"Was necessary."
"Was reckless." But there was something else in his voice. Something that sounded like awe. "Where the hell did you learn to disarm someone like that?"
"Tyler." The name came easier now. "He was paranoid about me being vulnerable. Spent years making sure I wasn't."
"Remind me to thank him someday."
Jake stirred, his good hand reaching out to grip my arm. "Kai. You came for me."
"Of course I did."
"They said—" He swallowed hard. "They said Phoenix wouldn't risk anything for a prospect. That I was expendable."
"They were wrong." I squeezed his hand. "You're family, Jake. Family's never expendable."
Something broke open in his expression—the same thing I'd seen when he talked about aging out of foster care with nothing and no one. Tears tracked through the blood on his face.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Thank me by not getting kidnapped again." I helped him to his feet, careful of his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you home."
The clubhouse was controlled chaos when we arrived.
Maria was ready with ice packs and bandages. Hawk met us at the door, his expression unreadable as he took in Jake's condition and the blood on my hands. Other members gathered, murmuring, watching.
I ignored all of it. Led Jake to a couch, elevated his arm, started the process of cleaning his wounds. The medical focus was a relief—something concrete I could do, something I was good at.
Axel stood guard nearby, fielding questions, providing a buffer between me and the curious onlookers. I caught fragments:took down Slash with a pen... told Viper to come get him... kid's got balls...
By the time I'd finished patching Jake up, the crowd had thinned. Maria pressed a cup of tea into my hands—chamomile, I realized, sweet with honey—and squeezed my shoulder without a word.
"You did good tonight."
I looked up. Hawk stood over me, that same unreadable expression on his face. But his eyes were warm.
"Jake's one of ours. You didn't hesitate."
"He's my friend."
"He's a prospect who's been here six months. You've been here three days." Hawk sat in the chair across from me, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Most people in your position would have stayed with the bikes. Stayed safe."
"Safe's overrated."
Something like a smile crossed his face. "Axel said you were something special. Didn't quite believe him until tonight."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I drank my tea.
"There's going to be a vote," Hawk continued. "Tomorrow, in Church. About your status."
"My status?"
"Right now, you're a guest. Under protection, but not part of the club." His dark eyes held mine. "Some of us think that should change."
My heart stuttered. "You mean?—"
"Nothing official. Not yet. But you'd have a place here, if you wanted it. Not as a member—that's a different path—but as family. Recognized. Protected by more than just Axel's word."
I thought about my empty apartment. My solitary life. The way I'd been drifting since Tyler disappeared, since my grandmother died, since I'd aged out of foster care with nothing but a jade pendant and a stubborn refusal to quit.
