Cohen: King's Descendants MC #5
Author: Jewel, Bella
Date: 2020-10-25
Publisher: Bella Jewel

COHEN

BELLA JEWEL 2020

Also by Bella Jewel

Iron Fury MC

Darkest Hour

Sassy Little Thing

Our Final Tale

Whiskey Burning

Hushed Torment

Me, please.

Jokers' Wrath MC

Melancholy

Anguish

Desolation

Precarious

Jokers' Wrath Boxed Set

Bestie

Valiant

King's Descendants MC

Cohen

MC Sinners

Hell's Knights

MC Sinners Next Generation

Manacle

Drifter

Rumblin' Knights

Knights Rising

Knights Fury

Knights Burden

The MC Sinners Series

Knights' Sinner

Heaven's Sinners

Standalone

Number Thirteen

Wingman (Woman)

'Til Death

'Til Death Pt 2

'Til Death Boxed Set

Flawed Heart

Flawed Love

How To Fall In Love

Pandemonium

Fleeting Moments

Amore - Boxed Set

Wild Child

Table of Contents

Title Page

Also By Bella Jewel

DEDICATION

~*COHEN*~

COHEN | Copyright © 2020 Bella Jewel

~*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*~

PROLOGUE | THEN – AVIANA

1 | NOW – AVIANA

2 | NOW – AVIANA

3 | THEN – COHEN

COHEN – NOW

4 | NOW – AVIANA

5 | THEN – COHEN

6 | NOW – AVIANA

7 | NOW – AVIANA

8 | THEN – COHEN

9 | NOW – AVIANA

10 | NOW – AVIANA

11 | THEN – COHEN

NOW – COHEN

12 | NOW – AVIANA

13 | THEN – COHEN

COHEN – NOW

14 | NOW – AVIANA

15 | NOW – AVIANA

16 | NOW – AVIANA

17 | NOW – COHEN

18 | NOW – AVIANA

19 | NOW – COHEN

20 | NOW – AVIANA

21 | NOW – AVIANA

22 | NOW – COHEN

23 | NOW – AVIANA

THE END

Also By Bella Jewel

DEDICATION

To Lance

For believing in me and kicking my ass to keep writing even when I didn’t want to.

For this awesome title. I suppose it’s pretty good ☺

For always making me laugh, even if I occasionally snort.

For loving me harder than I’ve ever been loved.

For being the best damn thing to ever happen to me.

This is for you.

It’s always for you.

~*COHEN*~

All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

COHEN

Copyright © 2020 Bella Jewel

COHEN is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, establishments, events, or location is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

~*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*~

As always, my heartfelt thanks to every single blogger, reader and author that has supported my journey. From reading my books, to sharing them, to raving about them, to being there for me. Thank you. My career would be nothing without any of you.

A huge thanks to the gorgeous ladies from Give Me Books for organizing my reveals and blitzes. You all do such an amazing job. No matter how many times I use you, I am always blown away by how efficient you are. Nothing is ever a drama. Thank you for giving me so much support.

A massive thanks to Ben Ellis from Tall Story Designs for this gorgeous cover. You’re the easiest, most efficient person I’ve ever worked with. You make my covers absolutely gorgeous every single time. I couldn’t do it without you.

To my favorite editor Wendi from Ready, set, edit, for always coming through for me on my edits, whenever I need them. You’re amazing and I’m so thankful to you. You’re super easy to work with and so nice. I’m glad to team up with you for these things.

And of course, to my admin, MJ, for ALWAYS keeping my page running beautifully. I couldn’t do it without you, girly. I love your teasers and your passion; thank you for taking the time out of your life to help this poor girl keep everything running.

And, last but certainly not least, to my loyal readers. To each and every one of you that picks up my books and give me a chance. To the reviews you write, good or bad. To the time you take to make me a better person. You make this real for me; never stop giving such love and passion. You make our journey so amazing.

PROLOGUE

THEN – AVIANA

I’m trembling as I stare at the utter horror that has been left behind in my home. I’m not supposed to be here, but I couldn’t not come back and see again, like the first time wasn’t enough.

My entire family—dead.

All of them.

Every single god damned one.

They’re all gone. My brothers. My father. Their lifeless bodies lie on the floor, blood trickling from their mouths, soaking into the floor, forever haunting my memories with the absolute hell that biker club just brought into my life.

I’m too afraid to move, scared that if I do, everything will come crashing down around me and I’ll be forever stuck here with them and their bloodied bodies. I can’t seem to look away, even though I know the best thing would be for me to call the police and be done with this. I stare at my brother Rory’s gaping head. He has been shot right in the forehead, and the mess it left behind is something I’ll never forget.

My father and other brother, Manny, have had their throats slit. Wide gaping wounds, their eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. I grasp at my throat, and I know I have to get out of here. I have to go and never come back. The club that did this, I thought they were good ... I thought he was good. I’ve known Cohen for a long time, and I never thought he’d hurt my family, I never thought he’d leave me with nothing, I never thought, even for a single second, that he’d take everything from me.

He’s a monster.

I think of Briella, knowing she’s my best friend, also knowing I’ll likely never see her again.

I’ve seen too much.

I know too much.

I finally get my feet to move, and I walk over to the safe, the safe where my father kept everything important. Whatever he was up to, this safe holds the key. I punch in a few codes, and pain crashes into my chest when I realize the code is my birthday. Never in a million years did I think he’d use anything to do with me. My father doesn’t love me, at least, that’s what I believed. Now, I’m not so sure. I pull the safe open and stare at the contents inside. There are a heap of papers, some photos, and a few guns. There is also a good load of cash, probably tens of thousands.

My heart leaps into my throat.

I scoop it all out and turn.

I pause, and my heart jumps into my throat as I see Cohen standing in the doorway, staring at me.

He’s got a gun.

“Are you here to finish the job?” I whisper.

“No,” he growls, low. “You’re going to give me everything you have there, and then you’re going to disappear. Do you understand me?”

My hands are trembling, even though they’re full of the contents from the safe. I’m glad Cohen can’t see how scared I am.

“No,” I say, my voice shaky. “No, you’re not having this stuff.”

“You’re goin’ to give it to me, Aviana, or I’m goin’ to make you give it to me.”

“I thought we were friends,” I whisper. “You took my entire family, and now you want the last of what I have left?”

“We are friends, which is exactly why I’ve got to do this. What you have there is not somethin’ you will be safe havin’. If you leave, and you’ve got it, you’ll be hunted.”

What could it possibly be?

What could Cohen want that is so dangerous?

I stare at the bundle in my hands, and Cohen takes a step closer. “Give it to me and get the hell out of here. Never come back. You come back, you’ll die. Your family is incredibly dangerous, and you’re not safe.”

“Not safe from who?” I whisper. “You?”

“I did what I had to do.”

“You killed them all!” I scream, gripping the sides of my head and shaking it, eyes clenched shut. “I trusted you, Cohen. I ... I thought ...”

My eyes pop open to see him taking a step forward, pulling a needle from his pocket. Realization of what he’s going to do hits me hard, and I take a frantic step backward. “I care about you, so much, which is why I don’t want to have to do this, Aviana, but I will.”

“Please,” I say. “I thought you were all my family ...”

His eyes harden and he shakes his head, his voice bitter when he growls, “You’re not family. You’re a means to an end. We got what we needed. Now, you need to leave.”

He doesn’t mean that. Surely, he doesn’t mean that. He’s just saying it so I’ll hate him, so I’ll do as he asks. I know him, we’re friends, maybe even more than that - he wouldn’t be so cruel ... not after everything we’ve shared.

“You’d hurt me?”

His eyes flash. “Leave, Aviana.”

“Alarick would never hurt me. Briella ...”

“Alarick has nothin’ to do with this ...”

“King ...”

“You’re pushin’ me. Get the fuck out.”

I move to run, but he’s fast. So god damned fast. He lunges at me and plunges the needle into my neck. The effects are immediate and, as I sway, all the contents of the safe fall to the ground and scatter. Money flies everywhere, papers separate, and one piece lands in the pool of blood around my father. Cohen catches me as my legs give way. “Who are you?” I whisper, eyelids getting heavy.

“Someone you’re never goin’ to see again. I’m sorry, Aviana. I’m doin’ this for you.”

Then my entire world goes black.

1

NOW – AVIANA

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Briella cries, hugging me so tightly my insides twitch.

I want her to get off me. Not because I don’t love her, but because I hate being touched. Despise it. Dread it. I want her hands away from my body, a body that I’ve used and abused for years. A body I hate.

I step back, forcing her to let go. I stare at her, once my best friend, the only person in the world I had outside of my aunt Carrie, who is now gone. But her club took everything from me. King had my family killed. Cohen made sure I disappeared. They ruined everything. Now I’m back to give them a god damned dose of their own medicine.

I hate that I have to hurt my best friend in the process.

But that’s just how life goes, right?

“I’m glad to be back,” I say to her, my voice not at all convincing.

“Where have you been?”

“Around,” I murmur, glancing at Cohen who is walking inside the house.

He’s avoiding me.

He knows that I know.

I know everything.

I’m going to make him wish he was never born.

“One moment.” I smile at Briella. “I really need to pee and then we can talk about everything.”

Like I fucking want to talk about anything.

“I’m so glad you’re here, seriously.” She smiles. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

I flash her the fakest smile I’ve ever managed to conjure up and then walk toward the clubhouse where the man who took my entire life just disappeared. I know what me being here is doing to him, I know exactly what is going through his mind right now. After all, his little club doesn’t know he had anything to do with my disappearance, nor do they know he took information that they needed. He took it, and I want it back. I want whatever was in that safe, because whatever it was, changed the entire course of my life. For whatever reason, Cohen decided he was the only one who would have access to that information.

He’s fighting a losing battle. I’m here to reclaim who I am, and I’m starting with making him pay for every single thing he put me through when he made me disappear.

I walk into the clubhouse and, for a moment, just a moment, I take in the surroundings of the place I was once, so familiar with. It is still filled with the same things it was when I used to hang out here with Briella, and the smell brings back memories of laughter and beer and so many things that need to remain as nothing more than memories. I don’t need those in my life, what I need is vengeance.

What I need is the truth.

I find Cohen standing by the bar, his back to me.

The years have changed him, that’s for certain.

His young man features have been replaced with rugged masculinity that is incredibly inviting. He always did look like a rugged Ken doll, but now he has an edge to him that brings out a certain level of danger.

His hair is still that dusky blond, messy and falling all over the place. Untamed and wild. His eyes, still the same breathtaking silver, the kind of eyes you rarely see. His body is bigger, filled out to the point it stretches the tee he’s wearing. He’s covered in tattoos, and as always, he’s sporting the leather jacket that tells the entire world who he is.

A biker.

Someone not to be messed with.

“You can’t hide from me.”

My voice comes out low, husky, and slightly whip like.

Cohen turns slowly, his face hard as he takes me in. “What the ever-lovin’ fuck are you doin’ here, Aviana? Why would you ever think you could come back here?”

“You know exactly what I am here, you were only hoping I’d never show my face again. Tell me, Cohen, do they know yet that it was you who made me disappear? That you took something of mine? That you’ve known where I am all this time?”

“I didn’t fuckin’ know where you were, you didn’t end up where you were supposed to.”

“Oh.” I laugh bitterly. “What a shock? When you give a girl to a stranger and have them take her away, you honestly believe she’s going to be safe?”

“I did the best I could at the time,” he growls. “I thought you would get to begin a new life. I didn’t know...”

“Don’t fucking lie to me. You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me. I’m not going to let you get away with this, I’m here to make sure you go down—”

He moves quickly, like a bolt of lightning coming directly for me. His hand closes around my throat and he hauls me up into the air like I weigh nothing. I don’t struggle, I don’t scream, god, he doesn’t even begin to scare me. Instead, I smile, even though my vision is starting to get blotchy and my head feels like it’s filling with blood so fast it makes me want to shake it. I smile in a way that I know is evil, and sadistic, and I don’t have a god damned care in the world.

