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Her voice shakes when she says it. Her fingers grip the table edge until her knuckles go white.

"You don't believe that."

"I believe in the case. In justice for the families Royce has destroyed." She turns back to the files, refuses to look at me. "Everything else is secondary."

"Everything else?" I step closer, close enough to smell her fear again. Stronger now. Desperate. "Is that what you call what happened between us?"

"What happened between us was a lapse in judgment." Still staring at the paperwork. "It won't happen again."

I slam my palm down on the table beside her. The possessive fury wants blood, wants to tear apart whoever made her this afraid. "Because someone threatened you. Someone made you believe that what we have undermines the case."

Her hands go completely still. "There is no 'we,' Ash. There's the job. That's all there's ever been."

Her voice cracks on 'ever been.'

"You're terrified." I move around the table. "Royce got to you. Used what we shared against you somehow."

"Stop." She stands fast and puts the chair between us. "Just stop. You're reading things that aren't there."

"Then explain the anxiety. Explain why your hands shake when you think I'm not watching. Explain why you can't look me in the eye when you tell me last night meant nothing."

Christ, Nova. Don't let him convince you I'm the enemy.

"Because it didn't mean anything." Too loud. Too desperate. "Because I don't need you complicating my life. Because this job is all I have, and I won't let anyone—including you—destroy it."

"Including me." Christ, that cuts deep. "So I'm just another threat now. Another problem to manage."

"You've always been a threat." She finally meets my eyes. Ice cold. "I was just stupid enough to forget that for one night."

Silence. Heavy and brutal. I want to grab her, shake her, demand the truth about what happened in that office this morning. I want to hunt down Royce and tear him apart with my bare hands.

She's done with me. Already back behind that fucking badge where I can't reach her. Maybe that's what she needs right now—distance from the monster who's made her life hell.

"Williams' timeline review. Garcia prep." Her voice goes flat. Dead. "We should get started before the deposition."

"Nova—"

"Bank records still don't match the Garcias' testimony. Timeline's off by several months."

She won't look at me. Won't let me in. And pushing harder will just make it worse.

So I step back.

"Fine," I tell her, moving to the opposite side of the table. "Let's prep the Garcias."

We work through the testimony without speaking. The silence cuts like broken glass. But one thing's clear: Royce got to her. Threatened her. Used me against her.

He thinks he won.

Stupid fuck just poked the beast.

The Garcia deposition goes exactly as planned. No surprises. I guide the farmer's wife through her testimony while Nova takes notes from the gallery.

When the Garcias leave, Nova immediately starts packing up files. "I need to grab lunch before the Williams meeting this afternoon."

"I'll come with you."

"That's not necessary." She won't look at me. "I'm perfectly capable of eating alone."

I watch her walk out, then give her a few minutes before I follow. When I see her county cruiser parked outside Greene's Diner, I know exactly why she picked it. Public space. Witnesses. Smart move if you're trying to avoid a real conversation.

The diner's packed with the lunch crowd when I walk in. Nova sits in a corner booth, back to the wall, coffee cup gripped tight in both hands. She doesn't look up when I slide into the seat across from her.

"I told you I didn't need company," she says quietly.

I signal Helen for coffee. "We need to talk."

"We talked. In the war room. I was very clear about where we stand."

"You were clear about the lies you're telling yourself." I lean forward, and she leans back. "Royce got to you. Threatened you. And now you're running scared."

"I'm not running from anything." Her knuckles go white around the coffee cup. "I'm being rational."

"Rational." I let that sit for a moment. "Is that what you call it when you can't even look at me? When you flinch every time I get close?"

"I don't flinch."

"You're flinching right now."

Her jaw hardens. "You want to know what I'm doing? I'm correcting a mistake. I'm getting back to why I'm here instead of letting myself get distracted."

"Distracted." Christ, that cuts. "Last night was a distraction? What you told me about Carman was a distraction?"

"Yes." Flat. Final. "It was just sex, Ash. Don't make it into something it wasn't."

Her eyes are wet. She's fighting not to take it back.

"You think sleeping with me gives you the right to hover and protect and manage every aspect of my life?"

"That's not what this is about."

"Isn't it?" She leans forward. "This was always about control with you. Protection, partnership—just different words for the same thing. You can't stand that I might handle something without your input."

My hands clench under the table. She's ripping apart what we had, making it sound ugly. Every word meant to wound me. To drive me away.

"You want to know about control?" My voice drops low. "Control is sitting here listening to you lie instead of dragging you somewhere private and demanding answers."

"There it is." No warmth in her smile. "When you don't get your way, you threaten to force it."

Something twists in my chest. She just called me exactly what everyone else sees—a monster who takes what he wants.

"The real me held you while you confessed your deepest secret. Made you feel safe enough to surrender." I lean closer. The fear's stronger now. Desperate. "The real me knows you're terrified, and it's not because of anything I've done."

Something cracks in her face, just for a moment.

"This is about Carman, isn't it?" I watch her carefully. "If I could find out about your sister, so could he."

Her eyes snap to mine, and her face goes pale. "What did you just say?"

Fuck.

"Nova—"

"You already knew." Her voice goes flat. Dead. "When I told you about Carman, you already knew."

The betrayal in her eyes cuts deeper than any blade. She thinks I manipulated her into opening up about her sister.

"Background checks are routine—"

"Don't." She sets down her coffee cup with careful control. "Just don't."

Before I can explain—before I can tell her it didn't matter what I knew because hearing it from her was everything—Savvy appears beside our table.

"Nova," she says, voice sharp with authority. "Helen needs to see you in the kitchen. Something about the Bauer family."

Nova looks grateful for the escape, sliding out of the booth fast. "Of course."

Savvy's eyes meet mine as Nova heads toward the kitchen. Pure warning in that look.

I want to follow Nova. Corner her. Shake her until she spills what happened in that office. I want to hunt down Royce and rip his fucking throat out.

But Savvy's right. I push harder, and Nova shuts down completely.

I leave cash on the table and walk out. She's made her choice—handle this shit alone.

Twelve minutes back to the clubhouse. The restless energy paces behind my ribs, wanting blood. Wanting to tear apart everything that's hurting her.

Royce used her sister against her. Had to be. Hit her where it would destroy her—Carman's memory, her guilt, her need for justice.

And I fucked it up worse by letting slip I already knew. Christ. She thinks I manipulated her into confessing something I already had intel on.

Smart move, asshole. Real fucking tactical.

She's alone now. Completely cut off. Can't trust me, can't trust anyone. Exactly what Royce wanted.

Perfect fucking strategy. Isolate the target, eliminate support systems, apply pressure until they break.

Except he miscalculated one thing.

I park behind the clubhouse, hands locked on the handlebars so tight the metal bends. Nova's in trouble. She won't let me help. Sees me as another threat instead of the monster who'd burn the world down to keep her safe.

She needs protection, whether she wants it or not.

Royce thinks he neutralized the MC threat by turning her against me.

Stupid fuck has no idea what he just unleashed.

I don't need her permission to hunt.