Page 125 of Ruthless Reign

I gave him a tiny smirk. Of course he did. “I wouldn’t have left,” I told him honestly.

“If this is it, I want to be here. I need to be. I have to see him die.”

And I needed to help.

More than that, I wanted to, and for the first time in years, I felt like I actually could.

I could shoot.

And I’d proven I wasn’t completely useless with a blade, either.

I wasn’t stupid enough to think I wasn’t still a liability compared to the others here, but I wasn’t useless anymore and that was something.

Actually, for me, it was everything.

If I could stop even one Saint from dying tomorrow—if I could kill just one son—then it was one more person to fight with us or one less to fight for them.

It could be the difference.

I could be the difference.

Kaleb’s jaw tightened, and he nodded to himself. I could tell he was having trouble accepting it. That I’d be here when all hell broke loose. I got it. Because part of me wanted to lock Hardin, Kaleb, and Aodhán in a supply closet until it was over.

If I thought I could get away with it, I just might.

My phone chimed in my pocket, and I reached for it, wondering who the fuck would be texting me at almost one in the morning.

The text was from an unknown number, but as I read it, my pulse spiked and I jumped to my feet.

“Hawk?” Hardin called. “What is it?”

“Oh my god, they’re coming.”

I read the message again, my heart singing in my ears even while my stomach dropped with dread.

Unknown

Phones are compromised. We’re on our way, Becks. Hold tight.

“It’s Ava Jade. They’re coming. She and the Crows, I think.”

“How did they get out?” Kaleb asked, but it was obvious.

“They didn’t have to,” I said, my mouth dry. “Their place is just outside of town. They were already out from the start.”

“My da must not have known.”

“Shit. I doubt they’re on their way with Diesel’s blessing,” Kaleb said with a grimace, and I knew he was probably right. Diesel wouldn’t want them coming in guns blazing to an uneven fight. Those were his kids, and I didn’t think I’d ever met a man who loved his kids more than Diesel St. Crow. Aside from maybe Damien St. Vincent.

These men, for all their hardness, had some of the softest hearts for the people they loved.

“How will they find us?” Aodhán asked.

“I shared my location with Ava Jade way back when I was first moving here,” I remembered. “It was probably how she knew I was headed back to Santa Clarita when I borrowed?—”

“Stole,” Hardin corrected.

“Stole their Rover. And how she knew I’d gotten home safe after the Primal Ethos concert. Actually, it’s probably the only reason she let you guys take me back with you.”

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