98 parts Ongoing MatureWhen I was 14, my best friend, Declan, rushed into my life like a storm. He climbed through my window one night, carrying a duffel bag full of baseball equipment, but it wasn't for a game. It was for me. He'd seen the bruises, heard the shouting, and knew what my dad had been doing. Declan, smaller than me even at that age, fought my father to protect me, taking the blows that I couldn't fight off. That night, my dad moved us away, and I never saw Declan again.
Now, 13 years later, I'm back in town-older, tougher, and a lot more guarded-but I have no idea where Declan ended up. Life pulled us in different directions, and mine was full of scars, seen and unseen. Then, one night at a red light, a guy starts harassing me through my open window. Before I can react, a motorcycle screeches to a stop beside me. The rider-tattooed, broad-shouldered, and completely lethal-reaches through the guy's window, slams his head into the steering wheel, and rides off like it was just another Thursday.
I follow him.
He ends up at a place called The Rusted Anchor, a rough bar on the edge of town, hidden behind rusted fences and rows of bikes. The crowd is loud and rough, but I've seen worse. Inside, it smells like whiskey, smoke, and danger. And behind the bar, pouring drinks with practiced ease, is the man I thought I lost all those years ago-Declan.
He's no longer the quiet, skinny kid who risked everything to protect me. He's a man now-hardened, scarred, with eyes like storm clouds and a presence that silences a room. He doesn't recognize me at first. But when he does, I see it-that same fire, that same instinct to protect. Only now, it burns even hotter.
Declan isn't just back in my life. He's ready to do whatever it takes to keep me safe. And this time, no one is going to take me away from him.
