"Always."
I lean down and kiss her forehead, breathing in the scent of her beneath antiseptic and blood.She's alive.She's healing.That's what matters.
"I love you," she whispers.
"I love you too.More than anything."
I force myself to stand, to walk away from her, because if I don't leave now I might not leave at all.And this needs to be done.
Ghost is waiting in the hallway."Ready?"
"Yeah."
The war room is full when we enter.Rogue, Tempest, Savage, Sniper—all the brothers I trust with my life.All the brothers who've proven they'll go to war for family.
Ghost pulls up a laptop, showing a map with a red pin."Got a hit on Morrison's burner phone.Pinged a tower near an old hunting cabin his family used to own.Property records show it's still in his name."
"How far?"
"Forty minutes.Middle of nowhere, one access road."
"Perfect place to hide," Rogue says."Or a perfect place for an ambush."
"Could be both," Tempest adds."But if he's running, he's desperate.Desperate men make mistakes."
I study the map, memorizing the terrain.Woods, isolated, defensible if you know it's coming.But Morrison's not a fighter.He's a businessman who hired muscle to do his dirty work.
And his muscle is dead.
"We go in quiet," Ghost says."Surround the cabin, cut off escape routes.I want him alive long enough to answer questions."
"What kind of questions?"Savage asks.
"Who helped him?Who knew about the kidnapping?Whether the Shadow Hawks are done or if we're looking at more retaliation."
Savage nods."And after we get answers?"
The room goes quiet.Everyone knows what I'm asking.What I'm planning.
"After we get answers, we make a decision.Together."I look at each of them."This isn't just about revenge.It's about making sure Evangeline and those kids are safe.If Morrison lives, he's a loose end.A threat that could come back."
"And if he doesn't live?"Rogue asks quietly.
"Then we make sure it can't come back on the club.On Evangeline.On anyone."
"Detective Isaacs told you to let the law handle it," Ghost points out.
"She also told me to make sure it ends tonight.One way or another."
"Those aren't the same thing."
"No.They're not."
The weight of what I'm considering settles over the room.This isn't a heat-of-the-moment decision anymore.This is premeditated.Planned.The kind of thing that changes who you are.
"I won't ask any of you to be part of this if you don't want to be," I say."This is my choice, my burden.But I need to know you'll have my back either way."
"Always," Tempest says immediately.
