Page 20 of Hard as Stone (Stoneheart MC #2)
“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 black and 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.
“Poppy, wait!”
She whirls to face me, tears streaming down her face. “Did you know?” Her voice cracks. “This whole time, did you know what my father was doing?”
“Poppy…”
Her hands ball into fists at her sides. “Did you know?” she shrieks, the words sounding like razor blades tearing from her throat. “Answer me, Axel!”
I take a step toward her, but she backs away. The hurt and betrayal in her eyes cuts me to the core.
“We knew,” I admit quietly. “But we didn’t have proof until recently.”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “So all those times you warned me about Summit, about the town not being what it seemed... you were investigating my family the whole time?”
The truth sits heavy on my tongue. “Yes.”
Her sob hits me like a physical blow. “So what was I? Just a way to get information about my father?”
“Never, Poppy. Everything between us is real.” I try to reach for her, but she holds up a hand to stop my advance. “I love you?—”
“Don’t.” Her voice and body tremble as tears smear mascara down her face. “You let me fall in love with you while you were building a case against my family. You knew what this would do to me, and you did it anyway.”
“I was trying to protect you?—”
“By lying to me?” She wraps her arms around herself like she’s trying to hold herself together. “I trusted you. I was ready to give up everything for you.”
“Poppy, please?—”
But she’s already turning away, wiping tears from her face. “I can’t... I can’t even look at you right now.”
She runs, and everything in me screams to follow. But the sound of raised voices from inside reminds me of my duty to the club. To the truth we’re exposing.
The truth that’s costing me the only woman I’ve ever loved. “Fuck!” I roar to the sky as I rush back into the building to stand with my brothers.