Page 5 of Cold as Stone
“You did the right thing coming here.” His voice is controlled, but there’s a cold and dangerous bite lurking underneath. It makes my pulse quicken. “You’ll sleep in Emma’s room tonight.”
It’s not a request.
He lets me go, and I nod, suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline is wearing off, leaving behind a bone-deep weariness.
“Go to bed, Kya.” Lee says, his voice softer. “Get some rest.”
I stand on shaking legs, Lee’s clothes swallowing me. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For helping me. For not… for not turning me away.”
A strange look flickers across his face. “Kya,” he says, and my name sounds different in his mouth now. Careful. Important. “You never have to thank me for keeping you safe. Ever.”
The weight of his words settles over me like a blanket, and I have to blink back sudden tears. When was the last time someone said something like that to me? When was the last time someone looked at me like I mattered?
I turn, making my way back up the stairs before I do something stupid like cry.
Emma’s room is exactly as she left it before she moved to New York. The walls are still painted pale pink, with dance posters covering nearly every surface. Her desk is cluttered with old schoolbooks and jewelry, a thin layer of dust coating everything like snow.
It’s a time capsule to a girl who’s now living her dream as a principal ballerina with the National Dance Academy.
I crawl into her twin bed, pulling her lavender comforter up to my chin. I close my eyes and try to pretend, just for a moment, that she’s still here. That we’re still those innocent girls who believed in forever friendships and happy endings.
But then I hear the front door slam, followed by the rumble of motorcycle engines roaring to life. Multiple bikes, from the sound of it. I slip out of bed and tiptoe to the window, pushing aside the sheer curtains just enough to peek out.
Lee strides across the front yard toward his bike, three other men flanking him. Another two men are already on their bikes, waiting.
Even in the dim streetlight, I can see the tension in Lee’s shoulders, the way his hands are clenched into fists. He swings a leg over his Harley and kicks it to life, the engine’s growl echoing through the quiet neighborhood. Before he can pull away, his gaze lifts to Emma’s bedroom window.
My heart skips as our eyes meet across the darkness. His expression is serious, lethal, filled with a promise I don’t fully understand but feel in my bones. Even from this distance, I can see the controlled fury radiating from him, the deadly intent written in every line of his posture.
I don’t know for certain that he can see me until he jerks his chin up, offering me a half-smile. Then he revs the engine once more and disappears into the night with the others, leaving me standing at the window with my heart hammering against my ribs.
They disappear into the night, and I know—somehow, I know—exactly where they’re going.
I should feel guilty. I should be worried about what they might do to Rick, what kind of trouble this could cause. But all I feel is a strange, warm satisfaction in my chest. Someone cares enough to do something. Someone thinks I’m worth protecting.
Time moves strangely after that. I drift in and out of a restless doze, my mind churning with everything that’s happened. Every time I close my eyes, I see Rick’s face, feel the sharp crack of his hand on my face. But then Lee’s voice is there, soothing steady and sure.
You’re safe.
I’m not sure how long they’re gone, but I jolt awake when I hear the front door open again. I listen to heavy footsteps on the stairs, knowing it’s Lee. I slip out of bed and crack open Emma’s door, peering into the hallway.
Lee stands at his bedroom door, his back to me. His cut is gone, replaced by a simple black T-shirt that clings to the broad expanse of his shoulders. But it’s his hands that catchmy attention—his knuckles are raw and swollen, streaked with blood that looks dark in the dim light.
He must sense me watching because he turns, and our eyes meet across the hallway. For a moment, neither of us speaks. The coldness in his expression should scare me, but it doesn’t.
“Is he gone?”
Lee nods once. “You’re now club property, Kya. You’re under the protection of Stoneheart MC.”
“What does that mean?” I whisper.
His smile is sharp, all teeth and shadows. “It means you’ll never be unsafe again, Kya. Anyone who even thinks about hurting you will have to answer to us. To me.”
A voice calls softly from behind him—feminine, sleepy. “Babe? You coming to bed?”
A woman appears in his doorway, barefoot and wearing nothing but one of his T-shirts. She’s beautiful in that effortless way some women are, with long blonde hair and legs that go on for miles. She exactly the kind of woman I’d expect him to have in his bed.
The sight of her hits me harder than it should. Of course he has a girlfriend. Of course someone like Lee wouldn’t be alone. I’m such an idiot for even?—
