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  “I feel bad, but—”

  “Don’t.” He gives me a softer look. “I know you can’t help it.” Reaching past me, he grabs the door handle and pulls it open. “Come on, Rock’s probably wondering where you are.”

  Rock is indeed wondering where I am. I spot him across the room in a tense discussion with Mr. DeLova. His gaze lands on me and a brief smile flickers over his mouth. Some of the tension in his posture slips away.

  “I take it I should stay away?” I mutter to Z.

  “Can’t say,” he says in a voice I can barely make out over the rest of the noise in the room. “DeLova’s a wild card tonight.”

  “And the fun times keep coming,” I grumble. “Is he upset Wrath’s not here?”

  “Maybe. Teller’s doing a fine job.”

  My gaze sweeps over Teller, standing with his arms folded over his chest at Rock’s back, eyes scanning the room. The expression darkening his handsome face moves him closer to the Wrath end of the scary-biker spectrum tonight.

  “How about you?”

  “Well, I let you out of my sight for five seconds.”

  I press a finger against my lips. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  He chuckles. “Mallory was looking for you.”

  Charlotte bumps my shoulder. “Where’d you go?”

  “To talk to Tawny before she left.”

  Charlotte rolls her eyes. “Drama queen, that one.” She tilts her head in Teller’s direction. “I’m going to jump him so hard later.”

  Z bursts out laughing. “The fuck-off face works for you, huh?”

  “Fuck yes.”

  I chuckle and nudge Charlotte. “How much have you had to drink?”

  “Probably too much.” She hands Z the rest of her beer. “I don’t usually drink at all,” she mumbles.

  “It’s fine. We’re supposed to have fun on this trip.” I poke her in the side to lighten her up and she laughs.

  Next to me, Z shakes his head. “Why you two making my job so hard?”

  I widen my eyes and gasp in an exaggerated way that forces a chuckle out of Z.

  “Are you saying we’re more difficult than wrangling dancers at Crystal Ball?”

  “No. You’re definitely… easier. It’s just…”

  “He can’t see us naked, Hope,” Charlotte finishes what Z was reluctant to say to our faces.

  He holds up his hands. “She said it, not me.”

  Someone turns the music up even louder, and I glance at Rock, who motions me over.

  He takes my hand when I reach him and pulls me to his side. Mr. DeLova has ventured into the party, so I don’t have the pleasure of talking to him.

  Rock leans down. “Everything okay?” he asks against my ear.

  “Tawny went home and Sway… creepily thanked me for talking to her.”

  He pulls back, a frown darkening his face. I wave my hand between us. “I’ll tell you more later.”

  “Yes. You will.”

  That bossy tone of his turns me on way more than it should. I silence any more questions with my lips against his.

  After Hope explains her conversation with Sway, I decide he needs a punch in the face first thing in the morning.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Hope says without turning her head.

  “Good, so it won’t be a shock when I lay him out tomorrow.”

  “Please don’t,” she pleads. “We’re going to be on the road with him for two weeks.”

  I’ll ask Z how much he overheard before I make a decision on how to handle Sway.

  She taps my shoulder. “What I really want to talk about is young Rock trying to hit on Mallory.”

  I snort with laughter and pull her closer. “You heard the whole story.”

  “Oh, I doubt that.” She presses her lips against my arm. “How come you never mentioned it?”

  “Honestly, I forgot about it until she brought it up.” I peer down at her. “Do you really want to hear about all the women I’ve tried to pick up in my life?”

  “Ugh, no.” She chuckles and turns to face me. “Come on, though. It sounds like a cute story.”

  “Not to me.”

  “Right. The big stud struck out,” she teases. She stops laughing. “Thirteen, huh? Seems young to be so sure of yourself.”

  Uncomfortable with the conversation, I shrug off her probing statement. “Had already been around the club for a couple years.”

  “You don’t talk about Grinder a lot,” she says softly.

  “Lot of complicated feelings there, baby doll.”

  “You feel guilty he’s still in prison?”

  “Every day.”

