Page 2 of Drift
“Cabinet by the sink.” Her voice followed me as I walked into the kitchen, light and careful. Trying to fill the silence I kept throwing at her.
Behind us, the others were still moving around. Edge thumped what sounded like a chair leg against the floor. “You sure this thing’s stable?”
“Stable as you,” Nitro shot back.
“That’s not fucking reassuring,” Rev snorted.
Edge, our VP, was as loyal as they came, a leader I’d follow anywhere, and a genius when it came to weapons. But he was also just a little bit psycho, which made him somewhat…unstable at times.
Axle sighed. “Gonna bring up the last box. You two try not to blow a hole through the drywall.”
Edge’s voice cut in from the living room again. “You got a hammer?”
“Toolbox by the door,” Nitro replied.
Something crashed—probably Edge’s ego hitting the floor.
“It’s fine,” he called. “It’s supposed to look like that.”
Their voices bounced around the small space, easy like they’d been doing this for decades. Brotherhood built from scars. I didn’t join in. I stayed at the counter, my hands working through plates and glasses I barely saw.
Alanna giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. I saw her shoulders shake in the reflection of the microwave door and caught myself almost smiling.Almost.
By the time the sun started dropping behind the trees, most of her things were unpacked. The apartment looked lived in—books on the shelf, her laptop open on the small dining table, and a throw blanket draped over the couch. It looked like a home. Or close enough to it.
Leaning her hip against the door frame, she watched the guys file out one by one. Edge brushed dust from his jeans and told her to call if anything broke, preferably before Jax tried to fix it.
Rev clapped me on the shoulder as he passed. “We’re heading out. You got this locked down?”
“Yeah.”
Nitro gave Alanna a lazy, two-finger salute. “If anything breaks, you call Drift. He’ll fix it.”
She smiled. “Will do.”
Axle brushed dust from his jeans, then sauntered through the door. “Expect you to let us know if you need anything. Don’t want Jax getting hurt when he tries to kick my ass for not taking care of his little sister.”
“Yeah, because you’re under our protection now.” Edge’s grin didn’t quite hide the steel beneath it. “No one fucks with what’s ours.”
Her eyes flicked to me then—quick and curious. My throat went tight. Then she looked back at Edge as she chuckled. “Got it. Thanks for helping today.”
“Anytime.” His grin softened at the edges, genuine beneath the mischief. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”
She blushed faintly but didn’t look away. “Thanks.”
When the door shut behind them, the apartment went quiet. I checked the window locks out of habit. Old instincts. Always the last man standing, always the one watching the exits.
Alanna stood near the couch, tracing her finger along the edge of one of the framed photos she’d unpacked—she and Jax, when she was a kid and he was a teenager, laughing like they didn’t live in a cage.
She looked up when I turned. “Thanks for today.”
I shook my head. “You’re family.” The words came out rougher than I meant.
“Still.” Her voice softened. “It means a lot.”
I didn’t trust my voice, so I just nodded, my jaw aching from how hard I was clenching it.
She tilted her head, studying me. “You okay?”
