Ride or Die - Terri E. Laine

RIDE OR DIE

TERRI E. LAINE

CONTENTS Ride or Die Copyright Page Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Epilogue A Thank You about stalk other books by Terri E. Laine

RIDE OR DIE

TERRI E. LAINE

RIDE OR DIE First Edition Copyright 2017 Terri E. Laine This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. The scanning, uploading and distribution of the book via the Internet or via any other means without permission is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchased only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support for the author’s rights is appreciated. For information address to SDTEL Books. All rights reserved.

This book is dedicated to the fans.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost a humongous thank you to all my readers for taking a chance on me. There are millions of books to read and you chose mine. That’s HUGE to me. And without you, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to share all the stories that are in my head. So Thank You again. Many THANKS go to Nina Grinstead at Social Butterfly PR. She is the best. And thanks to all the people at Social Butterfly PR, Jenn, Shannon, Candi, Heather and Hillary. To my beta readers, who deserve my upmost appreciation. Their input for project is invaluable and made this book better by leaps and bounds. So Thank You: Kelly, Emily, Samantha and Ashley. You ladies are the absolute ROCK! A huge thank you to Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear for designing a stunning cover that compliments the series perfectly. And to Wander for the gorgeous photography. To my awesome writing partner, Annie Hargrove, thank you for being the best friend and business partner!!! Finally, I want to thank Emily from Lawrence Editing.

1

Swiping left to right with a rag on the table vaguely had her considering slitting

her own throat. Hell, the same motion could be used for both. And wasn’t that fucked up on so many levels that she’d even made that association? What she really needed was a life. A deep voice broke the silence just as she shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Call it a night, Pipe,” Kings commanded from the bar. “Get your ass home and safe.” She glanced around to find she was the only one left besides Kings. There would be no arguing with the big man that she still had a few more tables to clean. Although she preferred to earn her night’s pay in full with no future favors owed, she kept quiet. Instead, she strolled over to the man himself where he stood with folded arms and a bald head. Mentally, she made the connection between him and Mr. Clean from the bathroom cleaner commercials, though he was a darker and more formidable version. And yeah, he wasn’t the friendliest version of that guy either. She tossed the rag she’d been using in a bin hidden behind the massive counter that spanned one wall. With one word, “Night,” she pushed out of the ‘For Customers Only’ front entrance and into the cool night with a two-finger salute from her temple to the heavens. She had no fear of reprisals by her bold action. For unknown reasons, Kings always wanted her to use that door. She’d learned not to ask why because she would never get an answer out of him. Outside the sports bar establishment, the chill in the air had her rubbing her arms for warmth. She glanced down at her zebra outfit, tight striped T-shirt with plunging neckline paired with micro shorts. It was the uniform of an almost stripper. She sighed inwardly and was just glad her shift was over. Casting her eyes to the curb and back down the street, she decided to lean back on the cool exterior wall because the bus hadn’t arrived yet. And frankly, she wasn’t keen on hanging at the occupied bus stand. Automatically, she drew out a pack of cigarettes from her purse, the one Kings had conveniently placed on the bar top on her way out. She’d snagged it without so much as a backward glance. So went their odd father-daughter relationship that

held no blood ties between them. She had just maneuvered the cross body strap of the small bag over her head when a raspy voice hit her in her left ear. “Need a light?” Whipping around sharply, she faced a stranger. And because it was New York and in the middle of the night, her hand automatically went to the weapon she kept hidden inside her purse. Just as her fingers brushed metal, she stopped. Lo and behold, on the surface the guy didn’t appear at all to be homeless, a drug addict or a mugger. Nope. In front of her stood a customer she clearly remembered from earlier. He was the memorable sort in a tall, broody, and ruggedly handsome way. Yet, there was something dark in his eyes, cruel even. Instincts dictated she should run as fast as she could. However, with little fear left in her, she tapped out a cigarette and placed the filter end between her lips and waited. His eyes never left her, daring her to do something. And that something turned out to be a flare of heat, the sexual kind, to traverse down her body. And wasn’t that a first? Never before had she immediately had a visceral reaction to a man and fantasized about banging him. And the fantasy only grew more intense with their glare off. He lifted a metal lighter he’d plucked from his pocket. With a quick thumb action, the flame was born. With his other hand, he blocked a nonexistent wind away as the fire burned next to the business end of her lifeline. She sucked in a breath, lighting a spark between them. Surprising herself, she ended up being the first to turn away from his intriguing eyes. Instead, her interest honed in on the glimpse of something, maybe letters that were marked on each of his fingers. She’d wondered about those big hands of his when she’d served him in the bar. However, too fast they were gone before she could figure out just what they said. She pushed off the wall using the leverage from her bent knee. It didn’t matter that she felt an instant attraction to this guy. Either he was a creeper because he’d left the bar over an hour earlier, or there was no place for him to hang out, to accidently bump into her just when her shift was over. Or it could be worse. He could have targeted her specifically because of who she was and not what she looked like. Meeting his gaze once again, the corner of his cheek lifted to reveal a bad boy smirk. She was familiar enough with those. Even though she was struck by him, she wasn’t stupid. It didn’t matter that she was astonished to find him hot, especially when he sported a lumberjack beard, something she’d never found remotely attractive before. Nor did it matter that he had a fuckload of ink down the sleeves of his arms and metal bolts in his eyebrow and ear, the combination of which made him kind of beautiful in a dangerous way. Instead, she ignored him while she inhaled and filled herself with patience and calm. Something she needed in waves.

“You really should give up the cancer sticks.” His words seemed a bit hypocritical for a guy with a lighter. Then again, she had no idea why he had one. And it had appeared fancy from the quick glance she got of it. She drew in another lungful of mellow and enjoyed every second of the reprieve she felt from it. He, on the other hand, popped what looked like a stick of gum in his own mouth. As she watched him, hedonistic thoughts continued to play out in her mind, like how he could use his mouth on her. When his grin grew dark, she knew it was time to go. To bring him back to earth and herself too, she blew a steady stream of secondhand smoke in his face. “Thanks for the light, but fuck off.” He may have been God’s gift to women, but she knew better than to mess with a guy who looked like that. She made her way to the street to the cover of the bus shack for all the rejects like her who couldn’t afford a car or other nonessential things in life. She half expected him to follow her or at the very least have a fuck you, bitch thrown back her way. She was used to insults from guys she wouldn’t give the time of day. But he said nothing. That gave her pause and almost had her turning to see over her shoulder what he did do. Instead, she kept her eyes forward and waited for the bus. The stand was covered in graffiti and smelled of piss and vomit. She stood and nonverbally mingled with the two other people near her. One appeared to be a permanent resident for the night. He clutched the handle of a beat-up bag with one hand, and in the other, a well-worn blanket that covered him. The second participant in their weird three’s company was a girl who obviously had a rough night. Smeared makeup streaked down her face toward a torn pink satin camisole and short skirt she wore. Tear-stained makeup didn’t hide the hard stare the girl gave her in return. If Piper had been anywhere else, she might have asked the girl if she was okay despite her stiff posture. But this was New York. And as it was, she kept a clutched hand on her purse near her nose. Periodically she traded it with the other hand that held her cigarette. The maneuver was to try and keep the smells of the onion man from making her gag as he slept soundly on the bench. She didn’t even think of how the latest resident of the street probably hadn’t bathed in weeks if not years, because she was a paycheck away from becoming his neighbor. Shit was hard in the big city, and her problems weren’t any bigger or smaller than those in the very space she occupied. Just as the bus pulled up, she heard a rumble off in the distance that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a two-wheeled ride. As the don’t cry for me girl entered the bus, Piper waited while her heart sank. Too many months ago, she’d been mired in plans for a wedding. Not a huge one, but a modest one with family and friends. Her fiancé had big dreams that were big enough for the both of them. Until one day, he’d left with friends on his motorcycle. His Hog. His baby. And

never came home. And shit had only gotten worse from there. Two steps on the bus and a school teacher like scold came from a voice slightly above her head. “No smoking on the bus, miss.” She glanced up at the tired driver, who looked like the rest of the few bedraggled passengers wishing they were anywhere but where they were. She wanted to be snarky and correct his use of the term miss. She wasn’t a lady. She wasn’t anybody. Instead, she sucked in another heaving breath and tossed the half used cigarette behind her toward the curb. As she watched the flame die, she quickly agonized on how dumb that action was. And not just because she’d added to the litter of the city. She couldn’t afford to be so cavalier with the few thrills life had to offer her. And smoking wasn’t a cheap habit. Reticently, she chucked it as a loss as she made her way to a seat. The hot guy she’d tried to ignore had thrown her off her game. Why hadn’t he responded to her rude brush-off? She sat in one of the many empty rows of seats halfway between hell and nowhere. The time was late and even in the city that didn’t sleep, most were in bed at this hour. She couldn’t help but turn and glance toward the bar when the lights went out inside the metal cage. The view crystallized through the window to reveal that the sexy guy was gone. Thoughts of a carnal one-night stand with a stranger to help forget all her hurts were gone, along with him. When was the last time she’d given her body over to another? Weeks, months, years…she couldn’t remember. She wondered if her shit still worked or was it like riding a bike? Fuck…that thought sent her mind spinning to a place she didn’t want to go. Her hand absently lifted to her mouth only to find it empty of that pleasure. She needed a smoke. “Hey, lady, do you have some change?” She glanced up to see a guy with floppy hair that covered one eye. His shifty hands covered by fingerless gloves in the middle of a cool but summer night was her first tip-off. He held one out in front of her, palm up, sure of his request. When his visible single eye locked onto her gaze, it was wild with prospects of the few hours remaining of darkness. She turned away as she shook her head no and hoped he would leave. Instead, he shocked the shit out of her and pushed her over from her aisle seat to the window one, to sit next to her. What the fuck? “See,” he said under his breath. “You look like a girl that just got off work waiting tables. And I think you have some tips you’d like to share.” His voice was gritty, like smoking had finally done its toll on his voice box. Stupidly, he brandished a knife, holding it low so that neither the few passengers, nor the bus driver would see what he was up to. “Not tonight,” she whispered more to herself. And with an eye roll to show just how her night had turned to crap, she deftly snagged the meth head’s wrist. She twisted and heard a satisfying pop before she angled the knife hard and down into

the plastic seat between his legs. “Fuck, lady,” the guy yelped and gripped his wrist. After a quick glance around to see if anyone was paying attention, which they weren’t, she caught his wide eyes staring at his family jewels, which she’d nearly severed. “Take that as a lesson. Beware of stranger danger.” He only blinked at her before returning his focus downward. Good, he wasn’t going to cry out; probably because of the drugs coursing through his brain, and not because he was smart enough not to. She stood and fluidly sprang over the seat in front of her. After she landed, she moved to the aisle and easily hit the button for the next stop. She’d have a bit of a walk, but the bus was turning out not to be the easy ride home she’d hoped for. She didn’t have to hold on to the pole very long before the bus shuddered to a stop. She stepped off with no comment from the meth head. His shocked eyes had still been glued between his legs at her last glance in his direction. As the bus took off, her attention moved toward the rumble that stopped not ten feet beside her. To her side, the gorgeous stranger from earlier, sat astride an all-black Harley. Crap. Her mind shifted through events of the past and what she might have done wrong. Dumbstruck by his appearance, she stopped in her tracks. She could only wish he were just a random stalker. Despite the Danger alarm going off in her head, she couldn’t help but drink in the sight of him. His eyes were midnight blue, she guessed, based on the twinkle created by the halogen lights from above. His mouth seemed grim, but she couldn’t be sure with the cover of his beard. Worse, she noticed for the first time, a leather vest that covered a black tee that stretched over his broad chest. And wasn’t that bad news? She cursed inwardly and ran through her options. She could flee the scene, but she had a feeling she’d already been made. This most definitely wasn’t a causal meeting or a chance of fate. “We need to talk.” And damn him if that sexy rasp in his voice didn’t flood her core with moisture. “I think I was pretty clear with the fuck off earlier. If I’d known you were a creepy stalker, I would have added an or die to the end of my sentence,” she snarked in defense, while she gripped her purse one-handed. Fleetingly, she wondered if she had enough time to brandish her weapon. She watched in fascination as his mouth curled into a wicked but broad smile. He released the handlebars of his bike and easily kicked the stand with such fluidity, one knew he was more than a casual rider. He was off it and in front of her in two long strides. She knew better. She needed to get the fuck away. If only her feet hadn’t found a place to root beneath her. Screw it. She’d hold her ground. She wasn’t fragile or without expertise in self-defense. “It’s about your mom.”

2

There weren’t many words he could have said that would have flummoxed her.

But his were cruel and made her insides run cold. “My mom is dead,” she deadpanned, while trying to think her way past this situation. She half turned from him, prepared to walk away. Thankfully, it hadn’t been about business. Not that it was about pleasure either. Still, she’d lowered her internal danger level. He wasn’t the threat he could have been. “Your real mom.” Turning steely eyes on him did nothing but show just how pissed off she was. The mother she’d buried was her real mom. Her biological mother, whom he was obviously referring to, wasn’t worth the stains on the sidewalk, let alone a trip all the way from California for someone to find her. It was too late to rein in her quick temper, which would be her undoing one day. She did a one-eighty, wielding a hand with her small but weighty purse. She wanted to coldclock him and stalk away. Unfortunately for her, he’d silently moved closer and easily caught her hand in mid-strike. His eyes were hard when he shook his head. “Not a good idea, Piper, or whatever you’re calling yourself these days.” Her eyes narrowed, because she was sure as shit she hadn’t ever seen him before. Yet he knew her name and that she’d been adopted. What else did he know about her? Most likely a lot, an inner voice yelled. And even though she hadn’t seen the back of his vest, she was pretty certain of the crew he ran with. His grip didn’t hurt, but it held fast. And for the longest moment, they glared at each other, waiting while at a standoff. He steered her arm downward in a nonlethal direction. Was he that stupid? A quick ram up with a fisted hand and she could do some of the damage the meth addict had feared. Unfortunately, he wasn’t that clueless. He held on to her and seemed to know what position her other arm was in without even looking. He broke the silence first. In a cold and sterile tone, he said, “Like I said, we need to talk.” “I don’t know who the fuck you are. And I don’t have a real mom,” she drawled

with a fuck you sneer. “My mom is in the ground, God rest her soul, and anyone claiming otherwise can go to hell.” They were so close; she could see his eyes crinkle at the corner. The chime of chains at his side only reminded her that tall and handsome wasn’t a lumberjack, but a dangerous someone she needed to get away from. “You’re definitely Tricks’s daughter.” The chuckle in his voice reverberated from somewhere deep in his chest. And oh what a solid chest he had because, damn it, her free hand had placed itself right there in the middle. Time was up on this little game, and she was about to show him just who she really was. She’d been too close, indecisively locked on a decision-making tree with the stranger. She pushed off with one hand and yanked her other one free, giving up the pretense he ever had her under his control. “You can tell this Tricks to take a flying leap to hell or whatever rock she crawled out from under. You have the wrong girl.” She whirled around, needing to get away from him. He was everything she didn’t need in her life and everything that turned her on. But damn him, he snagged her arm and swung her back so fast, she had no choice but to collide with his chest. As if in slow motion he pulled something from his pocket. Her instincts flared as she calculated her next move. She stilled when he proffered a folded picture…of her. There was no mistaking her likeness. It was from a time when she was still happy and young. Some might have called it carefree. And damn, the thing had the bent marks and worn edges of something that had been handled far too much. And who the hell had pictures anymore? Everything was electronic. But there it was. He let go of her arm, having forced her into submission by using the past. “I like your hair long,” he said while fingering her short locks that came just below her ear. “Don’t get me wrong, blue suits you, but I would have loved to twist a handful of your hair and fuck you senseless.” And wasn’t that screwed up that her mind joined his in the possibilities? She should have first been reminded why her hair, a mixture of black and blue, symbolized a lot of things she tried to ignore. She stepped back. “You must be stupid to think I’d ever let you touch me.” And really, was that the conversation she was going to have with this guy? He knew shit about her, her past, and had a freaking picture. It was time to go. She would have to leave everything and just disappear. A growl of a laugh preceded his next words. “Oh, sweetheart, I can tell by your rapid breaths you wish I’d fuck you.” “Fuck off.” It was a dumb retort but her automatic catch phrase. However, it was time she took her own advice. His legs were long, but she was banking on him not wanting to leave his precious ride unguarded seeing that he hadn’t locked it or anything in his move to get to her earlier. “Don’t bother running, Pipe.” Hell, he’d read her mind. And why had he used the shortened version of her name? No one called her Pipe but Kings. “I’ll find you

just like I did tonight. And you won’t like me angry. You won’t like it at all.” Reminiscent of a movie line or not, she still shuddered as his words drifted to her as if spoken in her ear. However, her legs hadn’t failed her when she called them into service. She didn’t stop at his warning. She had to move. She had no idea how she’d been found. But he seemed awfully confident about finding her again. She had to assume he’d know her next move. She couldn’t contact Kings or one of the girls she halfway called friend. So instead, she ducked down into the subway tunnel and headed to the one place she didn’t think he would find her.

3

W hen she arrived at the apartment door, it hadn’t been a simple task to get

there. First, she had to pick a backdoor lock with the tools she always kept on her. Up a back stairway three flights, down a drab hallway, and she made it to a door where she swiftly rapped twice. There was a muffled voice before the door opened. She breezed right by the guy who had answered it and found herself once again in freeze mode. What she saw was a tiny girl sitting comfortably on Chris’s couch. A moment passed when everyone seemed to be assessing everyone else in the room. She glanced over the pixie girl with golden hair, heart-shaped face, and boobs that seemed to pop out of her tight shirt. In return, the girl gauged her with hooded eyes. Piper knew what the girl saw, skinny, lacking in every department where the other girl excelled. “Chris, who’s this girl?” the pixie said in an unmistakable New York accent. Piper held up her hand to stop the girl’s accusations. “I’m not his girlfriend or anything.” Then she turned a pleading gaze at Chris. “But I really need to talk to you.” She paused before adding, “Like right now.” Chris measured Piper’s words against the expression on her face. In turn, Piper tried to send him a bat signal with her eyes and gave him a semi pout with her mouth. He sighed heavily, the weight of which wasn’t lost on her. “You’re not going to choose her over me, are you, Chris?” the pixie whined, also picking up the meaning of Chris’s sigh. When he gave Piper a final glance before he made his decision, she did all she could to convey wordlessly that this was something that couldn’t wait. And that she was sorry for interrupting his evening. “Carmel, I’ll call you tomorrow.” Carmel. Who the hell called their kid Carmel? It was just all kinds of wrong. The five-foot, well-tanned nothing stood. Her buttery yellow dress barely covered all her important parts. Piper waited for the pixie to hold her hand out for payment of services rendered or not, but all the girl did was do a better job of pouting than Piper had and the pixie had the lips for it. “Don’t bother.” And the word bother was dragged out in a way only a New

Yorker could do justice. “Carmel, don’t be like that.” “I hope she can give head like I can.” And with that, Chris groaned and closed the door behind his date or hooker or whatever she was. He spun around and growled his frustration. “What the hell, Piper? I was going to get laid tonight.” You would think by the way he said it that offers like that were few and far between. But Chris was comfortably cute. She guessed though with his profession, he might be a recluse and destined only for online relationships. She felt bad because he was clearly sporting a wood. She did a double take at the sight. The hard-on that strained to get out looked deceptively large. Could it be a sock in his jeans? She shook her head and placed her gaze firmly north of the border. She didn’t usually mix business with pleasure, but tonight was clearly a night of firsts. And without her emergency stash, she didn’t have ready payment for the services she would ask of him. He pushed back locks of hair that were weeks late on a much needed trim, while he waited for her answer. Turning on the charm, she closed the short distance between them in her best sultry stride. She almost stumbled, but Chris caught her. She played it off by turning to face him and cupped his impressive package with a well-placed hand. Part curiosity and part offer. And damn it all to hell. Who knew nerds like Chris would have cocks larger than the average Joe? He didn’t have elephantiasis of the penis or anything, but he was definitely packing. “Fuck,” Chris cursed before removing her hand. She pouted like a five-year-old with her bottom lip poked out because damn was he turning her down. Although it was a bit of relief, it also was so not an ego booster. “As much as I would love to,” he said while shaking his head as if clearing his thoughts, “you came here and interrupted my date with what has to be something important.” “Damn, turned down. I really must look like shit.” She strode over to his couch and plopped into the spot vacated by the pixie. She inspected her boobs when she said, “I guess my girls don’t compare to Carmel Corn.” He dropped next to her on the couch and said nothing about the nickname she gave for the eye candy who’d left. Instead, quiet Chris did something she didn’t expect. His hand cupped one of her breasts as if weighing it. “No…they’re good.” She playfully slapped his hand away with a laugh. “You had your chance and you blew it.” He groaned. “Don’t say blew.” She laughed again. “I’m sorry. But I could take care of that for you.” Intrigued by lover boy Chris and half turned on by her earlier encounter with the lumberjack, she considered it. She needed to end her dry spell. She couldn’t afford to be taken off guard by another handsome face in the future. She blinked up and turned smoky eyes to the boy wonder. His lids rapidly

opened and closed before licking his lips. “Well, maybe I still have it.” He groaned again, loud and long before leaning forward and placing his hands on the back of his head. “Who said you lost it?” She didn’t know how to respond. She’d been half joking. “What do you want, Piper, so you can leave, and I can eradicate the blue balls you created?” She turned serious. “I need a favor.” He gave her an expression that was a mix of confusion and incredulity. She filled him in on her current needs. “You know that’s going to cost,” he wagered after hearing her out. “Yeah.” She sighed sheepishly. His eyes narrowed. “You have the funds, right?” “That’s the thing.” She paused and gave him a lingering look. “I’m in a bit of a jam.” She wasn’t sure how his eyes got even smaller as he narrowed them further. “What kind of jam?” “The kind where I can’t go to my apartment, and I need a place to stay tonight.” Her request hung in the air before he finally said, “I only have a one-bedroom apartment, Pipe.” And there it was. The third time tonight someone called her that. It may have seemed like an obvious nickname, but no one had called her that except Kings in a very long time. She was starting to see it as a very bad sign. Going for broke, which she was at the moment if she was being technical, she straddled his lap. “I’ll make it worth your while if you help me out.” Chris had the equipment and who knew, maybe the ability. As rusty as she was, she was sure any guy she’d let have her could probably get her off…or not.

4

She rolled him over to show who exactly was in charge. It was her damn body and

her terms. They had already relieved themselves of their clothes. So nothing stood between them but each of their wills. Would he submit and ride this journey with her or would he fight her for dominance? His hands went for her hips as he bucked once—no, twice—to steer her sex toward his arousal. She bit her lip because, damn it, she wanted him. She rubbed herself up and down his length, coating him with her slippery excitement. “Fuck,” he groaned. She leaned forward and captured his mouth in a kiss. Then she recklessly lifted her hips and held his cock erect so she could enjoy a slow ride down while taking him all in. His neck arched back, exposing his throat. She sucked on his pulse point with fervor like she was some kind of damn vampire. What the hell was wrong with her? All questions of her doing wrong dissolved with the feel of him, fully inside her. She’d wanted him all night. And for that moment she had him. His fingers dug into her hips as her pace increased. She rolled her body to make sure her clit made moan-worthy contact with each pass. She sighed out loud, feeling the tightening in her body. The coils of pleasure wound deep. Just as she was peaking, her eyes slid open. The smell of coffee shattered her sleep. When she had the ability to fully pry her eyes open, she found herself looking at a towel-clad Chris. His chest was broad and glistened with water from a recent shower. Holy crap, Chris was most definitely cute in a nerdy kind of way. But he was sort of a friend. Someone she could count on in a pinch like last night. People like that were few and far between in her life. “Morning, sunshine,” he said. His leer made her hope she hadn’t moaned out loud in her sleep. She glanced away, not wanting to see the truth of that question in his expression. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pour himself a cup of coffee. “Want a cup?” She sat up and clutched the blanket to her chest as if she was showing any skin of consequence. His Darth Vader shirt hid anything she had to offer. And there was something terribly too intimate about wearing his clothes considering what had

been going on in her head. Not that it had been him she’d been dreaming of. The bearded tatted-up guy had unmistakably been her subconscious muse. “No, thanks,” she offered. Drinking a steaming mug of anything at the moment would make things more awkward than they already were. He appeared to laugh to himself, ostensibly confident in his own skin. He also wasn’t remorseful for his state of undress. She guessed she couldn’t blame him for his self-assurance that bordered on cocky. He had the goods to back it up. She stood and almost took his shirt off but thought better of it. She slipped on her shorts and spied the clock on the microwave. It read just past seven in the morning. Her escape plan depended on morning commuters. She needed their vast numbers in order to hide in plain sight. “Mind if I borrow your shirt? I’ll return it with the cash.” Her diversionary tactics last night were just a way of getting him geared up to do the work, not for final payment. Chris apparently wasn’t that hard up. He grunted as she rolled her work shirt and somehow fitted it into her tiny purse. She checked her phone, and it still showed no signs of life. In a no-brainer move, she’d removed the battery earlier. She had no idea if the mysterious stranger had her number, but he seemed to know too much about her that left her uncomfortable. All she needed was for him to be tech-savvy enough to be able to trace her through her phone. Thus, she’d disabled it. With her meager things in hand, she bolted to the door. She didn’t say goodbye, merely waved in his direction. Things had gotten weird last night. And although she didn’t talk to Chris often, she imagined she would be talking to him a lot less once their current business concluded. She lost herself in the crowded sidewalks and brutal subway trains. After she’d exited at her stop, she decided that heading to her apartment from the back would be a bad idea. Yes, it was secluded, but that was the problem. She would have to pick the lock because residents weren’t encouraged to use that door. And who knew if her predator had backup. Last thing she needed was to get caught alone unawares. The lumberjack was big and could easily take her by surprise. He’d proven that much last night. She was good at what she did, but physics was just that. Mass and volume could sometimes trump skill. She headed for the front where the doorman was. She’d chosen the building for that very security measure. Not glancing around, she moved as if unconcerned and unhurried. She avoided looking back as it would only make her stand out in a crowd instead of helping her keep her anonymity. “Miss Baker, nice to see you,” the doorman said with a warm smile. She nodded and continued forward, trying to keep her steps steady. If she’d been spotted, she wouldn’t have much time before she was followed inside either through the front or the back. Once she made it to the bank of two elevators, she rapidly tapped the up button. She kept her face turned opposite the camera that pointed in her direction. She fisted her hands in front of her, out of sight, not wanting to give the recording any hint that she was anxious. When the bell sounded

and the door opened, she counted to two to force herself from bolting inside. Still, she wasn’t home free. She stepped forward, pressing the button for her floor. She kept her head down as she stood as close to the front as possible. The elevators had cameras as well. It was most likely behind her. Damn the shiny metal of the walls. Her reflection would show. Good thing the cameras most likely had grainy video quality at best. When the elevator came to a stop on her floor, she once again maintained an unhurried walk to her door. She practically strolled like a Sunday walker. Unlocking her door, she entered and quickly closed it. Her forehead made contact on the cool surface as she took a few breaths. There wouldn’t be much time for more. She had to plan and prepare what she could take and what she would leave. When she turned around and got a gander at her living room, she stopped dead.

5

A ll kinds of crazy what the fuck, what the hell ran through her mind. “What are

you doing here?” she asked more calmly than she felt. Smirkalious sat on her bluelight special futon. And he wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked righteously pissed. And what the hell was that all about? He was the intruder, not her guest. “I told you that you wouldn’t like me angry.” When he pounced, she retreated on impulse, not out of fear even though the dude was huge. Besides, when she was little, she was told to stay out of the path of moving vehicles. And compared to her, he was an eighteen-wheeler barreling down her path. Enough was enough. She moved as swiftly as he did. Her switchblade was out in seconds and held up to ward him off. “Stay the hell back.” He didn’t move any closer, but he also appeared unafraid. His frown and disdain only punctuated that. “I don’t know why you are in my apartment, but you need to leave,” she spat. His eyes traveled to her shirt. “I don’t think Taylor would be at all happy that you’re wearing another guy’s shirt.” His response had been fast but nothing like she expected. Her gaze took a quick peek south, and it was her mistake. Too late. Lightning fast, he had the knife out of her hand and proceeded to crowd her, wedging her between the door and the wall that shielded her tiny kitchen. The knife disappeared somewhere behind him. That would have worked in her favor had he not pinned her arms above her head. What kind of training did he have? He maneuvered his body so close; she had no recourse with her legs. Whatever he was, he wasn’t your average thug. And wasn’t that a bitch? Worse, sparks lit all over her skin even though his body hadn’t made contact everywhere. She had the urge to lean into him and feel every one of his hard muscles. Shit. She pushed those wayward thoughts back. Just because it was useless to fight at that moment didn’t mean she stayed passive. Chin up, she declared, “Taylor doesn’t own me.” She wasn’t exactly surprised he used Taylor’s name. He’d known everything else. She kicked out a foot, hoping he’d drop his guard even if only for a second. That

would be all she needed to get herself out of this situation. He countered her move by curling a foot around hers, spreading her legs a little farther apart, exposing her a little more. Her core throbbed with unfulfilled need. He had no idea how his dominance created desire in her she thought she’d no longer craved. “He doesn’t own you, huh?” His voice was rough, like the palm of his hand holding her wrist above her head. Defiantly, she shook her head no. Then she switched gears. When unarmed, her playbook dictated rules change. She would need to use whatever was at her disposal to overcome her enemy. She arched her back and rotated her aching center against him. Immediately, as if in tune with her, she felt a response from his hulking frame. She bit her lower lip and angled her head back, changing her expression to one of seduction. “He doesn’t.” She licked her lips and watched his cold eyes grow stormy. He wasn’t reluctant at all, moving a step closer, creating more contact exactly where she needed. Leaning down with his breath at her ear, he said, “I guess that makes you a club whore then.” The comment was a slap. She gritted her teeth and straightened her spine. And damn him. After branding her, he decided to take liberties. The hand that wasn’t holding her arms above her head skimmed up her stomach and up the side of her rib cage, so close to her breasts. Only he didn’t stop to explore, as she expected. Dispassionately, his hand continued over to the neckline of the shirt. With swift action, he yanked down and tore Darth Vader in half. And wasn’t that sad? The sacred pop culture villain had enough to deal with in infamy, only to become rags. Damn Taylor. He and his pals always had each other’s backs, which left her in a tattered shirt exposing her sports bra. The lumberjack stepped back after releasing her wrist. His dead eyes roved her body, and she fought the urge to shiver. “You don’t seem much like Taylor’s type. He’s into girls with big tits. A breast man myself, I prefer them small.” He focused on her bra that held everything close to her chest. “Too bad for you.” Was that a compliment, an insult, a warning, or a threat? The man was a conundrum, leaving her at a loss for a snappy comeback. He went on, filling every space between them with his words. “Now go wash the guy’s stink off you and pack. We leave in fifteen.” Anger went against training, yet there it was again. She couldn’t let the asshole think that she was weak enough to be told what to do. She launched herself at him, planning to drop him like he was hot. She led with a one-two punch, which he easily blocked. She spun to her other side and used an elbow to his gut. He expelled a stream of hissing air when she landed her target. Encouraged, she immediately went for a well-placed foot, aimed lower on his body. However, he hadn’t doubled over from the gut shot, and he blocked her kick aimed for his nuts. On autopilot, she spun again for momentum to land a kick to his solar plexus. Somehow she ended up landing on her back with him above her.

All she could think about while she reeled at the position she found herself in was that she was better than that. As she berated herself, he sneered above her, smashing his weight into her. She tried to breathe and not be so aware of every muscle in his body, including his hard length. Frick and frack, fate crapped all over her day because they freaking fit like jigsaw pieces. Erotic nerve endings lit up inside her like Christmas, and it was July. “We don’t have time for this, darling,” he drawled. “I imagine if you fuck half as well as you fight we could have a good time. But playtime isn’t going to happen. This is business, and you belong to a brother.” There was a hint of a twang when he said the word darling. But there wasn’t time to think about that. His brother reference wasn’t a surprise, nor was he talking about a blood brother or at least the kind that meant shared parents. She’d spied his cut and knew that most of the brothers, or rather club members of his motorcycle club, had military backgrounds. But the way he’d countered her moves meant he’d been more than a foot soldier. She glanced above her head because she couldn’t look into his eyes or his mouth, otherwise she might do something she would regret. Kiss or bite, she wasn’t sure. “Get off me, you asshole!” He chuckled darkly. “I am an ass. And I happen to enjoy wrecking virgin ass. Tell me, did you ever give Taylor your sweet ass to fuck?” There was no hesitation on her part. She ratcheted her head off the floor and into his. It was a vicious blow, and hopefully gave him a mother of a headache in his thick skull. Still, he rolled off her with a groan, and she tried to scramble quickly to her feet. It was a vain attempt, though. He snagged her foot, causing her to fall stomach first. And he was on her again. His head was beside hers on the ground, proving he really wasn’t stupid. “For that, I should test my theory. I’m betting Taylor was just happy to be in your pussy.” She wiggled beneath him, knowing all was lost. Then she did something she should have done before. She relaxed her body, but not in the limp pliable way. More like the dead weight kind. It was a technique used to throw your attacker off balance. But flat as she was, she just didn’t want to give him an easy way to take her if that was his plan. His twang became more pronounced. “As much as I want your sweet ass, it’s not going to happen. So you can get those dirty thoughts out of your pretty head.” “As if,” she countered. His chuckle fanned across her cheek. As he laughed, the reverberation down his body only heightened her awareness of his stiff cock planted at the crevice of her said ass. “Right now, I’m going to get up and you are going to keep your hands and your feet to yourself. This is your last warning.” His pause was long, and all she did was breathe. Then his weight was off her. A quick glance showed that he was out of kicking range. She moved like a panther and

was on her feet while they played the narrow-eyed staring game. “You.” He pointed at her chest. “Shower and pack or I’ll do it for you. Then we are walking out of here, and you’re not going to give me any more trouble.” Her molars ground together because her ego was bruised. She knew she was defeated, at least at the moment. She spun and headed to her bedroom door like a petulant child. He appeared just as she was about to close the door. For a second, she pondered a jabbing retort or a possible move to hurt him where it counted. In the end, she just closed the door in his face. From the other side, she clearly heard what he said next. “I’ve already cased the place and I know you have no exit unless you have a parachute, which you don’t. You also don’t have any red underwear, and that’s just a shame. Fifteen minutes, Pipe, or I’m coming in after you. Let’s not go there.” After turning the lock as her final fuck you, she heard him laugh. They both knew it wouldn’t keep him out. Pissed off more at herself, she stepped back and held her arms straight out in front of her. She mimed shooting him between the eyes with her hand. She even blew the pretend smoking gun before she headed to her bathroom. She wasn’t taking orders. She was biding her time. And if he hadn’t found her gun, shooting him should be the last thing she did before she exited the apartment for good. She did need a shower and that deemed her action not following orders. It was all about good hygiene. She tossed the ruined shirt aside along with her bra and shorts. She turned on the water full blast. There was much meticulous planning to do to come up with something full proof to get herself out of her situation. Running half-cocked was how you got caught. And, she’d been caught once, but not again.

6

O nce he heard the water running, he headed back to the living room to make a

call. She was a total pain in his ass. This job was supposed to be easy, and it had been anything but. As the phone rang in his ear, he wondered why the hell Taylor had gotten involved with this girl. The guy only messed with chicks who cared for nothing more than the name on his patch or whether he preferred a blowjob before the fucking, or as a means for cum catching. This chick didn’t fit any of those boxes. In fact, she was turning out to be a monkey wrench in his life. He knew there was no way Tay would ditch the rest for her. And she didn’t act like she would just be fine with being his old lady while he kept up a stream of side pieces. “You got her,” was the only thing the voice on the other line said. “Yeah.” “Good, when?” “A few days. Got a couple of stops to make.” “Fine. See you by the end of the week.” “Sure thing,” he said, ending the call. He heard the shower stop and braced himself for what would come next. She wasn’t going to come willingly, which meant he’d just have to break her spirit. And that was a damn shame. If only she weren’t such a ball buster, a chick like her could be patch worthy. She was the kind who could have your back and stand by her man. Too bad, only a pussy could handle her, someone outside of the MC. ’Cause no brother would allow her to make him look weak in front of the brotherhood. He wondered just how Taylor was going to handle business when he brought her home. He couldn’t worry too much about that. He had a job to do. And he’d never failed to deliver on an assignment in his former life or his new one. That was what made him good at what he did. Soon enough, she would learn, too. She would have to accept her fate and that there was no getting out of it.Once he heard the water running, he headed back to the living room to make a call. She was a total pain in his ass. This job was

supposed to be easy, and it had been anything but. As the phone rang in his ear, he wondered why the hell Taylor had gotten involved with this girl. The guy only messed with chicks who cared for nothing more than the name on his patch or whether he preferred a blowjob before the fucking, or as a means for cum catching. This chick didn’t fit any of those boxes. In fact, she was turning out to be a monkey wrench in his life. He knew there was no way Tay would ditch the rest for her. And she didn’t act like she would just be fine with being his old lady while he kept up a stream of side pieces. “You got her,” was the only thing the voice on the other line said. “Yeah.” “Good, when?” “A few days. Got a couple of stops to make.” “Fine. See you by the end of the week.” “Sure thing,” he said, ending the call. He heard the shower stop and braced himself for what would come next. She wasn’t going to come willingly, which meant he’d just have to break her spirit. And that was a damn shame. If only she weren’t such a ball buster, a chick like her could be patch worthy. She was the kind who could have your back and stand by her man. Too bad, only a pussy could handle her, someone outside of the MC. ’Cause no brother would allow her to make him look weak in front of the brotherhood. He wondered just how Taylor was going to handle business when he brought her home. He couldn’t worry too much about that. He had a job to do. And he’d never failed to deliver on an assignment in his former life or his new one. That was what made him good at what he did. Soon enough, she would learn, too. She would have to accept her fate and that there was no getting out of it.