“What are you going to do, Cohen? Kill me? Right here in the club?”

He drops me to the floor like a rag doll, and I stumble, tripping until I fall on my bottom. I look up at him, never losing the smile. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

“What the fuck do you want?” he roars, slamming his fist into the bar. “Why the fuck are you here?”

“You know exactly why I’m here.”

His jaw tightens, and he gives me a glare that’s so terrifying, even I pause ... not for long, though.

“I don’t have anything you want. Those documents were a load of fuckin’ nothin’. That money is long gone. I sent you away. I did that because I had to.”

“You had to?” I ask, standing and taking a step closer. “You had to send me away to a bunch of fucking people that were to make sure I never fucking came back? I was a god damned girl, I had no chance, no hope. You plunged me into hell, but you didn’t think I’d find a way out. What sort of god damned monster are you? How have you lived with yourself all these years, knowing you are the reason I’m fucking broken?”

He flinches. “I did what I had to do. You were too deeply involved, even if you didn’t know it. I was protectin’ you. Did what needed to be done. If King ever found out ...”

“That you killed my entire family?” I bark. “And for what? What did you need to die with them, Cohen?”

His eyes flash. “What do you want? Money? You want me to fuckin’ pay you out? I’ll do it. Just get the fuck out of here and stay away from the club.”

“I want what I deserve,” I seethe. “I want vengeance.”

He steps forward and leans down close. “I made you disappear once, Aviana, I’ll do it again. I will not let any harm come to this club.”

I grin, big and savage. “Try it.”

His jaw ticks, his eyes flash with rage, and he steps back. “Get the fuck out of here.”

I walk to the bar, taking his beer off the counter. I take a long sip and give him a slow, sensual smile. “I think I might go and join the party.”

Then, with a sway to my hips and a fire in my soul, I walk outside.

He’s not scaring me away that quickly.

Oh, no no no.

I’m here to stay.

~*~*~*~

“WHERE WERE YOU?” BRIELLA asks later that night, as she makes up a bed in her spare room for me to stay.

“I was with family,” I lie.

“All this time?” she asks, pausing, sheet in hand. “You never called, never text?”

“I was broken,” I tell her, meeting her gaze. “My whole life had been tipped upside down. I needed to get away. I did all I knew how at the time. Surely you can understand that. It wasn’t personal, Briella, it was survival.”

She gives me a sad look. “Yeah, I know. But ... we were best friends. I thought for so long you were dead.”

I wished I were.

God, so many times I wished I were.

“You should know I’m not that easy to take down.” I grin.

She laughs, but then her face grows serious as she whispers, “I was scared, Avi. You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of you over the last few years. Wondering where you are, especially when we found out about Peter’s involvement in everything. I was sure you’d been sold, or worse. Even though they assured me they had found you, and you were safe, something didn’t feel quite right.”

She would be correct in assuming that, because something definitely wasn’t quite right. I was stuck in a god damned world I couldn’t get away from. My god, they have no idea. If it wasn’t for sheer strength and determination, I wouldn’t be here today. Hell, I probably would have been sold or worse. I’m here because I fought, and continue to fight, I will.

“I’m okay,” I lie. “I was just ... messed up. I’m here now.”

“You really know where they all are?”

I do.

That’s one thing I’m not lying about.

I do happen to know where they are, once again, by sheer luck. I know where they hide out when all the things in the world goes bad, I know about the island, I know about the sales, I know about everything to do with the operation Uncle Peter is involved in, and I know I’m going to be part of bringing it down. Not because I want to help this club, but because I’m taking them down, too.

I’ll bring all the evil down.

They’ll never see it coming.

I look at Briella, a person I once called my best friend, and I know I’m going to ruin her whole life. It’s not because I don’t care about her, or because I don’t love her. I do, gosh, I really do. Seeing her again, it makes me feel a certain type of way inside, a way I haven’t felt for a very long time. Unfortunately, I have to look at the bigger picture, and the bigger picture is the club and what they did to my family. Mostly, Cohen.

I’ll make him wish he never did what he did.

I’ll make him wish he never met me.

“I’m glad you came back,” Briella tells me, smoothing her hand over the blanket on the bed. “Are you hungry?”

“No, but I’m sure Alarick is going to want to talk to me, considering I have all the information on Steven that he wants right now. So, lead the way.”

Briella glances at me, her face scrunching. “Alarick can wait, I’m sure you’re tired.”

“It can’t wait, you and I both know that.”

She exhales. “I’ll be glad when this is all over, really I will.”

Her and me both.

She walks out, and I follow her through the house. When I reach the living area, all the bikers are here, including recently returned Mykel, who was apparently in New York searching for his parents, or something of the like. I haven’t seen him yet, and I can’t help the automatic swell in my heart when I lay eyes on him. Mykel was always my favorite, he was always Briella’s favorite. He was always nice to us, and he always made time to make us feel good.

Every instinct inside of me tells me to rush over and let him embrace me, but at the very same moment, my body recoils at the thought. I’ll never be normal again—I swear for the rest of my days I’m going to be this god damned bipolar mess. Nothing will ever feel right, and nothing will ever bring me comfort.

“Well, I’ll be,” Mykel murmurs. “You sure did grow up to be a hell of a looker, Aviana. You goin’ to come over here and give me a hug or should I make the first move?”

I can’t help but smile, even though my soul is so god damned black I can’t think straight half the time. Smiling is rarely real, but in this moment, it is. “I’m not a hugger, I’m afraid,” I say, giving him a wink. “But I will opt for having a drink with you, old friend.”

If I could take one person out of this club when I destroy them, it would be Mykel.

I’d take him out and make sure he was safe, that he wasn’t harmed by anything I was bringing to him.

But, alas, my heart is stone-cold and I can’t pick and choose.

“I’ll take that.” He winks, walking off to get a beer.

I look at the rest of them, namely Cohen who is staring at me with a ferocity that only brings me more determination.

“How are you settlin’ in?” Alarick asks.

“I’m fine,” I shrug. “I’ve slept in some pretty prime places ...”

My gaze flashes to Cohen and he scowls at me.

He’s a god damned monster.

And almost as evil as me.

Almost.

“We won’t keep you too long. We just need anything that you have that can lead us to Blanche and his little fuckin’ crew. We gotta get someone back.”

“Samson’s daughter, I know,” I say, flopping down onto the sofa and kicking off my white, scuffed Sketchers. “Where should I start?”

They’re all staring at me, mostly in shock. “You know about Samson’s child?” Alarick asks.

“Of course I do. I told you, I know more than you could possibly imagine. So, are we going to get on with this or are we going to chit chat all night long?”

Alarick’s eyes flash, and he glances at the other guys before giving me a sharp nod.

“Good,” I murmur. “You were right in looking at Steven, he is most certainly top dog, but there’s one other person you don’t know about. A person who is behind the scenes, a person so dangerous that he is rarely mentioned. Most people don’t know about him. He calls the shots and Steven is his leading man. People only know about Steven, and that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. A silent partner I suppose you could say.”

“Who?” Alarick growls.

Powerful, that’s the word I’d use to describe myself in this moment. I’m calling the shots. I’m the one who has the information they so desperately need. I’m the one who holds the cards right now, who is leading this game. I’m not going to give them absolutely everything they need, not right now, not until I get what I want in return.

Cohen.

This club.

All of them taken down.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to give you that information,” I say, my voice careful and calculated.

Alarick looks confused, like he hasn’t heard me correctly. “What are you talkin’ about? You came here, tellin’ us you had what we needed ...”

“I also said I wanted something in return.”

Cohen flinches.

Here I go. I’m about to throw a god damned wrench in the works, I’m going to cause chaos in their club, make them lose their footing, make them wish that they never let me in. Only, they’re not going to know it’s me. No. I’m just the broken girl, right?

“What do you want exactly?” Alarick asks, his voice far more skeptical now.

“I want answers, Alarick. I want answers about my family, I want answers as to why he killed them all—” I point a finger at Cohen “—and I want answers as to why he sent me way the fuck away, with a dangerous man, to ensure I’d never return.”

Alarick flinches and turns slowly, glancing at Cohen. Everyone in the room is staring at him now. He has no choice but to give them the answers they want. He has no option but to finally speak the truth.

“You sent her away?” Mykel asks.

Cohen’s face is hard, but he only makes eye contact with Alarick. Nobody else in the room, even me, matters to him right now.

Fair call.

He has a lot of answering to do.

My heart tightens in my chest as I wait for his answer, as I wait for his truth.

“I don’t know what she’s fuckin’ talkin’ about. I did kill that family, at King’s command. You don’t believe me, go fuckin’ ask him. As for the rest of it, I had nothin’ to do with any of that. No idea where she got that idea.”

Wait, what?

He can’t be serious?

King doesn’t know it’s Cohen, I’m sure of it.

Is he hoping they’ll just let it go if he tells them to go and ask him?

What the hell is he playing at?

Rage fills my chest, and I cry, “You’re a fucking liar! I saw you that day, I stood in front of you and you shoved a needle into my neck and told me to disappear. When I woke up, I was with a man I didn’t know, that sent me away to someone else, someone who wasn’t so nice, and I was with him for years. Don’t you dare act like you didn’t know, don’t any of you act like you didn’t know!”

Alarick looks confused and more than a little agitated. “Hold up a fuckin’ second, firstly, Cohen, what the fuck is she talkin’ about? You killed her family?”

Cohen nods sharply. “King’s order. Was between me and him.”

“He never fuckin’ told me that. I find it hard to believe he’d call a hit like that.”

Cohen stands strong. “You got a problem, Pres, you take it up with him. I was doin’ what I was instructed to do.”

Alarick exhales. “Fuck me. I’ll deal with that part of it later. What is she talkin’ about that you sent her away?”

“Don’t know what she’s fuckin’ talkin’ about, she’s fuckin’ nuts. She saw me kill her family, and she’s had it out for me since.”

I shake my head in clear and utter shock. “You’re not serious? I saw him, Alarick. I saw him there that day after he killed my family. I was getting some things out of the safe, and he took them, then he knocked me out and sent me away. Whatever he was covering up, I couldn’t be around for it. He’s lying to you.”

Alarick looks between Cohen and me, his face tight. We’re both telling a different story, we’re both going against each other. Who is he meant to believe?

“Gotta tell you, Aviana, you haven’t been here long and Cohen has never been disloyal to me. Findin’ it hard to believe what you’re sayin’.”

My entire world crashes around me. Every plan, everything I needed to happen, is being thrown back in my face. Alarick doesn’t believe me. He doesn’t think I’m telling the truth. Of course he fucking doesn’t, he’s going to defend his club.

“Samson was loyal too,” I spit. “Look how that ended. People do stupid shit when they’ve got something to protect.”

Alarick jerks a little, and I know my words affect him. I don’t fucking care. I want him to ache, to hurt, to burn. I will make them all burn. Fuck them all.

God damn them all to hell and back.

“Avi, honey, maybe we should talk,” Briella says carefully. “It’s okay ...”

I whip my head around and glare at her. “Am I liar, Briella?”

She stares at me, wide eyed. “No, not that I remember, but you’ve been through a lot.”

Another blow. Right to my very fucking soul.

“How dare you?” I whisper. “You, you have no fucking idea what I’ve lived through because of him. You know what?” I turn and walk toward the door. “Fuck you all, find Blanche yourselves, see how that ends for you.”

I reach the door, and Alarick calls my name.

I don’t stop.

I open it and step out.

They’re going to wish they listened to me.

2

NOW – AVIANA

I shoot down a shot that burns my throat, fueling the fire already raging in my soul. Angrily, I slam the shot glass down and nod at the bartender for a refill. It doesn’t seem to be enough, no matter how much I drink, it doesn’t seem to be enough. I can’t stop the pain that’s filling my chest, the hurt that’s lodged in my heart, and the sickness deep in my stomach.

They were my family once.

They just showed me how little I matter.

“You keep drinkin’ like that, and you’ll end up in trouble.”

