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  “Please tell me you’re home for good, sweetheart.” Sadness laces his tone.

  “I am, Pops. I’m not going anywhere.” I throw my arms around him and hug him tight.

  “Good, I’m glad. Club party tonight. Why don’t you go up to the house and rest for a few hours. I’m sure the hospital visit was a little draining.” Between crying at the hospital and the adrenaline rush from trying to lose that Iron Lord, it’s definitely wearing on me.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll do that,” I tell him.

  “Also, I want you and the girls on lockdown until further notice. If you need to leave to go anywhere, you will have brothers with you,” he says.

  “Works for me. I’m sure the girls won’t mind,” I reply and we stand up and walk out of his office together. We get out to the main room and Raze isn’t at the bar anymore. There aren’t many brothers in here right now.

  “Hollywood.” Pops gets his attention. “I need you to go with Minx to the main house so she can rest for a while.”

  “You got it, Prez,” he responds.

  “Hey, Pops. Buster, Diesel, Clutch, and Shade are in town from Arizona. Do you mind if they come tonight?” I ask.

  Rivet gives Pops a pleading look. I don't usually need to ask permission for guests to come to a party at the clubhouse. But out of respect for everything going on with the Iron Lords, I decide to. Plus, I know Pops will want to take a chance to meet the people who looked out for us while we were in Arizona.

  “Yeah, gives me a chance to meet my girls’ second family,” he says. He has always claimed Rivet as his adopted daughter. He and her dad were like brothers before he passed away.

  “Thanks, Pops!” Rivet and I say at the same time. I give her a high five as I walk out of the clubhouse, Hollywood in tow.

  I walk into the house I grew up in. It feels so empty without any of my brothers around. I look around at all the pictures on the walls. There are some of me with all three of my brothers, from when we were little kids and teenagers. The ones with Rascal and Kicks are from after Shadow got locked up. With everything my family has gone through, the love and loyalty of my brothers’ best friends have only gotten stronger. They grew to be family real quick.

  “You hungry, Hollywood?” I ask trying to distract myself. “I could make you something to eat.”

  He smiles at me and I know what he’s thinking. My mom passed away when I was only two. Growing up, some of the older cut bunnies taught Rivet and I how to cook. When I wasn’t fighting with my brothers, I took care of them. I would cook and make sure the house stayed clean. Rivet would help when she came around, which was a lot.

  That behavior carried over to the club brothers. I was always making sure everyone was fed. Some of the brothers began calling me Lil Mama because of it. Sundays are and always have been for families and BBQ’s. Not many of the brothers have family outside of the club. Aside from Pops, Ranger and Thor are the only ones from the original five that had Old Ladies. Neither one ever had kids of their own though.

  Riv and I would cook all the side dishes with the help of Lia, Ranger’s Old Lady, and Gemma, Thor’s Old Lady. Pops or one of the others would do all the grilling.

  “Still actin’ as Lil’ Mama, huh?” he asks with a small laugh. I smile.

  “Some things never change. Just ask Riv. I kept at it in Arizona too.” I laugh. And I did. When we met Buster and the guys, they became our family.

  “I’m good, Minx. Go get some rest. You deserve it,” he tells me and with that, I head upstairs to my room. Before I lay down, I shoot a text to Buster.

  Me: Party at the clubhouse. Be at my house at seven.

  I send him the address to my childhood home and lay down. As soon as my head hits the pillow, exhaustion takes over and I fall asleep.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Raze

  After Minx leaves to go talk to Prez, I make my way to my room. I take a quick shower and lay down to try to get some rest. Only, sleep never comes. I lay there with nothing but my thoughts and they keep going back to the same thing. Minx.

  I haven’t thought about a chick this much since before I joined Savage Menaces. Not wanting to think about any of that bullshit, I decide to go for a ride. I get out to the main room and it looks like most everyone disappeared. Lolita is behind the bar, stocking up for the party tonight. Tech and Buzz are playing a game of pool. No one else is in here.

