“You’re not thinking straight,” I say, echoing the same words I’d used for myself days earlier. “We can’t divert resources based on a hunch or some unverified piece of information you half-remembered. We need concrete intel.”
“Fuck you,” Ari snarls, shoving the chair. “Every minute we waste, she’s with him. Every fucking minute.”
He storms toward the door, slamming it hard enough to rattle the hinges.
Penn sighs, shaking his head. “He’s lost it. Completely fucking lost it. We can’t search hundreds of square miles of Montana wilderness on a dream.”
“But what if he’s right?” Blaze asks quietly. “What if she is there?”
Grayson looks up from his computer. “It’s a long shot. But Jax is theatrical enough to hide in plain sight. I’m not saying to commit everything, but...” He trails off, clearly conflicted.
I close my eyes, seeing Aurora’s face. If Olivia is somewhere in those mountains with Jax, and we miss her because I dismissed Ari’s instinct... Aurora would never forgive me. Hell, I’d never forgive myself.
But we have no solid intel. No satellite confirmation. Nothing concrete to go on.
“Send drones,” I say finally. “Catalog every structure within a ten-mile radius of the Montana compound. Every cabin, hunting blind, and outbuilding. If there’s a secondary location, we’ll find it.”
Grayson nods, already typing commands into his laptop. Penn and Blaze exchange a look before gathering their things. I can read their skepticism, but they’re loyal. They’ll execute the order regardless.
“I’ll coordinate with our team on the ground,” Penn says, heading for the door.
Blaze follows, silently sliding his reassembled weapon into his holster.
As they file out, I turn toward the window, my shoulders tight with fatigue. A soft intake of breath from the other side of the room alerts me to another presence. Aurora stands in the second doorway, her arms wrapped around herself, dark hair falling loose around her shoulders. How long has she been there?
“Do you think she’s there?” Aurora asks, her voice surprisingly steady despite the dark circles under her eyes. “In Montana?”
I want to lie, to give her hope, but I’ve done enough damage with deception. “I don’t know,” I admit, running a hand through my hair. “Ari could be right, or it could be desperation talking. He and Olivia were... involved.”
Aurora nods slowly. “I know. She told me, back in the cell.”
“The Vipers have safe houses all over North America. Properties that don’t officially exist.” I step toward her, keeping my distance but needing to be closer. “Some only Jax knows about. Montana is just one possibility among dozens.”
“But you’re looking,” she says, a statement rather than a question.
“We’re looking everywhere. I won’t stop until we find her.” I meet her eyes directly. “I won’t leave any stone unturned, Aurora. I’ll do anything to make things right with you. And I will do anything to bring your sister home.”
Aurora perches on the edge of the table. Her eyes meet mine, something softer in them than I’ve seen since her rescue.
“I’ve been thinking,” she says quietly. “About everything with my father. With us.”
I stay silent, giving her the space to continue. These moments when she opens up feel like walking on glass—one wrong move and everything shatters.
“We hadn’t known each other that long, had we? Before all this happened.” She tucks her hair behind her ear. “A few weeks. Some intense moments. It wasn’t like we’d built the kind of relationship where I should expect you to just... blurt out something like that.”
I lean against the wall, keeping my distance. “I wanted to tell you. I just?—”
“I know.” She cuts me off with a small gesture. “That’s what I’m trying to say. I reacted so strongly because...” Her voice catches. “For twelve years, I thought my father chose to leave me. That he looked at his life—at me and my mom—and decided we weren’t enough reason to stay.”
A single tear slides down her cheek.
“I’ve been so angry at him, Hunter. So fucking angry. For abandoning us. For being selfish. I built my entire understanding of love and trust around the fact that my father chose to die rather than stay with us. Hell, I even took Derek’s second name almost to spite him, which is ridiculous because he’s dead, and…” She looks up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly. “And then to find out he was murdered? That he didn’t choose to leave us at all?” Her voice breaks. “It was like my heart was being torn out all over again. Everything I thought I knew about that day, about him, about myself... it all changed in an instant.”
I watch her carefully, recognizing the grief etched in every line of her body.
“I needed someone to blame,” she admits softly. “And you were there.”
I cross the room without thinking, closing the distance between us in four strides. My hands cup her face, thumbs brushing away the tears that follow the first. For once in my life, I don’t calculate my next move. I just need to hold her.
