Page 30 of Savior

I studied the text from my father, trying to find the catch. It was just a little over two months ago that he was informed it had been stolen in the first place.

There was no way they’d been able to come up with that kind of cash in such a short amount of time, even if they’d taken every last penny from my father’s retirement fund.

“What’s wrong?” Dakota asked, running her fingers over the railing of a crib. Today was supposed to be about her and the baby, not my parents.

I tucked the phone back into my purse. “Nothing. It was just a wrong number. Now, tell me your theme again.”

She mashed her lips together while narrowing her eyes. “I’ve only told you three times already. Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been out of it all morning.”

I turned my head slightly until Crossbones came into view. He was rifling through a rounder of newborn onesies, clearly trying to blend in. Unfortunately for him, the leather vest and motorcycle boots stood out like a flashing neon sign, drawing the attention of almost everyone in the store.

Maybe Dakota had grown accustomed to Little Ricky following her everywhere she went that an added biker didn’t even register.

Bear wanted me to trust him implicitly, but the added security only increased the feelings of uneasiness. I hadn’t always known everything that had gone on within the club walls, but if we were in danger, Jamie would’ve at least given me a warning.

The bell over the door jingled, and I whipped my head around, already reaching for the gun in my purse.

Lauren.

She nodded to Crossbones before making her way over to us. “Did you tell her?” she asked Dakota.

“Not yet,” my daughter said with a shake of her head. “She’s been acting weird since we got here.”

“I’m acting ‘weird’ because we seem to have a security detail that I wasn’t made aware of,” I hissed while gesturing toward Crossbones.

“He’s with me,” Lauren answered smoothly while examining the price tag on the side of one of the cribs. “Now, let’s get right to it. Silent Phoenix won’t help us, and we won’t stop until we know what happened the night of Dakota’s wedding. It leaves us in a very precarious position. We can either stay in their good graces and look the other way, or we can make another enemy but get the answers we want.”

“What—you want to go after the Sons on our own?” I choked. It wasn’t as if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but we didn’t have the numbers.

Even Jamie hadn’t had enough men to take them out.

I’d gone after Manny on my own, only making it out by the skin of my teeth and with more than a little help from Jamie. The three of us against the Sons was a joke.

“I’m not suggesting we declare war or anything,” Lauren stated before lifting a small lamp off the nightstand near the display crib. “We start small. Someone within the club is giving them information. So, we follow them… see where they lead us.”

Dakota nodded in agreement as if it was the most obvious solution.

“Absolutely not.”

Lauren’s eyes widened in shock, and she brought her arms up over her chest.

“You’re saying no?” Dakota spluttered. “No? Just like that? Even knowing it might help us find my dad?”

“Dakota,” I pleaded. “Just let it go… please. Now, we came here to shop for your nursery. Let’s pick out a few things, and then we’ll grab lunch.”

“Celia,” Lauren began. “You of all people should be on board with this. Don’t you want to know where he is?”

I did.

More than anything.

But I wasn’t willing to risk anyone else’s life. Jamie wouldn’t have allowed it. Plus, Bear had asked me to stand down while the club looked into things. I’d given Molly my word.

“For all we know, someone stole his body from the casket, and this is nothing more than a wild goose chase.” The lie slipped easily off my tongue. It was still better than the alternative that Jamie had sold his soul to the feds.

“You really believe that?” Dakota asked, her head cocked to the side.

I busied myself with a basket of Minky baby blankets, rearranging each rolled bundle until they all looked uniform. “It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

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