Page 5

Emmy

I hadn’t been inside the Kings of Chaos clubhouse in a decade before the last two days, but stepping through those doors felt like walking straight into the past.

But now I wasn’t here as the girl who used to curl up on the couch in Austin’s room, waiting for him and Luke to come back from a run. Worrying that they wouldn’t come back. This time I was here as an outsider, and I felt the disapproval in every set of eyes tracking me as I walked inside again.

Austin’s hand skimmed the small of my back, a barely-there touch, but enough to send goose bumps down my arms and a message to everyone. I was under his protection. Unspoken club law.

“You’re in my space now, Em. Try not to start any fights,” he cautioned.

I cut him a glare, muttering, “No promises.”

A deep chuckle rumbled from beside us.

“Same old Emmy,” Hawk drawled, shaking his head. “Feisty as ever.”

I turned toward him, a guy I’d always liked. “Didn’t you used to be charming?”

He smirked, folding his arms over his massive chest. “Didn’t you used to have a little more respect for your elders?”

I scoffed. “You’re three years older than me, Hawk.”

“And three times meaner.” He grinned, then sobered slightly. “Good to see you, kid.”

A lump formed in my throat. As much as I hated that I was back here, seeing some of the old crew softened the edge just a little. Hawk and I had some deep conversations back in the day.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “You too.”

Diesel, one of the newer guys—at least newer compared to the ones I grew up around—gave me a nod. “You stickin’ around?”

I hesitated. Austin answered for me. “She’s here.”

That was it. No elaboration. Just a this is how it’s gonna be finality that made me bristle.

Before I could argue, a familiar voice cut through the space. “Would you look at that?”

I turned just in time to catch Roxy coming out from behind the bar, her weathered face breaking into a grin.

“You got some nerve, girl, waltzing back in here like you never left.”

A slow smile tugged at my lips. “I figured somebody had to keep these boys in line.”

Roxy let out a laugh, raspy from too many years of sucking on a cigarette, before yanking me into a bone-crushing hug. “Damn right. Lord knows I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Something settled in my chest. This. This was the good part of being a member of the family. At least until I had to deal with Austin again.

Roxy was called back to the bar, and we promised to catch up while I was there.

Austin was already waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase, arms crossed.

“I’m assuming you have a room for me that doesn’t involve sharing.”

His lips twitched like he wanted to smirk but thought better of it. “I’ve got a room.”

I lifted a brow. Waiting. Ignoring the voice inside saying I was a liar. Nobody has ever been able to make me come as hard or as often as he did. Why that little tidbit reared its untimely head was a mystery to me and had to be exiled from my brain.

He sighed. “You’re in mine.”

My stomach tightened. Perhaps from excitement but again swiftly exiled. “Austin.”

“You want privacy? You got it. My door has a lock.”

In his room, around his things, his scent all over the sheets and sleeping in a bed we’d had sex on many, many times… I opened my mouth to protest, but what was the point? The clubhouse wasn’t exactly a five-star hotel. I’d probably be better off in his room than crammed into a spare one with a mattress that had seen better days. Still, sleeping under his roof? In his space?

Dangerous. Tempting. Stupid was what it was.

I sighed. “Fine.”

His gaze lingered for a beat before he jerked his head toward the stairs. “Let’s go.”

The room hadn’t changed much. Same massive bed, same leather chair in the corner, same faint scent of him hanging in the air.

Austin stood near the dresser, watching me take it all in. “You don’t have to stay here if you’re uncomfortable. There are other rooms.”

I let out a breath. “It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

You.

The word was right there on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it down. Instead, I turned toward the small table near the window, dragging my fingers over the worn wood. “I forgot how much time I spent in this room.”

Austin leaned against the dresser. “I didn’t.”

My breath hitched. He was right. He’d been involved with club business and didn’t have time for anything else. Including me. I turned toward him, but he was already moving past me, heading for the door.

“You get some sleep, Em.” His voice was gruff, low. Then he was gone.

I stood there, heart pounding, staring at the closed door like it held all the answers. This was a mistake. And yet… I didn’t move. Didn’t leave. Deep down, I knew this was exactly where I was supposed to be.

A loud boom shocked me awake.

I shot upright, breath catching as the walls seemed to tremble around me.

For a split second, disorientation clouded my mind. The darkness, the scent of leather and whiskey, the faint hum of music still playing somewhere in the distance—I wasn’t in my apartment. I was in Austin’s world. In his bed. Alone.

Then the chaos erupted.

Boots pounded against the floors. Voices shouted, loud and urgent. Someone slammed a door down the hall.

I was already up, pulling on my jeans, heart racing, bare feet hitting the cool wooden floor as I lunged for the bedroom door.

