Page 39 of Blackwood

“That’s exactly the problem,” Nate snaps. “We are inhislion’s den.”

“Exactly. He’s here. Which means we can keep eyes on him. Track every move he makes while he’s too busy chasing ghosts to see what’s right in front of him.”

Tex crosses his arms. “And what if he stops chasing ghosts, Zeke? What happens when he starts looking in his own backyard?”

I set the mug down hard, before I break it in my hand. “Then we finish it.”

I take in a deep breath.

“He doesn’t know she’s alive,” I say, voice low. “Doesn’t know I’ve got his book. He doesn’t know a damn thing.”

Nate leans forward, eyes locked on mine. “But if he connects the dots. If he finds out Bella’s alive and—”

“I know,” I cut in. “Trust me. I know.”

No one moves.

“He isn’t going to find anything. Isabella Marie Harrington died in a car explosion at a private airstrip near Fort Myers. Years ago. We made sure of it.”

My voice stays level. Cold. “And that’sifhe ever found a trail to Bells as a Harrington in the first place, which he didn’t. There’s never been a single fucking breadcrumb. No one was ever sent to Arkansas to find her. Not byhim, anyway.”

“Fine. How’s she doing?” Tex asks. “How was she after we went to bed last night?”

I pause.

“She asked about Henry,” I say, quieter now. “We were by the fire, and she just looked at me. Dead in the eye and asked,‘Can I see him?’”

Tex mutters a curse under his breath.

“I told her no. Because it’s not time.”

“Maybe it should be,” Tex replies, voice low. “She’s not a little kid anymore, not really. She’s earned that much. Survived more shit than half the people on this team.”

I shake my head. “Not with Vince breathing, and sure as hell not with you know who walking free.”

I look up, eyes burning. “Fayetteville’s the first place he’d look if he even suspected she was alive. You think he wouldn’t go after Henry? You think he wouldn’t kill him just to pull her out of hiding?”

My voice dips lower. “What do you think that would do to her?”

Nate’s voice cuts through the fog, quiet but sharp. “So what? We keep her locked in this tower forever?”

“We keep her alive,” I snap. “That’s the job.”

“You’re not the only one protecting her, Zeke,” Tex says. “We’re in this with you. She’s our family too, you both are.”

I nod. “I know. But if something happens to her?” I glance between them. “It won’t be on your conscience. It’ll be on mine. She’s been my responsibility ever since she got dumped by Krolek’s agents in Miami.”

The silence hangs. Heavy.

Nate drops his gaze to the laptop. “Shit,” he breathes spinning the laptop toward me. “Looks like Krolek’s been busy.”

New file. Surveillance photos. Timestamped calls. Encrypted transfers. One headline blinking at the top:

OPERATION GHOST: KROLEK MOVEMENT

Confirmed. 22 minors. Target: Newark.

Tex whistles low. “That’s not a shuffle. That’s a fucking shipment.”