“I want to go back to the clubhouse.”
Her words hit harder than any accusation. I nodded, understanding that she needed space, but the ache in my chest told me I wanted to say more. The glow of the fire seemed colder now, its warmth unable to reach the distance between us.
I reached out hesitantly, unsure if she’d let me close. “Whatever you need, Karlyn. I’ll take you back,” I murmured, voice gentle, hoping she’d hear how much I wished I could turn back time and undo the pain I’d caused. The night felt heavier as I rose to gather our things, determined to give her the respect and honesty she deserved, even if it meant facing the consequences of my choices alone.
The firelight, once a beacon of hope, now seemed to mock me with its cheerful dance. Karlyn’s words, sharp and precise,had sliced through the fragile peace we’d found. Her hurt, her disillusionment, were a mirror, reflecting my own failures. I had brought her into this darkness, into the war that had consumed me. In my attempt to protect her, I had only caused more pain. The truth, raw and ugly, lay between us like a chasm, and I didn’t know if we could ever bridge it.
I watched her pull away, the distance between us widening with each silent beat of my frantic heart. The forest, which had been our sanctuary, now felt like a witness to my shame. She needed space, and I, the monster she’d tried to tame, had to give it to her. The decision to take her back to the clubhouse, a place of chaos and danger, felt like another defeat, another step down a path I was rapidly losing control of. But if that was what she needed, then that was what I would give her.
The ride back was a blur of roaring engines and the cold bite of the wind. Karlyn, a silent figure behind me, her body stiff, seemed a million miles away, her gaze fixed on some distant horizon only she could see. The promises I’d made, the vows of protection, felt fragile against the weight of her disillusionment. We were heading back into the storm, and for the first time, I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to shield her from its fury, or if I was the one destined to break her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Karlyn
The second we arrived back at the clubhouse, and he parked the bike, I hopped off, needing my space. I knew I had hurt him with my words. I didn’t want to. I hated hurting him, but I couldn’t stop the pain, the hurt from his lack of trust. After I woke up from my coma, he was the one who showed me how to come back from the hell I’d suffered. Not my brother, not Daphne... him, Jackson. The man whose voice whispered for months, begging me to fight, to never give in, to stand up to the evil I’d suffered as I fought through the darkness back into the light. He didn’t care that I was broken on the inside. He was there, waiting in the darkness, when my nightmares became too much. Like a white knight with his sword drawn, he dispatched my fears one by one.
Walking into the clubhouse, with Ravage, Eros, Indigo and Firestride behind me, I finally let out the breath I was holding as my eyes immediately looked at the bar for Grace. Not seeing her, I scanned the room as King angrily marched over to us and punched Jackson in the face, sending him spiraling back into Firestride.
Eros and Indigo hurried me to the side as Jackson snarled, charging King, who ducked at the last minute, landing another blow into Jackson’s midsection.
Then, before it started, it was over as Nav and Eros tried to corral Jackson.
Not an easy feat for sure.
“What the fuck?!” he screamed.
“I’d ask you the same fucking thing. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Prez,” Nav said quietly, looking over at me, Indigo standing firm, protectively. “Maybe we should take this to church.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I want all fucking five of you in church right fucking now.”
He spun around and storm through a set of double doors, calling out, “Cash and Zeus, now!”
Jackson walked over to me, and I took a step back, shaking my head. “You’d better go. He looks mad.”
I knew he wouldn’t push, and I was right, because one second he was standing before me, and the next he was gone, disappearing through the same doors King had vanished behind.
Walking over to the nearest table, I sat, saying nothing. I wanted to go upstairs, to disappear behind the walls of this place, to hide and never come out. But what was the use? I knew he’d find me. He always did. So, I sat there, trying not to let the fact that I was alone in a biker clubhouse affect me.
I know I said I wanted to come back here, but there was no other place for me to hide. I hated clubhouses. I hated what they represented. I hated men who wore leather cuts and swore allegiance to some code that didn’t give a damn about right or wrong. Actually, I just hated everything about the biker world. Oh, I knew that not all clubs were bad, but in my experience it didn’t matter. Even the good ones had some level of danger in them.
Time seemed to drag as I sat there, the silence pressing in on me from all sides. My fingers toyed with the edge of the chipped tabletop, mind racing with everything that had just happened. I could hear the muffled shouts echoing from behind the church doors, tension thick as smoke in the air. A part of me wanted to get up and run, but my legs wouldn’t move, rooted by a mix offear and uncertainty. All I could do was wait, hoping the storm raging inside those walls would pass without tearing everything apart.
“Karlyn?”
Looking up, I smiled as Sebastian took a seat next to me. He still looked the same as the last time I saw him. Still tall, muscular, and very handsome. Not like Jackson but catching just the same.
“We haven’t been able to talk much since you arrived. Ravage doesn’t like sharing.”
I smirked at that. “What man does?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll give you that. How have you been?”
I shrugged, not knowing how to answer him. Instead, I asked him a question of my own, “Sebastian, do you like being here? In this clubhouse? A brother in the Silver Shadows?”
He hesitated, glancing away for a moment before answering. “It’s complicated. There are days I love it—the brotherhood, the sense of belonging. Other days, I wonder if I’m just lost in the noise—doing things I thought I’d never do, living by someone else’s rules.” He drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the table. “But this place, these people, they’re the only family I’ve got. Sometimes that’s enough to keep me here, even when I question everything else.”
