By the time we reach the gates, my hands aren't numb. They're tight around him, knuckles aching, but mine again. The compound has been activated. Prospects are moving with purpose, opening gates, watching the perimeter. Nash is outside with East, both standing sentry.
Malachi emerges as we roll in, gaze sweeping Knox, landing on me. His face hardens as though the air got colder.
Knox kills the engine, swings off, then reaches for me. "Easy." He helps me down, knowing my legs are unreliable. He lifts my helmet off. His hand finds the small of my back and stays.
Candace and Darla arrive seconds later. Darla is out before the engine cuts, crossing the yard straight to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, needing the contact as much as I do.
"You're okay," she whispers unsteadily.
East is there, quiet and solid, hand at Darla's lower back, the other brushing her arm in a checking sweep. "You good?" he murmurs.
"Yeah." She doesn't let go of me, but leans into his presence behind her.
Maggie appears in the doorway, apron on, and one look at my face sends her turning. She's back with tea, steam curling. She presses it into my hands. "Drink." Her voice is the kind of gentle that isn't optional.
The heat burns my tongue, sharp and immediate, pulling me back one sense at a time.
James approaches gradually. "You're here. You're safe. Let your body catch up."
Candace hasn't moved from the yard's edge, jaw clenched, eyes tracking the road. "He came right up to her. In public. Like he could."
Malachi is at her side before she finishes. He stands close enough that his presence is unmistakable. "You okay?"
Sharp exhale. "I am now."
His palm settles low on her back. "He won't get that close to her again."
Knox's voice drops, low and flat and final. "Being out in public protected him from Candace. It won't protect him from me."
I should be alarmed. Instead, my chest unlocks a fraction. He says it the way he'd say it's raining.
Frankie slips out, hair up, eyes sharp. One look at Darla's pale face and my trembling hands makes her mouth tighten. "Girls' night," she says, not asking. "My loft. Or the tattoo shop. Somewhere you can breathe."
Darla nods too fast. "Yes. Please."
Arden appears behind Frankie, gaze sweeping the yard, road, Knox. "I'll check on the stray," he says calmly, as though he's talking about a dog in traffic.
Kyle chimes in. "I've got the café cameras. Manager owes the club." Victor appears with Olivia. His presence is a wall, and when he looks at me, I recognize the expression. The one people wear when they've had their own version of this morning.
"We have resources," Olivia says softly. "Connections. Safe houses. People who owe us."
"Phoenix," Malachi says. "We loop him in."
Candace's eyes flick to me. "Alice is the thread. If she's talking to him, she's the leak."
My stomach turns.
Knox draws in, pressing higher at my back. He dips near my ear. "Stay with me. Don't leave your body."
I breathe.
East leans against a post. "We've been waiting for this. For him to get bold."
"Bold men make mistakes," Nash says in a flat voice.
Malachi turns to me, and the air changes. "Sloane. I need to know what he said. All of it."
The tea trembles in my grip. Darla's arm tightens. Candace steps closer. Knox stays behind me. I close my eyes for half a second and pull the memory forward.
