Chapter 4: Byte

BYTE

As I expected, Phoenix agreed to my plan with one added condition. "If you find anything of concern about this Chad guy or anyone else, you let me know immediately, and we'll reevaluate."

"Understood, Prez."

"Ranger's going to be pissed," he added.

"Oh, I know, but I have a plan for that."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yep. It was Gabby's idea, so she can deal with her grandfather."

Phoenix laughed. "You're going to throw her under the bus?"

"Shamelessly," I confirmed.

"All right, when are you two heading back to her place?" he asked.

"Probably tomorrow afternoon, but I'll let you know if that changes."

"Sounds good. Keep me updated," he ordered.

"Will do, Prez. And tell Flint not to throw any parties at my house while I'm gone."

Phoenix chuckled. "You don't have to worry about anything like that with Flint. Now, Blaze and Raven are a different story." He shook his head and rubbed his hand over his beard. "I swear those girls are responsible for every gray hair I have."

"I don't doubt it." Even though Blaze and Raven were aunt and niece, Blaze was only a few weeks older than Raven. They grew up more like sisters or close cousins and had been giving their parents a run for their money ever since they learned to walk and talk. I had a feeling Flint kept them out of more trouble than any of us knew. He was a good kid and was well on his way to making a fine club brother.

I made my way back to my room to collect Gabby and head back to my house. She opted to hide out in my room at the clubhouse while I spoke with Phoenix to keep the club chatter to a minimum. We both knew it would get back to Keegan if anyone spotted her at the clubhouse.

She sat up and clicked off the television when I entered the room. "How did it go?"

"Fine. He agreed with our plan," I said and paused for dramatic effect. "But you have to handle your grandfather when he finds out someone broke into your house and no one told him for two weeks."

She laughed. "I don't have a problem with that."

"Really?"

"Really. It won't be me that Papa's mad at after I explain."

"Fucking hell," I grumbled. For as long as I'd known him, Ranger always had a rifle within arm's reach, no matter where he was. And I also knew he did not mind using it. "If he shoots me, I'm blaming you."

"He won't shoot you," she countered.

"That's what you think. You get the teddy bear version of him while the rest of us get the grizzly." And that grizzly became an entirely different beast when it came to someone messing with his grandchildren. I vividly remembered him pointing his rifle at an FBI agent when Keegan had gone missing years ago.

I flinched when Gabby placed her hand on my shoulder. I hoped it wasn't noticeable, but she quickly pulled her hand back. Before I could comment, she continued as if nothing had happened. "Just make sure you stand behind me or my sister. He can't shoot you if we're in the way."

"Aw, it's cute that you think I'm going to be anywhere in the vicinity when you tell him what happened."

"Yeah, that's probably a better plan," she conceded.

"You ready to go?"

"I'm ready if you are."

Somehow, we managed to make it back out to my truck without running into anyone. The clubhouse was never empty, especially on the weekends.

"That was weird, right?" Gabby asked as soon as I pulled out onto the road.

"Shhh! Don't say anything else. I don't want to jinx it."

"Really? You believe in jinxes?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not overly superstitious, but I don't see any reason to push my luck when I don't have to."

"Yeah, that's pretty much how I am, too. Do I really think spilling salt will bring me bad luck? No. But tossing a pinch over my left shoulder is super easy, so why not do it?"

"Oh, that reminds me. We should probably pick up something for dinner on the way home," I suggested.

"That works for me."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere's fine."

"Oh, no. You're the picky eater, not me."

"I'm not a picky eater," she insisted.

"Maybe not now, but you used to be. You wouldn't even eat macaroni and cheese. All kids eat mac and cheese."

"I still won't eat it if it came out of a box. I don't care what anybody says. Cheese is not supposed to be that color. No thanks," she said and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't believe you remember that."

"It's hard to forget almost getting your ass kicked over macaroni and cheese," I grumbled.

"Say what now?"

I sighed. "You'd been living with Keegan for a few months when this happened. One weekend, I walked into the kitchen at the clubhouse to get something to eat and found your sister staring into the pantry with tears running down her face. I put my hand on her shoulder and asked if she was okay. She started sobbing, so I hugged her. She was steadily soaking my shirt and telling me all about how she was afraid you were going to starve because you wouldn't eat anything, not even macaroni and cheese, and she didn't know what to do. I leaned back to tell her everything would be okay, and that's when Shaker walked in."

