Page 17

T he sun is setting, casting a fiery glow over the club as they prepare for tonight. The hacker has arrived and has given me instructions on what I need to do for him to access the system. Now, we just wait for night to fall, so we can go in and try to pull off a plan that could go wrong in so many different ways.

But if it goes right, then this is all finally over.

Kael stands beside me, his expression calm and reassuring, like everything is just another day, like I’m not about to risk everything. I know I hurt him, doing what I did, because he is one person I have grown closer to outside of Talon. But, at the same time, I can see he has a newfound respect for me after I told them what I was willing to do.

“Here,” he says, handing me a small knife. It’s tiny, barely the size of his palm, but sharp and deadly. “You can hide it easily, put it down your boot, up your sleeve, anywhere you can.”

“Thanks,” I say, taking it and feeling the cold steel against my skin. “What if they search me?”

He ponders that for a moment, then uses his finger and indicates that I lift my shirt. Confused, I do as he asks and he reaches forward, pulling my jeans out just slightly before taking the knife from my hand. He cuts the fabric on the inside of my jeans, right where the material is thickest, and slips the knife in the little slot he made. “There, doubt they will check the inside of your pants.”

My brows go up. “That’s genius. Where did you come up with that?”

He grins. “Not the first time I’ve hidden a weapon.”

I smile, just slightly.

I have been wanting a moment with Kael since this all went down, to ask him about what Talon told him before he left. It is playing on my mind, like a bad movie rewinding and beginning again. I need to know why Talon decided to do this, mostly, I need to know what he said.

“What did Talon say when he left?” I ask, my eyes meeting Kael’s.

Kael crosses his arms. “Not sure we should get into that one, darlin’.”

“Please.”

He mutters a curse. “Said he was goin’ in to get the kid, so that you could leave and he wouldn’t have to see you again.”

The words hit like a physical blow, and I swallow hard, trying not to let it show.

I knew it, deep down, but hearing it... God .

“Ouch,” I murmur.

“Let me finish,” he goes on, “he wasn’t sayin’ that because he doesn’t care, he was sayin’ it because he cares too much. Talon is in love with you, I’d bet my life on it, and you hurt him. You hurt him real fuckin’ deep. The only way he knows to get that pain away, is to get away from you, but that ain’t really what he wants.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I fucked up.”

Kael nods. “Yeah, you did. But you’re a good person, Nia. Give him time.”

“I think he’s gone for good.”

Kael shakes his head, a slow, knowing smile on his lips. “Nah, darlin’. He’s got it bad, he won’t stay away long.”

I want to believe him, but I wonder if I have pushed too far.

“Now, you ready for this?” Kael asks, his eyes searching mine. “We’re gonna get them out. We’re gonna end this.”

“I’m ready,” I say, my voice steady. “I can’t wait for the moment my father is exposed to the world. Everything he has ever done, it will be out there. He won’t be able to hide, and that is worth every fucking second.”

Kael nods, a grin spreading across his face. “Atta girl.”

“Hey, Kael?”

“Yeah?”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I made a mistake, but I promise I never wanted anyone in the club to get hurt. I just...I wanted to protect Lily. I know I messed up, but I need you to know that you have become someone I really care about. Before I go in there, before whatever happens, happens, I just needed you to know.”

His eyes flash, and he reaches forward, curling a hand around the back of my neck and pulling me closer. “Appreciate that, darlin’. Need you to come out of there alive, yeah?”

I smile, but it’s shaky. “Yeah. I’ll try.”

A low whistle sounds, and I see Wolfe motioning us over, the club gathered and waiting. “Time to move,” he calls, his voice carrying over the noise. “Let’s do this.”

My heart pounds as I follow Kael, the weight of the knife a small comfort against the fear that’s rising inside me. We’re doing this. We’re really doing this. We load into the trucks, the engines rumbling to life, the tension thick and electric. I sit in the back, wedged between Mera and Kael, my mind racing with everything that could go wrong, everything that could go right.

Now is not the moment for hesitation. Right now, I need the kind of strength that is unwavering. I need to go in there with the confidence I had when I waved that gun in my father’s face. Only this time, I don’t plan on leaving without destroying him first.

