“About time, man,” Reaper said into the phone. “Was starting to get worried.”
“Lasso is hurt.”
“Yeah, Doolittle told me. He and Farmer got to him. He’s being looked at, and from what I last heard, he will live. Phantom put this fucking thing on speaker, so we can all hear.”
Shaking my head, I didn’t have to be there to know that Reaper handed over his phone to Phantom. Then almost suddenly, I heard Phantom shout, “What the fuck!”
Instantly the screens on the back wall turned on, and there they all were. All my brothers, well, most of them, Grimm wasn’t there, but I’d worry about that later.
Hanging up the phone, I walked over to sit next to Matrix. He didn’t say anything, but I knew being this close to him bothered him. He didn’t like people much. Preferred a solitary lifestyle.
“Jesus Christ Matrix,” Reaper roared. “Warn a guy next time!”
“That thing you had me look into a while back, well, I got a hit.” Matrix replied as if Reaper hadn’t said anything.
“Who the fuck are you?” Phantom asked, pissed.
“Phantom,” Reaper sighed, rubbing his forehead. Reaper didn’t look good. I knew he was catching hell from Remi, but it was more than that. Something else was wrong. “Meet Matrix. Your new boss.”
“What do you mean,my new boss?” She said, rounding on Reaper.
“Fine, I’m the fucking boss, but from now on, you will work in conjunction with Matrix. You will be working on something for me. In the meantime, I want this room cleared. Phantom stay. Everyone else out!”
With that, I watched as my brothers did as ordered. Something big must have happened. It wasn’t like Reaper to clear the room. All the brothers knew what was going on. They had all been read in. Matrix hit a button on the keyboard before him, and a click was heard when the last brother left.
“Room secured.”
“Good,” Reaper began, turning to Phantom. “We have a leak.”
“Again,” she moaned.
“Just so you know, I had Matrix investigate you thoroughly. And though I know more about you than I should, you and I will be having a conversation after this mess is cleaned up. Got me.”
Phantom paled but nodded.
“Good, now go pack whatever you need and head to Denver. You will coordinate with Matrix. He’s waiting on you. You will contact me when you are secure. Clear?”
“Clear,” Phantom said as she quietly got up and left the room. Reaper turned to the screen before him, and before he could say anything, I asked, “What’s going on?”
“Several things. It’s like a fucking can of worms has been opened, and those fucking creepy things are now worming their way into everything. What did you find Matrix?”
“The bullet in question was a specific design. We know the sniper you hired used a McMillan TAC-50 .50 heavy-caliber sniper rifle. Highly specific to the military. Yet, because it is also used by civilians, more specifically mercenaries, finding the said weapon that shot it would be impossible. So, the trail went dead. Until Louisiana.”
Matrix began typing, and instantly the screen split, showing a picture of two bullet casings. “In the aftermath, a lot of casings were recovered along with one casing in particular.”
“A McMillan TAC-50 .50.” Reaper grinned.
“Yes. I was able to get the Parish in Louisiana to send me the casing, and I compared it to the one that shot your father. It matched. Both bullets were shot from the same rifle.”
“Reaper, what’s going on?” I asked. “Your father died in a shootout with Pavlov’s men. I was there. It was a bad meet. You know this.”
“I hired someone to make sure my father died that day. Not that I care. That bastard deserved it, in my opinion selling out the club as he did. And before you say anything, he repented too late, in my opinion. Just because he grew a fucking conscience before he died did not absolve him from his sins. Now, I need to know if this sniper is a friend or foe. I will not live with a mark on my back for the rest of my life, and I will not be responsible for the sins of my father.”
“Balthazar?”
Turning, I saw Ari walking towards me. Smiling, I motioned her closer. When she was in reach, I wrapped my hands around her waist, forcing her to sit on my lap. Smiling, she saw Reaper and waved hi.
“Hi Ari,” Reaper grinned. “Sorry about the cabin.”