Page 19

“Some, but nothing damning. At least not yet. I’ve reached out to a couple of friends to see what they can find. They have access to different resources, not just online. It will take a little time, but I’ll be able to tell you the last time a fly landed on his ass.”

Hex winced. “There are some details I don’t need to know. But I’m glad you’re being thorough. We need to know everything we can if we’re going to put an end to this ring, or at least teach them our territory is not their hunting ground. Find out what you can and fill me in. We’ll work out what needs to be done.”

“Can do. Speaking of. I’m not asking for now, Bobby Lee brought up something we should at least think about. If this trial with Coleman gets ugly, the Warriors and anyone associated with us could be targeted.”

“I’m aware. I’m working on getting protection in place for anyone who won’t go into lock down.”

“What if we lock down then Elizabeth goes into labor?”

“I’m hoping we don’t have to lock down, but Bones stocked an emergency delivery kit weeks ago. If we have to, he can handle the delivery, or we can bring in her OB and use his infirmary.”

“He’d be okay letting someone else work in his space?” Cypher knew he sounded surprised, but he couldn’t help it. The club medic was a little territorial and hated people coming into and out of his space if they didn’t need his attention, sometimes even if they did.

“He’s the one who suggested it. I know. Surprised me too, but he’s more ER and general surgeon than OB. He said he could do it but he’s out of practice. And I have to admit, I don’t love the idea of him seeing that much of Elle, even if it is in a professional capacity.”

Cypher wondered for a moment how he’d feel if it were Lauren and he had to admit, if only to himself, he didn’t care for the idea much.

“So the plan is to hope we don’t have to lock down, at least until after Elizabeth delivers?”

“The plan is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. We don’t want to lock down, ever. But we’re prepared if we have to.”

“So, along those lines, have we considered the psych?” He hated calling her that but many of his brothers referred to her that way, and it made it feel like he wasn’t personally invested in her. he was, but he wasn’t sure he wanted that to be public knowledge. Not because he cared, but because he didn’t know if she would. “She’s not going quite as often but the Squirt still sees her regularly, and she and Jenna have become friends. I’d hate to see her hurt because of us.”

Hex nodded.

“Not to mention that you’re spending about half of your nights with her.” The president shot him a look that said Cypher wasn’t fooling him. He knew why the club hacker was asking about making sure Lauren was safe. “While treating the Squirt might not be enough for her to be seen as tied to the club, you warming her bed does. If it gets to that point, she’ll be included in the lockdown and probably given some kind of security detail before it gets that far. But I asked Cyclone to take over the plans for how to handle things if everything goes to shit. I’ve got enough on my plate with Elle and all. I’m trying to hand off as much as I can.” He sighed then leaned back in his chair and watched Cypher. “The timing of all this isn’t great. I am really hoping nothing big happens and I can spend most of the next few weeks at the house with Elle and the baby. I’m going to get real grouchy if something happens and I miss getting to see my little one come into the world. I suggest we all do everything we can to keep from stirring shit any more than we have to,” Hex said with a glare.

“I’m not stirring shit. I only do that when needed and never in person. I stir shit online or fuck with people online. I am doing my best to make sure we are as informed as we can be, so we know what we’re looking at and where to go from there.”

“And I appreciate that, trust me. Let me know if you think your woman needs a man on her before things get bad. She’s in a line of work that could attract stalkers and some of them could be dangerous.”

“She is. I set her up a couple of weeks ago with a system to signal us if she needs help. She was worried about it notifying the police when she didn’t want to and I get it. She’s in a field that her patients have an increased risk of being hurt or killed because they are misunderstood or someone doesn’t know how to handle a situation. She’s looking out for her patients, which is her job. It’s mine to look out for her.”

Hex sighed and looked at Cypher. “Does this mean you’re going to want a house soon too?”

“I wouldn’t turn one down.”

“How big you want it? You and that girl planning to multiply soon?”

Cypher shrugged. “Let’s say at least three bedroom. I don’t know how she feels about it, we haven’t talked about it yet, but if we decide we want kids there’s room, if not, I can use one as an office, so I don’t have to crash here when I get caught up doing some kind of work for the club that goes late into the night.”

“Sounds like justification to me, but I’ll look into it. Torch is more on top of when things will be available and how big they are. You’ll also need to talk to him if you want a cut for her. I would suggest talking to her about it before you order it. She strikes me as the liberated type, and it might not go over well with her if you don’t explain it first.”

Cypher nodded.

“Good to know.”

Hex’s phone rang, making them both look down at the screen where it sat on the table in front of him. Elle flashed across the screen, along with a picture of her making a goofy face at the camera.

“I need to take this,” Hex said.

“I know. Take it. I’ve got a few leads to chase down. I’ll be next door if you need me.”

Hex nodded, even as he picked up his cell and answered. “Hey, sugar, how are you feeling?”

Cypher tuned them out as he headed into what his brothers called his command center and turned his attention to the searches he needed to run and who he needed to talk to.

Chapter Fourteen