Jade pressed her lipsto Jane’s soft cheek, lingering there a second longer than she meant to.Jane smelled like baby soap and something warm and familiar, something that made Jade’s chest ache in a way she didn’t have time to sit with.
“I’ll be back before you wake up,” she murmured.
Jade said those words even though Jane didn’t understand and it wasn’t true.Jane made a small, sleepy sound, curling her small hand into Jade’s shirt like she didn’t want to let go.Jade swallowed hard and gently pried her fingers loose.
“Be good for Mrs.Rochford, okay?”she whispered.
She handed Jane over, forcing her arms to release, even when everything in her body resisted it.Mrs.Rochford took the baby with practiced ease, settling her against her shoulder.
“I’ve got her,” she said gently.“You just be careful, Jade.”
Jade hesitated.As if careful meant anything where she was going.
“I will,” Jade said anyway.Another lie.
Mrs.Rochford studied her for a moment longer, something like worry etched deep into the lines of her face.
“Those men, they’re not the kind you cross,” Mrs.Rochford pointed out.
“I’m not crossing anyone,” Jade replied, adjusting the strap of her worn bag over her shoulder.“I’m just there to work.”
The older woman didn’t look convinced, and Jade didn’t blame her.
Still, she forced a small smile.“It’s just a job,” Jade reminded her.
Mrs.Rochford didn’t argue.She just nodded slowly, like she knew better but wouldn’t say it out loud.Jade leaned in one last time, brushing a kiss over Jane’s hair.
Then she stepped back and finally left before she could change her mind.Jade walked to the bus stop and glanced at her watch.She was just on time.When her bus arrived, she boarded it and grabbed an empty seat.
The bus ride felt longer than usual.Or maybe it was just the way Jade’s thoughts wouldn’t settle, circling the same things over and over until they blurred together.The fact Derek—and now she—owed the MC ten thousand dollars.Then there was Wolf.Enigmatic Wolf, who seemed to be all ice on the outside, but she had also caught a glimpse of his softer side.
Jade curled her fingers tightly in her lap as the bus rattled along, each stop dragging her closer to something she couldn’t quite name.Fear, maybe, or inevitability.
She stared out the window, watching the town shift as they moved further out.Familiar streets gave way to emptier stretches of road, buildings thinning out until there was more space than structure.
By the time the bus slowed near her stop, her stomach was tight enough to hurt.This was it.Jade stepped off the bus and onto cracked pavement, the sound of it pulling away loud in the quiet that followed.Then Jade saw the compound and swallowed.
It had high fencing, wide gates, and concrete buildings. Motorcycles lined up in rows in the parking lot.Men moved through the space like they owned it.There were loud voices, rough laughter, and the low rumble of engines being tuned or tested.
Power seemed to hum through the place, quiet and constant.These were the men who owned the town.Jade’s breath caught.For a second, she just stood there, taking it in.This was where she was working now.This, a place people avoided.Her pulse ticked up.
Don’t think about it and don’t let it get to you.
Jade straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and walked forward.She took a deep breath, and walked through the doors.The first thing she noticed inside was the noise.Music thumped low through the walls, mixed with voices, laughter, the clink of bottles and glasses.
It wasn’t chaos exactly, but it wasn’t controlled either.It had its own rhythm, and its own rules.A man behind the bar glanced up as she stepped in, his gaze sweeping over her quickly before narrowing slightly.
“You lost?”he asked.
Jade held his gaze.“No.I’m the new waitress.”
That got his attention.“Yeah?”he said, setting down the glass he’d been polishing.“Who sent you?”
“Wolf.”
A pause, then something shifted in his expression.Then he jerked his head toward the back.“Office.Talk to Lana,” he told her.
Jade nodded once and moved, ignoring the way curious and assessing gazes followed her as she crossed the room.Her skin prickled, but she kept her pace steady, her expression neutral.They didn’t matter.Jade was merely here to pay off Derek’s debts, to survive.
