Chapter Two #2
Spade’s fingers tapped the closed laptop. “Jason Fairmont is a low-level runner tied to bigger threads. From what I found a moment ago, it looks like while he’s been in prison, he flipped.”
My stomach dropped. “Jason flipped?”
General’s voice stayed level. “He might have tried to protect you. Hard to protect someone after you sell their name to a snake.”
The words hurt because they landed close to truth.
Atilla’s gaze cut to Kane. “You left pieces out when you called.”
Kane didn’t flinch. “I figured you’d want the details from her, not filtered through me.”
Atilla’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile. “You think I can’t hear your opinion anyway?”
Kane held his ground. He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
General leaned forward. “Roth breached your home. Threatened to take you as payment. Now you’re here. We won’t ignore that.”
A chill ran down my spine. “What exactly does this mean?”
“You’ve walked into a den of wolves.” Ace’s voice came out mild yet sharp underneath. “We decide whether you walk back out alone or under our protection.”
Fear surged fast, thick in my throat. “He’ll find me if you send me away.”
Atilla narrowed his eyes. “We know.”
Panic drove me to talk. “I won’t try to trap you. I’ll leave when you tell me to. I needed one final option before giving up.”
Atilla remained motionless. “Are you prepared for what comes with our protection?”
“I don’t understand your meaning.”
Spade reopened his laptop. Screen glow washed over his face. “Men such as Roth never back off from polite requests. He escalates until someone stops him permanently or he decides the cost outweighs his benefit. You sitting under our roof draws a line in the sand.”
A hard swallow scraped down my throat.
“No halfway,” Spade added. “No pretending this ends through polite conversation.”
My voice came rough. “He kicked my door down and called me his. I think he already drew that line.”
Spade’s mouth tightened. “Fair.”
Atilla drummed his fingers once, then stilled them.
His gaze returned to Kane before switching to me.
“We could throw you out. Pretend you never walked through our door. You’d probably die, or worse.
Roth would see us as cowards or indifferent.
He’d grow bolder. He’d target another woman next time. ”
My stomach rolled. His words sickened me, but I understood the truth. Predators such as Roth never stopped with one victim. Only consequences halted their hunt.
Atilla’s gaze stayed steady. “Or we make your problem our problem.”
Hope surged so hard my knees threatened to buckle.
“I won’t pretend we do this out of kindness alone,” Atilla continued.
“Roth needs to be taught a lesson. He doesn’t get to carve pieces out of this town without bleeding.
You sit at the center of the mess, Jade.
But you deserve to wake up without fear running your day.
” His eyes narrowed a fraction. “Question is whether you understand what you’d be agreeing to. ”
My fingers went numb. “What would I agree to?”
General’s voice stayed calm and blunt. “We don’t protect random civilians for free. We protect our own.” The word snagged in my chest. Ace leaned forward a fraction. “We protect family. Our women.”
Heat flared in my face. “What does that mean exactly? I need clarity.”
General nodded once, accepting the correction. “Old ladies. Women tied to the club in a real way. Protection. Respect. Rules. They get told what keeps them alive whether they like it or not.”
My mouth dried. “So… girlfriends. Wives.”
“Sometimes,” Ace said. “But in this club, yeah, that’s what it typically means. You’d get a property patch.”
My stomach turned. “So you only help me if I become somebody’s property.”
“You belong to yourself,” Atilla continued.
“Always. But yes, you’d be someone’s property as well.
Meaning, that man takes responsibility for you and your actions.
Anything you do or say blows back on the club, he’s the one who takes the hit.
But it also means you’re protected. When our club marks a woman as claimed, consequences follow. ”
Spade cut in, brisk. “Has Roth seen you near Kane before?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He might have. Kane followed me home once. I didn’t think anyone noticed.”
Spade nodded. “If Roth has eyes, he might already connect you to Kane. Every time you were seen near each other adds to the story in his head.”
My breath caught.
General looked at Atilla. “Best way to keep her breathing and send a message? We treat her as Kane’s woman. On paper.”
I whipped my head toward them. “What exactly does this mean?”
Kane watched me, his eyes warm and steady on my profile. He remained silent, making no attempt to speak over me or decide my fate. Instead, he waited, patient and still.
General kept his voice measured. “As far as the club is concerned, you belong in Kane’s circle. Under his protection. His responsibility. No one touches you without going through him.”
“And if I say no?”
