Page 6 of King’s Reckoning (Blind Jacks MC #5)

Dawn painted the warehouse district in shades of rust and shadow as Rowan studied the building through high-powered binoculars. The structure looked abandoned at first glance, its brick walls weathered by decades of neglect and painted with fading graffiti. But the fresh tire tracks in the dirt and the recently disturbed ground told a different story. So did the subtle gleam of security cameras hidden in the eaves.

"They've been busy,"

Reed said beside her. They were positioned on a nearby rooftop, watching Blackwood's men come and go in unmarked vehicles. The morning air was cool, but Rowan felt heat radiating from where their shoulders touched in their hiding spot.

"Ground-penetrating radar, core samples, seismic testing. Whatever's down there, they're getting close to finding it."

He passed her a thermos of coffee—strong and black, just like she'd made that first morning at the clubhouse. The gesture was casual but thoughtful, as if he'd been paying attention to her habits all along.

"Maybe too close."

Rowan lowered the binoculars, trying to ignore how aware she was of Reed's proximity. She could smell leather and gun oil mixed with something uniquely him.

"We need to move soon. Before they figure out what Mom and Flash were protecting."

"Tonight,"

King's voice crackled through their earpieces. He was watching from another position with Darkness, their experience with surveillance operations evident in how they'd set up overlapping fields of view.

"Barbara's analyzed those documents from Flash's grave. Whatever's buried under there, it connects to what we found. It's all part of the same story."

Rowan pulled out Elena's journal, its pages soft with age and use. The complex diagrams her mother had drawn showed the warehouse from multiple angles. Not just its location, but detailed notes about its construction, its history. Some of the annotations were in a code Rowan was still working to decipher.

"Mom knew,"

she said softly, tracing the careful lines.

"All those years ago, she figured out what they were hiding. That's why she left—to protect the secret until we were ready."

Her fingers lingered on a particular symbol that appeared repeatedly.

"But ready for what?"

"That's the million-dollar question,"

Reed said. His voice was pitched low, meant just for her despite their radio connection to the others.

"What scared her enough to walk away from everything? From King?"

Before Rowan could respond, movement caught her eye. A group of Devils was approaching the warehouse. Including their leader from the clubhouse attack. Their swagger was unmistakable, even from this distance.

"Looks like we're not the only ones interested,"

Reed muttered, already documenting faces with a long-lens camera.

"Question is, are they working with Blackwood or against him?"

They watched as the Devils confronted Blackwood's security team at the perimeter fence. Even from their position, the tension was visible in aggressive postures and pointing fingers. Words were exchanged, voices rising. Then suddenly one of the Devils threw a punch, and all hell broke loose.

"Perfect timing,"

King said through the radio, satisfaction evident in his voice.

"While they're distracted, we move on the south entrance. Rowan, Reed, you're up. Barbara's got the building plans Elena left. There should be a service door that connects to the old tunnel system."

They made their way down the fire escape, staying in the shadows of loading docks and dumpsters. The fight between the Devils and Blackwood's men was spreading, drawing more security away from their target area. Rowan counted at least six pairs of men brawling, with more joining the fray.

Rowan and Reed reached the service door undetected. While he kept watch, she made quick work of the lock—another skill courtesy her training. Her mother's voice echoed in her memory.

"Sometimes, the easiest way in is the most overlooked."

Inside was dark and musty, decades of dust coating abandoned machinery. The air felt thick with age and secrets. But fresh boot prints marked the floor, leading toward the basement stairs. Modern security equipment had been hastily installed, wires running along aged walls.

"They've been excavating down there,"

Rowan whispered, following the tracks. The beam of her tactical light caught tool marks on the walls, places where older stonework had been exposed.

"Looking for whatever Mom and Flash tried to protect."

Reed's hand caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. "Wait."

He dragged her into an alcove as footsteps approached from below, his movements swift but gentle. They pressed together in the tight space, Rowan's back against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, steady despite the tension.

Two of Blackwood's men passed by, discussing something about structural integrity and load-bearing walls. Their boots crunched on debris as they headed for the fight outside. Once they were gone, Rowan started to move, but Reed's arm tightened around her waist.

"We should wait,"

he breathed against her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Make sure they're really gone."

The heat from him was impossible to ignore now, his body curved protectively around hers. Rowan turned her head, intending to argue, but found his face inches from hers. Those dark eyes caught her, held her. The air between them felt electric.

"Reed,"

she whispered, not sure if it was a warning or an invitation.

His free hand came up to cup her face, thumb brushing her cheek. The touch was feather-light, but she felt it down to her bones. Twenty-five years of walls and secrets seemed to crumble in that moment. She swayed toward him, drawn by something stronger than gravity.

The explosion shattered the moment.

They broke apart as the building shook, dust and debris raining down from the ceiling. Through their earpieces came King's urgent voice.

"Devils just breached the main entrance with explosives. They're heading for the basement. Get down there, now!"

Reality crashed back in. They had a mission. Personal feelings had to wait.

They found the basement access—a heavy steel door that had been recently installed, its modern security systems at odds with the ancient stonework around it. Inside was a maze of temporary walls and construction equipment. The Devils' explosive entry had kicked up clouds of dust, making visibility poor.

"This way,"

Rowan said, consulting Elena's journal. The diagrams showed older tunnels beneath the main basement, access points that predated the warehouse itself. According to her mother's notes, the original structure had been built around something much older.

They found one such tunnel behind a section of removed wall. Archaeological equipment was scattered around. Blackwood's people had been getting close. Grid markers and measurement tools suggested careful excavation until very recently.

