Out of habit, I threw on my cut, grabbed my keys, and shoved my phone into my pocket.The Glock slid into the waistband at the small of my back.Surprises weren’t my thing, especially when they arrived wearing bruises.
Cold air slapped my face as the door swung open.Jade whipped her head toward me with such force I felt the panic radiating from her.For a brief moment, relief flickered across her expression -- quick and fragile, as though she couldn’t trust it to last.
“Kane.”My name came out of her mouth on a broken breath.“I… I’m sorry.I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Stop.”I closed the distance fast, keeping my body between her and the open walkway.“Who let you in?”
Her hands shook as she tried to gesture back toward the guard shack.“I went to the gate.I told them I needed you.I begged.I said --” Her voice cracked.“I said I was scared.”
Anger surged through me, sharp and immediate, not at her.At whatever had put her in a place where begging strangers felt like the best option.“Tinker?”I called out, voice carrying.
The guard shack door opened.Tinker stepped out, bundled in a jacket, face hard and alert.His gaze flicked to Jade, then back to me.“Prez knows.”Tinker didn’t waste words.“Saw her on camera.Called me.Told me not to turn her away.Told me to notify you and keep eyes on the road.”
So Atilla had made the call before I even stepped outside.That eased one knot in my chest, then tightened another.If Atilla knew, the situation already mattered.Presidents didn’t wake up for minor problems.
Tinker’s eyes narrowed slightly.“She’s got marks.”
“I see them.”My jaw clenched.“Did anyone follow her in?”
“Gate camera shows her car only,” Tinker said.“No tail.No slow roll behind her.No second set of headlights.Doesn’t mean nobody watched her leave town, but nobody came through our gate after.”
Jade struggled for each breath, and I could see the terror in her eyes.
“You planning to stand out here all night?”I turned my head slightly, dropping my voice to a gentle rumble.“Or would you rather come inside?”
For several heartbeats she remained frozen.No step toward me.No retreat either.When her gaze finally locked with mine -- wide, bloodshot, desperate -- something beneath my sternum wrenched painfully.She didn’t trust safety anymore.
“Inside,” she whispered.
“Good.”I kept my hand low, not reaching for her.People who’d been grabbed didn’t like sudden touch, no matter who offered it.“Stay close.If anything feels off, you tell me.”
She nodded, small and shaky.
We moved down the walkway toward my place.Tinker stayed near the guard shack, watching our backs, gaze scanning the fence line and the road beyond.Security lights threw our shadows across the gravel.Jade flinched at every sound -- distant engine, wind rattling something metal, even the soft bark of a dog farther down the property.
Her fear didn’t come from imagination.Something had taught her to react.
My front porch light flicked on when we neared.I unlocked the door and stepped inside first, scanning the room out of habit.Nothing had changed since I’d sat on the couch.TV still glowed.Beer still sat on the table.My place looked normal.I turned toward Jade and stepped back, giving her space to enter.
She crossed the threshold with the caution of someone expecting the floor to collapse beneath her.Inside my living room, her shoulders remained tight while her gaze swept across corners and windows.
Behind us, I secured our safety -- door shut, deadbolt slid home, chain hooked.Each lock clicked into place with solid finality.The tension in Jade’s frame eased a fraction.A flicker of relief appeared, only to be immediately overwhelmed by fear.
“Sit.”My hand gestured toward the couch.“Water?Coffee?Something stronger?”
Her attention caught on my waistband, and I wondered if I’d turned just enough for her to spot my Glock.After swallowing hard, she averted her eyes -- unwilling to appear intimidated by a weapon in a biker’s home.“Water,” she managed.“Please.”
I moved into the kitchen and filled a glass.Pipes clanked.Tap ran cold.I set the glass on the coffee table in front of her and crouched down across from her, far enough not to crowd.
The purple bruise on her cheekbone stood out in stark relief under my living room light.Along her neck, a faint scratch trailed downward before vanishing beneath her coat collar.Near the elbow, her torn sleeve revealed a spreading dark stain.
“Tell me what happened,” I said.
Jade fixed her gaze on the water glass as though it contained all the answers she needed.Beneath her crossed arms, her fingers dug into her own ribs, clutching herself in a desperate self-embrace.Each breath came shallow and uneven, her chest rising and falling in an irregular rhythm.
Words finally spilled out, rough and uneven.“He came to my apartment.I thought the locks would hold -- I changed them.I installed a chain.I did everything I could think of.”
“Who?”I kept it simple.Panic made stories tangle.
