Ride of Ruin

The President’s Decision

The room felt too small with all four of them in it. Too warm. Too sharp. Too focused on me.

Lucien stood in front of me like a wall, his arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes burning with a fury that wasn’t aimed at me — but at the man whose name I’d spoken.

Elias Ward.

The moment I said it, something shifted in the house. A tension. A readiness. Like the Serpents had been waiting for a reason to bare their fangs.

Cole was the first to break the silence.

“We need to confirm her story,” he said, voice calm but edged. “If Elias is tied to the Vipers, this isn’t just personal. It’s strategic.”

Jax scoffed. “Strategic? Prez brought her here soaking wet and shaking. That’s not strategy. That’s instinct.”

Rhett nodded once. “He doesn’t bring people here. Ever.”

Lucien didn’t look at them. He looked at me.

“Tell me everything,” he said.

My breath caught. “I already—”

“Everything,” he repeated, voice low and unyielding. “Not just the threats. Not just the lies. What he did. What you saw. What made you run.”

My pulse hammered.

I didn’t want to say it.

I didn’t want to relive it.

I didn’t want to see their faces when they heard the truth.

But Lucien’s gaze held me in place. Not forcing. Not demanding. Just… waiting. Like he needed the truth to protect me. Like he couldn’t do his job without it.

I swallowed hard.

“He wasn’t just laundering money,” I whispered. “He was moving weapons.”

Jax’s grin vanished. “Shit.”

Cole’s eyes sharpened. “For who?”

“The Vipers,” I said. “He told me they were ‘business partners.’ I didn’t know what that meant until I saw—”

My voice broke.

Lucien stepped closer. “Saw what?”

I closed my eyes.

“The guns,” I whispered. “Crates of them. In our garage. I thought he was cheating on me, so I followed him one night. And when I confronted him… he said if I told anyone, he’d make sure I disappeared.”

Rhett cursed under his breath.

Cole stood straighter. “This is bigger than we thought.”

Jax leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “The Vipers have been sniffing around our territory for months. If Elias is their supplier—”

Lucien cut him off. “He won’t touch her again.”

The words were quiet. Deadly. A promise carved from steel.

I swallowed. “You don’t have to—”

Lucien’s eyes snapped to mine. “I do.”

Something in his tone made my chest tighten.

He wasn’t doing this because he wanted a fight.

He wasn’t doing this because of the Vipers.

He wasn’t doing this because of strategy.

He was doing it because of me.

Cole stepped closer. “We need to move her.”

My stomach dropped. “Move me?”

Rhett nodded. “If Elias is looking for you, he’ll check motels, shelters, bus stations. He’ll ask around. He’ll find out you came through town.”

Jax added, “And if he knows you’re here, he’ll come with backup.”

Lucien’s jaw flexed. “He won’t get close.”

Cole looked at him. “Prez, we need to think this through. If the Vipers are involved—”

“They are,” Lucien said.

“How do you know?” I asked.

Lucien’s gaze didn’t waver. “Because they don’t let their suppliers run. And they don’t let their secrets walk into my bar.”

My breath caught.

“You think they’re already looking for me?”

Lucien stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “I know they are.”

Fear crawled up my spine.

Jax leaned back, arms crossed. “So what’s the plan, Prez?”

Lucien didn’t hesitate.

“She stays here.”

My heart jumped. “Here? With all of you?”

Rhett nodded. “It’s the safest place in town.”

Cole added, “No one gets through our perimeter.”

Jax grinned. “Plus, we’re great company.”

Lucien shot him a look that shut him up instantly.

I swallowed. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

Lucien’s voice dropped to a growl. “You’re not.”

“But you don’t even know me.”

His eyes softened — barely, but enough to make my breath catch.

“I know you’re scared,” he said. “I know you’re running. I know someone hurt you. And I know you walked into my bar instead of anywhere else.”

I blinked. “That was an accident.”

“No,” Lucien said. “It wasn’t.”

The certainty in his tone made my stomach flip.

Cole stepped forward. “Prez, we need to set up shifts.”

Rhett nodded. “I’ll take first watch.”

Jax cracked his knuckles. “I’ll take second. I’m bored anyway.”

Lucien didn’t look away from me. “I’ll take nights.”

My pulse raced. “Why nights?”

His answer was simple.

“Because that’s when they’ll come.”

A chill ran through me.

Lucien reached out, brushing his thumb across my cheek — a gesture so gentle it felt out of place in a room full of danger.

“You’re safe here,” he said. “I promise.”

I didn’t know why I believed him.

But I did.

Cole cleared his throat. “We should show her the room.”

Lucien nodded. “Rhett.”

Rhett gestured for me to follow him.

I stood slowly, my legs shaky.

As I walked past Lucien, his fingers brushed mine — a barely‑there touch, but enough to send heat rushing through me.

“Get some rest,” he murmured. “Tomorrow, we make a plan.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

Rhett led me down the hallway, his steps quiet, his presence steady.

Behind me, I heard Jax mutter, “Prez is gone for her.”

Cole replied, “He was gone the moment she walked in.”

Lucien didn’t respond.

But I felt his gaze on my back until I turned the corner.

And for the first time since I ran, I felt something I hadn’t felt in months.

Not safety.

Not peace.

Not certainty.

Hope.