Chapter 25
Rook
The clubhouse hallway felt too long.
Every step away from his room felt like peeling himself away from Avery’s warmth, her scent on his skin, the imprint of her body still lingering against his.
He’d barely closed the door behind him before the ache hit, sharp, unwelcome, and terrifying.
He’d never had something to lose before.
Now he did.
And the Reapers knew it.
He shoved the thought down and pushed into the main room. The brothers were already gathering, voices low, tension thick in the air. Stone stood near the Church door, arms crossed, jaw tight.
“Rook,” he said. “Inside.”
Rook nodded and stepped into the meeting room — Church — the inner sanctum, the war room, the place where decisions were made and blood was promised.
The heavy door shut behind them.
The room fell silent.
Stone took his seat at the head of the table.
Rook dropped into the chair to his right — VP position.
Grim, Ledger, Havoc, Fish, and the rest of the patched members filled in around them.
Fish didn’t say a word, just watched Rook with that steady, unreadable gaze that always seemed to see more than anyone else in the room.
Stone didn’t waste time. “Reapers crossed a line,” he said. “And they did it on purpose.”
Rook’s jaw flexed. “They didn’t just cross a line. They pushed into our county and went straight for her door. That’s not random. That’s a message.”
Stone nodded. “Exactly.”
Ledger slid a stack of printed photos onto the table. “We pulled the camera footage from the bakery. Two Reapers. Masks. Hoodies. But we got their bikes.”
He tapped the images; two grainy shots of motorcycles parked in the alley.
“Plates are fake,” Ledger continued. “But the bikes aren’t. One’s a custom build out of Birmingham. The other’s registered to a known Reaper associate.”
Grim cracked his knuckles. “So we hunt.”
Stone held up a hand. “We don’t go in blind.”
Rook leaned forward. “Then let’s get eyes on their clubhouse.”
Havoc grinned. “I volunteer.”
Stone shook his head. “Too obvious. They know our faces.”
Ledger cleared his throat. “I’ve been tracking their movement patterns. They’ve been circling the county line for weeks. Small hits. Testing boundaries. But yesterday? That was a message.”
Rook’s voice dropped. “It was a threat.”
Stone met his eyes. “At you.”
Rook didn’t flinch. “Through her.”
The room went quiet.
Grim spoke first. “They think she’s a weakness.”
Rook’s hands curled into fists. “She’s not.”
Fish finally spoke, voice low but certain. “Then we make sure they learn that fast.”
Ledger tapped the map projected on the wall. “We’ve identified three Reaper hangouts. One bar. One warehouse. One abandoned mill they’ve been using for meets.”
Havoc leaned back. “So we hit all three.”
Stone shook his head. “Not yet. We need intel. We need leverage. We need to know why they’re pushing into our territory now.”
Rook’s voice was low, dangerous. “Because they saw me with her.”
Stone didn’t deny it.
“They’re trying to get under your skin,” he said. “Trying to make you reckless.”
Rook’s jaw tightened. “It’s working.”
Havoc smirked. “Good. Reckless Rook is fun.”
Stone shot him a look. “We’re not burning down half the county.”
Havoc muttered, “Yet.”
Ledger cleared his throat. “We need a plan. A real one.”
Stone nodded. “We’re going to choke them out. Cut their supply lines. Hit their money. Hit their contacts. Make it impossible for them to operate here.”
Grim grinned. “Starve the rats.”
“Exactly,” Stone said. “And while we do that, Avery stays here. Protected. Watched. Safe.”
Rook’s chest tightened. “She won’t like being locked down.”
Stone shrugged. “She’ll like being alive.”
Rook didn’t argue.
He couldn’t.
Stone leaned forward, voice dropping. “Rook. You’re too close to this. I need you clear-headed.”
Rook met his eyes. “I’m clear.”
Stone raised a brow. “Are you?”
Rook didn’t blink. “I know what I’m doing.”
Stone studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “Good. Because you’re leading this.”
The room stilled.
Rook’s pulse kicked hard. “Me?”
“You’re VP,” Stone said. “And they came after your girl. You know how they think. You know how they move. You know what they want.”
Rook swallowed hard. “They want a foothold.”
Stone nodded. “And we’re going to make damn sure they never get one.”
Havoc slammed his fist on the table. “Let’s end this.”
Grim cracked his neck. “Been waiting for a fight.”
Ledger adjusted his glasses. “I’ll prep the intel.”
Stone stood. “We move tonight.”
Rook rose with him, adrenaline burning through his veins.
But beneath the fury, beneath the strategy, beneath the club business…
There was Avery.
In his room. Wrapped in his blanket. Trusting him to come back.
Stone clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Go check on her. We’ll brief again at six.”
Rook nodded and headed for the door.
But before he stepped out, Stone called after him.
“Rook.”
Rook turned.
Stone’s expression softened, barely. “Don’t let them use her against you.”
Fish nodded once, slow and deliberate. “They’ll try, Rook. Men like that always do.”
Rook’s voice was quiet, steady, lethal. “They won’t get the chance.”
He walked out of Church with one thought burning through him:
He’d end the Reapers before they ever touched anything of his again.