“Two informants with backgrounds in corrections who worked at the same facility as Rhonda. They’ve been feeding us intel, and what they found…” Alpha pauses. “She’s not helping Montana’s mother like we thought. She’s been working for Javier’s people the whole damn time.”
Jerking my head back, I step up from the bed and begin pacing.
Naked and all.
“Sorry, come again?”
“She’s been feeding information to Javier’s people. But worse than that, she’s been making Montana’s mother’s life hell in there instead of protecting her like we believed.” Alpha’s voice is cold, deadly. “Everything we thought she was doing to help… she was fucking doing the opposite.”
I close my eyes, feeling the weight of reality crashing back down on us. The peace, the freedom, the bubble of safety we’dcreated, it’s all an illusion.
The war is still happening, and Montana’s mother has been suffering while we thought she was being protected.
I glance back at Clover as she sits up in the bed, clearly sensing the tension in my tone. “How bad is it for her?”
“Bad.Real bad.The twins think she’s been targeted specifically because of Montana’s connection to the club. Rhonda’s been making sure she gets the worst of everything.” Alpha’s voice carries the weight of betrayal and guilt. “Montana doesn’t know the extent yet. I’m gonna have to tell him his mother’s been tortured while we thought she was safe.”
I run a hand through my hair, the weight of this hitting me.Poor Montana. Poor Valerie.
“Are you and Clover safe?” Alpha continues.
“Yeah, we’re good. We checked in with Sin when we got here.”
“Good. Make sure you accept any protection he offers. Because if Rhonda’s been targeting Montana’s family, there’s no telling what else Javier’s people know about our operations.”
Clover is watching me from the bed, and I see understanding dawning in her eyes.
She knows what this call means, what it’s taken away from us.
“How long do you need us to stay put?” I ask.
“As long as it takes. We need to figure out how to help Montana’s mother and deal with Rhonda without making shit worse.” His voice is grim. “They can’t know where Clover is, Phoenix. If they’re willing to torture Valerie, a tough woman in prison, to get to Montana, imagine what they’d do to Clover, an innocent nineteen-year-old, to get to Maverick…” He doesn’t continue the sentence.
He doesn’t need to.
“I understand.”
I understand all too well.
The Cartel and young women donotgo well together.
Clover cannotfall into their hands.
No matter what!
“Good. Keep her safe. Keep yourself safe. And check in every day from now on. We need to be more careful about everything until we figure out our next move.” The line goes dead, and I set the phone down with shaking hands.
“Phoenix?” Clover’s voice is small, uncertain.
I turn to look at her, and the sight breaks my heart. She’s sitting up in bed, sheet clutched to her chest, all the joy and freedom from moments before replaced by fear and a sobering understanding.
“She’s working for them,” I say simply.
Her face goes pale. “Who?”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I start walking back toward her. “Rhonda.”
She furrows her brow, sitting taller. “The prison guard?” She shakes her head with clear confusion. “But… we thought she was protecting Montana’s mother.”
