Page 29 of Wrecker

Blinking quickly, I looked down at my lap as I wondered how I could help Reid heal from something like this.

“But now he has you,” Gemma pointed out, almost as though she had read my mind.

Straightening my spine, I nodded. “This year, he won’t be alone during that visit.”

Blade flashed me an approving smile. “That’s how I know he’ll be okay this time. Nothing better for a man than a good woman who stands by his side when things get rough.”

“Aw, I’m gonna tell Elise that you can say sweet things even when she’s not around,” Alice teased, lightening the mood.

Deviant walked in and scowled at Blade. “You better not be sayin’ sweet shit to my wife.”

Alice rolled her eyes, completely unbothered by her husband’s possessive tone. “Relax, he was just trying to reassure Peyton.”

I smiled at their easy banter, but my thoughts were still tangled around what I’d learned.

“Good.” Deviant’s attention shifted to me. “I sent over another batch of files for Wrecker to look at later. Permits, building specs, contractor databases. If you’re bored and want to dig in, knock yourself out.”

“That would be great. I’ll take a look right away,” I promised.

“Laptop’s still upstairs, right?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Perfect.” He rounded the table to pick up one of the boys. “Let me know if you find anything.”

“Will do,” I confirmed with a smile that widened when his other son reached for him too.

After heading back to Reid’s room, I opened the laptop and loaded the files Deviant mentioned. Skimming through spreadsheets, I cross-referenced permit numbers and flagged discrepancies that didn’t sit right.

It wasn’t much. But at least I was doing something, which helped me feel useful instead of helpless. It was a way to help Reid.

If I could find a lead, maybe it would matter. Possibly even ease the shadows I’d seen in his eyes. Or at least not add to them.

11

WRECKER

Ileaned over Midnight’s desk, eyes locked on the large monitor set between us. Kane’s face filled the left half of the display—jaw set, sunglasses pushed up on his forehead, his voice clipped and pissed. The other half streamed live from a helmet cam, giving me a gut-dropping view of twisted metal, shattered concrete, and dust-slick chaos. The entire side of the building looked like it’d folded in on itself, all crumpled steel and splintered wood, mangled by the force of the crash.

Kane controlled a racing empire in the south. Some legal and a whole lot more illegal. He’d established the Redline Kings MC a few years ago, but even before then, we’d been tight allies. Storm had known Kane longer than any of us, but over the years, he’d proven himself more than once. He wasn’t a patch but still family.

“Driver lost control,” Kane said, voice tight. “Tried to cut the inside on the last turn, went wide. Slammed straight into the fucking pit-side structure.”

“Anyone inside?” I asked, scanning the cam feed. The guy wearing the helmet—one of Kane’s crew—stepped over a slab of drywall and ducked beneath a dangling beam.

“Three on the roster. Mechanic, engineer, and one rookie tech. Can’t raise any of ’em.”

Midnight stood with his arms crossed beside me, silent but watching. I studied the shifting mess on-screen—weight distribution, entry points, pinch zones. Same shit I used to do with my crew back in the Army. You didn’t get a second chance in a collapse. One wrong move, and the whole thing came down on your skull.

“Tell your guy to come around the left. That I-beam’s load-bearing. Looks stable. Use it.”

Kane relayed the instruction without question, trusting that I knew my shit and could save his guys.

“Yeah,” I muttered as the crewman followed my directions, angling between a support column and a caved-in wall. “That’s it. Get eyes in the back corner.”

It took over an hour, but they pulled all three of the trapped men from the rubble. One with a broken leg, another knocked clean out, and the third dazed and coughing but alive. I exhaled hard and leaned back in my chair. My shoulders ached from the tension, and sweat had dried under my cut, making the leather stick to my neck.

“Appreciate the eyes, brother,” Kane said, pulling his shades down. “Owe you one.”

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