“You’re on lockdown, baby,” I whispered. “Until this is over, you don’t step a foot outside the compound.”
She blinked, then nodded, trusting me without question.
Warmth swirled around the tight knot in my gut, and I almost told her that I loved her. But she deserved to hear it for the first time when nothing was hanging over us, and she knew without a doubt that I meant it.
14
MAREN
By late afternoon the next day, I was already chafing under the lockdown Lucas had imposed, which was ridiculous, considering it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours. But the strain in the clubhouse made the walls feel smaller with every minute that passed.
Lucas and I were on one of the black leather couches in the lounge area, but neither of us was really watching the muted TV in front of us. A couple of brothers were at the bar, talking in low voices. Ink strode past with a tight jaw. Someone shut a door upstairs harder than necessary.
Something was brewing, and even though I didn’t know exactly what was happening, I felt the pressure of it.
Lucas sat beside me, his thigh pressed against mine, and his arm resting along the back of the couch. He’d been glued to my side all day, and the only time his eyes didn’t look cold was when he looked at me.
Feeling the tension rolling off him in waves, I glanced up. “Is everything okay? You’ve been acting weird all morning. Everyone has.”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” He twirled a lock of my hair around a finger. “You’re safe here.”
I sighed, frustrated with how little information he was sharing with me. “I know. And I get that things are weird with those guys trying to snatch me and everything, but I can’t shake the feeling there’s more going on. And that it’s really bad. Something had to have changed for you to put me on lockdown.”
“I already told you everything you need to know.” His thumb stroked the back of my knee, gentle in a way that contradicted the hard edge in his voice.
That was the same answer he’d given me when I asked before. It was just as unhelpful now as it was then.
I shifted toward him. “Lucas.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I can’t, baby.”
He was sitting right next to me, but he wasn’t really here with me. The walls around him felt like they were high and thick, shutting me out. The distance in his eyes didn’t match the warmth of his body next to mine.
I stared down at the patch on the front of his vest, where his road name was stitched. Kevlar.
If he wouldn’t give me the details of what was happening, maybe he’d share this piece of himself with me. “How did you get your road name?”
Lifting my hand, he brushed a kiss against my knuckles before pressing my palm against his chest. “Earned it overseas while I was a SEAL, and it stuck.”
Quirking a brow, I nudged him with my hip. “C’mon, there has to be more to the story than that.”
“Not too much.” His broad chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “A guy on my team said that no matter how bad a situation got, I was always the one who still moved forward. Functioning when everyone else was breaking down. Shielding them from whatever was thrown at us.”
After that explanation, the name made perfect sense to me. It was exactly what Lucas was doing for me now.
Something dangerous enough to put the clubhouse on edge was happening, and he’d put me on lockdown to make sure he stood between me and that threat. Whatever it was.
But it was hard not to feel like I’d become one more thing he had to guard. And a part of me wondered if the only reason I was here with him was that I needed guarding.
“Connor told me it’s because once something is behind him, it stays safe.”
Stella’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. Tilting my head up, I tried to smile at her, but the understanding gleam in her eyes let me know I hadn’t done a great job at masking my misgiving.
Stella crossed the lounge to stand in front of us, her hands on her hips. Her narrowed eyes were on Lucas. “If this involves her safety, she deserves the full truth.”
The shift in the air was instant. Even the brothers at the bar went quiet.
Heat rushed to my cheeks, mortification and gratitude tangling together. Someone was saying the thing I couldn’t force past my own lips, causing even more tension.
