Page 31 of Lillith
“Guess I’m the guest of honor,” he muttered under his breath.
“Or the problem,” Ember shot back quietly. He followed her and Lillith into the church. The place looked nothing like the last time he’d seen it. The church was still rough, and parts of it were still under construction. But the place felt more alive now—as though it had a purpose. Chairs were dragged together, and a table was set up as if they were holding meetings here. It looked more like a clubhouse and less like a church.
Ember took her position near the center of the room. Not by accident. Everyone else fell in naturally, and that told him everything he needed to know. She was in charge—there was no question about that.
“All right,” she said, arms crossing over her chest. “Let’s skip the small talk.” Her eyes locked on him. “You brought trouble to my door and to my family.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement. Tank didn’t flinch because he was well aware of what he had brought into Lillith’s life.
“Yeah,” he breathed. A few of the women shifted, and Ember nodded.
“Then you’re gonna explain exactly what kind of danger you brought here,” she insisted. Silence settled in the room, and all eyes were on him. Lillith was quiet beside him now—watching and waiting for him to start talking. She was trusting him not to screw this up.
Tank exhaled slowly. “No names,” he said.
“Not how this works,” Ember replied.
“It is if you want me to keep your people out of it,” he shot back.
Ember tilted her head slightly. “You don’t get to walk in here and make rules.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I’m telling you how this stays contained.”
“Try me,” she said. Tank glanced around the room, taking them all in. Then, he looked back at Ember.
“They are organized crime,” he said. “These guys are well-funded, not street-level scum. They aren’t sloppy.”
“That narrows it down to what? Half the country?” one of the women muttered.
“Less,” Tank said. “Because they don’t leave witnesses.” He needed the Royal Harlots to understand exactly what they were stepping into. “They already made a move on her,” he added, nodding slightly toward Lillith. That shifted the energy in the room because now it wasn’t just his problem. Now it was theirs, because Lillith was one of them.
Ember’s eyes darkened. “They made the wrong move trying to take my sister,” she said quietly.
“They won’t stop,” Tank continued. “Not until I’m out of the picture.”
“Or you’re gone,” another woman added. Tank didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. They all knew the truth.
Ember studied him for a long second. “You planning on running again?” Tank’s jaw tightened. It was his instinct to run. He always ran, but then he glanced at Lillith—at the way that she stood there watching him. She was in this mess because of him, but she trusted him to keep her safe, and that had changed everything. He didn’t want to run anymore because he finally had something to stick around for—or in this case, someone.
“No,” he said. The word came out before he could second-guess it—before he could do what he always did. Everything shifted, and Lillith closed the distance between them and reached for his hand. Ember didn’t smile, but something in her expression changed.
“Good,” she said. Then she pushed off the table to stand in front of him. “Because neither are we.” That got a reaction from the room, followed by a couple of nods.
A low “finally” from somewhere in the back rang out, and Tank’s gaze sharpened.
“You don’t know what you’re signing up for,” he said. Ember stepped closer. She was standing close enough to make her point without raising her voice.
“Yeah,” she said. “We do. You came to the wrong clubhouse if you think we scare easily.” Tank held her gaze, and for the first time since this started, he noticed that this wasn’t just a group of women playing at something. This was a club—a real one, and now, they were in this mess with him. All of them were in danger now because of him.
“All right,” he said slowly. Another line was crossed, and another decision was made. “Then we do this right.”
Ember nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “We do.” Tank wasn’t sure how he was going to keep Lillith safe, but now, he didn’t have to worry about that alone. He had the Royal Harlots behind him, and she’d never be alone again.
LILLITH
Tank had convinced her to stay with him at a little safe house that the Royal Bastards provided him. He had met the guys, and they all seemed to hit it off. She had to admit that having family and friends in their corner seemed to change Tank in some way. He seemed less stressed out and was more himself. Sure, he was still bossy as hell, but she was seeing a whole new side to Tank, and she liked it.
They were going into the Royal Harlot’s clubhouse to talk to Ember, and something about the day felt off to her. Lillith couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she felt as though something was about to happen—something bad.
She got out of Tank’s truck when they got to the church, and her gut felt as though it did a little flip-flop inside her. Everything happened so quickly, she didn’t have time to think. One second, they were walking inside the clubhouse—planning, and trying to figure out what the hell they were going to do next. And then, everything went to hell. Lillith didn’t even realize what she was hearing at first. She thought it was a car, and maybe a second one, but all she heard was engines. There were toomany, and they were very loud. Tank went still beside her, like something inside him flipped.
