She studies me a beat longer than necessary. “Bars have a way of becoming centers of influence.”
Finn slides her drink across the bar. A light whiskey, barely kissed with ice.
“Influence is just community with better lighting,” he says cheerfully.
Zane snorts despite himself.
Jude actually laughs. She takes a sip, considering. “You make a decent pour.”
“High praise,” Finn says. “I’ll put it on the wall.”
Behind her, Beau snorts.
She turns sharply. “Beau.”
“What?” he says, unapologetic. “I like it. Feels real. Not like the Chamber of Commerce brochure.”
His eyes land on me then, curious and sharp in a way that hits too close to memory.
“You ride?” he asks, nodding at the faint ink peeking out from my sleeve.
“Sometimes.”
His mouth quirks. “Yeah. Thought so.”
Zane shifts his weight, arms crossing, protective without being obvious.
Jude exhales and finishes her drink.
“We’ll be keeping an eye on things,” she says, returning her focus to me. “I expect you’ll do the same.”
“You have my word.”
That earns me a nod. She sets the glass down, already done with the visit. Control reasserted.
She turns toward the door.
Beau hangs out half a second longer, glancing toward the back alley, already imagining himself there. Skateboard propped against the wall, notebook open, probably scribbling something angry and brilliant.
Then he follows her out.
Zane pushes off the wall and comes closer. “That went… better than expected.”
Finn grins. “She smiled at me. I’m basically on the town council now.”
I don’t smile.
Because charm doesn’t stop pressure.
And the town just made it clear that it’s watching us.
CHAPTER NINE
Aurora
Early afternoon—Iguess I slept in alottoday—arrives with zero regard for my emotional state.
It barges in through the windows of The Hollow like,Good news! You’re alive, and things are complicated!Sunlight slants across the floor, bright and intrusive, illuminating the fact that I’m not in my cabin, and definitely not alone. I lie there for a minute, still annoyed about being escorted as a misplaced package.
