Page 41 of Fang

“Fine.” I sigh. “Call Vapor.”

Fang nods once, releases my shoulders, and moves back to the desk. He pulls a secure phone out of his go bag—not the burner we’ve been using, but something more sophisticated, designed specifically for communication with the club.

“He’s not going to like this,” Fang warns as he punches in a number. “But he’ll come.”

I watch him press the phone to his ear, anxiety coiling in my stomach like a venomous snake. So much rides on this call—Rory’s life, our lives, whatever fragile thing has been building between Fang and me since that first night at the clubhouse. If Vapor doesn’t come through, I don’t know what we’ll do.

I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the heat. In all my years working for the cartel, I never imagined I’d be standing in a shabby motel room, praying for a motorcycle club president to save my brother’s life. Yet here I am, watching Fang’s face as he begins explaining our situation, knowing that whatever comes next will either save us or destroy us completely.

And there’s nothing I can do but wait.

Chapter 16: Fang

The phone call connects with a click.

“What kind of trouble are you in?” Vapor asks without preamble.

I glance at Mina, her eyes wide and questioning, hope and fear battling across her face. My throat constricts as I realize how much rides on this conversation—not just Rory’s life, but Mina’s too, and whatever future we might salvage from this mess. I take a breath, forcing my voice to stay steady. “The kind that needs a face-to-face video call. Can you get to your laptop? Protocol seven,” I say, giving him the code for the most secure channel we use.

Vapor pauses, then says, “Call back in five minutes.”

The line goes dead.

Mina leans forward, her fingers digging into the cheap motel bedspread. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you just talk to him?”

“I encrypt the shit out of our communications, but with something like this, I want him on the most secure line. If the cartel is somehow listening, we’re screwed. So, this has to be done at the highest encryption level,” I explain, already retrieving my laptop from the desk. “Also, if Vapor’s looking me in the eye, he’s less likely to dismiss this as another ploy devised by the cartel to gain the club’s trust. I believe you. One hundred percent. Now it’s time to get Vapor on board too.”

“But… he’s going to help us, right?”

“Hopefully.”

My fingers tremble slightly as I navigate through encryption protocols. I’ve never been this far up shit creek before, never dragged the club into a foreign operation without authorization. The shakes aren’t just from the rush of adrenaline. They’re also from the knowledge that I’m one wrong word away from losing everything—my place in the club, Vapor’s trust, maybe even my life.

Mina notices my struggle but says nothing. Her silence is somehow worse than any criticism she might offer. I hope she has as much faith in me as I do in her.

After a minute, she moves to sit closer to me on the bed, close enough that I can feel her warmth but we’re not quite touching. The mattress dips under our combined weight, springs protesting with a metallic groan. The air conditioner sputters and rattles, pushing humid air around the room without cooling it.

The laptop screen flickers, establishing a connection across thousands of miles. Vapor’s face appears harsh in the blue light of whatever room he’s using. It looks like one of the smaller tech rooms, but I can’t be sure since he’s taking up most of the screen. His sharp, blue eyes dart from me to Mina and back.

“Talk,” he says, the single word loaded with presidential authority.

I launch into the explanation without preamble, laying out the facts in the ordered, precise way I know he respects. What he won’t respect is the fact that I went behind his back. “We tried to get Rory out of the hospital stateside, but the cartel had already moved him to Mexico City. At least, that’s where we thought he was. Turns out, he’s in Puerto Escondido.”

“You’re in Mexico?” Vapor’s expression doesn’t change, but his eyes narrow slightly.

“Yes. We were traveling under fake identities, but when we arrived in Puerto Escondido, the cartel was waiting. They ambushed us on the coastal highway—professional hit team, automatic weapons, tactical driving. They must have figured out our flight number and rental car details because they were right on our asses.”

I continue, the words coming faster now.

“We managed to escape, but the cartel’s issued shoot-on-sight orders for me. They want Mina alive.” I gesture to the laptop screen where I’ve pulled up the intercepted communications. “Her brother’s in a heavily guarded private clinic just outside town.”

I swallow hard, forcing myself to maintain eye contact with Vapor through the screen. “They’re using Rory as bait. They want Mina back.”

Vapor remains silent, his gaze shifting briefly to Mina, then back to me. The silence stretches until I can’t bear it anymore.

“I wouldn’t ask for help if there was any other way,” I say, my voice dropping lower. “But they’re hunting us now. The two of us against an entire cartel—those aren’t odds I’d bet on, not even with my skills and her inside knowledge.”

“So, what exactly are you asking for?” Vapor’s tone is controlled despite his obvious irritation.

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