Brick sighed.That was why King had agreed.Dillon wasn’t just another at-risk kid caught in the crossfire of the Serpents’ bullshit.He was the son of a fallen brother.Blood by bond, even if not by birth, and the Devil’s Crown didn’t abandon their own.
Brick didn’t like the idea of her anywhere near the mess the Iron Serpents had created with that boy.Didn’t like her stepping into shadows she had no damn idea how to navigate.
Brick also hated the protective heat curling through him at the thought of her getting hurt.He hated how instinctive it felt.How instant, wrong, and how impossible to shut off.
“You shouldn’t be here alone.”His voice came out harsher than intended.
Her eyebrows shot up.“I wasn’t aware I needed an escort to do my job.”
“You do here,” he pointed out.
She opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by the front doors swinging open behind him.
King stepped out, immediately locking his gaze onto Tessa.“You must be Ms.Hart.”
“Tessa,” she corrected cheerfully.
King gave a polite nod, then turned a look on Brick that said,inside.Now.
Brick stepped back, giving Tessa a wide berth.He didn’t want her brushing against him.Didn’t want an accidental touch.Didn’t want the jolt he knew it would send through him.
Inside, the clubhouse was quiet.Most of their MC brothers were out on jobs at this time of the day.King led Brick to an empty table.He just waited for Brick to sit.Then he got right to it.
“We’re escorting Ms.Hart while she works with Dillon,” King said.
Brick’s reaction was immediate.“No.”
King’s brows rose.“Didn’t realize that was up for a vote.”
Brick leaned back in his chair, shoulders knotting.“She’s not club.She’s not trained.She doesn’t understand how dangerous the Serpents are.”
“That’s exactly why we escort her,” King pointed out.
“Give it to one of the prospects,” he argued.
“Prospects don’t go toe-to-toe with the Serpents.”
Brick glared.“Why me?”
King didn’t flinch.“Because you’re the one I trust.And because if shit goes sideways, no one stands a better chance of getting her out alive.”
Brick felt something ugly twist inside him.
This wasn’t about the job.This was about how he reacted when he saw her.King had seen it, and King was pushing him straight into the fire.
Brick clenched his jaw hard enough his molars tingled.“She’s not my responsibility.”
“Today she is.”
Brick curled his fists against his sides.He could break bones, crack skulls, crush windpipes without blinking, but the idea of being alone with that soft, bright woman, of trying not to feel anything while she smiled at him like he wasn’t the monster everyone else saw?
That felt damn near impossible.
King stood.“Brick, this isn’t optional.You escort her.You keep her safe.You make sure the Serpents don’t get a chance to use her to get to the kid or to us.”Then he paused, eyeing him.“Problem?”
Everything inside him said yes loudly.
Brick stood anyway.“No, President,” he mumbled.
