Page 73 of Tico

Pyper and Rochelle look up from the table they are both sitting at and I curse silently. I’d asked them to head upstairs earlier.Chingar(Fuck). Then I sigh in defeat whenMamá(Mom) gives me a look that says to leave it alone. I glance at Xochitl and Poison, who had stationed themselves nearby them and they both dip their chins, telling me they’ll watch out for them.

I scan the room, relieved that the bunnies are still in their rooms, though if any are awake, Wire’s warning would have told them to stay put.

Taco steps up beside me. Then, Daemon steps up, planting himself in front ofmis hermanos (my brothers), staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. His body has been radiating with anger ever since we discovered that Ember was gone.

When everyone is present, I clear my throat. “The officers already know this because it happened after an emergency meeting, but tonight, we were betrayed by one of our own. On top of that, Ember was kidnapped and Corvus was shot trying to protect her.”

Angry voices erupt around me asking who the rat is as they look around to see who all is present and who is missing. I raise my hand for silence.

“Zane. It was Zane who attacked Corvus and shot him. A masked man fought with Ember, drugged her, and restrained her before they kidnapped her. We have no video of this because our cameras were hacked.”

Murmurs break out, and once again, I raise my hand for silence.

“On top of all of that, Bobby texted me before the emergency message. The Shadow is at our gates saying he has word about Ember.”

Dameon’s eyes widen as hesitation crosses his face. I glance over at Rochelle and Pyper to see how they’re taking this new news only to find Rochelle has stood up in shock. Then, I immediately stand taller at how pale she is and how badly she’s trembling.

“Rochelle?”

She opens her mouth a few times, but no words come out at first.

“I… I didn’t know if it was true or not.”

I frown, sharing a confused look with Pyper and then with Daemon before looking back at her.

“If what’s true or not?”

She swallows a few times, glances down guiltily at Pyper and then back at me. “I…I found some of Renee’s journals she’d hidden in her closet—Ember and Pyper’s biological mother. I found them after the girls left. She wrote… She wrote that she suspected Jerry wasn’t their biological father.”

It hits me then. The original thought I had when Ember first showed me The Shadow’s picture. That if you were to cover up his black hair, Ember and Pyper are the spitting image of him. Well, with more feminine features, of course.

“He’s their father,” I find myself saying, and Rochelle nods shakily in response, her eyes misting with tears as she glances down at Pyper with regret before looking back at me.

“That’s what she thought, but without proof, she didn’t want to say anything to the girls. She even wrote that if anyone found her journal, to not tell them either unless there was proof.” She pauses as she wets her lips. “But with him showing up, hours after Ember was kidnapped and not being surrounded by the usual crowd he comes with to the Chrome Vipers compound… I think… I think she may have been right.”

Chapter 35

Tico

IstareatRochellefor a moment before turning back tomis hermanos(my brothers). “I need a few of you to stay in here with Xochitl and Poison. The rest of you, outside with me.”

I turn on my heel stalking towards the front door and out into the cool dawn air. Parked in front of the gate is a black SUV with heavily tinted windows. The damn thing screams bulletproof, which shouldn’t surprise me since it’s The Shadow. As for the man himself, he’s dressed entirely in black and standing in frontof his car, lazily leaning against it with his arms across his chest. Even though the sun has only recently come up, he’s wearing dark shades.

“Diego ‘Tico’ Meztli,” he drawls out. “President of the Royal Bastards MC. I thought for sure when Ember and Pyper made it here, that between you and Daemon, you’d be able to keep them safe and out of the grasp of both the Chrome Vipers and Oasis, but here we are.”

Annoyance swirls in me but I don’t rise to the bait. I stop a few feet from the gate, keeping my hands at my side, ready to reach for my gun if need be. Daemon steps up beside me and even from here, I can feel his anger radiating off him. I look The Shadow up and down, noting the similarities between him, Ember, and Pyper.

“So, you’re The Shadow.”

The corner of his lips twitch and irritation runs through me, but he neither confirms nor denies his identity.

A growl rises in my throat but I stomp it down. “What information do you have about my Ol’ Lady?”

The Shadow cocks an eyebrow at me. “I think that conversation needs to happen somewhere where loose ears can’t overhear. I wasn’t followed but I don’t know if they have people watching your clubhouse.”

I look around before sharing a look with Taco and then Daemon. Nothing’s been triggered on our sensors and Clutch and Wire improved everything after the last breach. But then again, someone just hacked into our cameras. If they were able to do that, then maybe they could also get into that system.

I look at Bobby. “Let him in.” Then I look sharply at The Shadow. “You will be searched, and if you cross me or mine, I’ll shoot you myself.”