"I know."
"No, I mean—" He struggled for words, this man who fought so hard against them. "You'remine. And I'm yours. In front of everyone. No hiding."
I kissed him again, softer this time. "No hiding," I agreed.
The celebration lasted hours.
Someone distributed bottles of whiskey. Someone else started music—classic rock, heavy on the guitar riffs. The pool tables saw intense competition, and at some point, a poker game materialized that I was wise enough to stay far away from.
I floated through it all in a pleasant haze. Talking to Maria about her kids—twin girls, nine years old, terrors according to her and angels according to everyone else. Losing spectacularly at darts against Irish, who turned out to be some kind of savant. Watching Tank teach Jake how to properly maintain his bike, their heads bent together over an engine.
Tank caught me looking at one point. Held my gaze for a beat longer than necessary, something unreadable flickering through his expression.
"You good?" I asked.
"Yeah." He straightened, wiped his hands on a rag. "Just thinking."
"About?"
"Nothing." But his eyes drifted to where Axel was laughing with Blade across the room. "You two seem happy."
"We are."
"Good." He nodded, almost to himself. "That's good. Axel deserves—" He stopped, shook his head. "He deserves someone who sees him. The real him."
"So do you."
The words were out before I could stop them. Tank's eyes snapped to mine, something startled in their depths.
"What?"
"Nothing." I smiled, innocent. "Just that everyone deserves that. Right?"
He stared at me for a long moment. Then something shifted—not quite acceptance, but awareness. Like a door he hadn't known existed had suddenly become visible.
"Right," he said slowly. "Everyone."
He turned back to Jake's engine, but I caught the furrow in his brow. The way his hands stilled for just a second before resuming their work.
Seed planted,I thought.Someday, maybe, he'd let it grow.
The celebration died around midnight.
I was pleasantly drunk, leaning against Axel on one of the worn leather couches, when Hawk emerged from the back with a look that sobered me instantly.
"Church. Officers only." His voice cut through the remaining chatter. "Now."
The temperature in the room dropped. Axel's arm tightened around me before he stood, pressing a kiss to my hair.
"Wait here."
"What's going on?"
"I don't know yet." His jaw was tight. "But I'll tell you as soon as I can."
He followed Hawk and the others through those heavy wooden doors. They closed with a thud that felt like a portent.
I waited. One hour. Two. The remaining members drifted off to bed, but I couldn't move from that couch—couldn't shake the sense that something had shifted, that the brief peace we'd found was already ending.