7

She stepped over the wig that had kept some of her anonymity and braced her

hands on the edge of the counter. Staring at herself in the mirror, she took in eyes that held the dull lifeless look she thought she’d shaken. Irritated, she pushed wet hair that fell past her shoulders behind her ears and tried to concentrate on how to get out of the mess she was in. There wasn’t a lot of time and she wondered if she should keep up the pretense of short hair or go au naturel. It turned out to be an easy decision. She bent at the knee and squatted to pick up the wig. Her thought was that it might come in handy if he didn’t know her real hair color and length. It may make it easier to lose him in a crowd. With the Conair, she made quick work of drying her hair. It was one of the few times she was happy she didn’t have thick, commercial worthy hair. Despite the length, it didn’t take forever to dry and get the wig back in place. Inwardly, she gave the wig vendor a thumbs-up. It had stayed in place even in the worst of times these past several hours. So she used the seller’s technique to get it secured in place over a skin-tight hair cap that held her real hair in check. Without a clock in the bathroom, she had no idea how much time had passed. However, she had to make time for her next task. On her knees, she opened the cabinet under the sink. There wasn’t much there but a few bottles of cleaner and a box of tampons. She plucked them out one by one, and then lifted up the false bottom. Underneath, her disassembled gun was still there. She took it and the box of tampons to her room after returning everything to their rightful place. In her room, she headed for her closet and pulled on a fresh bra, underwear, a Tshirt, and jeans. She didn’t have much, but she pulled a trash bag out and started to make several piles on the bed. She packed light, in case she had to two-foot it, putting the bare minimum into a backpack. She frowned at her all black underclothing, thinking about the lumberjack’s comment about her not having red underwear. Annoyed that she was even thinking about the overbearing asshole, she dumped everything else she didn’t pack back into the trash bag. It was unclear if she’d ever return. She hated the idea of the building manager pawing through her things. She

figured he was less likely to go through everything if it was easy to dump. She’d just zipped up the backpack when a knock and a gruff voice had her glancing toward the door. “Time,” was all he said. She hefted the backpack on her shoulder after she knotted up the trash bag and dropped it into the open closet. The only other thing she took was her leather jacket. Although it was summer, there were places where it could get really cold at night. When she opened the door, he was perched a mere step away. He closed his mouth like he had been about to say something. Then he saw her and changed his mind. She glanced away and headed to her living room. It wasn’t a far hike. Her forward progress halted when the weight on her shoulder was tugged in the opposite direction. Then, it was gone. She turned to see him place her bag on the kitchen counter. She stalked over, incensed he was barging in on her privacy once again. Plus, she had things she didn’t want him to find in there. “Who the hell do you think you are?” she raged. So damn close, his smell invaded her nose. Sugar and spice and everything she wanted to hate. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? “I’m alive for a reason,” he said, as if she were dumb for asking. As short as his explanation was, she understood. She would have done the same thing had it been her. When he opened the bag, on cue, her jumbo box of tampons was the first to spill out, taking a tumble across the counter. She held in a smile because that had been by design, and its appearance worked better than she dreamed. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the least bit abashed by the feminine products. Instead, he stuck his hand deep into the opening of the backpack, and she waited for him to find her gun. It was wrapped in a pair of yoga pants she put at the bottom. Offense was the best defense, so she prattled out a curse. “How dare you not trust me? You break in my house, and you treat me like a criminal. I’m being forced against my will to see a woman I don’t know. And you’re busy going through my underwear like some creep show.” His eyes narrowed, but his hand left the bag. She waited for the gun to come out as well. But it didn’t. Either he hadn’t noticed or he was giving her false hope. His too damn kissable lips weren’t thin. So when he licked them before taking a too close for comfort step in her direction, she stepped back. The ideas of his hands on her were imaginative. However, once they were there, she hadn’t imagined them moving down her sides and across her back, slowly and methodically as if he were a cop making a bust. Even as heat burned a flame inside her, the bastard was busy checking her for weapons. Somehow, though, when his hands cupped her ass and spread her legs, it was more than a search. His cupping of her sex while staring her in the eye had nothing to do with safety measures on his part. She didn’t speak. Part of her wanted to spit

in his face. The other wanted to push him down on the floor and fuck the sexual tension out of them both. On bended knee, he used both of his hands to glide down her leg and check inside her boots. Then he went back up across her center and down the other leg. She could have kneed him in the jaw. So why didn’t she? “Needed an excuse to cop a feel?” she sneered as he got to his feet. When he stood again, he was oh so close that she could smell the mint on his breath. “Don’t flatter yourself, darling. There isn’t anything you have I haven’t seen before. I just don’t want a knife or bullet in my back.” “Then I suggest you walk away. Because first chance I get, I’ll do what I have to do to protect myself.” He glanced from her eyes to her mouth and back. What the hell was that all about? “I don’t expect less from you, Pipe.” The easy way he backed up annoyed her to no end. “I don’t get it. What does Tricks mean to you that you’re doing this?” she asked. His eyes dipped down and eased up her body as if he were assessing her. She’d folded her arms across her chest and poised on the ball of one other foot as if she were about to spring. “It isn’t her. The boss wants you there. You’re there. You should know that.” “So why does he want me to see her?” she tossed back. His posture on the surface appeared relaxed, but in the little time she’d known this man, he proved ready for anything. “I didn’t think you cared about your mother.” “I don’t,” she retorted. “What I care is that I’m being forced to go see her against my will. And I want to know why.” His eyes went cold as he stared at her for a long moment before answering. “She’s dying.” The foot that had been ready to spring flatted on the floor. She was surprised by her reaction, but she quickly reasoned it as a reminder of her mom’s, the woman who had raised her, sudden departure from the earth. “What’s wrong with her?” Some of the attitude had fled her voice. She was almost afraid to hear the reason. If nothing else, because the woman shared half her DNA, she might be susceptible to whatever ailment the woman had. “Lung cancer.” His deadpan answer was said with more than finality. Her brain went back to last night when he told her to give up the cancer sticks. Well, fuck. She didn’t say anything more. There was an inequality between them. He knew far too much, and she knew nothing. She didn’t even know his name. However, she wouldn’t ask him. It would give him unnecessary power because there was no way he would tell her. It would be too much of a temptation for him to hold it over her head. That was what she would do if she held all the cards. “Let’s get this show on the road. The sooner I see the woman, the sooner I can

come back home.” He held out a hand, indicating the door. She walked over to the counter and put the tampon box back in her bag. She couldn’t leave that. In the bottom of it was her rolled up emergency stash. That cash was all she had to get away in a situation like the one she was in. Patience was the key, and at the first opening, she would make her escape. It might come down to fucking or fighting for them because their fight would most definitely lead to fucking.

8

The ride down the elevator and out the back door was silent. Piper didn’t ask any

questions, lost in her mind. She wanted to hate the woman who had given her up. But she couldn’t wish death on someone who had given her life. She’d already lost the woman she called Mom to a similar fate. Clearing her head, she took notice of her surroundings. The alley was mostly quiet with muffled noises from the main streets coming from the far ends. The service road with narrow passages wasn’t often used as a cut way for taxis. So they were pretty much alone. She stood with the back door closed behind her, searching for his vehicle. Finally, her eyes landed on where he stood. “No way.” Her head went side to side like a pendulum in case he wasn’t trying to hear her words. “No way in hell I’m riding on that death trap.” She stared at the Harley with contempt. She knew he had it, but didn’t think they would be driving across country on it. She also momentarily wondered how long he’d left it there in the alley, considering crime in the city. But she quickly dismissed that thought. “Surely you have a truck or something stashed somewhere for the drive to California.” He laughed. “No, darling. It’s me, you, and my Hog.” Vigorously, she shook her head. “I’m not doing it. I’ll take a bus or airplane, but I’m not riding on that thing.” He moved over to where she stood perched on the top step leading from the back door. And still he was a half a head taller than her eye level. Damn, he was big. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed that before. But glaring up at him, she was reminded of his giant status. “Here is the thing.” He paused as if making sure he had her attention. “There is no way I’m putting you on a plane, train or bus. You’d never end up where you were supposed to be. You and I both know you’ll run the first chance you get.” He was right. She was already on alert for the first opportunity to part company with him. “Now, you’re going to get on the bike or I’ll put you there.” His words were like the edge of a shovel chiseling down at ice packed snow she’d experienced when she

lived in Boston, hard and determined. Fury welled deep inside her. She hated to be told what to do. And he continued to try and rule over her. Unfortunately, he turned out to be better at being a predator than she was at surviving being prey. She glanced at the bike and all the ugly things it symbolized in her life. She had all but sworn on her mother’s grave she wouldn’t be caught dead on one again. Good thing she hadn’t, because this was looking more like her destiny. “Whatever,” she said and marched down the steps and passed him. She had no other options. She was wanted in California, and he wasn’t going to stop until he got her there. And honestly, this was the most viable option for her leaving. After the terrorist attacks years ago, New York was one place where security remained tight. There would be inaccessible cameras, requirements for identification, etc., that could be used to track her when others were alerted to her departure of the state. She had no choice but to comply with his demand because even renting a car would be problematic. He handed her a helmet that didn’t appear to be protection at all for her head. It resembled a half black bowl turned over with straps. “Give me your bag,” he demanded with an open palm. She hated giving it up and stuck a hand in the front pocket where she’d stashed her ID and tip money from the previous night. She made a show of shoving them into the front of her shirt and into the sports bra while he watched. He seemed utterly fascinated, and she almost considered it a win. However, his constant stare could mean anything, especially paired with his mostly continuous flat facial expression. It didn’t matter because she hadn’t put them there for his appreciation. With nothing between them and the open road while riding his Hog, they were safest there outside of her backpack. And she needed at least some cash and ID on her at all times. Before giving him her pack, she pulled out two other things, her smokes and a lighter. When she handed her bag to him, she thought briefly about her hidden gun. That was something she would need to retrieve soon. He took her pack and stepped over to the bike. While waiting, she tapped out a cigarette. She needed one badly. The blue Bic faithfully lit, and she inhaled. Her eyes rolled closed as she enjoyed her first lungful. Suddenly, the cigarette was gone. Her eyes popped wide to see him once again in her face. Dude had no respect for boundaries, she thought, and almost said it out loud. “Not on my watch,” he growled. He dropped it and ground his black boot in the pavement, obliterating her tiny slice of heaven. Then he did the unthinkable. He snatched the small cellophane package from where she’d temporarily stashed it in her back pocket. With one squeeze, she knew all the rest were reduced to what amounted to ash, as good as they would do her now.

“Asshole! Do you know how much that pack of cigarettes cost me?” His eyes were diamond hard on hers when he took something from his pocket without a glance. A folded bill rose between two of his fingers. Before she could determine the value, boldly he slid it down the V of her shirt and into her bra. He tucked it next to the tips she’d stashed. Then, too slowly, he removed his hand. And she hated herself for missing the loss of his touch when it was gone. Shamelessly, he walked over to his bike as if his hand hadn’t just grazed the top of her breasts with his fingertips. She ground her teeth and was thankful she wasn’t yet addicted to smoking. It was her clutch when she was stressed, but not something she had to do. She wasn’t one for lighting up every five minutes or even taking smoke breaks at work with the other waitresses. When her mental tirade ended, she watched him remove a black and yellow jacket from one of the small saddlebags. Her thoughts shifted gears, giving herself a mental high five that she’d packed light as she watched him replace the vacated spot with her backpack. “You can use this,” he said, holding out the jacket he’d removed. She hadn’t noticed before it was a woman’s jacket. But dangled toward her, it was easy to tell. “No, thanks, I have my own.” She held up her jacket. Hadn’t he noticed her carrying it? Apparently, not. She wanted to add that even if she hadn’t thought to bring her own, she wouldn’t have worn something that clearly belonged to a female close to him. Or so she thought until he carelessly tossed it next to a dumpster like trash. He discarded it with less than a second’s thought or any consideration. She guessed the girl it belonged to wasn’t anyone he particularly cared about. Or maybe he did what he had to do and could afford to buy the woman a replacement. Far too soon, he was next to her with a couple of items in his hand. First, he gave her what looked like a Bluetooth headset that attached to the ear. “We’ll be on the road for a while. It’s been altered so that we can communicate. You’ll be able to tell me if you need to take a break.” Begrudgingly, she hooked it around her ear while she filed away the fact that he’d said it had been altered. That was interesting. Had he done it himself? After completing that task, she took the pair of sunglasses he held out for her. Riding on the open road meant plenty of road dust and other things got kicked up from the ground and bombarded into riders like tiny missiles. She put them on, not even bothering to ask who they belonged to. She didn’t want to know and had no other choice without glasses of her own. When his hands were empty, he finally gave her some room. She took the opportunity to shrug into her jacket. His eyes were liquid heat. Not wanting to appear at all affected by his stare, she placed her hands on her hips. He moved in again and put his hands on either side of her face. She sucked in a breath before she could stop herself. She hated she was so easily affected by their closeness. Instead of leaning down to kiss her, he tucked

stray hairs from her face. Then, he checked the earpiece to make sure it was secure before he snapped the helmet into place. Finally, he adjusted the chinstrap tighter. There was something very sexual about his touch. It was too gentle for a man like him with a propensity for violence. She licked her dry lips while her eyes remained glued to his. His hand came back to her chin where his thumb wiped a line just under her lips. “Stop drooling. I’ve already told you this isn’t going to happen between us.” His comment jerked her back to reality. Annoyed at his cockiness, she pushed him back. He was immovable as a rock, but she did manage to make him voluntarily take one step back. “Jackass,” she yelled. “If you were the last lumberjack on earth and hell froze over, I wouldn’t beg you to cut down a tree for me so I wouldn’t freeze to death.” He let out a short bellowing laugh that ended almost as quickly as it began. “Good,” he said darkly, reapplying his mask of scorn. “Then I won’t have to deal with your constant sexual harassment.” The guy was a fucking head case. She mumbled all kinds of four-letter words but didn’t let them loose. Her curses would only feed his ridicule. Then, for the first time since she’d met him, he turned and gave her a full view of his back. His stupid comments became meaningless. Sometimes seeing was believing. And there on the back of his leather vest was the patch that confirmed her suspicions. A hooded face almost skeletal in appearance with noticeable horns on either side of his head stared back at her. In its hand, it held a sawed-off shotgun. Above the picture was the name Devil’s Edge. All the patches were mostly gray with hints of red to most likely up the fear factor. And the Devil’s Edge MC was something to fear. They were the biggest motorcycle club in the United States with a cutthroat reputation. The bike started on a growl, quickly turning into the rumble that made her skin crawl. She forced herself forward when he glanced back over his shoulder at her. She wouldn’t fear him or his bike. He could ride it to hell for all she cared once she was free of him. Just before she got on the bike, she finally caught sight of what was tattooed on his fingers. Even upside down, The, on one hand, and End on the other were clear as day.

9

L ocking her hands around the lumberjack’s waist had been a measure of control.

His abdomen was solid without any belly fat. If he had been any other guy, she would have liked to explore his taut muscles to see if they were smooth even in the dips and ridges. But he wasn’t any other guy. He was the total jerkoff she was stuck with for the moment. She forced herself to ignore her libido as music flooded her ears. He hadn’t mentioned that trick with the headset, but she was grateful for it. It meant she wouldn’t be in her head for hours. And thank fuck for that, because it was a dark place she didn’t want to be in. With spinning wheels and a churning in her gut, their journey began. The ride out of the city turned out to be slow with traffic that defied logic. Afraid of heights as she was, she was still grateful he’d taken the bridge and not the tunnel. She couldn’t imagine sucking in the exhaust fumes from cars crawling at a snail’s pace in a concrete tube under the river. At least during her death defying experience on the bridge, she’d only breathed low levels of smog. Once they were clear of the city, it was a matter of the open road, a stop for food and a stop for gas in between. And even after hours of riding, she still felt weary of his mode of transportation. She had to get off the bike for longer than a tenminute stop. And the man had yet to leave her sight. At every stop so far, the damn restrooms had been outside where he would wait for her as if she were a child who needed looking after. Dusk neared when she opened her mouth to voice her need to get off his death trap. However, instead of speaking, she sucked in a breath as the bike swerved. She clung onto his waist and braced herself for the fall they were about to take, when he regained control. A steady stream of curse words filled her ear through the gadget clipped there. Before she could relax, the bike picked up speed. She lifted her chin to see over his shoulder and only saw taillights of cars and trucks ahead. She had no idea what had caused their almost accident. When he reined in their speed somewhat, exhaustion hit her like a two-by-four. She let her head fall to the side against his back with no concept of time other than

the ride seemed never ending. She could have said something, but his body felt like a coiled spring under her embrace. More than likely his tension came from their near death encounter. Fatigued as she was, she didn’t feel up to verbally sparring with him. As they continued on, she fought to keep her eyes from drifting closed. And she assumed she’d done a good job until his hand clamped down on hers, jolting her awake. “Pipe, wake up. Hold on, darling, we’re stopping ahead.” She had to be dreaming because he sounded almost civil. That alone had her trying her best to stay awake for that reality. Shortly, the bike veered to the right, down an exit. The fact she’d be off the Harley soon allowed her to think about his propensity for truth. One thing good about him so far was that he proved himself not to be a liar. Darkness was almost fully upon them, which left the rest stop in shadows. There were only two tiny buildings connected by a passageway that were dwarfed by a vast and mostly empty parking lot. Her heart sank, realizing it wasn’t a full-service place with the additional benefits of food and a gas station. There were only restrooms. And she understood why there was only one other vehicle parked there. If she’d been a lone driver, she wouldn’t have stopped there even if it were daytime. The place had all the hallmarks of a backdrop to a horror movie. “Go stretch your legs and take a piss if you have to. This is the last stop I’m making before we get to where we’re going,” he said while tucking his sunglass in his jacket pocket. Briefly she wondered where they were headed—hopefully, a hotel—while she watched him walk away as if he had a mission. The ass hadn’t bothered to wait for her. She guessed at all the other stops he hadn’t been able to relieve himself because he’d been too busy clocking her. With nowhere for her to run, he was finally giving her space. Great. Stiffly, she strode forward, tilting her head side to side, trying to work out some of the kinks from sitting in one position for so long. He’d made it halfway to the structures, when she picked up the pace to catch up with him. She wasn’t scared. In fact, she loved the legendary horror movie villain, Jason Voorhees. However, she just had no desire to be in a real installment of Friday the 13th. She’d watched those movies to laugh at the dumb girls who wandered in the dark alone or called out when danger was near. Never had she been even slightly afraid while watching. Unfamiliar with the fear factor, she focused on her real emotion. She was pissed. A whole day had gone by with no way out from under the thumb of the lumberjack. And here she was again. She followed in his wake because there was nothing else to do. Annoyingly, when she caught up to him, he pointed in the direction of the overhead sign with a geometric-shaped woman, as if she were illiterate and needed directions. She gritted her teeth, ready to tell him to kiss her where the sun didn’t shine. Only when she glanced back down, he was gone, presumably into the men’s side of

things. She stomped in the women’s bathroom only to become further annoyed. It took her a few tries before she found a stall that actually had some toilet paper. With her business taken care of, she was washing her hands when a loud commotion had her heading for the exit. She didn’t have a weapon, but fearlessly she launched herself into danger. Outside, a guy did the timber thing as if he were cast as a tree, falling out of the doorway of the men’s restroom with a bloody face and swollen eyes. The lumberjack loomed over him as if his job were cutting down the guilty. His eyes were enraged as he prepared to say something. And she guessed why they were really there before he spoke. “Next time you’ll have some courtesy on the road, asshole. It doesn’t just belong to you four-wheeled pussies,” he said before kicking the guy a final time as if he were putting up a fight. He’d been in the zone and hadn’t had a clue she was there until he glanced up. He nearly smiled at her, not giving a rat’s ass she’d seen a part of his dark side. Maybe that little demonstration of his finally drove his point home. He wasn’t one to be fucked with and the sooner she figured it out, the better. She needed to understand just what lived under the surface of his remorseless skin. Maybe then, she’d cut the crap and do what he said. “Done?” he asked her, not wanting to make conversation. He wasn’t in the mood for her mouth unless she wanted to suck him off. Not that it could happen. She was off-limits in more ways than one. And for fuck’s sake, she wasn’t even his type. He liked his women soft to take his mind off his hard life. He also wanted them eager and willing to please. She was everything but. The only thing she had going for her were her small tits, which was why he still couldn’t wrap his mind around Taylor choosing her. Taylor liked big-breasted women, the flashy, Barbie types, real or fake. He, on the other hand, hated that implant bullshit. It was a total turn off for him. Whatever God gave the woman, natural was the way to go. Although, he preferred them small so he could fit the whole thing in his mouth if he wanted. When he focused back on her, Piper stood with narrowed eyes. As if recognizing he was paying attention to her, she showed her ass by not answering him. It wasn’t new. She’d been a world class bitch since the night he’d met her at the bar. Still, he found himself riveted to her as she stalked off toward his bike. Temptation grew in his pants because aggression got his blood pumping. He scrubbed a hand down his face, knowing it wasn’t anything more than her being the only available target. He’d take care of things soon enough, so down, boy, he thought. When he mounted his ride, he didn’t wait on her, like holding out his fucking hand. He just softly hissed when her arms came around him, and his cock jumped back to life in his pants. He needed to fuck, just not her. He breathed in and out as he brought the engine to life and focused on the task ahead. There was a time and place for everything, so he would wait. A car came down the exit, heading in their direction, and his mind shifted from

sex to business. He didn’t rush to leave, however. He hoped the four-wheeled fucker was found and told his story. The bastard had cut them off dangerously close. Had he been a less experienced rider…he didn’t want to think about it. Some of his brothers over the years had died in stupid accidents like that. He finally drove off with no worries about cops coming after him for assault and battery. The guy had been breathing when he left him and would have one kickass headache or concussion when he came to. And there was no way the guy could ID him without reasonable doubt. The lumberjack had made sure to put on his sunglasses and gloves before he commenced with the ass kicking. For the first time, Piper’s voice drifted in his ear through the headset, almost making him jump out of his skin. “Is that guy going to be okay?” Her question surprised him. She didn’t seem the sensitive type. And everything he knew about her said she was just as cold as he was in some respects. “I left him breathing,” was his only response. She didn’t ask any other questions, just nodded against his back. He too said nothing. There was work to do, and he needed to get in the right frame of mind. His next stop was one of the easier ones he had to make on the return journey ahead. But one never knew the shit you could encounter even with friendlies. So he hit cruising speed and cleared his head for about a dozen miles before he finally reached their exit. Once off the highway, the scenery turned rural with nothing but a two-lane road free of overhead lights. Nothing was ahead, but dense grass and sparse trees that led to a small town in Ohio. He had to admire the location. Club business was on the menu for the night. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long. However, the hairs rose on the back of his neck, giving him a bad feeling. He pulled down a lane surrounded by tall trees. When he broke through to a clearing, a flat roof building sat alone dead center. There was nothing special about it, rust in color with two blacked out picture windows on either side of a double metal door. It looked much like a long lost industrial structure. The long line of Harleys in a perfect row out front was what gave the place character. It was clear they were in MC territory. If someone was stupid not to figure that out, the Devil’s Edge crest on the door gave it away. He angled his bike facing the way he’d come before he parked it, just like the other bikes. It would be easier that way if he had to leave in a hurry. You could never be too careful. Before the engine died, Piper hopped off without being asked. He held out his hand for the earpiece and sunglasses and without a fuss she handed them over. His eyes narrowed. “Make this easier on both of us and don’t try anything. They may be a charter, but they aren’t our club.” “You mean your club,” she sneered. He ignored her tone because hitting a woman was wrong, or so he tried to tell himself. He opened up a saddlebag, pulled out her pack, and reached underneath. She watched, hoping he wouldn’t search her stuff or lock it up. He plucked out

something that was buried underneath and held it up to her while pushing her pack back inside. “No way,” she said. Her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something bad. “I’m not wearing that.” He blinked as weariness overcame him. Until her, he hadn’t been used to his orders not being followed the first time he issued them. He was exhausted from the long drive, and she was trying his patience. He shook out his hand when he realized he’d fisted it. Breathe, he told himself. With eerie calm, he said, “It will make things easier.” Although there was only the floodlight over the door, he saw the stubbornness in her jaw, and he shrugged. “Your problem.” Her sharp tongue finally made an appearance, making him wonder again why hitting women was bad. “My problem is wearing something that’s not true. I don’t belong to anyone.” His jaw was tight, but he managed to say, “Whatever you say, darling.” He pushed the cut back into the saddlebag along with her sunglasses and earpiece. Outwardly, he may have seemed cool, but he was holding back his true feelings on the subject. It wasn’t the time. He snagged her bicep and dragged her toward the door. He opened it and watched while they became the main attraction.

10

The

interior favored the outside façade, nothing really special. There was a hodgepodge of mismatched, used furniture all around. The only thing that looked like it belonged was the bar area in the middle. A medley of leather and metal stools surrounded it, with opposite back hallways that led somewhere on either side. There was a pool table to one side of the bar and a couple of tables with a pinball machine on the other. Leather sofas, in varying colors, lined the walls on all sides. There were faces of varying age and gender. The only things that united them were the cuts and colors. Those without, were fair game, per club rule. Time apparently stopped when the chime over the door signaled. Everyone inside was ready for friend or foe, with hands no doubt on weapons. As the bikers faced them, Piper decided badass or not, the numbers were against them. A booming call was sent toward the right hallway as if they’d been expected. Meanwhile, a mammoth of a man parked it in front of the lumberjack. A clasp of hands and a half hug later, she relaxed some. She hadn’t been sure what would go down based on the lumberjack’s earlier contradictory statements. After the man hug, the tension in the club eased as well. A man with a short crop of white hair entered from the right and headed over to greet them by the door. There was an air of respect between the lumberjack and the older man as they traded half hugs and clasped hands. There was definitely more between them than the brotherhood greeting the first guy had gotten. The older man mumbled something in a low voice Piper couldn’t hear. When he stepped back, she caught sight of the President’s patch on the older man’s vest. “Let’s talk in the back,” President said without a glance in Piper’s direction. The lumberjack nodded and stared at her as if she needed a lesson on club politics. He pointed at Piper and called out to the chapter’s president, “She’s property.” She cringed at the term. Her teeth ground together as she fought the instinctual urge to say something snarky. It wasn’t the time to make herself more noticeable, not with a plan forming in her head. The President was only a finger taller than her, but commanded the room with

his voice. “Leave her alone. She’s property. Got it?” Grunts and acquiescence came from all around, and finally everyone went back to doing whatever they had been. “Pet,” the President said. A brunette woman in her early to mid-forties stepped into the light. She’d been submissively standing somewhere behind the guy. “Take care of her.” The woman nodded like she’d be happy to do anything to please the older man, including getting on her knees and sucking off the lumberjack if the President asked her to. “Stay,” the lumberjack commanded to Piper. She rolled her eyes, but the lumberjack had already barreled away, assuming his command would be as eagerly followed just like President’s had been by “Pet.” “Hi, I’m Patrice. Most people call me Pat.” She guessed she heard wrong. The Pres. hadn’t called her Pet, but Pat. She shook the other woman’s offered hand. “I’m Piper.” “Nice to meet you, hon. You look like you could use a drink.” The woman sauntered behind the bar, and Piper parked it on an empty stool. The bar area was oddly empty. Everyone else stood or lounged on the sofas if they weren’t playing pool. One couple was using the pinball machine, but not the way it was intended. Piper’s focus returned back to Pat and finally she replied, “That bad, huh?” “No, hon, it’s just you look tired, long ride I expect.” Piper nodded at the woman’s observation. “You hungry?” That thought hadn’t crossed Piper’s mind until Pat said something. Piper didn’t want to put the woman out, so she only shrugged. Pat dipped down and came up with a longneck she placed right in front of Piper. “I think they’re going to be a while. I’ll go and see if I can make you and your man a sandwich. I’m sure he’s hungry too.” “He’s not my man,” Piper corrected real quick. “Oh, I assumed…” Piper shook her head, keeping her trap shut. Pat seemed like a nice woman and didn’t deserve any of her wrath nor her disgust at the idea of being property. She was sure Pat loved being “owned” as she wore her man’s cut proudly. “Sorry.” “No worries,” Piper managed to croak out. “I’m going to search out the kitchen.” “No rush. Can I use the restroom?” Pat pointed to the left with a finger tipped with bright, blood red nail polish. It felt ominous to Piper like she should stay put. “Sure thing, hon. It’s down that hallway. Third door on your right.” Piper watched Pat head through a door directly behind the bar before she casually walked in the direction Pat had pointed her. No one stopped Piper or paid

any attention. With one word, the President had made her escape easy as pie. Fate finally had her back as the dimly lit hallway ended with an exit door. She couldn’t have planned things better. With a single glance over her shoulder, she stepped out into the night. To the left, she walked onto the gravel driveway. Each step ground under her foot and made her glance around to see if anyone heard her. It was interesting how she hadn’t noticed the crunching sound of the rocks when they first arrived. But no one was outside the clubhouse. She was safe. Once she made it to the lumberjack’s bike, she glanced at the blacked out windows in the front of the building. She doubted anyone could see out of them. Based on when they’d entered, no one had known of their approach. Quickly, she opened the unlocked saddlebag, putting the cut that had once been hers on the seat while she scooped out her backpack. In a rush, she stuffed the leather vest back in and closed the top. Fleetingly, she longed for a smoke, not that she was jonesing for one. The aroma of the bar held undercurrents of tobacco, and that reminded her of things lost. She ignored the urge and took off for places unknown. Knowing what he was likely to do once he realized she was missing, she didn’t head in the direction they’d come. That would be the first place he’d look. So she headed toward the back. It looked deserted, but she had her Glock G19 and her phone she could reassemble in a pint if she needed to navigate directions. She jogged, wanting to put as much distance between her and the clubhouse as she could. The need to conserve energy for the long haul had her holding back from an all out run. The only problem with her plan was that she was too busy listening to her inner thoughts and her rapid heartbeat and missed the sounds of movement ahead.

11

“L ook what we have here.”

Before she could react, meaty arms locked around her from behind. A wiry guy stood in front of her with a tall, lanky guy behind him. Only three, she mentally calculated. The odds weren’t good, but they didn’t appear more than common thieves. She didn’t allow herself to believe that she would succumb to their dirty deeds. She would get herself out of this situation and exact revenge. That goal kept her mind mentally sharp. A second later, she was propelled, stumbling toward the Wiry guy’s grasp. “Fun night for us, boys,” the leader called out. The smell of weed wafted from the trio, which gave her greater hope for successfully getting away. Oily hair hung just above Wiry guy’s brows. His eyes filled with evil intent as he shoved her hard. She went down, unable to stop the momentum. She hit the solid compact earth with a back jarring thud and lost her breath for a second. That was all it took. One moment of vulnerability and her hands were stretched above her head by Meaty guy. Her legs were pulled taut by who she assumed was Lanky guy, because Wiry asshole got in her face. Hands she soon planned to sever groped her breasts, and she was never happier about her constricting sports bra. She pushed back thoughts of revulsion. That could come later if she allowed it. It was important for her to remain focused if she wanted to get out of this before anything happened. “Kind of small, aren’t ya. No matter.” To his pals, Wiry guy added, “Flip her over.” He rose up from his crouched position as she was rolled face down, forced to eat tuffs of crab grass. Still held by either end, she played her role and made mewling sounds that would, hopefully, help her soon. Her only chance with the odds stacked against her was for them to assume her helpless. “Aw, baby, we’re going to make this good for you.” The other two continued to let Wiry guy speak for them, and that was going to cost them. Plus, there was the whole we thing that solidified that they were, in fact, a team

in matters like that. Clearly, it wasn’t the first time for them to coordinate efforts in their little makeshift rodeo. It only made her more determined to make them pay in the worst way. Rough hands came underneath her and undid the button of her jeans. Then hands coarsely tugged the tight material down over her hips and ended up taking her boy shorts with them. Damn tight material. In unison, as Wiry guy pulled her hips up, the hands at her ankles allowed for the forward progress of her legs. She ended up on her knees, with her chest flat on the ground. She felt a stubby cock as the asshole rubbed himself against her ass. She bucked like a bull, continuing the role of damsel in distress. She would have to end this soon, but she needed one more thing. Wiry guy cackled, “Damn if you don’t feel good.” “Assholes, I’m not one of your club whores.” She gave them one more out before a kill decision was made. “If you ain’t here by invitation, then you’re trespassing. You know what they say about trespassers.” She continued to struggle, which worked into her plan either way. Too compliant and they might be more on guard. Wiry guy’s hands slid from her hips as he continued to press himself against her, but not yet probing her entrance. He lifted her up some more in order to push up her shirt all the way and free her breasts from her bra. His mistake. One she hadn’t counted on, but would very well use in her favor. “Fuck, man, she was hiding something from us. Check out her tits.” Meaty guy above dropped his head for a peek. And she made her move. Thrusting her head upward, she slammed the back of her skull into his chin. She felt a spray of wetness in her hair just as Meaty guy grunted and released one of her wrists. Without pause, she cocked her freed arm back and used her elbow to hit something hard behind her. Caught off guard, Wiry asshole rolled off of her from the force of her jab. She twisted around, but Lanky guy still held her ankles. She jackknifed her body and kicked out at the guy with her feet and yanked her other hand free from Meaty guy all at the same time. Before she could get away, Wiry asshole scrambled to his feet and began to lunge at her. He probably meant to do a rendition of a WWF body slam. Instead, out of nowhere a fist connected with the right side of his body, sending him wind milling back toward the ground. Lanky guy found his neck in the clutches of someone’s hand. And a gun trained itself at a large target behind her head. She rose on her elbows to get a better look at her savior. The moon spotlighted the lumberjack’s face. It held no emotions like he didn’t care about what had been about to happen. “Fuck, Ender, we were just messing around with this whore. She weren’t invited, her words not mine. And that makes her fair game. You know the rules.” Wiry guy held his face while dark liquid leaked between his fingers. And she wondered at his IQ considering his grammar was subpar.

“She isn’t a whore.” The man they called Ender’s words were said with clinical detachment, but she was more interested that the lumberjack had a name. “But she ain’t got no—” Wiry guy tried to say, but was cut off by Ender. “Even if she were a whore, we don’t rape women. You know this. I should kill you just for that.” The guy did a version of a fish speak, opening and closing his mouth only drawing in air. “But you should know she’s Rocky’s.” Those few words had everybody silent. The only noise was the harsh breaths of those around her. He hadn’t used Taylor’s name as it wouldn’t mean shit to anyone. But the club road name Rocky apparently held power. And wasn’t that something she needed to ponder. Wiry guy looked like he’d shitted in his pants and still had diarrhea. His face was pinched, and he waved his hands side to side. “Fuck, man, we didn’t know. We didn’t know,” he repeated a few times. “Get the fuck in the clubhouse. I’ll deal with you guys later.” “But we—” Wiry guy protested. “Get. The. Fuck. Gone,” Ender commanded. With shuffling feet, the three guys high-tailed it out of there like the grim reaper was on their heels. Alone, she pondered the lumberjack’s road name. Ender, as they’d called him, stared down at her with menace still obscuring his handsome features. In the darkness, the moonlight continued to rain upon him, only bringing a shine to his disgust. He didn’t hold out a hand to help her up, not that she would have taken it. He did put his gun away while she scrambled to get to her feet the best she could with the state of her clothes. When she’d put her hand down on the ground to get up, she touched something hard and plastic. Her ID. She dully remembered storing that and her tips in her bra early that morning. She waved a hand around in the grass and came up with some bills. It was too dark to tell if she’d gotten it all, but she shoved what she found in her pocket. Then, she stood and faced him. He was so damn close it took her by surprise. Big hands brushed dirt from her face and dusted grass from her hair. His sudden tenderness threw her off. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, sounding as if he cared. Momentarily mesmerized by his words, she nodded. “Don’t you worry, darling, I will make them pay for daring to touch you.” Not knowing how to handle him sounding all protective like she was his, she slapped his hands away. She was fine. Never once had she really thought she was in any real danger from those fools. She hadn’t needed Ender. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her. She could damn well take care of herself. “I had it handled. I didn’t need your help,” she spat as she tried to get her breasts back into solitary confinement. Though secretly, she admitted to herself things had been close and he’d save her. She didn’t want to like the overbearing prick for that, but how could she not. He didn’t respond, but the way his eyes narrowed and his kissable lips pinched,

she knew he was all but saying I highly doubt that. Screw him, she thought. His eyes trained on her size Ds, which got her hands moving faster. She shoved her mom’s curse back into the expensive sports bra, meant for runners who didn’t want a black eye from a boob in the face as they high-stepped into the wind. She yanked down her shirt and half jumped as she tugged up her jeans and underwear. She never let her gaze stray from his face. He watched her movements like a hunter, and she wished like hell she knew what he was thinking. Once she was all put away, all his sweetness minutes ago had been wiped away as if it’d never been. His frosty gaze returned to her face. He tossed her something he pulled from his shoulder. Her reflexes were quick enough to catch it despite the night that surrounded them. “Put it on.” His voice matched the temperature in the air. She’d been grateful once again that she’d thought to bring her jacket. However, what was in his hand turned out to be the leather vest she’d refused to wear. He didn’t say it, but she knew had she worn it, none of that shit would have happened. And she might have gotten away. She didn’t comply. Instead, with all the dignity she could muster, she got moving. She kept her head held high and moved in the direction of the clubhouse with the knowledge she’d failed. She’d never once been in a situation like this on the losing end of things. She had no idea how to be graceful about it. So it was best she said nothing and didn’t look at the guy. Just as she got within touching distance of the side door, she was jerked around by her backpack. She spun and ended up like the sticky end of flypaper against the wall. A raging lion with something to prove stood in front of her. She thought about the letters that formed words on his three middle fingers of each hand. The End. And his club name was Ender. She didn’t have to guess at his position. He was proving himself the competent Enforcer or as the club called it, Sergeant at Arms. Guys in his position were there to dole out punishment around the club, keeping everyone in line. And didn’t that just make her plan to get away a lot harder. Crowding her personal space, he growled. “You have to be one stupid bitch.” She’d created a clusterfuck he would have to answer for. And he was on the edge of losing it. “Put on the cut.” She looked like she tasted something foul, but roughly put it on anyway. When she kept quiet, he patted her head and said, “Attagirl.” She slapped his hand away, and he waited for her to strike. He wanted a reason to roughen her up. But she’d learned a thing or two and kept her hands to herself. Too bad. He stared into her fearless eyes and said, “Didn’t I tell you I would always find you?”

12

His anger was a palpable thing, rolling off him in waves of heat. Something in his

eyes told Piper he was considering ending her. And maybe the proof was in the vise like grip his hand had around her neck as he gently squeezed. “You are a pain I can remove.” The eyes locked on her were dead things, dark and unfathomable. “It would be easy enough to kill you and blame one of our enemies for it. Rocky trusts me. He’d believe whatever I told him.” Hadn’t she already decided he wasn’t a liar? She also didn’t think he did much bluffing in his line of work. She modulated her breathing as best as she could as he continued to constrict her airways. She did the only thing she could do. In his arrogance, he’d left her a vulnerable opening to exploit. She grabbed him in between his legs and did her own squeezing. The fucker only grinned in a twisted psychotic way. “Go ahead, darling, I enjoy a little pain.” She tried to suck in a breath as his length hardened in response to her assault. She couldn’t let go, though. It was her only play. Once again, they were at a stalemate. His cruelty was written in his expression. Something pure and evil lurked there, and she wondered what kind of lunatic had been sent to fetch her. The dangerous and sexy kind, the devil in her mind whispered. She mentally shot down her crazy line of thoughts. As he continued to slowly cut off her air, she began feeling lightheaded. There was no way she could afford to pass out. What would he do to her? His beard tickled her face as he leaned in to whisper to her. “I’ll tell you one thing.” A strangled pause followed. “I understand now why Taylor was into you.” His hand shoved up her shirt and under the bra like it didn’t exist. He adjusted her boob in the bra as she hadn’t fully gotten herself put to rights while he’d watched earlier. When he maneuvered under the tight material, he squeezed her in a way that not only caused immediate pain, but also felt like possession. “Fuck you,” she rasped with what little breath she had left. “Yeah, I know you want me to. Your eyes are dilated and a little glassy.” His lips brushed against her cheek as he faced her nose to nose. She shivered slightly by the contact. “And what do you know? Taylor’s girl gets off on pain and breath play.”

She wanted to fuck him and kill him all at the same time. Weakness crawled out to her limbs, leaving her with little juice to fight. She used the last of her strength to twist his impressive cock. His eyes went heavy, and his lips parted like he was close to an orgasm. His words were heady. She felt them like a lightning strike to her center. “I suggest you let go unless you want to finish what you started, conscious or not.” She jerked her hand free because blackness that had nothing to do with the dark night crept across the edges of her vision. She’d lost this round and didn’t want to be his spoils of war. Amazingly, a second later, he too, let go. She bent, bracing her hands on her legs as she heaved in great amounts of oxygen. She wanted to slide down the wall and sit for a while to regain her breath. Having other ideas, he pushed her flat against the wall with a hand to the center of her chest. He proceeded to sort the rest of her clothes, easily getting her breasts back into place, and finished by straightening her top. It was all kinds of nice and bipolar of him. He needed meds for his brand of crazy. He’d almost killed her and threatened to molest her. And, oh joy, she was faint and therefore couldn’t protest his handling. She only managed to cough and search for the air she’d lost. “After we put your bag back, we are going inside. You’re going to be a good girl and sit where I tell you to sit, until it’s time to go.” Great, the big bad wolf was back and decided to go back to telling her what to do. She said nothing because she couldn’t yet. Her biggest regret was that she hadn’t been smart enough to take out her gun before she’d gone traipsing toward the back of the club, in her failed escape attempt. And she wanted the lumberjack dead for outsmarting her at every move. Slowly, she walked as she recovered and watched him nonchalantly lock her backpack in the saddlebag without checking to see if she followed his orders. She was so screwed. When they walked into the club, no one paid attention to their entrance. The atmosphere had changed inside. All around, sounds and smells of sex had become the predominant activity. A blonde sat with crossed legs and seemed to brighten at Ender’s approach. With his hand on Piper’s shoulder, he guided her to the stool in front of the longneck Pat had gotten her earlier. She felt bad about that. The woman was probably ticked she’d been duped into making her food while Piper tried to play jailbreak. She hoped that Pat wouldn’t be unfairly punished for not watching her more closely. The club was warped on how they saw certain transgressions. “I waited right here just like you said,” the blonde directed at Ender, not even glancing at Piper. The woman personified the blond girl joke, sounding as dumb as she looked. That was the thing about club hangers-on. The women just wanted to be with the so-called bad boys and would do anything, including turning a blind eye to another woman. Not that Piper was Ender’s, but it had to look that way to those who didn’t know. Even Pat had thought it.

