Page 111 of The Devil's Thorn

“You’re inmycity.Myhouse. You walked throughmydoors with guns drawn. And I haven’t killed you yet. That’s not weakness. That’s restraint.”

A long, tense pause hangs between us. Isabella shifts again on the couch behind me and their eyes flick to her. Just for a second. And I see it—How much they care. How much they’re willing toburnfor her.

That kind of loyalty?

I respect the hell out of it. Even when it’s pointed at me.

“She’s earned more than you know,” I say softly. “And you think I don’t see that. But I do.”

I take another breath. Let it stretch.

Then speak again, lower this time. “She had me in her scope once.”

That gets them.

Kellan’s stance tightens. Ash’s grip shifts slightly.

“She told me,” I say. “Could’ve pulled the trigger. Didn’t.”

“You expect us to believe you’re okay with that?” Ash bites.

“I expect you to understand that it only made me want her on my side more.”

They don’t move. But something’s cracked in the silence now. The tension’s still there—but it’s not about attack anymore. It’s aboutwhat comes next.And none of us have the answer yet.

Not even me.

“We’re not your men,” Kellan says finally. “And she’s not your pawn.”

“Then stop acting like I’m your enemy,” I answer, voice level. “Or I’ll start being one.”

We stand there. Three men. Two guns. One unconscious girl holding the fuse to all of it. And nobody flinches. Because this? This is a new war. And it hasn’t even begun yet.

I study them. Guns still raised, chests still tight with adrenaline and instinct, but I can see the edge of their resolve beginning to fray.

Not from fear. From something far more dangerous—recognition.

They expected a monster. They found a mirror.

Ash’s finger hovers close to the trigger. Kellan hasn’t blinked in thirty seconds. The space between us is filled with smoke, steel, and a kind of tension that hums under the skin.

I could end this in three moves. But I don’t want to. Because the truth is—I respect the hell out of them.

“You know,” I murmur, voice calm, low, “in another life, I’d want men like you on my side.”

Their eyes narrow.

I don’t smile. “You don’t take orders,” I continue. “You don’t run when it gets ugly. You’d rather burn down a house than leave her behind.”

My gaze flicks to Isabella for a heartbeat. Then back. “That kind of loyalty…” I let the silence fill in the rest, “…isn’t weakness. It’s rare.”

Kellan doesn’t lower his gun. But his jaw clenches in something that isn’t defiance. Not quite.

Ash shifts slightly, just enough for me to notice the flicker of something else in his eyes. Not trust. But maybe—tolerance.

“We don’t care what kind of empire you’re running here,” Ash says coldly. “The second she’s not safe?—”

“You’ll kill me,” I finish for him. “I know.”