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I shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but Eddie definitely tried to kill Tory and me.”

“Jesus.” Ryder shook his head, reaching for a slice of cake. “This story gets more messed up by the minute.”

“You haven’t even heard the good parts yet,” I said, nodding toward Whitney.

Between bites, Whitney filled them in about Cooper waiting for B to turn up, and that she arrived on a motorcycle. He explained them carrying the fresh body from the shallow grave site.

“But when they got to the trunk of the cruiser, they started arguing,” Whitney said.

“Cooper didn’t want to put the body in the cop car, complaining that it would stink.

Then he demanded more money.” Whitney paused, and his eyes widened.

“Oh shit. I just remembered that he called her Beatrice. That’s when she shot him. ”

Chaos erupted as everyone spoke at once.

“Jesus. You heard her name?” I blurted.

“Holy shit. That’s a huge lead,” Parker said.

“Beatrice. Perfect,” Cobra said. “I can dig through the orphanage records with that.”

“Fucking hell, Whitney, why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” I snapped.

Whitney shot me a glare. “Give me a break! We were busy running for our lives! In case you forgot.”

“Okay, okay.” Parker raised his hands to diffuse the tension. “Good work remembering her name. That’s going to help us a lot. Did you see her at all?”

Whitney swallowed hard as if his words were stuck in his throat.

“Kind of,” he said at last. “I was two stories up, hiding back from the window, and it was dark. But . . . yeah, I caught enough glimpses.” He scraped his hand over his chin.

“She was shorter than Cooper by at least a foot. A bit overweight. Gray hair, kind of wavy. And she moved like she was in pain. Maybe her back or feet.”

Ryder snorted, leaning back from the kitchen counter with a wry grin. “A motorcycle-riding, grandma serial killer. Now that’s a first.”

Despite the heavy tension, a faint ripple of laughter spread through the room.

“That’s some really good details, Whitney,” Parker said, nodding at our triplet. “You still haven’t told us how you found the boxes.”

“Oh, right,” Whitney said, reaching for a bottle of water, twisting off the cap. “After she killed Cooper, she marched back into the building. But I was still hiding upstairs.”

His gaze darted across a few faces, and I caught the flicker of awkwardness in his expression. But I understood his unease. Parker and I were experienced in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. Whitney’s law enforcement skills only kicked in after people were dead.

“I couldn’t see or hear what B was doing,” he continued. “But she stayed in the building for at least twenty minutes. Believe me, it was driving me nuts not knowing what was going on. And I didn’t want to risk walking around because the floorboards creaked.”

He exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck like the memory still rattled him. “Anyway, after she finally drove off in Cooper’s cop car, I came downstairs. That’s when the smoke led me down to the basement.”

As Whitney explained about the skeleton sitting at the desk, his tone turned flat and clinical. Describing dead people was his domain.

“Jesus, that’s messed up,” Yasmin said, shaking her head. “That poor man.”

“I’d say there’s a reason why his killer left him to rot like that,” Tory said, shaking her head. “I bet he deserved it.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “That place has a dark history, and we’re just starting to scrape the surface.”

Ryder leaned forward, resting his hand on the counter. “So if Beatrice is grandma age, it’s possible she was an orphan at Angelsong.”

I nodded. “That’s what we’re thinking. It explains how she knew the place so well. And how she knew about that secret room that dozens of forensics teams have missed over the decades. Including me. I’ve searched that building top to bottom heaps but found nothing helpful.”

“Other than bodies and unmarked graves.” Whitney shrugged.

The rhythmic thrum of helicopter rotors beat somewhere in the distance, and my pulse spiked as I spun toward a row of windows over the kitchen sink, scanning the horizon for threats.

Cobra rested his hand on my shoulder. "Relax, buddy. That’ll be Levi."

“Oh, he’ll need to eat too,” Yasmin said, turning to Cobra. “I’ll pack something for him to take with him.”

Cobra nodded. “Good idea, Levi is cranky enough. He’s unbearable when he’s hungry.”

“Don’t I know it.” Yasmin rolled her eyes, then she plucked a Tupperware container from a drawer.

"I'll get changed." I took the clothes Cobra offered and headed to the old locker room down the hall.

At one of the basins, I splashed cold water on my face, ignoring the call of a hot shower.

No time for luxuries. As I pulled on the T-shirt and cargo pants, every muscle protested.

I was going to be really sore come tomorrow.

When I returned, everyone looked my way, but it was Tory's gaze that locked onto mine and stole whatever breath I had left. Something about her bypassed all my defenses without even trying.

"I left my clothes in the bin," I told Yasmin. "You might want to burn them."

She flashed a smile that lit up her whole face. "That . . . I can do." Her eyes drifted to the potbelly fireplace against the far wall.

Cobra clapped his hands with a sharp crack. “Well, I, for one, cannot wait to dig into those boxes and figure out who this bitch Beatrice really is.”

Everyone nodded, and the energy in the room shifted slightly.

“Me too,” Parker said. “If there’s evidence in those boxes that could blow open a bunch of my unsolved cases, then I’m all in.