It swung open before I could reach it, and Austin stood there, his broad frame filling the doorway, his bare chest rising and falling in rapid bursts. I had to force my eyes upward away from all that amazing tattooed skin and the barbell through his right nipple. I was with him when he got that done.

His gaze locked on to mine, eyes burning with something raw and protective, something that made my pulse stutter in my throat.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

I shoved past him anyway. “Like hell.”

“Jesus, woman. Will you ever do what you’re told?”

The answer was obvious, a reply unnecessary.

The hallway was a blur of moving bodies, club members charging past, some still pulling on shirts or boots, others already gripping weapons. The odor of smoke and gasoline was strong, assaulting my nostrils as I rushed toward the stairs.

Austin was right behind me, his fingers ghosting over my arm like he was debating grabbing me. But he didn’t. Not yet.

The second I stepped into the main room of the clubhouse, I felt the tension so thick it nearly suffocated me. Through the open doors, I could see the lot was a war zone.

Smoke drifted in curling tendrils, glowing orange at the edges where flames still licked at a pile of twisted metal. Several bikes had been knocked over, their chrome frames reflecting the flickering light. One of the trucks parked near the garage had a shattered windshield, glass scattered like diamonds across the pavement.

And on the hood of that car, deep, jagged, scratches carved into the metal left a message.

I’m coming for you.

A chill raced down my spine, ice spreading through my veins as I took a step closer.

“Jesus Christ,” Diesel muttered, raking a hand through his hair. His jaw was tight, his eyes hard as he turned toward Austin. “Some bastard tossed a Molotov at the garage. Minor damage, but it was a warning.”

Tank was already barking orders. “Check the perimeter! Find out where the hell that came from.”

The air buzzed with barely contained violence, a storm of rage and retaliation ready to break open.

But all I could focus on was that message. Seeing the destruction brought home how real this life was. Danger was unavoidable, and Luke was right in the middle of it. By default, I was as well.

Austin moved before I could, shoving a prospect out of the way as he prowled toward the wreckage. His shoulders were tense, his movements controlled but deadly, like a lion waiting to pounce.

I forced myself to look away from the twisted, burned-up metal and meet his gaze.

What I saw there—the cold fury, the absolute promise of vengeance—made my breath catch.

His voice was deadly quiet. “You okay?”

My heart thumped hard against my ribs. I wanted to tell him I was fine, that this was nothing, that I had dealt with worse, but the words got lost somewhere between my throat and my pride.

Because the truth was that this was different. This wasn’t just about me. It wasn’t just about Luke anymore either. It was about all of them.

The Kings of Chaos had been sent a warning, loud and clear.

I had no doubt somebody or something was just getting started.

The tension in the clubhouse was thick enough to choke on. The men had checked the property, scoured the streets, and turned up nothing. Whoever had thrown that Molotov had done it from a distance—fast, clean, in, and out. No witnesses, no trace.

Professional.

Which meant this wasn’t some random enemy taking a shot in the dark. This was someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

The older members gathered around the bar, speaking in low, furious voices, while the younger guys still buzzed with pent-up aggression. Tank and Diesel were pouring over the security footage, but so far it had given them nothing.

Austin hadn’t left my side. Not once. And I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

I sat on a worn leather couch, arms wrapped around my body, too wired to sleep, too restless to sit still. Every few minutes, my gaze would flick to Austin—watching, calculating, never letting his guard down. I always knew he’d be an amazing leader, and he was. But he was going overboard with his alpha-ness.

I exhaled sharply and muttered something I’d said too many times in the last few days. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

His head turned slowly, and all that laser focus locked on to me. “I’m not babysitting.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Then what do you call it?”

Austin didn’t answer right away. He took a step closer, then another, until he was towering over me, heat rolling off him in waves.

“I call it keeping you from doing something stupid,” he said.

I refused to shrink under his stare. “Like what? Pull on Diesel’s beard and run? I’m at the clubhouse, remember. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

His lips twitched, but it wasn’t from amusement.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “And it’s going to stay that way. I still have the handcuffs.”

The words should’ve pissed me off. Instead, they sent a hot thrill through my veins. Damn him.

A throat cleared nearby. Tank was watching us with a scowl. “Hate to break up the lovers’ quarrel, but we’ve got more pressing shit to deal with.”

My cheeks burned. Austin didn’t even blink.

Diesel sighed. “We need to figure out our next move.”

I could see the fire raging just beneath the surface, the barely restrained violence coiling tight in Austin’s muscles. His stance was rigid, feet braced apart, hands flexing like he was moments from snapping. The room turned eerily silent, every eye on him.

Tank. Diesel. A handful of other men. They weren’t just looking at their leader. They were waiting for him to unleash hell, but he didn’t.