I glance to my left, where the voice comes from and see Samson pulling out a stool and sitting down. I haven’t seen him yet, but I know what happened to him, everyone knows what happened to him. About his daughter, about Blanche, about his betrayal. Samson is the outcast, the dark horse, the man nobody trusts anymore.

I know the feeling.

“It’s good to see you, Avi,” he murmurs.

“Did they send you to find me?” I mutter, shooting down another shot.

Samson snorts. “You think they’d send me to do anything? They don’t trust me. I’m sittin’ on the sidelines right now. This is the only thing I do with my days now.”

He raises a hand, and the bartender places a glass of whiskey down without Samson even asking for it. I guess he does come here a lot if they know what he drinks. Samson nods to the man, and then looks back to me. “Why are you in here drownin’ your sorrows?”

I grunt. “I have nowhere else to go. The club doesn’t believe a god damned word I say and yet they want my help. That isn’t how it works, not for me, anyway.”

“My daughter is out there, with those monsters ...”

I look to him. “I’m sorry for that, I really am. This isn’t just about you, though. This is so much bigger.”

“As big as those scars?”

He nods to my arms where my shirt has ridden up to reveal deep, purple scars running up my inner arm. Scars that remind me every day of the moment where I couldn’t take it anymore, where I wanted to die. It was also the moment I decided to fight.

I jerk my shirt down and glare at him. “My life is none of your fucking business.”

“Then why are you here, Aviana? If you’re so fuckin’ angry, why are you here?”

“Because they need my help, and I want something in return ...”

“What might that be?”

“Cohen, his explanation, his reasoning as to why he killed my whole family and sent me away so nobody could find me.”

Samson glances at me. “You think Cohen has that kind of pull? He would have been doin’ as he was instructed. You’re aimin’ your anger at the wrong person. King is who you should be speakin’ to.”

“King isn’t the one who did it, Cohen is.”

“Cohen is part of a club, a club that deals with bad fuckin’ people. Your family, they’re bad fuckin’ people.”

I scowl at him. “Of course you’re going to defend the club, I shouldn’t expect any less.”

“Stop bein’ a fuckin’ brat and use your brain. I couldn’t give a fuck about you or anyone else right now, I just want my daughter back, and you’re the only fuckin’ person who knows where we can find her. Are you truly okay with seeking your own vengeance first, knowin’ she’s there with those monsters?”

No.

I’m not okay with that.

She’s an innocent girl, and the idea that she might be going through something awful, something I went through myself, is something I can’t fathom. It’s not something I’m comfortable with, especially when I know that I’m the only person who can save her from that.

I exhale and glance at Samson. “I’m not a fucking monster, I’m not like the rest of you. I’ll get her back, because I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer the way I did.”

Samson studies me. “What happened to you? You were fun-loving and happy, now you’re bitter and broken. Who hurt you?”

“Cohen,” I mutter. “Cohen hurt me.”

We both fall silent, and another drink is slid our way.

“Where is he, Aviana? Where is that piece of shit holding my little girl?”

“I know where she is. I know where to find the man who is running this entire operation. The silent partner. The monster behind the curtains. There’s only one problem with that ...”

“What’s that?” Samson asks, his voice rough.

“He terrifies me.”

“We’re not goin’ to let anything happen to you, if you’re helpin’ us, you’re protected.”

I laugh, bitterly, and take another shot. “If only I believed that.”

Silence again.

“You might not believe them, but you can believe me. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe because you can lead me to my daughter. You have my word on that.”

I look to him, and my eyes travel over his rugged face. “Do you want to fuck, Samson?”

My words come out blunt, and without emotion.

I lost emotion a long time ago.

If I want something, I ask for it.

If I don’t, I walk away.

My life is black and white, as black and white as it can be.

I’m not here to play games—I’m here to complete something important to me and then move on.

Get away from it all forever.

That doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun in between, right?

Samson stares at me, and his eyes flash. “You always so forward?”

I shrug. “I know what I want, I ask for what I need. Do you have a problem with honesty, Samson?”

He narrows his eyes, and his gaze hardens. “You really are fuckin’ dead inside, aren’t you?”

“Are you going to answer my question, or will I go and find someone else who will?”

He stands and nods his head.

Very good.

I stand too and, without a word, I follow him into the back rooms after going down a long, dark hall. The music fades the farther we walk, and when Samson walks into an empty room with stacked chairs and tables, he turns to me. I don’t waste any time, I’m not here to kiss and make love, I’m here to fuck and do it hard.

I don’t want an attachment.

Or feelings.

Or anything else but the hard, throbbing cock of a man inside me.

That man, tonight, is going to be Samson.

He steps forward and his hand moves toward me, before curling around the back of my neck and pulling me forward. His lips are so close to mine I can feel his breath. I murmur, “I don’t want affection, or foreplay, or touching. I just want sex. Don’t waste your time giving me anything else.”

His eyes lock onto mine, and then he spins me around without hesitation and slams me up against the wall. My hands press against the cold surface and my body comes to life, aching in ways that make me crave what’s about to come next. Samson jerks my pants down, and I shuffle until they drop low enough on my legs for him to get access. Shuffling sounds can be heard, and the ripping of a condom wrapper, and then he’s there. Right at my entrance, cock hard, thick and ready to bring me a moment’s relief from the emptiness in my soul.

He plunges inside me, his hand going up until his fingers tangle in my hair. His other hand finds my hip, and he uses it to guide his thrusts, which quickly become rough and powerful. I moan as the ache deep down inside me rises to the surface and pleasure rips through my body. Samson knows how to fuck, and he knows how to get a woman exactly where she needs to be.

He releases my hip and presses his body against mine so he’s able to reach around the front to find my clit. He rubs in slow but deep motions and I cum within minutes. My cries fill the room, and I couldn’t care less if anyone hears them. I let my pleasure echo through the near empty space and together with Samson’s panting and low grunts, we make quite a song.

Samson finds his release minutes after my own, and with a raspy hiss, he slows his thrusting and carefully releases his body from mine, not fully pulling out, but letting me go and taking his weight off my back. A moment later, he pulls his cock out. I reach down, pull up my pants, and turn around to see him ripping the condom off before tucking his cock away and doing up his jeans.

“Thanks,” I murmur, turning toward the door.

“Aviana,” he calls when I reach it.

I look back at him.

“Don’t let that bitterness eat you up, it’ll kill you.”

I smile, low and empty. “Too late for that.”

Then, I leave.

3

THEN – COHEN

My hands tremble as I look at the bodies on the floor, blood soaking into the rich fucking carpet. The gold swirls are no longer, instead they’re red, a dark, angry red. The men have started to go a paleish sort of blue, and I know, soon, their bodies will begin to decompose.

I didn’t want to do what I did.

Nobody knows it was me, not even King. Aviana’s family thought I was here because of some drug deal gone wrong; little did they know I was about to take everything. I had to. I had no choice. The things they were doing were dangerous. The plans they had would have ruined Aviana’s life. She doesn’t know it yet, but everything I’ve done here tonight is to save her life.

What I’m about to do is going to save her life.

If she knew that they had planned for her...

I stare at her, on the ground, out cold. Fucking hurts, I won’t lie. Knowing that I’m ruining the one good thing I’ve found is something even I am struggling to handle. She and I, we’re close. She’s this ray of light in a dark fucking world. She’s likely my best fucking friend, and I’m about to take everything from her.

She’s in danger, and the only way for her to be safe is if they think she’s dead. Gone. Never to be seen again. I’ve got a plan, only it didn’t go as I expected.

She was never meant to be here.

She was never meant to see me.

She was simply meant to think her family was dead and want to move away.

I was going to take her, give her a new life.

But she saw it all.

She has questions, questions I can’t give her answers to.

Now I’m left with a big fucking mess that I have to clean up quickly.

I place the handful of papers and money down on the desk, feeling sick to my fucking stomach knowing how close she got to figuring all this out. If she did, it would be the end for her. She’d be gone, and her life would be forever destroyed. She’s worth too much to them. I can’t let that happen to her. She’s fucking family. She’s had a rough time. She doesn’t deserve any more pain.

I pull out my phone and dial, knowing I’m running out of time for my original plan. Now, I have to go to plan B. Now, I have to give her to someone else, someone I’m not entirely sure will ever be able to help her the way I intended, but they’re a hell of a lot better than what’ll come for her if I don’t make her disappear.

“Cohen,” a rough male voice answers.

“Cason, I got a big favor for you.”

“Talk to me.”

“Got a girl, she’s in a fuckin’ lot of danger. I need her to disappear. Need her to be sent somewhere she can’t return. Give her a name, a new identity, and I’ll send some cash to set her up. But I want her safe. You swing that?”

He pauses. “I can swing it, brother, but you gotta know once I make her disappear what happens to her after that isn’t on me, I can only do my best to make sure she has everything she needs to start a new life.”

Fuck.

My stomach flips, and my hands shake. Sweat beads on my upper lip. I’m running out of fucking time.

She’ll wake up soon.

It’ll all be over.

They’ll come for her.

“I know,” I say, my voice a low rasp. “I know, but it’s the only option. Do your best, take care of her.”

“I’m on it. I’ll have someone swing by and pick her up. Give me your location.”

I give him my location and then hang up the phone. I turn to the girl lying on the floor, her eyes closed, breathing steady. I walk over to her, slowly kneeling down until I’m by her side. I stroke a finger over her face and try to shut down every fucking emotion in my body. This is forever. I’ll never see her again. I can only hope she’ll go out there and create a different life for herself, a better one. I can only fucking pray she’ll end up in good hands.

I know one thing is for certain, though.

I can’t think about her again after she leaves.

If I do, I’ll be forever fucking wondering where she is.

I can’t allow that.

I lean down and brush my lips across hers before pressing my forehead against her warm skin.

“I’m sorry, Aviana.”

When she wakes up, her entire world is going to be different.

I only hope for the better.

Fucking please.

~*~*~*~

COHEN – NOW

I stride with purpose into Alarick’s office. He has to know. Needs to know. I fucking lied to him, but it’s going to come out. I didn’t need the whole club in on it, which is why I told them I didn’t know what Aviana was talking about, but Alarick, he needs the truth. If he doesn’t find out, then we’re going to end up in a world of fucking trouble. Aviana is on a mission, and with that mission comes some serious fucking danger. If she even gets close to knowing the truth, she’s going to destroy not only her life, but everyone who will try to step in to protect her.

The secret simply cannot be held any longer.

Someone has to know.

I don’t knock as I walk into his office. Briella is here, sitting on his lap, mid fucking make out session. What are they? Fucking fifteen? I don’t apologize for my interruption, even as Briella launches off Alarick’s lap like she’s been busted by her parents. Her cheeks flush red and she adjusts her clothes. Alarick doesn’t move, he just glares at me, leaning back in his chair, dick still straining in his jeans.

Not my fucking problem.

He can deal with that later.

“Out,” I say to Briella, my voice a whip.

She glares at me. “Excuse me? What is your problem, Cohen?”

“Got business, business that has nothing to do with you. Now get out.”

Her chest swells up as she takes a deep breath in, but Alarick steps in before she can say anything more. “Go, babe. I’ll find you when I’m done.”

Briella glares at me. “I hope you come out with a better attitude, dude.”

Then, she’s gone.

I walk over and lock the door before turning toward Alarick. “What’s so important you interrupted the only fuck I’m gettin’ today?”

“You don’t wanna be interrupted, then lock the fuckin’ door. I got business.”

“What business?”

I take a deep breath and then slam the papers down on his desk. I also place down the large bag of fucking money that I’ve hung onto for all these years. It ain’t mine, and I never planned on doing anything with it. I was going to take this shit to my grave, but the time has come for me to let it out of the closet, so to speak.

Alarick stares at the cash first—no doubt, there’s a fucking lot there. Then his eyes swing up to mine. “What the fuck is this? You been dealin’ behind my back?”

“Read the papers, boss, then talk to me about the rest of it.”

