Page 27 of Breaker

Behind me, I heard the crunch of boots on gravel as my brothers flanked me, an unspoken show of force. Robert’s face tightened almost imperceptibly.

Game on, you bastard. Juniper is family. And family is everything.

“How did you find her?” I demanded, my voice low and dangerous. The unspoken question hung in the air between us -- what did you do to her?

Robert’s smirk turned sly, like a fox cornering its prey. “Now, now, Breaker. That’s not really your concern, is it? I’m simply here to retrieve what’s mine.”

Fury ignited in my chest, white-hot and all-consuming. I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white. “She’s not a possession, you sick fuck. Juniper is her own person. And she sure as hell isn’t yours.”

Robert tutted, shaking his head as if scolding a disobedient child. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. Juniper belongs to me. And I always collect on my debts.”

I took a menacing step forward, ready to wipe that smug look off his face with my bare hands. But a firm hand on my shoulder held me back. Fox.

“Easy, brother,” he murmured, his voice steady and sure. “This piece of shit isn’t worth it.”

I exhaled harshly through my nose, reining in the rage that threatened to consume me. Fox was right. We had to play this smart.

Turning back to Robert, I leveled him with a cold stare. “Juniper isn’t going anywhere with you.”

Something dark and ugly flickered across Robert’s face, there and gone in an instant. It was so fast I might have wondered if I’d imagined it.

“Is that so?” His voice was silky smooth, but I could hear the undercurrent of malice.

“Juniper wants nothing to do with you. She’s under the protection of the Hades Abyss now. My protection.”

Robert’s lips curled into a sneer. “Your protection? And just who the hell are you?”

“I’m her husband.” The words left my mouth before I could second-guess them, a declaration that rang through the air like a gunshot. “Juniper is my wife, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the fuck away from her.”

For a moment, Robert looked stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief. But the shock quickly gave way to a simmering rage, his face twisting into an ugly mask of hatred. “You think you can keep her from me? She belongs to me, not some punk-ass biker.”

I clenched my fists, the urge to beat him to a pulp nearly overwhelming. But I knew I couldn’t make a move, not yet. I didn’t know if Surge had things in place. With this fucker being newly released and on parole, people would be looking for him. If I made him disappear without having a solid plan first, things could go sideways for the club. The car he’d ridden up in was new enough, it probably had some sort of tracking ability, like On-Star. People would know he’d been here the day he vanished. We needed to play this smart, to bide our time until we could take him down for good without putting the club at risk.

“You’re wrong,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “Juniper belongs to no one but herself. And she’s chosen to be here, with her real family. The ones who will love and protect her, no matter what.”

Robert let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Love and protect her? You have no idea who you’re dealing with, boy. I will burn your little club to the ground to get what I want. And when I’m done, Juniper will be mine once more.”

He took a step back, his eyes flicking between me and Fox, a promise of retribution burning in their depths. “This isn’t over. I will be back, and when I am, you’ll all pay for your insolence.”

With that, he spun on his heel and stalked back to his car, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. I watched him go, my heart pounding in my chest, a mix of adrenaline and fear coursing through my veins.

The roar of Robert’s engine faded into the distance, but the tension in the air remained thick and heavy. I clenched my fists at my sides.

Fox came to stand beside me, his hand clasping my shoulder in a show of solidarity. “We’ll be ready for him,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “He’s not getting anywhere near Juniper, not while we’re still breathing.”

I nodded, my jaw clenched tight. “Damn right. We need to call a meeting, get everyone on the same page. It’s time to go to war.”

As we walked back into the clubhouse, my thoughts turned to Juniper, to the way her eyes had shone with trust and affection when she looked at me. I’d never had anyone look at me that way before. Until Juniper, I hadn’t truly felt needed, or special. She made me want to be a better man, to be someone who deserved to have her in my life. No matter what we faced, I would fight for Juniper, with every ounce of strength and courage I possessed. Until the very end.

“For now, we’ll discuss things with those who are here,” Fox said. “I’m not officially calling Church. Not yet.”

As Fox outlined the situation, I found myself pacing the room like a caged animal, my thoughts consumed by one singular focus: protecting Juniper.

“We need to fortify the compound,” I said, my voice rough with barely contained rage. “Increase patrols, double the watch. Robert Murray isn’t going to just let this go. I know we’ve already put plans into place to do all those things, but we haven’t checked off everything on the list. It needs to be done, and waiting isn’t an option. Now that he’s shown up here, it’s only a matter of time before he tries to get his hands on her.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room, each man ready and willing to do whatever it took to keep our family safe.

But even as we made our plans, I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Robert’s parting words echoed in my mind, a chilling reminder of the storm that was brewing on the horizon.

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