Chapter 43 Army
Army
I’m a caged, feral animal, ready to rip anything and anyone to pieces for keeping me from my mate.
It’s been hours since Leeva was brought to the ‘examination’ room, set up for every member of the MC to come and inspect her like some freak.
Ursula and Keifer are in Ash’s office with me. It’s a shit way to meet the love of your life’s extended family, especially given our unique situation.
We haven’t said much to each other; Ursula is as stressed as I am. She and Keifer bicker like cats and dogs, but even with that, I can tell their sibling bond is one of loyalty. Nothing like the sibling bond—or lack of—between Guerilla and me.
Bane stands guard in the hall, preventing anyone from coming into Ash’s office and barring us from leaving. There are men standing guard outside the window, protecting that route.
The three armed men, who are all Ursula’s boyfriends and ex-Special Ops, are with Leeva. Ash is with her, too, along with Tats to answer questions about tattoos.
Bane refuses to keep me updated about what’s going on. The only thing he said was that they had set up a video conference with the cosmetic surgeon to explain the procedures he did for Leeva’s tattoo removal. Maybe that was to put people’s minds at ease that this wasn’t some voodoo magic shit.
I have no idea because I’m caged in here, being kept from my woman and stripped of any weapons—except for my body itself, since I’m a government-trained war machine. But trapped in here, I’m useless.
When the vote happens, if I’m found guilty, Leeva will be protected; nothing will happen to her under the club law, and Ash and Bane will ensure that she isn’t forced to leave with Guerilla. But I can’t help the unease and foreboding swirling in my gut like acid.
One might attribute that to me worrying about dying, but that’s not it. I’m willing to face my fate because I don’t regret my choice.
So, something else is at the root of my unease, and that something else is Guerilla.
The way he was able to approach the compound and waltz right in, bypassing all the surveillance that should’ve alerted us to him. How the surveillance system glitched at just the perfect time of his entrance.
The crazed look in his eye when he realized that taking Leeva wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t because he’s in love and obsessed with her, like me. I didn’t think it was even because his ambush on me was going to shit.
No, something else is at the root of this about why he wants her so badly.
Was it Leeva’s money? Did he think she was his ticket to the Wentzell fortune?
I had sent Len messages, explaining everything that happened.
Because Guerilla slipping past not just our searches or the Santoro tech team's, but also Len's tech guru—according to her, the best there is—is very concerning.
With three highly skilled teams searching for Guerilla, and him not even pinging any of our radars?
That compounds my concern expontentially.
She hasn’t responded to any of my messages, which has added to my restless, caged energy.
Keifer intercepts my pacing and holds a bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in the other. “Which one?”
I grab both, taking a long pull straight from the bottle of Jack, and wince because I’m not a Tennessee whiskey guy but a scotch man. Then I chase it with water.
“That’s great doctoring, Keif,” Ursula snaps. “Alcohol solves nothing.”
Yet she grabs the bottle from me and takes a healthy pull.
Keifer smirks but wisely doesn’t push his testy sister. He turns to me. “This isn’t the ideal way for us to meet, but it’s nice to finally meet you.”
“‘Isn’t ideal’ is the least awkward way to phrase it.” Ursula snorts, and he grins with a shrug.
“Isn’t this…” I motion between them and me, at a loss for words. They’re Leeva’s stepkids; she was married to their father, and I’m the one who stupidly let her get away. How the hell do you talk about that elephant in the room?
“Weird as fuck?” Ursula arches a brow and taps her long nails on the bottle. “Yeah, but Leeva is family, and we care about her happiness.”
“And her safety.” Keifer’s tone is serious now, instead of joking.
Which is a sobering reminder that I’m stuck in here, not at Leeva’s side while they poke and prod her.
My teeth grind, and I resume my pacing, fisting the bottle of water so hard the plastic crumples and water erupts onto the floor.
“How much longer?” Ursula leans against Ash’s desk and drops the bottle of Jack onto it with a thud. “When will your club vote on this ridiculous law? The one where you take ‘bros before hos’ to the goddamn extreme.
“And you do know it’s the twenty-first century, right?
This claim that a woman can’t change her mind, especially when she finds out the man is a fucking piece of shit like Guerilla, is complete and utter bullshit.
” Ursula’s accent gets thicker the longer she spews, and she shoves to her feet and paces.