  “If you’re looking for Minx, she’s up at the house getting some rest,” Lolita says with a knowing smirk. I wasn’t looking for her exactly, but I’m glad she’s getting some rest. I grunt in response to Lolita and walk outside. Rascal and Sketch are out here watching a prospect, whose name I can’t remember, wash their bikes.

  “Hey, brother! What’s up?” Sketch asks. I move over to the picnic table they’re sitting at. I sit on the table with my feet on the bench.

  “I was giving some thought to going for a ride to clear my head,” I tell them. Now I’m thinking maybe I should have this prospect wash my bike with the rest.

  “If you do, make sure someone goes with you. Wouldn’t want those Iron Lords fucks to catch you alone,” Rascal says to me and I nod in agreement.

  The club has been dealing with the Iron Lords for about five years now. They wanted to be allies in the beginning, but they’re slimy fucks who tried to move in on our territory. The rivalry grew even more when Hawk was killed.

  “Where is everyone?” I ask them both, curious where everyone ran off to.

  “Kicks and Gunner went with Rivet and Tink to get some clothes for themselves and Minx and Lo. Prez wants the four of them on lockdown. They can stay in the clubhouse or at the house, but no leaving the compound without one of us,” Rascal tells me. “Thor, Trigger, and Ratchet are meeting with them in case they run into trouble.”

  “Minx is at the house napping and Hollywood is there keeping an eye on things. Everyone else is just scattered around doing who knows what,” Sketch says.

  “Or who,” I laugh. Lolita walks out of the clubhouse carrying three beers.

  “I figured y’all could use some refreshments,” she says as she walks over to us. We each take a beer and thank her. She winks and heads back inside. Lolita is a beautiful woman, but she’s got nothing on Minx. Her face comes into my mind. Her stormy grey eyes, the freckles that pepper her cheeks…

  “Not riding now, are ya?” Sketch chuckles, breaking me out of my thoughts. I silently thank him for that.

  “Nah, I guess not,” I respond, then yell “Hey, prospect! Add my bike to the line-up. I want her nice and shiny.”

  Rascal and Sketch laugh. We’re drinking our beers and bullshitting when we hear the roar of a group of bikes. Looking to the gate, I see Kicks and Gunner come in first with Rivet and Tink following in Riv’s car. Kicks and Gunner park their bikes by the clubhouse while Rivet and Tink park by the house.

  Kicks walks over to the house and goes inside. A few minutes pass and Hollywood walks out. If he weren’t wearing his cut, you would never believe he was part of an MC. He’s a fucking pretty boy, but don’t let those looks fool ya. He’s more fucked in the head than any of us. He comes over to sit with us

  “What’s going on at the house?” Sketch asks Hollywood.

  “Just Kicks and Tink making shit awkward. Those two need to fuck and get rid of the damn tension between them,” Hollywood responds and we all laugh. Ain’t that the fucking truth. They’ve been running around each other for a while now. You could cut the sexual tension with a fucking knife. We’re talking and cracking jokes so much that I don’t even realize what time it is when the gate opens again.

  “That car looks familiar,” Sketch says. He’s right, it does.

  “That’s those fuckers that were with Minx last night,” Rascal says, irritation clear in his voice. They park by the house. He goes to get up and I stop him.

  “Hold up. I’ll go see what they’re here for,” I tell him. I get up and walk toward Buster’s car. I’m not sure what Rascal’s deal is with
these guys, but they aren’t all that bad. As long as they aren’t messing with Minx, I’m cool.

  “Hey, man!” Buster greets me as I get close to them.

  “How’s it going?” I ask him, giving him a questioning look.

  “Minx invited us to the party and to meet her Pops,” Shade speaks up and I nod. Kicks comes to the front door. His body language is defensive before he sees who’s out here.

  “Minx told me y’all were coming. Come on in. I think they are just finishing up dinner,” Kicks says to them. Shade looks to me before following Diesel and Clutch inside. Buster is still standing next to me, like he was waiting to talk.

  “I saw the way you were watching Minx last night. Man to man, I just wanted to make it clear, her and Rivet have been like sisters to us since we met them. I know she has her brothers and Pops here, but that won’t stop us from looking out for her too. When you decide to claim her, don’t fucking hurt her,” Buster warns me.

