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  Easy’s eyes were troubled. Fuck. “What?”

  “She wants to go home. To her mother’s.”

  My heart twisted and my wolf whined. I swallowed around a big ol’ lump of anger and hurt. Could I really blame her? “Okay. I’ll take her.”

  He was already shaking his head in the negative. “Sorry, bro, but no. She doesn’t want to see you. Sam and I will take her, swing by our house, pick up Levi and Louie. Take them home too.”

  “No.”

  “Dammit, Hollywood. You know the rules.”

  “Fuck the rules.”

  “Don’t do this, man.” Easy griped my shoulder and I was reminded—forcibly—why he was Gravedigger’s first choice as a backup enforcer. “Give her time, Wood. She needs to process everything that’s happened. Sam will help her work through it.”

  Sam. Yeah, if anyone knew how craptastic our life could be, it was her. She’d lost her twin sister, been kidnapped, tortured, and dealing with a moonstruck Easy. Fun times. Not.

  “What about—”

  He cut me off. “We’ve got her security, Wood.” Yeah, another reason he was an enforcer. “We’ll keep her safe. You need to back off. Give her time.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, scowling at him. “Is that what you did? With Sam?”

  “No. And I almost lost her.”

  Chapter 16

  Lainey

  I SHOULD HAVE left the Twin Terrors with Sam. The milk in the refrigerator was spoiled. There wasn’t enough cereal in the box for one bowl, much less two, and the boys were pouting. Sam cooks. Jonah has a Playstation. Easy plays with us. Yada yada. My arm hurt. My heart hurt. And I was out of a job. Any job. I’d gotten cocky and quit my other two jobs. Of course, I couldn’t waitress with my arm in a cast anyway so no crawling back to the restaurant to beg.

  Crying or screaming both seemed like good ideas, but with Levi and Louie sitting there staring at me and Mom asleep in her room, I couldn’t unleash either.

  “Look, I’ll take you to school today and we’ll stop at Micky-D’s for breakfast. Okay?” I could take five dollars and splurge on that. The goons weren’t due for a couple of days and I had enough money for that payment, plus I could pay the utility bills for this month.

  The back door banged open and Larry, my oldest brother, strolled in like he had every right to be standing in the kitchen. I’d thrown him out two months ago when he left his drug stuff lying around and Levi found his meth pipe and a baggie full of that crud.

  “Get out, Larry.”

  “Aww, now don’t be mean, little sister.” He stalked toward me and I grabbed a butcher knife, brandishing it in his direction.

  “I’m warning you. Go away.” I cut my eyes to the twins. They both looked terrified. “Boys, go call nine-one-one.”

  My mistake was taking my eyes off Larry. When he was high, he was mean as a snake and just as quick. He grabbed my arm just above the wrist and twisted. I dropped the knife as my hand went numb.

  “Now, now, sis. Is that any way to treat your big brother?” He leered at me then lowered his head to look me in the eye.

  I almost passed out from the stench of his breath. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin drawn and tight. He’d lost a lot of weight but he still had a wiry strength that held me motionless.

  “You’re hurting me—”

  The next thing I knew, I had scratch marks across the back of my hand and Larry was flying out the door. The twins sat motionless, mouths gaping open.

  “You okay, babe?”

  I nodded, unable to find my voice. Wizard walked over, glanced at my hand and said, “Soap and hot water, antibiotic ointment. Now. I’ll go take care of that asshole.”

  My little brothers giggled so I scowled at them but went to the sink to do as Wizard said. I had no clue why he was there, but I was totally grateful. He was gone about five minutes and when he walked in, he ruffled the twins’ hair and winked at me.

  “Took the trash out, babe. He won’t be bothering you again.”

  I blinked, not quite sure what Wizard meant by that. He grinned, as if reading my mind.

  “He knows if he shows up here again or tries to contact you, he’ll disappear.”

  The twins did a high five and I didn’t have the energy to chastise them. I was more concerned about Wizard’s appearance in my kitchen. “Why are you here, Wiz?”

  “I came to pick you up for work. You really shouldn’t be driving that piece of shit car of yours.”

  “Hey! It runs. It’s dependable. It might be old but I love my car.”

