[Ava's POV]
The word lodged in my chest like a shard of glass, sharp and impossible to ignore.
“Blood check?”
It shouldn’t have meant anything to me. Just two ordinary words. But the way the Maddox brothers froze—mid-breath, mid-thought—as if the temperature in the room had dropped ten degrees, told me everything I needed to know. Their shoulders stiffened. Eyes darkened. Something unspoken passed between them like a warning.
This wasn’t a question. It was a verdict.
My throat tightened, dry and raw. “What do you mean—blood check?”
Jaxon leaned forward, forearms braced on his knees, his voice flat and merciless, like he’d done this before—like he’d explained death to someone who didn’t know they were already standing at the edge. “Exactly what it sounds like. They’ll take your blood,
