She turned, walked to the door, paused. "Give my regards to Axel. Tell him I'm looking forward to meeting him properly." She glanced back over her shoulder, and that cold smile returned. "One way or another."
Then she was gone.
I stood frozen for what felt like hours. Seconds, probably. My hands were shaking. My chest was tight. She knew about my grandmother. About the stories, about the jade pendant, about everything that made meme. And she'd implied—hadn't said, butimplied?—
I grabbed my bag and ran.
Axel knew something was wrong the second he saw me. "What happened?" He caught my arms, searched my face. "Kai. Talk to me."
"Not here." I was barely holding together. "Get me out of here."
He didn't ask again. Just wrapped an arm around me, guided me through the hospital, out to the parking garage, onto his bike. The ride back was a blur—I clung to him, face pressed against his leather cut, trying to breathe.
The clubhouse. Safety. His room. Door locked. Then I fell apart.
I told him everything. Chen's appearance, her offer, her threats. The implication about my grandmother. The casual mention of the kill order like it was a line item on a budget report. By the end, I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered.
Axel listened in silence. His expression didn't change, but I could feel the rage building in him—a cold, lethal fury that made the air feel electric.
"She threatened you," he said when I finished. Not a question.
"She threatened everyone. You, Tyler, the club?—"
"She. Threatened. You." Each word was a controlled explosion. "She walked into that hospital and put her hands in your head and made you afraid."
"Axel—"
"No." He cupped my face, forced me to meet his eyes. "Listen to me. She doesn't get to win. She doesn't get to make you small. You are the bravest person I've ever known, and some corrupt federal bitch with a god complex doesn't get to take that from you."
"She knew about my grandmother. She implied—" My voice broke. "What if she?—"
"She didn't. She was playing you, Kai. That's what people like her do—they find your wounds and press on them until you bleed." His thumbs wiped the tears I hadn't realized were falling. "Your grandmother died of heart failure. You were there. You held her hand. Don't let Chen poison that memory."
I broke down completely. Sobbed against his chest like I hadn't since I was a child, since the day obaachan passed and left me alone in the world. He held me through it, solid and warm andthere, murmuring words I couldn't hear but somehow understood. When the tears finally stopped, something else had taken their place.
Rage.
"I want to kill her," I said. My voice was raw but steady. "I want to watch her lose everything she's built."
"We will." Axel's eyes were dark with promise. "Together."
"I need—" I fisted my hands in his shirt, pulled him closer. "I need you. Right now. I need to feel something other than this."
He understood immediately.
There was nothing gentle about it. He kissed me like a conquering army—hard, demanding, possessive. His hands tore at my clothes, and I tore at his, desperate to feel skin against skin. When he shoved me against the wall, I went willingly, wrapping my legs around his waist, grinding against him.
"I've got you," he growled against my throat. "She doesn't touch you. No one touches you."
"Prove it."
He carried me to the bed, dropped me on the mattress, covered my body with his. His weight was grounding, his heat overwhelming. When he bit down on my shoulder—hard enough to bruise—I arched into it, welcoming the pain.
"Tell me what you need," he demanded.
"You. Hard. Make me forget everything except you."
He flipped me onto my front side, and I heard the click of the lube cap. His fingers found me, worked me open with ruthless efficiency—not rough enough to hurt, but far from gentle. I pushed back against his hand, greedy for more.
