Page 78 of Truths

Lex gasps and stands, backing away until she hits the counter, her face pale. Dax looks at Colt, who looks as concerned as Dax feels.

“Ivan?”

“Yeah, that’s the guy’s name.”

“I thought Ivan said she would break.”

Tensing, Colt keeps his voice under control. “Lex, what did you just say?”

“That's... that's the name from the basement,” she says, her eyes wide as she looks at her husband. “The man who told Scarface I was the one who had the information they wanted. Red told Scarface that Ivan said I'd break when they were beating me. He's... he's RIO, isn't he?”

Her breathing picks up, and Dax is surprised by the tears in her eyes. He's not quite understanding what's happening, and Dani rushes to Lex. “Lex, what's going on? What's wrong? Who’s Ivan?”

Colt's teeth are clenched, and his nostrils flare. “Motherfucker.”

“What?” Dax asks.

“He's the one who delayed giving us resources to take out the Slashers. Which all makes fucking sense now if he's the one who was working with them and told them to take my fucking wife.”

The scared woman Dax has known since getting Dani back disappears as she rubs Lex's arms. “Lex, are you okay? You're scaring me. Say something.”

“We were betrayed by the club's supplier,” Lex says. “And it went further than just me. No... I'm not okay. I'm the furthest thing from okay.”

Colt moves quickly and pulls Lex into his arms, holding her tightly. She clings to him, and Dax can see her mind turning and every emotion she feels washing over her face. He gets it now. She knows more about the club than most women. More than Dani ever did, and he never really hid much from her. Dani knew not to ask, but Lex grew up in the club. There's no way she wouldn't have picked up anything.

“It still doesn't make sense,” Lex says and pulls away from Colt. “Dani was taken before me. That means that the RIO, or at least Ivan, was working with the Kingsmen, but we weren't affiliated with the Hellraisers at that time. It was completely unrelated to us. There is something with the President of the Kingsmen and Dani. The Slashers and Ivan seem opportunistic, not plan-forward.”

“They weren't in on the whole fucking the Drifters over from the beginning?” Colt asks.

She shakes her head. “No, I don't think so. Not for the same reasons as the Slashers. And I don't think they'd give a shit if Ivan was trying to take over the RIO. There's something with the President of the Kingsmen. That ties it all together, but what did they want with Dani? And why would they bother fucking with the Drifters?”

Dax admires her. She should be sick and running away, but she's looking at this entire situation like a puzzle. No wonder Griffin's Beach relied on her. She's fucking smart.

“We'll figure it out,” Dax assures, and Dani moves over to stand by him.

It's the closest she's been to him aside from his motorcycle, and he wants to melt when she reaches out and takes his hand.It's a small gesture, but it's one he hasn't had since he got her back.

“We can't stay here,” Lex says and looks at Colt. “They're going to keep coming for her.”

“Everyone needs to get to Griffin's Beach,” Colt says. “I'll give Dad a heads up to work with Jennings and VP. We've got safe houses for the family, but we need to movenow. No packing. The Kingsmen may escalate, especially when they realize they lost two of their guys. They've been laying low, so they're probably just waiting to pounce.”

“Let's start making calls,” Dax says, reluctantly pulling his hand from Dani's. Before he releases it completely, he kisses her knuckles gently to let her know how much this means to him.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Griffin's Beach

Snake

Snake walks with Everlee into the Griffin's Beach clubhouse. He's been here less than a handful of times, but Everlee finds herself at home as she runs and hugs her cousin.

“Goldie!”

“Everlee!”

With Everlee distracted, Snake can let his facade slip a little. He can't help but think about how this feels like a giant Griffin's Beach mess, and they've only adopted it because they were patched over. For a while now, he's felt the patch over was a giant mistake. There are so many things about the club he doesn't really like much anymore, and he wishes he'd pushedback when they suggested asking the Drifters to help them with curbing Dax's reckless streak.

“Hey,” Kip Meyers says.

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