CHAPTER 2
1665 Words
THE ENEMY AT THE GATE
My brother's k********g had nothing to do with the fact that Ryder had come here.
It had everything to do with it.
And before this night was over, I was going to find out why.
I pushed away from the window.
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it.
I should have stayed in my room.
That was what my father had ordered.
But Daniel was missing.
And Ryder Kane was standing in our courtyard.
There was no universe where I was going to sit quietly upstairs while the man my family believed had kidn*pped my brother stood twenty feet away.
I opened my bedroom door.
The hallway was empty.
I moved quickly.
Down the stairs.
Past the portraits of dead Serpents lining the walls.
Past the men stationed near the entrance.
Nobody stopped me.
Outside, the voices became clearer.
“You have five minutes,” my father said.
Ryder gave a humorless smile.
“I don't need five.”
His voice was deeper than I'd imagined.
Calm.
Controlled.
Infuriatingly calm for a man standing in the middle of enemy territory surrounded by armed men.
“I'll need about thirty seconds to tell you that my club didn't take your son.”
My father stepped closer.
“Then explain the symbol.”
“I can't.”
“Can't?”
Ryder's jaw tightened.
“Because I didn't put it there.”
My father's hand moved toward the gun beneath his jacket.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don't give a damn what you believe.”
The courtyard went silent.
Several Serpents immediately raised their weapons.
Ryder's two men did the same.
I stopped behind the doorway.
My father's eyes narrowed.
“You're standing on my property.”
“And I came here knowing exactly where I was.”
“Then you know how this ends.”
Ryder stared directly at him.
“If you kill me, you'll never find your son.”
My heart stopped.
My father froze.
“What did you say?”
Ryder took one step forward.
“I know Daniel is missing.”
My fingers tightened around the doorframe.
“How?”
“Because somebody wanted my club blamed for it.”
My father stared at him.
“Why would anyone want that?”
“Because they want you to come after us.”
“And you expect me to believe you suddenly care about avoiding a war?”
“No.”
Ryder's expression hardened.
“I expect you to understand that whoever took your son wants exactly what you're about to give them.”
My father's silence stretched.
Then he said quietly,
“Where is my son?”
“I don't know.”
“Who has him?”
“I don't know that either.”
My father's patience snapped.
He grabbed Ryder by the front of his vest.
Every weapon in the courtyard rose.
Ryder didn't flinch.
“If anything happens to Daniel,” my father growled, “I will personally bury every Vulture who had a hand in it.”
Ryder looked down at my father's fist gripping his vest.
Then back into his eyes.
“If anything happens to Daniel, I'll help you find the people responsible.”
My father released him.
“But if you touch one of my men—”
“I won't.”
“Why?”
Ryder's gaze shifted.
And landed on me.
My breath caught.
His eyes met mine through the doorway.
For one strange second, everything else disappeared.
The shouting.
The guns.
The men.
The war between our families.
All of it.
His eyes were darker than I'd expected.
Not cold.
Not exactly.
There was something restless in them.
Something I couldn't understand.
He looked at me for one second too long.
Then his expression changed.
Recognition.
He knew exactly who I was.
And judging by the way his jaw tightened, he wasn't happy about it.
“Because,” he continued, never taking his eyes off me, “your daughter has been watching us.”
My stomach dropped.
Every head in the courtyard turned.
My father looked at me.
“Lena.”
Damn.
I stepped out.
Ryder's eyes followed me.
I hated the way my body reacted to his stare.
I hated the tiny flutter in my stomach.
I hated that the first thing I noticed wasn't his leather vest or the weapon beneath it.
It was his face.
Strong jaw.
Sharp cheekbones.
Dark eyes.
The kind of face that belonged on a warning poster.
Dangerous man. Stay away.
Unfortunately, I'd never been good at following warnings.
My father moved toward me.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I heard voices.”
“You were told to stay upstairs.”
“Daniel was told to come home last night.”
My father's expression tightened.
I looked at Ryder.
“So you know my brother is missing.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me what you know.”
My father stepped between us.
“Lena—”
“No.”