  “Oh, Rock,” she whispers, hugging me tighter. I wasn’t looking for sympathy, but I love her up against me. And I can’t deny that confessing to her lifts some of the weight off my chest.

  “Let’s get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

  The next morning, Wrath, Trinity, and Murphy join us at the clubhouse.

  “How was the ride?” I hug Trinity as if it’s been a month since I saw her instead of a day. “Where’s Heidi?”

  “Right behind us,” Murphy says. “Alexa was out cold when we left, but we stopped about halfway and she was having a meltdown, so Heidi rode with them.”

  “Oh, poor baby.”

  He shrugs. “We knew that would happen. It’s just nice having them with me.”

  A few minutes later, Murphy’s pickup slides into the lot with Carter behind the wheel. Murphy jogs over to meet them.

  Today a lot of the club members have their families over, so it’s not unusual that Alexa’s here. Mallory and her daughter whisk Heidi and Alexa away to introduce Alexa to some of the other kids.

  I finish packing my bag and Birch takes it to the van. “This is the way to travel on a bike,” I joke to Rock.

  “Yeah?” He wraps an arm around my shoulders.

  “I get to be with my man and bring all my girly supplies along.”

  “Good thing we had the van.” He jerks his thumb toward Murphy’s truck. “I’m sure Murphy packed Alexa’s entire bedroom in the back of that pickup.”

  “Thank you for helping them make this work. He’s really happy to have them along.”

  He stops and surveys the parking lot, full of brothers checking out each other’s bikes and joking around. “Some guys like club life because it allows them to escape their families and responsibilities. But to guys like Murphy, it is the family.”

  “And you.”

  “And me,” he agrees. “National will be the same. A lot of families come. That’s why they rent out a whole hotel.” His mouth pulls into a filthy grin. “The dirty stuff will happen in the woods behind the hotel.”

  “Oooh, tell me more about the dirty stuff.”

  “I’m gonna show you the dirty stuff.” He yanks me closer. “Gonna fuck you from here to Mississippi.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “Do I need to get the hose?” Z asks.

  Rock turns and glowers. “Yeah, if you want me to choke you with it.”

  “So hostile,” I tease, leaning up on tiptoes to kiss Rock’s cheek. “I’m going to talk to Mallory. No choking Z while I’m gone.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Z winks at me as I pass him, and I mouth, “behave.”

  I find Mallory in the kitchen packing a cooler full of snacks for the guys.

  “Do you need any help?” I ask.

  “No, I’m almost done. Thanks, Hope.” She peers at me over the lid of the cooler. “Excited for the rally?”

  “Sort of. Rock says it’s a really big one and it could get… lively.”

  “That’s a good way to put it. But don’t worry. It ends up being pretty chill. Hopefully we’ll run into each other there.”

  “Definitely.” We exchange numbers and promise to meet up for drinks.

  While the Demons are busy, Trinity gathers Heidi, Alexa, and Charlotte by the guys’ bikes for pictures.

  Even though Alexa yowls
like a distressed cat every time she hears the rumble of a Harley engine, she seems to recognize which one is Murphy’s and reaches for it.

  “Yes! Oh my God. Adorable.” Trinity bubbles over with excitement. “Let me take a picture of her on Murphy’s bike wearing her teeny-tiny, girly cut. She’s so flippin’ cute!”

  “Blake,” Heidi calls out. She tilts her head toward the bike and he jogs over.

  “What’s up?”

  Trinity explains her vision while she throws out a bunch of instructions on how she wants the three of them to pose. Murphy wraps his arm around Alexa and sits her in front of him. She immediately stretches toward the handlebars, squirming to touch everything within reach.

  “Thank God.” Murphy sighs with relief. “I was starting to worry she hated it.”

  “Careful, Murphy. You don’t want her dating bikers when she’s older,” Z says.

  Ignoring him, Murphy pulls Alexa close and kisses her cheeks. “Don’t gotta worry about that. You’re never dating at all.”

  “Da!”