  He rolled his eyes and gave me face. Then he nudged the boys. “We’re leaving in five. Ready or not.” They scrambled away to finish dressing and grab their books. Thank goodness there was a cafeteria at their school. I had nothing in the house to fix for them for lunch. “You too, Blondie.”

  “I can’t work, Wizard. Cast. Pole. They don’t mix.”

  “Not dancin’, babe.”

  Wait. What? Not dancing? “Doing what then?”

  “Bookkeeping. You said you were studying accounting, right?”

  I nodded, looking askance at him.

  “Hoss sucks at the paperwork. You’re gonna do the books at Chasin’ Tail. Five K a month.”

  That was all well and good—I could at least keep the lights on and food in the fridge but it didn’t touch the five thousand dollars a week I had to pay.

  “I…Wiz…Look…”

  “No, you look. You’re Nightrider property now.”

  I recalled my conversation with Sam. “No, I’m not. I don’t belong to Hollywood.” Heat suffused my cheeks and I realized I’d balled up my left hand.

  “True. You ain’t Hollywood’s old lady, but that don’t mean you don’t belong to us. You do. And we take care of our own, Lainey. You need to figure that out.”

  I had. They were paying off my medical bills—like $40,000 worth of medical bills. I was an excellent bookkeeper, but I darn sure wasn’t worth $20,000 a month, nor would I have the nerve to ask for that much. A tear slipped out despite my best effort and the next thing I knew, Wizard had wrapped me up in his arms. I rested my head against his chest and breathed through my panic. He smelled of cherry pipe tobacco and bay rum—an old-fashioned scent that was oddly comforting. Like his hug. But he wasn’t Hollywood.

  My heart stuttered and Wizard must have felt it because he loosened the hug and stepped back. “You’re in trouble, babe.”

  “More than you know,” I muttered.

  “And I’m not strictly talkin’ about Hollywood.”

  I hoped I didn’t look as miserable as I felt. “I’m dealing with it, Wizard.”

  “Uh huh.”

  The boys came rushing back in, tumbling over themselves like eager puppies.

  “Shut the hell up out there!”

  Oh, joy. Mom was awake. Time to get a move on.

  Hollywood

  I WAS READY to kill someone. Rip their fucking head off their shoulders and piss down the hole. That first evening without Lainey, I gave up and shifted into my wolf. I was a block from her house when I did it. The prospects on guard duty almost shit their pants. We had a long talk. The Hell Dogs had Wolves too and if they were involved in any of this, Lainey’s guards needed to be…well…on fucking guard.

  I’d met her little brothers, in wolf form, and played fetch with them. Then I realized they might spill the beans about the stray dog. Shit. I wasn’t thinking, much less thinking straight. I’d made love to Lainey, claimed her. She was mine and I was losing what was left of my mind because I couldn’t touch her, talk to her, fuck her until we were both blind.

  Now, not even a week had passed since she kicked me out of my own apartment. Since she left me. I was so fucked up, I was currently sitting in the Russian’s office at the clubhouse wondering if I could take his head. Kicked back in my chair, my booted feet propped on the front of his desk, I was picturing all sorts of murder. When the Russian walked in behind me, I didn’t move.

  “Stop
stepping on your dick, asshole.”

  I glanced over my shoulder, but I already knew Gravedigger and Easy were following Russki. I offered Digger my middle finger. He and Easy dragged chairs up as the Russian settled into his own chair behind the desk.

  “We have a problem.”

  Fuck. I continued watching Russki through half-lowered eyelids. “So we fix it.”

  “No. You will fix it.”

  Double fuck. That meant Lainey was involved.

  AN HOUR LATER, I sat astride my bike in the back parking lot of Chasin’ Tail. Lainey was inside. I could all but smell almonds and coffee. I couldn’t put this off. The information Digger and Easy shared was hard to swallow. Still…

  Lainey might be my mate, but the Nightriders came first. Always. I had to confront her. My nostrils flared. Curse or blessing, being able to scent emotions made it gawddamned hard to fuck us over.

  Inside, I didn’t bother knocking on the office door. I walked straight in. Lainey had her back to the door, working one-handed on the computer. She had some sort of spreadsheet thing up on the monitor.

