CHAPTER 21: ESCAPE ROUTE
By the time we rolled back through the compound gates, the sun had dipped completely below the ridgeline, painting the sky bruised purple and deep ash gray. The roar of hundreds of engines died down, leaving the yard wrapped in a heavy, unnatural quiet — too still, like the whole world was holding its breath before a storm. Kael cut his bike’s power and sat there for a long minute, his hand resting heavy on the throttle grip, his gaze scanning every shadowed edge of the tree line.
“Something’s wrong,” he said finally, swinging his leg down and planting his boots firm on the gravel. “Too quiet. Even the hounds aren’t barking. They smell something we haven’t seen yet.”
Jax jogged over fast, his radio gripped tight in one fist, his face set in hard lines, his steps
