He flicked ash into the snow and muttered quietly to himself, “Let him come.” Because it wasn’t just about protecting a stranger anymore. It was about territory—his, theirs, and even hers now. It was about the unspoken law that ruled them all. Once someone crossed the line into Kings of Anarchy land, they didn’t walk back out unless he said so.
Gorgon took one long drag on the cigarette and crushed it under his boot as he turned back toward the faint glow spilling from the upstairs window. Kimi wasn’t sleeping—he knew that instinctively. But then again, he wasn’t going to be able to get any sleep either—not when he knew what might be waiting around the bend for them.
Kimi
Kimi didn’t sleep, not even after she turned out the light and buried herself beneath the thick wool blanket that smelled faintly of cedar and smoke. The sound of the old radiator working through the cold should have been comforting, but instead it reminded her of a heartbeat—uneven and mechanical. She found herself lying awake to listen to the hum of the machine instead of actually falling asleep.
The room was small but clean, with worn pine floors, a window half-frozen shut, and walls lined with the ghosts of cigarette smoke from a decade ago. A dresser stood in the corner of the room; the bottom drawer was slightly crooked. She wondered who had used this room before her. Someone’s sister or girlfriend, maybe, or one of the women downstairs who laughed too easily and drank like they were made of iron?
Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of the blanket. Her body was exhausted, but her mind kept circling the same thoughts, wearing trenches in them. She kept seeing Cole’s face when he realized that Gorgon wasn’t bluffing about getting off his land. He didn’t lay a finger on Cole or even raise his voice. In fact, Gorgon’s voice was completely calm the whole time. His tone was low—almost a whisper, but his words were final. The wayhis men obeyed him without question made it seem as though the universe itself took orders from him. Kimi had a feeling that most people knew better than to disobey Gorgon.
She wasn’t used to that kind of power. The men she knew before Cole, before she found herself in the mess she was in, were loud and reckless. Cole had been so much worse than any of them. He was a loud man pretending to be a silent wolf until he sank his teeth in. Gorgon didn’t need to pretend as Cole had. His silence wasn’t filled with empty threats—it was full of weight.
Kimi sat up, rubbing her tired eyes. It felt as though the building was vibrating around her, like the walls of this place had soaked in the tension from earlier and were still humming with it. The way that Gorgon had looked at her, as though he knew her in some way, made her whole body feel as though it hummed to life—but that was ridiculous, right? As she paced her tiny room earlier, she chanced a look out the window and saw Gorgon out in the yard smoking a cigarette. Every time he took a drag on it, his face lit up in the darkness, and something in her chest seemed to recognize him. It was something that she couldn’t explain—or maybe she was just too tired to try to come up with an explanation. But she didn’t see him as an enemy or a savior. It felt like something older than that, as if her blood already knew his name. Maybe it was the Cree in her, or maybe it was something more dangerous.
Growing up on the reservation, she had learned to trust her instincts, and they were screaming at her that she knew Gorgon, even though her mind couldn’t figure out what to do with that feeling. She turned toward the window and noticed that the snow had started falling again, thick and heavy, layering quietly over every piece of evidence she’d brought with her—the tire tracks and the footprints. But the story remained. Gorgon told her that he was going to want to hear her story in the morning,but would he believe her? Her story was hers to tell, and even with his threat to force her to tell it, a little voice inside her was shouting to keep it in because no one would ever believe her.
Kimi sighed and lay back down, punching her pillow a few times for good measure. She closed her eyes, and a soft knock came from the door. It was soft enough to make her pulse jump. What if Gorgon had changed his mind and had come to tell her to leave the clubhouse? Or worse—what if Cole had come back and Gorgon and his men had decided that she wasn’t worth the trouble and were releasing her back to him? It would be an instant death sentence for her, but she’d fight like hell to keep that from happening.
She got out of bed, shivering when her bare feet hit the cold hardwood floors. Kimi hesitantly pulled the door open a crack, peeking out into the hallway to find the bartender staring back at her with eyes like she’d seen things and learned how to survive them.