  “Trin, did you film that so I can show it to her when she’s sixteen?” Murphy asks.

  “Sounded more like she was mocking you. A baby version of ‘you’re so silly, daddy.’ Charlotte snorts with laughter and ruffles Alexa’s hair.

  “No, she was agreeing with me.”

  Alexa flaps her hands in the air. “Yeth!”

  “See?” Murphy’s smug smile makes Heidi and Charlotte crack up.

  “Murphy, what the fuck?” Wrath shouts. “Rock’s looking for you.”

  “I’m right here. Your woman’s holding me hostage.” His complaint about Trinity’s photo session is negated by the contented smile stretched across his face.

  Alexa purses her lips and narrows her eyes as Wrath approaches.

  “Oh, wow. It’s like she knows you’re the fun police.” I snicker and clamp my hand over my mouth.

  Wrath’s unamused gaze slides my way. “Very funny.”

  “Here, take her.” Murphy holds Alexa out for Heidi, but Wrath scoops her up instead, swinging her into his arms.

  “Eeee!”

  “See, she knows I’m the fun uncle.”

  “Don’t drop her,” Murphy says, walking backwards to keep an eye on Alexa, or make sure Wrath doesn’t sneak up on him. Hard to tell.

  “Drop her? I’m gonna drop you if you don’t get your ass over there,” Wrath threatens.

  Murphy answers by holding out his arms in a “come at me” sort of gesture. An invitation Wrath can’t resist. He hands Alexa to Heidi and sprints after him.

  “Play nice, boys.” The rest of Charlotte’s warning is swallowed up by her laughter.

  “Teller, control your woman,” Wrath calls out.

  “I hope you got your pictures, Trin. I think the guys are ready to get back on the road.”

  She runs over with her cellphone in her hand. “One more selfie.”

  One hundred and one selfies later, Rock wraps an arm around my waist and says it’s time to go.

  The two clubs ride out together. Rock already told me the Demons will go their separate way once we’re through Pennsylvania. He didn’t explain why, but I assume it’s a territory issue.

  All I’m worried about is the next part of our adventure.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  We ride for most of the day and stop to camp at a spot Murphy found outside Huntington, West Virginia.

  “Why does Murphy get a tent?” Ravage bitches as Carter and Teller unload the bulky shelter.

  “Because I don’t want my baby being carried off by a coyote,” Heidi shoots back, making me laugh.

  When Wrath slides two more tents out of the back of Murphy’s truck, Ravage really loses it.

  “You shittin’ me?”

  “Would you shut the fuck up and quit bitching,” Z says. “Christ you’re a fucking pussy.”

  “Are one of those tents for us?” Hope whispers.

  “Fuck yes.”

  I expect her to say, thank God, or something along those lines. But she surprises me with, “I hope Ravage doesn’t drag us out in the middle of the night.”

  “If he tries, I’ll shoot him.”

  Wrath and Z get a good fire going. Charlotte passes out beer and soda to everyone. We sit around talking about the ride and what’s gonna go down at National until the girls pass out from boredom.

  Teller nudges Charlotte awake.

  “Bro, carry your girl like a real man,” Wrath taunts, showing off by lifting Trinity in the air. The movement wakes her and she wraps her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “He picks me up plenty. Don’t worry, Teller’s a proper little caveman,” Charlotte assures us. “You’ve all taught him well.”

  “There’s nothing little about me, woman.” Teller throws her over his shoulder and marches off toward their tent.

  “See! Told ya.” Charlotte waves and laughs the whole way.

  “What’d I miss?” Hope murmurs.

  “Nothing exciting.”

  Our tent’s small, but I made sure we had an extra sleeping pad. “Getting too old for this shit,” I mutter.

  She chuckles as she strips down to her underwear. “This is fun. I’ve never been camping before.”

  “Never?”

  “Nope.” She tugs at the flap of the tent and peers out into the darkness. “I think it has something to do with peeing in the woods.”

  “That’ll do it.”

  The guys are rowdy well into the night, and I relish the idea of waking their asses up bright and early as payback.

