Chapter Twenty-Two
Sunny
Jack walks me home himself. Doesn’t say much on the way. Just that quiet, stormy look on his face that tells me not to push.
Once we’re inside, he closes the door behind us and leans against it like he’s holding the weight of the world back with his shoulders.
“Sit,” he says after walking me to the kitchen table.
I do.
He stays standing. Arms crossed. Jaw tight. There’s a red mark on his jaw and it makes me wonder what happened while I was hiding underground.
“What happened today,” he starts, “happens more than I like.”
I nod slowly. I already guessed that much.
“Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s loud. But danger like that?” He sighs. “It’s never far. Even when it’s not right in your face.”
He looks at me then. Really looks. Like he’s trying to figure out what I’ll do with what he’s about to say.
“I brought you back here because the danger’s passed and I know what it’s like down there. But, even if the risk is small, I’d rather you be locked in a damn bunker than bleeding out on a sidewalk.”
I swallow hard. “Okay…”
He uncrosses his arms and takes a step closer.
“I’m gonna give you an out.”
I blink. “What?”
“If you want,” he hesitates, just a second. “I’ll hire someone to help you at your apartment until you’re fully healed. Set you up with better locks, reinforced windows. Make sure no one gets in.”
He looks down, then back up at me, steel in his eyes now.
“And I’ll walk away.”
The words hit harder than I expect.
“If you don’t think you can handle this life, this club, I’ll let you go.”
My throat tightens, but I don’t speak.
“I won’t lie to you,” he continues. “We don’t follow the law. Not like normal people do. We move product…drugs, weapons. From seller to buyer. We don’t sell it ourselves, but we make damn sure it gets where it needs to go. No matter the cost.”
He pauses. Watches my face for a reaction. I try not to give him one.
“I’ve killed before,” he says, voice flat. “I’ll kill again.”
Silence.
“I like it,” he adds, quieter now. “I like making the people who threaten my family suffer. I won’t pretend to be something I’m not.”
He kneels in front of me, so I have no choice but to meet his eyes.
“But I’ll never bring that part of me home. Not to you. Not unless it’s to protect you.”
I feel like the room gets smaller. Hotter.
He doesn’t blink.
“This life... once you’re in, you’re in,” he says, voice low but steady. “Even if you’re not wearing a patch. Even if you’re not part of the business. Even if you eventually walk away and have nothing to do with the Shadows.”
His eyes lock on mine like he’s daring me to look away.
“You’re associated with us. That doesn’t go away. Not ever.”
My heart pounds so hard I swear he can hear it. He’s giving me a choice. But it doesn’t feel simple. Doesn’t feel like something you can just say yes or no to.
“You don’t have to decide now,” he adds, softer this time. “But if you stay… you need to understand what that really means.”
He moves closer, voice dipping even lower, just for me.
“I will protect you with my fucking life. My brothers will protect you with theirs. I’ll do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman in the world.”
His hand brushes mine…barely there, like he’s holding himself back.
“But,” he continues, “if you decide to stay, then life as you knew it is over. You won’t leave this compound without an escort. Ever.”
The air leaves my lungs. “But… my work.”
“You don’t have to work, Sunny.”
“Jack…”
“But if you want to,” he says, “there will always be a Shadow somewhere. Watching. Protecting. Whether you see us or not.”
My chest tightens. It’s not the protection that makes me hesitate. It’s the weight of it. The permanence.
He’s not just giving me a choice.
He’s giving me two doors.
I step through door one, and it locks behind me, keeping the Shadows, and Jack, out.
And if I choose door two…I walk into a world I can never walk back out of. One where love comes wrapped in danger. One where safety has a price, and freedom means having eyes on me every time I breathe.
And yet, somehow…It’s the only door that feels like home.
“I love you, Jack,” I admit, my heart pounding like it’s trying to break free. “There really is only one choice.”
His eyes darken, guarded. “You’d have to move inside the compound,” he says. “Even if you don’t want to live with me… there are a few empty houses you can choose from.”
I blink. “Are you trying to push me away, Jack?”
It slips out before I can stop it. The shift in him…it’s sudden, sharp, like he’s pulling back before I can get too close.
I don’t like it.
Not one bit.
“Besides,” I smile, trying to pull him back to me. “I’m pretty sure you’ve already moved me inside the compound.”
“I kill people, Sunny,” he says, voice low and unflinching. “I’m very adept at carving. I remove their skin while they’re still alive. I do it slow… so they feel every second of it. Every nerve. Every scream.”
He holds my gaze, like he wants me to run.
Like he needs me to.
“I wasn’t given the name Bones for no reason, baby. They call me Bones because that’s all that’s left of my victims.”
