Page 9 of Tracked By Hound

I’ll protect her.

I dress in the dim light, the silence in the apartment pressing down on me. Stuck between wanting to climb into bed and hold her close, or continue to beat myself up for desiring someone I have no business wanting.

So, I choose the third option.

With a last glance at my sleeping angel, I leave the room and walk out of the apartment. The hallway is cold and empty, but I ignore the silence as I head down to the elevator. I press the button for the ground floor with no idea of where exactly I mean to go until a few minutes later, I find myself standing outside the only place open this early.

The club’s auto shop.

I stare at the entrance for long seconds, contemplating heading back to my apartment and crawling into bed with the woman I can’t seem to get out of my mind. There’s a roaring need to head back, but before I can give in to the thought, I catch some movement inside the auto shop, and I welcome the distraction.

Axel, the club’s official mechanic, spots me at the same time I do him. The man grins and waves his grease-stained hand at me. “Hound! Perfect timing. Come give me a hand with this beast.” He gestures toward a hulking motorcycle, its chrome gleaming under the bright indoor lights. He doesn’t ask what the fuck I’m doing outside the auto shop at six in the morning.

I step inside, the scent of oil and gasoline a comforting distraction. “Is that a Harley Davidson CVO Road Glide RR?” I whistle as I approach.

“She’s a beauty, alright.” Axel nods in appreciation. “Got here a few days ago. Think the fuel injectors are clogged, but it needs a few kinks straightened out.”

“Yours?”

“Yep,” he says, circling the bike. “I had to leave the warmth of my bed and the comforting arms of my woman to make time for this bike. If I spend one more morning out here, Brooke will not be happy with me.”

“Well then,” I clear my throat, trying not to think of the woman I left in my own bed as I push up the sleeves of my shirt, “how can I help?”

Axel throws a heavy wrench at my hands, and I catch it, gripping the cold metal tight as I step forward. We work on the bike in silence, falling into a quiet rhythm set by the low hum of the garage fan and the clink of metal against metal. I listen to the sounds and try to lose myself in the task, but my mind keeps drifting to Chelsea. To the way her skin felt beneath my fingers, that mouth parting…seeking mine.

Wanting me just as desperately…

“Fuck!” I curse out when the O-ring seal pops out and I fail to catch it in time. I watch it roll away from sight, cursing myself for being too distracted to pay attention to the job at hand.

Axel’s eyes flick to mine, a brief assessing glance. He must see the shadows under my eyes or the tightness in my jaw and decides to finally call it out. “Rough night?”

“Something like that,” I say, my voice rough as I go collect the seal.

“Heard you brought someone to the clubhouse.” He laughs when I turn around, my brows furrowed in surprise at the words.“Blaze told me he saw you walk into the elevator with a woman just as he was pulling into the lot.”

“There are no fucking secrets in this place!”

He laughs but doesn’t argue the point. “So, is she the reason for the rough look on your face?”

My first instinct is to shake my head and shrug off the concern. I’m not one to seek help, choosing to fight my own battles, but the Steel Rebels are the closest thing to a family I can claim. “She’s not a guest,” I start, considering carefully what to say. “Chelsea is here as collateral. Incentive for her brother to pay back the money he stole from us.”

“You kidnapped her?”

“No!”

“So she came willingly?”

“Well…” I hum, the memory of Chelsea throwing herself in front of her brother to defend him filters in. “Not exactly.”

“Hound—”

“I wanted her,” I admit, turning to him and watching with amusement at the surprise that crosses his expression. “I went there intending to get money back or make an example of the fool who dared to steal from us, and then she showed up, wanting to protect her idiot brother. She agreed to come with me if I promised to let him live and give him more time to get the money.”

I took advantage of the situation, bringing her to the clubhouse with me. Touching her when I shouldn’t have…

“Hound,” Axel says, this time reproachfully.

“She’s here to protect her brother, but Jesus, how the fuck can one person be that perfect?” I grind out, disgusted withmyself. “I’m clearly in the position of power here. Anything I do or say will probably make her feel like she’s obligated to reciprocate. And she’s so young, so fucking innocent.”

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