Chapter 58

Lumi

Ren turned to me, his features smoothing out as he caught me staring.

He reached out, his hand settling firmly against the small of my back as he guided me across the polished floor toward a glass-walled waiting area.

He pushed the door open, walking me right into the executive lounge. It was completely silent, overlooking a quiet courtyard away from the main showroom traffic.

He stood there for a beat, his eyes scanning the sofas and the empty room, ensuring it was safe before he finally looked down at me.

"Can you please wait for me in here," he said, his deep voice dropping a fraction. "I won’t be long. Ten minutes."

I wanted to open my mouth and demand answers. I wanted to ask how a biker from a completely different continent had the power to make a high-ranking British executive tremble.

But the tight, unyielding set of Ren’s jaw told me now wasn’t the time.

"Okay," I murmured softly. "I’ll be right here."

He gave me a brief, tight nod, a flicker of appreciation crossing his features, before he turned and walked back out toward the private elevator bank with the executive trailing submissively behind him. I watched the silver doors slide shut, sealing him inside.

The room was completely silent, overlooking a courtyard. I sat down on the edge of a deep sofa, my hands shaking slightly as I pulled my phone from my bag.

I needed a distraction. I needed something to stop my brain from spinning out of control.

Opening a mind-boggling puzzle game, I began aggressively tapping the screen, forcing myself to focus on matching colored blocks instead of thinking about Callum, Sienna, or the heavy elephant in the room that was Ren.

True to his word, exactly fifteen minutes later, the distinct click of the lounge door made me look up.

Ren walked in, pulling the sleeves of his leather jacket down over his forearms. He looked entirely calm, but there was a faint flush to his skin, and his knuckles looked slightly brushed.

The second his eyes locked onto me, the lingering darkness varnished, completely replaced by that quiet, protective aura he only ever wore around me.

"Let’s get out of here," he said, gesturing for me to follow.

I locked my phone and stood up, smoothing down my clothes. As we walked out of the lounge and back onto the massive showroom floor, I kept my promise to myself.

I didn’t ask a single question. I didn’t ask who he saw on the twentieth floor, what business he had there, or why he was involved with Callum’s biggest nightmare.

He had been my shadow and my shield all day; if he needed his secrets, I would let him keep them.

But as we got close to the elevator, my feet slowed down.

My eyes caught a separate, display platform. Unlike the sleek, commercial models meant for high-society buyers, this section held a collection of raw, custom-engineered sports bikes and heavy-duty vehicles.

Wow

They looked dangerous, angular, and incredibly powerful.

Ren stopped the moment he realized I wasn’t beside him. He tracked my gaze to the display, a faint, barely visible smile touching his lips.

Before I could look away, he reached out, his large, warm hand catching mine. His fingers wrapped securely around my palm, pulling me gently toward the heavy machinery.

"Do you like it?" he asked, his deep voice rumbling low in his chest.

I shook my head slightly, trying to downplay the sudden flutter in my heart.

"It’s just... it’s very nice. Are we even allowed to be up here?" I whispered, glancing around nervously.

"It’s fine," he murmured, pulling me closer to the center display. "The person I know gave me full permission to look around. We can touch whatever we want."

My eyes locked onto a massive, matte-black bike sitting right in the middle of the platform.

It was huge, much higher and heavier than the standard models, built with reinforced steel frames and a feral, aggressive body shape.

I walked slowly toward it, completely drawn to the raw, intimidating presence of the machine. I reached out, my fingertips lightly brushing the cold leather of the custom seat.

"This one is different," I breathed, looking up at him. "It looks so heavy. Who could even handle something this big?"

Ren stepped up right behind me, his familiar, masculine heat completely blocking out the cool air of the air-conditioned showroom.

"The engine has double the torque of a normal racing bike. The suspension is custom-tuned to handle a heavy build, and the throttle will throw you off the back if you don’t have the muscle to hold it down. It was made specifically for people with a lot of speed and strength."

I stared at the bike, then slowly turned my head to look at his sharp, tattooed profile. The words left my lips before I could think to stop them.

"Someone like you." Ren paused. T

he quiet hum of the building seemed to fade away as his sharp green locked onto mine.

The usual scowl on his face broke, melting into a slow, incredibly handsome smile that made my throat tighten.

"Would you like to try it?" he asked quietly.

I blinked, my mind completely short-circuiting.

