جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

~ TESSA~ It was the morning before the Hellfire MC Charity Event. I stood in front of the mirror, holding up two dresses — one red, one champagne. Both were new, both gifts from Ryder. He’d said, “Pick whichever makes you feel like you own the damn room.” I smiled at the memory, setting the red one aside. The champagne dress shimmered when I moved, catching the light like soft fire. It was elegant and simple, the kind of beauty that whispered instead of shouted. Tonight was the Hellfire MC’s charity event — the first time I’d be seen publicly with Ryder since everything had happened. I wanted to look like I belonged beside him, not as the broken girl he’d saved, but as the woman who’d survived. The woman who loved him. But I had to look good for the breakfast session too. I slipped the dress over my head, smoothing the fabric against my hips. The satin felt cool on my skin. The zipper was halfway up when I heard his voice behind me. “Need a hand, Angel?” I turne

~TESSA~ The bass from the speakers hit like thunder, vibrating through the ground beneath my heels The air was quite... thick with smoke, leather, and gasoline... a cocktail that screamed biker territory. Engines roared from the back lot where the latecomers were still pulling in, headlights slicing through the dark. I was having a good time. Yet, I couldn't keep my eyes off my prince charming. Ryder’s arm was warm around my waist, solid and steady. His cut brushed against my bare arm as we moved through the chaos of sound and laughter and clinking bottles. Everywhere I looked, there were patches... rival MCs, support crews, women in boots and lace, tattoos inked across skin like stories that never ended. It was wild. Loud. Dangerous. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t afraid. People turned when we walked in... not because of Ryder’s name (though that carried weight here), but because of the way his hand stayed on me, possessive yet gentle, like I was his ancho

~Ryder~ The party was alive... loud engines still cooling outside, the smell of gasoline mixing with whiskey and perfume. Music thumped through the floorboards, and everywhere I looked, someone was laughing too loud, drinking too fast, pretending life wasn’t one long road to chaos. Tessa stood across the room, sunlight in a black dress. Every man who looked at her forgot whatever woman he came with. And that... that did things to me. She was talking to Duke and a few others, laughing at something he said, her hand brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. I couldn’t stop watching her — like some part of me needed to make sure she was still there, still breathing, still mine. That was before the waiter showed up. “Champagne, sir?” he said, tray shaking a little from the crowd bumping around us. I glanced at the glass... gold bubbles rising slow, catching the light. I wasn’t in the mood for anything fancy, but it’d be rude to ignore the man, so I grabbed it. “Thanks,” I mu

~Raven~ I stayed until the last of them left... until the music died down and the crowd thinned to a few stubborn night-owls nursing the dregs of whiskey... until Ryder and Tessa disappeared into the back of a car like they belonged to each other and the whole world could burn around them. Cassie grabbed my arm as I hit the door... “You coming?” she asked, breathless, cheeks flushed from too much vodka and too little sleep... “Crash at mine. We’ll stitch the world back together in the morning.” I laughed, a tight sound that didn’t reach my eyes... “Yeah. Good idea.” Her little apartment smelled of takeout and too-strong coffee when we crashed into it... we didn’t bother with anything quiet. Cassie left the kettle on and the TV muttering old sitcoms as background noise... I sat with the vial still in my palm, the glass cold and heavier than it had any right to feel. I watched the video again on my phone... the clip Cassie somehow grabbed from a friend who had been filming at

~TESSA~ Dinner was chaos pretending to be calm. Everyone sat around the long oak table in the clubhouse’s main room, forks scraping, glasses clinking, voices quiet but strained. No one mentioned what had happened earlier with the poisoned juice. No one had to. The silence told the story loud enough. I sat beside Ryder, my hand resting near his, though he hadn’t said much since pulling me away from that drink. His jaw was locked, his eyes shadowed — like he was holding something dangerous inside, and if anyone pushed, it would explode. Across from us, Raven picked at her food like she didn’t have a care in the world. Perfect hair, perfect smile… poison behind both. I couldn’t eat. My stomach was still twisting with the memory of how close I’d come to swallowing that drink — to dying because of her. Ryder suddenly dropped his fork with a metallic clatter. Everyone jumped. He leaned back in his chair, slow, deliberate, his voice cutting through the quiet. “Alright… I’ve h