I will bring them down, every last one of them.

I swear it on everything I hold dear.

If it costs me my life, then so be it.

It will all be worth it if it means dragging my father down from his fucking high horse.

That reckoning will be worth absolutely everything.

THE CROPS ARE TALLER than I remember, corn stalks like brittle fingers clawing at the sky. I crouch low, my heart pounding in my ears, telling myself this will work, that I’ll pull this off. I am just reaching the corner of the compound, where I know I can get in, when I see a dark shadow.

There, standing by the fence, is Talon.

I could cry with relief, knowing he hasn’t gone in yet, but at the same time that means telling him the plan. He might hate me right now, but I know he won’t be happy when he finds out what we have planned. I was hoping he would already be in there, and he wouldn’t get the chance to argue.

"Nia?" His voice is disbelieving, then sharp, like the crack of a whip. "What the fuck—"

"We have a plan. The club is in on it," I say quickly, before I lose my nerve. He lowers the gun. “It is something that will save all of us. Then, I’ll be out of your hair before you know it. It’s the only way, Talon.”

“Tell me,” he growls.

I tell him the plan, from start to finish, then I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction. He stares at me, his face impassive, and I want to scream. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He is impossible to read. The gun hangs at his side, his other hand clenched into a fist.

"You're not goin’ in there. No fuckin’ way.”

I cross my arms, pushing my chin out. "You don't get a choice, Talon. I'm doing this."

"Like hell you are," he growls, voice low and lethal. "They'll see you coming. They'll—"

"I know what they'll do," I cut in, my voice shaking but strong. The memories flash through me—the cross, mostly. "But this isn't just about me. I owe it to the club. To Lily."

He closes the space between us in two strides, and for a moment, I think he might grab me and haul me out of here. If he does, I’m not certain I can stop him. But he stops short, his breath harsh in the quiet, his presence a wall of fury and fear I can almost touch. "This isn't a fucking game, Nia. You could die."

My heart is pounding. "I know," I whisper. "But with or without your help, I’m going in. I owe them this...I owe you this.”

His eyes, those perfectly mismatched eyes, lock onto mine with an intensity that makes me want to look away, to run. But I don't. I stand there, trembling but unyielding, while the silence stretches between us.

“He’ll fuckin’ kill you.”

“He can try, but if this works, it will all be over. Isn’t that what you want? Me gone? That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

He doesn’t say anything for a long time. Just stares at me, his face tight. Then, finally, he nods, a single dip of his chin. “Can see I don’t get a fuckin’ choice. We’ll do this, but if I see him even attempt to hurt you, I’m comin’ back. I will kill every last one of them, do you fuckin’ hear me?”

Something about his words makes my heart swell.

Maybe Kael is right.

I nod. Our eyes stay locked.

I need to ask him one more thing before I do this, even though I know he won’t like it. “Talon, if...if anything happens to me. If we can’t both get out, or if something goes wrong—” My throat closes up, and I have to force the words out. “Promise me you’ll make sure Lily is safe. That she goes to someone who loves her.”

“Do not fuckin’ say that to me, Nia,” he rasps, and the hard expression on his face finally falls away enough for me to see the man behind it, the man I have fallen in love with.

“Talon,” I whisper. “Please. I need this.”

He doesn’t answer for a long moment, his face unreadable.

“I promise,” he growls, low.

We’re quiet for a moment, the weight of that promise settling in. I can see wheels turning in his mind, strategies, a map of danger and escape routes. It’s the kind of meticulous planning that’s kept him alive this long, and for the first time, I’m grateful for the darkness that’s shaped him.

“There is one more thing,” I say.

His eyes meet mine.

“I’m sorry. It’s worth nothing, I know, but I am sorry. I need you to know I never wanted anyone to get hurt. When you see her, when you hear her little voice, I know you’ll understand.”

A low growl leaves his throat, and he steps forward, curling his hand around the back of my neck and pulling me against him. His lips close over mine and he kisses me with an intensity that makes my knees buckle. Releasing me, he keeps his face close as he growls, “Do not fuckin’ die on me, you hear?”

I swallow and nod. “I’ll try.”

He steps back. “Let’s do this.”

Yes, let's.