Gabby threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, I can only imagine," she said and lowered her voice to imitate Shaker. "Get your hands off my wifey."

I grinned. "Yeah, that's exactly what he said. Then Keegan threw the box of macaroni at him and told him to stop being an asshole. That's when I grabbed a box of Little Debbie's and bolted."

"Did that happen often?" Gabby asked quietly.

"What? Shaker wanting to kick my ass?"

"No, Keegan crying about me," she clarified.

"Oh," I said, suddenly realizing I may have inadvertently upset her. "No, I don't think so. It had more to do with her own insecurities than you. She went from being a single woman working toward a business goal to a married woman with a newly adopted five-year-old in a matter of months. Back then, James was the only other kid around, and he was still a baby compared to you. So, she felt like she didn't know what she was doing and didn't have anyone in the same boat to talk to. I do remember your grandmother coming for an extended visit after the mac attack day, and I'm sure the reason was to help her get things figured out."

"I never knew any of that."

"Good. You weren't supposed to. And if anyone brings it up, you still don't know," I added.

"Oh, come on. I was looking forward to giving Shaky Jakey shit about his mac attack," she teased.

"Shaky Jakey," I laughed. "I haven't heard that in years."

"It's an oldie but a goodie."

"All right, food. What are we getting?" I asked.

"Pizza?" she suggested.

"Pizza sounds good. What kind do you want?"

"Personally, I like cheese, but get whatever you want. I can pick the toppings off."

Instead of agreeing or disagreeing with her, I placed a call to my favorite pizza restaurant and ordered a pizza for her and a pizza for me.

"Byte, I can't eat an entire pizza by myself," she said as soon as I ended the call.

"Well, I can," I told her. "And they don't sell by the slice."

"Mmm," she groaned after taking a bite of pizza. "I forgot how good this is."

"They don't have good pizza in Cedar Valley?"

She shook her head. "Not like this."

"I guess we won't be having pizza while I'm hanging out with you next week."

"Can I ask you something?"

"You can, but I reserve the right to not answer," I teased.

"How did you get to my house so fast?"

"Oh, that's easy. I was in Cedar Valley when you called." I had no idea what she was going to ask me, but I was definitely relieved it was something simple.

"Crap. I hope I didn't interrupt a date or something important."

"You didn't," I assured her. "I had dinner with an old friend who lives in the area, and then I stopped by a bar to have a drink before heading home. Actually, I should thank you. You called at the perfect time."

"How so?"

"I'd been trying to shake this barfly for a while. I was trying to be nice about it, but she just wouldn't take the hint. Then you called," I explained.

"Does that happen often?"

I nodded. "More than you'd think. There are a lot of women out there who seek out members because they want to be a part of the club. Sort of like the women who try to get pregnant by military men for the benefits."

"Does the club have a premium healthcare plan I don't know about?"

"I think it has more to do with the family aspect. Sometimes, people who don't have any family will do anything to be a part of one."

"Speaking of family, what's the deal with yours? I don't think I've heard you mention them."

I swallowed thickly. No one had asked me about my family in years. In fact, it had been so long that it took me a moment to decide what to tell her. "That's because I don't have one. My father disappeared before I was old enough to remember him, and my mother died when I was eighteen. I didn't have an extended family, so once she was gone, it was just me."

"Oh, Byte, that's terrible. Is that why you joined the club? To have a family?"

"Pretty much," I lied. While the Blackwings did become the family I never had, I joined the club because I wanted their protection and a safe place to hide.

I'm not sure if it was my short answer or something else, but she seemed to pick up on my unease about the topic and changed the subject.

After dinner, she excused herself to the guest room to study for an upcoming exam while I spent the evening searching for information on Chad Higgins. As much as I hated to admit it, I found very little on Chad, and what I did find wasn't helpful. And that wasn't good. Because I could find almost anything. In my experience, there was only one reason for someone's digital footprint to be virtually nonexistent—because it was intentionally hidden.