Page 83 of Seizing Control: Part Two

“Ring Toker, get him to organise Cub and Meeyal. Lockdown should’ve happened already.” I scan Hunter’s face for signs that he’s going to rethink his hard-line attitude. There are none. “Call me if you need anythin’, other than that, I’ll wait for my next orders.”

“Be safe,” I tell him as he heads for the front door.

Hunter flicks his hand in the air in acknowledgement.

“All right... what’s going on?” Nadia asks as soon as he’s out of sight. “Your husband looks half-dead.”

With another glance in Slash’s direction, I realise that she’s right. He is detached from reality. His expression blank. The tension in his frame sets my nerves on edge.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more worried about him.

He’s not lost.

He’s broken.

Again, Hunter’s declaration echoes around my overwhelmed brain.

Is my husband suicidal?

Coming hot on the heels of Everett’s overdose, I can’t countenance the thought.

He can hurt me.

I can take it.

But himself...

I don’t know if I can come back from that.

Pushing away my fear, I tell my best friend, “Club business.”

She rolls her eyes.

My mobile phone is in my bedroom, so rather than take the stairs, I use the landline instead. Hitting the second saved number, I listen to the ringing sound while I try to decipher how I should approach things without blowing Lazarus or Hunter’s cover. When the call connects, Toker sounds tired.

“Lil cuz?”

“Yeah.” In an apologetic tone, I blurt out, “Hunter has dropped Slash off at home.” Heart in my mouth, I dive headfirst into the made-up scenario I was given. “From what I can gather he was ambushed at the compound last night. He’s not talkin’, but I figure someone needs to call a lockdown or a meeting... or something.”

“Shit... fuck.” My cousin grumbles something under his breath. “Give me a sec.”

I hear a woman’s voice in the background, then Toker mutes the call.

With one eye kept of my husband, I hold my hand out to Nadia. “Give me your mobile phone.” She hands it to me, and I hold it in front of her face to open it, then search through her contacts for Cub’s contact. His listing as “Long Dong Ginger” makes me smile despite Dialling the number into the keypad of the landline, I patch him into three-way call while I wait for my cousin to come back online. “Cub. I’m adding you to a call with Toker.”

Once my cousin has unmuted himself, I fill them both in with an abbreviated version of the truth behind my husband’s sudden appearance. To steady my nerves, I make myself a hot mug of Milo while I talk. My brother heads back upstairs without acknowledging my husband. I lean against the kitchen counter with Nadia standing on the opposite. She’s openly curious, biting back a smile while I lie through my teeth.

“He’s been patched up... by Hunter, I presume,” I tell them. It’s obvious that my cousin has changed rooms since there aren’t any voices in the background any longer. “I don’t know the exact details and Hunter doesn’t seem to know either, but he’s been wounded.” Cautiously peering at Slash, I catalogue my husband’s visible injuries. “He’s got a bandage on his head, his ear is mangled, and there’s another dressing on his cheek. To be honest, he’s not giving me much to work with—it might be better for one of you to speak with him.”

“Contact everyone, Cub. Use the emergency protocol,” Toker orders Cub. “Have the single brothers, hangabouts, and cut sluts bunker down in the compound. I want all the old ladies and kids at Cherub’s. Um, Delia—” He makes a breathless sound like he been punched in the stomach. “Delia and her kids are with me, so I’ll bring them to the house soon.”

The Shamrocks tech officer grunts, “On it.”

Someone must have added Meeyal to the call because he’s the next to speak. “When I left to attend the briefin’ at Cub’s about the latest hackin’ attempt, I left Slash with a prospect on the gate and Hunter in the sentry box. Other than that, I think he was alone... damn.”

My mind is whirling at a mile a minute as I try to piece things together.

Why was Lazarus at the compound?

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