Chapter 10 #2
“I’m not blaming you. I’m just—” I stop, searching for words. “She gave up everything. Her whole life. To keep that little girl safe. And she never asked anyone for help. Not once.”
“Some people don’t know how to ask.”
“Maybe.” I turn to look at him. “Or maybe no one ever gave her a reason to think asking would help.”
Stone is quiet for a long moment. Then his hand finds mine in the darkness.
“She has a reason now,” he says. “They both do.”
I lace my fingers through his. Let myself lean into his warmth.
“We got interrupted earlier,” I say.
“We did.”
“That keeps happening.”
“It does.”
“It’s very frustrating.”
His mouth curves. “Is it?”
“Extremely.” I turn to face him fully. “I was promised a conversation. And a locked door.”
“The door can be arranged.” His free hand comes up to cup my face. “The conversation might have to wait.”
“Why?”
“Because right now, all I want to do is kiss you. And I’m not sure I can talk and do that at the same time.”
My heart stutters. “That’s a problem?”
“Could be. I’m very focused when I set my mind to it.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmm.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “Very focused.”
I lean into his touch, let my eyes drift closed. “Stone—”
“STONE!” Tank’s voice bellows from inside. “Bones found something. Says it can’t wait.”
Stone’s hand freezes on my face. His forehead drops to mine.
“I’m going to have them all killed,” he mutters. “I’m thinking poison in the pancakes. The fuckers won’t know what hit them.”
“It does seem like the only solution.”
“Mass murder. Very efficient.”
“I support this plan.”
He laughs despite himself—a rough, exhausted sound—and presses a kiss to my forehead.
“Tomorrow,” he says. “Tomorrow, we’re finishing this.”
“Promise?”
“On my fucking life.”
He pulls away, and I immediately miss his warmth. But he pauses in the doorway, looking back at me with an expression that makes my stomach flip.
“Josie?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t go anywhere.”
“Where would I go?”
“Doesn’t matter. Just—stay.” His eyes hold mine. “Please.”
“Okay,” I say softly. “I’ll stay.”
He nods once, then disappears inside.
I stay on the porch for a while longer, watching the stars, thinking about everything that’s happened and everything that’s still to come.
Isabel and Lily, finally safe after god knows how many years of hell.
Stone and me, dancing around something that feels bigger than either of us.
A cartel that wants me dead. A campaign that needs winning. A club full of people who’ve somehow become family.
It’s a lot. Maybe too much.
But standing there, with Stone’s promise still warm in my ears and the sounds of the clubhouse behind me, I don’t feel overwhelmed.
I feel hopeful.
“How surprising.”
I’m heading back inside when I see her.
Isabel is standing in the hallway outside the room where they’ve put Lily. Her arms are wrapped around herself, her face pale in the dim light. She looks lost. Adrift. Like she’s been running for so long she’s forgotten how to stand still.
“You okay?” I ask softly.
She startles. Then relaxes when she sees it’s me.
“Hey.”
“Can’t sleep?”
“Don’t want to.” She glances toward the door. “Lily’s finally out. It’s the first time in—” She stops. “A long time.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
I lean against the wall beside her, ignoring the protest from my ribs. “You know, you don’t have to stand guard. The club’s got people on the doors. No one’s getting in.”
“I know.”
“But you’re going to stand here anyway.”
“Probably.”
I almost smile. “I get it.”
“Do you?”
“I spent years prosecuting monsters. I know what it’s like to feel responsible for someone’s safety. To lie awake wondering if you’ve done enough.”
Isabel is quiet for a moment. “Did you? Do enough?”
Maria’s face flashes through my mind. Daniel’s drawings.
“Not always,” I admit. “Sometimes no matter what you do, it’s not enough. People still get hurt.”
“That’s not very comforting.”
“No. But it’s honest.” I turn to face her. “The difference is, you got her out. Lily’s safe because of you. Whatever happened before tonight—that’s over. You won.”
Isabel’s jaw trembles. Just for a second, before she locks it down.
“Doesn’t feel like winning.”
“It never does. Not at first.” I reach out, touch her arm. “But give it time. Tomorrow, when you wake up and she’s still here—that’s when you’ll feel it. That’s when it gets real.”
She stares at me with those dark, wary eyes. I can see her fighting it—the urge to believe, the fear of hoping.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asks.
“Because you saved my life.”
“I hit a guy with a bedpan. It wasn’t exactly medal worthy.”
“You saw someone in danger and you acted. Without hesitation. Without thinking about yourself.” I hold her gaze. “That’s not nothing, Isabel. That’s everything.”
Her eyes glisten.
“The man,” she says quietly. “The one who came for us. Bradley?”
“He prefers Brick. That’s his road name.”
“Brick.” She repeats. “He packed Lily’s things. Her rabbit, her clothes. Before any of it happened. He didn’t even know us, and he—” She stops, shakes her head. “Why?”
I think about Brick’s face when he’s walked through that door. The blood on his knuckles. The way his eyes have tracked Isabel’s every movement.
“Because that’s what this club does,” I say. “They protect people. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when they don’t know the full story.” I smile. “Especially then.”
Isabel is quiet for a long moment. Then she exhales, some of the tension bleeding out of her shoulders.
“I don’t know how to do this,” she admits. “How to trust people. How to let someone else carry the weight.”
“Neither do I.” I shrug. “But I’m learning. Maybe we can figure it out together.”
“Maybe.”
“Get some rest. Lily’s going to need you tomorrow.”
Isabel nods slowly. Then, surprising us both, she reaches out and squeezes my hand.
“Thank you,” she says. “For everything.”
“Thank me by getting some sleep.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She slips into the room, closing the door softly behind her.
I stand in the hallway for a moment, listening to the quiet of the clubhouse settling around me. Somewhere, voices murmur. Somewhere, boots cross a floor. The sounds of people keeping watch, keeping safe, keeping each other.
This club is a family. It’s nice to be a part of it.
I turn to leave but stop when movement at the far end of the corridor catches my eye.
Brick.
He’s leaning against the wall in the shadows, arms crossed, those sharp blue eyes tracking Isabel until she disappears inside. Standing watch. Whether it’s to keep her safe or keep her from running, I can’t tell—maybe both.
His gaze flicks to me. A brief nod of acknowledgment.
I nod back, then head to my room, smiling.