"Try it? Ren, we’re in the middle of a multi-million-pound corporate showroom. There’s no way they’re letting us take a display piece out for a spin."

"Don’t worry about it. I told you, it’s okay," he said smoothly.

The suit-clad executive from earlier was still standing a few yards away, watching us with a look of intense, quiet panic.

Ren didn’t even look back at him. He just raised his voice slightly, his tone shifting into that effortless, commanding dominance I had heard in the car.

"I’m taking this one out," he announced.

The executive didn’t question him for a single second. He lowered his shoulders, bowed deeply, and nodded quickly.

"Right away, sir. I will bring the keys to the side exit immediately." The man practically ran toward the back offices, disappearing behind a set of secure doors.

I stared at Ren, completely stunned as he casually stepped off the platform, totally unfazed by the submission of the staff.

Who exactly was the person he knows and how did he meet him. I couldn’t help but wondered if he knew who owned the company.

I didn’t ask because I knew he wouldn’t want to blow his cover if he knew.

Within thirty seconds, the man returned, breathlessly handing over a heavy silver key fob.

Ren caught it in his large palm, giving the man a brief nod before turning to me.

"Let’s go, Lumi," he said, guiding me toward a secure, heavy metallic door at the far side of the showroom floor.

The door clicked open, leading us into a private, enclosed concrete bay. In the center of the room sat a massive, reinforced steel platform embedded flush into the floor.

"Ren," I muttered, looking around the room, my brow furrowing in confusion. "How are we supposed to get out of here? We’re literally at the top floor."

"Don’t worry about it," he said smoothly, tapping the key fob.

The moment Ren pressed the ignition, the engine didn’t just start...it roared.

A deep, guttural thrum shook the concrete beneath our feet, a sound so fierce and powerful it sent a genuine shiver straight down my spine.

He swung his long leg over the high seat, his heavy boots planting firmly against the tarmac as he gripped the handles.

I climbed up behind him, the height of the bike forcing me to slide completely against his broad, sturdy back. My arms wrapped tightly around his waist, my chest pressing into his leather jacket.

"Hold on," he murmured.

Before I could ask what he meant, he hit a red button on the bike’s customized console. Instantly, a heavy, mechanical hum groaned through the room.

The massive steel platform beneath the bike’s tires suddenly detached from the floor, forming a wide, gaping hole as it began to drop rapidly into the darkness.

My breath hitched, my arms tightening around his waist in panic as the showroom level vanished above us. It was a massive vehicle elevator, dropping us deep into the subterranean underbelly of the city.

When the platform finally groaned to a halt, a pair of heavy floodlights flicked on, revealing a long, sleek underground tunnel stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was a private road built entirely beneath London.

I was completely flabbergasted. My mouth hung open against his shoulder as I stared at the walls of the hidden passage.

A tunnel system? Under a commercial bike facility? The level of wealth and planning required to build something like this was mind-boggling.

Callum didn’t just lack the resources for something like this; he didn’t even have the imagination for it.

Ren didn’t give me time to process the shock. He twisted the throttle, and the bike launched forward into the tunnel with an instantaneous, terrifying surge of speed.

The underground lights blurred into a continuous streak of yellow above us. We tore through the darkness for what felt like miles until a bright speck of daylight appeared ahead.

With a deafening roar, the bike burst out of the tunnel’s exit, slamming us right onto a quiet, narrow road surrounded by dense trees on the northern outskirts of the city.

The city buildings were completely gone, replaced by winding, twisting roadway that led entirely away from the industrial district and up toward the rugged, isolated hills.

The wind ripped past us, the aggressive speed forcing all the lingering anxiety, the thoughts of Callum, and the suffocating stress of the past forty-eight hours right out of my head. For the first time in days, I could actually breathe.

Finally, the road leveled out at the very peak of a high, grassy cliff. Ren slowed the bike down, but he didn’t kill the engine.

The massive machine continued to throb violently beneath us, full of restless, unhinged power.

He tilted his head back slightly, his sharp eyes catching mine in the side mirror.

"Lumi," his deep voice rumbled, easily cutting through the rushing sound of the wind. "Do you trust me?"

I looked at the back of his strong neck, the weight of every forbidden line we crossed, crashing back into my chest. But looking at him here, out in the open, there was only one truth.

"Yes," I called out, nodding firmly against his shoulder. "I trust you."

"Then hold on tight," Ren growled, his knuckles turning white against the grips as he leaned forward. "Because I’m going to need every bit of that trust right now."