Page 33 of Mystic's Sunrise

Chain leaned back, arms crossed. “Steady flow. Crowds have been decent, and we pulled in good numbers over the weekend.Had some dipshits tryin’ to stir shit up Friday night, but we handled it. Nothin’ major.”

Devil nodded. “Good. Keep it locked down. We don’t need heat right now. Spinner, what about Devil’s Ink?”

Spinner leaned forward, that toy spinning in his hand when he was thinking. “Solid. Shop’s booked out for the next few months. Been gettin’ a lot of club referrals. Ink work is bringin’ in steady cash. No complaints.”

“Gearhead, how’s Jaybird’s?”

Gearhead cracked his knuckles. “Picked up some new contracts, which is keepin’ us busy. Had a couple of custom jobs come in that’ll rake in extra cash. Crew’s workin’ hard. No problems.”

Devil nodded, then turned his attention to me. “Gambling house?”

I rubbed a hand over my jaw, feeling the weight of their stares. “Thunder’s been coverin’ for me. I haven’t been around as much.”

“We noticed,” Devil said, his voice unreadable. “What’s the situation?”

I clenched my jaw. “I’m handlin’ it.”

Before Devil could say more, Thunder cut in. “House is still runnin’ fine. No major issues. Had a high roller come through last night, made the pot bigger than usual. We’re in the green.”

Gatsby looked up from his ever present notebook. “I’ll get the final numbers together for you, Devil. Should have everything sorted by tomorrow.”

Devil nodded, satisfied. “Good. Now onto bigger problems—Dragon Fire.”

The shift in the room was instant. The easy air from talking business vanished, replaced with tension thick enough to cut. Chain leaned forward, brows drawn tight. “They still circlin’ our territory?”

“They’re not just circling,” Devil said, his voice dark. “They’re pushing in. And I don’t like it.”

Gatsby cleared his throat. “We’ve been tracking their movement. They’ve got extra muscle rolling through—more than usual. They’re stacking up for something, we just don’t know what yet.”

“That means we need to be ready,” Bolt said, his tone sharp. “We can’t wait for them to make the first move.”

“No,” Devil agreed. “But we also can’t jump unless we know exactly what we’re dealing with. That’s where Lucy comes in.”

I stiffened at the mention of her name. My gut twisted, knowing what was coming.

“She gave us solid intel on Drago’s obsession with Zeynep,” Devil continued. “And that means he’s going to come looking. If he’s as fixated on her as Lucy says, then he won’t stop until he gets her back. That puts us in the middle of a more personal war.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw. “He can’t have her back.”

The words hung in the air, final.

Devil met my gaze, holding it for a long moment before nodding and looking at his watch. “That’s right. We’ll pick up again on this later I forgot I had to do something. Meeting adjourned. Everyone stay sharp.”

Chairs scraped against the floor as the men got up, but I stayed where I was, gripping the edge of the table as the fire inside me burned hotter.

“You know what you’re getting into?” Devil asked from where he still at watching me.

“I will die before letting Drago have her back,” I replied, my gaze burning into Devil.

“I believe you,” Devil replied. “Maybe now you’ll finally wake up.”

“I’m not goin’ there right now,” I snapped, rising out of my chair. “Zeynep needs takin’ care of and I’m goin’ do it.”

Devil gave me a nod in reply, but his eyes said a whole different story. Sometimes it was a bitch having him and Chain around, two men who knew me inside and out. Knew my past, present and apparently my future. But no matter what it took, Drago was never touching Zeynep again.

By the time I made it back to her room, my pulse was still pounding from the meeting. From hearing Drago’s name over and over. From knowing the bastard was out there, already looking for her.

I had told Devil I’d make sure Drago never got her back. But the only way to do that was to make sure she washere—safe, protected. Where she belonged.

---