Chapter 34
Phoenix
I stayed in the loft with Elyna and Braden who was fast asleep , until her shoulders dropped against me, and the lines of tension in her face softened. When she finally drifted off, I eased my arm from under her and laid her gently on the futon, tucking the throw over her.
For a long minute I just stood there, staring at the soft rise and fall of her chest, the faint glow from the baby monitor, the orchard lights blinking through the window like beacons. My phone was still warm in my hand from Becket’s last text.
Two unknowns from Montreal.
The cold, quiet part of me, the one I’d spent years pretending I didn’t have was awake now.
I slipped down the stairs and walked straight over to the brewery, the smell of hops and malt grounding me.
Dominic had already left, the lights dimmed.
I ducked into my office, shut the door, and called my father.
He answered on the second ring. “You with Elyna?”
“She’s at the loft. Braden’s asleep. I’m at the brewery in my office.” My voice was low, steady. “Harmony called Elyna tonight and told her about some men outside her building in Montreal, asking questions about Marcel.”
A beat of silence on the line was followed by Dad’s voice, his tone hard as stone. “Becket told me. They’re looking for leverage.”
“Or a weak link.” I leaned against the desk, eyes on the security feeds. “They’ve got two cars near Route 12. Becket’s got patrol eyes on them.”
“They’re sniffing,” Dad said. “Testing. They’ll keep pushing until they think they’ve found a crack.”
“Not here.”
“No,” he agreed. “We won’t let them near her.”
A pause.
I heard him blow out a slow breath. “Bellerose called his daughter?”
“Apparently, it was the first time in years. He told her to come home and she refused.”
“That’s smart,” Dad muttered. “Marcel’s got his own mess. If they’re circling him, they’ll circle her too. She’s safer in the city with distance than she is walking back into his shadow.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “He’s losing control, Dad. That’s why he wants her close. It sounds like he wants to protect her. If these men see her as his weak link, then she may be in trouble.”
“That’s why we need to keep our eyes open,” Dad said. “This isn’t just about Riley anymore. This is about outside sharks moving in on our town.”
“Elyna said Nico Mercier texted her too and warned her that her dad is laying low,” I added. “Her and Nico were dating in . . .”
“I remember,” he sighed. “Then she started dating Eric.” I heard the hurt in Dad’s tone. I remembered when Eric started to date Harmony, the daughter of the head of a criminal ring in our hometown where our dad was responsible for laying down the law.
Footsteps creaked outside my office, putting me on guard. Becket came in without knocking, a folder under his arm, his expression grim but composed. I blew out a breath.
“Got a minute?”
“Yeah.” I ended the call with Dad, promising to check in again after the patrol update.
Becket set the folder on the desk and flipped it open.
Photos. Printouts. Snapshots of two men leaning against a car outside a gas station, hoodies up.
A third man at the back door of a bar in town, cigarette glowing between his fingers.
“All the plates are registered under Montreal addresses. They’re asking around the poker games,” Becket said.
“And Marcel Bellerose is pissed about it. His guys are edgy. That’s when people make mistakes. ”
I stared at the photos; my jaw tight. “So we’ve got a Montreal gang sniffing at the edges, and Bellerose’s crew bristling on the inside.”
“Exactly.” Becket’s tone was flat. “And Riley’s the idiot who opened the door.”
I shoved a hand through my hair. “If these guys think they can use Harmony as a bargaining chip . . .”
“We’ll keep an eye on her from our end. I’ve already pinged a friend in the Montreal precinct to swing by her building at random hours. Unmarked car. She won’t even know.”
Some of the tension in my shoulders eased, but not much. “Good. Do we tell Eric about Harmony?” he asked.
My gaze locked on his. “That’s a terrible idea. Don’t mention her name around him.”
Eric and Harmony dated in high school for a brief amount of time.
The whole family had been up in arms with a police director’s son dating the local gangster’s daughter.
Eric took off for a while after high school like I had done.
Harmony left Val-Du-Lys about the same time.
He never spoke of her again and it was better that way.
“You’re right,” Becket agreed. “That’s the last thing Eric needs,” he said then paused, watching me in that scrutinizing Becket way like he was trying to get inside my head. “You’re not just worried about Harmony.”
“No,” I admitted. “I’m worried about Elyna. About Braden. About this town.”
He nodded, like he’d expected that answer. “Then we do what we always do. We tighten the perimeter, we watch the roads, and we don’t blink first.”
I thought about Elyna upstairs, her head on my shoulder, whispering This town was supposed to be safe.
“This isn’t going to touch them,” I said quietly.
Becket’s eyes softened a fraction. “Then you’re going to have to trust us to do our job.”
I didn’t answer. Trust had never been my problem. Sitting was.
Becket closed the folder and straightened. “We’ll know more after tonight. Montreal crew’s making noise at The Frosted Mug. Our guys will blend in, listen. You should stay put.”
“I’m not leaving them alone,” I said.
“Didn’t think you would.” He reached for the door, then paused. “And, Phoenix?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing right by her.”
I swallowed hard, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. “Trying.”
He gave me a short nod and left, his footsteps fading down the hall.
I sat back at the desk, staring at the photos one more time. My phone buzzed with another motion alert from the loft camera. Just Elyna shifting in her sleep, Braden turning over in his crib.
I shut the folder, turned off the light, and walked back to the loft. I started to wonder why we were staying in the loft when I had a big house all to myself. I hadn’t slept there in months because I wanted to be close to Elyna. But was now the time to suggest she move into my home?
When I stepped back into the loft, the warmth hit me like a wave. Elyna was still curled on the futon, one hand resting near Braden’s monitor, as if even in sleep she was guarding him.
I knelt beside her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Her lashes fluttered, but she didn’t wake.
“You’re safe,” I murmured, more to myself than to her. “I’ll make sure of it.”
The cameras blinked outside the window. Somewhere out in the dark, men were making moves they thought were clever.
But they hadn’t met our family, our resolve was thick. If they thought they could drag Harmony back into this town as leverage, or scare Elyna into running again, they were about to learn what it meant to push too far.