Lahat ng Kabanata ng Raven's MC Series; Marlowe & Torin -Book One of the series: Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

I paced forward, then back, then stopped, realizing I had fallen back on the old reflex of circling the room like movement could outrun reality.“The note said Ravens. Tonight. Eight,” I murmured as I stopped in front of Rook. “So what do I do? Show up? Stay away? Pretend I didn’t see it?”Rook’s gaze held mine for a long beat, steady enough to make my pulse slow and a slight calm to settle. He didn’t rush to fill the space. “Look,” he said finally, voice calm but firm as he shifted his weight off the counter and folded his arms. “Burdock wants you alive. He wants you visible enough that nobody thinks you’re easy, but not reckless enough that someone gets a shot at you.”“Reckless,” I repeated, the word scraping old scar tissue. “Funny word, that. People used it when I did anything they didn’t approve of.”Rook’s eyes narrowed. “Not here. Not with me,” he said, each word clipped like a promise. “Reckless means stepping into a room full of predators alone.”I felt the anger flare, sharp

~Stevie~I wasn’t supposed to be paying attention. That’s what dancers tell themselves when the air shifts and their instincts start humming anyway. You tell yourself you’re just doing a job, you’re just moving through music, you’re just smiling because you get paid to. But the truth is, women like me learn to read rooms the way soldiers read terrain.The Ravens paid well. Didn’t touch unless invited. Didn’t mistake confidence for availability. Which already put them leagues above most clubs. Still, a place like this always had undercurrents. The kind you didn’t see unless you knew how to look.I adjusted the strap on my heel and leaned against the bar rail, letting the bass thump under my skin like a second heartbeat. Shannon stretched her calf beside me, checking her reflection in a bottle like she trusted glass more than men. And then the front door opened, and the whole room tilted.A woman walked in with Rook at her shoulder. She didn’t dress like us. Jeans. Boots. Sweater. Hair b

~TORIN~The transport rattled like it had something to prove. Metal vibrated under my boots and through the bench, the sound deep in my bones. The cabin lights stayed dim, red spilling over gear and faces, making everyone look like they were carved from the same hard thing. We were strapped in along opposite benches with rifles steady across laps, hands close but disciplined. Nobody talked unless it mattered.Houseshoe sat across from me, checking his kit with the kind of precision that wasn’t just habit, it was prayer. Surgeon leaned back with his head tipped, eyes closed like he was sleeping. Pattycake’s fingers moved over his comms, testing, rechecking. Doc’s gaze kept drifting toward the ramp like he was already outside, already counting angles. Tombstone stared into nothing and somehow managed to look like he was watching everything at once. Jethro flexed his hands once, then settled, jaw tight.I kept my posture loose and ready. I didn’t fidget. I didn’t bounce a knee. I watched,

~MARLOWE~Rook didn’t follow me like a shadow. That would have been obvious.Instead, he stayed three steps back, posture loose, hands occupied with meaningless tasks that let him watch without looking like he was watching at all. He wiped down tables that were already clean. Adjusted barstools that didn’t need adjusting. Leaned to check a tap line like he expected sabotage inside the beer.Anyone glancing our way would see a barhand working and a woman collecting empty glasses. Anyone who knew better would see a perimeter.I carried the tray to the bar and slid it down with a soft clink, my eyes tracking the floor like it might tell me who’d walked across it too quietly. I wiped my hands on a towel, then glanced over my shoulder at Rook.“You’re hovering,” I said, keeping my voice light.Rook didn’t look up as he reached for another stack of clean glasses. His shoulders stayed loose, but his gaze flicked across the room like a radar sweep. “You’re counting steps,” he replied.“I alway

~REIF~I wasn’t supposed to be here. That part had been made very clear.Torin said it twice before he left, eyes hard in that way that meant he wasn’t asking. Burdock said it once, slower and more pointed, like he wanted the words to sink in deep enough to stop me from doing anything stupid. Even Rook gave me a look that translated to Don’t be stupid, kid.So naturally, I was here.I parked three blocks away and walked the rest with my hands shoved in my jacket pockets, head down, trying to look like I belonged in the night. The Ravens Head loomed ahead, all brick and noise and bikes, like it hadn’t changed at all since the last time I’d seen it.Except it had. Because Marlowe was inside. That thought sat heavy in my chest. Not in a bad way. Just…real.I hovered near the entrance long enough to get clocked by the door guy. He didn’t move, didn’t step forward, didn’t block me. He just watched me like he could tell I wasn’t here for a drink or a good time.I swallowed and stepped closer