“I’ll keep her close,” he said, like he’d already guessed her thoughts. “That’s a promise.”
She didn’t answer. Didn’t nod. Didn’t blink. Her stare was unrelenting, a quiet storm that said precisely what she thought of his promises without a single word.
Harlan’s shoulders eased a fraction, his jaw ticking once. “Gray will be on her detail,” he added, softer this time. “Armed. Always within reach.”
Remi’s eyes shifted to Gray. He gave her a single, deliberate nod, steady, solid, no bullshit.
Something in her posture loosened. Not trust. Not yet. But enough. Enough to let her keep breathing.
And then… the rumble of engines.
Three bikes pulled into view, engines snarling, unapologetic. The Dawnbreakers didn’t do subtle. They announced themselves in leather and steel, the air around them vibrating with road grit and old ghosts.
The first man off his bike was tall, broad, mid-forties, with rough hands and a cut worn thin from years on the road. He was equally attractive and terrifying. His road name was stitched in faded thread:Clutch.
He strode up the steps like he belonged there, eyes locking on Remiwith a familiarity that shouldn’t have been possible. Then he grinned, wide and lazy, like they were already co-conspirators.
“There she is,” he drawled. “You gonna stay outta trouble now, baby cakes? Be a good girl for your man?”
Remi blinked at him.
I almost laughed. The look on her face was priceless, like he’d just suggested she take up knitting. Jack looked murderous.
Then I saw it: the tilt of his brow, the way his shoulders slouched just enough to sell the part.
He was playing a role.
Selling it.
Selling her... them.
Remi caught on fast. She stepped down the stairs, body taut but moving, letting herself be pulled into the orbit he created.
Clutch reached for her waist, his movements smooth, practiced. He tugged her into a hug that looked intimate enough to make anyone watching believe it, his face tucked beside hers. I saw his lips move but couldn’t catch the words. Whatever he said, it made something in her shoulders shift, her body angling into his without fight.
And then, for anyone watching, he claimed her.
He pulled back just enough to make it look like they were kissing, then cupped her cheek like he owned the world and said, loud enough for the street to hear:
“Ready to get on the back of my bike, baby?”
Remi stared at him, deadpan. “I thought that was supposed to mean something.”
Clutch’s grin curved, slow and crooked. “If my ol’ lady was still around, she wouldn’t mind… not for you.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
I felt it in my chest.
So did Remi.
She went still, locked up in a way I’d seen before, caught between retreat and retaliation. Something passed between them, something I couldn’t name, deep and quiet and raw.
Clutch leaned in again, softer now, the act stripped away.
“I screwed up, darling,” he said, low, meant only for her. “Bad. Idid her wrong. Broke us. Broke her. You were the one who put her back together. She left and I was pissed for a minute, but then I got my head outta my ass and realized… You did something I never did. You put her first.”
Remi’s eyes shimmered, the faintest crack in her steel.
