Page 6 of Gage

“Enough to prove what she says?” I asked.

Preacher rested his forearms on the table. “Enough to keep her here while Deacon digs some more. Rivas tracked her onto our ground; I’m sure of it. If we hand her back, we hand him the marriage he wants to buy men with. It seems Rivas isn’t planning on taking no for an answer when it comes to Salvation and he’s prepared to stop at nothing to get it.”

“I'll tighten the watches some more,” I said. “One man stays on the hall even if something pulls attention to the garage.”

Preacher looked at me for a beat. “Do it.”

We were leaving the room when Deacon's phone rang. He checked the number before answering and held it out to Preacher. “Motor Works line. Man says he's Tomas Rivas and he'll only speak to you.”

Preacher took the phone and put it on speaker. “Talk.”

“I see that my daughter entered your property this afternoon.” Tomas's voice carried no uncertainty. “I want her returned immediately.”

“She came through the gate herself.”

“She’s upset and acting without judgment. The arrangements for her future are a family matter.”

“She came onto our ground willingly,” Preacher said. “That made it club business.”

Footsteps stopped outside church. Elena stood there with the sandwich not yet eaten on the plate in her hand. She had heard enough to recognize the voice.

“Put her on,” Tomas said.

Preacher looked at Elena through the open door. She stared at the phone, then shook her head once.

“She doesn't want the phone,” Preacher said.

“Then you can tell her she will return tonight, or there will be consequences.”

The words scraped against an old memory. A kitchen, a woman's rigid shoulders and a little boy staring at me while men explained what his father owed. I cut it off at the boy's face. The rest belonged to a story I wasn't telling in that room. Elena's fingers tightened around the edge of the plate, but she didn't move.

“You heard me,” Preacher said. “She's not going anywhere tonight.”

“You have no idea what you’ve brought onto your ground.”

I looked at the outer yard through the window. “Gate's closed, Rivas. Don't send anybody to test it. You’ll be met with force.”

The line stayed quiet, then went dead, and Elena picked up her plate and left without a word.

Preacher handed the phone to Deacon. “Continue to get everything you can about this.” He looked at me next. “She stays provisional. Make sure she understands that.”

“She understands.”

“I'm also talking about you knowing that.”

Smoke's attention moved between us. I gave Preacher the only answer he needed. “I've got it.”

He let me go, although Smoke followed me out with a look that said I wasn't hiding much.

“Not a word,” I told him.

“Wasn't planning on wasting one.” His dry amusement followed me down the hall.

I should have been thinking about the gate rotation and which brother I wanted on the rear road. Instead, Tomas's voice kept replaying in my head, smooth and certain while he talked about Elena as if the only problem was that she'd forgotten who made decisions for her. I'd heard men use that tone before. They called it family, debt, loyalty, whatever word made ownership sound respectable. Usually somebody smaller paid for it. I didn't know Elena well enough to make any of this personal. The problem was, I felt it anyway.

By ten, the garage had gone quiet and most of the brothers had settled into watch rotations or found somewhere to sleep. I checked the outer fence, the service gate and the lot across the road before returning to the clubhouse. Elena stood at the end of the bar rinsing her plate.

She dried her hands and turned. “Do you plan to keep watching me all night?”