Chapter Twenty-Five
Cole
The clubhouse was loud when I walked in.
Not rowdy. Not celebratory. Just… alive. Voices overlapping. A TV going somewhere. Chairs scraping. Life continuing like nothing monumental had just happened.
And then I saw her.
Star stood near the center of the room, arms folded loosely, eyes lifting the second I stepped inside like she felt me before she saw me. Everything else blurred out. The noise. The people. The walls.
There was only her.
I crossed the room in long strides, caught her hand, and turned without a word, pulling her toward the hallway.
“Cole—” she started.
I didn’t slow down.
“Hey.” Mac’s voice cut in sharp but controlled.
I stopped and turned back toward her, Star still holding onto my hand like she was afraid if she let go I’d disappear again.
“Are you okay?” Mac asked.
I nodded once. “Yeah.”
Her eyes searched my face, then flicked to Star, then back to me. “Is…?”
I glanced at the camera in the corner, its red light steady and unblinking. “Everything is fine,” I said evenly.
That was all I was giving her with cameras on.
Mac held my gaze for a long beat. Then she nodded. She understood more than she let on. “Okay,” she said quietly.
I didn’t waste another second.
I turned and pulled Star down the hallway, past closed doors and familiar walls, until we reached my room. I shut the door behind us and locked it.
The second it clicked shut, Star launched herself at me.
I caught her automatically, lifting her off the floor as she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her face into my shoulder.
“I was so worried,” she whispered.
“I’m good, babe,” I promised, my voice low as I held her tight.
She pulled back just enough to look at me. Her hands framed my face, and her eyes searched for injuries or blood she might’ve missed.
“Is it done?” she asked.
“One of the four won’t be a problem anymore.”
Her breath caught. “Does that mean the other three are going to be a problem?”
I shook my head slowly. “We don’t know yet. We know they’re connected to an MC, but we don’t know what that means.”
“What does that mean for us? You and me,” she asked quietly.
I didn’t hesitate. “The same thing it would mean if all four of them were gone,” I said. “You’re mine. I told you nothing was going to change that.”
Her shoulders eased a fraction. “Are they going to come after me?”
“Right now, those three are ghosts,” I said honestly. “We don’t know if they’ll surface.”
“And the club?” she pressed.
“That’s the wildcard. Wrecker’s reaching out. We’ll know more when he hears back.”
She sighed and leaned into me again like the weight of it finally caught up.
“So…”
I tipped her chin up and kissed her. “So,” I murmured against her lips, “you don’t need to worry about it. I’m not going to worry about it. There’s only one thing I’m worried about.”
She pulled back just enough to look at me. “And what’s that?”
“Did you miss me?” I drawled.
A smile spread across her face. “A little.”
I brushed her hair back, and that’s when she saw my knuckles.
“Cole,” she gasped. “You’re hurt.”
I shook my head and kissed her again before she could spiral. “Nah, babe. I’m good. The other guy looks way worse.”
She studied my face, serious now. “Are you really okay?”
I pulled her closer, forehead resting against hers. “Got you in my arms. That’s all I need.”
Something in her eyes softened.
She kissed me again, harder this time. Hungrier. Her hands slid into my shirt, pressing against my skin like she needed proof I was here. Real. Alive.
I backed us toward the bed without breaking the kiss and lowered her down gently as she pulled me with her. The mattress dipped beneath us, familiar and solid, and everything else faded out.
My hands roamed her back, memorizing her like I hadn’t just held her hours ago. She arched into me, breath hitched, and her fingers tangled in my hair as if she wasn’t letting me go again.
I kissed her like a promise.
Like reassurance.
Like tomorrow could bring whatever the hell it wanted because tonight, we were here.
Together.
Her legs wrapped around me instinctively, pulling me closer, and I groaned softly into her mouth.
She smiled against my lips. “I missed you more than a little.”
“Good,” I murmured. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”