I nod slowly. “What’s the plan?”
Silas meets my eyes. “We find the network. We cut the routes. We take Renshaw’s leverage away. And we make sure Marcus never gets near your girl again.”
Your girl.
The words settle in my chest like a claim and a promise at the same time.
Gavin looks at me. “You stay sharp. You stay honest. And you don’t make decisions for her without her.”
“I won’t,” I say. “I swear.”
He nods once. “Then we’re good. For now.”
Silas opens the door. The noise of the compound rushes back in—voices, boots, radios, the hum of a place that’s already shifting into action.
As we step out, my gaze goes automatically to the clubhouse windows.
I can’t see Fiona from here. But I feel her. And for the first time in a long time, I’m not just fighting because it’s my job. I’m fighting because there’s someone I don’t intend to lose.
FIFTEEN
FIONA
The air feels different. Not colder. Not louder. Just… tighter. Like the whole compound is holding its breath. I notice it in the way people move. They move with more purpose, fewer jokes. I, also, notice it in the way radios chirp more often. In the way Gavin keeps checking his phone and Silas keeps disappearing into quiet corners to take calls he doesn’t want anyone overhearing.
And I notice it in Chase.
He’s still gentle with me. Still warm. Still makes sure I eat and drink water and remember to breathe. But there’s an edge to him now, a coiled readiness under his skin like he’s already halfway into a fight he hasn’t started yet.
Which means they’re close.
Close to Marcus.
Close to whatever he’s tangled up in.
Close to the thing I’ve been running from.
I sit on the porch steps with my coffee and try not to think about what happens after. Becauseafteris a big, scary word. After they catch him, I’m supposed to go home. Back to my apartment with the bad lock. Back to my job where my boss still calls me “kiddo” even though I’m thirty. Back to a life that suddenly feels… smaller.
Do I even want that? The thought startles me.
I came here because I was scared. Because I needed help. Because I had nowhere else to go. I didn’t come here to find something I’d miss.
Or someone.
Chase finds me a little later and sits beside me without a word. His shoulder brushes mine. It’s enough to steady me.
“You okay?” he asks quietly.
“Yeah,” I say, because it’s easier than sayingI’m terrified and hopeful at the same time and I don’t know what to do with that.
He doesn’t push. Just stays there.
Later, we head back to his cabin as the sun starts to dip behind the trees. The light turns everything gold and soft, like the world is trying to pretend nothing bad ever happens.
Inside, we don’t turn on the TV. We don’t talk much. We just curl up on the couch, my legs tucked under me, his arm around my shoulders.
It feels… right. Which is dangerous.