Shit.
I answer. "Yeah?"
"What the hell happened?" Ruin's voice is sharp. Urgent. "I came home early and everything looks like a goddamn mess. The door's busted. There's blood on the floor. Furniture's knocked over. Did someone break in?"
I glance at Nora. She's watching me with wide eyes.
"Me and our neighbor had a problem," I say. Keep it simple. "I'll explain everything but not over the phone. Meet me at Steele's Gym. The private room in the back."
"The Iron Pit? Marcus, what the fuck—"
"Just get here. Thirty minutes. I'll explain everything."
I hang up before he can argue.
Nora is already moving. Pulling away from me. "He's going to hate me."
"What?"
"Your brother. He's going to hate me for what happened to your house. For bringing danger to—"
"Hey." I catch her hand. Pull her back. "He's not going to hate you."
"But the apartment—"
"Is just an apartment." I squeeze her fingers. "And my brother is known as Ruin because he destroys everything around him and thrives on it. He'll probably use this as an excuse to redo the whole place. Maybe knock down some walls. Turn it into whatever project he's been thinking about."
"You're serious?"
"Completely." I pull her closer. "My brother doesn't care about broken doors or blood on the floor. He'll care that you're safe. That's it."
She looks uncertain but nods. Before either of us can say anything else, there's a knock on the door.
Heavy. Authoritative.
I tense, and position myself between Nora and the door.
"Reckless." A voice I recognize. "It's King. Got news."
King. The Savage Riders' president.
I unlock the door and open it.
King stands in the hallway. Six-foot-five, built like a tank, covered in tattoos and scars. The kind of man who makes other dangerous men reconsider their life choices.
He nods at me. Looks past me to Nora.
"Got good news," he says. "Castellano won't be bothering you anymore."
Nora steps forward. "What? How? He would never—he doesn't back down—"
"He does when the alternative is worse." King's expression doesn't change. "We caught the rest of his men. All of them. Had a conversation about territory and respect and what happens to people who hunt in Blackwater Falls without permission."
"A conversation," I repeat.
"A very physical conversation." King's lips twitch. Not quite a smile. "We hurt them. All of them. Enough to send a clear message. Then we sent them back to Castellano with instructions—come back and we won't just hurt his men. We'll kill them. And then we'll come for him."
Nora's face has gone pale. "You think he'll actually listen?"