  “I don’t plan on it,” I say. He nods and heads inside. He’s got some balls talking to me like that, but I respect him looking out for her. With that, I make my way back to the clubhouse.

  “Well? What the fuck are they here for?” Rascal questions.

  “They’re here for the party,” I tell him as I walk by them and right inside. The music is almost at partying level. I walk up to the bar but don’t sit down.

  “Another beer?” Lolita asks and I nod. She hands me one and looks at me like she’s waiting for me to talk.

  “What?” I ask her. She raises her eyebrows at me.

  “What’s got you so twisted up?” She’s being nosy, but that’s Lolita. I shake my head not wanting to talk to her about this. I walk away before she can try to pry more. Brothers have started filling the main room. Cut bunnies are here too. Some are dancing, some are looking for a brother to have some fun with.

  “Raze!” Saint yells. I didn’t even know he was back. “Come play some pool!”

  I make my way over to the pool tables. Saint, Tech, and Buzz are about to start a game.

  “We playing doubles?” I ask, sitting at a pub table nearby.

  “Yup, me and Tech, you and Saint,” Buzz says.

  “Let’s do this,” I tell them. Tech racks the balls while Saint prepares to break. Trix, one of the cut bunnies finds her way over to us. She’s pretty but she’s like a Barbie doll. I’m not sure if anything about her is real. She’s been trying to get me to sleep with her for going on a year now. I’m just not interested though.

  “Raze,” she purrs out and it sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Her voice isn’t even close to being as sweet sounding as Minx’s. “How you doin’, baby?”

  “Not now, Trix.” It’s all I say to her. It’s my turn to shoot. I get up to the table and line up a shot. My mind isn’t 100% in the game. I can’t get that one set of grey eyes off my mind.

  I shoot, the cue ball hits its intended target but it doesn’t go in. I sit back down and take a drink of my beer. Trix walks up to me again, stands between my legs and wraps her arms around the back of my neck. I don’t stop her, thinking maybe she can be a distraction for a little bit. The front door opens and I sense her.

  I look up and see Minx walk in. She has on a Guns and Roses shirt that hangs off her shoulder just slightly, no bra strap showing. I’m sure she’s not wearing one. Her jeans hug her in all the right places. She looks sexy as sin.

  Shade is on her right and her arm is hooked through Rivet’s, with her on her left. Shade says something close to her ear and I see her lift her face, smiling, to look at him. Only she looks to me instead and our eyes lock. She sees Trix hanging on me and her smile turns mischievous.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Savannah

  I wake up and see that I slept for a good three hours. I check my phone. I have three unread text messages. I unlock it to see who they’re from. The first is a response from Buster. They’re excited to party with the club. The second one is from Rivet, letting me know her and Tink were being escorted back to Tink’s so they could get some clothes and whatever else is needed. The third text makes my heart stop.

  Anonymous: You can run, but you can’t hide.

  There’s a picture of me outside the clubhouse attached. It says anonymous, but I know exactly who it’s from. This is what he does. I thought with leaving Arizona, I would be safe from him. Obviously, I was wrong.

  I hear people talking downstairs and decide to go see who’s here. I get down the stairs to find four duffle bags. Voices are coming from the kitchen so I head in there. When I walk in, Hollywood and Tink are sitting at the kitchen table, and Rivet is at the stove cooking. It smells like spaghetti and it smells amazing. Tink looks up from her phone and sees me.

  “Hey there, sleeping beauty! How was your nap?” she asks. She sounds way too cheerful for how I feel right now. I feign happiness and smile at her.

  “It was exactly what I needed,” I say, sitting down with her and Hollywood. Rivet turns around to look at me. I try not to let her see that anything’s bothering me but by the look on her face, I can tell she sees right through me. She looks like she’s about to say something when the front door opens.

  “What the fuck?” Kicks shouts and it sounds like he stumbled over something. Rivet and I laugh while Tink busies herself with her phone. He walks into the kitchen like he’s on a mission and stops as soon as he sees we’re all in here.

