Montana sinks back into his chair, and I’ve never seen him look so broken. His hands visibly shake as he picks up the photograph, staring at it like he can’t make it make sense.
“She’s been playing us this whole time,” he whispers, his voice barely audible. “She fucking warned me… the bitch warned me the last time I was there.”
We all glare at him as his fingers run through his hair, gripping tight in his anxiety. “Jesus Christ, why didn’t I figure out her cryptic bullshit wasn’t bullshit at all?”
“What exactly did she say? Luke asks.
Montana furrows his brows and begins pacing again. “Something about storms not hitting all at once… something about pressure, things moving. I thought she was trying to give me some kind of pep talk.”
Logan moves in front of Montana, looking right at him. “This could be really important, Montana. We need you to think, what else did she say?”
He slumps his shoulders, rubbing the back of his neck. He turns to face Alpha, the fear in his eyes tells me he knows now the words have more meaning than he originally thought. “Fuck, she said the smart ones don’t wait. They know when to break from the flock, which I now realize she’s clearly talking about fucking birds. She also said the ones who don’t think they’ve got time, and that’s how they end up missing when it’s all over. When it’s too late, then, she warned me to be careful.” He snorts out a laugh, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t fucking see it. She told me, right then and there, and because I was so rattled by my visit with my mom, I couldn’t see she was telling me, right to my face. I’m a fucking idiot!”
Alpha moves closer to Montana, placing a protective hand onhis shoulder. “Montana—”
“My mom trusted her,” Montana cuts him off, his voice getting stronger with rage again. “I trusted her. Every time I visited, Rhonda would check in, ask how my mom was doing, and tell me she was keeping an eye on things.”
“Because she was,” Luke says. “Just not the way you thought, and by the sounds of it, whatever Rhonda has going on in that prison, it’s moving. Soon. And whoever isn’t on board is gonna be collateral damage.”
Montana’s hands ball into fists, and for a moment, I think he might punch something. Instead, he just sits there, staring at the evidence spread out in front of him.
“How long?” he asks quietly.
“How long what?” Logan asks.
“How long has she been working for them?”
The brothers exchange another look.
“Based on our investigation? At least two years. Maybe longer, but definitely on the payroll for the last eight months.”
Montana goes completely silent, just staring at the table. Alpha keeps a careful eye on him while Loki and I try to keep the conversation moving.
“Why don’t we all take a seat?” Luke finally suggests, his tone gentler now. “This is gonna take more than five minutes to go through everything we have. Looks like our timeline is moving fast, but without all the information, we could be going in blind, and blind is deadly.”
Alpha, Rip, Maverick, and I move in to sit with Montana, and the Martinez brothers get to telling us the information they have. Over the next hour, with Montana sitting in stunned silence, the twins lay out everything they discovered during their time inside the system. I keep one eye on Montana while Luke and Logan explain how Rhonda isn’t merely taking money, she’s the central coordinator for a network that spans multiple facilities.
“She’s got guards in at least seven facilities across three states,” Logan explains, spreading out a hand-drawn organizational chart. “They’re moving people around like chess pieces.”
“For what purpose?” Alpha asks, glancing at Montana, who hasn’t said a word in twenty minutes.
“Recruitment,” Luke replies. “They’re building an army of female operatives who are completely off the grid. Women with nothing to lose who disappear into the system and emerge as loyal soldiers.”
Alpha snorts out a half scoff, half laugh. “Oh, the birds, yeah, we knowaaallabout that.”
Luke and Logan furrow their brows. “You really have done your research into this,” Logan states.
Alpha sighs. “We have our own history with The Nest and birds. It’s a long story for another day, but us and the Cartel… we go back, and if we can bring these fuckers down, yeah, we want to do it properly this time.”
Luke smiles. “That’s what we want to hear. The corruption we saw when we were working was fucking crazy. When we found out it was stemming from the Cartel, we started collecting as much information as we could to bring these assholes down. The shit they’re doing inside these prisons, it’s not fucking right.”
“And you tried to report this?” I ask.
“Every. Single. Detail.” Logan’s voice is bitter. “To supervisors, internal affairs, state oversight. Every report that mentioned Rhonda specifically got buried faster than the others.”
“She’s got protection,” Luke adds. “People higher up the chain are making sure her name stays clean.”
Alpha leans forward. “How high up?”
