Brick slammed him again.The lockers dented.
“If you touch her again, you die,” Brick said.
The words didn’t come out loud.They came out like a promise, like a vow carved out of concrete.
The Serpent’s bravado shattered instantly.His eyes went wide, breath coming fast and panicked.Brick leaned in, face inches from his, expression carved from pure fury.
“You don’t come near her.You don’t look at her.You don’t breathe in the same direction.You disappear.”Brick’s grip tightened.“Or I’ll make sure your brothers bury what’s left of you in pieces.”
“Brick,” Tessa whispered.
He didn’t look at her.Hell, he didn’t even flinch.Brick stood there like pure violence carved into a man’s shape, his entire body radiating a possessive rage that made the air feel heavier, hotter.In that moment, he reminded her of an animal guarding its territory and its mate.Protecting what was his.
Except she wasn’t his.Was she?
The question flashed through her so fast it stole her breath.Her knees softened, threatening to give out right there in the hallway, and she hated how much her body reacted to him.How much she liked knowing he’d come for her.
Somewhere down the hall, a teacher yelled for them to stop, voice cracking with nerves, but Brick didn’t even register it.He didn’t budge or loosen his grip.
Brick refused to give the trembling Serpent a single inch.Not until the other biker finally sagged in defeat, stopped fighting, and started nodding frantically, lips shaking with fear.Only then did Brick release him.
He let go all at once, like a man discarding trash.The Iron Serpent member dropped to the floor, catching himself on one knee before scrambling upright.He didn’t risk a second glance.He bolted for the exit like someone fleeing a wildfire.
Brick didn’t watch him run.He was already turning and when his dark gaze, still charged with leftover fury found her, the entire hallway seemed to fall away.
It was just him and her, the thrum of adrenaline between them, and the brutal truth that he’d nearly torn a man apart because someone threatened her.
“Tess,” Dillon whispered behind her, but she couldn’t breathe enough to answer.
Brick moved toward her, every step heavy with adrenaline.Protective and possessive, Brick was still vibrating with the violence he’d barely restrained.
She braced without meaning to when he reached her.He stopped a foot away, chest rising and falling hard, jaw clenched so tight she wondered if it hurt.
“You okay?”he asked.
The words were interestingly gentle.
“I’m fine,” she tried to say, but her voice cracked on the second word.
Brick flicked his eyes over her, to her face, her hands, and the tension in her shoulders.He took in every detail with the intensity of a man checking for injuries he planned to avenge.
“I shouldn’t have let you come alone.”His voice was rough.“I thought I could keep an eye on you from a distance.”
Tessa blinked.“You ...were following me?”
Brick didn’t look remotely apologetic.“Damn right I was.”
Her breath caught.Dillon looked between them like he understood something she didn’t dare put into words.
“You were supposed to be handling club business,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I did.”His jaw flexed.“Then I came back.Couldn’t shake the feeling something was off.”
A shudder ran through her.
Brick stepped closer, lowering his voice.“He didn’t hurt you?”
“No.”She swallowed.“He just threatened me and Dillon.”
