Amo Jones - One Hundred & Thirty-Six Scars

Amo Jones

One Hundred and Thirty-Six Scars The Devil’s Own Book One By Amo Jones Copyright 2016 Amo Jones This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Note: This story is not suitable for persons under the age of 18. *Potential triggers lie within this book. ** This book is gritty and contains dark content. ***If the word “fuck” offends you, please don’t read this book.

Book design and formatting by Swish Design & Editing Editing by Swish Design & Editing Proofing by Fiona Dreaming – Proofreading and Formatting Cover design by Francessca’s Romance Reviews Model: Mandy Hollis from MHPhotography Copyright 2016

Meadow I was four years old when I learned what evilness the world could bring. I fought through life with my scarred soul, wrangled through the dark empty nights where I’d pray I didn’t wake up the next morning. I would shut my eyes and mentally take myself to my happy place. Red roses. The sound of waves crashing on the sand under my feet. The final time the cold blade pushed up against my thigh, and I waited for my blood to trickle over the other one hundred and thirty-six scars that covered my skin— never came. Who was this man who just saved me? He had no idea how close I came to ending myself that day. I was ready to blow my brains all over the bedroom walls and I had a nine sitting under my pillow to prove it. Beast Some people have families, I had engineered human killing machines surrounding me my whole life. I’d been a part of this unit since I was a baby, raised in a community that was shut off from the real world. A community where we were nothing but empty vessels, until Hella (my best friend) and I escaped. Hella took us to a girl who was in foster care with him before he was summoned into The Army. After finding out yet another complication in my life, I needed space. I booked into a run-down apartment, ready to clear my head. Only my head didn’t clear, because I was haunted every night from the screams that would vibrate through my walls. This is not a story of a perfect man coming in to save the day. This is a story of what happens when fate interferes and two completely broken souls collide.

*Potential triggers lie within this book. ** This book is gritty and contains dark content.

Stephen James. You’re a great guy, but I’m practically married so I think we should just be friends. —Just kidding, call me.

Simon – My partner in crime, the Clyde to my Bonnie, and the love of my life. I could not have done all of this without your undying support. I love you so much. Always and Forever. My four terrors – Without you four, mummy might not have picked up that wine, and if I didn’t pick up that wine, then I might not have thought to write my first book. To living on quick meals and a robot of a mum as I finished up a project, you kids are amazing and although you drive me nuts, there’s not a bone in my body that doesn’t love the shit out of you. You were all worth the long ass labours. Isis Te Tuhi – a novel wouldn’t be enough words to say how much I’m grateful for your sexy existence. You’re my number one critique and my number one bitch face. I love you. The original Mrs Finlay. — Oops, I wrote it. Oh well, this is my party and we’ll sing if we want to. #distanceaintshit Kaylene Osborn — where editor—meets friend—meets second mum—meets “God you bitches drive me nuts,” because I do—drive you crazy, I mean. Thank you, for tolerating my shit. You’re the first person I run to when I have an issue or when I need a shoulder to cry on. Thank you, I gas arc the shit out of you. Kat Fenton (Kitty Kats Crazy About Books) — Two words = you’re amazing. Thank you for reviewing my first book (No really… I think ‘thank you’ just doesn’t cut it. Maybe I should have bought you glasses after reading my debut book) and then reviewing every one after that. Thank you for your honest words and support. I’ll gladly take a frying pan in the face from you. My Betas — (Anne Malcom, Isis Te Tuhi, Addison Jane, Kimberly E Osborn, Andrea Florkowski, Heidy Marie, Kaci Stewart, Kathy Bargiacchi)— you lovely

ladies that take the time out of your busy lives to study my words, I thank you. Addison Jane — my favourite club girl, the first person to show me the way in the indie world. For the secrets you’ve shared, the endless support, and our crazy banter. Kimberly Osborn — my favourite Steel. Thank you for telling my crazy ass to calm down when it needed to be told, thank you for your patience with my lack of Photoshop skills, and thank you for just being your beautiful self. Kori Toth-Gray — #1 Pimp. I’ll forever be grateful for all the time you put into pimping my work. You rock my shit. Bloggers — I hold the utmost respect for you all. Everything you do for authors, reading and reviewing, I appreciate all that you do. Last but not least, I thank all my amazing, supportive readers. I would not be here writing books if it weren’t for your kind words and reviews. You are what keeps me going and you are what matters to me.

Blurb Dedication Acknowledgments Table of Contents Preface Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Epilogue Playlist Connect With Me Online About the Author – Amo Jones

I never thought too much into what I would do the next time I laid my eyes on the dark knight who swept into my life like a bandit of good deeds—my own saving grace. Would I run? Would I pound him with questions that I’m not sure I want to know the answers for? Women would talk of people saving their lives all the time at the meetings I would attend. They’d say things like, “He was a doctor, he saved my life,” or, “The man who saved me, he was the light in my tunnel of darkness.” I couldn’t refer to my encounter as either of those. My knight was not ‘lovely’ nor was he ‘the light in my tunnel of darkness.’ My knight was darkness, and like fighting fire with fire—I fought darkness with darkness. My name is Meadow, and this is my story.

I knew exactly what I would do the next time—if I ever—saw the girl whose screams would vibrate through the run down walls of my apartment during the night. I never knew if they were screams coming from sleep, or screams tearing out from the awakened. But did it matter? The desperation in those screams pierced me like a sharply angled dagger, my very own personal weakness. Like Wolfsbane was to a werewolf or a stake to a vampire. I live in a world where werewolves and vampires don’t exist—daggers or wolfsbane couldn’t put my demons to rest. Because I don’t just have them, I am them. What I’ve endured, has morphed what could have been an innocent child and successful adult, into a demonic creature that even the people who created it, feared. The darkness has been surrounding me for so long, that it’s now the only way I can see. This is what happens when fate interferes and two completely broken souls collide. My name is Beast, or commonly known as Agent 316, and this is my story.

Beginning Four-Years-Old “It’s father’s day tomorrow, so I want all of you to draw a pretty picture of something that reminds you of your dad. Anything at all. It can be what he does for work, what he makes you feel like. Anything. I want to see all your pretty pictures.” Hmmm, I thought to myself, I wanted to love my daddy. I wanted to know what he’d done for fun. I wanted him to make me happy and cheerful. I’ve seen what other daddies do for their children, but mine didn’t do that. He didn’t throw me into the air then catch me as I came down. He didn’t carry me on his shoulders while taking me out for ice-cream. I thought over what my daddy does and how it made me feel. Taking hold of the black crayon, I began to draw… “Meadow,” my teacher gasped, her hand slowly moving up to her mouth. She kneeled down beside me, pointing to the picture while still making sure no other children could see it. “Meadow, honey, what is this that you have drawn here?” My mouth froze at the look that was pulled over her face. I wanted to tell her what it was, but I was confused. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. She asked me to draw a picture of something that reminds me of my father, so I did. “Did I do it wrong?” I asked my teacher, tears welling behind my sockets. She squeezed my shoulders, forcing a smile to come out. “No honey, you didn’t do anything wrong.” I relaxed instantly. I didn’t want to do wrong, I wanted to do good. She stood from her position, the picture falling from her fingers, revealing a dark shadow-like figure covering a single bed.

Beginning Fourteen Years-Old Three years later Running wasn’t my favorite thing to do, and considering the size of me, I always tried my hardest to stay away from it. But in this case, I had no other way. With my legs heavy and my chest tight, I looked back as the sound of gunshots rang out and pierced through my ears. “He’s over here! Follow that trail!” one of the sergeants yelled from far behind me. I turned my head back in front of me, carrying on my run. Jumping over the large logs of fallen trees, I dropped behind a boulder that was sitting under a tree, attempting to gather my breath. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I thought over my options. I can’t go back there. I could never go back there. I should… I told Jada to come but she didn’t listen. She wanted to stay, promising me she wouldn’t say a word. But how do the guards know I’m out? I stood from where I was sitting, placing one foot in front of the other preparing myself to jolt forward. “Don’t fucking move,” Sergeant Major Kurr’s low, commanding voice rumbled from behind me. I didn’t have to look to know there was also a gun aimed at my back. I’m fucked. That’s it! This was my seventh escape attempt and I’d been caught—again. I knew what was to come. I knew what they were going to do with me when I went back and I’d rather die. Squaring my shoulders while keeping my attention fixed on the large tree in front of me, I kept my eyes trained on the bark that was peeling off it, revealing the glossy white wood underneath. “Fuck. You,” I replied snarkily with a curled lip. A single gunshot rang out at the exact moment a sharp, heavy sting collided into my leg, causing me to drop to the ground in agony. I was hoping they would at least shoot me in the head, getting it over with faster. “Pick him up!” Kurr demanded, aiming his Heckler & Koch FABARM FP6 into my face with a smirk. Tsking, he knelt down beside me. “Agent 316, what are we going to do with you this time?” My eyes squeezed shut as tears pricked from the side of them. No, no, please. I don’t want to go back there. “Just kill me!” I screamed from the dirt and blood covered ground. “Fucking kill me!” I roared one last time. A steel capped military boot was lifted over my face as the bottom stomped down and connected with my cheek with a crack, knocking me out cold. I don’t fear death. Oh no, I welcomed it. After living in this world all my life, being engineered for an undercover operation like The Army that was branched

off by our government, I had no choice but to run and maybe one day, I’d make it out alive.

“Beast? Beast wake up!” The urgency of Jada’s tone shocked my system awake like a bucket of ice cold water. “Jada? What happened?” I said, pulling myself up with my elbows, but the deep throbbing of my head prove it be best I stayed down. “Fuck, what?” I rubbed my hand over my head, eyes creased. “They didn’t kill me?” Jada shook her head. “No, you need to stay there, don’t move. You broke another commandment, Beast. You’re in danger, and you’ve put me in danger. Please, just lay back down.” I closed my eyes, pushing out all thoughts of Jada in danger. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking away from her. “I’m fucking sorry, but I needed to leave.” “We all want to leave, Beast. You can’t just keep running.” A dull squeak sounded from the metal door which enclosed the cages that they kept us in when one of us would break a commandment. They’ve always taken their commandments seriously, I just liked pushing the boundaries. And if I got free, the punishment was always going to be worth it. Jada’s eyes shot up to the sound before she ducked under the metal bed that they kept me on, sliding over the metal plate that laid underneath where they would keep the utensils. “Beast,” Kurr, the sergeant major said from beside my bed. He runs the operation, the person he was under was the government itself. This fucker had the nerve though, the shit he’d put us through, I lived for the day that I could put those black depths to sleep once and for all. Bending down, bringing his face level to mine, he smiled. “You just never learn do you, 316? Maybe…” he pulled out his silver and gold switchblade which had Chief engraved onto the base—I was all too familiar with this knife, he and I were on first name basis, “…I should just, slide…” he trailed off pressing the cold metal under my ear and slowly sliding it down my neck. The

cold air piercing into the wound like salt. Once the sting disappeared, it left the dripping and trickling of wetness sliding down the back of my neck. I knew it was bad. “There, much better.” He laughed, putting the blade back into the back pocket of his suit pants. “One hundred mills of Schyronide, Robert. Put the Beast to sleep.” “No, no. No more fucking Schyronide,” I screamed as the two sets of large hands gripped me around my shoulders, pinning me down to the bed. “This won’t hurt, Beast. You’re all too used to it by now.” Robert laughed, bringing the sharp silver needle down to my temple. Like every time this happened, the pain shot through me for the worst three seconds I’d ever felt until my world went black.

“Say it, Beast. What is the fifth commandment?” Brian, the second chief commander’s voice came blaring through my ears. My wrists stung as if bracelets of fire were pulled around them, and once I peeled my eyes open, it was more than obvious why my wrists were the first thought that crossed my mind once I awoke. I was hanging by my wrists only and wearing nothing but my jeans. A sharp pain sliced through my left shoulder blade and a scream roared out of me until my breath couldn’t take anymore. “Say it!” Brian repeated after whipping the long leather slit across my back. “Thy shall not escape,” I answered with a snarl. Pulling myself in, I began to recite the six commandments in my head as the punishment continued… Commandment 1 – Thy shall not speak of any activities that are conducted on the premises under any circumstances. Commandment 2 – Thy shall not participate in any sexual activities unless approved by Sergeant Major Kurr. Commandment 3 – Thy shall not speak to outsiders. Commandment 4 – Thy shall not dishonor or disobey orders given to thy by Sergeant Major Kurr. Commandment 5 – Thy shall not escape. Commandment 6 – Thy shall not repeat to any persons what thy experiences are while being held in the dungeon.

By oath, you are solemnly swearing your loyalty and respect toward The Army and you pledge to live out the rest of your days serving under the Agent number you have been assigned. If you break any of the rules stated above, your punishments will be as Sergeant Commissioner Kurr sees fit. This is The Army, not to be confused with the army with soldiers and marines. This is the genetic version. We aim to breed an army of men that we can use as weaponry. We will breed you to fight, to kill, and to train in all ways of fight: arms, combat, sword, jujitsu, and the power of a patient man. We will break you, shake you, and bleed you out until you have nothing left to give. And then just when you think you’ve given up and that you don’t want to live anymore—we will create you as one of our own. Your Agent number that is stamped behind your neck is a code to live by. It will give you meaning and purpose. The meaning of hate and the purpose to kill.

The rough sound of a blade being pulled out of a metal socket rang through my ears, bringing my consciousness back into the now. I squeezed my eyes shut at the knowledge of what was about to come. “Would you look at that…” Brian laughed from behind me, “…your back is almost covered. Where will we start once I have no space left on your back?” He laughed again. “You know, for a fourteen-year-old boy, you sure like to cause a lot of trouble, Beast,” he sneered. I picked my head up, wrapping my hands around the chains from which I was hanging. “What can I say…” a smirk appearing around my blood ridden teeth, “…I’m a glutton for punishment.” I liked to break the rules because I hated authority. The life I’d lived confined in this community had been hell, yes. But because I was raised in it, and not recruited, so hell is the only place I’ve known. My eyes shut as thoughts of who my mom may have been came flooding through my brain like a rush of false flashbacks, whizzing past my very eyes at one hundred miles per hour. I never did know what it was that they pumped us with through the silver needles I’d become so accustomed to. The bright green liquid that glowed from the cannula was usually one of the last things you’d see. But whatever they had done, I never remembered much of what happened from before the needle. They would wipe away any of our short term memories, in large chunks. I may have only be fourteen and I may already be severely broken, but deep inside me, there was a little boy who wished he could have known who his mom was. Did she know that she was dropping me off to a government organization that referred to themselves as The Army? I’d like to think not, but the truth is, I just didn’t know. No-one knew about this organization simply because it didn’t exist. We were off the radar living in our own community in God knows where. I have been here

since I was a baby, training since I could walk, and having serum pumped through me as they attempted new ways that they could genetically engineer the human race. I don’t know much else of what goes on, because after we carried out a mission, we are all required in the dungeon where they put us under until we come back out. We never remember what had happened before a line-up, just leaving the base to do a mission, before everything chops out in smudged oiled blurs. My life runs off black holes, I don’t even know if I existed during that time. The new recruits that come in, they break them and then remake them as their own. Not me though, I was born broken, all they had to do was train me.

Flashback – Beast’s Mom I pulled down the ceramic toilet cover after doing my business and took a seat. I scanned around the room, hoping that if I looked anywhere but at that little white stick, it would change. With my palms sweaty and my heart rate in overdrive, I squeezed onto the white stick and began weighing up my options. There was no way I could keep this baby if I were pregnant, and there was no way I could go to Luce about it either. That would bring too much shame to my family. My dad is the pastor of our community church and my mom stands beside him like a good strong woman. Being raised in Las Vegas, there had always been temptation. But I was a good girl, I’d never done wrong—until I meet Luce. How could I have been so stupid? I was disappointed in myself. Just like Eve, I ate the damn apple and now I’m about to be punished. If my parents ever found out that not only was I pregnant, but the father of said child was the President of The Devil’s Own Motorcycle Club, the Devil is not who I’d need to be afraid of. However, there was the possibility that this could all be for nothing. I could be panicking for nothing. Breathing in deeply, I stood from my spot and walked in front of the large glass mirror. After many deep breaths, my eyes drifted down to the white stick. And there, in that little window, showed just how over my life really was.

Nine Months Later “Ma’am? Ma’am, you need to leave unless you want to pay for another room,” the motel owner said, knocking from the other side of the wooden door. I looked to the little alarm clock which sat on the cane bedside table and sighed. Could he not have waited until at least late morning to kick me out? I swung my legs over the bed and waddled my way to the wooden door, grasping the metal knob and pulling it open. “I will be gone this morning,” I said to him. “All right, good,” he answered rudely. I slammed the door in his face, rubbing my very large belly. “It’s okay, big boy, Mama has found you a really nice home,” I spoke directly to him. I do it anytime I can. I read somewhere that while you’re pregnant, the baby knows his mom’s voice. After finding out that I was pregnant, I packed up all my belongings and told my parents I was going to spend ten months on a Bible tour around the US, and they bought it. They had no reason not to. I’d never done anything to betray their trust before. Not like other seventeen-year-old girls my age. So after I packed up my belongings, I got in contact with Bethy. Bethy and I formed a close friendship over the time I spent with Luce. She was one of their club escorts. They called them another name, but Bethy wasn’t like that. Once I let her know what was happening, she slapped me for getting pregnant and then gave me a number to call. She said they’re a good Catholic adoption center who specialized in moms who wanted to stay off the books. They had an enormous list of loving families that don’t want to wait on a waiting list to have their dream come true. I took the number and after a long talk with Nun Nancy, I was good to go. All I had to do, was hide away for nine months. When I went into labor, it was planned that I would go to their clinic to have the baby and they would take over from there. It was a huge relief to know that my baby would be going to a good home, a home that would never outcast him for his own personal beliefs. I would like to say that maybe one day I hoped to meet him, but I don’t. I don’t deserve to know this little joy I have growing inside of me. I have failed as a mother and as a woman—that was how I felt anyway. I zipped up my little brown suitcase which has held up for nine months and began walking toward the door. I took hold of the handle at the exact time a gush of slippery wet goo covered my legs, dripping down to my ankles. “Oh dear Lord,” I whispered in horror. Quickly closing the door behind myself, I hurried to the steep stairs and

began making my way down to the parking lot where my car was parked while being careful not to fall through the cracked, worn stairs that were in desperate need of repair. Once I was safely in my car, I fished out the address out of my handbag. Glancing down at the blue pen scribble on a now worn piece of paper, I recognized the address as one of the hidden industrial areas off Highway 61. I pulled out into the quiet street, looking back down to my paper again before looking back up. The street was empty with nothing but industrial buildings which once occupied employment. I carried on down the road, counting the worn numbers which were sketched on the front of the buildings. Once I rounded the corner and saw a huge pristine white hospital-like building, I knew I was here. It was interesting that this immaculate and new building stood in the middle of such a rundown area. I pulled into the high wired gates when a man wearing a black suit and black glasses strolled out. He had a stern face, giving away how serious he took his job. I wound down my window and stuck my head out. “I’m… I’m in labor and I was told by Nun Nancy to come here,” I said nervously. “Give me the paper she wrote,” he answered authoritatively. I swallowed down my nerves, scattering my fingers through all my belongings in my handbag before grasping it and giving him the little note out of my window. He snatched it out of my hands, looked at it for an inexcusable amount of time before handing it back to me. Twirling his fingers in the air, the high barbed gates squeaked open. “I guess I passed,” I mumbled to myself, putting my car in first gear and driving through. The air smelled of disinfectant and cleanliness. I slammed my car door closed just as another labor pain shot through me, stabbing me directly in my—everywhere. By Lord this is the worst pain I’ve ever felt, it’s crippling. I had no time to examine my surroundings or get a feel for how I felt about this place because this baby was coming and he was coming now. Clutching my hand around the tight bump in front of me, and after the last contraction had disappeared, I continued my now quick walk to the large wooden doors. Pushing them open, I hurried to the front desk where a middleaged woman sat with bright pink lipstick, her hair in a tight bun sitting on the top of her head and her nurses dress tight. “Hi, Nun Nancy sent me,” I said, scanning her perfectly put face. She kept the same smile on her face, not saying a word to the point where I thought maybe she was a doll, not a real person. Another contraction shot into me, causing me to bend over in pain. “Please, they’re only a few minutes apart,” I say to her, taking hold of the

reception desk. “I’ll take you to your room. Nun Nancy will be there in just a few minutes,” the woman replied casually, rounding the desk and placing my arm around her neck, proceeding to help me to my room. We passed many rooms on our way down the dark, gloomy hallway, and once she reached a door, she stopped and pushed it open with her free hand, guiding me in and placing me down onto the stiff, small bed. The room was dark, the walls a washed brown color with nothing in the room but the bed I was currently lying on. There were stirrups attached to the bed and a light hanging from the roof, casting shadows against the walls. I was rubbing my stomach and attempting to get myself comfortable when the reception woman began to head toward the door. “Wait!” I said to her, propping myself up on my elbows. “Where’s Nun Nancy?” The woman, keeping her back turned to me, cocked her head to the side, looking over her shoulder. She smirked. “Oh, Nun Nancy is not available.” Before walking out of the cold metal doors, leaving me in the darkness just as another contraction hit me. “Oh no,” I begin chanting. “Oh no, oh no, oh no. My baby, my baby, I can’t have him in here,” I screamed as another contraction came crashing into me. Beads of sweat begun dripping from my forehead while my body convulsed and my stomach tightened before my body began contracting again. My breathing started to heave in deep, shallow breaths as my body started to push involuntarily all on its own. I screamed an all mighty scream while ripping my pants off and sitting up on the bed on my knees with my legs open. Propping myself up on my elbows against the headboard, I waited for the next contraction to come, knowing that this time, I would be pushing with it. I don’t know many things about childbirth, but the one thing I do know is that the body usually does it for you. I began my prayer. “Father, pour your holy spirit over me and my little boy, ma—” The next contraction came in tenfold and I screamed bloody murder. My toes curled as I took a deep breath and began pushing. Three pushes later and I was holding my little boy. Except he wasn’t little, he was huge. My heart ached as tears begun streaming down my face. I knew that I need something done down there, I hadn’t stopped bleeding since I gave birth to my placenta. “Hello, little boy. Well… you’re not so little are you?” I kissed his head that had a full head of dark hair—just like Luce. God, he looked like Luce. My eyes began shutting out, and I struggled and fought to keep them awake. Curling to my side, I tucked Luce Jnr into my arms, so if I fell asleep, or

worse, he wouldn’t fall off the bed. I cried for the baby I wish I could know. I cried for the wrong decision in trusting Nun Nancy and lastly, I cried for the loss of losing my baby, my precious boy. Darkness began to shade my vision as I attempted to kiss Luce Jnr on the head, only my body was heavy and deep down I knew it was shutting down. “I love you,” I whispered before the darkness of the unknown sucked me in.

Fourteen-Years-Old I was four when my father started his assaults on me. Four. My mother left when I was a baby and I’ve not known her since. My father—Donald—was my very own devil, and the apartment we lived in was my very own hell. As I got older, the assaults became more forceful, more violent. The day he took my virginity was the day he began a new game that he liked to play. I thought of killing him in his sleep more times than I could count, but that wasn’t who I wanted to be. “Meadow!” Donald yelled from down our tiny hallway in our run-down apartment. The walls were peeling from age and the early morning train that would zoom past my bedroom window every hour. Hot water was a luxury that we could not afford, and our power would run out at least twice a month. He never paid for it unless he really needed it. “Meadow, get the fuck in here!” he repeated from the living room, his voice blaring through my walls, sending shivers down my spine. I gulped, clutching the 9 mm Glock in my hand with a single tear rolling down my cheek. The heavy footsteps rattled the thin walls, and I quickly pushed the gun under my mattress. Rubbing my tears away, I stood from my bed and straightened my attire. “Sorry, I fell asleep,” I said to him as he swung my door open, smashing the back of it against the wall. I flinched at the sudden crack from the door knob splitting the wall open. “You fell asleep?” he questioned with a laugh. His gray hair was short and his skinny frame still the same. He was frail, his skin scaling in flakes with stains of yellow seeping into it. I bet if I wanted to, I could kick his ass. But deep down, I was a slave to my abuser. I was terrified of him. School was my only out, but even there I’d get picked on. Friends were out of the question for me and my raggy clothes which only made people repel away from me. The girls would laugh at me and the boys would gag at my mere existence. I didn’t mind, I would live through their snide remarks for the rest of my life if it meant I never had to see Donald, even if it was only seven hours a day. He walked up to me, a loud slap sounding around the room at the same time my cheek stung from the impact. My malnourished body hit the spring mattress in my room and I clutched my cheek with my hand. “Get up you little bitch, we need to go to the store! You’re not leaving my sight.” He gripped onto my long unkempt hair, yanking the oily mess so roughly, the sting of my hair being pulled out sounded around my scalp. I kept quiet and never spoke. I did what I did every time something like this happened—I went to my happy place. That place is filled with red roses and the ocean, where I have a

shack on the beach that I could go to sleep every night with the sound of waves crashing against the sand and the air so thick with salt it would make my eyes sting. The grip around my neck snapped me back to reality. He picked me up off the bed by my neck and laughed, throwing me back down to the ground. Beginning to walk out, he turned toward me. “Get up little bitch, we are going out.”

After doing some grocery shopping, which consisted of baked beans and bread, we walked up the stairs to our room. The apartment complex we lived in was one big half-way house for the homeless. The outside walls are so badly damaged that the plumbing tubes were falling out of them. Betsy, the landlady, was one scary woman who you do not want chasing you down for rent. You heard gunshots throughout the night, screaming babies and arguing, but this was all I’d ever known because we’d lived there all my life. Following closely behind Donald, I was clutching the plastic bags in my hand as we walked up the concrete stairs to our apartment. There were four other rooms on our level and there was only one other woman who lived next door, but someone moved into the room next to us a few weeks ago. I’d never seen him, though. I only knew that he lived there because I saw a bag sitting outside his door with his clothes in it. Donald pushed open the door and I followed in behind him. Closing the door with my feet, I placed the plastic bags on the mustard colored yellow kitchen table. “Meadow,” his voice slid through my ears like a string of dirty slime. Shivers broke out over my skin, slipping down my spine. “Yes?” I answered, letting the soft plastic bag slide off my fingers. “Come here, little bitch. Come fix Daddy up.” The bile rose up my throat, clogging my breathing pipe, causing all vocal cords to snap closed. “Meadow!” he screamed. “I’m not going to tell you again!” My heart dropped as a sob slid out of my lips. One more time. One more time. I chanted as my heavy feet slid across the wooden floor of our apartment, taking me to my worst nightmare. This was it. After he finished this time, I was going to blow my brains all over

his bedroom walls—I was done. The best I could do for now, was rest in that fact. Reaching the living room, his rough chuckles sounded from the worn brown sofa, its actual color not brown. It once was white, but all the dirt and vile things that have happened on there has obviously taken its toll. Swallowing down the vomit that was about to surface in my mouth, leaving a sting of nasty tasting syrup on my tonsils, I carried on. He took hold of my wrist as I entered the living room, wrapping his hand around it like an animal trapping, and tugging me down onto the sofa. I gave up pleading him to stop a long time ago, I learned over time that he relished in my begging. It only intensified the assault. It was best for me to go to my happy place and now rest in the fact that this was the last time. His dirt stained hands and fingernails slid down my front, gripping roughly onto my bra and tearing it off in one quick movement. I closed my eyes as a single tear trickled down my cheek. He moved his hands down to my front, unbuttoning my loose jeans and pulling them down roughly, yanking my legs in the process. I learned at a young age to never wear a dress. I’ve always lived in jeans and T-shirts. There was no way I was giving him anything to look at. My body convulsed in anger and hurt but most of all, I shielded myself with the numbness you obtain only by being put through the same ordeal numerous times. I’d never been with another man, nor was I ever interested. I can’t imagine the day where I would class sex as a pleasurable act. His hot stale breath stuck to my skin like poison air brushing over me in hot waves. His sticky tongue slid out of his mouth and across my neck as his hand began rifling around in his pocket. My panicking quickened in the knowledge of what was about to happen. Pushing his cracked, cigarette stenching mouth over mine, his tongue pushed its way through my tightly sealed lips leaving the tangy residue of his saliva lingering on my tongue. The cold metal of his switch blade pushes up against my thigh, ready to slice another cut and the blood to trickle over my other one hundred and thirty-six scars. He liked to do it every time he raped me, starting it the day he stole my virginity at the tender age of twelve. One hundred and thirty-six times he had raped me. One hundred and thirty-six times he had scarred my skin to match the ones already embedded in my soul. With my chest heaving, and tears descending faster, I clamped my eyes shut again, taking me to my happy place. Red roses… Crashing waves… Bungalow on the beach... The dark shadow that his body held over my shut lids now shone with light.

The heaviness of his body pushing mine down into the sofa had now evaporated, and the air was mild and fresh again, no longer poisoned with dirt and vile. The sounding of a fist connecting with skin shocked me awake as I shot up off the ratty sofa to see a large—no not large—massive frame of a man standing over Donald. His elbow swinging back before his fist crashed into Donald’s face again and again. I gasped out in shock, my feet rushing me to the wooden front door where I slammed it shut, sliding the heavy metal lock closed. I brought my attention back to the man who was beating on Donald. He was dressed in a dark hoodie with dark loose fitting jeans that were held up with a spiky belt. His hoodie was pulled over his head, and his shoulders were as one could only describe as monstrous. My words faltered at the sound of bones cracking. “Stop,” I said, reaching my hand out toward the man. His head turned over his shoulder. “I’ve been watching you,” he began. “For the past few weeks, I’ve heard your screams and I’ve heard your sobbing through these walls. How long has he been doing this?” he asked, his voice dark. “I—I—uh,” I stuttered, covering my front with my hands and pulling my shirt down in an attempt to cover myself. “Just tell me. Be honest with me,” he demanded, keeping his head turned over his shoulder. This was the first time I’d spoken about what went on between these walls. But because this man already knew, it didn’t seem as hard as I thought, I opened to him like the Red Sea. “Since I was four, but he didn’t rape me until I was twelve. I don’t know why he waited until I was twelve,” I whispered. Silence. The air thickened with anger, hot molten anger that was vibrating off him in waves. He walked to me, took hold of the throw blanket that was on the sofa and covered me before he walked back to Donald. “Let me finish him,” he growled, turning his head back down to the lifeless body on the ground. I could’ve pretended that I needed to think about this, but I didn’t. This man had stolen every single part of me. If there was one thing I would never give him, though, it was my wrath. I would never let him steal away my grace, no matter how haunted that grace may have become. I ran my fingers through my hair, the greasy, matted mess leaving a residue behind on my fingers. I didn’t care how dirty I looked. “Okay.” And with that, he knelt down to Donald, gripped his face with his hands and with one snap he dropped Donald’s limp head and lifeless body onto the worn vinyl floor. My breath hitched for a second and although I’d just witnessed a

death, a murder—I felt relief. Walking to me with his face still covered slightly by the hoodie, he pulled out some keys from his pocket. “Go to my room. Don’t talk to anyone. Go there now. Do you understand?” I didn’t answer, I was still partially in shock from what I’d just witnessed. To my shock, was a tidal wave of relief that was waiting to come crashing over me. “Can I see you?” I asked, swallowing down the lump which had formed in my throat. The shadow caused by his hoodie accentuated his strong jaw. His large rough hands reached up to the rim of his hoodie, grasping the material with his fingers. I watched carefully as he lowered it over his head to lay around his neck. He was younger than what I would have guessed. I thought for sure by the size of him he would be well over thirty, but he had to be only around six years older than I was. His eyes were dark, like marbles from a deep orbit shaded by dark eyelashes. His hair in a military cut and the soft olive skin that framed his face had not one defect. He’s beautiful, I thought to myself. When he moved his head sideways to look at Donald’s form lying on the ground, his hoodie moved and revealed a hint of his neck where a long slash appeared, it looked as though it ran from behind his right ear right across his neck. I didn’t get a good look at it, and I sure as hell don’t want to ask about it. He just killed someone, I won’t be the one asking questions right now. “You need to go. Now. I’ll need to wait until it’s dark out before moving the body, but you need to go next door and wait for me.” “How old are you?” I whispered. He stilled. “What? Why?” “Because your body seems older, but your face looks… young.” “I’m twenty-one.” He pushed the cold metal keys into the palm of my hand. “Now, go!” I winced at his commanding voice, but turned in my footsteps and walked toward the door anyway. Grasping the handle in my hand, I paused, glancing over my shoulder to him. His hoodie was back on his head. “Thank you,” I said briefly before walking out of the door. I reached his door, slid the key in and turned it open, quickly walking in and slamming it shut behind me. One hundred and thirty-six scars—that was the most Donald would ever get out of me. And with that, the tidal wave of relief flushed over me as my legs gave way, dropping me onto the floor. They’re waves that I would ride for an eternity. Physically, I was free. However, under my tainted soul was still the girl rocking

in a corner with shackles tied around her ankles, praying for God to save her. God never came, though. Instead, he sent a dark knight.

Twenty-One-Years-Old “Beast you can’t do this. Hella, tell him he can’t do this,” Jada demanded from her pace walking. “He can,” Hella added. “And I’ll be going with him.” Hella had been here for ten years and was recruited at age ten. He was a lost boy. Caught up in the foster care system. One night he was sleeping under one of the local bridges in NYC when he was found. I guess they took him because of his tender age and because he had no family, no-one who cared—a lost boy. He was utterly ruthless and shredded anybody with the snap of your fingers. “What?” Jada gasped. “You can’t leave, Hella. I’ll have no-one with the both of you gone.” “Then come, Jada. You don’t have to stay here.” “I can’t. If they find me…” she trailed off. “They won’t. We won’t let anything happen to you.” “I can’t. I’m sorry,” she answered, tears streamed down her reddened cheeks. She swiped them away angrily, spinning around and walking out of our tent. The entire section of where we were was surrounded by white tents. When we were younger, we had to stay in the confinement building that sat right in the middle of the property. But once we hit eighteen—and stopped trying to fight the system —they put us out here with the rest of the soldiers. There were around thirtyeight, and we all kept to ourselves. Hella and I had been planning our escape since we decided to stop fighting against Kurr. We’d studied each detail with careful precision. We knew when the guards switched shifts or when they were at their busiest, therefore, giving us a ten-minute window of opportunity. “We can’t leave her here,” I said to Hella while tying up my combat boots. “We can’t do anything else about it. She doesn’t want to leave.” “We’ll come back for her.” Throwing my black vest over the top of my hoodie. “Yeah,” he swallowed. “We will come back.” “Ready for this?” I asked with an arched brow. “Born fucking ready,” he replied, eagerness and determination boring through his eyes.

Once the clock-tower that sat above the guard’s headquarters struck nine, we

began our escape. Throwing my backpack over my shoulders, I pulled my hoodie over my head, shading my eyes. “Let’s go,” I whispered to Hella, who was following closely behind in my footsteps. The dry leaves crunched under the heavy weight of my combat boots, and the darkness of the night leaving any visible vision impossible. Pulling out the night vision goggles I’d stolen a few weeks ago, I handed a set to Hella as we continued our trek. Dodging the bright spotlights that swung around the entire compound, we made it to the corner of the diamond metal fence. We’d both been working on it for a few weeks, with full knowledge that this part of the fence was weaker than the rest. We decided to cut all the metal and then re-bind it back together with our own wire, making it easier for us to remove it easily when the time was right. Unhooking all of the hooks, I passed them to Hella, who then placed them in his pockets while still keeping watch, his head moved from side to side, his gun cocked with his finger on the trigger. Hella and I were around the same height and the same build. We could pass as brothers, only where my hair was dark, his was blond. We could both bench around the same. One of the only things that mattered in the compound when we weren’t training was how much you could bench. It was all about the size of the man on the outside and the size of the fight on the inside. Hella and I both had plenty kills on our hands, Kurr always made it clear just how successful we were and how much we contributed to the cause. The cause of what, I never fucking knew. Taking out people who they said or sending us into Iraq, it didn’t matter. We had to do it. But where I had patience with my kills, Hella would just tear you to shreds like a Pit Bull with a lockjaw and not bat an eye. “Done,” I whispered, stretching out the wire and rolling it back to form a hole that was only just big enough to fit us both. Pushing my body through, we both made it to the other side of the fence and ran. Ran like we’d done many times before, but only this time—we didn’t get caught. My feet were pounding the pavement in heavy strides, and the air was dead silent with nothing but our heavy breaths and the crunching of leaves under our boots breaking the silence. With my hoodie thrown over my eyes, my legs found their fifth wind and I boosted forward. The freedom surging through me was surreal. I’d wanted this for so long. All the failed attempted breakouts, all the punishments, the whips, the cuts, it wasn’t all for nothing. “Have you heard from your contact?” I asked Hella as we found the first car that was parked under a single street light. The only beacon lighting up the darkness of the night. The fog was thick and the air ice cold. A cold sweat broke out all over me. I took out the screwdriver from my backpack, popped the lock

quickly and slid into the driver’s seat. Hella took a seat on the passenger side, throwing our bags to the back. “Yeah, we’re good. She’s a cop.” That got my attention. What the fuck was he thinking bringing a fucking cop into this. One thing I knew was to never trust anyone in the law. Pussy or no pussy. “Why the fuck would you do that?” “Calm down, not her,” he responded nonchalantly. I placed the screwdriver down, ripping the hoodie off my head. “Don’t give me this she’s different fucking bullshit.” “She fucking is Beast. Like I’d get us in the shit. You need to trust me.” “What’s her name?” “Abby,” he began, running his palm over his chin. “I knew her from Boston, one of the foster homes I was in. She was a rebel, wanting to get into trouble every single corner we turned. We made a pact that we would always find each other, and then she got taken to a family in Westbeach. I followed her move as much as I could. The night I was Blacklisted, I’d just seen her. She was happy, found a family within an MC club in Westbeach called the Sinful Souls. She was fucking happy. She wanted me to stay, said I could have a home there, but there was no way I could barge in on her life. I was just fucking happy that she was happy, you know?” He ran his hands through his short hair. We all had our hair in a buzz cut. We weren’t allowed to have it any longer. Blacklisted is what it’s called when they take you. Not sure why it was called listed, they chose people by random. The younger, the better and with no family—Hella was perfect and fit the mold. I continued my job at getting this car started as he carried on, “Anyway, I’m hoping she’s still there.” “If she’s not, at least we’re out,” I said, turning the screwdriver until the light roar of the engine and the exhaust smoked to life. Shutting our doors, I pulled it into drive and got the hell out of there. “To Westbeach?” I asked, glancing at him in the passenger side. “Yeah. I’ll show you where to go.” He better, because I haven’t driven anywhere outside of the compound before.

Two days later and one stop at a hotel, we were in Westbeach. Rubbing my eyes

with the back of my hands, I shoved a sleeping Hella awake. He stirred from his seat as the passing streetlights shone through into our car at each passing. “We here?” he asked, sitting his seat up. “Yep, where now? It’s three in the morning. We need to check in somewhere.” “Fuck, I’m certain we’re almost out of cash,” Hella answered, running a hand over his stubble. “We’ll worry about that later. I have some cash left in the backpack, take it out and count it.” He leaned over the back, pulling the cash out of the front pocket of the backpack. “Holy fuck, where the hell did you get this from?” he asked, skimming through the hundred dollar bills with his thumb. “I’ve been saving since I was little. Every bit of dough I got my hands on, I took.” Hella smirked. “This will do us a solid, bro. Nice.” He placed the money back into the bag, dropping it onto the floor at his feet. “Hook a left up here,” he pointed. “There’s a motel we can crash at.”

The next morning, we were driving toward the clubhouse still in the stolen car. “We need to drop this car, and pick up another,” I said, scanning the surrounds for police officers. “Yeah, we can’t take this back to the Sinful Souls. Can’t imagine them being happy about us arriving in a boosted car. Pull over up here, there’s a park, we can drop it and walk the rest of the way.” I nodded my head, swerving into the parking lot that was covered under trees. I took out a microfiber cloth that I kept in my bag and began wiping down the areas that we’d touched. We both knew not to touch the surfaces, but shit happens. “Are you sure about this?” I asked Hella as we were just about to reach the high wire gates. The front gate had a sign of a skull face wearing a cowboy hat and a cigar hanging out of its mouth, with the lettering ‘Sinful Souls MC’ reading in an arc rounding the top of the image and the wording ‘California’ in an arc under the image. I looked to Hella with a single shake of my head. “You better

be fucking right about this.” Not two minutes later, a young fella with spiky blond hair walked toward the gate, eying both Hella and I up and down. “Can I help you?” He wore a patch that read ‘Prospect.’ I almost laughed. This boy was the bum boy of their operation. Hella answered, “Yeah, looking for Abby?” “And you are?” the spiky pretty boy looking kid answered. His demeanor irked the shit out of me. “Her fucking past. You gonna get her or what?” I growled from where I was standing. Pretty boy’s eyes drifted to mine before he slanted them. I laughed again. “What? That supposed to be intimidating?” I asked, attempting to chain my thoughts of wrapping this little fucker in saran wrap and ripping each of his eyelids out. He smirked. “You come here…” he pointed to the ground, “…and try to step on me on my own turf?” “Travis!” a low voice interrupted from the patio of what one could only assume was the actual clubhouse. “Get the fuck over here.” The man began making his way to the gate and Hella mumbled next to me, “Just don’t lose your shit. Rein it in.” I looked to him, eye brows drawn. It was usually me telling him to hold off on his anger, not the other way around. “Can I help you?” the man said from his position. I eyed him up and down, resting my vision on his patch. Where pretty boy’s patch read ‘Prospect’ this one read ‘President.’ This was more like it. “Yeah,” Hella began. “Looking for Abby. Not causing any trouble, I knew her when we were kids,” Hella stated, placing his hands against the iron fence, clutching his fingers through the triangles. President’s eyes slant. “What you say your name was?” Eying Hella up and down, he reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. “Hella. Or as she would have known—Braxton.” Braxton? The fuck. If the situation weren't completely serious, I would’ve laughed at him. Then I remembered, at least someone gave enough of a shit to actually give him a name. “Yeah, got a couple big motherfuckers here. You know a Braxton?” “Yeah? All right then.” He hung up his phone, twisting his fingers in the air when no-one moved he looked to the prospect. “Open the fucking gate, Trav, or what? You scared now. Hold your fucking tongue next time, boy.” The prospect snapped to action, pushing a red button on the gates, causing them to slide open.

We both walked in, a few other men stepped down from the patio area, looking skeptical. “I’m Zane, the president.” He pointed up to the patio, where two other men stood. “That’s Ade and Blake.” He smirked. “Don’t try anything, we have a special burial ground for sneaky little fuckers that worm their way in. I’m sure we could accommodate to your size, too.” I nodded my head in understanding. I got it. After being in The Army all my life, anyone outside of that life seemed normal to me. I had a lot to learn when it came to civilization. “Beast,” I mumbled, shaking his hand. He nodded his head. “I see that.” We made our way into the bar area, taking a seat at a table where Ade and Blake joined us. They ordered a couple beers from the bartender who looked like she’d just stepped the fuck off a magazine. Do all girls look like that? Don’t fucking like it, it’s fake. Anyone that needs to spend time in the morning to try and look that perfect I will never be interested in. “So,” Zane started, placing his beer on the table after taking a drink. “Abby will be here when she finishes. She couldn’t get off early.” “How’s she been?” Hella asked, rolling his cold drink around in his hand. I scanned the table, bringing my eyes to the biggest out of all of them—Ade. You’d think he could have stepped out of a magazine too, that is until you saw the empty depths of his eyes. I nodded my head at him, once he noticed my staring. His eyes faltered but he nodded back with a small smirk. That was one fucked up man recognizing another. “Yeah, good,” Zane answered, gazing around the clubhouse. “She didn’t say much on the phone but said I was to trust you and anyone you were with under any circumstances. Our little Abster can be very demanding.” Hella chuckled around the rim of his beer. “That much hasn’t changed then.” “How do you know each other? We’ve known Abby since she was fourteen,” Ade asked from his seat, throwing his arms back onto the empty chair next to him. The gesture showed his confidence and lack of giving a fuck. He could be a problem if anything went down. “We were in the same home together for three years when we were kids. I came here once, to see if she was happy. She tried to beg me to stay,” Hella answered. I think about the time I had spent at The Army, all the schooling from the private nuns. My memory draws blanks on a lot of those memories, but I remember the learning aspect of it. I was grateful for it, and I guessed because Jada and I were the youngest there—her coming in at the age of four— we were Nun Nancy and Nun Lucy’s only students.

English and math were our primary subjects, but most of our learning was guided by what Kurr wanted us to learn, which was mainly killing. With Jada, it was killing in the art of seduction. She was good at it—is good at it. Too good because once they saw how easily she could reign in some of the larger upscale kills, there was no way they were letting her go. She’d bring them to their feet before ripping their throat out. Probably the hottest psychotic bitch you’d ever meet, but she has an entirely different side to her too. They needed her, and there was no way they would ever let her out of their sights. I promised myself that I would go back to her, and I will. I needed to make sure I had somewhere to bring her first, and there was no doubt that they would have put out a code black on both Hella and I. We were not safe. I knew that they wouldn’t hurt Jada, they needed her too much, but I had no doubt that every person I saw on the side of the road could possibly be working for them. Bringing my attention back to the present, Hella was still rambling. The sound of heels clinked across the tiled flooring, which snapped my head up to attention. A young girl with long blonde hair, dark eyes, tanned skin and legs that go on forever halted in front of us with her hands resting on her hips. Her eyes narrowed on Blake. Oh shit, trouble in paradise? That was a shame, she was pretty fucking hot. Storming over to our table, Blake shifted in his seat in discomfort. This girl obviously had his balls by a leash. “Blake! Where’s my fucking keys?” She yelled, cocking her head. “Phoebe, sit the fuck down, we have company,” he answered casually, bringing his attention back to us. Her shoulders squared, her demeanor changing. It was an interesting observation that showed maybe this girl knew the ins and outs of what happened here. I answered my own question when I reminded myself how she entered the room. “Hello, sorry…” she started, looking between Hella and me. A smile appeared on her face, showing just how fucking cute she was. That was a simple observation. Anyone with vision would say she was appealing. I narrowed my eyes on her before bringing them back to Blake. He followed Phoebe’s sight, looking between me and her before pushing his seat back and shaking his head. “Nope, no. Fuck off, Phoebe.” He looked at her, annoyance etched into his face. “I didn’t do anything!” She raised her hands into the air in innocence and a round of chuckles sounded around the table. “And don’t fucking do anything either,” Blake clarified. “Understood?” She rolled her eyes, nodding her head. “Shut up, Blake. You’re my brother, not my conscience.” Brother, huh? Figures. But now that she had said that, I

could see the resemblance between the two. “Obviously fucking not,” Blake mumbled, stress lines creasing around the edges of his eyes. “I’m Phoebe,” she said, her hand out, waiting for me to take it. “Beast,” I answered. Her face paused. “Is that your real name?” she asked, intrigue lighting up her eyes like a kid that wanted to know if Santa was fucking real. Blake growled from his seat again. “Speedy, take the fucking car. Just get the fuck out of here, you’re giving me a headache.” He threw the keys to her and she caught them in her hands before winking to her brother. “Thanks, bro, I love you.” “That love is going to kill me,” he mumbled, drinking from his bottle again and we all laughed.

It was a little after eight when Abby finally showed up at the clubhouse. As soon as she entered the room, my body stiffened. I’m not fond of cops, actually, I fucking hate them. We were all having a few drinks outside around the bonfire when Phoebe walked out. Her eyes scanning through the crowd until they finally rested on me and I smirked. Yeah, she’s cute. “Where are you from?” Phoebe asked, taking a seat beside me in front of the bonfire. My face drew blank and she noticed, pulling her legs under herself she laughed. “You know, I get it. You don’t want to talk, and you have all that Mr. Mysterious thing going on.” “Nah, nothing like that. Just not much to tell,” I answered, swallowing a large skull of the bitter beer. “Well,” she began, running her long fingers through her blonde hair, “I’ve been told I have great ears if you ever feel like you need to talk. I’ve been around these men all my life, I love them so much… that’s a given.” I smiled. “Thanks.” Standing to her feet and brushing the ashes that came floating across from the flames of the bonfire off her pants, she asked in between looking at her brother. “Where are you guys staying tonight?” Abby piked in from beside Hella. “They’ll be coming with me, Phoebe. You go and head home. You have a big week this week.” Her face fell before nodding. “Yeah, okay. Night all,” she chimed, looking back at me for a split second before heading up the steps and to the back door. “Sorry about my sister,” Blake said, taking a seat on the piece of wood next to me.

