Page 26 of King's Claim
The finality in her tone sliced through him.He stood there for a beat longer, searching her face for some sign she didn’t mean it.But all he saw was the same fire that had drawn him in from the start.The fire that would burn him alive if he wasn’t careful.
Slowly, he nodded.“All right,” King said.He knew when to admit defeat.
He turned and walked out, the slam of her door behind him echoing like a gunshot.
The stairwell felt colder on the way down.His boots hit the pavement heavy, his chest a storm of fury and hollow ache.King should’ve stayed away.He should’ve never let himself want her in the first place.
But as he swung back onto his bike, his instincts screamed against leaving her unprotected.The Serpents had already come at her once.They’d torch her world again if they thought it would hurt him.
King would be damned if he let that happen.He pulled out his phone and dialed.It rang once before Rage picked up.
“Yeah, Prez?”
King’s gaze lingered on Lena’s window, light glowing faintly behind the curtain.“She’s not alone in this, not anymore.I want eyes on her apartment twenty-four-seven.She doesn’t need to know, but if a Serpent so much as breathes in her direction, I want to hear about it first.”
Rage grunted.“Consider it done.”
King hung up, slid the phone back into his pocket, and revved the engine.
As he pulled away, the ache inside him only deepened.He’d given her what she wanted.Distance.But he wasn’t fool enough to let her out of his sight.
She thought she was his weakness.Maybe she was, but she was also the only thing left worth bleeding for.
****
Lena woke to a quietapartment.It was the first morning in a long time without the sound of motorcycles revving outside.Without the constant shuffle of boots through the clubhouse halls, without the rowdy, ever-present background noise of men who thrived on chaos.
She had wanted quiet, had demanded her freedom, but lying in her small apartment now, the emptiness pressed down like a weight.Her phone sat on the nightstand, screen dark.No messages or calls.
She shoved the covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed, staring at the peeling paint on her wall.For years, this place had been her refuge.
Her own space where no one told her who to be.But after The Pit Stop and the clubhouse, it felt different.Smaller.As if the walls had shrunk while she was gone.
The call from Rick the night before echoed in her head.His voice had been hollow, defeated.“It’s gone, Lena.Insurance might cover some, but it won’t be enough.I can’t rebuild, not with the Serpents breathing down our necks.”
She’d worked there for three years.Pouring drinks, managing schedules, smoothing over fights between regulars who didn’t know when to quit.It hadn’t been glamorous, but it was steady.Familiar.Family, in its own way.
Now it was just ash.
She dragged herself into the kitchen, brewed coffee she barely tasted, and sat at the tiny table with her laptop.Maybe she could find another bartending gig.
The town had bars on every corner.However, a quick search confirmed what she already knew.Most places weren’t hiring, and the ones that were didn’t pay enough to cover rent.
Her savings wouldn’t last long.
The thought made her chest squeeze tight.She’d always prided herself on standing on her own, never relying on anyone, not her mother, not her ex, not King.But for the first time in years, she wasn’t sure she could keep her balance.
Her phone buzzed, startling her.Mom.
She hesitated, thumb hovering.How was she going to tell her mom she no longer had a job?That she wouldn’t be able to pay her hospital bills, let alone her own rent? Still, ignoring the call wasn’t an option.She swiped to answer.
“Hey,” Lena answered.
“Lena, honey.”Her mom’s voice was soft, worried.“I heard about the fire.Are you okay?”
Lena pressed her fingers to her temple.“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
