“Yeah, it’s kind of the same at ALIAS. Byte lives there, as does Ivy and Ghost. They’ve been trying to talk me into leaving my apartment and joining them, but I feel like I need my space. I love them, but if I want to continue loving them, I need to have some breathing room. Byte is the complete opposite.”
“I don’t know much about her background, only that she was an orphan and emancipated herself at an early age. Other than that, I have no idea who she was before she became GigaByte.”
“None of us do. I don’t even think Ivy and Ghost have a clear picture, not that they haven’t tried to pull it out of her. It has to be hard to be the keeper of everyone’s secrets but not feeling safe enough to share her own.”
“I’m not sure if it’s safety that keeps her gun-shy,” Steve replied. “Sometimes, the trauma we live through is just too great to share. I believe Byte has buried that person just as deeply as you have.”
“Well, now I didn’t know I was going to get therapy with my room.”
“Right, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just like Byte said, you are a mystery to me.”
“I was only playing. Trust me, if anyone needs therapy it is me. But like you said, some scars run so deep it hurts to share them.”
Nodding in understanding, Steve opened the conference room door and let her pass through. At the table were the guys she’d worked with before.
“Everyone, I think you know Voodoo.”
It was Ethan’s team she realized. Scanning the room, she saw faces she didn’t know and a few that were missing.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” the tall cowboy, Ranger, stood and introduced himself, who was then followed by the smiling and playful Spud, or Colton as he introduced himself.
“Right, I guess I forgot you hadn’t met Ranger and Spud. Ranger was a Texas Ranger, and Spud was in the Navy and served alongside my son.”
“Where is Dodger?”
“Sorry, running late,” Tyler said before kissing Voodoo on the cheek. “I was talking with Archer. Looks like everything is finally settling down over there.”
“Good to know,” Ethan said and welcomed Voodoo to take the seat next to him.
“As you know, Archer stepped away after his shooting to help a friend in Alabama. This means Bench is our only operative involved in the MC case.”
“Any progress?” Voodoo asked Bench.
“I think so. We finally know who the other operative is.”
“Took us long enough. No one would fess up to having an undercover agent there. It’s the ATF,” Ethan stated. “We didn’t have any contacts with the agency, and it took Cruz getting involved for us to get the intel.”
“What do you know about him?” she asked.
“Her. It’s Special Agent Skylar Hines. She’s been in for way too long, in my opinion,” Bench stated.
She listened as Bench and Ranger brought her up to speed.
“With Archer out, I’ve stepped up as Bench’s point of contact. He’s minutes away from being patched in. We’d like to get this settled before that happens,” Ranger said.
“Me too!” Bench admitted.
“So what about this agent? What do you know?”
“We finally have something to work with. She’s the old lady to the new sergeant at arms.”
“New?”
“There was an incident involving a club in Alaska. Now there’s a new enforcer.”
“So did she come with the new title?” Voodoo asked. In her opinion, the motorcycle club held as little respect for women as did the sex trafficking one. Women were pawns to be used and passed around as the men saw fit.
“No. She’s been with the same man the entire time.”