Page 10 of Stone

He tugged my arms into the holes of the vest and settled it into place on my back before staring into my eyes and murmuring, “I’m gonna make it so you’re safe wherever you are. Nobody will ever mess with you again, baby.”

“Okay,” I breathed, believing every word of his vow.

He gave me another quick kiss before turning to Molly. “Take care of my girl.”

“Will do,” she promised.

We watched him stalk out of the room, and then Molly slapped my shoulder. “Hot damn! I was starting to think we’d be stuck with asshole Stone forever, but then you got here, and I’m already seeing glimpses of the guy who used to smile and joke around all the time. Although I doubt he’ll ever be totally laid back again now that he’s turning into an overprotective Neanderthal like my old man and the other brothers who’ve found their old ladies.”

It was hard to believe that being away from me had that kind of an impact on Shaw. But maybe he really had missed me as much as I had him. “You got all of that from him wanting me to wear his cut?”

“I’ve been around to get a front-row seat to what happens when these guys fall hard.” Looping her elbow with mine, she guided me out of Shaw’s room, pausing to make sure the door locked behind us. “So you can trust that I know what I’m talking about when I say that he’s gonna have you practically surrounded by bubble wrap until this mess with your mom is cleared up. And he won’t be much better once that’s all sorted.”

I got similar comments from the other women as Molly showed me around the clubhouse. Not much had changed in the two years since I had been here, except for the number of women and children who were part of the club.

Smiling at the newest addition, I asked, “So you just recently got married to Viper?”

“Yup,” she confirmed with a smile, resting her hand over her still-flat belly. “And he knocked me up already.”

“Of course he did.” Alice, Deviant’s wife, was sitting close enough to her on the couch that she was able to bump shoulders. “It’s an Iron Rogue tradition, after all.”

Looking at her slightly rounded belly, I laughed. “One that’s safe to assume your husband took very seriously.”

She pointed at her belly. “Yeah, and he does nothing by half measures, which is probably how I ended up with twins. And why he bragged about it as soon as we got the news.”

“Wow, congratulations!” I tilted my glass of cranberry juice toward her with a grin.

“Thanks.” She took a sip of her drink and muttered, “It would have been nice to be able to toast my own wedding with champagne, but at least Grady more than made up for it later that night.”

The other women sent her knowing looks, but I ducked my head, my cheeks burning. This was all so new to me. I’d never really had girl talk like this before since Izzy had been a virgin who’d never been on a date either when I last talked to her. And I had just had my first kiss only an hour ago.

“Sorry, Britta,” Alice apologized. “You’d think as one of the newer old ladies, I would remember what it’s like when you’re first getting to know each other while falling for your man.”

I tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, my cheeks filling with heat at being the center of attention. “Oh, um…I really like Shaw, but we…um…barely know each other. So I’m not sure?—”

Molly interrupted me to say, “You might not be sure what’s happening between the two of you yet. But I am. You’re sitting there wearing Stone’s cut and using his first name. That’s all the proof I need to tell you to get ready to be claimed by your very own Iron Rogue.”

5

STONE

To my frustration, the meeting wasn’t going to be a short one. It was necessary, but that didn’t stop me from being irritated and grouchy.

We’d been vague about our assumptions in front of Britta. However, when Fox arrived in my office, I didn’t hesitate to verbalize it. “We have a fucking leak.”

He nodded and walked over to sit on the edge of my desk. “Don’t know how else someone would discover their location. Deviant and I buried that shit deep.”

“I know.” I tried to keep the resentment out of my tone, but I was still salty over his refusal to share the information with me.

Fox narrowed his eyes in warning, so I backed off before I ended up with his gun pointed at me. Then Maverick and several of my brothers walked in, halting our conversation anyway.

“Gotta be a motherfucking rat,” Maverick snarled.

“What did King have to say?” Whiskey asked as he took a position against the wall to the right of the door.

“Pissed as fuck,” Fox replied. “Had to be one of his guys because I kept the Iron Rogues far away from anything involving B and Marylin.”

“Britta,” I grated out, gritting my teeth.

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