Page 46 of Sypher

“Sure he did.” Shane laughed as I continued.

“For the longest time, all I ever cared about was computers and the dark web. I felt safe within the ones and zeros. They made sense to me when other shit didn’t. Then I met Dante, and it was like everything started to make sense. It was confusing at first, but Dante was patient with me. He didn’t force me. He allowed me to come to terms with what I was feeling on my own, and when I did, I never looked back. So yeah. He’s my one. I claimed him. He’s mine, forever.”

“What do you need us to do?” Matthew asked as the rest of his team grinned, including my brother Ace.

“Ace got me thinking when he said he could just walk into the Trick Pony undetected, which opened several new avenues for me. I’m still working everything out, but first, I need to set things in motion because I don’t just want to bring down Devlin Scott and the Trick Pony. I want to eradicate everyone associated with that place. When I’m done, I want the underworld to cower in fear and think twice before ever contemplating anything so fucking sadistic ever again.”

Matthew frowned, pushing off the wall. “What exactly are you asking of us, Sypher, ‘cause I don’t like the look in your eyes?”

Shane chuckled. “I’m intrigued, Law. I want to know what’s going on in the kid’s devious mind.”

Staring directly at Matthew, I said, “I want to buy Harbor Security and umbrella your company into my system.”

“And why would we do that?”

“Because only you and your team can pull off what I need without being detected. I’m constantly being watched. Harbor Security isn’t. You can go places I can’t.”

“And we can kill,” Matthew growled.

“Yes.”

“Danny, what the hell are you talking about? I thought you just wanted in the servers.”

Shaking my head, I got up and started pacing the room. “I do that and it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. You know even if we take down the Trick Pony, another place will pop up overnight. I want to stop the cycle and the only way to do that is to get rid of everyone from the top down. I’m not saying we kill all of them, but I’m tired of people I care about being hurt by these nasty fucks. And it’s not just me who thinks this way. Reaper agrees with me. Hell, Ace, we barely had a fucking break after taking down theSocietybefore Satan’s Angels showed up, and now this shit with George Stone and his allegiance to those sick fucks. It’s never going to end until someone has the balls to stop them.”

“And you think that’s you?” Matthew challenged.

“Yes. I’m the only one who knows where the bodies are buried.”

Walking toward me, Matthew sneered, “You do this, kid, there is no going back. No surrender. We don’t stop until it’sfinished. So, if you are having any fucking doubts, voice them now.”

Shaking my head, I straightened and steeled my shoulders. “I’m doing this with or without you.”

“Then get out your fucking checkbook, because my company isn’t going to be cheap.”

Looking at the man, I frowned, knowing damn well he caved too easily. Cautiously, I muttered, “Thought you would at least put up a fight or something.”

Matthew shrugged. “I know a good deal when I see one.”

Glancing past him, I scanned the rest of his team, noticing that every one of them, including my brother, all had shit-eating grins on their faces. Narrowing my eyes, I looked back at Matthew and sneered, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Matthew whistled loudly, and moments later, the front door of Ace’s apartment opened and in walked Jason Collins, also known as Merc. More importantly, he was Phantom’s brother. With him, the rest of his team filed in—Declan, Jonas, Trey and Hunter—but it was the last person who walked in that had me stumbling back a few steps, as I stared at a ghost.

“Hey, Sypher!” the dead fucker happily greeted.

I couldn’t stop staring at him.

He was alive. Sitting across the table from me.

“So, how have you been, man?” Gadget smiled when he leaned forward in his chair, his fingers wrapped around a can of soda. “Sissy is gonna lose her shit when she sees me, isn’t she? Not to mention the rest of the brothers. I wanted to reach out so many times, but Jason wouldn’t let me. Said it wasn’t time. So, what’s been happening since I died?”

Shaking my head to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, I growled, “How the fuck are you alive?”

The conflict between Steele and the Satan’s Angels devolved into a brutal free-for-all when Daphne found herself huntedby a relentless stalker. After a car crash left her disoriented and vulnerable, her stalker abducted Daphne. The club wrongly assumed the Satan’s Angels were responsible for the attack and mistakenly targeted them, resulting in injuries to Gadget and Torque. Torque, in a selfless act, died protecting his sister, while Gadget struggled to stay alive from multiple gunshots. Gadget’s supposed death left the club in shock and horrified.

“What can I say?” My formerly dead friend smirked. “I’m a lucky son of a bitch.”

“Not fucking good enough, Gadget. Do you know what the club went through when you died? What your sister went through?”

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