Reap
The North East is burning. The Bloody Hand has swallowed Sunderland and Teesside, and the Kings are bleeding out. Brothers turning on brothers. Allies falling like dominos.
And anyone tied to us—any woman who dares love us—is marked.
I swore I’d never make the same mistake twice. Then she walked back into my world.
Sophie. The girl who owned my heart before I knew what loyalty would cost me. Now she’s standing in front of me—soft eyes, steady hands—and I can’t breathe for the memories clawing their way back.
I’ve changed. I’m not the boy she loved—I’m the man she should run from. But when her fingers brush my skin, the years disappear. And I’m gone.
I know what happens to women who get too close to men like me. But I can’t let her go again. Even if loving her puts her in danger. Even if it means my own death.
