LOGINMy pace slowed.I was close.The grove opened ahead of me, circular and impossibly quiet. The ground was covered in dead moss. Stones lined the perimeter, carved with symbols so ancient they seemed to hum.And in the center, she stood.The dark priestess.Tall. Shrouded in a veil of black. Skin like
CASSANDRADerek knows.The thought pounded in my head like a war drum, louder than the creaking floorboards beneath my feet as I stumbled back inside my cottage. I couldn’t breathe. My skin was ice. I gripped the edge of the counter like the world might slide out from under me if I let go.He knows.
"As a matter of fact," I said slowly, "it was."She nodded. "That was from one of my favorite shirts. My mother was furious when she saw that I’d torn a piece from it."The air went out of my lungs.Her favorite shirt.I blinked, trying to picture that day clearly. Cassandra had been there—that much
DEREKI didn’t move.Didn’t nod. Didn’t speak.I just stood there, letting her see it in my face. Because yeah—it was me.Every call, every closed-door meeting, every favor I cashed in to fast-track the permits they needed before anyone could find a reason to stall or block it. I’d done all of it. Q
DEREKThe crowd had already begun to gather when I arrived.The courtyard in front of the new Rogue Foundation was cordoned off with velvet rope and lined with silver-and-navy banners. The city's emblem flew alongside Moonstone’s and Red Ridge’s on tall flagpoles, and a heavy length of ribbon stretc
DEREKThe growl of the four-wheeler under me did nothing to quiet the growl inside my chest.I’d been patrolling for hours.The wind whipped against my jacket, tugging at the collar as I tore down another ridgeline, the sun low and angry behind me. Dust kicked up behind the tires in plumes. My hands
DEREK “Mark me.”The words hit me like a jolt to the spine. For a second, I thought I misheard her. The room, still pulsing with the heat of our lovemaking, went unnaturally still. My body tensed, awareness sharpening.“What?” I asked, breath catching. My voice sounded rough, disbelieving. Maybe ev
ELENAThe ride back to the hotel was quiet.Not the comfortable kind of quiet. The kind that buzzed with tension, heat pooling just under the surface of my skin. I kept my hands folded in my lap like a proper diplomat—like a woman who hadn’t just spent the last hour wrapped around her lover in a ste
“Miss Hart,” she said, smiling. “It’s so wonderful to see you down here! Back on your feet?”“I brought donuts,” I said. “Thought the kids might like a treat.”Miss Crystal stood and dusted her hands on her apron. “They’re going to lose their minds,” she said warmly. “Especially your little one. He’
More than before.More than I ever thought possible.***The next day, I had barely made it back to Silverclaw before Joe flagged me down.“Don’t forget,” he said, dropping a folder on my desk. “You’ve got that trip coming up.”I blinked. “What trip?”Joe gave me a look. “The one you insisted we boo







