Being woken up in the middle of the night is jarring enough, but being told two bikers are here to see you takes it to the next level.
Army and Ash reach Papà’s office as Sophie and I come around the corner from our wing of the house.
They’re rough-looking men, not polished businessmen who hide their lies behind masks of civility and niceties. Their looks are grim. If Massimo woke Sophie and I up in the dead of the night for this visit, it can only mean one thing—the threat against Sophie has escalated.
They dip their chins in silent hello and disappear into the office. Sophie stands rooted to the spot, staring at where they just were, and I lower to be eye level with her.
“Whatever this is, angel, we face it together.”
Her eyes dart between mine, almost frantic. “Your family could be at risk.”
“You’re my family, Soph.” I cup her face, and the contact settles her. “My family is your family. And whatever this is, we face it together.”
I take her hand and lead her into the office. Vito and Massimo are already there; they’ve been staying at the estate for the past few days so we can debrief and strategize whenever needed. They, too, are grim as we enter.
“I’ll get right to it because we don’t have time.” Army faces us all, holding up his hand as Papà, Massimo, Vito, and I stiffen. “It’s not that kind of threat,” he assures us, meaning we aren’t about to come under physical attack. “Len texted me with her SOS message that she only ever sends when shit has hit the fan.
“I received that message twenty-six minutes ago, and she’s calling at the thirty-minute mark.” He holds up his phone. “Digits is rerouting the call to this burner phone. He’ll put it through his scrambling program so the signal bounces all over, so Len won’t be able to pin down that I’m here.”
Ash crosses his arms over his chest. “We don’t know the purpose or what she’ll say or ask. But clearly, there’s been a development.”
“There’s been nothing we’re aware of on our end.” I shift to keep Sophie close to me. She’s quiet and biting her lip. “We still haven’t picked up sightings of Ortez, Morales, Salome, or Perez.”
“Fuckers haven’t crawled out of their hole,” Vito grouses and leans against the wall.
“Or they have help to hide their tracks,” Papà says hoarsely, settling behind his desk.
Army nods and checks his watch. “I’ll put Len’s call on speakerphone, but I need silence.”
I place my hand on the small of Sophie’s back over the sweatshirt of mine that she tossed on with her leggings and lead her to the sofa. Army’s phone rings as we sit, and he holds his fingers to his lips and then answers, sounding relaxed. “Prompt as ever, Len.”
“Am I on speaker?” Her voice is firm and no-nonsense.
“You are.”
“I think I have an idea of who you’re with,” she replies, and we all stiffen. “Even though I can’t get a read on where the fuck you are.”
“Friends don’t track friends, Len,” Army jokes coolly, but it’s a warning.
She snorts. “I don’t have time for this bullshit, so I’m going to cut to the chase. I need Sophie Demeanus.”
Sophie is rigid beside me on the sofa, her hands fisted in her lap.
“We’ve already discussed—”
“Enough, Army,” she snaps. “My team—”
“You’re not a team player, Len. You’re rogue. A lone wolf.”
“People change,” she grunts. “But you know my days of taking orders are over, so I’m more of an intel and action collaborator with them.” She sighs. “Look, I gave you something; now give me something in return.”
“Info for info, favor for favor, right?” Army hikes his brow. “But Len, you really gave me shit.”
“Army,” she warns. “I need to know if the Havoc Guardians are involved in this.”
“Why?”
“Because I need Sophie fucking Demeanus!” Her anger startles him.
Is she subtly warning Army that her team is about to strike at whoever they think has taken Sophie, thinking that’s the MC? And this is her last effort at salvaging her friendship and working relationship with Army by giving him a chance to come clean?
It’s a possibility. I remember Ash’s warning that he’ll protect the MC first and foremost, which I completely understand. His face is hard and closed off.
I exchange a quick look with Papà, Massimo, and Vito. Without words, they tell me the ball is in my court, and they trust what I decide. I motion to Army, giving him a nod.
His jaw works, and then he admits to Len on the phone, “The MC helped rescue Sophie from a threat in San Diego. We don’t have her, though. We were just the quick getaway.”
“Who was threatening Sophie?” she asks. Army stays silent, and Len huffs out a heavy breath. “Creed Santoro has her, yeah?”
Army mutes the phone just in time before the shock hits us. He furrows his brow. “Keep silent,” he stresses urgently. “Don’t give her anything. She listens and analyzes everything.”
Sophie holds a hand over her mouth and grips my hand with her other one.
He unmutes the phone. “If you think you know, Len, then why you calling me?”
“We cracked Sophie’s security on her phone and found a contact titled Creed,” she says instead of answering Army’s question. I’m impressed—but my unease increases—because the security program I added to Sophie’s phone is supposed to be impossible to crack. “It’s an unusual name. We did some digging but no other connection.”
“Your point,” Army says gruffly.
“We went back on some intel Ollie gave about the first time Sophie acted unusual and out of character. She didn’t come home one night after an industry mixer. No Creed was on the invite list—student, faculty, or industry rep.”
I close my eyes, knowing what she’s going to say next.
“But there was a T.S. on the list. As in Tommaso Santoro, who just happens to have a son named Creed.”
“Your point, Len.”
“We can help each other out.”
“The MC isn’t involved,” Army lies somewhat. “But Creed Santoro isn’t the threat to Sophie.”
