Page 38 of Grim’s Angel

McKenna stands in the middle of the bedroom with the calm focus of a nurse entering an emergency.

“Tell me what to do.”

I check the window, retrieve the gun from the nightstand, and place myself between her and the door.

“Shoes, coat, phone. We leave everything else.”

“Are they here?”

“Close enough.”

She swallows but holds my gaze. “You said I have you.”

“You do.”

“Then do not shut me out because you’re scared.”

She sees too much.

I cup the back of her neck and press my forehead to hers.

“I am scared,” I admit. “There is finally something in this cabin I cannot survive losing.”

Her fingers close around my wrist.

“Then make sure we both get out.”

Engines approach through the rain.

I kiss her once, hard enough to turn fear into a promise.

“Stay behind me, Angel. Anyone who wants you comes through hell first.”

Chapter 6

McKenna

The engines climbing through the rain belong to the Damned Sinners.

Two black SUVs stop outside the cabin seven minutes after Striker’s call. Hound carries the broken drone to the second vehicle while three other Sinners search the trees and check the road behind us.

The ride down the mountain teaches me the difference between being protected and being hidden.

Striker drives the lead SUV, his attention divided between the road and every movement in the mirrors. Torch occupies the passenger seat, relaying updates from Lock at the clubhouse. Grim sits beside me on the rear bench, keeping one hand over mine while he issues orders through his phone.

The second SUV follows close behind.

Nobody asks whether protecting me is worth the trouble.

Grim’s thumb strokes my knuckles between commands, a private reassurance beneath the hard voice of the man his club follows.

“What about the drone?” I ask when he ends a call.

“Purchased through a Rivers company. Hound found tire tracks on the lower service road, but whoever launched it left before we reached them.”

“So the broker wants me back.”

“Rivers sells certainty. Men pay him because he guarantees the asset reaches the buyer.” Grim’s jaw hardens. “If a contract fails, every predator who uses him sees a broker who cannot control his own operation.”