Mag-log inMarcus’s POV
The venue was a waterfront event space hosting a public photography exhibition. Open to the public, well-lit, steady foot traffic, three entry points and two exits, which was terrible for security and perfect for a trap, because Kane’s crew would see opportunity written all over it.
Chloe stood in front of the mirror in the warehouse getting ready, and I stood in the doorway trying to look like I was reviewing the comms check and not watching her.
Marcus’s POVThe venue was a waterfront event space hosting a public photography exhibition. Open to the public, well-lit, steady foot traffic, three entry points and two exits, which was terrible for security and perfect for a trap, because Kane’s crew would see opportunity written all over it.Chloe stood in front of the mirror in the warehouse getting ready, and I stood in the doorway trying to look like I was reviewing the comms check and not watching her.“You’re watching me,” she said, without turning around.“I’m reviewing the comms check.”“You’re watching me and calling it something else.” She turned around. She was wearing a blue dress, simple, nothing dramatic—we’d specifically avoided anything that looked like a costume. She needed to look like herself. A little exposed, a little alone, a woman at an art exhibition who maybe hadn’t been careful enough ab
Chloe’s POVI recognized Ronan’s footsteps before I saw him.That was a strange thing to realize. But I’d spent enough time at the compound to know the way he moved — measured, deliberate, the kind of walk that said he’d already assessed the room before he walked into it. The warehouse door opened and he came through first, and behind him was Jaxon, and the sight of both of them in my Seattle life was so disorienting that I stood up from the couch and just stared for a second.Ronan looked the same. Raven-black hair, green eyes that clocked the entire warehouse in three seconds flat. He looked at Marcus, then Dominic, then Lucian, then me.“You look good,” he said. “Better than I expected, honestly.”“Thanks,” I said. “That’s either a compliment or an insult.”“It’s an observation.” But something in his expression was warm, briefly, before i
Marcus’s POVThe name came through at eleven forty-seven PM on a Tuesday, five days after the hotel.Victor Kane. Former Vulture enforcer. Age thirty-one, last known location Portland, moved to Seattle approximately four months ago. Long sheet — assault, extortion, two counts of armed robbery that hadn’t stuck because witnesses had a way of changing their minds. Connected to the Vulture MC through Viktor Kozlov, who was currently serving time in Chicago.I sat with the file open on my laptop and read it twice. Then I called Ronan.He picked up on the second ring. “Tell me you have something.”“Victor Kane,” I said. “Ring any bells?”A pause. The kind that meant yes. “Kozlov’s cousin,” Ronan said. “Lower rank, but nastier. Kozlov probably had lines he wouldn’t cross. Kane doesn’t.”“He’s been in Seattle for four months. Building
Chloe’s POVI wore a blazer to visit the office. Armour, basically. The kind of outfit that said I am a professional person who has a normal life and definitely did not spend last night in a converted warehouse after being shot at through a hotel fire escape.It was a very good blazer. I didn’t think it was working.Adrian looked up when I knocked on his open door, and his expression did the thing it had been doing lately — that careful, assessing look that meant he’d noticed more than he was saying.“Chloe. Come in.”I sat across from his desk. Straightened the blazer. “Before you say anything…I’m okay. The situation is being handled, I just wanted to stop by and see everyone.”“I heard there was an incident at a hotel downtown two nights ago,” he said. “Two men were found zip tied in an alley.”“I wouldn’t know anything about that.&rdquo
Dominic’s POVI woke up at six fifteen because I always woke up at six. Didn’t matter where I was or what had happened the night before. My body ran on a schedule that nobody had asked it to keep.The warehouse was quiet. Grey morning light came through the high windows in flat, even strips. I lay on the couch for a moment, staring at the ceiling, piecing together the previous twelve hours. Hotel. Fire escape. Gunfire. Eggs. A two-hour negotiation that had somehow ended with four people agreeing to share a building and figure out the rest as they went.I sat up.The spare room door was closed. Marcus’s usual spot at the table was empty, his mug rinsed and turned upside down on the drying rack. I looked at the couch where Marcus had been sitting at midnight when I’d fallen asleep, and he wasn’t there either.I looked at the spare room door again.I was not going to be weird about this.I stood up, rolled m
Chloe’s POVThe warehouse at midnight felt different from the warehouse at noon.Quieter. The city outside had settled into its nighttime sounds…distant traffic, the occasional siren, wind pushing against the high windows. The industrial lights were off and Marcus had turned on a couple of standing lamps that made the space feel smaller and warmer than I expected.Dominic was asleep on the couch. He’d lasted until about eleven, and then he’d simply lain down mid-sentence, one arm over his eyes, and that had been the end of that. Lucian had taken the spare room—Marcus had one, barely used, mattress on a frame, nothing decorative, which was very on-brand.Marcus had set up a sleeping space for me in the back corner, separated from the main room by a makeshift divider of shelving units. Private enough to feel like mine. Close enough that I didn’t feel alone.I lay in the dark and listened to Dominic breathe from ac
Later that afternoon I found Chloe in the library, surrounded by boxes and packing materials. She was leaving for Seattle tomorrow, starting her new job, beginning her fresh start away from all this chaos.“So you’re really staying,” she said when I entered. It wasn't a q
Alina’s POV - The Next MorningI woke up in my old room at the compound, sunlight streaming through familiar windows, the distant sound of motorcycles and conversation drifting up from below. For the first time in weeks, I’d slept deeply, dreamlessly, without the constant low-level anxiety that had
Alina’s POV - Two Weeks LaterThe apartment was perfect—modern, secure, not too far from the compound but far enough to feel separate. Two bedrooms, one for me and one for Chloe, at least until she left for Seattle. The floors were hardwood, the windows were big and sturdy, and the security system
Alina’s POVTwo weeks after the guilty verdict, the courtroom was packed once more for the sentencing. This was the moment—the end of Marcus Hart's journey, from a respected Police Commissioner to a convicted criminal.I took my usual seat, with Jaxon on my right, Maddox on my left, and Ronan sitti







