The Burn Notice

The message was sent at 3 a.m. Rogue personally delivered the envelope to a Reaper hangout on the outskirts — one ledger page, one flash drive photo, and a simple note: Next time it’s everything. Stay away from what’s ours. By sunrise, the compound was wired. Every brother carried extra ammo. Patrols doubled. My mom stayed locked in a secure room, still shaken but finally starting to understand the mess she’d helped create. I was in the garage trying to lose myself in work on the custom chopper when Colossus found me. He didn’t speak at first. He just walked up behind me, wrapped his massive arms around my waist, and pulled my back against his chest. “They got the message,” he rumbled, lips brushing my ear. “Now we wait for them to bleed.” I leaned into him, grease-stained hands cover