Page 52 of Tico

WewalkdownstairstoWire’s cave and knock on his door. Wire’s room is the only one that was built differently from the others. On the main floor is the security hub or the ‘cave’. In the back of the room is a private staircase that leads up to his room on the second floor that’s directly above the cave.

He opens the door and the anxious look in his eyes has me even further on edge. Wire ushers us in, though he hesitates with Xochitl and Poison, but at my nod, he lets them in and quicklycloses the door. A second later, someone knocks and Wire lets Taco in.

“Prez, VP, we have a problem,” Wire says as he sits down at his desk and his wall of monitors.

“We have a rat?” I ask and Wire hesitates but he also looks relieved that I know.

“Yes. I don’t have enough data yet, but someone hacked the cameras at the hotel. I had no problems seeing Psycho, Clutch, Ricky and Bobby…but Kane’s feed was weird. I noticed he was acting kind of off yesterday and then he was checking his phone a lot last night before everyone left the warehouse. I dug into it after the attack and found the hack. The west cameras, the ones that were pointed at Kane at the hotel, were playing on a loop.”

“Which gave a window for Ryan and the others to sneak out and then attack us,” Ember states, her voice even colder and harder than before.

“How did they get onto the property?” I ask, anger simmering in my veins.

“They cut the fence along the tree line. I already have Clutch out looking at the fence to fix it. When he’s done, I will be installing more cameras along the fence line. I’ll also be building in a notification system when the cameras detect something outside of my set parameters and I’ll be adding a way where we can electrify the fence if need be.”

“What about the other stuff I asked you to dig into?” I ask him.

His gaze hesitantly slips to Ember, then to Xochitl and Poison. Xochitl stands.

“We’ll leave so you can talk privately. I’ll email you the pictures that Byte, Wire’s counterpart,” Xochitl explains for Ember, “has of the gang members that Oasis, Scooter, and Drone hired. She was able to get their names, too.”

She pulls out her phone and a moment later, Wire’s computer dings with the incoming email. He pulls up the pictures and thenputs their names into his program that will dig up any and all dirt on them. Then, they both quietly slip out, shutting the door behind them.

Wire looks questioningly at Ember and then cocks an eyebrow at me.

“She can hear this. She also agreed to help lure Scooter and Oasis out and help the women they are hiding at their clubhouse.”

Wire gives a curt nod and turns back to his computers. “I compiled information from each time one of our shipments, runs, or deliveries were compromised. Then I made a list of who was all present on those runs, including what happened last night. There were five of us that were there each time. Daemon, Radar, Gorgon, Sandman, and Corvus.”

Hearingmis hermanos(my brothers) names like that is like a punch to the gut. Judging by the sound of disbelief when Ember hears Daemon’s name, she’s feeling the same way. I don’t want to believe one ofmis hermanos(my brothers) betrayed us, but then my brain snags on the names again. Switching gears, I think about how last night played out. Daemon and Radar were with me last night, riding with the point group that led the caravan back to the clubhouse. Per the video feed I watched from last night, Gorgon and Sandman were glued to Pyper’s side, and thenmi mamá(my mom) when she arrived. Corvus on the other hand, was chilling in the main room scrolling on his phone.

Kane though… Why was he acting weird last night? Why was his camera feed on a loop? Yeah, he wasn’t one of the names Wire just listed, but still… Does he know who hacked into the cameras?

What if… My gut twists.

“Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t ignore red flags just because they arenuestro hermano(our brother). We need to flush out who it is and quickly.”

“I have a question,” Ember says quietly, as if she’s not sure if is allowed to question us. At my nod, she continues. “You said the five of them were at every location when something went wrong. That may be true, however…the rat could have tipped off locations and timing but also stayed behind so that the clubhouse wasn’t completely unmanned. He also could have stayed behind to keep attention off of himself as a suspect.”

My gut clenches at having my own thoughts spoken aloud and to have someone else have the same train of thought. My gaze snaps to Taco’s and I can see the same worry in his eyes.

And the same promise.

Whoever the rat is will regret ever going against the Royal Bastards MC.

Pulling out my phone, I hesitate. Two of the men Wire listed are my officers—Daemon and Radar. But having someone else come to the same conclusion I did…

Mentally, I replay scenarios, and red flags, from the past few months that I once dismissed again in my mind. My gut twists at how much we may have missed.Chingar(fuck). Knowing I could be showing my hand if I’m wrong, but needing more eyes, I send a text to our officers only thread.

Pocketing my phone, I look down at Ember. “Vicious, I need to brief the officers about this.”

She gives me a curt nod and stands. “I’ll go see how Rochelle’s settling in since I’m assuming you want to be present when I talk to Sunny?”

The muscles in my jaw clench. “Yes.”Chingar(fuck), I hope thatputa(bitch) doesn’t cause any more problems after this. We have enough problems on our plate as it is right now.

Ember leans forward, pressing a kiss to my jaw. “Go do what you need to do, Tico. I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if I see anything.”

I watch her go as she slips out of the room and when the door closes, the tension in the room thickens.