DAMIAN.
I crushed the cigarette under my boot, and slid into the driver's seat. The engine roared to life with a low growl that matched the one in my chest. As I pulled out of the driveway, my thoughts drifted to Ava. Impressed didn't cover how I felt knowing others would've chickened out at the thought of being captured, but not my Ava. She'd read her abductor like an open book, turning the tables and saving all our asses from the press hit.Damn, it turned me on, that fire in her.
The drive to Eden's ruins was autopilot. I parked, killing the engine. Stepping out, I picked my way through the blackened beams and shattered glass crunching underfoot, each step a reminder of what I had lost. Eden wasn't just a club to me, but a part of my heart. Its destruction was a wound I hadn't healed.
I reached the private lounge, where Zane and Noah were waiting. I nodded at them before sinking onto a scorched couch. Zane, who was all edges and in a coiled menace, didn't look up from his phone. Noah, stood by the desk, his eyes scanning the room.
"You're late," Zane snapped.
"I needed to make sure Ava was sleeping before I left. Rico's with her," I said, keeping my tone even. Rico was loyal, and would guard her with his life.
"Whatever," Zane muttered, turning to Noah. "Harper's still out there. My order stands as before; we need to take her out."
Noah slammed the desk, the bang echoing. His eyes locked on Zane's, cold as steel. "No. She's off the list."
Zane and I snapped our heads toward him. "What did you say?" Zane's voice was dangerously low.
"You heard me." Noah stepped forward, fists clenched, his lean frame taut with defiance. "Harper's not a threat. Ava's plan worked, and Hale's down. We're clear. Killing her now would be pointless." He shrugged, but there was no ease in it.
I raised my brows, furrowing. "Noah, her story nearly fucked us. She played us all."
"She was doing her job!" Noah shot back, "Journalism, not revenge. She's lost everything, her contract, her home, her future as a journalist. Damian, isn't that enough?"
Zane stepped into Noah's space, towering over him, his shadow swallowing the smaller man. "Her job? She betrayed you, us. In our world, that's a death sentence. You know the rules."
"Rules?" Noah laughed, bitter and loud. "The ones we bend when it suits us? Ava was an outsider, but we used her idea. Harper's not the enemy we think she is, she's just a journalist, not a hitman. Killing her makes us the monsters she wrote about."
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees. "She's a loose end, Noah. One call to the feds, and we're back in the fire."
"She won't!" Noah roared. "I saw her last night. We talked. She's broken, man. Give her a pass, or you're just proving her right about us."
"You saw her? Alone?" My voice dropped, a warning. "That's reckless, Noah."
"Reckless?" He whirled on me, eyes blazing. "Like trusting Ava? Harper could be an asset too. She's smart, connected. But kill her? Over my fucking body."
Zane's jaw tightened. "You're choosing her over us, your family?"
"I'm choosing better," Noah spat, his words dripping with venom. "For the first time since we started this crazy, bloody cartel. I've bled for this family. But blind murdering a poor journalist? That's not us. Call it off, Zane. Or lose me."
The room fell silent, the weight of Noah's ultimatum hanging like smoke. Zane's eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak. Instead, he turned and stormed out, the door slamming behind him. Noah didn't wait long, brushing past me with a muttered curse, leaving me alone in the ruins of Eden.
֍
My mind circled back to Noah's standoff as I drove through the city streets. He had slammed the desk, defending Harper like she was his blood with an unshaken conviction. Zane had walked away, leaving me caught between them, wondering which side to choose. Both were right in their own way. Noah saw a chance for redemption, a way to break the cycle of blood we had been drowning in. But Zane's doubts festered in me too. Harper had nearly gutted us with her exposé, and sparing her felt like leaving a loaded gun on the table, safety off.
My phone buzzed, snapping me out of it. Zane's name flashed on the screen. I answered, keeping my eyes on the road. "Yeah?"
"Loose ends," he said. "Harper's off for now, but watch Noah. He's soft on her."
I snorted, weaving through traffic. "He fought for her like a cornered dog. But you're right, Zane. She's a risk."
He paused, the silence heavy. "You backed him. Why?"
I exhaled, my boot crunching glass as I pulled over near a mall. "Because Ava proved it. We have to start choosing brains over bullets. Harper had been neutralized, Killing her now will only make us look weak and reactionary."
"She exposed us," Zane said.
"Exposed bullshit we spun back," I fired, "Ava's play buried it. And since Noah vouches, says she's not gunning for us, why not trust his word?"
Zane laughed, cold and hollow. "Vouches? Like you vouch for Ava? That's personal, Damian. Clouds judgment."
The words hit like a gut punch, my grip tightening on the phone. "Personal? I've buried more for this family than anyone. Ava saved us. If that's clouding, then we're blind without it."
"Watch it," Zane growled.
"Give Noah the same rope you gave Ava," I pushed.
Zane exhaled, long and slow. "Fine. But if Harper slips, Noah cleans it. And you? Keep Ava out of your bed. Or we're done."
"After everything?" I snapped. "My club, Eden, burned for us, Zane. You know that."
"For family!" he roared. "Not your dick."
I hung up, breathing hard, the phone hot in my hand. If Noah saw a fresh start, maybe I did too, for us all. Atlas needed to evolve, or it would crumble under its own weight. But Zane's warning echoed: Ava was a line I couldn't cross, not yet. Not if I wanted to keep the family together.
I tracked Noah to a dive bar on the city's edge, He was in a corner booth, nursing a beer, his eyes scanning the room like he was expecting trouble. I slid in across from him, signaling for a drink.
"You're a hard man to find," I said, keeping my tone light.
He didn't smile. "Needed space. Zane's bullshit's getting old."
I leaned back, studying him. Noah was always the wildcard, the one who felt too much, cared too much. It made him reckless, but it also made him sharp. "You really believe Harper's clean?"
He met my gaze, unflinching. "I know her, Damian. She's not some mastermind. She was chasing a story, not a vendetta. She's got nothing left to fight for."
"And if she flips? Talks to the feds?"
"She won't," he said. "I'd stake my life on it."
I took a long pull from my beer, weighing his words. "You might have to. Zane's not sold."
Noah's jaw tightened. "Then make him. You've got pull, Damian. You backed Ava when no one else did. Do the same for me."
I wanted to believe him, But Atlas wasn't built on trust but blood, loyalty, and hard choices. Still, Noah's fire reminded me of Ava's, and she'd proven the impossible. Maybe he could too.
"Alright," I said finally. "I'll talk to Zane. But you keep Harper in line. One wrong move, and we're all fucked."
Noah nodded, a flicker of relief in his eyes. "Deal."
