Chapter Five
MAVERICK
With my heart racing frantically, knowing the entire Chapel is watching me intently and how I react right now, I’m struck by how different they both look.
Phoenix seems older somehow, more settled, but also more protective.
He’s positioned himself slightly in front of Clover, ready to shield her from whatever reaction I might have.
“Both of you come in. I’m sure Maverick will feel better for seeing you,” Alpha states.
Phoenix reaches out, taking Clover’s hand in his, and they walk inside the Chapel. He leans into her ear, but because the room is so quiet, I hear him say, “Just let me do the talking first, okay?”
“He won’t kill you. I won’t let him,” Clover replies softly, but she sounds tired and uncertain.
My baby sister looks fragile in a way that makes my chest ache. The confidence and sparkle that usually radiates from her is dimmed, replaced by a timid uncertainty that reminds me of when she was little and thought she was in trouble.
The makeshift wedding ring on her finger catches the light, and I feel my jaw clench involuntarily. But then I see the fear in her eyes, the way she’s bracing herself for my anger, and my protective instincts override everything else.
“Hey,” she says quietly, her insecure, beautiful eyes finding mine.
With the entire Chapel full of brothers and one practical stranger watching, I can’t stay angry at her right now, especially with her looking at me like she will break if I unleash my unbridled anger at her.
“Come here,” I say, opening my arms, not only to comfort her, but because I need to hold my sister.
To make sure that she is safe.
To make sure she is okay right now.
And for my own sanity.
Relief floods her as she rushes across the room and throws herself against me. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight and breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. Holding her helps me realize that she’s here and she is okay.
She might be nineteen and married…
But she is okay.
“I’m sorry, Mav,” she whispers against my chest. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
Pulling back, I swipe some hair from her face and look right into her watering eyes.
“We’ll figure it out,” I murmur. “We’ll figure all of it out.
” I check over her face, seeing the bruises blooming and marks from her torture, my lip curling in anger.
Over her head, I meet Phoenix’s eyes. He’s watching us with an expression that’s part relief, part apprehension, and part something else I can’t quite name.
“Phoenix,” I mumble, not letting go of Clover.
“Mav,” he simply replies.
“We’ll talk later. About… all of this,” I state, waving my hand across her battered body. “But right now, we’ve got bigger problems.”
He nods, understanding immediately. “The Cartel situation?”
“Among other things.” I finally release Clover but keep one arm around her shoulders. “Chase here has been filling us in on just how deep this rabbit hole goes.”
Clover looks around the room for the first time, taking in the faces and the tension. “What did we miss?”
“Chase was Atlas’ cellmate,” I explain. “He’s got intel on what Atlas was really up to.”
Phoenix clears his throat, his arm automatically sliding around Clover’s waist, pulling her to him, and away from me in a gesture so natural it’s clear this isn’t new for them. The protective movement doesn’t escape my notice, but instead of making me angry, it actually reassures me.
Whatever else I might think about this marriage, Phoenix’s instinct to shield her is genuine.
Everyone turns to look at him, and Clover settles against his side like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“I learned some shit from the Cartel soldier I interrogated in Vegas too. Interestingly enough, it’s also about Atlas,” Phoenix states matter-of-factly.
“What soldier?” Alpha asks.
Phoenix steps deeper into the room, his hand never leaving Clover’s waist. “When Clover was taken, I captured one of Javier’s men. Sin and I used their own truth serum on him, and we got the fucker talking.”
“And?” I prompt.
“Atlas wasn’t just a recruiter,” Phoenix says grimly.
“He was the starting point for something much bigger. The soldier told me Atlas was responsible for introducing drugs into the women’s prisons, specifically to the adult birds who were already trained assassins…
but that was just the beginning. The real operation was happening underneath the prison.
They were taking women, vulnerable women that Atlas had identified and targeted, and the Cartel is forcing them into breeding programs.”
The room goes dead silent.
“Breeding programs?” Montana repeats, his voice cracking a little with the thought.
Phoenix cranes his neck to the side, seeming uncomfortable.
“The soldier told us that Government officials, CEOs, and powerful men have been paying for the privilege. Female inmates are impregnated by these men beneath the prison, then once they give birth, the female babies are taken to be trained as the next generation of assassins. The male babies…” he pauses, swallowing hard.
