“And what’s your truth, Theodore?” Nova asks me. My full name on her lips makes me dizzy. But I correct her automatically, like I’ve been doing all my life.
“Just Teddy,” I say softly, caught by her hypnotic eyes.
Murmuring voices from behind the Big Top draw their attention, momentarily releasing me from the hold Nova's gaze had on me.
“Let's lock him up,” Vale says, his voice brooking no argument. “We'll decide what to do with him in private.”
My head snaps in his direction. “Wait, I?—”
The last thing I see is the strongman's fist. Then nothing.
17
NOVA
The meeting trailer's door closes with a finality that echoes through the confined space. Jules and I are squeezed around the fold-out table with all seven brothers—an intimate war council that makes the air thick with testosterone and barely contained violence.
I should feel out of place. Should feel like an intruder in their family business. Instead, it feels intoxicating being included in their darkest plans, about being trusted with secrets that could destroy them all.
“So what's the verdict on our federal friend?” Jules asks, settling into the chair beside Elias. Her short blue hair catches the lamplight as she leans forward, dark eyes bright with curiosity.
Cole spins his knife between his fingers, the blade catching light with each rotation. “I vote we gut him. Slowly. Make it artistic.”
“You vote to gut everyone,” Logan points out, his fire-scarred hands folded on the table. “Remember when you wanted to disembowel that health inspector?”
“He had it coming.” Cole's grin is savage. “Nobody insults Deke's cooking and lives.”
Jonah's massive frame shifts in his chair, making me worry about its structural integrity. “Coleman doesn't deserve a Prophet's death. He's not one of them.”
“Exactly.” Rowe's quiet voice cuts through the debate. “We kill monsters. Not federal agents doing their jobs.”
“Even if their job involves stopping us?” Silas asks, amusement in his tone.
Marek speaks from the shadows. “The cards were... interesting when I pulled them earlier. Justice. The Tower. The Lovers.”
“Cryptic as always,” Cole mutters. “Care to translate for those of us who don't speak fortune cookie?”
I snort at the joke, covering my mouth with my hand.
“Change is coming,” Marek says, ignoring the pun. “Destruction of old structures. And...” His gaze flicks between Silas and me, then toward the door. “Unexpected connections.”
Heat crawls up my neck at his implication.
“Yeah… Anyone else notice how Coleman looked at our lovebirds here?” Cole's grin turns positively wicked. “Man couldn't decide which one he wanted to fuck more.”
“You noticed that too?” I ask before I can stop myself.
All eyes turn to me, and I fight the urge to fidget under their collective scrutiny. These men have spent years learning to read people, to spot weakness with such accuracy. There's no hiding from them.
“Hard to miss,” Silas says. “I thinkJust Teddyhas been watching us longer than we think. Question is what we do about it.”
“We could kill him for spying on you,” Cole suggests again, but he sounds halfhearted about it.
“Or...” Silas leans back in his chair, and I catch the calculating expression that means his mind is already three moves ahead. “We could play with him a little.”
The suggestion hangs in the air like smoke from one of Logan's fires. Jules raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. Even Elias looks curious despite his earlier irritation.
“Play how?” I ask.
