d considered putting a bag over someone’s head and making out it was Ledger.” I look between the men. “Couldn’t we do the same for the exchange? At least then, we’ll get eyes on Ghost. We’ll know he’s still alive.”

Rook stares at me and nods slowly. “That would work, and in fact, I know just the person who would do for the job!”

“You do?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah. Let’s just say I owe a supposed friend of mine payback for some bad shit he got me into.” Rook smirks. “I want to see if I can get something sorted. We need to be careful about who we tell about the plan, though. Someone knew about the ride out and the route we planned, which means we still have a leak in the MC, and even though we’ve gone through everyone’s cellphones, nothing has come up. We don’t know who it is yet, and that worries me.”

Ace scrubs his hand across his mouth. “Yeah, it worries me, too. Make sure only the people in the room are the inner circle.”

“I will. Are you okay to stay with Camile?” he asks Ace.

Ace grins. “As if that’s going to be a hardship.”

“So my idea is good?” I look up at Rook as he stands.

“It’s perfect.” He grins. “It helps us get Ghost back in one piece and hopefully helps me give my friend what he deserves.”

Ace kisses me hard on the mouth. “Princess, you’re a genius.”

13

GHOST

I shift, trying to ease the ache in my body. I’m tied up in the corner of the hangar. They didn’t make the same mistake this time and have ensured I’m properly bound by using more than just a couple of cable ties, which are too easy for someone with my training to break.

From what I can tell, Hector believes his son is still alive.

For now.

I know this won’t last. At some point, the truth is going to be unveiled, and the minute it is, I’ll end up with a bullet in my head.

My brain thumps inside my skull and behind my eyes. I wish the pain would stop so I could think clearly. All I’m focused on is looking for a way to escape. If the exchange doesn’t happen, I’m a dead man. But if it is allowed to go ahead, then I’ll end up dead, too, and most likely so will at least some of my club. Hector will quickly realize we don’t have Ledger, and he isn’t going to allow the murder of his son to go unpunished, no matter how terrible of a person Ledger was.

There’s only one answer that’s clear to me.