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Shock covered his face, and his arms shot out to take hold of her before he lost his balance.

She didn’t know if she meant for him to fall over the cliff.

The only thing she knew was he did.

Branches cracked and broke as he toppled over the side into the rocky ravine below.

Then an eerie silence filled the air as horror took her over.

Her limbs shook and her body felt like it was frozen.

She could barely move. Could barely see.

“Patrick?” His name croaked from her hoarse, raw throat.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Numbness mixed with the pain, and she stumbled back to the blanket. Her phone sat atop it. Tears blurring her eyes, she picked it up, fingers trembling as she tapped into the screen. She hugged herself across her middle as she put it to her ear.

“Elena?” Trevan raked on the first ring.

The sob choked out. “I need you.”

SEVENTY

TREVAN

I rode my bike through the yawning gates of the Crows’ compound. It was just after ten in the morning, and the large bays that fronted Torque & Talon Autobody Shop sat wide open.

Clouds had begun to gather on the horizon, the sky gray.

A few cars that hadn’t been there the last time I visited were dotted about. An old van and a late model sedan and a vintage Camero that had been hauled in for a full restoration.

My bike garbled and chugged as I pulled up in front of the far-left bay where a few other bikes were parked. I swung off and ambled through the opening.

Machinery shouted and tools clanked.

It felt weird stepping foot inside. It wasn’t like a whole ton of time had passed since I’d been here at the shop with my hands covered in oil and grease, but it felt like a lifetime had passed in those weeks.

An altering of reality. A tipping point. A crooked trajectory finally set on its purposed course.

Just because that course corrected didn’t mean it hadn’t come with a violent force.

I’d nearly blacked the fuck out from the shock before everything had come to sharp, clear focus.

Elena.

My life.

A life it was high time I stepped into.

Phoenix noticed me out of the corner of his eye, and he killed the grinder that sparked against a side panel of a Dodge and tossed off his eye protection.

“Brother.” The single word was a coarse welcome, pitch eyes taking me in with caution. No doubt wondering if I’d come to my senses.

God knew that I had. It just wasn’t the sense he hoped I’d find.