Page 36 of Tico

I nod slowly. “If I find out you’re lying to me or if you do anything to hurt Ember, I’ll make sure you regret it,” I reply, keeping my voice cold and hard. I look over at Taco. “Take her to one of the unused offices. I’ll go ask Ember if she wants to talk to her.”

He gives me a chin lift and guides her down the hallway.

My gut churns with worry. I don’t know how conditioned or groomed this Rochelle is. She could be wanting to feed us a bunch of horseshit to get us off the Chrome Vipers trail so they can swoop in and nab Ember and Pyper when we least suspect it. Or… Or she could be telling the truth.

I watch them disappear around the corner before pulling my phone out of my pocket and sending a text, already knowing the most likely outcome of this. When Shuriken comes back a moment later, I head back into the locker room. Ember looks up and I gesture for her to come closer. Both Daemon and Reese step back, giving us a bit of privacy.

“What happened? I’m assuming it’s not Pyper otherwise you wouldn’t be this calm.”

I huff, somehow both pleased that she knows that already but also kind of thrown off by how quickly she’s able to read me. Then again, with her history she had to be able to read a room at the drop of a hat to survive in that hell hole.

“Your stepmom paid us a little visit, and she says she needs to talk to you, but first, I want to make sure she checks out.”

Ember blinks, momentarily surprised, but then she slowly nods. I back up the feed on my phone and Ember gasps when Rochelle comes on screen. She nods again and I pause the image before pocketing my phone.

“That’s Rochelle. Fuck, they really did a number on her this time. Her bruises weren’t that bad when I last saw her,” she pauses as she shakes her head. “Dad was never able to fully break her. She always let him believe that, but when he wasn’t around, it was like I was seeing a different person. She was more open and relaxed.”

“Do you trust her?”

She hesitates. “I do, but to a degree. I don’t think she’d betray us, but I also don’t know what Dad, Uncle Ryan, or Scooter might have threatened her with.”

“She gave me this,” I said as I pass her the paper, “she cooperated and revealed it.”

If I hadn’t been watching her so closely, I would have missed the second Ember’s entire body went stock still. Not the ‘I’m too scared to move’ kind of stillness, but the same stillness that some ofmis hermanos(my brothers) that were in the military get when shit gets serious. The same stillness that they carry into battle and are able to command without losing their head.

“I want to talk to her.”

“I figured as much, but Ember, if she’s lying to us, I won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done to protect you.”

She goes up on her toes and kisses my cheek. “I know, Diego, and I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate that.”

Placing a hand on the small of her back, I guide her toward the lower offices to find Bobby, one of our Prospects, standing outside one of the rooms. He steps aside as we approach.

We enter quickly and shut the door behind us. Ember just barely hides a flinch when she sees Rochelle’s bruises in person, but she doesn’t leave my side.

“Are you doing this because they put you up to this?” Ember asks and the hard edge of her voice surprises me.

This time it’s Rochelle that flinches back at the tone, but she shakes her head. “No. I’m doing this because you and Pyper are the closest thing I have to children, and because of them, I’ll never be able to have any of my own. I tried to protect you two and pull their attention off you both as much as possible over the years. I let them believe I was broken and submissive because that was easier than the pain that comes when I ‘disobey’, to use their words.”

Ember doesn’t move for a few moments as she studies Rochelle. Then she slowly crosses the room and my fingers itch, ready to pull her back in case this is some sort of trick. She stops in front of the chair Rochelle is sitting in, and leans down, hugging her gently. After a moment she pulls back and then leans back against the desk as Rochelle wipes away a few tears.

“Tell us what happened.”

“Jerry, Ryan, and Scooter were mad before you and Pyper escaped, but after you… after you beat them the other day, they became furious. The club is close to fracturing because they saw how easily you brought down your dad and Scooter. They realized you weren’t under their control as much as they thought you were. They were all promised a percentage of whatever money you and Pyper brought in when they sold you. They’re pissed that Jerry wasn’t able to control you like they’ve been able to control all the other women at the compound. Jerry and them are quickly losing respect in the club as a result, but especially Scooter.

“Apparently, you weren’t just going to be given to Scooter to earn back Jerry and Ryan’s patches. Jerry sold your virginity to one of their contacts in Oasis. Part of that money was going to be given to the club since Scooter lost out on taking your virginity himself, and Jerry and Ryan will split the rest. According to the agreement, your buyer will keep you for a month before handing you back to Scooter. On top of that, Pyper’s buyer, who is also one of their contacts in Oasis, is furious that Jerry let her get away. Both of the buyers are putting a lot of pressure on the club and threatening to dissolve their partnerships and agreements if you two aren’t handed over. Rocco, the VP,” Rochelle explains for me and Taco, “gave the three of them an ultimatum. Come back with both of you or they’ve dug their own graves.”

“Why would they spill this all in front of you?” Taco asks her.

Rochelle gives a small, tired smile. “Because to them, women are objects. Property. They believe they own us and that none of us would dare go against our owners or masters. They think we’re too broken. Well, some of the women back at the compound are, but not all of us.”

“Who are our buyers?”

Rochelle looks down. “They never said their names around me, so I don’t know.

Ember looks up at me. “What happened in the hallway?”

I tell her word for word what happened. When I’m done, she frowns and I can see the worry in her eyes.