didn't do pani

e one that was supposed to show Ashley's

and stared at the blank map. Outside, the Sonoran night hummed with heat and distant traffic, neon sign

safe, boring life she'd chosen over him. He'd even told himsel

didn't just

head. Her voice had been steady but cold...

ep that world really went, or how many e

backroads, cartel checkpoints, rival biker territory. He hated that part of him-the strategist who could already see three moves ahead-but it was the only part of him that might keep her alive. The music in

'd let her, thinking distance would prot

is mother-wore a crisp white shirt rolled at the sleeves, revealing a jagged scar d

shot from Marco's bottle, uninvited. "GPS do

e had my spare. Nobody outside the f

Nobody except the Fang

mach turned. Alvarez had been sniffing around for mon

ain last week. Said he was 'concerned for her safety.'" He sneered. "When that bastard s

'd split a shipment and a body count, the whispered rumors that the cartel was bleeding

crawling up his spine. He could almost see Alvarez's men already-dusty SUVs rolling out

glass down carefully. "You warned

ands curled into fists on the ta

ty cam footage from a dusty roadside gas station. Ashley's car sat at a pump. And behind her, blurred but

tes on desert roads, tense standoffs where the Vipers had watched him down a rifle sight but hadn't p

face. "The Fangs would've dumped her in the de

reathing isn't good enough." He shoved the phone back. "Get

ut there on her own, Delgado. You left a hole bi

away from the razor-thin line they were walking. Marco stared at his reflection in the dark window; a man who

creaking. "I'll fix it." His voice was a low growl. "An

You'll need more than words. The Fangs have been sniffing a

out a leak, a rat inside his own crew. Maybe Ashley's di

sweep, routes to block, questions to ask without drawing attention. The network he'd built over years would move silentl

to the table, grabbed his phone,

rnace, but it barely registered.

bled into darkness. Somewhere out there, Ashley was riding with outlaws, an

o, sunlight on her hair, back when they believed escape was possible. That memory hardened into resolve. He woul

s, knuckles cracking.

lway