Chapter 6 Clubhouse

Sarah

The clubhouse was nothing like I had expected.

I had pictured something dark and dangerous, a place filled with men who looked at women like they were property and solved their problems with their fists. Instead, I found a sprawling compound on the edge of town, surrounded by a chain-link fence and guarded by men who nodded at Knox as we passed through the gate.

The main building was larger than I had imagined, a converted warehouse with a wide garage door and a series of smaller rooms attached to the back. Inside, the common area was surprisingly clean, with worn leather couches arranged around a large television, a kitchen that smelled like coffee and bacon, and a pool table in the corner that looked like it had seen better days.

"Not what you expected?" Knox asked, watching my expression as I took it all in.

"I didn't know what to expect," I admitted. "I've never been inside a motorcycle club before."

"Most people haven't." He gestured toward the hallway on the left. "The rooms are back there. You and Aiden can take the one at the end. It's the largest, and it has its own bathroom."

I nodded, adjusting Aiden on my hip. He had been quiet since we arrived, his small face pressed against my shoulder, his eyes wide as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Thank you," I said. "For all of this."

Knox didn't respond. He just turned and walked toward a group of men who had gathered near the pool table, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the room with my son in my arms.

I made my way down the hallway, passing several closed doors before reaching the one at the end. The room was small but comfortable, with a double bed, a dresser, and a window that looked out onto the parking lot. It wasn't much, but it was safe. That was all that mattered.

I set Aiden down on the bed and sat beside him, suddenly exhausted. I hadn't slept more than a few hours in the past two days, and the weight of everything that had happened was pressing down on me like a physical force.

"Mommy?" Aiden's small voice broke through my thoughts. "Are we staying here?"

"For a little while," I said, forcing a smile. "It's going to be an adventure. You'll see."

He seemed satisfied with that answer and climbed off the bed to explore the room. I watched him, my heart aching with a love so fierce it almost hurt.

A knock at the door made me tense, but it was only Damon. He stood in the doorway with a duffel bag in his hand, his expression neutral.

"Knox wanted me to bring you this," he said, setting the bag on the floor. "Clothes for you and the kid. Some toys and books for him. It's not much, but it should help."

"Thank you," I said, genuinely grateful. "I didn't have time to pack much when we left."

"So I heard." Damon leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. "You want to tell me what's really going on here?"

I blinked, caught off guard by the question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Knox is a lot of things, but he's not stupid. He knows something's not right about your story. And I've known him long enough to know that when he gets that look in his eye, it means he's not going to let it go until he finds out the truth."

I looked away, my gaze fixed on Aiden, who was now sitting on the floor, flipping through a picture book he had pulled from the duffel bag.

"I don't know what you want me to say," I said carefully. "I've told him everything he needs to know."

"Have you?" Damon's voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're hiding something. And whatever it is, it's putting my brother in danger."

I met his eyes, and for a moment, I considered telling him the truth. But the words wouldn't come. The secret was too big, too dangerous, too deeply buried.

"I'm not trying to hurt anyone," I said finally. "I just want to keep my son safe."

Damon stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he nodded, pushed himself off the doorframe, and walked away without another word. 

Knox

I stood in the common area, watching the men who had gathered around the pool table. They were talking, laughing, playing cards, but I could feel the tension in the room. They knew something was happening, that there was a threat looming on the horizon, but they didn't know the details.

And that was exactly how I wanted it.

"Any word from Phoenix?" I asked Damon as he joined me.

"Not yet." He shook his head. "My contact is still working on it. He said he'll have something by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow might be too late." I glanced toward the hallway where Sarah had disappeared. "Marcus is escalating. We need to find him before he makes his next move."

"What about the woman?" Damon asked. "You think she's telling the truth about this Michael guy?"

I didn't answer right away. I had been asking myself the same question all night, turning it over in my mind like a puzzle I couldn't solve.

"There's something she's not telling me," I said finally. "Something about the boy. I can feel it."

"You think he's yours?"

The question hung in the air between us, heavy and impossible. I had considered it, more than once. The timing, the way she looked at Aiden, the way she refused to meet my eyes whenever I asked about his father—it all pointed to something I wasn't sure I was ready to face.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I'm going to find out."

Damon nodded slowly. "And if he is?"

I thought about Aiden, about his dark hair and his green eyes and the way he had looked up at me with that curious, trusting gaze. I thought about the three years I had lost, the first steps I had missed, the words I would never hear.

"Then she's going to have a lot of explaining to do," I said.