Page 64 of Property of Bones

I nod once, barely. The pressure in my chest tightens.

“I don’t want her to feel trapped,” I say quietly.

“Then stop acting like she’s made of glass.”

My jaw ticks.

“She doesn’t need a cage, Jack. She needs apartner.”

I drop my eyes to the floor. My shoulders feel like they’ve been carrying bricks for days, and suddenly… just for a second… one of them slips off.

“I’m not used to this,” I admit, voice rough. “Caring like this. It makes everything feel... open. Exposed. Like I’ve left all my weapons on the ground and juststood there.”

Marv gives me a long look. One of those fatherly ones that see through every wall, every lie I tell myself.

“That’s because itisvulnerable,” he says. “She’s not just taking your attention, Jack. She’s peeling back the parts you’ve boarded up for years. The part of you that you hide away for fear of becoming your father. You’re not your father. You would never harm her or any other woman. So, you either let her in… or push her away. But don’t you dare act like you’re doing it for her.”

I lift my gaze back to the hallway where she disappeared.

“I don’t think Icanpush her out,” I say, barely above a whisper.

Marv claps a firm hand on my shoulder, the weight grounding.

“Then don’t.”

“She’s not ready to go back to work,” I say.

“No, she’s not,” Marv sighs. “Let’s break the news to her and then you need to take her to see her ma. I bet that will lighten her mood and bring our Sunny back to full power. Also, you do realize that she snuck outside and is sitting on your porch, right?”

“Yeah,” I say with a smile. “She’s a pain in my ass. Thanks, Dad.”

Marv pulls me into a hug, smiling.

It’s not often I call him Dad. Not because I don’t want to…it just felt weird at first. Forming that kind of connection with a man I barely knew when my first dad was such a fucking monster? It was easier to keep it atMarv.Then it just… stuck.

But it’s never been about the name. I love him just the same. He’s the best man I’ve ever known.

***Sunny***

Deciding not to listen to the overbearing alpha men in my life, I step out the back door and walk around to the front porch. I love sitting out here, just watching the traffic of bikers as they come and go. Although Riley tells me it’s nowhere near as busy as usual. Spike’s put a hold on outside visitors for a while.

I shudder at the memory of being in the war room, listening to the sound of a man’s voice playing over Foster’s phone. Spike wanted me to hear the recording. Wanted to know if it matched the voice of the man who killed Josh.

It did.

I’ll never forget that cruel, smug tone. The way he spoke, like hurting people was sport. Like life meant nothing.

Apparently, that voice belonged to Spike’s cousin, Billy.

Who, from what I understand… is no longer breathing.

Since it turns out he’s the one who drugged me and Riley, I can’t bring myself to feel bad about what happened to him.

Ishouldfeel relief. Closure, maybe.

But all I feel is cold.

The kind of cold that starts in your chest and doesn’t care how warm the sun is on your skin.

---