  “Just a sec, Hoss. I need to—”

  “Why were you doing a private dance?” I didn’t give her a chance to finish what she was saying. I had to get to the bottom of the situation. Her life—and mine—depended on her answers.

  She swiveled the desk chair, faced me with wide eyes and an oh-shit expression. I almost sneezed as a parade of scents hit my nose. Ammonia. Burnt toast. Pepper sauce. Bleu cheese. And finally, damp, moldy earth mixed with pink grapefruit. Shit. I’d scared her and that pissed her off. She was determined to stand up to me, but nervous. After seeing my face she was resigned to dealing with me, but it was that sweet, tart citrus scent that gave me hope. She was yearning for…something. I could only hope it was me.

  Lainey straightened her shoulders and glowered. “What are you doing here? I was told you’d stay away from me.”

  “Doesn’t work that way, babe. Answer my question.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s important. Why were you doing a private dance? Hoss says you’d never done one. Ever. Why did you dance for Lug Nut?”

  “Um…”

  Damn but she looked cute with her nose and mouth all scrunched up and little furrows in her forehead. Her scent shifted to bleach and blueberries. She was as confused as her expression indicated. “Babe? Why did you suddenly decide to do a private lap dance for one of the Nightriders?”

  “Oh. MJ.”

  “MJ?”

  “Yes. Mary Jane. Or…what’s her stage name? Girly Temple.”

  “The redhead?” The Russian was suddenly leaning against the door jamb. Shit. I hadn’t sensed him. I really was fucked up where Lainey was concerned.

  “Yes. She caught me in the dressing room that night. Her boyfriend had come early to pick her up, and she had a private dance scheduled. I wasn’t going to do it, but she explained her client was one of the Nightriders and knew all the rules. She said he wouldn’t touch me and that I’d get five hundred dollars plus, since I was doing her such a big favor, she wouldn’t even ask for a cut.”

  Russki leaned closer and stared at her as if he could read her mind. My wolf was good and played nice because…Alpha. “If you have never done a private, why would you suddenly change your mind, especially that night?”

  “Oh. Um.” Lainey’s gaze flicked to me and she blushed a little before she broke eye contact. “I…uh…I sorta need the money.”

  “What the hell, Lainey?”

  She gulped and I caught a whiff of rotten eggs mixed with gin. She was feeling guilty about something but indignant we were confronting her. I wanted to yell at her. Shake her until her teeth rattled. I wanted to fuckin’ slam my mouth against hers and kiss her until she had no breath left for words. I did none of those things. I stood there, staring at her, nostrils flaring at the stink she gave off.

  I stalked toward her and she scrambled backwards, pushing the desk chair with her feet. The cast on her arm made her movements awkward as she held it up to fend me off when I caged her in by putting my hands on the arms of the chair. Her eyes—big and round and looking as dark as midnight—pleaded with me. For understanding. I couldn’t give it because I didn’t. I didn’t understand a gawddamned thing about this. Any of it.

  “Have you ever asked anyone to dance?”

  I stared at her mouth, tried to decipher the words she spoke. “What the hell?”

  “In the back rooms, Hollywood. Have you ever asked for a lap dance?”

  “Hell no, babe. I don’t pay for that shit.” I didn’t. Women came to me. Came on me. For me. All of them but her, and she was the only one that fucking mattered. I breathed through my mouth, trying to hide from the scents she put off. “You better fucking talk to me, Lainey. Right fucking now.”

  “Or else?”

  “I can’t save you from the gawddamned or else if you don’t.”

  “Mom.” Lainey huffed out a shuddering breath. “She…gambles. A lot. She owes money. I have to pay it back. Or else.”

  And that explained everything. Almost. Now I understood. I knew what to do. Damn fucking relief washed through me. “I need to know it all.”

  Chapter 17

  Hollywood

  I SHOULD HAVE taken Lainey home but she wasn’t safe there. Sam and Easy were back on twin duty, and even though Lainey was pissy about being with me, she was still my mate. My wolf would go apeshit if any other Wolf got close to her right now. She refused to go to my apartment. I wasn’t ready to let her out of my sight, but bringing her to Outlaws was definitely one of my dumber ideas. I held the door open for her and urged her in with a hand on the small of her back. My fingers tingled. They fucking tingled. And my dick wanted to rip through the buttons on my fly.

