Page 85 of Break Me

“I won’t choose the club over her,” I continue. “But I won’t burn it down to save her either. There’s a difference.”

Knox watches me closely. “And you think you’ll recognize that difference when it matters.”

“I think I already have,” I say. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Silence again. He turns away, pacing once, then stops.

“Probation stays,” he says. “Distance stays. You don’t make calls. You don’t operate. You don’t chase Ridgeback.”

“I won’t.”

“And if you get info that they’re making a move against her,” Knox adds, “you bring it to me first.”

“I will,” I say. Then I shake my head once. “But that’s not the same as sitting on my hands.”

Knox’s eyes narrow. “Careful.”

“They came after my wife,” I say evenly. “Not a prospect. Not a liability. My wife. Probation or not, I won’t pretend I can stand on the sidelines if this turns violent.”

“You don’t get to freelance,” he says.

“I’m not asking to,” I reply. “I’m telling you that if the club moves, I’m part of it. I won’t make calls. I won’t act alone. But I won’t be left out of protecting what’s mine.”

Silence stretches between us as Knox studies me for a long moment, then exhales through his nose. “That’s not how probation works.”

“It is now,” I say quietly. "Because she could pay the price for my choices."

Knox’s shoulders ease just a fraction. “Good,” he says. “Because she’s not expendable.”

“No,” I agree. “She never was.”

He steps back, recalibrating. “You want your place back? You earn it slowly. You don’t lie. You don’t disappear. And you remember that loyalty isn’t about control. It’s about trust.”

“I know,” I reply.

He nods once. “Go home. You’ve done what you came to do.”

I leave the garage without looking back.

Knox’s words ride home with me.

Trust.

Leverage.

Blood.

Consequence.

By the time I pull into the driveway, I still haven't found a way to outrun any of them.

Raven meets me at the door, barefoot, hair loose, the soft light behind her turning everything warm. She doesn’t ask where I’ve been. She doesn’t need to.

I wrap my arms around her and hold on longer than usual.

Some debts don’t come due all at once.

Some promises cost more the longer you keep them.