تسجيل الدخولChapter 127: Coffee and OathsThe coffee in Silas Slade’s office was strong enough to strip paint.Nico decided he respected that immediately.The room sat just off the garage, half office and half refuge, with old club plaques on the walls, a worn leather couch, and a heavy desk that looked like it had survived more than one argument. The desert light came in through the blinds in narrow gold bars, cutting across the wood floor and the mismatched mugs sitting on the table between them.Silas sat with the easy posture of a man who had already decided nobody in the room was worth rushing for.Rebecca Slade, though, carried herself differently.Ravenna’s mother had the same high cheekbones and sharp nose Nico had noticed in his first glance at the family resemblance, but there was a softer authority to her than Silas’s rough-edged calm. She had Ravenna’s eyes too, only older, wiser, and less willing to hide what she was thinking behind sarcasm. She looked like a woman who could smile wa
Chapter 96: Silas SladeSilas Slade made an entrance the way some men entered a room and others entered a legend.He came in from the side office behind the garage, wiping his hands on a rag, the desert light catching the sharp lines of his face as if it had been waiting for him there. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and built with the kind of quiet strength that came from years of holding a world together without needing applause for it.Nico saw the resemblance to Ravenna immediately.The same black hair, glossy even in the fading light.The same eyes.Not just the color, but the look in them—watchful, alert, harder than they appeared at first glance.And the same unmistakable sense that if you mattered to him, he would protect you with the full weight of his life.Ravenna’s father.The leader of the Iron Fang Motorcycle Club.Silas Slade.Nico straightened without meaning to.Ravenna noticed and smirked.“Relax,” she murmured. “He’s only a little terrifying.”“That’s not helping.”
Chapter 94: Reunion at Iron FangThe Silverado rolled into the Iron Fang Motorcycle Club yard just as the last wash of daylight turned the desert copper and gold.Nico could see it all at once through the windshield—the rows of bikes, the wide open lot, the low buildings baked by sun and dust, the riders clustered near the garage and main hall like they’d already started deciding what kind of night this was going to be. There was noise everywhere: engines ticking as they cooled, the low murmur of men talking, a radio somewhere playing too softly to identify.And then Ravenna saw them.She came out of the garage with a rag in one hand, dark hair pulled back, grease still on her fingers, and the expression on her face changed the instant she spotted the truck. First sharp focus. Then something warmer. Wilder.“Elara,” she called, already moving.Elara had barely put the truck in park before Ravenna was there at the driver’s side door, yanking it open with enough force to make Nico smirk
Chapter 93: WestboundThe road out of Houston stretched long and hot beneath a hard Texas sky.Nico sat in the passenger seat of Elara’s big Chevy Silverado 2500 XRT Custom, watching the city fall away behind them while the truck ate up miles with calm, unstoppable power. The cab smelled faintly of leather, sunlight, and the soft trace of Elara’s perfume. Everything about the vehicle felt like her—strong, controlled, a little intimidating, and built to carry more weight than it let on.Elara drove with one hand on the wheel, relaxed but alert. The other rested near the console, close enough that Nico could reach for it whenever he wanted. The road opened ahead in pale ribbons of asphalt and heat shimmer.He leaned back and exhaled slowly. “You really do own the kind of truck that makes people move out of your way.”Elara didn’t glance at him. “Good.”He smiled. “That wasn’t a denial.”“It wasn’t meant to be.”The bond between them hummed low and steady, stronger now in travel than it
Chapter 91: Calls Across DistanceThe morning felt quieter than it should have.Nico sat with Elara on the terrace outside the Voss Estate, both of them half in sunlight and half in the shadow of the house behind them. The fields stretched out beyond the stone railings in long gold lines, but neither of them was really looking at Texas.They were looking outward.Toward the others.Toward distance.Elara checked her phone, then glanced at Nico. “Ravenna should be awake by now.”Nico gave a small nod. “You sure she’ll answer?”Elara’s mouth curved faintly. “She always answers. Eventually.”That was enough for her to place the call.***The line rang twice before Ravenna picked up.“Tell me this better be important,” she said, voice rough with sleep and dry with attitude. “Or I’m hanging up and going back to bed.”Elara smiled despite herself. “Good morning to you too.”A beat of silence.Then Ravenna’s voice sharpened with instant alertness. “Elara?”“Yeah.”“And Nico?”He leaned close
Chapter 90: Morning After Morning arrived slowly, carrying pale light through the curtains and across the room like something hesitant to intrude. Nico woke first. For a moment, he didn’t move. Elara was still tucked against him, one arm resting lightly across his chest, her breathing soft and even. The quiet in the room felt different from the quiet of the rest of the house. Outside, the estate was already stirring. Somewhere far below, doors opened and closed. Footsteps crossed marble. The day had begun. But in here, time still belonged to them. He turned his head slightly and looked at her. Even asleep, she carried herself like she was aware of everything around her. Her hair was loose across the pillow, dark against the white linen. Her face had softened in sleep in a way he didn’t often get to see when she was awake and guarded and sharp. He thought, not for the first time, that she was devastatingly beautiful. Then she stirred. Her eyes opened slowly, gold and f
Chapter 33: Devil Eyes Under the StetsonElara woke before dawn.The suite was still dark—blackout curtains drawn tight, only the faint crimson glow from the sconces bleeding around the edges. She lay on her back, one arm thrown over her head, staring at the ceiling beams. Sleep had been shallow, r
Chapter 32: Dorm Room ReckoningThe dorm room was quiet except for the low hum of Kai’s phone and the occasional rustle of Jax flipping through a comic on his bunk. Theo was at his desk, headphones on, typing code. Nico sat cross-legged on his own mattress, back against the wall, staring at nothing
Chapter 31: Echoes of the AccordsNico lay in the dark of the dorm room long after the others had crashed—Kai snoring softly, Jax muttering in his sleep, Theo’s laptop fan the only other sound. The phone sat heavy in his hand, screen dimmed to the lowest setting. He scrolled the Daily Fang one last
Chapter 30: Quiet ConfessionNico didn’t go to the library that afternoon.He went to the rooftop access stairwell instead—rarely used, no cameras, no patrol routes. Just cold concrete steps and a heavy metal door that opened onto a narrow maintenance ledge overlooking the cliffs. The wind hit him







