Page 17 of Shadow's Edge

My stomach churned.

Bo had been a friend, a close one. She’d worked alongside my team, running missions with her own crew. We’d trusted her. Then, six months ago, she vanished—no word, no trace, nothing. And now, here she was, not just alive but apparently tangled up in something I never would’ve imagined.

I refused to believe it. Bo wouldn't be involved in trafficking, least of all with kids.

Before I could even start forming an explanation, Mace—one of Hunter’s friends—exploded. His face had gone pale, his breath short and ragged. Shoving his phone into our faces, he pulled up a photo of two women—his sister and his girlfriend.

What the fuck was going on?

Preacher’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “We were set up. They knew.”

The words sent a ripple of unease through all of us.

“How?” Hunter’s voice was sharp, demanding. He wasn’t just angry, he was already strategizing. Already figuring out where the cracks in our intel were.

I couldn’t hold this back. Not now.

“I think I have the answer to that,” I muttered, pulling out my phone. My pulse hammered in my ears as I held up the screen, showing them the message I’d received while I’d been in the tree.

A photo. A blonde woman holding Perry. He was asleep, cradled in her arms like he belonged there. Silence fell over the room.

Noah, Hunter’s second-in-command, stared at the screen, his disbelief thick in his voice. “Is that Bo?”

We all knew the history between him and Bo, the tension that had lingered for years. The weight of it was written all over his face now—shock, betrayal, something raw and ugly brewing beneath it. No one answered him because no one needed to.

Before we could, Duke spoke, and what he said shattered whatever control we had left.

“It’s not what you think,” he said. “She’s with me.”

The world tilted for a second.

Hunter’s entire body went rigid. “What?”

The room bristled with energy—dangerous and volatile.

Blake barely managed to grab Noah in time before he lunged at Duke, his hands itching to wrap around his throat.

“And you didn’t fucking think to mention this?” Hunter roared. “Not once? There wasn’t a single goddamn moment where it crossed your mind that this might bemotherfucking vitalinformation?”

Normally, I had Duke’s back, no matter what. Not this time. This time, I just stood there, arms crossed, watching as Noah strained against Blake’s hold. His breathing was ragged, his fury unchecked.

Hunter wasn’t as patient.

He moved past Noah and didn’t hesitate. His fist connected with Duke’s jaw so hard, the impact echoed in the space like a gunshot.

Duke hit the ground, and the kids—already shaken—burst into frightened sobs.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, motioning for a few of our team to get the kids out of here. They needed to be away from this mess.

The rest of us stayed, because there was no walking away from this disaster.

Duke groaned, slowly pushing himself up. Blood dripped from his lip as he moved his jaw, testing it.

Still, no one spoke. Because whatever the fuck had just happened, whatever this meant for all of us, was only the beginning.

“She can’t be compromised. She’s finding locations for us,” Duke’s voice was firm, steady, but there was an edge to it, something tight beneath the surface.

Hunter wasn’t having it. He shot to his feet, fists clenched at his sides like he was barely restraining himself. “But you knew she was in there. You knew she’d get the mark and retreat.”

---