General didn’t soften it. “Then we find another way to get you out of town and hope Roth doesn’t chase.”
Hope thinned again, fragile as glass.
Spade spoke bluntly. “Men like Roth rarely let go. He wants leverage, control, punishment. He doesn’t care what you want.”
Ace’s gaze stayed on me. “Difference is, we’re offering you a choice. Roth never would.”
Choice. The word tasted strange. I hadn’t had many real choices lately. Most decisions boiled down to survive another day, or don’t.
Atilla’s stare pinned me. “Nobody forces you. You decide. We live with it.”
My body pivoted toward Kane before my mind completed the thought. He met my gaze as though we stood alone.
“You shouldn’t have to do this.” Kane’s voice was rough yet controlled. “You shouldn’t need to choose between being hunted or carrying my name.”
“I walked into this room,” I reminded him. “I put myself here.”
Kane’s jaw clenched, his anger directed at the situation. “I’d protect you either way.”
His certainty struck me harder than expected. No romance. No performance. Pure truth. Summoning courage, I asked the question which terrified me most. “Why does the label matter?”
Spade answered first. “Territory. A woman unclaimed becomes an opportunity for idiots and predators. A woman claimed becomes off limits. You have Kane’s name on you, the club’s colors on your back, and people know we’ll come for them if they fuck with you.”
General nodded. “Roth understands one language. Consequence. Claim gives consequence teeth.”
My gaze returned to Kane. “You’d want that to be you.”
Kane didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
One word. No excuses. No pressure layered beneath. He looked ready to take a bullet for the statement and deal with fallout later.
My chest tightened in a different way.
General’s voice softened slightly. “You wouldn’t be chained here. You can walk away anytime. But while Roth remains a threat, you need a shield he respects.”
Atilla cleared his throat. “To be clear, it’s always been a permanent choice.
However, Kane didn’t come asking us to protect you.
You came to the gates on your own. And since you’re running from someone we want to chase out of town, it could be a mutually beneficial relationship.
If, once the dust settles, you decide this life isn’t one you can handle, we’ll help you relocate elsewhere. ”
A humorless laugh scraped out of me. “Nothing about this feels simple or temporary.”
Ace leaned forward. “Nothing about what Roth did feels simple either.”
Atilla’s gaze stayed steady. “Talk, Jade. What do you want?”
My mind spun. Run again. Hide again. Start over somewhere else. Except Roth already knew my face, my job, my address. He’d already proven he didn’t fear doors, witnesses, consequences. He’d already put his hands on me and promised worse.
If I said no, I walked out alone into a world where Roth hunted.
If I said yes, I stepped into a world of rules, danger, loyalty, and men who scared most people.
I tied myself to Kane, a man I knew in fragments -- quiet kindness, steady presence, the way he followed without crowding, the way he didn’t ask for anything.
My voice came low. “I don’t want to belong to anyone. ”
Kane’s jaw flexed.
“Not the way Roth means it,” I continued. “Not the way Jason promised. I won’t trade one cage for another.”
Atilla didn’t interrupt. He let the words land.
“But I also don’t want to wake up every day waiting for another door to splinter,” I said.
“I’m tired of being scared. I’m tired of pretending monsters forget you if you stay quiet.
” Breath shook in my lungs. I forced it steady.
“I can’t undo what Jason did,” I said. “I can’t control what Roth wants.
I can decide who I stand beside while I survive what comes next. ”
My feet moved before my brain finished the thought. I stepped closer to Kane until my shoulder brushed his arm. Warmth and solidity. “And after everything you’ve already done for me… all the times you were kind when you didn’t have to be…” I lifted my gaze to Kane. “I choose you.”
Kane went still. His pupils widened. He didn’t touch me, but the air between us changed. Something locked into place.
Atilla nodded once, final. “Fine.”
My heart stuttered.
“You stay in the compound,” Atilla said. “You’re under Kane’s protection until we deal with Roth and sort out what you want after. No one touches you unless you want it. Anyone who tries answers to Kane -- and me.”
A low rumble of agreement moved around the table. Not loud. Not performative. Firm.
Atilla’s gaze cut to Kane. “Screw this up, Prospect, and you’re in for a world of pain. Treat her as property, and every brother in this room becomes your problem. Allow your dick to override your brain, and regret follows swiftly.”
Kane’s chin dipped. “Yes, sir.”
General turned to me. “Rules. No trips alone. You need something, you talk to Kane or one of us. The women will help you get settled.”