Page 16 of King’s Reckoning (Blind Jacks MC #5)

The first bullet struck the stone table inches from Rowan's head, ancient stone exploding into razor-sharp fragments. She dove for cover as more shots rang out, the chamber erupting into chaos. Through the gun smoke and flying debris, she caught glimpses of familiar cuts—brothers she'd fought beside, bled beside, turning their weapons against her.

"Did you really think we'd let you expose everything?"

Darkness's voice carried over the gunfire.

"Let Elena's daughter claim what isn't hers to reveal?"

So much for bringing the founding families together peacefully. The betrayal had come before they could even try.

"Fourteen hostiles,"

Reed reported from his position near the tunnel entrance.

"All wearing our colors."

His voice was cold with rage.

"Brothers we trusted."

"Not brothers anymore,"

King growled. He crouched behind a fallen column, returning fire with controlled bursts.

"Not after this betrayal."

Rowan felt her pulse racing, adrenaline sharpening her senses. The dim emergency lights cast strange shadows as more shots chipped away at the ancient stone around them.

"They're trying to contain us,"

she realized, recognizing the tactical pattern.

"Keep us pinned down while—"

An explosion cut her off, rocking the entire chamber. Through the new breach poured Devils and Kings, their cuts marking them as leadership from multiple chapters.

"Found them!"

Darkness called out.

"The artifacts and Matthews' daughter, just like we promised!"

Rowan's mind raced as she assessed their situation. Outnumbered, outgunned, trapped in a chamber that should have been their refuge. Unless...

"Barbara,"

she called.

"The structural integrity of these tunnels—what happens if that last explosion compromised the main support beams?"

"Theoretically?"

The archaeologist checked her instruments.

"A progressive collapse. But Rowan, that kind of chain reaction could bury the entire tunnel network!"

"Or give us the distraction we need,"

Rowan countered. She met Reed's eyes across the chaos, saw understanding dawn in their depths.

"Do it,"

he said simply.

Rowan moved before anyone could stop her, letting her mother's training guide her actions. She positioned herself near a key structural support that Barbara's equipment had identified earlier, the one that had been weakened by the explosion.

"Stop her!"

Darkness shouted. But it was too late.

Rowan fired three precise shots at the compromised support beam. Stone and timber groaned ominously as centuries-old engineering began to fail. Dust showered down as the chamber's ceiling started to crack.

"What have you done?"

someone shouted as the implications became clear.

"Given us all a choice,"

Rowan replied, her voice carrying over the sudden silence.

"Work together to get out alive or die fighting over artifacts that were never meant to be controlled by any single group."

The chamber shuddered as more supports began to fail. Even those who had come to kill them looked uncertain now, facing a threat greater than club rivalries.

"This is what Mom was trying to tell us,"

she continued, seizing the moment.

"These historical records weren't meant to be controlled by one organization. They were protected by multiple founding families for a reason. To maintain balance. To ensure the truth couldn't be manipulated."

"Lies!"

Darkness's shot went wide as falling debris affected his aim.

"The artifacts belong to the strongest! To those willing to take what they want!"

"Like you took club secrets?"

King demanded.

"Sold us out to the highest bidder?"

"I took what should have been mine!"

Darkness's face contorted with rage.

"What Elena denied me when she chose you instead!"

Understanding hit Rowan like a physical blow.

"You loved her,"

she breathed.

"That's why you helped Blackwood. Why you turned against us. She rejected you for Dad."

"She chose wrong,"

Darkness snarled.

"And now I'll take everything she valued. The artifacts, the club..."

His gun trained on Rowan.

"Her precious daughter."

Multiple weapons fired simultaneously. Rowan felt Reed slam into her, shielding her with his body as bullets filled the air. King's return fire dropped Darkness, but not before three rounds caught Reed in the back.

"No!"

Rowan's scream of denial echoed through the chamber as she caught Reed's falling body. The chamber shook more violently as key supports finally gave way.

"Rowan!"

King's voice cut through her panic.

"The tunnel network—it's collapsing!"

She looked up to see cracks spreading through the ceiling, decades of careful engineering giving way. The structural damage had triggered a catastrophic chain reaction.

"Everyone out!"

she ordered, her command carrying natural authority. Even those who had come for the artifacts found themselves obeying, survival instinct overriding everything else.

"Reed,"

she breathed, cradling his bloody form.

"Stay with me. Please."

His eyes fluttered open, full of pain but still alert.

"Not...going anywhere,"

he managed.

"Still have...your back."

King appeared beside them, already moving to help carry Reed.

"Barbara's found another exit,"

he reported.

"A maintenance tunnel that should hold longer than the others. But we need to move now."