I laughed, throwing my hoodie over my head. “She was nothing to apologize for.” “Oh, trust me, she was,” he shook his head. Movement caught my eye from the side as an older woman came walking down the steps toward the bonfire. Her smile graced the place like a breath of fresh air. Was she lost? “Ma, what are you doing here?” Zane asked, walking to her and pulling her in for a hug. “I came to see how you boys are. I’ve been so busy lately, I feel terrible for not popping in more often.” She rubbed his arms, the motherly gesture foreign to me. Nudging his head to Hella and me, he took her hand in his. “Come, I want you to meet a couple people.” Hella and I both looked up at her, her smile dropped when her eyes landed on me. I looked at Zane uneasily. He squeezed her hand. “Ma? This is Beast and Hella.” He pointed to us but her eyes hadn’t left mine. Uneasiness began to nestle deep inside me and my eyes drifted around our surroundings, weighing up our odds if things turned to shit. “Nice to meet you,” I answered. She shook her head, clutching the necklace that hung around her neck. “It can’t be…” she trailed off, taking her eyes off me, down to the dirt ridden ground. “What does that mean?” I asked, looking to a now skeptical Zane. Not good, not good at all. “I’m sorry,” her smile reappeared on her face. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. It’s just you shocked me. You look so similar to someone I once knew.” She shook her head, placing her hand out to me. “I’m Annabelle, it’s nice to meet you boys,” she answered politely, wrapping her cardigan around her waist. She was a small woman. I wondered idly how someone so large like Zane came from someone so petite as her. Looking up to her son, she murmured, “I’m just going to make a quick call. I’ll be back in a second.” “Ma? What the hell is going on?” he asked, his head following her retreat. She shook her head, turning back around and smiling. “Nothing, I hope. I hope it’s nothing,” she reiterated before she walked back into the bar. Zane breathed out, taking a seat beside me. “What the hell is going on with her? I don’t know. She’s not normally like that,” he gestured toward the bar with his beer bottle. “Look, I hate to ask this, but I need to. Will she—” He shook his head, cutting me off. “Nah, you don’t need to worry about that. Ma is as loyal as they come. She passes everything by me, no-one else.”

Clenching my jaw together and fixing my eyes onto the hot burning flames, I raised the rim of my bottle to my lips. “I hope so.”

The next day, we left Abby’s home to head back to the compound. When we pulled in, a whole line of bikes were parked outside with a black van. I looked to Hella uneasily before bringing my eyes to Abby. “What’s this?” She entered through the large iron gates, shaking her head. “I’m not sure, but you can trust us,” she replied with certainty. “You sure about this?” I asked raising my eyebrows to Hella after I rounded his side of the car. “No. But I know we can trust Abby.” “I trust no-one,” I growled, beginning my walk to the bar. Sliding the doors open, the chattering dropped silent and all senses became heightened. The sweet but salty smell of bacon mixed with cigarettes and beer came barraging into me like a churn of pre-disaster. There’s another motorcycle club here, not the Sinful Souls. I looked closer to one of the men sitting closest to me, where his patch reads “The Devil’s Own” and then underneath it reads “Nevada” narrowing my eyes, I fixed them on Zane. Pushing his chair back, he made his way toward me. Clutching my shoulder with his hand, he nudged his head to the bar. “Come, I need to have a chat with you.” On the corner of my eye, I see Hella looking at the crowd suspiciously, his stance changing to one that can only be described as a Pit Bull waiting for a fight. That’s Hella, always there ready to throw it down. Zane shook his head. “Calm down, bro. No drama here. Come, I need to talk to Beast and I know you’ll be following too.” He began walking toward the back of the bar, swinging the half door open that led out back. I looked around at everyone that was sitting in the bar area, my eyes locked on the oldest one there, he had to be around his mid to late fifties. His eyes were boring into mine, and his hand covered his mouth when a set of whispers rounded off around the place. What the fuck is this shit about? Hella nudged my shoulder with his. “Let’s go. See what the fuck this is about.” Walking into the back of the bar, Zane gestured toward the two seats he had pulled out at the table. “What’s this about?” I asked, keeping my eyes locked on his and taking a

seat. Rubbing his hands over his face, he dropped them again, exhaling a gush of air. “Look, fuck. I’m just going to go out and say this because… well, because Luce doesn’t wait on anyone and he has given me ten minutes before he’s coming in.” Taking a stand from his seat, he looked to Hella, who was staring at him like Zane was his next meal. “Sit down, Hella. He’s fine.” Slowly lowering his body to the wooden chair, he kept his eyes locked with Zane, his jaw set and eyes dead. “Do you know who your parents are?” Zane began, unfazed by Hella’s glaring. “No. Why?” I answered through clenched teeth. “Well. My Ma, she—” “I thought you said she wouldn’t say anything?” I whispered harshly, sliding the seat back and placing my fists on the table. Rounding the table, he leaned against it, gripping the wood with his hands. “She didn’t. I mean, she said she couldn’t deny the resemblance when she saw you. It was why she was acting all fucked up.” “You’re not making sense, Zane. Spit it out.” Hella changed positions in his seat restlessly, his hand resting over his mouth. “She saw you, and you looked so much like Luce. I don’t know how I didn’t see it either. Anyway, she called Bethy straight away. Bethy is one of the old fellas old ladies, she’s been with them for years. It turned out, Luce had a kid. Bethy had been hiding it for years.” “So. That doesn’t mean I’m his kid,” I answered under a scoff. “Actually, here’s the fuck me part. Bethy and your mom, they were best friends. When your mom told Bethy about her being pregnant, Bethy gave her a number to a Catholic adoption center.” “Wasn’t raised in no Catholic adoption center, you got the wrong guy.” There had to be a reason why he was telling me all this shit, but they’ve got the wrong guy. I wasn’t raised in a nice Catholic adoption center. I fucking wish. He shook his head. “After your mom went missing, Bethy lost her mind. She tried to track her down. She found out that the Catholic center is actually some dodgy system that they used to recruit members…” his voice traveled out and my breathing began to quicken, a deep pulse started to beat into my ears. “For… The Army,” he answered, eyes glued on me. My windpipe expanded by the information, but I shook my head. “No, can’t be. It’s a coincidence. And how did she find that out? There’s no way she got to the bottom and found out about The Army. They’re non-existent,” I answered, shaking my head.

“It’ true—” His voice was cut out by the door creaking open from behind me. My shoulders stiffened and my face stilled. I kept my eyes locked on Zane, not ready to turn around and see the so-called resemblance. Hella cursed under his breath, shaking his head. “Beast, look up, man.” Standing off my chair, I turned around to face the newest body that had entered. Shit. It was like looking at the future me, but where his jaw was narrow, mine was square. My skin had an olive tint to it too. I’m guessing I got that from my mother. “At first, I didn’t believe it,” he began, stepping closer. My body stiffened. Hella’s shoulders brushed up against mine, standing an inch in front of me. I took hold of his arm, pulling him backward. “I still don’t. Could be a coincidence,” I answered, nodding my head at Hella to stand down. “Son, those eyes right there…” he pointed two fingers at me, “…are not a coincidence.” “Don’t son me,” I replied, taking a seat on the table. His eyes wrinkled, distress lines pulling his skin taut. “You’re a devil, that’s apparent in your eyes is what I was meaning.” Pulling out a cigar from his left pocket inside his cut, he clipped it before placing it in his mouth. “You going to ask about your mother?” he asked, taking a seat next to me. “Nope. Not right now.” Taking my position on the chair, I ran my hands over my face in frustration. Half of me wanted to believe that this was shit talk, but the other half knew that there was no way they would have that kind of information if it were lies. Then there’s the resemblance, I couldn’t deny that— as much as I wanted to. Did I want to play happy families, though? That was a fuck no, with no passing go. He nodded his head. “That’s fine.” The door swung open again, my head snapped up from being hooded between my arms. A woman walked in. Short brown hair and standing around five foot three, her eyes bored into mine. My eyebrows drew together “Sorry, it’s just… you look like your mother, too.” Her eyes glassed over, her hand wrapping around her throat. “It’s all my fault.” Luce stood from the table, walking toward her. “We’ll get to that back home. Leave.” He pointed to the door, his jaw clenched tight. “Wait,” she said, bringing her sad, tired eyes up to mine. “Your mom is still alive. She’s out there somewhere…” she trailed off, her eyes skimming over me and toward Luce.

“Not this shit again,” he mumbled under his breath. “Leave, Bethy.” She nodded her head, turning in her steps and walking out the door. Rubbing my hand over my jaw, I exhaled out in frustration. “This is fucked. I need time to let this sink in.” “Come back to Vegas, son,” he said, looking down to me, waiting for an answer. I shook my head. “No. Not ready for that, I need time.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, a nod of understanding and setting into his black eyes that I’m so familiar with. Hella stood from his seat where he’d been silent for the entire time. “I’ll come with you.” I shook my head again. “I need time alone, bro. You stay here with Abby, I’ll find somewhere to clear my head.” Hella’s shoulders stiffened. “No. No fucking way are we splitting.” “We’re not splitting, I’m going to clear my head. I’ll come to Abby’s when I’m done.” “Fuck that! No. No way,” he answered with certainty, crossing his thick arms in front of himself. “Hella…” I warned, boring my eyes into his. Luce stepped in, running his eyes between both Hella and I. “Suggestion. Come to Vegas and clear your head. Both of you. Hella can crash at the clubhouse until your head is…” he waved his hand around his head, “…cleared. Deal?” Narrowing my eyes skeptically, I asked him, “Why? Why are you eager to know me?” His face relaxed. “You’re my son. Our time was stolen. I plan to amend that. And there’s your mother, I loved her like no other.” Closing my eyes briefly, I nod. “I need time,” I stated with certainty. “I’ve never had family. Hella and Jada were the only family I had. This word is foreign to me.” “Just come home, son. I will take care of everything, that I promise you.” His words wrapped around the lost kid that still hides inside me. Maybe under it all, I do still crave a family. Under a lot of concrete layers and titanium barriers, but under there somewhere. “Yeah, all right.” I swallowed past the lump that had built in my throat. Hella walked to me, clutching his hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want me with you? We’ve never been separated,” he whispered, looking toward Luce. “Yeah, I’m sure,” I answered, looking directly into Luce’s eyes.

“I want to show you something,” Luce said, dragging up the garage door. The Devil’s Own compound is a lot rougher than the Sinful Souls’. It looks… biker. After our chat in Westbeach, we all rode back to Vegas that night. My head was clouded and I didn’t like it. It was a vulnerability that I wasn’t familiar with. My footsteps caught up to Luce where he pulled up another silver garage door, opening out to display a gloss black Harley Davidson. “Nice. It yours as well?” I asked, taking a step into the garage. The only light that beamed in was coming from the late day afternoon sun. “Yeah. I bought her before my father died… your grandfather. He died last year. Don’t know why I bought it.” His eyes came up to meet mine with a smirk. “I do reckless shit when I’m feeling off.” I chuckled. “Yeah, you don’t say.” He pushed his fist into his pockets, fishing out a set of keys. “Here…” throwing them into my hands, “…she’s all yours. I don’t know why I bought her, but I’m glad I did.” “I can’t accept this,” I responded, throwing the keys back at him. “You can, and you will.” He tossed them back to me. “I make the rules around here, you take the bike.” I caught them in the air. “All right. Thank you.” He rounded the bike, walking toward me. “She’s a Dyna Super Glide Sport with custom T-bars.” “Thanks, you didn’t have to do this.” “No, I did,” he answered with a smirk. “Oh, and why is that?” “Because, you’re my son. Which makes you a Devil by blood, which means you will be patching in.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Yeah? You’re very optimistic. Have you forgotten, I have The Army chasing my ass? That’s some baggage to bring into your club.” “See, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re family… and that makes me automatically involved, patch or no patch.” He turned in his steps, smirking over his shoulder. “Oh, and there’s a phone in the bag. Make sure you use it to get hold of me. Don’t be longer than a couple weeks. Welcome home, son.”

Twenty-one years. Twenty-one years it took for me to be free. With the wind whisking past my face, I’d never felt such freedom as I did riding this bike. A surge of adrenaline zapped through me as I hammered down to the apartment blocks I looked into before I left. Pulling up to the curb, my bike rumbling under me I took my helmet off and threw my hoodie over my head. It was becoming a standard trait for me to have it on now. With The Army out for blood, my face needed to be hidden constantly. Shoving the gloves into my pocket, I walked toward the door. The walls covered in holes, little windows scattered around with only one way in and one way out. It was a shit hole, but it’d do. Until I figured out my money situation, I needed to be smart with how I spent the money I had. Pulling open the door, the smell of cigarettes and dirty diapers hit me. Jesus Christ, this place was less than a shithole. “Can I help you?” The woman asked who sat behind a glass shield with a cigarette hanging from her mouth and her ratty hair trailing down her back. She had to be around sixty and she was a scary looking bitch too. “Yeah, any rooms available?” I asked, cocking my head, running my eyes over her form. She paused for a brief second, eying me up and down before reaching under her desk and pushing her chair up to stand. “Follow me.” When she finally left, I gathered my belongings—which wasn’t much, just a backpack with a few items in it—before walking into the small unit. The room was a rundown absolute shit hole, but from where I’d just come from, this was luxury. Walking into the bathroom, there were stains stretched wide over the vinyl flooring like puddles of washed up dirt. I turned the faucet on, ripped my clothes

off, and stepped into the hot cascading water. Well, at least it was fucking warm, I was half expecting it to be cold. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I ran my hands over my head, wiping the water off me when a scream vibrated through the walls. My body stilled, every instinct I had sparked to life. “No, no, no,” the desperate voice pleaded. There was something in that pleading voice that pulled me in deep. The scream sank into my skin like fangs, lodging itself under my skin. “Fuck,” I muttered, taking out a shirt from my bag before popping open a beer and sitting back on the couch. It was one in the morning, I should be sleeping. But with sleep, came the nightmares. I never knew where they came from. Memories I’d lost from the serum? Or just my imagination running wild while my eyes were closed… With the rifle sitting propped on my shoulder, I rounded the building where my target lay. Looking up to the building opposite, I saw Hella lying on his stomach, peeping through the scope of his rifle. Pulling the ski mask over my face, I carried on through the dark alley, the street lights pitch black from being shot out. Reaching the power box that controlled the building, I popped it open and cut the main source of power, the windows above my head shutting to black instantly. I pulled the walkie-talkie out from the side of my vest, pushing on the button. “Lights out. Heading in.” “Roger,” Hella answered. Kicking down the door, I raised my gun up to shoulder level and descended into the darkness, night vision goggles sitting over my eyes giving me florescent green vision. A gray figure came into view, my finger reacting instantly, the sound of the shot silent. I continued my shuffling down the long dark hallway, glancing down at the GPS map in my pocket, the target zoned into the room that sat in front of me. Raising up a gun, I kicked open the door where multiple figures appeared. Aiming at the first one, I shot him, taking each one down—failing in their attempts at escaping—until they dropped to the pavement. Once the room was clear, I pushed up the walkie-talkie. “She’s clear.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, what? You want me to double check?” “Yeah, shake them just to make sure.” “Hella, you’re a sick fucker.” “You love it. Hurry up, no doubt they’ll have some crew coming out.”

Shaking my head, I brought my hand to my thigh where my holster was wrapped. Unclipping the buckle, I pulled out my Eickhorn Advance Combat Knife and made my way to the first body that I could see beaming through my night vision. One after one, I lodged my knife deep into their bodies. The spraying residue from the destruction splattered over my skin like a thunderstorm of showers raining down on hell. After finishing with the final body, a glimpse of movement lit up my vision and my head snapped to where it came from. Tilting my head, I zoned in on the little figure that was sitting under the table clutching her brown teddy-bear with a tight pink bow tied across the ears. The little girl looked around the room, fear smothered all over her face as she clutched her teddy tighter, pulling it into her while squeezing her eyes shut tightly. Tears strolled down her eyes and her sobbing came in forceful heaves as her whimpers racked her body viciously. Dropping my gun, I pushed on the walkie-talkie. “Roger, she’s clear,” I growled down the little black box, keeping my eyes locked on the little girl whose body relaxed instantly. She looked to be around five or six, there was no reason for me to take her out too. I was glad it was me that was sent on this mission, not one of the others. They would have taken her out too. Hella included. Turning in my steps, I ran out the way I came, the mushy mess under my heavy boots sloshing under each footstep leaving behind a room full of dead men who didn’t know how to pay their gambling debt. With my heart pounding against my chest, my skin prickled and dripped with sweat, I launched myself off the bed. “Another memory,” I whispered to myself, realization setting in that maybe I wasn’t such a heartless prick when it came to kids. Clutching the sheet around my waist, I threw my legs off the bed and walked into the kitchen to pour a glass of water before making my way back to bed. Fixing my eyes on the ceiling as I laid on my back, I glanced at the alarm clock that was sitting on the old bedside table, noting the time. Four in the morning, fucking great. Slowly closing my eyes, I snapped them open again when I heard the sound of a bed bumping up against a wall. My eyebrows creased as I looked toward where the sound was coming from, noticing it was where the screams filtered through from earlier. There were no screams this time. The sound of springs squeaking from a mattress pierced through and a headboard banging up against the wall in a continuous momentum. I don’t know why, but my stomach churned. We were never to have sex in The Army, but we did. The Chiefs would get escorts in, to scratch their itch so Hella and I would go dipping. The girls were nice girls, not the usual type you’d expect in escorts.

The sounds stopped, so I turned over and shut my eyes, thinking about all the revelations that had come to the surface over the past twenty-four hours.

Over the next two weeks, the same screams would vibrate through into my room. I’d seen the girl twice since I’d been here, she lived with her dad and I’m almost one hundred percent certain that that sick fuck was abusing her. It was none of my business, but no-one deserves to be treated like that. I don’t know why, but the need to save her intensified daily. I’d been recording her cries. They came in the middle of the night, so I was almost sure that she was asleep. I had been keeping in contact with Luce and Hella, told them I couldn’t come back yet, saying I needed space. Only that was a lie. I knew that I wanted to be a part of my dad’s club and I wanted to get to know him. But I was not leaving anywhere until I saved that young, lost girl. Opening up the door, I closed it behind myself, pulling the lock over and placing the key in my jean’s pocket. I began walking down the wooden rundown stairs until I hit the front doors. Pushing them open, I made my way to my bike which was parked on the sidewalk. A few little teenagers admired it approvingly under their cheap bottles of clear liquor and a strong smell of ganja. I swung my leg over, kick-starting her to life, the deep rumble vibrating underneath me where the boys stood staring in appreciation. I smirked at them before flooring it out of there. I needed to set a plan up to get Jada back.

When I arrived back to the apartment, the cold night of the day had set, showing a dim glimmer of orange glowing over us. I called Luce and Hella today, sorted out a house to set up so I could get Jada out. As it turned out, they had a few houses on the clubhouse property and she could stay in one of those. It’d be a

risky operation getting her out, but there was no way that I was leaving her there. Double stepping up the wooden stairs, I was passing the door next to mine when I noticed it was ajar. Pausing on my steps, my chest heavy, my throat tight, I brought my eyes up to the door, peering in through the crack. When it finally registered what was happening, a hot rush of lava flowed through me and a boiling burn began to steam under my skin. Raising my steel boot to the door, I kicked it open, barging inside with one man in my line of fire. Grasping his collar and pulling him off her, I threw him onto the floor. “Who the fuck—” He didn’t get to finish his sentence because my fist was connecting with his mouth at rapid speed. Blow after blow, I put all my weight into every blow that came from me, pouring all the nights that I heard this girl scream into my assault. “Stop,” the softness of her voice broke through the violence like a dove flying through a thunderous night. My chest heaved with heaviness, weighed down with the suspicions of what this girl may have been through. “I’ve been watching you,” I began, rubbing my blood-ridden hand over my face. “For the last two weeks, I’ve heard your screams through these walls. How long has he been doing this?” I asked, voice strained, and using all my will power not to just end him right here. The urge to slice this man into two was coming drastically close to snapping. “I—I—uh,” she stuttered around her words. I kept my eyes locked on the blood-drenched body underneath me. My nostril’s flaring in rage. “Just tell me? Be honest with me.” Clenching my fists so tightly, my knuckles glowed a bright white. “Since I was four,” she whispered through the tightness of her throat. My chest tightened, stomach coiled as anger pulsed through my veins, pumping ruthless adrenaline through me at epic speeds. “Let me finish him,” I growled out, turning my head toward her over my shoulder. “Okay,” she answered hoarsely. Wrapping my hands around his neck, my hands slipped around his skin from the slickness of blood that was covering him. I grasped his head tightly and twisted it until I feel it snap in the palm of my hands. Relief flooded through my body, relief that this girl would not have to put up with this man ever again. Getting up, I reached into my pocket and took out my keys, handing them over to her. “Go to my room. Don’t talk to anyone. Go there now. Do you understand?” For the first time since I’d seen her, I noticed the little things. Like the way

her blue eyes were the brightest shade of blue I’d ever seen, and they seemed a little too big for her face. Or how her heart shaped face was wrapped in milky silk skin. My fingers twitched as my mind wondered how it would feel to run my hand over her cheek which held a natural blush. Her cherry colored lips formed an O making two deep dimples pop out as she looked between the body and me. Fuck me. She’s beautiful under the emptiness that taints her eyes. She had to be young, way too young for me to be thinking about those cherry lips. I couldn’t come back for her. “Can I see you?” she asked, tilting her head. I grasped onto the rim of my hoodie that covered half of my face and pulled it down to the back of my neck. Her big blue eyes examined me, narrowing in some places. When her blush deepened, I pulled the hoodie back over my face. “You need to go. Now. I will wait until it’s dark outside to take care of the body, but you need to go next door and wait for me.” I pushed the keys into the palm of her cold, soft hand. “Now!” I urged her. She winced and I internally swore at myself. That was not what I wanted to do, but she needed to leave. Her back turned to me as she walked toward the door. Grasping the handle in her hand, she turned to me over her shoulder and whispered, “Thank you,” before walking out and shutting the door behind her. Once the door closed, I took out my phone from my pocket and dialed Hella. There’s no way I could shift this sack of shit on the back of my bike.

Seven Years After The Meet Walking down the busy streets of downtown Manhattan after training, I was thankful for everything that had pulled me through my sleepless nights. Since I’d been in New York, I’d been doing archery. It’d given me the strength that I needed to get me through, to remind myself that I was in control now. No-one knew about my past. I wasn’t ready to share that with anyone yet, but when I was, my best friend Phoebe would be the first person I would confide in. She’s everything a girl could want in a best friend, despite the fact that she was raised within a motorcycle club. She’s extremely compassionate, loyal and loving. I wanted to tell her a little about my past because I knew it killed her every time I shut myself off. The vibration of my phone in my pocket pulled me out of my thoughts. I answered it with a smile, knowing that it was Phoebe. She and I have been inseparable since she saved me from getting my handbag taken by a homeless man on the side of the street. It was my first week in NYC, and I was trying to find an apartment in my price range to rent that was around NYU when she stopped the whole ordeal. She was a tough little cookie. I later found out that she was raised within a motorcycle club which explained a lot. “Hey, what do you want for dinner?” I asked, bringing my sunglasses down over my eyes and trying not to bump into the large amount of bodies that were hurrying about their daily duties. “Um… homemade burgers?” “Fine,” I rolled my eyes. “But we’re eating whole-wheat buns, no mayo, and no ground beef patties. Steak or chicken breast burgers. Pick…” “You take the fun out of homemade burgers, Meads. Steak. Get extra. Melissa is coming down.” Melissa is Phoebe’s best friend from Westbeach. She was around five foot three, long blonde hair with sun-kissed skin. We got on well, but I’d only been around her when Phoebe was around. “Can’t help it. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up my phone and continued my way back to our apartment that sat right in the center of midtown Manhattan. It was a modest, small, two bedroom apartment that overlooked the town. It was perfect. After the man who killed my father didn’t come back for me, I stayed there, searching his room for clues as to where he may have gone because I wanted to thank him. I needed to thank him. He saved my life. He had no idea how close I came to ending myself that day. So I stayed, he never came back, though. I

stayed for two whole weeks before I went back into the room Donald and I stayed in and began searching through Donald’s belongings. He didn’t have much, but I knew he kept a small shoe box hidden under his bed. I was unsure what it contained. Walking into his room, I slid the box out and popped it open. It had papers, bills, and some photographs of him and a young woman. I guessed that was my mother. She looked like me. Long brown hair, big blue eyes, heart-shaped baby face. She looked so much like me it was eerie. I ripped the photograph in half, scrunching up Donald’s side and placing the one of my mother in my pocket. I continued on with my sneaking until I found a letter that was written to Donald dated a few years earlier. It was signed from a Penelope Smith. Smith was Donald’s and my last name, so I assumed she was one of his relations. I scanned the letter that wrote about how much she wanted to get to know Donald. She stamped her address on the bottom of the letter. I folded it back up and placed that in my pocket along with my mother’s photograph before sliding everything back to where it was before packing a bag and leaving that pit of bad memories for the last time. It turned out Penelope was my aunt, but she was nothing like Donald. I showed up on her doorstep, handed her the letter and I’d stayed with her since that day. She enrolled me in high school, and then when I was accepted into NYU, she paid for that too. She fell sick a few months after I arrived. She told me she’d been fighting cancer for years. I was heartbroken. I had just found family, someone that loved me, and now she was going to die. She fought hard. The cancer didn’t take her until last year. So I have dear memories of her at my graduation, starting my first job, and all the little things that mattered. It was just her, so I left after she passed and to my surprise I was left with her estate. She had a ton of cash and I still had her home. She ordered in her will that I was to sell her house and travel, fall in love, and learn what it was like to have your heart beat and flutter for one man—or many, as she put it. I reluctantly did as she asked and sold the house. A few days later was when I met Phoebe, and we hit it off instantly. She was like the sister I’d never had. Walking into our apartment, I shut the door and wiggled out of my jacket, hanging it behind the front door. “Phoebs, you home?” I shouted out, placing my handbag on the kitchen counter and taking a bottled water out of the fridge. “Here,” she answered, yelling from her bedroom. I laughed, closing the refrigerator door and making my way down the little hallway and into her room. Laughing around the rim of my bottle, I pointed to her. “What are you

doing?” She’s jumping around the room, trying to pull her pants up, knocking the bottled perfume off her dresser. “Fuck, I think I’ve gained weight,” she exhaled, yelling out in frustration as she attempted to pull the tight dark denim jeans past her ass again. “So… thank you for making dinner healthy tonight, then?” I teased. She stopped what she was doing, huffing out, which made her hair fluff up that had fallen around her face. “Not funny, Meads. I’ve never had an issue with weight gain in the past.” Phoebe was stunning and small. It was obviously all in her head. “Hmmm, lucky for some then. I’ll get started on dinner. When will Melissa be here?” I stepped around her pile of clothes, picking up my V-necked shirt that was lodged deep with her clothes while rolling my eyes at her. See… sisters. “She’s already here. She had to pick up some appliances from the city. Something about it being hard to come by,” she added, taking the top back out of my hands. “I’m not finished with this.” She smiled, walking into her closet. “Well, be sure to put it back when you’ve finished then.” That’s the best I could hope for. I loved Phoebe, I wouldn’t be the person I was today if it wasn’t for her. There had been times where she had to be the strong one for both of us even though I had never told her about my past, I intended to, though. But regardless of her lack of knowing, she stood by me. Through it all.

“Oh my fucking God,” Melissa moaned, biting into the whole-wheat burgers I’d made. “Jesus, how’d you learn to cook like this?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it just came to me.” Shaking her head around another bite, she answered with a full mouth of food. “Nope, no way. You must get it off your mom or something.” My jaw paused. I swallowed down what was in my mouth and took a drink of my water. Melissa glared at Phoebe, who was shooting daggers at her. “Oh shit, did I say something dumb?” she asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t know if I did get it from my mom. I didn’t know her.” Melissa glanced at Phoebe before bringing her eyes back to mine. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.” I shook my head, clearing my throat and waving her comment away. “It’s

fine, let’s just eat.” After dinner, I excused myself from the table and walked into my bedroom. It was average. A white metal queen bed, green and white bedspread with autumn leaves spread over it. Everything in my room was light. I opened my white drawers and took out my pajamas before heading into the bathroom to take a shower. Turning the faucet on, the room became filled with steam. Wiping the mirror to clear it, I looked at myself in the reflective glass, noticing how much I have changed since growing up. The comment about my mother had evidently surfaced some memories for me. If I thought I looked like my mother as a fifteen-year-old, then I could pass as her doppelgänger now. I slid my thumb over my plump red lips and bit down on the tip of my thumb. I was often told how beautiful I was from my friends and some men. And it was not that I didn’t believe them, it was that I didn’t want to be appealing. I didn’t want to attract attention to myself. I hadn’t had sex willingly before. I refused to. I didn’t think there would be a day where I’d find pleasure in something that had been forced upon me for so many years from such a young age. Phoebe and Melissa would talk about how great sex was, but all it did was test my gag reflex. Sex was a dirty word for me, and I hated Donald for stealing such a huge part of what should’ve been an amazing part of my life. I’d tried touching myself, it never happened. No spark, nothing. Even when I thought over the hottest guy I’d ever laid eyes on, I was reminded about the circumstances as to why he was there and the memories that came with him. He killed Donald though, and for that I was thankful. Stepping into the shower, I let the hot water cascade off my slender back. Pushing my long brown hair to one shoulder, I squeezed a large amount of body wash into the palm of my hand before rubbing it vigorously all over my body, trying to rub away the dirtiness that sits within me. Showers are probably the closest thing I had come to feeling something pleasurable. And that’s because I felt clean when I was in the shower. But my memories would forever infect my view of myself. When I looked into the mirror, I would always see the dirty little girl who would get raped by her father glaring back at me. Sliding my hands down over my inner thighs, the lumps from my scars bore into the palm of my hands, like a reminder of why I was not loveable. Why no-one would love someone so dirty like me. I squeezed my eyes shut as a single tear dropped and goose bumps broke out over my skin. The shower being the only place where I could let myself go. I would let it all out in the twenty-five minutes I had in there, but once I stepped out, I left it in the bathroom. It was where I closed my emotions, leaving

them in there until the next night. Turning off the faucet, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my towel around myself, the fluffy plush material bringing me comfort. I pulled open the drawer and took out my night cream before I massaged it into my smooth white skin. My cheeks were blood red from crying along with my eyes. Placing the cream back into the drawer, I quickly threw on my pajamas, turned the light out and headed to bed.

Opening my eyes, I stretched out my stiff limbs. I must have slept on my left side all night again, still and not moving. Walking out to the kitchen I caught Phoebe in a conversation with Melissa. “What’s the plan?” Melissa asked Phoebe. “We need to head back to Westbeach. Blake’s piece of shit accountant at his nightclub decided to walk her ass out of there. I have to go and pick up the papers, and run the books for him until he finds someone else.” Blake’s Phoebe’s brother who is a part of the Sinful Souls Motorcycle Club in Westbeach, California. “Need to, or want to?” Melissa asked with an arched eyebrow. “Both. He comes first. Also, I may be finding every excuse to get out of here for a while.” I walked in, leaning up to take down a bowl from the kitchen cupboard. “You’re leaving?” I asked, pouring the granola I’d made from scratch into a white ceramic bowl. “Just for a few weeks.” “Oh yeah?” I spooned a mouthful of granola into my mouth. “Can I come?” Phoebe’s spoon paused mid-air. “Of course, but don’t you have to work?” “I quit last night,” I answered, not wanting to go any deeper into the conversation. I loved my old boss and I loved being a software architect for my firm, and I studied hard in computer science to have this life, but my new boss was a wanker. “You quit? You loved your job!” “I did, yes. But the new boss was a little… intrusive,” I answered, thinking back to his inappropriate behavior last night. After our ten o’clock meeting, I was sitting back at my desk when he approached me. Aside from the fact that he

couldn’t keep his eyes off my breasts didn’t help, but then he had to go and do something inappropriate. I stood from my seat after he was asking me questions, with my papers in hand ready to take myself to the copy room, when he slid his hand over my ass. That was enough to make me snap. I turned in my heels and threw the papers at his face, with the words, “I quit,” and “you pig,” thrown in there somewhere amongst that. If that wasn’t bad enough, he looked shocked, like how dare I stand up to him. I was all too familiar with what goes on in an abuser’s mind, though, that’s what was dangerous about it. They actually thought they were doing nothing wrong. “Intrusive?” Phoebe asked, eyes slanting and her ‘protect-a-friend’ barrier coming up. I love her and her strength. I could only hope that one day I can be as strong as her. I shook my head. “It’s okay, Phoebe. I’ll find another.” “Okay, well, you can come with! I have to warn you, though…” she began. Only to be cut off by a laughing Melissa. “Ha, warn her? Oh honey, you can’t just warn people about your family. They would need at least a year just to warm up to the idea of them.” “Thanks for that, Mel. Seriously,” Phoebe said, narrowing her stare on Melissa. “As I was saying, my family are a little… different.” “They’re in a motorcycle club, yeah?” She nodded her head. “Yes, they are. They’re a little rough around the edges, and may hit on you here and there. I’ll stop that the best I can, though.” “It’s okay. I know all about pushy men. I’ll be fine. I’m coming.” Her eyes faltered, her mouth opening for a split second like she was pondering on whether she should ask me to enlighten her about that statement, but in true Phoebe fashion, she didn’t dig. It was exactly why I felt so comfortable with her and why when I did finally feel like opening my clam shell, she would be the first person to see my stained pearls. “All right! Let’s go.”

It took us forty-four hours to get to Westbeach. I was a little on the cranky side because I’d never been a fan of traveling, but I was glad that we were finally there nonetheless. “Wake up, bitches! We’re here!” Phoebe beamed from the driver’s seat. Both Melissa and I tried to take turns with driving, but she had nothing of it. The girl actually loved being behind the wheel far too much. “We just need to stop off at Sinsation and then we can head to my house.” “You have a house here?” I asked, glancing out the windows, watching all the street lights passing us by. “I did as a child. Where do you think I kept all my cars,” she answered with a small smirk. “I guess I never thought of that,” I answered, running my hands through my hair. Phoebe was a car fanatic. One would think coming from an MC family she’d share the same passion for bikes, but that wasn’t the case here. She had a collection of cars that she boasted about on a daily basis, her eyes flashing with passion and love. I hoped that one day she could mix her career with her passion. We pulled up to a huge building. The walls were stroked in gloss black and the doors shining a bright blood red with Sinsation written in red over the top of the door. “What kind of bar did you say this was?” I asked, pulling my hair into a ponytail and rounding the car to make my way beside Phoebe. “A swingers’ bar or sex bar. I need a drink,” Melissa answered, walking toward the door. The initial thought that crossed my mind was… gross. The second one was that I could do with a drink. I was too tired to care if I was sitting on a seat that had previously had a bare ass pushing up against it.

Nope, don’t go there, Meadow. Walking into the bar, nothing was out of the ordinary. I think my imagination had more fire. It looked like an average bar, only more discreet. There were booths that lined down the edges with the bar sitting in the middle. After Phoebe introduced us to her friend Jimmy, who worked behind the bar, I ordered a drink, taking long sips and enjoying the fire that set aflame in my throat. My eyes began scanning the room nervously. I guess it was a habit. I tended to place men in a basket by their looks. I couldn’t help it. Running my eyes along, I began my judgments. Stay away from him He could be okay Nope. Pervert. “Meadow? You okay, babe?” Phoebe asked, holding her drink in her hand. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered her, because truthfully—I was okay. “It’s okay, Meads. You’re safe in Westbeach. Trust me. My family own this town. Okay?” I nodded my head, my shoulders relaxing an inch. “I trust you, Phoebe. You’re the only person I do trust.” This was true, I trusted her with my life. Not only was Phoebe Rendon one hell of a beautiful woman, but she was loyal, kindhearted and loving. I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it. “Thank you, I love that you trust me,” she answered, her eyes glassing over. One of these days I would open up to her. Each and every day I inched closer to telling her what my life was like. I knew in my mind that if anyone was to understand, it would be her. Not because she’d been through similar, but because she was just one of those people. “Holy effing shit,” Melissa whispered loudly from her seat. “Isn’t that Twisted Transistor?” She nudged Phoebe and I turned my attention to Jimmy as we began chatting about the latest software release from Microsoft. It turns out Jimmy was only bartending on the side, he wanted to do something with software or web design eventually, and he was in a loving relationship with his boyfriend of two years. He had a daughter from his previous wife and they had a solid relationship together as well. I was lost in conversation when Phoebe tugged my arm, flicking her head to one of the tables. “Check it out, girl. It’s Twisted Transistor!” “Who?” I asked because I didn’t quite catch the end. She laughed. “Twisted Transistor… you know…” Understanding set in. Twisted Transistor, rock band and panty wetters.

Everyone who was breathing knew who Twisted Transistor was. They were the biggest rock band to hit the world since Metallica. With Ryder Oakley as the lead singer, his twin brother Ryker Oakley as the guitarist, along with Leo Akins and Tommy Stevens… Yeah, I knew who they were. “Oh, yeah, I know who they are,” I answered, turning my attention toward the table of the hottest and most famous rock Gods known in our day and age. I smiled politely at them before bringing my attention back to Jimmy. I wished I could’ve said I was as excited to see them as much as Melissa was, but I wasn’t. I was not really the fangirl type. Except, a young Brad Pitt, he was worth drooling over.

We were pulling out of the bar when one of the Oakley brothers jumped out in front of Phoebe’s car, laughing at himself in the process. I chuckled under my breath. “Yeah, you won’t be laughing soon.” Sure enough, Phoebe jumped out of the car and gave him an ear full. I was pretty sure that brother was the playboy one with all the tattoos. He’s the one who was seen with a different woman every night. My body shivered in disgust. Hey, I was not judging, but I didn’t understand it. Maybe one day, when I had experienced what it was like to have sex with someone who cared and it was not a dirty thing, I might be able to see the appeal in a man like that. But sex to me, was less than disgusting and I was in no way interested in ever doing it.

It was later that evening when Phoebe and I were sitting in the living room of her family home. The furniture may have been outdated, but you could feel the natural love that surrounded the walls of this house. Phoebe handed me a glass of red wine and I took it with a small smile. She took a seat, taking a sip of her wine. The silence was deafening, but I found that this might be the perfect time to open up to her since Melissa headed home a few minutes prior. “My dad used to lock me inside my room every day,” I blurted out. I guessed my mind had decided that I was opening up to Phoebe that night. Pain flashed in her eyes. “Why did he do that?” “So he could play games with me. The first time he put his hands on me, I was four. It only got worse with age.” I attempted to swallow down the memories of being locked in his closet when I was a little girl before he began raping me. “I’m so sorry, Meadow. No girl should ever have to cop that shit from her own father. A father is supposed to be your protector. It’s terrible that you endured that.” Phoebe’s head shook around the rim of her glass. “It’s fine now. He’s dead. That’s all that matters,” I answered, attempting to calm myself down. I’d never opened up to anyone before, and it was hard for me to do, but I knew that there was no-one that loved me more than Phoebe. “Tell me you killed him,” she replied dead serious. I smiled. “I didn’t. I would’ve loved to, but someone beat me to it.” She raised her eyebrows and turned the television down. “Who?” Taking a large gulp of my wine, I answered, “I don’t know his name. I just remember what he looked like. He moved into one of the empty rooms next to

ours. He would’ve only been a few years older than I was, but he lived on his own…” I paused, taking a sip of my drink. “I was fourteen and I must’ve forgotten to shut the front door properly. Donald began one of his assaults on the living room sofa. I tried to do what I did every time it happened, shut myself off and let the tears rule over me. But this particular day, I was tired and my body was drained. I was tired of living and I had a pistol sitting under my bed waiting for the right time for me to pick it up to prove it. That day was the right time. I decided after he was done, I was going to blow my brains all over his bedroom walls.” I smiled through wiping the tears that were streaming down my face, and Phoebe clutched her shirt using it to wipe the flood of tears which were pouring out from her eyes. I continued, “He was halfway through when he pulled out his pocket knife to slice one of my inner thighs. It was what he liked to do. He’d done it every time… one slice for each time he stole a piece of me. The scars are there for life, to match the ones embedded in my soul. He laid the knife against my skin and my chest began to heave….” Pausing again, I swallowed past the bile that was beginning to rise in my throat from the memories. “I knew what kind of pain was coming, but I rested in the fact that this would be the last time I’d have to endure it because I was done. I closed my eyes and held my breath, waiting for that sting to come over my thigh and the blood to trickle down over my other one hundred and thirty six-scars, but it never came. Instead, I felt the weight of him being pulled off me. The shadow his body created over my shut lids now shone with light. When I heard the sound of a fist connecting with skin, I shot up off the sofa and widened my eyes. I stood and ran to the front door, slamming it shut. I looked to my savior to see his massive frame standing over Donald. He wore a dark hoodie and loose jeans. I told him to stop, which he did. I looked down to Donald, who was stock still on the ground. I walked to the man who saved me… who was so huge, Phoebe. He was massive, tall and built like a house, and he would’ve only been a couple years older than I was. He was like a human killing machine. He turned his head toward me, and I’ll never forget those eyes. They were empty, dead, and absolutely lethal. He said, ‘I’ve been watching you. I had an inkling that something was happening, but no proof.’ Or something along those lines. He walked to me, took hold of the throw blanket that was on the sofa and covered me up before he walked back to Donald. ‘Let me finish him,’ were the four little words he said to me, there was probably more that he said, but I can’t really remember. With a nod of my head, it was done. I don’t even know what he did with the body. He told me to gather all my shit and stay in his room. When he didn’t come back, I found out I had an aunt. She didn’t know about me until I showed up on her doorstep, and I never saw him

again. I dreamt of him every night.” I blew out a deep breath, taking a large gulp of my drink and giving Phoebe a small smile. She hadn’t moved. “Fuck, Meadow. I have no words. I’m feeling a churn of emotions right now and I’m not sure how I feel. I just want to turn back the clock and take you. My dad would have loved you.” I smiled, placing my glass on the coffee table. “Me too. I don’t know why we’re given the lives we’re given, but I like to think there’s always a deeper reason.” Pheobe stood from her spot on the sofa and walked to me, plopping down and pulling me into a warm embrace. “I’m so sorry, Meadow. My heart aches for you.” I pull back, wiping my eyes and smile. “Thank you.” “I wonder who the boy was?” she asked, sitting on the sofa. “I tried looking for him. He gave me the key to his room, told me to wait there for him and that he’d be back after he had tidied up and gotten rid of the body. I waited for two weeks and searched for clues around his room trying to find out who this mystery man was, but there was nothing. I owe this man my life. He has no idea how close I came to ending myself that day.” “I hope you find him one day.” “Me too.” We walked into the kitchen and placed our emptied glasses into the dishwasher. We’d made plans to go out tomorrow night, so I made my way upstairs to the bedroom I was staying in. After slipping into my pajamas, I crawled beneath the soft sheets and closed my eyes, praying that me talking about my past wouldn’t bring on any nightmares.

Two-Years-Later PRESENT DAY My first time in Westbeach, California was eventful. I met the whole band of Twisted Transistor and got on really well with their drummer, Tommy. I got a reference from him to call into a place called New Home. It’s like foster care, only these ladies started it free, because they genuinely care about these kids and I was grateful for them to take me on. I decided to start full time and hang back on my design work for now. Money isn’t tight because of my aunt’s estate, so I don’t need to work for money, I’d rather spend my time at the home helping the kids. They age from six months old to fourteen, and we currently have twelve in residence at the moment. And although some are troubled, they’re all special in different ways and will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ve been staying in Westbeach since I took on the job. I love it here and have a cute little apartment by the beach. After that incident with Phoebe almost running the Oakley brother off the road, she had a hot affair with the other brother, Ryder. But it had ended there until she found out that not only was she touring around the world with Alyx Munroe, pop princess, to organize her closet, but also with Twisted Transistor. She’s due home this week after a string of events. We’ve all been keeping an eye on her through the E! Channel and it’s safe to say that at the moment, Ryder Oakley is one very hated man. I’m walking down the street to meet Melissa at her little boutique bakery she opened in town. It’s called Eat Me. Yeah, somehow, knowing that this is Melissa, that name has a double meaning. Melissa and I have become close since I moved

to Westbeach. Also with Phoebe out and about, we’ve leaned on each other a lot. Pushing open the big silver doors I walk in, the little bell sounding off above my head. “Hey, girl, how have you been?” she yells from behind her counter. “I’ve been good. I thought I’d check in and see how you are today. I promised I’d pick up some cream donuts for the kids, too. You know how much they love them.” She waves her hand. “Of course!” As she busies herself with putting the cream donuts into a box. “Have you heard from Phoebe?” Melissa asks, peeking up at me in between dusted sugar donuts. “No. Not since I called her last week to spill the beans about what’s going on back here. She said that the Sinful Souls don’t have a chapter in Las Vegas.” I take a cookie out of one of the jars she has sitting on the counter beside the cash machine and bite into the chewy, warm goodness. I close my eyes slowly, a moan slipping my lips as I wipe my finger across my bottom lip. “That’s seriously so good. How are you still single?” She rolls her eyes. “Because I haven’t found my one. Anyway, I might give her a call.” I nod my head, taking another bite when the television in the background catches my attention. “Phoebe Rendon has been seen leaving a hotel in New York City in tears. Oh no, trouble in paradise? Or has Ryder Oakley finally woken up to realize he needed to take the trash out early.” I drop my cookie, rubbing my hands together to dust off the crumbs. “Bitch,” I scoff under my breath. Melissa’s shocked face meets mine. “Did you just cuss?” “I always cuss!” She shakes her head. “No, you don’t. Shit. We need to call her.” She removes her apron from around her waist and places it on the counter before dialing her number. Lifting her phone to her ear but dropping it after a few seconds of noone answering. “Fuck!” “Let me try,” I answer, pulling my phone out and dialing her number. “I’m burning rubber. Leave me a message.” Her voice vibrates through my ears causing a smile to slip onto my lips. I miss this girl entirely too much. I shake my head. “Nope, not picking up.” “Shit.” She picks up her phone again. “Wait. Blake and I… even though

we’ve known each other for a long time, he doesn’t like me. You call him, I can’t be bothered dealing with him right now and he seems nice enough to you.” Rolling my eyes, I pick up my phone and ask her for his number. “Who’s this?” Blake growls down the phone. “Blake?” I squeak out nervously before clearing my voice. The man gives me the heebie-jeebies. “It’s Meadow.” There, that’s a little firmer. “Yeah? What’s up?” “Look, have you seen the news?” “Yeah, why?” “No, the… you know… the useless news. The Hollywood News.” “Should I?” “Yes. Yes, I think you should.” “All right. Thanks, I’ll turn it on now.” “Okay…” “Meadow?” He pipes in. “Keep your phone on you. I might need to call you and Melissa in at some point.” “Call us in to where?” “Into the clubhouse if we go into lock down. Shouldn’t… but just in case. Phoebe gave me strict orders.” “Right. Okay. Thanks, Blake.” “Yeah, no worries.” Hanging up my phone, I toss it back into my handbag and blow out a breath of air. “See, I told you he tolerates you. I don’t know what I’ve ever done to him.” Gee, I don’t know. Maybe just being Melissa would be enough to tick him off. I love her, though.

