I should.
That’s the protocol.
Bring Kelly to a safe place, secure the perimeter, notify Chux, update Nitro to know the camera movements.I’ve done this dance a hundred times with a dozen people under our protection.
But none of them have been her.None of them made my hands shake the way they are on the wheel right now.None of them made my chest tight with a fear I don’t want to name.
Instead, I circle the block twice.Check for tails.Monitor every reflection in every shop window.Scan every car that idles too long.I feel her watching me the entire time, quiet, nervous, trusting.
When I’m finally convinced no one followed, I pull toward the clubhouse.
Kelly shifts in her seat.“This isn’t the cabin.”
“No,” I confirm, scanning the lot.“We need to make a stop.”
“You mean you need to,” she says.
“I don’t leave you anywhere alone.”
She looks out the window, swallowing.The tension in her shoulders doesn’t escape me.
“You’re safe,” I add quietly.
She nods once, but her fingers twist in her sweater sleeve.
I kill the engine, come around to her side, and help her down.She stiffens slightly when the clubhouse doors come into view.We are in the port, but the clubhouse is off to the side.
“You’ve been here before,” I remind her.
“I know,” she whispers.“It just feels bigger than ever before.”
Big.
That’s one damn word for it.
I guide her inside.The moment the brothers spot her, the noise dips.Guys straighten.Conversations pause.A few nod respectfully.
The Kings don’t treat women like property.They don’t treat them like porcelain either.
But Kelly?
Kelly earned a level of protection here long before she ever slept with me.
Some of that is her tie to Ally.Some is Chux and how he runs things.
The rest?
She did herself with sass, pastries, and fire.We all frequent the bakery even before my brother was hooked up with Ally.
“Riot,” Mellow calls from near the bar.The old timer not hiding his concern.“She okay?”
“She’s right here,” Kelly answers before I can.“No need to talk about me like I’m not.”
Mellow grins.“Feisty again.Good sign.”
Kelly blushes.Something in my chest pulls tight.
I point her toward a couch in the corner.“Sit.Don’t move.”
