Page 38 of The Riders’ Reign

Trying not to think about it with my stomach feeling the way it does, I turn to Rook. “If we can dress your friend in Ledger’s clothes, even better. Although he might have bought them here and his father won’t recognize them, but I guess it’s worth a try. How long will it take us to get to your friend?”

“Us?” Ace and Big Mike both say at the same time.

“Girly, you’re not going,” Big Mike rumbles.

Girly? They need to stop calling me those kinds of names and talking to me like I’m an idiot or a child.

“I agree,” Ace says. “No way, Princess. It’s not safe.”

“I am a grown woman, and I can make my own decisions. I won’t be told what to do all the time.” I put my hands on my hips.

Ace smiles at me, that gorgeous smile of his that always softens me. “I agree, darling. You are an adult, and you can do what you want… except this. When it comes to your safety, we have to put our feet down.”

“Feet?” I frown.

Is that even correct grammar?

“Yep, all of us agree, feet all down.” Rook nods.

Great. They’re conspiring against me.

“Look at it this way,” Ace says. “When Jack gets home and he needs rehab and to take it easy, won’t you be strict with him?”

I nod, reluctantly, because I know where this is going. “Yes.”

“Exactly, and he’s not a child, is he? But sometimes we must be strict with those we love. This is one of those times. You can’t go, Camile. It won’t be safe, and you need to be here, in one piece when Jack comes home.”

I sigh but accept it, because I know I’m not winning this one. I’m also wondering if I might get away with using the extra time to go and see Jack again, if I can get a couple of the other bikers to take me. I know Vani has gone home to change, so he’ll be on his own, and I hate that idea. What if he takes a turn for the worse and no one is with him? He’d seemed strong when I’d last been there—and Jack truly is as strong as an ox—but the seriousness of his injuries might mean he’s not out of the woods yet.

“Fine. I’ll stay here, but I want to be in on the planning, so I know what’s happening. I get super stressed when I have no idea what’s going on.”

“We’ll keep you in the loop,” Rook says. “Promise.”

I look around at the men. “So, what exactly is the plan?”

“The plan is to take a handful of men, go to Jarrod’s house, and make him our sacrificial lamb.” Rook grins manically. “Nothing less than that fucker deserves after what he facilitated us being put through.”

A beat of understanding passes between us. Even with all the other people in the room, in this moment, it might as well be just me and Rook.

“Someone has to let Hector know I won’t give up the safehouse.” I look between them all. “Is that going to endanger Ghost?”

“No, not if he’s wanting his son back,” Phoenix points out from where he’s perched on the edge of the desk. “He’s going to be pissed that he can’t have your brother, but if he wants his son in one piece, he has to give us Ghost. The minute we have an agreement, we can put things into place to make the pretend swap. The mechanics of doing that are going to be the same whether you’d agreed to give him the directions to the safehouse or not.” He shrugs one shoulder. “The moment we push the fake Ledger forward, toward Hector, and try to get Ghost out of there, is going to be the most dangerous point.”

Ace stuffs his hands into the pockets of his cut. “If we have Jarrod gagged, and he can’t say anything, we can push him so hard, that he falls to the floor, and that will distract Hector and at least some of his men. Once we have eyes on Ghost, we can cover him to a certain degree.”

“Then after that, it’s up to God,” Big Mike adds.

Those words don’t give me much comfort. I guess I’ll have to pray extra hard for Ghost to be brought back to me safely.

16

ROOK

The roar of the convoy of our bikes is like a huge monster growling as we ride down Jarrod’s street. I wonder if Jarrod has any idea that I'm coming for him. Definitely not, I think. He’d have skipped town if he’d thought that was a possibility. He most likely thinks I'm dead and he'll never hear from me again.

Jarrod's one of these assholes who’ll never believe there'll be any repercussions for his actions. Somehow, even though his brother is locked up, he's managed to avoid jail. I have a feeling, once this is all over, he'll have wished he had the option to be safely behind bars. I don't even care if he hears the bikes coming. In fact, a perverse little part of me hopes he does, and the sound terrifies him.

There's a possibility Jarrod isn't home, and that'll fuck up all our plans. But we sent a scout earlier. He says he saw him going into his house less than an hour ago, and his car, an old-style Ford Cortina with rusty wheel arches, is parked out front.