“I need to get a message to Creed. Or… should I just say hello, Creed?” Len pauses. I stay silent, trying to decide how to play this. “We can help each other. Besides getting Sophie back for her family, I need to know why a Garcia Cartel lieutenant was found on the cameras we planted going into Sophie’s dorm building tonight.”
“Oh my god,” Sophie whispers. Her eyes dart to mine, filled with fear and worry. “Ollie.”
I’m about to reveal myself to Len, but Ash is close enough to hear Sophie. He motions for me to stay quiet and mouths ‘Ollie’ to Army.
Army’s frown deepens. “Sophie has a roommate, yes? If you saw a cartel member going in—”
“Ollie was attacked and is holding on by a thread,” Len says grimly.
Sophie chokes and stands, her eyes filling with tears, but I stop her from speaking. Her eyes plead with me.
I come closer to Army and the phone, bringing Sophie with me, who’s shaking violently. “What do you need, Len?”
“Creed… I need Sophie.”
“She’s with me. Where she’s safe.”
“Her family wants her back.”
“I’m not trying to keep Sophie from her family.” I ignore Len’s snort and continue, “Men came for Sophie, and she’s safe here.”
“Men came for her because of you—”
“No,” I say sharply. Gritting my teeth, I calm the raging storm inside of me.
Sophie makes to defend me, but I shake my head and whisper in her ear, “Let’s see how this plays out.”
Army said Len is an analyzer; she’s also a longtime CIA agent and knows how to use a situation to her advantage. I’m not revealing my full hand without getting something from her in return.
Vito comes closer, squeezing Sophie’s shoulder, and speaks into Army’s phone. “The Garcia Cartel lieutenant wasn’t picked up on the campus’s security feed.”
“Who is this?” Len demands.
“Vito Santoro.”
Len sucks in slowly. “We had our own cameras,” she finally responds, repeating what she shared earlier.
“We’ve been monitoring multiple systems for our targets. None of them, including Pastor Salome,” Vito drops the name on purpose, giving Len something, “popped up on the campus’ cameras. Which means—”
“There’s two options. Either the cameras were expertly hacked because the hack is nearly undetectable,” Len offers in return. “Or someone on the inside at the university is helping them. We’ve confirmed it was a hack.”
“Your tech person must have some insane skills.” I frown, wondering exactly how much of a threat Len and her team could be to us. “Because when Sophie ran from the campus, none of our people detected the hack. The feed looked seamless and unaltered. There wasn’t any sign of it being tampered with, even though we knew it had to be because we knew what happened to Sophie, and none of that was on the feeds.”
“I’d say our tech genius is the best out there,” Len says.
My unease increases that Len and her team could become major threats to both the Santoro family and the MC if they decide to turn their attention to our operations.
Vito unclenches his fists. “The men involved don’t have the hacker expertise this is showing, so we’re assuming there’s another unidentified party. Either one with the hacker on their payroll or who has the means to convince this good of a hacker to take on this contract.”
Len doesn’t respond to that but offers something in return. “Since you’re so full of sharesies, here’s one from me. My tech genius reversed engineered—or some shit—to trace the hack of when Sophie disappeared.”
We knew the campus security system had to be hacked, but it was indiscernible, like Len had said. But if their tech person found the hack and could trace it back to the hacker… they could know who we’re dealing with.
“Who is it? Do you have a location?” I demand.
Len clicks her tongue. “Sharesie time is over. Give me Sophie, and we’ll talk.”
Sophie steps forward, this time shaking me off. Her entire body is stiff as she fights not to break down. I can see her pain, guilt, and worry about Ollie. “I’ll come back so we can work together on this. Creed comes with me.”
“Along with Massimo and me,” Vito adds quickly.
“I don’t need the entire Santoro mafia family,” Len grouses.
“You won’t since I won’t be there.” Papà smirks. “But this young lady’s protection is vital to us.”
“This team, my team,” Len amends, “doesn’t work with… Well, with people like you.”
“I’m not asking that they aid us in criminal activities,” I grit. “But keeping Sophie’s best interest front and center. It seems like we both have pieces of this puzzle that will allow us to protect her better, and we’re stronger together.”
Len pauses, then sighs. “Agreed.”
“How is Ollie?” Sophie bites her lip to stop it from quivering.
“She’s… she’s hanging on, Sophie. However, it’s touch and go at this point.”
Sophie chokes on a sob and bites her lip so hard it could draw blood.
“I’ll get your number from Army, Len,” I say, refusing to draw the MC further into this. “I’ll message you with the time and location to meet.”
“Don’t make me regret this,” Len snarls.
“Likewise,” I growl back.
Len hangs up, and Army powers down the burner.
“Thank you for acting as the intermediary,” I tell Army and Ash, tucking Sophie into my chest. She’s about to unravel, and I want to get her some privacy to do that.
“Len’s a hardass, and if she’s in your corner, she’s a fucking weapon,” Army says.
“I don’t know if that’s an endorsement or a warning,” Massimo rumbles.
Army shrugs. “A bit of both.”
Papà calls to us as I guide Sophie to the door, and his eyes are intent when we turn to him. “This family has your back, whatever you need.”
I know this, but hearing it from my father is reassuring, especially as I don’t know what we’re heading into.