Rowan nodded, pushing down her fear as she helped support Reed's weight. Around them, the chamber continued to shake itself apart, ancient stonework crumbling after centuries of stability.

They made it to the backup tunnel just as the main chamber collapsed, taking decades of historical evidence with it. But Rowan felt no regret. The true value wasn't in the stone or artifacts. It was in the knowledge they contained. In the shared understanding between the founding families.

In truths that were meant to unite rather than divide.

"How bad?"

she asked as Barbara examined Reed's wounds.

"Bad,"

the archaeologist admitted, concern etching lines around her mouth and between her brows.

"He needs real medical attention. Soon."

"Devils have a facility nearby,"

one of the other club members offered—a King by his cut.

"State of the art. Completely private."

Rowan studied him—another descendant of the founding families, she realized.

"Why help us?"

"Because you were right,"

he said simply.

"About the historical records being meant to be shared. About cooperation instead of control."

He glanced at Darkness's body, partially buried under fallen stone.

"About what happens when we forget that truth."

More members stepped forward—Devils, Kings, even some of their own brothers who had chosen to stand with them. All recognizing something larger than club politics at work. All seeing the value of the historical knowledge they had been entrusted to protect.

"Mom knew this might happen,"

Rowan said softly.

"Saw the possibility of the founding families reuniting when these artifacts started surfacing. Saw us choosing a better way."

"Elena saw a lot of things,"

King agreed, his voice rough with emotion. He watched as others helped stabilize Reed for transport.

"Including how love could transform rivalry into alliance."

The words hung between them—an acknowledgment of Elena's deeper wisdom, her understanding that protection of truth required cooperation rather than conflict.

"We need to move,"

Barbara interrupted gently.

"These tunnels won't last much longer. And Reed—"

"Isn't dying today,"

Rowan finished firmly, her voice leaving no room for doubt. The training her mother had instilled in her—strength in crisis, clarity under pressure—steadied her despite the fear threatening to overwhelm her.

Outside, engines roared as multiple chapters mobilized to help. Not enemies now, but allies bound by a shared purpose. By historical connections that ran deeper than recent rivalries.

Rowan held Reed's hand as they carefully moved him for transport, feeling his pulse steady under her fingers despite his blood-soaked shirt. The wound was serious but not immediately fatal—if they could get him proper medical care soon. His skin was pale, but his eyes remained focused on her face, drawing strength from her presence.

"I told you,"

he whispered through pain-clenched teeth.

"to be careful what you wish for."

"What do you mean?"

she asked, brushing dust from his face with gentle fingers.

"Family,"

he managed, a ghost of a smile touching his lips.

"Looks like you've got more than you bargained for now."

Around them, members of multiple MCs worked together, coordinating the evacuation with surprising efficiency. Old rivalries temporarily set aside in the face of a threat that affected them all. The collapse of the tunnel network wasn't just burying artifacts. It was erasing historical evidence that connected all their clubs to the founding families.

"Just stay with me,"

she said softly, pressing her forehead to his.

"Whatever comes next, we face it together. That's what partners do."

His hand squeezed hers weakly.

"Partners,"

he agreed.

"In all things."

King organized the evacuation, his natural leadership drawing respect even from former rivals. Rowan watched him work—saw Elena's preparation in his methodical approach, his ability to navigate chaos with clear purpose. Whatever their relationship had been, Elena had chosen well for the challenges she knew would come.

As they emerged from the collapsing tunnels into pre-dawn darkness, Rowan caught movement in the shadows. A familiar silver-haired figure watching from a distance.

Blackwood.

Still pulling strings. Still seeking control rather than cooperation.

"Dad,"

she said quietly, nodding toward the retreating figure.

"We still have one loose end."

King followed her gaze, his expression hardening.

"He'll be back. Men like Blackwood don't give up easily."

"Neither do we,"

Rowan replied, her voice steady with determination.

"Mom made sure of that."

The first rays of dawn broke over the horizon as they loaded Reed into a waiting vehicle. Members from three different clubs worked together to ensure his safety, their collective resources providing what none could manage alone. Exactly as the founding families had intended when they first established their brotherhoods.

"Where to now?"

Barbara asked, her equipment saved but her research partially lost in the collapse.

Rowan looked at the assembled groups—former enemies now standing together, united by shared history and a common threat. At her father, finally understanding the full scope of Elena's vision. At Reed, fighting to stay conscious as medics worked to stabilize him.

"Forward,"

she said simply.

"Together."

As the convoy moved out, Rowan remained by Reed's side, her hand firmly in his. Whatever came next, they would face it as partners. As family. The family Elena had always intended them to become.

And somewhere, Rowan was certain, her mother was smiling.