Ender bent down and said something in the woman’s ear to make her giggle. Piper turned away and wrapped two fingers around the beer, needing to swallow the bile that was heading north from her stomach. As she drank, Piper heard the unmistakable sounds of a zipper. He wouldn’t dare, would he? Okay, so the club members were getting it on all over the place. In searching for a good direction to look, her eyes landed on a sofa that butted up against a hallway wall. A woman was straddling a guy’s lap as he pumped into her while she stretched her head across the couch to suck another guy’s dick. “I don’t do slow, baby.” Ender’s gravelly voice entered Piper’s airspace, changing her focus back to him. The low and husky did all kinds of nuclear meltdown to her core. What the fuck? He wasn’t talking to her. She had to get away. There was no way she was going to sit a seat away from him as he fucked that blond chick. The shenanigans going on were the main reasons why club life had never been for Piper. A hand clamped down on her shoulder. “Don’t move.” Why the hell is he even paying attention to me? Piper wondered. His immovable grip kept her in her seat. She wanted to whip around and break the beer bottle against his skull. But club life was absolutely bros before hoes unless you married one, and even that sometimes didn’t count. If she acted on her anger, she wouldn’t make it out of the building alive, unless Ender wanted her to. So she ground her molars together and only managed to cause her jaw to ache. The woman next to her sucked in a breath. “You’re so big. And is it true you have a tattoo—” “Quiet, baby.” Piper rolled her eyes about the big comment. The girl obviously wanted Ender to feel like the man. But a tattoo. Did he have a tat on his…? Feminine moans with an edge of pain wafted to Piper like thick smog. It was enough to almost make her gag. “Take it,” Ender grunted. Piper jerked out of his hold and turned around to see Ender standing with his fly undone and the woman’s hand cupping his junk through his jeans. He had a condom wrapper between his teeth about to tear it with his hand as he eyed her. What had the moans been about? As far as she could tell nothing had happened yet. Still, there was no fucking way she would sit there while he fucked someone else because that ultimately made Piper want to hurl. She narrowed her eyes in disgust as he began to laugh, like her reaction was so fucking funny. She stomped off toward the hall she’d used as an escape route earlier. Leaning back against the wall, she covered her eyes, wondering why she was so damn attracted to the asshole. She wanted to castrate him and decided to allow that fantasy to play out in her head. Why had she even thought him sexy before? He was the biggest douche ever to live. Yet, thoughts of a dream starring a lumberjack that night at Chris’s returned.

“Oh my God. Oh my God,” was repeated loud enough she could hear the crescendo of phrases, until it peaked on the woman’s orgasm. She couldn’t be sure it was the same woman with sex happening all around her. “Ender,” came a different voice, not in the least deterred at what was going on. “Got a minute?” The President sure has shit for timing, Ender thought. He pulled out and tucked himself back in his pants. He barely gave Suzie, Suzanne or whatever her name was a second thought. The whole time his mind had been on Piper, who’d bolted. He’d only tried to fuck someone else so he could forget all about his best friend’s old lady. Now he would give chase to his prey of choice and teach her a lesson about tempting him. The blond woman said, “Wait, you didn’t—” Ender did what he always did when it came to club business; he glanced at her and said, “Gotta go, baby. Duty calls.” Finally, he went in search of Piper and found her peaking around a corner. He watched as her eyes sought out his dick, but he’d already tucked himself in. She was jealous and wanted to know if he’d gone ahead and fucked the blonde. He decided she needed another lesson that no meant no. When he reached her, in Piper’s ear, he said, “I expect you to stay put. Otherwise, I’ll let the three guys chase you down and finish what they started.” It was only a threat to keep her safe. He’d say whatever he had to in order to get her to stay put. She didn’t have to know he’d never let that happen. Not again, not like before with someone else. He’d give his own life before he let any harm come to her. And it wasn’t because he was quickly becoming attached to her. She was Rocky’s and that was what the brotherhood did for each other. And that was all it was. She wanted to spit in his face. But embarrassing the guy in front of the club, even if it wasn’t his charter, would only mean bad news for her. Ender would be forced to save face, and she didn’t like the way his mind worked. So she stayed quiet and followed him back to the bar where the blonde still sat pouting. So maybe he hadn’t fucked her? Before he headed to the back to deal with the three cocksuckers who’d tried to take Taylor’s property for a joy ride, he took Piper’s hand and gave her his lesson. “Take care of this for me.” “Should I wait for you?” the blonde asked too eagerly. He didn’t answer. Instead, he watched as Piper realized what he’d given her. Piper took a glance down at what tickled her palm as he walked away. When she saw the empty condom turned inside out in her hand, she glared in his direction. It didn’t matter that it was dry. It was fucking gross and a dickhead move on his part. She hurled the lightweight thing at his retreating form. “Bastard,” she shouted as the harmless thing drifted to the ground not two feet in front of her. A satisfied smirk filled his face, and he didn’t bother to look back. Hopefully,

she finally got the message that he wasn’t interested. Piper watched in disbelief as the blonde scrambled off the stool and picked up the offensive item. The club hanger-on headed to the front door where a large can with black liner sat. She tossed it in and headed away from Piper as if she worried Piper had something contagious. “Piper.” She turned away from the blonde to see the older brunette. “I made you that sandwich. Why don’t you eat it in the kitchen?” Pat asked with a nod in that direction. Ender had told her to stay put. So of course she followed Pat without a second thought. The room behind the bar was quite large. Kitchen cabinets were arranged in an L shape and a school cafeteria worthy table lined the wall closest to the door. Pat sat ladylike, with her back pressed to the table and her legs crossed away from it. She pointed toward the spot where a plate sat stacked with what appeared to be a turkey sandwich. The woman had been nothing but kind, so Piper sat like a fifth grader and stepped over the bench. She perched like a good student and thanked Pat for making her the food. “It looks wonderful. You didn’t have to go through so much trouble. And sorry about ducking out earlier.” Pat shrugged and didn’t address Piper’s outside adventures. “It’s no problem. My kids are grown, and I miss cooking and taking care of them.” The woman was a little worn around the edges and wore a little too much makeup, but she didn’t appear to be old enough to have grown children. And that was a good thing. Piper also guessed if Pat was the President’s old lady, she probably didn’t have to cook. She would be in charge of keeping the other women in line. “Well, thanks anyway.” Piper bit into the sandwich. The bread and meat tasted fresh and not like prepackaged deli meat. She closed her eyes in delight of a slice of heaven after all the hell she’d been through the last day or so. “I know it’s none of my business, but I see things.” Piper had no idea where this conversation was headed, but was weirdly eager to hear what the other woman had to say. “I know you said that Ender wasn’t yours, but that man wants you.” With a mouthful of food, she nearly choked. “No, he doesn’t want me.” Piper hoped the other woman understood her because she’d spoken around a wad of food in a need to set the record straight. “Honey, I’ve seen when the guys around here give women respect because they see that woman as a mother figure like myself or like little sisters. I’ve also seen how they look at women they think are trash. And it’s clear when they’ve fallen for a woman. And I’m not saying Ender is in love, but I can tell he’s wrestling with the idea of wanting you and being unable to have you. Since you belong to someone else, he’s not going to act on it. But, hon, he wants you bad.”

Piper shook her head and continued to eat. She hoped Pat would let that conversation die. “That’s because…” Pat stopped herself. “What?” The woman sighed. “I don’t know anything but what I heard.” Irritation grated her as she spoke. “And what’s that?” Pat shrugged. “They say some bad shit went down a few years back that made him the way he is.” “You aren’t going to tell me?” “Truth is I don’t know more than it had to do with a woman. And I’ve never seen him be with one the way he is with you. Look, I’m not going to push. I don’t know what’s going on between you two. But you might be able to use that to your advantage.” Pat got up, leaving Piper unable to respond. What had happened to Ender? And how could that work in her favor? She ate and thought through all the questions. Pat put a glass of orange juice in front of her. “Thank you,” Piper offered. The woman patted her shoulder then headed to the opposite side of the kitchen. She started to wash dishes, leaving Piper to her own thoughts. The woman had it wrong. Ender was a psycho. And the sooner she could ditch him, the better.

13

E nder didn’t head into Wagon’s office like the first time. He’d done what he’d

come to do. Wagon’s charter had run into some trouble. One of their members was up on charges of gun running. Normally, that kind of thing wasn’t a problem. But the Feds had a witness. Rocky was sure that phones were being tapped because the government was looking for a big fish to fry. So Ender had to come get the details of what the government might have on them and the name of potential witnesses so Rocky could decide what or how the national club would respond. Where he and Wagon went, out the exit opposite the one Piper had taken, was for a new problem that had to be taken care of. And at the thought of her name, his jaw tightened. What the hell was he going to do with her? A blast of wind hit him as the weather took a turn for the worse. He had to get this over with. The last thing he needed was to shack up with Piper at the clubhouse after things went down with the trio of Joy Unlucky Club. They stood with their spines straight and chins in the air with the President around. Clearly, they didn’t understand that his authority usurped even that of a charter President. “What the fuck, Whack?” Wagon directed at the mouthpiece of the trio who’d nearly pissed themselves in Ender’s presence earlier. “Like I said before, we didn’t know the bitch belonged to Rocky.” Irony, Ender thought as he watched Wagon whack the bastard bitch style on the back of the head. The guy ducked for cover a little too late to dodge the blow. Ender had to wonder if that was how the pussy earned his name. Done with the observation, Ender growled, “Don’t call her a bitch.” Whack shrugged. “Sorry. We didn’t know.” To expedite things, Ender decided to take over the Q&A part of the show. The wind was kicking up, and he could smell the coming rain. “Did she tell you who she was?” “Nah,” Whack said. But at the same time, fat boy softly spoke up. “She said she weren’t no club whore.” Whack scolded the fat boy with his eyes. “Shut it, Tiny. You sound like a little bitch.”

As if Tiny could possibly be the most original name for the guy, Ender shook his head. But then it hit him. Tiny did in fact sound like a girl. His voice had been a little too sweet to be as big as he was. So the nickname hadn’t been a play on the guy’s size, but a play on the tiny voice he had. Ender’s gaze sought out Whack because he seemed to be the de facto leader of their group. And that was a problem because Whack wasn’t in charge. The two other numbnuts shouldn’t be looking to him for direction. “She’s just like the rest of them,” the third, a tall thin boy, spoke up, sporting a smug expression. “Shut it,” Whack commanded. Wagon held a hand up. “Bean, speak.” Bean glanced over at Whack. If Wagon didn’t see the dissension in his midst, he had more problems than Ender could help him with. “It ain’t nothin’, Wagon. Just nothin’.” Wagon’s face darkened. For a minute, Ender thought maybe the guy was going to have a heart attack. “Those three missing girls the sheriff came around asking about, did you three dickheads have something to do with that?” Ender ran a hand through his hair as he felt his night had gone from crappy to deeper than shit. “Nah, ain’t got nothin’ to do with that,” Whack said, but Ender watched as the guy’s eyes betrayed him. He glanced at his two companions as if to warn them to keep their mouths shut. Ender chose his target. He armed himself gunslinger style quick and aimed at Tiny’s head before the guy could blink. “Tell us about the girls.” “I,” Tiny stammered. “Don’t say shit, Tiny. He can’t do nothin’. And we know too much about the club. Keep your fat trap shut.” “Wagon, what did the sheriff say?” Ender asked while tension surged among the group. A gust of wind came through, making the leaves rattle all around them, only adding background to the agitated situation. “Three missing girls, each of them found later in shallow graves. There were signs of rape. One of them was as young as sixteen.” Ender wanted to close his eyes, but kept them trained on everything around him as he continued to press the gun barrel harder into Tiny’s cranium. The big guy cowered. “Did you three have anything to do with the three missing girls?” Ender asked a final time. The club didn’t need any more trouble. Before Whack could give another warning, Tiny nodded. “You fuck,” Whack yelled. Then he turned his rage on Wagon and Ender. “What are you gonna do? Call the cops and rat on us? That’s not how it works. We go down, you go down.” Ender eyed Wagon out of respect. There was a code for a reason. The three had broken one of the bylaws. There was enough free pussy no man had to resort to

assault to float their boat. Add to that, the asshole wanted to bring the cops and that could affect all of them with the Feds sniffing around. A nod of agreement and all was decided. Three cracks into the night and the problem was solved. He headed inside, only feeling slightly bad about the outcome of court. Tiny had been somewhat of an innocent, his nickname also being an indicator of the guy’s brain activity. He was most likely a pawn, probably used most of his life by the wrong people. It was a damn shame. “I could have done it,” Wagon said, catching up to him. The phrase was familiar, but it didn’t bother him coming out of the guy’s mouth. “It’s done. It’s best I handled it. This way, your guys can’t see you as a traitor. I’m headed out.” Ender clasped the other guy’s forearm and shook. He walked in the front room only to see the sexcapades were still on. Tired as hell and horny as fuck, he hadn’t found a release with Cindy or whatever the blonde’s name was. Now he was forced to find a motel for him and his target to spend the night in. Wagon offered to put them up for the night, but with the shit that went down with the three assholes, he didn’t think it was a good idea. He didn’t find Piper where he’d left her. That wasn’t a shock either. She was doing her best to push him over the edge and into devil’s country. But he found her with Wagon’s old lady, Pat, who had a sandwich waiting for him along with a cold beer. She was the kind of woman every brother would patch up, one with inner strength, but a desire to please her man. “Thanks, Pat.” “No problem.” Her smile was genuine, and she reminded him of a younger version of his mother. Pretty, but with hard knowledge of life’s bad side that dimmed some of the brightness within. Without being asked, she left him alone with Piper. He had an urge to tell Wagon what a lucky bastard he was. Instead, he focused on the food. Hopefully filling one of his basic needs would take his mind off the other. It took no time to inhale the sandwich. “Let’s go,” he ordered after he finished the last bite. Piper got up, but he spotted a fire in her eyes. He’d lit her fuse and didn’t give a fuck. She had the look of a cornered animal ready to leap. When she got up, he reached a hand out, and she twisted away from him. Good, she was learning. “Don’t touch me.” She seethed. Didn’t he know he couldn’t just come and try to touch her? She didn’t know where his hands had been. She gave him her evil stare and only watched as his eyes twinkled with mischief. “Oh, darling, don’t be jealous. She didn’t mean shit to me.” She faced him, not caring what happened if she took him down in front of his precious club. “If you ever pull some shit like that again, I will cut your balls off.” He didn’t doubt her intention. But he’d gotten the best of her and won. Deciding he wasn’t in the mood to play games anymore, he switched tactics. “As curious as I am to see if you could pull that off, get your ass in gear. Time to go.”

His eyes changed, and she wondered if he had a personality disorder. The guy staring at her, right at the moment, wasn’t one she could fuck with. She fumed as she marched straight for the exit, ignoring all the people banging each other around the room. Only one person noticed them leaving. Pat gave a little wave before the President nipped at her neck, making the woman giggle. And that was when Piper stepped out into the night, oddly a little sad about leaving. Pat had been the first woman since her mother died whom she thought she could trust. There was just something wrong about her life when a stranger reminded her how little in life she had left. Ender followed Piper outside and glanced up. A storm would arrive in about twenty minutes or less. Living on the land growing up had taught him the signs. He had to get a move on. He wished, and not for the first time, he hadn’t gotten her for an assignment. He could have stayed put, if not for her, and found meaning inside that blonde. Instead, he would make a Hail Mary drive for the nearest motel. And the last thing he wanted was Piper’s hands around him. But there it was. He needed a release, and he just wasn’t sure how much restraint he had left in him.

14

W ith

clear non-prescription glasses, he drove away from the Ohio charter. Everything was dark and distant as gravel kicked up under the spinning wheels of the tires. He took the corner low, forcing her to hang on tight and to lean into the turn with him. In fact, the whole ride even after they got on the highway, felt reckless. He unsafely passed cars and hit speeds that freaked her out. They passed several exits with food and lodging to the point where she had no idea where he was going. By the time he did pull off, she was a ball of rage. When the bike came to a stop in the parking lot of a shabby looking motel, she jumped off. After he cut the engine, she yelled, “What the hell was that all about? You could have killed us both!” When he glanced up, as if on cue, the rain tumbled to the earth in sheets. Before he could even snicker, they were both drenched. As the door closed behind them, she started to pull off her wet clothing as the air-conditioned room hit her like an icy blast. She wasn’t thinking about who was in the room with her until she turned to find him watching her. He folded his arms across his chest. “You should shower.” Water dripped off him as much as it did her. He pushed his hair back from his face, and she assessed how his clothes clung to his muscles. He was built like a god. Biceps were a weakness of hers, and he had the Popeye the Sailor kind after the guy ate his spinach. When she’d been caught staring, she said, “You aren’t my father.” He snorted. “I wouldn’t want to be.” And why did his comment piss her the hell off? “Go get cleaned up or…” “Or what?” she demanded. There wasn’t anyone there besides them. She could act and say whatever she wanted. He moved silently and quickly. She ended up off her feet as if she’d levitated. As mad as she was, she wasn’t at all surprised by his reaction. He dumped her in the bathroom and brought her back to reality when his hand caught the hem of her shirt. She batted him away.

“Get out,” she yelled and pointed at the door. Sparks of fire leapt from his eyes. She gritted her teeth and decided she didn’t care. He’d seen it all anyway. Her shirt came off in a soggy heap as she flung it at him. Thankfully, her wig hung fast like it had been duct taped to her head. She was definitely going to log onto the vendor’s website and leave a fabulous review. Next, she peeled off her wet jeans, which proved nearly impossible. She resorted to sitting on the covered toilet seat, which had to be gross, in order to find the leverage to pull them off. He’d just stood there like a peeping Tom with no guilt. Left in her undies, she gave him her back to turn on the water. That task done, she spun around to find him gone. When she moved to close the door, his voice rang out. “Leave it open.” She threw out double bird signs with her fingers and waved them around. She wanted to scream in rage at the injustice of it all. Why her? Why him? How had her life gotten so out of control she was practically kidnapped? Her head shook, jaw clenched. She’d taken off the sports bra when his voice sounded right behind her. “Your bag is out here when you’re ready for it.” She covered her breasts as best as she could and glanced over her shoulder. Her words were sarcastic at best. “Nice of you.” He didn’t move, as if he enjoyed putting her off balance. She stepped into the cold spray with her boy shorts on, only taking them off once she’d closed the curtain. She tossed the sodden underwear on the floor with a splat. When he said nothing, she quickly washed up using the minuscule bar of soap the cheap motel offered. The equally tiny towels were in reach but barely covered her. She couldn’t imagine how they would cover the man in the other room. She flipped on the hair dryer and dried her wig and hopefully her hair underneath. Wrapped up tight in the towel, she stepped out of the bathroom only to find the man sitting in a chair as if waiting for her. She ignored him and opened her bag. The tampon box made yet another appearance, but this time she set it aside. She pulled out a clean sports bra and boy shorts, mirror images of the ones she’d taken off. “Why do you wear sports bras when you have tits like that?” She bit her lip and held back a scathing retort. Fighting with the lumberjack so far had helped her exactly none of the time. “That’s none of your business.” He said nothing else. She also grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank. She didn’t have much, and this would have to do to sleep in. The air conditioning had frozen the room. And she would have preferred to wear the yoga pants. But unless she wanted to reveal her gun, she couldn’t pull them out. She got her other essentials and headed back to the bathroom. When she finally came out dressed, he was still sitting. “Done?” he asked, sounding put out.

She nodded. He stood, all six something of him, and stretched, peeling off his shirt in the process. His muscles went taut, and her mouth ran dry before she started to salivate. He moved toward the bathroom, and she silently thanked the gods. She readjusted her focus back on the pack and the bed. Anywhere but at him as she tried to play it cool. She didn’t want him to read her thoughts about making another run for it. She righted her bag and stuffed her damp undies rolled in a towel in the front pocket. She left out her jeans, which she would have to wear again much to her dismay. She’d pulled the cash and ID from the pocket and stored them back in her pack. She didn’t want to lose them in a hasty escape. Cool metal circled one of her wrists, and she glanced up. “What the hell is this?” she asked, holding up her arm for his inspection. “I want to shower and I can’t trust you.” He stepped forward and snapped the other end of the cuff around one of the wooden spindles of the ancient headboard. “You are a psycho,” she hissed. He gave her a show of his teeth in his version of a smile. Then he headed for the bathroom, and she got a gander of his bare back. For a second, she just stared, baffled by what she saw. There was a headstone with too many tally marks of fives to count in a quick glance. She didn’t have to think outside of the box to know what that meant. Worse, she’d heard about a man with such a tattoo. That man was a legend in her line of work. If she thought she was screwed before, she now understood she was totally fucked. As the water ran in the bathroom, she tugged at the headboard in earnest to get away. Just as the wood began to give, the water in the bathroom turned off. She stilled. Her only option at that point was to continue to act the same as she had before she realized who he was. Otherwise, he would figure out she knew about him. And something told her, her safety was in not knowing. It didn’t matter that his orders were most likely to bring her alive. Self-preservation would always win. The bed dipped precariously under her weight. She felt as though she sat on a barely inflated air mattress. He didn’t come out immediately, giving her time to school her features. The water from the sink tap kicked on, and she continued to wait. When he finally stepped out, dressed in only jeans, she stared at him. The colorful ink on his arms, his smooth chest, and his rock hard abs made desire bloom inside her. It was automatic. The fact that he was a psychopath cooled her off. Or more likely it was the derisive stare he gave her. She got to her feet, mad at the world and frustrated with him. “Who do you think you are?” She tugged at her bonds and damn if the wood didn’t come free. Her momentum carried her stumbling in his direction. She caught herself with a hand on the wall before she fell to the floor or worse in his arms. “I’m not your prisoner and you have no right to look at me like I’m some sort of

freak.” They stood toe to toe. He snagged the loose cuff and held it up. “You are a prisoner as long as you continue to reenact prison breaks.” “I’m only trying to flee from a freak who feels me up and watches me get undressed. I didn’t think you were that hard up.” “I’m not.” And he was dead serious as he said it. Her brow quirked. “Really? Pat seems to think you want me and maybe she’s right.” The noise of her colliding with the wall sounded worse than it felt. In her ear, he said, “If I wanted you, you’d know it.” His hand gripped her thigh right below the hem of her shorts. Her breath caught because, despite it all, she hadn’t been touched in ages. That shit with Chris had gone nowhere fast. “And what’s that I feel? A sock in your pants?” she taunted. “That’s chemistry, darling. Didn’t you have that in high school?” “That’s a whole lot of chemistry for someone who acts like I’m shit beneath his feet.” “You’re just another whore like the rest, a cunt to fill and get pleasure from. You’re just not my cunt. You belong to Taylor.” “Get off me, asshole!” She struck, he countered, she slapped, and he stopped her. They traded blows like that for a while before he rattled her brain with a quick shake and tugged her wrists together at her side. His other hand traveled up and near the seam of her ass but didn’t quite go there. “I’ve told you what I am. I told you what I like.” Then came the click and she glanced down. “What the fuck?” “It’s time to get some sleep, darling. And I told you I can’t trust you.” “And here I thought you were cheap by getting a room with one bed. But you had this all planned out.”

15

He didn’t answer. He walked to the other side of the bed, dragging her along

because they were bound together. He lay down, crossing his arms behind his head. That brought her close to tumbling on top of him. She jerked her arm back, and he allowed it. She stood, and he glared at her long enough she made the unfortunate decision to sit on the floor with all the nasty things a black light might pick up. It was the better choice than be forced to crawl over him to lie down on the other side. Not an option. However, her choice of placement forced him on his side. And he continued to say nothing. Silence had never been a good thing for her. It made her thoughts loud, and she needed to be free of her mind. She’d been Catholic in a former life and hadn’t been to confession in forever, but found that she needed him to know a few things. “I’m not Taylor’s.” She sounded mildly defeated. She was surprised when he responded. “So you say.” “What do you know? Taylor cheated on me.” “I was there.” He was where? She wondered at first. Then it clicked. He was there, there. Her brain went into overdrive, trying to recall a memory she’d tried to bury. And there it was in her head, the scene that changed the course of her life. She recalled all the faces that witnessed her shame. “I don’t remember you.” He let loose a dark chuckle. “I remember you coming in on your righteous horse. Then you fucked Taylor over after having fucked him.” “I fucked him over?” She sounded indignant. “He was with a club whore.” She pulled more on the arm that was bound to hers only for his hand to land on her breast. She quickly batted it away and repositioned their fastened wrists. “What did you expect? He was supposed to be protecting you, not fucking you. You were like seventeen.” “Eighteen,” she corrected, though that was a lie. She just didn’t like how much he knew about her. “Doesn’t matter. That shit wouldn’t go over well. And if he weren’t with anyone,

the guys would have wondered what the hell was going on with him.” “And he couldn’t be a man and admit what I was to him?” she asked. “For what? You left him anyway.” “Why do you even care?” “He’s my best friend.” Well shit, she thought. She’d heard of Taylor’s best friend back then but hadn’t met him. “So you’re going to dole out payback by treating me like shit for this whole trip.” “I’m doing my job and you’re making it harder. You’re trouble, and I don’t want it. You’re like the rest, claiming love, yet wearing some other guy’s shirt. Then refuse to wear the cut you wanted.” “You don’t know me.” She stood and stared down at him. “And because of that, you have no right to judge me.” “I call it like I see it. Walks like a slut, acts like a slut.” “Fuck you.” “You keep getting on my nerves, I just might.” “Yeah, well, maybe when we get home, I’ll tell everyone how you fucked me. There’s some sort of brotherhood code against that, isn’t there?” The next thing she knew she tumbled over and onto the bed. His hand spread her legs, and he made a move to get in between them. “What? Stop!” she cried out. “If I’m going to be accused of something, I might as well have done it.” “You don’t even like me,” she protested while trying to shove him off. “Pussy is pussy and I’m horny as hell. You’ll do if I’m going to pay for it anyway.” “Okay, fine. I won’t say anything.” She might have been crazy and wanted to screw him. But she wasn’t a girl with rape fantasy. Nor was she the kind of girl to accuse an innocent guy of something like that. She wanted a way out and hoped her bluff might have worked. But once again, Ender had one-upped her. Immediately, he got off her and lay back. She tried for more information. “How long have you known Taylor?” “Long enough. Now get some sleep. We leave at first light.” He rolled over, which was awkward because he faced away from her. That left her hand suspended in the air. She rolled away from him as well so both of their hands were in midair. Somehow, despite the awkwardness, sleep claimed her. Groggy, she woke to the feelings and sounds of someone in between her legs. For a second, she’d been surprised that she’d fallen asleep next to a madman. But exhaustion had won after she’d rolled onto her side. All thoughts went for a vacation when sensations crested over her. She arched her back to exert more pressure on her most sensitive nub. A hand found her naked breast to caress, not squeeze. She used her free hand to thread through his thick

hair. The chestnut waves had mocked her the whole trip. Now, she used them to force his head down, giving her more of what she wanted. Her moan was long and loud. She was oh so close but couldn’t get there. Eyes she thought were open popped awake. She was flat on her back and so was Ender. Her hand was under her boy shorts and at her core. His bound hand rested atop hers with no other place to go. Her free hand was on her breast. She stopped her ministrations even though her dream had crossed into subconscious reality. She was close but wondered if the giant was awake and aware of what she was up to. Yet, her need was great. She feared if she stopped, she would jump the first guy who showed her even the slightest attention. Plus, her mind was cloudy, making her see Ender as a sexual fantasy, and that wasn’t an option. After measuring a few of his even breaths, she was certain he slept. She slipped her underwear down just enough so that she could access the spot she needed without his hand being overly jostled and risking more of a chance he’d wake. Hopefully, he was a sound sleeper. Her fingers curled and dipped inside. She was already wet and ready for more. But this had to do. As she moved her joined hand, his fingers brushed her parted thighs as it rested atop hers. That only helped move along the fantasy she conjured in her mind. She pulled at her nipples through the thick material of the bra. The stinging sensation helped her get closer to her end. Her breathing became more ragged despite her tries to keep silent. Things were painfully close when the hand that covered hers began to guide her movements. The heel of his palm pressed down and created more friction on her clit. It didn’t take long into his participation before he sent her cresting over the edge. When she stopped her movements, she waited for him to say or do something cruel. She didn’t move even though she was bare to him below. What did it matter? He’d helped her reach an amazing orgasm. Yet, nothing came. In fact, his breathing remained as even as before she started. Had he unknowingly helped her get off while sleeping? She waited much longer, but he remained still. She pulled up her boy shorts after wiping her fingers on the sheets. There was no other choice. She couldn’t wake him and admit she needed to wash her hands because she’d masturbated. And although his hand had guided hers, excluding the accidental skin brushes, he had only really touched her hand. Through the zone of sexual haze, she checked out his package. He may have been sleeping, but there was a huge bulge in his pants. Could she help him release some pressure? He’d helped her. And maybe if they were both somewhat satisfied, the desire she felt and was sure he did too, might go away. She had to be crazy, but she reached out and touched him. “No.” It sounded more like a growl than anything else. She didn’t have time to analyze it before she was pressed into the mattress with her captured hands on either side of her head.

16

A soft body lay beneath him, and it was her loss. Hadn’t she seen the warning on

his door? Some thought it juvenile, but he considered it fair. It stated to enter at your own risk. His hips shifted, and he found the spot that joined his body with that of the female underneath him. He bucked a few times, making sure she was prepared for what would come next. She smelled just of soap, and he was grateful. He wanted to taste her and not the chemicals that came along with perfumes and shit. His tongue flicked out, and a burst of clean skin filled his senses. A moan egged him on as he latched on and sucked the skin at the base of her neck. He ground his hips into hers and sought to remove the barriers between them. He moved down to find her breasts held prisoner by fabric. He searched for a clasp and came up empty. He shoved up the material out of frustration and captured a nipple in his mouth. Her hips rose and stroked against his shaft. He was harder than he’d ever remembered. The blonde he had last left him wanting what wasn’t his to have. His fingers did the walking while he found her other nipple and gently bit and sucked as she writhed beneath him. He slipped his hand down the front of the pliable material that encased her hips. Thank fuck for that. Her pussy was wet, dripping with need. He pushed two fingers in and found resistance. Damn, she was tight. He would burst if he didn’t get inside her soon. “Ender,” she cried out, wanting him with desperation she didn’t understand. Eyes, black as night in the darkness of the room, opened and found hers. The dream he’d been in turned out to be a reality. And for fuck’s sake, she was way off-limits. He hadn’t consciously crossed the line, he justified to himself. His hand disappeared so fast, she might have thought he’d performed magic. Then he was off her, and she almost begged him to finish until he spoke. “Don’t ever fucking touch me when I’m sleeping.” His voice was so cold, she shivered. “I,” she stammered, prepared to give an explanation. “Never,” he said again. A shaft of light blazed into the room through a slit in the

blinds. She got a good look at his disgust. “I told you before I don’t want you. I don’t want to fuck you. I don’t want you to touch me. Got it?” Shame gripped her like his hand had earlier that day. She began to put her clothes back to rights, trying to gain some dignity as she craved for the calming effects of a cigarette. She pinched her lips closed because his cruelty made her feel dirty. She held the neck of her top to the base of her throat while he quietly lay there. If she’d had a knife, she would have stabbed him in his chest and spat on his face. He was the worst of the worst and deserved the reputation he had. But there had been a moment, when he touched her, she’d forgotten all about the devil within him. But damn him and everything he did to her. He yanked her to her feet and dragged her to the bathroom. He lifted the toilet seat, and she turned her back to him. She closed her burning eyes and had a strong urge to force fingers in her ears so she wouldn’t have to listen to him take a long ass morning piss. And wasn’t that the icing on the cake. Eventually, he cut her loose and gave her privacy in the bathroom to get ready for the day. She spent the time trying to understand how far she’d fallen. He’d nearly broken her. And she had the training to overcome his bullshit. She had to focus and forget the man. She was armed and dangerous, too. She just needed to bide her time. Getting on his bike and being forced to wrap her arms around him was barely tolerable after what almost happened between them. With no other choices available to her at the moment, she did what she had to and silently planned for her escape. The opportunity came late in the day. They made a stop at a full-service rest stop at her request. The place was buzzing with activity. Ender had been relatively quiet and hadn’t hovered like she thought he might. She made her way to the bathroom not only because he couldn’t follow but because she really had to go. When she came out, fortunate for her Ender was otherwise engaged in a conversation with a redhead who wore leather like a second skin. A creeping feeling of jealousy was so out of place she dismissed it. How could she conjure that emotion for him when she hated his guts? He may have been sex on a stick, but he was batshit crazy. And no girl, especially her, needed crazy in her life. She ducked back into a bathroom stall to remove her wig. It was time to be someone else and get lost in the crowd that filled the rest stop. She almost took the time to buy a pack of cigarettes on her way out, but her need to be far away from Ender eclipsed everything else. She slipped out a door opposite the one they came in. That side had parking spaces for truckers, and that was why she chose it. Eighteen wheelers were all lined up in rows and she darted toward the back and spotted a potential winner. A semi with a double decker load full of used cars sat at the end of a row. She stepped between it and the truck next to it, shielding her from view from incoming highway traffic. The loaded cars were secured by chains. There wouldn’t be a way, based on the configuration, for someone to steal one. So maybe there was a possibility that the trucker hadn’t checked the doors to see if they were

locked. She prayed that one on the lower level wouldn’t be. She found a winner on her second try. The front of the car was on an incline, leaving the backseat a perfect place to hide. She slipped in and hoped the driver of the semi would be along soon. She reclined on the seat and set her backpack on the floorboard. Thankfully, she’d asked Ender for it prior to going to the bathroom, claiming she wanted to freshen up and get a tampon. He’d easily tossed her the bag. And there she was, flat on the seat of a pimped out Honda Civic as she pulled out her phone and put the battery in. She sent a text to her handler, hoping he hadn’t tried to contact her in the last twenty-four hours. Sick parent. Will be back in a few days. Just as quickly, she removed the battery after checking the time. It was approaching four in the afternoon. She closed her eyes and easily fell asleep. She partially woke when the truck’s engine rumbled to life and they started to move. It felt good to not be riding on the back of a motorcycle with her arms around a man she wanted to kill. Ender was ready to break the neck of the next person that bumped into him. He’d searched for Piper everywhere after he’d waited for over a half an hour for her to come out of that fucking bathroom. She had to have given him the slip when he’d been talking to that chick who’d been smoking hot and ready for a good fuck. If he hadn’t been playing the role of a baby-fucking-sitter, he would have banged her on the side of the building or in a bathroom stall, wherever. The female was the kind he could have done seconds with, which wasn’t his norm. Chicks liked to get clingy, and he didn’t do longterm. And beautiful women were a dime a dozen. Even when he was a teenager, he’d been beating them off with a stick. Fuck. He had somewhere to be. His next stop wouldn’t be a nice one. He needed a compliant Piper once he got there. But instead of making his meeting, he had to find the bitch again. His fist connected to the wall, bloodying his knuckles. He almost went into the women’s restroom to check to make sure she wasn’t there. Luckily, a grandmother type saw his distress and checked for him. He’d claimed Piper, his wife, was newly pregnant and had gone in and hadn’t come out yet. The ruse with him playing worried husband had worked, but the grandma found nothing. He couldn’t see her hitching a ride with a perfect stranger. She was smarter than that. He could, however, see her sneaking a ride on a truck. So he’d headed out back. He walked and inspected the cabs of each truck, surprising a few drivers, but claiming he was searching for his bitch of an old lady. Truckers had a code similar to bikers. They stuck together and knew the plight of men with women who should stay in their place, at least the ones he’d met. Each truck had been secured. Unless she’d convinced one of the guys to hide her, she wasn’t there. He spent nearly an hour searching. And he knew she had a head start. What she didn’t know was that he had other ways to find her. And when

he did, he’d either kill her or fuck her. He just wasn’t sure which one yet.

17

His arms tucked in the bend of her legs as he collapsed on top of her.

“Babe, that was incredible.” Her smile couldn’t have been any bigger or it would have spread off her face. She pulled his head down and kissed him like it was the last time. Who would have known that had never been a truer thought? A thump, then a bump, jarred her awake, leaving her disoriented from the dream. A glance around and she remembered the car she was stowed in. When a rumbling engine cut off, she had the vague sense of disquiet and wasn’t sure why. Ender would be miles away with no idea where she was. The clank of the cab door closing had her mentally counting to sixty before she chanced a glance out the window. All was silent, yet there were plenty of trucks at the stop. The midnight sky pressed down, and she guessed it was the middle of the night due to lack of activity in the parking lot. Large overhead florescent signs suggested she was at a big enough truck stop to risk leaving her temporary hidey hole. Once she was sure the truck driver was out of earshot, she opened the car door and slipped out. She closed it with a quiet click and slung her backpack over her shoulder before heading toward the restrooms. There were pressing personal needs she needed to take care of. The bathroom carried a strong I haven’t been cleaned in years scent that almost sent her back outside, despite her urgent need to go. Nature yelled, and she did her best not to touch much. Once finished, she tried to open the stall door and had to jimmy the latch before it unlocked. Unfortunately, the rattling of the door sent another stall door open and what she saw made her cringe. A woman, who once might have been pretty, held one end of something with her teeth. Her other hand attempted to tie that something tourniquet style around her arm while holding a syringe. Piper closed her eyes and continued past, deeming it none of her business. She turned on the hot water faucet in vain as frigid water poured out. She washed quickly before wiping her hands dry on her pants with no other option in sight. When she opened the outer bathroom door, she found a tiny boy with blond hair standing there as if contemplating coming inside.

The drug addict she could ignore. A lost boy was someone she would make time to help. Bending down on one knee, she attempted to meet the boy in his eyes. “Are you lost?” He shook his head vigorously, sending blond curls to wave about, but said nothing. “Are you looking for your mommy?” The boy, who couldn’t have been more than four, nodded. “Where is the last place you saw her?” A small, timid voice released from an equally tiny mouth. “She told me to wait here after I went potty.” Piper felt her eyes narrow from the sudden burst of frosty anger. She tried to mask it so that she didn’t scare the little guy because he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Is she in here?” She used her thumb to point over her shoulder and gave herself points for not growling out the words. He nodded. She stood and held out her hand. It was well past midnight, and the boy’s bitch of a mother had sent him in the men’s bathroom alone. If that wasn’t bad enough, the bathrooms opened to the outside, which made it that much worse. Any predator would have had an easy time abducting the little boy with no witnesses around to deter him or her. The trusting kid took her hand, and she stepped back inside the bathroom with him in tow. She used her foot to storm through the door, letting it bang on the wall as she entered. Five steps inside, she leaned down and found the patience to speak kindly and softly. “Wait right here, honey.” She pointed to the wall right before the line of stalls. He would be close, but not enough to see what his mother was up to. A glance under the stalls revealed that all were empty but the one with the asshole of a mother in it. With the palm of her hand, she slammed that door open. Poised to shoot up, the woman’s eyes grew to the size of the business end of a shotgun barrel. “Is that your son?” Piper asked the woman, low and dangerously. The woman instantly became frantic and jerked about as she called out. “Mikey, is that you?” Only, Piper wasn’t sure if the woman was scared for the boy or scared of herself. “Mommy,” the little boy cried out. The room became so silent, they both heard the shuffling footsteps as the little boy neared. The woman, having some sense, put her hands behind her back to hide the evidence of her addiction from her son. Before the boy reached his mother, a male voice rang out as a pounding knock rattled the outer bathroom door.

