Page 27 of Arch
I’m shaking, not from fear but from the adrenaline, the relief of being back, of seeing him…Daddy.
Arch’s eyes blaze, his grip tightening.
“You got caught, didn’t you? You could’ve been killed, you reckless little sonofagun!” Arch roars. His voice cracks, and I see it—the fear, raw and real, that he almost lost me. It hits me harder than the pipe did, knowing I matter that much to him.
“I got out,” I say, stepping closer, my hands on his chest. “I used my head, Arch. I proved I can handle it.”
Arch pulls me against him, his arms crushing me to his chest, and for a moment, we just stand there, his heart pounding against mine.
“You scared the hell out of me, sweet boy” Arch murmurs, his voice rough, his lips brushing my temple. “Don’t youeverdo that again.”
I tilt my head, meeting his gaze, and the air crackles between us.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” I whisper, the word soft, sincere, not a taunt this time. “I’ll try harder. I’ll follow your rules. I want this—us, the club, all of it. But you know I can’t promise to stay out of trouble…”
Arch laughs, and his eyes soften as he cups my face, his thumb brushing the blood from my lip.
“You’re mine, Keegan,” Arch says, his voice low, fierce. “And I’m not losing you. Not to the Vipers, not to your own damn recklessness.”
Then he kisses me, slow and deep, not the desperate fire of previously, but something tender, something that feels like a promise.
I melt into the kiss, my hands grabbing his jacket, and for the first time, I let myself believe I could belong—to him, to this Wolf Rider life.
We pull back, breathless, and he rests his forehead against mine.
“This shit with the Vipers ends now,” Arch says, his voice hard again. “I’m taking them down, and I’m rooting out this traitor. You’re with me, but you follow my lead, understand?”
I nod, my heart singing.
Arch is not just a fling, not just a challenge. Far from it.
Arch cares, maybe more than I realized, and the way he’s looking at me, like I’m his to protect, to guide—it makes me wonder if he’s my Forever Daddy, the one I’ve been running from but always needed.
“I’m with you,” I say, meaning it. “Show me how a Wolf Rider does kicks ass.”
Arch smirks, that silver charm flashing, and I know whatever comes next, we’re in it together. Ride or die, Wolf Rider style…
Chapter 9
Arch
It all comes down to this.
This could be the last night the Wolf Riders exist if things go badly wrong. But it’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen—and I’m all fucking there for the challenge…
I’m at the head of the Wolf Riders, my Harley’s engine growling low as we roll toward the Vipers’ warehouse on Route 17.
Keegan’s behind me, his hands tight on my waist, his presence a steady fire against my back.
The kid’s reckless, still raw from his close call last night, but he’s here with me, and that’s enough to make my chest ache with something I’m not ready to name yet. Not out loud, anyway.
Clay rides to my left, Jace to my right, their faces grim under the moonlight.
Tank, Jinx, and a half-dozen others form a tight pack behind us, their bikes a low rumble that shakes the asphalt.
Keegan’s intel—Rico meeting their supplier tonight, the talk of a rat in our ranks—has us moving fast, no time for hesitation.
The Vipers have been pushing too hard, too long, and tonight we end it. We endthem.
