The voice slid out of the shadows like a snake coiling around me. My stomach clenched as I turned, eyes narrowing on the figure at the kitchen table. Logan sat in the farthest chair, posture lazy, one finger tapping a slow, mocking rhythm against the glass surface. The overhead light didn’t touch him, his face cloaked in the kind of darkness I’d never been able to outrun. But I didn’t need to see him. That voice had been burned into me years ago, stitched into every nightmare, every broken promise.
“What do you want?” My words were clipped. I didn’t rise, didn’t give him the satisfaction of rattling me. My fingers skimmed the back pocket of my shorts. From where he sat, he couldn’t see my subtle movement as I withdrew the phone and hit call on the first name in my call log. “You got what you wanted. I’ve got nothing left—no fight, no cards to play, not even a single family member living. So whatever this game is, Logan, end it. Enough with your riddles.”
“Stop the pity party, Emersyn.” He spat the name like venom.
My gaze flicked down to his arms, rage bubbling hot under my skin at the sight of the tattoos inked into his flesh—all three club symbols. A spade. A knight. And now, a serpent. He wore them like trophies, a collection of broken loyalties he never even earned. Logan took what he wanted, and without even an initiation, he had decided he was now a member of all three clubs. Which only meant one thing: he wanted the power of them all. To rule them as one, and he would slaughter anyone who got in his way. He followed my stare, grinning wide enough for the moonlight to catch on his teeth. “Tell me what you want, doll. One wish. I’ll grant it. What’s your desire?”
The answer throbbed inside me, unspoken and dangerous. There was only one man I wanted, one man whose forgiveness I would bleed for. But Logan would never have that piece of me, not when he’d already carved out too much. So I said the onlything that mattered, the only truth I could offer without giving him more of myself. “I want you to let Astoria Mordred go.”
Logan chuckled, low and cruel, shaking his head. “And why would I waste such a perfect bargaining chip? The Knights dance on her leash, and I’m the one holding it.”
“Use me instead.” The words were out before I could stop them. My pulse jumped, but I forced myself to keep going, steady and certain. “Take me. I’ll be your bargaining chip. You’ll have everything you want—the Knights on their knees, me at your mercy, and revenge wrapped in a perfect, pretty little bow.”
Logan leaned forward, his shadow spilling longer across the table. “And what good are you now, Acelynn?”
He hissed my new name like it was poison, and I almost laughed. He thought it was tainted when Emersyn was the name that had damned me. Logan’s eyes narrowed. “You torched your leverage with the Knights. You’re worthless.”
“He’ll come for me.” My voice stayed flat, even as bile rose in my throat. I knew they were listening to every word, and just the thought of him hearing this made my heart skip a beat. “Kaius will come. And then you can kill him. Isn’t that the dream, Logan? The Knights burned to ash and me ready to be your submissive pet.”
He studied me, the silence long enough that my heartbeat sounded like gunfire in my ears. Finally, Logan slid a hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out a burner phone. Tossing it across the table, he nodded once. “Prove it.”
I reached down, ending the call on my phone and sliding it under a broken lampshade. My legs wobbled as I stood, but I forced them forward. The burner felt like ice in my palm as I flipped it open and dialed the one person I knew would answer an unknown number in the hopes that Astoria would be on the other end.
My shaky hands lifted the phone to my ear, and I listened as it rang, once, twice, and then a familiar voice called out to me over the line, “Hello?”
I swallowed hard, forcing my tone to steady. “Nolan. Meet me at the border of Lovelen where the old, abandoned barn sits. I…I think I know where Astoria is.”
CHAPTER SIXTY
acelynn
The wind toreacross the lot, cold and biting, carrying the scent of rain and gasoline as the storm crept closer. Heavy clouds swirled like a living thing, black and swollen, as if the sky itself were bracing for bloodshed. I stood there with my hands shoved deep into my jacket pockets, pulse thrumming as I waited for Nolan and Vince. Anxiety churned in my gut, not fear, never fear, but a taut wire pulling tighter with every second. Every flash of lightning lit up the horizon like the world itself was warning me to turn back. But I couldn’t, not with Astoria’s life hanging in the balance.
The low rumble of two motorcycles cut through the wind, the sound pulling me back into the present. My spine stiffened. I only had moments before Nolan and Vince reached me. Moments to pull myself together and shove down the panic clawing at my throat. They needed information, a plan, a leader—not a girl cracking apart at the seams.
“Should we keep calling you Acelynn, or would you prefer Emersyn? Maybe Ms. Spade?” Nolan’s venom dripped like acid as he called out to me. I rolled my eyes and forced myself to face him, meeting his fury with my own resolve.
“Call me whatever you want,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, leaning on my right hip. “But if you want to get Astoria back, not in a body bag, you’re going to listen to me.”
Nolan lunged forward, his fury breaking loose, but Vince was faster. His arm shot out, catching Nolan around the waist and hauling him back with practiced strength. He pointed one finger at the angry man.
“Calm down,” Vince barked, his tone taking no argument. “She’s right. If we have any chance of getting Astoria back, we need her.”
Nolan’s chest heaved, his breathing rapid as his eyes darted like a trapped animal’s. My anger softened, twisting into something far more dangerous than rage—sympathy. I moved past Vince, reaching out before I could second-guess myself. My hand found Nolan’s, fingers curling around his. To my surprise, he didn’t try to pull away.
“We will get her back, Nolan,” I whispered, holding onto him like I could anchor us both. “I promise you.”
His shoulders slumped, breaking under the weight of that promise, and I caught the shimmer of tears in the moonlight. He tried to hide it, but grief always finds its cracks. My thumb stroked the top of his hand soothingly as he gathered himself enough to speak.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he rasped, voice heavy with the kind of pain that leaves scars.
“I’m keeping this one.” I tilted my head until I caught his wandering stare, refusing to let him escape mine. “Do you hear me? This is the one I’ll die for if I have to. Astoria is coming home, and then you’re finally going to tell her how you feel.”
He scoffed, grasping at denial like it was his last shield. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating.”
“Give it up, you stubborn bastard,” Vince cut in, a rare smirk tugging at his lips. “The entire town of Lovelen knows you’re in love with her. Hell, probably the whole state. It’s pathetic at this point that the both of you keep dancing around each other like you haven’t been crazy for each other since you were children. Why do you think no one in the club ever touched her?”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that tore out of me, wild and sharp. “Because you would send them to an early grave if they did.”
