Page 160 of Crave
Gabe moved first, his voice low and careful. “Unless he saw something.”
Silas’ head snapped up. “What?”
Gabe’s expression darkened. “What if all this wasn’t about him?”
A sharp silence fell over the group.
My pulse spiked, my hands curling into fists as I forced myself to breathe evenly.
Silas’ gaze narrowed, his thoughts running too fast for the rest of us to keep up.
Gabe kept going, his voice controlled but deliberate. “What if they took him because he saw something he wasn’t supposed to?”
A heavy pause.
Something shifted in the room, something dangerous.
Theo let out a slow, measured breath. “If that’s true, then what the fuck did he see?”
No one had an answer.
The weight of the realization pressed down, suffocating. It wasn’t just that Penn was gone—it was why he was gone.
This wasn’t a demand.
This wasn’t about leverage.
This was a message.
I glanced around the warehouse, to the men armed with guns and a savage look of survival. And suddenly, it was obvious.
They hadn’t taken Penn because they wanted him.
They had taken him because they wanted us to know they could.
“We should contact London St. James.” Jude murmured.
There was a beat of silence.
I turned toward Jude, barely suppressing my surprise. He’d always been the least vocal of the brothers, but when he spoke, everyone listened.
Even Silas.
Especially Silas.
Theo let out a sharp laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
Jude arched a brow. “We need resources. Manpower. Someone who knows how to move outside the Cartel’s reach.” He shrugged. “We’re running out of options.”
A slow, creeping unease settled in my stomach.
Because he wasn’t wrong. London St. James—the man who destroyed the Order, moved in circles of power even beyond our family’s reach—could help us.
And yet…
There was something about the way Jude suggested it. Something in the way his fingers flexed at his sides. Excitement.
I saw it. Felt it.