” He made a sharp intake of breath, then looked directly at me.

“Actually, maybe I should stay here. It makes more sense for me to go through that evidence. Sounds like I won’t be much help at the wharf anyway, if they’re restricting access. ”

I clicked my fingers. “Good idea. You, too, Whitney. Stay here with Parker, just in case you remember something else.”

Whitney looked relieved, though he tried to hide it, and Parker gave me a curt nod of approval.

“Great,” Cobra said. “The more eyes on all that paperwork the better.”

“Yeah. There had to be a good reason why Beatrice was so desperate to burn it all,” Tory asked.

The doorway seemed to close in as Levi’s imposing frame filled the space.

The man was a force of nature. Built like a tank, with broad shoulders and a neck that seemed designed to hold up the weight of the world, he moved with the precision of someone who’d spent his life in the military.

His permanent scowl only added to his intimidating presence.

Even after I had met him a handful of times through Aria’s team, his sheer size still caught me off-guard.

"Time’s wasting," Levi barked, his deep, gravelly voice like thunder rolling in the distance. "We moving or what?"

“Sure am.” I drank the last of my water.

“Levi, I packed some food for you.” Yasmin trotted toward him, and Levi actually smiled. “Thanks, I could eat a fucking horse right?—”

Yasmin smacked his shoulder. “Hey, what have I told you about eating horses?”

“Right then.” Levi made an ear-splitting wolf whistle that echoed through the room. “Let’s roll.” He spun his hand in the air like a conductor. “Bird’s up in two minutes.”

Without another word or a backward glance, he strode toward the door.

“Hey, Levi, don’t do anything crazy, man,” Ryder called after him.

Levi paused just long enough to toss a reply over his shoulder. “Define crazy.”

He didn’t stop for an answer.

I smirked despite myself. “I better get after him.” Pushing back from the counter, I turned to Parker and Whitney. “Between us, let’s keep everyone in the loop. It’s critical we stay connected and keep the comms open, no matter what.”

“Copy that,” Parker said, his tone brisk .

“Agreed,” Whitney said, leaning into my ear. “Be careful, bro, you don’t know how unsteady that place will be.” He held out his fist.

I bumped my fist to his. “I will. Thanks, brother.”

“Onyx, where are you, girl?” I called, clicking my fingers. From behind the sofa, Onyx stood, stretched, and trotted toward me, her tail swaying with quiet obedience.

I glanced at Cobra and Yasmin. “Thanks for taking us in.”

I turned to Whisper and Ryder. “Keep an eye on Tory. She’s been through hell.”

I smiled at Tory. “Get your wound checked and then rest.”

She saluted me. “Yes, boss.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned and strode toward the front door.

“Jaxson.” Tory’s voice stopped me at the doorway. She caught up to me, and her hand brushed mine. Her touch was tentative, almost hesitant, but it sent a jolt right through me.

I met her gaze, and the vulnerability in her eyes hit me harder than I expected.

She laced our fingers together, and I pressed her palm to mine. “I just wanted to say thank you again. For saving me. And . . . be careful, okay?”

Her voice was soft, but her words carried weight. The sweetness and sincerity in her tone broke through the chaos buzzing in my head. I squeezed her hand, holding it for a beat longer than I needed to.

"I will," I promised. My heart didn't just skip, it stumbled, fell, and forgot how to beat entirely.

"Here's Whisper's number, if you want to call me." She pressed a slip of paper into my palm. "Until I get a new phone, that is. Mine's currently exploring the ocean floor."

I huffed. Seeing her plane wreck under the waves seemed like weeks ago.

"Thanks." As I let go of her hand, the truth hit me like a thunderbolt. I’m falling for her . Not in the slow, gentle way; this was a landslide, fast and unstoppable. Like the world's axis had shifted, and she was my new gravity. "My brothers have my number when you want to reach me. "

I cupped her cheek, and she melted into my touch like she belonged there.

"Get some rest," I whispered, fighting the urge to kiss her. Her lips parted like she was begging me to do exactly that, and my heart pounded harder.

“Hey, guys,” Whitney called from behind us, killing the moment. “There’s something I forgot to mention.”

His gaze swept across the room before locking onto me, his expression hardening.

“Beatrice killed Cooper without hesitation.” His grim tone bled into his darkening eyes. “No flinching. No remorse. Just bang, bang. Like killing him meant nothing.”

The weight of his words dropped like a stone. We wouldn’t be safe until Beatrice was dead. Until then, she wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot.

Tory reached for my hand again, and her fingers intertwined with mine, making me feel all kinds of crazy.

I didn’t want to pull away. But I had to. Blade and Viper needed me.

She rose up on her toes and kissed me. Just a brief brush of her lips, but her kiss seared into me like a brand. “You come back to me, Jaxson,” she whispered, easing her hand free. “I’ll be waiting.”

“I will. I promise.” Turning away from her was like tearing something vital out of my chest.

As I walked toward the chopper, my heart was still with her, but my thoughts were on Blade and Viper and the impossible task of finding them alive.