Chapter 19
The heavy chapel doors clicked shut, sealing out the noise and trapping in the thick, tight tension that always settled over emergency Church meetings. Pres marched straight to the head of the long table, palms slamming flat against the wood. Every brother took their seats, faces set hard.
I stayed back.
Leaning against the far wall, arms crossed tight over my cut, jaw locked so hard the muscles burned. That cold, brutal mask I wore every day was welded firmly in place – but underneath, the predator in me roared wild. I knew exactly how close that private eye had gotten to her.
“Right, listen up,” Pres rumbled, voice cutting sharp through the hush.
“We got no extraction team coming. Danika Sterling is inside these walls now. The London boys know exactly where she was staying – her cover’s blown.
No one breathes a word about her to anyone outside.
She is under Iron Angels protection. Touch her, you answer to me. ”
Bear leaned forward, scarred forearms resting on the table edge.
“We’re with you, Pres. Always. But some of the lads don’t know the full picture.
Sterling’s name carries weight – old money, power enough to buy half the country twice over.
If we go toe-to-toe with that kind of heat, we need to know exactly what we’re fighting for.
All we know is she ran. What’s the real story? ”
Pres’s gaze drifted straight to me in the corner. He didn’t need to say a word. He knew what this meant to me – knew that beneath every inch of this Enforcer’s hide, I was already claimed.
He cleared his throat. “She didn’t run from a bad marriage, Bear. Her own father was set to trade her off like livestock to line his pockets. She climbed out a window in the dead of night and ran for her life. She’s here because she belongs here. She’s ours.”
The moment those words landed, a heavy knowing silence fell over the room. I stared fixed at a knot in the floorboards, refusing to flinch – but my skin burned hot all down the back of my neck, and I knew exactly what was happening. My ears were turning bright tell-tale red.
Swift and Tiny, sat shoulder to shoulder, both snapped their heads round. They saw it straight away.
Swift clamped both hands over his mouth as if he was in prayer, shoulders shaking so hard the chair creaked, fighting to keep a laugh trapped inside. Tiny did exactly the same, scarred face cracking into a grin he couldn’t hide.
Bear looked from them to me, then right back again, and a slow rough chuckle rumbled out of him. “Ah. One of ours now. That explains why you’ve been camped out in that damn corner booth drinking double shots like it’s going out of style, eh Rage?”
“Shut your damn mouths, all of you,” I growled, voice dropping low and rough enough to make prospects jump. Tiny and Swift bit their lips so hard they went pale, eyes still streaming with suppressed amusement.
Tank started leaning in, pulling a face like he was going to blow kisses – until Pres cut us all off.
“Leave it,” he said, a knowing smirk tugging at his own mouth. “Points made. The girl stays. We defend her with everything we’ve got. Meeting adjourned.”
The brothers stood, clapping each other on the backs as they filed out. I let out a long breath, rubbing the back of my neck to try and cool the heat there, before following Pres out into the common room.
They’ll tell the old ladies everything, mark my words. Worse than a bunch of gossips. Probably already saying she’s got the big bad Enforcer wrapped round her little finger.
I spotted Ivy and Thorn sat close with Danika, chattering away a mile a minute.
Thorn was leaning forward trying to draw her into the conversation, while Ivy sat back quiet, watching over her like a guard dog.
It’s always the quiet ones that are the ones to watch.
The brothers are easy – you tell them something, they listen.
The women. They’ve got to see it for themselves.
I’ll watch them like hawks. Any one of them gives her so much as a hard look, they answer to me. She’s my old lady now, whether they like it or not. They’ll get used to the idea soon enough.
I moved toward the table, and Danika shifted slightly to make space. I sat as close as I could, close enough that our thighs nearly brushed. I wanted her to know she wasn’t alone.
The moment my leg grazed hers, I felt her shift again.
She didn’t pull away. Just let out a soft little breath, and her shoulders dropped just that fraction.
I rested my forearm on the table right beside her hand – an anchor in the middle of all this noise and chaos.
Ivy and Thorn stopped talking mid-sentence, both watching exactly how close I’d chosen to sit.
The air in the room hung thick with the smell of beer, leather, and all the quiet things no one was saying. I reached over, brushing my thumb light and slow across the back of her knuckles. A silent promise. I’m not going anywhere.
She lifted her gaze to mine, and I saw that same quiet resolve staring right back. The club might be full of wolves, and the matriarchs might still be waiting to judge her… but as long as she was sat here by my side, they’d have to get through me first.
This is going to be one hell of a long week.