Page 24 of Falcon’s Forever

By the time it completes the round, some of the tension has loosened in the room. We still don’t know what the SUV means, and we’re still scared, but fear feels different when you know what’s happening around you instead of being left to interpret every sound.

“Who’s sending these?” Maya asks, pushing the phone back toward me.

“Condor, probably,” I tell her.

Maya tilts her head. “Which one is Condor?”

“The one permanently attached to a laptop,” I explain.

“Oh.” Recognition brightens her face. “The nerd biker.”

A laugh escapes me, but the front door opens before I can respond.

Sarah grabs my arm. I’m halfway out of my chair when a woman steps inside and freezes at the sight of us.

“Oh, shit,” the woman blurts.

She immediately backs outside and pulls the door shut behind her. A second later, she knocks.

Another laugh escapes me despite everything. “Come in,” I call.

The door opens again, and the woman cautiously peers around it. “Better?”

“Much,” I tell her, settling back into my chair.

This is Frankie, though I don’t need to introduce her to anyone in this house. She’s one of Vulture’s and has been in and out of the compound longer than most of the patched brothers. She has a way of walking into a room in the middle of a crisis and making it feel survivable simply by being there.

Frankie looks around, taking in our faces and the phone sitting in the centre of the table. “I heard about the SUV.”

“Apparently, everybody has heard,” I reply.

“The whole clubhouse went from annoying to armed in about forty seconds.” Frankie places a bag on the table and opens it. “I brought cookies.”

Maya’s face lights up. “This is why you’re my favourite.”

Frankie raises an eyebrow at her. “I thought Cara was your favourite.”

“Cara makes me drink water,” Maya complains.

“Because you should drink water,” I point out.

Maya gestures toward me as if I’ve proven her entire case. “See?”

Frankie slides the bag toward her. "Trauma support through baked goods. It’s very underrated." Sarah smiles faintly, her shoulders coming down another inch. Frankie has that effect on people. She doesn't mother them, she just moves through the room like whatever's happening can be survived, and there's something reassuring about a woman who answers a potential security threat with chocolate chip cookies.

The phone buzzes again. Nobody jumps as hard this time. That's progress too.

Security Phone:

Vehicle moved approximately half a mile east. Rook and Ice Pick tracking from inside boundary. No approach toward compound.

Emily frowns. "What does that mean?"

"That they're following it without leaving the property."

Frankie looks at me. "Is that Falcon's idea?"

"I don't know." She looks like she doesn't believe me, and I let it go.