Page 25

The quiet in the farmhouse is deceiving. It used to be peaceful here, the chirp of cicadas, the rustle of wind through the bluegrass, horses snorting softly in the barns. But now it’s the kind of quiet that comes before a storm. A kind you can taste in the air.

James corners me in the kitchen, arms crossed like he’s about to lay down the law. His expression’s tight enough to snap wire.

“You’re really doing this?” he snaps. “Letting those... criminals turn Paradise Falls into a war zone?”

“They’re protecting me,” I say, calm but sharp. “And if you cared half as much as you pretend, you’d be helping instead of throwing a tantrum.”

His eyes narrow. “You’re falling for him.”

I arch a brow. “That supposed to scare me?”

He glares. “He’s everything Dad warned us about.”

“No. He’s everything Dad was too proud to understand.”

James storms off, slamming the back door so hard the windows rattle. I’m rattled too. I used to chase monsters out from under James’ bed. Now he looks at me like I’ve become one.

Maybe that’s what stings the most. Not the yelling, not the judgment, but the crack in the bond we used to have. Grief turned us into strangers when it should’ve made us allies.

I grip the counter and take a breath, bracing against the tidal wave of stress rolling through me. My father’s legacy, the horses, the Derby, the threats, the Kings, Legend.

Especially Legend.

I find him near the stables, barking orders at Derby and Rye like the general of a well-oiled army. They’re loading saddlebags with more than feed, ammo, blades, bourbon. Just another day in Paradise.

He sees me coming and peels off from the group, eyes locked on mine like he’s been waiting.

“You alright?” he asks, voice lower, softer. Like it’s meant for my ears alone.

“No,” I admit, stepping in close enough to feel the heat coming off him. “But I will be… if you keep looking at me like that.”

His hand brushes my chin, thumb trailing over my bottom lip like he owns it. “You’re not just someone I’m protecting, Sophie. Hope you know that by now.”

“I do,” I say, breath hitching. “That’s why I need to tell you something before all hell breaks loose.”

He watches me, still and waiting, like I’m the only thing worth focusing on.

“If it comes down to them or you, there’s no choice. I’m with you.”

“You talkin’ ‘bout the Sinners?”

“No. I’m talkin’ ‘bout James and dad.”

“Sophie, James and I’ve never gotten along. Not since the cops showed up on the farm.”

“Cops?”

“When we were gonna run off together.”

“You never showed up. I waited for you. But none of that matters, now.”

“Sophie…” Legend says smiling big. “You didn’t send the cops?”

“No… send the cops where…”

Then the sound of engines cuts through it like a warning bell.

Oaks rides up, tires spinning. “They’re here. The Sinners just crossed the county line.”

I grab Legend. “I mean it. If the club turns. If the whole damn county does. I’ll still be here. I just thought you should know that… before the shooting starts.”

He kisses me like it’s the last slow dance on Earth.

Not rushed. Not hungry. But deep. Devoted.

Like he’s memorizing the exact way I taste in case he never gets another chance.

A fiery, sugary, perilous blend perfectly to my liking.

There’s nothing hesitant in it, just fire and home and a thousand unsaid things we’ve been holding back for too damn long.

When we pull apart, the silence isn’t romantic. It’s the kind that prickles your neck. The sound of engines rumbles in the distance, low and steady like a storm creeping over the hills. At first, I think it’s just the Kings. But something in the air shifts. It’s too soon. Too loud.

Legend stiffens beside me, his hand hovering near his cut. We both know that sound doesn’t belong here.

Legend doesn’t even blink. He just looks back at me like I’m something he refuses to leave behind.

“You stay here. I mean it.”

I reach for my Derby charm bracelet, undo it with shaking fingers, and wrap it around his wrist. “If I can’t ride with you, at least take a piece of me into the fight.”

He doesn’t argue. Just kisses me one last time like a vow and disappears into the night with the others.

I stand in the dark field, arms wrapped around myself, and whisper a prayer, not to heaven, but to the road.

Bring him back to me.