Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“You already knew, didn’t you?” she murmured.
I nodded.
“You… don’t care?” Disbelief made her voice wobble.
I kissed her—nothing like the rough I usually put on her, but deep and steady, until I felt the fight bleed out of her shoulders. When I lifted my head, my thumb traced the freckles on her cheekbone one by one, as though I could memorize them by touch. “You didn’t choose blood. You chose speed. Us. That’s enough for me.”
The change in her was audible—a small sound in her chest, relief loosening something I hadn’t realized was wound that tight. She melted against me, tucking herself into my chest like she finally believed she had a place there. My hand splayed over her back, my fingers tracing the line of her spine.
We sat like that for a beat, breaths syncing, the clock ticking from the dresser like it had all the time in the world.
But honesty was a blade, and the truth was jagged. “I can’t keep this from my brothers.”
She stilled. Her relief threatened to snap back into panic as she pulled back just enough to see my face. Fear flashed in her eyes, raw and sharp. “If Kane hears, he’ll kick me off the team. I—” She cut herself off, jaw working. “I can’t lose the track.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I promised. “And he already knows.”
Jana’s expression crumpled. I knew she respected Kane and was worried he was disappointed in her.
“Trust me, baby.” My palm flattened at the base of her spine. “You’re not losing this. Not to him. Not to anyone.”
Then I let my mouth tip into the crooked smile that made prospects rethink their life choices but made her pulse race. “And if the prez becomes a problem, I’ll go through Savannah to get my way.”
Her brows lifted at that, but the corner of her mouth twitched despite herself. She didn’t know Savannah well yet, but she’d seen the way Kane bent when his old lady had an opinion. Her voice could move mountains that Kane would otherwise make a man climb alone.
Jana took a deep breath, long and shaky, then gave me a short nod that said she was borrowing my certainty until hers came back.
I kissed her again, then slid out of bed and grabbed my jeans. “Come on. I’ll drop you with Savannah and Ashlynn. I need to call a meeting.”
“Club business?”
“Club business,” I confirmed with a wink.
Instead of being upset by my secrecy, like a lot of women were with their old men, Jana’s mouth quirked because she knew exactly what that meant this time. We’d talked about what I could and couldn’t tell her about the club. But she knew I would never lie to her or keep shit to myself if it concerned her, which was why she got to know about the “club business” today.
“Then hurry up,” she shot back, brave again because she’d decided to be. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“That’s my girl.” The way her eyes lit at the phrase put jet fuel straight in my veins and down to my cock that I had to ignore for now.
The clubhouse was humming when we arrived—coffee and leather, the low rumble of laughter layered over a blues guitar line bleeding out of the bar speakers. Savannah and Ashlynn were curled up on one of the couches in the lounge. Savannah spotted us first and stood, her blond hair in a loose braid, her eyes warming when she saw Jana.
“Hey, you.” Savannah pulled her in for a hug like they’d known each other for years. “I was just saying that Ashlynn and I needed a partner for the sacred art of telling our men when they’re being idiots.”
Ashlynn grinned, one hand sliding absently to her very large belly like she couldn’t stop checking she was still whole. “A tradition. We take turns, but sometimes it’s a team sport.”
Jana’s shoulders unclenched another notch under that welcome. Some things blood couldn’t buy, and women who decided you belonged were one of them.
“We’re borrowing her,” Savannah told me, mock stern, hand on hip. “And I will feed her, so don’t start.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I deadpanned, getting an eye roll that meant Savannah knew I absolutely would.
I squeezed Jana’s hip, low and possessive as I murmured. “Back soon.”
“Good.” She lifted her chin. “I’ll be here.”
With Jana safe and out of the way, I headed for Kane’s office. The walk through the clubhouse halls was familiar, the smell of leather and faint smoke clinging to every surface.
When I pushed into the office, most of the officers were already there. The room carried the same calm weight it always did. Kane sat behind his custom walnut desk, his sleeves shoved to his forearms. Edge sprawled in a chair sideways, Axle leaned against the bookcase near him, arms folded, expression quiet but engaged in his conversation with Edge. Rev had parked near the map wall with a coffee he hadn’t touched. Blitz and Tyre shared the end of the conference table, ledger open between them. Drift and Shifter took up the back like a twin set of shadows. Our enforcers—Jax, Raze, Piston, Fury, Wrench, and Gauge—were scattered where they could see and be seen.