THE VULTURE AND THE SERPENT BIKERS

CHAPTER 3

THE ENEMY WITHIN

I didn't tell my father about the message.

Not immediately.

That was the first lie I'd ever told him that mattered.

I stood beside my bedroom window until the sound of the motorcycle disappeared completely, my phone still clutched in my hand.

HE'S STILL ALIVE.

I read the words again.

Then the photograph.

Daniel.

Bound to a chair.

Blood on his face.

And that strange black vest hanging behind him.

A serpent wrapped around a skull.

I'd never seen the symbol before.

But whoever had sent me the photograph wanted me to believe they were watching us.

Watching me.

I looked toward the bedroom door.

The hallway was silent.

I slipped my phone into my pocket.

If I showed my father now, he would do exactly what Ryder had warned him not to do.

He would attack the Vultures.

And if Ryder was telling the truth, that was exactly what our enemy wanted.

I needed answers before I gave my father another reason to start a war.

I pulled on a pair of jeans, grabbed my jacket, and quietly left my room.

The house was heavily guarded.

Normally, getting outside without being noticed would have been impossible.

But everyone was focused on the same thing.

The Vultures.

I made it through the back door and crossed the yard.

Daniel's garage was locked.

I looked around.

Then I remembered the spare key.

Daniel always kept it beneath the flowerpot beside the door.

I found it exactly where he'd left it.

“i***t,” I whispered.

My voice cracked.

I swallowed hard.

“Please be alive.”

I unlocked the garage.

The smell of gasoline and motor oil hit me immediately.

Daniel's tools were scattered across the workbench.

His spare helmet sat on the shelf.

I walked farther inside.

The photograph wouldn't leave my mind.

The symbol.

The skull.

The serpent.

I had seen something like it before.

Not on a vest.

On Daniel's computer.

Three weeks ago.

He'd been working late when I'd walked into his room.

I'd asked what he was doing.

He'd closed the laptop.

Too quickly.

I hadn't thought much of it then.

Now I did.

I sat at his desk and switched on the computer.

Password.

Of course.

I tried his birthday.

Wrong.

His motorcycle's registration number.

Wrong.

His favorite football team's name.

Wrong.

“Come on, Daniel.”

I stared at the screen.

Then I remembered something.

He'd once told me his password was something only I would know.

I typed:

Lena.

The computer unlocked.

I almost laughed.

“Seriously?”

Then I stopped.

There were only a few folders.

Most were empty.

One was labeled:

PROJECT SNAKE.

My pulse jumped.

I opened it.

Photographs.

Maps.

Names.

Locations.

Dates.

My hands began to shake.

There were photographs of the Iron Serpents.

Photographs of the Black Vultures.

And photographs of places I'd never seen before.

Warehouses.

Roads.

Abandoned buildings.

Then I saw the same symbol.

The serpent wrapped around the skull.

It appeared on a photograph of an old warehouse.

Underneath it, Daniel had written:

UNKNOWN MC.

I scrolled.

Another photograph.

Same symbol.

Another.

Then another.

My breathing became shallow.

Daniel had been investigating them.

Whoever they were.

I clicked on a document.

Three words appeared at the top.

THE SKULL SERPENTS.

I stared.

The name sent a chill down my spine.

Below it was a sentence.

New club. No alliances. No territory claims.

I kept reading.

Known for k********g, extortion and contract violence.

My stomach turned.

This wasn't some random group.

They were organized.

Dangerous.

And apparently, they'd been operating right beneath our noses.

Then I saw something that made my blood freeze.

A list of names.

Some were crossed out.

Some had dates beside them.

But one name wasn't crossed out.

Ryder Kane.

I stopped breathing.

Why the hell was Ryder's name in Daniel's files?

I scrolled farther.

There was a note beneath it.

Potential target OR contact?

My stomach twisted.

Maybe Ryder had lied.

Maybe the Vultures really were involved.

Maybe he'd come to our compound because he knew Daniel had discovered something.

I grabbed my phone.

I should call my father.

I should show him everything.

Then another thought stopped me.

If Ryder was involved, why warn me?

Why tell me to lock my doors?

Why tell me Daniel was still alive?

Why come personally?

I didn't know.

And I hated not knowing.

I looked at the screen again.

There was one final file.

Encrypted.

I clicked it.

A password prompt appeared.

I tried Daniel's name.

Nothing.

His birthday.

Nothing.

Then—

Ryder.

The screen unlocked.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“What the hell?”

There was only one file.

A photograph.

I opened it.

Daniel was standing beside someone.

Someone wearing a Black Vulture vest.

Ryder.

The picture looked recent.

Very recent.

My fingers went numb.

I zoomed in.

Ryder wasn't smiling.

Daniel wasn't either.

They were standing outside a warehouse.

And behind them—

the Skull Serpent symbol was painted across the wall.

I stared at the photograph.

My brother had known Ryder.

My brother had been investigating the Skull Serpents.

And Ryder had been involved somehow.

The question was—

how?

Across town, Ryder Kane slammed a fist onto the table.

“Who gave them the information?”

Nobody answered.

The Black Vultures' clubhouse had gone silent.

Twenty men stood around the room.

Ryder's father sat at the head of the table, watching him.

“You're accusing one of my men?”

“I'm saying someone leaked our movements.”

Ryder threw a photograph onto the table.

It showed three Vultures ambushed on the southern road.

