Chapter 4: Nine Brothers
Nobody moved.
Emily stared at Razor.
The word seemed too large for the room.
“Murdered?””
Razor nodded.
“Officially, it was an accident.””
“Officially?””
“We never believed it.””
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?””
Razor looked down.
“Because your father made us promise.””
Emily laughed through her tears.
“He’s dead. He doesn’t get to decide anymore.””
“No.””
Razor’s voice softened.
“But we do.””
She stared at him.
“That’s what scares me.””
Razor accepted the accusation.
Then motorcycles rolled into the warehouse yard.
The men inside turned toward the doors.
Cole whispered, “How many?””
“Too many.””
Razor looked at Emily.
“Back exit.””
She shook her head.
“I’m done running.””
Razor studied her.
She looked small.
Exhausted.
Terrified.
But there was something different in her eyes now.
She looked like Daniel.
Razor knew it.
That terrified him more.
“Fine,” he said.
He moved toward the center of the warehouse.
“Then stay behind me.””
The doors swung open.
Six Nomads entered.
Caruso was with them.
And behind Caruso stood an older man Emily had never seen.
He had silver hair, a scar above his eyebrow, and a heavy black vest.
Caruso whispered, “That’s Bishop.””
Bishop stopped when he saw Emily.
His eyes widened.
“Daniel’s daughter.””
Emily nodded.
Bishop looked at Razor.
“Is it true?””
“Yes.””
Bishop closed his eyes.
“For two years…”
He shook his head.
“We thought Ghost died alone.””
“He didn’t,” Emily said.
Every man looked at her.
“He left this.””
She held up the note.
*Trust no brother.*
Bishop took it.
His face turned cold.
“Where did you get this?””
“My father’s jacket.””
Bishop stared at the words.
Then he looked at the other men.
“Everybody out.””
“No,” Caruso said.
Bishop’s gaze sharpened.
“Everybody except the Nine.””
Caruso hesitated.
Razor said, “Do it.””
The younger men left.
Only six remained.
Emily looked around.
“You said Nine.””
Bishop nodded.
“The original Nine founded this club.””
“How many are left?””
Nobody answered.
Emily counted.
Razor.
Caruso.
Bishop.
Three.
Her stomach sank.
“Where are the others?””
Caruso looked away.
“Dead.””
Bishop corrected him.
“Or disappeared.””
Emily stared.
“What happened to them?””
Bishop sat.
“One died in a warehouse explosion.””
Another.
“Shot.””
Another.
“Heart attack.””
Another.
“Never came home from a ride.””
Emily’s voice dropped.
“And my father?””
“Murdered.””
Silence.
Bishop folded the note.
“Your father discovered money disappearing.””
Emily frowned.
“From the club?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“Enough to build an empire.””
Razor added, “Victor had connections outside the club.””
“Police?””
“Some.””
“Politicians?””
Bishop looked at him.
“Not politicians.””
He looked at Emily.
“Judges. Contractors. Business owners. Men who could make evidence disappear.””
Emily felt cold despite the heat.
“My father found them.””
“Yes.””
“And you think Victor killed him.””
“We know Victor was near the crash site.””
Emily stared.
“You said you didn't know.””
Razor looked ashamed.
“We found evidence later.””
“What evidence?””
Caruso pulled out an old envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A black SUV.
Parked near the wreck.
Emily recognized it immediately.
The same model she had seen outside Rosie’s.
Her pulse raced.
“That's his.””
Caruso nodded.
“Victor’s.””
Emily looked at the photo.
Then at Razor.
“What happened after my dad died?””
“We searched for Victor.””
“And?””
“Nothing.””
Emily took a breath.
Then another.
“Why did he come after me now?””
Bishop answered.
“Because the storage unit was supposed to be empty.””
“What changed?””
Bishop looked at her jacket.
“You found the key.””
Emily understood.
Her father had hidden the key because he knew someone might search for it.
The jacket had survived.
And so had she.
She suddenly realized something.
“My dad knew he was going to die.””
Razor’s face tightened.
“Yes.””
“What?””
“He told Caruso two days before the crash.””
Caruso looked down.
“He said, ‘If I don’t come back, the girl gets the jacket.’”
Emily pressed the leather against her chest.
“He knew.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t he run?””
Bishop answered.
“Because he was trying to protect people.””
Emily’s eyes filled again.
“That’s stupid.””
Nobody corrected her.
“He should have protected himself.””
Razor looked at her.
“That’s exactly what I told him.””
Emily stared.
“You argued with him?””
“Three days before he died.””
“What did he say?””
Razor’s voice became quiet.
“He said, ‘A man can spend his whole life believing he has time.’”
Razor looked away.
“‘Then one day his daughter needs him, and he discovers he already spent it.’”
Emily covered her mouth.
For a few seconds, she was sixteen again in a completely different way.
She remembered her father tying her shoelaces.
Making pancakes on Sunday mornings.
Pretending not to cry when she got her first school award.
Putting the jacket around her shoulders during cold nights.
She had thought he was simply being a father.
Maybe he had been saying goodbye.
A crash outside shattered the moment.
Everyone looked toward the open doors.
A motorcycle had slammed into a stack of barrels.
Men shouted.
Razor grabbed Emily’s arm.
“Move.””
They ran deeper into the warehouse.
A bullet struck metal behind them.
Emily screamed.
“Down!””
Bishop returned fire.
Caruso pulled Emily behind a concrete support.
Cole appeared from another corridor.
“Victor’s here!””
Razor’s face hardened.
“Where?””
“North side.””
Another shot.
Then a voice echoed through the warehouse.
“Emily!””
Victor.
“You have something that belongs to me.””
Emily stood.
Razor grabbed her shoulder.
“Don’t.””
Victor called again.
“Your father made the same mistake.””
Emily trembled.
“What mistake?””
Victor laughed.
“Believing these men would save you.””
Then the warehouse lights went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Emily heard footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then a whisper in her ear.
“Run.””
She turned.
It was Caruso.
He pointed toward a narrow door.
“Go to the storage unit.””
“Where?””
“Your father left directions inside the jacket.””
Emily grabbed the leather.
She searched the inner lining.
Her fingers found another folded slip.
An address.
And beneath it:
*Locker 17.*
Emily looked at Caruso.
“What’s Locker 17?””
May you like
He stared into the darkness.
“The place where Ghost kept the truth.””
