Knox:
The compound hadn’t changed.
Same rusted gate. Same roaring silence. Same scent of oil, tobacco, and dust baked into every inch of concrete and chrome. It felt like walking back into an old version of myself—one I’d buried under months of distance and a woman who made me want something quieter.
But right now, quiet wasn’t gonna save her.
Viv was in trouble. I saw it in her eyes the night I got back. She didn’t have to say a word. The fear, the tremble under her tough girl armor, it was all there. And whatever ghost had crawled out of her past to haunt her… it had her cornered.
I parked my bike, killed the engine, and let the silence settle. The door to the garage was open. A few of the guys were gathered around a car on blocks—laughing, drinking, passing a blunt between greasy f