  “Y’all couldn’t at least put those bags in one of y’alls rooms,” he says sounding irritated. I shrug, used to his mood swings.

  “I just woke up,” I say to him.

  “We were hungry, they can wait,” Rivet tells Kicks. This whole time, Kicks is just watching Tink like he’s waiting for her to say something to him. He clears his throat.

  “I think I’ll head back to the clubhouse,” Hollywood says to no one specific. Kicks moves just enough to let Hollywood pass.

  “Well, okay then. I’ll be in the living room if y’all need anything,” he says, looking around at each of us before leaving the kitchen.

  “Hey Kicks, keep an eye out for Buster and the guys. They should be here around seven,” I say to his retreating back. He doesn’t respond and I look to Tink.

  “What was that about?” I ask Tink curiously.

  “What was what about?” She feigns innocence. I scoff at her.

  “What was what about? Kicks barely took his eyes off of you the entire time he was in here. And you avoided looking at him like the plague,” I whisper yell at her. I’d rather Kicks not hear this conversation.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she responds, now avoiding eye contact with me. Clearly this is something she doesn’t want to talk about. I’ll leave it for now, but eventually, I’ll get her to talk. Rivet finishes cooking and we sit down to eat.

  As we’re cleaning up dinner, I hear a car pull up outside, then the front door open and close. Kicks must have gone to see who is here. By the sound of it, I’d say it’s Buster and the guys. After being around them so much the last four years, I’ve pretty much learned how all of their cars sound. After a few minutes, the door opens again.

  “Minx! Your boys are here,” Kicks shouts before he says, “Y’all can make yourselves at home.”

  Rivet, Tink, and I all walk into the living room to greet the guys.

  “Y’all make yourselves at home. You can watch some TV, whatever. We still need to get ready for the party,” I explain to them. Then I warn Kicks, “Play nice.” He shoots me a smug look.

  “Always.” It’s all he says. I shake my head at him and follow Tink and Rivet upstairs.

  We go to my room and right away Rivet turns on my ‘going out’ playlist on my iPod. It’s what we listen to whenever we get ready for a night out together. Villa by Niykee Heaton is the first song that comes. Tink is going through my closet looking for something to wear. I left most of my things here when I moved to Arizona. Rivet is digging through her duffle bag. I decide to go into the bathroom and heat up my cur
ling wand.

  “What are you planning on wearing tonight, Minx?” Rivet calls to me and I walk out of the bathroom.

  “You better wear something fucking sexy. Something that will make Raze drool,” Tink says to me.

  “We’re not going to talk about Raze,” I tell her. Now it’s my turn to raid my closet. Only I know exactly what I’m going for. I grab my favorite Guns and Roses t-shirt. It has a giant skull cut out of the back. Then I grab a pair of dark wash distressed skinny jeans and my favorite pair of black Converse.

  “Why aren’t we talking about him?” Tink asks. I give her a look as I walk out of my closet.

  “Do you want to tell me about what’s going on with you and Kicks?” I shoot back at her and her eyes practically bug out.

  “Point made,” she says and I laugh. I walk over to my dresser and take out a pair of black lace back cheeksters and some low cut socks.

  “Interesting choice,” Rivet says with a smirk, eyeing the panties. “Planning on showing them off to anyone special.”

  “No one special to show them off to. I just want to feel sexy tonight,” I tell her.

  She just smiles and shakes her head at me. I head into the bathroom to change. I get into my new outfit and place my dirty clothes in a hamper just outside the bathroom. I go back in to do my hair and makeup, this time leaving the door open. As I’m curling my hair, Tink comes up behind me and whistles.

  “Hot mama! Going braless tonight, huh?” she asks giving me a look.

  “If I wear a bra with this shirt, it will look tacky,” I explain to her. Really, it’s just an excuse. So what if I’m dressing up to get Raze’s attention. Flirting won’t hurt.

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” she says sarcastically. I look at her through the mirror.

  “Nothing will happen with Raze. He’s part of the club. I don’t date the brothers, you know that,” I tell her. I’ve always sworn off the brothers. I’m too close to most of them, and if it didn’t work out, it would make it super awkward.