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What happened?

This time, she doesn’t respond immediately. Vega is speaking to her again, his voice low but his body language aggressive. Finally, her phone buzzes with an incoming message, but when she checks it, she doesn’t type anything back. Instead, she slides the phone into her purse and focuses straight ahead.

“We need to abort,” Marcus says quietly, reading the situation. “If he’s onto us?—”

“No. I’m not leaving her with him. Not when she’s scared.”

“Reign, think about this. If we tip our hand now?—”

“I don’t give a fuck about our hand.” I’m already moving through the crowd, heading for the exit. “Something’s wrong, and I’m not walking away.”

Marcus follows, his security training making him scan for threats as we move. “Where are you going?”

“Her house. If she can’t text me back, I’ll go to her.”

“That’s exactly what he’d expect you to do if he knows about you two.”

“Then I better be careful.” The crowd is still celebrating Ben’s victory, providing cover as we make our way toward the parking garage. “Keep the car ready, but give me two hours. If you don’t hear from me by then, assume the worst.”

“And do what?”

“Whatever you think is best.” I don’t have time to plan contingencies. All I know is that Audrey is in trouble, and I’m the only one who can help her.

“Watch your six,” Marcus says grimly. “And Reign? Don’t do anything that gets you both killed.”

I’m already moving, my mind focused on one thing: getting to Audrey. Whatever Vega knows, whatever he’s threatening her with, she doesn’t have to face it alone.

I push through the arena’s exit doors, the cool night air hitting my face like a slap. The parking garage is chaos, fight fans streaming toward their cars, the energy of Ben’s victory still crackling through the crowd.

But all I can think about is Audrey, trapped in that box with a man who might know her deepest secret. The terror in her eyes when she looked at me, the way she flinched from Vega’s touch.

My truck roars to life, and I’m pulling out of the garage before I fully process the decision. The speedometer climbs as I navigate the post-fight traffic, every red light feeling like an eternity.

I park three blocks away from her house, same as always. The familiar route through the back gardens and over the stone wall feels different tonight. Dangerous. Like I’m walking into a trap.

But I can’t stay away. Not when she needs me.

Her bedroom window glows soft and golden in the darkness. I scale the oak tree with practiced ease. When I reach herwindow, she’s there waiting, still in that emerald dress, but her face is streaked with tears.

She opens the window before I can knock, her movements sharp with desperation.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she whispers as I climb through. “He knows, Reign. He knows something’s wrong.”

“What happened?” I pull her against me the moment my feet hit her bedroom floor, feeling her trembling in my arms. “Tell me everything.”

She buries her face against my chest, her words muffled but urgent. “At the reception tonight, I ran into Tiffany Breslin. She mentioned the majorette reunion weekend—the one I was supposed to attend but didn’t because I was with you.”

My blood goes cold. “Fuck.”

“I tried to lie, said there was a family emergency, but I made mistakes. Gio knows every detail about my family history. He caught me in multiple lies.” She pulls back to look at me, her eyes wide with fear. “He didn’t confront me directly, but I could see it in his face. He knows I wasn’t where I said I was.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing specific. But during the fight, he kept making comments. About loyalty. About trust. About what happens to people who betray him.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “He knows, Reign. Maybe not about you specifically, but he knows I’m lying about something.”

I cup her face in my hands, trying to steady her. “We stick to the plan. Tomorrow night, we leave. Whatever he suspects, he doesn’t have proof.”

“You don’t understand.” She grabs my wrists, her grip desperate. “He’s not going to wait for proof. He’s going to act on suspicion. And if he finds out about us...”