I watched as every man around the table fisted their hands with every instance of abuse, both mental and physical. I was proud to know I was involved with a club that wouldn’t stand for women being treated that way.
Cash and I had rushed into things. I could admit that. I still hadn’t told Val about him. Or that I was now his old lady. I didn’t know what her reaction would be.
I wasn’t sure I cared, if I was being honest. She had her daughter now. And once Amber knew who Val was to her, she would replace me.
“Kytten,” King called. “What can you tell us?”
“We got the call within minutes of Aspen being brought into the hospital. It wasn’t the first time she had been there, and the contact we have knew that if we didn’t get her out, next time she would be in a body bag.”
I rubbed Aspen’s hand when it tightened in mine. She knew it was the truth, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear.
“How did you get her out? Without raising the alarm?”
Everyone in the room had their eyes on me, except for Sypher. He already knew my answer.
“Club business,” I replied, my expression blank. I didn’t miss the look King sent Cash. “Without permission from my president, I can’t give you that information. I’m sure you understand.”
My eyes never left King as he tried to stare me down. If he was waiting for me to falter, he would have a long wait.
“Sypher?” he asked, his eyes boring into me.
Sypher let out a long breath. “Every member of the Nyght Nymphs has medical training. Valhalla goes in as a doctor and orders tests. The patient is then transferred, if they are stable enough, for thetestsand wheeled out into an ambulance that takes them to an undisclosed location.”
King studied me as Sypher spoke. I knew what he was looking for. He wanted me to react to the fact that Sypher had given him information I refused to relinquish.
Only he wouldn’t get what he was looking for. I had spent years hiding behind fake smiles. I gave him one now.
“Jesus Christ,” Cash muttered. “Enough with the pissing contest. King, don’t be a dick to my woman.”
That got a reaction, though. My mouth dropped open, and I stared at Cash. “What the fuck did you just say to your president?”
His eyes snapped to mine. “Rose—”
“Nuh-uh. In this room, I am Kytten. Don’t use our relationship to be disrespectful.”
The men snickered around the table. Cash narrowed his eyes at me and promised, “We’ll talk about this later.”
You bet your ass we will.
“Let’s get back on track,” King said, slapping his hand on the table. “Aspen, do you have ideas about how the Death Dogs may have found you, or why they would move the whole club as opposed to sending a few men with Pepper to come after you?”
“I don’t. Pepper made it clear I was nothing to him. He didn’t want to marry me any more than I wanted to marry him, but his president ordered him to.”
“What is the possibility this is a coincidence?” Banshee asked.
“If they aren’t looking for Aspen, why move the club?” Blade asked.
“Why move the club at all?” I said. “Take Aspen out of the picture for a minute. What are the reasons you would move a club? The Death Dogs are not a small club, so why not start a new chapter, like you guys did? If you want to move into an area, why give up the area you already have to get it?”
“She’s got a point, Prez,” Gunner said, then winked at me. He could wink all he wanted; he was still on my shit list for the way he talked to Haizley. I don’t care if she liked it. If it was some kind of twisted foreplay.
I looked over at Cash. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me since I’d called him out. I thought about what Gunner said to Haizley about beating her ass. If Cash thought for a minute that shit would be okay with me, he could have his cut back.
“Sypher, Nav. Dig into Flagstaff; find out if there is a reason they left. We have to have someone down there we can contact.” He slammed the gavel on the table, signaling he was done.
I was still talking to Aspen when I felt his arms slip around me.
“Excuse me, Aspen, I need a word with my old lady.”