“Babe, the kid disappeared.” The man’s voice held no ounce of regret, which only served to piss Piper off even more. She may have felt a little guilt for thinking the woman had left her son alone, except the boy had been on his own while his mother was too busy shooting up. When she turned, she caught the sight of unmistakable fear in the woman’s eyes. “Bitch, get your ass out here right now, or I’m coming in.” The disembodied voice rang clear through the door as if there were no barrier. The little boy wrapped himself around his mom’s leg in apparent fear. Piper glanced at the woman with an arched brow. “Tell me now if you want to leave with this guy or not.” She would have called the SOB an asshole, but edited herself with a boy within earshot. The woman’s eyes defied human capabilities and grew larger. “Lori, baby, this is how you get yourself in trouble. I don’t want to have to hurt you in front of the kid. And if he’s not with you, we’re going to waste time straightening out our problems instead of finding him.” A second glance at the woman revealed faint bruising under her right eye and cheek. Something Piper hadn’t been looking for before that had gone unnoticed with a passing glance. “You stay clear and make sure Mikey doesn’t see this,” Piper told her. The woman nodded so frantically, Piper thought her head might come loose from her neck. Piper silently closed the stall door on the two after taking the needle from the woman’s hands. Things might get tricky since she didn’t plan on getting nicked by what could possibly be a dirty needle. The impatient man kicked the door open and stepped through. He was large, rough around the edges, with longish hair and rage in his eyes. “You ain’t Lori. That bitch better not have run,” he said and slammed a meaty fist into the door to prove some sort of point to Piper. Unfortunately, Lori revealed herself when she released a whimper. The wannabe badass grinned as if he’d won the lottery. “Oh, I see. You think you can protect the bitch.” Piper didn’t bother verbally sparring with him. Instead, she mentally prepared herself as the man stalked forward. He favored his right leg as most people did. And he also seemed a little uncomfortable with his large frame as he walked a little hunched forward. He shuffled his feet as he stalked in her direction and made a grab for Piper once she was within his reach. Too bad he’d underestimated who he was dealing with. She evaded but still moved toward him and gave him a wicked throat punch that left him gasping for air and unable to call out. Not that he would have called for help. Most likely he would have hurled ugly words at her within hearing distance of the child. His reaction, however, was classic and played into her plan. His left hand reached to cup his throat while he tried to suck in air. She sucker-punched him in the gut and then took his hand that still grasped for her. Almost in a lovers’

embrace as he doubled over from the punch, she lined her back against his chest. Using the momentum from him doubling over, she jerked his hand and sent him tumbling over to land flat on his back. His eyes were wide when she bent down over him and coldcocked him on the head. As his eyes rolled back in his head, she proffered the needle. “You know what they say, don’t get high off your own supply.” She tapped the side of the syringe once, not wanting to kill the guy with an air bubble. Then, she sank the needle into the side of his neck. She only plunged in a slight amount, having no idea what the stuff was and she didn’t want to kill him. She wanted him found and possibly brought up on drug charges. That would cool his heels and hopefully keep him off the trail of Lori and her son. A moment later the stall door slowly creaked open. With the boy’s face pressed into Lori’s belly, she looked very surprised to see Piper not the one incapacitated on the floor. “Do you have a place to go where he can’t find you?” “Yes,” Lori stammered. “How did you—” Piper wasn’t planning on answering any questions. “Does he have a car?” Piper asked, cutting Lori off. Lori’s eyes were still the size of flying saucers and just as wild as she nodded.

18

U sually, the road calmed him. It was the speed and the freedom of his Hog that

had become his first and only love. Chasing after Piper wasn’t what he should be doing. The whole side job to get her was derailing all the careful plans he had for being on that side of the country. There was a drop dead meeting he couldn’t miss. He considered abandoning his chase and continuing the search for Piper after. But who knew how far she would get. He slowed and parked in an overly populated truck stop. As he scanned the area, he considered what he would do when he found her. He still had an unsatisfied need after the last stop. The chick in the leather had made him harder than steel. Or at least that was what he told himself. He wouldn’t let himself think that Piper had done that to him with her tight body wrapped around him for hours at a time. Damn her, he thought. She was Taylor’s. Although the guy didn’t want her, or at least he didn’t act like it. Not with the way he had a parade of women in and out of his bed. Still, she belonged to his brother at arms, his best friend. And that was a code he wouldn’t break. He hopped off his bike and headed toward the bathrooms on the side of the building. There was some activity he needed to check out.

Piper patted the man down and found his keys, pocketing them. Next came his wallet and she took a glance inside. The guy’s name turned out to be Harold Roach if the ID wasn’t fake. And she had to admit, that name might make any man a little

crazy as she chuckled to herself. Next she found a debit card, and she left that. She did, however, take out a wad of cash before she put his wallet back. She was kind enough to leave the guy a dollar in case he needed to make a phone call considering she took his cell too. “Let’s go,” Piper announced as she got to her feet. “And Mikey doesn’t need to see this.” The woman nodded and picked up her son, keeping her hand over his eyes as they left the bathroom. Piper went back to wipe the needle that still stuck out of the man’s neck to free it of any of her stray prints. After she’d wiped down the handles and doors of the stalls along with the faucet, she stepped out of the bathroom and asked Lori, “Where’s his car?” The woman pointed. There were plenty of semis, but cars were few and far between. Piper knew by the look of the key fob that the car would be luxurious. She clicked the fob and was greeted with the sound of a chirp not too far off. The Caddy sat out of place, alone and haloed under a lamp post. She hurried them over. Piper bet the car had a GPS tracker, so they couldn’t be in it long. She had no idea how long the guy would be out or when he’d be found. So they had to make a plan quick. “Do you know the area?” The woman finished buckling her son into the car seat and sat next to him in the back before answering her. That elevated Lori in Piper’s eyes. “Yes, Harry was making a run and made us go with him. He was always afraid I’d leave. Mikey had to go pee and couldn’t wait, so we stopped here.” Well, at least they wouldn’t be driving blind. “Do you know where the nearest bus station is?” As the engine purred, Lori nodded again. Piper could tell that the woman had thought about leaving. That meant she knew exactly where the bus depot was located. “There’s one up the road a ways near Walmart.” Piper steered the car in the direction Lori pointed and drove away from the scene. She was grateful for the dark and the mostly empty roads, but Piper still obeyed the speed limit. The last thing they needed was to get pulled over by the cops. “Is there anything or anyone you might leave behind that you need?” “No,” Lori said softy. “Nothing that can’t be replaced.” Good, Piper thought as Lori stared off into the distance while Mikey leaned against his mother’s side. The woman had her hand wrapped around her son protectively, which meant Piper could halfway trust the boy with her. Twenty minutes later, she pulled into the Walmart parking lot, happy to find it was open twenty-four hours. It looked like fate was on their side. Piper pulled into a spot close to the front. She didn’t want the car to stand out alone as crowds waxed and waned. It was the kind of thing security may check on. After she’d wiped the car down free of her fingerprints, she ushered them out of the car, leaving the front

window slightly open. Then she locked it and dropped the fob through the crack to land in the shadowed darkness of the floorboard. The guy would eventually find his car safe and sound if he wasn’t arrested. And that would be one thing he wouldn’t feel the need to punish Lori for, if by chance he found her again. “We’re going to get a few things, and then you’re going to make a call to a safe place far from here where you and Mikey can go. If they are willing to take you in, we’ll get you guys bus tickets there.” Lori nodded, and Piper was beginning to like that the woman wasn’t a chatterbox or didn’t demand answers Piper couldn’t give. “Are you hungry?” Piper asked Mikey. The time on the dash had indicated it was nearing five o’clock in the morning when they parked. Still he might be ready for something to eat. He nodded without speaking, which apparently ran in the family. Piper decided to get the main task over with first, and they shopped. She directed Lori to get clothes for her and her son, something they could use to get through the next few days. Piper did the same, as well as picking up a pair of gloves for future use. She didn’t want to have to take the time wiping her prints off of anything in the future, wasting precious time she didn’t have. Although she didn’t plan to involve herself in any more trouble, she was better safe than sorry. After they’d gathered snacks and drinks for the bus ride, they stopped and bought breakfast to go at the in-store McDonald’s, a convenience some of the bigger Walmarts across the country featured. Bellies full, they hustled across the street and hoofed it about a quarter of a mile on foot to the bus station. Lucky for them, the time they took in the store and the walk made it possible for them to get there after the station was opened, instead of waiting outside. After they sat on a bench, Piper handed Lori a cheap flip phone. She’d dumped Harry’s phone in the trash on the way into the store. So, she’d bought a new one along with a more expensive smartphone model at Walmart. She’d used a display model tablet to connect to the store’s Wi-Fi and activate both prepaid phones after convincing the sleepy sales clerk to help her out. Because Lori was a druggie and druggies resorted to a lot of bad things to score, she had bought the cheapest phone for her. It was unlikely the woman would see the phone good for bartering and would put it to good use to keep her and her son safe. “Make the call.” Lori took the phone, and her finger hovered over the keys. She blinked a few times, but Piper said nothing. She could only imagine what it took for the woman to ask for help. Most likely whoever the person was, she’d burned many bridges with them in the past. Finally, Lori dialed and put the phone to her ear, looking more resolved to the conversation to come. “Daddy,” Lori began in a voice that sounded almost childlike. “Can I come

home?” The sob that escaped the woman’s throat had her son’s eyes widen in fear. Lori nodded to a conversation Piper couldn’t hear while wrapping her son in an embrace. “I’ll call you when I get close to the bus station. And, Daddy…thanks.” The phone closed on a click and Lori held it out to return to Piper. “No, keep it. Where are you headed?” “Indianapolis.” There wasn’t a bus with a straight shot to Indianapolis that was leaving anytime soon. There were, however, a few that had stops there along the way. Piper bought three tickets, two to Indianapolis and one that continued to Kansas City. She would determine what to do once she got there. For some reason, she felt the need to follow this woman all the way to make sure they made it safely to Lori’s dad. It might have been the memories of Piper’s birth mom’s drug induced abandonment that made her need to see Mikey safe. “You’re going with us?” the boy asked, using an uncommon amount of words. He hadn’t said much, but seemed extremely pleased by the possibility Piper was going with them. That warmed Piper’s cold heart so much, she smiled back at him. “Most of the way.” She ruffled the boy’s head and followed them on the bus. After they were settled, Piper offered Lori a bottle of water and one of the Tylenol PM tablets she’d also bought during their impromptu shopping trip. The woman needed to sleep. And if she started to go through withdrawals, it might be better for her son if she slept through most of it. She had no experience with that type of thing; she only hoped it would work. Lori popped the pill in her mouth and drank the water down without question. Piper had to guess that was part of the woman’s problem, too trusting. Piper had just closed her eyes in the seat behind the pair, not planning to do more than rest her eyes, when a small hand landed on hers. She cracked an eye open to see Mikey sitting next to her with the coloring book and crayons they’d bought. After coloring finally wore the boy out, she allowed her eyes to close while keeping part of her brain on alert. She needed to be up at every stop. She couldn’t risk Lori taking off. As the wheels continued to churn, she thought about Ender and what he might be doing. Would he have given up on her by now or was he still searching for her in vain? He didn’t seem like the kind of man who would give up easily or lose in anything for that matter. What she didn’t know was Ender was watching a crime scene unfold as blue and red lights filled the parking lot she’d left only a few hours ago.

19

L ights flashed in a chorus of blue and red, as Ender got as close as he dared. He

watched in utter fascination as a man was led out of a door by two cops who tried to keep him contained. “That bitch!” the handcuffed man spat as he glanced toward the parking lot. Ender followed the guy’s eyes to an empty lot. “I was robbed, and you’re arresting me. She stole my car!” They ducked the guy’s head as they shoved him into the back of a cruiser. Ender walked away, not wanting to be questioned. He got on his bike and mused how his little Piper had gotten herself a car. That wasn’t good. It would give her the capability to outrun him. His time was almost up, and he didn’t have it to waste. He’d most likely have to give up his hunt as he contemplated his next move. What would Rocky say if he told him Piper had gotten away?

Piper prayed the text she’d sent to her handler would be enough. Otherwise, she would have more than one person looking for her. She opted not to call for a chat. If he told her she needed to come back, he would expect her to leave without question. And she had to make sure Lori and Mikey were safe first. The ride was long, with a string of roads and green highway signs that held little interest. Fortunately, there had been a few stops where they were able to get out and stretch their legs. Unfortunately, the views from various new towns weren’t scenic since they never saw more than truck stops, adding to the monotony of the

trip. The Tylenol PM proved to have little effect on the woman, so Piper shadowed Lori like a ghost. However, the woman hadn’t needed babysitting. Lori seemed determined to get home. The harsh realities of living must have been enough to prove that being on her own wasn’t as great as she’d thought it would be. The boy, on the other hand, seemed unusually attached to Piper. More than not, he held the hands of both his mother and Piper while sandwiched between them. Piper, who hadn’t thought herself kid-friendly, found him endearing. She’d rewarded the smiles he brought out of her with a gift of candy or small toy from the convenient shops at each of the pit stops. When the driver finally announced Indianapolis was next, Piper gathered her things. Even though she was continuing the journey, she hadn’t left her stuff on the bus at any time. However, she’d encouraged Lori to leave hers. She needed the woman to have a reason to get back on the bus, though she had begun to trust the woman wanted to make a change in her life. With no encouragement from Piper, Lori placed the call to her dad, giving him advance notice of their arrival. When they reached the destination and stepped off the bus, Piper watched an older couple race forward to envelop their daughter and grandson. They traded hugs while clinging to each other like saran wrap. Piper remained a few steps behind them, not wanting to interrupt the love fest. However, there was something she needed to say before she let the family go on their merry way. Lori’s dad was the first to notice her presence. “Did you encourage our daughter to contact us?” he asked, stepping up to her. Piper nodded. “Lori’s a good egg. Mikey’s pretty great as well.” Before she could stop him, she was encircled into a fierce hug. “Thanks,” the older man whispered in her ear. “Sure,” Piper said, pulling back, unused to that type of contact in recent years. “Lori’s going to have a hard time the next few days.” Piper pulled out what she had left of the cash she’d stolen from Lori’s dealer. She wasn’t sure how long Lori was in his clutches, but she figured the woman had earned the cash Piper had lifted from him. “It’s probably best you put her in a facility, at least for a few days, to help with any withdrawals she might experience.” She assumed Lori’s dad was aware of his daughter’s drug abuse, so she didn’t explain more. She spied the older model Ford Taurus Lori’s parents had exited upon their arrival and knew the cash would be useful. “Take this,” Piper said, placing the wad of cash in the man’s hand. “We couldn’t,” Lori’s dad said, shaking his head, pride written all over his face. “It’s her money,” Piper lied. “But she’s in no position to do the right things with it right now. She needs help. And I know you’ll get it for her.” Tears shimmered in the humble man’s eyes. “Thanks again.” Piper nodded and knelt down. “Mikey, you be good.” The boy leaned in and hugged her. “Thanks for taking care of the bad man.”

Then he kissed her cheek. That innocent action might have melted Piper’s cold heart if she still possessed one. She waved as the family departed and watched as they got in the navy blue car and pulled off. Piper had taken careful recon of the area, not only for Lori’s family, but for potential adversaries when they arrived. Piper, leaving the state of New York without prior approval, wouldn’t go over well with her bosses. She didn’t take it for granted she couldn’t be hunted with the most up-to-date technology money could buy. There was no way an asset like her could get away scot-free. Having scouted the area, she felt secure when she turned to make her way back to the bus. A voice rang out. “Headed somewhere?” The sight of the big, beautiful man made her gasp. She stepped back, feeling like a trapped rat. “How’d you find me?” Piper hated that her voice sounded timid and breathless. “I believe I warned you that I would always find you.” That doesn’t answer a damn thing, she thought, a second before she ended up against the metal framing of a nearby bus. “Scared of me, babe?” She was so not afraid of the asshole. She was just protecting herself. “What’s there to be scared of?” she challenged. “Oh, I can think of a number of things. Starting with me telling you not to run and you did. Now, here we are far off course. That pisses me off, and when I’m pissed off, I tend to break things.” During his rant, he caged her in. As he hovered over her, his arms limited her personal space on either side of her body. Heat wafted off him in waves, making her feel scorched. “What do you want from me?” she spoke through clenched teeth. Her body responded to his presence like a cold glass of water on a hot day. She instantly got wet. She didn’t want him to hear the desire in her voice nor see it in her face. So she turned her head to the side as he spoke. “What I want I can’t have. What you’re going to do is get on my bike without giving me shit.” He had her. She couldn’t run. There was no telling what he would do. She wanted to ask again how in the world he’d found her, but she knew he wouldn’t answer. He’d laugh in her face and make her feel like a bigger fool than she was. Chastised like a child, she marched to the beat of Ender’s steps as he made a path to the side lot, where his lone bike was parked. Harder than being caught was climbing on the back and wrapping her arms around him.

Hours later, they turned off the highway. That was the beginning of several twisty turns. They ended up down a road with tall, wavy, golden-colored grass that swayed in the breeze. It felt like they were in the middle of nowhere. That seemed to be the theme of each of his stops, as the clubhouse they’d been at before was similarly located in a remote area. Ender hated to come back. It was his devotion to his club that he was here. It took all his control not to pull out his guns and shoot every man on sight for what some of them had done. They pulled to a stop in front of a low gate where a guy sat nearby on a tree stump. It wasn’t until he hiked a shotgun over his shoulder did Piper tense. Her gun was still hidden in her backpack, tucked in one of Ender’s saddlebags. She took stock of the area. The gate couldn’t stop anyone if they really wanted to get in. It was more of a deterrent for cars and motorcycles from just riding up to the farmhouse ahead. The blond man with a longish goatee walked over. He took only a moment to size up Ender before the two men clasped hands in the weird male handshake. “Is he expecting you?” Ender nodded at the guy he knew well. He was one of the few at the compound that wasn’t a total asshole. “Yeah,” Ender said. “Can you radio ahead for me?” The guy nodded before his gaze slid to the woman that still held Ender tight. Piper studied him right back. The guy couldn’t see much of any skin she rocked, as she was covered in leather and denim. But that didn’t stop his eyes from sliding over her ass. She rolled her eyes before the stranger met hers again. She took in his extreme buzz cut, so short he may as well have been bald. That and his tats told her a lot. “Who’s she?” the stranger asked. “She’s with me,” Ender said, his tone going from friendly to dangerous. The other man nodded before he unclipped a small walkie-talkie from his back pocket and stepped back, half turning while keeping his eyes on them. The guy murmured words that must have been code. Interesting, Piper thought. She leaned over a bit to see that Ender kept his gaze trained on the guy as he also watched the house ahead. Piper decided she hadn’t been focused. Obviously the main threat wasn’t the guy

in front of them. Who knew how many men or women trained with guns were inside or around the back of the house. She glanced toward the road they’d driven up on. There was nothing on either side except the occasional tree. Isolated, they were a long way from a main road or any potential neighbors. Ender caught movement on the west side and tensed. When three men appeared, he shifted slightly. The gun on his ankle was the only one he could reach. With Piper hostile and looking for the first chance at possible escape, he hadn’t worn a shoulder holster or tucked a gun at his back or front. The men took their time making their way to the gate, which hadn’t been opened yet. Ender gave Piper a glance to let her know to dismount. Her movements were trained as she kept all the men, including Ender, in her line of sight as she got off the Harley. Ender followed suit and stood to the left of the bike, not wanting the men to position themselves in a way around the bike that would bar him from leaving in a hurry. The way they ended up, they were on either side, with the bike as a barrier if things went south. “Eric,” a man said, who although older, wore it well. Piper glanced at Ender, and he gave her a weary glance back. So that was his real name. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, son.” Piper couldn’t determine if son meant the man was Ender’s dad or if the older man called everyone younger than himself, son. What she did notice was that all the men were bearded. Seeing a man sporting a beard in and of itself wasn’t strange. But seeing that every man in this place had one, including Eric, meant something. That and all the guys were bald, except the first stranger and Eric, so she knew this crew was more than another biker gang. “Yeah, I thought I’d stop by and see you in person. I have a proposition for you.” The older man nodded and then gave a quick tilt of his head to the person on his right. The guy stepped forward, and Ender took the position most would only do when about to be arrested. Ender, on the other hand, expected it. Knowing what was coming, he announced, “I have a gun in my right boot.” The guy was going to find it. No reason to keep that fact a secret. After the guy patted him down, he glanced up at the older man, who was obviously in charge. “Leave it. He is my son.”

20

W ith the emphasis on is, Piper surmised she’d just met Ender’s father even

though they’d yet to be introduced. The guy stood, his dark beard dipped as he glanced Piper up and down. Ender stepped in the guy’s path, blocking Piper from the man’s inspection. Ender held up his hand. “No one touches her except me.” There was no way any of them would get that close to her. He wouldn’t fail her. He couldn’t. Piper watched, still reeling that the older man was Ender’s father. Her next thought was to wonder how she was going to handle the pat down, until Ender shut that down. She might have sighed in relief until Ender came over and stripped her of her jacket. His hand pulled at her tank top, causing it to cling to her barely there curves, letting everyone who watched know she wasn’t hiding anything in her confining sports bra. He briefly lifted her tank to reveal an inch of her skin just above the waistband of her jeans. Then he turned her around to expose her back in the same fashion. Her jeans were so tight, he didn’t have to smooth his hand down her legs to make the point she wasn’t concealing anything. But he did it anyway. He hid the smile at her back before lifting her jean leg’s hem with a tug to expose her boot and that they also didn’t hide anything. After doing the other side, he yanked her around. “You know how we do things around here. Did you bring her to share?” Ender growled at his dad. “I’m not here as one of you. I’m here as a representative of Devil’s Edge.” “So, she’s your old lady, and you’re asking for us to follow the rules of hospitality?” “She’s mine and yes, I’m asking for hospitality.” It didn’t take a genius to understand what was going on, even if Piper wasn’t sure what band of bastards these guys were. Lots of organizations came to mind, like a cult or skinheads. She wasn’t sure which or if they were some combination of both. “Open the gate, Cody.” The guy on the older man’s other side stepped forward and undid the lock. He

swung the triangular gate wide as Ender waited for the men to start back to the house before hopping on his bike. The ride would be short. Piper could have walked, but she was unarmed and didn’t want to be left behind with Cody and the gatekeeper dude. She hopped on before Ender peeled out toward the house. He didn’t park out front. He pulled in the back, having lived there for several years of his life before he’d grown big enough balls to leave. Out in the vast land behind the main house grew a plentiful crop of trailers and other small houses for the community members to live. Two hundred plus acres of land were owned by his father and supposedly the community at large. But he knew better. Being his father’s son, he’d lived in the main house, a privilege only known to a few. Piper got off, and he was irritated that he missed her warmth especially on a sunny day like that one. He pulled out her bag and tossed it to her unceremoniously. She caught it with a steel spine and an even sharper tongue she kept idle. He turned away from her annoyed stare and waited for the men on foot to show their faces. “Don’t say shit and you’ll get through this. Trust me for once and go with whatever I say. I don’t need your lip, and if you and I survive the night, you can speak your peace when we’re out of here. This ain’t Disneyland, and these guys aren’t game players.” She nodded curtly, already having sized up the situation. Wisely she decided not to say anything about his commands as if she were his soldier in case someone was listening. The more they thought she was a brainless twit, the better. The men rounded a corner, just as a small girl around twelve or thirteen jumped down from a tree and darted away toward the trailers that dotted the distant landscape. “Katie,” Ender’s dad called out. The girl stopped and turned. Long golden hair framed an innocent face that held a wary expression. Some of the guys who stood around Ender’s dad smiled at the girl in a way that wasn’t appropriate for her young age. Katie was in that awkward phase of puberty where she was growing into a woman. She had breasts, bigger than what Piper pretended to have. It churned her gut as she spotted a few pricks giving the girl a leering once-over. That any of them would actually see Katie as a potential conquest and not the young girl she was made Piper long for a pocket rocket launcher. “Yes?” Katie answered. Her young voice was small and shouted out her adolescent age as if it came from a bullhorn. It further added to the fact that the girl was probably a middle schooler. “Take…” Ender’s dad looked at him for help. “Piper,” he answered. She didn’t like him giving out her name. However, it wasn’t her birth name. So she let it go. “Take Piper to Eric’s old room. Make sure the bed is made with clean sheets and

shit. Show her where the bathroom is and you know.” He waved a hand. Katie glanced at Piper, and she nodded to the girl. Katie moved in a wide berth, away from the men, to a back door and waved her inside. Piper turned to Ender, and he nodded, which meant she would be okay, or so she hoped. Katie didn’t wait. She moved quickly, and Piper found herself jogging to keep up. If not for the blond hair streaming after the child, Piper would have lost her because the girl moved like a ghost. Up a flight of stairs, she found Katie digging out sheets from a hall closet before ducking into a room. The floorboards squeaked as Piper walked. She made a mental note of where she stepped that caused such noise. She even took the time to test other areas nearby, planning out where she could move silently, if she had the need to leave without being caught. By the time she made it to the room, the girl had a pile of sheets in the corner and was halfway through making the bed. “Let me help you,” Piper offered, placing her backpack down on the bedside table. She didn’t move far, only tucked in the side she was on. And then she helped smooth out the flat sheet and duvet. “Thanks,” Piper told the girl when they were finished. Katie grabbed the wad of sheets and was ready to bounce off when Piper stopped her. “Hey,” Piper called out. “Can you show me the bathroom and kitchen?” Katie nodded, but Piper could tell the girl wanted to do anything but. They went in the opposite direction from where they came. Katie pointed at a door as they went by. Piper chanced a glance inside the open door to the bathroom but didn’t stop. She feared the little girl would disappear. They headed down another set of stairs at the opposite end of the hall. Katie moved like the wind, only Piper’s blood went cold as she turned the jug handle of the stairwell and saw a man cornering Katie. “Katie, girl, how old are you now?” the dickwad asked, ogling at the girl’s budding breasts like they were the fifth wonder of the world. “Katie, there you are. You’re supposed to put those sheets on my bed. Right?” The girl’s scared eyes turned toward Piper. Thankfully, she was smart. Katie nodded and headed back up to where Piper was. The man gave Piper a freezing glare. The swastika on his neck said it all. “Who the fuck are you?” Piper guessed he hadn’t been apprised of her and Ender’s arrival. She didn’t give a shit, though. “None of your goddamn business.” She spun and went in the room where she’d dumbly left her bag. Piper snagged it, berating herself for the mistake. Katie sat on the bed quietly as Piper closed the door behind her and stood by it. She heard footsteps approach. She turned the lock and put a finger to her lips as she faced Katie.

Blond hair bounced as the girl bobbed her head in acknowledgment with eyes that slowly grew in size. Footsteps stopped in front of the door. Piper listened and barely took a breath. When the footsteps moved on and receded, Piper closed her eyes and waited until she heard them disappear. Softly, Piper said, “Do you live near here?” The girl nodded. Piper walked to the window and caught sight of the back of the house. She noted the men were all gone. Time to make a move. “Can you show me?” Piper asked. Although it should have been an odd question in the girl’s ears, she eagerly nodded. Piper walked back to the door and held up a finger. She wasn’t afraid of the man. She could take him down despite his larger frame. Bigger by over half her size, he still was only all muscle with zero brains based on his actions. Dumb and not as highly trained as she was, made him roadkill in her eyes. However, she didn’t think it would go over well for Ender if she bested a man who thought he was God’s gift, and everyone else was beneath him. She listened, and when she determined the coast was clear, she curled a finger in the girl’s direction. Silently, she told Katie to follow her that time. Piper knew how to get out of the house. She simply went back the way she’d come. She figured if the men had come in, they were on the side of the house near the kitchen where Katie had been taking her until they ran into that asshole. Piper played hopscotch with the boards and stepped where none would squeak. She glanced back at Katie, who was a quick study. The girl smiled when she figured out what Piper was up to. It was nice to see her act in such a girlish way. She’d lost that fearful look and resembled more like the carefree girl someone of her age should be. The door was trickier. It squeaked on the way in and knew it would do the same on the way out. Piper whispered, “We’ll run for it, once the door is open.” Katie nodded. Piper pushed the door open, and as promised it let out a squealing alarm even though it hadn’t meant to be one. They ran, and it felt good. Piper hadn’t had a good run in days, and her limbs felt better for the excursion. They passed a few trailers before cresting a small hill. Katie navigated down the short drop to stop in front of a double-wide just at the bottom. Hidden, that’s good, Piper thought. A woman stepped out the door and took Katie in her arms. “What’s doing, girl? You weren’t at the big house again, were ya?” Katie nodded against who Piper assumed was her mom’s torso. The mother sighed heavily. “Girl, I told ya not to go over that way. It ain’t good for ya no more.” She said all of this while eyeing Piper. Piper thought the mother had a good handle on the why Katie should stay away. Only Katie was just a little girl who had

no idea the machinations of a dimwitted man. Which meant the mom didn’t bring such men to her home. That was one thing the mother had going for her. “And who are you?” Piper shrugged. “I came with Eric and saw the trouble that could come of a girl who may look like a woman in the wrong man’s eyes.” The mother nodded. “Well, I have to thank you then. Surprised to hear Eric’s returned. Didn’t think that boy would come back given how fast he ran when he was able.” Piper shrugged again. “And after everything. He’s not like the lot of them,” the woman added. Piper ignored her inquisitive nature when it came to Ender and focused on other answers she needed to keep safe. “What is this place?” Piper took the chance and asked. “Eric ain’t told you nothing?” Piper shook her head. The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Katie, go inside and straighten up your room.” She let go of the little girl and waited a few seconds after the trailer door closed behind her daughter before she took the few steps down to meet Piper halfway. “Normally, I wouldn’t say nothin’. But you earned a few answers for helping my girl. You’re right about some things. Ain’t no place for her. The way they stare, you’d think they were waiting for her first period before they pounce.” The woman’s brow rose as if in challenge to a quiet Piper, who understood the words weren’t stretching the truth. “Believe it or not, I came here on my own free will. I was young then. And all the attention I got made me feel special. Here, I was taken care of, given a place of my own, and I didn’t have rules. Until I did.” She sighed. “When Katie came, and I weren’t so willing, they reminded me of all I had. Now I’m too old. And they are eyeing my girl.” “Can’t you leave?” Piper asked, given the first chance to do so. The woman barked out a laugh and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. The cough that followed told of at least a pack a day smoker. No heeding the warning coughs, Piper asked, “Can you spare one?” The woman reluctantly handed Piper one. She used matches and not a lighter, which also said much about what the woman had and didn’t have. Piper started to feel like Motherfucking Teresa or some shit when she decided to chance another question. “You don’t have somewhere else to go?” The woman inhaled deep and shook her head. Piper sucked in a breath and felt the anxiety over the past few days ease. The woman blew a long stream out of the corner of her mouth as to not blow smoke in Piper’s face, even though she was smoking, too. “Ain’t got nothin’ and nowhere to go. I haven’t talked to my folks since I left fifteen years ago.”

That would put the woman in her mid-thirties if she left home in her early twenties or earlier. Although, she looked more like she was in her mid-forties. Life hadn’t been kind to her after she’d left her parents. “I don’t even know if they are alive,” the woman added. Piper nodded. “There are places that can help. And keep you safe,” Piper added. The woman shook her head. “If I left, they’d find and kill me.” She stepped closer. “But if you knew of such a place, maybe they’d take my girl.” Piper was shocked the woman would even suggest sending her daughter away without saving herself. Piper gave the woman more points in her head. “Maybe. If I did, do you think they would let me walk out of here with Katie?” The woman had yet to tell her what the place was, but she didn’t need an answer. It was clear it was some kind of compound where the motto was, keep your women safe and dumb from the rest of the world under the pretense of protecting the race. “No way. They’d kill you both first.” Piper nodded. “Then I suggest you get some things packed. Something light and portable. Eric and I will be leaving in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. I’ll figure something out and most likely won’t be able to give you warning. If I can get the both of you out, will you come?” “I told you—” “I know what you said. If I can get you out safely, will you come?” The woman nodded. “I’m not getting my hopes up. Don’t let Katie come back ever, if you can’t get me out, that is. It’s likely they’ll kill me when they find out she’s gone.” Piper didn’t doubt the woman. Cults typically had zero turnovers in membership. She decided to ask another important question. “Who’s the father?” The woman shrugged and sucked on the cig. “I always thought she looked a little like Stevie.” Piper nodded as if she knew who the woman was referring to. “If I can’t get you out, make sure the girl knows her name. If you don’t have a birth certificate, I’ll need her full name and date of birth to get her one. And if I can’t take you, buy what time you can to keep them from figuring out when she left. Eric won’t know what I’m up to, and I don’t want to get him in trouble for it.” The woman agreed, and Piper began to walk away before the woman added a bit of advice. “Thanks, and keep your doors locked at night up at the big house if Eric ain’t with you.” Piper chewed on that as she took her time walking back, checking out all the locations to hide. One bad thing, the valley where the compound sat, was reasonably flat with no tree cover. There were trees on the fringes, but not much anywhere else. It would be best to carry out a night extraction. Only she didn’t know if she would be able to pull it off. She stepped toward the fringe area to see just what would happen. She wondered if there were hidden patrols or if they

operated on trust. There could also be nosy people who kept an eye out from the confines of their home windows. She leaned on the tree, leisurely smoking the cigarette. Nothing to see. If anyone asked, she was just smoking in the shade. When the cigarette had nothing left save the filter, she worked her way around the tree and hid as best as she could from the few homes in her line of sight. She dug in her backpack, which she dared not to leave in the room unattended, and pulled out her burner phone.

21

E nder sat cooling his heels in his father’s kitchen at his father’s table, yet he still

felt like a stranger. The faces that surrounded him were familiar, yet it seemed at a distance of a million miles away. He had nothing in common with any of them, except a blood tie to a few. He wanted nothing more than to leave the place and forget it ever existed. “What do you bring to my table?” His father still commanded as if they were members of his personal army like he had all those years ago. Force of habit, he sat up straighter to show the man the respect he insisted on. “We want to buy some land just outside of St. Louis. We don’t want war or any trouble. I’m here to bring you a proposition first.” His Dad’s community was the reigning force in the area. They ran the underground in these parts. If the Devil’s Edge had tried to buy land without negotiating with them first, his dad could use his influence to run them out of town. And that would end in a bloody fight. “What are you looking to build here?” The question itself would seem innocuous to any that might overhear, but Ender knew exactly what he was asking. “Just an outpost. A place for those passing through to rest their head.” His dad bounced his eyes around the table at his two half-brothers first and then the other men, before he focused his gaze back on Ender. “How will you fund construction?” He wanted to shake his head at how his dad danced around the real questions. Apparently, he didn't trust him even after the pat down. “We were looking at buying in on a strip club near a casino on the waterfront,” Ender said. His dad leveled a glare at him. “Just pussy?” Ender nodded. “We wouldn't do any business that conflicted with yours.” That meant no guns. He purposely worded it, leaving out the possibility of other pursuits. “And what if we wanted in on pussy? Never ending supply, there,” his father

asked. Ender gritted his teeth. The way his father and the community treated woman made his blood boil, but he had to keep his cool. “Something we could negotiate if you get serious about that. In the end, though, like you said, endless supply. And endless customers. I don't think we would cut profits if you wanted to open up your own pussy shop.” His dad nodded. “We’ll have to sleep on it. Meanwhile, why don’t I show you what we’ve done with the place?” As far as Ender could tell, they hadn’t done much. He suspected the man really wanted to talk to him alone. One of the knuckleheads at the table snickered. “Wonder if Piper needs some lead like Mandy.” Ender stopped halfway from getting up from his chair. He pressed his knuckles on the table, giving the asshole who dared to talk about Piper a good view of what was tattooed on his fingers. Then he leaned in and gave him his most menacing glare. The fucktard could have been one of them. He only needed one excuse to exact the revenge he’d planned in his head over the last few years. “It’s best you keep your thoughts to yourself, or I can end them myself,” Ender growled. For a second, everything went quiet. Tension built as every man had to decide to save face or save oneself. The fucker didn't know Ender. He hadn't been around when Ender had begun to fight back against his tormentors and win. “Yeah, man, no problem. She's yours, I get it,” the guy said. Ender pushed himself to his full height. He eclipsed his dad by a few inches as well as the rest of the mofos, save one of his half-brothers, who was just about the same height. He gave everyone still at the table one more look before giving them his back as he traipsed out of the kitchen door to the backyard. The two of them walked several yards before his dad came to a stop. “You know the thing about Mandy?” “I don’t want to talk about her.” If Ender had a prayer of getting through these negotiations without killing someone, he couldn’t talk about her. Thank fuck he knew his father hadn’t been one of them. Mandy had confirmed that. His dad respected his wishes and changed gears. “You into that little piece, Son?” Ender stared at the man who donated half his DNA for Ender’s creation. “Thought I taught you better than that. It would go a long way if you shared the girl. You knew what bringing her meant.” Although his dad hadn’t said it, they both knew he was reminding him again about Mandy. He did know. “Not happening.”

The old man chuckled. “You in love with her?” Ender was so far away from that he almost laughed. “It’s not that. I made a promise. She’s not into sharing.” He’d made no such promise to Piper, but she was Taylor’s. His old man wouldn’t understand if he told him that. Blood was thicker in these parts. However, he’d never felt at home here or with his so-called blood. The best thing that ever happened to him was leaving this place and finding his true brothers. Men who would have his back quicker than those he could call relatives. Bringing Piper was a risk, one he had no choice in doing. He would have to be vigilant and explain to her that following his directions was in her best interest. These guys had no souls, and if she was found unprotected, he might have to kill anyone who dared to touch her. When his dad began to talk again, he was reminded where he was and came out of his thoughts. “Your mother was stubborn. That woman…” The old man wistfully trailed off, drifting in his own head about the past. “Yeah, that woman you left pregnant to fend for herself?” Ender growled. “You know why I had to do that?” He did. Unfortunately, he had to bring it up to remind the old man what card he could play. Ender’s mother had more than a drop of south of the border blood, and his father had known that before he started a relationship with her. “It’s not like I didn’t take care of you,” his dad tossed out. He’d taken care of Ender because his proud mother wouldn’t put up with that shit. She took his dad to court where DNA tests proved just who’d planted the seed in her belly. “I let you come live here with me when you were old enough.” That wasn’t exactly how it went down. The man his mom had hooked up with after his dad hadn’t exactly been nice to Ender. His mother had loved him enough to plead with his father to take him in. When his mother threatened to show up on his father’s doorstep, his dad had seen the light. Fortunately or unfortunately, the abuse he suffered at his dad’s was all in the name of making him a man and not just for fun. Like it had been for the sadistic son of a bitch his mom got involved with. Those thoughts made him wonder how his mother was doing. He only talked to her twice a year, on her birthday and Christmas. And the latter only because she was super religious. Every time was hard because he loved her but couldn’t go home for a visit because he might just kill the man who still lived with her. “Your mother is a beautiful woman who tempted me in ways only Satan can. Don’t let that Piper be that temptation, Son. I’m telling you, a woman will be the death of you.” “Don’t worry,” Ender finally said. His father eyed him a moment longer before he spoke again. “I’m not sure how this will play out. Having your club come into our territory

isn’t good for us.” He knew this was coming and was ready for it. “I’m prepared to give you ten large for your trouble.” His father had to see the money as a bonus. They weren’t giving up anything. The club wasn’t gaining a money maker, just like Ender said. The location was a pit stop and a placeholder. Who knew what the future held. St. Louis was largely untapped because of his dad’s hold on the area. If something was to go down and his dad lost his foothold in the area, they would be there to capitalize on the fallout. Not that they intended to create the opportunity. Being the shrewd businessman his dad was, he didn’t flinch. In fact, he changed the subject. “You know, you could come back. I could groom you to take over when I finally let go of the reins.” “What about Bobby and Daniel?” Ender referred to his half-brothers. The old man sighed. “They’re good boys, but dumb as fuck.” He didn’t disagree. “Daniel’s good. You just need to give him a chance and time. They’ll respect him.” “Daniel’s not bad, but he’s not you. You’ve always had a good head on your shoulders. The women here will treat you like a god and not just because you’re my son. They will do anything you like, because you’re you.” Ender shook his head. The only thing he would do with the compound would be to disband it and set everyone free. Because in all honesty, what was going on here was slavery at best. And everyone who was here was too dumb to see it or too scared to flee. “That’s too bad.” His dad sighed. “We’ll hold court tomorrow, and you’ll get your decision. I can’t make any promises.” Ender held his tongue. He knew the decision solely rested with his dad. His so called council would go with whatever he chose to do. They both knew it. And if Ender had to threaten him, he would. “Rocky hopes we can work something out.” Taken from a page from his old man’s book, he subtly told the man that they would open shop with or without the man’s permission. Just then, Piper crested the hill, and both men stopped to watch her come near. The old man’s squinty eyes calculated just like Ender what the hell she was doing way out there. Piper didn’t know anyone. She had no reason to be coming from that direction. Ender, however, had learned much about the woman since he’d found her in New York. She’d managed to find trouble no matter where they were. But that wasn’t the problem he had. His difficulty lay in how his cock stiffened in his pants at the mere sight of her. She wasn’t even his fucking type. His dad had groomed him to like them placid, and Piper was far from it.

