Page 29 of King's Reckoning
"So they split up the evidence," Rowan concluded. "Hid pieces with trusted brothers, encoded the locations, created safeguards that only people they trusted implicitly could bypass."
"Family connections," Abby confirmed. "The boxes were designed with complex locking mechanisms that Elena taught only a select few how to open. Flash knew. Elena knew." Her eyes met Rowan's. "And she made sure you would know too."
The implication sent a chill down Rowan's spine. "You're saying Mom chose Kingspecifically? Because she needed someone she could trust completely?"
King's expression hardened. "Is that true, Abby? Was I just...convenient for Elena's plans?"
The pain in his voice was raw, unexpected. Rowan felt a surge of protectiveness toward her father—this man who'd missed twenty-five years of her life, who was only now learning how deeply Elena's plans had shaped all their destinies.
"No," Abby said firmly. "Elena loved you, Marcus. That was real. But she also knew that if anything happened to her, your daughter would need to be someone strong enough to finish what she started. Someone raised with both your courage and her insight. It wasn't calculation. It was foresight."
The room fell silent as King processed this. Reed moved closer to Rowan, offering silent support.
"Flash's journal has locations for the remaining pieces," Rowan said finally, breaking the tension. "And something else. Coordinates for what he calls 'the source chamber.' The place where they found the original artifacts."
"Beneath the club property," Barbara confirmed, pulling up digital maps on her tablet. "The energy readings I've been tracking all converge there."
"So what's our next move?" Reed asked, looking at King.
King's eyes found Rowan's. "Your mother spent twenty-five years preparing you for this moment. Making sure you'd have everything you needed when the time came." His voice softened. "What do you think we should do?"
The question caught her off guard. This was King—the formidable sergeant at arms, the man who commanded respect with a single look. And he was deferring to her.
Rowan thought about everything they'd learned. About Reed's steady presence at her side and King's newfound trust in her abilities.
"We get the remaining pieces," she said firmly. "Then we find this source chamber before Blackwood does. Whatever evidence is there, whatever truth Mom and Flash died protecting, we bring it into the light."
King nodded, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Insurance or not, she'd be proud of you."
The words warmed something inside Rowan that had been cold for a very long time.
As the others began planning, Reed drew her aside. "You okay with all this? Finding out your existence might have been...planned this way?"
Rowan considered the question. "A week ago, I might have been angry. Felt used, manipulated." She met his eyes. "But now I understand Mom better. She wasn't calculating. She was protecting. Making sure that if anything happened to her, someone would be able to finish what she started."
"And that someone is you," Reed said softly.
"That someone is us," she corrected. "All of us. I couldn't do this alone."
His hand found hers, a brief touch that said more than words could. "You don't have to."
Across the room, King watched their interaction with an unreadable expression. When Reed moved away to help Barbara with the maps, he approached Rowan.
"The Road Captain," he said simply.
Rowan felt her cheeks warm. "Is that going to be a problem?"
To her surprise, King shook his head. "Reed's a good man. Loyal, smart, deadly when he needs to be." A hint of amusement touched his eyes. "Could do worse for your first club romance."
"It's not—" she started to protest, then stopped herself. "We're just figuring things out."
"Aren't we all," King said, his gaze drifting to where Abby sat studying Flash's journal. Something complicated passed across his face—regret, nostalgia, maybe even a hint of what might have been.
Rowan realized with sudden clarity that her parents' story wasn't as simple as she'd imagined. Elena hadn't just left to protect her daughter; she'd left to protect King too. To keep him from having to choose between his club and his family.
"She loved you," Rowan said quietly. "Whatever else was going on, that part was real."
King's eyes met hers, and for a moment she saw past the hardened sergeant at arms to the man her mother had fallen in love with all those years ago.
