Page 84 of 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.
Chapter 26
Avery
Avery had never seen the clubhouse like this.
Not loud. Not chaotic. Not full of laughter or teasing or Havoc’s ridiculous commentary.
This was different.
This was focused. Sharp. Purposeful.
The Saints were preparing for something big, and she could feel it in the air like static before a storm.
Rook had left Church an hour ago, jaw tight, eyes darker than she’d ever seen them. He’d kissed her forehead, told her to stay in his room, and disappeared down the hall with Stone and Grim.
But Avery couldn’t sit still. She needed to see. Needed to understand. Needed to know what theywere walking into. So she stepped out quietly and followed the low hum of voices to the main room.
What she found made her stop in the doorway.
The Saints were gathered around the long table: maps spread out, photos pinned down with beer bottles, laptops open, weapons laid out for cleaning and inspection.
It wasn’t chaotic. It was organized. Every man had a role. Every man knew it.
Ledger was at the head of the table, typing rapidly, screens filled with maps, routes, and surveillance footage. He looked like he was running a military operation.
Grim was checking weapons, not in a threatening way, but with the calm efficiency of someone who’d done this a thousand times. He cleaned each piece with methodical precision, setting them aside in neat rows.
Havoc was pacing, muttering to himself, occasionally stopping to point at the map and say something that made Grim roll his eyes.
Fish stood near the far end of the table, arms folded, gaze steady. He wasn’t talking, he rarely did, but he was watching everything. Tracking movement. Reading the room. Seeing things no one else noticed.
Stone stood at the center, commanding the room without raising his voice. He gave orders, asked questions, redirected conversations — the calm in the middle of the storm.
And Rook…
Rook was leaning over the table, one hand braced on the wood, the other pointing at a cluster of red markers on the map. His voice was low, steady, controlled, but Avery could hear the fury beneath it.
She stepped closer.
Stone noticed her first. “Avery.”
Every head turned.
Rook straightened immediately, crossing the room in three long strides. “You shouldn’t be out here.”
She swallowed. “I wanted to see.”
