Page 23 of My End (Iron Fiends #10)

Stretch

I didn’t sleep much.

The minute my alarm went off, I was up, boots on, and making my way upstairs with Tilly still sleeping in my bed. I was supposed to report to Jim at eight sharp, but I’d already been pacing my room for half an hour. My fists were tight, and my jaw locked. Something was off. I felt it in my bones.

Tilly was anxious. On edge. And I wasn’t far behind her.

I knocked once on the command room door before pushing it open. Jim sat behind the desk like a man who’d been up for hours, his fingers steepled, and a steaming mug of coffee on the blotter between us.

He didn’t look up. “Jake.”

“Jim.” I crossed my arms and waited.

He tapped a pen against the mug and finally lifted his gaze. “You’re with Adam today. Supply run.”

My brows pulled together. “Supply run?”

He nodded once. “You and Adam are heading to town. I gave Adam the list of things we need.”

I stepped forward. “Am I completely off Boone’s rotation?” I was hoping that gate duty yesterday had been a fluke.

“Kevin’s permanently back with Boone,” he said casually, like he was swapping out batteries and not changing who stood between the world and the most dangerous man I’d ever met.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

Jim didn’t answer.

My nostrils flared. “Does this have to do with Tilly or something?”

Still nothing.

I took another step. “When I signed on for this job, it didn’t say anything about what I do in my off time.”

Jim finally looked up again. “Or who you do,” he muttered.

Heat flooded my neck, and a cold fire sparked in my chest. “You got a problem with me, come out and say it.”

He held up his hands like he didn’t want trouble, but I could see the smugness behind his eyes. “I’m just telling you that I’m not the one who calls the shots. That would be Boone. He hasn’t told me anything, other than he wanted Kevin back.”

“Bullshit.”

Jim shrugged. “Though I’m sure boning the boss’ sister probably wasn’t the best choice you could’ve made.”

I clenched my fists so tight my knuckles cracked. “I’m only going to say this one more time. You got a problem with me, say it. Like a man.”

He stared at me for a long second, but his mouth stayed shut. No balls, just Boone’s little errand boy.

“So I’m on fucking grocery duty now?” I growled. “For no reason other than the wind started blowing differently?”

He didn’t blink.

“Got it.”

I turned on my heel and stormed out, rage curling through my gut like a serpent. The whole house felt like it was watching me as I made my way to the kitchen. Cameras in every corner. Shadows behind every closed door.

Of course, they knew about Tilly and me, and maybe Boone was pissed about it. I didn’t fucking care. The only thing I was worried about was him finding out who I was and what I was going to do to him.

I found Adam hanging up his apron on a hook by the pantry. His hair was tied back in a bun, sleeves rolled, and his usual smile flickered when he saw me.

“You drew the short straw to help me today?” he asked and grabbed a notepad off the counter.

I grunted. “More like punishment for something I didn’t do.”

He raised a brow but didn’t comment. “We’ve got three stops and a list as long as my arm. Boone wants the pantry stocked for the week.”

“Right,” I muttered. “Let’s get it over with.”

We grabbed our coats and headed to the SUV parked out front. The guards on the porch gave me a once-over as I passed, and I resisted the urge to flip them off.

This wasn’t a job anymore. I was a fucking errand boy.

The drive was quiet for the first ten minutes. I gripped the wheel like it owed me money, my knuckles white, and my eyes on the road.

“You good?” Adam asked and tapped on the dash with the corner of the notebook.

I didn’t answer at first. The words burned my tongue.

“No,” I finally said. “I’m not good. I’ve got a target on my back, and I don’t even know what the hell I did.”

Adam glanced at me sideways. “Is this about Tilly?”

My jaw clenched. “Probably. But fuck if I know for sure. Jim’s lips are sealed, and Boone, Boone’s the puppet master pulling every string.”

Adam scratched his beard. “You and Tilly… it’s serious?”

I didn’t answer.

Adam nodded slowly. “Yeah. Thought so.”

I sighed and eased back in my seat as we hit the main road out of the estate.

We made the first two stops for dry goods from the bulk distributor, then a specialty butcher shop Boone liked. Adam handled most of the talking. I kept my head down and my eyes open.

My mind kept spinning back to Tilly.

The way she’d looked last night, tucked into my chest, asking if something was wrong. She was too smart not to feel the tension. Too intuitive not to see the cracks.

I wanted to tell her everything. That Stretch wasn’t a nickname from friends, that it was who I was. That I was deep undercover with a club that would burn the world down to protect its own.

I wanted her to know the truth before it was too late.

But every second I stayed quiet was a second I kept her safe.

Or so I told myself.

At the final stop, while Adam was checking off the list, I leaned against the hood of the SUV, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

I was running out of time.

And I had no idea what Boone was planning next.

But if he was pulling me away from the inner circle, it meant he was locking something in place.

And when Boone locked in… people died.