22

Shit, she thought. Ender stood with his dad. She could see where he got some of

his good looks from. His dad was hot in that silver fox way. She couldn’t blame any woman who hung around for a piece of that. She, herself, was dealing with a little lust when it came to the man’s son. Why couldn’t she like a non-lethal man? She sure knew how to pick them. Damn Taylor and his pretty boy looks. And damn Ender for his rugged good-looking ones. She was batting zero in the men department and glanced away. She was happy she’d finished with the cigarette. She didn’t want to hear what Ender would have to say about that. Though, the smell that still lingered on her could be explained away by being in close proximity of someone who was smoking. Still, she shouldn’t care what he thought. She could throw herself at the man, and he wouldn’t bite. Damn him and damn his code. The brotherhood had strict rules and anyone who wanted in, wouldn’t cross the line and break them. The consequences were too high. “Afternoon boys,” Piper crooned prettily. Ender’s dad grinned. “Afternoon. Seems Ender might not have warned you. It’s best you hang close to the house. I can’t be responsible for my boys. They see something they like, they take it.” She narrowed her eyes, but caught sight of Ender’s glare and softened her features. “Sorry, I got to talking to Katie and wanted to see more of the beautiful scenery.” She held out her hands to encompass the surrounding. “I asked if I could walk her home.” She shrugged. The old man nodded. “Can’t blame you. This place is something special. Just be careful.” She nodded and started to walk by Ender. He caught her arm. “Got something to say to me?” She had no idea what he wanted, but his heated gaze burned bright on her. So she decided to do something she’d wanted to do since the first time she saw him. She needed the upper hand and with Ender pretending to be hers, she decided to take a chance.

Lifting on her toes, she pressed herself flush to him. His startled eyes grew wide, but he wasn’t quite as off-balance as she needed him to be. She pressed her lips against his, finding them soft. For a second, she hung there, waiting for him to kiss her back. When he didn’t, she quickly pulled back before his father noticed the awkwardness, but not before giving his ass a firm squeeze. That did it. Delighted with his stunned reaction, she flirtatiously added, “See you later, baby.” He said nothing, but she knew he was rattled. More so, she'd felt his dick respond to her closeness. It had been hard against her belly. As she skipped off to the back door, she wondered and not for the first time, what he would feel like inside her. Ender could knock a ball out of a major league park with the wood in his pants. He couldn’t remember the last time he got laid. Until he vaguely recalled the blonde at the charter club during his first stop with Piper in tow. Her pussy, however, had been like a cold fish. He hadn’t even gotten off. He’d done it to make a point to Piper. He’d done it so as to not think about her, and it had only made him want her more. “I bet that one’s a pistol in the sack.” Ender glanced at his old man but made no comment. “We need to head out as soon as you give us word tomorrow.” His dad nodded. “We should have a consensus before the party gets swinging tomorrow. But you have to stay around for a little while. I’m not sure when I’ll get to see my boy again. You don’t come around and see your real family.” Ender just stared. The old man had no idea what family meant. “Yeah, I’m going to head in and check on Piper.” “Don’t blame you, Son. I think I’ll go get me a piece too. Nothing like pussy with a face that ain’t butter.” Butter. He thought of the way his father had used the word. The old man liked women with a rocking body and a pretty face, not a woman who had everything right but her face. The but her shortened to sound like butter in his dad’s lingo. He shook his head as he moved up the stairs to his old room. It was probably the one place he’d been safe when he lived there. He knocked on the door to his old room before opening it, giving Piper a courteous warning that he was coming in. He entered, not waiting for an invitation. Her ass was high in the air as she tugged the jeans down her legs. He could have easily stepped behind her, slipped the fabric between her legs to the side and plowed his cock inside her. He scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to get a hold of his wayward thoughts. “What are you doing?” he growled. She glanced at him from her upside down perch. “What does it look like?” she snapped. He slipped past her and over to the window. He needed to clear his thoughts. The urge to keep her bent over and fuck her was strong.

“Anyone could have walked in,” he muttered, unable to stop himself. “The guys around here—” “As if you care. Besides, I can take care of myself,” she said while stepping out of the jeans. He shouldn’t care, outside of returning her to Rocky. When had she wormed her way in that it mattered if she was okay? She straightened and tugged off her shirt, only turning away from him when she freed her breasts from the sports bra and tossed it on the bed. Then she reached for a tank top out of her bag and put it on. When she turned around his eyes were hooded and dangerous. “Like I said, what are you doing?” She sighed. “Going to bed. What do you think?” “It’s early.” She shrugged. “Haven’t had much sleep lately,” she accused. He watched as she crawled across the bed, giving him a spectacular view of her ass. Then she turned and laid herself down suggestively. His dick leaped to life and did its best to poke a hole in his jeans. The damn thing pointed itself like a dowsing rod directly at her core as if sensing she was wet. Good thing her eyes were on him. He shifted and realized there was no way he could stay in the room with her at that moment. She was trying her best to push his buttons, and he couldn’t trust himself. He was horny as hell and the next pussy he made contact with would be punished in the best possible way. He stormed to the door. “Where are you going?” “Out,” he said before closing the door behind him. She sat up and wondered if she’d rattled him too much. His leaving could have been a blessing if she could leave. But she made a promise to Katie’s mom, which meant she had to hang around. It would most likely mean she wouldn’t get away from Ender in time. “Mother Fucking Teresa,” she muttered and got under the covers. She hadn’t been lying to him. She was tired after half sleeping the night before. She needed to get rest so that she could be clear-headed enough to execute her plan to get Katie away from there. He hadn’t taken two steps out the back door before he ran into a familiar face. “Eric,” the blonde said with a wide grin. “Kimmey,” he said. She’d grown in all the right places at least for most men. Her boobs were too big for him. “It’s just Kim now.” Of course it was. She wasn’t eighteen anymore. He gave her a once-over. Her shorts where too short and her shirt didn’t hide much of anything. She’d been inducted into the society. “Kim.”

Her smile ratcheted up. “I didn’t know you were coming back.” “Quick visit,” he said by way of explanation. The women around there knew better than to ask too many questions and he wasn’t surprised when she just nodded. “Where you headed?” “Just needed air,” he explained. She stepped closer and placed her hands on his chest. “Looking for company?” He hadn’t exactly been looking, but the hard-on in his pants needed tending. If he didn’t fuck someone soon, he’d fuck Piper, screw the consequences. “Maybe,” he said with a raised brow. Her hand snaked down the front of his pants and found what she thought she’d caused. Only she had nothing to do with his arousal. Hopefully, she’d have something to do with solving the problem. She smiled up at him, but he kept his face impassive. He didn’t want her to think there was any more than a quick fuck in their future as she led him toward the barn. Later, he got his bag from his Hog and took a shower before entering the room he had to share with Piper. The décor had changed since it was his room. It looked as though his dad had let one of the women get their hands on it. The walls were a cream color, and the headboard was now porcelain white. Piper didn’t stir, which surprised him. All he knew about her, she should have jumped and reached for a gun when he entered. She must have been as tired as she told him. He’d half assumed she’d try to run again. So he was doubly surprised that she lay sprawled over half the bed, her breath leaving her soft and easy. He left his shirt off, used to sleeping with very few clothes on. But he kept his jeans on, which would mean he wouldn’t be comfortable. He lay down on the corner of the bed she’d left him and closed his eyes. He opened them again sometime later when the softness of her bottom brushed against his side. He placed a hand on her hip to move her over, but at his touch she shimmied back against him, causing life to brim in his pants. Fuck, he thought. Kim had sucked him off like a professional, but that hadn’t been enough. She hadn’t been enough. Her skills were notable, except he kept picturing someone else on her knees before him. He needed to get the idea out of his head because no matter what, he couldn’t have Piper. She was his brother’s, which meant she was totally off-limits.

23

She woke for the first time with an urgent need to pee. Ender lay shirtless and

sound asleep flat on his back. She slipped out of the room and across the hall. In no time, she completed her business, including washing her hands. When she opened the door, she was stopped short from exiting by a wall of wiry muscle. She glanced up to view a shit splitting grin that sported a gaping hole on one side from a missing tooth. The spot held her mesmerized a second too long, leaving her vulnerable to the shove that sent her stumbling backward. The door closed, and the guy from the stairwell who had held Katie in a prison created by his eyes, stood before her. “I’ve been waiting to run into you again. And you know the rules. We taught them to Mandy and now I’ll teach them to you.” He grabbed himself through the sweats he wore. Granted from all accounts he had an impressive package. Too bad he would be losing it soon. “I suggest you get the fuck out of here.” Her words were cool and smooth. He laughed, underestimating her, and stalked forward. The bathroom was small and narrow, not leaving her a lot of room to work with. She didn’t scream as she could handle herself. Unknowingly, he stepped into her space with her silent permission. Secretly, she looked forward to what came next. These assholes needed to learn that not all women were helpless prey and he would be the example. Once his hand landed on her chest, she throat chopped him. He cupped his neck with wide eyes as she smiled, thinking of all the ways she’d been trained to kill a man with her bare hands. She spun in the tight space, extending her leg, so her foot careened into his balls. He choked out a gasp, but was still unable to speak. Before he hit the door, she caught the back of his head and pulled it so his nose met her knee up close and personal. He dropped just as the bathroom door flew open. Ender stood there with muscles coiled tight, taking in the situation. He saw the body first before seeing Piper in a fighting stance with fists held up ready to strike. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Get in the room. I’ll handle this.” Thank fuck she didn’t see the need to challenge him. He didn’t move much, forcing her to slide by him, pressing her soft tits across his body. Once he heard the

bedroom door close, he hauled the fucker who dared to touch what belonged to him. “Hey, man,” the guy croaked, as Ender held his neck in a vice grip. “You know the rules. I could end your life for fucking with my woman.” His woman. He didn’t allow himself to think too much about what he’d said. “I can’t breathe,” the guy wheezed. “That’s the thing, Darryl. It’s my choice if you continue breathing.” “But—” Ender leaned in close and whispered toward the guy’s ear, “If I let you out of here, you don’t speak about this. Or it’s your life as my right of hospitality. You walk away, and you stay away from my old lady. You don’t look or think about her again.” The guy tried to nod, but couldn’t manage it. Ender pushed him roughly back, sending the guy to brace his hands toward the counter and the wall, so he wouldn’t fall head first into the toilet. Ender gave him a final warning glare before he backed out of the room. The guy held his hands up in peace as Ender’s game face generally made the toughest guy pee in his pants. The asswipe stumbled over his own two feet and fell into a heap between the tub and the toilet. Ender rolled his eyes heavenward and headed casually back into the room, leaving his back exposed. That was how little he thought of the other man being any sort of threat. Inside the room, Piper lay innocently on the bed. “What the hell was that about?” he demanded. She shot up and braced her arms behind her to glare at him. “He assaulted me and got—” All the breath left her as he dove onto the bed. He covered her mouth, not to mention her body, as he raised a finger to her lips. “Go with it,” he whispered. A second later she heard footsteps in the hall. Just as the door opened, he kissed her. Unable to stop herself, she melted in his arms. The taste of her was like the best beer ever brewed. He used his tongue to engage her mouth. He didn’t care who came in the room a few seconds before his brain came back online. He turned to glare at the men huddled in the door. It only took a few seconds of his death by glare glance before the men muttered apologies and closed the door as they departed. Piper, ashamed of her body’s response to the man on top of her, shoved him off. He rolled off, chuckling. He had to believe that Taylor would forgive him. He’d only kissed her to keep up the ruse to keep her safe, not because he wanted to, or so he told himself. “Don’t act like you didn’t like that, baby. Your nipples are so hard under that shirt they are like diamonds.” “Fuck you,” Piper muttered, rolling away from him to land on her side. She closed her eyes and willed her body to calm the fuck down.

“Never going to happen. You’re Taylor’s property.” That got her heart ratcheting up to nuclear self-destruct levels. She turned back to face him. “I’m no one’s goddamn property, but my own.” She didn’t wait for him to respond as the corners of his eyes and lips were lifted in a smirk of epic proportions. “Who is Mandy?” He stilled, but didn’t speak. She prodded him further. “The asshole said I had to be taught a lesson same as Mandy.” A homicidal look took over his face. “He said what exactly?” It was as if frosted air blew out with each one of his words except it wasn’t winter. “Fuck you? I asked first.” They stared at each other, neither giving ground. If he wasn’t going to tell her anything, she wasn’t either. Finally, she rolled back to her side to face away from him. And it took forever, but she finally found sleep. He lay there and contemplated killing Darryl. Rocky would understand if he did and blew the deal. But he owed the club his life. They’d given him purpose when he would have self-destructed. So he bided his time. Darryl would die with a crowbar up his ass after he told him everything that happened that night so he could carry out justice to anyone involved. When she woke, she saw the room was filled with golden light. The next thing she noticed was Ender was wrapped around her with a possessive hand cupping her breast, and she realized he was still sleeping. His quiet breaths fanned across her neck evenly. She hated that she felt comfortable in that position. He wasn’t hers and had probably thought she was someone else when he spooned behind her. Carefully, she lifted his hand. He didn’t stir, which was surprising. They both had a hair trigger. Yet, she hadn’t woken up when he spooned her and he didn’t wake as she scooted out of his hold. What did that mean? Were they that comfortable with each other to let their individual guards down? She didn’t like the implications. Silently, she put on her clothes. She needed to find Katie’s mom and tell her the plan. And she needed to find a few household things she would need to pull off her plan.

24

P lan in place, Piper played it cool as she made her way back to the main house. Some of the guys from the day before were setting up a couple of grills and moving tables and chairs in the backyard when she walked up. Ender wasn’t in sight, and neither was the jackass who'd tried to get in her pants last night. A guy stared at her from a couple of paces off before he got to his feet. Immediately on alert, she hoped she wouldn’t have to put him in his place and embarrass him in front of the other guys. Scruffy unlike the others, the man making his way straight for her had a mop of oily hair crowning his head. He thumbed his nose like a coke head before sniffing up and then clearing his throat before he spoke. “Piper, that’s your name, right?” He was too close for her comfort. Unfortunately, it was too late to backtrack or ignore him. Too many eyes had followed his bold journey to intercept her and she couldn’t risk pissing him off lest it put Ender in a bad position, not that she should care. “It is,” she said softly. “I heard you biker chicks get nicknames same as them bikers. What’s your name mean? You good at giving good pipe?” That got a chorus of laughter from those nearby as they continued to pay attention to them while working at the same time. Great, for once men can multitask, she thought. She let disgust show on her face as she gave him the once-over. That drew the smile off his face and a frown to form in its place as he no doubt wondered what she would say next. “Not exactly. The name came when I killed a man who dared to touch me when I didn’t want him to. And I did it with a pipe.” The peanut gallery went silent as they wondered if she was telling the truth. While they were all stunned by her words, she walked right by them and into the house. Ender stepped out the kitchen door, missing Piper’s entrance into the house using the other side. He held a tray of meat the women had prepared for the grill. “Son, have you thought any more about my proposal?” his dad asked, sidling up

next to him. He hadn’t. Living at the ranch again wasn’t an option. “I think you being back may make the guys feel a little easier about your gang taking root in our territory.” Ender knew better. His father ruled shit, and him paying lip service to his men didn’t mean it was a true democracy, like it was with Ender’s club. “We’re not a gang. We’re a club. And the fact that I’m your son should be enough, along with the money we gave you.” “I’m not sure that is enough. You left without asking, showing me no loyalty.” Bobby spotted them and barreled in their direction. Ender knew his half-brother was jealous and wouldn’t take a shine to the idea that their dad wanted him to return to the fold and take over eventually. With his finger, Bobby pointed at Ender before starting his rant. “I don’t think that girl is none of yours. And you know the rules about women in the compound.” Ender knew the rules all too well, but he wasn’t taking shit from the cocksucker. “Don’t even think about her.” “Wait.” Ender’s dad held up his hands. “Bobby has a point.” “Damn right. I haven’t seen you touch her once, and your room was mighty quiet last night. And Kim said you took her up on her offer last night.” Fucking bitch couldn’t keep her mouth shut. It served him last night, but he didn’t need that shit. And apparently the two assholes who'd barged into his room last night could keep quiet. It was turning into a clusterfuck, and Rocky was counting on him getting this deal done. Piper took that moment to walk out the back door looking freshly showered. Her hair was still somewhat damp and curled around the edges. She wore a white tank top and jeans that clung to her tight little body. He saw his brother salivating while glancing at her over his shoulder. Ender grabbed his collar and dragged him close to the point the guy was on his toes. “If you touch her, I’ll kill you.” It wasn’t an idle threat. Brother or not, they were never close. Bobby never once acted like they were kin. It was all in the blood that didn’t matter one second. Ender let him go with a little shove. Bobby stumbled backward and glared at their dad for help. The man said nothing, and Ender hadn’t expected him to. Each man should be able to protect himself. Only in outside threats did the group band together. The rest of the men watched on. Ender let his instincts take over. He dropped off the tray of meat he held one-handed before he stalked toward a wide-eyed Piper. She stood just at the bottom of the few stairs that led to the house. When he reached her, he took a handful of her soft hair at the nape of her neck in his hand. Then he angled her head and took her mouth the way he wanted to plunder her pussy. He felt her hand meet his chest, and he thought for a second she’d push him away. Instead, she gripped his shirt like she wanted to pull him closer, giving him full access to her mouth. He sucked her tongue like he wanted to

suck her clit. He grabbed her ass and hauled her flush to him so she would know exactly what she did to him. She sank her hands into his back pockets, liking the feel of him. She wasn’t sure what came over him, but she was ready to take advantage of the opportunity, not to mention the ache he’d created inside her over the last several days. Just as she started to feel drunk off his kiss, he pulled away. His eyes were dark, but his face wasn’t filled with passion. In fact, he looked more pissed off than anything else. He licked his lips, and she watched, wanting him to kiss her again. Only he stepped back and eyed her for a second more before turning around and stalking away. He grabbed the arm of a passing brunette, who squeaked in surprise. Ender only had to give her a glare for her to know what he wanted. Piper watched in disbelief as he steered the woman toward the barn with heated eyes that had been on her seconds before. She wanted to curse him for being an asshole, but she kept her mouth shut. He would get his in the end. As Ender walked by his speechless brother, he murmured, “You don’t touch what’s mine. But around here, a man is entitled to a little variety.” Kat was still as pretty as he remembered, if not rough around the edges. That was true of most of the women after a few years of ranch life really kicked in. He needed to fuck and couldn’t have what he wanted. So Kat would get his worst. He wanted to feel bad about it, but couldn’t muster the emotion. She knew what was expected of her and had willingly stayed in the fold. He found his way inside the barn that smelled like horse shit, but that didn’t matter. He worked at the button of her shorts to pull them down as she worked on his. Outside, Piper turned her attention toward the trees in the opposite direction of the barn. The little girl and her mother should be making their way toward the road with little to no cover. The distraction would begin at any moment if the plan had gone as strategized. There was a ruckus and Piper slowly turned to see the back of the barn engulfed in flames. That happened fast, she thought. It must not have rained there recently. “Fire!” someone shouted, and the madness began. Some ran toward the growing flames, while a few moved toward the house where someone was frantically attaching a hose to a spigot. There was no way that hose would reach the barn, which was yards and yards away. Piper didn’t have time to find out. Absently, she prayed Ender would get out safely, but she had to act while everyone else’s attention was diverted. She ran around the house and stopped as the gate guy zoomed by. She hoped he wouldn’t remember her heading in the opposite direction. He didn’t seem to notice her in his frantic run to help. She checked around and saw that the coast was clear. She bolted for the sparse trees and being better in shape, caught up with the mother and daughter team as they made their way through the tall grass and wound around the few trees to the road. They stopped when they got there, and Piper checked her phone. The mother-

daughter pair cuddled close with tears slipping from both of their eyes. “Keep my daughter safe,” the woman said softly. “I won’t have to. You’re going with her.” The mother’s eyes grew in size as well as her daughter’s. “But—” “She needs you more. You have a mile or so until the main road. I called a taxi to meet you there. You need to hurry.” Piper pulled out some more money she’d taken from her dwindling stash. “Have the cab driver take you to the bus station. Buy a ticket on the first bus leaving, no matter where. At the next big depot, you get off and buy a ticket anywhere else. Pick up a prepaid phone and text me that the weather is great, and I’ll know you are okay. If you say the weather is bad, I’ll assume something went wrong. If you decide on NY, you can call this number, and he’ll help you out.” She handed the woman a scrap piece of paper she found and had written Kings’s number as well as hers on. Piper knew Kings would get the woman a job and a safe place to stay, most likely her apartment she’d abandoned. No matter, if she returned, she’d work it out. The mother took her in a fierce embrace. “Thanks for everything.” Piper nodded. “Just get out of here and go.” They nodded, but Katie came in and hugged her as well. Piper couldn’t help the overwhelming emotions that rolled over her. She waved them off and watched as they disappeared in thicker brush and trees. She stayed for a while before heading back. The shouts were dying down as she made it to the house. She started to peek around the corner of the house she was rounding when she barreled into a solid chest. She glanced up but didn’t need to see his face to know who it was. He took her shoulders into his grip and forced her back against the side of the house. “Leaving?” Ender growled.

25

P iper met his midnight blues and showed no fear. “Nope.”

Ender wasn’t buying it. The fire was too damn convenient. “You’re up to something.” Piper tried to wrench out of his grasp because her skin became flush and heated just by being that close to him. He wouldn’t let go, focusing on her mouth. Her eyes felt heavy as she rolled her lower lip inward and gently bit down. “You’re playing with fire,” he murmured. Her lids fluttered open and met his dark gaze. “I don’t play.” It was the truth. She didn’t want to play. She wanted him in the worst way. Though she knew if she could break him, she might be able to get free. “If I weren’t crazy, I would think you were jealous and started that fire just so I wouldn’t fuck Kat.” She tried to show indifference by shrugging away, but his hand kept her shoulders from moving. “Jealous of what? That you’re like every other man out there who would screw anything that moved? I’m not impressed.” That time she got her back inches off the wall before he pushed her firmly back against it. “You think this is a game, don’t you?” he asked, a hair’s breath away from her mouth. “The only game is the one you’re playing by holding me here,” she complained. He huffed and leaned further in as if he were going to kiss her. She licked her lips in response. He stepped back, but didn’t let her go. “You want me. I can see it in your eyes, but it’s never going to happen. You belong to Taylor.” He was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving her to stew on the truth of his words. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. She was supposed to be seducing him, not getting trapped by her own game. She turned and slammed her fist on the side of the house before walking around back. The barn had survived somehow. A guy walked forward, holding up a jar, and she nearly froze. It was the one Piper had left earlier in the back of the barn near some carefully planted hay. Of course,

there was more to it, but it’d worked. Ender strode back into the fray where glares of mistrust aimed in his direction. If Piper had something to do with the fire and it cost him the deal, he would throttle her no matter the consequences. His dad marched in his direction with determination in his stride. “You didn’t have anything to do with this?” Kat came running up. “I told you he was with me the entire time. We could have burned.” Ender said nothing, just gave his biological father a bored look. “Get back to cooking the food. We still have to eat,” his father directed at Kat. The fire had been caught early with little damage. The cookout would go on as planned. Kat gave Ender a sorrowful glance before walking off and doing what she was told. The old man’s eyes held him as he spoke. “Eric, I need the truth.” Annoyed, Ender all but spit his next words. “Why the fuck would I burn down your barn, especially with me in it? What would it gain me?” His father seemed to ponder that before he nodded, seeing the truth in his words. “Let’s get this show on the road,” his dad called out to the crowd. “We stopped the fire. Now let’s eat.” Piper kept to the fringes and out of the limelight. She ate food, killing time because she wasn’t sure about Ender’s mood. He wasn’t at all happy, not that she’d ever seen him be. But, he only grunted at her when it came time to go. Word came as the party wound down. He’d been given the answer he’d been waiting for. It was time to make tracks. He needed to get Piper home before they killed each other. She didn’t complain when he all but demanded her to get her shit so they could go. Ready to leave especially since Katie and her mother’s disappearance hadn’t yet been noticed, she acquiesced without a fight. Piper watched the eyes of the lumberjack’s father. She didn’t think he noticed, but she saw strong emotion as they prepared to leave. Piper would guess that his father loved Ender in his own way. But the big man made no attempt at a hug or kind words as they were about to depart. With their bags stowed away, Piper wrapped her arms around Ender as he pulled out into the night. Ender pondered his father’s parting words they’d had in private minutes before Piper emerged from the house. He’d given his dad the ten thousand as promised, but the old man wanted another five because the community believed that he or Piper had something to do with the fire. Since they couldn’t come up with a reason why Ender or Piper would want to set it in the first place, they let them go, no harm, no foul, but wanted recompense nonetheless. He’d found the silver plated lighter his father had given him on his sixteenth birthday still in the pocket where he carried it. That didn’t mean Piper hadn’t set

the fire. He’d turned the thing over in his hand, remembering how his father had explained then about it being passed to him by his grandfather when he turned that same age. It was some sort of rite of passage. As much as he hated the old man, he’d kept it all those years because his old man could have given it to one of his brothers, but hadn’t. And whether he wanted to admit it or not, that had meant something. Just like how Ender couldn’t shake not maintaining a beard. Sometimes, one couldn’t run from one’s upbringing. Rested, Piper had no trouble hanging on to Ender as they navigated the highways. They drove most of the day and into the night, making a couple of stops to eat and use the restrooms. When she thought she might not be able to hold on any longer, he finally pulled off at a motel just near the border of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. “Get cleaned up,” Ender ordered once they were in the room. Piper’s hackles rose, and she crossed her arms over her chest to signify her defiance. Ender didn’t bother with words. He moved forward and picked her up by her arms and carried her in the bathroom. He sat her down in the tub, kicking and fighting him. Then he turned on the water, making her gasp when hit with the frigid temperature. She jumped to her feet, freezing and glaring at the lumberjack in front of her. “You asshole!” “That’s what she said.” He walked out of the room, leaving her to shiver as she turned the nozzle, hoping to get warmer water. She peeled off her clothes, vowing to kill him slowly when she had the chance. No man had ever had the upper hand before unless she gave it to him. Ender annoyingly did. And she hated it but was extremely turned on by it at the same time. Thankfully, her clothes had been washed at the farm house. It was a perk that Ender got, and she’d piggybacked in on it. She showered as best as she could with limited supplies and wanted to refuse to face Ender in a towel. That would only let him know he won, and that she’d crawled back into the shower like a good girl. However, she had no choice. She decided when she went in the room she would get dressed and consider the gun at the bottom of her bag. Maybe it was a good time to play her hand. Ender talked softly in the phone. Piper was in the shower, but he wouldn’t put it past her to be at the door listening to what he was doing. “What’s your ETA?” the voice asked on the other end. “Almost another twenty hours if I drive straight. If it were me alone, I’d do it.” “Okay, two more days?” “Yeah,” Ender agreed. There was a pause and Ender knew Rocky wasn’t sentimental, but he would ask. “How’s she holding up?” “Besides being a pain in my ass?” Ender chuffed. “Watch it,” Rocky warned.

Ender hadn’t told Rocky that he was sure Piper had started the fire. He’d only told him that his dad’s crew suspected them. “She’s not coming in easily.” “That’s my girl,” Rocky replied. He hesitated before adding, “I don’t think she wants anything to do with Tricks.” There was a pause and Ender knew he was crossing certain lines. But his job had always meant he played it straight. “I know.” That was how the call ended. He slipped the phone in his pocket just as the bathroom door opened. A slick and wet Piper walked in the room with a small white towel around her. His cock stiffened in his pants. He had to fist his hands at his sides and plant his feet so he wouldn’t go to her. Since she’d come into his life, he’d had a half fuck, a hasty blowjob, and he’d gotten his fingers wet. He didn’t know how long it’d been since he hadn’t fucked on a daily basis. He’d have to make a stop tomorrow. Otherwise, he couldn’t be responsible for what he might do. Piper walked purposefully to her bag and pulled out freshly washed clothes. She tried not to be affected by the way Ender watched her predatorily, as if she were a gazelle and he were a lion. Yet, goosebumps erupted on her skin, leaving her damp and chilled. She sat on the bed with her back to him and slipped her underwear up her legs and raised her butt to get them under the towel and over her hips. Then she let the towel fall, leaving her breasts exposed. He’d already seen the goods, no use in hiding them now. Plus, he was at her back. She slipped the T-shirt over her head, not bothering with a bra. She stood and pulled on shorts before grabbing her small bag of essentials to go back in the bathroom to finish up. Once she’d brushed her teeth, she strode into the room and tossed the bag down before getting into the bed. She rolled on her side with Ender still standing. He hadn’t moved from that spot as if he were a statue. She had to push away the need that gathered between her legs. There was no way to focus and escape with his eyes burning into her soul the way they were. So she closed her own and tried to force sleep. Ender couldn’t believe her ballsiness when she’d taken off her shirt. He’d caught a side view of her full rounded tits. Normally, he didn’t like big boobs, but his cock currently disagreed. He had to shift to one side to relieve the pressure from his massive hard-on. She was fuckable in the worst way with her tight ass. He wouldn’t be able to sleep in the bed with her. He’d asked for one bed not two, intending to piss her off and punish her for being a grade-A thorn in his side. Instead, he would be punishing himself if he lay next to her. There was a chance she’d run, but at that point he wanted her to. It would give him a reason to chase her and enjoy the spoils of his prize once he caught her. So, silently he dared her to, as he made his way to the bathroom to take a fucking cold shower. He was certain his balls were already blue, but he planned to rectify that shit soon.

26

P iper woke with a start and lifted her head to see Ender snoozing on a chair. As

soon as her leg moved over the side of the bed rustling the sheets, Ender’s eyes opened wide. “Ready.” His voice was rough from sleep but unfortunately for Piper it sounded sexy as fuck. He didn’t give her a lot of time to get dressed and ready for the drive. All too soon, her arms were wrapped around a man she could never have. Ender wanted the drive to end. He never thought he’d hate his Hog, but he’d give anything for a four-wheel ride at the moment. Piper’s arms around him did crazy things for such a maddening chick. He was sure it was a lack of sex that was creating his hyper sense of awareness of her. At every stop, his eyes glued to her movement and not because he’d feared she’d rabbit. He’d be a dead man if he didn’t drop her off soon because there was no redemption from breaking the code. Not a religious man, he suddenly believed in Adam and the temptation he’d suffered. Piper was the forbidden fruit and that was all it was, not anything more. As soon as he released the pressure in his balls, she would cease to be the craving he desired. Still, he didn’t give her leeway when she wanted a bathroom break. At one stop, he followed her inside, ignoring her glare. He didn’t give a fuck. She wasn’t giving him the slip again. She glared at the lumberjack before barking, “Get out!” He didn’t bother responding. He watched as she peeled her tight pants down her legs. If not for his phone ringing, he would have continued to watch the show, only to piss her off. That was his only recourse for the game she was playing. He wasn’t stupid to the fact she was trying to bait him to bed her. He’d become a eunuch before he betrayed his brother and best friend. All the tiny ways he’d crossed the line up to that point could be explained. He wouldn’t risk any further breach of trust. Piper wasn’t sure why she hadn’t killed Ender yet. He was a controlling, overbearing asshole who wanted to watch her pee. She couldn’t even get her muscles to relax to relieve herself until he finally glanced away to answer a call. She nearly sighed when she was able to finish her business.

Irritated, Ender finished the call. It wasn’t the news he wanted to hear. Piper washed her hands when Ender faced her with a storm in his beautiful eyes. “Where’s Katie?” Damn, Piper thought. “Katie?” she asked as if she didn’t know who he was referring to. “Don’t play fucking dumb, Piper. You weren’t leaving when I found you after the fire. You were coming back. Who do you think you are, Mother Theresa?” She had wondered the same thing. She fluffed her hair in the mirror as if she cared about that sort of thing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She puckered her lips, thinking with a little makeup and her windblown hair, she would look freshly fucked. Too bad that was the farthest from the truth. There was no exit as Ender blocked the door with his feet spread as if he were a bouncer in front of a club. “Fine, your creepy cult brothers were looking at her like she was fresh meat.” “She is.” Her jaw dropped. “You’re as sick as they are. She’s twelve, if that!” “Her mother knows what happens. That girl has a father somewhere on that ranch.” “Who? Does anyone know who?” “Not my business.” “Well, fuck you. She’d be in middle school, for God’s sake, if they had a school there.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Where are they?” She shrugged. “I have no idea, and I hope like hell they got away. They shouldn’t be prisoners.” “Your little stunts are going to get someone killed.” “Yeah, like who?” she asked, spoiling for a fight. “Like Katie and her mom. Now for sure they are going to think they started the fire as a diversion. You better pray they don’t catch them.” Madder than hell, and more at herself, she punched Ender’s solid chest. “I can’t believe you don’t care they want to rape a child.” Ender grabbed Piper’s pounding fist. “It’s not that I don’t care. But I can’t save the world, Pipe, and neither can you.” She felt tears gather in her eyes at all the injustices that went on. He was right. She couldn’t save the world, especially considering her specialty was the polar opposite of saving lives. Hell, she could hardly save herself against him. She rolled to the balls of her feet as he held her captive and planted her mouth on his. She remembered the kiss he’d given her at the cookout, and she wanted more. As soon as her lips met his, he was done. He grabbed her wrists and put some distance between them lest he use his hands to cup her breasts, something he’d wanted to do for days. He squeezed hard, punishing her for the hold she had over his cock. She said jump and the damn thing sprang to life. Her ass called his name, so he gave her a little shove to send her stumbling

away. Her heavily lidded eyes narrowed and anger blossomed on her face. Wanting to claw the smug look off his face, she came at him, fingers extended. Instead, she played a different card. His dick had stiffened several times over the last few days when she got close enough. He wanted her. She just had to bait him enough to take her. She fisted his hair and hopped up to wrap her legs around his waist. Her momentum sent him crashing back into the door. Instinct had him holding her ass to keep her from falling. Damn her, he thought as she ground her sweet cunt against his dick. For a second, he damned her jeans, needing to see if she was wet for him. He wanted to slide his finger through her sweet folds, parting them as he prepared to enter her. When she sucked his lower lip into her mouth, she let her teeth graze over the flesh before she released it. “Fuck,” he growled and pushed off the door. He turned one hundred and eighty degrees and a step over to slam her against the wall. All the air rushed from her lungs, leaving her stunned for a second. With strength he didn’t know he possessed, he let her go to let gravity help her slide down the wall to her feet. He stepped back and turned without another word. He flung the door open, barely missing hitting her in the face. Astounded, she stood there wondering what the fuck. That damn code of his was harder than steel. There was no doubt he would have taken her if he didn’t see her as Taylor’s. Fuck him. She was tired of all the games. Taylor wasn’t pining away for her. She belonged to no one and could fuck who she wanted, but apparently not Ender. She took a few more minutes in the bathroom to wet her face and school her features while forcing Ender to stew outside. Ender paced, furious that he’d reached the edge and had almost crossed the line for pussy. Clearly, he needed to get to his next stop before they fucked each other’s brains out. When she came out of the bathroom, he barely glanced at her. He got on his Hog without pretenses and waited for her to get on. As he waited, he mentally started a checklist of what he had to do and checked it several times until the thought and taste of Piper were out of his head, either of them. Many hours of hard riding later with a few rest stops along the way, Ender finally pulled up into the parking lot of the Arizona chapter. He could have ridden the few hours more to get home, but he had to get his shit on straight before he made it there. And he could tell Piper was tired. She wasn’t used to riding for so many hours. He wasn’t sure why he wasted his time, but he took out her cut so she wouldn’t be bothered by the men who didn’t know her inside. Surprisingly, she took it from his hand without saying a word. They hadn’t spoken to each other since the bathroom incident, which should have been a good thing. But he found himself missing their banter.

They pushed through the doors like saloon goers in the Wild West. The clubhouse, like most, was part bar, part strip club, and part living room. At least that was the way the furniture in the room would describe the place. It was packed as it should be. Night had fallen, and the members would gather there for business outside of their everyday jobs. Although most worked for club establishments, not all of the citizens of the town knew exactly what the club did; or rather they didn’t want to know. It didn’t take long for them to be noticed. Piper watched as a slender beauty made a beeline for Ender. She was tall, statuesque, with skin the color of copper. Her sleek black hair only added to her Native American features. She was gorgeous in a way that Piper could only dream of. She stepped up to Ender with a familiarity of more than friends. The woman looped her arms around Ender's neck, and he didn’t have to lean too far to meet his lips with hers. “Lyla,” he whispered reverently. She was his reason for this stop. The first woman since Mandy he’d given two shits about. A woman he might have patched her up if she’d been willing to move, but she hadn’t. He hadn’t been willing either. So they were long-distance fuck buddies with a desire for more but neither willing to give. “Eric,” she said just as softly. Piper felt a stir of jealousy. The woman knew his real name and called him that out loud. They were definitely more than friends. She felt a little sick and turned her head. She spotted a small bar in the corner and headed toward it. She didn’t bother to glance back, especially when Ender didn’t call out any instructions to her. Apparently, the woman on his arm was more important than getting Piper back to Cali to see Tricks. A boy, and that was what she would call him because he looked too young to be manning a bar. That and he appeared a little wet behind the ears. He arched a brow in her direction, making her notice how cute he was in the floppy hair kind of way. “Vodka,” Piper ordered. “ID?” His voice was a lot deeper than the preteen look that covered his boyish face. “I should ask you that. I’m probably old enough to be your mother,” she teased. “I doubt that. I’m sure I wouldn’t want to fuck my mother.” Piper’s shoulders straightened and she eyed the guy a little more. And then she saw it. There was something in his eyes that held an old soul. “How old are you?” He only repeated her question back to her. “Fine, I’m twenty-something,” she answered, a little too curious about the guy in front of her. “I’m twenty-three, but I’m sure I could fuck you like I’m forty.” He said it while confidently handing her vodka in a small plastic cup. She downed it in one gulp and thought about it. She hadn’t fucked in ages, and when she got to Cali, she’d be number one no touchy. In fact, if Ender hadn’t been so

besotted with his Indian princess, he would have warned every guy off of her. “What’s your name?” she asked. “I won’t tell you mine, and you don’t have to tell me yours.” Her head fell back as she laughed. She liked his confidence and decided why not. “One more and then you will prove to me that you aren’t some virgin looking to get laid.” Giving her a lopsided grin, he poured them both a tall shot and they tapped their plastic cups together and drank. Piper didn’t make it a habit of one-night stands. But the few guys she’d been with outside of Taylor and…well, they’d been just that. Only she could count on one hand the number of partners she’d had. Boldly, he took her by the hand and led her away, once they set the cups on the counter. No one in the club said anything. They didn’t care. Piper couldn’t stop herself from glancing over her shoulder and finding Ender gone. So fuck him, she thought. Two can play that game. The nameless guy led her down a hall and opened a door. Someone grunted a response, and her one-nighter muttered an apology. She hadn’t seen much inside the room before the door was closed and she was finally led to an empty room. The guy didn’t waste time nor did he try to kiss her. He peeled her shirt over her head and cupped her breasts through her bra. His hands weren’t rough, and his thumbs dipped underneath the material to skim over her puckered nipples. She moaned when he pushed the fabric down, and his mouth made contact. It was just what she needed until the door crashed open.

