Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Jaxton narrowed his eyes. “How exactly do you know what they said?”
Chance didn’t flinch. “Doesn’t matter right now. What matters is he’s stepping it up.”
A long silence stretched between the three men, taut and dangerous. Then my brother exhaled slowly, his expression hardening into something all business.
“Fine. We’ll handle the kid.” He leaned closer to the camera, his eyes hard. “But we’re not done talking about this, Drift.”
“Didn’t think we were,” Chance muttered.
My brother’s tone gentled for me. “Get some rest, Alanna. I’ll call in the morning.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Talk soon, Drift,” Jaxton warned.
Chance didn’t respond—just stood there with his eyes locked on the screen until Jaxton disconnected the video call.
That was when it hit me…whatever line he’d crossed to protect me tonight, he wasn’t planning to step back from it. I just didn’t know if I was reading too much into it.
Kane’s voice broke the silence first. “You’ve had enough for one night. Get some rest, Alanna. There’s a spare room you can use.”
I nodded, my throat too tight for words.
Chance started to move beside me, but Kane’s gaze cut to him—one sharp look that said more than any words could. I didn’t understand the meaning behind it, but whatever message passed between them made Chance nod.
“Come on,” he finally murmured, his tone softer now. “I’ll show you where it is.”
He led me down a narrow hallway lined with closed doors. When we reached the last one, he opened it and stepped aside for me to enter. “You’re safe here. No one gets through that door without going through me first. And they’d have a hell of a time getting this far with my brothers in the clubhouse.”
I managed a small smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Thank you.”
He hesitated like he wanted to say more, but instead, he just nodded and turned away, his footsteps fading down the hall.
I stood there for a moment, the silence pressing in before I closed the door and leaned back against it, squeezing my eyes shut. I wished Chance hadn’t left me alone. Or had at least given me a sign that he wanted to stay.
Opening my eyes again, I took in the room. It was furnished simply—just a neatly made bed, a dresser, a bedside table, and a small lamp casting warm light across the dark wood floors. It should’ve felt impersonal, but instead, the space felt like safety. As if it still held the echo of the man who’d just left.
I crawled under the blanket, exhaustion creeping in even though my mind refused to slow. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Ethan’s voice. Saw the fury in Chance’s. Felt the weight of everything that had changed tonight.
The clubhouse was quiet now, but I could still hear the faint rumble of bikes outside. And I didn’t feel quite so alone.
12
DRIFT
The clubhouse was silent except for the hum of the air-conditioning and the soft clink of a spoon in someone’s coffee cup in the kitchen.
I sat on one of the couches in the lounge with a mug of black coffee cooling between my palms. My eyes were fixed on the hallway that led to the guest rooms—more specifically, the one Alanna was behind.
I hadn’t slept. Didn’t bother trying.
I’d spent the night sprawled here, not far from her door, listening. Not for trouble, not exactly. Just…listening. As if I’d be able to hear the sound of her quiet breathing on the other side of her thick wooden door.
Now, the only thing I felt was the buzz of electricity under my skin. It wasn’t nerves. It was the same tension I got before a race—the kind that built in my gut and stayed coiled until the flag dropped.
The burn barrel outside still threw the faint scent of smoke through an open window. Leather and coffee floated in the air. The smells, the sounds, all of it was familiar. And still, everything felt off.
The front door opened and shut with a low thud. Kane’s boots crossed the room, his shadow sliding over the walls. I was surprised to see he looked rested, which meant he’d slept. Not a common occurrence with a one-year-old at home.
He stopped beside the couch, his green eyes cutting toward me. “You look like shit.”
I took a sip of my coffee and gave a short nod. “No argument here.”
His mouth twitched. “Get Alanna and meet me in my office.”
I didn’t move yet. “Something I should know first?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Jax has news. But you’ll want to hear it for yourself.”
That was all I needed. I stood and set my mug on the low coffee table. “Gimme five.”
The hallway was dim, with only sunlight creeping through the windows of the rooms that had open doors. My steps made no sound on the worn floorboards, my walk silent as a ghost. When I stopped outside her door, I didn’t hesitate and knocked once. “Alanna.”