Present Day Seven years. It’s been seven years since we freed Jada, and my father was stolen from me by the same people that stole my first years. I want my revenge, and I will get it. I’m filling up at the local gas station on the outskirts of Route 66 when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I switch hands and pull it out, holding it to my ear. “What is it?” I answer, keeping my eyes locked on the surrounds around me. Over the years, The Army had only come for us once—that was after I freed Jada. It was me, my old man, Hella and Shifter. We needed to keep to low numbers. After sneaking into the joint full stealth mode, we freed her and managed to get back to a hotel. It was all celebrations and cheers for the following two weeks until we found my father with a single bullet through his brain with a note shoved into his mouth, simply reading, ‘Don’t get comfortable, Beast. You are ours. We will come for you when we’re ready, and there will be no stopping that.’ That day shattered my inner self. Over the years leading up to then, my father and I had formed a close bond. After Hella and I cleaned up the body of the young girl’s dad, I rode back to the clubhouse and patched in. Hella had already gotten his patch. My dad admired his loyalty toward me and could see the depths of how far that loyalty ran. I think he knew all along that I would be taking over from him as President when his fate came. It’s why he put Hella as Sergeant of Arms and me as Vice President—much to Sugar’s disgust. He got over it, after I one-outed him in the ring. Now we have a pretty solid friendship, as I do with all the boys. They’re my family now, and I will protect them and guide them to the end of my time. “Beast, how’s your crew?” a familiar voice growls down the phone. I smile instantly knowing this fucking voice. I lean up against my bike, placing my other hand into my jean’s pocket. “In line, how’s yours, brother?” I answer through a smile, running my hand over my still shaven head, not shaven to the skin, just a military style shave. Zane and I have maintained a solid friendship. The Devil’s are down for the Sinful Souls, as much as they are down for the Devil’s Own. Running the Las Vegas chapter is painful, but I also stand for all chapters that are scattered all over the US—making me International President of The Devil’s Own MC. My father and his best friend Ringer were the founding brothers. Ringer is still here, and still with Bethy. He’s still patched, but he leaves everything to us young-ins. It’s a big responsibility maintaining the peace between us and other MC’s while still keeping our business flowing without any hassles. We have a relationship

with the IRA (Irish Republican Army) that supply us with weapons, in return for reliable passage through every town where there’s a Devil chapter located. Which is all over the state with one chapter in Ireland and another in Australia. “Not so inline. Between Abby and Ade, they’re both going to kill me. I need a favor.” “Anything,” I answer with certainty because I am certain. I will do whatever I can to help out Zane where I can. “At the moment, we’re good. But Ade just caused a shit-stir with the Russians so I might need some backup.” I inwardly cringe. The Russians are not someone you want in the enemy bed, but I agree, nonetheless. “Yeah, for sure, just holla when you need us.” “Thanks, brother, you’re all I have that’s close to Westbeach. I appreciate it. I’ll let you know if I need you in, that sound good?” “Don’t mention it, or maybe I will. When I find a way you can repay me,” I chuckle down the phone. “Anything,” he answers instantly without missing a beat. “Just shout out when you need me,” I tell him before hanging up the phone. If only all my relationships with other MC’s were this easy. Sadly—or not so sadly—it’s only like this with the Sinful Souls MC and the Blood Razor’s MC. Everyone else has an issue—they won’t voice it, though. Smart decision really because I have no issue starting a war to earn their respect, I think they know that. After paying for the gas, I walk out to my bike and kick start her to life before making my way back to the compound. I own my own home now in Summerlin West. The clubhouse, which is situated on a large section of land with a built in ranch, bar, and big monster garage, is located on the north side of Las Vegas. My father and Ringer purchased it when they started the Devil’s Own. Smart decision, because we now have four separate houses which are built on the land spread out evenly and strategically too. Yes, we provide a home for those that may need it, but also to protect the clubhouse twenty-four seven. We have someone on the clock all around. It’s convenient and provides a good system. Pulling into the long dusty driveway that takes you to the clubhouse, my bike rumbles underneath me, vibrating the atmosphere with its presence. I still have the bike my dad handed to me, I also have the bike he rode that sits on a pedestal in the clubhouse—where it belongs. Swinging my leg off my bike and removing my helmet, Frost walks out of the clubhouse with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and his mousy blond hair slicked back with his long beard scratching over the collar of his cut. He looks like he just rolled out of bed—or killed someone. I wouldn’t be able to tell you

which. Lifting my chin to him, I smirk. “You’re up bright and early, princess.” He gives me a slow chuckle. “Yeah, Sandy kept me up all night. Good fucking gap she has,” he answers, shaking his head. Sandy is one of the few sweet butts we have that hang around the club. Laughing, I walk up the worn wooden steps. “Put your dick away, we have work to do. Where’s Hella?” He shrugs his beefy shoulders. “He left for town this morning, hasn’t been back since.” Pushing my hand into my pocket, I pull out my phone and dial Hella’s number. “Sup?” “Where are you?” “I needed to get supplies for H2, the roof is leaking.” H2 means house number two, it’s one of the four houses we keep on the property. “All right. I need to run some shit past you all when you get back. Make it quick.” Pushing my phone back into my pocket, I bring my attention back to Frost. “Church in an hour. Let everyone know.” He salutes me before butting his cigarette out under his boot and walking inside with me following closely behind. Our clubhouse is large, but it needs to be. Our crew is quite substantially bigger than your average MC with around fifteen men, including three prospects. Walking straight toward the bar, I nudge my head up to Old Ben and pull out a barstool. Old Ben is the old fella who works behind the bar for us. He’s seventythree years old, but the pension pays him shit so I keep him on. With just his pension, he wouldn’t have enough money for food and rent, so he lives in H3 and works behind the bar. I pay him, and he doesn’t pay anything for rent. He’s a crazy motherfucker, you don’t want to be caught walking on our turf when he’s around with a pistol in his hand. “How’s it going old man, you good?” I ask, putting a toothpick into my mouth and scanning around the room. To be honest, our clubhouse isn’t too bad. The massive barn is equipped with the bottom level bar area which has sofas and pool tables scattered everywhere. Behind the bar’s where we hold church, and where my father’s bike sits proudly behind my seat at the head of the table. It’s all been renovated, complete with flooring and insulation. Upstairs is one large loft that overlooks the bar the whole way around. There are many bedrooms scattered around up there too, for other activities we see fit.

There’s blood on these walls that aren’t just from when I took over. “Yeah, I’m good,” he responds, wiping the counter down with his cloth. Taking my drink, I nod my head to him before making my way to the table where some of my men are seated. I pull out a chair and sit down before sipping my drink. “Calling church in an hour, gives enough time for Hella to get his ass back here.” “Anything important?” Sugar asks, rubbing his hand over his beard. “Not at this moment. I got a call from Zane, need to run some things past you all before I place us in a situation that we probably don’t want to be placed in.” Sugar nods his head. Sugar was here before I was, and was my father’s VP. He had issues when I came back and my dad patched me in as VP with Hella as Sergeant of Arms, but after a round in the ring, we sorted it out and the top dog came out on top. With that being said, Sugar is one trustworthy motherfucker. I trust all my brothers, they wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. But I trust Sugar just below Hella. Hella comes through the barn doors with a hand full of tools hanging from his arms and a cheesy grin on his face. I shake my head and point to all the shit around him. “What the fuck is that?” “It’s the shit I need to fix the roof!” “What? You a builder now? Killing not enough for you?” I ask under a chuckle. He flips me off, dropping the rest of the items onto the ground. “What’s the rush anyway, I was going to call into Red Moon,” he replies with a smirk. “Leave the girls alone, Hella.” “Hey…” he throws his hands up making his way to us, “…it’s not my fault only a whore can handle my cock.” “Jesus,” I laugh, standing from the table. Red Moon is a business we own but have one of the girls run it for us. Shelby is good at what she does, but if she could keep her hands off my cock she’d be better. Not that I haven’t passed her up a few times, but she doesn’t do it for me on any other level apart from making my dick hard enough to come. “Church, now.” I push my seat back and make my way to the back of the bar with Hella hot on my tail. Walking through the iron doors, I step around the long rectangular table that has our emblem carved into the metal, a skull wearing a hoodie, smirking over his shoulder throwing up a full house. That’s what’s on our colors. I smirk at my dad’s bike before pulling my seat out at the head of the table. Having his bike behind me in this room was my decision. It preserved his

presence and position in this club and made me feel like his presence is always here. I flick my lighter between my fingers, watching as Sugar blazes up a joint on my left side and Hella sitting opposite him on my right, having a few tokes before handing it to me. I take it, placing it in my mouth and taking a long pull. “The reason I called this…” I blow out the smoke I was holding and pass it to Hella, “…is I got a phone call from Zane Mathews, the President of the Sinful Souls MC in Westbeach. He might need a favor soon. He was asking if we have his back. One of his guys has ruffled up some Russian’s feathers, he might need some reinforcements. Now… I know it sounds bad, but the Sinful Souls are our brothers. They may not be by patch, but by choice. However, if anyone’s not right with this voice your opinion now, we’ll take it to vote.” “Fuck. This doesn’t sound good,” Nyx voices from down the table, leaning back into his seat. “Proceed,” I wave my hand out while flicking the lighter between my fingers. “Well… Russians. That’s why.” He shakes his head, before leaning onto his elbows on the table. “I get it, they’ve always made it clear that they would throw one down for us, but we gotta be smart here, and I don’t know… getting into the enemy bed with the Russians is not how I wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon.” He takes the joint off Toke who’s sitting next to him. An agreed grunt comes from across the table. “I agree with Nyx. I don’t like it. Little things, yeah, but this? This sounds big,” Flicker adds. “Anyone else have an opinion?” I ask around the table. A chuckle sets off beside Hella and I don’t have to look to know who it is. “You with us on this, Hannibal?” “Fuck yeah, I’m with you. Getting a bit quiet around here. Need to fuck some shit up.” I shake my head around a smirk before picking up the gavel. “Who’s with me?” A sound of yays sound off around the table with two nays. “Out-voted, we ride with them.” I slam the gavel down before throwing it back onto the table. Everyone stands and I bring my eyes up to the two who voted nay. “Nyx, Flicker, sit.” I point my head back down to their seats. They look between each other before sitting back down. Once everyone has cleared out, I bring my elbows to the table. “I don’t like any of my brothers feeling like their opinion doesn’t matter. However, I need you to trust my decision, as your president and as your brother.” “I trust your decision, Beast. I’m just not convinced it’s the right one. But I

will ride, of course, no matter what.” I nod my head at Nyx. He’s smart, he’s young but he’s smart. Pushing my chair back, I stand from the table. “Let’s go, I need a drink.” Walking back out to the bar, Shelby’s sitting at the bar sipping her drink. And with Hella getting his cock ground on by Emma—I see she didn’t come alone. She must be his flavor of the week. I walk to Shelby, pulling a stool out. Her head doesn’t move but an eyebrow arches as she turns her beer around in her hand. “What can I do for you, Shelby?” I signal to the old fella to get me a drink. She swings her attention to me, her dark brown eyes slanting and her long silky legs crossing over. “I was wondering if you were lonely?” she asks, bringing the beer to her lips, running them softly over the rim of the glass. To any other guy, the scene would be hot, erotic even. Not to me, though, she does nothing for me. She’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but I have zero interest in her outside of getting my dick wet. That’s only when I’ve had too much to drink or when thoughts come into my mind that I try to squash. Those thoughts involve a young girl with dirty hair and clothes, and an emptiness in her eyes that God himself couldn’t fill. I’m fucked up and I know it. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. I have thought of chasing her, I know it would be easy enough to do if I really wanted. Let’s face it, I have enough connections. But I know she’ll be okay now. She has to be, right? Her dad is dead, now she can live without her worst nightmare. I laugh, bringing my drink to my lips. “Not today.” Her eyes drop to her hands. “Beast, surely… I mean, I’m the only girl you’ve really seen since you’ve been here. I thought we had established a relationship.” I drop my drink on the counter, bringing my eyes to hers. “If you think for one second that just because you’re the only pussy I’ve had since I got here that that makes you special pussy, you have another think coming. There’s been another, Shelby. Get off your shit,” I state coldly, bringing the drink back to my lips. Bone Thugs in Harmony ‘Notorious Thugs’ begins playing through the sound system and I know Hella has obviously obtained control of the music. “Beast…” she answers sadly. I laugh. “Go home, Shelby. I’ll call you when I’m drunk.” I push my seat back, scooping up my drink and making my way to the table where Hannibal and Ripper are sitting and laughing—probably about something sick and inappropriate. Taking my seat as they continue to laugh, I shake my head. “What’s so funny?” “Did you know that if you fuck a girl who’s been filled with enough gasoline, her body could actually ignite in flames from the inside out?” Hannibal is

laughing from his seat, his evil fucking smirk surrounding his bottle. I chuckle, shaking my head. “You’re a sick fuck.

I’m on my way to Phoebe’s house because Melissa called me an hour ago and asked me if I could meet them there. She’s in bad shape. Ryder Oakley worked another number on her and I’m about ready to give my first ass kicking. Phoebe may have a tough exterior, but she’s sweet and squishy on the inside. Pulling up to her house, I run up her front steps that join onto her little wrap around porch, turn the door handle and push it open. Her house is small compared to the twenty-car garage she has sitting beside it. But it’s comfortable, warm and inviting—everything Phoebe is. “Hello?” I call out, shutting the door behind me. “In here,” Melissa replies out from the kitchen. Walking in, I see them both sitting at the kitchen table, clutching their cups of coffee. “Hey.” I move to Phoebe and pull out the seat next to her. “You okay?” She brings her eyes to me. “Nope. He broke me again. Again!” she whispers angrily. Looking at Melissa, I smile. “It’s okay, Phoebe. We’ll get through this.” She nods her head. “I hope so.” The front door opens again and Blake walks in with Shooter, Phoebe’s Cane Corso dog running up behind him. “Come, I want to show you something real quick,” Blake says to her. “Why?” “Will you be on your feet to open the circuit tomorrow? I already have everyone here packed and ready. Everything’s ready for you. I’ve been planning it since you left. It’s just a good thing everyone flew in early this week.” He scratches his head roughly. The circuit is the racing circuit Phoebe is about to open showcasing the hottest girl racers from around the world—my bestie is a genius. She pushes her seat back in excitement, taking a stand. “Are you kidding me? Yes, yes, I’m ready.” And just like that, her eyes light up like the fourth of July. “All right then, let’s head to Speedy’s Way.” I giggle under my breath at her face beaming up at her brother. Speedy is her nickname that she had been crowned since she was a child. She named her circuit after it. Linking our arms together, she takes us to her monster garage. “Oh dear God, here we go,” I mutter under my breath. Every car ride with Phoebe is like a race against time.

I’m in my office, sorting through paperwork when Hella walks in, his face falling. “What’s wrong?” I ask, dropping the papers of last month’s earnings in a pile beside the door. Yeah, I think I need to hire an accountant. One that doesn’t ask questions about what we do. Somehow, I don’t think that will be so easy. “Someone’s been following me. It’s happened a few times,” he answers, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. “Yeah, same here. Black SUV? They haven’t made a move yet. We’re sitting ducks waiting, though.” I lean back into my seat, stretching my legs out. “We need to end this once and for all. Blow up their entire pad,” he replies casually. I laugh. “Hella, there are innocent people in there. We just need a plan to get them out safely, and then we kill them all. What about your girl in Westbeach?” Raising his eyebrows, he asks, “Who? Abby? Ha! She’s not my girl. Yeah, I’ll hit her up.” “And Hella?” I yell out before he hits the door on his way out. “Get me an accountant. One that’s crooked around the lines.” “How am I supposed to find an accountant that’s going to not ask questions about what we do?” “I don’t know. Use that imagination.” He closes the door behind himself. Standing from my chair, I make my way to the bar. I’m sick of looking at numbers. They ain’t my thing. Pulling out a chair, I slide in next to Hannibal. “We need an accountant,

brother. I fucking hate doing numbers.” He shrugs. “I know someone. She’s a little feisty, doesn’t take shit, but won’t ask questions about what goes on here.” Turning myself to him, I raise my eyebrows. “Who is she?” “My sister’s best friend. Fucking annoying little bitch, but she’s lived with us since she was fourteen when both her parents died in a car accident. She’s twenty-two now and just graduated with a degree in accounting and small business. She and my sister still live at my olds, they’re looking for jobs and all that now.” “Yeah, somehow I don’t think this is what she’d be interested in.” “Oh…” he smirked around his glass, “…I’m sure I can persuade her.” “Jesus, you dipping in that?” He shakes his head. “Fuck no. Fuck off. No. I hate her.” “Well, how the hell are you going to get her to come then, fuckface?” “I have my wicked ways.” He smirks up at me. “I don’t doubt that… at all.” And I don’t. Hannibal is one of the craziest motherfuckers I know. He and Hella run around the same level of crazy, but even Hella has limits. Hannibal doesn’t. He’s twenty-five, one of the younger ones in our club, and has the kind of level of crazy that you never want to cross. “I’ll hit her up. When do you want her to start?” “Whenever.” He takes his drink and walks upstairs to one of the bedrooms up in the loft. I shake my head around a laugh. Fucking psycho. The rest of the day goes averagely slow, with my phone getting call after call from Shelby. I decide to drop it and leave it in my pocket on silent. Hella walks up to me when I’m in the back shed, sorting through our next shipment. “I got hold of Abby, she said she can help. She’s got this crazy plan about bringing down the Russians as well and wants to kill two birds with the one stone. She needs us to bait The Army out to meet up where she’s having the Russians lead to. They know about The Army and the operations that they run, but they can’t touch them. She needs one of the Commanders—preferably Kurr —so she can slowly break him to see which corrupt government is behind it.” “It’s our corrupted government.” “She needs to provide proof.” “What makes her think she can change it? There’s no way.” “By exposing them,” he answered. “Those commanders will die before they talk,” I clarify with him, turning my attention back to the AKA I’m holding.

“Yeah, but they’re trialing out this new shit. Like, truth serum. They want to try it out on one.” “Truth serum?” I scoff, putting the weapon back into the box. “Beast, we come from a place where that shit exists. Don’t play it off like it’s not possible.” He has a point. “All right, so what… we need to draw them to where?” “To a park off State Highway Three. You pull right in, the whole road is desert and hides perfectly behind some sand dunes. It’s perfect.” “Wait a minute… sitting there with some fucking Russians and Feds? Nah, this doesn’t feel right.” “Trust me. This is going to work. I trust her.” “I don’t.” “Well then, trust me.” “Fine. When?” “Tomorrow. It all goes down tomorrow. Which shouldn’t be a problem considering that black SUV has been parked up down Gregory Valley Road for the past week.” “You sure? Fuck,” I answer, pushing my hands into my pockets. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m sure they know I know, too.” He makes his way over to where I’m standing and takes out one of the AKA’s from the cargo box. “Time to blow some shit up,” he smirks, lifting the weapon into the air. I whack his hand down. “Something still doesn’t feel right about this.”

“Remind me why we have to be there at exactly 12:01?” Ripper tenses from the back of the van we’re in as we wait for Hella to leave the house. “Because if we all showed up at different times, that would fuck everything up. The Russians turn up and see it’s the Feds, then The Army show up, can you see how that would pan out?” Nyx replies next to him. “Shut up. Both of you. I don’t even want to do this, something doesn’t feel right. I fucking hate the Feds,” I reply, flicking my switchblade between my fingers. “You’re the boss, so why are we doing this?” “Because I need these assholes off my ass without a war, so I can proceed with getting all the innocent people the fuck out of the base. Then, I can kill them all.” “Who? The innocents? That’s a low, even for you, Beast.” Flicker laughs from the back. I shake my head. The boy needs a kick up the fucking ass sometimes. “No Flicker, you dumb fuck. The Army. Jesus, how the fuck did you get patched in again?” Ripper answers shaking his head. Flicker flips him off. “By fucking your mom.” Ripper’s head snaps up, eyes narrowed. Flicker throws his hands up. “I’m kidding, bro. Fuck!” “Fuck up, Flicker, or I’ll drop your ass back off at college.” Flicker was our prospect but got patched in a few months ago after he took one for us. He spent twelve months locked up, he patched in after he got out. He’s twenty-four. You wouldn’t guess, but the young buck can end almost anyone with one punch. I strategically placed all the men I have in my chapter. A few of them are still here from my dad’s days, but a few of them are newly patched in after I took the

gavel—Flicker is one of them and so is Hannibal. The driver’s door swings open and Hella gets in, starting the ignition. “We’re ready. Abby said no later than 12:01, she’s persistent on that.” A growl escapes my mouth and Hella snaps his head to me. “Don’t growl at me.” He laughs, putting the gear into first. “Save that shit for the bitches.” “I don’t like it.” We pull down the gravel driveway until we reach the entry gates. Looking to Hella, I shake my head and push the button to open the gates. I don’t know why, but I don’t like this idea. I want my in, so that’s the only reason I’m following Hella’s lead on this. That, and because he’s never let me down before. Sure enough, once we pull out of the compound, the Black SUV pulls up behind us, following closely. I keep my eyes locked on the mirror, looking sideways at Hella. The drive there is silent and we keep it at a slow, consistent speed. Once we hit the turn-off, Hella pulls in off the road and the SUV looks to hesitate for a second. “Come on,” Hella urges keeping his speed maintained while his eyes stay locked in the rear vision mirror and the road ahead of him. Once the SUV begins following us again, we all let out a breath of air. Because the dust is causing smoke to rise up outside from our speed, you can hardly see anything. Once Hella swings around a tight bended corner, I look to the time to see 12:01 exactly and the van comes to a halt. Silence fills the atmosphere, every hair I have on my body stands to attention along with my senses. With my jaw clenching, I turn my head sideways to look out the side mirror. The black SUV halts behind us suddenly, almost rear ending us. Opening my door, a round of gunshots ring out, bouncing off the shell of my door. “Fuck!” The SUV attempts to reverse when another truck pulls up behind them. Squinting my eyes to look closer, I see the girl in the passenger seat, her hair glows with Abby’s trademark red hair. “Who the fuck just shot at us?” I yell out to Hella, who’s ducked behind his driver’s side door, loading his gun up again. He’d already emptied an entire round and he probably didn’t miss either. “Russian’s, I’m guessing.” Before he swings back around and unloads another round. Gun shots sound off from behind me along with a blood-curdling scream. Swinging my head around, two women’s bodies are lying lifeless on the ground. Picking up my gun, I point it out in front of me and head toward the one I know is Abby, when a man dressed in an elegant, crisp black suit stands in front of her, blocking my path. He stands with the type of calmness and cockiness one can

only learn by being in The Army. The van trunk opens wide and the boys unload out with their weapons raised. “Stop! Hold the fuck up,” I yell at them. They look at me like I’m crazy, but I need to know what this fucker has to say. “Let her go,” I state, pointing my gun to Abby. There’s another woman wearing a badge dead on the ground beside her, blood trickling out of her eyes, landing onto the dirt ridden ground. “Hella!” I roar out. In a split second, gun shots die out and he rounds the van to stand up beside me. Realization sets in, his face morphing into the lethal son of a bitch he is. “Abby?” His voice cracks for a second before anger seeps into his bones. You can see the exact moment that that anger has settled. “Let her go. Now,” he warns, bringing his eyes up to the crisp suit. Crisp suit laughs while shaking his head. “Now, I can’t do that, Hella. In fact…” he looks down at Abby before looking back to us. “…I don’t think we’re finished with her body yet.” “You won’t win this,” I state just as helicopter propellers sound off over the top of us at around the same time the gun shots die out from where they were coming from, with cars taking off in the distance. I guess the Russians are gone. “We already have. We are always, one step ahead of you boys. Remember that.” “We could kill you right now and it not be an issue,” I say, smiling back at him. He laughs, then points to the sky. “You see that?” He points to the helicopter overhead. Hella steps forward forcefully, my hand swinging out and catching his forearm. He cocks his head, looking at me over his shoulder. I shake my head and pull him back. I know she’s dead, and if Hella inspects that any closer, I cannot be responsible for his lashing out. “I have five minutes to get out of here before more backup show, and judged by those little red dots covering you and your men… I’d say you can do neither of those things.” Gripping Abby’s arm, he pulls her limp body up and drags her by her armpits back to her car before him and the other man he was with get into Abby’s SUV and pull out of there with the helicopter following them. “Fuck!” Swinging my hand around and landing it in the window to our van. “Move the car…” Hannibal points to Flicker, “....now! We need to get the fuck out.” I look to Hella, who still hasn’t moved, or breathed by the looks of it. Flicker gets in the driver’s seat, dropping the emergency break and pushing it out of our way before we all climb back into the van. Once Hella gets in, I turn

my attention to him. “I could fucking kill you,” I growl. He brings his eyes to me. “Fuck up, Beast. Don’t start with this shit. I respect you as my president, but we were equals before this shit brought us together, and right now I’m unstable enough to fuck shit up. Don’t…” He turns the key in the ignition, the veins in his neck pulsating, his jaw clenched and his eyes dead. I laugh under my breath. I know he’s any second away from killing something. Turning the headlights on, I look out ahead of us at what can only be described as a war ground. “Holy fuck,” Flicker whispers from behind me. Swallowing down, I shrug. “Fucking stupid. We should have never been here either. Let’s go.” The entire ground was littered with bodies. There were Feds and men in casual attire, I’m guessing Russian. What a fucking mess, this has just caused a whole lot of fucking heat that I didn’t want. I’m sad for Abby, I am. But she was asking for it. You dance with fire, you’re going to get burned eventually. Her execution wasn’t thought through enough obviously. Looks like we’ll be rolling with Sinful Souls, not just for their beef, but for what is now ours too. On our drive back to the compound, I turn to Hella. “We need to talk about Abby,” I say, clutching onto the arm rest. “I know,” he answers. “We need to call Zane when we get back.” Once we pull into the compound, I walk into the barn where a few of the men who stayed behind are sitting chatting. “Hey, fellas, that was quick!” Toke answers, swinging around on his chair. “Didn’t take long,” I grumble, walking into the boardroom. Hella follows me in along with Hannibal, Nyx, and Ripper. “I need to call, Zane.” Pulling out my phone, I scroll through my contacts until I come to his number, pushing the green button connecting me to his call. “Sup, brother. What can I do for you?” “Yeah,” I answer, taking a seat at the head of the table. “Some shit just went down today.” “What sort of shit?” “Did Abby tell you the operation she was working on?” “With the Russians? Yeah, she did. Was dead against it.” “Yeah, well she tried to add The Army into that mix, too. Something’s happened. Are you sitting down?” Silence fills the phone before a door shuts in the distance. “Yeah,” Zane begins, clearing his throat. “I’m here.” “We meet her down where we were supposed to. She got caught up between it all and someone from The Army took her down. I’m sorry, Zane. She didn’t

make it, but they took her body.” “Fuck,” he whispers before continuing, “are you sure she was dead?” “I couldn’t check her. They wouldn’t let any of us near her. Had laser beams directed on every single one of us from their helicopter in the sky. But she wasn’t moving. I watched her chest and it was still. It didn’t look good.” “Fuck. Fuck. Okay… Shit!” More silence rips through. “Give me some time. We’re going to need some time to get through her funeral. I don’t want to add The Army onto the stress Blake and Ade already have with the Russians. I’ll keep that part out for now. Shit. I’ll need you guys in a week.” “A week?” “Yeah, give us some time to have her… funeral. I’ll keep it closed casket. That way there are no questions about her body. Leave on Monday and meet us at the compound.” “All right, brother. We’ll be there.” Hanging up the phone, I lean into my chair and throw it onto the table. This has started one mass fucking war, and we’re right in the middle of it. Two major sides, who you’d never want as enemies, and we have both. The Russians and The Army. Fuck.

I’m walking out of New Home when Blake begins rushing toward me as he walks out of the hospital. New Home is almost directly opposite the hospital on one of the main streets in Westbeach. “Meadow, hey… something’s happened. I can’t get hold of Phoebe. I need you to try.” “Yeah, okay. Everything okay?” He shakes his head, eyes wide as he clutches the back of his head with his hands. “Abby is dead. Vicky is in labor… probably from stress… and it’s too early, so I had to rush her in. Please, just call, Phoebe,” he repeats, turning back around and rushing through the opening doors of the hospital. I’m still staring at the doors when I remember what I need to do. Pulling out

my phone from my handbag I begin dialing Phoebe’s number. God, Abby was a hard ass, but she had a good heart. I know Phoebe’s going to take this bad. I need to tread carefully. Phoebe’s strong but her number one fear is losing the people she loves dearly. That comes from losing her father at a young age, and then I guess, being raised around danger all her life. She has to be the most protected girl breathing. “Hey, what’s up?” she answers. “Phoebe? Are you home?” “Yeah, why? We’re just at The Circuit.” Her voice sounds wary. “What’s wrong?” “It’s Abby, something’s happened. I’m sorry, Phoebe. I’m so sorry.” The air leaves my body with my blood turning to ice. “Spit it out, Meadow.” “Oh God,” I whisper. “Meadow…” she warns. “She’s dead, Phoebe. God, I’m so sorry…” My voice cracks on the end before the line goes dead. Pushing my phone back into my bag, I exhale out a breath of air. I hated that. God, I hated being the one to break that to her.

It’s been a week since I made that call. They had a funeral for her that I decided to stay out of. I wanted to be there for Phoebe, but I didn’t know Abby very well and it was more of a closed funeral anyway. I have tried to be there as much as possible for Phoebe, but for the most part, she has clammed up. Melissa and I have made it our mission to get her going again. That brings us to now, where we are currently sitting at a picnic table at the compound of Sinful Souls MC. Phoebe is sitting beside Melissa with a smile on her face. I’m glad for however that smile got there, but I have a feeling it has something to do with a persistent rock star. “Hey, stranger,” Melissa starts, plopping down beside Nette—Phoebe’s friend she met on her tour around the world with the rich and famous. I like Nettie, a lot. She’s down to earth and has a fire in her. Also, she makes me laugh. I’ll always find time for people who can make me laugh. “Wanna dance? I’ll let you do the running man?” Melissa continues, wiggling her eyebrows. Phoebe chuckles. “Nope, I’m good.” I hand her a bottle of beer. “Come on, Phoebe. Let’s drink a little.” Phoebe opens her mouth, but snaps it shut when a roar of bikes begins to shake the atmosphere. The table shaking underneath me has my breath hitching. I’m used to it now, being surrounded by Phoebe’s family, but that sound still pulls at something deep inside. I’m not sure what, but something. That feeling where you’re in-between danger and excitement? I think that’s what it is. She glances over her shoulder and whispers, “Beast is here.” “Beast?” Melissa asks with a mischievous smirk. “I like the sound of that.” Phoebe lets out an exasperated breath. “Melissa, no. Put your lady bits away. He’s special.”

That perked Melissa’s attention. I shake my head, taking another sip of my drink. “Special, huh? Special as in huge dick special, or special as in chode little dick special?” A loud sound of laughter echoes around our table, me joining in with them. Melissa, she’s something else. “Uh, nope, I’m not even going to justify that with an answer, but no. Not a chode. Not that I know, but he is… complicated,” Phoebe rushes out, not wanting to go further on the matter. A crowd has formed around the new bikers that have pulled up when Phoebe places her head into her hands. “I need to pull it together. I have the circuit and Ryder. Who, by the way, has been amazing.” I nod my head, taking her hand in mine. “You’ll get through it, Phoebe. For someone who’s biggest fear is to lose those closest to her, you’ve made great progress.” She smiles an appreciative smile at me, so I return one back to her. On the corner of my eye, I can see the crowd has formed around our table. When I bring my eyes up to the large shadow standing at the head of our table, I’m met with the same empty dark eyes I remember from all those years ago. Holy fuck. My heart races harder, pulse thickening, with my body flushing out. I think I’m having a panic attack, but before I can answer, my lids close and my head flops onto the table in a crack. Way to go, Meadow. Just faint in front of everyone. Now he probably thinks I’m no different to who I was all those years ago, but he would be wrong. The gripping on my upper arm pushes me out of my daze, and when I snap my eyes open again, I’m remembered why it all happened in the first place by the burning gaze of the black depths beaming into me. Squirming, I push my chair out before Melissa and Nettie begin to escort me inside the bar. Pushing open the door, I shuffle out of their arms, placing my hand on my forehead. “It’s okay, I’m all right. Shit. Shit,” I whisper out. I’m still in shock, the buzzing coming through my ears confirming that. “Are you okay? What was that about?” Melissa asks, pulling out a stool for me at the bar. “That was a huge throwback right there in my face,” I answer, rubbing my temples with my fingers. “Big he is. My God, he’s beautiful and large… I wonder if he’s that big every —” “Melissa!” I snort, reaching for a bottle of vodka from behind the bar. The sound of the front bar door slamming shut shocks me back to my seat, with the

vodka tucked away comfortable in my hands. Swallowing, I look to Melissa, nodding my head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you guys in a bit.” “Are you sure?” Nettie asks. I nod my head with a small smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” “Okay, it’s just—” “Get the fuck out. Now,” Beast growls from his position. That voice is still the same, seeping into my skin and wrapping me up in some sort of psychological blanket of comfort. What is with that? I barely know him. Melissa narrows her eyes a little. I take a stand from my seat, rubbing her arm. “It’s okay, I’ll be fine. I know him, he won’t hurt me.” Melissa and Nettie both nod their head, before they make their way to the doors. I don’t realize they’re out until I hear the door close again. I still haven’t looked up to him. I don’t think I’m ready to look at him again. I need a drink. Taking a seat back onto the stool, I twist the cap off the bottle of Grey Goose Vodka. Skipping the fact that this is some fancy vodka for a clubhouse, before wrapping my lips over the rim and letting the warm liquid burn the back of my throat, settling into a pool of fire in the pit of my stomach. “Are you going to say anything?” I ask, after swallowing my bundle of nerves. He clears his throat, the stool next to me pulling away as he takes a seat on it. “Fuck,” he whispers, taking a bottle of scotch out from under the bar. I laugh, bringing the drink up to my lips again. “I thought I’d never see you again. Although, I sort of wanted to look for you, to say thank you.” I bring my eyes to his finally and find him boring holes into me. His stare is dark, intense, and makes me squirm in discomfort. He looks the same, only older, more mature. He’s bigger and taller than he was when I last saw him too. His features are still the same, olive skin, dark eyes, dark hair, strong jaw, plump lips and you wouldn’t know, but when he smiles it could light up a room. When he smiles, being the key word there. Pulling my eyes away from his dark pull, I run them down his neck that’s slightly in view from the hood of his hoodie. And there it is, the deep, angry scar that runs from under his left ear, slicing down his neck and coming across his shoulder blade before sitting on his chest. I do wonder what other secrets he has hidden under that black hoodie, but I know that they’re not my secrets to ask about. His tongue runs across his lower lip before he brings the brown liquid bottle to his lips and takes another drink. “Why didn’t you?” That comment throws me off. My eyes drift to the door before coming back

to his. “Why didn’t I, what?” “Try to find me?” Swinging his arms over the back of the stool, I’m sitting on and the other one beside him. “I don’t know. I guess… hang on…” turning on my stool to face him, “…why didn’t you look for me?” He laughs, placing the bottle back on the bar. “I’m not the one who said I thought about looking for you… no offense. Though, the thought did cross my mind here and there.” He rubs his finger over his upper lip, bringing his eyes back to mine. Exhaling out, I lean back into my chair. “Well, that’s done anyway. I did stay at your place, though.” “What do you mean?” “After… you told me to stay at your place and to not move. So I did. I waited for you for two weeks, searched your entire flat to find clues. I wanted to thank you.” His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows another mouthful. “Thank me for what?” “For killing my father, before I killed myself.” He shakes his head, turning his attention back to me. “What’s your name? I never did catch it.” I smile. “Meadow. And your name is… Beast?” He laughs. “Yeah, that’s the only name I’ve ever known.” Tilting my head, staring into his eyes and trying hard to ignore the sudden weight of my chest, I ask, “What does that mean?” Pushing his seat back, he shakes his head. “Nothing. Do you live in Westbeach? What are you doing here?” His face changes, eyes hardening slightly. “Are you with one of them?” He nudges his head at the door. “What? Am I an Old Lady?” I scoff, shaking my head. “Definitely not. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of the guys, they’re like family to me now, but no… definitely not.” Bringing my eyes up to his standing form, I notice a small smile on his lips. “What? Is there something wrong with dating a guy in a motorcycle club?” he asks in a mock tone with raised eyebrows. Dragging my eyes away from his, I run them down the leather vest that sits over his hoodie. Shaking my head again, I smile. “President, huh? I guess I should be surprised. But I’m not.” Standing from my stool, I shake my head, boring my eyes into his. “And to answer your question, no… the motorcycle club part doesn’t bother me. The dating part… does,” I answer, picking up the bottle from the bar, suddenly feeling like I need more of the numbness vodka is

bringing me. Seeing Beast tonight has brought to the surface old feelings. Not toward my dad, but just feelings. Memories. The last time I saw him, he’d killed my dad. I want to celebrate seeing him, but then beat myself up about celebrating something that’s so tragic. As much as I hated Donald with all the hate I have inside of me, it was still a life that had been taken. I begin walking to the door, ready to talk with the girls when his voice stops me. “Wait… what does that mean? Dating? You haven’t…” I smirk over my shoulder. “A little personal? Don’t you think?” Before pushing through the bar doors and walking back down the wooden steps that set off the porch. I spot the girls sitting at the picnic table, the crowd is larger, louder, and drunker. Usually, this sort of environment wouldn’t sit nicely with me. But all those earlier drinks of vodka have obviously settled nicely inside me, morphing me into an easier version of myself. “Hey, you okay?” Phoebe asks from under Ryder’s arm. I nod my head. “Yeah, long looong story.” I chuckle, taking a seat beside her. She opens her mouth about to say something until her eyes divert to the door behind me. A smile pulls on her lips and I know she’s got something ticking in her brain. “We need to talk about this soon,” she answers, eyebrows raised. “Probably. But right now… right now, I need the comfort from vodka.” “Vodka?” Melissa asks, shocked. This is no surprise. I’m not a heavy drinker. When I drink it’s a couple of glasses of wine, not ‘walk outside a bar with an entire bottle of vodka, drunk.’ Nodding my head, I answer, “Yeah. Just for tonight.” Phoebe’s eyes go behind me again, and I fight the urge to follow what she’s staring at. She smirks again, resting her eyes on me. “Hmmm. Interesting.” I point to her bottle. “How many have you had?” Phoebe smiling after finding out about Abby’s death is something new. She laughs. “Enough to do the running man.” “Please don’t,” Mellissa groans from her spot. “What if the paparazzi snap you doing it? Give them something else to pick on you for!” Melissa continues. Phoebe laughs. “Oh good. Maybe they’ll tell something truthful for once.” Since Phoebe and Ryder have been together, the paparazzi haven’t been all that nice to her. Being from a motorcycle club and all that. I take a look down at my bottle. Fixing my vision, I laugh. “Holy shit! I’ve drunk half a bottle of vodka!” Melissa and Nettie both laugh and Phoebe pats my hand. “Let loose girl, you’re safe here. Get it out tonight. But you will always be safe here. You could get batshit drunk and none of the SS men would touch you. Although…” her

eyes drift behind me again, “…I can’t speak for a Devil.” She gives me a wink before raising her bottle to her mouth. A laugh erupts from my mouth before I can stop it. “I’m sorry. I think I’m drunk, and I don’t know why I just laughed. Shit.” They all erupt into fits, Ryder included, when Tommy takes a seat beside me. Tommy is the drummer in Twisted Transistor. He and I have established a close friendship. After he showed me New Home we spent a little time together. But it was only ever as friends, he and I both know that. “Hey,” he answers, flipping his cap backward and pulling his drink up to his lips. “Hey! How have you been?” I ask, with the sound of Delinquent Habits ‘Return of the Tres’ sounding through the speakers making me want to get up off my seat and do a dance, or attempt to. His eyes scan Ryder before setting back on me, glancing at the bottle in my hands. He laughs, shaking his head. “Oh, no way. Do I need to confiscate that from you?” My hands clench around the bottle. “No. No, you do not.” I raise it back to my lips and take another sip, letting the warm liquid once again, cover my throat before settling its burn in the pit of my stomach. Phoebe’s still laughing, when her eyes drift behind me and her laughing abruptly stops. “Err, hey? You okay?” “Yeah, Meadow? Come… I want you to meet some people.” Shit. Turning my head around, I see Tommy twitch in his spot before his head turns again. “Beast, I’m not really in a good fashion to meet new people right now,” I whisper to him, making the girls laugh again. I turn around and narrow my eyes at them. “Don’t be mean, what if I fall on my face?” “Well, if you fall face down, ass up… I’m sure they won’t mind.” Tommy winks at me. If it wasn’t Tommy who said that, I would have vomited in my mouth, but I know he’s joking. Beast, however, doesn’t. “I wasn’t asking you,” his voice is low, almost a growl. The laughing around the table stops and Phoebe shakes her head. “Calm down, Beast. They’re just friends.” “I didn’t say anything, Phoebs,” he retorts behind a smirk. “You didn’t need to,” she quips back.

Silent conversation is exchanged between the two of them, before Beast lowers his hoodie from his head, showing his hair that’s a little longer than what I remember, but still quite short. He smiles at her before reaching for my hand. “Come, they don’t bite. Well… they don’t bite hard. But they bite where I tell them to, and they know you’re out of bounds.” Taking his hand, with the bottle of vodka in my other, I smile. “Thanks for that.” I meant it, I don’t like men hitting on me. Vodka or no vodka, I’d still find the situation uncomfortable. His face settles into an understanding smile. “No problem.” We begin walking before I realize my hand is still in his. Pulling it out, I laugh. “I have a feeling some of these guys already know about me?” “One, yes. He’s quite persistent on meeting you.” Oh, joy.

I caught that hand pull from Meadow, that was bad form on my part and I know that. I’m here for three nights, or until this shit is semi-sorted with the Russians, so I plan on getting to know her a little more. It’s probably our past that’s playing a big part in the magnetic pull I feel for her. She brings out feelings in me that I’m not familiar with. I guess the only familiar way I can recognize those feelings are as I was with Jada, or Hella and the boys. Protective. Only with Meadow, it brings out a feral side of me that the devil himself wouldn’t want to cross, so when I saw that rock guy taking a seat beside her on the table, my body naturally made its way there. I didn’t lie, Hella does want to know who she is, but he didn’t care about it right now. Walking to the table where the guys are sitting, a mini campfire in the middle of us, I nudge my head down to the seat next to me. Bringing my eyes to Hella, I run them back to Meadow. Fuck. I got a shock when I saw her. The girl standing in front of me right here isn’t the girl I left all those years ago. I remember those eyes. They still hold a beautiful haunting sadness in those bright baby blue depths. Her face shape is still the same square structure, and she has two perfectly deep dimples that sit on both of her cheeks. She’s fucking beautiful. It was hard to see it under the matted hair, ratty clothes and the severe situation that was happening around us before, but now as I gaze upon her she’s remarkable. I won’t go there with her, though. Hella nods his head to her. “Sup, are you Meadow?” Meadow nods her head, taking the seat beside me. “That’s me.”

“So you’re the reason the big guy took so long to come home all those years ago?” he teases. Taking a large gulp of her drink, she nods her head. “I guess so.” She brings her eyes to mine, tilting her head. I can see the questions in her glare. Smiling at her I lean into her ear. “That’s Hella. He and I have been close since we were young. But he’s the reason we’re here. He knew Abby when she was little, both in foster care and all that.” When I bring my head back, my eyes divert straight to the red blush sprawled out across her cheek. Laughing, I lean back into her ear. “What?” Dropping my voice to a low growl. “This the first time you’ve had a guy this close to you?” Her head snaps up at me, eyes narrowed. “Yes, it is. But that’s by choice. I don’t need attention to make myself feel better.” Not able to contain the laughter that rips out of me, I swing my head back before bringing my drink back to my lips. “Hey, I didn’t say none of that.” Shaking her head, she brings her eyes back to the camp fire. “So Las Vegas, huh?” she asks, keeping her stare fixed on the fire, the warm waves coming from the flames covering my skin around the cold night. “Yeah. When I met you, I had only just found out who my real dad was. I needed some time to let it sink in, so I booked into the easiest and cheapest apartments.” She nods her head, leaning back into her seat and taking little sips of the vodka. I’m surprised no-one else has come to ask her who she is and all that. The boys were a little curious about who she was. They don’t know much about her, just that I stayed behind for her. “You know my story, what’s yours?” I laugh, stretching my legs out. “That’s in the fast lane a little, don’t you think?” I answer, squashing all the memories I have of my past down. The memories I can remember. Surely the serum would have worn off completely by now, but all I’m getting are the same dreams through the night. Little white gaps in between dark walls, but that’s where it all stops. Hella seems to think it’s because I don’t want to remember so my brain won’t let me. His flashbacks came within the first three months of us being out. He told me that it’s better I don’t remember all of it. I opt for changing the subject. “Do you live by the beach?” She smiles a small smile but big enough for those cute as fuck dimples to pop out. “I do.” “I figured as much.” I don’t know why, but I did. “Where are you guys staying while you’re here?” she asks, tucking her legs underneath herself. The way she holds herself is relaxed and natural. She doesn’t

try hard. She doesn’t even wear hardly any make-up. Everything about her is natural. Pointing my beer at the clubhouse, I answer, “Up there. Why’s that?” Shaking her head, she takes another drink. “No reason.” “Yo! Beast, this fucker thinks he can take you in the ring!” Hannibal points at the pretty boy who greeted us here when we first got into Westbeach all those years ago. I laugh. “What’s your name?” “Travis.” Nodding my head and raising my bottle up to the rim, I laugh again. “Yeah, I don’t feel like creating another funeral. Not tonight anyway.” Strike one. Meadow stands from her seat, balancing herself on the rim. I stand quickly, taking her arm into my hand. “Wow, you okay?” She smiles. God, that fucking smile is killing me. “Yeah, I’m a little drunk. I’ll get one of the girls to take me home.” “I’ll take you,” I answer, standing from the log I was sitting on. The eyes I can feel boring into the side of my head don’t go unnoticed. All the boys will be wondering what the fuck has gotten into me. “It’s okay, really. I’m sure… well, I hope… one of them is still sober. Although, that’s highly unlikely.” “Yeah, so let me take you.” She points to my bottle. “You’ve been drinking, too!” “I’ve had two beers. Beer doesn’t get me drunk.” “All right then,” she answers. “I’ll just get my bag.” She walks off to pick up her bag and I’m still watching her when Hella and Hannibal step up to me, shoving me in the arm. “I’ll take you,” Hella mocks, taking a drink of his beer. “Fuck off, Hella,” I laugh, shaking my head. “I’m just making sure she gets home safe.” That’s a lie, I’m making sure drummer boy doesn’t take her home. I know he’s been drinking water the whole night and I noticed he’s been watching Meadow carefully. Don’t fucking like it, and I don’t know why. Throwing her handbag over her shoulder, she breathes out. “I’m ready. Wait! You’re on a bike?” We begin walking to our line of bikes when I chuckle. “Yeah, it’s fine. Just hold onto me tight and lean into the corners.” “Okay,” her eyes lighting up like Christmas. Handing her my helmet, I laugh. “You excited?” My gut was wrong. I thought she may have been scared. Her cheeks flush out as she unlocks the helmet. “A little.”

Fuck! She’s cute as shit. Damn. “Where do you stay?” She rambles off her address and directions about how to get there. Swinging my leg over, I kick start my bike to life and look over my shoulder, ready to tell her how to get on, that’s until she’s already swinging her leg over and sitting comfortably behind me. Shaking my head, I grasp onto her from behind me and pull her arms forward, wrapping them around my torso. Her chest stiffens up against my back for a second before she relaxes and we pull out of the high iron gates.

My brain is fuzzy from the alcohol speeding through it at electrifying pulses but I can’t wipe the grin off my face. Clutching onto Beast’s torso a little too tightly, I smile as the wind gushes past me, whipping my hair back. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a bike, and I gotta say, I’ve been missing out. The freedom, just you, these two wheels and the air of nothingness surrounding you. I have definitely been missing out. Beast pulls off down my street before pulling into my apartment beside the beach. I don’t own the bungalow, but it’s beautiful and it’s mine so that’s all I care about right now. He pulls down into our underground parking, the loud pulsing engine of his Harley vibrating and echoing through the walls. The sound is deafening. Yet, I can’t help but smile. I must be very drunk. Unclipping the helmet and fluffing up my hair, I pass it back to him. “Thank you for the ride.” He takes it, not moving off his bike. I try not to look too deep into his eyes, because every time I do, I feel like he knows my deepest and darkest secrets. Like the guard I surrounded myself in means nothing with him standing in front of it because it’s as if he sees past it. That’s probably because he knows such deep things about me, and it doesn’t bother me one bit. Also, having his massive tight body beneath my fingertips rose some unknown feelings in the pit of my stomach. I’m not ready to explore those yet, but I know how dangerously close I am getting to being burned. “No problem. Want me to walk you up?” I shake my head, trying to talk my brain into behaving itself. Beast is sexy, that’s a given. He has this dark, dangerous, brooding, swag about him. I’m not sure how else to explain it but I feel something toward him that I’ve never felt. Again, that’s probably because we share such a deep memory together. “I’m okay, thank you, though.” His eyes narrow before he bites down on his plump bottom lip. Involuntarily, my eyes follow his motion. Something about him makes me feel safe. He makes me want to feel safe. This must be what girls feel like when they’re with their partners. Sheltered. “You sure?” he smiles at me. Nodding my head, I answer, “Yes, thank you. What are you hoping to do? Check under my bed for monsters?” I smile at him, steadying my feet. He laughs, placing his helmet on his head. “Waste of time, babe. I wouldn’t find any monsters under your bed. All the monsters live here,” he answers. “I’ll give you my number just in case, though,” he continues with a small smile. I see

what he did there, but it doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable. “I don’t have my phone on me, it's upstairs, I’ll give you mine.” After rambling my number off for him, he pushes his phone back into his hoodie pocket under his MC cut. “Meadow, don’t go anywhere without your phone. I mean it.” The tone of his voice pulls me alert. He smiles. “I’ll text you.” Before kick starting his bike and riding out of the parking lot under the roar of his departure. Turning on my feet, I make my way into the elevator and push for my level. Smiling to myself, I think over what’s happened tonight—how much has happened. I can’t believe I’ve seen him again. The elevator dings open, and I walk out to my room, pushing open my door with my shoulders then relaxing. I didn’t realize how many nerves I’d been holding in. Removing my jacket, I hang it on the hook and walk into my kitchen that sits to the right as soon as you enter my apartment. Opening the fridge door, I take out a bottled water, taking a large drink before placing it back into the fridge. If there was anything I’ve learned from my party-lover best friends, it’s that you should always drink as much water as you can and pop an Advil before heading to bed. Kicking off my shoes in my bedroom and removing my clothes, I make my way to my bathroom. My apartment is nothing special, but it’s cozy, warm, and everything in it is my own. It’s my safe place, something I never had growing up so I appreciate it so much more. Turning on the faucet, I let the steam fill up the bathroom before stepping under the hot scalding water, letting it run all over me, relaxing my muscles one drop at a time. I rub my hand over my face and think back to tonight. Beast. The way his dark eyes pull my blue into his. The way his strong jaw sits perfectly on his face. His dark hair, and olive skin that has a natural tan to it. Even the scar that slices angrily down from his ear and across his neck has my stomach in a flutter. My breathing picks up, but I’m too lost in my memories of him tonight to register right away. The way my hands slipped over his torso when I got onto his bike, feeling his strong abs under my hands that made me want to rip off his clothes to feel his skin penetrate mine. The rumble underneath me from his bike, the power it holds, and the power Beast holds combined, is a toxic combination. My pulse quickens, and before I know it, I’m sliding my hand down my flat torso and over my folds. Swinging my head back, a moan slips out of my lips. The way he bit his lip. Jesus, if that wasn’t hot.