27

E nder kissed Lyla more reverently than he did with any other woman. Yet, the

magic that could normally clear his head wasn’t there to give him the relief he sought. Instead, he found his eyes opening and searching for Piper. He found her at the corner bar, getting a drink from Kink. The guy had a disarming baby face, and was known to smooth talk his way into any female’s pants. He didn’t worry about Piper, though. She would read him like a book and could give the guy a run for his money. So he took the opportunity to take Lyla to one of the rooms and work out his erection issues. “I’ve missed you,” Lyla breathed. Her voice was like warm honey, sweet and seductive. It should have made him hard, but it didn’t. Fucking Piper had him all in knots. Immediately, as his brain conjured an image of her, his dick stiffened. Lyla felt his response and took it as her doing. She slid a hand between them to grip his length. “Let’s take care of his.” He nodded. It didn’t matter who he was fucking. At some point, Lyla would bring back all the reasons why he’d considered asking her to be his old lady once upon a time. She led Ender to a room he was sure was clean enough if she took him there. She stepped backward toward the bed and seductively removed her clothes. She was thin, but not skinny; curvy but not voluptuous, just the way he liked. Her breasts were perfectly palm-sized. When she was naked, he grabbed the back of her head and devoured her mouth. Only all he could see on the back of his eyelids was Piper. So he kept the suckers open, focusing on the woman in front of him. Lyla undid his jeans and took his dick in her hands. He found a condom and handed it to her. She slipped it on before draping herself on the sheet-covered mattress. He’d just bent down, prepared to take her with his mouth and get her off, when the door swung open. Kink’s head appeared in the doorway as Ender’s ass moon shined him. Ender growled something over his shoulder when he saw a flash of dark hair. The waves reminded him of something, rather someone.

Kink apologized and ducked out before a red haze clouded Ender’s vision. He stood and roughly tucked himself in his jeans. “What’s wrong, baby?” Lyla asked, concerned. Unable to speak, he shook his head. He had to check first before he said anything. He could feel his core temperature rising, as the idea that Piper was about to fuck Kink sent his blood to boiling. He stormed out of the room and opened every door along the way until he found her. She stood with her top off and Kink going to town breast fucking feeding. The roar that let out of his mouth would have made Tony the Tiger proud. Kink stepped back as Piper used her hand to cover her exposed flesh. “Do you not know who the fuck she belongs to?” Kink, newly patched after prospecting for over a year, shook his head. The young guy's eyes were wide, realizing he was fucked. “She’s Rocky’s.” Kink scrambled away with horror written in his expression and scampered out of the room. The door closed with a thud. “What. The. Fuck?” Piper wanted to point at Ender, but then she would give him an eyeful. “I’m having some fun. Isn’t that what you were doing?” “You’re acting like some twisted bitch. You have a death wish for that boy. What the hell do you think would happen to him when Rocky found out?” Piper let her shoulders rise indifferently. “You know what I do for the club. You want me to come back here with an order to kill him or worse, leave him alive without his balls?” She threw her hands up, not caring her breasts were there for him to see. “Yeah, it’s not fair. You and I both know Taylor doesn’t want me any more than I want him. Yet you’re cockblocking me, but I bet you don’t cockblock him.” Ender didn’t know how to answer. What she said was true. There was a double standard that existed in club life. It wasn’t as bad as how his dad ran the ranch, but women were expected to put up with the antics of their man. They could leave, but they couldn’t be with anyone else in front of any member of the club until the guy released her from being his property. He sucked in a deep breath as he watched the rise and fall of her chest. Her nipples hardened and begged for his mouth. He pointed at the bed. “Lie down.” Her eyes widened, and then narrowed. “No. Why should I?” “We have a long ride home tomorrow, and you need a fucking time-out.” “I’m not a child, least of all yours.” “Then stop fucking acting like it!” She crossed her arms over her bare chest and glared at him. It was a fucking standoff. He’d had enough of the woman in front of him. He strode over, picked her up by her arms, and tossed her on the bed. Piper bounced, and she had to fling her arms out to steady herself. Once the bed stopped moving, he tossed her the discarded bra and shirt.

“Cover yourself. You’re like a fucking bomb waiting to go off. Only you’re going to bring down someone else with you.” He turned and marched out of the room with invisible steam shooting out of his ears. When the door slammed shut, she lost all the will to fight. He barely glanced at her, and she felt defeated. She wouldn’t be getting laid, and he was right. She’d put that guy in danger for her own selfish needs. She just wanted this day over. She’d go see her mother once they reached California and then she would leave for New York. Just like that. She obediently stayed put and not because he could tell her what to do. She knew he would be stubborn enough to toss her over his shoulder and bring her back in there if she tried to leave. And she just wanted to be alone. She turned on her side after she put her shirt on. She considered getting her bag from his bike and fleeing toward California. She’d see her mother on her own terms and maybe not have to see Ender ever again. She shut her eyes, knowing escape was futile. Ender had to leave. The blood had drained from his head to his cock, making him stupid. He left the room but hadn’t gone far. There was no way he could trust that she’d stay put. Lyla stepped out of the room they'd been in and stared him down. There in her eyes she searched for answers he didn’t have to give. Without a word, he opened the door and went back into the room where Piper lay. He’d clearly lost his inner battle as he unbuttoned his jeans and climbed into bed next to her. They were both so wound up, they needed a release apparently with each other and not with someone else. Only he didn’t have a death wish. Without apology, he lay on his back. She rolled onto hers. Both of them stared at the ceiling, fighting the temptation between them that grew each moment. She hated the man world she lived in. Tired of fighting against that world as she’d done all her life, at home, as a soldier, hell, at his father’s compound and the damn club, she surrendered. She was a woman, hear her roar. She was horny and he wasn’t leaving. So she’d give him a little show. Closing her eyes, she imagined his hand landing on her hip and pushing up her shirt. She hadn’t bothered with the bra. So she pinched her nipples, pretending it was his fingers, and moaned in pleasure. As she continued with the fantasy, it was easy to pretend it was his hand not hers that moved to the hem of her pants. She was ready and pushed them down. She willed her brain to conjure imagines of his big hands finding her core. She groaned as her fingers brushed over her clit. The picture of his cock in the cleft of her ass as he dipped his finger into her honeyed heat came easily. It could be his palm not hers rubbing against her, lighting a fuse. Every stroke had trusting against the fingers she pushed inside. She found a rhythm that stirred up her pulse and made her moan out loud. “That’s it, baby,” she imagined him whispering in her ear. “Let go.” Pressing down hard on her clit, she exploded. Bright stars shone on the back of her eyelids as she continued to pump two fingers. She felt like melted butter,

boneless and sated until she remembered he was right next to her and hadn’t said a word. She rolled over, embarrassed because she had it all wrong. He never wanted her. He was just a man whose body reacted to her instinctually. Forcing herself not to cry, she closed her eyes. She wasn’t that girl, not since Taylor had made a fool of her. She prided herself on not letting a guy get to her, at least not the ones who rode motorcycles. Yet, there she was, pining over a guy she couldn't have. She reached for sleep and let it claim her. Ender hadn’t expected her to go there. He’d barely breathed as he caught snatches of her getting off. He was certain if her hand brushed against his cock, he would come. But she hadn’t. She’d rolled over. Hearing her breaths even out, he eyed her, disbelieving she’d gone to sleep. He could get up and find Lyla. But he didn’t. Instead, he freed his dick as she slept and fisted it tight. Fuck. When she’d gotten herself off, he’d watched her face more than the hand between her legs. Her rapturous expression with parted lips had undone him more than anything else. As he began to stroke himself, images of her lips wrapped around the crown of his dick conjured in his head. He barely stopped himself from taking a hold of her hair, visualizing her bright eyes, innocent yet sexy, defying him every suck. That was all it took. Jets of pent-up cum shot out. Strings of shooting cum dripped down his hand. Spent, he didn't waste time and scrambled out of bed. He got his pants back up after wiping his hand on a towel he found and left her sleeping in the room. Ender had never known the depths of his conviction for the club or toward his best friend until then. He wanted Piper like he needed food to survive and she’d made it clear she was his for the taking. Yet there he was back in the main clubhouse, taking two shots of whiskey before he started on beer. He couldn’t be twisted, not even in a chapter house of a club. The guys would have his back, but they weren’t his brothers like those at his own charter house. Lyla came and sat next to him, pouting, not understanding his mood. She tried to get him back in the room, but he wasn’t up to it. He needed to get Piper home and to his best friend. He was sure once he saw Taylor take possession of her that would clear up his head toward the pain in the ass woman. He hoped Taylor would give up the other females and treat Piper right. She might have been headstrong, but she was the kind of woman he could call wife. She’d put her neck on the line for strangers. He’d only done that for his brothers. He could only imagine what she would do for her old man. At some point, Piper woke having heard a vibration and knew the prepaid phone Ender had yet to find was ringing.

28

P iper answered, expecting to hear Katie’s mother on the other end of the phone.

“You’re forgiven for leaving the state without permission.” She froze and glanced at the door, hoping Ender wouldn’t come back then. She moved and turned the lock, knowing it wouldn’t keep the man out, but it would buy her some time to get the phone put away if he tried to barge in. Before she could respond, he said, “I have a job for you.” She couldn’t dwell on how he’d gotten her number. She imagined if Katie and the girl’s mom had made it to New York, he might have asked if Piper had given them her contact number. As he started to detail the job, she committed it to memory as she’d been taught. Nothing would be written down, as that would create potential evidence that could be used against her or the organization. She fought to breathe, knowing she was just as trapped in her job as she was with Ender, who would be lurking somewhere nearby. There was no time for thoughts of him. Once the instructions were given, she would be expected to execute them down to the letter and within the window of time given. When he finished, she had to ask the question because if his answer wasn’t in the affirmative, then how they’d found her would be an even scarier thought. “How are Katie and her mom?” There was a pause. “They’re fine. Charity work suits you.” She wasn’t sure how to take that. “Thanks, Kings.” The line went dead, and she stood there for a moment and replayed the conversation in her head. The plan was simple, yet complicated. It was in the details that made it a job for a professional like herself. Before Ender, she’d been so numbed by life, her job hadn’t affected her. Now, she wondered about all the nameless faces and if they had families. Only she didn’t have the luxury of secondguessing her assignments. If she didn’t do it, someone else would and then she’d be the next target. She stowed her phone away and lay down to get some rest. She would need it.

The next day, they rode past the city to a town just outside of LA County. They parked at a nondescript building next door to a Harley dealer on one side and an auto body shop on the other. Memories of the past flooded her mind. She took her time getting off the bike and removing her helmet to stare at a line of bikes that sat perfectly positioned along the side wall. They didn’t enter the building from the front. Ender headed for the door on that side. When he opened it, he waited for Piper, who’d hung back near his Hog. He knew who was inside based on the bikes parked there and wondered if Piper recognized any. Finally, she straightened her spine and walked over to him with her chin lifted. That was his girl. What the fuck? She wasn’t his, that point would be driven home in a matter of minutes. God, if she were anyone else he’d kiss her and carry her to one of the back rooms and fuck her properly. But she wasn’t anyone else, and she wasn’t his and never would be. Music and conversation filled his ears as he made his way to the main room down a very short hallway. Piper steeled herself as she walked behind him into the open space. Tables circled the room with a short bar along one wall. A pool table paralleled another wall in the back. A small stage with a pole centered the room. She remembered as a child the few times her mom had brought her there during club family gatherings that it was cool they had a fireman’s pole in the room. Little did she know then that was nothing from a firehouse. Ender’s long strides had him across the room and near the bar in front of a tall man, before Piper had gotten a few steps in the room. The man he stood before was just a hair shy of being the same height as Ender as he got off his stool and to his feet. He clapped a hand on Ender’s back as Ender did the same. Piper, however, took her time feeling all the eyes landing on her as she made her way over to the two men. “Baby,” the big man said before enveloping her in his embrace. His woodsy scent brought back even more memories. “Rocky, that’s your girl?” Another older man asked while taking her in. Rocky nodded before he leaned back and studied Piper’s face. He held on to her arms as if he would never let go. Finally, he stepped back but couldn’t keep his hands off her. He smoothed a hand down her head as his eyes lit with warmth and

understanding. That was when she caught sight of movement out of the corner of her right eye. She tensed and closed her eyes a second. Then she turned to face him. He was as beautiful as she remembered; California blond hair that brushed his shoulders, a face that could grace the cover of any magazine and a body that seemed too good to be true. Only now, he did nothing for her. Gone was all the love she’d professed when he’d taken her virginity years ago. She felt nothing as he blinked at her with big green puppy dog eyes. Ender positioned himself next to her like a sentry. Taylor stood with a bleached blonde on his arm with tits the size of small watermelons. Piper crushed the leather vest in her fist. She couldn’t remember why she’d ever thought she loved him. “Pipe,” Taylor said. His voice was like the promise of treasure only she wasn’t buying it. Her hand jutted out, and instantly every club member was on alert like she had a gun in her hand. “Piper,” Rocky called out. “I got this, Dad,” she said sarcastically, shocking herself with the moniker she’d never used for her biological parent. He’d shipped her off to grow up with other parents because his wife didn’t want the product of his adultery in her home. She turned her attention back to Taylor. “I don’t want this. Don’t know why I ever did. You can keep this and give it to her or shove it up your ass, for all I care.” Hysterical laughter filled the moment of silence, but she didn’t bother to see who in the room found her funny. When Taylor didn’t take the cut, she tossed it at him, center mass. On reflex, he caught it before it hit the floor, just as she took her leave, stalking back the way she came. She came, she saw, and now she had to do her duty and see Tricks, her bio mom. Then she could get the hell out of town and back to her life. In her wake, she heard Ender say, “I’ll take her to Poet’s.” “Don’t be long we need to talk about what’s going on with Wagon’s crew.” Ender nodded and Rocky murmured something else, but she was already out the door. Outside, she paced and waited for Ender to come. She knew he would follow her if Rocky ordered it. As club President, anything he said was law. “That went well,” Ender muttered as he exited the building. She rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m here. I don’t need a babysitter, and there’s no way I’m going to that pompous bastard’s house. If he thinks I’ll treat his ass like royalty, he has another thing coming.” Ender stood there and watched her defiant jaw move, only to focus on her lips instead. “Where are you going to stay? With Rocky?” “Humph,” she huffed, knowing her dad’s wife wouldn’t give her water if she was dying of thirst. Ender nodded. “Your mom’s?”

She glanced away. She hadn’t spent two minutes with her crack addict of a mother and didn’t understand the cross country trip to wish her ass a happy trip to hell. Then again, whatever Rocky wanted, Rocky got. Which was why she hadn’t completely forgiven him for parceling her off to other parents and pretending he was her uncle and not her father. But then, their relationship was a complicated one. “So we go to Poet’s?” he asked, using Taylor’s road name. “Why?” she said, sounding more petulant than she wanted. She’d just given him the kiss off in front of the club. Surely, he wouldn’t want her for a house guest. Ender’s fingers chucked her chin up to stare into his stormy eyes. “Because I live there too and now that you’ve basically cut off his balls in front of the club, I’m free to fuck the hell out of you.”

29

E nder’s words found their target as her center clenched with anticipation. Hadn’t

she wanted this since the beginning? The door banged open and they turned to watch Taylor stride out the door. Ender’s hands fell away and he stepped back. Her eyes narrowed and she knew nothing could ever happen between the two of them if he would always see her as Taylor’s property. “Pipe,” Taylor said, his jaw tight with, his eyes laser focused on the woman Ender planned to claim. “Don’t bother with pretty words. I’m not the girl you screwed over all those years ago.” Taylor folded his hands as if searching for divine intervention. “Please, just listen to me.” “Why? Everything you say is just another pretty lie. Is that why they call you the Poet?” His hands dropped to fist at his sides. “I didn’t lie to you when I told you I loved you.” Ender couldn’t help the frown that formed as he listened to his best friend. Taylor glanced at Ender, who was no doubt surprised he said the words. But seeing Piper again stirred something inside him. “Love,” she mocked. “You don’t know shit about love. And if screwing anything that moves is your brand of love, I don’t want it.” She moved to stand next to Ender as if he would protect her. She placed a hand on Ender’s bicep and glared at Taylor with a hate she felt. His eyes shifted to Ender, who didn’t move. What the fuck? Taylor thought. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to take her home,” Ender said. Ender was the poster boy of loyalty, but fuck Taylor sideways if they didn’t look cozy. He laughed nervously. “Is there something going on with you two?” Piper sneered at him. “Yeah, if you call fucking something. Then yes. So back the fuck off.” “Piper,” Ender warned.

He stepped over to Taylor, blocking his view of her. Their conversation was hushed and Piper couldn’t hear. “It’s not like that. I brought her here for Rocky…and for you. But she’s given you her cut. Let her go. It’s not like you ever wanted her, love or not.” “So you’re going to fuck her now?” Taylor hissed. Ender gritted his teeth. “She’s free range. Whatever happens, happens.” “And that’s how it is now. You’re choosing a chick over a brother.” “Like I said, it’s not like that,” Ender barked, not caring if Piper could hear. “She gave you the cut back. She doesn’t belong to you anymore.” “Yeah, we’ll see about that, brother. I think that’s a discussion for church.” Ender closed his eyes as Taylor yanked the club door open and stormed inside. There would be no fucking Piper tonight. He heard her footsteps as she march around to face him. “So that’s it, huh? Taylor makes a claim, and I have no say in my own destiny.” “Not here. Let’s go.” She let her teeth show. “Now that sounds promising.” He wasn’t going to argue with her here. The longer they stayed, the more likely that someone else would appear. Someone like Rocky, and all his options would be removed. Marching her over to his bike, he got on without ceremony and expected her to jump on behind him. When she did, he allowed himself a moment to relax as her arms circled around him. The anticipation of burying himself balls deep inside her had his muscles coiled tight. Especially since that eventuality was delayed. And why? Because his best friend wanted his girl back and that could never happen unless Taylor forced Ender to choose between the brotherhood and her. Like a demon, he rode to the house. Pulling up in front of a small ranch, he parked and waited as Piper hopped off. She took in her surroundings. The neighborhood reminded her so much of the one she grew up in with the parents who raised her. In the driveway sat a beast of a car. It had muscle and everything that spoke of the man before her. It certainly wasn’t Taylor’s. “Is this yours?” she asked. He ran a loving hand over the hood. It was obvious that he was capable of that emotion even if it was only for inanimate objects. It was a 1970 Charger and she bet it purred like it had just come off the assembly line. Ender, a man of few words unless it was necessary, let his hand do the talking. He stroked the car on the way to the front door. Inside, he stood, letting Piper get her fill of the place. It wasn’t a mansion. Though he didn’t think she’d expected one. Piper hadn’t shown that she was in any way materialistic. Still, he watched as she devoured the room with her eyes. “Nice place,” she said. It was a small three-bedroom home with enough space for him to eat, sleep, and store his stuff. He strode past her in the living room kitchen area headed for the

back hall and took a left. He stopped in front of the extra bedroom. “You can stay here.” The door opened under his hand and he held it against the frame as she stepped in. “Is this your room?” she asked, eyeing his body up and down. She was so ready for him to make good on his promise. “No. Mine’s across the hall and Taylor’s room is down there. He pointed to the opposite side of the house.” Her mood soured at the mention of that name. She didn’t care. Wanting to touch him, she stepped forward, making a move to line her body up to his. Only he stepped back. “No can do tonight. I have to get back.” She glared up at him with a stubborn tilt to her chin. “Why?” “We’ve got a town hall tonight.” Town hall was a misnomer. The club was no town, but whatever, she thought. It meant club business was being discussed. “Is it about me?” He shrugged, not planning to tell her anything. She may have been the club president’s daughter, but she wasn’t a member. Piper wasn’t stupid. She shoved at his chest, backing him into the hallway behind him. “He doesn’t own me. My father doesn’t own me,” she spat. “And you don’t own me. Fuck you.” She whirled around but then whipped back. “Better yet, fuck yourself.” Huffing and puffing like an angry wolf, she stepped into the room and slammed the door in his face. She pulled off the backpack he’d given her before they entered the house and plopped on the small full-sized bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, reminded by her little tantrum why he didn’t have an old lady. Then again as he adjusted himself, he had to admit her tirade was also hot as shit and his desire to have her hadn’t dulled. Brothers, however, came first, his dick a close second.

30

The room felt like a cave even though ambient light streamed through a decent-

sized window. She just felt caged. And dammit, she wouldn’t remain under Ender’s thumb any longer. She had a job to do and wouldn’t be able to accomplish that until she set things right with her mom. But before that, she had to set some things straight. She gathered her bag and headed for the front door of the small house. She grinned inwardly, wondering what he would do once he found her gone. She stopped herself and retraced her steps. There was one thing she needed to do first. Somewhere on her person or in her things, Ender had placed some sort of tracker. That was the only way he could have been able to find her all those times. Unzipping her backpack, she dumped the contents on the bed that dominated the room besides a small dresser that flanked it. She didn’t have much. So she took the time to feel her clothes. She didn’t think he would have sewn something into the seams, but she wouldn’t put anything past him. The clothes were fine. Out came the tampon box and all of the wrapped packages inside. Nothing and each one appeared free from tamper. What she did find was that her gun was missing. When had he accomplished that? Fucker. He’d left her defenseless. Ultimately, she found nothing. She repacked her bag and began to undress. It wasn’t until she got to her bra that she found the little piece of electronics that helped him find her at every turn. Setting it on the dresser after she redressed, she left out the front door without a glance back. At the sidewalk, she turned the opposite way they entered the street. Several blocks down, she caught sight of what appeared to be a busy street. From there he caught a cab back to the shop. The front entrance looked empty as she pulled up, but she knew better. After paying the cabbie, she walked down the short alley to the side door. She jerked it open and strolled inside like she owned the place. Heads of the lesser members rose, the ones not holding court meandered out in the common area. She ignored them and headed straight toward the double doors. A guard sat outside and held up a hand. “No can do, sweetheart, members only.” Before he could blink, she’d trust her palm up, aiming at the bottom of his chin

until his teeth clapped together so hard he careened back into the wall. As he teetered dazed on his feet, she didn’t wait for his brothers to come to his rescue. She entered the sanctum, aiming a gun she’d found carelessly in Taylor’s room. Men started to get to their feet until she waved the gun around, pointing at each one in turn. “Don’t bother to stand. I’m no lady.” “Priscilla,” Rocky said. “Don’t call me that,” she barked, moving around the room until a wall was at her back and on either side and she had a clear line of sight to the doors she entered. As prospects and hangers-on began to pour in, she added, “This is a closed door meeting.” The men at the door turned to face her father for what to do. Rocky gave a nod and they backed out as one, closing the doors behind them. “Piper,” her dad tried again for calm she wouldn’t give him. “What is this about?” She huffed out a laugh. “About? I’ll tell you what this is about. This isn’t the 1800s. No Tom”—she pointed at Rocky—“Dick”—she pointed at Taylor—“or Harry”—she pointed at Ender—“is going to tell me who I can sleep with. If I want to sleep with Dick or Harry”—she pointed back at Taylor and Ender—“that’s my choice. Have I made myself clear? No. One. Owns. Me.” One of her half-brothers, who’d never acknowledged her, spoke up, “Are you going to let her do this?” His question was aimed at their shared father. “Dirt, stop,” her other half-brother Jack said. She didn’t wait for her father to answer. “Go ahead and answer Jack and Beanstalk, your precious sons who’ve never given me the time of day as if it was my fault you stuck your dick into Tricks and made me. They can both go climb and fuck themselves.” “Piper,” Rocky growled, starting to lose his patience with his errant daughter. “What? I never asked for any of this shit. I was blissfully ignorant of who you were until you came around, then sent him into my life.” She pointed accusingly at Taylor. “I didn’t want this life for you either. Which is why I sent you to live with my sister,” Rocky tried, knowing he failed at getting her to back down. “No, you sent me away because your bitch wife didn’t want the evidence of your infidelity in her face.” Her dad’s face became a stone wall and for a second she wondered if maybe she’d gone too far. “It wasn’t her I cheated on.” That news stunned her as well as her brothers. But everyone else glanced away as if they didn’t want to let on that they knew. Screw that, she thought. She didn’t care. Rocky continued, “If I didn’t care about you, Piper, I wouldn’t have sent Poet to protect you.” The laugh she let escape held no humor. “Protect. Funny, I don’t think

protection was on his mind when he whispered how much he loved me and took my virginity a day after my seventeenth birthday. Yet while he was fucking me, he was fucking everyone else. And had the nerve to claim me after I turned eighteen but only because you found out. The club whores were sure to fill me in once they lost their shot at him.” Silence wasn’t golden. Rocky’s glare at Taylor could have melted stone. “I—” Taylor began. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” Rocky warned. Then he turned his attention back to his daughter. “You’ve made your point. Are we through here?” “One more thing. I’ll see Tricks like you want me to. But after that, I want nothing to do with you and your band of bastards. Don’t come looking for me. Don’t contact me.” She headed for the door, giving them all her back. “Where do you think you’re going?” her dad growled. Over her shoulder, she said, “To find Joe.” Someone dumb asked, “Who’s Joe?” With her hand on the knob, she said, “You know. Any old Joe Schmo on the street will do. Because it’s my choice who I screw.” She pushed through the doors as the guy she’d taken down on the way in glared at her. She didn’t blame him. Her steps never faltered as she made her way out the side exit. One of the long line of Hogs caught her attention. She wondered if Taylor had changed. She easily found the spare key he always left hidden in a false bottom of the saddlebag compartment. It had been a while, but she fired up the engine after walking the bike out of the neat row. Then she was off. Her time was limited. The guys would come running, knowing that no one had left that had access to a motorcycle. Still, she relished the feel of air on her face. It was different riding free, unencumbered from Ender at her front. The drive wasn’t long. Rocky had set up Tricks close to him. Hell, she’d driven by the place many times over the years, never with enough nerve to stop. But that had all changed. She wasn’t the scared naïve teenager she’d once been. Plus, once she got this business done, she could be on her way.

31

E veryone had heard it in the silence after she left. The sound of an engine firing to

life had everyone on their feet and out of their chairs. Poet was the only one who wore a bigger expression of shock. Thunderous footsteps followed Ender in his wake. But it was too late. Piper had indeed hijacked a bike. And it was Taylor’s. “Fuck,” Poet barked. Ender knew Taylor kept a spare key and apparently Piper did too. “Poet,” Rocky barked. “Leave it. Ender, find her.” “What the fuck? I have somewhere to be,” Taylor complained, but added, “Business,” with a knowing look at Rocky, who nodded. Ender handed Taylor his keys, because he had a spare bike on site. It was a project he’d been working on. And he’d finished it before his trip. He would rather Taylor borrow his regular ride than the classic he’d reworked. “Thanks,” Taylor said. Shit still had to be worked out between them. But the meeting was over for now. Taylor snagged the keys and took off before any of his brothers could give him shit for not containing his woman. Or whatever the fuck she was to him. He didn’t know how he felt. He had loved her once. But she’d gone all kamikaze on him. She didn’t want to be like the other chicks and keep her sweet ass safe and do what she was told. No, she wanted to live in a man’s world. Plus, he hadn’t exactly been straight with her from the beginning. He should let her go. But fuck, Ender? He didn’t like pussy with big tits, and Piper had a rack on her. Only he had to table that shit for another day. Ender watched as Taylor peeled off like he had the shits and needed a toilet. “What have I missed?” Ender asked. They hadn’t had a chance to fully update him on the goings on because he’d been reporting on his travels when Piper had shown up. “Poet is playing up his strengths. He’s getting us intel at Lookie Lou’s.” It was a stripper bar they silently owned interest in. It was in an area that bordered a rival club. “Has shit gone south there?” Their rival had been making noise of late about expanding their territory in the

neutral zone set up in a treaty before Rocky took over from the former head of their club. “Not yet. But there’s been talk. Poet’s using that pretty mug of his to discreetly see if any of the girls have overheard anything.” “No backup?” Ender asked. Taylor was more than a pretty face. But sending him in alone to a club that was closer to the enemy didn’t seem wise. “He’s got his guns and his words. The latter might be more deadly.” Rocky eyed Ender. He trusted his Sergeant at Arms with his life, but he didn’t think he gave Poet as much credit as he deserved. Hell, he should kill Poet for talking his way into his daughter’s bed. But she’d made her point, and Poet wouldn’t be living that one down anytime soon. “Go make sure Piper doesn’t get into any trouble.” He paused. Just as Ender started to turn, he added, “And, Eric?” Ender stared at Rocky. The guy didn’t often call him by his given name. “She’s right. She has a right to choose. And I’ll stand by her choice.” Not a lot went by Rocky. Ender heard so many things in that simple statement. Most of which, he got that if Piper wanted him, he was free and clear to have her; that from her father and the club. He’d meant both. Ender nodded. Rocky, who stood eye to eye with Ender, issued a final command. “Make sure she sees her mother.” “And then what?” Ender asked, waiting for specific instructions like stay the fuck away from my daughter. The big man shrugged. “Let her go if that’s what she wants.” Rocky had a moment to consider all his choices over the years and whether he would have done things differently if he could. But he knew better than anyone you can’t change shit, so don’t worry about shit. Ender nodded. His brothers talked and a few of them nodded in his direction as he walked by, giving him the respect he’d earned. None of them seemed to judge him for Piper. While he hadn’t fucked her yet, he’d made it clear today in front of everyone he intended to. He was knotted up tighter than a rope fitted to be a noose. Entering one of the bay doors of the garage out back, he walked farther in. Covered with a tarp was his baby. Bright yellow and not fit for covert work, he’d restored a classic Harley he’d bought from a dump for pennies on the dollar. It was his pride and joy to bring it back from the dead. Something about that made him feel godlike. He walked it out of the bay and into the summer sun. He straddled it, loving the feel of the new seat. Everything was his taste as he’d chosen all the finishes. It purred to life and he closed his eyes for a second. Where would Piper go after her little speech? She’d made it seem like she was going to score, but that wasn’t her M.O. She’d said that shit for shock value to people who didn’t get her, like Taylor and her brothers. But he and her dad got her. And just like that he figured out where she’d be.

He drove off and immediately missed the feel of Piper’s body around him. And wasn’t that some shit. He’d enjoyed the solitude of riding solo. But after a number of days, he’d grown used to her arms wrapped tightly around him. It was time for her legs to join that scenario. She had better prayed for mercy, because when he had her naked and in his bed, he was not going to waste time playing nice.

32

The house was small and well maintained on a block of other homes that showed their age and neglect. She rode up to find her biological mother sitting on the concrete landing, a step away from the ground, with a cigarette in her hand. She stopped at the edge of the empty driveway and got off the bike. Not having worn a helmet, the only thing left for her to do was kick the stand to keep the bike from falling over. With that done, she braved her legs. Many times she’d driven by this house, sometimes catching a glimpse of her bio mom and other times not. But never once had she had the nerve to stop. “Priscilla.” The name irritated the hell out of her. It reminded her of the naïve girl she’d been. And not the warrior she’d become. “Oh, that’s right. You prefer Piper,” the woman who’d given birth to her said. She nodded. “I guess I deserve that. The only two things I ever gave you were life and your name.” Piper had never thought of it that way. Only that Priscilla sounded way more girly than she felt. “So,” the woman on the porch said. “Rocky made you come all the way out here to see me?” Words had failed Piper again, so she nodded. “But you didn’t want to come?” That was an easy answer. Piper shook her head. “I’m sorry for it. Sorry for all of it. I was a mess back then. Not that there’s any excuse.” Tricks thought about the drugs and how they had ruled her life and how long it took her to kick the habit even with Rocky helping her through it. “Tell me anyway,” Piper said. Tricks sighed, slipping back into the past. “The love of my life…” She paused because saying that phrase made her think again about how much time she’d lost with him while acting like a damn fool. “Rocky left me for another woman, while telling me he didn’t love her.” She thought about that day when she’d assumed

he’d come to ask her to marry him only to find out he planned to marry another. “Young and dumb, I took my hurt out on myself. Choosing drugs to dull the pain along with other unfortunate choices.” Piper knew some of the story. “If you left him, why did you go back?” Tricks laughed, though nothing was truly funny. “You’ve never been in love before, have you?” Frizzy hair lighter than Piper’s hardly moved when she shook her head, disgusted by all her bad choices in life. “I’ve been in love,” Piper admitted. Or so she thought she had. The sergeant in her unit, a man she’d come to respect. A man she’d later had a clandestine affair with under the noses of the government’s no fraternization policy, she’d loved. “That pretty boy doesn’t count.” “I don’t count Taylor at all. I was young and stupid and didn’t know what love was.” He hadn’t. Having chosen what his brothers thought over her, made it clear in her mind how little he’d valued her. “Yeah, exactly. So who was the lucky man?” Piper hadn’t spoken his name aloud in so long she wondered if she could say it. “Brian.” She took a minute before she explained. “When I turned eighteen and left for military to get away from Rocky’s rule and Taylor’s cheating ass, he’d been my sergeant, the man I thought I would marry.” His ghost conjured in her brain. He hadn’t been what you call handsome, not the way Taylor or Ender were. It had been the way he carried himself and how he’d treated her. He’d never made her feel less in their unit because she was a woman. She’d been given the same treatment as the rest of the guys and made to her earn her place in their squad like everyone else, which she had. War could be a lonely place, but relationships on base between soldiers were forbidden, much less between the ranks and in the same units. That didn’t stop the need during those raw moments of emotion that had nowhere to spill out. Brian had sated those needs and shown her a different side of sex. Where he dominated on the battlefield, he’d dominated her in bed. And after being so strong in every area of her life, she needed someone to take control at times. Being with him had been primal with need and lust. He had to cover her mouth so her cries of pleasure during their lovemaking wouldn’t be overheard. Unfortunately, he, like Taylor, hadn’t loved her enough. Civilian life had been hard for him. Conventional jobs weren’t in his nature. So he’d found common ground with a motorcycle club or they’d found him. Ultimately it hadn’t mattered. She’d begged him not to join. Even went so far as to entertain an offer from a paramilitary group and got them to offer him a position so they could both use their skills. That hadn’t been enough. He’d gone and joined the MC anyway. One night he’d driven off with his newfound buddies and never returned. All their wedding plans had been squashed by an eighteen wheeler.

“Oh,” Tricks said. Piper blinked, focusing back to the present. She was sure Taylor had a hand in Brian’s demise. After Brian found out about her real father and his position, he’d wanted to meet the man. When she hadn’t gotten around to it, he’d invited him to their wedding. And not a month later, Brian was gone. “He’s dead now,” Piper announced. “And no man is worth all the trouble.” “You just haven’t met the right one.” Piper scoffed. “And Rocky is.” “Hey, nobody said I was the poster child for love. But I can say he was there. Even after all the shit I did, like hanging out with Death’s Angels, getting in deep with one of the members to get back at your dad. One night the bastard beat the shit out of me for daring to call him on his cheating. Having no one else, I called Rocky. And guess what?” She didn’t wait for Piper to answer. “He came. I’m pretty sure you were conceived that night and I never looked at another man after that.” Hearing the story about her bio parents getting it on made her want to gag. “But you never came for me, never told me the truth even though Rocky must have told you when he shared the news with me.” Tricks thought for a second unsure of how to say it. “After Rocky saved me that time, it didn’t mean everything was okay. I was still a junky in need of a fix. Rocky kept me mostly clean while I was pregnant, but…” Piper didn’t want to know. She hadn’t suffered ill effects from the woman’s drug use. Tricks continued, “I still loved and hated him. He was shacked up with someone else and what woman wants to share.” She turned thoughtful. “It took a while, but finally I stopped fighting what was. I was his and he was mine. That woman may have had his name, but I had his heart. He’s proved that time and time again. When I got my shit together, he got me this place.” She spread her arms. “It ain’t a palace, but it’s where I’ve been, and his people check in on me and make sure I have what I need. And Rocky keeps me updated with your life and shows me picture of you.” Before Piper could ask, Tricks added, “I didn’t think it was right to try and take you from your mom. She did a good job raising you.” Piper nodded, knowing that if Tricks had shown up back then, she wouldn’t have accepted her. A rumble in the distance meant time was up. She’d been found. “Trouble?” Tricks asked, recognizing the look on her daughter’s face. Tricks had been so honest with her, she decided to reciprocate. “I might have borrowed this bike without permission.” Tricks barked out a laugh so hard, she began to cough uncontrollably. Something in Piper’s upbringing had her helping the woman get the oxygen mask on. “Thank you,” Tricks breathed, sounding like she was on a mission to Mars with the thing over her mouth. Her bio mom took several cleansing breathes, wishing, and not for the first time, that she hadn’t waited so long to forge a relationship with her daughter.

There had been times, but she’d been afraid. And now it was too late. Inevitably, the bike came to a stop not too far behind Piper. She took several seconds to think because she wasn’t sure how she would feel about whoever had been sent to fetch her. “Can I use your bathroom, Tricks?” Piper asked. The urge to turn around was pretty much nonexistent. Tricks pulled the mask away, having caught her breath for the moment. “Sure, but at least call me Tammy, if you can’t call me Mom.” Piper nodded. Mom had been reserved for the woman who’d raised her, giving her a good home life with her husband, the man she called dad. Even though she’d been her aunt, Rocky’s sister, Piper had grown up believing her to be Mom until Rocky had come clean about who he truly was to her. It felt wrong to call anyone else by that name. She’d died several years back and Piper wouldn’t spoil her memory. “The house ain’t big. It’s down the hallway to the left,” Tricks added. Piper forced the name out of her mouth before going inside. “Thanks, Tammy.” The screen door squeaked as she opened it. Her potential jailer hadn’t said a word and she didn’t look back. Instead, she entered and immediately searched for an exit. It didn’t take long to find one in the tiny house. Just off the kitchen, she spotted a side door. The only problem was she’d have to cross past the open front one to get there. If she turned in that direction it might be obvious what she was up to. So she followed Trick’s directions to the bathroom. Flicking the lights on, she glared at her reflection. When had she truly looked at herself last? Drawn eyes and the perpetual frown were the earmarks left of a life, which had been a string of unfortunate circumstances. First in line was her bad taste in men, men who had let her down in so many ways, from her father to Taylor to Brian. If only she had an eye for women. Somehow she thought that lesbians had it so much better. At least another female understood the needs of a woman. She had to get out of here and away, back to New York just as soon as she finished her assignment. But she had to get away from the biker first. Flushing the toilet for show, she turned the handle of the door and peeked out. “Going somewhere?” a voice she recognized said. Closing her eyes, she could only imagine how pale she must look with the blood draining from her face. She’d been well and truly caught.

33

A s the enforcer or fixer for the club, he’d seen many scared birds take flight in

hopes to find escape. Although he hadn’t seen Piper searching, he’d spent enough time to know that she was looking for an escape route. “You have eyes for my girl,” Tricks said. “She’s not your girl.” Tricks dipped her head, knowing he was right. Shame colored her cheeks and had her reaching for oxygen. Ender had been a good soldier and followed orders. He’d made sure the boss’s woman was tidily taken care of. But that didn’t mean he had to like her. He couldn’t imagine what kind of woman would destroy her life with drugs and give up her child for a man. But then again, he’d liked strong women, like Piper. Ones who didn’t need saving because they could save themselves. Though, he’d saved Piper that first night. But even the strongest person would succumb when outnumbered. So he hadn’t counted it against her. Moving up the stairs, he didn’t waste any more time. If he did, he would find himself on a hunt. And he doubted very much Piper would like who he was when he found her. Better squash this now. Besides, he heard another bike approaching. No doubt Rocky had showed up, not knowing his only daughter was there. Through the door, he’d opened it just right so it didn’t make the noise it had when Piper went through. Then again, he’d been to the house many times before and knew all its secrets. He waited just to the left of the door for her to open it. When she did, she made the mistake of not checking in his direction. When he called out to her, she jumped. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked. “Me,” he said, crowding her to the point she backed up. Between his sheer size and intimidating glare, she moved farther backward into the bathroom as if there was any chance of escape. “I’m not scared of you,” she said, angling her chin up at him. “Aren’t you?” She stared into his dead eyes, wondering if the man had any emotion other than the I’m a mad man look he gave her.

