Chapter Thirty
THE SUN HADN’T even clawed high and my head was already pounding, not from last night, that was the first damn good thing I’d had in a long time, but from what waited outside those walls.
Bones.
The name sat in my blood like a stone. Venom’s right hand, ghosting our borders, always one step too close. Last night with Wren made one thing clear—if Bones gets his hands on her, I’ll never forgive myself.
I shrugged my cut on, leather stiff and smelling of leather and years of the road, and grabbed my helmet from the table.
The yard was filling with brothers; bikes lined up, chrome catching the thin light, engines coughing alive one by one.
The smell of exhaust and hot metal hit me the way it always did before a run, a promise and a threat both.
Wren’s hand brushed mine as I passed. She’d come out on the porch, hair a mess from sleep, eyes still soft. My chest went tight. Leaving her felt wrong. Every instinct screamed to keep her where I could see her, to put my body between her and whatever came for her.
“I’m bringing her with us,” I told Warden when he stepped up beside me.
He was already strapped, cut flat across his shoulders, face carved from the same rock as his voice. “Not happening.” Calm. Firm.
“She’s not safe here,” I snapped.
“She’s not safe out there either.” Warden didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. “We’re going into Fire Dragon ground. This run is for intel, not for risks we don’t have to take.”
“Bones has eyes everywhere.” My fingers tightened on my helmet. “You think I don’t know what that means?”
“Then trust your brothers,” Warden said close, steel under the words. “That’s what the patch is for.”
My jaw worked. Before I could argue, Throttle walked up, flicked his cigarette into the dirt and said, “I’ll stay. No one’s touching her while I’m here.”
Throttle was solid, loyal, flat-deadly when he needed to be, but the idea of leaving Wren in another man’s watch bit deep. Especially another man who wanted her.
“She’s mine to protect,” I growled.
Throttle didn’t blink. “And she’ll still be yours when you get back. I’m not Bones, Ashen. Let me sit with Wren. Nobody gets past me.”
The truth of it settled like lead. I hated how it felt to walk away, but Warden was right. Riding her into Dragon territory would be stupid and suicidal. Locking her behind our lines under watch was the lesser gamble.
I exhaled, loosened my grip on the helmet, and looked to where Wren stood. She watched from the porch, small and unshakable, fingers wrapped around the glass bird like it was ballast. She gave me a tiny nod, understanding my dilemma.
“Fine.” I stepped close to Throttle, low enough so only he heard. “If anything happens to her—”
“Nothing’s gonna happen to her,” Throttle cut in, voice flat. “I’ll put ‘em in the ground before they touch her.”
I searched his face, then clipped a short nod. It had to be enough.
Warden swung a leg over his bike. “Mount up. We got work.”
I strapped my helmet on, engines roaring around me, the sound rattling my chest. Before I swung onto my bike, I cut one last look at Wren.
I stalked up the porch, leaned down close so only she could hear. “You stay inside. You don’t wander away from Throttle. You got me?”
Her fingers tightened on the glass bird. She nodded once.
“Good.” I brushed my mouth over hers quick, hard. “I’ll be back for you. Nobody else. Me.”
Then I turned and mounted up. My chest still felt too tight, but I locked it down. Wren needed me focused.
Bones was moving out there, and today I needed to find out just how close.
***
THE FIRE DRAGON clubhouse looked cleaner than it used to and didn’t smell like sweat and piss anymore.
Calla and Emmaline had left their mark, but the wild still lived in the bones of the place.
Neon buzzed overhead, too harsh against the dark wood.
The air hummed with a danger that didn’t ease when we walked in.
Calla and Emmaline sat at the bar when we walked in, Fire Dragon eyes on them like property that we better not touch.
Calla gave Warden a quiet nod, blood recognizing blood.
Emmaline caught my eye, offered a wave and a smile.
Burned my ass she was Chaos’s ol’ lady, but she’d chosen her side. Nothing I said would change it.
Around us, Dragons watched. Hard stares, arms crossed, guns holstered where you could see them. Not friendly, not curious — just waiting.
Vandal cut across the room, boots heavy on floorboards. Authority in every step, every man moving out of his way. He jerked his chin at the back. “Office.”
We followed down the short hall and into the office.
The room was cramped, scarred desk shoved against a wall, a couple wooden chairs, and old filing cabinets.
Crusher was already there, leaning on steel, arms folded, eyes flat.
Chaos shut the door behind us. The lock clicked, and the air went heavier.
Warden stepped to the desk, not showing an ounce of weakness. “We’re here about Bones.”
Vandal’s eyes narrowed. “One of my brothers. Watch how you tread.”
“No disrespect,” Warden said, even. “But Bones wasn’t clean under Venom. He was Venom’s right hand in filth even you wanted no part in. You remember what that was, poison that stains anyone who touches it.”
Vandal’s jaw ticked. Crusher didn’t move, but his focus sharpened.
“And now,” Warden went on, “he’s circling The Devil’s House. That makes him our problem. Could make it yours if he drags your patch into it.”
Vandal leaned back slow, but his stare stayed cutting. “You accusing me of hiding him?”
I cut in, my voice hard. “He’s been sniffing around what belongs to us. That’s not just personal — that’s our patch. Bones keeps pressing, he’s not poking at one man, he’s poking at The Devil’s House. You think we’ll let that slide?”
Chaos bristled, shoulders rolling like he was ready to swing. “Careful. You don’t walk into our house and start throwing threats.”
I leaned forward, blood hot. “Not a threat. A promise.”
The silence hit jagged. Heavy. Like the whole room was waiting to see who’d move first.
Finally Vandal spoke. “We haven’t seen him. Not in weeks.”
“That doesn’t track,” I said. “Bones doesn’t just vanish.”
Vandal’s stare never left Warden. “You’re right about one thing. Venom’s filth was poison. I didn’t let my men touch it then, and I won’t now. If Bones is still crawling in it, he’s on his own. Don’t mistake my silence for cover.”
Crusher uncrossed his arms, his voice calm but cut through. “If Bones comes back through our territory, he won’t like what he finds. We keep our borders clean of the flesh trade. Always.”
No bluff. No wasted words. Even Chaos shut up.
Warden gave one sharp nod. “That’s enough. We’ll handle ours. Just make sure he doesn’t confuse your distance for protection.”
Vandal didn’t blink. “Keep your leash tight. You lose control of your side, don’t expect me to clean it up.”
That was the line. No handshake. No brotherhood. Just a wall between us and them.
Back in the main room, noise crashed over us, music blaring, voices loud, laughter edged like blades. The women were gone. Dragons leaned in the shadows, arms crossed, eyes cold. No one smiled. No one blinked.
Crusher lingered in the doorway, his stare finding mine. “If Bones is after something you care about,” he said solid as stone, “end it fast. Men like Bones don’t stop until they’re in the ground.” Then he turned back inside, swallowed by the room.
Engines roared to life around us as we mounted up. The desert stretched endless ahead, heat shimmering on the blacktop.
But the knot in my chest didn’t ease.
If Bones hadn’t been seen in weeks, it didn’t mean he was gone. It meant he was planning, and I’d left Wren right in his path.