He didn’t want to not see her.
By the time they pulled into the diner lot, Rook’s nerves were stretched thin. He killed the engine, boots hitting the pavement as the others dismounted around him.
Stone said something to Grim. Havoc laughed. Ledger stretched his shoulders.
Rook didn’t hear any of it.
His eyes were already scanning the street, taking in corners, windows, rooftops, shadows.
Habit. Instinct. Training.
He didn’t question it.
And then he saw her.
Avery.
Walking down the sidewalk, tote bag on her shoulder, hair pulled back, expression tight like she was trying to outrun something she didn’t want to name.
The hit in his chest was immediate. Sharp. Quiet. Too familiar.
He’d spent years training himself not to react to anything. She was the exception he hadn’t planned for.
He locked it down before anyone noticed.
She slowed when she saw the group. Her gaze flicked over the men, over the cuts, over the bikes — and then landed on him.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Rook didn’t let anything show. Not the way his pulse kicked. Not the way his stomach dropped. Not the way something old and fragile and still alive twisted inside him.
He just held her gaze.
Grim clapped him on the shoulder, breaking the moment. “Food?”
Rook nodded once, forcing his attention back to the club, back to the world he understood, back to the life he’d built without her.
But as they headed toward the diner, he felt her presence behind him like a shadow he couldn’t shake.
He didn’t turn around. He didn’t have to. He already knew she was still standing there.
Chapter 15
Avery
Avery pushed open the door of Sweet Treats, the bell chiming overhead as she stepped into the cool afternoon air. The sky was overcast, the kind of gray that made the whole town feel muted. She told herself she needed to get errands done, needed to get out of her own head, needed to stop replaying the way Noah had looked at her before he left last night.
She crossed the street toward the small row of shops, her tote bag slung over her shoulder. The sidewalk was quiet. A few cars rolled by, slow and steady, but each one made her shoulders tense.
She tried to shake it off.
Just nerves. Just exhaustion. Just… everything.
She stopped at the hardware store first, picking up lightbulbs and a new dustpan. Then the pharmacy for aspirin and a pack of hair ties. Normal errands. Normal tasks. Normal life.
But every time she stepped back outside, the air felt heavier. Like someone had just been standing where she was. Like eyes brushed her skin and vanished before she could turn.
A dark sedan idled at the corner. She glanced at it once, twice. The driver didn’t look her way. Didn’t move. Didn’t do anything wrong.
