Chapter Five #2
She looks up, startled to be called out. “I’m fine.”
“Bullshit!” I reply bluntly. “You move the same as my sister. Birds of a feather and all, and I know Haven well enough by now to know when something is wrong with her. And something is eating at you, Nighthawk. Haven, you see it too, right?”
Haven studies Nighthawk carefully. “You do seem unsettled. More than usual, given everything we’ve been discussing.”
Nighthawk’s eyes dart around the room, and I watch her internal struggle playing out on her face. Whatever she’s holding back, it’s consuming her.
“Fuck… all right. There’s something else,” she finally says, her voice barely audible.
Alpha leans forward. “What kind of something else?”
“I’ve been holding back some information, but seeing how everything is so interconnected, and how Javier has been planning this for so long, I think I need to tell you.”
“Tell. Us. What?” Haven states, with clear agitation in her tone, as she steps closer to Nighthawk.
She exhales, her eyes shooting to Loki, who furrows his brows at her in confusion. “Okay, Loki, don’t hate me, but it’s about the Health and Wellness App that you and Bea run.”
Loki folds his arms over his chest, a scowl crossing his face. “What about it?”
Nighthawk grimaces. “Well… about Bea’s hack and Governor Marshall.” She takes a shaky breath. “I need to tell you how it all connects.”
Loki exhales, his shoulders slumping as Haven stalks across the room, placing her hand on Nighthawk’s shoulder. “Just tell us.”
“Javier sent me to manipulate Governor Marshall into bribing Bea,” she says in a rush. “After Rhonda told me about Bea’s visits to the prison to promote her app, Javier gave me a mission.”
“What kind of mission?” I ask, though I’m not sure I want to hear the answer.
“I was supposed to approach the governor, threaten him with information the Cartel had on him unless he hacked Bea’s app and paid us for the client data.”
The pieces are clicking together.
And they are forming a picture none of us want to see.
“But you didn’t know Marshall was your father then?” Haven asks gently.
Nighthawk shakes her head, her jaw tight with self-control. “I can only assume that was the test. Javier was assessing my loyalty. To see if I would recognize him, and if I did, where my loyalties would lie.”
“But you didn’t remember,” Loki offers.
“I carried out the mission without hesitation,” she whispers. “I threatened my own father, set in motion the events that led to Bea being blackmailed, all because I was so thoroughly programmed by The Nest that I couldn’t even recognize my own blood.”
The weight of her confession settles over the room like a suffocating blanket.
Nighthawk’s hands clench by her sides, her knuckles white with tension.
“And the information Javier had on Marshall?” Alpha asks.
“Footage… a lot of footage of him with underage girls.” Her voice is steady, but there’s a haunted quality to it. “I hate the fact that I’m related to such a vulgar man.”
“That’s how we took him down, with that footage and the information that he sold you,” Loki states.
Nighthawk slumps her shoulders. “Bea’s such a good woman. She’s part of this family, and I’m the reason she got hurt. I’m the reason her app was compromised, and her clients were endangered. Now that I know you guys more, and I know I was being used by Javier, I feel just awful about it, Loki.”
“You were a victim too,” he says firmly, drawing her attention. “A weapon someone else was using.”
“But I should have—”
“You should have what? Overcome years of conditioning and programming?” Haven interrupts. “Nighthawk, you were two years old when they took you. This isn’t your fault.”
“She’s right, Cassandra,” Loki calls Nighthawk by her real name. “Don’t let the past define you. You’re here, you’re helping us now. Let that define you. Bea will be fine. We’re all good.”
Cassandra weakly smiles, nodding her head as we all turn back to the table to figure this shit out.
“So, what’s the plan?” Clover asks, leaning into Phoenix’s side.
“We had it mapped out, but this new information means we need to add some new contingencies,” Alpha admits.
“But first, we need to get everyone up to speed and make sure we’re not missing any other pieces of this intricate fucking complicated puzzle.
We’re going to war in…” he glances at his watch, “… fifty-seven hours give or take, and we need to ensure we’re not walking into a fucking ambush.
