The Biker's Regret: The Enemy I Became.

Personal lines

(Noah)

The gates were already open when I rode up.

That told me Dante had been waiting for me. He did not leave things like this sitting. If he said it was in person then he had people in place and he had something he wanted me to see with my own eyes.

I rode through and parked near the main building. A few of the guys were outside, talking low, watching the road the way we always did when something felt off. They nodded when they saw me. No one tried to stop me. No one asked questions.

They knew better.

I killed the engine and went inside.

The room was already set. Dante stood near the table with two of the others. Papers were spread out in front of him, a laptop open, a map pinned under his hand. He looked up the second I walked in.

"Prez."

I shut the door behind me. "Talk."

He turned the laptop toward me and tapped the screen. "Iron Cross has been moving shipments through the south route again. They shut it down after the last hit but it looks like they are testing it."

I looked at the screen. Routes marked in red, times, dates. It was clean work. Dante did not bring me guesses. He brought me things he could stand on.

"Who confirmed it?"

"Two sources," he said. "One from the docks, one from inside a crew they have been using for cover. They line up."

I nodded. "What are they moving?"

"Not sure yet," he said. "But it is not small. Too much movement for it to be nothing."

I looked at the map again. Six weeks quiet and then this. It fit. They had been setting something up. Now they were starting to move it.

"Who else knows?"

"Just us in this room," Dante said.

"Good. Keep it that way until we know more. I want eyes on every route they use. I want names. I want times. I want to know where it starts and where it ends."

He nodded. "Already in motion."

I looked at the others. "No one moves on this yet. We watch. We learn. Then we hit."

They both nodded and stepped back.

"Give me a minute," I said.

They left the room without a word.

Dante stayed.

He leaned back against the table and crossed his arms, looking at me like he had something else to say.

"What?"

He picked up one of the papers, set it down again, then looked at me.

"Brianna stopped by earlier," he said.

"I know. She came to the apartment."

He nodded. "Yeah. She told me."

I waited.

He let out a breath. "She has been asking questions."

That got my attention.

"What kind of questions?"

He held my gaze. "About the woman in 4B."

The room went quiet.

I did not move.

"What about her?"

"Who she is," he said. "How you know her. What she is to you."

My expression did not change.

"And what did you tell her?"

"Nothing," he said. "I told her it was not her business."

"Good."

He pushed off the table and took a step closer. "She was not pushing hard. Just asking. You know how she does it. Like it is nothing."

I knew.

"Keep her out of it," I said.

Dante gave a small laugh. "It is Brianna. She noticed something."

I did not smile.

"Keep her out of it," I said again.

He looked at me. "Since when do you care who she asks about? She has been around this club for years. She knows everyone."

"This is different."

"Because it is you?" he said.

"Because it is my personal life," I said. "And that line is there for a reason."

He studied me. "You think she is going to do something with it?"

"I think she is asking questions that do not concern her."

He held my gaze. "You are serious about this?"

"Yes."

That took the last of the humor out of him.

"Alright," he said. "I will tell her to leave it alone."

"Not tell her," I said. "Make it clear."

He nodded once. "Got it."

I looked back at the map, but my focus was not there for a second.

Brianna asking questions was not random. She did not waste time. If she was asking about Reese then she had seen something in that hallway that caught her interest.

And Brianna did not let things go once they caught her interest.

Dante watched me. "You want to tell me what this is?"

"No."

He raised a brow. "You sure?"

"Yes."

He let it go.

"Alright," he said. "Then I will handle Bri."

"Do that."

He picked up the papers and straightened them. "You heading back tonight?"

"No," I said. "I am staying here. I want to go over this again in the morning."

He nodded. "Alright, that's better."

"Yeah, it is." I replied.

He moved toward the door, then stopped and looked back at me.

"For what it is worth," he said, "she did not sound like she was looking to cause trouble."

I met his eyes. "That is not the point."

He gave a small nod and left.

The door closed and I was alone again.

I stood there for a minute, looking at the map, the routes, the marks that told me Iron Cross was moving again.

That was what mattered right now. Everything else could wait.

I pulled out a chair and sat down and looked at the map properly this time. The south route. Two sources confirming movement. Dante did not bring guesses and he did not bring things that could not hold up. If he said it lined up then it lined up.

Six weeks of quiet and now this.

Iron Cross was not moving things through that route because it was convenient. They had shut it down after the last hit and reopened it now for a reason. The question was whether they were testing us or whether they were ready to move on something bigger and wanted to see how fast we responded before they did.

Either way we needed to know more before we acted.

I reached for my phone and called Dante.

He picked up on the second ring.

"I want those two sources separated and talked to again tonight," I said. "Independently. See if the story holds the same way the second time."

"I'll get it done," he said.

I ended the call and sat back.

Iron Cross thought they were being smart.

They were not being smart enough.