Chapter 22
The heavy thrum of the jukebox and raucous laughter slowly faded to a low hum as Rose and Ivy led me away from the main room.
Up the stairs we went, then down a long wide hall lined with polished wood and framed photos: bikes on open roads, brothers in cuts, generations bound not by blood, but asphalt and loyalty.
This was the residence wing – the heart hidden deep behind steel doors, where the inner circle lived.
Rage walked a few paces behind us. The steady, heavy thud of his boots was like an anchor I didn’t know I’d needed.
He carried my worn canvas bag easily in one hand, broad shoulders filling the width of the corridor.
Every time I glanced back, he was already watching me – that gaze unblinking, heavy with an intensity that sent my pulse racing wild.
That bold wit that had seen me hold my own downstairs suddenly wavered, and the old shyness crept back.
“Here we are,” Rose said brightly, stopping before a solid oak door. She turned the brass handle and pushed it open. “A little rough round the edges, but the boys spent all afternoon scrubbing it top to bottom Leo’s orders.”
I stepped inside and let out a long, soft breath.
It was nothing like the cramped hiding places I’d known for months.
Nothing like the guest room I had been staying in all week.
This felt solid. Safe. A proper bed sat against the far wall, piled high with soft cream blankets.
A big wardrobe stood in the corner, and a little en-suite door stood ajar, showing clean white tiles.
But the window… that was the best part. Set high up, barred and reinforced with iron. To anyone else, it might look like prison. To me? It looked like no one could ever watch me from the street again.
“It’s perfect,” I said quietly, turning back to them. “Truly. Thank you both so much.”
“Don’t thank us yet,” Ivy grinned, leaning against the frame.
“Wait till you hear these lot revving their engines at six. You hear it more from this side of the building.” She nodded playfully toward Rage, who stood silent in the hall, like some dark guardian statue.
“But seriously – you’re safe here. No one steps foot in this wing without the Enforcer knowing first.”
Rose squeezed my arm warm and sure. “We’re heading back to help Aysel clear up, then get some rest before the little one wants pickles and ice cream at midnight. All you need to do is unpack, settle into your new room.”
“Sleep well, Danika,” Ivy added softly.
Before I could reply, the two of them were gone, giggling quietly as they made their way back down the hall.
The door clicked shut. And suddenly, it was just me and Rage.
The silence hung thick enough to touch. I could hear my own heart hammering loud in my ears.
Heat crept up my neck and over my cheeks.
I stared at the floor, suddenly hyper-aware of every little thing: how he stood, how big he was and small he made the room feel, the faint clean scent of rain and leather that clung to him.
He didn’t speak straight away. Moved slow, deliberate, set my bag down gently at the foot of the bed.
“Thank you for carrying it,” I murmured, voice small, stripped of all the sharpness I usually hid behind.
“Think nothing of it, sweetheart,” his deep rumble rolled right through me, settling warm in my chest.
I forced myself to look up. His dark eyes held so much raw feeling my knees went weak.
That cold Enforcer mask was gone entirely.
He looked like a man who’d found something he’d thought he’d never get.
He stepped closer, until he stood just a pace away, towering over me, shutting the rest of the world out.
“You were incredible out there,” he said, a slow smile tugging at his mouth. Pink still lingered on the tips of his ears. “Putting Bear in his place… telling him he looked like a grizzly. Never seen anyone silence a whole room that fast. You’ve got fire in you, Danika Sterling.”
A shaky laugh escaped me. “They were teasing you so badly… sat there acting like I couldn’t hear a thing. I just didn’t want to look helpless.”
His smile softened, turned heavy and tender. He lifted a hand, hesitated a heartbeat, then brushed the back of his knuckles so gently against my cheek.
It felt like a spark jumping through me. I gasped soft, and all my walls seemed to melt away. His hand was so big it almost covered my whole face, calloused but so, so careful – like he was terrified he might break something precious.
“They can tease me all they like,” he rumbled, thumb brushing my skin.
“I don’t care about that. All I care about is that you’re here, behind these gates.
When I found out that bastard had tracked you…
I’ve never felt so useless. Sat watching you from that coffee shop for a month, just waiting to make sure you were safe.
Now you’re here, under this roof… I can finally breathe. ”
My heart hammered so hard I was sure he could hear it. My mind screamed that this couldn’t be real, that someone like me didn’t get this – but when I looked up at him, all I saw was devotion. I didn’t pull away. Leaned just a little more into his touch, a shaky sigh slipping past my lips.
His eyes darkened, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest. He leaned closer, until his breath brushed my lips. For one wild second, I thought he’d kiss me.
But he pulled back slow, let his hand fall.
“Get some rest,” he murmured, moving to the door. Paused with his hand on the brass handle, looked back one last time. “My room’s just two doors down. I’m pulling guard all night. No one’s touching you. I promise.”
“Goodnight, Rage,” I whispered.
The door clicked shut behind him. I sank down onto the edge of the bed, and let out a long, trembling breath.
Looked at the reinforced window, then at the solid oak door.
For six months I’d looked over my shoulder, running from everything I’d ever known.
Now I was here. And outside that door… the beast was standing watch. No one was getting in.