Javier’s been one-upping us every step of the way.
It’s time we show him why we’re called Defiance. ”
We all slam our fists on the Chapel table in agreement.
With Chase’s part in this meeting done, he and Lyric leave for the evening, but the meeting continues late into the night planning, contingencies, and grim discussions about what we’re up against. But through it all, I keep thinking about the bigger picture.
War is imminent.
The kind of war that will test everything we’ve built, everything we believe in, everything we’re willing to sacrifice for each other.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, my nineteen-year-old sister is married to one of my brothers, and they will be trying to figure out how to build a life while the world explodes around us.
As the meeting winds down, we all make our way downstairs, Phoenix and Clover take off together, and I let them.
I’m not ready for that conversation just yet.
I need more time to figure out what the hell to say.
There’s so much going on right now, and trying to let go of Clover through all of this was not on my Bingo card. Making my way outside to try and get some much-needed fresh air, I spot Montana sitting aimlessly on a bench seat, staring up at the stars.
My chest squeezes tight for him, knowing that he’s being hit at every angle at the moment too.
His mother is in prison, and we can’t reach her to see if she is okay.
He just found out that Atlas played us all along, and the Cartel is pulling strings in the prison in a way that we can’t even imagine, let alone fathom.
Valerie could be in real trouble.
And I hate that Montana must feel utterly useless right now.
Walking over to him, I drop on the seat beside him, and for a long while we sit in silence together staring up at the clear night sky.
If there wasn’t so much shit hanging over our heads, it would be beautiful.
But eventually, I break the quiet. “You okay?” I ask.
He snorts out a mock laugh. “Define okay,” he replies without looking at me.
“I just found out that everything I thought I knew about Atlas, about my mother’s situation, about this whole fucking war we’re in…
” He sighs heavily. “Goddammit! It’s all been orchestrated by someone who’s been playing us like pieces on a fucking chessboard. ”
“Yeah, it’s a lot.”
He finally turns to look at me. “And your sister’s married before you and Sadie got married.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, that too.”
We both turn back, looking at the stars, sitting in comfortable silence once more for a few minutes, both of us processing the weight of everything that’s shifted in the past few hours.
“You know what the worst part is?” Montana finally says.
“What’s that?”
“Atlas won. Even in death, that fucker won. He got exactly what Javier wanted him to get. Rico dead. The club destabilized. And a war that’s going to cost us everything before it’s over.”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “But Atlas didn’t count on one thing.”
“If you say family and team spirit or some shit, I will literally gut punch you.”
Letting out a laugh, I shake my head. “I mean, there’s all of that, but also, we’re not the same club we were when this shit started.
We’ve got Haven and Nighthawk on board. We’ve got other chapters backing us up.
We’ve got allies in the prison system and intel we didn’t have before.
” I stand up. “Aaand… we’ve got family and team spirit or some shit. ”
Montana takes my hand and lets me pull him to his feet. “I don’t know if we can do this without casualties?”
“We have to,” I reply. “Because the alternative isn’t an option. C’mon, it’s late, we need to rest up. We have a big fight coming up.”
“But we have family and team spirit to get us through, Mav!” Montana mocks, waving his fingers through the air like a damn pussy.
“All right, fuck you! Let’s go inside and get a damn beer.”
Montana chuckles. “Yeah, now that I can get behind.”
I slap his back, and we head inside the clubhouse, making our way to the bar, and on my way in, I spot Clover and Phoenix cuddling on the sofa. Letting out a heavy exhale, Montana follows my gaze, bumping my shoulder. “Just rip off the Band-Aid, brother. Go talk to them.”
Groaning, I huff. “I don’t wanna.”
Montana laughs, grabbing my shoulders and spinning me toward my little sister. “Go. Fucking stop being a pussy and talk to them.”
A low growl reverberates from my throat before I start to walk off. “Fine, but I go begrudgingly.”
“I’ll have a beer waiting for you when you get back.”
I wave him off and head toward them.
