Page 53 of Property of Mako
“No shit,” Crypt Keeper muttered.
I relayed the meeting—the act Haidyn had played, the debt he was owed, the soul bartered in desperation. By the time I finished, the room was tense enough to snap.
“Trusting a demon’s word?” Bugsy scoffed, still pale from his healing. “That’s a hell of a plan.”
“It’s the only one we’ve got,” I said flatly. “And Haidyn doesn’t make empty bargains. He’ll hold up his end.”
Spook leaned forward, his eyes flickering with shadow. “Which means our focus has to shift. The rat. Somebody’s feeding the Covenant information, and if we don’t find out who, the next setup won’t end with us limping home—it’ll end with us dead.”
Nods went around the table. Even through the distrust, there was steel in their eyes.
“Then we flush the bastard out,” Dexter growled.
“Agreed.” My gaze swept the table. “We stick to the false plan. Keep the plan tight. Spread the word just enough to tempt the leak. Everyone hears the same thing—except for one detail. Something small, something only the traitor will know. When it leaks, we’ll know who’s been feeding the Covenant. We draw them out on our terms, not theirs.”
“And in the meantime?” Crypt Keeper asked.
I thought of Lily’s hollow eyes, of Lyra’s voice whispering against my skin the night before. Of the other girls, still trapped, waiting in silence for monsters to decide their fate.
“In the meantime,” I said, my voice iron, “we trust Haidyn to keep his word—and we get ready for war if he doesn’t.”
“Zeus messaged me about ten minutes ago saying they were making their last stop for fuel and would be home soon. So this is about to get real,” Boomslang announced.
Silence enveloped us.
“So we need a plan. Ideas, anyone?” Killswitch asked.
The entire chapter was present for church that night. Tension was high as everyone worried there was someone in the chapter who had stabbed their own brothers in the back. Whether they did it personally or through pillow talk.
“We’re gonna have to lure them in,” Boomslang quietly said as he met the eyes of each brother at the table.
Crypt Keeper leaned forward, barely leashed claws drumming the wood. “What’s the bait?”
I thought for a moment, then said, “We plant word about a weapons drop. Make it sound like we’ve got a shipment of enchanted steel coming in from an ally that we’ll be selling on the dark web. We’ll choose the place, the time, and we’ll watch. The Covenant won’t be able to resist hitting us hard if they think they can disarm us before the auction and get possession of a load of enchanted steel.”
“Or wipe us out,” our secretary, Bait, muttered.
Low grumbles spread through our members.
“No. We make sure that won’t happen,” Killswitch insisted.
Spook nodded slowly, shadows shifting in his irises. “And when they show up?”
“We let them,” I said. “We’ll be there waiting.”
What was left unsaid was that it wouldn’t be to fight them if we could help it, but to see who told them. Whoever gave us up was in the room.
Silence fell. Heavy. Suspicious.
Bugsy shifted uncomfortably, but his loyalty had never been in question. Crypt’s wolf bristled but stayed steady. My eyes lingered on Niner, the club’s treasurer. He leaned back in his chair, arms folded, jaw tight. I’d never liked the half-blood. Too slick, too smug, too careful about where he placed his loyalty. A lot of dhampirs were unfortunately like that.
One by one, the brothers agreed to the plan.
“Fine,” Niner muttered when it reached him, meeting my stare a little too defiantly. “Set the trap. We’ll see who’s dirty.”
Oh, we sure would. Funny… we hadn’t said that was what this was about. “Guilty conscience, Niner?” I asked with a smirk.
Niner shot forward in his seat toward me.
