Page 68 of His Fury

Asshole…

I checked in with Jayden, who was at The Grand, ensuring she was okay. He told me the meeting was about the number of yurts to build on The Grand’s land. I pitied him for havingto listen to that shit. I thought about what Isla had teased. Jaydenwasa good-looking guy, and I thought about it some more. Would it be too obvious if I replaced him?

You’re being an idiot.Yeah, I knew that too.

I watched the club floor for another ten minutes, watching as the event wound down and the cleanup commenced, subtly so as not to disturb the lingering guests from the party—low-key and controlled.

Control.

I’d built everything around it. No surprises. No missteps. No attachments.

And then? All three had walked through my door in the form of one woman. And still—I’d take it. I’d take every risk that came with her.

Because Isla Wells filled the silence.

My phone rang, disrupting my thoughts, and when I answered, Rye’s voice came through.

“You need to see this.”

“What is it?”

He didn’t answer.

I sighed and pushed away from the desk, grabbing my jacket. As I stepped out of the office and into the hall, Rye was already there, on his way back, holding a slim black tablet.

“Delaney’s crew,” he said simply, flipping the screen toward me.

The footage was paused on a still image—a grainy security camera shot outside Elixir’s alleyway entrance. Three men. Not ours.

And not randoms.

I stared at them, my jaw tightening. “What the fuck are they doing here?”

Rye’s mouth was a thin line. “Could be nothing. Could be a message.”

“They’re not stupid enough to come into my territory uninvited unless they want to be seen.”

He nodded. “That’s what I thought too.”

I looked closer. All three men had that casual alertness. Like they were watching. Waiting.

“Did they try to get in?”

“No. They didn’t step past the alley. Stood there for five minutes. One lit a cigarette. One looked straight into the camera. Then they left.”

“They wanted us to notice.”

“Exactly.”

I looked down at the tablet again. My thumb hovered over the image. A slow burn started in my chest.

I thought it was too soon for this. Julian’s screwup had opened cracks in the foundation, and I had yet to start patching them, but I was planning a very painful death for Patrick.

I handed the tablet back to Rye. “Don’t engage yet, but start tightening things. No more open walk-ins. Run IDs and inventory every movement.”

Rye’s jaw ticked. “What about Isla?”

I didn’t answer right away. He didn’t push. But I saw the question in his eyes.

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