Clover is curled up next to Phoenix on one of the sofas, her head on his shoulder.
She looks exhausted, and after everything that’s happened today, I almost forgot that she’s been through hell herself in the past few days.
The kidnapping, the drugs, the hasty marriage, and now coming home to all this chaos.
I stop in front of them, clearing my throat.
Phoenix looks up first, his body tensing slightly like he’s bracing for a punch.
Maybe he should be.
Because I really want to fucking knock those teeth from his face right now.
Clover’s eyes flutter open, and when she sees me, she straightens up a little, rubbing her face like that will erase the exhaustion.
“Hey, Mav,” she says softly.
I nod, keeping my expression neutral. “You look wiped. Go to bed, Clover.” It’s a demand, not a request.
She blinks at me, surprised, probably expecting a lecture. “Please don’t punch him!”
My eyes shift to hers, my tense posture softening a little.
God, she knows me so well.
“It’s fine, Clo. We’re just gonna have a chat. Man to man.”
She sits taller, her fingers gripping around Phoenix’s arm like he is her lifeline, but his hand comes out gently, pulling some hair away from her face to comfort her. “It’s okay. You should get some rest. We’ll be fine.”
She narrows her eyes on him. “You sure?”
He smiles, leaning in to gently kiss her forehead, which instantly makes me wrack my jaw from side to side at the sight. “Yeah, Clo. I’m just gonna talk to your husband.” The word feels bitter on my tongue as I say it.
Phoenix’s arm tightens around her instinctively, and she hesitates like she doesn’t want to leave us alone. But I shoot her a look that says go, and with a reluctant sigh, she pushes to her feet.
“If you hurt him, you hurt me, okay?” she states as she walks past me.
I lower my voice, annoyance flowing through me. “Get some sleep. You need it.”
She nods again, her eyes softening this time. “Night, Mav.”
I don’t say it back. Instead, I wait until she disappears down the hall and out of earshot before I turn to Phoenix.
He stands, straightening his spine like he knows this is coming. “Look—”
I hold up a hand. “Don’t. Just let me talk.” He nods, but his jaw is clenched. “I’m mad,” I start, voice low but steady. “Fucking furious, honestly…” I pause to gather my anger and calm myself down, though I’m not sure it’s working.
“You were supposed to protect her, and she got taken. You married her in Vegas without telling me. You’re both too damn young to be making forever decisions like that when the ink’s still wet on your adulthood.”
Phoenix doesn’t argue. It’s the only smart decision he’s made in the last couple of weeks.
“But…” I drag a hand down my face, the anger giving way to something heavier.
“You brought her back…” I manage to take a centering breath to ease my rage somehow.
“And I’ve seen the way you look at her. The way she looks at you.
She chose you.” I hesitate for probably a moment too long before I say the next part, “And… I can’t in good conscience stand in the way of that.
” His brows pull together, unsure where this is going, so I step closer, squaring up.
“That doesn’t mean I trust you… yet. It certainly doesn’t mean I’m not fucking furious… but, it does mean I’ll try. Not for you. But for Clover—”
Phoenix tries to talk, but I raise my hand, stopping him, because I am not done. “And if you fucking hurt her…” I pause, feeling my blood pressure reaching boiling point, my hands instinctively clenching at my sides.
Phoenix nods slowly, finally taking my inability to speak as his shot. “I don’t expect you to forgive me overnight. But I do love her, Mav. I’d die for her.”
“Yeah, well… don’t fucking die, Phoenix. She’d never recover from that.”
We stand for a beat, the silence loaded.
Then I jerk my chin toward the bar. “Go grab a drink. You’ll need the liquid courage for the war we’re about to fight. And don’t let her stay up too late.”
His lips twitch. “Yes, sir.”
I roll my eyes and walk off, muttering under my breath, “Smartass.”
But as I head toward Montana and that promised beer, a part of me, a small, reluctant part, starts to ease.
Maybe this won’t be a total disaster.
Unless he gets her pregnant.
Or he does die in this fight.
Oh fuck, now I really need a damn drink!