Page 44 of Property of Legend

Word spread faster than a damn wildfire through the clubhouse.We got a rat.And in my world?That ain’t just a problem.That’s a death sentence.

Next thing I know, we’re holed up in the war room, used to be a holding cell back when this place was still the county jail.Now it’s where the Kings deal out our own kind of justice.Ain’t no bars on the windows anymore, just concrete walls, bad lighting, and the kind of silence that makes grown men sweat.

Critter’s in the hot seat, lookin’ like he’s two seconds from pissin’ himself.Pale, twitchy, damn near vibrating with fear.Bullet’s posted behind him, arms folded, his knife’s hilt tapping steady against his leg like a countdown.

“Talk,” I say, voice flat as a grave.“Now.”

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, Legend,” Critter blurts, eyes dartin’ like a damn rabbit.“They got me outside the feed store in Elk Ridge.Said they knew who I was.Said they’d hurt my little sister if I didn’t…”

“That’s cute,” I cut in, slow and cold.“Because what you did?That don’t look like fear.That looks like betrayal.”

He flinches.“They wanted info on Sophie.Where she stays.Who watches the house.Layout of the land.Where we’re posted.I didn’t give 'em everything, I swear.”

I start pacing.That familiar rage builds in my gut, black and biting.I circle him slow, eyes locked on him like a predator.

“You gave themenough,” I growl.“Enough to take a shot at her.Enough to get people killed.That makes you mine now.You understand me?If Sophie eventhinksabout bleeding, I’ll make what they threatened look like a damn love letter.”

Critter’s shaking, eyes wide.“Please… I didn’t want this…”

The door slams open.Oaks storms in, phone still in hand, look hard enough to break bone.

“We got a problem,” he says, no preamble.

“Bigger than this sorry bastard?”Bullet asks, voice like broken glass.

Oaks nods once.“The Depraved Sinners lit up our safehouse outside Lexington.Left a patch nailed to a goddamn tree.”

My hands curl into fists.

“They’re done hiding,” Oaks finishes.“This is war.”

The room shifts.Tension hardens into something solid.Rye spits on the floor.Royal steps in, already lacing up his gloves.Everyone’s locked in.No more posturing.This is it.

“Gear up,” I bark.“We ride now.But this rat?”I jerk my chin at Critter.“Strip his patch.He’s done.”I take out my marker and go to him, write the letters across his sweaty forehead.

D.O.N.E.

Bullet yanks him up like dead weight.Critter’s begging now, but I ain’t listening.“I’ve got somethin’ you boys want.Give me another chance…”

I don’t waste energy on weakness.

Not when there’s a war coming.

Chapter 25

Sophie

The quiet in the farmhouse is deceiving.It used to be peaceful here, the chirp of cicadas, the rustle of wind through the bluegrass, horses snorting softly in the barns.But now it’s the kind of quiet that comes before a storm.A kind you can taste in the air.

James corners me in the kitchen, arms crossed like he’s about to lay down the law.His expression’s tight enough to snap wire.

“You’re really doing this?”he snaps.“Letting those...criminals turn Paradise Falls into a war zone?”

“They’re protecting me,” I say, calm but sharp.“And if you cared half as much as you pretend, you’d be helping instead of throwing a tantrum.”

His eyes narrow.“You’re falling for him.”

I arch a brow.“That supposed to scare me?”

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