Page 34 of King's Reckoning
"Exactly." Rowan pulled out her mother's journal, its pages dense with carefulnotes. "Mom found proof that the original MC chapters weren't formed by accident. They were created to protect specific territories where these historical artifacts were hidden. To keep outsiders from discovering what was really buried here."
"And now they have discovered it," Barbara said. "Blackwood and his employers, whoever they really are. They've been searching for generations, tracking historical records, studying these sites. The Devils are just their latest hired muscle."
"But why you?" someone asked. "Why did Elena choose King? Why did she spend years preparing you for this?"
Rowan met her father's eyes, saw the same question there. "Because she trusted us to do what's right. These boxes don't just contain historical records. They're evidence of something that could change our understanding of who first settled this land, and that knowledge threatens powerful interests who've built their fortunes on the accepted history."
"Something worth killing for," Reed added quietly. His hand brushed Rowan's back, steadying her. "Worth dying to protect."
Silence fell as the brothers absorbed this. Rowan could almost see them processing everything—the confrontation at the church, the attack on the clubhouse, the hidden tunnels they'd discovered beneath their territory.
Finally, an older member spoke—one of the few who had known Elena personally. "So whatnow? Blackwood's security team is involved. The Devils are coming in hot. And we've got historical evidence we don't fully understand hidden under our feet."
"Now we do what we were founded to do," King said firmly. "We protect our territory. Our secrets. Our legacy." His eyes found Rowan's. "All of it."
"And her?" someone asked. "She lied to us. Infiltrated the club under false pretenses."
"She came home," Darkness corrected. "To the club that should have protected her and Elena in the first place. To finish what her mother started."
More murmurs, but different now. Rowan recognized the shift in tone, from accusation to consideration. These men respected strength, respected loyalty to family and club. And despite her deception, she'd proven both.
"There's something else," Barbara said suddenly. She had been studying notes in Flash's journal. "These historical artifacts Elena documented? They're part of something larger. Whatever's buried in these tunnels, whatever evidence she and Flash discovered...it's more significant than we realized. And Blackwood knows it."
"He knows you have the key to understanding it," Reed said softly, his presence reassuring at Rowan's side.
She nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility her mother had prepared her for. The artifacts weren't just historical curiosities. They were pieces of a larger truth—one Elena had died to protect.
"So we put it to a vote," King announced. "Here and now. We can try to outrace whatever's coming for us. Or we can stand and fight. Protect what our ancestors died defending. What Elena died protecting." His eyes swept the room. "What say you, brothers?"
One by one, they stood. Even those who had opposed Rowan's presence, who had questioned her motives. They were MC members first and foremost. This was their territory. Their legacy.
Their fight.
"Blood right," Darkness said into the silence. "That's what Elena called it. The right of family to protect these truths." He looked at Rowan. "Time to earn that right, prospect."
Rowan felt Reed squeeze her hand, felt King's pride radiating across the room. This wasn't how she'd planned to reveal her identity, but maybe her mother had known better. Maybe this was exactly how it needed to happen.
"Blood right," she agreed softly. Then louder, "Blood right!"
The call was taken up around the room, brothers united in purpose if not yet in full trust. They had chosen to stand and fight, to protect their territory and its ancient secrets.
Now they just had to survive what came next.
As the meeting dispersed, brothers breaking into tactical teams, Reed pulled Rowan aside. His dark eyes searched her face, concern evident in the set of his jaw.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
She considered the question. Truly considered it. She'd come here looking for answers about her father, about her mother's death. Instead, she'd found a cause worth fighting for, a family worth protecting, and something she hadn't expected to find at all: a man who saw beyond her carefully constructed walls.
"Ask me again tomorrow," she said, the familiar exchange bringing a small smile to his lips.
"Tomorrow," he agreed, his hand finding hers in the shadows. "And every day after that, for as long as you'll have me."
The promise in those words warmed something deep inside her. Regardless of what happened next, what truths they uncovered beneath the club's territory, she wasn't alone anymore. She had her father, she had the club, and she had Reed.
Elena would have approved.
The Seven Devils clubhouse sprawled across several acres of industrial wasteland, a fortress of concrete and steel rising from the ruins of an abandoned factory complex. Rowan perched on a nearby rooftop, studying it through high-powered binoculars, cataloging security measures and patrol patterns. The place practically screamed trap, but that hadn't stopped the Devils from sending their "invitation."