  She stopped to get her bearings. After looking around, she glanced at me and said, “Experiencing new cultures can be weird.”

  I stared at her. I know my lips were twitching because I wanted to laugh out loud but I also knew she’d get pissed at me if I did. I managed to choke out, “Ah, babe? This is a biker bar. We aren’t exactly a culture.”

  “Yes, you are. A totally alien culture. And besides, I’ve never been to a biker bar.”

  My laugh burst out before I could consider the consequences. “Lainey, you danced in a biker bar.”

  I saw the moment she realized the truth and I watched her deflate. That pissed both me and the wolf off. Then her eyes narrowed and her mouth flattened into a stubborn line. “That was different, Hollywood.”

  She pursed her lips, still gazing around the room instead of looking at me. Her pulse ticked up when she realized several of the guys were staring at her.

  Folding my arms across my chest, I waited. When it came to talking, she wasn’t the most patient one in the room. Two of my brothers came through the door at our back. Lainey squeaked and jumped toward me as they pushed past her. I caught her as she bumped into me and slung an arm over her shoulders. I liked touching her. A lot. And I damn sure liked knowing the men in this room understood that she was mine. Even if she was fighting me on that fact.

  She ducked out from under my arm. My wolf and I both growled but I stifled it. Lainey faced me. If her right arm hadn’t been in a cast and sling, her fist would have been on her hip in a mirror image of her left. Her expression was so earnest I wanted to kiss her nose.

  “When I was dancing at Chasin’ Tail, I was on a stage. There’s a…a…well…” She huffed out a breath strong enough it ruffled her bangs. “It’s like there’s an invisible curtain between me and the audience.”

  “Babe, they touched you when they put money in your G-string.”

  “It’s still different.” Did she just stamp her foot? “That wasn’t me up there. That was a persona. I was playing a role.”

  Something—something I wasn’t even aware was there until this moment—loosened in my chest. My wolf didn’t like the idea of her dancing all but naked for a room full of horny assholes. To discover
she’d been playing a part was a big relief. I glanced at the cast on her arm. She wouldn’t be dancing for anyone in the foreseeable future. Now she was keeping the books in the office, away from other men. Good. I would find a way to take care of her. My wolf liked that idea a hellava lot.

  I steered her further into the joint toward a tall two-top that was empty. I hadn’t eaten all day and I was snarly. I pulled the second barstool around so Lainey would be sitting next to me. I could touch her, watch the room, and she could watch too. Her eyes darted everywhere and I caught a hint of ripe bananas. She was a curious little thing.

  Another group of guys entered, all Nightriders. One tossed me a two-fingered salute. I hadn’t seen Smoke Jenner in a couple of months. The Russian had him doing circuit rides, checking in with local chapters, troubleshooting, and probably sabotaging Hell Dog compounds. Smoke came by his name honestly. He was an arsonist and bomb tech of the first order.

  Smoke grabbed a beer from the bartender and sauntered over. He looked Lainey up and down and I felt her bristle beside me. Then Smoke turned his attention on me, ignoring her. “Good to see you, Wood. Came across some interesting info about an old buddy of yours.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I left the file with the Russian. Y’all need to look into a cop named Gerald. And his partner.”

  And wasn’t that interesting. “I’ll get with Russkie.”

  I looked down. Lainey’s left hand was squeezing my thigh. I glanced at her. Brows scrunched over her, lips pressed tight, she stared at me and I inhaled the scent of new cut grass and rain. She was concerned about me. Did my face give that much away? I cut my eyes to Smoke. He was watching Lainey and my wolf got up to pace.

  “You’ve got a good one there,” Smoke said, his voice pitched low. “Hang on to her.”

  “Yeah.”

  Lainey and I watched him head back to the bar and the group of Nightriders gathered there. I didn’t know what to think about his revelation. My mom had died in a house fire. Smoke knew all about arson, would have been a hellava investigator if he’d been on the other side of the law. I needed to get to the compound, take a look at that file. Did that scumbag cop have something to do with my mother’s death?