Chapter Twenty-Seven
DEVIL SUMMONED EVERYONE to the war room, and normally I liked those meetings. Usually meant I already knew what we were walkin’ into. Usually meant I’d spent half the damn morning leanin’ in Devil’s doorway, talkin’ strategy while he sharpened that steady glare of his.
But I haven’t been in his office much lately.
Haven’t been anywhere except in my head… and Lark’s been sittin’ there—quiet, bright, settled in deep—like she owns the place.
I was still thinkin’ her name when the door opened.
Ash came in with Thunder trailing behind him, both of ’em cut from the same hard Southern stock.
Strong jaws, ice-blue eyes, carryin’ history on their shoulders like it was stitched into their bones.
First cousins or not, they could’ve passed for brothers.
Ash bein’ here meant one thing—the cult.
“How’s Lark doing?” Ash asked, pullin’ out the seat beside mine. “Heard she’s working for you now, but I haven’t caught her to say hey.”
My grip tightened under the table. Jealousy wasn’t a sharp thing—it was low, a slow pulse, sittin’ under my ribs like a angry dog. Ash knew her long before I did. Knew pieces of her past she’s not offered me yet.
“She’s damn good,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Handles the bar like she was born to it.”
Ash nodded, thoughtful. “Good. Girl’s tough as nails, but I still worry.”
Thunder let out a short laugh. “Ain’t gotta. Chain’s takin’ real good care of her.”
He shot me a smirk that landed like a nudge to a bruise. Ash raised an eyebrow, a question flickerin’ before it could settle.
Then Devil walked in, and the room shifted clean around him.
He sat at the head of the table, elbows planted, stare cuttin’ through every man there. “We got a problem,” Devil said, his voice quiet and cold—too cold. “It’s possible we’ve got ourselves a rat.”
The words hit like a slap of cold water.
“What the hell?” I snapped. “You sure?”
A chorus of curses answered with mine. Any man in this room would rather take a bullet than breathe the same air as a rat.
“Kickstand hacked into one of Gabrial’s emails,” Devil continued. “There was mention of information coming from inside the clubhouse.”
Thunder leaned forward. “Could it have been Lena? She still hasn’t shown her face.”
Ash shook his head. “If she trusted Gabrial, she was a damn fool. He’d have silenced her the second she stopped being useful.”
Mystic grunted. “She wasn’t around enough to know anything worth tradin’. I always figured someone was feedin’ Chelsea shit, but we were neck-deep in hell back then. Hard to sort truth from smoke.”
Devil scanned the table, jaw set. “I want eyes open, ears to the ground. Clubhouse, businesses, allies, enemies. Something in my gut’s twisting wrong, and I’m not about to ignore it.”
The air thickened. Somethin’ in my gut twisted, too. Low. Slow. Like danger had already walked through the front door and was sittin’ somewhere in the damn walls.
Ash cleared his throat. “What’d you need from me?”
“Chain said Lark thought she saw an old boyfriend,” Devil said, turnin’ that stare on me. “Chain was with her. Tell him.”
Every muscle in my back tightened. Lark’s fear still painted itself in the back of my mind.
“She thinks she saw a man named Zach,” I said. “Says they were caught together once. Says he was burned… died. But she swears it looked like him.”
Ash stiffened. “I knew Zach. They were close. I only heard about it, but I didn’t see it happen. Maybe she saw someone with the same build. But trust me if Zach was caught… yeah, punishment would’ve been severe.”
Devil leaned back just a fraction. “I want confirmation. Check your old sources.”
Ash nodded once. “I’ll handle it.”
Thunder slammed his palm down, rattlin’ the damn table. “What if the ones rebuildin’ that cult want their women back? What if they want Sable and the kids?”
A cold, raw anger sliced through me at the thought.
“It’s possible,” Ash admitted. “Malik is next in line. Gabrial’s blood. Zara could be of value too.”
“Over my dead goddamn body,” Thunder snarled.
“Alright,” Devil said. “Keep Sable and the kids close. And Chain—” His eyes landed on me, heavy as a hand to the chest. “You watch Lark.”
He didn’t have to say like you already are. It was right there—quiet, sure, knowin’.
“That’s all for today,” Devil said, pushin’ back from the table. “Someone find me a rat to bring to the round barn. It’s been too damn long since it’s seen use.”
Chairs scraped. Men filed out. The air tasted different now—taut, sour, like the threat wasn’t comin’. Like it was here.
I rose from my seat, but Devil’s voice caught me.
“Chain. Hold up.”
Ash and Thunder paused in the doorway but Devil flicked two fingers—out. They listened.
When the room emptied he fixed me with a stare that had weight to it. “You good?” Devil asked.
“Fine,” I said too fast, too soft.
“Bullshit.” He leaned back in his chair, studyin’ me. “You haven’t been by my office in days. Your head’s somewhere else.”
My jaw worked. “I’m watchin’ her. That’s all.”
“That’s not all,” Devil said quietly. “And I’m not telling you to stop. Lark needs someone like you. She trusts you. But I need you focused right now. Something bad is moving our way.”
I felt that truth settle deep—like footsteps behind me in the dark.
“You think whoever Lark saw was real?”
Devil didn’t answer at first. Then he replied, “I think danger’s looking our way,” he said. “And the woman distracting you might be right in the center of it.”
A deep burn lit in my gut. Danger close. Lark too exposed. And the cult’s not a ghost after all. I nodded once. “I’ll handle it.”
“Good,” Devil said. “Because my gut’s never wrong. And this time, the trouble feels personal.”