"Look at these markings,"

Reed said, indicating symbols carved into the tunnel walls. They matched ones from the documents in Flash's box—ancient writing mixed with more recent additions.

"Your mother's notes mentioned something about 'layers of history.' Like each generation added their own secrets."

"Mom's notes mentioned a chamber,"

Rowan said, studying the journal by flashlight. The beam caught metallic flecks in the stone walls, making them sparkle.

"Something about 'the heart of it all.' But the Devils—"

Gunfire erupted behind them, bullets sparking off stone. The Devils had found the tunnel entrance. Reed shoved Rowan behind a support pillar as more shots chipped the stone walls. The confined space amplified everything, the sound deafening.

"Go,"

he ordered, returning fire with controlled bursts.

"Find what we came for. I'll hold them here."

"Like hell,"

Rowan snapped, already shooting back. Her rounds caught one Devil in the shoulder, spinning him back.

"We do this together."

A ghost of a smile touched Reed's lips.

"Stubborn woman."

"You have no idea."

More brothers were arriving, engaging the Devils from behind. The confined space turned the firefight into chaos. Muzzle flashes strobed through the dust, ricochets whined off stone walls. The air grew thick with the sharp tang of spent gunpowder.

Rowan and Reed fought as one unit, covering each other as they pushed deeper into the tunnel. She tried not to think about how natural it felt, how perfectly they complemented each other's movements. As if they'd been training for this moment all along.

The tunnel opened into a larger chamber with elegant stone arches overhead, supporting centuries of weight. The architecture was like nothing Rowan had seen before—a blend of styles that shouldn't exist together. And there, in the center…

"Oh my God,"

Rowan breathed.

A stone altar dominated the space, its surface covered in the same symbols they'd found in Flash's box. But it was what lay on the altar that caught her attention—another box made of gleaming metal. It was smaller than Flash's, but the craftsmanship was unmistakable.

"The second piece,"

she breathed.

"The Devils and Blackwood's men…they're all after this."

Reed was already securing the perimeter, checking the other tunnel entrances.

"Then let's get it out of here before—"

"Before what?"

a familiar voice asked.

They turned to find Blackwood himself entering from another tunnel, flanked by armed men. The silver-haired man looked immaculate, despite the dust and chaos, his expensive suit pristine. He smiled thinly.

"Miss Matthews. Or should I say Miss King? Your mother caused me quite a bit of trouble, you know. Twenty-five years of searching, of watching and waiting. But she could only hide The Archive for so long."

"Long enough,"

Rowan said. She had her weapon trained on him, but his men had them surrounded. Reed shifted slightly, putting himself between her and the nearest threat.

"Long enough for her to make sure it would be protected."

"Protected?"

Blackwood laughed, the sound echoing strangely in the chamber.

"My dear, you have no idea what you're protecting. The power buried in these tunnels...it's beyond your comprehension. Beyond your little motorcycle club's petty concerns."

"If it's so beyond us,"

Reed said coldly.

"why are you trying so hard to get it?"

"Because—"

The rest was lost as more explosions rocked the chamber. The Devils had breached another section, and now the whole structure was groaning ominously, dust and dirt streaming through newly formed cracks in the ceiling.

Decades of careful engineering were coming apart.

"The supports!"

Barbara's voice crackled through their earpieces.

"The explosions are compromising the entire tunnel system. The structure is weakened. You need to get out now!"

Chunks of ceiling were already falling. Rowan saw her chance. She lunged, grabbing the box from the altar as Blackwood and his men were distracted by falling debris. Reed laid down cover fire as they retreated, his aim precise even in the chaos.

They ran through the collapsing tunnels, the roar of falling stone drowning out everything else. Never looking back, Rowan clutched the box to her chest, trusting Reed to guide them out. His hand found hers in the darkness, pulling her along as the past crumbled behind them.

They burst into the main basement just as the tunnel collapsed, blowing out billowing clouds of dust and debris. More brothers were there, helping them up the stairs as the entire warehouse seemed to shake itself apart. Dust and age-old secrets buried everything in their wake.

They emerged into daylight to find the Devils already fleeing, Blackwood's men not far behind. The warehouse was a lost cause, decades of history now buried under tons of rubble.

But they had what they came for.

King was waiting with the others, relief visible on his face as Rowan showed him the box.

"Just like Flash's,"

she said, brushing dust from its gleaming surface.

"Another piece of the puzzle."

"Your mother would be proud,"

he said quietly.

"Of both of us, I think."

Rowan looked around at the assembled brothers—her family now, whether by blood or by choice. Her eyes found Reed's. He gave her that small smile that seemed reserved just for her, the one that made her heart skip.

"We should go,"

Barbara said, already examining the box.

"Before they regroup. There will be questions about the collapse."

They rode away as sirens approached, leaving the ruined warehouse behind. But Rowan knew it wasn't over. There were more pieces to find, more secrets to uncover.

And somewhere out there, Blackwood was already planning his next move. Because if she knew one thing for certain, evil like that never died easily. It persisted, like a disease. And she aimed to cut it out.

"You okay?"

Reed asked as they rode, his voice carrying through their helmet comms. The question seemed to encompass more than just the physical.

Rowan thought about the almost-kiss in the alcove, about how right it had felt fighting beside him. About all the walls she'd built that were starting to crack.

"Ask me again tomorrow," she said.

His soft laugh warmed her better than any summer sun.

"Tomorrow then."

Some promises were worth waiting for.