Alarick looks back down and grabs the papers from the folder I had them stashed in. He flicks them over, one by one, his eyes scanning the pages. Then, after about five or ten minutes of his face growing harder and harder, he looks up to me. “What the fuck is this?”

“It’s exactly what it looks like.”

He shakes his head in confusion, and growls, “She wasn’t lyin’.”

“No.”

“You made her disappear? You fuckin’ killed her family?”

I nod, sharply. “Had to. You can see why. If that came out, if they found her, she’d be fuckin’ dead, or worse, they’d still have her and be fuckin’ destroyin’ her life day by day. They needed her; it was the only way they could go on. I took her out of the picture. Without her, there was no end in sight for them.”

“Fuck,” he growls. “Fuck.”

“She can’t know about this, Pres. It’s why I kept it from her. I’m only showin’ you because you need to know. You need to understand why I fuckin’ did what I did. She wants some sort of twisted fuckin’ revenge on me, because she’s fuckin’ angry and hurt that I sent her away.”

“Where the fuck did you send her?”

“Cason.”

Alarick shakes his head in shock. “You sent her to fuckin’ Cason?”

“He dealt with it, assured me she would be set up with a new life. I had no fuckin’ idea she ended up in the wrong hands.”

“You could have bought her back to the fuckin’ club!” he barks, shaking his head in shock.

“No, I couldn’t, and you fuckin’ know that. She would have never hidden for the rest of her days. We weren’t solid enough to deal with somethin’ this large and you know it. King was fuckin’ AWOL after that, you were young and just takin’ the club over. It was a fuckin’ hard time. We didn’t have it in us to take care of her, too.”

“We would have found a fuckin’ way,” he growls.

“No, we wouldn’t have. They would have found her. You know they would have fuckin’ found her.”

“What about fuckin’ now?”

I cross my arms. “Now they think she’s fuckin’ dead, they’re not lookin’ here anymore.”

“Until someone sees her and word gets back. She’s not fuckin’ safe, Cohen. You know she’s not. It won’t take long for this to get back and more trouble to come fuckin’ lookin’ for us. What were you thinkin’?”

“I was doin’ what I had to do, there was no other option back then. Deep down, you fuckin’ know that. These people, they want everythin’ she’s sittin’ on. She don’t even know she has what she has.”

“She ain’t safe.”

My jaw tightens. “Which is why I’m comin’ to you, showin’ you, tellin’ you the truth.”

He slams his fist onto the table. “I got a world of fuckin’ trouble up my sleeve already and you want me to take on this? What the fuck were you thinkin’, Cohen? You should have told me about this when it happened.”

“Had to do it for her.”

“Well, you know fuckin’ what? She don’t appreciate it. She fuckin’ despises you and this club because she thinks we’re the enemy. You let me make her look like a fuckin’ liar. You gotta know that showin’ me this just opened a whole different can of fuckin’ worms. What were you plannin’ on doin’ here?”

He’s angry.

Understand that.

I’d be angry, too.

“Wanted you to know, boss. That’s it. She’s safe as far as I know. She looks different now, and nobody around here is lookin’ for her anymore.”

“You sure of that? You one-hundred-percent fuckin’ certain she ain’t in danger? You’d want to be sure, Cohen, because if you’re wrong, you’re goin’ to bring more hell upon that girl than you’ve already brought.”

I swallow the thick lump in my throat.

Is she safe? I don’t fucking know.

I don’t know where these people are; I’ve never looked into it.

I simply made sure she stayed away.

That was fucking it.

Now she’s back and I’m not sure of fucking anything.

“I don’t know, Pres. That’s the fuckin’ truth. I don’t know anything except she’s back and she’s diggin’. If she finds this, it’ll be the end for her. She’ll do somethin’ stupid and ruin her entire fuckin’ life. I can’t allow that to happen. She needs to start anew.”

“What are you suggestin’ then? We just let her go on with her life, never bein’ a hundred percent sure she’s not gettin’ tracked by these fuckers? We change her name and tell her it’s for her own safety? We ship her off somewhere else? What the fuck are you plannin’ on doin’ here?”

“I don’t know,” I growl. “But I’ll figure it out.”

“You’d want to do it soon, brother. That woman is on a mission, and she has hatred in her fuckin’ soul. Gone is the woman you clearly had feelings for back then. In her place is a cold, empty shell of who she was. Be very fuckin’ careful what you do with her now—she’s hangin’ on by a thread.”

My chest tightens, and pain explodes in my chest.

“I’m hearin’ you, boss,” I mutter.

“Work out a plan, Cohen, and come to me with it. This needs to be sorted, or we’re goin’ to have another problem on our hands that we can’t fuckin’ contain. While you’re at it, get her to fuckin’ talk so we can end that side of things once and for all. I’m fuckin’ done with all of this. Do what you’ve gotta do, but get what we need from her.”

I nod and turn, walking out of his office.

How the fuck am I going to do all of that?

Fuck me.

4

NOW – AVIANA

As I round into the kitchen of Briella’s house the next morning, I see her and Alarick standing by the counter, coffee in hand. Both of them look to me when I walk in. I’m hungover, sore, and fucking ready to light the god damned world on fire. The anger in my soul is busting at the seams, and I’m struggling to keep it in. Struggling to fucking fight it. I don’t know how much longer I can take this before I explode.

“Avi,” Briella says the second I make eye contact with her. “I’m so sorry. I believe you. I believe everything you’re saying. I’m sorry it sounded like I doubted you, even for a second.”

I stare at her, my expression empty. “I don’t give a shit what you believe, Briella. I care only about getting out of here so I never have to see any of you again. You want your information, Alarick? I’ll give it to you. Everything you need to get that girl back. To finish this. I have something I want in return, though.”

“What?” Alarick asks, his bare chest on display for the world to see.

He’s changed, so much from when we were younger. He’s broader now, his shoulders large and rounded, his chest defined and covered in ink. He’s incredible, they all are, but that’s not a shock. They always were.

Especially Cohen.

My anger twists into pain for a moment as I remember the friendship we developed over time. Not many people know about it, in fact, I’d go as far as to say Cohen and I were the only two people who knew about the bond we had created. I never told Briella, not because I didn’t trust her, but because having Cohen as a safe place to go changed something in me. Seeing him, with no one else around, felt like a secret that was healing my soul.

A secret I wanted to keep forever.

We had no reason to keep it a secret and, yet, we did.

That was exactly how we both wanted it.

Our own sanctuary where we could escape the world and everything it had to offer.

The bad and the good.

That is, until he turned on me and ruined my life forever.

That warmth slowly turned to fire, and my love turned to hate.

Now, I want nothing more than to see him burn.

To see them all burn.

“What do you want?” Alarick asks.

“I want to come with you when you go and finish this. I want to be there. If I’m giving the information, I want to be involved in watching it go down. I’ll follow orders, but I’m there.”

Alarick narrows his eyes. “Why?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does when my entire club is at risk if somethin’ goes wrong. I don’t know what you want, Aviana. All I know is you’re fuckin’ bitter and you have somethin’ you want to finish with this club. I don’t trust you, and I have every fuckin’ right to that.”

My chest tightens as I stare at him. I don’t break eye contact. “I understand.”

“So, tell me, why the fuck do you want to come on a dangerous mission?”

“I want to make sure that girl gets home safely.”

“We all do, that ain’t enough for me to take you.”

“I want to see Peter.”

Alarick flinches. “Peter thinks you’re gone, probably dead. Peter don’t need to know where you are. That’s openin’ up somethin’ I’m not entirely sure you can deal with right now. He’s fuckin’ dangerous, and if he knows you’re alive ...”

“What?” I challenge. “What will he do if he knows I’m alive, Alarick? Why don’t you tell me?”

Alarick’s jaw tightens. “He’s a dangerous man. You want away from danger? Goin’ back to him ain’t goin’ to give you that.”

“I’m not going anywhere near him, Alarick. No, I’m going to be the one who takes him down.”

Alarick stares at me, his face twisting slightly. “You’re goin’ to kill him?”

I nod, my face stony. “I’m going to take him out because he ruined my life, my family and now he’s running this shit show. I want him gone, and I want to be the one who does that. I have that right.”

“That’s fuckin’ dangerous, and you’d have to think I was nuts to let you do somethin’ so incredibly stupid.”

“You either agree, or I don’t spill. What’s it going to be?”

Briella gives me a look that is half shocked, half horrified. She would never dare stand up the way I am, but I’m sure if she had something worth fighting for, she would. I know what happened to Magnolia, I know it broke her, I also know she went hunting for justice. She, out of everyone, should understand why I’m doing this.

I have to.

It’s simply how it is.

“That’s fuckin’ blackmail.”

“Call it what you will.” I shrug. “I’m doing what needs to be done. You either let me or you waste even more time trying to find them when I know exactly where they are.”

“If that’s all you fuckin’ wanted, why not just go there and do it yourself?”

I glare at him. “You and I both know that me going there alone isn’t an option. Are you going to do as I ask, or not?”

Alarick’s face is angry, like a god damned scowling dog, but he nods. Small and sharp. I win. It’s about damned time I started calling the shots around here.

If only they knew what would be waiting for them when we arrive.

I’ll kill Peter, no doubt about it.

But Cohen and that club ... They’re not leaving either.

No.

The only one walking away from that place when we’re done will be me.

Finally free.

Finally.

~*~*~*~

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH you?”

I’m walking toward the clubhouse when Briella’s voice calls out over the wind which is currently sending dirt up and all over my damned clothes. I turn to stare at her and see she’s rushing after me, hair whipping across her face. She has some weird haircut—I don’t know why, but it looks like she has a scar on her head. I wonder what happened to her. Once, I would have cared.

Now, I simply do not.

“Hello, Briella ...”

“Seriously, Aviana, who are you?”

I stop and exhale. I’m sick of the questions and the demands. They all want to know what happened to me, why I am the way I am, why I’m being so cold and so heartless. Well, that’s simple ... I’m doing it because it’s who I was created to be. When Cohen sent me away, my life went from being somewhat easy to hell on fucking earth. I was sent with a man that was cruel, and then I had to fend for myself when I tried to escape, ending up on the streets, on drugs, in horrible places, and ended back with the only person I knew could keep a roof over my head.

Who could keep me alive even if it meant living the hardest life I could imagine.

God, she has no fucking idea what life was like for me.

No idea whatsoever.

“I’m not sure I get what you’re asking,” I mutter, crossing my arms. “I’m Aviana, you just don’t like the version of me that you’re seeing.”

“You were my best friend, Avi. We told each other everything. I loved you like a sister. Now ... it’s like I don’t even know you. You’re ... cruel. Empty.”

“And?” I prompt.

“What happened to you?”

“This club happened to me. Monsters happened to me. I’m not the same person you used to know, Briella. Accept that. I’m here to do what I have to do, then you’ll never see me again.”

She looks sad, her eyes narrowing. “That’s not what I want. We can help you, Avi. I know things were bad, I know ...”

“You know nothing,” I cut her off. “God, you couldn’t even begin to imagine how my life went after Cohen killed my family. You have no idea the kind of person he sent me to live with so I wouldn’t show my face around here again. If you want to point fingers, Briella, point them in your own backyard.”

Her cheeks grow flushed. “Firstly, I’m not sure why you didn’t just come to Alarick. When your family died, when things went south, you know he would have helped you. Instead, you blame them.”

I step closer, face tight. “I didn’t get a fucking chance. I was shipped away before I even got to make a fucking choice. Don’t you tell me I had options, Briella. I had none. Those options were taken away from me by the people you call family. So back the fuck off unless you actually know what you’re talking about.”

“If you hurt my family, Aviana, I will come for you,” she growls, showing the fire I always knew she had buried deep. “I swear to god, I will make you suffer. I know you’re not here to do good, so I’m warning you ... Back off.”

I grin at her. “Message received. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.”

I spin on my heel and disappear toward the clubhouse. I hear Briella curse behind me and, somewhere, deep down in my broken black heart, I feel a tug. It’s a tug I quickly stuff back down into the depths. I don’t have time to feel anything, not for her, not for anyone. I’m here to do what needs to be done, and then I’ll be gone.

