Page 86 of Thunder's Reckoning
The scrape of Chain’s ring against the table was sharp in the stillness. “Where?”
Didn’t even think. Didn’t plan. The words ripped outta me before my brain caught up.
“My momma’s place.”
Every head turned.
“She’s got land, got distance,” I said, meetin’ Devil’s eyes. “Ain’t nobody gonna think to look there ‘less they’re already in our veins. Remote. Quiet. Family.”
“You sure?” Devil asked, his voice iron.
I gave a single nod. “I’ll keep ‘em there myself if I gotta.”
Silence stretched long enough for me to wonder what he was thinkin’, then Devil gave the slow dip of his chin. Final.
“Do it.”
Relief hit me jagged, but it didn’t sit easy.
“Gatsby an’ Kickstand are still digging,” Devil went on. “That mark, that circle of fire—we keep finding smoke but no fire. Lopez knows how to cover his tracks. He’s built his house like a goddamn fortress.”
Gatsby muttered, “It’s like looking for water in the desert. Cameras, guards, dogs. He builds walls for a reason.”
“Keep digging,” Devil ordered, eyes swingin’ back to me. “You stay with her. With the kids. Mystic, Horse, Wrath, they’ll handle The Pit.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” I said, heat crawlin’ up my spine. “But this don’t end with us shufflin’ her from one safehouse to another. Only way it ends is when I put him in the ground. I won’t have Sable lookin’ over her shoulder every damn day.”
The table went quiet again. Every man’s eyes on me, waitin’ for Devil.
He leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes burnin’ like live coals. “We handle it together. You ride out alone, you don’t come back. That’s not me spouting threats—that’s fact.”
I ground my teeth, fightin’ the growl risin’ in my throat, but I forced the nod.
“We keep her safe.”
Devil gave one sharp nod and smacked the gavel. “Church dismissed.”
Chairs scraped, boots scuffed, brothers filed out in low mutters. My pulse was still poundin’, my hands still itchin’ for a gun.
“Thunder.”
Devil’s voice cut through the noise, sharp as barbed wire. He didn’t wait. Just walked out the side door, and I followed.
The hall was cooler, darker. He stopped just past the war room doors, turned, and pinned me with that stare of his, red and hard.
“You’re thinking ‘bout riding after him yourself,” he said. Not a question.
I clenched my jaw. “Man like Gabrial don’t stop. We keep runnin’, he’ll keep comin’. Only way this ends is me plantin’ him six feet under.”
Devil stepped in close, hand landin’ heavy on my cut. “You hear me good, we do this as a club. You break ranks, you don’t just risk your hide. You risk her. The kids. Every damn one of us. And I’ll put you in the dirt myself before I let you drag us into war half-cocked.”
The words hit like a hammer to the chest.
“I’m not askin’ for special treatment,” I bit out. “But I can’t stand by while she looks over her shoulder every hour, wonderin’when he’s gonna come. You don’t see her face when she talks about him—”
Devil’s grip tightened on my vest. “No. But I seeyourface when you talk about her. That’s why you don’t ride this one solo. You’re too close. Too far gone.”
My chest burned, rage coiled hot, but I swallowed it. Forced a tight nod. “I’ll keep her safe.”