“You’re not wrong,” I growl. “And I don’t know how much longer.”
Keifer sits in one of the chairs and props his ankle on his knee, observing me. “You’re not worried about facing a firing squad. Why?”
“If you’re looking for reassurance that it’s because I’m completely confident that the MC won’t vote that I’m guilty, don’t.”
Even though the tattoo is gone, it’s still just a technicality, and I know I’m exploiting a loophole in the club’s law. The club’s vote could easily come back as guilty.
I heave out a breath and tell them what I’ve told others, including Leeva. “I’m not worried about facing death because I won’t survive losing her again. I knew the risks, yet I was still willing to risk everything, including my life, to be able to finally call her mine.”
“That’s poetic.” His voice is thick, and he clears his throat, glancing at Ursula. “Not necessary, though. If the vote comes back against you, we’ll help you escape, and you can return to Berlin with us.”
“I appreciate the offer.” And I do. “But the MC won’t let me leave, and you have three ex-Special Ops against the full club.”
“Plus you.”
My jaw shifts. “I won’t kill my family in order to save myself.”
Keifer drops his foot to the floor and leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs while studying me intently. “An honorable position, but still… You wouldn’t kill any of these people in order to survive?”
I think of Razor, Thunder, and some of the other old guard; I’d definitely like to kill them right now.
“Stop trying to profile him,” Ursula snarks. “You gave up being a head doctor.”
“What could Guerilla possibly gain from the Wentzells through Leeva?” I cut in before their bickering can start up again. “She told me that she insisted on signing a prenup.”
They exchange a look, and I catch the unease in it.
“What?” I demand.
They exchange another look, and Keifer nods to Ursula.
“Leeva isn’t aware of this, but our father went around the prenup and set her up with shares in the company. Investments, properties, liquid cash. She’s not just a comfortable widow with some wealth.”
“She’s a billionaire,” Keifer adds.
I lean against the wall, frowning. “If she doesn’t know about this, could Guerilla?”
Keifer, who’s been studying me like I’m a specimen under a microscope and just revealed I might be the cure to cancer, beams. “He passed, Urs.”
She rolls her eyes.
“I don’t give a shit about Leeva’s money,” I growl. “I give a shit that if this isn’t public knowledge, then how the hell might Guerilla know?”
Leeva isn't just rich, she's rich.
And that could explain the crazed look in my brother's eyes when he realized it wasn’t going to be a simple matter of claiming Leeva and leaving with her.
They exchange another look, and I’m wondering if they have some twin telepathic abilities or something. My unease grows when they both turn pensive.
“We had a data breach a while ago,” Ursula admits. “Nothing was stolen, and no sensitive company information was accessed, but the files implicated did have some of that information about Leeva.”
“Do you think Leeva was the hacker’s intended target?”
“We never could confirm.”
My brows furrow as I contemplate this intel, trying to piece everything together. And without hard evidence and actual facts rather than theories, I don’t know if it should all be pieced together.
“Your brother doesn’t seem like the hacker kind,” Keifer says.
I resume pacing as nervous energy buzzes through me. “No, but he could be in deep with others who have those skills, and that could very well be how he managed to stay off our radar.”
“Drake said whoever hacked us had incredible skill and resources to cover their tracks,” Ursula adds.
“There’s an underground group in Europe—”
“Those are rumors, Keifer,” she cuts in.
“Tell me about them,” I order.
He shrugs. “This isn’t my world; all I know is that they’re highly resourced to stay off any authority’s radar, secretive as hell, and are into some very bad shit.”
I think of what Slade was rescued from and the ring of sick motherfuckers involved. “How old are these rumors? Any rumors about this underground group being dismantled and people being taken into custody?”
Because that was the case for the one connected to what happened with Slade.
“No, nothing about it being dismantled or people arrested. They’re strong as ever, and they are even expanding globally.”
That excluded the ring that was connected to what happened with Slade.
“How do you know this if it isn’t your world, Keifer?”
He leans back in his chair, his face carved with pain.
“I lost a friend, and I think it was to this underground group. She was traveling and went missing in Brazil. Drake has connected me with someone who has been trying to discover more about this group, but I think it’s a lost cause. ” His shoulders slump.
“Why? Because they’re too resourced and secretive?”
“That, and because Drake’s contact tells me not to hold my breath.”