Starting my life anew.

“Mornin’.”

I reach the top step and look to my left to see Cohen and Samson sitting on a few old stools, clearly deep in conversation before I stomped up and interrupted them. I give them a sharp nod, avoiding eye contact with Cohen.

“How’s the head?” Samson asks.

I look to him. “It’s fine, why wouldn’t it be?”

“You had a big night.”

“Was that before or after you fucked me?”

Cohen visibly flinches, a reaction I certainly didn’t expect from him. He can’t stand me; he’s made that very clear. Why the hell should he care who I’m sleeping with? He likely doesn’t, it was probably just a shock. I shake it off and give Samson a smile, a small one that’s mostly sexy, mostly empty. “I’m up for round two any time. You just say the word.”

Then, I walk inside.

Not before I hear Cohen growl, “What the fuck do you think you’re doin’?”

I’ll let them sort that one out.

I walk down to Alarick’s office and step inside, not pausing. He looks up from a phone call he’s on and very quickly tells the person he has to go and hangs up. Then, he stares at me, his expression cold and mostly empty. “You here with the information we need?”

“Yeah, I’ve got what you need.”

“Spill it, then.”

“The man you’re looking for, his name is Benedict. Don’t know if that’s his first name, hell I don’t even know if that’s a nickname, but I do know that he is the person running all of this. I know exactly where you can find him, but I’m not telling you how I know that so don’t bother asking. My business is mine, as is yours. Once you have him, you have the upper hand. Without him, the whole show crashes. You take him down, you take the rest of them down, and you no longer have a problem on your hands. I will tell you this, though, don’t go in there without a good plan. You fail this, I promise you he’ll take down your entire club.”

Alarick stares at me. “Anything else?”

“That’s all. I will give you the location I know he frequents and, as for my uncle, Blanche and Dax, they’re in a location that is quite a distance from here. I’ve been there once before, but I recall how to get there again. It’s well secured and hidden, it’s where I met Benedict a few years ago. I, ah, spent some time with him. Because of that, I can lead you to both locations.”

“You fuckin’ him?”

I glare at him, my rage expanding in my chest. “Don’t you fucking insult me, Alarick.”

“Was askin’ a question, Aviana.”

“I wasn’t fucking him. I was with him against my will when the monster I did live with took me there for business, but he took a liking to me, and being the incredible actress I am, I played along. That’s exactly how I walked out of there alive and not sold to someone else, though I’m starting to wonder if that might have been a better option. You don’t need to know the details; all you need to know is that I can get you there.”

Alarick nods. “You can be involved in coming up with a plan to get us there, you know the ins and outs, we need your input.”

Of course he does.

They’re helpless without me.

That’s exactly how I need it to get what I want.

They’re not going to know what’s hit them.

5

THEN – COHEN

“Hey, wait up.”

I turn to see Aviana jogging toward me on the sidewalk, backpack flying behind her, bright smile on her face. She’s always smiling, there isn’t a time I don’t see her making a joke and then laughing hysterically at it. She’s the most bubbly, happy person I’ve ever met and, considering the life she’s been given, that’s something.

She’s younger than me, god knows by how much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t notice how utterly fucking beautiful she is. Thick dark hair that frames the most incredible eyes I’ve ever seen. She’s got the skin of a fucking doll and the body of a goddess. She’s going to go places with looks like that.

Today she’s wearing a pair of jeans that fit a little too well, a tank that makes her tits bounce in ways not even I can ignore, and her hair is flowing around her, wild and untamed, much like her, really.

She’s fucking spectacular.

If I didn’t already have a woman, I’d be looking in her direction, no doubt about it.

“Aviana, what’s goin’ on?” I ask her, bringing a cigarette to my mouth and lighting it. I inhale deeply as she watches me with some sort of weird fascination.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” she says, falling into step beside me, puffing from her run toward me.

“I do what I gotta do to keep sane around here. Were you at school?”

She snorts. “How young do you think I am? No, I’m done with school. I was working.”

“Didn’t know you had a job.”

She laughs. “There are probably a lot of things you don’t know about me, Cohen. Where are you off to?”

“Lunch, then back to the club. King has got us on some fuckin’ mission. I don’t know, don’t really fuckin’ care right now, to be honest.”

“I thought you like being part of the club?”

She raises a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun as she stares at me. I take another long inhale of the cigarette smoke, slowly pushing it out once I’ve let it sit in my lungs for just a moment.

“I fuckin’ love the club, I’m just sick of doin’ the little crappy jobs. Be good to have somethin’ real good to be chasin’ after.”

Aviana rolls her eyes and grins at me. “Always chasing the danger. I don’t know why you’d want to risk your life like that.”

I shrug. “Why not, Avi?”

She laughs. “Why not, indeed. Can I come to lunch with you? I’m freaking starving.”

I nod. “Yeah, come on then.”

We walk to a nearby café. Aviana throws her backpack down and sits down with a huff, swiping the hair from her face. She looks to me and gives me the biggest damned smile I’ve ever seen come from something so small. She’s fucking beautiful. I can’t help but smile back, you’d have to be cold and fucking empty not to smile back at something that looks like her.

“What’re you havin’?” I ask her, glancing down at the menu.

“Burger, fries, and a vanilla shake.”

She doesn’t glance at the page in front of her, she already knows what she wants. I imagine her life is like that, knowing what she wants all the time. She’s strong willed and determined. I can’t see there being a time where she hesitates.

“You goin’ to eat all that?”

She winks at me. “You’re shouting, so yeah.”

I chuckle and stand, going inside to make an order. When I return, Aviana is staring out at the cars, a look of peace on her pretty face. She turns to me when I sit down and leans forward with her hand under her chin. “Briella told me you’ve got a woman now; how’s that going?”

I snort. “You know what it’s like, nothin’ serious.”

She nods, mulling that over. “Well, I hope you’re being nice to her. Women don’t get treated right anymore.”

I laugh, leaning back in my chair. “Do tell me more.”

She giggles. “You know what I mean, there are so many players and broken men out there now, nobody has their mind right. They’re all treating each other badly and pushing their broken pieces around for everyone else to stand on. Not me, I’d rather glue my shit back together then toss it on someone.”

That’s what I like about this girl, fucking magic.

“Well, you find a man that doesn’t treat you right and we’ll make sure he doesn’t sit down for a week ...”

She laughs. “You bikers, so tough.”

“Gotta do what we gotta do.”

We sit and chat for an hour, so fucking easily it’s like I’ve known her for years. I have known her for a little while, being that she’s friends with Briella and spends a lot of time around all of us, but I’ve never spent a great deal of time actually getting to know her. She’s a good chick, and she’s going to make someone really fucking happy one day. I don’t doubt that for a second.

One thing is for certain, I just made a new fucking friend.

And I like her a lot.

~*~*~*~

“HOW’S BRIELLA’S WRIST?” I ask Aviana as we walk toward a bar after her shift has finished.

Briella fell out of the tree at her eighteenth birthday a week ago, and since then has been moping around miserable because she can’t do anything. After that night, Avi and I started to talk daily on the phone and through text. For whatever fucking reason, we have a connection I can’t understand.

I’m with Samantha, but having Aviana in my life seems to bring me the kind of internal freedom I didn’t think was possible while I was living on this earth.

She does something to my soul—she makes it feel that much better.

“She’s still sulking.” Avi laughs, walking up to a stool and sitting down. “She can’t do anything, which sucks. How is Samantha?”

I grunt and sit on the stool beside her. “Fuckin’ hard work. Gotta wonder why I do it?”

“Why do you do it?” she asks, glancing at me.

A strand of her hair falls across her forehead and down over her mouth and she blows it off with a quick puff of breath. Fuck, she makes even that look good.

“I don’t fuckin’ know, to get laid?”

She laughs. “A man with a face like yours could get laid anytime he wants.”

“Not without puttin’ in the hard yards.”

Rolling her eyes, Avi puts up two fingers to the bartender who immediately gets her two beers.

“You come here a lot?”

She nods. “Every day after work. I like it here; it helps me unwind.”

Honest.

Aviana is the most honest person I know. Nothing holds her back, she just tells it like it is.

“Where is Samantha today?” she asks, taking a sip of the beer when it’s placed down.

“She’s workin’, no doubt finishin’ soon and demandin’ I come on over there,” I mutter, letting the cool amber ale roll down my throat.

“You ought to dump her, Cohen. That’s not nice. Remember what I said about men being nice ...”

I chuckle. “How could I fuckin’ forget?”

She looks to me. “If you don’t like her, you shouldn’t be with her.”

“Never said I didn’t like her ...”

“Do you?”

“What?”

“Like her?”

“Yeah, she’s okay.”

Aviana laughs. “If anyone ever refers to me as just ‘okay’ I’m going to flip a lid, seriously. You should be with a girl that you think of as more than just ‘okay.’”

“Show her to me, and I’ll take it.”

She smiles and then bumps my shoulder with hers. “Men, seriously.”

I grin and take another sip of beer.

“Does Briella know we’re hangin’ out?” I ask.

Aviana frowns. “No, but I don’t see why it would be a problem. She loves all you guys.”

“Nah, it wouldn’t be a problem. It’s nice, not sharin’ though.”

She laughs. “You’re right about that. I like not having to explain to anyone where I’m going and who I’m seeing. You’re like my secret friend. It’s a nice feeling.”

I snort. “Fuckin’ secret friend.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it.”

I do.

I do fucking like it.

More than she’ll ever know.

“You got a man?” I ask her, glancing at her reaction.

Part of me, deep fucking down, wants her to tell me no, she doesn’t have a man and has no intentions of getting one. But she’s eighteen and she’s fucking gorgeous, there must be men throwing themselves at her.

I hate that fucking idea, but I’m not entirely sure why.

I like our friendship; I like it just the way it is.

So why the fuck do I feel a certain way at the thought of her with another man?

“I’m sort of talking to someone, but it’s not serious or anything. We’re just chatting. He wants to take me out this weekend. I suppose I’ll go, see where it leads.”

“He a good man?” I ask her.

She laughs and gives me a sideways glance. “He’s not bad, Cohen. Not bad at all.”

“You make sure you call me if he shows up and he isn’t a fuckin’ good man, yeah?”

“What are you going to do, bash him?”

I lean in closer to her, and she sucks in a breath. “I’ll fuckin’ take his head off if he hurts you.”

She blinks, slowly, and then smiles. “Well, that’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”

I lean back. “Nope.”

She shakes her head but keeps the smile. “I like you, Cohen, I’m glad we’re friends.”

Me too.

Fuck, me too.

6

NOW – AVIANA

“Well, well, the missing link returns.”

I stare at Sissy and my face scrunches in disgust. She was a bitch back then and she’s a bitch now. Still an attractive bitch, but a bitch all the same. Fuck me, I just thought of bitch a lot in one sentence, but how else are you to describe her?

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite bully.” I smile coldly. “How are you, Sissy? Good, I hope.”

She scowls at me. “I’m doing well, actually. Unlike some ...”

I glance around, pretending to search for someone who isn’t there. “Who are you talking about? I don’t see anyone else here.”

She rolls her eyes. “I see you haven’t lost your sarcasm, Aviana.”

“I see you haven’t developed a personality, Sissy.”

She opens her mouth to retaliate when Cohen, Kendric, and Mykel walk into the room. They glance at us, standing by the bar at the club, and Kendric grins. I’m sure he does find our little exchange quite hilarious.

“Boys,” Sissy says, giving them a fake smile.

“What’re you doin’ in town?” Mykel asks her, sitting on a stool at the bar.

“I needed to see my brother. I’m looking for Dad but he’s not answering my calls.”

King.

Someone I haven’t seen since the day I fucking went missing. He has more to do with this then they all realize. I’m certain of it.

“King is busy doin’ somethin’ for the club,” Cohen mutters, his gaze swinging to mine.

I look away.

Fuck him.

“Well, I need to speak with him. Where’s Alarick?”

