36. Brick
36
brICK
Six Weeks Later
Business is booming.
I stand at my office window, coffee in hand, watching the early morning activity at Black Dog Bites.
At the diner, a line forms at the door every morning, people eager for Rowan’s cinnamon rolls that have become legendary in just weeks.
Maddox won another race last weekend, bringing home not just the prize money but a whole new crowd of racing enthusiasts who’ve now discovered our businesses. Ryder’s custom work is drawing clients from three counties over, people willing to wait months just to get his hands on their bikes. And Rowan…
Six weeks since she moved in, since she became ours, and I still wake up every morning half-convinced I’ve dreamed her up.
Her treats alone would be enough to make the diner a success, but it’s more than that. She’s transformed the place with her warmth, her laughter, and her uncanny ability to remember every regular’s order and make them feel special. Customers who used to grab coffee and go now linger, soaking up the atmosphere she’s created.
The phone on my desk rings, pulling me from my thoughts. I check the caller ID—Teller. My good mood instantly dims. Club calls this early are never about anything good.
“What’s up?” I answer, keeping my voice casual even as tension knots between my shoulders.
“We’ve got a meeting. My place. One hour.” Teller’s tone is clipped. “All three of you need to be there. Cerberus is calling in.”
My blood runs cold. “We’ll be there.”
I hang up, staring at the phone for a long moment before setting down my coffee and heading to the kitchen, where Rowan is rolling out the dough. The sight of her would normally make me stop and appreciate the view. Not today.
“Everything okay?” she asks, immediately picking up on my mood.
“Club business,” I tell her, forcing a calm I don’t feel. “I need to grab Maddox and Ryder. We’ll be gone most of the morning.”
She nods, but I can see the concern in her eyes. Since whatever happened six weeks ago—whatever made her run to our house for protection—she’s been hyperaware of any change in routine and any hint of trouble.
“Anything I can help with?” she offers, wiping her hands on her apron.
I cross to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Not this time. Just club stuff. We’ll be back by lunch.”
It’s not entirely a lie. This is club business. But the part I’m leaving out—the part about Cerberus calling an emergency meeting—would only worry her. And she’s carrying enough fear already.
Twenty minutes later, my brothers and I pull up to Teller’s clubhouse, the gravel crunching beneath our tires. The atmosphere inside is grim, faces tight with tension as we walk into the main meeting room.
“Kane brothers.” Teller nods from his position at the head of the table. “Take a seat. Matthews is already on the line.”
The monitor at the far end of the room shows a face I’d hoped never to see again after our last meeting.
“Gentlemen,” he greets us, no warmth in his voice. “Wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”
“Cut the formalities,” I say, taking a seat across from the screen. “What’s going on?”
Matthews sighs. “We have a situation. Your old friend Cypher has escalated his vendetta against you. He sent us this video yesterday.” The screen splits to show a different feed.
The image is dark at first, then brightens to reveal a warehouse interior. In the center, tied to a chair, is a man I don’t recognize—bloody, beaten, barely conscious. Behind him stands Cypher, president of the Vipers MC. Even through the grainy video, his presence commands attention—tall, broad, with a snake tattoo curling up his neck.
“I know you’re watching,” Cypher says directly to the camera, his voice colder than I remember. “You Kane brothers think you’re untouchable because you’ve got Cerberus protecting you? Think again.”
He circles the chair slowly, like a predator toying with wounded prey. “You’ve been interfering with my business for weeks now. Taking out my suppliers. Intercepting my shipments. Turning my people. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
I exchange confused glances with my brothers. We haven’t touched Cypher’s operation since we left Cerberus.
“So here’s my message,” Cypher continues, pulling a gun from his waistband. “Back the fuck off, or the next head I deliver will belong to someone you care about.”
He presses the gun to the back of the captive’s head and pulls the trigger without hesitation. Blood spatters the concrete as the body slumps forward.
“Your move,” Cypher says to the camera, and the video ends.
The room is silent for a long moment, each of us processing what we’ve just witnessed.
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Maddox finally breaks the silence. “We haven’t gone near his operation since we got out.”
“That’s where things get interesting,” Matthews says, his image reappearing on the screen. “Since Cerberus has been systematically dismantling the Vipers’ network for the past few weeks, taking out key players, seizing shipments, turning informants.”
“And he thinks it’s us,” I realize, the pieces clicking into place.
Matthews nods. “Precisely. Our intel suggests he believes you’re still working for us, carrying out these operations on our behalf.”
“Well, tell him we’re not!” Maddox exclaims, frustration evident in his tone. “Clear our names before he comes after us!”
