Page 46 of What They Say

“No, I was awake.” She hesitated, then let the words slip out before she could overthink them. “I kinda like you, you know?”

Chase went still on the screen. His eyes widened, that bright post-show glow shifting into something softer, warmer.

“Yeah?” he asked, voice dropping.

“Yeah.” Kath bit her lip, cheeks burning, but she didn’t look away. “I like hearing you like this. All excited and happy. I like...talking to you. Working on songs with you. All of it.”

The smile that spread across his face was slow and real—the kind that made her stomach flutter.

“I kinda like you too,” he said, almost reverently. “A lot.”

They stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other through the screen while the bus rolled through the night. No pressure. No rush. Just the quiet admission hanging between them like a promise.

“I should probably let you get some rest,” Chase said eventually, though he didn’t sound like he wanted to hang up. “We’ve still got a few hours until Fort Wayne.”

“Okay,” Kath whispered. “Text me when you get in safe?”

“I will.” He paused, then added gently, “Night, Kath.”

“Night, Chase.”

She ended the call and let her head fall back against the couch, a helpless smile on her face.

She was still scared. Still worried she’d mess this up somehow.

But hearing him like that—buzzing with joy, calling her just to share it—made the fear feel a little smaller.

Maybe she could let herself have this. Maybe this feeling could become the norm.

Chapter Fifteen

Chase

Following Myron, who’d been sent to escort him, Chase stepped through the doorway and into the clubhouse meeting room, immediately feeling the tension crackling in the air like static before a storm.

Mason stood at the head of the long table, arms braced on the wood, his face carved from granite. Bones, Bear, and a handful of other senior members were already there, expressions grim. The usual easy camaraderie was gone. This was club business at its most serious.

“Sit,” Mason said, voice low and clipped.

Chase sat. His father’s eyes—the same stormy gray as his own—locked onto him with an intensity that made his stomach tighten. He’d never seen Mason like this. Not cold. Not just angry. Stone-cold furious. The kind of anger that had weight behind it. The kind that meant someone was going to bleed.

Mason didn’t waste time.

“We’ve got a problem,” he said. “An old enemy surfaced. Someone who knew Carrie. Knew her well enough to hold a grudge that’s lasted years. He’s made it clear Chase is his target. Threats came in through back channels today. Specific. Personal.”

The room went dead silent.

Chase felt the words hit like a punch to the ribs. “Me?”

Mason’s jaw flexed. “You. He’s talking about unfinished business with your mother. Says you’re the loose end.”

Chase’s mind spun. Carrie—the mother who had lied to him his whole life, who had been murdered by her own blood relative. Now someone from that old world was coming after him?

He swallowed hard. “Is anyone else in danger? The club? Willa? Garrett or the baby?”

Mason’s eyes flickered—something raw and protective flashing through the ice. “We’re handling it. The club’s on high alert. No one rides alone. No unnecessary risks.” His voice dropped even lower. “But you...you stay close. You don’t go anywhere without someone on you. Understand?”

Chase nodded slowly, but his thoughts were already racing ahead. Kath. She had no idea what kind of world he came from. No idea that just being close to him might put her in the crosshairs of some ghost from his mother’s past.