Chapter 5 #2
Finally, Phantom refocuses. "Copperhead Kings. They're coming for her because of my deal."
"Looks that way."
"What's the play?"
I lean forward. "I think you need to talk to their Prez. Or Bronco's family directly. Make them understand the deal is dead. Grace isn't available."
"And if they push back?"
"Then we go to war."
Phantom nods slowly. "What are you going to tell them? About why the deal ended?"
His eyes meet mine, and I see the trap immediately.
"That's the problem," Phantom says. "I can't tell them what Bronco did. If I do, they'll know the rival MC story is bullshit. They'll know someone inside the club killed him."
"And they'll want blood," I finish. "Shiver's head or compensation."
"Exactly." Phantom stands, starts pacing again. "The lie has to hold. For Grace's sake. For Shiver's sake. For the club."
"So what do you tell them?"
Phantom's quiet for a moment, thinking. "I’ll tell them the engagement ended when Bronco died. The arrangement was for a marriage, not a purchase. No marriage, no deal."
"They might not see it that way."
"Then I'll make them see it that way." His voice is hard. "I'll reach out to their Prez. See if we can negotiate. Maybe offer to return the money."
I shake my head. "We don't have four million liquid."
"No. But maybe we can work out payments. Buy time. Make this go away quietly."
"And if they don't want money?" I ask the question we're both thinking. "If they insist on Grace?"
Phantom's eyes go cold as stone. "Then we make it clear she's under Shotgun Saints protection. Anyone who touches her answers to all of us."
He turns to me, his expression shifting to Prez mode. "Until this is resolved, you're on Grace detail. Full time. She doesn't go anywhere without you."
"Already on it."
Phantom's eyes narrow. "Since when?"
"Since the first note. Wasn't going to leave her unprotected."
He studies me for a long moment. "You've been with her. At the clinic. On vet calls."
It's not a question.
"Yes," I say simply.
Phantom nods. "Good. She trusts you. That matters when she's scared."
The guilt twists in my chest.
She trusts me, all right.
Trusts me enough to let me claim her, mark her, take her in ways her father can't even imagine.
"Peterson called me this morning," Phantom says, and my blood runs cold.
Here it comes.
"Said you helped Grace with a bull yesterday. Said you two worked well together." Phantom's watching me carefully. "Also said you looked... close. His words, not mine."
I keep my expression neutral. "She needed help. The bull was aggressive. I assisted."
Phantom stares at me for what feels like an eternity.
"Make sure it stays professional, Shadow. Grace has been through hell. She doesn't need complications. Especially not from someone she trusts."
The words hit like a punch to the gut.
"Understood," I say, the lie tasting like ash in my mouth.
Phantom holds my gaze for another moment, then nods. "You're dismissed. Keep me updated on any new developments with the threat."
I stand to leave, but Phantom's voice stops me at the door.
"Shadow."
I turn back.
"I'm trusting you with my daughter. With the person I value most in this world." His eyes are hard. Serious. "Don't make me regret it."
The weight of those words settles on my shoulders like a physical thing.
"You won't, Prez," I say.
I walk out before he can see the guilt written all over my face.
I make it to the hallway before I have to stop, lean against the wall, and just breathe.
I just lied to Phantom's face.
The man who gave me a chance when I had nothing.
Who made me enforcer when I'd proven myself.
Who trusts me with everything—the club's security, sensitive jobs, and now his daughter's safety.
And I'm sleeping with Grace. Claiming her. Planning to keep her no matter what he says.
The rational part of my brain knows I should tell him.
Should walk back in there right now and come clean. Face whatever consequences come.
But the rest of me—the possessive, primal part that's already marked Grace as mine—knows that's not happening.
Not yet.
Not while Phantom's dealing with the Copperhead Kings threat. Adding "your enforcer is fucking your daughter" to the pile would be too much.
He needs to focus on keeping Grace safe, not on killing me for touching her.
After the threat is handled, I'll tell him. I promise myself that.
After.
My phone buzzes.
Grace:
Everything okay?
I text back:
On my way to you.
I need to see her. Need to hold her. Need to remind myself why I'm doing this, why I'm lying to a man I respect.
Because she's worth it.
She's worth everything.
Grace is pacing the living room when I walk in, Charlie at her heels.
She spins toward me the second the door opens. "What happened? What did he say?"
I cross to her in three strides and pull her into my arms.
Just hold her for a moment, breathing her in, letting her presence settle the chaos in my head.
"He knows about the threat," I finally say. "Assigned me to protect you full-time."
Grace pulls back to look at me. "Does he know about us?"
"Suspects something. Peterson told him we looked close yesterday."
Her face goes pale. "What did you say?"
"That I was doing my job. Protecting you."
"So you lied to him."
The accusation in her voice stings, even though it's true.
"Yeah," I admit. "I did."
Grace pulls away, wrapping her arms around herself. "We're lying to my father. You're lying to your Prez."
"I know."
"This is wrong, Shadow. We should tell him."
"Not yet." I reach for her, but she steps back. "Not while he's dealing with Copperhead Kings. One crisis at a time."
"And after?" Her eyes search mine. "After the threat is handled, then what?"
"Then I tell him everything. I promise."
She looks at me for a long moment, and I can see the war playing out behind her eyes. Trust versus guilt. Want versus duty.
Finally, she nods. "Okay. After."
I pull her back against me, and this time she doesn't resist.
"He's going to negotiate," I say. "Try to make the threat go away. Offer to return the money."
Grace's body tenses. "What if they don't want money?"
"Then the club goes to war."
She starts to pull away again, panic rising. "People will die. Because of me. Because of a deal my father made—"
"Stop." I cut her off, holding her tighter. "This isn't your fault. None of this is your fault."
"But—"
"But nothing." I make her look at me. "Your father made a deal he regrets. Bronco was a monster. His family is coming after you because they're entitled assholes who think money buys people. That's on them. Not you."
Grace's eyes fill with tears. "I don't want people dying because of me."
"They won't be dying because of you." My voice is firm. "They'll be dying because they threatened what the Shotgun Saints protect. That's different."
She buries her face in my chest, and I feel her shoulders shake.
I hold her while she cries, stroking her hair, murmuring reassurances.
My phone buzzes.
I pull it out, expecting Phantom.
Instead, it's a message from Rogue:
Copperhead Kings Prez just called Phantom. Wants a meet. Tomorrow night.
My blood runs cold.
I show Grace the message.
All the color drains from her face. "Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow we find out what they really want."
Her voice is barely a whisper. "What if they want me?"
I cup her face in my hands, make her look at me.
Make sure she sees the absolute certainty in my eyes.
"Then they're going to learn why I'm the Shotgun Saints' enforcer."
Grace stares at me, and I continue, my voice steel wrapped in promise.
"I've ended threats before, Grace. Made problems disappear. Protected this club with everything I have. But you? You're not just club business. You're mine. And I will burn Houston to the ground before I let them take you."
She searches my face, looking for doubt, for hesitation.
She won't find any.
Because I mean every word.
Finally, she nods. "Okay."
"Okay."
We stand there holding each other, both knowing tomorrow changes everything.
The Copperhead Kings meet. The truth about what they want. And eventually, inevitably, Phantom finding out about us.
I pull Grace closer, press my lips to her temple, and make another silent promise.
Whatever comes tomorrow, whatever war the Copperhead Kings want to start, whatever fury Phantom unleashes when he learns the truth—
I'm keeping her.
Grace is mine.
And I'll destroy anyone who tries to change that.