Her lips curved into a small smile, and we both went back to eating. I figured that was it. I’d dodged the bullet, and she was going to let it go.
But then she pushed her plate back and looked at me again. “You know that didn’t work, right?”
Fuck me.
I didn’t answer, just sat there in silence until I heard the soft creak of the door behind us and boots scuffing the floor.
King crossed to the fridge without a word, grabbed a bottle of water, and twisted the cap off. He met my eyes across the room for a beat.
Maren leaned closer and lowered her voice, but I knew he’d still hear her. “You aren’t getting out of this, Lucas. I want to know what’s going on and why this happened to me.”
King cleared his throat lightly, and I met his gaze again.
Then he nodded once.
He was giving me permission to tell Maren as much as I wanted. Trying to give her information without going into club business was fucking complicated, which was one of the reasons I’d avoided it. Besides not wanting the dark side of the world to tarnish my girl’s sunshine.
The look that followed was heavier. A silent order, wrapped in the weight of leadership and the bond of brotherhood.
Tell her.
As he turned away, I pushed back from the island, stood, and held out my hand to Maren. “Come on. You want answers? You’re gonna get ’em.”
I took her hand and led her down the hall, straight to my office. It was smaller than King’s—bare bones and utilitarian—but it was mine. I shut the door behind us, flipped the lock, and guided her to the leather chair across from my desk while I stayed standing, pacing once before I finally faced her.
Then I gave her the truth.
Not every gritty detail, but enough. About the man who chatted her up and the meeting she’d noticed her first night. How her reaction—small, instinctive, but sharp as hell—put heron the radar of men who made their money in the shadows. I told her who Dunbar was. What he’d done. Why it was dangerous. How he’d slipped past military scrutiny years ago and vanished…until her.
I didn’t gloss over the part where she became a loose end. But I did leave out just how close I’d come to killing those men last night.
She just looked up at me with those steady blue eyes, full of trust so complete it damn near shattered me, and asked softly, “What happens now?”
I crossed the space between us, cupped her face in my hands, and answered her with steel in my voice. “Now you never leave my fucking side.”
12
MAREN
Iwoke slowly, sinking deeper into the soft sheets before my eyes opened. For a moment, I forgot the danger Lucas was protecting me from and the fact that someone had tried to shove me into a van a few days ago.
Even without him in bed with me, I still felt like he surrounded me. He’d created a safe bubble where I could work through what had happened. I had no doubt he wouldn’t let anyone hurt me.
The adrenaline from the kidnapping attempt had long since faded. It had been replaced by a deep sense of security I’d found inside the Hounds of Hellfire compound. With Lucas.
I pushed the blanket back and sat up, stretching slowly. My body felt more rested than ever. Any lingering tension unwound every night I slept in his arms. And with my parents still vacationing in Florida, I didn’t have to worry about them stumbling into any of this. They were far away, blissfully unaware, and safe.
With them not around, I didn’t need to explain to anyone where I was spending my time. Except for Susan, who had lots of questions after the kidnapping attempt. And even more whenshe noticed Lucas was my ride to and from work each shift. Not to mention, he sat in that same booth the entire time, except for the rare few occasions when he had another Hound take his place.
The room was quiet when I finally stood and wandered toward the small window, brushing my fingers along the windowsill. Only a few days ago, I would’ve felt like an intruder. Now it felt like this place had become the safest corner of my world.
The door opened behind me, and I turned just as Lucas stepped inside the room. His gaze swept over me, and he crossed the distance between us and lowered his head without a word.
The kiss he pressed to my forehead wasn’t overtly sexual, but it still sent a shiver of awareness up my spine.
“Sorry, baby. Thought I’d be back before you woke up.”
I smiled up at him. “I’m good.”
