Page 69 of Rook
Ledger’s fingers froze mid-tap. Grim’s eyes darkened. Havoc muttered a curse. Fish’s head lifted slightly, the only sign he’d reacted at all.
Rook’s hand tightened on her knee, not painfully, but with a tension that vibrated through him like a live wire.
“You should’ve told me,” he said, voice low, rough, barely controlled.
Avery’s throat tightened. “I didn’t want to overreact. I thought I was tired. Or jumpy. Or…”
“You should’ve told me,” he repeated, softer but no less intense.
Stone stepped in before the tension could snap. “Avery, it’s good you said something now. It helps us understand the timeline.”
Ledger nodded. “It means they were watching before the break-in. That matters.”
Avery nodded, but her eyes stayed on Rook.
He wasn’t looking at her.
He was staring at the table, jaw clenched, shoulders tight, breathing slow and controlled, the way he breathed when he was holding something back.
Avery reached for his hand under the table.
He let her take it.
But he didn’t look at her.
Not yet.
Stone leaned back, folding his arms. “Which is why we’re not waiting for them to make the next move.”
Ledger tapped the map again. “We’ve already got scouts watching the county line. Cameras are going up at the bakery today. We’re tracking their routes, their known associates, their supply lines.”
Havoc grinned, all teeth. “And if they’re stupid enough to step foot near you again? We’ll handle it.”
Avery shivered, not from fear, but from the sheer force of the loyalty surrounding her.
Stone’s voice softened. “Avery, listen to me. The Reapers aren’t like us. They don’t have rules. They don’t have honor. They don’t protect their community, they exploit it.”
Grim nodded. “They run guns, drugs, extortion. They recruit kids. They burn out businesses that don’t pay.”
Ledger added, “And they’ve been trying to expand for years. We’ve kept them out. They don’t like that.”
Avery’s voice trembled. “So they’re… dangerous.”
Rook finally looked at her.
His eyes were dark, storm-gray, full of something fierce and unspoken.
“They’re not touching you,” he said, voice low, steady, absolute.
Her eyes met his, wide, scared, trusting.
Stone cleared his throat. “We’re not telling you this to scare you. We’re telling you because you deserve the truth. And because you’re not alone in this.”
Avery nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Rook leaned closer, his voice low enough only she could hear. “We’ll talk later.”
Her stomach flipped.