“They’re disposed of. I’m not sure exactly how, but I have a couple of guesses. ”
Haven’s face goes pale. “Oh my God. So, when Atlas was targeting women on the outside…” Haven says slowly, piecing it together out loud, “… he was blackmailing them, to force them into prison. Once inside, they were either recruited to work the drug trade and trained to become birds, or, if they didn’t make the cut, they were used. ”
Her voice turns sharp. “The trained birds would lace them with his drugs and push them into Javier’s breeding program. And those women, they didn’t even realize they were breeding future assassins. They were too doped up to know or care what was happening to their newborns.”
Phoenix exhales. “Exactly. And the prison system has been completely compromised to support it. Guards, administrators, medical staff… all bought and paid for.”
“Atlas wasn’t just a random fuck-up who got in over his head,” Chase adds grimly. “He was a tool. A kamikaze piece in a much larger game.”
The full scope of what we’re facing hits the room like a physical blow. This isn’t just about Cartel drugs or territorial disputes. This is about building a private army of genetically selected, professionally trained killers, funded by the elite, and protected by corrupted government systems.
“Jesus-fucking-Christ,” I breathe out. “This is bigger than anything we imagined.”
“It’s a complete takeover,” Alpha says, his voice hollow. “Government, prisons, law enforcement. All of it is compromised to serve the Cartel’s agenda. So Javier has complete control over everything and a team of elite assassins to take out anyone who opposes him.”
“And we walked right into it,” Montana adds, his hands clenching into tight fists on the table. “Every move we made, every decision we thought was ours, it was all part of their fucking plan.”
“What do you mean?” Clover asks.
Montana lets out a mocking laugh. “Everything Atlas did, kidnapping Rhyan, causing the shit that led to the club going after Javier’s Uncle Rico, it was orchestrated. Javier knew exactly how Alpha would respond. Actually, he counted on it.”
Montana goes completely still, his mind racing back through events, viewing them in a new light.
“The conversations I had with Atlas,” Montana says slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Before our truck run to blow up Rico and his Cartel, Atlas said, “through to the end” when I told him to see it through.”
Alpha nods grimly. “Atlas wasn’t talking about making it up to you. He was talking about the endgame. Javier’s endgame.”
My eyes widen as I begin to follow what they’re saying, but Montana continues his frantic ranting.
“And when Atlas stalled the truck on the way to killing Rico for us,” Montana continues, his breathing getting faster.
“We thought he was nervous because he was an idiot. But he was nervous because he knew he was about to die for the fucking cause.”
I watch my brother work through the implications, seeing the pieces fall into place.
“ ‘Checkmate, Montana. Checkmate,’ ” Montana quotes Atlas again from just before we blew Atlas up in the truck, his voice getting stronger.
“Atlas wasn’t laughing because he was going to die.
He was laughing because he knew it was only the beginning.
The fucker knew Javier would come for us after Rico was dead.
Atlas knew we did exactly what Javier wanted. We fucking took out Rico for Javier!”
The room falls silent as the full scope of how thoroughly we’ve been played settles over everyone. It’s not just that we were outmaneuvered, we were components in a machine we didn’t even know existed.
“We need to understand something,” Haven says quietly. “This level of planning, this kind of long-term strategy, we now know Javier’s been building this for years. Maybe decades.”
“Using his Uncle Rico as cover while he built the real operation,” Phoenix adds.
“And now Rico’s dead, Javier has everything he needs, and we’re left holding the damn bag,” I finish.
“Jesus, fuck!” Alpha growls. “We were the weapon Javier used to carry out a motherfucking coup. And we walked right into it without even blinking. Carried out Javier’s plan for him effortlessly.”
“And now he’s building something bigger,” Loki confirms. “Using the foundation his uncle built, but with government backing. We fucking helped Javier build his goddamn empire by taking out Rico, who, let’s face it, was probably the only one who could stop Javier from building this shitshow.”
Everyone sits back, letting the realization sink over them.
That’s when I notice Nighthawk. She’s been quiet throughout the entire conversation, but her posture has grown increasingly tense. She keeps glancing toward the door like she wants to bolt.
“Nighthawk,” I say, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “You’ve been fidgeting since Chase and Lyric arrived. What’s going on?”