Two motorcycles burned behind them.

One man was dead.

Another was in the hospital.

The third was missing.

“This happened less than twelve hours after our route changed.”

His father picked up the photograph.

“And?”

“And only six people knew about the change.”

Silence.

Ryder looked around the room.

“One of them is a traitor.”

Several men immediately became defensive.

“You think it's one of us?”

“I know it is.”

His father's gaze sharpened.

“Careful.”

Ryder ignored him.

He pulled another piece of paper from his jacket.

“Someone has been buying weapons through three different suppliers.”

He dropped it onto the table.

“Cash payments. No names.”

A man near the back frowned.

“Could be anyone.”

“No.”

Ryder pointed to the paperwork.

“The orders were made using our old club codes.”

His father slowly stood.

“Those codes haven't been used in years.”

“Exactly.”

Ryder looked around the room.

“Someone knows our history.”

The room became colder.

Then a voice came from the corner.

“What does this have to do with the Serpents' kid?”

Ryder's eyes snapped toward him.

“Everything.”

The man shrugged.

“The Serpents think we took him.”

“They're supposed to.”

Ryder's father stared at him.

Ryder didn't blink.

“Someone wants them to attack us.”

“And you think it's the Skull Serpents?”

“I don't think.”

He pulled out another photograph.

The same symbol.

A serpent wrapped around a skull.

“I know.”

His father studied the photograph.

“Where did you get this?”

“Daniel Hart was investigating them.”

Silence.

Then his father's eyes narrowed.

“You've been talking to the Serpent boy?”

Ryder didn't answer.

His father slammed his palm against the table.

“Ryder.”

“He came to me three weeks ago.”

Every man in the room looked at him.

“He wanted information.”

“About what?”

“The Skull Serpents.”

His father's expression darkened.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I wasn't sure who we could trust.”

A low murmur moved through the room.

Ryder looked around.

And then he saw him.

One of the oldest Vultures.

Standing perfectly still.

Too perfectly still.

Ryder's eyes narrowed.

The man noticed.

“What?”

Ryder said nothing.

He simply watched him.

Then his phone vibrated.

One message.

Unknown number.

STOP LOOKING.

A second message followed.

OR THE GIRL DIES NEXT.

Ryder's blood went cold.

He looked toward the clubhouse doors.

Then at the photograph of Lena he'd taken from the security camera earlier that evening.

The girl he'd been raised to hate.

The Serpent princess.

The woman who had looked at him like she wanted to tear his throat out.

Ryder had no idea why the message bothered him as much as it did.

But it did.

More than it should have.

He grabbed his jacket.

“Where are you going?” his father demanded.

“To stop something before it starts.”

“Ryder.”

He stopped.

His father looked at him carefully.

“Whatever you're thinking, don't do anything stupid.”

Ryder gave him a cold smile.

“That's never stopped me before.”

Then he walked out.

I was still staring at the photograph when I heard footsteps outside the garage.

I froze.

Someone was coming.

I quickly closed the laptop.

The footsteps stopped.

I reached for the nearest weapon.

A wrench.

Not exactly intimidating.

But it was something.

The garage door slowly opened.

A figure stepped inside.

My heart jumped into my throat.

“Who are you?”

The figure didn't answer.

I raised the wrench.

“Take one more step and I'll break your face.”

A familiar voice answered.

“That's a terrible bluff.”

My entire body went still.

Ryder.

He stepped into the light.

Black leather jacket.

Dark jeans.

Helmet tucked beneath one arm.

His eyes dropped to the wrench in my hand.

Then back to me.

“You planning to use that?”

“Yes.”

His mouth twitched.

“You're holding it backward.”

I looked down.

Damn it.

I switched my grip.

He almost smiled.

Almost.

Then his eyes moved to the computer behind me.

His expression changed.

“What did you find?”

I tightened my grip on the wrench.

“You tell me.”

He stepped closer.

I stepped back.

“You knew my brother.”

His jaw tightened.

“Lena—”

“You knew about the Skull Serpents.”

Silence.

“You've been investigating them.”

Still silence.

I lifted the wrench.

“And now I find your picture with my brother outside one of their warehouses.”

Ryder stared at me.

Then he exhaled slowly.

“Where did you get that?”

“My brother's computer.”

His eyes closed briefly.

“Shit.”

That one word terrified me more than any denial could have.

“What aren't you telling me?”

He looked at me.

For the first time, I saw something beneath his arrogance.

Fear.

Not for himself.

For me.

“You need to leave this house.”

“What?”

“Now.”

“Why?”

“Because they know you found the files.”

My blood ran cold.

“How?”

Ryder looked toward the garage entrance.

Then back at me.

“Because your brother wasn't the only person investigating them.”

I swallowed.

“Who else?”

Ryder's gaze locked onto mine.

“Me.”

Before I could respond, headlights appeared outside.

Two motorcycles.

Then three.

Ryder's entire body changed.

His hand went beneath his jacket.

“Get behind me.”

I stared at him.

“Why?”

His eyes hardened.

“Because those aren't Vultures.”

The motorcycles stopped outside.

Three riders climbed off.

All three wore black.

All three had the same symbol stitched across their backs.

The serpent.

The skull.

Ryder stepped in front of me.

“Now you know who took your brother.”

The garage door began to rise.

And this time

the enemy wasn't hiding anymore.