“I’m Trudi,” she said. “Brought you something.” She didn’t wait for Kimi to open the door for her, pushing her way into the room as if she’d been invited. She carried a tray with a grilled sandwich, a mug of steaming tea, and a wedge of pie that smelled of cinnamon and apples, and Kimi’s stomach growled.
Kimi blinked at her, confused about why Trudi would do this for her. “Do you feed all your guests after midnight?”
“Only the ones the boss doesn't let leave,” Trudi quipped, setting the tray down on the table beside the bed. “Gorgon told me to bring this up to you, and if you haven’t noticed, when he gives an order, we all follow it. Besides, you look like you could use a good meal.”
Kimi’s mouth twitched despite herself. “So, it’s your job to feed the prisoners? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Depends,” Trudi said, pulling a chair closer and sitting down backward on it. “Are you gonna test the whole theory about being a prisoner by planning to make a run for it?”
Kimi hesitated, then shook her head. “Not tonight.” The truth was, she didn’t know what she was planning. If she had anywhere else to go, she would’ve gone there instead of wandering onto the Kings of Anarchy’s land. If she had anyone to call, she would’ve already called them. Instead, she was here, in a biker clubhouse in the middle of nowhere, being guarded like something fragile or dangerous—she wasn’t sure which.
Trudi studied her, resting her chin on the back of her hand. “What’d he say to you out there?”
Kimi blinked cautiously. “Who?” she asked.
Trudi arched a brow. “Don’t play dumb, sweetheart. There’s only one ‘he’ around here who makes the snow stop falling when he speaks.”
Kimi didn’t know whether to laugh or be afraid of the way that Trudi talked about Gorgon. “He told me to get some sleep. And that tomorrow he’d want answers.”
“Yeah,” Trudi said, smirking. “That sounds like him.” She leaned back, her gaze softened. “Whatever you ran from, whatever that piece of garbage in the SUV said you did—it doesn’t matter right now. You’re safe here. And until he decides otherwise, nobody in this place will lay a finger on you.”
Kimi’s throat tightened. “That’s the part I don’t understand.”
Trudi tilted her head. “What about being safe confuses you?”
“No, not the safe part.” Kimi looked down at her hands. “Why would he want to keep me safe? He doesn’t even know me, but he’s given me a place to stay and even had you bring me food,” she said, nodding to the tray that sat next to her bed.
Trudi considered her questions for a moment and then said, “Because, when something feels wrong in Gorgon’s bones, he tries to fix it. And you—” she gestured loosely at Kimi, “walkedup to that porch like every bad thing in the world was right behind you. That’s the kind of wrong in the world that keeps him awake at night.” Kimi flinched because it was true. She was running scared, and Cole had everything to do with her fear. She still didn’t understand why Gorgon would put himself and his club at risk by helping her. He had no idea what he was getting involved in, but she was sure that Cole was going to let him know. She knew that he wouldn’t give up easily, but from the look in Gorgon’s eyes, he wouldn’t either.
Trudi stood and pushed the chair back into the corner. “If you need anything, just yell. I’m in the room two doors down. If you want breakfast in the morning, just come down to the bar. I make a pretty mean omelet.” Kimi nodded and smiled, not knowing what to say, as she watched the woman walk out of her room, shutting the door behind herself.
The silence that followed was heavier than before Trudi’s visit. Kimi gathered the tray, setting the tea aside after one sip. Her body wanted food, but her stomach protested. She walked over to the window and stood there, looking down at the quiet yard. The snow outside glowed faintly under the floodlights. The world looked peaceful from up here—white and endless, like a clean slate. If she hadn’t known better, she could have convinced herself that she hadn’t brought trouble to someone’s doorstep.
But then she saw him out of the corner of her eye. Gorgon sat on the porch, one boot braced on the step, elbows resting on his knees. Smoke curled up from his cigarette. He was staring out toward the road—the same direction she’d come from. Like he was waiting for something, or someone.
Four bikes were lined in the yard, with their engines dark, but she could sense the men nearby. They didn’t sleep easily here. She wondered what kind of loyalty could keep that many people awake on one man’s word.
