Chapter Fifteen
THE MEETING RAN long, Warden’s endless stream of numbers and plans pounding into my skull until it all blurred together. By the time I shoved the war room door open and stepped into the main room, all I wanted was air, and her.
My eyes went straight to the couch where I’d left her.
Empty.
A hard knot cinched tight in my chest. I scanned the room quick, cataloging familiar faces—my brothers at the bar, the sweet butts gathered in their corner—then stopped cold.
Roxy.
She was back.
Leaning against the counter, laughing too loud, red lips gleaming in the dim light. Her perfume hung thick in the air, sweet and suffocating, sliding down my throat like poison. And when she saw me, her smile stretched wide, triumphant, like she’d just won a game nobody else had been playing.
“Ashen.”
She broke away from the women and crossed the room, every step deliberate. Her hips swayed, heels clicking against the floor, as if she wanted the whole damn place to watch her arrival. Roxy was a patch chaser to her bones and didn’t hide it.
I didn’t move. My gaze swept the room again, hunting for Wren, but she was nowhere. The knot in my chest twisted tighter, hot and mean.
Roxy reached me, her hand pressing flat to my chest without hesitation, nails dragging lightly over the leather of my cut like she had the right. “Miss me?” she purred.
I caught her wrist before she could slide lower. “No.”
Her eyes widened, surprise flickering before she masked it with a sultry curve of her lips. She leaned in close, her perfume choking the air between us. “Come on, Ash. Don’t be like that. I’ve missed you. Let’s catch up.”
I stepped back, planting space between us. My voice stayed even, but my jaw locked tight enough to crack teeth. “I’m not interested, Roxy.”
Her laugh came harsh, brittle at the edges. “You don’t mean that.” She reached again, bolder, fingers aimed for my belt like she thought I’d let her. “You’ve missed me. I can tell.”
I caught her hand again, harder this time, my grip a warning. My voice cut through the room like steel. “Listen close, Roxy. We were never more than a good time, and I never made it seem like anything else. Again—I’m not interested. You understand me?”
The noise in the room thinned, whispers catching like sparks in dry grass. Brothers turned half an ear, women glanced away but not far. Everyone wanted to see how far I’d push it.
Roxy froze, her smile cracking like glass under pressure. For a heartbeat, her temper flared raw in her eyes—bitter, ugly, all the venom she tried to hide. Then she pasted the grin back on, tossed her hair, and laughed like it was nothing.
But the line of her jaw told the truth. She wasn’t laughing inside.
And I didn’t give a damn.
Because the only thing burning in my chest wasn’t her.
It was Wren, gone from the couch, slipping away while I was stuck putting out fires that never should’ve lit in the first place.
Roxy’s laugh rang again, too high, too hollow. She thought she was still in control, thought the grin could cover the crack I’d just carved through her pride.
My eyes cut across the room one more time, hunting shadows, before I turned to leave. But the thought hit hard and mean, rooting me in place.
I turned back to Roxy. “What did you say to her?”
Her smile faltered. “What?”
“Wren.” The name snapped from me sharper than I meant, the whole room catching it. “She was here when I went into the back. Now she’s gone. You walk in, and suddenly she’s not. Did you say something to her?”
Silence rippled out, heavy as a storm rolling in.
Roxy’s eyes narrowed, heat flashing. “So that’s what this is? You’re worried about her?” She laughed, bitter and loud, tossing her hair back like the sound could cover the fury breaking through her mask. “You’re kidding, right?”
My jaw clenched until my teeth ached. “Answer the question.”
Her smile sharpened, cold as glass. “Didn’t have to say a word. She took one look at me and knew she couldn’t measure up. She’s nothing but a broken little mute, the pity flavor of the week.”
That did it. Fury surged, hot and blinding.
I stepped in close, crowding her space until she had to tilt her chin high to meet my eyes.
“You don’t get to talk about her that way.
Not to me. Not to anyone. She’s here because she belongs here with me, under my patch.
You want to hang around, scratch your itch with some of the other men?
Fine. But you don’t go near her. Not once. Not ever. You hearing me?”
The anger in her eyes burned hotter, but she pasted the smile back on, lips curving like she could still play the game. “Sure, Ashen. Whatever you say.”
But I saw the promise buried in her glare as she turned away.
She wasn’t done.
And I didn’t care. Right now, all I cared about was finding Wren.
***
ROXY’S PERFUME STILL clung to my shirt, thick and sweet, and I scrubbed a hand down my face like I could wipe it away. Didn’t matter how hard I tried, the scent stuck, reminding me of her nails on my chest, her voice purring in my ear.
I’d shut her down hard, made damn sure she heard me, but women like Roxy never went quietly. You had to cut them clean, leave nothing but finality.
Didn’t matter. She was nothing to me.
The only woman I wanted was Wren. I’d never believed in that instant-shit Warden used to talk about when he met Elara. Thought he was full of it. But there I was, staring at this woman who hadn’t even spoken, and I fucking knew. She was mine, same way Elara was his. No logic. Just truth.
I pushed through the hallway, boots pounding heavy against the wood, the dim light throwing long shadows on the walls. My chest burned with one thought, finding her. Making sure she was all right.
“Ashen!”
Throttle’s voice carried loud behind me. I didn’t slow, but his stride was long enough that he caught up quick, falling into step at my shoulder.
“You looking for Wren?” he asked, glancing toward the far end of the hall.
“Yeah.” I replied, wondering what the hell he wanted.
Throttle scratched his jaw, his eyes narrowing as he studied me. “Then I gotta say something. Don’t know if you saw, but Roxy showed up.”
“I saw.”
He gave me a sideways look. “You two got history. And if you’re planning on fucking around with her again, then maybe you oughta let me handle Wren from here on out. Girl’s been through enough, she doesn’t need to watch you taking Roxy to bed in between looking out for her.”
I stopped dead, boots biting into the floorboards. I turned slow to face him, heat flaring hot in my chest. “You think I’d do that to her?”
Throttle lifted both hands, palms out, calm but not backing down.
His tone stayed level, but his eyes didn’t waver.
“I’m saying I don’t know what you’d do. But I do know Wren’s fragile as hell right now, and she trusts you.
If you’re not serious about looking out for her, then step aside and let someone else make damn sure she’s safe. ”
My fists curled tight. “I told Roxy to take a walk. You know I was never serious about her. I never made it a secret I was just fucking around. Wren is my priority.”
That made him blink. Surprise flickered, then his mouth curved into a slow smirk. “Just making sure. Thought maybe you’d forget once she batted her lashes and flashed her tits. You sure you won’t change your mind?”
“You’re starting to piss me off.” My voice dropped, rough, iron-hard. “I’m a man of my word. You question that, you’re questioning me.”
Throttle studied me for a beat, then nodded once, his smirk fading into something steadier.
“Fair enough. Wasn’t trying to get under your skin.
Just had to say it. If you hadn’t told me straight, I’d have put my own cut between Wren and whatever danger is coming.
Girl deserves to feel safe. That’s all I’m after. ”
The muscle in my jaw twitched, my anger shifting. Not gone—never gone—but tempered by the truth in his words.
“Wren’s mine to look after,” I said, final as a vow.
Throttle’s grin edged back in, but this time he didn’t push it. He just turned and walked the other way.
But the knot in my chest didn’t ease.
Because even with Roxy shut down, even with Throttle backing off, one truth burned through me, I was becoming one possessive fuck. I started walking down the hall again towards Wren’s room. I needed to talk to her, before she convinced herself she didn’t matter.