Chapter Three
King was bent over the hood of a Harley in the shop, grease on his knuckles and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, when his phone buzzed. He didn’t like being interrupted when he worked. Machines were honest in a way people rarely were.
However, one glance at the screen had him wiping his hands on a rag. Viper.
King answered on the first ring. “Talk.”
“They’re sniffing around again,” Viper said, his voice clipped. “Two Serpent bikes just did a slow roll past The Pit Stop. Didn’t stop, didn’t flash their colors. Just circling. Like they’re reminding her she’s marked.”
King tightened his jaw, the smoke from his cigarette curling up into the stale garage air. “You still there?” King asked.
“Of course I’m still here,” Viper replied. “You told me to keep eyes on her, I keep eyes. But if they want to push again, it won’t be long before it gets messy.”
King ground out the cigarette against the workbench. “Stay with her. I’m coming,” he told his VP.
He didn’t bother to clean up properly, just grabbed his cut and his keys. The ride over was short but fast, the wind slapping at him as his mind churned.
He’d known the Serpents wouldn’t let it go. The Pit Stop was easy prey for them. An unprotected bar, an absent owner, a stubborn bartender too proud to back down.
Lena. He told himself he was angry because she was his responsibility now, because she was under the Devil’s Crown’s protection and any strike against her was a strike at his club. That was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.
The whole truth was that when he pictured her with her chin high, eyes blazing at him like he wasn’t a man to fear, something inside him tightened. He wanted her, wanted her in a way that had nothing to do with protection and everything to do with possession.
By the time he pulled up to The Pit Stop, the decision was already made.
Viper leaned against his bike outside, a cigarette burning low between his fingers. He nodded when King approached.
“Quiet now. They passed twice and kept going. Haven’t seen them since,” Viper reported.
“They’ll be back,” King said.
He didn’t glance at Viper again, just pushed open the bar’s battered door and stepped inside.
Lena was there, of course. She was wiping down the counter with quick, angry strokes, like if she scrubbed hard enough she could erase the damage from the night before. Her shoulders looked stiff, her movements sharp.
When she looked up and saw him, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
“You again,” Lena grumbled.
King shut the door behind him, the sound heavy in the silence. “Me again,” he agreed.
“I don’t remember asking for company.”
He stepped closer, the weight of his presence filling the space. “You didn’t. But you got snakes circling, and I don’t leave loose ends,” King told her.
Her eyes narrowed. “So I’m a loose end now?”
“You’re under my protection,” King said simply. “That means you don’t get to stand here waiting for them to come back and finish what they started.”
“I can handle myself,” she snapped, tossing the rag down on the counter.
King almost smiled. Almost. Christ, she was fire. “You think that, but you don’t know the Serpents like I do. They don’t quit. They’ll circle until they smell blood, and then they’ll take everything,” he said.
Her chin lifted. “So, what, I’m supposed to just hide? Run home like a scared little girl?” Lena demanded.
“No,” King said.
He took another step closer, close enough now to catch the faint scent of her. Soap and coffee and something sweeter underneath. “You’re coming with me,” he said.
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not safe here. Not at the bar, not at your place. They’ll find you. My compound’s locked down, secure. They won’t touch you there.”
Her laugh was sharp, disbelieving. “Oh, right. Because trading one prison for another sounds like such a great idea.”
King’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he leaned one hand on the counter, lowering his voice until it was a rumble that brushed against her skin.
“You think I’m your prison, sweetheart? I’m the only thing standing between you and the kind of hell you don’t walk away from,” he told her.
She froze, her breath hitching, though she tried to hide it. The flush creeping up her neck, the quick flutter of her pulse, King caught every detail. It definitely lit something dangerous in him.
“You don’t scare me,” she whispered, though her voice wasn’t as steady as she wanted it to be.
King curved his mouth upwards, slow and wolfish. “That’s the problem. You should be.”
The air between them crackled, hot and taut. For a second, neither moved. King’s hand twitched, the urge to touch her burning through his control.
To tuck that strand of hair behind her ear, to tilt her chin and see how long she could keep up that defiant glare once his mouth was on hers. But he held still. Barely.
“Pack your things,” he said finally, his voice low but firm. “You’re coming with me.”
Lena shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “No. I have my life, my mom—”
“I’ll send men to check on her. To guard her. But you?” He shook his head. “You don’t stay here. Not unless you want to hand yourself over to those bastards on a silver platter.”
Her lips parted, her breath uneven. For the first time, he saw the flicker of fear beneath her steel. And that did it. That decided it for him.
King straightened, towering over her, his voice final. “This isn’t a request, Lena. You’re under the Devil’s Crown’s protection. That means you’re under mine. And I don’t let what’s mine get chewed up by snakes.”
Her eyes widened at the word mine, but she didn’t back away. Didn’t fold. Instead, she glared up at him, fire warring with uncertainty.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” she said, her voice steady again.
King’s grin was sharp, dangerous. “Then think of it this way, you don’t belong to anyone, but you’ll stay alive because of me. That enough for you?”
Silence stretched, heavy and heated. Her breath came faster, and King could see the battle playing out in her eyes. Pride against survival, defiance against the pull neither of them could seem to deny.
****
Finally, Lena looked away, muttering, “I need some time to think about this.”
King leaned in just enough that his words brushed the shell of her ear, low and rough. “Fine. I’ll give you until the end of the day.
The words lingered long after he left, rumbling in her head like the fading growl of his bike. Lena stood in the empty bar, rag limp in her hand, staring at the door. Her heart thudded hard enough to hurt.
