Brick tightened his jaw.
“She nearly died because of me,” he said.“Because they wanted leverage.Because they knew how much she mattered to me.”His hands curled slowly into fists at his sides.“That doesn’t happen again.Ever.”
King leaned back against the desk, arms folding over his chest.“Claiming her makes her a bigger target.”
“She already is.”Brick’s words were blunt and unarguable.
Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy with the weight of what was being decided.
“You understand what you’re saying, right?”King said at last.“Once you put her under your name, under this cut, she’s club.That means protection, yes.But it also means danger follows her for the rest of her life.”
Brick didn’t look away.
“I bring danger wherever I go,” he said flatly.“At least this way, she doesn’t face it alone.”
King exhaled slowly.“You love her.”
It wasn’t a question.Brick’s throat tightened.For a moment, words failed him.Then he nodded once.
“Yeah,” he admitted.
King pushed off the desk and stepped closer.“Then I’ll approve it.But Brick, if she gets hurt again because you were reckless, because you chose pride over strategy, I won’t forgive it.And neither will she.”
“She’s the only thing I won’t fail,” Brick said, his voice hoarse with truth.
King studied him one last time, then extended his hand.Brick clasped it without hesitation.The claim was made.
When Brick stepped back into the hallway, something inside him had shifted and locked into place.Tessa was his, and now, the whole club knew it.
She was awake when he returned.
Sitting upright in the bed, knees drawn up beneath her.Wrapped in his shirt like a shield that was far too big for her, the hem brushing her thighs, the collar slipping off one shoulder.Her hair was mussed with sleep, eyes still shadowed with exhaustion and fear.
She was watching the doorway like she’d been afraid he wouldn’t come back.The sight hit Brick straight in the chest.
“Hey,” he said softly.
Her face changed instantly.Relief flooded through her so fast it was almost painful to watch.The tension in her shoulders melted, and a small, fragile smile curved her lips.
“Hi.”
Brick crossed the room in three quiet strides and crouched in front of her, bringing himself level with her.He rested his hands on her knees, solid and grounding.She reached for him immediately, like she’d been waiting for permission to touch him again.She curled her fingers into his vest, gripping tight like it anchored her to something real.
“I talked to King,” he said.
Her breath hitched.Her expression shifted.Tessa looked nervous, uncertain, and hopeful all at once.“About ...us?”
“About you,” Brick said.“About claiming you as my old lady.”
For a heartbeat, she couldn’t speak.
Her breath caught visibly in her chest.Her fingers tightened in his vest like she wasn’t sure whether to pull him closer or push him away.
“You’re sure?”she whispered.
There was no doubt in her voice, just awe, and fear.Because this wasn’t just words, this was a life, and a line she could never fully step back over.
Brick lifted her chin gently with two fingers, guiding her gaze up to his.His touch was careful, reverent, like she was something fragile and priceless all at once.
