Page 12 of King's Reckoning
Rowan felt the weight of every gaze in the room. "She told me the club was built on sacred ground. That there were things buried here that needed to be protected." She hesitated. "And that when the time came, I'd know what to do."
"And has that time come?" Reed's voice was neutral, but his eyes were intense.
Before Rowan could answer, the chapel door burst open. A prospect stood there, breathing hard. "Sergeant! You need to see this."
They followed him out to the garage, where a sleek black SUV was pulling in. The woman who stepped out was the last person Rowan expected to see.
"Barbara," Ace said, moving forward to greet his wife. The archaeology professor looked worried.
"They raided my office," she said without preamble. "Blackwood's men. They were looking for Elena Matthews' research."
Rowan's heart stopped. "What research?"
Barbara pulled out a weathered leather journal. "This was in my departmental safe. Your mother left it there twenty-five years ago, with instructions that it only be opened if certain conditions were met." She looked at King. "The Devils attacking your club was one of those conditions."
King took the journal with hands that shook slightly. "Elena," he breathed, running his fingers over the cover. "Always ten steps ahead."
"There's more," Barbara said. "The journal mentions something called 'The Archive'—some kind of historical record that predates the club. According to Elena's notes, it was split into pieces and buried with key members over the years."
"The lock boxes," Reed realized. "That's what the Devils were looking for."
"Not just the Devils." Barbara glanced at her husband. "Blackwood's company is just a front. There are other interested parties, powerful people who've been searching for The Archive for generations."
"And now they're closing in," Rowan said, the pieces falling into place. "That's why my mother sent me here. Not just to find my father, but to help protect whatever's buried under this club."
"The question is," Reed said quietly, "can we trust you to do that?"
Rowan met his gaze steadily. "I guess you'll have to decide that for yourself."
"We don't have time for trust issues," King cut in. "Barbara, what else can you tell us about The Archive?"
"Not here," she said, looking around. "Elena was very specific about that. We need to go somewhere safer. Somewhere they won't think to look."
"I know a place," Rowan said. All eyes turned to her. "My mother's old cabin. The one place she said would always be safe."
King's expression hardened. "I remember that cabin. Built it for her myself."
"Then you know how remote it is," Rowan said. "How defensible."
Reed stepped forward. "I'll take a team, sweep it first."
"No." King's voice was firm. "Rowan and I will go. Just us." He looked at his daughter. "Time to find out what other secrets Elena left behind."
Rowan felt the weight of the moment. This was it, what her mother had prepared her for all these years. But as she caught Reed's concerned look, she wondered if she was really ready for what they'd find.
Some secrets, after all, were better left buried.
***
The ride to Elena's cabin was tense, both bikes cutting through the early afternoon heat. Rowan led the way, each mile bringing back memories of weekends spent there with her mother. Elena had insisted Rowan know every back road, every alternate route. Now she understood why.
The cabin sat nestled against a rocky hillside, weathered wood blending into the landscape. Nothing had changed—her mother had made sure of that, maintaining this safe house even after herdeath. Rowan pulled up beside the covered generator, King stopping behind her.
"She kept it up," he said quietly, looking at the well-maintained structure. "All these years."
"She kept a lot of things," Rowan replied, dismounting. She pulled out the key her mother had given her on her eighteenth birthday. "Including this place's secrets."
The interior was exactly as she remembered—sparse but comfortable, everything meticulously organized. Elena's touch was everywhere, from the precise arrangement of supplies to the hidden gun safe behind the bookshelf.