I start at a pace that’s both slow and menacing—rubbing over my clit in slow circles. A needy silent scream begins inside of me, wanting something else. So I start picturing what I would have liked to do to him tonight after he dropped me off. I would have swung my legs over his bike, handing it back to him. When he bit down on his lip, I would have run my thumb over it, watching as his dark eyes stirred with passion and need. I have seen the way he looks at me at times. I pick up my pace. Rubbing circles around my clit, grinding my hands up and down my inner folds where they rub effortlessly over my fingers. He would have taken me into his arms and kissed me, his tongue sliding into my mouth, wrapping mine into a blanket of passion. I would have slipped my hand behind his neck as he got off his bike, gripping onto his hair. A moan would slip from my lips naturally from being lost in pleasure and driven by nothing else but need. Need to feel him, his mere presence. His warm skin gliding over mine, his hands running, gripping, and squeezing me everywhere. He would have taken hold of the back of my thighs, pulling my short shorts and my panties down, throwing them to the side. Smirking at me from his knees, he would slowly blow his hot breath across my pussy, intensifying the burning need that throbbed between my thighs. My rubbing picks up as I picture him on his knees in front of me, looking up at me with his dark and devious stare, his powerful body enveloping mine. He would bring his tongue out, keeping his eyes locked on mine as he slowly licked in between my drenched folds. My stomach clenches as my soaking wet finger follows the movements of what his tongue would do. Sliding across the little nub between my legs, I add more pressure as my stomach flips and a throbbing begins to pulsate. “Yes,” I whisper hoarsely, rubbing harder and more forcefully. His tongue would slide all over me, flicking my nub with his slick, needy, tongue. His hands would wrap around the back of my ass, gripping onto me, pulling me toward his tongue harder, leaving bruises as evidence. I’d grind on his tongue just like I am my fingers. “Holy shit,” I moan out. The steam filling everywhere as my hand speeds up to an aggressive pace. An almighty tight pull comes from deep inside and I know nothing but to just keep going and don’t stop. “Holy shit, holy shit,” I groan out loudly. Just when I think I can’t reach any higher, I speed up vigorously, and right before I tip myself over the edge, I picture his eyes boring into mine. The way his tongue would slide across my clit roughly while his dark eyes were pinned on mine, dominating my body with his glare. And before I know it, my body is wracking, my thighs shaking, and my pussy clenching as the first orgasm I’ve

ever experienced shatters through me. With sweat dripping from my skin, I bring my eyes and mind back into focus, my legs shaking under the sudden tranquility that’s washing over me. Realization sets in as to what I’ve just done and embarrassment rushes over me. Smiling and a little confused, I quickly scrub soap into my skin, before washing my hair and stepping out of the shower, wrapping a towel around me before walking out to my room. Standing in front of my long mirror that sits on the opposite side of my bed, I examine myself. I feel different, I feel alive and energized but at the same time, I feel embarrassed. I don’t know why, it’s not like anyone can see what happens in my mind. Dropping the towel, I climb into an oversized T-shirt before walking back out to the living room to get my phone that’s on the coffee table. My apartment is small with one bedroom. It has a poky living room and open plan kitchen with a little porch that sits outside the living room overlooking the ocean. The walls are a clean white, and my furniture is new. A large television hangs on the wall in front of my three seater sofa. I wanted a big one because I love watching television. Netflix and chill—that’s me. Only I, Netflix and chill by myself. Picking up my phone from the coffee table, I amble back into my bedroom and slip under my covers. Sliding it unlocked, I see a new text message from an unknown number. Unknown - I mean it, Meadow. Carry this phone with you at all times. Me - Beast? Unknown - Yeah, save this number, babe. Me - Okay, only because I want to ride on your bike again. Beast - Yeah? That can be arranged. A blush spreads itself over my cheeks before traveling down my neck at the memories of my shower fantasy. How am I supposed to look him in the eye the next time I see him with a straight face. I need to change the subject away from the bike. Me - When do you guys head back again? Beast - In 4 days. What are you doing tomorrow? Me - Work. I wish I could say it’s lame, but I love my job. Beast - What do you do? Me - I work with the kids up at New Home. Kids that come from unfortunate circumstances. Like foster care but with feelings.

Five minutes pass and there’s still no text back. Just when I thought maybe I bored him with my talk, my phone beeps. Beast - Sounds interesting. What time do you finish? Me - 3 pm? Beast - All right. Get some sleep, I’ll text you tomorrow. Me - Okay. Good night :) After I hit send, I slap myself on the forehead. What the hell was I thinking to put a smiley face? What a dick. He makes me far too nervous for my liking. Beast - Night, babe. Babe again, something tells me he doesn’t go around calling every girl babe. Putting my phone on my bedside table, I close my eyes and fall asleep with a smile on my face for the first time ever.

“Yo. What’s got you glued to your phone?” Hella mumbles from beside me. “Meadow. Making sure she’s all good,” I answer, pushing the phone back into my pocket. After I dropped her off, I came straight back to the clubhouse where things were obviously just kicking off in true biker style. I feel at home. “Oh yeah? And since when did you give a fuck if a girl is all good?” He smiles from around the rim of his bottle. “I don’t, but it’s Meadow. Fuck off, Hella.” He laughs, sliding a bottle over to me on the table. Hannibal, Toke, Nyx and Ripper pull out the seats beside me and I laugh. “Oh, come on, I’m not spilling shit.” “Who is she? Haven’t seen you like that with any other female, Beast,” Ripper asks from under his blond hair which is spilled over his face. I shake my head. “I saved her a few years ago.” Hella pipes in, revealing all the info he knows. Fucker. After all the boys have been filled in, they shut their mouths. It’s a good thing, but they must know that obviously the girl needed my help, and although she doesn’t anymore by the looks of it, I still want to make sure she’s good. Must be some twisted bond we have from that one night and probably because she’s fucking banging. Her face and body are out of this world, and what’s better? She has no fucking idea the effect she has on men. Either that or she just doesn’t care, both of which work well for me. Pushing the chair back, I tell the boys I’m going to bed before I head upstairs and shut eye.



We’re at the diner the next day when my phone rings in my pocket. Seeing it’s Zane, I swipe it unlocked. “Sup man, any news?” “Yeah, they want to have a chat tonight.” “A chat?” “That’s what they said.” “That’s very unlike Russians. Who are we meeting with?” “They’re sending Preacher. I don’t know him personally, only know of him. Ade knows a bit about him, said we should be good.” “All right, when’s this happening?” I scan the table, resting my eyes on Hella. “Tonight. To be safe, we need to bring everyone in on lockdown.” “Yeah, where’s the meet?” “At the falls. We’ll head out once everyone is at the compound.” Nodding my head, I verbally agree before hanging up the phone. Leaning back in my chair, I fill in all the boys about the news. “So that means we can head home tomorrow if all runs smoothly?” Hannibal smirks from his seat. Raising my eyes to him, I nod my head. “Yeah, which is a good thing. We still have shit to sort out, and figure out why The Army haven’t made their move yet. We need to start our plan on how we are going to pull them down once and for all. I’m not fucking waiting for them anymore.” Hella nods his head. “Yeah man, I agree. I’m fucking tired of looking over my shoulder all the time.” A young blonde walks up to our table. “Hey, you guys need anything else?” Looking up at her, I shake my head. “Not for me, thanks.” Hella cocks his head to the side. “You look familiar,” he begins, dragging his eyes up and down her tiny frame. I roll my eyes and bring my coffee up to my lips. Here we go. She places her hands on her hips, nodding her head. “That’s because I was at the compound last night and could have to do with…” she stops talking, her face dropping for a second, “…never mind,” she answers, picking up the plates and stacking them on her hand. I look for a name tag, but can’t find one and now that I think about it, she’s not in uniform like the other little waitress.

Hella chuckles. “Right. You a sweet butt?” She pauses, placing the final plate onto her arm before bringing her eyes to Hella. “No, I’m not. I’m Melissa, Phoebe and Meadow’s…” she runs her eyes over to me before smiling back at Hella, “…best friend. Thanks for making me aware that I look and feel like a whore, though, I appreciate that.” She spins on her feet and walks back to the counter. I look to Hella and shake my head. “You’re a fucking idiot.” He smirks, popping a toothpick into his mouth. “What? Like you couldn’t call that. You didn’t even remember who she was either.” He turns his head to her again, watching her work behind the counter. “She’s fucking hot, though, you think?” he asks the whole table. Everyone mumbles in agreement, as I stand, pushing my chair back. “I’ll be back in a sec.” Walking toward the counter, she watches me in between placing muffins in the warmer. “You look confused, Beast.” “Not confused. Sorry about not remembering you… I was a little distracted,” I answer, smiling at her. “I know,” she replies with a smirk, wiping her hands off on a tea towel before placing them on her hips. “It wasn’t you who should’ve remembered me. Anyway, what can I get for you?” My eyes narrow briefly at the meaning behind her words before deciding to let it go. “The address to Meadow’s work? I’m meant to be catching up with her after, but I might go down there now.” Nodding her head, she pulls a paper and pen out from under the cashier before scribbling down the address to Meadow’s work. Folding it up, I nod my head at her and push it into my pocket. Just as I’m about to turn on my heels, she calls out, “Beast?” Spinning back around to face her, I raise my eyebrows. “Yeah?” Her eyes run side to side nervously. “Look. I’ve not known Meadow for as long as Phoebe, but I’ve known her long enough to know a bit about her background, though not all. But there’s one thing that I’m absolutely sure on…” she steps through the little door that separates the workers and the customers, “…she hasn’t been with any men. She doesn’t bat an eye at any men and trust me… she has had loads of opportunity—Tommy for one.” Her eyes narrow as she watches my reaction. I don’t bat an eye, I was built to have no emotions, or to squash any emotion that I may have. Obviously, if she had any sort of feelings for him, she would have made a move by now. I don’t think she has, so I’m not worried. If he steps out of the friend zone, I’ll kick him back into place. Fucking rock stars.

“Carry on,” I edge her. Her eyes falter for a second before she brings them back. “If you hurt her, I don’t care how big you are. A .50 will cut right through all that bulky muscle.” She eyes my body up and down. Jesus, this bitch is crazy. “Yeah, I don’t plan on hurting her, you can retract your claws, feisty one.” I chuckle at her attempts of stepping on me. Nodding her head, she turns on her step and walks back behind the counter. Pacing back to the table, I nudge my head toward the glass doors as we all make our way out. “Jesus Christ, that bitch is crazy.” I shake my head, walking to my bike. “What happened?” Hella asks overly interested. “Just saying she owns a fucking Desert Eagle and that if I hurt Meadow, the .50 would slice right through all my muscle. She said all that with a little psycho smirk on her face. There’s definitely more to that feisty little blonde than meets the eye,” I answer, placing my helmet on. Hella swings his leg over his bike with a smirk. “Oh yeah?” He glances back to the bakery. “Consider me intrigued.” Shaking my head, I kick start my bike to life, and pull the address out of my pocket. “I’m going to head over to Meadow. I’ll meet you back at the compound.” The fucker needs to learn to leave his dick in his pants.

Pulling up to Meadow’s work, I switch off my bike and get off. The place is huge. One large white building built exactly like a motel. There’s a little sign that sits in a garden at the front of the complex that reads New Home in cursive writing. The gardens are well kept, and colorful and the building tidy with a fresh lick of paint. Removing my gloves, I push them into the back of my pant’s pockets and make my way to the front area that reads Reception. Pushing open the doors, a little bell rings ahead of me and I walk to the counter where a young girl, maybe around eighteen is sitting, searching through a stack of papers. Her head snaps up at my opening the door, as she straightens her shoulders. “Hi! I’m Cassandra, how can I help you?” She’s wearing a tight bun on the top of her head and a whole lot of make-up. “Yeah, I’m looking for Meadow?” I answer, scanning her up and down. A deep blush sprawls across her face. “Um, yeah, sure. But can I ask who’s

wanting her? I have to for safety reasons.” “Beast,” I answer, reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone. “Okkaay… I’ll be back in a sec.” She dashes out the back while I open up the text message from Hella. Hella - What’s that girl’s name again? Me - Who are you talking about? Hella - The girl from the bakery. Me - For fuck’s sake, it’s been 15 minutes and you’ve already forgotten? Hella - Yeah, quick. Me - Why quick? Hella - Because I think Travis here has a little stiffy for her. I want first dibs. Rolling my eyes, I send him back a text. Me - Melissa. And good luck, the girl will probably shoot you before she fucks you. Both of you. Pushing my phone back into my pocket, Meadow walks out, her hair up in a high ponytail, her cheeks flushed red contrasting off her milky skin. “Hey!” she smiles, surprised but not bothered. “Hey, can you leave early? Zane’s getting everyone on lock down,” I answer, running my eyes up and down her body while trying not to be obvious. But damn… the girl is fine. She’s in nothing but white skinny jeans, a dark tank top, and Chuck Taylors. I’m sure the more and more I see her, the more I see her through different eyes. She could be in old rundown clothes and still be more appealing to me than one hundred ho’s on their knees. “Um…” she glances down to her watch before looking up to me, “I guess. It’s a little quiet in there at the moment, and we’ve employed another girl. I’ll just get my things. Do you want to come with?” I raise my eyebrows. “Come in there? Won’t I scare them?” She laughs. “No, Beast. They’ll probably find it cool that you ride a motorcycle. Come on.” She gestures to the door, my feet following her before I can stop them. Walking down the hallway, it’s all smooth white walls that smell of flowers and bleach—figures. Clean and sweet—chicks definitely run this joint. She pushes open a door that opens out to one large room equipped with foosball tables, activity tables, and televisions. There are bean bags spread out evenly and

the walls are painted in white, blue, and purple. There are about seven young kids all playing with something different, the eldest can’t be older than fourteen. “Hey guys, I want you to meet someone.” Meadow turns her head to me and I smile at her. Why the fuck am I doing this shit? I don’t give a shit about these little shits. “This is Beast, and he’s the president of a motorcycle club. He’s my friend,” Meadow finishes. The kids begin walking up to us. “Friend?” one asks, stepping closer. He has to be the eldest one. His jeans hanging low off his hips, a basketball tank on with his cap flipped backward. “You don’t have many friends, Meadow.” He smiles at her, and when I look down at these kids, I can see how much they admire Meadow. She’s fucking amazing at what she does. She used her fucked up past to help people, instead of using it as an excuse to become a needle stabbing junkie slut with daddy issues. She takes my breath away. “Yeah, well…” Meadow starts, bringing her eyes up to mine, “…I happen to like his bike.” They all laugh and I narrow my eyes at her as a smile involuntarily comes across my lips. She’ll be liking a lot more than my bike, of that I am sure.

Once we walk out of the reception, she turns her head to me. “Thank you for doing that. They’re troubled kids, and you didn’t have to come in there with me.” Handing her a helmet, I answer, “I wanted to. How did you come about this place?” She clips her helmet on. “Tommy, actually. They fund the whole thing.” She smiles, walking to my bike. My jaw clenched, nostrils flaring. Fuck. Unclenching my fist, I walk to my bike and smile at her. “That’s sweet. Come on, we gotta go.” Heading back toward the compound with Meadow’s hands wrapped around me, I fight the urge to pull over and kiss her. I have no fucking idea what’s gotten into me. This thing I have going with her should probably stop, but I won’t be the one to stop it. I’ll go slow, but I’m definitely not stopping. We pull in through the high gates, Travis opening them up for us as I park my bike in our line opposite the Sinful Souls. I can’t wait to head back to Vegas, but there’s an empty pit in my stomach that knows I’m going to fucking miss this girl, and it’s only been twenty-four hours since I first saw her again. I need to pull my shit back together. Switching off my bike, she swings her leg off, hands me my helmet and fluffs her hair up. Her long brown hair falling over her shoulders in natural chocolate waves. Jesus… what the fuck was that about, my dick has taken hostage of my brain. Narrowing my eyes, I smirk at her. “What?” she asks shyly, bringing her hands back down to the front of her small but curvy body. My fingers twitch at the thought of how that delicate, smooth skin would feel under my not so

delicate touch. I’d ruin her, and I’d enjoy it. Fuck it. My hands rise up to her hair as I brush the dark strands away from her face, tucking them behind her ear. Her lip draws into her mouth showcasing those two perfect dimples on each cheek and her eyes lock onto mine. The deep blue and green hues reflecting off each other in an intricate array of color, every fleck that’s scattered through her eyes telling a story—a story of how one broken girl can become her own hero. I run the back of my knuckles over her cheek, the smoothness of her skin gliding over my rough knuckles—polar opposites, where pure meets evil. Her head leans into my knuckles ever so slightly, so slightly I almost miss it. It’s not until her eyes close and her chest begins to rise and fall deeply that I comprehend what she’s doing. She’s giving me permission to kiss her. Bringing my thumb down to her bottom lip, I run it across the rim of her lip. Her eyes open to me. My eyebrows drew together. I bring my face down to hers, her breath gliding across my lips, leaving a wake of fire scorching underneath. Wrapping my hand around her neck softly, I pull her closer to me, the need of having her wrapped around me substantial. Just as my lips touch hers, Phoebe comes out of the building. “Beast! Who the hell—” She stops abruptly once Meadow and I separate, giving her full view of ‘who the hell’ it is. “Oh! Meads! Hey! Shit, I’m sorry. I though he was kissing on someone else.” She cocks her little smirk at me before stepping to us and pulling Meadow into her. “Come on, we need to head inside. Beast, Zane wants you.” Meadow smiles up at me, taking Phoebe’s hand in hers as they both leave me standing there confused and with a fucking hard dick. Great. She can get me rock hard without so much as touching me.

What in the hell is happening to me? I’ve never wanted to be touched or kissed by any man. What makes Beast so different? “Oh em ge!” Phoebe begins as we walk into the bar. “What the heck, Meadow! Do you know what you’re doing? I mean, I love Beast, he’s one of the good ones under all that macho, broken, evil front. He’s a decent person to people he cares about but are you sure… I mean… this is club life I’m talking here,” she whispers as we take a seat at the table with Melissa. “Look, you’re getting carried away. Nothing really happened.” “Yet, if I hadn’t walked out, it would have?” “Would have what?” Melissa whispers loudly beside us, edging closer. Zane is talking in the background about our next plan of action, and in my defense, I’m trying to listen but these two have a lockjaw with gossip. More Melissa than Phoebe, Phoebe is only like this because it’s me. “It’s nothing.” I wave Melissa away and she narrows her eyes at Phoebe, kicking her under the table. “Ouch. Melissa! I walked in on Beast and Meadow almost kissing. It was hot, I could have…” It was my turn to kick Phoebe under the table. Widening my eyes to let her know to be quiet, she yelps out again, “Meadow! Ouch!” “Phoebe! Shut up,” Blake growls from the front table. She’s like this untouchable little ray of fucking sunshine. “Sorry,” she murmurs, looking to Zane. “Carry on.” Shaking his head, Zane carries on his talk. Thirty minutes later, Zane has finished his talk and I’m bored. I think I need a drink. I’ve obviously been spending too much time with Phoebe and Melissa, my drinking has increased. “Hey, you all right?” Beast asks, pulling a stool up next to me. “Yeah,” I smile at him, picking up my drink again. Draping his arm around the back of my chair, he pulls me into him. My stomach flips and my palms sweat at the sudden proximity. Everything inside me is hyper aware and driven with need. I have zero control over how much I want this man, and that scares me. Having no experience with men period, but throwing Beast into the mix is frightening. Not because he’s scary, well he is. But I know he would never hurt me physically, but I’m still scared. I don’t know how this all works. I don’t even know how to kiss someone. But with Beast, it seems to come naturally, that’s how much I want it. “We have to go and meet with the Russians, hopefully, sort this shit out. I’ll be back later, okay?” His head tilts and I run my eyes over his face. I still can’t

get over how stunning he is. My eyes dart to his scar that sits under his ear, without thinking, I bring my fingers up to it and draw them down the angry risen skin. “What happened?” I whisper, eyebrows creased before I lock my eyes onto his. His jaw ticks as he scans his eyes over my face like he’s trying to memorize every single detail of me. “That’s a long story. I’ll tell you one day.” Swallowing down the lump that has formed in my throat, I reach for my glass again. “Every scar has its story.” And he never did see mine. No-one has seen mine. Phoebe knows about them, but she hasn’t seen them. They’re the reason I’ve never been able to wear a bikini even though God knows I want to. His lips land lightly on my temple, and I exhale my breath slowly, closing my eyes while clenching my fist around my glass. “I gotta go, baby. I won’t be long.” Then he stands and walks out the sliding door. “Jesus,” I whisper to myself. I’m not sure what’s happening between him and me, but there’s certainly something going on. I think between it all, I’ve just decided to go with it. Follow my gut and hope I don’t get hurt.

Pulling down the gravel road that leads to Hecknet Falls in Westbeach California, our bikes come to a rumbling halt as the line of Russians stand in front of the long black limousine that’s parked on the edge way. With Zane and me in the front and Hella and Ade following close behind, we get off our bikes and remove our helmets. Gripping onto my cut, I lift it to show I’m not carrying —anything they can see—and one of them curls their finger for us to proceed to them. The back door opens and an immaculately suited man steps out, popping his collar with a small smile. He brings his eyes to us, whipping out a cigar from his suit jacket. “Well, this is a different turn of events to meet you both under.” He clips his cigar, bringing it to his mouth and rolling it in between his lips. “We didn’t know what was happening. We were under the assumption that we were bringing down someone else. We didn’t know the Russians were there, and

we sure as fuck had no plans for the Feds. It was supposed to be an ambush, we got set up just as much as you did,” Zane lies, running his hand across his chin. Russian looks to me, running his eyes up and down my body. He scoffs. “Apple doesn’t fall far there, son. You Luce’s boy?” I nudge my head, shoulders standing strong. “Yeah, why’s that?” He shakes his head, taking a puff of his cigar. His long black inky hair slicked back and hanging around his neck. “This true? What he’s saying?” I nod my head, keeping my eyes trained on his. “It’s true. We were there under a false premise.” “Well…” he begins, looking between Zane and me with a twinkle in his eye, “…you give us safe passage through Nevada and Westbeach for our cargo without any troubles, and we will forget it ever happened.” I pause, glancing at Zane. This wasn’t the plan. I don’t want no Russian running around on my turf. “Hmm,” I growl and he laughs. “So much like your old man.” He shakes his head, bringing the cigar back to his mouth. Something in the way he said that made me shift uncomfortably. “What do you know about my old man?” I ask, tilting my head and running my eyes over him. He pauses, rolling the cigar around between his fingers. “I know that he wouldn’t give up passage through Nevada for me for all the years he was there, just like you’re not going to give up passage to me. Right?” he asks with a smirk. I look to Zane and he nudges his head. “You got Westbeach, but we’re going to need to talk numbers. No-one uses my roads for runs without us getting a cut.” He nods his head. “We can talk numbers.” He looks to Ade, who’s standing staunchly behind Zane. “And maybe a fight? For old times’ sake. What’d you say, Ade?” “Fuck you,” Ade growls, his lip curling in a snarl. Ade was pushed into the fighting ring at a young age. His father is Kazimir Lyov who isn’t just a part of the Russian mafia, he is the Russian mafia. Ade only just found out years later that his father wasn’t who he said he was. After they had kidnaped Ade’s Old lady and Alaina, some dark shit went on around that time. He laughs, clutching his chest. “All right. We’ll talk percentage, Zane.” He brings his eyes back to me and his eyes slant. “I have an idea.” “Oh? Do share?” He smirks. “My daughter, she’s… what’s the word?... Troubled. You see…” He laughs, walking toward me. My skin prickles to alert and my breathing drops to shallow breaths. “She’s known as Queen A. Do you know her, Beast?”

Fuck. “I don’t know her personally, no. I have heard of her and her MC, though. What is it? Satan’s Vixens MC?” I smile at him and his eyes slant more. “Oh, don’t let that name fool you, Beast. Thanks to yours truly, my little Ashley or Queen A has a truckload of daddy issues. Just ask the ghosts of her past. I need someone to keep a close eye on her. Pull her in, maybe get a girl patched in. She’s only a few hours away from you. I won’t ask for passage through Nevada if you do this?” I think over his proposition. I have nothing to play with here, he holds the cards. The Russians are not someone you want in bed with you, but then again I’ve heard of these girls and they’re fucking crazy. Harley fucking Quinn crazy. “Deal.” Jesus Christ, what did I just sign up for? He chuckles, walking back to the limo. “I’ll reach out to you when I want this to proceed, Beast. Zane? Give me some numbers by next week.” Then he gets back into his car before they drive off, their tires kicking up dust around us. We follow their tail lights out before Zane turns to me with raised eyebrows. “How have I not heard of these Vixens?” “Oh, trust me, you don’t want to.”

Swallowing the last bit of my drink, I swing around and see Melissa on the stage, dancing around the pole that they have sitting at the front of their catwalk. The bar is nice, everything is nice here. Even the guys in both MC’s are all decent looking. Some better than others. Shaking my head, I scan the room for Phoebe. Melissa has been drinking tonight, obviously and I may need reinforcements. The Weeknd ‘Wicked Games’ is booming through the sound system. Melissa’s little body wrapping around the pole to the slow sensual tune of the song while flicking her long platinum hair around the place. Scanning the room, I see all the men have gone, but a young girl is videoing her. The young girl is a club whore obviously. I always see her around here rubbing up on all the single men. I think her name is Lisa. Pushing back from my chair, I stalk up to the stage. “Melissa!” I yell from down below and she turns her head toward me. “Come dance, Meadow,” she says smiling at me. I shake my head. “Get down, quick. How much did you have to drink?” Pulling at her arm, she jumps off the stage quickly and pulls me in for a hug. “I’m sorry. I don’t know… was I drinking?” she asks absently. “You’re obviously drunk, Melissa. Come on, we’ll get you a glass of water.” She follows behind me as we make our way to the bar. I pull out a stool and push her down onto it. Her head tilts to the side. “Meadow…” she begins. “I don’t remember drinking anything but my juice,” she says, looking at me. “Are you sure? Where did you get the orange juice from?” I ask, pouring a glass of water and handing it to her. “I… um…” her head spins around searching the crowd of people. It’s mainly families and people who are important to others. Her body stills, she grips onto her chair and pushes herself up, but falls to the ground when her legs give way. “Melissa!” I yell, dropping to the floor. Her body is shaking. “Are you cold? Are you okay? Shit! Where the hell is Phoebe?” Pulling off my cardigan, I throw it over her. Leaving me in my tiny white tank top and tight skinny jeans. Pulling her to her feet, I place her back on the stool slowly. Ashley, the Sinful Souls’ barmaid, rushes over worried. She’s beautiful and I’m surprised none of the guys have scared her away yet. “Is she okay? What’s happened?” “I don’t know. Melissa?” Her eyes open slowly. “Meadow, it was Lisha…” “Lisa?” I answer.

Ashley shakes her head. “No, she means Lisha.” Her face drops. She has light brown hair pulled into a high ponytail that trails down her back, sleek and straight. Her green eyes begin scanning the room, and when she locks her eyes on the club whore ‘Lisha,’ her eyes narrow. Pointing her tanned arm, she says, “It was Lisha. She has a little thing for Hella since he’s been here.” “What the hell did she do to her?” I ask angrily. Melissa is harmless. She would never do anything to hurt anyone intentionally. Ashley shrugs her shoulders. “I’ll find out?” Pulling her arm back, I point to Melissa. “Watch her, I need to go and find Phoebe.” I walk away from the bar, scanning the room for Phoebe. When my eyes lock on Lisha, I see her bright red lips smirking at Melissa while still videoing her. My fist clenches, knuckles turning snow white from the pressure. I walk toward her and her little posse of skanks. “Hey!” I say when I reach her. “What did you put in her drink?” She laughs, looking at her friends who join her laughter. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, bitch.” “Oh really?” I ask. She hands her phone to her friend, stepping up in my face. The cheap stench of perfume assaults my senses, causing me to almost vomit in my mouth. “Yes, really. Go back to your slag of a friend. I hear GHB can be bad for you.” She laughs looking at her friends. “You’re a piece of shit. Is this over Hella?” I ask, tilting my head to her. I step closer, my face to hers. “You think you have an actual chance with him over Melissa? You’re a whore, nothing more and nothing less.” I step away from her, turning on my feet and making my way to Pheobe, who has finally showed next to Melissa. I exhale, letting my shoulders relax. Ashley is whispering something into Phoebe’s ear when she looks over at Lisha, her eyes narrowing. Yeah… it’s on now. I smile at Phoebe, and just when I’m about to take another step forward, A sharp yank stings across my scalp from Lisha pulling me by my hair toward her and elbowing me right in my face. Spinning around in her grip, I clench my hand around her neck and pull her down to the floor. Crawling on top of her, I pull my elbow back before slamming my fist square in her face. With a crack sounding and vibrating against my knuckles, she screeches loudly. “My nose!” Pulling my elbow back again, blood dripping from my own nose, I blow another punch straight into her nose again, and again. All the anger I had from knowing this girl could have seriously hurt someone that I care deeply about is fully unleashed.

The grip around my arm and weight being lifted off my knees pulls me back. When I turn around, I see it’s Kalie—Ade, the vice president’s wife. “It’s okay, Meadow. She’s not worth it,” she whispers into my ear. Lisha is getting up off the floor, holding her mangled nose when Phoebe comes over, kicking her back down to the floor again. “Get the fuck out, Lisha! Now!” she yells in her face. Lisha quickly stands from her position on the floor. “I don’t have to go anywhere. Travis wants me here,” she answers behind a snark. I have to give it to her, for someone who’s in a bad state right now, she still holds her ground. Phoebe turns around to look at Lisha’s friend who’s still recording. “Are you recording this?” Phoebe asks her level of crazy at an all-time high. The friend shakes her head, swallowing down nervously and dropping the phone. “I’ll delete it, Phoebe. I didn’t want any trouble.” “You can all leave. Every single whore in this room is not welcome here,” Phoebe states. The door that leads to the back room swings open and Alaina walks out. Alaina is Zane’s Old Lady, she’s the boss around here. The crowd falls silent in her presence. “What the fuck is going on out here? I’m trying to put all the kids down!” she yells from her spot. Phoebe begins explaining and Alaina brings her eyes to Lisha. “Pack your shit, Lisha. Don’t come back until we’re out of lock.” “But Travis said—” ”I don’t give a flying fuck what Travis said.” Alaina begins walking up to her and the rest of us step back, making way for her to get through. Once she reaches Lisha’s face, she points at her chest. “You are a whore. Nothing about you is important to Travis but your pussy, and trust me, I hear it’s not that great so it won’t be missed. Leave,” Alaina seethes. Lisha quickly rushes out of the room, her shoulders still squared, trying to keep her pride intact. Alaina turns to face me, her features softening. She takes my hand in hers. “Come on, babe. I’ll clean you up.” I follow behind her, my mouth sealed shut. We stop in the back kitchen where she opens up a cupboard above the counter, taking down a first aid kit. “Sit,” she points to the seat that’s pushed under the kitchen table. I take a seat, my legs throbbing at the pressure being taken off of them. Alaina comes across, placing the first aid kit on the table and handing me a towel. I take it off her and bring it up to my nose, eying her closely as she pulls out some wet wipes. “Okay, take it down and let me clean you up.” Pulling my hand down, I let

her wipe away at the blood. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause problems,” I mumble to her. She shakes her head and smiles. “Don’t be silly. She started that and got what she deserved. I am interested to know how Beast is going to react. Hella seems ruthless with Melissa, too.” She shakes her head around a chuckle. “When men who ride motorcycles find the girl they want, there’s no letting up. You’re both claimed and you don’t even know it yet. Ah, the early days…” She laughs to herself, her cheeks going red. I’m not quite sure how I feel with the term claimed. Beast and I are very early days to be throwing around such a permanent label. “Hella and Melissa?” I ask, swallowing the metallic laced saliva. She pauses her wiping, throwing the wet wipe into the bin. “Yeah, although they both couldn’t walk straight,” she scoffs, shaking her head. “They got together?” She smirks. “I didn’t see it, but we all saw them disappear for an hour at the bonfire. Whether either of them remember is a different story, though, considering they ignored each other for the rest of the night. Who knows, maybe it’s nothing.” Jesus, what the hell is Melissa doing. Beast is scary, that’s a given. But Hella is the kind of scary that sends unsettling shivers down my spine. Jason X scary. And Melissa let him put his chainsaw in her huha. I’ll talk to her as soon as I get the chance to. “Sorry, I don’t mean to gossip,” she adds. Alaina is beautiful. She has long blonde hair and big green eyes. She’s exotic looking, though, very different features which adds to her appeal. “I don’t know what to do about that claiming statement,” I say shyly. She stops her wiping, pulling out a little thin plaster and placing it onto my nose. “Well…” she begins, “…there’s not much you can do. Just go with it and see how it pans out. Of course, if you feel something for him. If not? You will need to run, and run far.” She laughs, placing everything back into the plastic container. I chuckle. “It’s mutual, but I’m confused is all. I don’t know if you know much about my past, but it’s very complicated. I don’t know what to expect, but I know that when I’m with him, it feels right.” She sighs, tucking the plastic container under her arm. “Well, that’s all you need, dear. Stick with that. I better go and check on the kids, make sure they’re all settled and let Vicky have a break.” I nod my head. “Thank you for cl—” The ground under me shakes before a loud crack of explosions ring out. Diving under the kitchen table, I begin coughing from all the dust that has fallen around me from the roof.

This is not good. “Alaina?” I call out, moving around the fallen rubble. “Meadow, I’m over here. I’m good. But I need to leave and check the kids.” She rushes around the kitchen until she finds the door. Glancing around, my vision is severely clouded by the thick residue of dust floating around in the air. Touching around in front of me, I feel for the wall that I know is somewhere right there. When my hands land on the smooth surface of the wall, I begin following it across to find the door Alaina went through. Once I reach it, I pull it open to more thick clouds of dust. Coughing, I cover my mouth with my hand and narrow my eyes attempting to see clearer without getting the particles in my eye. Throbbing begins pulsing through my right arm, weighing it down in pain. There’s a large cut starting from my shoulder blade going down to my elbow, the blood dripping and running down the rest of my arm in bright red streaks of discomfort. “Shit. Shit. Hello?” I call out, stepping over the fallen rubble with the concrete crunching under the soles of my feet. “Meadow?” Phoebe calls out. “Meadow, follow my voice.” My pace picks up, attempting to follow her calling. “Keep talking, where are you?” “Still by the bar. I can’t get Melissa out from under this concrete and she’s not waking up.” When I finally trek through all the broken masses of mess and thick clouds, I reach Phoebe and kneel down to their spot. “Melissa!” She doesn’t stir. I push my fallen hair out of my face with my arm, smudging sticky red blood through the tresses, holding it back. “It’s her legs, they’re trapped.” “Shit. Okay. Let me help.” The air is still thick, but I can see a couple inches in front of me now. Reaching down, I feel for her legs that are pinned under the bar light which sat above the bar. “Meadow? Your arm doesn’t look good. Go and get help,” Phoebe insists from beside Melissa. “I’m fine. I need to get you guys out.” “No, Meadow. Go and get some help. I’ll stay here with her.” “Phoebe! What if it falls? I can’t leave you here. No!” My heart pounds against my chest at the possibility of something bad happening to either of these girls. Rounding Melissa’s body, I make my way down to her feet and see why she can’t move. There’s a large block of cement holding down one end of the lights. Coughing, I ball my fists together, trying to get the feeling back in my hand. “Okay, we need to lift this part, Phoebe.” Phoebe rounds me, placing her hand on

the other side. “One, two…” We both try to push it up to no avail. “Fuck!” I yell, scanning around the room. “We need to find a long piece of wood, something we can place underneath it to lever it off.” Phoebe looks around before laying her eyes back on me. “Do you have your phone?” I shake my head. “It was on the table with my handbag. All right,” I say, placing my hand on my forehead. “I’m going to be three seconds.” Turning on my feet, I narrow my eyes and wave out the clouds. When some of the smoke clears, I see one or two bodies on the ground. I know I should check them, but I need to get help and see who else is outside. Pushing my hands out in front of me, I feel for the wall and when I find it, I make my way to where the door once stood. Running out, I gasp for air. The crisp, fresh air soothing my lungs instantly. “Meadow!” Alaina screeches from the crowd of injured people that made it out, and from where I can see the kids are not harmed. I begin walking to her when the loud roar of bikes sound from down the street, vibrating the concrete under my feet. The high gates open and in roars both clubs. The Sinful Souls’ men run to where Alaina and Vicky are located, checking to see if they’re okay, and when I look up, I see Beast, Hella, and their crew running up toward me. Once Beast reaches me, he wraps me in his arms, engulfing me in his presence. “Fuck! What the fuck happened? Are you okay?” he asks, checking me all over. I push back. “We need to go back in there! Melissa is trapped. Phoebe and I tried to—” Hella was already storming off into the building before I could finish my sentence. Beast kisses my forehead. “Wait here, I’ll go with him.” Nodding my head, I slowly let go of his hand as he follows Hella inside the, what was once, a perfect building. I begin pace walking up and down, the rest of the guys watching my movements carefully. “Meadow? I’m Hannibal. This is Ripper, Nyx, and Toke.” He points to the other men standing beside him. I nod my head with a small smile. “Hi. Okay, I’m going in,” I say, walking off toward the building. “No. No, you can’t,” Hannibal says, pulling me back. “They won’t be long.” Blake runs past me, storming into the building with Zane on his tail. I turn around to see Alaina, so I walk to her. “Hey, everyone okay?” She nods. “Yeah, kids are a little shook up, though.”

“Has anyone called this in?” I ask, wrapping my arms around myself. “Yeah, they have. In a few minutes, this place will be crawling with Feds, firefighters and bomb squad,” she answers, picking up a little girl. Her body stills as she eyes the entryway to the bar. I turn around and see Hella carrying Melissa down with her wrapped in his cut. Well, if that’s not owned, I don’t know what is. Phoebe is closely tucked into Blake while Zane and Beast walk beside Hella. Beast scans the area for me and when his eyes find mine, his shoulders relax. “Thanks for everything, Alaina.” “No problem,” she smiles weakly at me. I start walking back to Beast when he meets me halfway, wrapping his massive arms around me tightly. “Beast, that’s a little tight.” His arms relax a little, pulling me into him. I watch as Hella takes a seat at the picnic table with Melissa on his knee. “She’s breathing. It’s like she’s asleep. What the hell happened to her?” Walking to Hella, I take Melissa’s hand in mine. “What, you didn’t know?” I ask with a little venom in my tone. Bringing his eyes up to mine, he narrows them. “No. Enlighten me.” I take a seat beside him, keeping her hand in mine. “It seems Lisha got a little jealous tonight. Before the explosion happened, she put something in Melissa’s drink, had her dancing on the pole and everything. Anyway, she and her friend were videoing it and laughing at Melissa from across the room. So, I… um…” I pause, looking at Beast when he rounds the table and walks to me. “You what?” he asks, eyebrows raised. My chest heaves as a sinking feeling pulls in my gut. Feels like I’m in trouble. Why does he have to be so sexy? Even my voice box submits to him. “She whipped her ass that’s what,” Melissa coughs from her position. Beast’s eyes narrow with a smirk. “Melissa!” Standing, I scan her face. “I’m fine, Meadow. What happened?” she asks, pushing away from Hella slightly. He doesn’t let go, and when I see the look he’s giving her, even I cringe. She rolls her eyes. “Let me go, Hella.” “Not happening.” Rolling her eyes again, she readjusts her position, wrapping his cut around her tightly. “There was an explosion. When Alaina took me out back to clean up my nose,” I begin, a hiss escaping Beasts lips and I flinch. Jesus, what’s his problem, he’s far too intense. “That’s when it happened.”

She tilts her head. “I only remember bits. I remember Lisha pulling you back by your hair, and I remember you jumping on top of her and pounding her face, but everything went blank after Phoebe arrived.” Her eyebrows drew in before looking up at Hella from her spot. Beast pulls me into him, taking a seat next to Hella and placing me on his lap. “Baby, you did what to Lisha’s face?” He laughs into my neck. “She deserved it. She was out for Melissa… over you.” I narrow my eyes to Hella. His jaw clenches. “Where is she?” I shrug. “I don’t know. Alaina told her and the rest of the whores to pack their shit and leave. Do you know who this was? Who did this?” Beast shakes his head. “Nah, I don’t know. Now that both our chapters have joined, it could be about anything. The Russians are settled, it wasn’t them. That’s all we really know.” His hand rests on my upper thigh and my breathing hitches. He must feel me tense because he brings his hand back down on my knee and I relax instantly. I’m comfortable around Beast, there’s no doubt about that, but I’m a work in progress. Running his lips over my back, he whispers, “Relax baby.” His breath skimming off my skin lightly. Hella coughs from his position. “All right, since no-one else is going to ask, when did this become a thing?” he asks, raised eyebrows. Flashing red and blue lights light up the area, bringing my attention back to the mess in front of me. I shake my head while peering over my shoulder at Beast. “I don’t know. Good question?” A smirk pulls across his lips, his eyes drifting down to my lips before traveling back to my eyes. His stare darkens, summoning a collection of lust to come rushing up from between my thighs before resting in my chest where it contracts tightly. He’s hot, it’s ridiculous. He’s all man, though. He’s not pretty, he’s strikingly handsome with an edge of danger. Not with me, but you can see it in his eyes. There’s a lonely emptiness inside those dark depths. Throwing up his hood, he shakes his head. “Shut up, Hella.” Is this what this is? A thing? We haven’t even kissed yet. As much as every time his large hands join with mine, it makes me want to jump his bones, but something tells me my body is a liar. I couldn’t jump anyone’s bones, it’s just not in my nature—I don’t think. Tapping my leg, he lays a soft kiss on my shoulder. “Hop up, baby. We need to get that arm looked at.” I forgot all about my arm, I glance down and see the dried blood that has crusted over the wound and shrug. “It’s okay, I’ll get Alaina to stitch me up,” I

answer, getting off his knee and scanning the crowd for Alaina. Phoebe is pacing up and down on the phone, probably talking to Ryder. She needs to get out of here before the media eat this place up. “Arm up. Not the cut one, it needs to breathe,” Beast demands from behind me. I’m so new to feeling things for a man that I don’t know what is too much. I need to talk to the girls about it when this club stuff flies over. Raising my arm up, he drops his hoodie over me, the warmness of it blanketing me in warmth and the smell of sweet, musky man engulfing my senses. I smile because it smells of him, this is all him. He even smells like a man. He turns me around and tucks me under his arm. “Come on, we need to go and sort this out.” I nod my head and cast a quick glance over at Melissa to see her and Hella arguing. Oh dear, I have no idea what the hell those two are trying to defy by being together but it’s not going to work. They are either too similar in things or polar opposites. You know that saying, ‘She be but little, but she be fierce.’ Yeah, that’s Melissa to a T. She dances to her own beat, no-one else’s, especially not to the deep growl of a blood red Harley. Good luck to alpha domineering dark and alluring Hella. He and Beast are so similar it’s scary. Only Beast has more muscle on him and has dark hair, where Hella has mouse blond hair. Walking to Zane and Alaina, Beast nods his head. “The fucking Feds are crawling all over.” “Yeah, I know. Meadow, Alaina can take care of that arm.” “Okay, thank you.” I look at Alaina as she points to her car. “Come on, the second time I’ll be cleaning you up tonight and I don’t think you’ll be the last. It’s a good thing Vicky took the kids home.” Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to be her last either. I need to ask her some pointers on President alpha males. I feel I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

Watching Meadow walk toward Alaina’s car with her side-by-side has me itchy. I don’t fucking like what the fuck is going on. Of all times for shit to hit the fan, it has to be when I have Meadow. If I have her, I don’t know why I don’t just fucking kiss the girl. If I’m reading the signals right, she wants me to. No, I know why. It’s because I need to tread carefully. If I come on too strong, I might scare her. But if I don’t make a move at all she might think I’m not interested. What a fucking mind fuck. “Brother? You okay?” Zane is smirking at me, looking between Meadow and me. Shaking my head, I rub my fingers over my face. “No. Fuck, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” “We can get to that later. Right now, we need to sort this shit out.” “Who you thinking?” I ask, swinging a chair around and sitting on it backward. Zane shakes his head. “Well, it’s not Russian. We have enemies, though, it could be any of them. But then so do you, with The Army, so it could be them too. We need to play this safe and keep everyone close together. I think for here, I’m going to have to separate everyone into three groups. Each group goes to mine, Blake and Ade’s house until Blake can have his boys working the construction back here,” he answers, looking over at his compound. I follow his gaze, goose bumps prickling over my skin because I’m only wearing my white T-shirt under my cut with jeans and army boots on. “Sorry about the clubhouse, brother.”

He shakes his head. “It’s fixable. What isn’t, are the two family members Travis lost in there.” Widening my eyes, I nod my head. “Yeah, that’s true.” Exhaling out, I add, “We’ll head back tomorrow morning. We can sort this out separate now that the Russians are taken care of.” He narrows his eyes on me, shoving his hands into his pockets. “And Meadow?” “She can ride with us,” I answer casually without missing a beat. He chuckles, taking a seat on the chair opposite me. “It’s like that is it?” Running my hands over my head, I nod. “Yeah, I think it is.” Meadow and Alaina walk up to us laughing. “You all done?” I ask, pulling Meadow into me. She looks cute as fuck with my hoodie on. “Yeah, I’m all done. Thanks, Alaina,” she says, squeezing herself into me. “All right, I need to go and sort all this legal shit out,” Zane says, turning to Alaina and kissing her on the head. “Hey, I was thinking. My place is small, but you guys can all crash at mine for the night.” Meadow suggests, peering up at me from her position. Pushing her hair out of her face, I smile. “They can get a motel. But I need to be with you to make sure you’re safe. No doubt Hella wants to keep an eye on Melissa, too.” I look over to find them both sitting on the table not talking to each other. Jesus, what the fuck happened there. “Okay, you can stay with me. Should I see what Melissa wants to do? I don’t think she’ll want Hella staying at hers, so maybe she can come to mine. You can watch the both of us or Hella can come too?” “Yeah, good plan. Go check on her. She looks like she wants to rip Hella a new one.” I chuckle. She laughs. “Yeah, I think she does.” She walks off to Melissa and I follow behind to check on Hella. Taking a seat beside him, I rest my elbows on my knees. When the girls have walked away, I turn to him. “What are you doing with her, bro?” He leans his elbows back on the picnic table. “Fuck knows. She’s a pain in my ass. I’ve never met a girl so fucking stubborn.” I scoff. “No, you’ve never met a girl who doesn’t bend over when you say go.” He laughs, running his hand over his mouth. “And you? What’s with Meadow?” I shake my head. “I want her. No questioning and no games. Unlike you.” His eyebrows raise around a smirk. “Yeah? That part is obvious. Who knew?”

I laugh. “Who would’ve known? All right, I need to tell Meadow that she’s coming back to Vegas with us, see how that goes.” “Shit,” he breathes out. “I forgot all about that.” His eyebrows rise. “Yeah, we’re heading back tomorrow. Russians are out of the way, but we still have our main issue that needs to be taken care of. Zane has a feeling that this could be something to do with them, but we’re still not sure.” “The Army,” he answers. “We just need to kill them all. Fuck the collateral damage, they’re not worth it.” Clenching my jaw, I zero my eyes into Meadow. “Yeah, maybe.” The girls walk back to us. “All right, we’ll stay at mine. You two can sleep on the floor. In the living room,” Meadow adds. “Yeah, sounds good,” I answer, wrapping her fingers into mine and pulling her back into me. She turns in my grasp, her chest rising and falling against my chest in heavy breaths. She peers into me, glancing down at my lips and I smile, bringing my thumb down, dragging it across her lips slowly. Her breathing hitches. “Don’t do that,” I growl so only she can hear. Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth she answers, “Do what?” Running my hand down her long toned back, I pull her into me closer, my cock stirring to life at her proximity. “Look at me, begging me to kiss you with your eyes.” “Maybe I am,” she whispers. I push a few stray strands away from her forehead, her eyes closing and her head resting on my hand. “Not yet,” I smirk, pulling away from her face. A growl escapes her lips and I laugh. “What was that?” It was cute, like a baby cub growling. “Come on, let’s go. We can take my car.” Meadow pulls me closer to her, and God if that didn’t make me want to throw her over my shoulder and drag her back to my cave. “You and Melissa take your car, we’ll follow you on our bikes,” I answer, letting her go. The cold emptiness it brings with her not being close to me has become foreign. The past couple days have been like we’ve known each other for years. She’s low maintenance, relaxed, and doesn’t question everything or want answers right away. She doesn’t want to get inside my head. She’s perfect in all aspects. She’d be the perfect Old Lady.

Starting my car to life, I reverse out of the parking slot and begin driving out of the high-wired gates of the Sinful Souls compound. Turning to look at Melissa, I ask, “Are you okay?” Glancing out the window at the passing trees, with the streetlights lighting up the inside of our car she nods her head. “Yeah, just confused.” I look between her and the road in front of me. “About Hella?” She exhales. “Yeah. Something happened, but it doesn’t matter right now. And he’s so bossy and controlling and thinks that I should obey his every word. I was a rebellious teen, that’s not changed.” I laugh, turning into the main street of Westbeach that takes you to my apartment. “Yeah, he seems like that.” I ignore her statement about something happening. I know all too well about prying questions. I of all people know not to push someone to talk about something that they aren’t ready to talk about. “What about Beast?” she asks with a smirk. Sighing, I shake my head. “I don’t know. He’s all touchy feely and we have this bond, but he won’t kiss me. So I guess… we’re friends?” She shakes her head, giggling. “Honey, you are not friends. The way you two look at each other? That could be put on porn and people would jack off to it. It’s that hot.” “Melissa!” I scold her around a laugh, shaking my head. Shrugging her shoulders, she looks to me with a smile. “Just calling it how I see it.”

