Page 7 of Brick’s Anchor

Eden's probably already organizing. She does that, takes charge of situations like she was born for them. Canvas will be up despite his injury because he won't let Eden handle this alone. The whole club will mobilize to take care of these women because that's what we do. That's who we are.

And then we'll figure out how to burn the Vipers to the ground for what they did.

The rage is always there, right under my skin. Controlled most of the time but never gone. Tonight it's closer to the surface than usual. I want to go back to that warehouse. Want to find every man who put those women in cages and make them understand exactly what they've done. Want to take my time with it, make it last, make them beg.

That's the dark side of me. The part that thrives on violence. The part I learned to channel in the military but never learned to kill. It's useful most of the time. Makes me good at what I do, makes me the kind of enforcer every MC needs. But sometimes it's too much. Sometimes I worry that the darkness will swallow everything else and I'll become exactly what my brothers became, men who let violence define them completely until there was nothing left inside worth saving.

Judge leans forward slightly. "How are you all doing?" he asks the group. His voice is gentle in a way that surprises people who don't know him.

Nobody answers.

"I know you don't trust us," he continues. "I know you have no reason to. But I need you to understand something. The Iron Phoenix MC isn't like the Vipers. We don't traffic. We don't hurt women. We don't lock people in cages. We're at war with them specifically because of shit like what you just went through. You're safe with us. I know that's hard to believe right now, but it's true."

"Why should we believe you?" the blonde girl asks. Her voice is hoarse but steadier now. Stronger than I expected.

"Because we just risked our lives to get you out," Judge says simply. "And we're about to risk them again by bringing you to our clubhouse, giving you our protection, painting targets on our backs for the Vipers to aim at. We don't get anything out of this except doing what's right. That's it. That's the whole reason."

The dark-haired girl who's been whispering to the blonde speaks up. "What happens to us after tonight?"

"That's up to you," Judge tells her. "We'll help you contact family if you want. Help you disappear if you don't. Get you medical care, legal help, whatever you need. But that's your choice. All of it. You're not prisoners here. You're under protection."

"For how long?" This from one of the other girls, voice barely above a whisper.

"As long as you need."

The girl beside me shifts. "What if we want to leave?"

Judge meets her eyes. "Then you leave. We'll make sure you're safe, set you up somewhere the Vipers can't find you, but we won't force you to stay. Your life is yours. We're just offering help while you figure out what comes next."

She doesn't respond. Just goes back to staring out the window, my cut wrapped tight around her shoulders.

Saint takes a turn. We're five minutes out now. I can feel the proximity to home, to safety, to the place where we can finally stop being on high alert for thirty seconds. The clubhouse is locked down, and Canvas and Wraith are on watch.

Phoenix's voice comes through the radio again.

"ETA three minutes. Canvas, we're incoming with six civilians. Female. All need medical attention and care. Eden ready?"

Canvas's response crackles back. "She's been ready for an hour. Got the common room set up like a triage center. Food's hot. Showers are prepped. Medical supplies staged."

"Copy that."

The girl beside me is shaking again. Harder now, like the closer we get to safety, the more her body realizes it can finally break down. I watch her hands tighten in the leather, watch her press her forehead against the window, watch her count breaths like each one is a battle she has to win.

"We're almost there," I say, and I’m not sure if I'm talking to her or myself.

She doesn't acknowledge that I spoke.

The clubhouse comes into view. All the lights are on, making it look like a beacon in the darkness. The gates are already open. Saint pulls through and the other two vehicles follow. We park in formation near the entrance.

Phoenix is out of the lead vehicle before it's fully stopped. Canvas emerges from the clubhouse, Eden right behind him. She's wearing scrubs and her hair is pulled back, looking every inch the trauma nurse she is. Nora follows with blankets. Ivy carries bags of what looks like clothes.

Judge opens his door. "Take your time," he tells the women. "Nobody's rushing you."

They don't move.

I look at the girl beside me. At the way she's holding herself together through sheer force of will. At the bruise on her jaw that makes me want to commit murder. At the way my cut makes her look even smaller than she is.

"You made it," I say. "You survived. Now comes the easiest part."