Page 30 of The Oath We Take

“How are you doing, kid?” he asks.

“I was lucky Rocco was here and that I wasn’t alone. Could have been worse. Rocco made sure I was safe, until the men took him down.”

“Who’s Rocco?” Butcher asks.

She glances briefly my way. “He’s the guy I just met. We went on a date. He was dropping me home when they arrived. He?—”

“There’s security footage,” I say, pointing to the laptop as I cut her off. I don’t want to hear Ember talking about some guy, not when I feel like she just threw a cleaver through my heart. “You should take a look at it.”

“Did you eat already?” Ember asks Butcher. “I can make sandwiches.”

“Would love some food. It was a steady five-hour drive, and I didn’t eat before I left,” Butcher says.

“Atom?” she asks.

“Please. And some coffee if you could get a pot going.”

“I’ll see if the kitchen already brewed some.” She looks around the room. “I put my phone down somewhere earlier, and I can’t find it. I’ll have to go down and ask them.”

“Show me,” Butcher says, tipping his chin in the direction of the laptop when Ember takes the internal stairs to the bar.

I let the video play, and the second watch through is no easier than the first. If anything, it’s worse. I pay more attention to Rocco.

I hate the fucker.

The jeans he wears look too crisp, not an ounce of wear on them. Bet they’re stiff as fuck when he pulls them out of the laundry.

And I hate his perfectly styled hair and shaved jaw. I glance down at my holey sock and dust-stained denim.

Then pick me, Hudson. It’s not hard.

The words hit me again.

Over and over, so forcefully that I’m not even looking at the video.

“Motherfuckers!” Butcher shouts.

The loud bark snaps me back into the moment.

I’m the enforcer for the club. I have a job to do right here.

“I’m gonna fucking kill ’em,” Butcher continues. “Let’s find the vehicle reg and get it to Vex, images too. Let’s see what the New Jersey tech guy can come up with. Tell him they came for my daughter—otherwise, we wouldn’t be calling in favors we haven’t earned.”

My brain comes online. “We know who we’re looking for and can circulate this image. We should also set up a core team on duty in town twenty-four seven. They said there would be communication in the next forty-eight hours on how to pay. My guess is they don’t want a digital bank transfer. That would be too traceable. Especially if Vex is willing to use his skills to figure out where it goes. I think they’ll come for cash. We need to let the local businesses know to call us after they’ve been visited, even if they can’t alert us before. And perhaps use Raven’s old apartment above the hardware store so we’re in town to respond quickly.”

Butcher folds his arms as he considers what I’m proposing. “I like that. Four-man teams. At least one senior member on each team. Might be an overreaction, but we need to crush these motherfuckers before they gain any traction.”

I nod as Ember comes back into the apartment. She looks confused. “Still can’t find my phone,” she says. “Please can you call it, Dad?”

Butcher does as she asks, and we all listen for it, but hear nothing.

“Probably dead and down between the sofa cushions or something. I’ll find it, eventually. But I got coffee.”

I make a quick edit of the parts of the video we need. If I leave the parts with Rocco in it, it’s purely accidental. Except, because I’m a nosey fucker, I’m gonna ask Vex a few questions of my own.

I send it to myself.

“Ember losing her phone explains why she didn’t answer. But why the fuck didn’t you?” Butcher asks.

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