Page 43 of Hard as Stone
“And I just...” She stops, lifting her eyes to mine suddenly. “What happens if I choose you?”
The question catches me off guard. “What do you mean?”
“If I choose the MC. Choose you.” Her voice cracks slightly. “I’ll be your old lady, right? You’ll protect me? Even from my own family, if I need it?”
“Baby.” I cup her face in my hands, searching her eyes. “What’s really going on? Are they hurting you?”
She shakes her head, but there’s something in her expression that has alarm bells ringing. “Not physically. It’s just... the way Dad’s been since that day on the road. Like he’s watching every move I make, waiting for me to betray him.” Her hands fist in my shirt. “And my brothers keep saying I need to choose family first, but what if my family isn’t who I thought they were?”
“Poppy—” I start, but she cuts me off.
“I just need to know if this is forever,” she whispers, her eyes searching mine. “If I choose you, if I walk away from everything I’ve known... will you be there? Really be there?”
My heart clenches at the vulnerability in her voice. Before I can answer, a voice echoes down the corridor.
“Poppy! Where are you? Dad’s looking for you!”
Felix. Getting closer.
I curl my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her close until our foreheads touch. “Listen to me,” I rasp. “You’re mine. Have been since that first day with the stop sign. Whateverhappens tonight, whatever you choose, that doesn’t change. I’ll protect you with everything I am, for as long as you’ll let me.”
“Poppy!” Closer now.
I crush my mouth to hers, pouring everything I feel into the kiss. She melts against me, her fingers digging into my shoulders like she’s trying to anchor herself. When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard and wishing we had more time.
“I have to go,” she whispers, already pulling away.
“Poppy.” I catch her hand. “Whatever happens in there...”
She gives me a sad smile. “I know.” Then she’s gone, disappearing around the corner just as Felix’s voice calls out again.
I wait until their footsteps fade before I get my game face back on and make my way to the main chamber, falling into formation with my brothers. The room is packed, tension thick enough to cut. Summit’s people cluster near the front, all expensive suits and predatory smiles. City council members shift nervously in their seats, probably wondering if we have dirt on them, too.
Lee appears at my shoulder. “Your girl OK? Looked pretty shaken when I saw her come in with her old man.”
My eyes find her instantly. She’s standing with her family, and even from here, I can see the rigid set of her spine, the way her father keeps a possessive hand on her elbow. The vulnerability I saw in the west wing is masked now, but I know her well enough to know she’s hurting inside.
“She will be,” I tell Lee with quiet certainty. “Once this is over, once I can claim her properly, no one’s ever gonna hurt her again.”
“Head in the game, you two,” Stone murmurs as the mayor takes the podium. But it’s almost impossible to focus when Poppy’s across the room looking like her world’s about to shatter.
The meeting starts with standard procedure—minutes, updates, the usual red tape. My brothers are positioned strategically around the room, a silent network of protection we’ve perfected over years. Hawk near the exit, ready to control who leaves. Cash and Mack flank the council seats, while Duck positions himself where he can watch Summit’s people. We’ve weathered storms before, but this one feels different. Personal. But all I can think about is how Poppy trembled in my arms just minutes ago, asking if I’d protect her. And here I am, about to be the one who tears her already broken world apart.
Then Stone stands, and the shift in the room is immediate. This is why he’s our president—he doesn’t need threats or shows of force. Just that quiet authority that’s led us through a hundred storms, earned through years of putting the club and community first. Even Summit’s suits straighten in their seats, recognizing real power when they see it. “Before we move to vote on Summit’s proposal, the Stoneheart MC would like to present evidence regarding the city’s road construction contracts.”
Cash and Duck start distributing packets. I watch Poppy’s face as she opens hers, see the exact moment understanding dawns. The evidence is damning—photos of her father meeting Summit’s people in secret, bank statements showing payments funneled through shell companies, emails discussing deliberate delays. Every missing permit, every ‘lost’ supply order, every roadblock that kept people trapped in their homes—it’s all there in blackand white with her father’s signature at the bottom. Her father tries to snatch it from her hands, but she jerks away, eyes scanning faster and faster.
When she looks up at me, the betrayal in her eyes guts me. Because this is the proof that her father knew everything, and in turn, it’s also proof that I knew too.Fuck.
She stands abruptly, pushing past her father, past her brothers’ reaching hands. Chaos erupts. Her father’s face turns an ugly shade of red. “These documents are fabricated!” he thunders, but his eyes dart frantically around the room. “This is nothing but slander from criminals trying to?—”
Hugo jumps up beside him, all bluster and blind loyalty. “You can’t trust anything that comes from a bunch of bikers!”
But Felix has grabbed the papers Poppy threw at him on her way past, his face going pale as he reads. He grabs Hugo’s arm, trying to shut him up, but their father is already spiraling, pointing fingers, making threats of lawsuits and consequences.
I catch Stone’s eye, torn between my duty to the club and the woman who owns my heart. He gives me a slight nod.
I’m moving before he finishes the gesture, following her into the parking lot.
