I hated that.
Not because the women weren’t capable—hell, half the time they were the smartest ones in the building—but because this was our rule, our tradition, and I wasn’t the one who got to break it.
Slayer’s gaze swept the room and landed on me like a command.“Move it.”
I didn’t move immediately because Clove was there, and I didn’t want to leave her.I looked down at her.
“You need to go,” she whispered.
I hesitated.
Alice was by the pool table, a cue in her hand like she’d been born holding it.She lifted her chin toward Clove.“We got her.”
Clove’s eyes flicked to Alice, then back to me.
Neither of us had said it out loud—what was happening and what had changed—but we both felt it.The way she needed me near.The way my attention stayed on her like a leash I didn’t want to loosen.The way she’d counted when I went to the bathroom.The way I’d climbed into bed and pulled her against me without thinking twice.
“You won’t be long, right?”she asked softly.
My chest tightened.“I don’t know what I’m walking into, baby,” I admitted.
Her eyes widened at the endearment, just a flicker.
All the women were there.Carnie in the kitchen.Penny hovering by the door.Adley flopped on the couch near Eden.Nikki, Karmen, and Alice like guard dogs by the pool table.Wren, Mayra, Mom, Wendy, and Cora were at a table by the pool table.
“I’ll be fine,” Clove said.
But Slayer’s voice cut in again, sharper.“Ender!”
“I won’t be long,” I promised Clove.
She nodded once, like she was filing it away as something she could hold onto.
I turned and headed down the hallway, the weight of her eyes on my back the whole time.I hated leaving her.
I knew she was surrounded by badass women who would put a bullet in someone’s skull without blinking if they needed to.Nothing would happen to her here.
I pushed open the church door, and the room was full.
I slid into a seat between Jude and Kingston.
Jude leaned slightly toward me.“You ready to fight?”
“Always,” I muttered.
Kingston huffed a laugh.“Join the club.”
Dad sat across the table with his posture relaxed but eyes sharp.He watched me settle in, then said dryly, “Nice of you to join us.”
I didn’t answer.
Wrecker stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, his expression hard.Pipe was beside him, phone in hand.
Wrecker didn’t waste time.
“Yogi called.”
The room shifted.