Page 40 of Hard as Stone
“Look,” I say, stepping forward before things can escalate further. “Maybe we can all take a step back and?—”
“Stay out of this, Poppy,” Dad snaps, shoving me out of the way. I stumble backward, but Hugo and Felix catch me before I can fall.
Axel’s off his bike in a heartbeat, but Stone’s sharp, “Stand down!” freezes him mid-stride. I see the war on Axel’s face—the Road Captain wanting to follow orders, the man wanting to put my father through a wall for touching me.
“That’s strike one,” comes a gravelly voice from behind Stone. A biker with a Sergeant at Arms patch named Hawk moves his bike forward slightly. His hand rests casually on his hip, but there’s nothing casual about the threat in his stance. “You don’t want to see strike two.”
“Keep your dog on a leash,” Dad sneers at Stone, but I notice he takes a step back. Even he’s not stupid enough to push when outnumbered by angry bikers.
“You’ll only get one warning,” Stone says quietly. The calmer his voice gets, the more dangerous he sounds. “Touch your daughter like that again, and we’ll have a different kind of conversation. One that won’t be so friendly.”
“Get. Off. My. Site.” Each word comes out like a bullet. “And keep your men away from my daughter.”
Axel’s entire body goes rigid at that, but Stone’s hand, held in that military ‘hold’ signal, keeps him in place. The gesture isn’t lost on my brothers, nor is the way the other bikers shift, handsmoving to weapons that aren’t visible, but that we all know are there.
“We’ll see you at the town hall meeting,” Stone says, revving his engine once Axel gets back on his bike. “Might want to think real hard about whose side you want to be on when everything comes to light.”
The MC roars away, leaving behind a cloud of dust and a silence heavy with unspoken threats. I can feel the weight of my brothers’ stares, but it’s Dad’s expression that makes my stomach turn. He looks at me like I’m a stranger—worse, like I’m the enemy.
“Inside,” he barks, jerking his thumb toward the site trailer. “Now.”
Felix grabs my arm as I move to follow Dad. “What have you done, Poppy?”
I yank free, hurt blooming in my chest at the accusation in his voice. “Me? What about what Dad’s doing? What about?—”
“Inside!” Dad’s voice cracks like a whip.
The trailer door slams behind us with enough force to rattle the windows. Dad rounds on me, his face mottled with rage. “You’ve been talking to them. Telling them our business.”
“No, I?—”
“Don’t lie to me!” His fist hits the desk, making me jump. “I’ve seen you with that Road Captain. Sneaking around, thinking I wouldn’t find out.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks—anger or shame, I’m not sure which. “I’m not sneaking anywhere. And maybe if you were honest about what’s really going on with these contracts?—”
“You want honesty?” Dad’s laugh is bitter, cruel. “Fine. Here’s some honesty for you. You’ve got a choice to make, Poppy. Right here, right now. It’s either your family or the MC. Can’t be both.”
My heart stops. “Dad?—”
“Choose.”
The word hangs between us like a guillotine blade. Through the trailer window, I can still hear motorcycles in the distance. The sound calls to something in my soul, something that feels more like home than this man ever has. Dad’s idea of family means blind loyalty and keeping your mouth shut when things don’t add up. But the MC? They protect their own, yes, but they also protect this town—these people who can barely make rent while my father’s secret phone calls discuss money I never see.
Still, when I look at Dad, at the brothers who’ve been my whole world for so long...
“I can’t just?—”
“You can and you will.” Dad’s voice drops, deadly quiet. “Because if you choose them, you’re not just choosing the MC. You’re choosing to walk away from everything we’ve built. Everything we are.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, little girl.” He turns away, dismissing me. “You’ve got until that town hall meeting to decide where your loyalty lies. After that...” He lets the threat hang unfinished.
I stumble out of the trailer, my legs shaking. The sun feels too bright, the air too thick. Everything I thought I knew about family, about loyalty, about love—it’s all crumbling around me.
And somewhere in the distance, bikes are still running. Still calling me home.
But to answer that call means losing everything I’ve ever known.