“You’re just a bully,” she said defiantly. “I’m here to claim what’s mine.” And he intended on collecting. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Claiming what?” “You’ve been teasing me for days. Now that you’ve set yourself free, you can make good on all your hard work to keep me interested.” “Interested?” she asked, playing dumb. “I have to admit getting yourself off in front of me almost broke me. Seeing your pussy and smelling it has kept me hard all day. I plan to taste and feel it wrapped around my dick before you leave this room.” “Says who?” She jabbed him with a finger. Beneath it, there was the solid muscle she’d dreamed about. Seeing him shirtless and covered in ink had kept her wet every time she’d been forced to lie next to him. “Me,” he growled, tired of the games and wanting this to be over. She was his weakness. He’d almost broken his vows and helped her that night she moaned while pushing two fingers in and out of herself. “What are you going to do? Rape me? Because I doubt my father will let you live if you do.” He held up two fingers. “Two things. I don’t have to rape you because you’re going to willingly give it to me. Two, your father has already blessed this little event between us.” Her jaw dropped. Was that how little her father thought of her? Was she some kind of prize to his club brothers? “Don’t look like that. He knows you’re no princess, can handle yourself and make up your own mind. He didn’t give you to me, only his blessing. If you want to ask him yourself, he’s outside.” “Rocky’s outside?” “Where else would he be? Tricks is the love of his life. He wasn’t lying about that.” “And you’re just going to fuck me while dear old Dad listens.” The deadly glare he gave her didn’t frighten her. If anything, it made her want him more. “I doubt he’ll hear anything with your mouth otherwise occupied.” His cocky grin was priceless. “If you think I’m sucking you off, think again.” It was a dare. She wanted to do it. But the game that started between them dictated that she had to mouth off. It was all a part of their weird foreplay. “You know you want to. So get on your knees, Pipe.” She couldn’t completely hold back the grin. Her mouth quirked a little around the edges. Brian had made her realize how much she enjoyed being dominated. But not by just any man. The man had to know that her subservience wasn’t a sign of weakness but of strength.

Slowly, she lowered herself, keeping her eyes firmly on his. He didn’t smile in triumph, which earned him points. He watched her with fascination, probably wondering if she’d bite him given the chance. And she might do just that if he played the role of victor instead of lucky bastard. She didn’t get on her knees for just any man. As she slid his zipper down, his hand covered hers. He pried it away, not sure yet if she was fucking with him or if she was serious. The woman before him was full of many surprises. So he freed his cock. Because he was commando, she had a serious eyeful as he waited for her questions. Licking her lips, she was ready to devour the man. Only when he pulled it out, his cock was as inked up as the rest of him. “You tattooed your dick? And who did it?” She couldn’t image that it had been a pleasant experience. And she couldn’t imagine some guy doing it to him. “It was a dare and by a skilled artist who traded favors for…” There was no way, she wanted to know. He, on the other hand, remembered it fondly. “Hard?” she asked with a quirked brow. “That’s not all it says. Put that wet mouth of yours on it and find out.” Studying his dick, which was semi-hard, presented a challenge. She didn’t say another word. If he wanted to act like she didn’t affect him, she would show him. In her head, she dared him that he wouldn’t grab her head and groan out his pleasure before he could bend her over and fuck her. Challenge made, she wrapped her lips around him as best she could because he was thick and long already, but longer if he was telling the truth. She watched the letters disappear into her mouth, taking most of him as he started to thicken. He’s waited far too long to have her and despite how fucking hot it was to see her on her knees swallowing his dick, he wanted to be inside her. There was a faint pop when he pulled himself free. There was triumph in her expression as he tugged her to her feet. “This is your last warning. You’ve teased me too long and I’m going to have you. No objections?” She’d barely counted off a second in her head before she was spun around and pressed to the wall like a suspect being patted down by a cop. She voiced no complaints to the rough treatment. Dreams of his hands on her had plagued her for nights on end. There was no doubt in her mind she wanted him more than maybe he wanted her. “Unless you want your daddy to see me banging his daughter, you better be quiet.” He held her in place with a palm in the middle of her back. With his other hand, he had his cock out and sheathed in rubber in seconds. Roughly, he undid her jeans and pushed them halfway down her thighs. He didn’t bother going further. Moving his hand from her back around to her middle, he angled her so her ass tilted back

toward him. Then he probed her entrance. Slick and ready, he shoved his way inside. Eyes rolling in the back of her head, she moaned as her body adjusted to make room to accommodate him. It had been a long time since she’d had any action. The sheer girth of him touched all the right places inside and had her wondering if he was ruining her for anyone else in the future. “Fuck,” he groaned. No woman he’d ever been with had been that damn tight. She felt like a virgin wrapped around him. He leaned in to kiss her neck as he moved inside her like a man possessed. “No wonder Taylor was in love,” he growled in her ear. “Your pussy…” He didn’t finish his thought, knowing doing so might give her the idea she had power over him. Palming one of her breasts, he was unfamiliar with the weight, preferring smaller chested women. The softness in his hand, however, was making him a fast believer otherwise. Needing more contact than he was giving her, she tightened her thighs, hoping the pressure would be enough. His groan told her it was working for him. She slipped a hand between the juncture of her legs and stroked her clit, needing to equalize the bite of pain his size caused. The stimulation was all she needed to rocket over the edge he’d created. She couldn’t help the gasp of air that escaped her lungs. He clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the scream of pleasure that tore from her lips. Though she’d gotten hers, he wasn’t done yet. He staved off his climax, wanting it to last. He couldn’t be sure she’d bolt first chance she got since she’d seen her mother as promised. Shifting her one eighty degrees, he bent her over the counter, leaving her wide-eyed to stare at herself in the mirror. He hadn’t removed his hand and the slight panic in her eyes made him almost stop, but then her expression told him not to dare. He watched as the word inked on his dick disappeared and reappeared as he pumped in and out of her body. She was a vision with her hair tumbled wildly around her face. He could fuck her for years and never be done with her. The screech of the screen door pushed up his timeline. His movements became erratic as he let go. When he came, it was like a beast ripped from him. He bet he could populate all of North America with the seed that he’d loosed inside her. “Piper,” Rocky called from somewhere not too far. It wasn’t like the house was large. Neither was the bathroom, so he placed a palm on the door in case Rocky got the bright idea to try and open it. She’d briefly heard her name until she was lost to another orgasm. She could barely remember her name as she tried to bite back from releasing another yell to the heavens in thank you for finally reaching that allusive peak.

34

E nder flushed the condom while Piper inspected his semi-hard cock.

“Harder?” she asked, gazing at his ink. “Each letter is over an inch and a half apart,” he said, smirking, letting her do the math. “Piper,” Rocky called again. Her brows rose, wondering how Ender wanted to play this. She’d gotten herself pretty much back together. She’d finger combed her hair as well and there was nothing more she could do with no elastic at that moment to pull her hair back. She waited while he washed off his dick and dried it before tucking himself away. He nodded, and she moved toward the door. His hand came up to stop her. He would take the brunt of Rocky’s wrath. Even if the man had in a way given his blessing, the reality of it might make him think otherwise. Exiting first, he ushered his boss, who’d been waiting just outside of the door as if he’d figured out where they were, into the living room. “Piper?” Rocky asked in a way that broached no humor. “She’ll be out.” Rocky clamped his mouth shut. Ender was one of the best men for the club. He just wasn’t sure he was good for Piper. As tough as she was, she wore her heart on her sleeve, not realizing everyone could see it. Piper made her appearance. “You looking for me?” Her father glanced between them, but he said nothing about it. “What are your plans?” he asked instead. She looked away before glancing at Ender. His unreadable expression hardened her heart. Had anything they’d done meant anything to him? Shrugging, she said, “I’m going back to New York as soon as possible.” Her dad’s crooked smile could have been a wayward frown as he gently asked, “Can Taylor have his bike before you go?” She lifted her shoulders again. “I have some things I need to do. I’ll think about returning it when I’m done.” “Piper,” Rocky tried with more force because he’d hoped she’d give in with a

little prodding and hadn’t. “No. He owes me. I know he’s part of the reason Brian’s in the ground. Don’t deny it.” Both men said nothing. Not wanting to stomp her feet at the injustice, she marched past them. There was a job she had to do before she left. And time wasn’t on her side. Feeling off kilter, she even gave her bio mom a hug before she got on Taylor’s bike and made tracks before she could be followed. She rode like the devil was chasing her and maybe he was. Rocky could easily send Ender after her. The road eventually stretched and thinned to one lane each way. She hadn’t driven straight. There had been a pit stop she needed to make before she’d headed toward her destination. That stop yielded the pack on her back, including the tools of her target’s destruction. As she flew like the wind, she began to question her job and not for the first time. If there was anything she learned on the road trip with Ender, it was she was ready to call it quits. Hearing her bio mom’s story had only reinforced her desire not to end up alone and bitter. Her few entanglements after Brain had been chosen to fill a purpose. It had been easy to detach her heart and satisfy a need and then move on. Ender was somehow different. Even though she hadn’t known him as well she’d known Taylor and Brian, she’d felt his possessive touch and yearned it. Tasting him had been a mistake, a miscalculation on her part. She had an even shorter list of men she’d given head to. He was the forbidden fruit on the tree, her true mom had warned her about before she died. With every mile that burned under the Hog, she pushed the enigmatic man in the back of her mind the best she could, though the ache between her legs was a constant reminder, which the vibration of the bike exasperated. The road became more and more deserted the farther she went. The GPS tracker on her wrist in the form of a nondescript watch left for her in the go-bag alerted her to the close proximity of her destination. She searched the windy road for a convenient place to stop and slowed just around the next bend when she spotted a niche in the rock wall that bordered the interior of the road. Circling back, she parked the bike in the back corner. Someone headed south in the direction she’d been headed, wouldn’t see the bike unless they turned back. That was a good thing. The meet would happen in a few hours and the intel she’d been given suggested the attendees would drive in the same way she had, leaving it less likely the bike would be noticed. With the sun still overhead, she didn’t bother disguising the bike just yet. The spot was almost like a lookout. Anyone who saw the bike might assume the rider had stopped for a break or to observe the beauty on the cliff’s edge side of the road. She did neither. She walked a bit farther, looking for a place to climb up. She needed to find a spot to lie low to position herself to hopefully make the last kill shot of her life. Thinking back, she wondered when it had happened. Becoming a sniper had

started out as a dare in her squad. An egomaniac needed to be put in his place. So like the daredevil she’d become, she’d challenged him to a shoot off. The prize for him was her. The asshole had made many a comment about her boobs and how he wanted to get laid. She’d tempted him with the one thing he could never have. Little had the asshole known that Brian had been training her at night. He’d seen something in her and unwittingly prepared her for that moment. When she’d challenged the guy, she’d caught Brian’s expression. She’d known then that he’d also wanted her. Brian hadn’t been as good-looking as the asshole. That hadn’t mattered. She’d had her fill of pretty boys and had no intentions of letting the current sniper in her squad have her. When she hit three perfect shots one on top of the other without it looking as though she’d hit more than one, the sniper lost his crown and she’d earned the title. How had she celebrated? She’d slipped into Brian’s quarters and surprised him with her forwardness. He, however, had quickly taken charge and had become the second person Piper had let between her thighs. Their love had been born out of respect and mutual admiration. It had grown into convenience and a place to lay their heads. That had been apparent when they’d left the arm forces. Brian being a natural born leader hadn’t fit into society. When he’d learned who her father was, he’d become intrigued with the idea of club life. Only Brian wasn’t the type to take orders, he gave them. He’d found a weak club and had quickly taken it over. Blinking away the past, she found a path with a rocky foothold leading to the top. She climbed and saw the flat roofed building in the distance. The problem was, if she could see it, she could be seen. Quickly, she crouched down and pretended to be taken in the stunning view of the valley. In her periphery, she did her best to scope out the area. With no natural slopes, there would be no way for her to set up until nightfall. Luckily, there didn’t appear to be any overhead lights. The moon and stars would be the only illumination. Though she hoped for clouds as unlikely they might appear. She had no desire to be a sitting duck tonight. After a quick turnaround she descended and began preparations.

35

Thoughts of Piper consumed him. His need for her had been so strong, he’d taken

his opportunity to have her before she ran. He hadn’t cared if her father had been less than a hundred feet away. Primal needs had won the battle. He’d somehow thought that he could purge her out of his system after. No woman before had made him greedy for more. Only as he sat in a meeting, a part of his mind was planning to have her spread eagle on his bed. He wanted to take his time tasting and fucking every square inch of her. Even in his mind’s eye, he could picture her arms tied above her head, unable to stop him from palming her full breasts and taking his fill with his tongue between her legs. “Ender,” Rocky called. He glanced up, noticing the men around the table watching him. He may have partially checked out, consumed by his need to go find and claim her before she left for New York. But he wouldn’t be good at his job if he couldn’t multitask. He’d heard everything that had been said. “Are you sure about this, boss?” Rocky wouldn’t see it as Ender questioning his authority. It was his job to make sure everyone was safe. Logistically, the proposed meeting was a nightmare. And he wouldn’t be a good enforcer if he didn’t bring it up. “Not like we have much of a choice,” Rocky began. “Vélez’s holdings are too great for us to ignore. And with that shit going on with Wagon we need to keep our nose clean.” “Who’s going to handle finding Wagon’s witness?” Ender asked. “Dog’s looking. At least we got a name. When something hits, I’ll put Taylor on it.” Ender nodded. Rocky had spent most of his tenure as head of the club legitimizing their businesses. Technology had caught up with crime and it was becoming increasingly easier to get caught. He planned to be home and not locked up when he was finally graced with grandchildren. “Dirt, you stay here and keep an eye out for Piper.” Ender growled inside. Dirt was one of Piper’s half-brothers she’d called

Beanstalk. And he’d gotten his name because he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. He was a mean son of bitch and favored his mother over his father when he could without looking like a traitor to the club. But Rocky hadn’t gotten where he was by being stupid. Clearly he wanted people at his back like his other son, Spider, whom Piper called by his given name of Jack. He was loyal to both of his parents, brothers, and the club. Most of all, he favored his father. “Saddle up, boys. We don’t want to be late.” Rocky grinned. They all knew shit could get dangerous when they joined. But for most of them that had been half the fun. Ender had been all for it. It made life interesting. As they rode, his mind drifted back to Piper. And wasn’t that some shit. He’d been with Lyla for how long and he’d liked her more than most. Hell, she’d treated him like a king in another man’s house. Yes, it was a Devil’s Edge clubhouse, but it wasn’t his charter. The president of that chapter should have been the man, but whenever Ender arrived it was clear who she bowed to. Despite her wanting something more permanent, he’d yet to give her his patch. Though he’d thought about it. She’d been everything he’d assumed he wanted. Pretty face, a tight body, loyal, but something had been missing. It wasn’t as if Lyla was soft. She wasn’t. She could hold her own in a fight, but she wasn’t Piper. He’d been content leaving Lyla in New Mexico, never asking if she was true to him when he wasn’t around. Yes, it had been presumed, though he’d never given her that promise or had asked for one. And he’d never been jealous enough to find out if she had. On the other hand, the idea that Piper might let another man find heaven inside of her had him white knuckling the grips on his borrowed bike. Flashing yellow when they were heading into enemy territory wouldn’t have been a good idea. So he’d used Dirt’s bike because Taylor hadn’t come back before they left. He didn’t like it. He and Poet worked in tandem for so long, it was effortless. Working with Spider wouldn’t be a first, but where they were going he would have preferred Taylor. Had Rocky been intentionally keeping them apart? When they arrived at the remote location, he wasn’t surprised by the starkness of the area. Meetings like the one they were about to have required privacy. The red-framed single story building looked rust-colored under the cover of darkness. There was one door he could see and only two windows. They parked with their bikes faced the way they came for a quick exit if needed. Vélez stayed true to his word. He exited a limo before another three guys hopped out of a dark SUV parked next to it. Their numbers including the driver and the security detail that exited the limo were equal to the club’s presence. That was assuming there wasn’t anyone inside the building, which appeared dark, otherwise the windows were blacked out. Rocky and Vélez met somewhere in the middle and it reminded Ender of old westerns his old man had favored. Everyone was on high alert, but no one had drawn a weapon. He liked to think his crew was the magnificent seven and would survive anything that night brought to bear.

Although snatches of the conversation could be heard, for the most part, he couldn’t make out what was being said. Ender didn’t have to know. Rocky had laid out what he planned to propose and what he would agree to. They’d all been on the same page before they left. When the two men in the middle shook and turned to head in the direction of their respective crew, Ender dared to take a sigh of relief. Many questions circled all of their heads, but Rocky waved for them to go. The other side didn’t get in the limo or truck, they headed for the building. Firing up his bike without bloodshed was a blessing. They rode unimpeded through the exit and out on the road. As they drove he might not have noticed it if he hadn’t been thinking about her. Just around the bend, he saw a flash of something metallic. It was enough to have him slowly gaining the attention of the rest of the crew. He tried to wave them on, but they circled back. In that moment, as they’d rounded the bend, he heard it. It wasn’t a loud sound. But with his bike off and him knowing what he knew, he quickly put it together.

36

The riffle was one easily disassembled and stored in a case not much bigger than a

briefcase. It was light and sturdy, but powerful. Under the cover of darkness, she’d found a spot and had assembled the weapon to ready herself to make the kill shot. All the information about her target had been stored on a burner phone included in the backpack with the weapon. After memorizing everything, she’d destroyed the phone and SIM card. The second phone provided would be used to send the text when the job was done. She planned to include a few more words with her message that time. Only a few that would convey that she was done and out of that life. It wouldn’t be easy to part ways with her employer, but she would do her best to be lost to them within a matter of hours after the job was over. Then again, Kings may let her walk away. He’d always taken a shine to her from the first time she’d met him when he tried to recruit her. One could only hope. A Spanish warlord exiled from his country lest he want to face overwhelming charges against him was her target. He’d found refuge in South America and had rebuilt his empire from scratch. He posed a huge threat to America with his political views like well-known dislike for the sitting president and his access to bring drugs and weapons into the country. Or so she’d been told. She’d long since discovered her information could be false. She’d killed from afar based on a picture. Never did she do a search to match up the intel with what could be found on the web. That made her less of a threat, she hoped, and might make her exit from the job easier. One last shot. Her breathing slowed unnaturally as the cars pulled into the lot. She would need calm and a steady hand to make the shot from where she was. Covered from head to toe in black with her hair pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck and covered with a sky cap, she was a little warmer than normal. She blocked everything out accept keeping an eye out for her target. She would have less than a minute once the shot was taken to disassemble her gun and get the hell out of Dodge. The timing was less than optimal. If she didn’t kill the man with her first shot, it was likely she’d be caught. Which was why she had the capsule in her mouth as a failsafe if she was captured. She didn’t have a death wish. But the

torture she would endure would be worse than taking a dirt nap. Practice skill at meditation had her hands steady as she waited for the people to exit the vehicles. Time was counted by the beating of her heart. She wouldn’t have blinked except it became impossible not to as time passed. It was a rumble from the south that drew closer that made her sick to her stomach. It shouldn’t be happening. Was the worst-case scenario in her mind coming true? A steady stream of motorcycles pulled into the lot opposite the cars. She watched in horror as her father, brother, and Ender were among the men getting off the bikes. How could they be involved with such a man? Was her employer pulling her leg and making her a killer for hire? Or was she still a patriot to her country and her father wasn’t the man she thought him to be? Her heart raced, making it hard for her to keep up with how much time had passed. The door on the limo opened, but how could she make the shot. If this was a business meeting of some sort, if she killed the man in charge, they would immediately assume her father’s club was responsible. She pulled her eye away from the scope. It was bad business, but she had a choice to make and apparently she’d chosen. No matter what was going on, she couldn’t condemn her father or Ender and even her brother to death. No doubt once her shot was made, weapons would come out of hidden pockets and bullets would fly. She cursed silently for a few seconds before getting her breathing under control and looking through the lens once more. She found her target in the center of a ring of armed men talking to her father. Although she didn’t plan on killing the man, she had unwittingly become backup for the club. If anything went amiss, she would protect the club. The men’s mouths moved, but she wasn’t an expert at reading lips, especially when one of the men probably had a strong accent. Instead, she watched their eyes for any hint there would be trouble. It wasn’t long before both men parted on what had to be equitable terms. Her father circled a finger in the air and the riders got back on their bikes. Not long after they’d left the lot, they could be heard heading away. She had a choice. Vélez sent a lookout to watch her dad’s crew exit. But the rest of the men made their way inside the building. She didn’t know if she could wait. The time to strike would be now. Even in the unlikelihood she was caught, her dad would have plausible deniability that he hadn’t been the one to do the deed. With her shot lined up, she exhaled during the next second and squeezed the trigger. With a silencer screwed on, the noise was minimal. But something like a ringing phone in her target’s pocket almost ruined everything. The spray of blood, however, was unmistakable. With no more time, she hit send on the phone and began to break down her weapon, still crouched low to the ground. Shouts rang out from the men below. She was certain someone would be sent in her direction to investigate. Time was running out. She’d just slapped the case

closed when she was knocked to the ground. She hadn’t heard the man come up. Had he been stationed nearby all along? She hadn’t spied anyone during her prep time. Her assailant had to have been fast. Someone on the ground must have had military background to deduce so quickly where the shot had come from. Unfortunately for her, during the surprise attack, the capsule that could save her from painful torture flew from her mouth from the force of the blow to her face. It would leave a bruise. Spanish words flew from her attacker’s month as he ripped the cap from her head and took a handful of her hair. With Piper’s coloring, she was naturally tan enough to pass for a fairer Spanish woman, Italian even, and with the right makeup, garb, and contacts possibly a middle eastern woman. She’d been taught Italian and brushed up her Spanish in the armed forces. So she knew the guy had shouted to his compadres he got him. Him? So far he hadn’t paid enough attention to know he had a woman. That might work to her advantage. She was kicked in the ribs when she tried and failed to break free. She had to escape. No telling what would happen if she was caught and found out to be a woman. For a minute, as her bell rang in her head, she thought of Ender. Could he have wanted more from her? There was a second before she left him when she thought she caught something in his expression that suggested his predatory nature was aimed at her. Stumbling forward with a gun at her temple and a hand wrapped around the base of her skull directing her head to the ground, she managed to move forward. She doubted she’d ever find out the answer to her Ender question. Her dad was long gone. She had listened to their bikes fade in the distance before she’d taken the shot. She’d sent the message to Kings that the job was done. No one would be looking for her. Her dad would assume she was headed back to New York and Kings would assume the same. By the time anyone realized something different, it would be too late for her. Just as she started to get her head back in the game, a blow hit her temple and blackness surrounded her.

37

E ven though it was right there in front of his eyes, he couldn’t quite believe it. If

she’d… Why? Shouts could be heard in the distance. The guys had gone further on, but they would be back soon. Sure enough, within minutes, Rocky and some of the other guys, Dog, Hawk, Bingo, and Spider jogged around the corner toward him. “Problem?” Rocky asked. Ender reluctantly pointed at the object in the corner. Curses came from his brothers behind him. If she’d done what he thought she did, she would have had an exit strategy. “Where is she?” Rocky had noticed the hidden bike and come to the same conclusions he had. They both understood what seeing it there meant. “She should be back by now,” Ender muttered. Rocky remembered how he felt when he first found out what his daughter might do for a living. He’d made the trip to New York and confronted the man she was supposedly in love with. Brian had been capable of taking care of his daughter, a man’s man. However, he’d also been bitter and a little jealous that she’d been asked to join the covert organization. She’d gotten him in and he’d refused. The man, however, had been impressed by Rocky, maybe even wanted to be him. When Rocky offered to bring him in, he’d turned that down too. Rocky couldn’t offer his future son-in-law a presidency of a chapter. That was earned and voted on by the chapter members. Brian hadn’t wanted to work his way to the top having done that to some extent in the military. So he’d found a weaker club and made his move. Rocky had warned the man against joining that crew. They were shadier than the black ops operation that was trying to recruit Piper. Ultimately, it had gotten him killed. Rocky wasn’t sure how he should feel about it. He knew Piper resented him thinking he’d done the deed or somehow encouraged Brian in that behavior. Instead of coming to him for assistance when Brian was gone, Piper had done what he’d expected. She’d taken the job with the paramilitary group in order to take care of herself. Their worlds hadn’t collided until this moment. “Fuck,” Rocky shouted.

Ender shook his head and repeated himself as if that would make her appear. “She should have been here by now.” “So, we go get her,” Rocky declared. He shook his head. “You can’t go in. If you’re caught, we’re all dead. You need plausible deniability.” The brothers all agreed. “I’ll go in alone,” Ender said. “She’s my daughter,” Rocky groused. “Dad, you can’t. You know this. I’ll go.” Rocky opened his mouth, but Spider stopped him. “She’s my sister.” Ender shouldn’t have been shocked as shit, but he was. Never had either of her brothers claimed her. “Take our bikes around the bend. If they find this one, maybe they’ll think she’s alone,” Ender barked to the guys behind him. “Won’t it make it worse for us when they see the bike? They’ll think it’s us for sure,” Dog chimed in. “Maybe, but when they find out she’s a woman, they might think her rouge.” Or worse, Ender thought. They might put it together who she worked for. That would get her good and dead. “You guys need to get going. They probably have a scout watching at the mouth of the road to see if we truly left.” Rocky reluctantly nodded. Ender understood the man wanted to order some of the other men to go in guns blazing. However, they would be outnumbered and no doubt there would be casualties. As much as she was family to Rocky, she had basically announced her separation to the club earlier. Rocky had no choice but to show loyalty to the brotherhood. Ender and Spider would be on their own to save Piper and it was for the best. Ender gave Rocky his wallet. If he was caught, he didn’t want the enemy to come looking for him. He didn’t hand over anything else. Because of the nature of the meeting, he’d carried a burner phone and not his personal one. Spider followed suit. Then the guys rolled his bike away, not wanting to make any sounds. Deftly, he moved in the opposite direction around the curve headed back toward the compound. He spotted a path up the embankment she no doubt took and hunched over as he climbed it to not make himself an easier target if he encountered someone above. At the top, he had to dive for cover when a spotlight from below shinned in the direction of the flattened hilltop. Spider shimmied his way over. Ender signaled for him to be quiet. There was movement ahead. A beam of light played over the ground. He had to hope that whoever it was had already looked in the area they currently occupied or they were fucked. A stream of heavily accented Spanish yelled down to where he saw a prone form being dragged into the building. Fuck, they had her.

“He said he found no one,” Spider whispered. Good thing one of them could speak the language. He hadn’t thought about it when he took the suicide mission. His mind had only been on ensuring her safety. Getting her back was his number one goal no matter the cost. He hoped that seeing her lifeless body being dragged inside hadn’t meant she was dead at their hands or her own. Being a former marine and with his father’s doomsday mentality, he was well versed in what it meant to be captured. She would be trained that it was better to die on your own terms. The good thing was that they’d taken her inside. Something told him if she were dead, they would have left her outside with someone with a shovel. “What do you want to do?” Spider asked quietly after the man with the flashlight disappeared down a different path in front of them that led to the parking lot. He thought about it and explained his hasty plan.

38

C onsciousness came back in a blur. Luckily, her training kicked in. Slowly, she

willed herself to remain still and continue to breathe evenly. No way was she ready to alert them she was awake. She needed time to assess how bad her situation was. First, with her arms above her head, she didn’t need to pull at bonds to know she hung from something above. She couldn’t risk looking. Her arms ached with the weight of her body pulling her down. As far as she could tell, she was still fully dressed. Though, her concealable lightweight Kevlar vest that she’d worn over her shirt on the off chance she got shot at was open. They’d probably done that for a few reasons, one of it was to confirm she was female. Not good. The words came in snatches as she fought against the tug toward darkness. She had to stay awake or risk them doing other things to her vulnerable body. Phrases like No seas gilipollas and Joder, ¿por qué no te callas? were tossed between several male voices. She understood enough Spanish to loosely translate it to, Don’t be a dumbass and Fuck, why don’t you shut up? “Look who’s awake,” a male voice not two feet away said. Inwardly she berated herself. Somehow she’d given herself away. A hand stroked down her face, coaxing her eyes open. But the hand didn’t stop there. It trailed a line down her neck and between her breasts. When the asshole coped a feel, she spat in the man’s face. “Me cago en tu puta madre,” she raged, basically saying fuck you, motherfucker. He stepped back and laughed. The men around him hesitated before joining in with half-laughs. She assumed then that the man before her had leader status. His smile froze on his face a second before it grew claws in the worst way. A strike so fast careened across her face she hadn’t known what hit her at first. Only that she tasted blood. “Ah, this one bites.” His followers laughed while greedily looking her over. There were four of them in the room. With her eyes open, she calculated her odds at being fucked. Hands bound with metal around her wrists, hung on something above her head, she couldn’t easily get away. Testing her chains while they watched would only prove futile. If she got out, they would only bind her tighter. She had to bide her time and

hope they would leave her alone for a few minutes at some point soon. “Tell me, did Rocky send you?” She couldn’t hesitate with an answer. If she wasn’t quick, they’d assume she was testing out lies in her head to see what worked. “No conozco ningún Rocky,” which translated to not knowing any such person. She hoped her accent was spot-on. If they believed her to be Spanish, they may forget Rocky and think she was sent by one of their enemies. The leader tossed his hands up. Troubling for her, he continued to speak in English. That most likely meant he wasn’t buying her act. His slingshot of a hand was around her throat in seconds with firm pressure. “I won’t ask again. Who sent you?” He was close enough that she tilted her head back and gave a maniacal laugh before launching her head forward so hard against his she nearly knocked herself out in the process. Blood dripped from his nose. Temporarily he’d removed his grip from her neck in order to quizzically test the liquid streaming down his face. “This coño has cojones, no?” His back was slightly turned toward his audience when he spoke. But she knew that his wrath was coming. In a way, that was good. His ire was preferred over his or his men’s interest in her body. The punch that landed wasn’t tempered. Birds circled her head along with ringing bells in her ears. He hadn’t held back when he threw it. She prayed she didn’t have a concussion as she needed all her wits to make it out alive. She willed the adrenaline that coursed through her blood would last long enough for her to get away. She spit blood, then said, “Eres un maldito idiota,” basically telling him he was a fucking idiot. “Puta, I will enjoy breaking you. And after I’ve had my fill and gotten whatever use out of you, I will leave you for my men.” This time he’d spoken the words in Spanish as if to make himself clear. A tremble began in her lip, so she bit it. The idea of getting gang raped wasn’t worth the job she’d performed. Cut off the head and another had grown in its place. Or for all she knew, he had been the leader all along and the other man had only been a front to fool his enemies. A loud thud caused all noise to evaporate in the room. The men’s ears perked up. The leader silently signaled with fingers pointing, and directions were given in a well-orchestrated manner. Soon it was just her and the main man left. He wasn’t paying much attention to her at the moment. He’d moved to the window to lift a corner of a blacked out curtain to peek outside. Similar thuds could be heard and she counted them. One, two, three. By her count that meant there were three or four men still left standing if they’d all been outside during the meet. Then the sounds of a pop, pop, pop fired off. The leader pulled out what

appeared to be a Browning pistol from a shoulder holster and aimed it at the door. “Vete a la mierda, gilipollas,” he yelled into the silence. Calling out fuck you seemed like the best way to let an assailant know exactly where you were, she thought. To him, she bet it was a show of pride not to hide. Something hit the outside wall just behind him. He did what instinct dictated and checking the wall behind him. As if on cue, an imposing figure of a man entered the room. It was so surreal in her head, time seemed to slow. The second the leader turned back to find they were no longer alone in the room, it was too late. He knew it too. His lips had formed an O a moment before a small hole appeared dead center between his eyes. The leader had gotten off a shot. But it had gone wide as his head kicked back as his body fell backward. Then there was true silence. Ender watched as the man’s twitching body stilled before he turned eyes on her. Her body trembled like a school girl. And when had she been that innocent? Before Taylor maybe. Even then, she hadn’t been a typical run and scream when shit happened kind of girl. Just as she thought he might free her, he moved toward the leader’s body. She jerked in her restraints as undiluted rage covered Ender’s face. His shit kicking boot landed a viscous blow to the dead man’s ribs over and over. If she didn’t know any better she would have believed he’d done that for her. He’d seen something on her face, maybe a bruise from the hits she’d taken. Ender wanted to destroy the man before him. He literally had to take two deep breathes to stop himself from breaking the broken dead man. He talked himself down, knowing that there was no more pain he could inflict on someone no longer a part of this world. Slowly, he turned and stalked toward her. She didn’t flinch as he prowled in her direction. It was only a few steps before he was tenderly stroking her cheek. “Eric,” she said with no more volume than the air escaping her lungs. He didn’t waste time. Hooking a hand around her, he pulled her close and leaned in for a heated kiss. His other hand didn’t land in her hair to her disappointment. Instead, she felt him free her from her hanging prison. He pulled back, letting her arms gently fall bound in front of her. Their eyes locked and so many words were spoken, yet not said aloud. More of a surprise to her, Jack rushed in the room. Immediately, he released the chains from her wrists with a set of keys he must have found. “Keep that,” Ender commanded. “It will have her prints on it. Did you touch anything else, your highness?” Back was his demanding tone. All the softness she’d felt from him seconds ago had vanished. In answer, she shook her head. She’d been wearing gloves when she’d shot the gun. She had no idea what happened to them. “Spider, get the body from the back and lay it in the doorway.”

Something she never would have thought of since she was a from a distance killer. Ender and Spider began to set the stage to confuse any investigators as to what had happened. After Spider brought the body, Ender came over with the gun he’d used and put it in that man’s hand. Then using the guy’s hand, he squeezed the trigger in the direction of the dead leader. “It isn’t perfect,” Ender said. “But hopefully they will assume that the gang turned on itself.” “Shouldn’t we just torch the place?” Spider asked. Ender shook his head. “That would lead to more questions. Arson investigators would come in and detectives would start looking at trajectories and caliber of gun. They would assume someone walked away and tried to hide evidence.” “And this way?” Spider asked, like a curious student. “This way, we can hope the laziness of law enforcement will have them close the book on gang violence. With no innocents about, they might not look deeper and realize that he”—he pointed to Vélez, the man she’d killed—“wasn’t shot with a pistol and not by him.” Silently they finished staging as best as they could so it appeared they took themselves out in some kind of civil war. “Are you sure you didn’t touch anything?” Ender asked Piper again. “I had on gloves and they hit me right before we entered. I woke up hanging there and my gloves were gone.” “Are your prints on file?” She shook her head. The organization would have cleaned out her records. “Okay, let’s go then.” As they left the room, she took in the carnage. She did know who had killed who, but she would bet Ender had done most of the work. Neither had been covered in blood splatter, but Ender did have some. Jack looked clean. She didn’t bother with questions, and Ender didn’t bother with answers. They ran the way they’d come, up a path to the bluff, across open land and down to where Taylor’s bike had been hidden by her. She made a move to get the bike, but Spider and Ender did the job. Spider took the blanket that had covered it and with rapid speed began to fold it up. Ender rolled the bike toward the road. Then they were on the move. Around the bend and down a ways, they found the two bikes the brotherhood had stashed for them. “I don’t think anyone saw us. This is a dead end road that leads to this old weather station. Are you okay to ride?” She thought about it for a second. Her mind was clear at the moment. She wouldn’t crash yet, not until she was safely away from there at least. “I’m fine.” “Good. Piper, you follow me.” They mounted and were soon underway. They traveled at breakneck speeds until they reached a mildly trafficked intersection. They made a left and rode for a while

before splitting off. Spider probably headed home, and they ended up back at Ender’s place after what Piper could only describe as a roundabout way to get there. No doubt he wanted to make sure they weren’t followed. Even if no one was on the road, it didn’t mean that men hadn’t been stationed in a secluded spot to see if all left at the same time. Parking next to Ender’s car, they got off and headed inside. Only Ender stopped Piper just inside the door.

39

“A re you hurt?” he demanded.

Seeing her bloodied and bruised had almost broken him. He’d learned long ago how to school his features when his emotions got the best of him. It seemed he had no ounce of control when it came to her. “You saved me,” she said. Her words were but mere whispers on the edge of a choking sound as she contemplated how close she’d come to death. Those guys hadn’t been foolish wannabes like the three dumbees from Ender’s charter. They’d been the real deal and she allowed herself the knowledge that she was grateful Ender hadn’t headed her words days ago that she could take care of herself. Tucked safely in his house, she allowed herself the girlish weakness of being grateful for his rescue. “Always.” He tucked strands of hair behind her ear, needing to make sure she was okay. His lips brushed over hers once, then twice before his probing fingers happened upon a spot that made her wince. “Where else are you hurt?” he growled, pulling back. Touching spots on her head and her face as if testing them, she said, “Better than expected.” His next move was to clutch her hand and drag her toward the hallway that led to his bedroom. Realization had her calling out, “What? Wait? Where are you taking me?” They passed his door and opened another. Into a galley styled bathroom with fixtures out of the ’70s, a dusty pink sink and tub came into view. Even though the house had sounded empty to her, Ender closed them inside. As she turned to face him, he started peeling her out of her clothes. She slapped his hands away. “What are you doing?” He let out a throaty breath that rumbled like thunder. “I need to check to see that you’re okay.” “I’m fine, you big oaf.” She hadn’t meant anything by the name. The worry beneath his gruff demeanor was clear enough for her to see. Plus, she was curious herself if they’d been rough with her while she was out. Not that she thought she’d been raped. She’d dodged

that bullet. Though she couldn’t be sure they hadn’t tossed her about before they hung her up like a slab of meat. She was numb enough not to truly feel all her aches and pains. Her hands shook as she tried to do it herself. He swiped her hands away, holding her glare until she closed her eyes, relenting to his touch. The vest went first, then her shirt and pants until she stood before him in her sports bra and boy shorts. His hands moved about her as much as his eyes. He turned her around for inspection for a few minutes and back to face him. “I could ask you why you were there, but we both know why. So I’ll ask, is this a clusterfuck that will come back to bite you?” That was a thought she hadn’t considered. Working for the organization as a hired gun, she’d almost felt untouchable. But having him ask, answered several questions. He cared. “If they investigate and start asking questions, maybe. But the job was done and they got more than they bargained for.” He nodded and something in his chest expanded. Gently, he leaned in and he kissed her more tenderly than she thought possible. His touch somehow solidified more than words could ever say. She shifted on her feet, not used to tenderness from him. He must’ve sensed it too because she felt herself being lifted before crashing into the wall behind her. All pretense of gentleness was gone. Greedy fingers found her wet center. She moaned, throwing her head back, exposing her neck. His mouth was there, taking advantage of a primordial need that began to consume him. Drawing his hand away, he fumbled with his pants, anxious to get them off so he could be inside her. He gave her no warning before plunging into her silky depths. Only cries of pleasure left her lips, which was more reassuring to him. His claiming thrust had her nails clawing at his back. She wanted more, oh so much more. Fear of him slipping away had her hanging on for dear life. Never in her life had she come without assistance, from a warm mouth, tongue, finger or vibrator touching her clit. He, however, had the magic touch, or was that thrust? She exploded into a bazillion stars just from him filling her on the inside. Unfortunately for her, he pulled out and set her on her feet. “I want you on my bed, naked,” he growled. He took her hand in his and led her out the door after he half tucked himself back into his pants. They didn’t enter the room he had designated for her to use before. Instead, they entered what had to be his room. The one with the sign enter at your own risk. She was surprised to find it wasn’t at all like the bathroom. There wasn’t hideous wallpaper from when the house was built. Instead, it was painted a neutral color with a large king-sized bed dominating the middle, plus one solid looking dresser with no mirror and a night table on one side of the bed. Topping it off, the room was neat. Not one thing was out of place. Before she could take in much more, he marched her backward until she found

herself tumbling toward the mattress. Hungrily, he took her in. That had been the moment he’d been waiting for. “Take off the sports bra unless you want it destroyed.” He enjoyed their cat and mouse game maybe more than she had. So when she scurried backward on her elbows, he placed one knee in between hers, dipping the bed. Capturing her ankles, he slid her back to him. Their eyes were locked. Neither would bend. However, he’d learned her weakness. Slowly, he tilted his head side to side as if giving her a moment to think about her decision. “Unless you want to walk out of this room naked, I suggest you remove this”— he pointed to her bra—“and this.” He pointed to her underwear. She wasn’t shy. But his words long ago about liking smaller breasts had her hesitating. She was a big girl when it came to her chest. They made her look like a porn star unless she kept them constrained in a sports bra. Though he’d seen the girls before, something about that moment was different. Fuck it, she thought. Hooking thumbs under the elastic, she freed the beasts. He watched as they jiggled before settling. Testing their weight with his hands, he brushed his thumbs over her nipples, making them rise and bead up. He leaned in and sucked in one. Her head rolled and fell back on her shoulders. Slipping his hand under the waistband of her boy shorts, he found her creamy center. “Still wet for me,” he said. “My greedy little girl.” Done with his games, she said, “Stop talking and fuck me.” Fisting his hands, her boy shorts succumbed to his strength, tearing from her body. He pushed the sides of her legs wide. He shucked off his jeans, freeing his cock and taking in his hand. She licked her lips in anticipation. Still hiked up on her arms, she continued to watch him slide that big hand of his up and down the long, hard thickness of him. It stood proud with the word harder spelled out to mock her. “What to do with you?” he said, sucking in a breath. “You seem to think you have some power here.” “What do you want me to do, call you Sir?” she jested. Slowly, a smile curled his lips in the way the Joker’s did in the last Batman movie. “That would be a start.” Rolling over, she was prepared to walk out of the room to teach him a lesson. Only he had other plans. Quick as lightning, he got one hand under her belly and lifted her ass up to the perfect height. He slammed into her so fast she choked on an exhale of breath. She had no choice but to lift up on all fours to gain her balance as he pounded into her. Each thrust sent a thrill into them both. She tried to muffle each squeal and moan of the pleasure that mounted by pressing her face in the mattress. He countered by squeezing a breast and tweaking her nipple, thrusting her closer to the edge.

