The boy couldn\u2019t answer right away.<\/p>\n
His grip tightened on Cormac Hale\u2019s arm, small fingers digging in like letting go meant disappearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d Cormac said quietly, steady as steel. \u201cBreathe first.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boy tried.<\/p>\n
Shallow.<\/p>\n
Fast.<\/p>\n
Then finally\u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re close.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
Cormac didn\u2019t ask who.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
He stood slowly, the scrape of his chair cutting through the silence like a warning. Around the room, the other riders didn\u2019t move\u2014but they were already watching.<\/p>\n
Already listening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d Cormac asked.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Noah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormac nodded once. \u201cAlright, Noah. You stay right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah shook his head quickly, panic flashing again. \u201cNo\u2014I can\u2019t\u2014if they see me\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormac crouched slightly, bringing himself eye level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey won\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Simple.<\/p>\n
Certain.<\/p>\n
Noah froze.<\/p>\n
Because he believed him.<\/p>\n
That was the problem.<\/p>\n
Outside\u2014<\/p>\n
engines.<\/p>\n
Low at first.<\/p>\n
Then clearer.<\/p>\n
Not bikes.<\/p>\n
Too smooth. Too controlled.<\/p>\n
Heads in the roadhouse turned toward the windows as headlights stretched across the dirt lot, long and sharp in the fading light.<\/p>\n
Three vehicles.<\/p>\n
Black.<\/p>\n
Stopping slow.<\/p>\n
No rush.<\/p>\n
Like they knew exactly where they were.<\/p>\n
Cormac stood again.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack room,\u201d he said without looking.<\/p>\n
Two men moved instantly, guiding Noah away without a word. The boy hesitated once\u2014looking back\u2014<\/p>\n
Cormac gave a small nod.<\/p>\n
Go.<\/p>\n
The door shut behind him.<\/p>\n
The engines outside cut.<\/p>\n
Silence fell heavy.<\/p>\n
Then\u2014<\/p>\n
car doors opened.<\/p>\n
Measured.<\/p>\n
Confident.<\/p>\n
Cormac rolled his shoulders once, finishing the last sip of his coffee like nothing had changed.<\/p>\n
Then he set the cup down.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t start it,\u201d one of the older riders muttered. \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormac didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Because sometimes\u2014<\/p>\n
you didn\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n
The front door opened.<\/p>\n
No hesitation.<\/p>\n
A man stepped in\u2014clean, pressed, completely wrong for the place.<\/p>\n
The suited man<\/p>\n
He glanced around once, taking in the room, the men, the silence.<\/p>\n
Then his eyes landed on Cormac.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvening,\u201d he said calmly. \u201cA boy came in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormac didn\u2019t move. \u201cLots of people come in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man smiled slightly. \u201cNot like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind him, two more figures appeared in the doorway. Not loud. Not aggressive.<\/p>\n
Just ready.<\/p>\n
Cormac tilted his head. \u201cWhat\u2019d he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man stepped forward a fraction. \u201cHe took something.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Always something.<\/p>\n
Cormac\u2019s gaze didn\u2019t shift. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t look like he can carry much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s smile thinned. \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n
A beat.<\/p>\n
Then\u2014<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not yours to protect.\u201d<\/p>\n
That landed wrong.<\/p>\n
Cormac took one step forward.<\/p>\n
Heavy.<\/p>\n
Deliberate.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything that walks through that door looking like that,\u201d he said quietly, \u201cbecomes my problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room shifted behind him.<\/p>\n
Chairs moved.<\/p>\n
Boots adjusted.<\/p>\n
Not loud.<\/p>\n
But final.<\/p>\n
The man noticed.<\/p>\n
Of course he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re getting involved in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cormac\u2019s voice dropped lower.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside, one of the engines turned over again\u2014low, idling, like a reminder.<\/p>\n
Inside, the air tightened.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s eyes flicked once toward the back of the roadhouse.<\/p>\n
Small mistake.<\/p>\n
Cormac saw it.<\/p>\n
And that was all he needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stays,\u201d Cormac said.<\/p>\n
The man exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen this gets complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormac cracked his neck slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he replied. \u201cYou made it simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
Then the man nodded once\u2014like a decision had been made.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n
Behind him\u2014<\/p>\n
movement.<\/p>\n
Fast.<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
Cormac didn\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n
Because whatever Noah had brought with him\u2014<\/p>\n
was already trying to take him back.<\/p>\n
And that wasn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The boy couldn\u2019t answer right away. His grip tightened on Cormac Hale\u2019s arm, small fingers digging in like letting go meant disappearing. \u201cHey,\u201d Cormac said quietly, steady as steel. \u201cBreathe first.\u201d The boy tried. Shallow. Fast. Then finally\u2014 \u201cThey\u2019re close.\u201d That was enough. Cormac didn\u2019t ask who. Not yet. He stood slowly, the scrape of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}