“So...how long have you been with the Devil’s Crown?”Tessa asked.
Brick’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.“Long enough.”
He wasn’t exactly the chatty sort.
She tried again.“King seems to respect you.A lot of the guys do.”
A low grunt.Maybe agreement or maybe annoyance.
“Must be nice,” she continued, “having a place where everyone’s got each other’s backs.Not all teens are lucky enough to have that.”
Brick’s jaw flexed.“That why you do what you do?”
She blinked.He was listening?That alone felt like a victory.“Pretty much.I guess I just want every kid to know someone’s fighting for them,” she explained.
Brick didn’t answer, but something flickered in his profile.Something softer, something almost troubled.He looked away quickly, eyes back on the road.Interesting.
Tessa turned in her seat slightly, studying him.His presence was intimidating, but not cold.Not to her.There was something simmering beneath that rigid, stoic exterior.Something that made her chest warm despite herself.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.“Dillon’s a good kid.He’s just in a bad situation,” she told him.
“He’s the son of one of ours,” Brick said quietly, surprising her.“We take care of our own.”
Oh.That explained a lot.King’s willingness, Brick’s tension, the urgency humming beneath every step.
Tessa softened.“Then thank you.Really.For helping,” she told him.
Brick made a noise she couldn’t read, but he didn’t shut her down.
That felt like progress.
They pulled into the junkyard on the edge of Serpent territory twenty minutes later.Rusted cars piled three stories high like jagged metal tombstones.The office was a battered trailer with peeling paint and a broken AC hanging halfway out the window.
Tessa swallowed.“Charming place,” she whispered.
Brick looked like he wanted to throw the entire lot into the sun.
“Stay close,” he said, voice low and commanding.
She nodded, pulse fluttering.Brick led her across the gravel, every step steady, controlled, lethal.Tessa followed, her heart beating faster with each crunch under her flats.
The door to the trailer creaked open before they reached it.
A large man with a Serpent patch leaned against the frame.“Well, well.King sent his ...social worker.”His eyes slid over her body, slow and dismissive.“Cute.”
Tessa bristled but kept her voice even.“I’m here to check on Dillon’s guardian.State requirement.Nothing more.”
The Serpent smirked.“Sure.Why don’t you come in, sweetheart?We’ll have a chat.”
Before she could answer, Brick stepped in front of her.Not rushed or dramatic.Just a simple shift of his body and suddenly Tessa couldn’t see the Serpent anymore.She saw Brick’s back, wide and immovable, blocking her completely behind him.
The Serpent’s smirk vanished.
“Back up,” Brick said, voice flat but dangerous.“You talk to her with respect.Or you don’t talk at all.”
Another Serpent approached from the side, flipping a butterfly knife in his hand.“Easy, big guy.We’re just being friendly.”
Brick’s voice didn’t rise.If anything, it grew quieter and somehow far more threatening.“Last warning.”