  I doze for a while only to be woken up by Teller yelling from his tent. “I can hear you! Knock it off!”

  Hope bursts into giggles, burying her face against my shoulder. “I can only guess.”

  “What a bunch of fuckwits.” I hug her to me tighter. “Come on. You need some sleep.”

  Before we leave the next morning, I pull Hope aside. “Here. Didn’t want to give you this at home.” My lips curl into a crooked smile. “Pretty sure it’s not legal to own in New York.”

  “Speaking of.” She pats her hands over my cut and down to my ass. “I assume you’re not carrying because we’re crossing state lines and all—”

  I place my finger over her lips, stopping her from asking her question. “You really don’t want to know.”

  She holds my gaze for a few seconds before nodding.

  “I promise I’ll keep you safe.” I don’t even blink in the direction of the plain black van Birch is driving where enough weapons for each brother are stored under a secret panel.

  Just in case.

  “And yourself out of trouble?” she insists.

  “I’ll do my best, baby doll.”

  Clearly frustrated with my nonanswers, she turns her attention to her gift.

  “Kimber personal safety… What the heck is this?” she asks, flipping open the metal tin.

  She plucks the plastic device out of the tin and tilts it to the side.

  I ease it out of her hand and show her where the cartridges slide in. “Pepper spray blaster.”

  “Oooh, romantic,” she teases.

  “Just in case.”

  “You think things will be that bad?” She scrunches her nose. “I thought the purpose of the property patch was to keep guys away from me?”

  “I’m not worried about National as much as I’m concerned about Florida. There will be a lot of other clubs at the rally from all over. And a lot of phony wannabe MCs that don’t follow our same biker code. I want you to have something extra to protect yourself. Just in case.”

  “I wonder if I could sneak this into court in my briefcase?” she mutters, plucking the cartridges out of the package.

  “Got a judge you want to mace?”

  Her evil grin is pretty damn sexy on my wife’s usually innocent face. “One or two.”

  “It’s not a toy.” I take the gun and cartridge out of her hands. “It shoots out a red gel-like substance that burns like h
ell when you breathe it in. Causes enough damage to stop a grown-ass man in his tracks.”

  “So don’t test it on Wrath?”

  “Only if he’s being an asshole.”

  “What now?” Wrath asks, joining us.

  “Nothing.” Hope smiles sweetly at him and tucks the gun into her vest pocket.

  “That thing’s no joke, Hope,” Wrath says. “I shot Jake with one—”

  Trinity’s jaw drops. “You did what?”

  “He asked me to do it,” Wrath explains. “For his YouTube channel. The company sent some to him to test.”

  “Sure they did,” Hope teases. “Poor Jake.”

  “Poor Jake, my ass,” Wrath grumbles. “What I was trying to say is be careful, Hope. You don’t want to get any of that shit on you. Make sure you hold the gun away from your body and aim it at your target. Aim for the head.”

  The smile slides off her face. “Hopefully I won’t need it.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Upstate, New York!” Priest, our national president, greets us as we enter the hotel lobby. “Long fucking time, brother.” He pulls me in for a quick hug and slap on the back.

  Here we go with the “haven’t seen you in a while” bullshit.

  “Who’s this?” he asks as he eyes my wife up and down. Not in a disrespectful way. More of a curiosity. Which is a relief because I don’t want to calculate the fine I’d face for knocking our national president the fuck out.

  I make the introductions and Priest crosses his arms over his chest. “Valentina’s around here somewhere. She’ll entertain the girls when we sit down for business.”

  Can’t wait. I’m sure Hope will be eager to get grilled by the national president’s wife too.

  I glance at her, but she seems calmer than she’s probably feeling. Priest’s a scary old bastard. Has been ever since I’ve known him, and taking the seat at the head of the national board didn’t make him any cuddlier. But he’s always been soft with the ladies and talks easily with Hope about our ride down. One of our old presidents might’ve asked her to fetch him a beer, but that’s never been Priest’s style. Fetching beers is what prospects are for.