Later that night, I’m tossing and turning in bed trying to get comfortable. I set the boys out in the living room and came back to Melissa. She’s been through an ordeal tonight, and looking at the time, it’s three a.m. so I’m guessing we’re all going to be sleeping through tomorrow. Turning my head to face the window, I glance outside, the moon lighting up the inside of my dark room. Melissa snores beside me before flipping onto her stomach. Throwing the sheet off me, I swing my legs over the bed, running my hand through my hair while I make my way to my door. Peering out into the hallway, the darkness blinding any sight I may have hoped for, I curse under my breath. I tried to get the boys to leave a kitchen light on like I do every time but Hella said he couldn’t sleep unless it was pitch black. Probably reminds him of home. Hell is black isn’t it? Breathing out a fresh breath of air, I begin walking toward where I know the kitchen is, putting my hands out on the wall to guide my way. “Shit,” I whisper, running my hands over what I’m wearing. I forgot to put pants on, leaving me in my hot pink lace boy shorts and a short white tank top that hugs me like a second skin. “Please stay asleep.” I continue feeling the wall, deciding to head straight for the fridge to get a bottled water and make it back to my bedroom as quickly and as quietly as possible. My hand presses against the rim of the wall that curves around taking you to the kitchen. I round the corner skimming past the cupboards until my fingers touch the cold surface of the fridge. Scrunching my eyes, I slowly open the fridge door, the light shining from it blinding my sight. Quickly snatching the bottled water, I take it out slowly, trying not to make the plastic bag it’s sitting on ruffle.

“Fuck,” a low growl sounds from the kitchen island. I snap my head up to find Beast standing there in nothing but gym shorts that stop at his knees. His back is turned to me and by the position of his arm, I’m guessing he has his fist in his mouth. The light from the fridge casting shadows over his ripped back muscles. And when I say ripped, I mean ripped as in he just stepped off the cover of a Men’s Fitness magazine. Gliding my eyes over his back, down the trail of muscle that leads to the rim of his shorts where two dimples sit on his lower back. I bring my eyes back up to his arms, his muscles flexing. This man works every single muscle on his defined body. Where does he find the time? He has two sleeve tattoos, his patch tattoo sitting proudly over his back and the numbers 316 tattooed behind his neck. 316? I wonder what that means. “Beast?” I clear my throat. “Sorry, I was hoping you wouldn’t wake up. I needed water. I’ll leave.” Taking the bottle out of the fridge, I go to shut the fridge door when I see his body turn to face me in the corner of my eye. Pausing, I turn my head to him slowly, his eyes running over my body in dark pools of need. When he begins trailing them back up my body, I hold my breath until his stare comes back to mine. Letting out my breath slowly, his eyes lock on mine. I tilt my head and turn toward him. “Okay, I’m leaving.” “Good idea,” he growls, placing his fists on the kitchen counter, his head hanging between his shoulders. “Bro, what the…” Hella walks in, scratching his head. He too is standing in nothing but gray sweats that hang loosely off his hips. His muscled, tanned chest on display for anyone to see. He’s ripped too, not as big as Beast, but still larger than average. He has tattoos all over his body, one is a script that runs over his ribs, like a scripture of some sort in cursive writing. “Shit,” I whisper. I imagine this is what a girl’s wet dream would be like. Beast swings around to face Hella, so fast I almost miss it, pushing his chest and pointing to the living room. “Get the fuck back.” Hella’s eyebrows quirk before his attention lands on me. Understanding sets into his eyes as they slowly rake over my body. I cringe, turning bright red, quickly slamming the fridge door to stop his help of vision. “Ouch! All right, fuck. Damn. I mean… I knew she was hot but that body? You’re a little undercover aren’t you Meadow.” “Fuck off.” Their bickering is in the darkness, so I slowly begin my trek back to my room, feeling out the walls in front of me. I’m skimming over the soft hallway walls when a body pushes up against my back. Closing my eyes, I hold my breath. “See, I can’t just let you go to bed now,” his voice growls into the side of my

neck, setting a sensation to ripple straight between my thighs. “Beast?” I whisper hoarsely. “Shhh…” His rough hands close onto my waist, sliding over my smooth skin. My stomach muscles tense under his touch. “Relax baby. Do you want this?” he whispers into my ear, his hot breath penetrating my skin. “I want something,” I answer, my eyes rolling back as I let myself relax against his command. His hands run up and over my full breasts. I’m decent in the boob department, for my frame anyway. A hiss escapes his mouth as he pushes against my back, my chest hitting the wall. Bringing his monstrous body flush up against my back, he begins laying soft kisses on the back of my neck, making his way slowly down my spine. Goosebumps break out across my skin, sending waves of shivers to wrack through my body. His arm reaches into his shorts and what feels like a wire hits me across my hip bone. “What are you doing?” I ask, my breathing heavy and thick. “I need you to relax. Do you trust me?” his voice sending a calming ripple effect through me. Nodding my head, I pull my lip into my mouth. “Yes. Yes, I trust you.” “Good. Put these on.” He pushes two ear buds into my ears, and it registers to me that he was pulling out his iPod from his pocket. The screen lights up all that is in front of me, the empty dark maroon walls of my hallway. The light shuts out and the electrifying guitar of Marilyn Manson ‘Sweet Dreams’ begins playing in my ear. Jesus, Marylin Manson is supposed to make me relax? He couldn’t put on some KC & JoJo or something? Then I remember who Beast is and that I don’t like slow, depressing music. This is good. The guitar continues playing through my ears as he brings his body up against mine, pushing me against the wall, the coldness of the wall rousing my nipples to life. His hands skim down to the rim of my undies, he pushes them down slowly, the lace skimming past my knees and a rush of cold air sweeps past, the unfamiliar exposure making me squirm. The feeling is surprisingly erotic. The darkness of the room and the sound of music playing through my ears has three of my senses alive. Cutting my sight, igniting sound, and blowing up my sense of touch is an intoxicating combination. My heart races, the deep beating thump vibrating the cross necklace that sits over my chest. He pushes into me again, his thick cock pushing against my back. Throwing my head back, a small moan slips my mouth. Wrapping his hands around my waist, he spins my body around. Swallowing down the bundle of lust that has filled my mouth, the song hits repeat just as he brings his face into the crook of my neck, his well-polished

tongue slipping down my neck toward my heaving chest effortlessly, leaving a trail of sleek saliva behind. His body drops to the floor and my eyes scan, trying to close my vision onto anything, but coming out blank. His close-cropped hair grazes my inner thigh and my cheeks flush while blistering heat pools right between my thighs. His hands run up my legs and I know the exact moment he runs them over my scars because his hand stops and he pulls his iPod out, flashing the screen onto my thighs. I take out the ear buds, my hands whipping down quickly to cover myself but he stops them before I can get close. “Meadow…” he breathes out, his voice pained. “Fuck baby, he do this?” Swallowing, I nod my head. “Every time since I was twelve.” His head surrenders, his shoulders sag as he punches the floor with his fist. “I’m so sorry, baby.” “Sorry for what? You have nothing to be sorry about.” “No, you’re wrong, I do.” Despite my not wanting to get into this right now, I ask, “How so?” “Each of these scars is a reminder of how late I was getting to you. I will never fail you again.” His words reach deep into my chest, twisting my heart. A single tear drops down my cheek and I rub it away instinctively. Before I can ask him what he’s doing, he places the earbuds back into my ears, and the same silken tongue that slid down my neck is pushed up against my clit. Swinging my head back, I hit it on the wall behind me, bringing my hand to my mouth to calm my moans. His tongue works patiently, skimming circles around my nub comfortably. He applies pressure to me, picking up his pace before bringing his hands up my thighs, leaving a tingle of sensations running through my scorching hot blood. Something deep pulls in my lower stomach, edging for more, I don’t know much but I know I want more of what he’s doing. Slowly, I begin riding my pussy on his mouth, his tongue slipping over my clit softly but roughly. Tugging on one of the ear buds until it drops out of my ear, he mumbles. “Are you okay?” “Yes,” I whisper hoarsely, bringing my hands to his hair, tugging on it lightly. “Keep doing that.” The coldness that now covers my clit is an emptiness I’m not ready to feel. However, it brings its own kind of pleasure with it. His hair bristles over my thighs again as he runs his tongue up my slit roughly, bringing a single finger in between my thighs where he slips his finger inside my folds. My breath catches at the sudden invasion, but I instantly relax when I register where I am and how good it feels. When he curves his finger, another sensation sets off, this time coming from deep inside. I need more of that, more of what his finger is giving me, I need him inside me and I need it now. “Beast,” I whimper. “I need you inside me.”

Everything stops, his head disappearing from between my thighs. “Is that right?” he growls deeply into my ear. My body jolts in surprise and I shove him in the shoulder. “Don’t do that. Scared the shit out of me.” He chuckles deeply from the crook of my neck. “Are you sure?” “Yes,” I hiss. “Stop treading carefully. If I didn’t want this to happen and if I wasn’t ready, I would have never lead you on. Trust me, I’m ready.” Silence fills the air. “Beas—” My question is cut off by his hands wrapping around the back of my upper thighs, lifting me off the floor and pushing me up against the wall. I wrap them around his waist, my arms around his neck. Searching for his lips with mine, I hover over them. “Kiss me,” I whisper against his warm, damp lips. The sweet taste of my arousal lacing them. Bringing one of his hands up around the back on my neck, he wraps his fingers around me and inches my face closer, bringing his lips onto mine. When they touch, explosions happen behind my eyes, all that built up chase has exploded everywhere and I can’t contain how much I want him. The feeling overwhelms me. I begin rubbing myself over his length that is still behind his shorts. Why are they still on? Using the back of my feet, I push them down and he chuckles into my mouth, pulling my bottom lip into his and biting down on it gently. He pulls down the front of his shorts, his cock rubbing against the center of my thighs. “This what you wanted?” he growls into my ear, pulling back and ruffling in his pocket before sliding the condom on. “Yes,” I moan. “Yes, this is what I wanted.” In one slow thrust, he buries himself deep inside me. My walls contract, pulling him in deeper as a low groan escapes his mouth. “Fuck.” With one fist lying up against the wall and the other arm wrapped around my waist, carrying most of my weight that isn’t leaning on the wall with one arm, my body stretches slowly, inch by inch taking in his impressive length. It’s fully up in there and I don’t think I can take any more of him, so I begin thrusting over him. With his other hand, he brings it down to the front of my top, pulling my tank top over my swollen breasts and slowly covering one with his molten mouth, running perfect circles around my nipple, setting off pleasure ripples from my chest. Pulling his mouth away to give the other some attention, the coldness zaps my sensitive nub and I bite down on my bottom lip to stop my moaning. Bringing his hand back down to my other thigh, he pulls out of me, a pulling suction hitting my g-spot every time he extracts. My walls tense around his cock as my stomach pulls deeper, filling with need and fired by lust. “Beast,” I moan as his mouth covers mine, his tongue coming out and

swiping across my own before he sucks it into his mouth. The feeling grows. I turn into a ball of fire ready to explode in this very spot. “Shit,” I whisper. “I’m…I’m…” “That’s it, baby, come for me,” he growls into my mouth before his pace picks up to full blast as he pounds into me with raw yearning. Digging my nails into his shoulders, I reach higher and higher, and just when I think I can’t climb anymore, his hand reaches down between our sweat ridden bodies and gently but roughly he rubs my clit in circular motions. My body snaps and everything lets go. Explosions fire off behind my lids as little colorful balls bounce around my vision and my body jolts from the aftershocks of what just happened. Bringing me back to my feet, he snaps what sounds like the condom off his dick. “Holy shit,” I declare, pulling my undies back up over myself. Embarrassment sweeps over me. “Shit! Do you think they heard?” “No,” he answers. “How can you be sure,” I whisper, handing his iPod back to him. “Because Melissa is asleep and Hella has his iPod plugged in.” “Oh.” He pulls me to him, bringing his face down to my lips before drawing my mouth open with his, his tongue massaging mine gently before he pulls back and searches my eyes. “You’re fucking incredible. My little dark angel. Go to sleep, baby, we got shit to talk about tomorrow.” “Okay. Night.” Even though it’s morning. “Night, baby.” He keeps his eyes locked on mine so I turn my back on him. Just as I’m about to take a step toward my room, his hand wraps around my wrist, pulling me into him again. “I need to taste these lips one more time,” he growls into the back of my neck, his dick still hard against my ass while he runs his thick thumb across my bottom lip. I smile, turning in his embrace before his lips drop back onto mine softly. I open his mouth up with my tongue and a groan vibrates onto my lips. “Fuck. Okay, get some sleep, baby.” “Night, Beast,” I whisper, turning around and once again continuing to feel for my bedroom door. Pulling it open, I walk inside and wash up quickly before I crawl back under my sheets and close my eyes. I had sex and it was pleasurable. Maybe there is a God? Just maybe he didn’t want to save me.

The shining bright sun burns through my window and my eyes scrunch shut as I try to mask it away. After another failed attempt at falling back to sleep, I pull the covers over and swing my legs off the bed to close the curtains. Peering down at the bed, I see Melissa not there. “What?” Spinning around to look at my alarm clock that sits beside my television opposite my bed, I see it’s one p.m. “Holy shit!” Running to my closet, I scan for my short white silk robe, tie it around my waist and make my way down the lightened hallway, passing the now memorable spot with a smile. When I walk into the living room, Beast, Hella, and Melissa are there. Melissa is sitting on the floor with her back against the sofa, a towel wrapped around her hair in a turban while she’s eating her favorite English breakfast—sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and all. I smile. “Hey, guys. I didn’t mean to sleep that long.” Melissa shakes her head, wiping her hands with a napkin. “It’s fine. I only just got up and made this! There’s heaps there. I made enough to feed these two as well.” “Really?” I ask eyebrows raised, smiling with mock shock. “Yeah, they’ve already eaten. I need to go and hand the keys to my new manager I hired. Maybe we could go do that when you’re ready?” she asks, tilting her head. I nod my head. “Sure. I just need food.” “Worked up a bit of an appetite early this morning did you?” Hella smirks, giving me a wink. Melissa looks between Hella and me. My eyes narrow on him and Melissa looks to Beast, who’s shaking his head.

“Oh my God! You slept with him!” Melissa screeches. She has no filter and gives zero shits about what comes out of her mouth. I love her for it, but not right now. “I slept with you last night,” I answer, tilting my head and edging her to shut up. “I can work with that too, baby,” Hella retorts with a smirk. Beast raises his hand and slaps him upside the head. “Might wanna watch that mouth, brother.” Hella winks. “Sorry.” Melissa shoves her plate into Hella, who takes it naturally. A little too naturally, I would half expect Hella to shove it right back into her, or throw it at her. “Me. You. Kitchen. Now.” She walks up to me, pulling me into the kitchen by my arm. Once we round the corner, she checks the boys aren’t following before pointing me in the chest with a smile. “You did! How was it?” “What? How was what?” I whisper harshly. “You know? Your first time!” Pain lashes through my chest and my shoulders sag. “That wasn’t my first time.” She tilts her head, crossing her eyes in confusion. “I could have sworn—” I shake my head. “No. I mean, it was my first time… in a way, I guess. But it’s complicated and I don’t want to get into it right now.” She nods her head. “Okay. So, how was it?” “It?” I ask confused. “Yeah, you know. How’s he packing?” She runs her eyes out to the living room, scanning Beast up and down. “Yeah, he’s fine. You just worry about Hella.” She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right.” Before walking back to the living room to finish her breakfast. Exhaling out, I make my way to the stove top, pulling down a plate and begin dishing up the food. Usually, I’m a healthy person, but right now I’m famished. “Hey,” Beast mumbles from the entryway. I peer up at him while pushing my English muffins down into the toaster. “Hey. How are you feeling?” I ask, taking the butter out of the fridge. Pushing off the doorway, he makes his way to me. “Good. You?” Pulling me into him, lifting me off the ground and kissing my shoulder. “Beast! I’m hungry.” I laugh, tilting my head to give him access to my neck. He places me down and slaps my ass. “All right. Eat. Then we need to talk.” Before he walks back into the living room. A few minutes later, I follow him in

and take a seat at the coffee table, picking up the remote and turning the television on Crime Investigation channel where they’re investigating a triple homicide, real crime pictures and all. “Meadow, I still don’t know how you can watch this channel let alone watch it while you eat,” Melissa groans from her spot on the sofa. “It’s real, Melissa. It’s happening everywhere.” “Yeah, but I don’t want to watch it.” I take a bite out of my sausage before peering up at Beast. “What did you want to talk about?” Walking around the coffee table, he takes a seat next to me, leaning on one elbow. Hella throws his cap on backward and looks to Melissa uneasily. Shoving a piece of English muffin in my mouth, I ask again, “What?” while scanning both of them. “We need to head back to Vegas today. We have other deep shit that we need to sort out. It turns out that explosion was retaliation for some biker’s feathers Blake ruffled up a few years ago for Phoebe.” I drop my muffin onto the plate, wiping my hands with the napkin. “Okay. It’s all right. I get it. Biker and all,” I answer, waving my hands around. Ignoring the fact that every part of my body is already aching at the thought of him gone. Beast clears his throat. “Yeah, no, that’s not what I mean. We’re going to need you both to come with us.” I stop my chewing, quickly swallowing the large piece of sausage meat. “Wait. Both? What? No. I can’t!” Melissa yells from her spot, bouncing up from the sofa. “Not only because I have a life, and a business to run, but I fucking hate you!” She points to Hella. Oh dear. I wipe my hands on the napkin, looking at Beast uneasily. “Yeah?” he questions, standing from his spot and inching closer to Melissa with his jaw flexing, causing her body to inch backward. “Well guess what, Princess?” he seethes, his head bending to her ear. “I hate you, too,” he whispers loudly. “Oh, fuck. All right.” Beast stands as Melissa shoves Hella in the shoulder before running full blast to the front door and dashing out in all her turban hair glory. Shoving my food away, with a now lost appetite, I take a stand. “Okay. What the fuck is the deal with the two of you? I feel like I’m watching the live version of Eminem and Kim Mathers.” Hella smirks, shrugging his shoulder. “Fuck knows.” “Did you sleep with her?” Beast asks, shoving his hands in his jean’s pockets.

“Of course they did.” Hella shrugs. “I think so. I don’t know but I haven’t fucked anyone else since that bonfire.” “It’s only been three days,” I point out, my tone bored. “Yeah, that’s a long time for him,” Beast mumbles next to me. “What about you?” he adds, watching me closely. “What? Coming to Vegas? I haven’t been there since. Well… I haven’t been back there in a long time, I just don’t know.” My voice softens. “I don’t want to cause you any headaches, though, I know how serious this must be. How long are you thinking?” Beast walks over, pushing a few stray hairs away from my face and tucking them behind my ear. “I own that town, baby. I put your demons to rest when I snapped his neck. You will always be safe with me.” “You may have sent the demon back to hell, Beast. But I’ve lived with the memories of it all my life.” Wrapping my hands around my torso, I smile up at him. He pulls my arms apart and pulls me into him, wrapping them around his waist and kissing me on the head. I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I know, baby, I know. Do you trust me?” “You know I trust you, Beast.” He kisses me on the head again, mumbling into my hair, “Three weeks? Give me three weeks to sort this shit out.” Sighing, I pull out of his grasp and peer up into his dark eyes. “Okay. Let me sort out work. And I’ll give you two weeks… not three.” He nods his head, letting me go. Hella moans, flopping down on the sofa. “Why can’t I pick the smart girls like Meadow? The ones that know what’s good for them. I always attract these psycho, smart mouthed, stubborn, bitches.” I shake my head at his term for women while I walk to the kitchen to get my phone and call the girls at work before dialing Melissa. I need to get her to come somehow, she’s not safe here. Everyone has noticed how Hella is toward her. No doubt, that sort of news would travel fast in the MC community making her a possible target. After hanging up my phone, I’ve sorted out my work and Melissa. She’s hard work, but you just have to put things into perspective for her. She’s not dumb, Phoebe and she have been best friends since they were little. She knows what comes with club life. I walk back into the living room. “I’ll pack a bag. Melissa and I will take my car. As much as I’d love to be on the back of that bike for five hours, Melissa

will kill me.” Hella snaps his head up. “She’s coming?” I nod my head. “Yep. She just needed me to put it into perspective for her. She knows, she’s been around SS since she was a little girl, Hella.” He nods his head. “Thanks.” I tilt my head. “Why do you care? About her, I mean?” He shrugs his jaw flexing. “I don’t care about her. And I may be an asshole, but I don’t want her to get hurt because of me.” “You’re wrong about one thing.” “Oh?” he questions, swinging his arm over the rim of the sofa. “And what’s that?” “You’re not an asshole, you’re worse.” I walk to my bedroom, packing up my bags and bringing them back out to the living room. This is going to be a long trip.

When we pull into a gated farmland that stretches down a long, gravel driveway, I shrug Melissa, who’s fast asleep next to me. “Wake up, I think we’re here.” We follow Hella in down the bumpy road and I look back in my rear vision mirror to see Beast on his bike with his skull bike mask covering his mouth. My cheeks flush, I don’t know why, but that mask turns me on—only on Beast. Hella wears an identical one and it doesn’t do the same things to me. Melissa yawns from her seat, stretching her arms wide while I flex out my neck. “Shit. What are we doing,” she mumbles under her breath, placing a mint in her mouth. Taking one off her, I absently look into the rear vision mirror again. “I don’t know. We stick together, though. Beast said there’s a house that we can stay at.” “All right. This should be interesting.” Bringing my car to a halt outside a massive building that’s built like a barn, only reconstructed. It’s all black with their MC logo stamped across the top of it. Just behind the barn, there’s an equally large garage, that again is stamped with their logo across the front. The unfamiliarity of my surroundings begins to build in my stomach as I internally swallow the uneasiness that’s about to settle inside me. Clutching the door to my white 2014 Audi A3 Sports sedan, I climb out, pushing my phone into the pocket of my skinny jeans and zipping up my hoodie before shutting the door behind me, the gravel crunching underneath my white Chuck Taylors. Beast walks up to me, taking my hand in his and pulling his mask down to sit around his neck. “You all good?” he asks, planting his soft lips on mine. I am now. “Yeah, we’re both good.” I look at Melissa, who’s taking out her phone and handbag from the car, with her ass in the air, bending over. “Melissa,” I whisper loudly. “Pull your shorts down.”

She peers up at me from her elbows that are resting on the passenger seat. A smile comes on her lips. “Hey, I said I’d come, not that I would behave.” “Jesus…” I whisper, shaking my head. “I’m going to apologize now for her behavior,” I mumble to Beast, who chuckles under his breath. Hella walks up behind Beast with a smirk. “Apologize for what?” Looking between us before locking his eyes on Melissa’s glorious ass. “What the hell are you doing, Melissa? He rounds the car just as she straightens out of it with her bag in her hand. “Hella, leave me alone. Me and you do not know each other.” “You sure about that?” he asks, narrowing his eyes and glaring down at her with an intensity that screams hate. “Round 10… Fight,” I mimic in the best Tekken voice I can master. Beast laughs, wrapping his long fingers into mine. “Come on, I’ll show you girls around. Hella! I’ll meet you back at the bar.” We both stop, watching Melissa and Hella’s epic stare-down. Both as stubborn as each other and both play just as dirty. Sighing, I walk to Melissa. “Come on, feisty. Let’s go.” Offering a small smile to Hella before dragging her away. “Jesus,” I mutter to her while we walk back to Beast. “You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on tonight.” “Ready?” he asks with a smirk. Why does he have to be so beautiful? Images flash in my head of our night last night and my cheeks flare fire hydrant red. “Ready!” Melissa pipes in, flicking her hair over her shoulder. I nod my head and smile. “Sure, ready when you are.”

Walking up the porch steps of our eastbound house, I swing open the front door and step aside for the girls to walk in and get acquainted with everything. Meadow goes in first and my eyes follow her through, those tight jeans wrapping perfectly around her little peach ass. Smirking, I bring them back to Melissa and she smiles, following suit. “You know, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and burn the skin off your balls,” she says quietly and casually, peering up at me under her eyes with an innocent smile on her mouth.

Narrowing my eyes, I shut the door. “You’re a little crazy. You and Hella are going to kill each other.” She laughs, walking toward the stairs that lead up to the bedrooms. “Maybe. But if I succeed in dragging him down to hell with me, I’ll die a happy woman.” “Jesus, what the hell did he do to you?” I answer, rounding her body while looking for Meadow. Her face drops, sadness overcoming her, only for a brief second because before I know it, that psycho little smile is back on her face. “It doesn’t matter. Meadow?” she yells out, leaving me standing in the hallway dumbfounded. He could have done a number of things, Hella has no emotions when it comes to anything, like me, we both care for a very little amount of people. I don’t think I ever stopped caring for Meadow, though, I think this was the universe's way of getting me to sort my shit with her. Or maybe I was supposed to bring her ass back to Vegas all those years ago. Who knows? I walk into the kitchen, opening up one of the fridges to see it filled with food, wine, and all sorts of groceries. I had called Bethy before we left Westbeach to get her to do a shop, and I’d give her the cash when I returned, but she went over the top—like she always does. Bethy stays away from the clubhouse nowadays, but will make an exception every now and then. The girls round the corner, Meadow pushing her hands into her back pockets. “All unpacked. It’s peaceful here, I don’t know what I was expecting.” She giggles, looking around. “Probably something like the clubhouse,” I answer, pulling a beer out of the fridge. “Bethy stocked up the cupboards and fridge. I have to go and sort some stuff out back at the clubhouse. It’s not that far away, about a thirty-minute walk. The entire property is fully fenced and heavily surveillanced. You’re safe here.” I walk to Meadow and pull her into me, pushing her hair out of her face. “I won’t be long.” Letting go of her and turning my back, on my way to the door. “Beast?” she questions and I stop in my tracks. “Yeah?” “This… whatever is going on? Can you tell me about it tonight?” I nod my head and smile. “Yeah baby, I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” I say before walking out the door and getting onto my bike.

“So hang on a minute…” Ripper throws his hands up, leaning into his chair. “I still don’t understand why they haven’t come here and started shit?” Taking the joint off Flicker, I nod my head. “Yeah, I know. That’s why we need to deal with them once and for all. We also have the Russian’s deal. Preacher’s daughter is Queen A, from Satan’s Vixens MC. I haven’t heard anything from him yet, but when I do, we need to be prepared for his demands. There’s no way they’re getting Nevada.” “I’ve heard about these crazy bitches. Heard they’ve got hot little snatches, too.” Ripper chuckles under his breath. I raise my eyebrows and lean into my chair. “Yeah? Well, consider yourself hired. They can be your little side job when Preacher calls in.” “Fuck yeah. I can handle me a crazy bitch.” Shaking my head, we all laugh before Sugar lights up his cigarette from his spot at the table. “Jada will be here soon, wants to meet Meadow.” “Of course, she does,” I answer tediously. “I have a plan. I don’t know why they haven’t come after us, but I plan on going after them. This shit ends this weekend.” I’m sick of playing this cat and mouse game with them, I have Meadow now and I will destroy anyone who comes near us, The Army included. They built me, I was their strongest and most valued asset and I’m about to blow up their entire spot for my girl.

Walking into the living room, I take a seat on the sofa next to Melissa, who’s watching some reality television show. This place is nice, far nicer than I envisioned. Not to stereotype or anything but when someone says you’ll be staying in a house on club property, you draw a different picture in your head. “Hey. How are you feeling?” I ask, pulling my legs under myself. It’s almost dark out now and Beast hasn’t been back. I guess he has a lot to fill the other guys in on. “I’m feeling okay.” “Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Hella?” Clearing her throat, she shuffles in her seat uncomfortably. “It’s actually nothing in particular. He just rubs me the wrong way when sex isn’t involved. Yes, we had sex. Drunk, sloppy, raw, sex. It was the night of the bonfire and we were both smashed. I don’t really remember how it even started, all I remember is he was going home on me up against the clubhouse wall outside. Then he dropped me to the ground, tucked his dick away and walked back to the party like I was a club whore. The next day he came to the bakery and didn’t even remember who I was. Since then, I’ve hated him. I still don’t know if he remembers.” “Wait,” I laugh before stopping. “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, but Melissa you can’t blame the guy. You were obviously not an Old Lady if he was doing you up against a wall. So at the time, he probably thought you were a whore. If he was thinking at all. I don’t think he remembers, though.” She shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter, I still hate him. I’m going to hit it early tonight. Maybe we can cause some havoc tomorrow?” She smirks, taking a stand from the couch. “Yeah, maybe we can.” After she has made her way upstairs, I take the remote and change the channel to the Crime Investigation channel, pulling the throw blanket over me and lying down on the sofa, the soft plush wool sending me into a spiral of deep sleep.

A breeze of ice slides over my legs and I sit up instantly, looking around the room to find Beast picking me up from the sofa, the breeze coming from the fallen throw blanket.

“Hey,” I smile lazily at him, trying to keep my eyes open but struggling to fight the itchy, heavy dryness throbbing off them. Bringing his face down to mine, he runs his lips across my cheek, the soft, warm cushions igniting a roll of comfort deep in my belly. “Hey, baby. Sorry, I took so long.” He carries on his walk up the stairs, lifting me as if I weigh nothing. I wrap my hands around his thick neck. “It’s okay. I must’ve been tired. I never fall asleep like that.” Pushing open my bedroom door, he walks in and kicks it closed before placing me back down to my feet. “Are you staying?” I ask, throwing my hair into a messy ponytail and taking my sleep shorts out of my bag. Removing his MC cut, he places it on one of the bedside tables. “Yeah, that all right?” “Of course. Give me a minute.” “Meadow?” he murmurs, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Mmm?” I ask, tilting my head at him. “I’ve had my mouth on that sweet pussy, baby. I think I can handle you getting changed in front of me.” “Right,” I mumble, fidgeting with the short silk shorts I have in my hand. Sliding my thumbs under my jeans, I pop off the button and slowly shimmy out of my skinny jeans, making sure I don’t meet his eyes. Once down, I throw my silk shorts on, reach behind my back, unclip my bra and get into bed. I should have a shower, but I’m too tired. I didn’t notice that he hadn’t moved until I’m snuggling into the blankets. Scanning his eyes, he runs his tongue over his bottom lip before pulling his black shirt off, leaving him in his jeans and his impressive six-pack. It’s not just a six-pack, though—it’s a whole lot of pack. Before I realize what I’m doing, I sigh into the blankets and he laughs, throwing his head back while unbuckling his belt buckle. Pulling the blankets away from my mouth, I lean up on my elbow. “What happened?” Tilting his head, he raises his eyebrows. “What? My scar?” I nod my head while he turns the bedside lamp off and slides under the covers with me. “This is a big story, but I know you’re ready for it.”



My palms sweat, my stomach aches and my head is pounding. “What do you mean? Oh God, this is awful. I thought things didn’t go bump in the night, you only ever see that in movies,” I answer, running my sweaty palms over my forehead. I’m going to need that shower. His story breaks my heart into two. “I am what goes bump in the night, Meadow. And if it wasn’t you, no-one would want me under their bed. “Why me?” I ask softly. “Why am I different?” His face turns to mine, the shadow of the moonlight casting over his strong jaw and plump lips. “Are you really going to ask me that like you don’t know?” Swallowing down, I nod my head. “I guess. I just, I’m so confused about us. What is this here? What are we doing? And why did I not get a say in it,” I scoff, bringing my eyes up to the ceiling. “Does it matter? All that matters is that this feels right. God, I haven’t felt this way about a woman before, and there have been a few.” “Nope. You’re going to need to stop. I get that you have a past, but I don’t want to hear about it or see it if that’s okay with you.” “One of those is going to be a little tricky,” he answers. Bringing my eyes back to him, I huff. “Which one, Beast?” “The see it part. A couple of the girls hang around here a little.” I laugh, turning onto my side to face him. “Beast, I don’t care about the sweet butts.” He laughs. “Well, she’s not exactly a club whore. She handles all the club whores and manages our strip joint in town. I can handle her.” “Beast?” I whisper, bringing my finger up to his scar, under his ear. “I don’t need you to handle club girls for me, okay? Just keep all the other monsters away, I can handle a whore.” He laughs, pulling my body into his. “All right baby, I just need you to know that I’ve got you, for as long as you might need me.” “So this ‘Army,’ they have no affiliation to the actual Army?” He shakes his head. “No, none at all. It’s just a name of the operation they run. Although, it is government run, but it’s in stealth mode. No-one knows about it.” Closing my eyes, I open them again and run my finger across his chest. “And this serum? It wipes away your memories? How have people not heard about this?” Clearing his throat, he begins, “Well, the right people know about it, just not civilians. It was created by a scientist called Carrisa Kurnikiva though no-one has met her. She then cooked it up by combining two major drugs and a very strong anesthetic. They’d pump it through us instantly after a fight…or

whenever they saw fit, thus wiping out our entire memories of what had happened. I don’t know why? Most of us wouldn’t talk, but they couldn’t take the chance, no-one could ever find out about what was going on. I still don’t have all of my memories back. Hella started getting flashes of his the first week we escaped.” “Why? Why haven’t you?” I ask, engulfed in his story. He shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t know. I’ve gotten one or two since we’ve been out, but they were only snippets. Maybe it’s because I have years on Hella, who knows. All I know is my choice of weapon for most assassinations apparently was my fist.” “Your fist?” I ask eyebrows raised. “Yeah, just ending people with my bare hands is what got me going. I was a slave to the adrenaline I’d get after ending someone with my hands. According to Hella’s flashbacks anyway, and he says we’ve met this scientist too. I wish I could meet her. So I can put a bullet between her eyes.” The reality is, what he’s just said doesn’t scare or surprise me. I watched him with Donald, I’m fully aware of what he’s capable of. Do I think he would ever hurt me? No. There’s not a shadow of doubt in my answer to that. I laugh awkwardly. “You mean, break her with your fist? And you can’t do that, Beast. You don’t know why she’s done what she’s done,” I answer, pulling my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. His body jolts. “I don’t care, baby. We all have a choice.” I shake my head. “That’s where you’re wrong. Some people don’t get to pave their own way in life. Sometimes, their path is forced upon and has already been paved for them.” “What do you mean, baby.” “I mean, she may have had no choice. Just promise you will hear her out if it came down to you both.” A low grunt escapes him. “All right. What would you choose, if you got to pick a weapon of choice?” he asks, pulling me closer into him, his warm breath seeping through my hair. “Love?” I ask, laughing. “No, okay. Um… well… I’ve been taking classes in archery since I moved to New York so I would say a bow and arrow.” “Really?” he asks, the moonlight giving away his shocked expression. “Oh stop. I knew you saving me was a once in a lifetime event, Beast. I don’t want to be the damsel in distress. I want to hold my own. I don’t need a prince charming to save me. I can charm myself.” I smirk up at him. Shaking his head, he lets out a sigh. “You surprise me, do you know that?” “Good or bad?”

“Good… but only bad for me.” He smirks, rolling his heavy body on top of mine, and grinding his hips into me in one slow circular motion. I smirk back, just as the soft skin of his lips touches mine. “Oh? I think I can work with that.” “What? With being a lady in the streets, but my little fuck-toy in the sheets?” I let off a muffled laugh into him, the smooth skin of his tight chest skimming over my lips. “I might keep you for a bit,” I answer, smirking up at him. “Yeah?” he asks, his voice vibrating against the crook of my neck. “I won’t protest to that.” He laughs, bringing his lips down to mine before pulling my bottom lip into his mouth. Wrapping my fingers behind his neck, I pull his face deeper into mine, intensifying the kiss. His tongue gliding rhythmically over mine, the motion reminding me of his expertise in between my thighs. His hips push deeper into me, rubbing me roughly right in that perfect spot, causing me to match his moves, meeting him halfway in needy fashion. I wrap my legs around his waist before his calloused hands run up over my slim stomach and up to my bra. My mind tracks back to his words earlier, “Ending people with my bare hands is what got me going.” My body instinctively responds, my back arching into him. A sense of power rules over me, power that comes with knowledge that this man could have anyone, but he chose me. Gripping onto his shoulders, I push him, his body rolling onto his back with a laugh escaping his lips. He grips onto the back of my thighs, throwing them over him so I’m straddling his waist. “Can I try something?” I ask, biting down on my bottom lip. A full-blown white toothed grin comes into my view and my pussy clenches with approval. “Can I tie you up?” I whisper weakly. He laughs, shock evident in his voice. “You wanna do that?” I nod my head and chuckle, my face beaming bright red. Good thing he can’t see me clearly. “Yeah, yeah, I do.” “Well… this would be a first.” “I would hope so,” I answer, swinging off him and standing to my feet. Scanning the room, I look down at my bag and see my silk robe folded inside. Taking it out, I turn to face Beast, who has propped himself up on his elbows, the moonlight once again doing me a solid in displaying all his ripped and defined muscles. The odds are definitely in my favor right now. Pulling the sash through the robe, I dangle it out to Beast, who has a sexy smirk spread across his face. He bites down on his lower lip before nudging his head toward himself, signaling for me to come to him. I throw my head back with a light laugh. “Easy tiger, I need some scissors,” I answer, walking across the room to the TV console that has a little drawer built into it. Sliding it open, I

find some little silver scissors and with a quick snip, I cut the sash in half, placing the scissors back into the drawer. I slide it closed and make my way back to the bed. I’m almost there when Beast wraps his arm around the back of my thighs, pulling me back down to him so I’m straddling him again, in a fit of laughter. “Beast!” I laugh, bringing my face down to him and slowly running my lips across his. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for what you did for me all those years ago,” I whisper hoarsely against his lips. He smiles. “You don’t have to, baby. You can thank me by tying me up,” he answers, smirking a cocky smile at me. I laugh, pushing off his chest to sit back up. Dangling the two pieces of the sash in front of me, I smile. “Your wish is my command.” I grasp onto his left wrist and wrap the sash around it in a simple French bowline knot before making my way onto his other wrist. He laughs, looking up at me. “Errr, should I ask how you know how to tie a knot like that?” I smile, continuing the knot. “I took self-defense classes when I was younger. One of the things we learned was how to untie ourselves from dissimilar styles of knots.” His shoulders slouch. I laugh. “Relax. I’m not into some freaky BDSM kink…” pausing, I tilt my head, “Maybe only a little with you.” Finishing up the knot, I run my hands up and pull on it. “There, that should do it.” He laughs. “Mmm… might. We will have to see about that won’t we?” Laying my body down onto his, my nipples grazing across his bare chest, reminding me that they want to come out and play. Gripping onto the bottom of my shirt, I pull it off, dropping it onto the floor below us. His eyes run slowly over my body, his tongue slipping out and gliding across his bottom lip. “Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he growls, his eyes glassing over and the image pulls me back a little. I smile, running my hands down my legs. “Thank you. You’re pretty snazzy yourself.” “No seriously, you need to sit on my face. Right now.” I laugh, shaking my head despite my pussy throbbing at his words. “I’m in charge, remember?” A deep growl slips from his mouth before he tugs on his ties. “Hey! Play fair.” I run my hands over his ripped chest, down to his basketball shorts and slide myself down to his upper thighs, giving me more reach for what I want. Slipping my fingers under his shorts, his hips lift, giving me passage to pull

them down. Which I do, happily. Once they’ve hit his ankles, I run my eyes up his muscled legs, following the trail up to his massive cock that’s sitting there rock hard and angry. Tilting my head, I examine it closer, the tip of his cock glistening over from pre-cum and the angry veins that ripple through his length, rising to the surface. My tongue darts out, running itself over my lips when another growl vibrates through the atmosphere. My eyes snap up, I almost forgot he was watching. “Look at my cock like that again and I’ll fuck your rules with my left nut, rip these ties off my wrists and have your pussy riding my face until your legs can’t stand and your heart stops beating. Understood?” he demands casually, all play gone from his face. Swallowing my nerves, I nod my head. “Yes, sir.” “Good girl,” he smirks. Hooking my fingers under my panties, I pull them down over my ass, swinging my leg over to push them down. He throws his head back briefly before bringing his attention back to me. “That right there…” he nudges his head toward me, “…is mine. Capiche?” I smile, and just as I am about to agree with him, an idea pops into my head. Stretching my fingers out, I run them slowly down from my collarbone, slowly over my perky hard nipples. “Oh, you mean this?” I ask innocently, pinching my nipples between my fingers, the action zapping straight to my pussy. “Fuck!” he curses loudly, his knuckles turning white while he squeezes on the ties. I continue running my hands down over my belly, stopping just above my pussy. “And this?” I ask, skimming my fingers over my cleft. “Is yours,” I answer firmly, bringing my hand under, and cupping my pussy in my hand. “Yeah baby, keep doing that,” he answers, watching my hands with both fire and ice in his eyes. Like a caged hungry lion. I know if I unleash him, he will eat me alive. Sliding my index finger in between my cleft, I glide it over my clit, the warm softness of my own finger slipping over me. I think I’d prefer Beast’s fingers, but this is still doing me right, and with this hot, big, powerful man tied up and watching me, I’m not going to lie, I’m getting my kicks off of it. My hips begin to rock against the finger, rubbing it slowly, building my body up. My other hand darts up to my nipple where I squeeze it roughly, throwing my head back. “Ohhh, Beast.” “Fuck this,” he mumbles and with one swift jolt, his hands are free. Squeezing my ass with his now free hands, he brings my body over his, pushing me to his face so I’m straddling his head. Before I can protest that I actually

wanted to suck his dick, his hot mouth comes into contact with my clit, the warm, wet, sensation like a cover of pleasure sucking me into the black hole of euphoria. “Oh my God,” I moan, my hips rocking with his movements. His tongue slipping inside me while he brings his hand around and begins circling his thumb over my clit. With my stomach tightening and my pussy clenching, my orgasm rips out of me, pushing through my pores and every other part of my body. Little colorful dots dance behind my closed eyes as his tongue stops and I slide down his chest, huffing like I’ve run a marathon, my skin sticky with sweat. I smile down at him, running my hands over his sweaty chest, and bring my face down to his crotch, peeking up at him from under my eyelashes. “I’ve never… you know. Just tell me if I’m doing it wrong,” I say, thinking back to all those girly talks with Melissa and Phoebe. Between those two as BF’s, I think I’ll have it covered. “Baby, do you know how fucking special those words are?” “What words?” I ask, still face to face with his cock. “You’re mine, in every way.” I smile, bringing my face lower to his shaft. Nodding my head, I draw out my tongue and place it at the bottom of his cock before licking one long lick up the base and up to his thick head, the rim of it pink and pulsing with need. Circling my tongue around his warm head, he lets out a deep groan, lying back on his back. Peeking up at him from under my lashes, his cock lodged deep down my throat, his eyes cross as he bites down on his lower lip, slowly thrusting himself into my mouth deeper, the motion flicking on my switch again, if it ever shuts off around Beast. “Yeah, keep that up, baby,” he groans, pulling my hair out of its bun and wrapping it around his fist. With my head bobbing, I bring my mouth up to the tip of his cock, bare my teeth and slowly glide it down his shaft, jolting over the rim of his helmet. “Fuck!” he pants, before hot salty liquid shoots straight to the back of my throat, hitting my tonsils and causing me to swallow it all with ease. He tastes of salt and soap. It’s not that bad. Licking my lips, I swipe my hand across my mouth and prop myself up on my knees. “How’d I do?” I ask, tucking my hair behind my ear. He doesn’t answer so I bring my eyes to his, at an instant, with one stare he has my heart jolting around in my chest. “If I didn’t know better…” He laughs, rubbing his hand over the top of his head, the short strands of his hair jolting in the movement. “Come here, I’m not

finished with you yet.” Perking my shoulders up, I crawl up to him and he pounces up from his position, pushing me over flat onto my back with his weight. We both laugh before he’s dropping sweet kisses onto my lips. He looks deep into my eyes, rubbing his palm over my forehead. “You’re mine. I’m serious, Meadow,” he confirms, looking deep into my eyes. Tilting my head, I search his dark depths for a clue, any clue. “I have to ask,” I begin, clearing my throat. “Do… does. Hang on.” I pull my eyes away from him, fixing them on the soft white walls of the room. “Does what happened to me, have an impact on how you feel about me… in any way. Sexual, emotional?” I still haven’t moved my eyes from the wall when his smooth voice travels through my ears and hits me right deep in my core. “Look at me.” Bringing my eyes back to his, there’s nothing but pure, and deep sincerity beaming from them. “Don’t ever… question that shit again. Understand me? Nothing and no-one could ever take away what you mean to me, Meadow. You were a victim. And what happened to you for all those years, means jack shit up against what I feel for you,” he whispers hoarsely, pushing my hair off my forehead before brushing his soft plush lips against it. My eyes glass over and I exhale a breath of air. “Thank you.” I’m lost for words. There’s so much love in him for someone who’s so lost—just like me. Running his thumb across my bottom lip, he smirks. “Now, where were we?”

After Beast made sweet love to me all night, I wake to Melissa standing above my bed eating toast. “Jesus!” I screech, pulling the sheet up to my chest. She rolls her eyes before taking another bite. “Oh, please. I’ve seen your rack.” My eyebrows draw together. “When?” She pauses, searching around the room. “No, wait! That’s Phoebe. Anyway, doesn’t matter. Beast left early this morning, said we can go up to the clubhouse whenever, someone wants to meet us apparently.” Swinging my legs over the bed, I pull my sex hair back, scrunching my face at the oiliness of it. “Who?” She shrugs, making her way back to the door. “I don’t know, he said to walk.” “Walk!” I answer, I can barely get out of bed let alone walk half an hour. My legs are like Jell-O and my muscles are pulsing with the thrashing my body got last night. Fucking walk, who’s he kidding. I pull out some clothes from my bag. White, worn cutoffs and a black T-shirt will do. They’re both skin tight, but I feel safer since I’ve been around Beast, he relaxes me and puts my body at ease. He’s like one large safety net that has cast himself around me and I can finally open up a little. “Yeah, but here’s the thing,” she giggles, placing the rest of the toast into her mouth, “I was out in the little shed earlier, you know… snooping. Anyway, I saw a four-wheel bike sitting there. Are you keen?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk on her face. I laugh, taking out my body wash. “Sure. You’re driving, and give me twenty minutes to get ready.” “Wait, no! I can’t drive.” “Why?” I ask impatiently.

“I don’t know how.” “Neither do I. I’ll call Phoebe. It can’t be that hard,” I whisper, ducking into the bathroom for a quick shower.

