Page 67 of Grim

Rook nodded once, a silent vow. Fish mirrored it, a promise without words. Switchblade, Ghost, Brick, and Vandal all nodded too, four young men ready to die for her without hesitation.

Stone nodded once, eyes cold. “Then we end this.”

Sophia looked around the table at the men who had become Grim’s family, at the fury in their eyes, at the way they closed ranks around her without hesitation.

She wasn’t just protected.

She was claimed.

Grim slid his hand into hers under the table, squeezing gently.

She squeezed back.

And for the first time since Reyes died, she understood. Elena wasn’t a memory he clung to. He whispered her name so someone would know who he gave his last breath for.

And now… they did.

Chapter 21

Grim

Stone didn’t waste a second. “Church. Now.” His voice cut through the clubhouse like a blade. Every patched member moved instantly — chairs scraping, boots thudding, conversations dying. The air shifted, thickening with purpose and fury.

Grim’s hand tightened around Sophia’s as the men filed toward the meeting room. He didn’t want to let go. Not even for a second.

Stone caught the hesitation. “Grim. She goes to your room. Prospects stay outside the door. No one gets near her.”

Grim’s jaw flexed. “I’m not leaving her alone.”

Stone stepped closer, lowering his voice. “We need you in that room. You’re the one who saw them. And you’re the one who’s going to help us end this.”

Grim didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe.

Sophia touched his arm gently. “Maddox, go.”

He shook his head. “No. Not after today. I’m not—”

She stepped closer, her hand sliding down his forearm until her fingers laced with his. “Those women need you. Reyes’s wife needs you. The club needs you.”

His throat worked, emotion tightening every muscle in his body.

Sophia cupped his jaw, forcing him to meet her eyes. “I’m safe here. You made sure of that.”

Grim looked at the prospects Stone had already motioned over, Switchblade, Ghost, Brick, and Vandal, all standing at attention and ready to guard her door with their lives.

He still didn’t look convinced.

Sophia softened her voice. “You told me you couldn’t lose me. I’m telling you that you won’t.”

Something in him cracked, not broken but bending under the weight of everything he felt.

He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers, breathing her in like he needed her scent to stay sane. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But you have to.”

His hands slid to her waist, holding her like she was the only thing tethering him to the earth. “I’ll be right on the other side of that wall.”

“I know.”