Page 29 of Charging Dodge

I step in front of Hulk, trying to block Carter’s view of the ledger. “It’s fine, Carter,” I say, forcing a calm tone that doesn’t reach my eyes. “We’re just doing a sweep. Dodge wanted us to check the perimeter and make sure all the doors and windows were locked up tight.”

Carter isn’t buying it. He narrows his eyes, looking past me toward the front door. “You’re lying,” he accuses. His shoulders stiffen, shifting into a defensive stance that looks way too much like Dodge. “Something’s wrong. Is it about that man? The one who followed us?”

He takes a step closer, his eyes searching my face for the truth. I glance at Hulk, who stays quiet, a massive wall of silence behind me. I hate that I have to keep him in the dark. He’s already seen too much, but I can’t let him panic. “Go back to bed, Carter,” I urge, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

He flinches away, his expression hardening. “Stop treating me like a kid, Adalynn. I deserve to know what's going on.”

“Dodge will explain everything once he returns,” I say in a hushed tone. “Right now, I just need you to trust me. Go back in there and watch over Amelia and Noah. That's the most important job you have tonight.”

He fixes me with an intense look, torn between defiance and understanding. Letting out a sharp sigh, he reluctantly turns back to the room. “Fine,” he mutters under his breath. “But I'm not sleeping.”

As he vanishes inside, a heavy silence settles over the hall. I exhale slowly, releasing the tension knotted in my chest. That was far too close.

Hulk cocks his head, eyeing me curiously. “Why aren't you telling him the truth?”

“Because I don’t want the kids turning on each other,” I clarify.

“You're protecting them from each other,” Hulk says, but it sounds like he’s still trying to figure out why that is.

“In a way, yes, I am. We’re all each other has left, Hulk. Amelia doesn’t understand that she found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but Carter, he’s a hothead at times, and he’ll lose it if he thinks she’s the cause for us running for our lives. I need him to remain her guardian, that’s a role that gives him purpose. It gives him hope. And right now, that’s something we all need after what we’ve been through,” I explain.

“Okay. That's good, I guess.” He clears his throat, looking like he’s about to lay a bomb at my feet and I steady myself for the explosion. “You need to know something. Dodge isn't walking through that front door tonight.”

My heart stops. “What? Why not? He said he was coming home.”

Hulk shakes his head slowly. “Plans changed. The Snakes have been a thorn in his side for years. He told me he's not coming back until they're disbanded. Total eradication. He's going to tear that enterprise apart piece by piece.”

Disbanded. The word rings in my skull. It isn't just a hit. It's a war. I lean against the wall, feeling the plaster cool against my spine. I should be terrified. I am terrified. But under the fear, there’s something else. A grim, hard understanding. Dodge isn't the type to do things by halves. If he's finally going into the battle, he's not going to stop until he's won.

“How long?” I ask, my voice sounding hollow.

“As long as it takes,” Hulk conveys. He reaches out and grips my shoulder. “He's not just killing them, Adalynn. He's erasing them. He's going to burn every bridge, every contact, and every drop of profit they have. He wants the Winlaw Snakes to be nothing more than a bad memory by the time he rolls back in.”

I look down at the ledger Hulk is still holding. The black book. It's an ugly thing. It's the catalyst for all of this. If it wasn't for this tiny ledger you can hold in the palm of your hand, we might be miles away by now, lost in the noise of the city and starting our new lives. Instead, we're the eye of the storm.

“And he's going to do it all by himself?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

Hulk lets out a dry, rasping laugh. “Dodge? By himself? No. He's got the whole club with him. It's a full-scale purge. They're going to clean house, and they're going to make sure no one is left to come looking for us or this book again.”

I close my eyes. The image I paint in my mind is one featuring the warehouse, the fire, and the violence—it’s seared into my mind. I can see Dodge in the thick of it. I can see the look on his face. The cold, ruthless focus he gets when he's intent on solving a puzzle.

“I just want to know he's safe,” I whisper, the admission feeling dangerous.

Hulk looks at me, his eyes unreadable. “He's the deadliest man I know. He's safe. It's everyone else who needs to worry.”

I nod, trying to find some comfort in the words. It's not enough, but it's all I have. I have to believe him. I have to believe that Dodge is the monster in the dark who wins.

“Go back to the kids,” Hulk decrees, pulling away. “I'm going to finish sweeping the perimeter. Nobody gets in. Not tonight. Not ever.”

He pivots and strides toward the rear exit, his footsteps silent against the floorboards. “I'm sharing a roof with a spy,” I whisper, banging my head quietly against the drywall. “It’s like I’m in a scene of Mission Impossible.”

Left behind in the stillness of the hall, I’m the one holding the keys to the truth and shielding the little ones while Dodge goes out to paint the town in crimson. I inhale the heavy night air and retreat to the bedroom where the brood is tucked away.

I'm not running anymore.

I'm waiting.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO