Chapter 10 - Rosie
I wake up warm.
That's the first thing I notice. Not the thin scratchy blanket from the warehouse. Not the cold concrete floor. Actual warmth from soft sheets, a firm mattress and a massive body pressed against my back.
Brick.
The memories flood back immediately. Last night. The courtyard. The rain. His room. The talking that turned into kissing that turned into—
Heat floods my face. We had sex. Loud sex. Very loud sex if my throat is anything to go by. I can feel the soreness there from screaming his name.
And I don't regret it.
Not even a little bit.
His arm is heavy across my waist, holding me against him like even in our sleep he's keeping me safe. I can feel his breath against my neck, steady and deep. Morning light filters through the window. The rain stopped sometime during the night, leaving everything clean and bright.
I shift slightly, testing whether I can move without waking him. His arm tightens.
"Don't even think about it," his rough morning voice rumbles against my ear.
"I wasn't going anywhere."
"Good." He pulls me closer, if that's even possible. "What time is it?"
I glance at the clock on his nightstand. "Almost eight."
"Too early."
"The clubhouse is probably already awake."
"Don't care."
I smile against the pillow. "We can't stay in bed all day."
"Watch me."
There's a knock on the door. Sharp. Authoritative. We both freeze.
"Brick." It's a male voice I don't recognize. "Phoenix and Judge want to see you and Rosie. Both of you. Common room. Ten minutes."
Brick sighs heavily. "Copy that, Ranger."
Footsteps retreat down the hallway.
We lie there for a moment in silence.
"So," I say finally. "They know."
"They definitely know. You weren't exactly quiet."
"Me? You're the one who told me to scream your name."
"And you did. Very enthusiastically. Pretty sure Canvas heard you from his room and he's all the way at the other end of the hall."
I bury my face in the pillow. "Oh my God."
"Too late for embarrassment now." He rolls me over to face him. His dark eyes are amused but there's something else there too. Concern. "You okay? With all of this? With them knowing?"
Am I okay with it?
I run through a mental inventory. My body is sore in places I haven't been sore in years.
I'm lying naked in a biker's bed in a clubhouse full of people who heard me getting fucked.
I'm about to face the club president and vice president to explain why I slept with one of the members less than twenty-four hours after being rescued.
And somehow, I'm more okay than I've been in weeks.
"Yeah," I say. "I'm okay with it. Are you?"
"I'm about to get lectured by my president about mixing protection details with personal feelings." He cups my face. "And I don't give a single fuck about any of it. So yeah. I'm okay with it."
"What's the worst they can do?"
"Technically? Kick me out of the club."
My stomach drops. "They wouldn't—"
"They won't. Phoenix doesn't work like that. But they're going to make their position very clear about whether they think this is a good idea."
"And if they don't think it's a good idea?"
"Then they'll be wrong." He says it with such certainty that something in my chest warms. "But we should probably get dressed and face the music before they send someone less polite than Ranger to drag us down there."
We get out of bed. I look around for my clothes and realize they're scattered across his floor. My borrowed shirt near the door. The sweatpants by the bed. My panties… Oh God, my panties are hanging off his desk lamp.
Brick follows my gaze and grins. "That's a good look."
"Shut up." I grab them and get dressed quickly. He does the same, pulling on jeans and a fresh shirt.
"Your cut," I say. "I was wearing it when we came up here but then—"
"You took it off at some point." He shrugs. "I'll get it later. Not important right now."
We head downstairs together. The common room is occupied but not crowded. Eden and Canvas are at the kitchen counter with coffee. Nora and Grace are at the dining table with coloring books. A few of the other rescued women are on the couch, looking more rested than yesterday but still exhausted.
And Phoenix and Judge are waiting near the bar, both of them with expressions that make it very clear this is not a casual conversation.
"Brick. Rosie." Phoenix's voice is neutral. Presidential. "Let's talk in my office."
We follow him. Judge comes too. The office is small but organized: desk, chairs, filing cabinet, map of Millhaven on the wall with various marks that probably represent Iron Phoenix holdings.
Phoenix sits behind his desk. Judge leans against the wall. Brick and I take the chairs across from Phoenix.
"So," Phoenix says. "Last night was loud."
I want to die. Actually die. Sink through the floor and cease to exist.
Brick, however, doesn't even flinch. "Yeah. It was."
"You want to explain what the fuck you were thinking?" Judge asks. His voice isn't angry. Just concerned. "She just got out of a trafficking situation. She's traumatized. Vulnerable. And you decided the appropriate response was to sleep with her?"
"I made it very clear she could stop at any time. I asked for consent multiple times. She was the one in control the entire time."
Phoenix leans back in his chair. "Look, I get it.
I really do. You think I don't remember falling for Ivy within days?
She showed up at four in the morning running from Cole, and I knew almost immediately she was it for me.
