I shake the memory away and open the door.
Ryder stands there, hands tucked casually into his jeans. His smile is soft. Almost flirtatious. But the moment he sees Isabelle behind me, it vanishes.
He clears his throat. “I’m heading to Wolf’s office. They’re back. Wanna join? You might want to hear this.”
My stomach sinks, but I nod anyway. Because every time these three have updates lately, they’re grim. And I’m not sure I can handle anything too gory tonight. Well, any night, really.
Twenty minutes later, I find myself fully briefed on Mihai’s plan to reinforce the club.
Apparently, we already have around five of his men inside the compound. I’ve never seen them. But I suppose that’s the point.
The men who attacked Healer’s sister were ghosts. And ever since that night, hunting down the traitors has become priority number one—for both Nomads and us. Especially after it became painfully clear that the Reapers were probably destroyed from the inside.
The conversation eventually shifts to Ryder and the work he’s been doing. He’s been coordinating with someone named Bug, digging through every scrap of information about the attack on the Reapers.
“I have the list of the missing brothers,” Ryder says to Wolf, his voice losing some of its usual steadiness.
“I…” He hesitates. Then his eyes flick toward me. “The dead weren’t easy to identify,” he continues carefully. “So it took some time. But there’s something I noticed once I started analyzing the names.”
Wolf frowns, his gaze drifting to me for a moment. His shoulders stiffen slightly, like he suddenly wishes I wasn’t here to hear this.
“The dead were all single brothers,” Ryder says grimly. “No wives. No sisters. No kids.”
A heavy silence falls across the room. The dots far too scattered for me to connect.
“The ones that were taken… are likely alive.” Ryder exhales slowly. “They all have Ol’ Ladies. Or—well—a female family member. Or kids.”
My lips part before I can stop them. My heart starts hammering violently against my ribcage. Does that mean—
Wolf is watching me carefully now. His eyes are sharp yet wary. He knows exactly what conclusion I’ve reached. The same one settling like poisoned air in the room.
They don’t just want the women. Or the children. But they want the men, too. Alive.
My God!They’re not just taking them hostage. They’re turning them into something far worse.
Caged witnesses. Broken men. Helpless to save their own stolen families.
TWENTY-NINE
Charlotte
“You okay?”
I drag my nails across the soft pad of my palm. The sting fades too quickly, so I press harder, digging until crescent-shaped marks bloom—pale, angry little half-moons.
Ryder is still watching me.
Waiting.
“I know this is a lot to take in,” he says gently, falling into step beside me as we walk through the empty backyard of the clubhouse. “But we’ll figure it out, love. Me and Wolf and… Ruin. We’re on it.”
Love.
For some reason, I feel nothing. No irritation. No warmth. No reaction at all.
I nod, the movement distant. Mechanical.
My mind won’t stop. It keeps conjuring images—violent, grotesque images I don’t even want to name. And right behind them comes the guilt.
