Page 38 of Hammer

“How bad is this?”she asked softly.

I wished I could reassure her, but honesty had become the foundation of whatever we were building.“Bad enough,” I admitted.“Atlas is brilliant with computers, but he’s got a mouth on him.And access to every security system in the compound.”

“So he could… what?Tell everyone about us?”

“About everything,” I confirmed, my stomach turning at the thought of the whole club knowing my business.Knowing I’d agreed to claim a woman who didn’t really want me.Knowing about my damn dick problems.

Amelia sank onto the couch, shoulders slumping.“Great.We haven’t even made it official, and I’m already causing you problems.”

“Hey.”I moved to sit beside her, not touching but close enough that she could feel my presence.“This isn’t on you.Those two shouldn’t have been snooping.Especially Lavender.You’d think a grown-ass woman would know better.”

She nodded, but the worry didn’t leave her eyes.Her gaze drifted to the window where Atlas and Lavender had disappeared into the night.“What do we do now?”

I had no easy answer.All I knew was that our private arrangement had just gained an audience, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that our carefully constructed plan was already beginning to unravel.

Chapter Eleven

Hammer

Amelia hadn’t been ready to go back to the duplex, so I’d handed her the TV remote and hidden myself in my home office.Not that I used it frequently, but Savior had assigned me tasks that were less on the physical side.Sadly, it had required me to learn more about computers than I’d ever wanted to know.

The computer screen cast an eerie blue glow across my office, the only light besides the security light outside my window.My eyes burned from staring at records for the past hour.The Amelia situation had my mind spinning, and work was my only refuge.I scrolled through the club’s financial statements, checking supply orders against payments, when a file I didn’t recognize appeared in my email.“Marriage Certificate - Hammer and Amelia Decker” stared back at me in bold text.My finger froze over the mouse.What the hell was this?

I clicked the file open, my heartbeat suddenly loud in my ears.A legitimate-looking marriage certificate filled my screen, complete with the state seal and official signatures.My name -- not my road name, but my legal name -- sat next to Amelia’s, both our signatures at the bottom.Signatures I sure as fuck didn’t remember providing.

“What the fuck?”I growled, leaning closer as if proximity might reveal this as some elaborate prank.

But the document looked genuine.The county clerk’s signature, the date stamp from just three hours ago, the official seal watermarked in the background -- all of it perfect.Too perfect.

My weathered hands gripped the edge of the desk until my knuckles whitened.This wasn’t just a prank.This was forgery.This was identity theft.This was illegal as hell.And I had a pretty Goddamn good idea who was behind it.

The rage building in my chest felt like molten lead.I’d been violated in a way that went beyond physical -- someone had stolen my identity, my agency, my right to choose.After spending years behind bars with no freedom, I guarded what little control I had left with fierce determination.And now this punk kid had decided to play God with my life.

“You like it?”Atlas’s voice came from the doorway, casual as if he’d just asked about the fucking weather.

I turned slowly, forcing my hands to release their death grip on the desk.Atlas lounged against the doorframe, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.His lanky frame cast a long shadow across my office floor, but he looked smaller somehow -- younger and stupider than I’d ever noticed before.

“You’ve got five seconds to explain why I shouldn’t drag your ass to Savior for this,” I said, my voice deadly quiet.“And how the fuck did you get into my house?”

Atlas sauntered into my office like he owned it, dropping into the chair across from my desk.That confidence of youth -- the kind that made him think he was untouchable.I’d seen it before.Hell, I’d had it myself once, before life and prison beat it out of me.

“You needed the push,” he said, folding his arms behind his head.“Besides, you two are good together.”

“It’s forgery,” I growled.“It’s illegal.It’s a fucking breach of trust.”

“It’s protection,” Atlas countered, leaning forward now, his expression growing serious.“I heard everything, remember?She asked to be your old lady.You agreed to talk to Savior.This just… expedites things.”

“This just commits multiple felonies,” I corrected him, shoving back from the desk and standing.I might not be in my prime, but I still towered over the kid.“Marriage fraud.Identity theft.Forgery.Hacking government systems.You want me to continue?”

Atlas shrugged, but I caught the slight wariness that crept into his posture.“The Devil’s Minions have people everywhere.Mom and I did some digging.They’ve got contacts in three state DMVs, two sheriff’s departments, and at least one county clerk’s office.This makes it official in every database they might check.Makes her untouchable.”

My jaw clenched so tight I thought it might crack.The worst part was the little shit had a point.A legal marriage certificate offered Amelia protection that went beyond the club’s reach.It changed her name in official records.It created a paper trail that would make it harder for Piston to kidnap her.

“You had no right,” I said, the words grinding between my teeth.

“Never claimed to,” Atlas replied, his cockiness returning.“But it’s done now.And it’s solid work.Mom helped with the backdating and the digital fingerprints.Even if someone investigates, they’ll find a properly filed license from last week, witnesses, everything.”

“Witnesses?”The word came out harsher than I intended.

---