Page 45 of Cocky Secrets

Jett looks at me. “Warehouses.”

“Let’s go!” I roar, mounting my bike once more. The Ciphers follow suit, engines roaring to life.

Over the rumble of my engine, standing next to me, ready to jump into his car and follow, Bear says, “Honey Badger, you think they want to be found?”

I dart the question to Jett with a look of my eyes. He nods, and answers Bear, “They have a vendetta against us. We…got in the way of something they were trying to do, about six months back.”

Tonk Sr. revs his throttle. “They want a fight.”

I roar, “And a fight is what they’re gonna get!”

Bear jumps into his cop car, waits for all The Ciphers to pull out ahead of him, with me and my rage leading the club tonight. We take off, the search for Sage burning in our blood, our hearts.

We’ll tear through all of North and South Vacherie and beyond until we bring her back home.

TWENTY

Sage

“Scream,” Briar whispers in my ear.

I blink and pull back to look at Briar’s ruthless face to find his eyes softer than they were.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Your father did me a solid and I’m here to repay it.”

My tilted head is my unspoken question,What did he do?

Briar whispers, “He set my sister free. She’s got a good life now. I need you to scream like I’m hurting you…or they will.”

I let out a scream that would put horror movies to shame. It causes a ripple of disgusting laughter outside. The door starts to open and Briar kicks it shut, shouts, “Do I sound done to you?”

More laughter.

He locks eyes with me, darkness wrapping around us. I’ve got so many questions and no way to ask them. What I don’t know about The Ciphers missions could fill up this whole warehouse and ten more like it. They keep the darkest stuff from me, but from the feel of The Spiders, I can guess the worst about Briar’s sister. A bit of hope has seeped into my heart that I have an ally on the inside. As he nods, I scream again, and begin to beg likehe’s hurting me, “Please stop! Please no! What are you doing! No!!!” Another blood curdling scream.

More laughter.

None try to come in again.

Briar punches his own leg to make it sound like a fist hitting skin. Again and again, he punches himself, his chest, his thigh, and I cry out every time like it’s me weathering the blows.

Briar holds his finger to his mouth, telling me to stay quiet. He waits a moment and we stare at each other. He walks outside and I hear him say, “She’s out. I’ll keep watch in here. You?—”

Then, it happens. A door somewhere bursts open, and in explodes The Ciphers. I recognize their voices, hear my father shout, “Where’s my daughter!” his voice thunderous.

Briar rushes in, grabs me and throws me over his shoulder, carrying me out as an offering.

“Get away from her!” Dad shouts,

The Spiders freeze, shock rippling through the room. I see them all, my family, and my eyes go wide as they lock with Bears, who’s in full uniform.

“You brought a cop?!” Soot growls. “You fuckin’ pussys.”

Bear’s fists clench, his muscles taut with rage. Without waiting for a response, he charges forward.

Complete chaos erupts.

The first Spider lunges at Dad, but he dodges, delivering a swift punch that connects with the man’s jaw. The sound of flesh meeting flesh reverberates through the warehouse time and again as the battle between clubs takes off. I watch in awe as The Ciphers move with precision, a whirlwind of strength and fury.

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