Page 20

“Fuck!” King cursed, jumping to his feet and yelled, “AMBER!”

What the fuck was going on? Amber stood in the doorway and looked at King. She looked scared and as upset as Ellie, and I wondered if she was better acquainted with Sypher than we realized.

Amber was one of the first girls to come on board when we moved to Diamond Creek. We knew about what her father had done to her and what she had done to him. We knew she had been bought and sold by some sick motherfucker and that the Golden Skulls had rescued her from a cell.

But everything else about Amber was a mystery. Until now, none of us gave her much thought beyond being a club girl. She had rules and only slept with the younger guys, which was fine. There was plenty of pussy to go around. Since Sam and Charlie had moved into the clubhouse with Jack though, Amber was seen less like a club girl and more like a part of the family. She loved taking care of the three girls, and I imagined when the babies were born, she would want to help with them as well.

“You’re on lockdown. You don’t leave the building without a brother, and you don’t leave the compound at all,” King told her.

Amber simply nodded and turned away from the door. There was something going on that only King knew. I turned to look at Nav, and his eyes were focused on his computer. I should have figured he would know what was going on.

“FUCK!” King shouted. He looked up at Bane and asked, “What do you know?”

“As much as you do. Storm called and said the building exploded and Sypher was in it. He survived, barely. But he’s in the hospital. The table put out a call,” Bane said, his eyes moving to Ellie.

“Goddammit!” King slammed his hand on the table, and Ellie jumped.

“I have to call Dante.”

“Ellie, you can’t,” Nav said.

“But he’s still in Oklahoma. He won’t know what happened,” she argued.

“It’s all over the news, baby,” Ryder pointed out.

“But it didn’t say who the victim was. He has to be told,” she insisted.

“Ellie, you can’t tell him. Danny wouldn’t want Dante to know. He would want him to focus on Danika,” Nav said, and I looked at my brother. He hadn’t used Sypher’s road name, and I wondered if that was for Ellie’s benefit.

“What do I say when Dante calls? How do I talk to him and not tell him?”

“You don’t answer,” King said firmly. “Nav, kill Ellie’s phone.”

“King, no! You can’t do that!” she cried.

“I’m sorry Ellie, I have to.” King turned to Nav. “Jessie’s too.”

Nav nodded and focused back on his computer. I knew he would have both phones wiped in a matter of minutes, and unless they memorized Dante’s number, neither woman would be able to contact him for the foreseeable future.

Ellie cried into Ryder’s shoulder, and he glared at King as he held her.

“Church is over. Everybody out except the officers.”

I remained in my seat as the brothers shuffled from the room. When the doors closed and only the nine of us sat around the table, King turned to Nav.

“What can you find?”

“The table got an anonymous call. They know Sypher survived. They issued the order. Ten million for the first person to kill him.”

“Son of a bitch!” King rubbed the back of his neck. Everyone was quiet as we waited for him. “Where is he?”

“St. John’s Presbyterian.”

“Keep an eye on him. I want to know the minute he wakes up or the minute he doesn’t,” King ordered.

“Prez, what’s goin’ on?” Blade asked.

“A fucking war. I don’t want anyone talking outside this room. As far as the Biker Federation is concerned, we know nothing.”