Strong

Chapter 27

POV Athena/Petal

I held Margo and Nat for a long time. We all were upset and appalled by what we had discovered tonight. I heard the guys around us all discussing it in hushed tones.

"Do we think there is more?" Jaden asked.

 "Of which, dogs or human trafficking?" Spike replied.

"Either, both. Any." he responded.

Spike sighed and I felt him pat my back gently, "No one knows... we found paperwork at both sites that the teams had the good sense to take so we need to go through that. Hopefully that will give us a clue."

Upon hearing that, I backed away from my girls, "Where?" I demanded and Spike smirked.

"The twins, Tech and Wires are all upstairs sorting through it. They said that you could come up if you wanted to help. Only you though. They are trying to focus." he answered.

Margo, Nat, Decker and Dom nodded at me as Joker hugged me close.

"You don't have to if it's gonna be too much. They can do it." Joker whispered to me but was loud enough for the others to hear.

I hugged him for a moment and then stepped away. "You know that I can help. I want to." and he nodded slowly to me.

"Fine, but make sure that if it gets too much, you stop. Don't risk your mental health." he reminded me and I gave him a weak smile.

I looked up to see everyone else looking confused.

"Why does Petal need to go help?" Ace demanded with a mad look in his eyes.

Spike rolled his eyes while Nat huffed a laugh. "You really don't know Petal at all, do you?" Nat snarled at him. He glared back at her.

Shooter opened his mouth, most likely to say something rude but Joker spoke first.

"My little sis here is a fast reader, like a speed reader." he explained as Ash walked up.

Ash jumped in, "So is my little sis... and my little bro. I'm both proud of them and disappointed in myself." he joked as I gave him a small hug and headed up the stairs.

POV Jaden

I watched as Petal walked up the stairs carefully to make sure she was safe and that no one bothered her. Of course she was a speed reader like the twins. Why wouldn't she be? She was practically perfect in every way.

"You've got it bad, huh?" Ash nudged me with a tiny smile.

I nodded and refocused on him as Petal walked out of sight, "You know it." His smiled bloomed into a real one then.

"I'm glad, she's awesome and I think that she will be good for you." he decreed and I couldn't help but flush at his praise. He's my older brother after all, I want him to be proud of me and my choices.

"I agree." Blade chimed in on my other side. I must have been distracted since I didn't see him come up.

"Before we can really be anything, we need to take care of the Ravens and then the Lost Boys." I quietly reminded them. Their faces instantly became serious as they looked around.

After moving over to an isolated corner, Ash started, "What do you think of this new development?"

Blade pursed his lips and sighed, "I don't like it. It feels like a set up somehow and it will divide the Rebels from The Saints. We don't have any problem killing in these cases if they are justified and the Rebels do."

"So do the Twins." I added. "This could cause a rift between us and them as well. "

"Does it seem odd to anyone else that we found one of each today? Like, if the Ravens were into human trafficking for ten years, shouldn't we have found more than one warehouse? And if they were really pushing to start dog fighting, they would have to have more than the few dogs we found." Blade asked and I couldn't help but agree with him.

Ash looked thoughtful as I spoke up, "Who picked the sites for tonight specifically those two warehouses?"

"Margo's Dad, Shotgun, Petal's Dad, King, Bear, Thrash, Viper, Sunny and Thor. Of course it was all based on intelligence fed to them from Wires, Tech, Nat and the Lost Boys." Ash explained and I nodded.

"That's too many to narrow down, plus any of them could have been told the location by someone in either of the MC's or the gang." I added and my brothers agreed.

"Something seem fishy though. Lets be sure to keep our eyes open. Joker, Petal, Nat, Margo and the twins are our priority. Make sure that they are safe at all times. We only trust each other and them." Blade decreed and I found myself agreeing.

I thought that Dom, Decker, Sunny and Thor were trustworthy but I knew that I couldn't risk it. If I was wrong and something happened to my siblings or to Petal or her family? I wouldn't be able to survive it.

"We watch and learn." Ash agreed.

"And keep our mouths shut. Don't weigh in on the kill the Ravens or not debate. We can't afford to alienate anyone. Especially not the twins or Joker or Petal." Blade advised.

I narrowed my eyes as I watched Bear start to edge towards the stairs. I nodded that way to my brothers and they nodded.

"I'll go. If y'all go, it may cause too much drama." Ash volunteered.

I sighed. I knew that he was right, Petal might see it as me not trusting her or trying to control her and if Blade went, Joker might get pissed. Ash was the best choice.

"Do you have your phone on you?" Blade demanded and Ash nodded.

"Good. Call us if there is even a bit of a problem. We have your back." he added and Ash grinned.

"Thanks, bro! Don't worry. I've got the Twins and Petal covered. Just watch Joker, Nat and Margo." he gave a two fingered wave and lopped off towards the stairs right as Bear reached the top. We watched him follow just seconds behind. Then we refocused on the others and moved to rejoin them.

"I need to speak with Petal." Viper said as we drew near.

"Why?" Joker insisted.

"Personal reasons." he responded and Shooter sent him a strange look.

"It'll have to wait, baby bro. She's busy." Joker said with flint in his eyes.

Viper rolled his eyes but nodded, "Please just let her know when she comes back." he requested and then walked over to another group of Lost Boys.

Shooter hesitated and looked longingly at Nat for a moment before following his brother.

Margo shook her head, " I will never trust them."

The rest of us nodded in agreement.