Page 47 of Tempest

Wire tapped the tablet, his fingers flying across the screen. “It’s worse than we thought,” he said, his usually calm voice tinged with urgency. “The cartel’s not just running drugs anymore. They’ve diversified. The women on the ship were just the tip of the iceberg.”

“We?” Savior asked.

“Um, yeah. I might have helped Tempest with something tied to the cartel.” Wire cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. I was an ass for putting him in this position.

“Spit it out,” Savior snapped.

Wire’s eyes darted around the room. “Human trafficking,” he said. “They’ve got a sophisticated network spanning the entire Southeast. And now they’re pissed because someone fucked with their operation. More specifically, Tempest and the Twisted Tides did.”

My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might crack. The pieces were falling into place, and the picture they formed was ugly as hell. The trafficking had been a given, considering what happened to Kasen. But I hadn’t realized it was on such a large scale. And of course, Wire had just thrown a grenade I couldn’t dodge. I’d known I’d have to come clean. Thankfully, Savior hadn’t picked up on what he’d said just yet. Or he was biding his time to ask what the hell Wire meant.

“How connected are we talking?” I asked, dreading the answer.

Wire’s fingers danced across the tablet again. “They’re using the drug routes to move people. Shell companies to launder money. Even got some dirty cops on the payroll. For clarification, none of the cops in our town.” He looked up, his expression grim. “It’s a full-scale operation, boys. And they’ve got resources we can only dream of spanning Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.”

The room erupted into a cacophony of curses and shouted questions. But I barely heard them. My mind was racing, replaying every moment of what happened in Florida. Every decision I’d made. Every mistake.

“Tempest?” Savior’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You got something to add?”

I met his gaze, knowing I was about to light a powder keg. But there was no turning back now. We were all in this mess together, whether they knew it yet or not.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice rough. “I think I know why they’re coming for us. And it’s not gonna be pretty. Just not sure how they found me.”

Back in Florida, I’d had a feeling something would happen. I hadn’t known how it would go down, or if it would even be the cartel. I just knew bad shit was going to head our way. And when I got those feelings, I always paid attention. It had kept me alive this long.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of every eye in the room. “When Kasen and I were in Florida, she got picked up by human traffickers. Turns out they’re tied to the cartel. Didn’t know that until Wire started tracking her for me.”

The following silence was deafening. I could practically hear the gears turning in everyone’s heads as they processed what I’d just said.

Savior leaned forward, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the table. “What the fuck happened, Tempest? Is that what Wire meant about you and the Twisted Tides?”

“I got her back,” I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “And yeah, that’s what he meant. With help from the Twisted Tides MC out of Miami. We took down the operation, rescued Kasen and a bunch of other women.”

Wire stared at the device in his hand. “I’ve been picking up a lot of chatter. They’ve been looking for whoever hit them. I hadn’t heard specific names mentioned, but it’s clear they know who was responsible.”

“How?” Saint asked.

Wire shrugged. “I didn’t detect cameras on board when I was searching for Kasen and found the ship’s signal, but it doesn’t mean they weren’t there. Could have been hidden well enough Tempest wouldn’t have seen them. And if they weren’t accessible other than from the ship itself, I wouldn’t have had access. It’s quite possible they used older tech and not cloud-based. But I’m speculating.”

I nodded, my stomach churning. That would make sense. Of course, we’d also left those men alive on board. Even though it was dark and we’d crept up on them, someone could have noticed our colors or our names. We hadn’t exactly gone incognito. But like Wire had said, it was just speculation. Only the cartel could say for sure how they’d found us. “The Twisted Tides compound was hit. They think the cartel’s coming for us next.”

The room exploded into chaos. Questions and accusations flew like bullets, but I kept my eyes on Savior. His face was a mask of barely contained fury. I knew I needed to say something, but I couldn’t get the words out.

Tank’s chair screeched against the floor as he shot to his feet, the force sending it flying backwards. His face contorted with rage, veins bulging in his neck as he let out a roar. The sound made my ears ring.

“You motherfucker!” he bellowed, advancing on me. “You hid this shit from me? That’s my daughter, you asshole!”

I held my ground, even as Tank’s massive form loomed over me, trembling with the effort of not swinging at me. “I trusted you with Kasen,” he spat, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. “And this is how you repay that trust? By keeping me in the dark when she was in danger?”

“Technically, I was entrusted with every person at the compound. You didn’t exactly hand her over to me or anything.” My excuse was weak at best. I knew what he meant. Regardless of my role in Kasen’s life, first and foremost I was the Sergeant-at-Arms, which means I should have kept her safe. The guilt hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. I’d fucked up, and I knew it. But before I could respond, Savior’s voice cut through the tension.

“Tempest,” he said, his tone icy. His eyes bored into mine, disappointment and anger radiating from him in waves. “You should have fucking told me. I don’t give a shit about the excuses you gave. I had a right to fucking know!”

He was right. I knew it. He knew it. Hell, everyone here did. I glanced over at the Pres. Savior’s gaze never left mine. I could see the wheels turning in his head, weighing my actions against the potential consequences we now faced.

The silence stretched on, thick with tension. I stood there, my heart pounding, waiting for the axe to fall.

Savior’s fist slammed onto the table, the sound like a gunshot in the tense room. “Enough,” he growled, his eyes sweeping over the assembled men. “We can deal with this shit later. Right now, we’ve got bigger problems.”

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