“Office,” Kendric says gruffly.

Sissy spins on her heel and saunters down the hallway. “Later!” I call after her, and she throws a scowl over her shoulder before disappearing.

“Still so lovely,” I say, more to myself than anyone else.

“You here to see me?” Cohen murmurs, his voice low and gravelly.

I turn and glance at him. “Not by choice, believe me.”

“Drop the fuckin’ attitude for one day so we can get this finished and I never have to fuckin’ see you again.”

Ouch.

Brutal.

“Ditto,” I say, holding his penetrating gaze.

He stands and extends an arm. “After you.”

Right.

Of course.

I move toward the back room where there is a large table in the middle of the floor surrounded by chairs. It’s a mess and, honestly, would it hurt them to clean up around here a little? Yeesh. Seriously. I scowl at a few empty beer cans that I have to kick out of the way to get to the table. Don’t get me started on the panties tossed over the back of one of the chairs. I glare at them like they’re personally bothering me somehow and, with a flick of my hand, send them flying to the floor.

“Someone’s a little jealous.”

I glare at Cohen as he takes a seat across from me, his eyes intense as he watches me huff around until I finally sit down.

“As if.”

He shakes his head slightly before saying, “We both don’t want to be here, so let’s get this over and done with so I don’t have to spend any more time listenin’ to your negative fuckin’ attitude.”

“What is your problem?” I growl. “If anyone here has the right to have an issue, it’s me, Cohen. Not you. You’re the one who started this whole fucking mess.”

“Back to that, are we? You’re never goin’ to let it go. It wouldn’t matter what I say, so I’m not even goin’ to fuckin’ try. Now, are you goin’ to listen to me or should I fuckin’ try again another day?”

His voice is impatient, and his tone is sharp. I grit my teeth together and say nothing more, even though there are so many things I’d love to let slip off my tongue right now. Many names, a whole lot of curse words, and a heck of a lot of blame. Blame that should fall entirely on his shoulders, but he’s refusing to let it touch him.

He wants no part in my pain.

Even though he’s the one who pushed me straight into fucking hell.

“What do you need from me? I’ve given Alarick everything I know.”

“Wrong, you haven’t,” he mutters, staring at his phone where he opens up something on the screen. “Looked into your fuckin’ Benedict and the locations. Can’t find a single thing on him, but the locations are certainly remote and maps shows me that there are houses in the locations you’ve provided. Gotta know that I don’t trust you, Aviana, so I want more information.”

I tense and cross my arms. “I’ve told you the truth.”

“Have you?” he challenges, looking up to meet my eyes. “You think I’m fuckin’ stupid, don’t you? Do you honestly believe I’ll let you lead my club into a fuckin’ ambush? You want revenge, it’s written all over your face. I’m not lettin’ you take away the only family I have.”

“You mean the same way you took the only family I had?”

He slams his fist onto the table. “The father and brothers who couldn’t give a fuck about you? Is that who you’re talkin’ about? The ones who couldn’t care less if you lived or died? Don’t push your fuckin’ anger onto me. You’re lookin’ for a reason to hate me, but the only one you have is that I sent you away—I’ll take that. Don’t even fuckin’ tell me you’re angry because I rid the world of the scum that you called family.”

I stand and slam my hands onto the table, rage burning deep in my chest, exploding forth as I cry, “Fuck you, Cohen. Because of you I’m left with nothing! Nothing!”

“They gave you fuckin’ nothin’,” he roars, standing too. “All they did was act like you didn’t fuckin’ exist. Stop actin’ like you actually fuckin’ care that they’re gone. You don’t. You’re so fuckin’ bitter. I thought I knew you, but this version of you is as evil as the people I put in the fuckin’ ground.”

I lunge across the table like a mad woman, my body sliding across the timber as I go for him. My hands reach out, and I scramble to get closer as I scurry across the table like a fucking crazy person. When I reach him, I get to my knees and slam my fists into his chest. Big angry punches that hurt, god do they hurt. I scream with frustration and rage and so much pain I can hardly breathe through it.

Cohen takes my wrists, never once stepping away or back down.

He’s not scared of me.

Why should he be?

“Let me go!” I scream, jerking as hard as I can but it only makes his hands tighten around my wrists.

He pulls me forward and, with a snarl, he says, “Whatever you’re fuckin’ plannin’ here, Aviana. I suggest you back down. You hurt even one hair on anyone here's head and I promise you, I’ll put you with the rest of your family.”

With that, he lets me go with a shove. I topple backward and roll off the table, landing on the floor with a thud. For a moment, I’m winded. I can’t breathe through the pain as I lie on my side on the floor. I’m not sure if it’s the pain from the fall or the pain from my pride because his words cut me so fucking deep it burns. I bite my lip to stop it from trembling, refusing to release years of pent-up tears.

I won’t cry for them.

For anyone.

Get up, Aviana.

Do not stay down.

“What the fuck is goin’ on in here?”

Alarick’s angry voice can be heard from the door.

I don’t move.

“Aviana?”

He moves to me and reaches down, taking my arm and hauling me up. I’m clenching my jaw so tightly it burns, but I don’t look to Cohen. I don’t say all the foul and horrible things sitting on the end of my tongue. I’m afraid if I open my mouth all the pain that’s rising to the surface will unleash too. They’ll see how truly broken I am. How utterly pathetic I have become.

“I’m done.”

I shove Alarick so he’ll let me go and pick up into a run as I leave the room. I don’t stop until I’m out of the house and running toward the entrance. I reach the road and turn left, picking up the pace as I head toward town. The feelings building up in my chest are crippling, and I struggle to breathe as I run faster and faster, my mind swimming, my soul slowly fucking drowning.

A car slows down and, as the window winds down, I see Waverly, a girl I met a few days ago, with another woman. They both stare at me as they near, and Waverly calls out, “Hey, Aviana, right?”

I stop running and stare at them, panting and gasping for air.

“Are you okay?” she goes on, narrowing her eyes. “Do you need a ride?”

I can’t speak.

Can’t move.

The entire world around me is falling to pieces.

The other woman gets out and walks over to me, she reaches out and takes my shoulder. “I’m Zariah, are you okay?”

I shake my head.

It’s all I can manage.

“Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.”

She guides me to the car and, without hesitation, I climb in. I sit in the back as they turn the car around and head back into town. I don’t say anything, I don’t do anything, I simply sit there feeling like everything is going to collapse at any moment. My breathing slowly becomes more stabilized and when we pull up at a bar, I want to scream with joy. I don’t know these women, but I like them already.

“Let’s get a drink,” Waverly says, getting out of the car and coming around to my door, opening it.

I get out of the car and follow them inside the bar where we find a quiet booth and order a round of shots. I still haven’t said anything, but as I sit across from them, watching them stare at me in confusion and concern, I know I have to say something soon or they’re likely to call someone.

“Thank you for picking me up.”

It’s all I can think to say.

Waverly smiles, her face bright. She’s gorgeous and friendly, and I can see the wild streak in her. I know because I used to see the same one in myself. “You’re more than welcome. Is everything okay? Were you coming from the club?”

I nod, reaching up to rub a sore spot on my forehead where I hit the ground as I rolled from the table. The image of Cohen pushing me burns into my soul, the feeling bitter and ugly. It creates a pain in my chest I don’t fully understand.

“You look like you’re going to have a good bruise there,” Zariah says, narrowing her eyes. “What happened there this morning?”

“Cohen and I ... You could say we don’t see eye to eye. We got into a fight.”

“Cohen did that?” Waverly asks, her eyes wide. “I will go in there and cut his fucking balls off if he did.”

I smile. I can’t help it.

I think I’ll like her.

“It wasn’t what you think. The two of us have some pretty big problems, I guess you could say.”

“I’ve heard,” Zariah answers, giving me a sympathetic look. “We’ve all heard your story, Aviana. I’m sorry.”

“The funny thing is,” I mutter, taking a shot when the waitress puts them down, “is that nobody actually knows my story, do they? They only know what they’ve pieced together.”

“Well,” Waverly says, taking a shot too, “I guess it’s a good thing we’ve got a lot of shots and all afternoon.”

Cheers to that.

I swallow the burning shot down as the other two ladies do, too.

This should be interesting.

~*~*~*~

“WAIT,” WAVERLY SAYS, sitting beside me, leaning in close, swaying a little as she does. “You were stuck with that man for like five years?”

“Yep,” I say, taking another shot even though my head is swimming from the amount of alcohol we’ve consumed in the last few hours. “Cohen had me sent away, and I ended up in the hands of a man who wasn’t so nice to me, but the problem was when I tried to get away, I had absolutely nothing. I had no home, no job, no money and ended up on drugs, on the streets. I found myself going back to him, being the only thing I knew. He could be cruel, but he kept me safe. I guess you pick your battles, huh?”

“Why didn’t you run away, find a job, and start somewhere new? Or come home?” she asks, her eyes wide.

“Because I had nowhere to go. I had no family left to run to, my aunt had died. I was literally stuck with nothing and no one – there was no way I could make it back here, I was thousands of miles away. Not only that, but I had no money, no experience and quite frankly ... I was broken. I was just so broken.”

Waverly’s face softens and she leans in closer, putting her arm around my shoulder. Zariah left us about half an hour ago when Kendric came to get her. She had only taken a few shots but told us she can be a messy drunk and didn’t want to have anymore. She made us promise we’d stop `soon, but we’re touching upon evening now, and I feel like we’re only just getting started.

“I’m so sorry, my gosh. I can’t imagine what that was like. I hear the stories about the girls who were with Dax and I think wow, they had it so hard, but what happened to you ... it was awful. How did you get back here?”

I laugh softly. “It was quite funny, actually. The man I was with, Vaughn, hired a woman to clean his house. She was British and travelling around the world, you know, a tourist I suppose. She worked in each town for money, doing whatever she could, and he hired her as a housemaid for six months. She and I, we became friends. When I told her my story, she helped me get out of there and took care of me until I got home.”

“Seriously?” Waverly gasps. “That’s incredible. Where is she now?”

“She is traveling around. I hope I’ll see her again one day because I owe her my life. She saved me during a time when I honestly thought I was going to be stuck in that hell hole forever.”

Waverly’s face softens a little. “The man who had you, was he horrible?”

“If you call beatings and rape horrible, then yes, he was. It wasn’t all the time, though. More often than not, he let me have free reign over the house. I cleaned and cooked, kept the gardens in order. It was doing that that gave me the confidence to run. The first time I ran, I wasn’t prepared. I ended up on the streets on drugs, like I said. I also got attacked, and that’s when I knew I had to go back or I’d be killed. I certainly hadn’t thought my plan through. So, I went back.”

Waverly’s face is a mix of shock and horror. “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.”

“Well, going onto those streets showed me there was worse out there. I stuck with what I had, and when I returned to him, he treated me a little better. If I did as I was told ...”

I tremble at the beating he gave me when I returned back to that place after being on the streets. The way he grabbed my hair, slammed his fist into my face, threw me against the wall and told me that if I ever tried to run again, he’d kill me. That night, I tried to kill myself. I tried so damned hard, but he got me to a hospital in time. When I woke up, I was determined to get out of there, even if it took me years.

I would find my way home.

But I’d be smart about it.

I wouldn’t go out onto the streets alone again, not without a plan.

I started stealing his money, stashing clothes in a secret spot at the house when I was cleaning, I stole little bits of money and put it away. I had a plan. I had one thought in my mind.

I was coming home.

No matter what it took.

Waking up in that hospital, with my wrists bound, I knew I could either decide to die, or I could fight. I decided then that I wanted answers and I was going to come home and get those answers.

So fight I did.

“Anyway,” I say, shaking the memories from my mind. “I’m not there anymore.”

“No, you’re not, but it wouldn’t be easy to get over something like that.”

She’s right. It isn’t.

Most nights I have nightmares.

Some days I struggle just to feel anything but numb.

Still, I’m here. I’m here, and I’m not giving up yet.

