Chapter 5 Old Friends
Darius
There were numbers you deleted when you wanted someone out of your life. Then there were numbers you deleted because keeping them was fucking dangerous. Tyler Hale's belonged to the second category.
Didn't matter. I still knew it by heart. Eight years working beside someone did that to you. Eight years of raids, shitty motel rooms, stakeouts, busted lips, bad coffee, and trusting the other man to put a bullet in somebody before they put one in you. You remembered their fucking number.
I stepped into the empty office beside Church and shut the door behind me. For a second, I stared at my phone. This was different. That was what I kept telling myself. I wasn't calling because I wanted back in. I wasn't feeding them club information. There were women inside that warehouse. That was it.
I punched in the number. It rang twice.
"Hello?"
I didn't speak.
Silence. Then... "No fucking way."
I smiled despite myself. "Hello, Tyler."
A laugh exploded through the phone. "Well, fuck me. Look who remembered my number."
"Don't sound so excited."
"Excited? I thought you were dead."
"You would've heard."
"Would I?"
"Probably."
"Bullshit. You fucking bikers probably bury each other in the woods and plant marijuana over the bodies."
I snorted. "That's oddly specific."
"I've met your friends."
"My family."
The silence that followed lasted half a second too long. There it was.
"Right," Tyler said. "Your family."
I leaned against the desk. "How've you been?"
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Call me after disappearing and ask how I've been like we're old girlfriends catching up over fucking brunch."
"You're prettier than most of my exes."
"Still an asshole."
"Still ugly?"
"Fuck you."
I laughed. Goddamn. For a second, it felt normal. Then I remembered why I'd called.
"I need something."
Tyler groaned. "There it is."
"It's important."
"You calling me at all means it's important. What happened?"
"I've got a warehouse."
His voice immediately changed. FBI. "What kind?"
"Trafficking."
Silence. "Confirmed?"
"Three women visually confirmed. Possibly more."
"Location?"
"I'll send it."
"Source?"
"No."
"Darius."
"Tyler."
"You don't get to call the fucking FBI and say trust me."
"That's exactly what I'm doing."
He sighed. "Jesus Christ."
I opened the file Jinx had sent me. Photos. Timestamps. License plates. Faces. Warehouse. Everything. "I'm sending you surveillance now."
His phone chimed on the other end. "Got it." Silence. I waited. The joking disappeared completely. "Who took these?"
"Doesn't matter."
"These are good."
"I know."
"Telephoto?"
"Tyler!"
"I'm asking because whoever did this knew what the fuck they were doing."
Pride hit me unexpectedly. Yeah. She did.
"I need you looking at the women."
"I am." More silence. Then... "Fuck."
Exactly.
"Can you move?"
"Give me a second."
I heard typing. A chair rolling. Then a door closing.
"You said three confirmed?"
"That's what we saw."
"We?"
Shit.
"Don't."
"Darius."
"I'm not giving you names."
"I'm not asking for names."
"You were about to."
He sighed. "Fine."
I rubbed my jaw. "We have reason to believe the warehouse connects to a larger network."
"What larger network?"
"Rourke."
Silence. "That Rourke?"
"Yeah."
"Jesus."
"He's dead."
"I heard."
Of course he had.
"And I'm guessing you know something about that."
"Nope."
"Bullshit."
"Prove it."
Tyler laughed once. "God, I fucking hate talking to criminals."
"Then quit calling politicians."
That got another laugh. Good. Then he went serious again. "If this is connected to Rourke, I need everything."
"No."
"Don't start."
"I'm giving you what you need for that warehouse."
"If there are more—"
"When we find them, you'll get them."
"We?"
"Stop fishing."
"I'm doing my job."
"So am I."
"You're not an agent anymore."
The words landed harder than they should've. I looked through the office window. Church was visible through the glass. Knox at the head. Elias. Victor. Atlas. Lily. She was sitting now. Barely. Her knee bounced beneath the table. Her arms were crossed. She kept looking toward the door. Waiting on me.
"No," I said quietly. "I'm not."
Tyler exhaled. "You know that doesn't have to be permanent."
Here we fucking go.
"Not interested."
"Just listen."
"No."
"Darius, whatever happened before—"
"Tyler!"
"You were good at this."
"I know."
"One of the best I've worked with."
"Still am."
"Then come back."
I stared at Lily. She caught me looking through the glass. Her eyebrows lifted. Well? I held up one finger. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm already home."
Tyler went quiet. "That's what you're calling it now?"
"That's what it is."
"A motorcycle club."
"My motorcycle club."
"After everything?"
My jaw tightened. "Careful."
"I'm not trying to start shit."
"Then don't."
"I watched you throw away a career for these people."
"No. I threw away a badge."
"Same fucking thing."
"Not even close."
He sighed. "You're really done."
"Yeah."
Another pause. "Shame."
"Why?"
"Because I'd take you back tomorrow."
I smiled faintly. "Getting sentimental?"
"Go fuck yourself."
"There he is."
I heard typing again. Then Tyler went quiet. "I can move on this."
My entire body loosened. "How fast?"
"I'm flagging it now. Trafficking task force, local support, medical response. I'll push for an emergency warrant based on the surveillance and what we've already got tied to Rourke."
"How long?"
"I can't promise."
"Tyler."
"I said I'll push."
"Those women don't have time for bureaucratic bullshit."
"You think I don't fucking know that?" His voice sharpened. There was the man I remembered. The one who once stayed awake thirty-six hours because a fourteen-year-old girl had disappeared. No politics. No ego. Just get her home. That was why I'd called him.
"An hour," he said. "Give me an hour to get people moving."
"Good."
"But Darius?"
"What?"
"If we're doing this together, I need something from you."
My stomach tightened. "What?"
"Don't interfere."
I almost laughed. "That's going to be a problem."
"I'm serious. No Reapers kicking doors down. No vigilante bullshit. You gave it to me. Let me handle it."
I looked through the window again. Lily had gotten up. Pacing now. Knox watched her.
"That's going to be a really big problem."
"Control your people."
I smiled. "You've never met Lily."
"Who the fuck is Lily?"
"Exactly."
"Darius—"
"Just hurry."
"I'll call you."
"You better."
I started to hang up.
"Darius."
I stopped. "What?"
His voice changed. Softer. Familiar. "You know the door isn't closed."
I didn't answer.
"You want your life back, we can figure something out."
I looked down at the VP patch on my chest. Then through the glass again. At Knox. At Elias. At the men around that table. At Lily, who had stopped pacing long enough to glare at me through the window like I personally controlled the federal government.
My life back? I already had it.
"No."
A pause. "No?"
"I don't want my old life back."
Tyler was quiet. Then he sighed. "We'll see."
Something about the words made my brow furrow. But before I could question him, the call ended.
I stared at the phone. "We'll see," I muttered. Whatever the fuck that meant.
I opened the door. Lily immediately spun toward me. "Well?"
Every eye in Church landed on me. I slid the phone into my pocket.
"He's moving."
