Ledger cleared his throat. “We need a plan. A real one.”
Stone nodded. “We’re going to choke them out. Cut their supply lines. Hit their money. Hit their contacts. Make it impossible for them to operate here.”
Grim grinned. “Starve the rats.”
“Exactly,” Stone said. “And while we do that, Avery stays here. Protected. Watched. Safe.”
Rook’s chest tightened. “She won’t like being locked down.”
Stone shrugged. “She’ll like being alive.”
Rook didn’t argue.
He couldn’t.
Stone leaned forward, voice dropping. “Rook. You’re too close to this. I need you clear-headed.”
Rook met his eyes. “I’m clear.”
Stone raised a brow. “Are you?”
Rook didn’t blink. “I know what I’m doing.”
Stone studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “Good. Because you’re leading this.”
The room stilled.
Rook’s pulse kicked hard. “Me?”
“You’re VP,” Stone said. “And they came after your girl. You know how they think. You know how they move. You know what they want.”
Rook swallowed hard. “They want a foothold.”
Stone nodded. “And we’re going to make damn sure they never get one.”
Havoc slammed his fist on the table. “Let’s end this.”
Grim cracked his neck. “Been waiting for a fight.”
Ledger adjusted his glasses. “I’ll prep the intel.”
Stone stood. “We move tonight.”
Rook rose with him, adrenaline burning through his veins.
But beneath the fury, beneath the strategy, beneath the club business…
There was Avery.
In his room. Wrapped in his blanket. Trusting him to come back.
Stone clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Go check on her. We’ll brief again at six.”
Rook nodded and headed for the door.
But before he stepped out, Stone called after him.
“Rook.”
