Page 107 of Hidden

At nineteen, Dante and Laura were already old lady and old man. Officially. And it was something Dante had rebelled against ever since.

I heard something crash behind us, and cringed further into Luke’s side. Crash had interrupted us to call a Church meeting, and since it was delayed, the rest of the club were wasting no time getting pissed in the bar that was attached to the house.

It was a scary reminder just how close we were to the rest of Luke’s brothers, and how easily we could be exposed.

Crash sighed heavily, bringing my attention back to him.

“You belong here, Luke. I’m not letting you leave. And if you attempt to, you’ll leave me with no choice but to declare you a traitor.”

I smothered a gasp, and Luke stiffened next to me.

Club traitors were killed on sight. They were considered only one step up from club rats. There was no coming back from that.

No one—and I truly mean no one—was declared a club traitor without just cause, and it was something that was done with great reluctance. No leader wanted to kill one of their brothers.

I swallowed heavily. Crash must really hate us to be willing to let it go that far.

“Crash—” Dante started, but Luke beat him to it.

“Do what you must. But I’m not leaving her. I love her.”

And there it was. His ultimate declaration. We weren’t screwing around for the fun of it, reckless and careless.

“And you?” he barked at me, making me cringe.

“Don’t speak to her. You direct what you need to at me,” Luke snapped back, gently pushing me ever so slightly behind him.

“Do you love him?” Crash asked, ignoring him, but he did soften his tone.

“Yes, sir. Utterly and completely,” I replied.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, running a hand over his stubble as he straightened to his full height. “You know what you’re both risking, don’t you?”

“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” Luke muttered sarcastically.

“I’m not talking about me, you fucking idiot!” he roared, and I shrank back once more. “I’m talking about her, and her psychotic club. I might kick you out, but I’d at least do so with a day’s head-start before I sent enforcers after the traitors! Her club—her father and her brother especially—will gut you where you stand and wear your skin as a trophy!”

Lovely visual. Exactly what I needed when my stomach was already lurching.

“Don’t you think I fucking know that?” Luke barked back. “Don’t you think I kept her at arm’s length for as long as I could? Don’t you think I’ve stayed awake, night after night, terrified that she wasn’t going to return to me the next day, that her dad had found out and done something stupid? Believe me, Crash, I fuckingknow all of this.”

“You had it all, Luke! I know how important this was to you. And you had it. You earned your respect, you earned your patch… and you’re throwing it all away.”

“With all due respect,” Dante intervened. “Something like this isn’t solely your decision to make. We go to a club majority, just like always. He has my vote. Chris and Trent will surely agree. Just how confident are you that you can cast him out?”

“I’m not going to cast him out,” Crash muttered, turning his back on us and taking a few deep breaths. For the first time that night, a small flicker of hope sparked inside me.

“I’m not happy, kids. I’m really not fucking happy. But,” he paused, and the word had never felt so heavy. Our entire fates resting on that one ‘but’.

He sighed heavily and pulled the chair out angrily, throwing himself into it and grabbing his smokes. We waited silently as he sparked one up and took a deep inhale.

“I’m not willing to lose you, Luke. And it’s not because of what you do for this club—which is a lot. And it’s not because you’d be a deep loss as an asset for us—which you would be. It’s because I consider you one of my own. I love you just as much as my own sons.”

Luke shuddered under my touch, and I knew this was everything he had been waiting to hear and more.

“And, believe it or not, I don’t want you,” Crash said, glaring at me. “In any harm's way. If my Luke says he loves you, then… he loves you,” he sighed again, something that was becoming a bit of a habit. “I know if I try to put a stop to this, it’s only going to make you sneak around even more. You’re both adults, and from what I’ve seen, you’re both clearly fucking like rabbits. I don’t want you in the cold, all exposed where others can see you.”

“So, what are you saying?” Dante asked as Luke’s hold on my hand tightened.