16. Alaina
CHAPTER 16
ALAINA
I sit on the edge of Damian’s bed, my fingers twisting the edge of the sheet as I listen to the low hum of voices beyond the closed door. The clubhouse is still alive, even this early, the steady sounds of boots on wood, the occasional burst of laughter, and the ever-present rumble of motorcycles outside filling the space. But inside this room, it’s quiet—too quiet.
Damian left me with nothing but a lingering kiss and a promise that Riot would bring Kelly over soon. Now, I sit here wrapped in one of his shirts, waiting, my mind a mess of last night, this morning, and everything in between.
Falling for a biker.
The thought sends a chill down my spine, not because I don’t want it to be true—but because I do. The sound of footsteps approaching the door snaps me out of my thoughts, followed by two knocks and the door creaking open.
“Ally?” Riot’s deep voice comes through the gap before he fully steps inside, Kelly right behind him.
The second I see her, relief washes over me like a wave, my chest loosening in a way I didn’t even realize I needed.
“Kelly.” I practically launch myself at her, wrapping my arms around her as she hugs me just as tight.
“I got her here in one piece,” Riot says, amusement lacing his voice. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
Kelly pulls back just enough to glance over her shoulder at him, her lips curling into a grin. “You mean if I try to make a run for it?”
He smirks. “Something like that.”
Before he closes the door, she calls out, “Thanks for the ride, Riot. Real nice view on the way over.”
I roll my eyes, stepping back as she plops onto the bed, looking way too pleased with herself.
“Kelly,” I say, already knowing where this is going.
“What?” She shrugs, then stretches her arms over her head. “You didn’t tell me he was hot.”
I blink. “That’s Damian’s brother.”
She raises an eyebrow. “And?”
I shake my head, but a small laugh escapes me. “And that’s a whole mess I don’t have the energy to untangle right now.”
Kelly just smirks, tucking her legs beneath her as she leans forward. “Forget me for a second. You—you look different. And you’re in a biker’s bed. Wanna talk about that?”
I let out a breath, sitting beside her. “I think I’ve fallen for him.”
The words are out before I can stop them. Kelly blinks, processing, before a slow, knowing smile spreads across her lips.
“Oh, babe. You’re screwed.”
I groan, flopping back against the pillows. “I know.”
She laughs, nudging me. “Okay, okay, start from the beginning. What the hell is going on? Because last time I checked, you were avoiding men like the plague.”
I chew on my lip, staring at the ceiling. “It just… happened. I don’t even know when, exactly. I just know that when I’m with him, I feel safe. Like, completely safe. And not just because of all this.” I gesture vaguely around the room. “It’s different. He sees me, Kelly. And that terrifies me.”
She’s quiet for a second before saying, “Terrifies you, or makes you feel alive?”
I turn my head toward her, and she raises an eyebrow.
“That’s the real question, isn’t it?” she adds softly. “And if you ask me, it’s both.”
I don’t answer, because I know she’s right. Instead, I sit up, exhaling hard. “There’s something else.”
Kelly watches me carefully. “What?”
I hesitate, then decide there’s no point in holding back. “We have to stay here for a while. Damian—his club—there’s some shit going down, and it’s not safe for me to be anywhere else. That means you too.”
Her brow furrows. “Wait, hold up. Not safe, how?”
I push my fingers through my hair, sighing. “It’s complicated. But the guy I was hiding from? He found me. Damian and his club aren’t gonna let him near me, but they also think it’s best if I stay close for now.”
Kelly’s expression darkens. “Jesus, Ally. Are you okay?”
I nod. “I am now. But I needed you here. I needed someone who knows me—the me outside of all this.”
Kelly reaches for my hand, squeezing it. “Then I’m here. But, uh… just so I’m clear, are we talking danger? Like, should I be worried about stray bullets flying through the windows?”
I manage a small laugh. “No. Riot’s literally posted outside the door. I think we’re good.”
She hums, considering. “Okay. But if I’m gonna be stuck in a biker clubhouse for an undetermined amount of time, I’m gonna need details. Preferably juicy ones.”
I shake my head with a smile. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re in love with a biker ,” she teases, nudging me. “So I think we’re even.”
My stomach flips at her words, and I don’t correct her.
Because deep down, I know she’s right.
After Kelly’s teasing fades into a comfortable silence, she flops back onto the bed beside me, arms stretched above her head, staring up at the ceiling like she’s already settling in.
“So, tell me,” she says lazily. “Are we talking full-blown biker babe future here? You gonna start wearing leather and riding on the back of Damian’s bike full-time?”
I scoff, but the question worms its way into my mind, planting a seed I don’t know if I’m ready to acknowledge yet. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
Kelly turns her head toward me, her smirk telling me she’s about to call bullshit. “Yeah, okay. If that’s what we’re saying I don’t secretly think Riot is hot enough for a one night stand.”
I raise an eyebrow, and she groans. “Fine, I maybe thought about it for like half a second.”
I chuckle, but my mind drifts back to her question. A future with Damian. What would that even look like? Before him, I never let myself imagine the future. It was always just about surviving the next day, the next week. But now?
I think about the way he looks at me, like I am everything. Like I’m not something broken or fragile but that I’m his. The way he touches me, so possessive, so sure, as if he already considers me part of his world. And I know, deep down, I’m already halfway there.
