Chapter Twenty-Four
Cash
King and I were sitting at the bar talking about Jonah and the Death Dogs when Sypher stormed in.
“NAV! Get out here, you fucking bastard!”
King went to stand, and I grabbed his arm. “Wait,” I said.
“What the fuck, Sypher?” Nav asked as he came out of his office.
“Did you fucking tell them? You’re the only one who knew she was here.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Nav asked. He looked genuinely confused.
“Irene!” Sypher growled.
That got our attention. “Church, right fucking now,” King barked. He looked back at me. “Call the officers in.”
Pulling out my phone, I sent out the text and it wasn’t long before everyone was sitting around the table. Sypher seethed as he glared at Nav. Nav sat back in his chair and glared back at him.
“I didn’t fucking tell anyone,” he insisted. “King doesn’t even fucking know.”
“What don’t I know?” King asked, his eyes locked on Nav.
“Fuck,” Nav said under his breath, his phone in his hand as he typed something out.
“What?”
“I have to tell you something. You’re gonna be pissed and if you want to kick my ass, I understand, but let me explain first, ok?”
Nav looked at Sypher, who was still glaring at him. Then back at King.
“I know where Zeus’ sister is.”
I stared at my brother. King and I had handpicked Nav to come with us when we started this chapter. Until this moment, I didn’t think there was a man in this clubhouse that was more trustworthy.
“Where the fuck is she?” King snarled.
Someone knocked on the door, and we all turned. “Come in,” Nav yelled. I didn’t expect Banshee to be the one behind it, holding Aspen’s hand.
“What the fuck is going on?” King slammed his fist on the table.
“Prez, she needs to be protected. This is my fuckup and I’ll fix it,” Banshee admitted.
“Someone better start talking right fucking now.” Looking around the table, I knew I wasn’t the only one in the dark.
I looked at Gunner, who stared at Aspen. Anger apparent on his face. “Does Haizley know, Gun?” I asked him.
“If she does, she didn’t fucking tell me.”
“Haizley doesn’t know,” Aspen quickly said.
“Sit down, baby girl.” Banshee pulled out a chair for Aspen, then stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders.
“You all know that Kronos approached me about marrying Irene.” Aspen flinched at the use of her real name. “When I refused, it caused tension between the clubs. Steele was pissed, and so was Kronos. It was why I asked to join you here. When I didn’t back down, he found someone else.”
Aspen sat with her head down. After everything she had been through here in Diamond Creek, to learn what she had endured before coming here was a testament to her strength.
We heard scratching at the door before a loud bark.
“Christ, let the fucker in. I don’t want him breaking down the damn door,” King whined.
Jack grinned, then stood and opened the door for Diesel. He went right to Aspen and laid his head on her lap. Her shoulders immediately loosened.
“Aspen, honey, can you tell us what happened?”
Listening to her story, my blood boiled inside my body. My hands clenched, and I fought the need building inside me that wanted to beat the shit out of someone.
I looked at Sypher. “You did this? You put her here?”
“Yes, I work with the Nyght Nymphs, helping women and children get out of abusive relationships. We pull them out and we give them a new identity.”
“That’s why she’s fucking here,” I mumbled, running a hand through my hair. I hated goddamn secrets.
King narrowed his eyes at me. “Who?”
“Kytten,” I sighed. Sypher’s eyes widened at my admission.
“Who the fuck is Kytten?” Ghost asked.
“She’s a member of the Nyght Nymphs, and she’s been in town for weeks.”
“Irene isn’t the reason she’s here,” Sypher countered quietly.
Everyone at the table looked at him, waiting for an explanation. When it was clear he wouldn’t be forthcoming, King asked, “Then why the fuck is she here?”
“She followed Melissa and Danika. On the orders of Dani’s grandmother.”
“Fucking Valhalla,” King huffed. Standing from his seat, he paced the room, muttering to himself.
“Jesus Christ, when will this shit end? I moved to the fucking Midwest for a quiet fucking life.” He shook his head and continued muttering, “I guess it was good while it lasted. I had three fucking years before the shit hit the fan.”
His words confused me; the club had been quiet until a year ago when Beck moved back to town. Were there other secrets he was keeping?
“Why was Kytten following my old lady?” Ghost asked, his hands clenched into fists.
“Val had asked Kytten to go to Oklahoma City and watch over Dani when Dante showed up in New York. When Melissa left to bring her here, Kytten followed.”
I looked at Aspen. “You talked to Kytten yesterday.”
She nodded but still refused to look up at us. “She said she wasn’t here for me. She said I was still safe.”
“Until she got back to the motel yesterday, she thought you were. Last night, she saw a dozen bikes lined up on the side of the building and had an altercation with two of them this morning,” he said, once again glaring at Nav.
“I didn’t fucking tell anyone!” he shouted, slamming his fist on the table, causing Aspen to jump and Diesel to growl.
Now I stood. “She’s staying at the fucking motel?”
“Not anymore. When she came to see me this morning, she’d packed her shit. I’m going to talk to Grayson about her staying on the ranch.”
“Fuck that,” I said as I pulled out my phone.
“Hey, Cash—”
“Get your ass to the clubhouse, now!”
“I take it Sypher is there,” she breathed.
