“Exactly,” Wizard confirmed grimly.
Blaze exhaled slowly. “And now that someone tried to warn her off? I’d say they’ve figured it out. Or they’re damn close.”
“But now they’ve seenherbrand,” Blaze murmured. “They’ll come for her.”
I was already half out of my chair, the heat building again behind my ribs. “Then we move. We don’t wait. We end this before someone gets to her.”
King’s voice cut through the room like a blade. “Sit your ass down.”
I stopped. My fists clenched, but I sat.
“Elena’s safety is the priority,” he said. “But this is a fuck of a lot bigger than Marks now. If we don’t handle it right—if we don’t pull out every root and burn it down clean—we’re gonna find ourselves in the middle of a fucking war.”
I stayed quiet. Barely.
King looked around the room, his tone deadly calm. “I want a full list of every operative she’s touched. Every symbol she’s drawn. We dig into every group they’re tied to. I want to know which orgs are bleeding and which ones are ready to bite.”
“I’ll keep working the symbols,” Wizard agreed. “Rebel’s tracking more leads.”
“Still working on the money shit,” Ace added. “Backdoor entries, quiet foundations. I’m tearing it all apart.”
Tomcat emptied his coffee cup, then set it on the bar with a clink. “Kevlar and I have been doing weapons inventory this week. We’ll start prepping what we think might be needed when this shit goes down.”
King looked back at me. “And you will sit tight until I say otherwise.”
My jaw ticked. “I’m just supposed to wait?”
“You’re supposed to protect her. Keep your head clear. You want revenge? Earn it by keeping her breathing. If we fuck this up, she’s the one who gets caught in the fallout.”
I nodded once.
That was all he needed.
King leaned back again. “Good. Now let’s burn this motherfucker down.”
12
ELENA
Waking slowly, I stretched against the warm sheets and felt a deep, delicious ache that made my cheeks burn. My lips curved into a sleepy smile before my eyes even opened. The memory of Reeve’s hands gripping my hips, his deep voice growling my name, and how he’d held me afterward like he couldn’t stand to let me go all washed over me.
I rolled onto my side, reaching out instinctively, but the other side of the bed was empty. My eyes snapped open. The sheets were cool, and the room was quiet in a way that felt wrong. A flicker of confusion quickly turned into uncertainty as I wondered where Reeve had gone. And why.
I pushed myself upright, the movement reminding me just how thoroughly my body had been claimed by him. The ache between my thighs and the tenderness in the spots where I had beard burn from his late-night scruff should have made me feel secure. Wanted.
Instead, anxiety knotted in my chest as I wondered if he regretted what had happened between us. If I’d been bad in bed. Too inexperienced or eager. If I’d misunderstood everything he’d whispered against my skin.
I dragged the sheet up to my chest, hoping it would make me feel less vulnerable as my mind spun. I scanned the unfamiliar space, but he was nowhere to be found. Then I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe past the rising panic.
I’d never felt so insecure, and Reeve wasn’t here to reassure me.
Almost as though he felt me spiraling, the door swung open without warning, and Reeve strode inside. The moment he spotted me sitting upright in his bed with the sheet clutched to my chest, he froze. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I blurted, shaking my head. “I’m fine.”
He slowly moved closer, like he didn’t want to spook me, but wasn’t buying a single word. “Elena.”
I tilted my head down to stare at my hands instead of him. “I just…woke up and didn’t know where you were.”
