Page 76 of Ruthless Possession
"He's dangerous," I warn, glancing at Charlie to make sure she can't hear us. "He's killed before."
Carter's jaw tightens. "So have I. In the cage, it's sport. This? This is personal."
The quiet confidence in his voice should scare me, but instead, it gives me strength. These men, these Devil Souls, they understand what family means.
"We're rolling out," Trenton announces, climbing into the driver's seat. "Morgan, you and Charlie will be in here with me. Matthew will follow with the weapons. Isaac, you take point. Kane and Sydney, you cover the rear."
My father nods once, his face set in the determined expression I've known since childhood. "We'll keep comms open. Any sign of trouble, we'll know."
As I slide into the passenger seat beside Trenton, I catch a glimpse of Carter moving to his truck. He meets my eyes through the window, giving me a small nod of reassurance.
The engine roars to life, and I watch in the side mirror as our convoy forms with my father leading, then us, Matthew following, and finally Kane and Sydney with Carter bringing up the rear. Five vehicles, all carrying people who would die to protect us.
Charlie stirs in her car seat, her small voice breaking the tension. "Are we going to be safe at the cabin, Ms. Morgan?"
I reach back to squeeze her hand. "Yes, sweetheart. We'll be very safe there."
Trenton's hand finds mine, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. "The club won't let anything happen to you two. Not ever."
As we pull away from our home, I watch the security lights fade in the distance.
I look at Charlie in the rearview mirror, her small face pale but brave. I think of the women Evan has killed, those who looked like me, who might have looked like Charlie's mother. The families he's destroyed, the lives he's ended.
The highway stretches before us, dark and empty in the predawn hours. My phone buzzes with a text from my mother: We've got you. Always.
Trenton's hand remains steady on the wheel, his gaze constantly scanning our surroundings. I've seen that look before on missions, in dangerous situations. It's the look of a man assessing threats, planning responses, anticipating dangers before they materialize.
"He was watching us tonight," I say quietly, keeping my voice low so Charlie won't hear. "The whole time."
Trenton nods, his jaw tightening. "He wanted us to know he was close. Wanted us to feel vulnerable."
"What's the plan when we reach the cabin?" I ask finally.
Trenton glances at me, then back at the road. His hands tighten on the wheel.
"We leave you there," he says. "With Charlie. With your mom and the others."
The words hit me harder than I expect. "You're leaving us?"
"Morgan." He says my name the way he does when he wants me to listen and not argue. "If we keep running, we're letting him set the terms. We're always going to be one step behind."
Matthew's headlights fill the rearview mirror. I can see the shape of him behind the wheel, his posture rigid even from this distance.
"So we go on the offensive," I say, understanding clicking into place. "Instead of waiting for him to come to us."
"We hunt him." Trenton's voice drops to that register, the one that means the decision is already made, the wheels are already turning, and he's just informing me because he respects me enough not to keep it a secret. "Matthew and me. We use what the three men told us tonight. We follow the trail to the Pinewood. We pick it up from there and we don't stop until he's been handled."
"Handled." I let the word sit between us. I know what it means. I've always known what it means, with these two, with this club, with the kind of men who spend years in places where handling is the only language that ends things cleanly.
"Yes," he says.
I look in the back seat. Charlie has drifted off, her unicorn pressed against her cheek, her breathing even and slow. She doesn't look like a child who spent the last hour hiding in a safe room while men tried to take her. She looks like a child who trusts the people in this car.
"I don't like being left behind," I say quietly.
"I know."
"I don't like being the thing that gets protected while you two go out and do the dangerous work."