“It’s not that simple,” Matthews says, his expression calculating. “We’ve been trying to get close to Cypher for years. Now, he’s fixated on you three, which means he’s making mistakes and leaving himself vulnerable.”
The implication is clear, and it makes my stomach turn. “You’re using us as bait when you asked us to step back and let you take care of this!”
“Think of it as an opportunity,” Matthews counters smoothly. “Cypher’s distraction gives us a chance to take him down permanently. Which benefits everyone—including you three.”
“Easy for you to say,” Ryder speaks up, his voice tight with anger.
Matthews leans closer to the camera, his voice dropping. “We have reason to believe Cypher is planning something big in your area within the next two weeks. We’re doing everything we can to neutralize the threat before then, but you need to stay vigilant.”
“What about protection?” I demand. “If he’s coming after us, we need more than just ‘stay vigilant.’”
“Teller’s team will provide additional security,” Matthews assures us. “And we have operatives in place tracking Cypher’s movements. Trust me, taking him down is our top priority.”
Trust him. The phrase makes me want to laugh. Trusting Cerberus is what got us into this mess in the first place.
“One more thing,” Matthews adds, his tone shifting slightly. “Our intelligence suggests Cypher is looking for more than just you three. He has a secondary objective in Wolf Pike, something he considers extremely valuable.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maddox asks.
“We’re still piecing that together,” Matthews replies, but something in his expression makes me think he knows more than he’s saying. “Stay alert. We’ll be in touch.”
The screen goes black, leaving us sitting in stunned silence.
“Fuck,” Maddox says finally, dragging a hand down his face. “Just when I thought we were out…”
“They pull us back in,” I finish grimly.
Teller passes a file across the table. “Extra security rotations for the next two weeks. Your property, the garage, the diner—all covered twenty-four seven.”
I nod my thanks, though this feels crushing. It’s not just us at risk anymore. It’s Rowan. It’s our employees. It’s the whole damn town if Cypher decides to make an example of us.
“We should tell her,” Ryder says quietly. “Rowan. She deserves to know what’s coming.”
“And say what?” I counter. “That a drug-running MC president wants our heads on a platter? That we used to work for a black ops organization that’s now using us as bait?”
“If Cypher’s coming to Wolf Pike, she’s in danger too,” Maddox points out. “She should at least know that much.”
He’s right, but the thought of exposing our past to Rowan—revealing the blood on our hands, the darkness we’ve tried to leave behind—makes me want to vomit. What if she looks at us differently? What if she decides we’re not worth the risk?
“Let’s get through the next couple of days,” I decide. “See what else Cerberus digs up. Then we’ll figure out how much to tell her.”
My brothers don’t look happy with the compromise, but they nod in agreement. For now, it’s the best we can do.
The tension from the meeting follows us home like a shadow, seeping into every interaction, every glance.
Rowan is waiting in the living room, lying on the couch with a book.
“Hey,” she says, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she puts the book away. “Everything okay?”
“Fine,” I answer. “Just club business running long.”
She watches me carefully. “You’re all wound so tight I can practically hear you creaking,” she observes, standing to approach us. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
I meet her gaze, weighing the risk of truth against the comfort of protection through ignorance. “We have secrets too,” I say finally. “Things we’re not ready to share yet.”
The hurt that flashes across her face is brief but unmistakable. “I see.”
“It’s not that we don’t trust you,” Maddox interjects, moving to her side. “It’s just complicated. Club stuff.”
“Dangerous club stuff, from the looks of it,” she counters, crossing her arms. “I know dangerous when I see it, remember?”
Ryder steps closer, his hand settling on the small of her back. “We’ll tell you. Just need to figure some things out first.”
She studies each of us in turn, then sighs, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Fine. But know that whatever it is, whatever you’re dealing with, I’m stronger than I look.”
“We know,” I say, and I mean it. Whatever her past holds, whatever she’s running from, her strength has never been in question.
Maddox reaches for her hand, tugging her toward the couch. “Come here,” he says, pulling her down onto his lap. “Enough serious talk. I just want to feel you next to me for a while.”
She softens against him, letting him wrap his arms around her waist. “That bad, huh?”
“Bad enough,” he admits, burying his face in her neck. “But better now.”
I watch them from across the room, the familiar ache of desire warring with the cold dread that’s been my constant companion since seeing Cypher’s video.
I should join them and take comfort in the warmth Rowan so freely offers. But my mind keeps replaying that execution. It keeps imagining Cypher targeting her to get to us.