“No, it isn’t. It broke many things inside me, but I’m slowly piecing those things back together.”

“Is it true Cohen was the one who sent you away?”

I nod, my heart hardening at the very sound of his name.

“I can’t believe he would do such a thing,” she whispers, shaking her head in horror. “I mean, there had to be another option.”

“Apparently, there wasn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Aviana. You’re a god damned warrior is what you are.”

I snort. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Anyway, let’s not dwell on the past,” she throws a hand up. “You’re here now and you’re gorgeous, and we’re going to drink and maybe find you a nice man to grind up against.”

I laugh. “I like the way you think.”

She grins.

I like Waverly.

Yeah, I like her a lot.

7

NOW – AVIANA

We stumble into the club just after nine that evening, both of us drunk, both of us giggling like teenagers who just tried their first beer. Waverly has her arm around my shoulder and my arm is around her waist as we walk toward the blaring music coming from the very packed clubhouse. There are women everywhere, most of them barely dressed in clothes that cover them. Bikers are lingering around, drinking and smoking, and it’s clear the club is in full swing.

“There you are. Where the fuck have you been?”

Mykel’s harsh voice stops us just as we reach the front door and, together, we spin ourselves around to face him. His eyes scan over Waverly before looking to me. “Aviana was having a crisis, and I was there helping her,” Waverly informs him, her words slurred. “We’re good now, we’ve got it all sorted out.”

“You’re smashed,” he murmurs.

She releases me and walks over, falling into his arms. “You can take full advantage of me still, I don’t mind.”

He grunts. “Not goin’ to happen. Come on, let’s get you home.”

“No!” she cries, waving an arm around. “I’m still drinking with Aviana!”

“Think you’ve had enough.”

I laugh and turn, walking into the club. They can handle their little dispute themselves. I shuffle through the crowds of people and when I see Samson sitting on the sofa, two women beside him giggle as he talks to them, I saunter over. I mean, he’s gorgeous and he knows how to fuck. A girl needs what a girl needs, and he’s up for giving it to me.

He looks up as I near and his gaze darkens just a little. I turn around and flop down onto his lap, throwing an arm around his neck and smiling at him as I lean in. “Well, would you look what I found.”

His eyes meet mine. “You’re drunk.”

“I am.”

“Didn’t think you’d come here tonight.”

“I wanted to see you.”

I’m a liar.

But whatever.

“You want to fuck me,” he murmurs.

“Does that bother you, Samson?”

“No.”

“Good, then are you going to take me and fuck me, or should I ask someone else?”

He makes a growling sound, and the girl beside me mutters something as Samson stands, placing me on my feet before taking my hand and leading me toward one of the rooms at the back. We get in and, as soon as the door is closed, I spin around and wrap my arms around his neck, pushing him against the wall. He stares down at me, and his face is hard and hungry. My god is his expression intense.

“Do you want me, Samson?” I ask, tangling a finger into his hair.

“You know I do.”

“How do you want me?”

“I want to put my mouth on your pussy, been thinkin’ about it all fuckin’ day.”

“Have you now,” I grin, releasing him and stepping back.

Slowly, I shuffle out of my pants until I’m standing before him wearing only a top, my pussy on display, already aching with anticipation for what he’s about to give me. With a feral growl, he walks over and lifts me up, placing me down on a pool table, then, slowly, he spreads my knees apart so I’m wide open in front of him. He stares down at me and, with a pleased growl, he kneels down and his face goes between my legs.

The first lash of his tongue is divine.

I let my head fall back and a moan escape my lips. Samson’s tongue does things to me, things that make my body twitch and deep sounds of pleasure escape my lips.

My god.

He’s good at this.

So fucking good at this.

“What the fuck are you doin?”

Samson’s head lifts, as does mine, and we both see Cohen standing at the door. He’s got glassy eyes and it’s apparent that he’s drunk, my god is he drunk. His hair is disheveled and he has a slight sway as he stands in the doorway. He looks gorgeous, dangerous, and more than a little inviting.

“I’m enjoyin’ my fuckin’ night,” Samson growls. “You want to leave?”

“You goin’ to fuck her?” Cohen mutters, his voice a little angry.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, raising a hand, trying to close my legs enough so that I’m not lying there wide open for the world to see. “Would you mind leaving so we can get back to it? Last time I checked I can do whatever I want with my body.”

Cohen’s eyes fall to my pussy and he tips his head to the side so he can see it beyond where Samson is standing. Something about the way he’s staring at it, at me, makes my blood hot and my body hotter. I’m drunk, smashed, and if I wasn’t, I probably wouldn’t do what I do next, but hell, I’m reckless and I never follow the god damned rules.

“Unless you want to join in.”

Cohen’s eyes snap to mine and Samson flinches.

“What, you two aren’t scared of a little threesome, are you?” I prompt and the two men start each other before Cohen steps in and closes the door behind him, this time locking it.

Oh, my word.

I didn’t think he’d come in.

I didn’t think he’d ever want anything to do with me.

Hell, I don’t want anything to do with him, but the idea of two gorgeous men ravishing my body isn’t something I’m about to turn down.

I suppose you could say I’m a slut, or a whore, or whatever else girls with a broken spirit get called, but I am what I am. I’ll take whatever names are thrown my way. I don’t care what other people think about me, hell, I don’t care what these two men think of me.

So long as it feels good, I’m down with it.

Cohen walks in closer and his eyes meet mine as Samson steps out of the way to expose me fully on the table. I lick my lips—my head is swimming, and I’m more than a little drunk, but that doesn’t stop me from letting my knees fall apart so Cohen can take a look at what he’s about to devour.

My god I’m a whore.

The thoughts in my mind should be illegal.

“Are you two going to do something or should I get started myself?”

I place my hand between my legs and start rubbing up and down, soaking my fingers in my own arousal.

The two men move closer and, with one more glance at each other, Samson gets back onto his knees and continues what he was doing, face buried deep in my pussy, tongue stroking over my clit. Cohen walks around to the side of him and leans over the pool table, just a little. He stares down at me, his eyes glassy, his breath strong with alcohol, whiskey, I think. Then he orders, “Take your shirt off.”

I do as he asks, discarding the shirt in a matter of seconds, until I’m lying on the pool table completely naked. Cohen reaches out, his fingers grazing over my nipple. He has a far-off expression on his face, almost like he’s experiencing something in another time, like he’s not fully here with me. “Always wondered how good you’d look naked.”

I blink, but I’m unable to process his words as a wave of pleasure rocks my body when he twists my nipple between his fingers and Samson plunges a finger deep inside my pussy as he devours it.

My god.

Pleasure unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life explodes in my body. I whimper and my eyes flutter closed. Cohen squeezes and massages my breasts before leaning down and sucking one of my nipples into his mouth. My mind blanks out, for a moment my body is wrapped up in that much pleasure I can’t think straight, let alone comprehend just what’s happening right now. An orgasm so powerful rocks my body and when it dies down, I see that I’m clutching Cohen’s head and clamping my knees on Samson’s. My god, I want more.

So much more.

“Take me off this table,” I whimper.

They move quickly and, in one swoop, Cohen has my naked body lifted from the table. He walks over to a chair and sits down, maneuvering me so I’m straddling him. Suddenly, being this close to him, my body wound up in his, I’m reminded of a time when I wanted nothing more. A time when I thought this man was everything you could ever want in a man. My crush on him ran deep and my desire to have him in my life was strong.

He was my best friend.

I don’t realize I’m staring at him with a pained expression until Samson clears his throat behind me. Cohen rips his gaze away from mine and growls, “I’m fuckin’ her, you get your cock sucked. Now spin her around.”

Samson doesn’t hesitate, he moves me so I’m sitting with my back against Cohen’s chest and my front facing him. He places my legs over the chair legs and now I’m sitting in front of him, spread wide open again. Cohen’s cock pulses against my lower back and the idea of finally having him inside me makes me tremble.

“Are you two going to get your cocks out or are you going to make me wait forever?” I whimper when Cohen’s fingers go around and find my pussy, where he gently starts rubbing.

My god, I’m going to explode.

While Cohen is rubbing me into blissful fantasy, Samson drops his pants. When I open my eyes he’s standing in front of me, fingers curled around his cock, eyes intense as he strokes it. My god, that’s a good sight. I wonder, for a brief moment, if it’s awkward for him to stand there like that in front of his friend, but it doesn’t seem to bother him at all.

Probably not the first time they’ve done something like this.

Once another orgasm rocks my body, Cohen shifts me so he can release his cock. Everything inside me wants to glance down, to take it in, but I know I have to keep any feeling out of this. Nothing can penetrate the very strong barrier I’ve formed against the man I’m currently about to fuck.

He shifts me, a condom wrapper tears, and then a moment later he’s sinking me down onto his cock. My back is still to his chest, so I can’t see him, but I can feel him. Oh god do I feel him. The stretch and burn of his dick makes me whimper with pleasure. He takes my hips with a feral growl and starts moving me up and down, lifting me as if I weigh nothing.

Samson steps forward, tangling his fingers into my hair, and then he guides his cock into my mouth. Every fantasy I’ve ever had couldn’t even come close to what I’m feeling right now. I’m filled with an exhilarating rush that makes my body quiver. My mouth bobs up and down on Samson’s cock and Cohen fucks me, slamming his hips upward to meet every thrust.

I moan, and Samson growls his satisfaction, no doubt over the rumble that makes against his dick. Cohen’s fingers tighten on my hips and, for a moment, we’re all in sync. All of us receiving pleasure. All of us working together, almost perfectly. I cry out as the most incredible orgasm I’ve ever had in my life grips my body. Cohen lets out a feral rasp and growls something about how tight I am, before finding his own release.

Samson follows a moment later, with a muttered curse. His fingers tighten in my hair and his cum shoots down my throat as he finds his happy place.

A moment later, we all come down from what had to be the most incredible high of my life. I’ve never felt something so amazing, not that I’ve had a great deal of chances to. Samson slowly releases his cock from my mouth, and I watch beneath hooded lashes as he tucks it back into his jeans. I shift, still feeling Cohen’s cock inside me. I move, slowly sliding upward until he’s free, and then I stand, walking over to get my clothes.

When I’m dressed, I turn and look at them.

They’re both watching me, both of their faces intense, yet relaxed.

Samson glances at Cohen and then with a sharp nod to him, and a wink to me, he walks out leaving us alone.

I’m not sure why he did that, frankly, I’m not sure I want to be alone with Cohen.

We’re both drunk.

We just fucked.

We can’t stand each other.

Cohen walks toward me, jeans still unbuttoned, his eyes on my forehead. With a husky, sexed up voice, he asks, “Did I do that?”

I press my fingers to the bruise that I haven’t yet looked at on my forehead, but I can certainly feel. “Yeah.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have laid hands on you. Not that kind of man.”

Isn’t he, though?

I shake my head, not letting the dark thoughts creep back in. Those thoughts consume my life, it’s nice to have a break from them, just for a small moment.

It’s nice to stand in this room and not feel raw hatred for the man in front of me.

“All good,” I say, my voice husky and breathy.

“What just happened here ...”

“It didn’t mean anything, Cohen,” I say, my voice a little harder now. “It was sex, fucking, I’m not about to soften and try to attach myself to you.”

“Wasn’t what I was goin’ to say,” he mutters.

Right.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway, does it? You and I can’t stand each other, we had a bit of fun, that’s the end of it.”

“Is that really how you fuckin’ feel, Aviana?”

His question shocks me, not because I hadn’t thought of that, but because when he asks it, I struggle for an answer.

My automatic answer should be yes, that really is how I feel. Yet I find myself struggling to say it.

Why can’t I say those few simple words? They’re the truth, right?

“I don’t know what I feel,” I murmur, and that’s the god honest truth.

“We were friends.”

“Yeah, we were.”

“Good friends, fuck, more ...”

“We were never more, Cohen.”

He studies me. “You never felt anything more than friendship?”

My heart strings and I have to stop, I have to back off, I have to make this conversation end right now.

I can’t handle the feelings that come with it.

