Page 52 of At the Edge of Surrender

That’s exactly what this was.

Dire.

Because the woman we were getting out didn’t even know we had plans to do it.

The only verification we had that she wanted help was her best friend had managed to get her alone long enough to ask if there was a way to get her and her son out of their situation, would she do it.

Her answer had been yes.

And this whole thing was riding on thatyes.

“Means she’s gonna flip when I grab them to get them the hell out of there because I’m not going to have time to explain.” River gave a grave nod. “Goin’ to think someone’s out to hurt her. That is if her piece of shit husband isn’t already watching from the sidelines.”

Bile rolled in my throat, and the rose on the back of my hand burned. Same reaction I always got when I heard about some piece of shit harming the ones they were supposed to love most.

Protect and care for the most.

Rage rolled out of River as he rocked back in his chair. Guessed we all pretty much suffered the exact same reaction.

I forced myself to take a sip from my drink, a bolster as I relished in the fire gliding down my throat, before I set the tumbler onto the table and looked at one of my oldest friends point blank. “You aren’t going to be the one to do it.”

Some contortion of confusion and ire twisted through River’s features. “The fuck are you talking about?”

“Yeah?” Otto added as he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

I glanced at Theo who was sitting over there chewing at the inside of his cheek. He gave me anI told you soshrug of his shoulder.

I let my attention ride over my entire crew. Rolling from Theo to Cash, then to Otto and on to River before I finally spoke. “We might have been ignoring it, but every single one of us knows things have changed.”

“How so?” River’s head cocked to the side.

I scraped out a harsh laugh as I sat forward. “Whole reason we had the rule that we didn’t get involved with women is because this shit is dangerous. Not knowing when we are going to come to our end.”

All of us had always been willing to make that sacrifice.

But there was a whole ton more riding on this now.

River stirred, irritation riding through his nerves as he was hit with what I was saying.

Wondered what he’d think if he knew that I devolved into far darker things than this all the time.

I held my hand up to stop the rebuttal I knew was coming.

“It’s not a criticism, River. It’s just the truth. Two of you have families now.” I pointed between him and Otto. “We are long since past holding to the creed that we have to go it alone. It no longer stands. But that also means other things are going to have to shift.”

I let my attention slide to Otto. Otto who’d let it slip to me the other night that he and Raven were trying to get pregnant. Information I doubted River was privy to yet, and I wasn’t going to just toss it out there like a careless prick.

But Otto knew exactly what I was implying.

Both of them did.

A vision of that little girl flashed through my mind. Those chubby cheeks and dimpled chin and megawatt grin.

Those unmistakable eyes.

In a split, it felt like my chest got rent wide open, rib cage cracking at the force.

Heart pumping wild and fierce.

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