“I’m not gonna hurt her,” I say. “I swear to you, on everything I hold sacred, I willneverhurt her.”
“You already have,” Maverick says quietly. “The second you crossed that line, you put her in danger. The club’s at war, Phoenix. We’ve got enemies who would lovenothingmore than to get their hands on someone I care about. And now she’s an even bigger target because two people would lay down their lives for her.”
The weight of his words hits me like a sledgehammer.
He’s right.
By falling for Clover, by letting this happen, I’ve made her a bigger target.
I’ve given our enemies another weapon to use against the club.
Againsthim.
Againstme.
“Mav,” Clover says, her voice shaking. “Don’t blame Phoenix. This is as much my choice as his.”
“You’re nineteen, Clover. You don’t understand—”
“I understand plenty,” she interrupts, her voice getting stronger. “I understand that I’m tired of everyone else deciding what’s best for me. I understand that Phoenix makes me happy in a way I’veneverbeen happy before. I understand that love doesn’t follow anyone else’s timeline or rules.”
“Love?”Maverick’s voice is strangled. “Clover, you don’t even know what love is.”
“Yes, I do,” she says firmly. “And I knowthisis it.”
The silence stretches again, thick with tension and unspoken consequences.
“We’ll deal with this when you get home,” Maverick finally says, his voice flat and cold. “Both of you. We’ll figure out whatthe hell we’re going to do about this mess.”
“Mav—” Clover starts.
“I’m done talking about this,” he cuts her off. “I need time to think. Just… just stay safe. Both of you. And Phoenix?”
“Yeah?”
“If you hurt her, if you break her heart, if you so much as make her cry… brother or not, I will end you. Do. You. Understand. Me?”
“Understood,” I reply.
“Good.”
The line goes dead.
Clover and I sit in the silence, the weight of what just happened settling over us like a heavy blanket. The wedding rings on our fingers suddenly feel a lot heavier, and the reality of what we’ve done is a lot more complicated.
“Well,” Clover finally says, her voice small. “That went better than expected.”
I look at her as if she’s lost her mind. “Better than expected? We only just told him we’re together. How do you think he’s going to react to the actual marriage part?”
“He didn’t disown me,” she points out. “And he didn’t order you to stay away from me. Trust me, for Maverick, that was restrained. We’re just warming him up.”
I run both hands through my hair, the adrenaline crash hitting me hard. “Fuck. I should have handled that better. Should have eased him into it instead of just dropping it on him like that.”
“Hey,” Clover says, moving closer and cupping my face in her hands. “You were protecting us. Protecting what we have. That took courage.”
“Did it? Or did I just make everything ten times harder for you?”
“Phoenix,” she says firmly. “Look at me.”