Maddox’s hands begin to wander, one sliding up to cup her breast through her shirt. Instead of stopping him, Rowan sighs and leans into his touch, her head falling back against his shoulder.
“This okay?” Maddox murmurs against her ear.
“More than okay,” she breathes, then glances at Ryder, who’s watching them with undisguised hunger. “Come here.”
Ryder obeys, standing before them as Maddox continues his attention. She reaches for Ryder’s belt, nimble fingers working the buckle open with practiced ease.
I should look away. Should give them privacy. But I remain rooted to the spot, unable to tear my gaze from the three of them.
Rowan’s hand disappears into Ryder’s jeans, and my breath hitches as I watch her slowly tease him, her fingers tracing the outline of his cock before she pulls him free, her hand wrapped around him.
Ryder lets out a sharp gasp, his hips instinctively pushing forward, and I can see how much he’s straining. Rowan’s mouth is already on him, her lips wrapping around the head of his cock with slow, deliberate movements, her eyes briefly locking with mine as she sucks him deeper.
But then her focus shifts back to Ryder as her mouth works him, her head bobbing with a rhythm that makes Ryder’s body jerk, his hands fisting in her hair, holding her in place as she takes him deeper.
Maddox is behind her, and I watch as his hands move to her waist, pulling her ass toward him, positioning himself to kiss her neck, his lips trailing down to her shoulder. He pulls her shirt off completely, revealing her perfect breasts, already hard and waiting for his attention. He squeezes and jiggles them from behind.
Rowan’s body arches, her back lifting slightly as she moans, the sound of her pleasure only making the scene more intense. Her hips move subtly, pressing into Maddox’s hand as she takes Ryder faster and deeper into her mouth.
I can’t look away. The way her body responds to them, the way she’s so open with them—it’s almost too much to take. Her hand slides down Ryder’s thigh, squeezing the muscles beneath her fingers, her other hand still wrapped around his length as she strokes him in tandem with the rhythm of her mouth.
Maddox lowers himself, his lips finding her nipple again, sucking hard as her body shakes with pleasure. The moans she makes vibrate through my chest, each sound a reflection of the pleasure she’s feeling, and I’m aching with the need to be part of it.
Rowan pulls away from Ryder briefly, her lips wet, her breath shallow. Her eyes are dazed, her chest heaving with desire, and she looks at me again, a wicked smile playing on her lips. She knows the effect she has on me—she always has.
“You joining us, Brick?” she asks softly, her voice laced with lust as her hand moves up Ryder’s cock once more.
I can’t answer her. My throat feels tight, and the tightness in my pants makes it almost impossible to focus. I want to move toward her, to take her into my arms, to lose myself in her.
Maddox moves to the other side of her, positioning himself to lick a trail down her belly, dipping his tongue into her navel before making his way lower. His hands grip her thighs, pulling her wide open, and his mouth finds her core. She gasps, her body shuddering as he begins to lick her pussy.
“Oh god, Maddox…” she whispers, her hands flying to his hair, gripping him as if she needs something to hold on to. But there’s no hesitation from him. He devours her, licking her clit with long, smooth strokes that make her gasp and moan louder with each pass.
I’m watching them, my eyes fixed on Rowan as she sucks Ryder off, her body now shaking between them, her lips swollen from their attention. But the way Maddox eats her out, the way her body responds to his mouth—it’s driving her wild. Her body writhes, rocking into his face, and I can see how close she is already.
Her breath becomes ragged, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She’s so lost in them, in the sensations they’re giving her, that she doesn’t notice me taking a step forward. But she feels it. She feels my presence.
“Brick?” Rowan calls softly, her eyes finding mine across the room. “Join us?”
For a fleeting moment, I consider it. I consider losing myself in her, in them, letting the pleasure drive away the fear that’s been building since this morning. But the image of Cypher’s cold eyes returns, followed by the crack of the gunshot, the spray of blood.
“Not tonight,” I say, my voice rougher than intended. “I need some space.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn and head for the stairs, leaving them to find comfort in each other. I tell myself it’s better this way—that I’d only bring my darkness into their light. That they deserve pleasure without the burden of my fears.
But as I reach the top of the stairs, I can’t help looking back. Rowan’s head is thrown back in pleasure, Maddox’s mouth on her neck, Ryder’s hands pushing her thighs wider. The sight sends a pang of longing through me so sharp it’s almost physical pain.
I force myself to turn away, continuing up the stairs alone. Tonight, my demons are louder than my desires. Tonight, all I can think about is how to keep them safe from the storm that’s coming.