"You threatening my wife, Flint?"
"Not a threat. A promise." He sounds pleased with himself, like he's enjoying this. "I've been watching you, Shadow. Followed you all the way from Texas. Watched you get married in that tacky chapel. Watched you walk into that tattoo shop today. You really thought you could hide? In Vegas, of all places?"
My blood runs cold. He's been watching us this whole time. Every move we've made.
"You're in Reapers Rejects territory. Uninvited. That's a death sentence."
"Is it?" He's unconcerned. Arrogant. "Then come find me. I'm close. Real close. Close enough that I watched your wife walk out of that tattoo shop with fresh ink. Close enough to smell her shampoo when she walks by."
My vision goes red. "You stay the fuck away from her."
"Or what? You'll kill me?" Flint laughs. "I'm counting on you trying, enforcer. Because when you do, when you come at me, that's when I take what's mine. Your wife. My brother's property."
"She's not property. She's a person. My wife."
"Semantics." I can hear the smile in his voice. "But if you want to settle this like men, I'll give you the chance. Tomorrow night. Neutral ground outside city limits. I'll text you the location."
I grip the phone tighter. "Just you and me?"
"Bring whoever you want. Reapers Rejects. Your new brothers. Hell, bring an army if it makes you feel better. Doesn't matter. Because one way or another, Grace is coming home with me."
"Over my dead body."
"That can be arranged too." His laugh is cold, cruel. "Enjoy your last night with her, Shadow. Make it count. Because after tomorrow, she'll be in a cage where she belongs. Somewhere you can't touch her. Somewhere you can't save her."
A cage.
The word hits Grace like a punch to the gut.
Her face goes white, her hand flies to her mouth.
"See you tomorrow, enforcer," Flint says. "Don't keep me waiting."
Click.
Grace is shaking, trembling so hard I can feel it from here.
I pull her into my arms, careful of both our fresh tattoos, and she buries her face against my chest.
"He knows where we are," she whispers. "He's been watching us. He saw us get married. He saw us get the tattoos. He's been there the whole time."
"Yeah." My voice is hard. Cold. The enforcer voice I haven't used since getting kicked out of Shotgun Saints. "Which means tomorrow, I'm ending this."
I tip her face up, make her look at me.
"He's not putting you in a cage. He's not touching you. He's not getting within ten feet of you." My voice is absolute. Final. "Tomorrow, Flint dies. I promise you that."
"Shadow—"
"No." I'm not backing down on this. "He threatened you. Called you directly to terrorize you. Talked about caging you like an animal. Made it personal. Tomorrow, he pays for that with his life."
Grace's eyes are wet, scared. "What if something happens to you?"
"It won't."
"You don't know that."
"Yeah, I do." I cup her face in my hands. "Because I'm the best enforcer Shotgun Saints ever had. And now I'm fighting for you. For my wife. Flint doesn't stand a chance."
