“Yeah.”My mouth tightened.“That tracks.”
I unfastened her helmet strap and lifted it off.Wind had tangled her hair.She pushed it back, cheeks flushed from cold and fear.
“Inside,” I said.“Stay close.”
The clubhouse door creaked when I pulled it open.Smoke, old beer, leather, faint cleaner rolled out.These walls held the club’s pulse.Fights ended here.Deals got made.Lives got changed.
Two brothers sat at a side table playing cards.Knuckles and Truth.Both looked up, gaze sliding to Jade, then to me.Curiosity hung thick, but nobody spoke.Atilla had called us to Church.That meant questions waited.Truth jerked his chin toward the hall.“Church.”
I nodded and guided Jade past the bar.My hand hovered near her back, not touching unless she needed grounding.She walked stiffly, careful, gaze flicking to every doorway, every shadow.
At the end of the hall stood the Church door.Years ago, someone had burned the Savage Raptors’ patch deep into the wood.The mark remained dark and permanent.A warning.
Jade stopped beside me.Her fingers brushed my sleeve by accident.“You stand behind me if you need to.”
Tears threatened again, but she nodded and blinked hard.
“Ready?”I asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
Kane hit the door with two sharp knocks.
From inside came a single word, firm and unmistakable.“Enter.”
I pushed the door open and guided her through.
The room swallowed us.Long table.Patches lining the walls.Atilla at the head, General on his right, Spade on his left.Other patched brothers filled seats down the sides.Hard faces.Sharp gazes.No smiles.No comfort.
Jade’s breath caught.Her fear hit the room.
Atilla’s gaze moved from me to her, slow and assessing.“So,” he said.“You’re Jade.”
Jade straightened, stepped forward a fraction, and met his stare.Her voice shook, but she didn’t look away.“Yes.I am.”
Something shifted in the room, a silent recognition passing between men who understood fear -- and understood strength even better.
I stood at my proper spot as a Prospect.Still, I didn’t step away from her.Not tonight.Jade came to our gate because she believed I could keep her alive.Now I had to prove she hadn’t been wrong.
Chapter Two
Jade
Something flickered across Atilla’s face.Approval, maybe.Or simply acknowledgment I hadn’t folded in the doorway.Either way, I stayed standing.
The man at his right exuded calm violence -- invisible until you said the wrong thing and found yourself already defeated.Deep lines carved the corners of his eyes.Sandy hair bore streaks of gray.He carried himself as someone who had survived enough fights and no longer needed to prove his victories.General.
At Atilla’s left hunched a man behind an open laptop.Short dark hair.Tattoos snaked up his neck.Eyes hard as flint.He glanced up once, assessed me, then returned to the screen, having already categorized my existence and filed it away.Spade.
More faces lined the table.Several men watched openly.Others feigned disinterest.None appeared soft.Halfway down, Ace leaned back in his chair, body relaxed, eyes calculating.The quiet ones posed the real danger.
Kane hovered close enough for his body heat to reach me.Muscles tensed in his jaw.Fists formed at his sides.Though he never touched me, every inch of his posture made a silent vow.
Atilla’s gaze stayed on me.“You know why you’re standing in my Church?”
“I came here because I was scared.”My voice wobbled, but the words landed.
Atilla didn’t blink.“Fear doesn’t typically earn access to my doors, but you looked like you were running from demons.Start at the beginning.”
