Page 21 of Tank
I meet his gaze, my heart thudding. “You didn’t have to save me. Why did you?”
Tank doesn’t answer right away, just looks at me like he’s trying to figure me out. “Told you, kid. I protect what’s mine.”
The words hit hard, stirring something deep in me.
I want to be his, want to belong to him, but the knife in my boot and my father’s voice in my head are screaming otherwise. I finish bandaging his arm, my fingers brushing his skin, and he catches my wrist, holding it tight. His touch is firm, possessive, and it sends a shiver down my spine.
“Careful, Rocco,” Tank says, his voice a growl. “You’re making it real hard to keep this professional.”
I smirk, trying to hide the way my pulse races. “Maybe I don’t want professional, Daddy.”
Tank’s eyes darken, and for a second, I think he’s gonna pull me closer, kiss me, something. But Clay’s voice cuts through the moment, calling me over. I step back, my wrist tingling where Tank touched me, and head to the table where Clay’s sitting, his broad frame filling the chair.
“Rocco,” Clay says, his voice like gravel. “Heard you held your own tonight. Not bad for a prospect. You keep that up, you could have a future with the Wolf Riders.”
I nod, my throat tight. “Thanks, boss. I’m all in.”
Clay studies me, his eyes sharp, like he sees more than I want him to. “Good. We need loyal men. Don’t fuck it up.”
I head back to the bar, Clay’s words echoing in my head. ]
A future with the Wolf Riders…
I’ve got their trust, which will make it easier to kill Tank, just like the plan. But I’m starting to feel like I belong here, with these rough, loyal men, with Tank watching my back. And that’s the problem…
I’m not here to belong. I’m here to betray.
Later, at my shitty motel room, I’m sprawled on the bed, the neon sign buzzing outside. My phone rings, and I know who it is before I answer…
Pop.
His voice is slurred, angry, the way it always is.
“Rocco, you done it yet?” my father splutters. “Tank’s still breathing, ain’t he?”
I swallow, my stomach churning. “I’m working on it, Pop. It’s not that simple.”
“Not simple?” he snaps, his voice rising. “You’re in there, aren’t you? You got his trust now. Do it, boy. Kill him. Or I’m sending men who will. You hear me? You don’t get this done, you’re no son of mine. And I don’t like traitors. You know that.”
“I know, of course I’m going to do it,” I say. “It’s just…”
“Justnothing,” my father says, his voice full of venom. “You’re Fury blood. And if you do this, we could even bring the club back. How it used to be. And you could make a play for leader. Just like how I was always destined to be. No more talk. No more time. Do you’re fucking job and make things right for me, for our family, and for The Fury.”
The line goes dead, and I stare at the phone, my hands shaking.
His words are a chain, tightening around my neck.
I think of Tank, his arm bleeding for me, his voice calling me “kid,” his hands promising safety.
I’m supposed to end him, but all I can feel is the pull to him, the need to be his.
I’m fucked, caught between a father I can’t betray and a man I can’t stop wanting…
Chapter 7
Tank
It’s Saturday night, and the clubhouse is too loud, too crowded, for the kind of talk I need to have with Rocco. The kid’s been a prospect for a week now, scrubbing bikes and running errands like he’s trying to prove something, but those green eyes and that cocky smirk are still hiding secrets…
