Part I – Cole
By dawn, the roadhouse had lost its quiet.
The Reapers were up before sunrise, moving like restless shadows across the yard — checking weapons, scanning the perimeter, pacing. The hum of tension was louder than the engines.
Cole stood by the garage, hands on his hips, watching Deke argue with Trigger — one of their newer recruits. Trigger was loud, twitchy, trying too hard to act innocent.
"Don't raise your damn voice at me, boy," Deke snapped. "You were the one on watch the night the Vultures hit."
"Yeah, and I saw nothing! You think I'd sell us out? To them?" Trigger spat back, his neck vein pulsing.
Cole didn't move. Didn't have to. His silence cut through louder than shouting ever could.
When both men turned toward him, he finally spoke — low, steady, dangerous.
"Someone told the Vultures where to find us. They didn't stumble across that warehouse by chance."
Trigger swallowed. "You think that's me?"
Cole took one step closer. "I think whoever it was is standing right here pretending he ain't."
The air thickened. Boots shifted. Eyes avoided his. Every man there knew what it meant when the Prez's voice went quiet — it meant the storm was coming.
He turned to Deke. "Get eyes on every call, every route. Nobody leaves this place until I know who we're bleeding from."
Deke nodded, already in motion.
Cole stood there a moment longer, jaw tight, trying to ignore the dull ache in his shoulder. He didn't want to believe it — that one of his own could betray them. But every instinct told him the leak came from inside.
And that meant the Reapers weren't just fighting the Vultures anymore.
They were fighting themselves.
---
Part II – Elena
From her room upstairs, Elena could hear the muffled rise of voices.
The anger, the suspicion, the rough edge of loyalty breaking apart.
She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out the window.
This was what Cole lived with — this kind of pressure, this constant balancing act between family and survival. Every man downstairs had killed for him, but now they looked at each other like strangers.
When she finally came down, the room went still for half a beat. She wasn't one of them, and no matter how long she stayed, she wouldn't be.
Cole was leaning over the table, maps spread out, eyes cold and unfocused.
"Something's not right," he muttered, mostly to himself.
She hesitated before stepping closer. "You'll find out who did it."
He looked up, jaw hard. "Finding out's easy. It's what comes after that I'm not sure about."
She studied him. He looked exhausted — dark circles under his eyes, stubble thick along his jaw.
"Cole," she said softly, "these men trust you."
"Trust only lasts till someone starts bleeding," he said.
Her chest tightened. "And you? Who do you trust?"
He met her gaze — the kind of look that made her forget the rest of the world existed.
"I'm still figuring that out."
---
Part III – Cole
By nightfall, the storm had broken again — lightning in the distance, wind howling across the open yard.
Cole stood in the doorway of the roadhouse, cigarette glowing between his fingers, watching the horizon. His mind wouldn't stop turning.
He'd seen betrayal before — men selling out brothers for cash, revenge, or a way out. But this felt different. Closer. Personal.
He heard footsteps behind him. He didn't have to turn to know who it was.
Elena's voice came softly. "You can't fight shadows, Cole."
"Tell that to the ones creeping into my walls."
She stepped beside him, blanket wrapped around her shoulders again. "Then start with light."
He glanced at her, faintly smiling despite himself. "You talk like a preacher."
"I talk like someone who's tired of fear," she said.
They stood there in silence, wind tugging at their hair, rain threatening again.
And even though the world outside was coming apart, there was something steady in the way she looked at him — something that made the distance between them just a little smaller.
Inside, a door slammed. Voices rose again.
Deke came out, face grim. "We got a name, Prez."
Cole dropped his cigarette into the mud, the ember hissing out.
"Say it."
Deke hesitated. "Trigger."
Cole nodded once — slow, deliberate — and for a moment, Elena saw the man behind the leader: tired, betrayed, dangerous.
"Lock him down," Cole said quietly. "No one touches him until I do."
And as Deke left, the thunder rolled, and Elena realized — the war wasn't just outside anymore.
It had already begun inside their walls.