I moved around him.
My eyes stayed on Ryder.
“You came here because you know something.”
“I came here because someone is trying to start a war.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It's the only one I have.”
I stepped closer.
“Did your club take him?”
Ryder stared at me.
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
No hesitation.
No defensiveness.
Just certainty.
I studied his face.
“You're lying.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“You've known me for thirty seconds.”
“And I already don't trust you.”
Something almost resembling amusement touched his mouth.
“Good.”
I frowned.
“Good?”
“You shouldn't trust me.”
“Then why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't.”
His eyes darkened.
“But I'm telling you the truth.”
I didn't know why that bothered me more.
I folded my arms.
“If your club didn't take Daniel, then who did?”
Ryder's expression became serious.
“That's what I'm trying to find out.”
My father stepped closer.
“You'll stay out of this.”
Ryder looked at him.
“I'd suggest you do the same.”
My father's face turned murderous.
“You're in no position to give me suggestions.”
“Maybe not.”
Ryder put his helmet back on.
“But while you're busy preparing to attack my club, whoever took your son gets more time.”
He started walking toward his motorcycle.
I watched him.
Every instinct told me to let him leave.
But another instinct—the one screaming that something about this entire situation was wrong—wouldn't shut up.
“Ryder.”
He stopped.
He looked over his shoulder.
It was the first time I'd said his name.
His eyes met mine.
“Why did you come here yourself?”
A pause.
Then he said,
“Because I wanted to see your father.”
“That's it?”
His gaze moved over my face.
“No.”
My heart skipped.
He turned away before I could ask what he meant.
His motorcycle roared to life.
The sound tore through the courtyard.
He put on his helmet.
Then looked at me one final time.
“Lock your doors tonight, Lena.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
His voice came through the helmet, slightly muffled.
“Because whoever took your brother knows where you live.”
Then he accelerated through the gates.
I stood there watching his taillight disappear into the darkness.
My father came to stand beside me.
“You stay away from him.”
I didn't answer.
“Lena.”
“I heard you.”
“He's a Vulture.”
“I know.”
“He's dangerous.”
I finally looked at my father.
“So are you.”
His expression hardened.
“This isn't a joke.”
“I know.”
“Then act like it.”
He walked away.
I watched him go.
But my mind remained on Ryder.
Lock your doors tonight.
I turned toward the house.
Something about the way he'd said it bothered me.
Not like a threat.
Like a warning.
I didn't sleep.
At two in the morning, I was still staring at the ceiling.
Daniel's face kept appearing in my mind.
His stupid grin.
His annoying jokes.
The way he'd steal food from my plate and pretend he hadn't.
My little brother.
My only brother.
Gone.
I rolled onto my side.
That's when I heard it.
A noise outside.
Metal scraping against metal.
I sat upright.
Silence.
Then—
A soft tap against my window.
My blood ran cold.
I slowly got out of bed.
Another tap.
I reached for the knife beneath my pillow.
I approached the window.
My fingers curled around the curtain.
I pulled it aside.
Nothing.
Just darkness.
Then my phone vibrated.
I nearly dropped it.
Unknown number.
One message.
HE'S STILL ALIVE.
My breath caught.
Another message appeared.
BUT NOT FOR LONG.
My hands started shaking.
Then a photograph loaded.
Daniel.
My brother.
His hands were tied behind a chair.
A bruise covered one side of his face.
His eyes were closed.
I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming.
Then I saw what was hanging behind him.
A black leather vest.
Not an Iron Serpent vest.
Not a Black Vulture vest.
Something I'd never seen before.
A symbol was stitched across the back.
A serpent wrapped around a skull.
I stared at it.
My phone vibrated again.
One final message.
TELL YOUR FATHER THE WAR HAS ALREADY BEGUN.
The screen went black.
And somewhere outside my bedroom window—
an engine started.
I ran toward the glass.
A motorcycle shot away from the house and disappeared into the darkness.
I couldn't see the rider.
But I knew one thing.
Whoever had taken Daniel wasn't finished.
And now they knew I was looking for them.
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