Gross? Absolutely.
A bit morbid? Most definitely.
But does it scare me?
Strangely… no.
“Did you know Abby’s bunker room has screens on all of her walls to help her adjust to being down there?” I ask, deliberately changing the subject. I need to breathe. I need him to breathe.
“Uh… yeah, baby.” He frowns a little. “I helped Tank install them. What does that have to do with what we’re talking about?”
“It’s actually pretty cool,” I continue, ignoring the question. “While we were waiting for you all to come get us, we went in her room and made it look like we were in space. There was even a black hole.”
“Sunny.” His voice drops, low and firm. There’s something in it. Warning, maybe. Or worry. I can’t tell.
I look down at him, still kneeling in front of me, and offer a soft, steady smile.
“There’s a pool behind the clubhouse,” I say. “Riley told me she talked Spike into having it installed. It’s not ready yet, though.”
“Yeah, babe. I know.”
“Chains is kind of a hoot, huh?”
“Sunny.”
“Knuckles and Crusher don’t talk much, but I bet they’re both really nice.”
“Baby.”
“Foster’s scary smart, isn’t he?” I smile again. “He told me yesterday he used to be a firefighter, but that was part of his old life. I bet he has a heck of a story.”
Jack sighs, and I keep going.
“I haven’t met Patch, but I’ve heard things.
Riley says he’s funny and misunderstood by you guys.
I’d really like to meet him someday. And Maverick…
he seems like a mystery man. Not quite a member.
Disappears for weeks, sometimes months. I bet one day he’s going to shock the heck out of you all when he finally reveals who he really is. ”
“Sunny. Baby, I need you to focus here.”
“Tank’s in love with Abby, but apparently he’s an idiot.”
“He is,” Jack mutters. “But, Sunny…”
“And then there’s you,” I continue, voice gentling. “Bones. Jack. The man who protects his people with everything he has. The one who never stops watching, always calculating, always worried.”
Jack leans back on his heels, hands resting on his thighs. He just listens.
“I’ve had a good life, Jack,” I tell him. “I had a great childhood. Wonderful parents. Lots of childhood friends. A couple of boyfriends. A job I love. A cute little home. Life always felt… perfect. At least, I thought it did.”
My gaze softens as memories flicker through my mind.
“Then two women started coming into Marv’s Market. We talked every time. We became… sort of friends. Sometimes, they brought these big, scary-looking men with them. Guys who made other shoppers turn around or leave the store entirely.”
I laugh, just a little.
“But I always thought those men were wonderful. Kind. Loyal. People’s reactions confused me. Yeah, I knew who they were. What group they belonged to. I’d heard the rumors. But they didn’t scare me.”
My eyes drop to his.
“Then I met you. Darth Brooder. Rude. Arrogant. Mean because you wouldn’t let me slide down your stair banister.”
A small smile tugs at Jack’s mouth.
“And despite all the chaos that’s occurred since you came crashing into my world, I’ve never been happier. I thought I was happy before. But I didn’t even know what happy was until you.”
I pause. Let the weight of my words settle.
“I understand the dangers. I understand the risks.”
Jack holds my gaze, that smile still lingering, but his eyes tell a different story. Hope, fear, love… maybe even regret.
“I’m not blind, Jack. I know what being with you really means. I know what being tied to the Shadows will cost me.”
I reach out, fingers brushing his cheek, tracing the faint scar just below his eye.
“But I also know what it gives me. I’ve never been protected like this. Never been seen like this. You make me feel like I matter. Like I’m not just a part of your life…but part of your very existence.”
His hand comes up, wrapping around mine, holding it gently against his skin.
“I’ll take the locked compound,” I say. “I’ll take the escorts. The chaos. The blood on your hands. All of it.”
I lean in, just a little, heart open and steady.
“Because I love all of you, Jack. Even the parts you’re scared to show me.”
He swallows hard. Doesn’t speak. Just pulls me into his arms and holds me like I might disappear.
But I’m not going anywhere.
Not now.
Not ever.
“Ouch,” I grunt, wiggling deeper into his arms and immediately regretting the angle.
“Fuck, sorry, baby.” He pulls back fast, concern etched across his face. “Damn, Sunny. I was willing to let you go. Be sure. Be real fucking sure.”
I smile. “I choose door number two.”
“Door?”
I laugh. “I choose you, Jack.”
He blinks, then mutters, “Thank fuck,” just before crashing his mouth against mine.
It’s brutal. Raw. Claiming.
And I give it all right back.
I reach up to grip his shoulders, but pain zings through my ribs like a warning siren, and I cringe.
Dang it.