The first rider stepped off slowly.
He was massive—broad shoulders beneath a worn leather vest, arms covered in faded tattoos, a long scar dragging down one side of his face as if carved there by violence years ago. Across his back stretched a Grim Reaper emblem stitched in white thread, the words BLACK IRON BROTHERHOOD arched beneath it.
Fear moved through me instantly, irrational but powerful.
He didn’t glance around or hesitate.
He walked directly toward the man at the swings.