Heath
After they left, Danae had been unusually quiet.
I knew she was dwelling on it—the last thing I wanted, or she needed.
I tried to distract her with talk of other things, giving her a massage, and even cuddling.
The one task she did was call her boss, Caroline.
Danae told her she needed to take tomorrow off.
She apologized for not asking for time off in advance.
Caroline had chided her for apologizing, saying that Danae was her most dedicated person. And she hadn’t taken a day off once during the pregnancy, and she consistently worked until the job was done. She asked if everything was okay with Danae and the baby.
Of course, my woman assured her they were both fine, but an unexpected issue had come up. Caroline told her to take the day and let her know if she needed more. With that taken care of, Danae was free to attend the meeting. I planned to drive us both there and back when the time came.
This morning, I had to coax her to eat yogurt with fruit and granola before we left.
She did it, but I could tell her appetite was gone.
The drive in, we were both alert. I found myself constantly scanning our environment.
I hadn’t forgotten the man with the gun from yesterday.
The vigilance was typical for me, but not to this degree.
What was striking was how alert she was.
We both relaxed and gave sighs of relief when we reached Dark Patriots headquarters without mishap. She gave me a tiny grin. After parking, I held her hand as I escorted her inside. At the main desk, she was issued a visitor badge that allowed her access to the sixth floor. It was rare.
Employee and visitor badges were microchip-encoded with the access we were granted.
Not everyone could freely zip up to the Lair of the Dragons or access the tech’s area.
The elevators, office doors, and stairwell doors had scanners that required you to swipe your badge to unlock.
Again, we took security extremely seriously.
We arrived early, so it gave us time to say hello to some people and settle into the conference room. It was no surprise that Margie or Abigail had organized a continental breakfast. I got Danae some fruit and a croissant.
The other wives arrived ahead of their husbands, and they helped her relax.
It wasn’t long before Gabe, Undertaker, Sean, Griff, Ben, and Beau joined us.
This first round would be kept to us. If they agreed to pursue further inquiry, other key staff would be involved.
The room settled into silence as soon as they were seated with their coffee.
“We’ve been brought up to date on everything.
We want to discuss how we can address the issues raised.
There are two different things at stake here.
One is the removal of Huston Masters from the drug trade.
The second one is the shutdown of the Triad group working with him in the drug and whatever else business.
Those present last night for the discussion of these matters agree that others involved in or affected by such missions should be consulted, given the danger to themselves and their loved ones. Did I miss anything?” Sean asked.
“No, that sums it up. We all have families, wives, and kids in this room. We always do our utmost to ensure no one’s identity is compromised when we pursue those who break the law.
We do everything in our power to keep any backlash from falling on them.
However, there is always a possibility our identities become known, and someone comes after us for retribution,” Gabe stated.
“And with the Triad aspect, that risk increases exponentially. It’ll be hard but doable to remove Masters from the equation, which will crimp their pipeline, but they’ll find another to take Masters’ place.
Whereas, if we can remove Zhāng and his Triad without backlash, that is a bigger hit to recover from,” Undertaker added.
“I want my stepfather and Mom to be held accountable for what they’ve been doing.
Prison might just be the thing for them.
As for the Triad, they’re worse, I hear, so while the risk factor jumps, if it were possible to take them down without reprisal, I’d vote for that.
But it’s not just up to me or those in this room.
That’s why we asked to start with you. If you agree that the core group should consider accepting such an assignment, then the next step is to ask other key people who will be involved,” Danae calmly explained her stance.
There were several seconds of silence before Griff spoke.
“Danae, you say you want Masters and your mom to pay for their involvement by going to prison. What if that’s not the outcome?
Either because they plea deal or wiggle out some other way, or we discover they’ve been doing more than moving drugs.
There’s speculation the Triad is using your stepdad’s import-export business to move guns and humans. ”
The heaviness in the air increased. All eyes were on Danae and me. She sat there, her expression hardened.
“If they are trafficking people, then prison for me isn’t enough.”
“What does that mean? Spell it out for us,” Undertaker bluntly stated.
She glanced over at me, then back to the owners, who sat across from us.
“I know from what Heath said that you do black ops. I know what those involve thanks to Johann. He has to kill people for the greater good at times. It’s not all clean.
And you guys were all in the military. You had to do that, too.
My mom and stepfather shouldn’t be seen as better than anyone else.
If their deaths serve the greater good, I won’t be opposed.
You may think I’m cold because she’s my mom.
Dallia stopped being my mom the day she married Huston, and her entire personality changed.
Being with him and living the high life meant more to her than her children. ” Her voice was steady.
Again, silence for a few moments, then it was back to Sean.
“Okay, we get it. We have your stance. What else do we need to talk about?”
“I’d like to hear what your wives have to say about this and the fact that we could bring the unwanted attention of a dangerous Triad down on us.
What if we had to go into hiding for months or years?
Or stay in our homes while remaining vigilant at all times?
Will they be able to cope?” Danae asked.
“I’ve walked in their shoes and still do at times. I more than understand the implications. And I do have two sons to worry about, but I would stand for going after both parties. I’m always alert and know how to defend myself and my family,” Sloan smoothly said.
“My role here has been more administrative since I married Sean. Before that, I worked in the field with the Patriots and another company. We helped to take down a trafficking ring many years ago. To do that, another woman, Everly, and I allowed ourselves to be kidnapped. We were put up for auction. The Patriots and Warriors arrived in time to free us and many others, and to shut down the operation. She’s now the old lady to Smoke in Dublin Falls Archangel’s Warriors MC.
It was how the Dark Patriots began their friendship with MCs.
“That operation had a risk. But what came of it, Everly and Smoke together. And one of the women rescued became the old lady of another Warrior, Storm. Her name is Bryony, Beau’s sister. And through another old lady, we gained Ben and Heath. I vote to do both. We can protect ourselves.”
I noted Danae’s surprise at Beau’s sister having been part of that operation.
I hadn’t shared her story with her. No surprise, Gemma voted yes.
She knew danger from her family’s unwilling alliance with a Mafia family.
Keeley and Kensy had their own horror stories, and they had the added benefit of their dad training them since they were little to be survivalists. They would weather whatever came.
As for Hadley, she was more protected than the others, but she had grit. No one could do the job she did without being tough. She agreed and offered any resources or money we might need. It was down to asking Sean, Beau, and Griff for their answers.
“Well, it sounds like the yeses are winning. Time for the three of us to cough it up. All in favor of going full-tilt against both groups, raise your hand,” Sean instructed.
There were chuckles from around the table when all hands went up, not just the three of them.
My heart sped up. From experience, I knew things would move fast. Before that, though, there was still a mystery.
Who was the man who pulled a gun on Danae?
Had it been merely a coincidence and not something to do with her being targeted specifically?
Or was someone out to get her? My mind went straight to Julie and Holly.
Could they be vindictive enough to hire someone to hurt or, God forbid, kill my woman? I needed answers and fast.