I’m sipping on my coffee in the kitchen when Melissa walks in, pushing her phone into her bag. She’s wearing a tight black casual strap dress that hugs her perfectly. I raise my eyebrows and smirk. “Hmmm, who are you looking all sexy for?” “Not Hella, that’s for sure.” I roll my eyes, emptying the leftover black goodness into the sink. “Sure, sure. Right, okay. Phoebe said it’s easy, I think I know what to do, so let’s go have a crack.” “You look all sexy, too. Those tight little white shorts work with your body, and the rips around the upper thigh? Freaking sexy! Can I borrow?” “Like you ever ask. Let’s go.” We both walk out to the little shed that sits directly next to the house and Melissa slides open the rusted iron door, it squeaking at the movement. Dusting her hands, she points. “There we are. And the keys are on the tire.” Walking onto the dirt-ridden flooring, I grasp the keys from the mud-covered tire and swing my leg over the seat. Patting the back, I wink. “Well come on, homegirl. I’m not going to wait forever.” She claps her hands and giggles. “I’m actually excited.” “Don’t get too excited. I might kill us,” I state, pushing the keys in the ignition. Melissa wraps her arms around my waist tightly and laughs into my back. “There is that.” Shaking my head, I turn the key over and it starts first pop. Putting it into first, the way Phoebe lectured me thoroughly to do—after she begged me to not go through with this—I push the pedal down slowly until we glide forward, both in fits of laughter. I pull down the dirt driveway and make my way to the clubhouse. I can’t remember exactly where it is, but I know that it’s this way. Gaining some confidence, I drop it down a gear and push forward, Melissa gripping onto my waist tighter. “Oh my God, Meadow!” she screeches, laughter filling her lungs. With the dust flying up from behind the wheels and both of us in fits of

laughter, we pull right up to the clubhouse door that’s opened with about five or six people standing outside, one being a female. My laughing stops along with the bike when I skid to a halt. Both our laughing dies out to a stop and a few of the boys chuckle from their positions. Beast wasn’t one of them laughing, and neither was Hella. Beast stalking to us, shoulders pressed back and his jaw set in a straight line. Before he reaches me, I swing my leg off and roll my eyes with the girl following behind him. “Relax, Beast. No-one got hurt.” Wrapping his hands around my arms, he pulls me into him so I come crashing into his rock hard chest. “You could have, though. Fuck.” He runs his hands over his head before dropping them down to his sides. “That shit was hot, but don’t ever do it again.” “Can’t promise that.” I smile, peering up at him. His hard face softens as he brings his lips down to mine, running them over and sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. “Don’t.” I laugh, lost in his eyes when a cough interrupts my thinking. Beast steps aside, wrapping his hand into mine where I sink into him naturally. “Hey, I’m Jada,” she greets, placing her hand out to me. I look between her and Beast before pulling my hand out of his hand and take hers with it. “Hi, Meadow. Jada as in who got out with you?” I ask, looking up to Beast. He nods his head. “Yeah, she’s going to keep you girls company today for a couple hours while we go and sort some stuff out. That okay?” I nod my head. “Of course. You don’t have to worry, we’ll be fine.” I know he has a lot on his plate right now, and the last thing I want to do is be a hurdle that he constantly needs to jump just to get through his day. He runs a club, a very, very big one. He’s not just President of The Devil’s Own, Nevada, but he’s National President of the entire Devil’s Own MC—and there’re a lot of chapters. I’m secure enough with what we have here to not be a pain in his ass, even though I want to. Pulling me into him again, he runs his mouth along the rim of my ear, his warm breath gliding across my lobe sending shivers across my skin. “When I get back, we can continue your training.” My eyes snap open and I pull back from him, a huge grin set on my lips. “What kind?” His eyes narrow. “Not that kind! Jesus, what have I created…” he murmurs and the girls crack up laughing in the background. My cheeks redden and I tuck my hair behind my ear. “Your archery, baby. I want to train you on a few other things, too. Basic

MMA, we’ll see how you go.” My heart warms, my skin tingles, and my smile stretches wider. “Really!” I answer excitedly. “Really, really. I won’t be long.” He pushes one final kiss on my head before walking off with the rest of the boys, who all turn around to smirk at me before getting on their bikes. Once they have all left, I turn my attention back to Jada and Melissa who’s made her way beside her and they’re both staring at me in awe. “What?” I ask, wrapping my arm around my waist, suddenly feeling empty without Beast here. I can’t do that, the depend-on-a-man thing. I have lasted this long without a man on my arm, I’ll be damned if I start now. Jada shakes her head in shock. “He loves you.” I tilt my head and scoff. “I wouldn’t go that far. And if he did, I’d prefer to hear it from him first.” She nods her head. “I understand, but he does. He’s never batted an eye at any woman before. Sure, he sleeps with a few and has his regulars, but never ever like he was just then with you,” she states. Swallowing down, I point to the barn. “I need a drink.” They both nod their heads and follow me into the bar where we make our way straight to the alcohol, ignoring the other four guys that are still here sitting around by the pool table. After telling the old fella what I needed—vodka on ice—and just one because I’ll need my wits about me when Beast returns for my training, I sigh, slouching into the seat. Jada takes a seat beside me on one side and Melissa on the other. “You wanted to meet us?” I ask Jada, sipping on the ice cold vodka. She nods her head. “Yeah, at first, I planned on giving you the hard word and all that. And although you seem like such a sweet person, I’m almost one hundred percent sure you have some fire in there, and also, I see what you and Beast have. No need for my bust your nut talk.” I smile, taking another sip. “Thank you.” She tilts her head, scanning over me and I take this moment to take in her appearance. She’s beautiful in a bad girl kind of way. She has tattoos all over her body, one whole sleeve, and a tiny diamond that sits under her eye. I guess on anyone else, it would look ridiculous. But with her long inky black hair and piercing blue eyes and her soft feminine features, she pulls it off and she pulls it off well. “What are you thanking me for?” she asks. “For caring about Beast that much.” Her face softens as she picks up her own drink. “It comes naturally. Not by choice, trust me. Both those men give me nightmares, but I care about them

both.” Melissa shuffles from her seat and I clear my throat. “So, I have to ask. Have you slept with either of them?” She laughs, shaking her head. “I get that you’d want to ask that, and I admire that you’re not beating around the bush. Beast, no, not slept in that way. Hella? Yes. Everyone with a decent set of tits has been under him.” Melissa stiffens next to me and I cringe, taking another sip of my drink. “Anything serious?” I ask, attempting for casual around the rim of my glass, but failing miserably when Jada bends over the bar to look directly at Melissa. “No, nothing serious, first time was a huge mistake that happened when we were younger. Second time was a few years ago, one weak move on both our parts. Trust me, we both laughed afterward. He was my first, that’s all. He’s like a brother to me now.” Melissa relaxes and smiles. “Oookaayy…” she answers, trying to sound like she doesn’t care. Jada rolls her eyes before resting back into her chair. “Anyway, they have a bigger issue. The Army is not going to go away easily. I’m going in with them, with whatever they do.” “Wouldn’t that be dangerous for you?” She laughs. “Did Beast tell you what my specialty was in The Army?” I think back over our conversation. “The power of persuasion and seduction.” She nods. “Yep, so no, I’ll be fine. I have plenty fighting experience and I’m not too bad with a Katana.” Winking at me before downing her drink. “That’s your weapon?” I ask, tilting my head in amazement. The Katana is a traditionally made Japanese sword, made for the Samurai of Japan. So yes, I’m a little intrigued. She nods her head. “Yeah, it is, one of first Commander Nines trained me,” she offers, her tone softening. “Did Beast tell you about them?” she asks, taking another sip of her drink. Melissa shuffles uneasily on her seat, putting away shot glass after shot glass. I think I’ll be carrying her home. I shake my head. “Not in so many words, he just covered the basics.” “There were nine commanders. They were called The First Commander Nines because they have been there from the very beginning, cooking up this charade. Each commander had a weapon of choice and they would rotate us around for a trial period to see which was our strongest suit. It worked because even though we eventually all had our chosen weapon, we were all still trained in other aspects.” “Jesus,” I whisper, looking back to Jada. “I’m sorry. Were you there as long as Beast?” She nods her head. “Yeah, I was. I mean, I went in when I was three, so Beast

was eight already. Both my parents were murdered in their bed with me lying in between them. My mother was the Princess of the Yakuza, who ran away from the family business to live a life in America with her American husband—my father. They ordered to kill all of us, but for some reason, The Army took me in instead. To this day, I still don’t know if my mom’s family know.” My brain is overloading with information that I’m trying to swallow. She’s half Japanese? She barely looks it. You can see that she has some sort of exotic look about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it until she mentioned it. “Fucking hell,” Melissa groans beside me. “Sorry, I mean no disrespect, but all of you are kind of messed up in your own sort of ways.” My back snaps straight. “Melissa!” I scowl at her. She looks between Jada and me innocently. “Oh, what? I didn’t mean it was a bad thing. It obviously made you who you are today. I just mean…” she sits forward placing her drink on the bar, and I begin to itch nervously waiting for what verbal diarrhea might come squirting out of her mouth next, “…you all have something in common. Even with Meadow.” “Melissa…” I warn, lowering my tone. Jada peeks up at me. “It’s okay, you don’t have to fill me in on anything. I told you about me because… well, I don’t know. I didn’t exactly mean to fill you in with my life story, but you seem like a person someone can confide in. I don’t expect to swap stories or anything.” I smile at her politely. “Thank you.” “So!” Jada pipes in, standing to her feet and downing the rest of her water. “I better head off. I have to pick my son up from school. But I might see you guys later?” “You have a son?” I ask, turning in my seat with a smile on my face. I adore kids. She throws her jacket on with a smile. “I do. His name’s Garret and he’s a sweet kid,” she answers without skipping a beat. “How old is he?” I ask, still interested. “He’s six. You’ll meet him tonight maybe. We live on the north side.” “You live on the property, too?” I ask, excitement ripping through me. I may have found a friend in Jada. She nods her head, pulling her long hair out from behind her jacket. “Yeah, I’ve tried to reason with moving us out, but Hella and Beast have nothing of it. I don’t see an issue with it, this way I know my boy is safe. All the people who care about him, the same as me are in this club. Until everything with The Army and Yakuza are put to rest, we will stay here.” I nod my head and smile, Melissa still sitting there quietly.

“Okay, hang on,” I say, reaching into my bag and pulling out a pen and paper. I scribble down my number before folding it up and handing it to her. “Give me a text when you get home or something. Maybe I could bring some wine over that Bethy has stocked up.” She laughs, taking the paper into her hand. “I’d like that. Maybe I can call the old girl up, see if she can join us.” “Old girl?” I question, confusion on my face. “Yeah, that’s what we call Bethy. Okay, better go. See you later.” She quickly rushes out the doors after waving a quick goodbye to the rest of the boys who are sitting by the pool tables. Swinging my attention back to Melissa, I smile. “She’s nice, huh!” Melissa nods. “Yeah, she is. Sorry, I wasn’t up for talking. I’m feeling a little down.” I take the glass off her and pull out my water bottle from my bag. “Drink H20 instead. Maybe you’ll feel better.” I smile at her when she accepts my offer. Right on cue, a sound of loud bikes rumble down the driveway, the deep sound shaking the barn. Pushing off the table, I walk toward the doors with Melissa following closely behind me. Leaning up against the door, I fold my arms in front of me, looking directly at Beast, who’s getting off his shiny black Harley with his skull bike mask on, white T-shirt under his MC vest and jeans that hang loosely with his combat boots. A smile pulls on the corner of my mouth as he walks directly to me, picking me up and swinging me around. Pushing his mask down, I kiss him hard, running my fingers through the back of his hair. “Hey, big guy. How’d you go?” Pulling my lip between his teeth, he sets me back down. “Good. We have all the help we will need. We’ll talk about it later. How’d Jada go?” I nod my head, and look over at Melissa, who’s frozen in her steps, eyes locked on something. When I follow her sight, I find myself looking directly at Hella and Jada, who look to be in deep conversation. “Yeah, good. She was… we got on well if that’s what you’re asking?” I clarify. Obviously she means a lot to him, so that means I want to make an effort with her. And to be honest, I actually like her. Melissa walks back into the barn with angry steps and I bring my attention back to Hella, who has his eyes fixed on the back of Melissa’s head. He words, “Fuck,” before Jada and he hug each other and then she waves to me one last time before getting into her GMC SUV and pulling out. I bring my attention back to Beast, who’s already scanning my face nervously. “Ask me,” he states, looking deep into my eyes. I laugh awkwardly. “Ask you what?” Running my eyes everywhere except to

him. “Ask me if Jada’s kid is his.” “No,” I answer, wrapping my arms around myself. “I don’t want to know the answer to that because then I’ll have to tell Melissa.” “Why?” he asks, cocking his head to the side. “Why?” I scoff, narrowing my eyes at him. “Beast, you’re the president of a motorcycle club, and you’re questioning my loyalty? I have none to Hella and a shit load to Melissa… that’s why.” He nods his head, a smile pulling on his lips. “All right, baby.” He takes my hand into his. “It’s training time.”

Knew she would make a perfect Old Lady. After Meadow checked on Melissa, we made our way to the back barn where our octagon and gym sit. All of us work out here. When we’re not out on missions, some of us are usually in here. Pushing open the door, I point to the little room that sits on the other side. “Go, change.” I hand her one of the bags that I have and she laughs. “Did you really stop somewhere and buy me clothes?” I nod my head and smile. “Yeah. I made all the boys stop too. Had to call in and pick up some things from a friend to help out anyway, so it was nothing.” It wasn’t nothing. The boys all gave me shit for stopping at the local sports shop because I wanted to run in and grab some workout gear for my girl. They stopped laughing when I pointed out that they’re the ones sitting bitch waiting for me. She peeks into the bag and rolls her eyes. “Really?” I laugh. “I said I picked. Of course, I was going to pick that.” She walks to the little room and closes the door behind her. I drop the bag and unzip it, pulling out the Hoyt Buffalo Bow and Easton X7 Eclipse arrows from the bag before zipping it back up and placing them on the table that sits at the head of the octagon. Meadow walks back out to the gym, shoving her clothes and shoes into the bag. “I love the jacket. Thank you!” Her face beams. “Yeah? Good,” I wink. I had to buy her, her own leather jacket too if she’s

going to be riding with me from now on. My skin heats and a wide grin comes on display across my lips. Licking my lips, I scan her up and down, letting out a wolf whistle. “Damn, baby.” I walk up to her, pulling her in for a kiss and she waves me away. “Yeah, yeah.” She laughs, pulling the tight black spandex shorts down lower. I bring my eyes down to her thighs and a splash of guilt washes over me. “Fuck!” I yell, fisting my hand into my hair. “I didn’t even think. I’m sorry, baby.” She shrugs. “Don’t worry. They hide them… just. And all my scars are faded to a pearly white now, so you can’t really see them.” Her eyes scan the table that the bow and arrows sit on. Her face lights up like the fourth of July. “Can I touch it?” I laugh, running my hands over the top of my head. “Yeah, for sure.” She walks to the table and lightly runs the top of her fingertips over the black slate. “Hoyt Buffalo. Where’d you get this?” she asks, turning her head to me with shock in her tone. “A friend. He knows shit about archery.” She turns to the arrows and her face changes. “I love it. All of it. But… if I was to even use one for self-defense, I wouldn’t want to actually kill the person, Beast. No matter how bad the person is.” I push my hands into my pockets. “I didn’t think of that. We can train with these. I’ll sort out some sort of alternative for after. Deal?” She nods her head, the same smile coming onto her face. “Deal.” “Good. I’ll get changed then we’ll warm up,” I say, taking my duffel bag in my hand. “Warm up?” she asks, turning herself toward me. “Yeah. What? Did you think I was only training you on a bow? I need you well-rounded.” “Like The First Commander Nines?” she asks, tilting her head. My body stiffens when I turn to her. “Yeah. Like that.” “Okay,” she answers, wrapping her long hair into a ponytail, her abdominals tensing at the movement and I fight the urge to growl out loud. “Be two secs,” I wink at her.

Walking back out, I pull on the drawstring knee sweat shorts I threw on and pick

up the skipping ropes. She turns her body to me with a water bottle sticking out of her mouth. When she sees me, she coughs, wiping the water from her mouth. I laugh. “You all right?” She nods her head silently. “Yep, yep… um. Okay, let’s go.” Handing her the skipping rope, we start jumping until we’ve worked up enough sweat, then move to push-ups, suicide jumps, and star jumps. “Okay, I’m warm enough,” she moans, wiping the sweat from her forehead. My dick is already straining in my pants. I can’t believe this was my idea. This is fucking torture, that’s what this is. “I’m not. Get on top of my back,” I say, getting into plank position. “Are you kidding? I’m one hundred and thirty-five pounds, Beast. I’m not exactly a twig.” “Baby, I bench four hundred pounds. You’re a twig. Get on.” “Okay.” She climbs her body onto my back before I drop to do four sets of thirty. Her hand glides down my arms every time I bring us up. “Meadow? You need to stop that shit right now.” “Sorry.” She laughs before getting off. “Now, I’m warm.” I throw her a set of gloves and point to the octagon. “First things first, I need you to be able to throw a decent punch. Come on.” She follows me in, slipping the gloves on her hands. “You have two weeks with me. You think you’ll get enough information stored in my brain for that?” “More than enough time,” he answers, intertwining my fingers with his. He pulls me over to the octagon and I step in nervously.

“Don’t make this awkward. I’m not a sporty person, Beast. Be kind.” He chuckles, taking the sparring pads out of his bag. “Have you ever thrown a punch?” “What? You mean aside from hitting the club girl? No, I haven’t.” His head swings back with a laugh and my arms cross in front of me. “What’s so funny?”

“Nah, nothing. I just forgot about that,” he answers, walking to me, running the back of his hand across my bare stomach and my muscle’s tense at his touch. “I think there’s a hidden bad girl under all that good.” His smirk deepens. My cheeks flush. “No. I don’t think so. I just don’t like people I love getting hurt.” He nods his head, stepping back and pulling the sparring pads onto his hands. “Start with your right hook,” he begins, bringing his hands up. An hour later, and we’ve covered the basic grounds of MMA. I’m lying spread out on the padded ground of the octagon, trying to catch my breath with sweat trickling down my body and landing in a puddle on the floor when he laughs. “Come on, baby. We’ll hydrate, then head outside to get onto those arrows.” “I’m tired,” I sulk, pouting. He kneels down between my legs and I quickly bring them up only for him to snap them open. “Beast!” I scorn. “I feel exposed like this.” “I like you exposed.” I smile, biting down on my lip. He brings his head down to my knee, running his nose down my leg slowly, trailing little kisses across my sweaty skin. My chest rises and falls, my heart rate picking up again. “Beast?” “Shhh...” He props himself up on his fists, kissing down my inner thigh. I prop myself up on my elbows, bringing my eyes down to his. He peers up at me under his eyelashes with a smirk. I tilt my head, running my eyes over him. Shit, he’s sexy. He’s like a God, carved from stone with a boyish smile and chiseled cheekbones. He’s perfect. His shoulders and arms bulge out under the pressure he’s putting them on. His sweat glistening off his tanned, muscled body and my clit pulses, demanding attention. I can’t get enough of him. It’s a problem. Slowly, he brings his face down to my crotch and I close my eyes, masked in the mixed feelings that are pushing through me right now. His hair scratches on my inner thighs, the rough kisses he lands hitting right over my clit. I begin begging for more, wanting skin to skin. My hips slowly rocking into him when a low growl slips out from his mouth. Wrapping his fingers around the waistband of my spandex shorts, he rips them down roughly and I lift my body up higher to give him easier access. “Beast, what if—” I throw my head back arching my back into him as his hot mouth covers me, feasting on me like a starved animal. Low grunts escape his mouth and I push myself into his mouth more. Wrapping my thighs around his

head, I flip him over—or more, he lets me flip him over—onto his back so I’m straddling his face. His speed picks up and my hips follow his moves, matching his pace. It’s not much longer until my stomach clenches and my orgasm ripples through me, making me weak in my legs. After riding it out, I lift myself slightly up, bringing my body down his rock hard torso and gliding over his equally hard cock. Bringing my hand back, I pull his pants down and guide myself over him, slowly lowering and allowing my body to expand and accommodate his massive size. Crossing my eyes, I run them over his body and up to his face. He groans again, tipping his head back and resting his hands on my hips. “Baby, I love how you take charge and all, but I’m going to need to deal with you real good right now.” I chuckle, running my tongue over my bottom lip before biting down on my lip. Once my body’s let him in, I bring myself up before pulling myself down again. Having sex with Beast is now my top priority.

Rolling off him, I huff out before giggling out loud. “Okay, I think I can’t feel my legs.” Bringing himself up, he pulls his shorts up, tying the drawstring up before taking my hand and hauling me to my feet. Wrapping his tight arm around my waist, he pulls me into him, dropping his face and running his nose along mine. “Tell me you’re mine,” he whispers, searching my eyes nervously. “I already told you I was,” I answer, wrapping my hands around his arms that are so huge, my tiny hands look like miniature kitten claws against a lion. He shakes his head, squeezing me again. “Be my Old Lady,” he answers, his voice hoarse and his breath fogging against my now cooled down skin. A shiver slices through my body as goose bumps break out across my skin. “I don’t know if I’m Old Lady material, Beast,” I begin, his eyebrows draw together as his stare deepens, his dark eyes seeping into my blue. “I just want you to try. Give us a shot… a proper shot.” Licking my lips, I pull the side of it into my mouth and nod my head. “Okay. I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be good at it.” A wide white-toothed smile comes on full display across his beautiful face, making one come onto mine to match his. He picks me up with the one arm that is wrapped around my waist. Bringing his other hand up to behind my neck, he

pulls my face down to his, kissing me softly before bringing his face back to search my eyes once again. “You just made me the happiest man in the world.” I laugh, wrapping my legs around his waist. I take hold of his face between my hands and lay two little quick kisses on his lips. “You have no idea, how happy you make me, Beast. No idea,” I answer, smiling back at him. “Come on,” he says, biting playfully on my lip. “We’ll take a shower then come back out tonight to shot some arrows.” I nod my head, excitement thrashing through me. “In the dark?” He nods, placing me back down to my feet. “In the dark.” Lacing my fingers with his, I point to the room. “Should we put some clothes on before stepping out?” He laughs, shaking his head. “Nah babe, no-one will fuck with you. Trust me. They won’t even bat an eye in your direction.” “Okay, good.” I guess I don’t have to worry about him, there’s no woman here to perve at him. He looks so damn edible. Wearing nothing but low Nike sweat pant drawstring shorts and high-top shoes, a light moan slips from my mouth and his body stiffens. “Did you just eye fuck me?” I nod my head. “I did.” Shaking his head, he pulls me under his arm and kisses my head. “Let’s make this quick, I need you naked playing bad bitch on my dick again.” “Only bad for you,” I answer with a smirk and he growls into my hair. “Damn straight only for me.”

Walking out of the gym, we make our way to the clubhouse, the cold air whipping my skin like a bucket of ice being thrown over me. I wrap my arms around myself, attempting to cover my skin. The little sports bra and black spandex shorts don’t seem like a good idea now. “Bet you wish you never bought these now?” I ask, my teeth jittering under the temperature drop, or maybe it’s because my body keeps changing from hot to cold. He pulls me in close. “Sorry, baby.” Once we hit his bike that’s parked in a line with all the rest of them, a tall, brunette woman saunters out of the clubhouse and stops in her tracks when she sees us. Beast clenches his jaw together tightly and points to his bike. “Wait here.” I nod my head, leaning against his bike as he marches up to the beautiful woman that’s standing in front of him. I watch her closely when suddenly her eyes rake his body up and down with a smile on her mouth and my hackles stand up straight, my shoulders square before I tilt my head at her, watching her movements. My palms sweat and my body shivers. Her face drops and she looks to me, her eyes narrowing, eying me up and down and I cringe inwardly. I hate confrontation, but if someone hit me or came at me, I wouldn’t back down. I will never let someone walk all over me ever again. Beast turns in his steps and the woman retreats into the clubhouse in a huff. He reaches me and his face changes, a smile pulling at his mouth. “Come on. Back to that shower.” “Who was that?” I ask, not letting it go. “Shelby,” he answers, handing me the helmet. “And she is…?” I take the helmet from him and pull it over my head. “Not important,” he answers in a clipped tone.

“Don’t bullshit me, Beast. You know what I mean.” “Yes, I have fucked her… a few times… but not for a while. Happy?” I smile. “No, but thank you for being honest with me. Now I’m not in the dark. Tell me everything, Beast. Even if you think I can’t handle it, I need to know. Especially about your ex-whores. It’s too embarrassing to not know, they’ll assume they have one up on me if they think I don’t know.” He swings his leg over and I jump on behind him, pulling myself up against him tightly. He runs his thumb over my hand. “I’ll always tell you, baby. I promise.” With that, he kick starts the bike and we make our way back to the house Melissa and I are sharing.

After our shower, I walk out to the bedroom where Beast is sitting on the side of the bed, tying up his combat boots. “I’m going over to Jada’s tonight. What time will you be back?” I ask, squeezing the towel that is wrapped around my body. Throwing his cut on, he wraps his fingers into mine. “I’ll be back a bit later. About Garret—” Pushing my finger up to his lips, I shake my head. “Don’t. Please. I’ll find out when Melissa finds out.” His shoulders sag as his lips push into my fingers, kissing them gently. “All right then.” After giving me a brief kiss goodbye, he leaves through the door and when his Harley vibrates the walls showing his departure, I walk to my closet and pull out my yoga pants and loose long sleeve top that falls off one shoulder. Untying my hair, I let it fall in long natural waves down to my waist. Opening my bedroom door, I run downstairs and head straight for the kitchen to gather together all of the alcohol I can see. “Meadow?” Melissa calls out from the living room. Standing from my position of being bent over in the fridge, I walk in and smile at her. “Hey! You all ready?” She nods her head, standing from the sofa. “Yeah, just one thing…” Wrapping my arms in front of me, I nod my head. “Shoot!” “Do you know if Garret is Hella’s kid?” “No, I don’t. Beast was going to tell me, but I told him not to. We can ask her

tonight if you want?” She nods her head. “Yeah, I guess. Not that it’s any of my business.” Spinning around, I turn to make my way back to the kitchen. “Well, I guess not. Come help me pull this out, then we can head over.” After Melissa and I both gathered together all the alcohol, we pile into my car and drive over to Jada’s. She texted me earlier, giving me a brief description of how to get there. When we pull up, I take a look around. The house is adorable. It’s much like the one we’re staying in, only this one looks more lived in and has ride on toys out the front. Getting out of my car, I shut the door and look at Melissa. “Come on, let’s go.” We’re halfway up the steps when the front door swings open and an older woman is standing there with a smile on her face. “Hello, you must be Meadow?” I nod my head, placing all the bottles on one arm and reaching my hand out to her. “I am, nice to meet you,” I say with a smile. “This is Melissa,” I say, nudging my head toward Melissa, who smiles and reaches her hand out. “I’m Bethy, nice to meet you too, dear. Come in. Jada won’t be long she just jumped into the shower.” I nod my head and follow her inside, removing my shoes on the way. “Well, go and take a seat out on the porch. Jada set everything up out there.” I nod my head. “Okay. Thank you, too. Beast told me it was you who filled up the cupboards for us, I really appreciate that.” She waves my comment away. “It’s the least I could do for you.” Tilting my head, I’m just about to ask what she means, when Jada walks down the stairs behind me, huffing out a breath as she gets to the last step. “Sorry, I forgot to shower and I was training tonight, so I didn’t want to engulf you in my sweat.” She smiles, pulling us both in for a friendly hug. “No problem,” I say, following them out the door to the porch that wraps around the entire house. There’s a little swing that sits to the left and to the right there’s a rectangular outdoor table and chairs where Jada has lined up all the foods you could think of. I laugh. “You trying to get me fat?” She laughs, taking a seat. “No, I just know that Beast trained you today, so no doubt you will be hungry.” I nod, placing the bottles of wine onto the table and glancing out to the large farmland that surrounds the house. “It’s beautiful here, all the nature is relaxing.” She smiles. “Thank you. Now take a seat.” She points to the table and I laugh, pulling a seat up next to her. Popping open the bottles, I begin pouring the cold liquid into the glasses,

handing one to both Jada and Bethy. “So, where’s Garret?” I ask, looking over my shoulders. “He’s just scrubbing up. He’ll be down soon no doubt, especially with all the food here. But I’ll be kicking his butt upstairs after that. He has school tomorrow.” I nod my head. “I have to ask.” Melissa sucks in a breath beside me and Jada smirks, tilting her head. “Do ask.” Narrowing my eyes, I shake my head. “What’s it like having a child in this life?” Jada picks up a handful of grapes and shrugs. “Just like one big family. Garret loves the guys. He has twelve badass uncles who ride on bikes and carry guns.” She rolls her eyes. “I notice you said twelve, not eleven?” I whisper, tilting my head to the side and Jada smiles. “Hella is Garret’s father. Not by blood, but by choice. He stepped up since day one to take on that roll.” Picking up a handful of chips, I tilt my head. “So he’s not his dad?” “No, he is not.” She smiles, taking a sip of her drink. “But he’s the closest thing that Garret has to a dad. He loves him like a son and Garret loves him like a dad. They adore each other, so Hella is very much active in Garret’s life. He even has him on every second weekend.” Smiling, I drink the rest of my glass before placing it back down and refilling. “That’s really sweet.” Jada smiles and nods her head. I guess there’s a lot more that went on there, but it’s not my place to pry. Melissa refills her glass quickly and Jada looks to her. “I feel really sorry for you,” she says to Melissa and Melissa pauses with the glass short of her mouth. “Me? Why?” she scoffs, placing the glass back on the table. “Because Hella wants you.” Melissa shakes her head and laughs. “That’s not true. Even if that were, why would you feel sorry for me?” “Because he’s ruthless when it comes to something he wants. He won’t give up. And what he wants? Is you.” “We will kill each other before we fuck each other again,” Melissa mumbles. Jada laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure that would excite him, too.” We all burst out laughing until Garret walks in, running his hands over his long hair that falls over his forehead. He’s adorable, looks a lot like Jada, only his hair is blond and he has more European features than Jada’s exotic ones.

“Hey, kid. Come say hello to the girls,” Jada says, waving him over. “Hey,” he answers with a clipped tone. “Can I eat now?” he mumbles, taking a plate and piling it up with food. “Garret, that’s Meadow,” she gestures to me. “She’s uncle B’s Old Lady.” Garret pauses his food piling and looks to me. He tilts his head and I smile. “Uncle B doesn’t want an Old Lady,” he answers, narrowing his eyes at me suspiciously. I laugh. “You might need to take that up with him. Nice to meet you, Garret.” He grunts. “Nice to meet you too.” I laugh again, the kid actually grunted. If that’s not a dead giveaway that he spends far too much time with bikers, I don’t know what is. Melissa stands from the table. “Can I show you something?” she says to Garret and he nods his head. Melissa picks up the packet of TimTams that are sitting on the table and I narrow my eyes at her, knowing what she’s about to do. She hands him a TimTam and points to his hot cocoa. “Bite each end of the TimTam, and then suck your hot cocoa through the cookie before eating it. It’s heaven in your mouth.” He narrows his eyes at her again. “Are you sure?” “Trust me. I’m like, the cookie queen.” He laughs, following her orders. When he takes a bite from the TimTam, his eyes pop open and roll back behind his head. “Oh my God,” he moans. “You’re shitt’n me. Where’d you learn to do that?” “Garret!” Jada snaps and he apologizes to his mom quickly. “I’m the cookie queen.” She winks, taking a seat back down. Garret picks up the packet of cookies and quickly runs upstairs. Jada stands from the table and huffs out, waving her arms up. “Fuck it. The kid will just have to get diabetes,” she says slumping back into her seat and I giggle. “He’s a sweet kid.” “Sweet enough to make your teeth rot,” she scoffs, tipping her drink back. We all laugh again and Jada turns to Melissa. “Where’d you learn to do that?” “Our friend, Alaina, she’s from New Zealand. She gets her parents to ship all this food from New Zealand. TimTams is one of them.” “TimTams are Australian?” Jada asks before adding, “They’re basically the same countries, so I guess that’s why.” I laugh, not wanting to correct her. Melissa nods her head. “Yeah, basically. Where’d you get them from?” Jada smiles. “His dad is from our Australian chapter. They’re Garret’s favorite, so he sends them in his parcels once a month. Too bad he can’t send

time,” she whispers sadly, taking a drink of her drink. Our night rolls by smoothly, we laugh and all relax into each other’s company. It’s a little over midnight when I look around for Melissa. “Where is she?” I say over the music that’s playing. Jada laughs. “She’s asleep in the living room.” I look down at my phone and grin. “I better get home.” “I’ll drive you,” Bethy says, standing from her seat. I smile at her and hand her my keys. “Thank you. You can bring my car back here. I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” She nods her head. “All right.” I look over at Melissa, who’s sprawled out on the sofa. “Should I?” Jada laughs, shaking her head. “She’ll be fine there.” Nodding my head, I pick up my handbag and pull Jada in for a hug. “Thank you for tonight.” “No problem.” She smiles, squeezing me. Reaching my car, I laugh at my attempts at trying to find the door handle. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Bethy. I’m a bit drunk.” She laughs, opening the door for me. “It’s okay, love, hop in.” I slide in and pull my belt on. When she takes a seat, I turn to her. “So you knew Beast’s mom?” She smiles gently, trying to find the key. I laugh and take them off her. “It’s keyless. Just push the button.” She laughs shyly, before starting it up. “Yes, I did.” I nod my head. “What was she like?” Putting my car into first, she smiles again, pulling out of Jada’s driveway. “She was beautiful and very, very, intelligent. I never understood what she saw in Luce. Aside from his looks, he was a bad man back then, before Beast came into his life he was ruthless, had nothing to lose.” I nod my head. “You believe she’s still alive?” She nods her head, just as we pull up to the house. “I believe she’s alive. Yes.” After thanking Bethy, I reach the door and swing it open, darkness taking over my already unstable eyes. “Shit,” I whisper, pulling out my phone so I can use it as a light. I didn’t even bother to see if Beast’s bike was here. Once I find the stairs, I step on the first step before realizing this is just not going to work, I’m too drunk. Dropping to my hands and knees, I begin crawling up the stairs, laughing at myself in the process. I reach the top step and bang into legs. “Ouch!” I moan, rubbing my head.

“Beast?” I ask, trying to look up at him from my position. My eyes scan up light washed ripped jeans that are unbuttoned, hanging low, his trail disappearing underneath. Swallowing down the saliva that has built in my mouth, I carry on my travel. When I pass his ripped tanned chest, I reach his face that’s covered by his skull bike mask and just as I’m about to bite my lip, my weight shifts tilting me back, almost falling down the stairs. His hand wraps around my arms as he pulls me to my feet. Biting down on my lower lip, I smile up at him. “Is this your way of paying me back for tying you up?” I knew he’d get me back one day for tying him up, but this is playing dirty. He knows how much I love that mask. Don’t ask because I don’t know why. Maybe I’m a little more twisted than I thought? Wrapping his hands behind my thighs, he picks me up and walks me to the bedroom. I slide my hands over his arms, my drunken mind taking my body hostage. I push my head into the crook of his neck, drawing my tongue out and running it over his scar down his neck slowly before nipping it. His body tenses his arms squeezing me. Walking into the room, he rips my top over my nipples, sucking one into his mouth roughly before kicking the door shut behind us and throwing me onto the bed. In our world of shattered reflections that look back at us, I’m the girl who wants to dance with the devil.

We’ve been here for almost a week now and I’m in the shower scrubbing up when I hear my phone ring on the bathroom counter. Pulling the curtain out of my way, I quickly jump out of the shower and answer it when I see it’s Beast. “Hey! What’s up?” I say breathlessly down the phone. “Meadow…” he growls and my shoulders stand to alert. “Yes?” “Are you touching yourself?” “What? No, you perve. I’m in the shower,” I scowl down the phone but my mouth tips to a curve on its own admission. “You calling just to ask that, or is there another reason?” He chuckles down the phone. “Another reason. Jada is going to join the training tonight, I need to see you in action.” “Okay,” I say, pushing my wet hair out of my face. “It’s fine, nothing serious, but I need to see where you are in a fight.” Huffing out, I take a seat on the side of the bath. “She’s going to totally kick my ass.” He smiles down the phone. “No, she’s not. I’ll be up there soon. I have something to talk to you about, too.” “Oh?” I say, straightening my back. “Good or bad?” “Bit of both. Come down and bring Melissa.” “She’s not leaving the house.” “Make her.” “Why? She just can’t wait to get home.” I haven’t had time to actually miss my home yet. “Yeah well, that’d be sooner rather than later,” he states. “I gotta go, come down and try to bring Melissa.”

“Okay, see you soon.” Hanging up my phone, I walk out into my bedroom and throw on the little black spandex shorts, sports bra, and a loose tank top, before walking downstairs to find Melissa on the sofa watching Breaking Bad. I laugh. “Which season are you up to?” She turns the volume down on the remote. “Season four! I think I love Jesse Pinkman.” I scrunch up my face, shaking my head. “No, Melissa. Just. No.” She nods her head. “Yes. ‘Move me further, bitch.’ The man has the keys to my heart. Anyway,” she says, standing from the sofa, her hair falling all over the place. “When can we go home? I’m tired of hiding here.” “You don’t have to hide here. And besides, don’t you want to come and watch Jada kick my ass tonight?” She pauses. “You’re fighting Jada! Beast will not let that happen.” I shake my head. “No, she’s training me. Beast wants to know where I’m at.” “Oh, okay. I’ll come.” “Good,” I say, slapping her ass. “Get changed we’re going down to the compound now.” “I don’t want to,” she moans, her shoulders sagging. “I don’t care. Go get pretty. I miss my friend.” She smiles, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck. “I’m sorry, I’ve been a terrible friend. But Beast has been keeping you company.” “You smell. Shower, then we’ll go.” She laughs before running off upstairs and taking a shower. Shaking my head, I walk to the fridge and pull out a bottled water before taking the keys from the table. “You ready?” I ask as she walks down the stairs in all of her Melissa glory. “You look hot, babe. I’m surprised you haven’t bedded any of the other guys. Hannibal’s beard? Damn,” I say with a smile, nudging her, attempting to get her into a better mood. She laughs, throwing her hair up in a high pony-tail. “Yeah, they’re all hot to boot, and trust me, I did try. But none of them will touch me. Bikers, Meadow. I can’t even score a biker… who by the way, sleep with those beautiful club whores all day. That’s probably why.” I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s why,” I mumble under my breath as we walk out the door and make our way to the compound.

Pulling up to the clubhouse, it’s in full blast by the looks of it. Music playing and people everywhere. Jada’s car is parked up beside the bikes, so I pull in next to her and jump out. Melissa stays rooted in her seat and I kneel down, peeking into her. “Get. Out.” She chews on her lip nervously. “Are you sure?” “Yes, Melissa. Let’s get you a drink and then you can watch Jada beat my ass. Come on.” “For the record…” she states, finally getting out from the passenger seat, “...if she does, I’ll have to jump in.” I laugh, hooking my elbow in with hers. “I love you. You know that, right? And screw Hella. He doesn’t deserve you. Let me work something.” I wink at her and her eyes narrow. “What are you up to?” I laugh, tapping my nose. “You’ll see.” We’re both laughing when we walk into the clubhouse and see it choc-oblock filled with bikers, half naked women, and more bikers. There are more? Sighing, I squeeze Melissa into me. “Maybe just stay by me. I don’t know who these people are, but they must be fine or Beast wouldn’t have told us to come down.” “Fine for you, you’re claimed by the Devil himself,” she states. Monster sized hands wrap around my waist, pulling me into him. “Damn straight she’s been claimed by the Devil himself,” he growls into my hair and my nipples stand to life instantly. Turning in his arms, I wrap my fingers behind his neck and stand up on my tippy toes which only take me to just under his neck. He’s six foot four and I’m five foot six, that’s a bit of a drop. “Hey baby,” I coo and he picks me up effortlessly off the floor before placing me back down. “Come, both of you. Melissa, you’re Meadow’s friend. You’re protected here, you should know that?” She smiles, nodding her head. “Thank you, Beast.” He nods his head before carrying on his walk. His walking comes to a halt and he spins around to face Melissa again. “Close your eyes.” She scoffs. “I can handle whatever it is that’s happening, Beast. You’re not the first bikers I’ve been around.” She pushes him out of the way and I watch her face as it crumbles to a million little pieces in front of me. Following her line of sight, I see Hella leaning back on the sofa, his arms spread out and his legs spread wide. There’s a girl’s head

bobbing up and down on his lap and his eyes are zoned right onto Melissa. A small smirk crawls out on his mouth as his eyelids hood and his fist wraps around the girl’s hair, pushing her down harder. I tilt my head to the side and watch as his eyes drag all over Melissa’s body. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s getting off on Melissa right now, not the skank sucking on his lap. Beast pulls me into him. “She gonna be okay?” I look over at Melissa to see her shoulders square and a smirk on her face. It’s not a playful smirk though, it’s a you-fucked-up-and-now-I’m-going-to-fuckyou-up smirk. I’d be scared if I was Hella. “Yeah, look. Give me a second.” I smile up at Beast and he nods his head. “I’ll be over there. Don’t venture far. Actually, don’t go anywhere.” I nod my head and bring my attention back to Melissa. “Hon? Are you okay?” She smiles at me, her eyes glassed over but her smile is not faltering. “I’ll be fine.” “Okay. I’m just going to do something real quick.” Walking to Hannibal, I kneel down in front him while he’s talking with Nyx, Ripper, and Skid—the prospect. “All right,” I start, looking at all of them. “Hella told you to stay away from Melissa, didn’t he?” They all look around at each other. “Yeah,” Nyx states, smiling. “Why?” “And you listen?” I scold them and they all lean back into their seats. I calm myself down a notch. “Don’t listen,” I say, taking a stand and crossing my arms in front of myself. “Go full buffet on her, if that’s what she wants.” They all sit there silently. “Now,” I whisper harshly and they all stand to their feet, Nyx making it over there first and I chuckle to myself. Nyx is delicious, if I were single or whatever. I’m not interested in anyone let alone any of the guys, but I am a woman. Walking over to Beast, who’s sitting down beside Hella, who’s finished getting his junk sucked, I slump down next to Beast where he pulls me into him. “What’s going on tonight? It’s packed out.” “That’s what I need to talk to you about.” He smiles, pulling me under him more. Hella laughs around the rim of his beer and I peek around Beast to scowl at him. “What’s so funny?” “Has Melissa gone home?” he asks, eyebrows raised as if he did that to make her leave. Unfortunately, my friend has the stubbornness to fill the whole state of Alaska. I shake my head. “You’re such a turd, Hella.”

His wide grin spreads out across his mouth. “A turd?” Before clutching his stomach and laughing. “I’m not laughing with you. You made my best friend sad. You’re lucky I don’t chop your dick clean off.” “Oh baby, you wouldn’t know what to do around my dick.” I laugh. “You’re right, because first I’d have to actually find it.” Beast laughs and pulls me in tighter. “All right, shut the fuck up. The only dick that should be coming out of your mouth is mine.” I catch movement in the corner of my eyes and see it’s Melissa and Nyx all over each other. N.E.R.D ‘She Wants to Move’ comes pounding through the speakers and I have to hold back a laugh at the lyrics. Bringing my eyes back to Hella, he’s fixed on both of them, his jaw flexing. “Hella,” I warn. “Leave her alone.” He shakes his head, bringing his eyes to me. “Fuck that!” Pushing himself off the sofa and making his way outside, I look to Beast and he narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t stir the pot, baby. You’ll get someone killed.” “I wasn’t, but he deserves it.” Wrapping his hands into mine, he pulls me up. “Come on. We’ll head over.”

After grabbing Melissa, we are all in the gym when Jada comes walking in, dropping her duffel bag to the floor. “For the record, I’m not a fan of this idea.” I laugh as Beast tugs on my hands to wrap them in gauze. “Me either.” “Self-defense Jada. Don’t touch her.” “I know, I know. I’m still not a fan of this plan.” We both get into the octagon and I laugh. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.” Jada pulls her arms up. “Give me your best right hook.” I shrug before landing a right hook on her, only it didn’t land because she blocked it effortlessly. We spend forty minutes in the octagon, flipping each other around and tapping out. My body is soaked in sweat and I have a bad case of the dries. “All right,” Beast answers, stepping into the octagon. “You’ve learned a lot in a week, baby. You’re a natural.” Melissa jumps in too with a bottle of Ready To Drink in her hand. “Seriously, Meads. You’re a badass!” She nudges me with her shoulder. “Hardly. Did you bring the bow?” I ask, wiping the sweat from my forehead with my towel. He nods. “Yeah, come on.”

After a couple hours on the bow, we head back to the house with Melissa in the passenger seat and Beast behind us on his bike.

“What’s going to happen when you go back to Westbeach?” Melissa asks, peering at me from the passenger seat. I shrug, changing down gears. “I don’t know yet.” “You don’t want to go back, do you?” she asks with disbelief in her tone. “What? Don’t be stupid, of course I do. I just don’t know what’s going to happen with me, him and the distance between us.” “Well…” she begins, “…if there were anyone that could make the long distance thing work, it’d be you two.” “You think?” I ask, glancing at her. “Yep, positive. You were obviously carved out of the same stone. You’re perfect for each other.” When we pull up, I get out of the car and wait for Beast while Melissa walks into the house. It’s dark out and I know she’s tired, but I also know that Hella has had a major impact on her. I want to take her home. I know that would be the right thing to do, so I’ll have to talk to Beast about it tonight. “You good?” he asks, removing his gloves. “Yeah,” I say, walking up to his bike. “I’m good.” Maybe Melissa is right, maybe we were cut from the same stone. Dragging my overworked body up the stairs, I drop my duffel bag onto the floor. Beast walks into the bathroom before coming back into the room. “Come on, I need to talk to you about something.” I follow behind him into the bathroom, my heavy steps dragging me toward the steamy room at snail pace. Closing the door behind him, I strip off my clothes, huffing out a tired breath when I struggle with my sports bra that’s stuck to my sweat soaked skin. He chuckles, gripping his hand around the bottom of it and ripping it off. I sigh. “Thank you.” Before stepping into the ceramic bathtub and taking a seat under the high pressured scalding water. He steps in after me, my thighs clenching together at the sight of him in all his naked glory. Sighing again, I shake my head because even though my body is beat and my ass is literally sore from landing on it so much tonight, I know I’d still happily saddle up for a round with him. “What did you want to talk about?” I ask, taking the soap bar in my hand and running it over my aching arms. He sits opposite me, running his damp hands through his hair. “We’re ending this thing with The Army in a couple nights,” he states, bringing his eyes to mine. I tilt my head. “Is it safe?” He laughs, taking my hand in his and pulling me over to him. I rest my back on his chest, his shaft pressing against my back. “I can’t guarantee anything

baby, but I promise nothing will hurt you.” “That’s not reassuring for me, Beast.” That’s not reassuring for me at all.

The next night we’re pulling up to the clubhouse, I swing off my bike before helping Meadow off. She turns in my arms so her back is flush with my front. “You know,” she mumbles, her perky ass rubbing against my cock, stirring him to life. “I think we need a drink.” I laugh, spinning her around in my grasp and pulling her into me. “Let’s go.” Pulling her body to my side, we both walk up to the open metal door where there’s loud music and a whole lot of drunk patched members crawling about everywhere. Meadow laughs, resting her face against my chest. “Where’s Melissa?” I ask, inhaling the sweet smell of cherries and coconut coming from her hair. “She’ll be in there,” she answers, mumbling into my chest. I turn her face to me. “She hasn’t left yet?” “Nope. She’s a lot stronger than she looks.” I nod my head. “Yeah, Hella is a bit of a—” “Fuck boy?” “Well, I wasn’t going to say those exact words—” “A pig?” “All right, I get that you’re mad, baby. His loss, don’t sweat it.” “Does he care about her?” I pause, nodding my head. “He does. Just… not enough.” Sighing, she laces her hands into mine, pulling me toward the bar where Jada and Hella are both siting. “I need to get drunk,” she announces, taking a seat on one of the stools beside Jada. Jada laughs, sliding the bottle of Tequila across the bar. “Go at it.” Running my hand across my chin, I pull her stool closer to mine, taking the bottle off her and taking a long pull.

The atmosphere is alive. Goosebumps run across my skin as the effects of the Tequila begin to pulse through me, warming my blood and setting off happy jolts of electricity static over my skin. Peering around, I drag my slightly drunken eyes to Beast, who’s sitting beside me, taking gulps of his drink. “Wanna dance?” I ask, removing my zip hoodie and placing it on the bar. I push my white tank down to cover my stomach, only it pops back up and rides on my hip bones. Behind a light chuckle, he shakes his head. “Really?” I smile at him, turning my back on all of them with Hannibal sitting beside Beast to make my way to the sound system where Ripper is sitting, drinking his beer. “Hey,” I say, walking to the sofa he’s stretched out on. “Sup mischief. What are you planning now?” he asks his pierced eyebrow cocked. Seriously, who still has their eyebrow pierced in this day and age? Surprisingly he pulls it off with all his boyish charm. “Nothing at all,” I answer, stepping over his outstretched legs and picking up the iPod. “Can I ask you a question?” He places his beer on the table before running his hand through his long blond spiky hair. I pause my scrolling to peer at him on the corner of my eye. “Sure, only if I can ask you one too?” His eyes narrow before he pulls his lip into his mouth. “Fuck it, it’ll be worth it.” “Shoot,” I gesture to him. “I sort of… ah… know… about what happened.” My body stills as the alcohol that was once turning my body hot with happy temperaments now drops to an icy level. “Really?” I say, swallowing down the bile that’s formed in my throat. “Not like that,” he says, taking a stand and moving to me. He pushes his hands into his jean’s pockets and cocks his head. “I only know because I overheard Beast and Hella talking about it a couple years back.” “Oh,” I whisper, my palms sweating against the metal back of the iPod. “You had a question?” I say after clearing my throat. “Yeah,” his eyes softening. “Did you ever get over what happened?” My eyebrows quirk as I think over his question carefully. “No. I just learned to live with it. Why?” He shakes his head. “No reason. Carry on,” he gestures to the iPod before retreating back to his spot on the sofa. “What was your question?” he asks with a

smile around the rim of his bottle. “How’d you get the name, Ripper?” His eyes drop and a devious smile invades his face. “Isn’t it obvious?” After a few seconds of silence, I register what he means. “Shit, really?” He nods his head. “Yeah, really, really.” “That’s sick.” He shrugs, placing the beer back on the table. “Not for me it’s not.” He keeps his eyes on mine, tilting his head and flashes of him ripping people apart with his bare hands invade my mind. “Why?” I ask. “Why do it? Why not just kill them and get it over with?” “Why do you think the police can’t pin anything on us, sweetheart. It’s because they can’t find enough of the remains.” “Okay, yes, got it. Forget I asked.” He laughs, picking up his bottle again. I continue through the playlist until I come across the perfect song. Smirking, I tap on Breaking Benjamin ‘Dance with the Devil’ before walking back to the dance floor, pulling Melissa up from her spot on the sofa on my way. “Come on.” She laughs, tapping my elbow and nudging her head at Beast and Hella, who are sitting at the bar watching us intently. “We dancing with the devil?” I nod my head before we begin dancing and losing ourselves into the lyrics of the song. Bringing my arms up, I run them down again and drag my eyes to Beast with a small smile. His eyes lock onto mine, a smirk sprawling out across his lips before slowly running his eyes up and down my body. Licking his lips, he places his bottle down on the bar and begins making his way over. Hooking his arm around my waist, he spins me around and pushes my body up against him front to front. Bringing his head down to the crook of my neck, he growls, “You’re playing with fire, baby.” I laugh, bringing my arms up behind his neck as the chorus kicks in. I tilt my head, running my eyes down the angry scar that starts from behind his ear, running down his neck all the way to his V lining. Dragging my thumb across his cheek, I bring it down to the risen white scar before taking my eyes back to his. His jaw tightens as he shakes his head and grips onto my hands, pulling them back down again. Gripping me into him again, we finish up the song before walking back to the bar where Jada is sitting with Hella watching Melissa closely. “Why don’t you two just talk?” I say, dropping onto the barstool and taking a long drink of Beast’s beer. “Because,” he starts, keeping his eyes locked on her. “I don’t want a

girlfriend.” “What makes you think that’s what she wants? She wants to kill you, Hella. I think you’re safe from a grade A clinger.” A slow smile pulls on the corner of his mouth as he drags his eyes away from Melissa and brings them to me. “Maybe. But maybe that’s where the excitement is? I’d fuck her black and blue up against a brick-wall whether she had a knife in her hand ready to shank me or not.” Beast exhales, bringing his elbow to the counter, pinching his eyes between his fingers and shaking his head with a low chuckle. “Brother, you are fucking sick.” “Don’t I know it,” he replies, his eyes still locked on mine with the same smirk on display. Jesus, there is no words that could explain this man. “May I recommend a therapist?” I tease, taking the shot Jada just slipped to me. He laughs, throwing his head back. “I’d put your therapist in the nuthouse, sugar.” I believed that. Shaking my head, I shoot back the shot as Beast shakes his head, his shoulders jiggling under his laughter. Hella bumps Beast with his elbow, nudging his head to the crowd. Beast pauses, spinning his stool around so I follow suit, turning around to see that same woman from the other night walk in through the doors, her eyes searching the crowd. She’s stunning. Her long mouse blonde hair sits around her jawline in a perfect halo, her sharp nose and high cheekbones showing she has a no fuck around attitude about her. She pushes through the masses of people, shoving through the crowd while she makes her way to us. Swallowing, I look to Jada, who laughs at the expression on my face. Bending her head into my ear, she whispers, “She’s not your issue, babe.” A nervous laugh escapes me as I pour another shot. “Everything good?” Beast mumbles beside me, looking toward the dance floor at I presume where the blonde beauty is standing. Downing the shot, the hot liquid burning the back of my throat like a cloak of fire, I spin my stool back around and lock eyes with her. “Hi,” I say, placing my hand out. “I’m Meadow.” Her eyes narrow as she tilts her head at Beast. A small smile slips over her mouth after a few seconds and she takes her finely manicured hand into mine, shaking it lightly. “I’m Shelby. Nice to finally meet you.” “Finally?” I ask, glancing between her and Beast.

