Page 27 of Property of Bones

“I’ll contact you when we’ve got a man on the inside,” Buckey says finally, voice tense with unspoken questions.

Spike gives him a nod. “Good. I’ll send one of our chapters to Mexico by the end of the week. Make room. And Buckey…if something happens to one of my men at the hands of one of yours, Dragones Dorados will be the least of your worries.”

We walk away, the tension hanging behind us like smoke from a fire we just started.

But I’m already deep in thought.

Max.

He didn’t just betray us, he shook the fucking foundation of everything we built. And now we’re chasing ghosts south of the border, trying to make sense of a man who turned his back… and then saved one of ours.

Doesn’t add up.

Not yet.

But it will.

And when it does?

I’ll be waiting. The question is, will I be waiting with a carving knife in my hand or an open seat at our table?

The meeting ends without blood, which is a miracle I don’t take lightly. We mount up, engines growling like a pack of wolves finally let off the leash. The ride back is smooth. Noshoot-out. No chase. Just the road and the weight of what’s coming.

My mind drifts like it always fucking does lately.

To her.

To Sunny.

That smile, soft and bright. The way she looks at me like I’m not broken. Like I’m not dangerous. Like I’m notBones.

But I am.

And she’s not for this life.

She’s color and light and honey-sweet laughter. I’m bloodstains, shadows, and silence.

Sooner or later, my world would bleed into hers.

And I won’t let that happen.

So I’ll keep my distance.

I’ll do the one thing that might still make me a decent man in this story.

I’ll walk away.

Even if it guts me.

Even if it kills me.

Because loving her? That’d be the most selfish thing I’ve ever done.

Chapter Eleven

Sunny

He’s gone. I know he is.

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