But it’s not just about the way he makes me feel—it’s about what kind of life I’d be stepping into. I’ve spent so much time running from chaos, and yet, somehow, I’ve found peace in the middle of it. Because with Damian, everything feels different.
I close my eyes for a moment, letting myself picture it.
Would I wake up in his bed every morning, just like today? Would I fall asleep to the sound of motorcycles roaring outside, knowing one of them was his? Would I get used to the roughness, the violence that comes with this life?
Could I be that woman? The one who stands beside him, who doesn’t flinch when the club takes care of business, who accepts that this world isn’t clean, isn’t simple?
I exhale, turning my head toward Kelly. “I don’t know.”
She studies me for a moment, as if weighing her words. “You’re thinking about it, though.”
I swallow hard. “Yeah.”
She nudges me with her elbow. “Then that means something.”
I press my lips together, staring at the ceiling again. It does mean something. It means Damian isn’t just some guy I’m messing around with to pass the time. It means this isn’t just about sex or protection or convenience.
It means I’m already too deep, already picturing a life I never would have let myself want before.
And that should terrify me.
But instead, it makes me wonder how much further I’ll fall.
I sit up on the bed, drawing my knees to my chest as my mind drifts, the weight of everything settling over me like a heavy blanket.
Kelly watches me, her teasing fading into something softer, more serious. “You’re thinking about Stan, aren’t you?” she asks. I gave her the run down without getting into too many details such as Damian holding a gun on him. “Can they keep him safe too?”
My grandfather has always been the one person in my life I could count on. The one person who saw me when no one else did. But now? I don’t know where we stand.
I swallow hard, staring at the wall. “I just… I don’t know what to do, Kel. I spent my whole life believing that no matter how bad things got, he’d always find a way to fix it.” My voice cracks slightly, and I hate it, but the truth is suffocating. “Now I think I was just fooling myself. He was looking at for me for as long as it kept him alive too.”
Kelly reaches out, covering my hand with hers. “Ally?—”
I shake my head. “I don’t even blame him. It’s not his fault. He’s done so much for me, protected me in ways I probably don’t even know about.” I let out a shaky breath. “I just thought… maybe he could save me one more time.”
Kelly studies me for a second, then reaches into her pocket and pulls out something small and familiar.
My phone.
I blink, my chest tightening. “You have it?”
“I asked Riot because I text you. He said it might be in Chux bike. We found it.” She nods, pressing it into my hand. “You should call him.”
I stare at the phone like it’s going to burn me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I admit.
Kelly gives me a pointed look. “How about, ‘Hey, Stan the Man I’m alive but I might be in deep shit, and I kind of need you to tell me everything’s gonna be okay’?”
I huff a small, humorless laugh. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Kelly shifts beside me, leaning her shoulder against mine. “You don’t have to do it alone. I’m right here.”
That’s all the reassurance I need. My fingers shake slightly as I unlock the phone and scroll through my contacts until I find the name that’s been burned into my heart since I was a little girl. Konstantin.
I hit call before I can second-guess myself.
It rings once. Twice.
Then he answers.
“Ally.” His voice is quiet but heavy, like he already knows.
I grip the phone tighter. “Hey, Dedushka.”
There’s a long pause. “I was hoping you wouldn’t call.”
I frown. “What? Why?”
He exhales, the sound weighted with something I can’t quite place. “Because it means you need me to fix something. And I can’t.”
A lump forms in my throat. “Don’t say that.”
“I have to,” he says, his voice breaking in a way I’ve never heard before. “Ally, I’m sorry, but I can’t save you anymore.”
The words slam into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve done everything I could to protect you,” he says. “But this? It’s out of my hands.” He pauses. “I failed you. He found us. I couldn’t keep things in control. There is nothing I can do, but let you go.”
Tears prick my eyes. “No, you didn’t. You could never?—”
“I did,” he interrupts, voice rough. “If I’d been smarter, if I’d seen this coming, I could have stopped it before it got this far. But now… there’s nothing I can do. My influence, my reach—it’s not enough.”
I press a hand to my forehead, my heart pounding. “Then what am I supposed to do?”
For the first time in my life, my grandfather doesn’t have an answer.
But then, his voice lowers, steady but firm. “The Kings, Ally. They’re your only chance now. Chux, his brothers… they’re the only ones who can keep you safe.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, my chest aching. “I don’t want you to give up on me.”
“I’m not giving up,” he says. “I’m trusting someone else to do what I no longer can.”
Silence stretches between us.
Then, softly, he says, “Does he love you?”
I freeze. “What?”
“Chux.” His voice is steady. “Does he love you? I’ve known him for years. The way he looks at you is how I looked at my Sasha.”
I swallow hard. “I don’t know.”
“Then you better hope he does. But I believe he does.” His voice cracks slightly. “Because I believe he does, I know he’ll move heaven and earth to protect you.”
My throat feels tight. “Dedushka…”
“I love you, Ally. Always,” he says. “But this is bigger than me now. Trust the Kings.”
The line goes dead.
I lower the phone, my hands trembling.
Kelly watches me, her face pale. “That… did not go how I expected.”
I nod, staring blankly at the wall. “Yeah.”
Then, in a whisper, “I think I just lost him.”
Kelly doesn’t hesitate—she pulls me into her arms, holding me tight as the truth settles deep in my bones.
The only hope I have left now is Damian.
And the Kings of Anarchy.