Page 98 of Monk

What the hell?

Blackjack came up beside me, his voice low and dry. “She pissed?”

“Apparently,” I muttered, though that didn’t come close to covering whatever the hell that was.

“Can’t say I blame her,” Whisper said as he fell into place on my other side. “You got arrested at your own claiming ceremony. That’s not exactly a strong start.”

I shot him a hard look. “Not helping.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Just saying.”

Across the street, Lina unlocked her car, slid behind the wheel, and shut the door without once looking back at me. A second later, the engine turned over. Then she pulled away from the curb and disappeared into traffic like she couldn’t get gone fast enough.

The ache in my chest came back hard enough to feel physical.

Sharp. Immediate. Mean.

Fuck.

I thought we were past this.

Thought after everything I told her—everything she said back, the way she looked at me, the way she touched me like she wasn’t afraid of what she’d find—we were finally standing on solid ground.

But maybe I’d been wrong.

Maybe a few days apart had done what it always did—burned the lies away and left only the truth.

And the truth was this:

Being with me meant danger.

Secrets.

Blood in the walls.

A life built on things she couldn’t control and probably couldn’t survive without losing pieces of herself.

Maybe she had finally seen that clearly.

Maybe she was already pulling away before I could drag her any deeper into it.

“Come on.”

Kansas’ voice cut through my thoughts like a blade.

I turned and found him standing by his bike, his expression carved into something grim and unreadable. No trace of relief. No trace of victory. Just tension, hard and heavy, hanging off him like smoke.

“Church?” I asked.

“Officers only,” he said. “Now.”

No explanation. No room for one.

Just that same hard tone that said something bad was already in motion.

I nodded once, swallowing down the frustration and confusion clawing at my throat. Then I swung a leg over my bike, fired the engine, and followed my brothers away from the courthouse.

Away from Lina.