Behind Kane, Knuckles and Rook dragged Roth between them.His arms were bound behind his back.A black hood covered his head.His legs didn’t seem to want to cooperate, and they held him up more than he walked.A muffled sound came from under the hood, something between a groan and a curse.
The room went silent.Men’s expressions slammed shut.Women’s eyes grew sharp and cold.The air around us seemed to freeze.
I stepped forward without meaning to.Kane caught my gaze and held me in place with one look.He shook his head once.
Not now.
My feet refused to move another inch.
“Atilla?”General’s voice cut through the silence, barely louder than a whisper but somehow filling the room.
“Storm cellar,” Atilla answered from near the pool table.“Side entrance.No parade.”
I watched Atilla nod to the men.They moved Roth toward the smaller door by the pantry, the one that led around the side of the building.Kane fell in beside him, one hand gripping the back of Roth’s arm with controlled force.Every line of Kane’s body screamed restraint -- like the urge to do damage lived under his skin, held back by discipline.
He passed close enough I could’ve reached out and touched him.
I didn’t.
He paused anyway.His hand slid off Roth for just a second and landed on my hip -- firm and quick.Not a caress.A check-in.A silent message: I’m here.I’m still me.
“You good?”His voice came low.
My throat worked.“You’re asking me that after you kidnapped a man for me?”
“It wasn’t just for you.”His eyes held mine.“But yeah.You’re high on the list.”
A shaky laugh escaped me.“Kids are safe.No cartel at the gate.I didn’t set anything on fire.”
“Good.”His gaze flicked toward the door where Roth disappeared.“You keep it that way.”
I looked past him at the hooded figure.My skin crawled.
“You brought him back alive,” I managed.“You keeping him that way for a while?”
“Long enough.”Kane’s voice stayed hard.“We need what’s in his head.After that… we’ll see.”
Roth shifted under the hood, trying to angle toward my voice.
Kane’s grip tightened.“Walk.”
Roth froze, then moved.They disappeared through the side door.The silence they left felt worse than the noise.
Atilla stepped closer to me, studying the way I stood too still, the way my hands clenched and unclenched like they couldn’t decide what to do.“You did good today,” he said.“In the basement.”
“You weren’t there.”
“I’ve got cameras down there.”Atilla’s tone stayed matter-of-fact, like surveillance was as normal as coffee.“I watched you hold those kids together while your heart tried to climb out of your chest.That matters.”
Heat crept up my neck.“It felt like nothing compared to… that.”I jerked my chin toward the door.
“It was everything.”His eyes stayed sharp.“We can’t do what needs doing out there if we’re worried our hearts are wandering around unprotected in here.You gave Kane the freedom to focus.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat.“I just colored and told a story.”
“With a gun on your hip,” he countered.“Don’t minimize it.”
Muffled voices drifted through the walls.Footsteps.A faint metallic clank that made my stomach turn.Then nothing.
