Page 37 of Torgash

"Then we make sure she doesn't have a choice." My beast settles into cold determination. "Because I'll be damned if I let them use her dedication against her the way corruption has been used against this entire town."

Diesel studies my face, reading something there that makes him nod slowly. "What's the play?"

"We show her the evidence. All of it. Make her understand that staying here means giving them every advantage." I move toward the door, mind already mapping the fastest route to Nova's apartment. "And we make sure she knows she's not fighting this war alone anymore."

Not the way I've been fighting this war—alone like a fucking idiot.

Nova's been holding her own against Royce while they've been watching her every move. Impressive as hell, but she deserves better odds than that.

And whoever thinks they can bug her office and run her off roads is about to find out what happens when you threaten my people.

Nova's building sits quiet in the midnight darkness, most windows black except for the glow from her corner unit. She'sstill awake, probably working through case files, unaware that every document she's touched has been catalogued by the enemy.

"You sure about this?" Diesel asks as we climb the stairs, evidence bags in hand. "She's been dodging your calls since the road thing."

"She doesn't get a choice." I knock on her door, controlled, focused, though every instinct screams to break it down and drag her somewhere safe.

Footsteps approach, slower than they should be. The peephole darkens.

"Ash?" Her voice carries through the wood, rough with exhaustion.

"Found something you need to see. About what happened today."

Locks turn, and the door opens wider than I expected. She's changed out of her uniform into jeans and an oversized t-shirt, gun belt hanging on a hook by the door where she dropped it the second she got home. Dark circles ring her eyes like bruises.

She looks like she's been running on nothing but caffeine and stubbornness for days.

My beast snarls at that cut on her temple. Someone got close enough to hurt her. Close enough to—

Fuck that. Not happening again.

"You okay?" The question slips out before I can stop it.

"Define okay." She steps back, letting us in without argument. "Santos said you found something."

"Your office isn’t safe. You need to move your investigation to the war room."

Her jaw tightens, and she runs a hand through her hair in frustration. "We've been over this, Ash," she says, reading my expression. "I can't show any sign of leaning to one side or the other. Not until this case with Royce is resolved."

"I figured you'd say that." I dump the evidence bag on her coffee table, surveillance devices spilling across her files. "That's what we found in a ten-minute sweep of your office. No telling if there's more, or how fast they'll be replaced."

Nova stares at the bugs, and I watch exhaustion transform to something sharper. The same focused intensity I glimpsed in that photograph, the determined set of jaw that runs in the family.

"Military-grade," Diesel adds quietly. "Placed when Morris cleared out his stuff, probably. Someone with access and expertise."

"They've been listening." The words scrape out of her throat as she picks up one of the devices. "Every strategy session. Every witness prep." Her fingers close around the small black bug. "Every legal move we planned against him."

The scope of it crushes down on her. "The Bauers' appeal."

"And the Hendersons' hearing last week. The Garcias' whistleblower testimony." I lean closer. "Everyone who trusted you with their case. Everyone who thought they had a fighting chance."

She doesn't move, but I see it—the subtle change in her breathing, the way her pulse jumps at her throat. Not fear for herself. Something deeper.

"Shit." Her voice turns hollow. "If you'd mentioned that loan paperwork about the Bauers in my office, they'd have lost their house today. Royce would have known exactly what evidence we had and moved to block it."

Her eyes meet mine, and I see the moment it clicks.

"The Garcias have that sealed affidavit from Victor's former accountant." Her voice cracks. "They're scheduled to meet with the state prosecutor on Thursday, and Royce will be one step ahead."

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