“Yes, he’s fucking here.” I glared at the fucking kid. “I want you here, too.”
“No. I will meet you on the mountain. But I’m not coming to the clubhouse. Not yet.”
“Kytten,” I growled, making sure she heard the threat in my voice.
“No, asshole. I said I will meet you on the mountain. And don’t fucking call me that!”
“Your ass better be there in an hour,” I barked before hanging up. I was gonna spank her fucking ass red when I got ahold of her.
When I looked up from my phone, everyone was staring at me.
“Something you want to tell us, brother?”
“No,” I clipped. I sat back down in my chair and waved my hand for everyone to move on. “Let’s start over. Sypher, why are you pissed at Nav?”
“The Death Dogs are here because of Irene. Someone told them.”
“It wasn’t fucking me!”
“You’re the only person who knew.”
I watched Aspen as the two men argued back and forth. She had both hands on the dog Banshee gave her, as the dog whimpered at her side. Meanwhile, Banshee rubbed her shoulders, trying to comfort her.
“I’m not the only one who knew. The whole fucking Nyght Nymphs club knew she was here and who she was.
Sypher’s head snapped back as if he’d been hit. “You think someone from the Nyght Nymphs told them? I’ve been working with those women since I was sixteen fucking years old. They wouldn’t do that.”
“Well, someone did,” Nav pointed out.
“Alright, enough!” King yelled, causing Diesel to growl again. “She can’t stay here.” He held his hand up when everyone objected. “It’s not safe.”
Banshee’s eyes snapped to King. I saw the rage. His hands dropped from Aspen’s shoulders, and I knew it was because he didn’t trust himself not to hurt her unintentionally.
“Given the way you’re looking at me, you can’t stay here either, Banshee.
I’ll call Grayson. Have him set you both up in one of his cabins.
” King rubbed his chin. It was his tell.
His mind was running through scenarios. “Banshee, pack your shit. Aspen, you too. Cash, call Win. Tell him to go home until further notice. Banshee, you can explain to him what’s going on. But no one else.”
When Banshee, Aspen, and Diesel left, King glared at Nav. “What the fuck else do you know?”
“Nothing I can share. I’m sorry, King. You know Sypher asked me to pretend to be him. Well, he gave me everything he had. Sypher is no longer the only one who knows everything about the underworld. And believe me, there is a lot of shit you don’t want to know.”
“Chasm?” King asked. That was a name I hadn’t heard in years.
Nav’s eyes closed. “Nothing we didn’t already know. Sypher didn’t start working for Steele until after.”
“Who is Chasm?” Sypher asked.
“A brother we lost in Arkansas,” Gunner explained.
“King,” I called out to him. “You gotta tell them.”
“Tell us what?” Ghost asked.
“About Chasm, and why we started this chapter,” I said.
“Fuck.” King ran his hands through his hair. “There is no proof.”
“Then tell them what you suspect,” I pushed.
“What the fuck is going on?” Gunner asked.
King chose to stay quiet, but I wouldn’t. Not anymore. “King and I believe Steele set Chasm up to be in that warehouse alone when it blew.”
No one made a sound. You could feel the shock ripple through the room like radio waves.
Jingles was the first to speak. “Why?”
“We don’t know,” I answered, knowing how hard it was for King to speak about this. I heard the echo of clacking keys as both Nav and Sypher worked.
“What are you doing, Nav?” King asked him, his voice filled with emotion.
“Digging,” he said.
“You were supposed to be in the warehouse with him, right?” Blade asked.
He was newly patched when it happened. His expression was hard, angry. He focused on King, and he nodded.
“Steele delayed him with some bullshit. Said Chasm was told to wait and he disobeyed,” I explained.
“But you don’t think so?” Colt asked.
“No, I don’t. I think Steele set him up. We just don’t know why.”
“I could have fucking lost you before I had you,” Blade shouted as his hand hit the table.
We all knew what he meant. Back then, we had no idea King and Blade were related.
“We need to find out what happened,” Colt said.
“I will,” Nav stated when he looked up.
“Send me everything you have,” Sypher instructed. “I can be more objective. But first I have to figure out how the Death Dogs found out about Irene.”
“Wait a minute,” Jack interjected. “Sypher, when did you pull her out?”
“When she landed in the hospital, we got a call. Val has a network, a contact in every hospital in the US. We got a call about Irene and went. Val and Kytten got her out. I set her up with a new identity.”
“Could someone have hacked your system?” Ghost asked. Both Nav and Sypher turned toward Ghost with a look that said he was an idiot. And I had to agree. Ghost held his hands up. “The question has to be asked.”
“No one could hack my system. I am notified as soon as an attempt is made. Nav is almost as good as I am.” Nav snorted at that. “And I set your system up to rival mine when I was here in December.”
“So, let’s assume it wasn’t hacked,” Jingles began. “The only people who knew where Aspen went are Sypher, the Nyght Nymphs, and the contact at the hospital.”
“No,” Sypher cut in. “The contacts at the hospital only know that we are contacted. They’re never told if the women accept our help.”
“So, it’s just you and the Nyght Nymphs,” Jingles surmised.
“And Nav,” Sypher said again.
“It wasn’t fucking me! If you accuse me again, I will beat your fucking ass. I don’t give a shit about that patch on your cut.”