Page 15 of Wilder's Promise
I straighten in my chair. "Prez, with all due respect—"
"Your arm's fucked," he cuts me off. "And you're the only one I trust to keep them safe if things go sideways."
The decision stings my pride, but I know he's right. With my injury, I'd be a liability in a direct assault. And more importantly,someone needs to protect Emma and Evelyn if the Vultures MC have a counter-strategy we haven't anticipated.
"Copy that," I say, accepting the assignment despite my desire to be in the fight.
Ghost outlines the plan—a coordinated strike on Charles's compound using the element of surprise. It's bold, dangerous, and exactly the kind of high-risk operation the Outlaw Order specializes in. As he speaks, I find my attention drifting to Emma beside me.
She listens intently, her face a mask of forced calm, but I can see the slight tremor in her hands where they rest on the table. This isn't her world. She shouldn't have to sit in a room full of outlaws planning what amounts to a paramilitary assault.
"What if you fail?" she asks when Ghost finishes.
"We won't," Reaper says with the absolute certainty that's made men follow him into hell and back.
"But if you do," she persists. "What happens to us?"
Reaper's eyes meet mine across the table. "Wilder has a contingency plan. Don't you, brother?"
I nod, understanding what he's asking. "If things go wrong, I get them out. Take them somewhere the Vultures MC can't find them."
"Where?" Emma demands.
"Better you don't know the details," I tell her. "Safer that way."
She opens her mouth to argue, but Reaper stands, signaling the end of the discussion. "We move at midnight. Blade, check the weapons. Ghost, go over the approach route again with Ace and Viper. Everyone clear on their roles?"
The brothers nod in unison. As they begin to file out of the chapel, Reaper catches my eye. "Wilder, a word."
I stay behind as the others leave, including Emma, who follows Evelyn with visible reluctance. When we're alone, Reaper circles the table to stand in front of me.
"How's the arm?" he asks, nodding toward my bandaged wound.
"I'll live." I flex my fingers to demonstrate. "Blade did a good job with the stitches."
"If this goes sideways," he says, lowering his voice despite the empty room, "you get my daughter as far from here as possible. The cabin at Blackwater Lake. No one knows about it except all six members."
"What about Evelyn?"
A shadow crosses his face. "She goes too. Understand?"
"I understand." I meet his gaze steadily. "But it won't come to that. You'll take out Charles, end this thing."
"From your lips to God's ears." He doesn't sound convinced. "Emma... she hates me, doesn't she?"
The question catches me off guard. Not the content, but the vulnerability behind it. In the year I've known Reaper, I've never heard him express doubt about anything, especially not personal matters.
"She's angry," I tell him. "Confused. Finding out about Evelyn didn't help."
"I should have prepared her for that." He runs a hand over his face, suddenly looking every one of his forty-three years. "When I called her to come home, all I could think about was keeping her safe. Didn't consider what she'd think about Evelyn and me."
"She'll come around." I'm not sure if I believe it, but he needs to hear it. "She's your daughter. Kane blood runs deep."
He clasps my shoulder with his strong hand. "Watch over her, Wilder. She matters more than anything."
"With my life," I promise. "You know that."
With that, he leaves me alone in the chapel, my thoughts in turmoil. The responsibility weighing on my shoulders feels suddenly heavier. It's no longer just about protecting my president's daughter. It's about protecting Emma, who's somehow worked her way under my skin in the span of a few hours.