“There’s nothing we can do tonight except clean shit up. We know nothing at this point. Let Jax do his thing; we need more intel. Going off half-cocked will do nothing more than get us shot,” Austin finally said. “We reinforce security, keep the prospects on high alert, and wait.”

The words sent a ripple of unease through the room. This was not a sit-back-on-your-ass kinda group.

Tank’s scowl deepened. “Wait for what?”

Austin’s gaze flicked to me, and I stiffened under the heat of it, resisting the urge to fidget. I could feel the intensity behind his eyes. That old, familiar way he had of seeing too much. Of knowing things about me I didn’t want him to know.

There was no fear in me—there never had been—but there was doubt. Not in him, but in myself. In what I had walked back into.

Austin knew it. I could see it in the hard set of his jaw. I swallowed, hating how intimately he still knew me.

“For him to make another move,” Austin murmured, eyes still on mine. “Because he will.”

This wasn’t just an attack. It was a challenge. A message delivered in smoke and fire. And the Kings of Chaos weren’t used to being the ones played.

Tank’s fingers drummed against the table. “You sure about that? Because sitting around and waiting ain’t exactly our style.”

Diesel let out a low, humorless chuckle. “Yeah, brother, this feels a whole lot like waiting for a bomb to drop.”

My stomach twisted because they weren’t wrong. Austin hated this. I could see it in the way his fists clenched at his sides, in the way his nostrils flared just slightly as he reined himself in. The Austin I had known when we were young would’ve already gone hunting. Would’ve already been tearing through town looking for blood. But this man—Prez—was holding back.

“Somebody sent a warning,” Austin said, voice quiet but certain. “That means they’re watching, waiting to see how we react.” His gaze swept the room. “If we charge in blind, we’re walking straight into their trap.”

Tank’s chin dropped as his fingers raked over his beard before he gave a slow nod. “Fine. We wait.”

Diesel cracked his neck. “But not for long.”

Austin’s expression darkened. “Not for long.”

The conversation was over, but my pulse pounded. I had grown up in this world. I’d spent my whole childhood surrounded by men who lived and breathed for the Kings of Chaos. My father had died for this club. My brother had sacrificed for it.

What would my life have been like if my mother had been in my life? If cancer hadn’t taken her from me before my sixth birthday. Would she have given me the understanding of how to be in Austin’s world and the maturity to deal with all that came with it?

I had spent most of my life trying to escape the brotherhood. But right now I was seeing it through different eyes. I had never seen Austin fully in his role as leader before. Not like this.

I hated it.

And I loved it.

Because no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, this was who he was meant to be.

Back when we were young, before he’d earned his patch, before he’d risen through the ranks, he had already belonged to the club more than he had ever belonged to me. I had known it. I had felt it. And I had walked away because of it.

Watching him take control with nothing but a tone of authority and a meaningful stare, watching his men follow him without hesitation—I realized something. I hadn’t truly understood back then. I hadn’t really known what it meant for Austin to belong to the club. He wasn’t just part of the Kings of Chaos. He was the damn foundation they stood on.

Tank questioned him, Diesel pushed back, but in the end, they all fell in line. Because Austin owned this room. My heart clenched at the realization that he always had.

What scared me the most, though, was how much I wanted to step closer. How much I wanted to touch him, to feel that strength, that presence, that power.

But I wouldn’t. I knew exactly what this life had taken from me.

Austin turned to me, and for a brief second, his mask slipped. Just enough for me to see him—not the Prez, not the leader of a notorious MC. Just Austin. The man I had once loved. The man who still had the ability to destroy me. That sent a chill down my spine even as need unfurled deep in my gut.

“You should get some sleep,” he said.

I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “Yeah, not sure that’s in the cards tonight.”

He shook his head. “Just try.”

Try. Like it was that simple.

The exhaustion made me sigh, the night’s events made me weary to the bone, but I knew sleep wouldn’t come. My mind wouldn’t allow it.

Austin reached for me. His fingers wrapped gently around my wrist, his touch warm, reassuring. “You’re safe here, Emmy.”

The words sent something painful cracking through my chest. That was a lie. I wasn’t safe. Not from whoever had a vendetta against the Kings. And sure as hell not from Austin.

For a split second, I let myself sink into it. Let myself remember what it felt like to trust him, to believe him… but I couldn’t afford that. Not again. So I pulled away. His fingers lingered for just a fraction longer before I stepped back, putting distance where there hadn’t been any.

I didn’t give him time to say anything else. Didn’t give myself time to second-guess the way my body still ached for him. I turned and walked away.

Austin didn’t stop me, but I felt his eyes on me the entire way up the stairs. As I slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind me, I pressed my back against the wood, heart hammering.

The war the Kings of Chaos now found themselves in was just beginning, but the battle inside me was already fully underway.