Judge, you met Nora and Grace at eleven PM at a bus station and by morning you were ready to die for them both. "
Judge's expression softens slightly. "That's different. We waited—"
"You waited forty-eight hours before sleeping with Nora," Phoenix interrupts. "Canvas and Eden got together after knowing each other for less than 48 hours too. This club seems to specialize in fast attachments during crisis situations."
"Exactly my point," Judge says. "Crisis situations. Heightened emotions. Trauma bonding. Are we sure what's happening here is real and not just a response to extreme circumstances?"
"Was what you felt for Nora just a response to circumstances?" Brick asks. "Or was it real?"
Judge is silent for a moment. "It was real. From the first moment I saw her scared and protecting Grace. But I also made sure to give her space. Made sure she was ready. Made sure—"
"I did make sure," Brick says. "Multiple times. I gave her every opportunity to stop. To say no. She didn't. Because she wanted it. Because we both needed it."
Phoenix looks at me. "Rosie. I need to hear from you. Are you okay with what happened last night?"
I take a breath. "Yes. I'm okay with it.
More than okay. I initiated it. I wanted it.
Brick gave me multiple opportunities to stop, and I didn't take any of them because I didn't want to stop.
" I look at Phoenix directly. "I know you all found your people in crisis situations too.
I know the timing seems suspicious. But what I feel for Brick, it's real. It happened fast, but it's real."
Phoenix and Judge exchange a look.
"This is still against my better judgment," Phoenix says finally.
"But I'm not going to tell you what to do with your personal life.
Either of you. As long as it doesn't interfere with club business or put anyone in danger.
And Rosie, you're under our protection regardless of what happens between you and Brick.
If this doesn't work out, if you change your mind, if anything makes you uncomfortable, you tell us.
You're still safe here. That doesn't change. "
Something tight in my chest loosens. "Thank you."
"Judge is going to coordinate therapy resources for all of you," Phoenix continues. "Professional help. Because what you went through, all of you, that's not something you can just walk off."
"I know," I say quietly. "I'll do whatever I need to do."
"Good." Phoenix stands. "Then we're done here. Brick, you're still on security detail for the women. Keep it professional when you're working."
"Understood."
Judge moves toward the door, then pauses. "Brick. You hurt her and I'll break both your legs."
"Fair."
"I'm serious."
"I know you are. And I'm telling you it's not going to happen."
Judge nods and leaves. Phoenix follows, leaving us alone in the office.
I exhale slowly. "That went better than I expected."
"They get it," Brick says. "They've all been there. Fast attachments. Crisis situations. Finding someone who matters in the middle of hell."
We head back to the common room. Eden intercepts us immediately. "Rosie, when you have a moment, I'd like to do a full medical assessment."
"Okay. After I call my family?"
"Whenever you're ready."
Grace runs over, signing enthusiastically. Judge translates. "She says good morning and did you sleep well and she saved you a seat at the table for breakfast."
I tell Judge what I want to say, and he translates it back to her. "Good morning. I slept very well. Thank you for saving me a seat."
We eat breakfast together. All of us. The rescued women, the club members, the old ladies, Grace signing about everything. It feels like family.
After breakfast, Brick takes me to a quiet room with a phone. I sit down and stare at it for a long moment.
"You can do this," he says.
I pick up the phone and dial my mom's number. She answers on the first ring.
"Hello?"
"Mom," I say, and my voice breaks. "Mom, it's me. It's Rosie."
She screams. Actually screams. I hear her yelling for my dad, for my sister.
"Rosie? Baby, where are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," I tell her. "I'm safe. There was a situation with my ex. He locked me up. For a week. But I'm out now. I'm safe."
My mom is crying. My dad takes the phone. "Where are you? We'll come get you."
"I'm in Millhaven. With people who helped me. I can't come home yet, Dad. The people who did this are still looking. But I'm protected here."
We talk for twenty more minutes. My sister gets on the line, crying and yelling at me. I let her. She's earned it.
When I hang up, I'm exhausted but lighter. "They're okay. They understand I need time."
Eden does my medical assessment. I'm bruised and underweight but physically intact. She prescribes rest, food, and therapy. I agree with all of it.
By evening, I'm back in Brick's room. He's sitting on the bed. I close the door behind me and lock it.
"So," I say. "We're doing this."
"Looks like it."
"It's probably going to be a disaster."
"Probably."
"I'm going to be impossible sometimes."
"I know."
He pulls me onto his lap. "Rosie. I want this. Want you. Want to see where this goes. Want to be the man who gets to help you heal."
"Why?"
"Because you matter. Because you survived. Because you're strong and furious and real. Because I'm already falling for you and I want to see what happens when I fall the rest of the way."
"That's insane. You barely know me."
"I know enough. Phoenix knew with Ivy. Judge knew with Nora. Canvas knew with Eden. Sometimes you just know. And I know you're who I want."
I kiss him.
"Okay," I whisper. "Let's figure it out together."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You and me."
We lie back on his bed, tangled together, and I think about the future. About therapy and healing and learning to trust again. About a man who breaks bones for a living but holds me like I'm precious.
It won't be easy. But it will be real.
And real is all I need.