She nods her head before taking her attention back to Beast. “We need to talk.” “Talk with Hella,” he replies, taking his eyes off her and wrapping his arm around the back of my chair, pulling me in close. She looks between both of us as Beast lands a long kiss on my temple. She swallows and begins shuffling uncomfortably, glancing between all of us. “Beast?” she begins but he doesn’t look back to her. Instead, his strong hand cups around my chin softly as he tilts my face to meet his. Searching my eyes, he runs his thumb across my bottom lip, bringing his lips to mine, the warm sensation shooting straight between my thighs. When he sucks my lower lip into his mouth with the strong bitter taste of beer lingering on my tongue, a light moan vibrates off my lips and he groans his reply. Pulling back from me, he leans back against the bar, resting his elbows on either side of him and cocking his head. “What, Shelby? You’ve met my Old Lady, you can leave now.” Her eyebrows rise. “I need to talk to you, Beast. It’s about Layla.” “What? I gave you this job because I thought you were woman enough to handle all the whores.” Her shoulders square. “I am, Beast,” she hisses. “Watch your fucking tone and remember who you’re talking to,” he answers, clenching his jaw with eyebrows raised. “Beast,” I whisper to him. It’s the first time I’ve seen him talk like that. He’s always sweet with me so it shocked me a little. “What is it? And why should I care about Layla?” “You want to do this here and now?” she whispers loudly. He shrugs. “Spit it out.” Shelby crosses her arms in front of her. “She killed a client.” Beast’s bottle pauses short of his mouth. “Come again?” Hella sits forward in interest with a smile on his lips. Jada chuckles. “This should be good.” Spinning back around, I pour another shot and shoot it back. “He tried to go backdoor. She said no, he tried again so she stabbed his dick with a pair of scissors. Asha walked in after she’d done it and he was spitting how much shit they were going to be in and how he was going to burn the entire place down…” she pauses, clearing her throat. “So they both ended him.” “Jesus fucking Christ,” Beast whispers, bringing his bottle down. “Where are they now?” “In my car outside. The body is still in the room and I don’t know about you, but that’s above my pay bracket.”

He shakes his head, standing on his feet with Hella standing beside him. He wraps his fingers with mine and pulls me up. “Take the lead,” he says to Shelby and she smiles at me before leading the way to the door. This time, the crowd parts for us as we head outside. The sudden fresh air hits me at once and a light shiver runs over my skin. Squeezing my hand into Beast’s we carry on over to the red Camaro that’s parked beside the line of bikes in front of the barn. Hella walks up to the car and pulls the door open. “What’s going on with these little murderers?” He laughs into the back of the car. We stop short and Beast nudges me behind him as he pulls the door open wider and gestures for them to get out. The inside of the car is too dark for me to make out anything and I don’t want to stare too hard. I know what the Sinful Souls’ club whores are like. Two petite girls stumble out of the car. One has wavy brunette hair that hangs in low waves down her back. I think she has more hair than body. She’s stunning too. Her red laced eyes come up to Beast and I tilt my head, staring at her in amazement. God, this girl is not just beautiful, she’s drop dead gorgeous. What’s she doing with a job like this? She runs her hand across her cheek, wiping away the tears that have formed. “Beast, I’m so sorry.” “What happened, Layla?” I take my greedy eyes off Layla and look to the equally stunning girl standing next to her. They look too similar to not be related except where Layla’s hair is an auburn brown, this girl’s is a dark blue-black. “I told him I didn’t do anal and he didn’t take no for an answer. After my third “no” he forced me down onto the bed and tried to bind my wrists together. I managed to free my wrist and take hold of the scissors that were on the bedside table which was there after he chopped up his weed earlier. And I don’t know, it just happened.” Hella laughs from his position. “Marry me?” Layla rolls her eyes. “The answer is still no, Hella.” He drops his lip behind a smile, pouting. “I’ll ask you every time.” Layla looks to me and tilts her head. “Hi?” I smile, pulling my hand out of Beast’s grasp and holding it out to her. “Hi, I’m Meadow.” She takes my hand in hers, looking to Beast. “She’s his Old Lady, Layla.” Layla’s eyes shoot up in surprise. “Wow, nice to meet you,” she says with a genuine smile. “This is my sister, Asha.” She points to the girl next to her and

Asha puts her hand out with a smile. “Nice to meet you.” “Sisters?” I ask, intrigued. Walking to them and leaning against the door. I bump into Shelby and she looks to me apologetically. Beast turns toward Hella and starts whispering to him. “Cute teddy,” I say to Shelby, pointing to the brown teddy bear with a pink bow hiding in her back seat. Her body stills as she shuts the passenger door quickly. “Thanks.” Layla chirps from beside me, bringing my attention back to her. “We’re twins!” “Wow,” I answer, bringing my hand back into Beast’s. I wouldn’t blame Beast if he had slept with either of these girls. “Who is he?” Hella asks Shelby. She leans her body onto her car. “It was one of the boys from Blood Razor MC, Beast.” “Fuck!” Hella yells, pushing his body against Layla’s making her fall against the car. He pushes his groin into her and wraps his hand around the back of her neck, jolting her face up to his. “Do you know how much shit you’ve just caused?” She swallows, narrowing her eyes. “I said that I was sorry, Hella.” Hella chuckles a sadistic laugh and brings his lips onto hers. “I thought you liked to be thrown around, baby. What? Didn’t feel the same because it wasn’t with a devil?” She snatches her head out of his grasp, crossing her arms in front of her. Hella steps back, keeping his eyes locked on hers. “I’ll get Ripper.” Clearing my throat, I run my eyes down Layla and Asha’s body. “Do you girls want to come and get tidied up? Jada can take us in my car.” They both look at Beast whose body stills. I raise my hand up, placing it on his arm. “I’ll get them tidied up. You…” I fluff my hands around out the front of me, “…do what you need to do. Okay?” He cracks his neck. “Yeah, all right.” “Okay, let me go and get Jada,” I say, pulling my keys out of my back pocket and handing them to Layla. “Go and wait in my car. It’s that one there. Won’t be a sec.” I turn around and begin walking over to the barn when I feel my weight lifted up. Beast cradles me like a baby. “I won’t be long. And don’t go anywhere without kissing me.” He smirks, running his lips over mine and kissing me hard. Pulling away, I laugh. “All right, I’ll see you a little later.” He places me back down and I catch the odd glares coming from Layla,

Shelby, and Asha, but Hella is just standing there with a crooked grin watching us. Shooing him away, I turn in my steps and pace over to the barn. Walking through, Hannibal stumbles over to me, hooking his arm around the back of my neck. “Woah, big guy, I can’t hold you up!” His beard seems longer. Hannibal is attractive, he reminds me of a caveman, raw, rough and powerful. “I know, I know.” He corrects himself, standing to his feet. “I’m real happy for you and Beast.” He smiles before walking, or should I say stumbling back to the other men. Shaking my head, I zoom in on Jada and make my way to her. “Hey, can you drive us home? I just need to find Melissa.” She nods her head. “Yeah, for sure. Come on, and Melissa is over there.” She stands from the bar, nudging her head toward Melissa, who’s talking to someone from another chapter. She takes her jacket and I pick up mine from the stool I was sitting on, watching her closely. “Aren’t you going to ask me?” she questions with a cocked eyebrow, pulling her hair out of the back of her jacket. “Ask you what?” I say, zipping up my hoodie. “Ask about Beast and Shelby?” I shake my head. “No, if I have anything I want to know, I can ask him.” She smiles, linking her elbow with mine. “I’m so glad you said that.” I laugh as we walk up to Melissa. “Yeah, I’m sure you are.” “Have you seen his house?” Jada asks, whispering into my ear. “Whose house? Beast? No, I haven’t. Does he live here?” She laughs, leaning back into my ear. “No, he doesn’t. He lives in Summerlin West, it’s really… different to here.” “Okaayy?” I say, glancing between her and the floor. “Different, how?” We reach Melissa and she turns to us. “Hey! This is Bullet.” She points to the man standing next to her, sporting a Devil’s Own MC cut. I smile. “Hi. Hey, we need to head off. I’m taking a couple of girls back.” She looks to Bullet then looks back to me. “You Beast’s Old lady?” he asks, head cocked, running his hand through his long beard. Clearing my throat, I nod and say, “Yes,” smiling at him before looking back to Melissa. “You coming?” She looks back to Bullet and he smirks at her. I run my eyes to Jada nervously, and she smiles with her eyebrows raised. “Come on, Bullet. You coming or what? Don’t beat around the bush, I have a kid to get home to.” Melissa raises her eyebrows at him questionably and I shake my head.

“Melissa…” “He’s coming,” she answers, wrapping her hand into his. Jesus, what the hell is going on with her? Hella has sent her overboard. Maybe she should have never come, she should have stayed at her damn fancy boutique bakery making fluffy pies and humming along to Dr Dre. Jada and I begin walking back to the entryway with Melissa and Bullet following behind us. I whisper to Jada just before we hit the door, “Is there a cure for slut?” She laughs, swinging her head back. “Unfortunately, I think her cure is standing outside with Beast.” Shaking my head, I exhale. “Yeah, I don’t know how that even happened the first time.” Walking out, we step into the cold air and head toward my car where they’re all standing around. Hella’s making moves on Layla again. When he sees us in the corner of his eye, his smile drops as he zones in on Bullet and Melissa, who are behind me. His jaw flexes before he pushes off the car again and stalks to us, heading straight for Melissa. I step out of the way as he grips onto Bullet’s collar, pulling him back. “Bro, what are you doing?” Bullet asks, pushing his hands off his collar. “The only devil that has and is entering that fortress—is me!” he growls, pushing his chest against Bullet. “Woah, hang the fuck on here a minute.” “Here we go.” I roll my eyes, crossing my arms in front of me. Beast walks up beside me with Layla and Asha following close behind. “You have dipped your dick around the whole fucking time I’ve been here, Hella. Fuck you. Come on, Bullet,” she says, gripping onto his arm. Bullet stands still, feet lodged into the ground. He looks at Beast before shaking his head. “Nah babe, maybe some other time.” He turns around and walks back into the barn. “Hella,” Melissa yells, shoving him in the chest. “Well, at least, they’re actually talking now,” Jada mutters. “You are such a fucking piece of shit! I came all the way here because you wanted me safe, and then when I get here you sleep with every slut walking,” she whips her head toward Layla and Asha, “no offense…” before continuing, “I even saw you getting your motherfucking dick sucked, Hella. So screw you!” She walks up to him, pointing his chest. “And I will fuck who I want.” He grabs onto her hand, pulling her body up against his. “No, you fucking won’t.”

Yanking her hand out of his grasp, she begins walking to my car. “We’ll see about that, Hella. You may control who I sleep with here, but out there…” she points to the road, “…you have nothing over me.” “Keep thinking that, baby.” She flips him off while continuing to my car. I shake my head, turning to Beast. “What time will you be finished here?” “Not too late hopefully. Get some sleep. I want to take you somewhere tomorrow.” “Oh. Where?” I ask, wrapping my hands around his neck. “To my house. I want to take you out there before we leave,” he answers, kissing me before pulling back. “I’ll see you a little later.” I nod. “Okay.” When we pull up to the house I’ve been living in, I turn in my seat to face Jada. “Why is it so difficult for Melissa and Hella?” She clears her throat, eyes glaring in the rear vision mirror where Layla and Asha are sitting quietly. Jada shrugs. “Why do you ask me? Why not ask Layla, she was one of his regulars.” My eyes dart to the back seat at Layla flicking her nails nervously. “Because I don’t think she’s the right girl to ask.” Jada reaches for her belt buckle, swinging it over her shoulders before exhaling. “Hella is very complicated, that’s all I can really say.” My eye twitches as I narrow them in on her. “Do you think he and Melissa have a shot?” She stills, keeping her eyes locked on the house that’s lit up from the inside out, sending off a warm alluring energy. My feet are aching, begging for me to take them to bed. “No. I don’t think they do,” she whispers, pulling her long inky black hair into a high messy bun. “Why?” I ask, peering at her. Her eyes dart toward the back to Layla before coming back to me. “Because Melissa is a sweet girl. Under all the façade, she’s a sweet girl with a good heart. There’s a reason Hella is called Hella.” “And why is that?” I ask, fishing out the keys to the house in my deep handbag. “Because…” Layla adds from her position, “…Hella likes to play games and Melissa won’t be up for it.” Shrugging, I pull off my seatbelt and swing my door open, the full moon lighting up the large acreage. The girls jump out one at a time, closing their door

behind them. Flicking the keys between my fingers, I toss up what Layla said about Hella and how he plays games. Melissa is one of the strongest people I know, but even for her, Hella has become quite the pain in her ass. Maybe Layla is right, or maybe Layla has an ulterior motive, I wouldn’t know. I plan to, though, I may not be as strong as Phoebe, but I won’t let anything happen to her. Walking up the steps to the house, I push open the door and flick on the lights, our eyes straining under the sudden brightness. Dropping the keys on the little console table beside the door, I turn to face Laya and Asha. “Come, I’ll make you a hot drink.” They both nod their head, removing their jackets and hanging them on the coat hanger before following me to the kitchen. Flicking on the jug, I pull down five heavy ceramic mugs from the top cupboard. Placing them on the counter, I turn around and lean against the kitchen counter as I wait for the jug to boil. Both girls are sitting there watching me closely. “Can I ask you something?” Asha says, playing with the rings on her fingers. “Sure,” I answer though I’m not sure what she would need to ask me. Asha is the eldest of the two I guess just by the way she carries herself and how Layla seems to always hang back behind her. “I used to be Beast’s favorite girl,” she begins, her eyes not faltering. My eyebrows shoot up as I turn and begin spooning cocoa into the mugs. “Okay,” I answer, internally having a one-on-one chat with myself to calm down. “He’s always been about business and the club, never once gave any clues that he was looking to settle down with an Old Lady…” Stirring the hot water in the mugs, I pick them up and carry them back to the table, placing one in front of each of them and smiling at Layla, who picks up the mug and blows on it, the steam blowing her bangs slightly. “Beast and I met a long time ago. That’s all I’m really going to say about that,” I answer politely, pulling my seat out and crossing my leg over. She smiles and nods, leaning into her chair and taking her mug in her hands. “Do you need a shower or anything?” I ask both of them. Asha shakes her head but Layla nods. “Yes please, I feel like death.” Asha scoffs. “That’s because you killed someone.” I smile, taking a drink of my hot cocoa and pulling out my cell phone to text Beast. Me – What’s the plan? Beast – They want revenge. We’re going to have to keep them here until I sort something out.

Me – They can stay here, we only have another week here anyway? Beast – Your time here is undecided. Me – I need to go home, Beast. I can’t stay here forever. Beast – Why not? Me – Why not what? Beast – Why can’t you stay here forever? Is he serious? I pause my texting, running my eyes to the wall and narrowing them. Is he fucking with me? He must be. “You okay?” Layla asks, her head tilted. I smile, nodding my head. “Yeah, I’m fine. You can go and take a shower, the towels are in the bathroom cupboard and I can get something for you to slip into.” I look to Asha. “You may as well, too. Beast is keeping you girls here I think… at the clubhouse.” My phone vibrates in my hand and Asha nods at me. “Thanks.” She smiles, pushing back her chair and rinsing her mug in the sink with Layla following behind her. I open up the message. Beast – This discussion isn’t over. Be back soon. Dropping my phone onto the table, I get up from my chair and walk to the sink to rinse my mug. He wants me to live with him? He’s got to be kidding. There’s no way we’re ready for that. Yes, things are comfortable with him, but it’s still early days regardless of what my body thinks it’s doing when he’s around. After getting the girls their clothes, they take a seat on the sofa in the living room as I walk into the kitchen to pour us a wine. Walking back in, I hand them their glasses. “So,” I say, taking a seat. “Sisters?” They both laugh, nodding their heads. “Yeah, pretty screwed up, hey,” Layla jokes. “I’m sure Daddy is real proud of us, both turning out to be a failure.” Asha scolds her. “Shut up, Layla. He’s not here, we do what we have to do to survive and that’s all that matters.” I smile. “It’s okay, I know a bit about that.” Bringing the wine glass up to my mouth. Layla smiles. “It’s nice seeing Beast with someone.” “How long have you known him?” I ask both of them. Asha answers, “Five years. Shelby took us in when she came across us with our bags sitting under a bus stop. Not knowing what our next move was.”

My eyebrows rise. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but how old are you?” “Twenty-one,” Asha answers, placing the glass on the coffee table in front of her. Breaking Bad is playing in the background, reminding me of Melissa. So I pull my phone out quickly to check on her since she wanted to play mischief and stay at the clubhouse. “You were sixteen when Shelby found you?” I ask, opening up a message and sending a quick one to Melissa before placing it on the table. She nods. “Yeah. We had nowhere to go and didn’t have another move.” Her answer is clipped, and I guess there’s a whole lot more to that story but it’s not my business to pry. The front door opens up, the space filling with Beast as he walks through with Skid following close behind him, and Hella carrying Melissa up the stairs over his shoulder. I stand to my feet quickly. Beast comes to me, pulling me into his body. “It’s okay, he’s just taking her to bed. She got a bit too fucking drunk tonight.” Exhaling, I sag into him. “I need to take her home.” He nods his head. “Maybe. She’s causing a bit of a stir with Hella.” He looks down to Layla and she shakes her head. “I figured, it’s okay. It was bound to happen.” I look between Beast and Layla. “What? You, and Hella?” She nods her head, drinking the rest of her wine. “We weren’t official or anything. I was just his favorite whore.” She smiles sadly and my heart drops for her. I haven’t known her for long, but from the time I have spent with her—all of two hours—she’s a down to earth fun loving girl. When she’s not whacking off bikers. Beast runs his hands down to my waist, taking a seat on the sofa before pulling me down to him. “It was more than that and you know it,” he answers before looking back to me. Layla shrugs. “Well, that doesn’t matter. I just want him to be happy. Club whores are disposable. Melissa seems nice enough.” I laugh awkwardly, my body tensing as Beast drops his hand down to my hip, his thumb running in circles, my thighs clench together involuntarily and a deep chuckle escapes his mouth. Asshole. “Yeah, club whores are, but you’re not a club whore, Layla. Anyway, Hella will take you back to the clubhouse,” He says, his head coming up to the doorway where Hella is standing. “She’s asleep,” Hella declares his face somber. “She all right?” I ask. Hella with that look on his face is not something that

comes by often. He nods. “Yeah, she wants to go home, though.” “I know. I might take her back tomorrow.” Beast squeezes me, bringing his face down to my ear. “I said we’ll talk about it.” “To drop her off at home,” I answer back. Hella nods. “Yeah, I think that might be best.” “Sudden change of heart?” His eyes meet mine and a small smile pulls on his lips. “Oh baby, heart was never in this equation. More like sudden change of cock.” “All right,” Layla states, pulling herself up from the couch. “Come on you, time to take you home.” She walks over to Hella, gripping onto his arm. Seeing them together seems almost natural, uncomplicated. They make sense, where he and Melissa have been nothing but messy. They confuse the shit out of me, and to be honest, I think I’d prefer he be with Layla than Melissa. He’s messed with her head enough. Layla comes up to me and pulls me in for a hug. “Thank you so much for tonight.” I smile at her. “No problem.” Asha walks beside Hella and glances up to Beast and then back to me. She smiles, nodding her head. “Thanks, Meadow. We’ll see you tomorrow?” I nod, offering her a smile in return before they both stride out with Hella. Turning in Beast’s arms, I drop my head into his chest. “Layla is really nice.” He chuckles his chest jolting under my cheek. “Yeah, she is. We have an issue, though,” he says. “Come on.” He gestures, taking my hand in his and pulling me toward the bedroom. “We need to talk.”

After I had a quick shower and slipped into my pajama shorts and tank, I slide under the covers with Beast already in there, the bedside lamp on, displaying all his taut muscles. “So,” I say, flipping onto my side. “What did you want to talk about?” He brings his arms up under his head. “Three things…” he starts, keeping his eyes locked on the roof. “First thing is me and the boys are riding out tomorrow.”

“Riding where?” I ask, propping myself up on my hand, my hair falling to the side. “To sort this shit out once and for all with The Army.” “What?” I ask horrified. “Isn’t that a little dangerous and a little too soon?” When he said they were sorting it out a few nights ago, I thought he meant in the near future, not in two nights. He shakes his head. “No, not too soon. We have it planned out.” He unhooks his arm from behind his neck and pulls me onto him. Resting my palm on his smooth chest, I lay my head on his arm. “What if something happens?” He chuckles. “Well, that’s where the second thing comes in.” I laugh lightly, peering up at him from my position, his strong jaw clenching. “See…” he begins, throwing me on top so I’m straddling him. I squeal out in surprise, pressing on his chest to help me up. “If you say you’ll stay with me, at least I’ll die a happy man.” He’s smirking now, his playful smile pulling at me deep. I shake my head, bringing my face down to his and laying a soft, quick kiss on his warm lips. “I can’t. I have a job and a house. I’m only four hours away.” His jaw ticks under the pressure he’s placing on it. He wraps his hands around my waist, pulling me down to him. “Well…” he growls against my lips, “…at least I know you’re good with a bow. I need to see you every weekend, though. And this is short term. I mean it.” I laugh, pulling his lip into my mouth and circling it with my tongue. “Works for me.” “Third thing?” I ask, tilting my head. “Blood Razors want retribution for what happened. They want Layla.” No. “What do you mean? No way, you can’t just pass her over.” He shrugs. “There’s not much we can do. It’s not worth starting a war with them over, and we don’t need the added heat on our tail right now. It’s gotta happen, babe, I’m sorry.” I push off him. “No. No, it doesn’t. How could you guys do that to her, Beast?” “We’re a motorcycle club, babe. Not a high school dorm. She knew the repercussions when she did it. She’s no-one’s Old Lady so she’s not under our protection.” “Beast, I can’t be okay with that. She’s a human, she has rights.” “She’s not a civilian, babe. She has no rights. If it makes you feel better, Tiny, the president of their chapter has a hard dick for Asha.”

“Well, it doesn’t because it’s not Asha who’s going,” I scoff. “Oh, Asha will. She’ll take it for Layla, I’m almost certain of it. She and Tiny have history and she would do anything for Layla.” “Okay,” I answer, my eyebrows drawing together. “Are you done?” he asks. “Don’t worry about it, babe. This is a whole different world. We operate differently here, nothing bad will happen to Layla.” “Okay then, if you say so.” “I do say so,” he answers with a smirk, grinding his hip into my crotch, the lining of his shaft rubbing along my slit through my pajama bottoms. I laugh, ripping my shirt off as he pulls me down to him. Sucking one of my nipples into his mouth, his tongue runs circles around it before he lightly bites down. I throw my head back, beginning to grind into him slowly. When he pulls my nipple out from his mouth, he wraps my hair around his fist and runs his other down my back slowly while matching my grind. Wrapping his hand around the band of my shorts, he rips them off and I jump up to give him easier access. Sliding his briefs down, I lightly run my hand back up, inside his ripped inner thighs, skating over his balls lightly as I grip onto the bottom of his shaft. A low hiss escapes his mouth as I slide my mouth down to his pulsing cock, the tip of his helmet slick with need. Slowly, I draw my tongue out, sliding it around the base of his shaft, peeking up at him under my lashes before wrapping my mouth around the tip of his helmet, circling him as I pull him deep into my throat. A low growl escapes his mouth as he wraps my hair around his fist, pulling on it roughly. I love giving him head. It gives me a sense of power. I can bring his world crashing down on him with the magic of my tongue. Bopping my head up and down, he gets up into a sitting position, wrapping his hands around my hips and lifting me effortlessly over his chest so I’m straddling his neck. I’ve obviously never done sixty-nine before, and to be honest, I’m a little unsure about it. The exposure is very—close. Having his face in the same proximity as my a-hole is a little uncomfortable if you know what I mean. As soon as his warm mouth cloaks me, all thoughts of a-holes and faces are thrown out the window. His tongue slides in and out of me in slow sensual suctions and my thighs clench together. He brings his hands up behind my thighs, spreading them away slightly before rubbing his thumb down my cheeks and landing a loud slap on my cheek. “Play time’s over.” Pulling my head back, I wipe at my mouth just as he pulls me up by my hips, pushing my head down into the bed so I’m face down, ass up. He sinks himself into me. Stretching to accommodate him again, every time he enters me is just as uncomfortable as the last. He is big—everywhere. Once he’s in deep, he pulls

out and begins his pace. The head of his cock rubs perfectly over my g-spot, every thrust sending shivers of ecstasy through me until my throat runs dry and my limbs quiver. I think he’s going to wear me out by the time I go back to Westbeach.

The next morning, the sun breaks through the net curtains, lighting up the inside putting a strain on my eyes. Squinting, I cover my eyes with the palm of my hand, flipping over to feel Beast’s spot empty. Sitting up in bed, I wrap the sheet around me and feel around for my clothes. After failing miserably, I find Beast’s The Devil’s Own white T-shirt with the club’s emblem on it and throw it on. It looks ridiculous because it sits past my knees. I chew on my lip nervously as my eyes scan the floor one more time. When I see the edge of my little pajama shorts, my face beams as I pick them up quickly and pull them on. Slipping the hair tie out of my hair, I tie a knot on the back of the shirt to keep it up. It slides up to show my stomach every now and then but I’m not bothered. It’s only Melissa here. Pulling open the door, I make my way down the hallway I’ve become accustomed to, then down the stairs I’ve been down every morning. I round the corner and walk into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge and not glancing into the living room that sits to the side of the kitchen. I bring the bottled water to my lips and close the door, turning to face the living room. I jump in my tracks when around eight big bikers are laying out on the sofa and floor, watching me closely. “Jesus Christ!” I whisper, my hand covering my chest. They all sit there dumbfounded, their eyes scanning over my body slowly, each of them making it obvious what they’re looking at. Beast walks in, staring at them before bringing his eyes to me. “Do I need to remind you fuckers that she’s mine? And that the next person who looks at her like that will be eating their own cock for a week.” They all chuckle and turn back to the television. “Hey baby,” he whispers, walking to me in all his beautiful glory. He puts a spin on handsome.

“Hey,” I answer, reaching up to him on my tippy toes to give him a kiss. “Where’d you go this morning?” “I just had to make sure things were under control back at the compound.” “Oh, okay,” I answer, glancing around the room. “Where’s Melissa?” He pulls me into him, covering my body with his. “She’s with Jada. She doesn’t want to go home yet. I’ll take you to see them before we leave.” “Where are we going? I thought you had… you know, today?” “That’s later. I want to show you my house so you know how to get there next weekend.” He smirks, running his hand down my back before cupping my ass and squeezing it. “Get changed.” I walk out the door, after opting for skinny jeans, Chuck Taylors, and my tight white T-shirt with the leather jacket Beast bought me over the top. Fluffing up my hair, I put on my Aviator sunglasses, stopping in my tracks. “Are we going on the bike now?” I ask when I see Beast already straddling it. He brings his face to mine, wearing jeans, black combat boots, white T-shirt with the club logo on it and his cut over top. His hair is a little longer now sitting in a fine bundle of mess on his head. “Yeah.” He smiles, slipping on his gloves. Walking over to his bike, the excitement is running through me like a bundle of waves. “Jesus,” he whispers. “I love that you love riding, baby.” I smile, swinging my leg behind him and clutching onto his waist. “And by God, I swear I’m going to fuck you on this bike one day with nothing but that leather jacket on.” He smirks before kick starting the bike to life and we roll out of there.

After Meadow had checked on Melissa, we got back on the road to head into town. I live in Summerlin West, so it’s about a fifteen-twenty minute drive from the strip. Me and my pops bought the house a few years back and kept it there. We tossed around whether I should just get tenants in to rent it because I wasn’t looking at spending a lot of time there, but ended up moving all my shit in any way. The clubhouse is situated on the north side of Las Vegas. We pull into my driveway and I turn off my bike, removing my helmet. Meadow removes her hands from my shoulders and swings off the bike, keeping her eyes on the white home in front of her. She whips her head to me, a smile playing on her lips. “Beast, it’s beautiful.” “What were you expecting?” I ask with a crooked grin. “A barn?” She laughs, cheeks turning a light shade of red. “I guess, maybe a little.” Her lip pulls into her mouth, her dimples sinking deep inside her cheeks, and I have to readjust myself before swinging my leg off. She has a direct line to my cock that’s for sure. Bringing her here, is me showing her what I am outside of the club. I don’t want her leaving Vegas thinking that all I have to offer her is my rowdy, psychopathic brothers. That’s hers for the taking protection wise, but I needed to show her another side to me as well, a side that I haven’t shown any woman. Tucking her under my arm, I squeeze her into me and place a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “Come on.”

An hour later, we’re laying out in the sun in the back yard under the old oak tree that sits in the corner. Her head lies over my leg with my other propped up resting my arm on it. I wipe some of her hair away from her face as her eyes peer up at me from her position. “I love it here,” she whispers, taking her eyes back to the house. There’s a porch in the back that has nothing on it. It’s still bare. I don’t spend a lot of time here, more time at the clubhouse so it hasn’t got a home touch to it yet but it has potential. “Love it enough to move?” I ask with a smile. She rolls her eyes, flipping onto her stomach, her hand shielding the afternoon sun from peering into those eyes. I didn’t know it back then. But her damn eyes pulled me in, they fucked me, and now they own me.

“My job, Beast. I have a life outside of being on lock down with you.” I laugh. “But I like having you here. Fuck, I don’t want you to go.” Her face falls, her head tilting. She smiles. “I know and as much as I have loved you locking me up in your world, I need to go back. Truth be told, I don’t want to leave, but I have a life there. I think we can do the long distance thing. For now anyway, let’s not rush things and just take them play by play.” I roll my eyes, pushing back to lie out on my back. “Outside the bedroom, you’re this lady who has class and sass.” I lean up on my elbows, her mouth smiling at my words. I smirk because I’m not done. “But inside the bedroom? You’re my little fuck-toy that I want to play with forever, Meadow. Forever.” Her smile stops, her eyes widen in shock. “Beast!” She slaps my leg playfully and I lift her up from her waist, pulling her on top of me. She laughs, holding herself up by pressing on my chest. “Mmm… the only thing that’s as sexy as you riding my bike is you riding me.” She laughs again, bringing her face down to lightly run her soft lips across mine, and in this very moment, I know that I’m fucked. I know that if it came down to it, I’d give this woman my last breath if it meant she could take one more.

“The boys are here for this purpose. Use them,” I say to Meadow, who has flung her little arms around my waist. Dropping my head to her soft hair, I kiss her head. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asks in muffled tones. “Positive. We have it all planned out.” We do, but I don’t know how it’s going to end. All I know is I have someone to live for now, so I will do anything to make sure she’s safe and we can have a life outside this shit. “Okay then…” She steps back and leans up to my face on her tippy toes wrapping her fingers around my neck. I pull her into me and run my tongue over her bottom lip. She stops and pulls back, searching my eyes. “I…” she starts and then stands back to her feet, “…never mind. Just, make sure you don’t die. Please,” she pleads, looking up at me. I smile and pull her into me again, kissing her on the lips. “I know,” I answer against her lips. Her face freezes, a deep red blush sprawling out across her cheeks. Letting go of her hand, I whistle out to Hella, who’s playing on the PDA with Cassidy, one of the hang arounds. I look over to Melissa and nudge my head to her. She smiles before hugging Nyx goodbye and stepping up beside Meadow. I swing my leg over my bike and push on my gloves. Looking up to Meadow, I blow her a kiss quickly and she smiles, waving to me before I lead the pack out the gates and toward the place I’ve done everything possible to avoid for the past eight years. Pulling into the industrial farmland, we all ride up the bumpy, dusty road and I stop halfway, the roar and pulsing of our bikes deafening. After we’ve all cut off our bikes, I swing my leg off and walk up to Hella. “We’ll walk up from here.”

Hella removes his helmet with the rest of the boys following suit. “Are you sure about this? I still think we should go in guns blazing and just tear the place apart.” Turning my head to the van that the prospects are driving, I point to it. “Because taking the van is a better idea. Stick to the plan and hopefully, we can all make it out alive.” He nods his head while half the boys jump into the van and the rest of us set out on foot. We are all well-armed. Complete with grenades, M16’s, and if we lose all else—our combat knives. The van drives forward toward the gates while Hella and I separate into our two separate groups. My group taking the front and Hella’s taking the back. We know the ins and outs of this hell hole so it only makes sense that we would be on the ground. Running up to the front of the high barb wired iron gates, the leaves crunch under my feet and the air is crisp with death and silence. I push my back up against the wired fence while looking at Nyx. Bringing my finger up to my mouth, I signal for him to be quiet before I start counting in my head. One… Two… Three… The first explosion rips through the air and I kick the fence in where Hella and I came back to pop open a few nights ago. After the boys are through, I jump through and draw up my .45 scanning around the area to make sure it’s clear before we make our way to where the van entered. Following closely, we round the first corner where a soldier walks through, I draw my gun up, shooting him right between his eyes and his lifeless body falls to the ground. “Come on,” I wave at the pack. Hella’s voice comes through the walkie-talkie that is sitting on the waist of my jeans, so I unclip it. “Yeah, what’s up?” “It’s Ripper. He’s in a bad shape.” “What happened?” “They drew faster than us. He’s sitting out… should be safe there until this shit is done.” “Don’t tell me you left him unattended, Hella!” “Nah, Skid is there.” “Yeah, all right. Stick to the plan.” “Roger.” Pushing the walkie-talkie down, I bring my head up to the tall lookout tower that sits in the corner of the property. Dropping the duffel bag to the ground with the sound of gunshots ringing out in the distance, I pull out the grenade launcher,

hitching it onto my shoulder before I look through the scope. Aiming it at the middle of the tower I launch it into the concrete, the flames ignite and the tower comes crumbling down. Chuckling under my breath, I push the launcher back into the bag and swing it over my shoulder. “You good?” Nyx asks, bringing his gun back up. “Yeah, just wanted to do that for a long time.” He nods his head before stepping in front. “Let’s go.” We make our way to one of the back doors of the main building and I pull out my .45 and shoot out the locks, kicking the doors in with my feet. “It’s fucking quiet,” Hannibal stirs next to me. “Too quiet,” I answer, walking into the darkness. We make our way to the silver stairs that sit to the left of where we came through and start walking down them. “What sort of sick shit do they have going here?” Gunnar asks from behind Nyx. “You’ll soon see,” I answer. Gunnar is new, he’s been prospecting for almost a year. How he acts on this run will determine whether he gets patched in on his one-year anniversary. We walk down the silver steps, our heavy boots thumping underneath the soles of our feet. When we reach the bottom, I look around, attempting to adapt my eyes to the darkness. The lights flick on suddenly and surrounding us is an army of soldiers, in every angle with their weapons pulled. I chuckle to myself. “Figures.” Glancing to the side of me, I begin counting how many there are in this very room and I’m heading toward twelve—against our six. The five men who are standing in front of us with their rifles drawn, standing in their armed defender armory, begin to part like the Red Sea. “Well, well, well…” a familiar voice pierces my ears like nails to a chalkboard. Brian comes strolling out, wiping his knife off with a white cloth. “If it isn’t my favorite soldier.” “I was never your soldier,” I seethe, bringing my gun back up and raising it right between his eyes. Cocking my head, I picture myself pulling the trigger, his blood and brains raining down on me in splatters of redemption. “You might want to put that gun down, son. I have double on you.” “Maybe I don’t care?” I say, keeping my gun drawn. “Maybe I have nothing to lose?” He chuckles, walking closer. “We all know that’s a lie, Beast. Little Meadow is something you could lose? Am I not correct?” His ginger hair still sits roughly on the top of his head and his beard is still hanging low.

“Maybe,” I answer, smirking at him. “Or, maybe not.” I shrug. “After all, it was your training that took all of the human out of me and replaced it with a hard-ass replica.” “Beast?” Hella’s voice comes out of the walkie-talkie again. I narrow my eyes at Brian, who nods his head. “You might want to check on 666, Beast. I hear he made a slip-up.” Unclipping the walkie-talkie off my jeans, I keep my eyes locked on Kurr and bring it to my mouth. “What?” I answer, my voice shallow and low. “We’re surrounded.” “Ditto.” Turning off the walkie-talkie, I bring my attention back to Kurr. “What is it you want? If you wanted to kill me, you had plenty opportunity to do so. What do you want?” “Well…” he begins, “…you came in here, blew up my spot and killed a few useful men.” “So, I don’t care. What do you want?” I repeat, my breathing dipping into shallow territory. “Isn’t it obvious?” He smirks. “You.” “You could have had me. Why be so theatrical with it?” He steps around one of the men, who still hasn’t moved, and comes closer. “You know I prefer a good chase, Beast.” He stops, tilting his head. “Or maybe you don’t remember.” Clenching my jaw together, I drop my gun. “Fine,” I say, smirking at him. “Take me, let my men go.” He laughs, narrowing his eyes at me. “Really? That’s your only ask?” I nod. “Yeah, it is. Take me and me only, let my men walk out.” Tsking my comment, he shakes his head. He brings up his index finger and shakes it in front of me. “Sounds good, but you’re missing one thing,” he says, his eyes scanning my face with menace. “And what is that?” I growl, bringing my eyes down to his. Clenching my jaw. He raises his gun, not moving his eyes from mine and lets the barrel go off, the bullet shooting right between Nyx’s eyes, his blood spattering out over my face. The metallic taste of a fallen brother filling my mouth. “You’ll pay for that,” I growl. “Maybe not today, but you will pay for that.” He laughs, using the same white cloth to wipe away the blood drops that were splattered over his face. “Maybe. But you started this charade, Beast. I took one of yours, you took five of ours including the watchtower that I know you’ve

been dying to take down since you were a little boy.” He turns his back and points to the four soldiers in the front line. “Take them out. Make sure Beast’s wishes are kept and no-one is hurt. Come on Beast, we have lots to catch up on.” Turning my head, I smirk at my brothers who are seething under heavy breaths. Nodding my head, I follow behind the one man whose blood I want most.

I’m sitting at the bar waiting to hear the roar of bikes to come down the gravel road like they have so many other times when Melissa takes a seat beside me, bending over the bar to pull up a bottle of vodka. “Have a drink, you need it.” I shake my head. “No, nope. What if something happens to him, Melissa? I only just got him back.” Her mouth drops as she places the bottle back onto the bar. “I guess this is their life, babe. It’s dangerous and life threatening. Are you going to be okay with it?” Running my tongue over my dry lips, I shrug. “I don’t know. But I do know that I want him, and it comes with the package, so I guess I will have to learn to live with it.” The creaking of the rust ridden doors sound out with Jada rushing up to us, pushing through the bikers from another chapter who rode down to help out with the aftermath. Standing from the bar, I wipe my sweat-ridden palms over my pants and make my way toward her. Her face drops, wiping a single tear off her cheek. “What?” I say, slowing my walk. My heart thuds in my chest in deep, shallow beats and I draw in a deep breath. “They’ve got him.” All the air leaves my body and my knees wobble from under me. “They’ve got who?” I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. “Beast. They’ve got him and they let the rest of boys walk. Bar one…” she

whispers, squeezing her eyes closed. “Why would he stay?” I yell, turning in my step and walking over to the bar to grab my bag. “Meadow, we just have to wait for the boys to get here. Nyx didn’t make it out, we need to see what’s going on. It just doesn’t add up, Beast and Hella? They’re fucking Einstein’s in the biker world. There’s no way they would’ve let this happen, surely?” She breaths out, taking a seat on the barstool. “Nyx didn’t make it?” Melissa whispers, tears streaming down her cheek. I forgot all about her and Nyx becoming close. “I’m sorry, Melissa. I don’t know what was going on there, but Nyx was a good guy, he didn’t deserve to go out like that.” Melissa picks up the bottle, wrapping her lips around the rim and drops half the liquid down the rabbit hole in one go. “Jada,” I warn, my eyes bugging out. “I’m not letting him sit in there by himself.” “Meadow, what are you going to do? Just sit down and wait for the guys. I want to hear what’s going on.” “What if it’s nothing,” I yell, standing from the stool and swinging my bag over my shoulder. “What if…” I whisper to her, “…he dies, Jada.” She swallows, her eyebrows creasing as she peers back at me. “He won’t. He can’t. This is Beast, he’s indestructible.” “Wake up, Jada, he’s also human. It doesn’t take much to kill a human.” Turning on my feet, I walk to the doors, tears surfacing in my eyes with my heavy heart thumping to the beat of the soles of my feet while they pound the dirt ridden ground. Pushing open the door, I stop in my tracks when I see the mass of bikes pull up with the van following behind them. Wiping my eyes roughly, I scan the front to see Beast’s bike, but with Hella riding on it instead. My stomach drops and more tears stream down my cheeks. Gripping onto my chest, I move to Hella. “Where were you?” I yell, fisting his cut. “Calm down, Meadow. Come inside so we can explain.” “No.” I shake my head. “Screw you.” Pushing off his rock hard chest, I turn toward my car and I’m almost there when a strong grip around my arm pulls me back. My back pushes up against Hella’s tight chest where he drops his lips down to my ear and whispers, “It was a setup, Meadow. We knew he was going to get taken, we knew everything.” My chest rising and falling deepens as I turn in his hold. “What do you mean?” I ask, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

He nudges his head to the barn. “Come on, I’ll tell you in there.” “No, tell me now.” He rolls his eyes. “So stubborn. Beast is going to have lots of fun with you.” “Get to it, Hella.” Running his hands through his hair, he exasperates a breath of air while dropping his arms to the side of his body. “There was no way we would be able to just roll in and kill them all. We needed to get Beast in there.” “Why couldn’t he just walk in and say take me?” He laughs, shaking his head. “Because they would have questioned his motives, Meadow. Beast and I have been running from this organization for a long fucking time. Don’t you think it would be a little shady if Beast just walks in there one day throwing up a flag? No, he needed them to think we failed with our mission. We needed them to think that they have won.” “And have they?” I ask, tilting my head. Some of the uneasiness loosening. “Have they what?” he asks, pushing his hands into his pockets. “Won… have they won?” He smirks, hooding his eyes. “Not even close.” He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. “Come on, I don’t want to share this twice.” “Hella,” I whisper. “Whatever is happening, I want in.” He stops in his tracks. “Pardon?” Tilting my head, I widen my eyes. “You heard me. I’m coming.” He shakes his head, laughing. “You definitely are not coming.”

This was like a bad case of flashbacks. My wrists are bound to the roof, rings of fire wrapping around them—just as I remember. My heavy head is hooded between my arms when I hear the sound of the heavy steel door swinging open. I rise up, looking out to see who just came through. “Beast?” Kurr’s voice vibrates through me like a jolt of electricity that makes me want to rip his head clean off with my bare hands. “I believe you’ve never met the brains behind the entire operation? The woman who created Schyronide,” he asks, eyebrows cocked. I drag my eyes to the figure that’s standing beside him and smile. “Who? The bitch that’s obviously riding your dick?” He laughs, walking closer to me so I pick up my head and peer down at him. “Actually…” he states, waving the woman over. I haven’t had a good look at her yet, but I can see she’s wearing a long white trench jacket and has her hair in a tight bun that’s sitting on top of her head. “She’s not mine. But she is yours,” he says, looking at me up and down. I bring my eyes to hers and her lips drop along with her head. “Beast?” she whispers under her breath. I pull on the bonds around my wrists, baring my teeth at Kurr. “What the fuck do you mean?” “Get with it, Beast. This is Dr Carrisa Kurnikiva to you.” He smirks, bringing a cigarette to his mouth. “But her real name is Courtney Kurnikiva AKA your mother.” Pulling on the cuffs that surround my wrists, I shake my head. “You’re fucking lying.” He lets out a deep, smoky chuckle. “Oh no, son. I’m not.” I bring my eyes back to the woman and she lifts her head up to face me. “I’m so sorry, Beast. I didn’t know.” “Shut up,” Kurr says to her, rounding a little table that sits in the middle of the floor. I know that table, and I know what it contains. I pull on the cuffs again when a sharp sting strikes through my wrists and the dropping of blood begins to trickle down my arm. With my chest heaving, I bring my eyes back to her. “Is it true?” She swallows down, placing her hands into her pockets of her jacket. “Yes, I’m so sorry.” A deep, sadistic chuckle escapes my mouth. “You’re kidding, right? ‘You’re sorry’? Are you fucking shitting me, woman! You! You created the fucking acid they pumped through me—through all of us!” She drops her shoulders and walks to me. “Look, I had to, I had no—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I seethe, boring my eyes deep into hers. She flinches and steps back. “Kurr, give me a minute please.” Kurr chuckles. “Hell no.” She turns toward him, squaring her shoulders and pointing her glare right into him. “I need a minute with my son. Get out.” He shakes his head, understanding setting into his eyes. “You try anything? I’ll kill you myself and gut the piece of shit in front of you. Got it?” “Yes,” she whispers. “I got it.” He slams the heavy iron door behind him and she clears her throat, walking to me. “Is he gone? Or is he still looking through the window?” I nod my head. “He’s gone.” “Good.” She pulls out a knife and slips it behind my hand so I can grip onto it without him noticing. “Look…” she begins, bringing her eyes to me, “…you end this shit, and you boys end it tonight. Got it?” she demands, her eyes as hard as stone. I see pain and deceit laced through her eyes which are unsettling considering she has beauty in her features. I nod. “I got it. I’ll get you out, too.” She shakes her head. “That wasn’t part of the plan, Beast. I reached out to Ringer to get you in here. You plant that C4, and you blow this place apart with or without me with you. Got it?” Swallowing down, I cross my eyebrows. “All right. Why?” I ask, searching her eyes. “They stole everything from me, Beast. But the most important thing they took from me was you. They kept me after I had you. They kept me bleeding in a cell while you grew. It must’ve been a year later when they’d done some digging into my school work, seeing I was a smart kid when it came to science. As always,” she says and I end it for her, “They used your strongest suit,” I say, nodding in understanding. “Yes, I’m sorry. I kept them away from you. Manipulated the system by saying I would kill myself if they touched you. We had an understanding. They stay away from you and your father, and in return, I stay alive to cook their potion,” she says, her eyes a deep ocean blue that is weighed down by sadness, loss, and heartbreak. “But I’m tired, Beast. I’m tired,” she reiterates, resting her palms on my cheeks. My heart begins to fill with warm razors blades that cut through the ice wall I’d built within me. I clear my throat. “I’ll get you out. You can come with us, once this is over.

