Calla’s POV
The silence after their departure pressed against me like a physical weight. Through the cabin windows, I watched the red taillights disappear into the darkness, swallowed by trees that seemed to close ranks behind them. Kane’s absence left a void that made the walls feel closer, and the shadows deeper.
I wasn’t alone, Wrench and Diesel had positioned themselves on the front porch. Diesel kept making jokes about the cold, his easy laughter drifting through the windows, while Wrench cleaned his sidearm with methodical precision. Their presence should have been reassuring, but the quiet felt dangerous, loaded with tension.
My chest ached thinking about Soren. He was twenty-one years old, all sharp edges and suspicious glares, and now dead because he’d been loyal at the wrong t
