.
Chapter 18: Where Ghosts Begin
The desert hadn’t changed.
Same cracked ground, same broken horizon, same dry wind that tasted like silence and bones. This was the place where Rourke built his legacy. And the place Jax planned to burn it down.
He stepped out of the truck alone.
Just like the message instructed.
No weapons. No backup. Just him, the dust, and the ghosts still clawing for air.
Sienna had wanted to come, but he shook his head.
“If I don’t face this alone, I’ll never own who I am.”
She kissed his forehead anyway. “Then make sure the man who walks back to me chooses to be free.”
Now—he was here. And waiting.
Until he wasn’t.
Because someone else stepped out of the dunes.
Not Rourke.
Cassian.
Young. Calm. Eyes like broken ice. And wearing a simple gray jacket — m