Slapping noises of their bodies connecting only heighted his arousal. Rotating his hips, her back bowed, which let him know which spot to concentrate on. Her pussy was so goddamn tight he had to spread her cheeks to make more room for his dick. He liked watching his cock disappear in her sweet cunt so much he was on the verge of coming. And that was unfortunate. He wanted this to go on much longer. Sliding his hand down her body, he found the hard bundle of nerves that would have her shooting off like a bottle rocket. He circled it, feeling his balls draw tight. He hadn’t used a condom, a first for him. Too late to be rectified, if he got her pregnant, maybe he would just wife her. Pressing down on her firing piston, they both exploded in an ecstasy neither had experienced before. Her cry eclipsed his groan as he poured his seed inside her with a few more thrusts before he collapsed on top of her. When he finally rolled halfway off her, he tugged her close, nuzzling her hair at the crook of her neck. They spoke not a word, both unsure where things were going. He’d never wanted another woman to lie with him after the deed was done. He’d indulge Lyla when she’d curl around his supine form. What he felt now was a world different. Seeing her hurt today had made him face how precious little time they could have together. She would run. He knew it, which made him hold on tighter.

40

Her emotions were a swirl of colors, happy ones like yellows and oranges and

darker ones like grays and blacks. How could a man make her feel so much in so little time? No, it wasn’t love, but damn if it wasn’t somewhere close to a prelude to it. It was different too than what she’d felt for Brian, which had been respect and attraction. They had been bonded by war, not love. In Ender’s arms, she felt safe, like she didn’t have to sleep with one eye open for the first time in forever. That scared her. She couldn’t allow herself to fall into that trap again. Twice was enough and both times, she’d had her heart broken. She turned in his arms to face him. “I’m going back to New York tomorrow.” “I know,” he said gruffly. As stupid as it was, his acceptance of it had the back of her eyes burn with emotions. She tamped down the dumb feelings and snuggled close to him. She memorized the feel of him at her back for future reference and closed her eyes to willingly let darkness consume her. Before she fell asleep, she asked him the burning question. “Who’s Mandy?” He sighed, knowing she wouldn’t let this go. “She was a few years younger than me and the first friend I had when I moved to Dad’s. I didn’t understand then that the men saw themselves as more than cowboys and women as less than chattel. Still, she and I remained friends for years until told me she loved me. I hadn’t been sure then what love was but figured what I felt for her was the same. Three years younger than me though, I respected her enough and refused to let anything happen between us. She hated me for that.” He closed his eyes wondering if he could have done anything different to change the outcome. “Her jealousy had her refusing to go with me when I left for good. But she was mine and I despite her anger I promised her I’d be back when she turned eighteen and we could be together. Foolishly, I thought staking a claim on her before I left and promising retribution to any man that dared touch her would keep her safe. And it did for a time. I found a way to talk to her time to time to make sure.” He was quiet for a moment. “Only, she’d only been seventeen when I got the

call. I drove like a madman through the night to find her…” He shook his head, pushing the memory of her broken body out of his mind. “I would have killed everyone there if I didn’t have to get her away and to safety. She’d been raped and beaten, but unfortunately alive to relive it every night. I brought her back to California and held her while she slept fighting her demons away because when she was awake she couldn’t bear to be touched. But I couldn’t save her.” “What happened?” “I got called away on club business. One of the old ladies was supposed to watch her…” He trailed off. “She’d wanted a bath. And that’s where they found her in a pool of her own blood.” “I’m sorry,” Piper said, with her head resting on his chest. “They did that to her because of me. She told me how they’d come and she’d backed up my claims that I was hers for the taking.” He still felt the gut shot from the assholes she wouldn’t name proving to her that women in the community were property to be used and taken by whoever. “If she hadn’t loved me, she’d be alive and well. I’d failed her. I didn’t keep her safe.” He went quiet knowing he’d kept himself at a distance from everyone for that reason. That’s why he’d never staked a claim on Lyla. As long as he didn’t, she’d been safe. So why had he allowed himself to get that close to Piper? Brightness filled the room when she opened her lids and surprisingly Ender was still there peacefully asleep. Nature called, forcing her to free herself from his warm embrace. Naked, she reached down in the pile of discarded clothes and found his shirt. Donning it, she didn’t bother putting anything else on. She planned to get naked again upon her return. She would have Ender at least one more time before heading out of town. His shirt covered her to about mid-thigh. She hadn’t expected more considering it fit tightly across his chest and arms. Fighting a smile that wanted to claim her lips, she exited his room. It was only a few steps to the bathroom and she made it there with silence still filling the house. Business done, she took care of a few essentials after, like washing her hands and finger brushing her teeth. When she made her exit, there in the hall stood Taylor, AKA Poet. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said, eyes dancing up and down her. Not liking his tone, she stepped forward to face him despite her nakedness under a single shirt. “What is that supposed to mean?” No longer the impressionable child he’d used and discarded, their head to head was inevitable. He glanced at her shirt, then in the direction of Ender’s room. She didn’t care that he knew who the shirt belonged to. “Sleeping with Eric as a way to get back at me?” She chortled. “Honestly, it has nothing to do with you. But that was always your problem. You were always the center of your universe.” As she started to turn, he reached out to stop her. “Wait,” he said, sounding tired. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s none of my business.”

Glancing at her arm, she silently let him know to release her. “Piper.” Along with a pause, his retreating hand ran roughly through his blond hair. “I fucked up.” She’d waited for the words for so long it was disappointing to hear them now. It was far too late and she didn’t need them anymore. “Yeah,” he said as if he read her thoughts. “I get it. I’m the asshole who waited too long to say it. But I need you to know, I never used you. I did love you. I was just too stupid to handle it better.” “No,” she corrected. “You loved the club more than you ever did me.” He was about to protest, but stopped himself. “That’s not totally true. I didn’t know what I was feeling at the time. You were the first girl I’d ever felt that way about. And then, I hadn’t been patched in long. I thought I would lose my spot if Rocky found out.” “In other words, I wasn’t that important to you.” His hand nervously found his hair again. “I’m messing this up.” “Let me save you time. None of it matters anymore.” “But it does,” he jumped in. “I loved you and fucked it all up. And I’m man enough to say that now. I get that you aren’t that girl anymore. You’re more Eric’s type, though he prefers his chicks with less tits.” “If you’re trying to insult me—” “I’m not.” His eyes found the ceiling for a second. “Look, all I’m trying to say is that if he hurts you, brother or not, I’ll kick his ass.” She doubted very much he could, but it was kind of sweet of him to say so. Emotions and the right responses to such had been lost to her years ago. So she nodded and left him standing there as she headed back to Ender’s room. The sky was lighter when she walked in. Ender lay with his swath of thick black hair covering one eye. In sleep, he lost his hard edges. She hadn’t noticed that on the road. Then again, she was sure he hadn’t allowed himself to sleep so deeply with her before. Apparently, he too felt safe with her or being road weary for so long had finally caught up to him. Climbing in behind him, she wrapped her arms around his chest to enjoy his warmth. He was a better man than he thought himself to be. It was too bad neither one of them had it in themselves to make a go at anything long-term. She relaxed against him, prepared to relish the last few hours with him before she left, seeing no reason to stay. As her mind drifted, she started to mentally prepare for leaving her current life. She would find a small town somewhere to lose herself in. She was done with killing. But what other skill set did she have? Law enforcement? She didn’t think herself that selfless. Maybe in a small town…perhaps. Nuzzled in against him, her eyes popped open when Ender stirred and rolled over to face her. She only got a flash of his darkened eyes before she was flush on her back with his knee spreading her legs. A slow smile grew on her face as she felt the press of his hardness against her opening.

His eyes held hers, not bothering with words as he plunged into her. She tried not to be the first to look away. But as he moved, her eyes fluttered with nine inches of hard muscle stretching her in places she didn’t think possible. He jerked his hips forward, hitting that spot that had her back arching and her eyes rolling back. His plunging movements were rough, but not punishing as he continued to pin her with his stare as if to convey that she was his. He straightened and lifted her hips, continuing to fuck her like no man had before. She tried to stay lucid and not lose herself to the pleasure. She wanted to remember her time with him for those cold nights when she had nothing but her hand and vibrator. Her body began to tighten around him as detonation approached. Feeling it or sensing it, he moved his fingers between her legs. She didn’t need him to play with her clit to get her off like the few men before him. But when he pressed down on her nub, she had liftoff. She spasmed around him as he came inside her. They hadn’t used protection. Ecstasy had a way of taking away any care about potential pregnancies. She religiously took birth control as fail-safe. But for a fleeting moment, she tried to recall the last time she’d taken it.

41

The time had come and standing there didn’t change the fact that she was leaving, he tried to tell himself. Because what could he say to her? Stay? His mouth remained shut, drinking in her undiluted beauty. With feet firmly planted, he watched her stare out the window as if she couldn’t wait to leave. And wasn’t that probably true? She felt his eyes on her, unable to meet them. Their desires had been sated, and damn, the man could fuck like he rode his Harley, endlessly. She was sure she would be satisfied for a while, especially with every moment with him committed to memory. Plus, she had the delicious ache between her legs like it had never been before. Brian had been good, but not as good as Ender. “Piper,” Ender croaked out. His voice was rough, having not spoken a word that morning. He’d just watched her leave his bed, gotten dressed, and hadn’t come back. Finally, she allowed herself to turn and face him. She didn’t speak, only lifted a chin in acknowledgement. “You don’t have to go,” he struggled to say. Her snarky response came out much more like a bite. “And what, play house with you until you get tired of me?” Immediately she regretted her words in light of his truths from last night. Then again, was he safe with her? She definitely had a target on her back by trying to leave the organization. Could she allow him to become a casualty in her war to leave? No, so she hardened her heart and said the words that would ultimately separate them. His eyes never drifted from hers. “You know it’s not like that.” “It’s like what then? Are you declaring your love for me?” she chuffed. Love, no, he didn’t love her. But he felt something, a bond, a connection so deep he wanted her close if only to protect her from herself. “You don’t have to continue…” He trailed off, and she could surmise what he was referring to. “You think I should give up my job after getting caught.” She stepped closer to him. “I’ll have you know, I didn’t need your rescue. I had things under control.”

The lie had easily left her tongue. Being grateful didn’t mean she was beholden to him. He felt his face screw up as he royally fucked it up. Honey coated words weren’t his thing. He said what he meant and meant what he said. Though with her, he seemed to trip over what he wanted to say. She was a foreign concept in his mind, a dream he’d never allowed himself to have. “You’re better than what they’re making you,” he finally said. It was the truth. A killer for hire wasn’t the life he wanted for her. She’d be dead before she turned thirty if she kept it up. “And what am I supposed to do? Play Susie homemaker to your biker badass? I’m not that girl.” He knew she wasn’t. “Law enforcement, private detective, hell, even a security.” All would be less dangerous than what she was currently doing. “And how would I support myself while I went back to school to get qualified to do that? Because I’m not going to be some mall cop.” She didn’t consider the last option. It wasn’t something she ever saw herself doing. “Are you going to take care of me?” She laughed a little. “You’re cute when you’re trying to be helpful, but we both know I am what I am, just like you are what you are.” Her phone chimed, which meant her cab was there. She strode to him and reached up to push hair back from his head. Without words she let their lips meet. Roughly, he pulled her close, remembering how being inside her had felt so damn good. He’d fucked enough women to know that being with her was a world different than anyone else. She pulled back, gazing in his eyes, and God help him, he let go. She took one stumbling step back. For a moment, he considered reaching for her. Something glittered in her eyes and it wasn’t humor. A shimmer reflected the light and had him fisting his hands at his sides. After one more step away, she turned, reached for her bag, and strode out the door. When it closed it was as if the ground rumbled underneath his feet in an earthquake. He felt unsteady and stumbled to grip the sofa arm. “Is she gone?” He glanced up to see Taylor. He managed to mask his features, but could only nod in response. Taylor pointed to the ground. “This. You. That was me six years ago. I watched her walk away and I lost her. Don’t make the same mistake.” The guy might have played like he hadn’t cared about Piper, but Ender could see in his face that he had. “You still love her,” Ender stated. And wasn’t that a bitch. Ender thought his best friend hadn’t given a shit that was why he’d gone for her. Taylor shook his head. “Loved. She’s not the girl I fell in love with.” He knew Taylor liked his women needy. “She’s not Mandy. She’s strong, independent, and

can take care of herself. She wouldn’t appreciate my help. But you, she’s perfect for you. You’ve always liked your women like that.” One of the reasons their friendship had lasted was that they didn’t like the same women. Which was why it was so strange that they’d both fallen for Piper. Then again, he was right. She didn’t appear to be the girl he’d heard about. “Go,” Taylor said. “She’s running because she wants to be caught.” Damn if that wasn’t the most insightful thing the Poet had ever said. Ender knew getting on his bike and driving all around town wasn’t the answer. He had no idea what mode of transportation she was using to get out of Dodge. But he did have one secret, the tracking device he’d hidden on her. She’d found one, but not the other. He just had to use it, only maybe it was better she wasn’t involved in his world. His claim had only gotten one girl he loved killed.

42

The journey back to New York was long and arduous. Flying was out of the

question, so a bus ride across the country gave her time to think and come up with a plan. Unfortunately, it also enabled her to ruminate on the one man who had made her feel in a long time. Part of her hated that Ender hadn’t fought for her or chased her. At every stop she waited in vain for him to be there to claim her. But it hadn’t. So, she focused on what she wanted out of life and it wasn’t the stilted one she’d been living. Finally back in New York, she opened the door of her apartment and found everything in its place. Dust had settled and appeared undisturbed. No one had come snooping around. A good thing. Her two bags of clothes were still in the closet. On her list of things to do, she needed to purchase a small suitcase. In the meantime, she collapsed on the bed and closed her eyes. Shadows had disappeared by the time she awoke. Darkness had claimed the land and it was time to journey out in the world and make peace where she could and bargain with the devil if she had to. After a quick shower, her first stop was to make good on her word. A disheveled bleary-eyed man opened the door she’d knocked on. His hand wiped incessantly at his eyes long before he noticed who was at his doorstep. Angered, she shoved at his chest. “That’s the kind of careless shit that will get you killed,” Piper said. Chris’s eyes finally popped open. “Pipe,” he began. Then his arms were around her. She kicked the door closed and tried to objectively consider his emotion while not immediately elbowing him away. She sort of enjoyed the human contact that had been lacking in her life for the last few years since Brian’s death. But when Chris pulled back and studied her eyes as if considering the meaning of life and followed it up with a lean in, she pushed at his chest. He shrugged. “You were…” “Forget that,” Piper said, cutting him off. She so didn’t want to remember almost sleeping with him to try and get the documents she needed. “Do you have them?” “Well, yeah, but you didn’t come back. I thought you stiffed me.”

She pulled a wad of cash from her pocket and held it out. “Here, it’s all there.” He took it. “You know, you don’t have to leave. I can wipe you from all their systems and you can stay here.” “What?” How much did Chris know about what she did? He’d known she was into something she couldn’t talk about. Then again, he was a high-level hacker, the kind whose alias was on government watch lists. Of course, he probably knew more about her than she knew about herself. “I’m just saying. They would never expect you to stay in New York. You’re probably safer here,” he said. She waved him off. “I’m getting out.” “Nobody gets out.” The fact that he knew that meant he did know all her secrets. “Watch me,” she dared. “Just give me what I need and it better be worth the cash.” She had to stop by the bank and make a complete withdrawal after she got her new identifications. She planned to deposit money in several different banks with the credentials Chris gave her and hoped for the best. He shrugged again. “Your funeral,” he said, before he disappeared in the back and returned with three solid IDs. “Pipe, if you ever need my help.” He held out a business sized card. She took it, bewildered. She’d never had his number before. Chris was suspicious of all technology. But like every human being old enough, he had a cell phone. Only he hadn’t offered her that number before. “If you use it,” he began. “It’s probably a one-time deal. I’ll have to scrub the number if you talk business.” “Chris, I—” She couldn’t believe how choked up she was over this. Although she’d never counted him a friend, there he was proving himself to be one. He went in for the hug and that time she gripped him just as tight. “Be safe,” he whispered in her hair. Tears threatened to break free from her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. She stumbled out the door more nervous than she had walking in. Her good fortune could only mean one thing; that her next meeting wouldn’t go as well. She couldn’t think like that with tasks to complete. Banks, a store to purchase a small carryon bag, and a stop to arrange transportation out of the city were all on her agenda. Second to last stop was back at her apartment. With everything she wanted to keep in the rolling bag rolling behind her, she slowly did a one-eighty. She would never return. And small and cramped as the place was, it had been hers. If she’d been a selfie kind of girl, she might have taken pictures to commemorate the moment. Since she wasn’t. It was another memory stored among others. When that door closed, not too long after, another opened so she could enter the bar

through the employee entrance. It was a slow night. Only one girl waited tables as Kings stood sentry behind the bar. She left her bag in the hall and stood there for a second, remembering the last time she’d been there. It was the night she’d exited the front like the daughter Kings treated her to be. That night, however, there was a good chance her former father figure would become her number one enemy. She hoped she could walk out with her life. But for all she knew, the waitress was like her, a killer biding her time until her next assignment. Exhaling a breath, she pushed around the corner with her gun tucked at her back under the waistband of her pants. Killing was what they’d trained her to do. She wouldn’t want to, but she would kill her boss, mentor, and the man who’d been like a father to her in a second if it meant her own life. “Princess.” It wasn’t often he called her that, especially out loud in the open. That had been her code name in her unit. “Kings.” “Come to talk to me about your trip.” His eyes flickered to the girl wiping down tables. At first she hadn’t known who it was, but seeing her face in profile, and Piper knew the girl’s name. Only a glance passed between them, but as Kings started her way, it was clear that he’d silently communicated he’d be walking away from the bar for a moment. The girl, who’d acted so dimwitted Piper had feared for her, clearly was an agent. She had to give her points because the woman’s acting skills were off the charts. She and Kings stepped into the darkened hallway and his clever eyes spotted the luggage straight off. “Going somewhere?” Like ripping off a Band-Aid, she said, “I’m done.” He nodded as if he’d expected her to say that. Then again, he probably had. But she highly doubted leaving would be that easy. “You knew from the beginning that the only way out was in a—” “Box. Yes, I know. I’m hoping you can make them believe that I had.” His big hand cupped the side of her face much like a father might do. She closed her eyes, not to enjoy the moment, but prepare for the inevitable. Kings could easily snap her neck and that was what she’d figured he’d do. Mentally, she prepared that her life might end that day. Knowing what she did, she decided it was better that than to go on. The pad of his thumb brushed over her cheek, stroking at invisible tears she’d yet to shed. “What did you find out there?” He didn’t have to specify California because he meant anything and anywhere outside of the organization. What had she found? The meaning of life? No, nothing so profound. But she had found life. If that made any sense. She wanted the joy of not watching her back. She

wanted not to add to the body count that plagued her dreams with guilt. She wanted… That thought stopped in its tracks. The one thing she really wanted had been as elusive as a fantasy. She’d learned that from Taylor and Brian. “Peace,” she finally said, reaching absently for the smokes that were no longer in her pocket. She fought against the instinct. The need to light up hadn’t crossed her mind since Ender. Hell, her bio mom was dying from lung cancer. She squashed the desire and would fight against it if it arose again. His hand slid from her face down her neck to her shoulder. “Do you want to know about the mother and daughter you sent to me first?” She nodded. “As you can imagine meeting me and the whole city of New York was just too much for them. So I set them up with all they need to get the woman a job and the girl enrolled in school in a small town.” “Good,” she said, relieved. “Now, you know I can’t let you walk out of here alive.” She nodded again and braced herself.

43

B y the time Ender had considered going after Piper she’d been long gone. There

were too many exit points in the city from trains, planes, and automobiles. He’d lost her. He thought that maybe he wouldn’t track her. Though he had. He’d watched her on the computer screen as a tiny blip made her way back to New York. Only to make sure she was safe, he told himself. Shit at the club had been crazy since she’d left. The Midnight Raiders had made a play for their territory and he hadn’t been able to chase her, not that he would have. She hadn’t wanted him, so why the fuck should he play pussy and chase her despite Taylor’s advice? He had Lyla, though he hadn’t been to see her and had avoided her calls and texts. Lyla could be enough if she hadn’t moved on out of spite. Then again, it was probably for the best. In fact, he sent Lyla a text, telling her he wouldn’t be back, at least not for her. Languages hadn’t been created for the kinds of things she spewed in replies to him. He hadn’t responded, nor did he go and teach her a lesson about the proper way to treat a brother from Devil’s Edge, not some pansy ass off the street. He did nothing. In fact, he stopped following Piper’s movements via the computer too. Rocky hadn’t asked him to, so he unhooked himself from the chain she’d weaved around his heart. Should be easy. He hadn’t known her all that long. Surely it took more to build a guillotine than the short time they’d known each other. As time slowly passed, he realized his mistake. Sitting in the clubhouse with music playing loud and pussy by the dozen available to him, he partook of none of it. “I’m out,” he announced to his brothers. He’d come to the party after they had wiped out the competition. They hadn’t killed every member of the Midnight Raiders club, but they had scared enough, and the rest had headed for the hills. He’d showed his face, drank a few beers, and listened to the recounts of glory from boasters like Dirt. All the while, he’d been remembering what it had been like to be inside her. It shouldn’t have been an eye-opening experience. He’d been with enough

women to know that in the dark, pussy is pussy. Yet, after being with her, he understood the more elusive thing like what Rocky had with Tricks. It wasn’t the physical, it was mental like it had been with Mandy since he’d never so much as kissed her. With Piper, though, he’d felt a connection he’d never had before. It made everything he did with her far more intense, more pleasurable than any he had before. “Ender,” Rocky called. He blinked from where he stood, staring off in space a second before. “Yeah.” “I’ve got a job for you.” Just what I need, he thought. A long ride would clear his head and get his dick on board with the program. If he could just get it up long enough to find a tight pussy to lose himself in, maybe he could forget about her. “What have you got for me, boss?” Rocky didn’t waste time telling him. It wasn’t back to New York to pick up Piper, but it was something.

Piper could hardly believe she was still breathing. Kings told her the best way out was a box. The only problem was faking her death would mean giving up her old life. While she acted like her biological father meant nothing to her, it was a lie. Plus, Kings knew well that the blowback from news of her death from national Devil’s Edge club could cause a visible war, one that would be put in front of the public eye. So for now, she was forced to go dark. Kings agreed to negotiate on her behalf. Being the daughter of the national president of such a large motorcycle club could be her way out. Her dad’s club had resources to bring to light an organization that lived in the shadows. That was how she found herself on a bus with nothing electronic on her so she couldn’t be tracked. The lengths she went to, taking a plane to Atlanta, getting on a train to Orlando, and losing herself in the crowds of a theme park before randomly catching a Greyhound bus. She’d switched routes several times to make sure she wasn’t followed. It was exhausting but necessary. On the last leg of her escape from New York, she decided buying an older model car was her first priority. The small, sleepy town in Colorado she’d chosen as the

place she’d hide out in until she got word from Kings that the coast was clear wasn’t exactly public transportation friendly. Using library computers when someone didn’t log completely off was a game in itself. She’d managed to rent a small, furnished apartment and paying through PayPal using a reloadable gift card she’d bought at a gas station with cash had done the trick. Keeping her electronic footprint to a minimum, she hoped she’d done enough to keep herself safe until a deal could be brokered. She couldn’t spend a lot of money as she may have to buy her contract out as an incentive for the organization to let her walk away. She’d stayed on the bus while the other passengers had gotten off for a bathroom break and to get food at the small truck stop. She’d used the time for surveillance. She scoured the area with her eyes, watching to see if any out of place vehicles were following the bus or waiting for her to exit. She did this until all the other passengers got back on. When no other cars pulled into the lot, she got off just as the bus driver was about to shut the doors to move on. The bus driver’s scowl did nothing to take the smile off her face. She’d done it. She relished getting off the bus, stretching with each step. The stop was a diner with a few eighteen wheelers in its parking lot, but the beauty of the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop took her breath away. As the bus pulled away, she sucked in a lungful of fresh air. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see the motorcycle parked on the other side of the road and the rider who only had eyes for her. He took a moment to see the naked emotion on her face. From the fall of brown hair down her back, to the bounce of her tits, he caught her in a rare moment when nothing was disguised on her face. She was downright gorgeous in a way that had his dick so hard, he doubted his ability to ride his bike in that moment. In her eyes he could have sworn he saw relief before it was quickly masked. Her fury compounded with each step toward him. “You bastard,” she said, poking a finger into his chest. “Where is it? You’re going to get me caught.” Her challenge went unheard to anyone else as they were far enough away from the diner. No one was remotely close, so he didn’t bother to whisper his next words. “Nobody knows, not even Rocky, what kind of surveillance I have on you.” Whenever Rocky gave him a task, he didn’t ask questions about how it got done. It was better for deniability that way. “The device or devices,” he began, because he wasn’t admitting yet that he only had one left, “were purchased a couple of years ago for cash. No one can track you outside of me.” She accepted his words because he’d never once lied to her. He reached over and cupped the back of her neck. He drew her in and stole the kiss he wanted, craved, fucking dreamed about since the day she’d walked away.

Her fists pressed into his chest until they opened and gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. “That’s it, baby. You take what you need,” he said against her mouth. “But it might be better if we don’t do this on the side of the road.” Her blush almost made her appear innocent, almost. She glanced down at her carryon bag, eyeing the thing then looking at him. He got off the bike and had to adjust himself. A few seconds later with rope that looked like bungee cord, don’t ask how she knew, he jimmy rigged the tiny suitcase to fit securely on the back of his bike. “We don’t have far to go, do we?” She liked that he found her capable. He trusted her to have a safe spot to go if she’d gotten off the bus. “No, not far.” Although she hadn’t ever been there before, she’d memorized directions in case she couldn’t find a ride there and had to walk. With no cell, she had no desire to ask for directions once she made it to her final destination.

44

The place was a cute ski cabin. One that was rented by the month through Airbnb

and wouldn’t look suspicious when an out-of-towner occupied it. “Cute,” Ender muttered after she opened the door. There was a small living room with worn furniture on the left and a tinier kitchen with yellowing appliances and aging pine cabinets on the right. Two doors lined the back wall. She didn’t have to open them to guess one led to a bedroom and the other to a bathroom. “Your ass is cute. This is a shithole,” she proclaimed. And for the first time ever, she watched as Ender’s face split and he laughed. Watching him only made her unable not to join in. “It’s not funny,” she finally said. “I’ve had worse.” She had. Her apartment in New York was no prize. There, her sweeping views had been of brick walls and dirty alleys. What she had now before her were treecovered, snowcapped mountains right out her small front windows. The majesty of the outdoors held her attention until Ender tugged her toward the doors in the back. Luck ran on his side because the first door he opened led to a room with a bed. He didn’t waste time tossing her on it. “Strip.” It was that one command that made her wet. “Let me see those gorgeous tits of yours.” “Thought you didn’t like them,” she countered. “I’m growing fond of them.” Unceremoniously, she removed her shirt over her head, leaving her hair sexily mussed. The chill in the air caused her nipples to harden to diamonds on contact. “Fuck,” Ender muttered. He grabbed a hold of his dick through his jeans and tugged on it some as if that could calm the damn thing down. “Let me see that pretty pussy of yours.” She rose up on her knees and tucked her thumbs under the waistband of her jeans. Then she eased the stretchy but clingy fabric over her hips, not bothering with the zipper. It wasn’t easy, but she managed it. When she sat, he tugged on her ankles, pulling her jeans free from her legs.

Then he had to stop and admire the lacy black material that covered her perfect cunt. After a moment, however, what looked so pretty became an obstacle. A second later the material tore from her body, the stitching no match for his biceps. “Hey,” she protested. “Those aren’t cheap.” “I’ll replace them with whatever you want.” His words had barely escaped his mouth before he was on her. One thrust and he found heaven and home. Her back bowed while he hissed in a breath. Their joining was more than animalistic need, although there was definitely some of that. There was a knowing each of them felt as they never lost eye contact. His pumping action was long and hard, hitting each and every spot that had her wanting to lose control. She clawed at his back. His fingers bit into her flesh. Her thighs would be bruised, but oh so deliciously. He angled her so he could go even deeper, moving so he could apply the most pressure to that inside magic button that had her digging her nails into his skin. “God, your dick—” “Is big?” The smirk on his beautiful face would have pissed her off if not for the pleasure he stirred in between her legs. “The better to fuck you with, baby.” “Eric,” she cried out. “I’m going to come.” Saying his name and not his road one had him losing his shit. Her pussy clamped down on him so hard, he shot off, seeing stars at the edge of his vision. One last punishing stroke and he finished, shooting his seed inside her. He collapsed on top of her. Not that she minded. He rolled on his side, taking her with him. They faced each other with his arms fastened around her. “Now that you’re mine, tell me what the fuck you’re doing in Colorado?” She bristled at his words. “Yours?” “Don’t fucking fight it, Pipe. No one else is going to fuck that pretty cunt of yours unless they have a death wish. You can be on board or not, but that’s how it is.” “You are a bossy licentious bastard.” “Bossy, yes. Bastard, true enough. My parents never did marry. But licentious?” His brow quirked and a half smile formed on his face as if he were amused. “It means—” “I know what it means. Just didn’t think you’d break out the dictionary when you were mad.” She shrugged. “Shameless didn’t have the same ring to it.” He kissed her, tugging at her lip with his teeth. “Next thing, you’ll be calling me a hedonistic asshole.” She let out a moan because he’d never pulled out and had started to move inside her again. On their sides, a new angle took her to a different but no less gratifying place. “Licentious and hedonistic, yes, those suit you well.”

They didn’t speak after for a while. The next word she thought of was insatiable as he flipped her over and lifted her ass high in the air so he could fuck her doggy style. She was tired, but felt loose and limber by morning. Waking up hadn’t been in the plan, but movement on the bed had her opening her eyes like the trained killer she was. “Where are you going?” She hated the desperation that edged her tone. There was no way she wanted to want someone that bad. But he’d claimed her just hours ago. Did he plan to duck out on her the first chance he got? She couldn’t help but think of Lyla. He had another thing coming if he thought she would just be available whenever he needed or wanted her. “Going for breakfast. I figured I needed to feed you if I planned to fuck you until I leave this afternoon.” “Leaving?” Again, she didn’t want to be that girl, the one who needed a man like she needed to breathe. “I’ve got business in Utah.” “Club business near Dragon?” she asked like there could be some other. He didn’t speak for a second. “Of course I know where Dad’s clubs are across the country. I had to so I could steer clear and not have someone checking up on my every movement.” “Dragon is a ghost town,” he said flatly. She rolled her eyes. “True, that’s what the census bureau thinks. But small towns wouldn’t be small towns if everyone knew about them.” “The postal service.” Shrugging, she said, “Like I said, near Dragon.” There wasn’t much near there, but there was a small mining town that still worked in the area. Guys who worked it were hard and liked their women soft. It wasn’t a place you could roll into and not be noticed. “Club business isn’t for old ladies.” One of her eyebrows shot up. “Old lady? I’m not your old lady.” His eyes narrowed. “I told you before, even if you don’t want to be, you’re mine. I’m not Taylor.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” she challenged. “You had a choice. When you let me between those pretty legs of yours, you became my property.” She stepped over to him, eyes of flames, and took hold of his cock. “And I’m not Lyla. This dick is mine. And if you try to use it on another female, I will cut it from your body and ground it to mincemeat.” His brow rose. “Is that so?” “Yes, now kiss me before you go get me breakfast. I need coffee.” He did, and she started to make for the bathroom, giving an extra bounce in her step to keep his eyes on her.

“Wait,” he said. She turned around and quirked a smile at seeing his. “We both know this ain’t love yet. But you know I’ve got mad feelings for you.” Something about his declaration was oddly romantic. “I sure hope so if you’re claiming me.” “But if you aren’t my old lady, what do I call you?” Her smile ratcheted up a few more notches. “I’m your ride or die.” “Ride or die?” “Yeah, you know. You’d die if you couldn’t ride that bike of yours.” He shrugged in acknowledgment. “And you would die if I didn’t let you ride me,” she said, prettily. He bit the corner of his lip, trying his best not to laugh as she took her sexy ass into the bathroom. He would have a hell of a time going to get breakfast. It took a lot of inner convincing not to follow her instead. He told himself over and over as he left that he had to feed her if he planned to ride that ass of hers several more times before heading to Utah.

EPILOGUE

L ife in Colorado had halfway done her good. The fresh air and the anonymity

suited her just fine. But waking up with a head between her legs made everything all the better. Dark hair crowned the man who could be king of pussy. He knew just how to get her off. More importantly, he was the only man who could enter her bed and not wake her up. She just trusted him that much. It hadn’t mattered that she hadn’t seen him in weeks. She couldn’t go to California with things still up in the air with the organization. Unfortunately, they were dragging their feet while trying to make a decision about her status. Though there had been some negotiation back and forth, she guessed they were trying to find her. Besides that, Ender couldn’t leave his post at her father’s charter. So for the time being they’d played at the long-distance thing. When he came up for air, unfulfilled desire heated his dark eyes and she knew they wouldn’t be leaving the bed anytime soon. His kiss tasted like sin and his grip held her with promise. She’d never fit so perfectly with a man before. Soon, he rolled, leaving her on top so she could ride him just the way he loved. She lifted and slid down his length over and over again, creating potent friction. When his fingers dug hard into her thighs to still her, she meant to tease him by bucking as best as she could. He growled in response and tumbled her on her side to thrust so far inside her, she knew she’d be bruised the next day. By the time they finally came, she for the third time, their skin was licked with sweat. “Fuck, I missed you,” he groaned. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she said, half grinning because of the double meaning. “Baby, I always come for you.” He stopped any further conversation by devouring her mouth. Sometime later, they both panted with him spooned behind her. She took the moment to ask, “What brings you to town?” because she hadn’t expected him. “You, of course.” She knew that. “No business?”

He shrugged. “Got to make another trip to Utah. I have to unseat the current president.” She sat up because that was dangerous business. “Alone?” Ender was the shit, but those who considered themselves on top didn’t often go down without a fight. “It’s a small club,” he said, not seeming at all worried. “There is no way I’m letting you go by yourself.” He loved her determination and that she thought she could command him. “You’re cute, but I’m deadly.” Still there had been another reason he’d made the trip out there. “I don’t need anyone watching my back,” he said. She knew that. More than not, Rocky sent him to fix shit on his own and he was still in one piece. “I’ve got your back, there’s a difference,” she proclaimed. He smiled at her and rolled over to the side of the bed to pick up something he’d left in his bag on the floor. He had no intentions of stopping her from coming with him. He’d anticipated she’d want to. “If you’re going with me, you’ll need this.” She eyed the leather vest he held out to her. Slowly, he turned it. On the back it read in bold arching letters, Property of Ender, with the Devil’s Edge emblem in the middle. “Property, huh?” “You and I know what it means to us,” he said, not wanting to get in the whole discussion over the merits of how Neanderthals thought, her words not his. “And what’s that?” she asked, climbing to sit astride him. “It means you’re the only woman for me and the only one in my bed.” “You bet your sweet ass,” she said, playfully slapping at his chest before swiping the vest from his hands. “It could work,” she said absently. “We should probably get another one made, though. This one is too big.” “What?” he asked. “If anything, your boobs appear to be getting bigger.” She shrugged. “They do that, especially when you’re pregnant.” He nearly toppled her over, forcing her on her back so he could loom over her. “Don’t play with me, woman.” She grinned up at his serious face. She didn’t know if he was pleased or not, so she went with a straightforward approach. “We’re going to have a baby, Eric. So get used to the idea.” His head spun. They’d long since stopped using condoms. But she’d been on the pill. However, he trusted her enough to know she wouldn’t trap him. What he’d planted was his and he’d take care of them both. “That means you’re not going to Utah,” he said adamantly. Her eyes narrowed. “We’re in this together. You’ll just have to keep your ass alive so we’ll be safe. Besides, I’m a better shot than anyone in the club.” She was right about that. “Fine, but you go in and play dumb. You wear something sexy as hell to keep

them confused, which means you can’t carry.” “Uh-huh, what else?” Hours later, clad in skintight jeans and a top that barely contained her boobs, she got off Ender’s bike like a boss. He tucked two Sigs in the waistband at his back, one for him, one for her, and let his cut conceal them both. They walked toward the front door of the charter like they owned the place. “By the way,” he said, “Rocky needs me to stay put here and get this club back in shape before handing it over to a new president.” That stopped her in her tracks. “Wait? What?” The charter was just over the border in Utah and less than an hour from where she stayed. “I’m moving in with you for a while. I’m sure shit will get worked out with your contract before I have to go back. Because I’m damn well taking you back with me.” “Not before we go take care of Darryl.” For a moment he didn’t know who she was talking about. When his eyes widened, she added, “For Mandy.” “For Mandy,” he repeated in awe of the woman before him. Her damn hormones kicked in and she confessed a truth she’d been hiding for months. “I fucking love you, you big lumberjack.” She knocked his shoulder with her fist. “I fucking love you too. Now let’s go kick some ass.” Their kiss was quick but no less passionate before they pushed through the doors like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. “Listen up,” Ender said straight off, commanding the room’s attention. “Shit’s about to change.” Everyone knew who he was, so he didn’t have to announce himself. The current president got to his feet. “What do you mean?” The gray-haired man wasn’t that stupid. He was just biding his time. “I mean there is a new order. I’m king here now.” “What the fuck?” the dimwitted president baulked. “I would consider your next words carefully,” Ender growled. So far, Piper played her roll, chewing on gum and not looking but assessing where everyone was and what they had in their hands. “Then who the fuck is she?” Ender let his eyes slide to his old lady for one long second before pinning each and every member with his glare. “This is Piper. She’s the new queen, my ride or die.”

A THANK YOU

I’d like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read our novel. Above all I hope you loved it. If you did, I would love it if you could spare just a few more minutes to leave a review on your favorite e-tailer. If you do, could you be so kind and not leave any spoilers about the story? Thanks so much!

about Terri E. Laine

Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young age. Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come. You can find more about her books at: www.terrielaine.com.

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OTHER BOOKS BY TERRI E. LAINE Chasing Butterflies Catching Fireflies other books co-authored by Terri E. Laine Cruel and Beautiful A Mess of A Man A Beautiful Sin One Wrong Choice (March 2017) Sidelined Fastball Hooked