Page 23 of King's Claim
By the time she reached her apartment, exhaustion had set in.The old building loomed, paint peeling and lights flickering in the hallway.She hauled her duffel up the stairs, every step echoing in the silence.
Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and let out a shaky breath.The small space smelled faintly of dust and stale coffee.It wasn’t much.It held a couch, a tiny kitchenette, and a bedroom barely big enough for her bed, but it was home.
Dropping her bag on the couch, Lena sank down beside it.For the first time since storming out, she let herself feel the full weight of everything.Anger, hurt and longing.
She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, willing the tears back.Lena wouldn’t cry over him.She couldn’t, but her heart didn’t listen.
Images of her mother in the hospital bed flashed through her mind.King had paid the bills.He hadn’t asked for thanks, hadn’t even admitted it, but she knew.The man who claimed he was nothing but a monster had given her mother another month of life, of treatment.
How could the same man who held her so reverently, who saved her without hesitation, who took care of her mom behind the scenes be the same man who told her she was a mistake?
It didn’t make sense and maybe that was what scared her most of all.Because despite everything, despite her fury and her pride, she wanted him.
She wanted him in ways she couldn’t afford to.
Lena drew a sharp breath, standing and moving to the small window that overlooked the street.The town moved on outside, oblivious to the storm twisting inside her.
She wrapped her arms around herself, holding tight.
Fine.If King thought she was a mistake, she’d prove she could survive without him.She’d take care of herself, take care of her mom, and keep her head down.Heck, Lena had done it before, and she could do it again.
Deep down, though, Lena couldn’t shake the truth she didn’t want to admit.She already belonged to him, whether he wanted her or not.
****
King noticed the silencefirst.
The Devil’s Crown clubhouse always had a pulse.Engines rumbling, brothers laughing, women shrieking with tipsy joy.However, this morning, it was different.Quieter somehow, like the air had shifted and left something hollow in its wake.
He felt it in his bones before he even opened the office door.
Lena’s scent lingered faintly.Soap, coffee, something soft that didn’t belong in a den of wolves like this.But the room itself was empty.The blanket they’d tangled themselves in was folded on the couch, her bag gone, no trace of her except the ghost of heat on his skin.
She was gone.
King stood there a long time, staring at the space she’d filled, the crack she’d left behind.He told himself it was for the best.She wasn’t cut out for this world, and he’d never been cut out for hers.
He’d warned himself last night was dangerous.A weakness.And sure enough, come morning, she’d walked.
Good.He should be relieved, except deep down, he really wasn’t.The clubhouse felt colder than it had in years.
By noon, King was nearly drowning in regret.King was in the garage, sleeves rolled up, grease under his nails.The steady work of tearing down an engine was usually enough to clear his head, but not today.He heard her voice in every turn of the wrench, saw her eyes in every reflection of chrome.
“You’re scared.”
Her words haunted him.She’d said them like a challenge, like a truth he couldn’t outrun.
Hell, maybe she was right.He wasn’t scared of blood or bullets, but her?Lena had the power to strip him bare, to make him remember he was more than the monster people saw.That was more dangerous than any enemy.
The sound of heavy boots interrupted his thoughts.Viper leaned against the doorframe, his sharp eyes missing nothing.
“She’s gone,” King said without looking up.
Viper raised a brow.King grunted and told Viper what happened.
“You expected her to stick around after the way you bit her head off?”Viper asked.
King’s jaw tightened.“She’s better off out of here,” King grumbled.
