“You saw her?”
He nods once. “I was running loops by the community center after the festival. Clocking a tan sedan that looked out of place. It tailed her for a few blocks, then peeled off. I followed it, grabbed a plate. When I saw you trailing her later, I let you take the lead and peeled off.”
My blood goes cold. “Cartel?”
“Could be. Could be nothing. We’ll know soon.”
I brace my forearms on the bar, eyes fixed on the scarred wood. This town’s a pressure cooker. Always has been. That’s why they voted me president. I don’t crack. I don’t look away. I do what needs doing, whether that’s talking someone down or putting them in the ground.
It’s never meant mooning over a girl nearly half my age, with flour on her nose and trauma in her spine. I just hit forty. She’s maybe twenty-three, twenty-four tops. Looked soft. Innocent. Like the world hadn’t finished chewing her up yet.
I’ve seen too much shit in uniform to believe in saving people. Being a Marine taught me how fast things break. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to keep the rest of the world off her skin.
“You sound domesticated already,” Viper says, pretending to gag. “Christ, Havoc. Say it ain’t so.”
I shoot him a look, but there’s not enough fire behind it to land. “You really want to test me tonight, Viper? I’m two seconds from seeing if you can fly without your boots.”
He just grins, cocky as ever. “Ghost’s already playing house with Nya,” he says. “And Merc’s married to his mail-order bride. That’s more than enough domestic bliss for one club.”
I give him a flat look.
He shrugs, still smirking. “Relax, boss. I’m just joking. So what’s your plan?”
My plan.
That’s the part I’m still trying to wrap my head around.
I’ve always been good at plans. Mapping ambush routes. Reading a room in three seconds flat. Getting my men in and out without losses.
But this?
This is a woman who doesn’t trust easy.
Who flinched before the guy even touched her.
Who scans every shadow like it’s got teeth.
And still had the spine to tell him tomove.
“She’ll call if something happens,” I say finally. “I gave her a card.”
My jaw tightens. I’ll still be watching from the shadows tomorrow, whether she does or not.
Ghost studies me, unreadable. “You sure about this? She could be trouble.”
“So was Nya,” I say. “Different kind. But you still stepped in.”
He’s quiet. Because I’m not wrong.
“You think that sedan was just passing through?”
I shake my head. “No. That was surveillance. That was someone marking her.”
My voice drops. “She’s not just scared, Ghost. She’s running.”
He nods once. “You feel it in your gut?”
“Yeah,” I say. “And in my damn ribs.”