You’ll be safe.” She wipes the tears from her eyes. “Maybe.” The door bursts open and Kurr walks in with his switchblade, the same switchblade I’m all too familiar with. My abs contract and I squeeze my eyes shut tightly. “That’s enough of a reunion, don’t you think?” He chuckles and Courtney steps back toward the door. “Yeah, I do.” He chuckles again, scattering through the ornaments on the table. “So,” he begins, sharpening his knife. “Now that you and mother dearest over there are well acquainted, what do you say we get into some good stuff, break you back down again? You have it in there still Beast. You’re far too good a vessel to be wasted on a Motorcycle Club. Do you know the number of kills you had?” He laughs to himself, stopping his sharpening to bring his eyes to me. “I do!” he whispers excitedly. My eyes narrow as I slip the sharp knife down into my palm a little more, twisting it around so the sharp side is pushed up against the rope. I begin cutting slowly, trying not to bring attention to my hand. If this fails, we will be fucked. I need to get to the basement underground, and the only person who can get in and out of that basement is Kurr’s finger. That’s where they keep all their weaponry and explosives. If I can get to those, I can blow this place up in one go and the rest of the people in it. The ones who wanted to get away had ran when we blew up the watchtower. All that was left now was the soldiers who were too far gone to help anyway. “Do you want to know?” he asks, cocking his head. “I’ll tell you anyway because I’m feeling generous.” He laughs, placing the knife down on the table. I see Courtney look at the knife as he walks up to me, his hands in his pockets. I shake my head slightly at her, signaling her to not do what I think she is about to do. “Six hundred and forty-nine,” he whispers harshly, his breath running over my bare chest. My breathing heaves and I spit to the ground. “You think I give a fuck? I don’t.” He laughs, spinning on his feet and walking to the table again. “That right there, son is exactly why you’re perfect for this life.” Carrying on my cutting, I get through the rope, jolting under the release of the tension. He turns his head to Courtney, walking up to her with a knife in his hand. “You see, little scientist. We have your formula now and we don’t need you anymore. Consider yourself… freed!” He swipes at her chest and I lunge forward, wrapping my arms around his neck in the sleeper hold, he jabs me in the ribs before jumping at Courtney again.

He grips onto her and she screams out, “Beast, run!” I turn my head to see four other men barge in through the doors. I get to my feet and rush toward them. Bringing my hand up, I slice one of them clean across his neck, blood pouring out in rivers down his throat. I turn around, round house kicking another in the chest, causing him to fly across the room and smash into the opposite wall. The other man that was standing there runs at me, slicing me across the chest in one sweep and I step back, throwing my weight into my right hook, landing him down cold on the floor. I look to Courtney, who’s standing there with a machete. She must have got one on top of Kurr during all the commotion. “Leave Beast. More are coming.” “You can come, too,” I say, rushing toward Kurr and bringing my knife down to his finger, slowly pushing the sharp side of it into his skin, sinking deeper and deeper into his flesh slowly. His screams howl out and I laugh, spitting in his face. “Beast!” Courtney screams again. “So help me God, son. You need to go and do what you came here to do!” The door smashes open again with another group of armed soldiers bursting in. One swings his fist right into my cheek, dropping me to the ground before they’re pulling me up and dragging me across the floor to the door. I look over my shoulder at Courtney. “Finish him!” I yell. “Meet me outside in thirty minutes!” The door slams shut halfway through my sentence and one of the guard’s jab my stomach, causing me to heave over, the metallic taste of blood spitting out of my mouth. Looking up, I count how many men are next to me. One on each side, one in the back and one in the front. My eyes drag to the belt buckle of the fucker who laid one out on me to see his heat packing on his belt. Smiling, I quickly pull my arm out of his grasp. I take hold of the gun quickly and shoot the guy who was holding a gun on me from behind before elbowing the other one in the head and shooting a round in the rest of the soldiers who were left standing. Dropping the now empty gun, I make my way down the cold corridor, ducking and hiding between walls. Pushing the finger into my pocket, I keep walking to the stairway that I know leads you down to the basement. I’ve only been in there a handful of times, but I remember exactly where it is. I round the last corner and hit the steps, dropping down them two at a time. Taking the finger out of my pocket, I push it up against the little glass pad that sits beside the door and wait as the red light turns green and the heavy doors beep, opening them up wide. A smile stretches wide across my mouth. “Time to blow shit up.”

I’m driving down the road that leads to the compound where Beast is located when I cringe inwardly in my seat. Hella is going to lose his shit, but I need to do whatever I can do to help him. Set up or no setup, there are a million things that could go wrong and Beast is in there alone. I didn’t tell the boys I was leaving. I merely got into my car, headed home and collected my duffle bag that has my bow and arrows in. Not the arrows that Beast wanted me to use, but the modified ones that are more like little Tasers that snap into you, knocking you out for a couple hours. The bumpy road jolts under the tires of my car and I look into my rear vision mirror again to check no-one is following. My heart hums with fear but beats with excitement. I need to be wherever Beast is and I don’t care for the repercussions right now. Turning down the dirt road, I swing to a halt and park it under the nearest tree. Getting out of my car, I throw my hoodie over my head and step my feet down onto the gravel, the crunching of stones squashing underneath my Chuck Taylors. I didn’t have time to change clothes. Lucky I was already in my skinny jeans and tank top. All I had to do was put on a hoodie. Placing the duffel bag on the road and using my car as cover, I pull out my bow and the arrows, slipping them over my shoulder in its satchel. Closing my door, I crawl to the front of my car and peer over the bonnet, narrowing my eyes to take a good look around. “Psst!” a sound comes from the bushes and I turn my head quickly, pressing my back up against my car, my heart zaps in my chest. “Meadow! Are you kidding me?” Jada whispers angrily though I can’t see where she is. “Jada?” I whisper back, looking into the tall bushes trying to find her. “In the crack, second stick to the left. Hurry,” she urges and I follow her orders, stepping into the little crease that breaks through the bush. You wouldn’t know unless you knew she’d been through it. Her firm grip wraps itself around my arm before I see her, pulling me down onto my ass. “Ouch! Jada,” I scold her, wiping the dirt from my pants. “What, are you doing here, Meadow?” “What are you doing here?” I shoot back at her. “I couldn’t just sit around and wait for their genius plan. Beast is in there alone,” she offers sadly. “I know,” I say, dropping the duffel bag. “Are we going in?” She nods her head. “I am, but if something happens to you, Beast will kill us all. I can’t have you with me.” Narrowing my eyes, I shake my head. “Are you kidding me? There’s no way

I’m sitting out here waiting. I am coming with you, Jada. Don’t fight me on this.” She pauses, searching my eyes. “Fuck, I am so dead for this. All right, so here’s the plan. We go in and clear the outside, Hella said that Beast is hitting the basement to light the place up with the explosives they have down there. He can ignite it from outside the building, but we need to clear it out for him. He will have had to fight his way out and around that place, who knows what condition he’s in. He’s supposed to meet the boys under the old tower.” Nodding my head, I clutch onto the stem of my bow. “Okay, got it.” She looks at my bow and smiles. “I hope you’re prepared to use that?” I drop my eyes and shrug. “I had Beast get me Taser arrows. It knocks them out for a few hours.” Her face scrunches as she shakes her head in disbelief. “You are so not prepared for what’s about to happen,” she answers absently. “Hey, I have seen some shit too you know. I watched my dad get murdered and enjoyed it. Trust me, I’m not a soft little butterfly.” Her head tilts. “There’s more to this, I can tell.” “How do you think Beast and I met?” “Huh, maybe one day you can tell me,” she offers with a small smile. “Maybe. Let’s go.” We both shuffle out from behind the bushes, keeping our eyes locked on the building in front of us. “It’s huge,” I say in a whisper. She nods her head, our shoes crunching over the stone gravel road. “You have no idea. Follow my lead and be ready.” I nod my head, swallowing past the ball of nerves. I’m terrified about what could happen, but I know I’d do almost anything for Beast. That includes walking into a death trap apparently. Running across the road, we kneel down and begin moving along the wire fence. “How are we going to get in?” I whisper to her as we shuffle along the fence line. She looks at me over her shoulder, smiling. “No doubt Beast added the same hole as he did when they escaped the first time, and when they rescued me.” “Right, okay.” We continue our shuffling along the fence line, my breathing deep and ragged from anticipation and fear. Jada stops, placing her hand on the corner of the fence, pushing until a hole comes through. I smile, shaking my head. “How the hell did Beast fit through that?”

She pushes it more and it stretches double. I smile. “Ah, that’s how.” Jada slides through first with me following closely behind her. Standing on my feet, I load up my bow, having it sit armed on my hand before we continue walking toward the main building that sits in the middle. To the far right corner, there’s a half tower that stands near a pile of rubble, showing that it once stood tall. I scan around the other side to see four buildings that look like identical houses which sit next to each other in a vertical line. If you peer to the back of the monstrous building that sits in the middle—where we are currently moving along with our backs pressed against the concrete—you can see a group of white tents that are scattered across the grass with a bonfire in the middle. There are armed people walking around the tents casually, chatting. Which is a good sign— I hope. Following Jada, who has her Samurai sword out, we round the first corner where two men are standing against the wall. Drawing up my bow, I aim it at the first man, shooting him right in the chest, his body drops to the floor in vicious fits. The other man who was standing beside him drops his cigarette and charges toward us. I load up again and shoot him quickly in the chest where his convulsing body joins his friends. Jada turns to me, eyebrows raised. “Meadow, these are bad people, you have to let me at ‘em.” Dropping my bow slowly, I nod. “I know, but it would’ve been unnecessary for them. They were an easy takedown.” “Don’t do it again, let me have one.” “You’re a little scary,” I mumble through a smile. She laughs. “I’ve been told that all my life. Come on, we’ll round the building, get as many down as we can.” Nodding my head, I load up my bow again and walk beside her as we make our way around the other side of the building.

I’m walking back up the stairs after tripping all the C4 they have down below and taking an M16 when I hear talking vibrating through the door on the other side of the stairs. My stomach contracts and the bruising that’s formed over it pulsates under the tension. The metal door swings open and before they can see where I am, I aim my gun, rapidly pulling the trigger and hitting the first soldier right between the eyes before pointing my gun to the one next to him, replaying the same action. Both their bodies begin tumbling down the steps and I jump over them by gripping onto the railing before running up the rest of the stairs with my weapon drawn and the control trigger to the C4 in my hand. Rounding the corner, I point the gun around, securing my surroundings before continuing through the dark alley and toward the back exit door. Gripping on the long metal bar, I push it open to four men who are standing around smoking. They see me and drop their smokes. One pounces on me and I jab the back of my M16 right at his jaw before landing a back kick to the man standing behind me. I swing a right hook to the other man standing beside him and then pointing the gun up, shooting the fourth man in his forehead before swinging my gun around ready to shoot another, only an arrow whips past my face instead. I turn my head to the side to see Jada and Meadow standing there looking like Charlie’s fucking Angels. Meadow shoots both of the men within a matter of seconds and I drop my arms to the side, my jaw about to crack under the pressure I’m placing on it. “And what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I say to Meadow while making my way to them both. She shrugs, actually fucking shrugs and I think I want to kill her. Softly and sensually with my cock, that is. “You were in there alone, and the boys were taking ages. Beast, there’s noone left out here, we took care of them.” “Well… Meadow shot them with her cute little Taser arrows and I took care of the ones that seemed like a threat.” “You what!” Meadow screeches beside her and I roll my eyes. Walking to her with my gun in my hand and the bow in hers, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her body into mine. “Don’t you ever, play that hero shit with me ever again, understood?” I growl. “Beast? You can pull that in the bedroom, but not out here, not when I knew you were alone.” “I’m a big boy. I can handle my shit, Meadow. We’ll talk about this later. Where’s Hella?” “I don’t know,” Jada answers, looking at Meadow with guilt smeared on her

face. “You two snuck out didn’t you?” I answer absently. Meadow shuffles on her feet, looking to Jada with pleading eyes. “Don’t look at her like that. You’re in deep shit when we get home, Meadow.” Squeezing the remote control in my hand, I flick it between my fingers and Jada steps up to me. “Wait till Hella gets here. This is it. Kurr will be dead and this entire operation will be shut down.” I nod my head, pulling Meadow into me more. “Agreed.” I’m kissing Meadow on the top of her head when a loud roar of bikes sound, coming down the dusty driveway. Gripping onto her hand, I pull her toward where they’re coming from and Hella jumps off his bike, throwing his helmet down and rushing to us. “You!” He points to Meadow and I chuckle. “You are going to be the death of me. Fuck, I’m so sorry, brother. She fucking slipped between my fingers. Your new name is Slippy,” he says, looking at her in frustration. I laugh, pulling her into me. “Yeah, all right. Let’s blow this joint up.” I smile at Hella and he nods. “Where’s Courtney?” Hella asks. I shake my head, jaw clenched. “I told her to meet me here in thirty minutes. That was over thirty minutes ago now.” Hella glares at me, running his hand over his chin. “What do you want to do?” “We can’t risk it.” He nods. “Then bombs away.” I chuckle, ignoring the tug I feel pulling on my heart. “Bombs away,” I state, flipping the cover off the button and pressing on the red button. The ground shakes under our feet as we duck for cover behind the old watchtower. A loud bang rips through the air and I press Meadow’s head into my chest, covering her ears from the piercing rings of the aftereffects. Standing to my feet, the air thick with clouds of smoke, metal and fire, I run my finger over Meadow’s face, tracing a finger down her porcelain skin before running it across her lips. “Are you ready?” She nods her head. “Yes, I’m ready.” I chance another glance at the pile of rubble and scorching flames, laying a kiss on my two fingers, and I salute the mother I didn’t get the pleasure of knowing. Walking out the gate, I point to Meadow’s car. “Jada can take your car back. You’re riding with me.” “Don’t need to tell me twice,” she answers, throwing the keys at Jada.

I chuckle, handing her my helmet. “Oh, don’t think you’re off the hook. I have plenty ideas on how I’m going to punish you.” I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck, her long light brown hair falling like silk around my damaged knuckles. “And trust me, all of them involve you screaming my name until your throat runs dry,” I growl into her ear, my lips running across her earlobe. Pulling my head back, I smirk at her and she runs her tongue across her lower lip before pulling it into her mouth, sucking it between her teeth. My cock stirs to life, pushing up against my zipper. “Let’s go,” I growl, readjusting myself quickly before swinging my leg over my bike and kick starting her out of there.

I’ve been back in Westbeach for a month now. It’s been a month since the explosion where we lost Nyx and Beast’s mom. I’ve been back to Vegas four times, every weekend since I came home. I say we lost Nyx because I feel like those men are my family now. Those two weeks shaped my life significantly, and at the time, while it was happening, I don’t think I even realized it. I miss Beast more than I care to admit, but I’ve been throwing myself into work to keep my mind busy. The day he took me to his house keeps playing through my mind —what it would be like to live with him. To wake up next to him every day and the thought brings my insides alive. Like a torch being lit from inside an dark empty cave. I’ve managed to catch up with Phoebe a few times since I’ve been back, but she’s so busy these days being a rockstar’s wifey and all. She has a crazy schedule, but I did manage to talk to her about what I should do. Her answer was simple, “Fuck yes, do it! Don’t live your life around pleasing other people, Meadow. You’re a free woman.” That’s why I love her and that’s why right now, I’m packing up my bag for the last time in this house while I wait for Beast to pick me up. He thinks he’s taking me back to Vegas for the weekend, but I’m thinking a little more permanently. I handed in my notice to the girls at New Home, and as much as they’re going to miss me, they have a steady line of staff now so my departure won’t impact them too hard. I told them I’d stop in there every now and then when I’m back in Westbeach, which will be a lot considering both of my best friends—Melissa and Phoebe—live here. Speaking of Melissa, she’s been a lot better since we’ve been back. She’s apparently been seeing some club bouncer and they have great, non-harmful, sex. Her words, not mine. But I know Melissa, and I see the emptiness in her eyes. Hella challenged her, pushed her. They hated each other with such a raw intensity it could make the entire world uncomfortable, but the roots of that hate came from lust. They drove each other crazy because of it. A light knock sounds on my door, as I scan around my apartment again. I’ll be keeping this place and coming back to get most of my belongings before putting her up for rent, so nothing is out of the ordinary. “It’s open,” I yell out from the bedroom where I’m throwing my leather jacket on. The door opens then closes before I walk into the kitchen area to see Beast standing there, a smile on his face. “Hey, babe.” I squeal out and run to him, jumping on him and wrapping my legs around his waist. Putting my hands on each cheek, I kiss him softly before pulling back. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, baby,” he growls, his dark eyes softening, his hand skimming down my back and over my ass. I drop my head into the crook of his neck and inhale him, the smell of leather, burned rubber, musk and soap drifting into my senses, reminding me of home. He’s made up from the perfect ingredients for the perfect potion. “Ready?” he asks. I nod my head. “Yes, never been more ready.” He takes my hand in his and I put my duffel bag over my chest. I left a lot of my clothes back in Vegas, so I don’t need to pack heavy. Stepping down to the underground parking lot, he pulls out my helmet and passes it to me. Clipping it on, I smile at him. “I missed you.” He hooks his calloused fingers around mine, pulling me into him. “Fuck, I missed you too, baby.” I smile, leaning into his embrace. “Let’s go.” We set off out of the underground parking garage of my apartment and on the highway. The bike’s rumble growling underneath me, bringing me to life. In this very moment, I’m happy. So happy, I’m about to uproot my entire life so I can be with this man every day. Squeezing my arms around him, I rest my head against the cut that sits proudly on his back and let the ride consume me. Pulling into the bright lights of Las Vegas, he pulls off and takes a right turn, down a street that has desert mountains placed around the road. The sun is setting, letting off soft orange hues with flecks of yellow through the sky, radiating off my skin. He keeps driving a few more miles until we pull to a stop and when I look out in front of me, my breath catches in my throat. I swing my leg off his bike, removing the clip from my helmet. I give it back to him and fluff my hair up. “It’s beautiful here,” I say truthfully. He leans against his bike and looks at me sideways, nudging his head toward himself. I follow his instructions and walk to him, leaning against his chest, admiring the bright lights of Sin City. His lips press on the back of my head and I let out a sigh, my muscles relaxing. I’m an addict when it comes to Beast, he brings out a side of me that I never knew existed. Makes me feel things I never thought I could feel, and has shown me things I never thought I’d see. I love this man, with all my being. His hands run down the front of my shirt and to the band of my jeans, his thumb circling my bare stomach, setting off shivers all over my body. My chest rises and falls deeply and I squeeze my eyes closed before turning in his arms. He looks down at me, no play in his expression, his eyes dark and hooded but holding nothing but complete sincerity. That stare has my heart fluttering in my chest.

Running my hands up to his neck, I smile. “Are you okay?” After clenching his jaw a few times, he lets out a small smile. “Yeah baby, just happy is all.” “You stare at people like that every time you’re happy?” I ask with a smile. He scoffs. “I’ve never been this happy, so I wouldn’t know.” Pulling my lip into my mouth, I squirm and his eyes narrow. “What is it?” I shake my head and laugh. “This is all a bit cheesy, but—” He laughs, pulling me into him, the length of his dick rubbing against me. “Try me.” “It’s just… I’ve been thinking. Well, I’ve thought about it I should say, and I sort of already put things in line for it to happen.” He doesn’t move, egging me to carry on. “I want to wake up with you every day, too,” I whisper, pulling my lips into my mouth, his eyes dart to my cheeks and I let go. I forget that he loves the sight of my dimples, but maybe I also like using them against him. He drives me insane with want and need, if I can do it just by making my deformities appear, I will. “Wait,” he looks at me sideways with a smirk. “Are you saying yes to moving in with me?” His eyes light up and a full white tooth grin comes in display, showing me just how breathtaking he is, which is dangerous. Nodding my head, I smile. “Yes, Yeah, I—” The air pushes out of me as he picks me up with ease. I wrap my legs around him and he looks up at me with a smile. “Fuck, you have no idea how fucking happy you’ve just made me.” I smile, pushing my lips against his softly and pulling back. “I think I have an idea,” I reply honestly. He smirks, his hand running up my back softly. “You know,” he says, biting down on my nipple through my tight white T-shirt. “I’ve had this itch that I’ve been needing to scratch for a while.” “Oh?” I ask, head tilted. “And what is that?” He cups my pussy from behind. “Fucking you on my bike with nothing but that jacket on,” he growls into my neck, the vibrations tickling over my collarbone. I smile, glancing around at our surroundings to find us completely alone and shaded. With the sun almost setting and the bright lights of Sin City beaming from a distance, I let the devil have his way with me.

Two Months Later “Layla!” I shout from the bar at the little monster that’s been stuck to me since I moved here two months ago. “Coming…” She laughs, pushing away the new prospect that Beast recruited last month. He had to find a fill-in for Nyx and his name is Rorschach. Yeah, don’t ask about the name. The funniest thing is his real name—Tim. When you look at him, he doesn’t look like a Tim. Therefore, he suits his name. Layla laughs, running to me, her long hair swishing in the air and her pearly smile lighting up the place like a breath of fresh air in between all the biker smells. Not my biker, he still smells delicious. Beast was right, Asha did let Blood Razors take her instead of Layla, but Layla says that there’s nothing to worry about where Asha and Tiny are concerned. The man is obsessed with her. “What are you doing?” I ask eyebrows raised. She laughs. “Sorry, he’s a caauuteee though!” I shake my head. “Stop, you said you were getting out.” She smiles, nodding her head. “I am! Out of stripping, maybe… when I’ve saved enough money to go to college. But for now,” she turns her head toward the new guy that’s sitting at one of the tables, his eyes locked on hers. “Right now, I’m just going to have fun.” Shaking my head, I turn to the bar and take a sip of water. “You not drinking tonight, Slippy?” I’ve also inherited the nickname Slippy. After sneaking away from Hella that night he made everyone call me that, and let’s face it, no-one wants to argue with the man. Shaking my head. “Not tonight, old man.” My mind begins to drift down to my handbag where I know a little paper bag is sitting neatly inside. And inside that paper bag, sits a pregnancy test, a test that could change my life forever. Beast and I have never had the talk on kids, so I don’t even know if this is what he wants. What if it’s just not in his cards right now, or if he doesn’t ever want kids because his childhood was so terrible. I guess I should take it to see where I stand. I could be overreacting for nothing, but I don’t think I’m ready for that, not yet anyway. Scooping my bag into my hand, I walk to the bathroom that sits upstairs where all the bedrooms are. Pushing open the door, I kick down the seat with my feet before lining the seat cover with toilet paper. Yeah, there’s no way I was going to be sitting on that bare. Taking out the little brown bag, I pull out the box and rip it open in double time, pulling out the tiny stick. I mentally begin preparing myself. It’s okay, you have enough money to last a lifetime still in your bank account. So what if the

father is a biker, this baby will be well protected. Oh my God, will they call my baby a demon? Isn’t that what the devil calls his sons. Jesus, no. Nope, I can’t be pregnant. I won’t let it happen. Not until I have at least had the chat with Beast and he needs to assure me that no-one will be calling my child a demon. Placing the stick between my thighs, I let my pee drop onto it and pull it out, placing it on the bathroom sink. “Shit,” I whisper, pulling down toilet paper as I clean myself up. Swallowing down the hard lump of steel that’s formed in my throat, I begin to chant, “Please. Please, don’t be fucking pregnant. Please!” “Meadow?” Layla knocks on the door. “Jesus!” I answer in shock, my heart jolting in my chest. “What’s wrong now?” “Did you just say what I think you said? These walls are thin you know? Open up.” “Fuck!” “And did you just cuss?” I swing open the door and pull her in by her shirt, closing the door behind her. “Shut up. Yes, I cuss, just not often.” Her eyes drift down to the test that sits on the bathroom counter and she breathes out slowly. “Well, hey, it’s going to be okay. Beast will make a great father and I will make an excellent aunt, just sayin’.” She stops when she notices the look on my face. “You don’t want to? If you are, I mean?” I breathe out forcefully, weighed down by how very real this could be and just how close I am to a major life curve ball. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’d talk to Beast about it first, of course.” She places her hand in mine. “We will read it together.” Nodding my head, I swallow down and reach for the stick while keeping my eyes locked on Layla. “One…” “Two…” she answers. “Three…” we both whisper together before looking down at my fate.

“Are you sure about this?” Hannibal stirs beside me. Hella comes out of the donut shop with a box that would fill a small army and one hanging out of his mouth. Shaking my head, I look back at Hannibal. “Yes. She’s my Old Lady, she needs her cut.” Hella hands us the box with a mouthful of food in his mouth. “Taste this shit, brother. It’s fucking insane. Almost tastes as good as Melissa.” Shaking my head, I laugh. “Brother… that ship has sailed.” He shrugs, eating the rest of his donut. “Oh, I know.” He smirks, leaning against his bike while shoving another in his mouth. “Just sayin’, her pussy was bomb.” “Yeah, you’d have to ask some guy called Chase how it’s been since you broke her heart.” His chewing stops, his eyebrows raised. “Come again?” Narrowing my eyes. “You heard, she’s been seeing some bouncer named Chase for the past couple months.” He drops his donut into the box, placing the box into his side bag. “She’s what?” I scoff. “Leave her alone, Hella.” “Did you see me going out and finding a replacement for her?” “What the fuck are you talking about?” Hannibal adds. “You’ve fucked how many women since she left our hands.” “So?” Hella exclaims. “Did I wife them? Get all cozy and shit with them? Fuck that,” he says and a chuckle leaves my mouth. I knew this day was coming. “Oh, but she gonna learn today,” he adds, swinging his leg over his bike and removing his cap before placing his helmet on. I whistle out. “Hey! Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” He kick starts his gloss candy apple red Harley that reads ‘Hellraiser’ across the body, flicking me a smirk. “To Westbeach.” Before he pulls out of the parking lot and onto the highway. “Fuck!” I growl, looking at Hannibal. “Go with him and make sure he doesn’t make a mess for me. I don’t need Sinful Souls riding my ass.” He nods, swinging his leg over his bike and riding out. Walking into our house, I close the door behind me and switch on a couple lights. “Meadow?” I call out. “In here,” she answers from the kitchen. Walking in, I smile at the sight in front of me. Meadow walking around the kitchen with an apron on that reads ‘Queen’ on the front. Alaina bought it for her for our house warming.

Apparently she wears an identical one, it’s a rite of passage for the president’s Old Lady. Not as traditional as what I’ve got in my bag, though. “Hey, baby.” She beams at me, a smile spread across her face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was glowing. Pulling her into me, I run my lips over hers softly, pulling her lip into my mouth before letting her go. “What’s in the bag?” she points down to the brown paper bag that I’m clutching in my hand. “Oh, this?” I smirk. “This is your patch.” Her eyes widen in shock. “Pardon?” I laugh, handing her the bag and taking a piece of chicken out of the frying pan and placing it in my mouth before sucking the sauce off my fingers slowly, I watch her eyes get lost in the gesture. Smirking, I repeat myself. “It’s your property patch, baby. You don’t have to wear it every time you’re at the clubhouse—although I’d prefer it—but mainly when we have a lot of different chapters over or people from different clubs. This is how they recognize that you’re mine. You’re safe once they know who you belong to, but there’s a space in between where they won’t know until maybe it’s too late. Wearing this patch…” I pull out the small little black vest that will probably sit around her belly button and be tight as fuck, “…will execute that possibility.” Her mouth hangs open as she zones in on the tiny piece of leather in my hand. I point to the front. “The front has our patch logo that sits on the top left side, over your heart.” I flip it around to show the back and her eyes water. “The back,” I whisper. “Has who you belong to.” The top arches and says ‘Property of’ and the bottom curves up reading ‘Beast’ but in the middle of those, is a red rose that sits there brightly with the devil himself coating the rose protectively. “Baby?” I whisper, her eyes still not moving from the piece. “The devil is me. I’ve got you from here on out until you don’t need me anymore. And even if you get sick of me? I’m not going anywhere.” A tear drop forms in her eye and a sob escapes her lips. I haven’t heard nor seen her cry since those nights all those years ago and my heart shatters at the sight of it. Dropping the patch, I pull her into me roughly. “Shit, fuck. I’m sorry, baby. I thought you were ready for it. Fuck. I’m sorry, I’ll throw it away, you don’t need to wear shit, I’ll just get a photo of you blown up and plastered on the clubhouse wall with the words ‘my woman’ over it. I’m sorry,” I whisper into her hair and hold her. Holding her tightly like I wanted to all those nights that I would hear her cry. All the nights she gained another scar and I wasn’t there to protect her. I hold her for that.

She pulls away from me with a smile, wiping the tears from her eyes. “No, please. I’m not crying because of that, Beast. I’m crying because I love you, and I love that patch, and I love being yours. I love that you’re protecting my apple, but most of all…” she says, wiping the tears that have fallen again and my eyebrows draw together my heart twisting. “Most of all, I love that you can love me.” She picks up the patch, bringing it to her cheeks and resting her face on it. “I thought I was pregnant,” she says casually, almost too casually. “What?” My face pales and my body falls back, hitting the kitchen counter. She nods her head, wiping away the tears and placing the patch back onto the table. “Yep, I thought I was pregnant. And I was shit scared. I was scared that I wasn’t ready, that you weren’t ready. Hell, I was scared that we’d never had that talk before, whether you even want kids!” She laughs picking up the wooden spoon and stirring the butter chicken in the pan. Thoughts of babies and kids run through my head, causing me to see double. “And?” I whisper, keeping my eyes locked on the floor. “I’m not, Beast. It was negative. But it just surfaced questions that we haven’t quite come across yet.” Nodding my head, I run my fingers over my chest, attempting to scratch it out and rip my beating heart out. “I guess we haven’t.” “So do you?” she asks, peeking up at me from her stirring. “What? Want kids?” I ask, scrunching my face. “I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t know, yet if it was with you… possibly.” “You just patched me as officially your Old Lady! There better be no-one else. And while we’re on this subject, I’ve watched Sons of Anarchy, I’m familiar with the term ‘What happens on a run stays on a run’ and no, that will not be the case here.” I laugh, pulling her into my arms and squeezing her. “I know baby, never. The thought of another woman coming near me just makes me want to slice her head clean off. You’re safe.” She smiles sweetly. “Good. You hungry?” I laugh, taking down a couple of plates from the cupboard. “Yeah, always.”



After dishing up our dinner, I take out a bottle of wine from the fridge and pop open the cork. Glancing at Beast’s suspecting eyes, I shrug. “What? I’m telling you, I’m not pregnant.” He smiles, his eyebrows creasing in confusion. “All right.” Picking up my plate, I nudge my head to the open doors that lead out to the outside porch. “Let’s go sit under our oak tree.” Since I moved in, we’ve furnished the house, making it feel like a home. The kind of home I craved to have as a kid, not just the structure, but the energy that sits in this house. It’s filled with love, mine and Beast’s love joined in one, all sitting in one house. I decorated the outside with hanging tea lights all over the oak tree. It’s now my most favorite place out of the entire house. Taking a seat on the grass, the glasses clink in my hands, as we take a seat. I scrunch my hair up, tying it into a messy knot on the top of my head. Picking up the first bite of the buttery goodness, I peek over at Beast, who’s staring at me intently. “You know,” I start, wiping my mouth and picking up the wine bottle, pouring a glass. “You haven’t said much since I told you about the pregnancy scare.” His eyes narrow locked on mine as he scoops the first mouth full into his mouth. “Maybe that’s because I’m exercising the idea now.” He smirks, eyebrows raised. I pause my fork, tilting my head. “Can you repeat that?” He chuckles, putting his fork down and moving toward me. “Making the said baby could be fun…” He smirks, placing another spoonful into his mouth. I laugh, chewing softly and picking up my wine glass. “Maybe.” I smile around the rim. He shakes his head with a smile, placing more food in his mouth and in this very moment, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. It turns out, my dark knight is sort of a knight in shining armor. That armor was severely damaged by bullets, but still a knight in shining armor.

The next day, we’re riding out to the clubhouse, my hands wrapped around Beast tightly in the way I’ve come to love with the air whipping through my long locks. When we pull down the long gravel road and into the clubhouse, we both get off with Beast helping me down and I hand him my helmet with a smile. “I want my own.” I laugh, running my hands down the body of his bike. His eyebrows raise and a smile displays across his face. “You want one what? A bike?” I smirk at him as a few of the boys walk out to us wolf whistling at me with cheers. I look down at my property patch and smile. “I guess it’s official.” They all lift their glasses in the air at once as Rorschach lifts his mug to me, smiling as he tilts it up before downing the brown liquid. I smile lightly at him before he walks back inside. Looking toward Beast, he’s still looking at me in shock. “What?” I ask, tilting my head. “Baby, do you want your own bike?” he asks again the shock still evident in his tone. “Yes,” I answer with a grin. “I think I do.” “Jesus,” he whispers, shaking his head. “You’re fucking incredible, do you know that?” I laugh, shoving into his side. “So incredible that you want to agree to me owning a bike?” He laughs, shaking his head. “Definitely not right now, but yes. I’m all over that shit.” I walk through the clubhouse and straight to the bar. I’m wearing my property patch that hugs me tightly with skinny jeans and my boots that go over my jeans. It’s surprisingly comfortable for something so skimpy. Layla pulls out a stool next to me with a smile. “You are such a babe!” She’s

glaring at me up and down when Asha pulls out the seat beside her. Let’s just say, she was the worst hostage ever. Taking a sip of my drink, I scoff. “Hardly. What are you two doing? Is it your day off?” Layla nods her head. “Yeah, it appears so. Although, I’m not sure where Hella is.” “I can ask Beast?” She waves off my comment. “Don’t worry, someone else can take a fucking from him.” I cough in my drink, something nagging my chest. “What does that mean?” “It means…” she begins, throwing back the rest of her drink, “…that he likes it hard. And when I say hard, I mean he will destroy you so much in half an hour that it will have you struggling to sit down for a week.” “Shit,” I whisper in shock. She giggles. “Oh please, he’s nothing I can’t handle.” “Yeah,” Asha agrees. “That’s why he always comes back to you.” Pulling my attention away from the talk of Hella and his ability at disabling women with his dick, I bring my attention to Beast, who’s sitting on the table. Picking up my drink, I excuse myself from the girls before walking to my man. “Are you okay?” he asks into my hair, pulling me into him. “Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m going to be more than okay now.”

Later that night, we ride home and undress in record time. Despite the fact that we’re both dead on our feet, I still want to ride him like a rodeo horse. Walking across to him, I push his chest onto the bed and crawl up his monstrous form, keeping my eyes locked on his. A sheepish smile forms across his face as he follows my movement. Picking up the remote control for the dock station that sits beside our bedside table and his skull bike mask that sits in the top drawer, I throw the mask at him and smirk. “Put it on, I want to play.” His smile turns into a grin as he pulls his bottom lip into his mouth and wraps the mask around his mouth. His eyes turn dark as I stay standing on the bed. Pushing the remote control on, Marylin Manson ‘Sweet Dreams’ penetrates through the sound dock and he laughs, shaking his head. I begin swinging my arms up and he spreads his legs wide, stretching his muscled body out across the bed.

I slowly inch down my shorts, pulling my thong down with it, his eyes turning dark and his jaw clenching under the mask. My nipples zip to life as my hips sway to the guitar. His hands grip onto my hips, pulling me down to the bed and flipping me onto my back. He pushes himself in between my legs, and I look up to him from my position, penetrating his eyes with my stare, the mask covering everything else and the muscles in his forearms bulging out under the pressure he’s putting on them by holding himself up. He slowly grinds himself into me in one circular motion, my head sinking back into the bed and my eyes roll back. He rips my shirt off roughly as Breaking Benjamin ‘Dance with the Devil’ starts playing. I may or may not have made our own playlist. He pushes the mask over his mouth to sit it around his neck and I moan out at the sudden cold brush of air that swipes past my nipples. He brings his mouth down to them, drawing his tongue out and running it across my nipple roughly, keeping his dark eyes locked on mine. I prop myself up onto my elbows and watch him closely. After he runs his tongue across ever so slowly, he sucks it into his mouth and his hands dive down to the front of me. Rubbing circles around my clit, he slips his finger deep inside me and pressing against my soft walls that weep for his touch. Drawing his finger back out, he runs his tongue over his finger, cleaning me off him before bringing his mouth down to mine, owning my tongue in a hungry, starved race against time. Inching my feet up, I’ve decided I’ve had enough of playtime and now I need him. I push down the waist of his shorts until they have slid down his legs, his cock throbbing against me. Gently I rub myself over his length and he lets out a predatory growl before pulling back and slamming into me in one tight thrust. Arching my chest into him, I raise my nipples to his mouth and he hooks his bulky arm around the arch of my back, pulling me to his mouth, sucking each of my nipples into his mouth. I peer down at him as his cock moves in and out of me, pleasuring me, fucking me raw. Bringing my mouth down to his where our world’s clash and the fire ignites deep in my belly, I moan, “Yes,” as the fire begins to reach a higher Fahrenheit. He slams into me one more time, hitting deep inside me and igniting the explosion as we both lose ourselves in each other. Dropping onto his chest, my chest rises and falls as I attempt to bring my body down from yet another orgasm. I flip onto my side and he pulls me into him, the sweat from our love making sliding between us. “Sleep, baby. Everything is going to be all that you ever wanted from here on out.” I smile, closing my eyes with his words floating in my brains and his body

flush against my back as sleep takes hold. “This doesn’t fit like it used to!” I complain to Layla, who’s standing next to me in the mirror. She laughs, pulling down the bottom of the vest. “It will, give it time.” “Time?” I mock. “Layla, Israel is three this Thursday… THREE! I’ve had three years to lose these hips.” “The hips are hot, you’re a smoking hot mama. Your tummy is as flat as mine and you’ve had a kid, stop whining and zip up the damn patch.” After successfully zipping up my property patch, I shove my boots over my skinny jeans and take one more look in the mirror. “I look like a whore.” Layla laughs, wrapping her arms around me. “I love that you cuss more now.” Shoving her away, I laugh as I pick up my phone and push it into my pocket. Walking out the clubhouse bathroom, we make our way to the bar where all the men are sitting around with Israel and Garret sitting beside Beast drawing pictures. “Hey,” I say, walking up to the table. Beast smiles, bringing his eyes up to mine slowly and when he sees me, his eyes pause and run over my body slowly, devouring me with a simple stare. I continue walking toward them taking a seat on the other side of Issy. “Hey baby, whatcha drawing?” I ask, leaning onto the table. She smiles, handing me the picture and her little eyes warm my heart. She has Beast’s dark hair with my blue eyes and my dimples. She’s the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen. Garret is older now, nine going on eighteen, but he takes care of her like she was his little sister. Looking down at the picture, it’s filled with one big colorful scribble across the top of the page. “Is that a rainbow?” I ask, and she nods her head with a smile. I look back down to it and see a stick figure standing in front with another little stick figure on top of the shoulders of the big stick figure and my eyes well up in tears. Looking back to her, I run my finger down her milky skin, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Is this you and Daddy?” I whisper to her, bringing my face down to hers. Her face beams up as her eyes fill with love and admiration for her father, her hero, her very own and very first love. Nodding her head, she leans into Beast, her tiny little body looking more like the body of a baby and not like the body of a three-year-old because of her father’s size. Wiping the tears that have fallen down my cheeks, I nod my head, bringing

my eyes up to Beast. “I remember drawing a picture when I was four. It had to be about our dad and something that reminded us of them, how they made us feel,” I whisper. Beast whispers into Israel’s ear, and nudges his head to Garret as he takes her hand in his and walks her out to the playground we had built at the back of the compound where we have the bonfires. “I remember drawing the picture, not knowing, just by following the instructions that the teacher had given me. When she saw it, her hand flew to her mouth and she dropped the paper onto the floor. I wondered what I’d done wrong. I didn’t know that what I’d done was wrong.” I look to him, my face now covered in tears, his eyes strained in stress and his jaw ticking under the pressure he’s placing on it. “I remember wishing I had a father that would take me out for ice creams and make me laugh. I remember wishing I had a father like you, Beast. One that would carry me on his shoulders and love me unconditionally.” He pulls me up and places me on his knee. “Baby, I will always be that man to Issy, to all of our children that we may or may not have.” “Not,” I add in there quickly. My labor was horrendously long. I do not plan on having another. “But I’m that man for you, too. I’ll be all that and more for you, babe. Forever, I’m not going anywhere.” He pulls a little box out of his pocket and I gasp out in shock as he flips it open. “I know you know that this patch means more to me than a wedding, but I want to have you every way that I can. Wife, girlfriend, partner, Old Lady, I want it all. I need every bit of you, Meadow. I need you to consume me forever. Will you marry me?” I nod my head, running my thumb across his cheek. “Of course, yes, yes, I’ll marry you.” Having this patch meant more to me, but being his wife also means a lot to me. There’s not a status in this world that you could put on Beast and me that would justify our love. “You already consume me, Beast. You already own every single piece of me and I’d love to be your wife.” He picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist as he nibbles in the crook of my neck. “You’re more than my everything, Meadow. You’re my all.” He places his hand in mine, putting me back down to my feet and leading me outside the clubhouse. I laugh pulling him into me. “What are you doing?” He smiles, looking down to me. “You’ll see.” We get to the garage and he unlocks the lock, pulling the garage doors open displaying a white Harley Davidson with flecks of glitter through the paintwork. Gasping out in shock, a

scream escapes my mouth as my feet leap up off the pavement. “Is this mine?” I asked excitedly, looking at Beast. He laughs, nodding his head and handing me the keys. “Yeah, baby. You’re my angel in the night, these are your wings.” I smile as he pulls me into him again, bringing his lips down to my ear. “Would you look at that,” he growls, nipping my ear. “Beauty tamed the Beast.” And then I wake up, a smile spreading across my face.

Two Months Ago As I watched my son being dragged out of the room, my heart bled for him. The son I never had the pleasure of getting to know, and I know it was all my fault. It was my fault his life had been one big blood bath. No child should have had to be put through it all like he did. But I had no choice. They kept me locked in a room, feeding me false hope that my son was happy and safe. The night he and Hella broke out, I found out that he’d been one of the recruited soldiers or Agent 316 as they recognized him here. The Army liked to use demonology to assign each soldier or agent a number, so when they were sent out on a hit, they were only called by that number. I never knew that Agent 316 was my son—my big precious boy that I pushed out and held in my arms until my lights went out and my blood ran cold. I thought I was dead, and when I woke after they resuscitated me and knew that my boy had been taken, I wished I was dead. It didn’t take them long to work out who I was, or what I was majoring in at school. I was somewhat a science genius in school and all through life. Science always fascinated me. The fact that simple science equations could do so much intrigued me as a child and that stayed with me right up until I was a teenager. They told me that he’d gone to a good home like I was promised but that they needed something from me or they would take him back and make him wish he was never born. Of course, I complied. As much as adoption may be a nasty word to some people, I’d done what I needed to do at the time. What I thought was the right thing to do because I trusted the wrong people. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I glanced at the table where Kurr had fallen. Pushing off the floor, I stepped over to him and shoved the knife I was holding into his chest, sinking it in deeper until his blood was smitten all over my hand. His roar of screams sounded out, bouncing off the walls of the empty room and I smiled down at him. “You won’t make it out alive, Kurr.” A throaty laugh escaped his blood ridden lips as he propped himself onto his elbows and spat out a chunk of bloody saliva. “Why do you think I kept him alive, Courtney? All those years ago? I knew what he held inside of himself, and I knew that the anger from his past would mold him into the perfect killing machine we needed. The Schyronide that you created only benefited him. The side effect of memory loss was fucking perfect. So when you told us that, and we got you to increase the dosage of Typermiene, the drug that enforces the memory loss, you had no idea the impact you were having on him. Of course, it worked in our favor, I was right,” he answered, his eyes dropping to a glare. “He was the perfect killing machine. Genetically enhanced, keeping his humanity at bay, not

that he came with much anyway but he was perfect.” “I’ve heard enough,” I demanded, wiping his blood off the blade before lodging it deep into his stomach. I was pulling it out when the ground began to shake under my feet and everything turned black. It could have been moments, or hours later that my sticky eyes opened, my ears assaulted by a high pitched ringing sound, causing me to reach out and clasp my hands down onto them. Focusing my eyes, I couldn’t see two feet ahead of me, there was nothing but thick smoke and debris that filled the air like a sudden event of mass destruction. Shifting up off my back, I pressed myself against a wall until my back hit it and brought my eyes to the spot where Kurr was, to see it was covered in rubble, stiff concrete plates sitting there with wires and metal sticks standing out. It would take search and rescue months to discover his body and even then, I doubted they would be able to identify who it was. Smoke began to fill my lungs, my hands flew up and covered my mouth, masking out the fumes as I slowly pulled myself up from my spot. Happiness and hope began to fill me as I thought of how I could now make up for old time with Beast, maybe get to know him. What he liked, what he doesn’t like. Whether he slept on his side like his father did all night without even flinching, or whether he hated it when people ate loudly like I do. Little things that I wanted to know about him, try to find similarities between us. With a smile stretched on my face, I pushed myself off the wall as images of him flashed before my eyes. Only for it to all come crashing down when Kurr pushed me back down onto the floor. With blood dripping all over his hands and his shirt, I looked up to his face to find half of it burnt to a crisp, covered in black, showing edges of red with how deep the burns went. My eyebrows drew together as all the hopes I wished for came crashing to a halt. “Thought you were going to get out alive didn’t you? Don’t worry,” he said, kneeling down to my face. “I plan to build exactly where I ended, and do you know who the first person will be on my list?” he asked, his lips barely moving and his eyes dark with evil. “Your son. And by all means, I will raise so much hell in his life and his club’s life, that you will be able to feel my wrath from hell!” He brought his fist up that held a machete and brought it straight down to my neck—my world and hopes going black for the final time of my existence.

Check out Author Anne Malcom Out of the Ashes: Sons of Templar MC #3 Click here to purchase Living a life in darkness causes the soul to char to ash. Battling demons by turning himself into a monster is the only way he can survive...the only way he can keep a grip on sanity. That grip is precarious at best, every day is a silent battle with demons that threaten to yank him into the truest form of darkness, the abyss he’ll never escape. Then it happens. Light shines through the cracks. Happiness. Mia Spencer’s life is full of it. She has an amazing new job, friends, family, and the light of her life - her daughter Lexie. Running from the demons of the past, escaping a hell that she vowed Lexie would never know about, she worked through hardship and near poverty to create something she was proud of. Buried deep inside, underneath the swell of love she had for her only daughter, were the fractured pieces of her. Pieces that were smashed and battered when she was young and vulnerable. Then she meets Bull, who seems to hate her on sight. He screams danger, from his huge physique, to his beautiful ink, to the motorcycle club he belongs to. He is silent, his glares threaten to burn her into flames, yet she finds herself falling for him. Finds this broken man slowly fixing the pieces she thought would stay shattered forever.

Check out Author Addison Jane Blizzard (The Brotherhood Journals) Click here to purchase For Blizzard, the feeling of betrayal was one he knew well. His father was a long-time member of the Brothers by Blood MC. He believed the brotherhood came first, even before his wife and child. At first Blizzard didn't even blame his mother for walking out on them. That was until he learned that she’d hooked up with a member of another MC, leaving him behind to deal with the aftermath. He never thought he would feel that kind of pain again, swearing that his back would never again see the blade of another knife. That was until Rose came along, tempting him, drawing him in and then leaving him on the sidewalk, fighting for his life as she walked away with the enemy. Rose had spent her whole life wondering where she’d come from. Her mother had always kept that information to herself, taking it with her to the grave. She was determined to know her history and her father but soon found it wasn't the reunion she’d hoped for. She may have escaped the hands of a madman, but the family she’d been left with still didn't fill the void she had inside. Rose had made many mistakes, hurting people who cared for her and destroying herself in the process. She was heading down a dark road and returning to the town where she lost herself—and her heart—was never part of the plan. When given the opportunity for redemption and with nothing left to lose she was about to throw herself back into hell. But karma against her, this time there might not be anyone coming to her rescue. They say time heals all wounds, but time is running out. Could you forgive and forget if it meant the difference between life and death?

Check out Author KE Osborn Heart of Steel: A Satan’s Savages MC Novel #1 Click here to purchase My name is Steel. A Marauder Japanese Steel Knife is my weapon of choice. I'm a hard-core, callous, biker in the Satan's Savages MC. I wasn't meant to fall for someone like her. My name is Willow. I'm a kindergarten teacher. I'm kind and gentle, but I'm sick of living the simple life. I need something different. She is sassy. He is cocky. They are drawn together by fate. But together they could lose it all. Willow isn't meant for my world. So when she's thrust into it, can she accept who I am? Will my brothers welcome her as a part of the brotherhood? Or will I have to protect her from the brothers I've grown to love? Can Willow penetrate my heart of steel?



Breaking Benjiman “Dance with the Devil” Marilyn Manson “Sweet Dreams” Delinquent Habits “Return of the Tres” N.E.R.D “She Wants to Move” Bone Thugs in Harmony “Notorious Thugs”

Thank you for reading One Hundred and Thirty-Six Scars. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you again to all my beautiful readers, thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. You all inspire me to keep going—thank you. Goodreads Links Click on the links below to add to your TBR list.

Perilous Love – Sinful Souls MC Series Book One Intricate Love – Sinful Souls MC Series Book Two Tainted Love – Sinful Souls MC Series Book Three Losing Traction – Westbeach Series Book One One Hundred and Thirty-Six Scars – The Devil’s Own Book One Amazon Links Perilous Love – Sinful Souls MC Series Book One Intricate Love – Sinful Souls MC Series Book Two Tainted Love – Sinful Souls MC Series Book Three Losing Traction – Westbeach Series Book One Website

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Amo is a full-time writer from New Zealand who loves long romantic walks to the wine cellar. When she's not creating magic, you can usually find her relaxing in front of the television watching the latest episode of Supernatural or Vikings. (This will be updated as she finds new television shows with hot actors.) She's the proud mother of four little critters who are the reason she breathes, but also the reason she drinks. She's the wife-to-be to the love of her life. She says wife-to-be because she scares him a little, and he still hasn't decided whether he wants to wed her or not. Such an exciting relationship. She loves meeting new people and believes the world needs more kindness. Gas Arc out!