RIDE OR RUIN

BEHIND THE GATES

"Back it up," Jaxon said. "Now."

Colt already had the truck in reverse, tires screaming against the pavement, but the two bikes behind them had closed the gap fast, cutting off the only way out.

"We're boxed in," Colt said. "Jax, talk to me."

"Left. There's an alley behind the hardware store, wide enough for the truck."

"That's not on any route we planned."

"That's the point." Jaxon's voice stayed level even as his hand found the door handle, ready to move the second the truck stopped moving. "They mapped our planned routes. They didn't map the ones I only use when things go wrong."

Colt swung the wheel hard, and the truck jolted sideways into a narrow gap between buildings that Lena would've sworn wasn't wide enough. Noah yelped, thrown against her side, and she wrapped both arms around him, bracing for an impact that never came.

"Clear," Colt said, breathless. "We're clear."

"Don't slow down. Get us to the gates."

Lena's whole body was shaking now, adrenaline finally catching up to her, and she pressed her lips to the top of Noah's head just to feel something steady against her mouth.

"You okay, baby?"

Noah nodded against her chest, too scared to speak, and that silence cut deeper than any scream could have.

The truck screeched around a final corner and the clubhouse came into view. A converted warehouse, chain link fence topped with razor wire, floodlights blazing despite the daylight. Two prospects were already hauling the gate open, waving them through with wide, urgent gestures.

The second the truck cleared the gate, someone slammed it shut behind them with a clang that echoed off brick.

Jaxon was out of the truck before it fully stopped, yanking open the back door. "Give him to me."

"I've got him."

"Lena. Please." His voice cracked on the word, all the command gone out of it. "Let me carry him inside. Let me do this one thing."

She didn't know why she handed Noah over. Maybe it was the c***k in his voice. Maybe it was five years of carrying everything alone finally catching up to her arms. Either way, she watched Jaxon fold their son against his chest like something breakable, one hand cradling the back of his small head, and something in her own chest twisted painfully at the sight.

"Inside," Jaxon said. "Now."

They burst through the clubhouse doors into a room that smelled like motor oil and leather. Pool tables shoved against one wall. A long bar against another. A dozen members already on their feet, weapons appearing from waistbands with practiced speed.

"Lock it down," Jaxon barked. "Nobody in or out."

"On it, Prez." A woman with a shaved head moved fast toward a bank of monitors, flipping switches. Steel shutters ground down over every window.

Noah had gone completely silent in Jaxon's arms, eyes wide, small body trembling.

"Hey." Jaxon's voice dropped, gentle in a way that startled Lena, crouching to set Noah down while keeping both hands braced on his shoulders. "You're safe. I promise you that."

"There were guns," Noah whispered.

"I know, buddy. I know. But nobody's getting through that door. Not while I'm standing here."

Lena watched her son search Jaxon's face for the lie, the way kids always did, and watched him find none. Noah's small shoulders loosened, just slightly, enough that he leaned into Jaxon instead of pulling away.

"I'm Rosa," the shaved head woman said, appearing at Lena's elbow with a water bottle. "Sergeant at arms. You look like you're about to fall over."

"I'm fine."

"You're not. Nobody's fine their first day inside these walls." Rosa's eyes flicked toward Jaxon, still crouched with Noah, murmuring something too low to hear. "Never seen him like this before. Not in five years."

"Don't read into it."

"Wasn't trying to." Rosa shrugged, but her eyes stayed thoughtful as she moved off toward the shuttered windows.

Colt appeared in the doorway, breathing hard, a phone in his gloved hand. "Found this near the alley. One of the shooters must've dropped it."

"Bring it to my office."

"Jax." Colt's voice went quiet, careful. "There's a name in the recent messages you're gonna want to see."

Jaxon straightened slowly, and whatever calm he'd found kneeling in front of Noah drained right back out of him.

"How bad."

"Bad enough that it's somebody who slept under this roof last night."