End of the day. Like it was some kind of deadline she couldn’t escape. She scrubbed the counter again, harder than necessary. It was as if cleaning would erase the memory of his dark and commanding voice which was frightening in its certainty.
She hated how it made her shiver, how part of her wasn’t just afraid but alive in a way she hadn’t felt in years.
By the time her shift ended, she was exhausted. Every muscle ached, her nerves stretched thin. But she didn’t go home. She went straight to the hospital.
The sterile smell of disinfectant hit her the moment she stepped through the automatic doors. Lena had grown used to it, but it never got easier. The hallways gleamed under too-bright lights, and the steady beep of machines followed her like a clock counting down time she didn’t have.
Her mother was sitting up in bed when Lena entered, a faded blanket tucked around her legs. Her skin looked paler than yesterday, her cheeks hollow, but her eyes brightened when she saw her daughter.
“Lena.” Her voice was thin but warm, always warm. “You came.”
“Of course I came.” Lena forced a smile, setting her bag on the chair by the bed. “Brought you that tea you like.”
She pulled a thermos out, unscrewing the lid. The steam rose, filling the room with the faint scent of chamomile. Her mom’s hands trembled as she reached for it, so Lena steadied the cup, watching her take a slow sip.
“Better?” Lena asked softly.
Her mom smiled faintly. “Better.”
For a while, Lena sat there, listening to the hum of machines and the faint shuffle of nurses’ shoes outside the door.
She asked about the doctors, about how her mom was feeling, about the new medication they’d started. Her mother answered in bits and pieces, but there was a weariness behind her words that made Lena’s throat tight.
Then, without warning, her mother’s hand reached out and gripped hers with surprising strength.
“Lena,” she said, more urgently now. “Don’t stay at that bar.”
Lena blinked. “What?”
“I heard,” her mother whispered. “The Serpents. The nurses talk, the visitors talk. They’re trouble, Lena. You can’t fight men like that.”
“I’m fine, Mom.” Lena tried to keep her voice steady. “It’s just intimidation. They won’t...”
“They will.” Her mother’s grip tightened. “I know men like that. They don’t stop. And you...” Her voice broke, and she closed her eyes for a moment. “You’ve always been so stubborn. So strong. But there’s no shame in needing help.”
Lena’s chest constricted. “Mom.”
Her mother opened her eyes again. “Listen to me. If someone’s offering you protection, take it. Don’t let pride get you killed,” she said.
Lena went still. Her mother didn’t know about King, not exactly, but she didn’t need to. It was as if she could see right through Lena, as if she already knew about the choice hanging over her.
Her mother brushed over the back of Lena’s hand with her thumb. “Promise me you’ll be careful,” her mom said.
Lena’s throat worked. She nodded.
“I promise,” Lena said. The words felt heavy, because she didn’t know if she could keep them.
Later, walking out of the hospital, Lena felt like the walls were closing in. The afternoon sun was too bright after the dim sterility of the ward, but it did nothing to chase away the heaviness in her chest.
Her mother’s voice echoed in her head. Don’t let pride get you killed.
She pulled her phone out of her bag, staring at the screen. She hovered her thumb over the contacts, over the number she swore she wouldn’t use.
She could almost hear him again, last night, when he pressed that slip of paper into her hand. Just in case.
Lena had scoffed then. She wasn’t going to be the kind of woman who called a man like him for help. Especially not a man like King. He was dangerous and commanding, the kind of man who looked at her like he could eat her alive.
But here she was, standing in the parking lot with her heart in her throat, because the Serpents weren’t going away, and her mother was right. Pride wouldn’t protect her.
With a shaky breath, she hit dial.
The phone rang once. Twice. Then his voice came through, low and rough. “King.”
Lena swallowed hard. “It’s me. Lena,” she said.
There was silence on the other end for a moment. “What happened?” King demanded.
“Nothing. Not yet. But my mom, she’s worried. And I...” She hated how small her voice sounded. “I think you were right. About not being safe.”
Another pause. “Where are you?” King eventually asked.
“Hospital parking lot. About to head home,” Lena explained.
“Don’t.” His voice was absolute. “Wait there. I’ll send my VP Viper. He’ll take you to your place, help you pack. You’re coming to the compound tonight.”
Her chest tightened. “I never said—”
“You called me,” he cut her off. “You already made the choice.”
Heat flared in her face. Damn King. Damn the way he twisted her words, the way he always seemed two steps ahead. But she didn’t hang up. She couldn’t.
“All right,” she whispered. “But only because I don’t have another option.”
He made a sound, which sounded like a half laugh and half growl. “Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
The line went dead.
Lena stood there, staring at her phone, her pulse racing. She should feel relief. Safety. Instead, all she felt was unsettled. Because beneath the fear, beneath the necessity of it all, there was something else brewing.
Curiosity. Heat.
The way his voice wrapped around her, the way her body responded even when her mind screamed not to, Lena couldn’t ignore it. She didn’t trust him, didn’t even like him, not really. But she wanted to understand him. Wanted to know why a man who could have anyone seemed fixated on her.
And if Lena was honest, wanted to know what it would feel like to let herself want him back.
She shoved the phone in her bag. “No other option. That’s all this is,” she muttered to herself as she headed for the bench outside to wait.
Viper arrived twenty minutes later, roaring into the lot on his bike. He was younger than King, leaner, with sharp eyes that seemed to take in everything at once. He swung his leg off the bike and gave her a nod.
“Lena, right? King said you’d be waiting.”
She forced herself to nod back. “Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s get you packed before the snakes slither back around,” Viper said.
Just like that, her life tilted again, spinning away from everything she thought she could handle on her own, and deeper into the world of the Devil’s Crown MC.