Page 29 of Heat (The Royal HArlots MC, Quebec City-Canada #1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Diamond got the girls secured inside the cab with Carla, locking the doors behind them and triple-checking the latch.

The child in her arms still clung to her neck, her tiny fingers gripping tight enough to leave marks.

Diamond handed her back to her mother gently, brushing a strand of hair from the girl’s tear-streaked cheek before stepping away.

She walked to the front of the truck, hands shaking slightly as she reached into the side compartment and pulled out her phone. She hit Nova’s number and held it to her ear. It rang once. Twice.

“Boss?” Nova answered on the third.

Diamond didn’t waste time. “We made it back to the garden,” she said. “The roses are blooming early this year.”

There was a pause. Just enough. Nova caught on. “Is that right?”

“Too early. Might need to trim the stems.”

Another beat.

“Alright. I’ll get the pruning shears,” Nova said. Her voice didn’t change, but Diamond knew she understood. Compromised. Burn it down. Rebuild.

Diamond lowered her voice, “Use the blue shears. Not the green ones.”

“Copy that.” Nova didn’t hesitate. “Give me ten.”

The call ended.

Diamond stared down at the phone in her hand, her reflection dim from the black screen.

Someone was listening. Not maybe. Not possibly. Someone was in their system. She could feel it in her bones.

Sayer came up beside her, still rubbing his ribs, a bruise already darkening under his shirt. “She catch on?”

“She’ll call back from a clean line.”

“You think that was random?”

Diamond looked up at the fence. At the gate. At the small black camera nestled in the corner. “No.”

“You think it was the husband?”

Diamond’s jaw tensed. “I know he set this up. He wants his family back, and he wants them scared before he gets them. That wasn’t a grab.” She glanced toward the truck. “That was a warning.”

Sayer’s expression hardened. “He’s tracking them.”

“No. He’s tracking us. ”

She turned the phone over in her palm once. Twice. Then powered it down and dropped it onto the ground. With one hard stomp of her boot, the screen shattered.

They were being stalked—hunted.

Ten minutes later, Diamond’s backup phone buzzed once—no ringtone, just a vibration in her palm. She answered without a word.

A soft breath, then Nova’s voice came through low and steady, “The shears are clean. I’m outside the garden.”

Diamond exhaled slowly. “Good. I think there are weeds in the soil.”

Nova didn’t speak for a second.

Then, “What kind?”

“The kind that strangle the roots if you’re not careful. Ones that know the garden.” Her tone dropped, “Ones that were planted there before we ever were.”

Nova swore under her breath. “He’s in.”

“I think so.” Diamond turned toward the truck, watching Carla hold her daughters tight inside the cab. “And I think he’s watching. Listening. Everything.”

“You want me to torch it all?”

“Not yet,” Diamond said. “I need to get the roses out first.”

Nova caught the meaning instantly. Get Carla and the girls off-grid. Fully. No digital trail. No comms.

“Where to?”

“I’ll take them to the orchard. Use the old path, the one with the broken fence.”

Nova hesitated. “It’s risky. You sure?”

“Not really,” Diamond muttered. “But it’s a path we know well.”

There was a pause. Then, Nova’s voice softened, barely. “You alright?”

Diamond blinked slowly; her jaw clenched. “Not even a little.”

Nova let that sit between them for a beat before her voice hardened again. “I’ll start pulling up roots. You just focus on getting the roses delivered.”

Diamond nodded, even though Nova couldn’t see her. “Burn all the weeds. I don’t want so much as a blade of grass left behind.”

“You got it.”

The line went dead. Diamond stared at the phone for a second before tucking it into her jacket. She turned toward the cab where Sayer stood, waiting. His eyes locked onto hers.

“Well?” he asked.

Diamond’s voice was like steel wrapped in smoke. “We’re going dark.”

He nodded once. “How dark?”

She met his gaze. “Ghost.”

He didn’t flinch. “Then let’s disappear.”

Diamond climbed back into the cab and shut the door behind her, the noise sealing them off from the outside world. Carla looked up, eyes still wide from the attack. The girls clung to her, quiet and shaken.

“We’re leaving,” Diamond said, her voice low but firm. “Right now.”

“Where?” Carla asked, her arms tightening around her daughters.

Diamond looked at her, calm but unflinching. “I won’t say it out loud. Not here. Not yet.”

Sayer was already moving, securing what little gear they had, doing one last sweep of the lot with his eyes. He didn’t ask questions.

Diamond started the engine and pulled the cab around to reconnect the trailer. It clicked into place with a heavy thud, the sound echoing across the lot like punctuation on a chapter closing.

As they pulled out of the gate, Diamond didn’t take the highway.

She turned onto a side road that most truckers ignored. The pavement was cracked. The trees hung low. There were no signs, no markers, and no traffic.

This route wasn’t on any map. It wasn’t discussed in any message, text, or call. It was one of those old-school secrets passed between members like sacred rites. A lifeline known only by heart.

Sayer watched the landscape shift through the window, his tone quiet, “No tracking from here.”

“Not unless they’re flying a drone,” Diamond muttered.

“Should we be worried about that?”

She gave him a dry look. “Always.”

Carla stayed silent, her head resting lightly against the back wall of the sleeper. The girls were finally dozing again, worn out from fear and sugar. Diamond checked the rearview once, then again, before letting her focus settle on the road.

They drove for nearly forty minutes through winding backroads and thick stretches of forest before the burner phone vibrated again.

Diamond answered with a quick, “Go.”

Nova’s voice was sharp and to the point. “Redirect. Take the next left onto Black Hollow Road. Unmarked. Gravel path. You’ll see a tire swing on a dead oak. Go slow, it gets narrow. I’ve got someone waiting halfway in, eyes only.”

“Who?” Diamond asked.

“You don’t know her. She’s a friend of our California friend”

“Sounds good,” Diamond replied. The only friend they had was Maddyn. And if this contact was recommended by her, they were in good hands.

Nova continued, “She’ll ride with you to the next stop. We’re not taking them to the orchard anymore. It’s too close to the last known drop.”

Diamond’s grip tightened on the wheel. “That leaves us with only one option.”

Nova’s pause confirmed it. “Exactly. So don’t miss that swing.”

The line went dead again.

Diamond passed the phone to Sayer and slowed the rig as the next turn approached.

The road was so narrow it barely looked passable for a full-sized rig, but she didn’t hesitate.

The tires crunched over gravel, low branches scraped the sides of the trailer, and the shadows grew deeper the farther they went.

Sayer glanced at her. “You sure this isn’t a setup?”

Diamond nodded once. “I’m sure.”

He didn’t argue as the truck continued down an uncharted road.