The blinding truths.

“It doesn’t matter what I felt,” I say, my voice hard. “What matters is right here and now, and the fact is that if you felt anything for me, you wouldn’t have done what you did. You know where I stand, Cohen.”

With that, I turn and walk out of the room.

If I look in his eyes for a second longer, I’m afraid I’ll say something I’ll regret.

Like maybe ... the truth.

~*~*~*~

RUBBING MY HEAD, I walk into the kitchen the next morning with a pounding headache. God only knows what time it is, but I do know I didn’t get home until the early hours of the morning. I partied way too hard, and now I’m regretting it. The light burns my eyes as I round the corner, and I stop when I see Briella, Waverly, and another girl standing against the counter, chatting.

When I walk in, they stop that chatting.

“Don’t mind me,” I mumble. “Just getting water.”

“How did you pull up?” Waverly asks. “I’m guessing not so great. Me either, god, how much did we drink?”

“Way too much.”

“Aviana,” Briella says, her tone hard. “This is my sister, Cova. I’m sure you’ve heard the story by now, I don’t need to tell it to you again.”

Briella’s voice is a whip and I know she’s angry at me. I’ve been a bitch to her, and that does bother me, but I’m doing it to protect myself, to protect her. If she hates me, it’s a whole lot easier than if she makes me feel the connection we once had. I fight against what’s right and wrong, and a softer part of me wants to apologize.

I’m forgetting why I’m here.

Every single second I’m back, I feel like I’m at home again and the past slowly creeps away.

My anger slowly fades.

That utterly terrifies me.

“Yeah, I’ve heard. How are you, Cova?”

Cova studies me. “You’re the one causing all the chaos in the club?”

“Something like that,” I murmur, getting a glass and filling it with water.

“Waverly told us some of what you told her,” Briella says, her voice a little less pissy now.

I look to Waverly. “Seriously?”

Waverly gives me a stern expression. “Don’t get angry at me, I’m doing it to help you. I don’t think they all realize what you’ve been through and they should...they need to know.”

“They don’t need to know shit,” I growl. “Nobody gives a crap what happened to me, or what Cohen did, or anything else that came with it.”

“You didn’t seem too angry at Cohen last night,” Briella snaps, her voice harsh.

I glance at her, eyes narrowed. “You watching me?”

“I heard you, everyone heard you. Then we saw all three of you leave the room. What are you playing at, Avi? It’s like you just don’t care, even about yourself.”

“Because I fucked two very attractive men means I don’t care about myself? Why the hell shouldn’t I do that? I’m a grown ass woman!”

Waverly puts a hand up. “Firstly, let’s all calm down. Avi is right, she can do whatever she wants. Secondly, damn, get it, girl. How was it? Was it like angry hate sex?”

I can’t help it ... I grin at her. She’s crazy and wild, she reminds me of the way I used to be, before all of this happened. “It was incredible.”

“Jesus,” Cova mutters, standing. “I’m done here. You girls are messed up.”

She turns and walks out, not looking back.

“Well, she’s lovely.” I roll my eyes.

“God, all I want to do right now is slap you, Aviana,” Briella growls. “I hate who you’ve become.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be the only one. I’ll get out of the way.”

I turn and walk out with my glass of water. Waverly follows me and, as we round the corner, she apologizes. “I didn’t realize that you didn’t want anyone to know, honey. I’m sorry, I thought maybe it would help her understand.”

I glance at Waverly. “She isn’t meant to understand. I don’t expect her to nor do I want her to. I just want to get Samson’s daughter back, finish my business, and be done with this part of my life.”

Waverly frowns. “Are you sure that’s what you really want?”

No.

“Yes.”

She nods. “Okay, well, I’m not here to argue with you about your own feelings. I would like to catch up again, if you’re up for it.”

I nod. “Sure, why not?”

She grins. “Perfect. Wait, have you got a phone?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

“Lord, we’re going to get onto that today.”

I roll my eyes again, this time playfully. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Waverly laughs, throwing a hand up to say goodbye as she turns and walks out.

I smile.

I like her, and it has been a long time since I’ve had a friend.

The last people I trusted the most in this world was Cohen and Briella, but they’re not on my side anymore. I know I’m not treating Briella right, I’m not stupid enough to blame it on her, but I also know if I let myself get too close to her, everything is going to get messed up. That doesn’t mean when she looks at me with that horror in her eyes, that I don’t want to take it away, hug her, and tell her it’s okay, that I still love her.

I just can’t do that.

I shake my head, and the feelings that are swirling around in my chest, and then I move back to my room.

It’s nearly time, and I’m not sure I’m ready to face the music yet.

Will I ever be?

Once, I was so sure.

Now, not so much.

8

THEN – COHEN

“Ugh,” Aviana groans next to me. “Cohen, you’re nasty.”

I chuckle and keep my eyes pointed up at the stars. It’s the perfect night, crystal clear and cool, the stars on display for the world to see. Any man in their right mind would have their woman here, fucking her slowly as they lie in the back of the truck. Not me, I’ve got Avi here and we’re drinking and lying on a sea of fucking blankets in the back of my truck, looking up at the stars.

Feels like I’ve known her forever when we’re here like this.

We talk so effortlessly. There is never a moment where we fall into any kind of awkward silence.

Our connection is natural.

The guys would fucking nut me if they saw me here with her like this.

Pussy, among other things, is what I’d be called.

“It ain’t nasty, plenty of people do it!”

“It’s a bumhole!”

I burst out laughing, my ribs aching from the sudden force.

We’re talking about anal sex, of all things. Samantha has been begging me to try it, but so far, I ain’t going there with her. When I told Aviana, she threw a lot of words around about what might be wrong with Samantha and perhaps she needed a therapist.

Fuck she makes me laugh.

She makes me laugh so fucking hard it hurts.

“You clean it first,” I say, through the deep belly laughs still rolling out of my body.

“I don’t care if you soak it in bleach, it’s not made for sex.”

I laugh harder.

She rolls to her side, a huge grin on her face, and slaps my shoulder. “You’re terrible, Cohen, stop laughing at me.”

“I would if you weren’t so fuckin’ funny.”

“Well, you want to tell me that Samantha is requesting anal sex and now I have those images in my brain that I simply cannot get out.”

“What images?”

She scrunches her face. “What if she ... poops on you?”

I laugh again, my abs aching from the feeling. It’s not a feeling I get often, hell, I can’t remember the last time I fucking laughed. All I know is it feels god damned incredible and if I could stay here, as pathetic as it sounds, forever ... I would.

God, I am a fucking pussy.

“She ain’t goin’ to poop on me because I’m not doin’ it with her.”

“With her? Who are you doing it with then?”

“Nobody,” I roar with laughter. “Fuck you’re crazy.”

She giggles. “You’re the crazy one. My god, how many women have you got.”

I wink at her. “Plenty.”

“Poor Samantha.”

I roll back over so I’m facing the stars again. If I keep talking to her, my laughter won’t stop. That’s a good thing, but fuck it hurts.

“She and I ain’t forever.”

Aviana lies on her back again, too. “Well, why are you with her?”

“We’ve been over this.”

“For sex, yes, but it seems like a waste of time.”

“Everyone has relationships that they know aren’t forever. Spose’ you could call them learning curves. You know, they’re what teach you who you want to be and what you want from the person you’re with.”

“Seems unfair.”

“Probably is, but it’s how the world works. We all have a past, people who we learn from, until we find that person and, when we do, we know it’s forever.”

“Your forever person,” she murmurs. “How do you suppose you know they’re forever?”

“Don’t know, I think you just know.”

“Have you ever thought you found your forever person?” she asks me.

I don’t look at her, because if I do she’ll see it in my face. She’ll see that everything in my body is screaming ‘yeah’. When I think of my forever, her face comes into my mind and it scares the hell out of me. I don’t know why it’s there or where it came from, we’re only friends and have only been so for a couple of weeks. How in that time my body has decided she’s the one for me is far fucking beyond my understanding.

It’s like it just knows.

Is that how easy it is? Your body tells you that’s the person, and that’s that?

Fuck me.

“I don’t think so,” I tell her, not willing to do a single thing to risk this friendship, even if it means I never fucking lay my hands on her beautiful body.

“Oh,” she says softly. “Well, that’s good then.”

There is a hint of disappointment in her voice, a hint that makes me want to fucking roll over and kiss her until she understands that I wasn’t telling the truth, that it’s her and fuck being friends.

But I’m not going to do that.

“What about you, found your forever person?”

“I’m not sure,” she answers. “I know I’ve found my forever friend, though.”

I glance at her and she’s staring at me. When our eyes meet, she smiles, and something in my heart fucking explodes.

“Hear ya,” I murmur.

Her smile gets wider. “Well, you can go tell Samantha there will be no bumhole sex today, anyway ...”

I chuckle. “I’ll be sure to pass the message onto her exactly like that.”

She laughs. “It’s so nice out here. How did you find this place?”

We’re at a small stream down a dirt road, thick with trees and wildlife. It’s fucking nice and I come here a lot when I need to think. I stumbled across it one day and, ever since, I’ve come here just to unwind. It’s peaceful, and nobody is ever around.

“I just happened across it,” I tell her. “Liked it so I kept coming back.”

“How many girls have you brought out here and laid in this truck bed with?”

I snort. “None, just you.”

She sits up and looks down at me, her hair falling down to frame her face. She’s fucking perfect under the moonlight and everything in me wants to kiss her, to taste those plump little lips, to feel her soft body beneath mine.

“You’ve never brought anyone else out here?”

“Nope.”

“Why me?”

“Why not you?”

She purses her lips. “You make a good point, I’m just as good as any.”

I laugh. “You’re better than the rest of them, no doubt about it.”

“You think I’m the best girl you know, don’t you, Cohen?”

She’s teasing, her tone light.

“Without a doubt.”

“Well, maybe one day you’ll marry me then.”

I wink at her. “Maybe.”

Yeah, fucking maybe.

~*~*~*~

I PRESS THE MAN AGAINST the wall, fingers tight around his throat. Drug deal gone wrong, he stole from the club, and now I’m here to collect on his debt. Squirming, he gasps for air as his fingers tighten around my wrists, trying desperately to remove my firm grip on his throat. He knows I’ll kill him, he knows the club will kill him, but he still chose to fucking double cross us anyway.

“You didn’t honestly think you’d get away with stealing from the club, did you?” I growl, squeezing tighter. His face is going blue now, a dark shade of blue that is slowly mixing with red. His eyes are bulging, and he’s got saliva running from his mouth.

“Wasn’t me,” he wheezes. “Cohen, it wasn’t me.”

I release my grip, just a little, enough for him to get a tiny amount of air. “What do you mean it wasn’t fuckin’ you? You had the drugs, you sold the drugs, you disappeared with the cash. Who the fuck else was it?”

“Got mugged ... They took it all.”

My god, he doesn’t think I’m that stupid, does he?

My fucking god.

I tighten my grip again—this time he pisses himself.

I can smell the strong scent of urine as he squirms harder and harder.

“How stupid do you think I am?” I snarl.

“Please, I won’t do it again. I fucked up. Had a family to feed ...”

“Blah-blah-fuckin’-blah.”

I squeeze so hard now his breath is cut off. I stand and watch as he fights for the last remaining seconds of his life, and then, with a final gurgle, he goes limp. I hang onto him for a second longer anyway, just to make sure, and then I drop his lifeless body to the ground. Blood trickles out of the corner of his eyes and his face is swollen and blue.

I stare at him for a second longer, then turn and walk away, leaving him in the cold dark alley.

As I round the corner, I catch sight of Aviana’s brother, Manny. He’s standing in the alley with two men, two men I’ve certainly never fucking seen before in my life. They’re doing some sort of deal, that much is obvious from the way they’re whispering and exchanging packages. I step behind a large dumpster bin and watch as they continue to speak, and then, Manny pulls out a gun and, without hesitation, shoots both of them.

Holy fuck.

They drop to the ground with a thud and with a package in his hand, he turns and walks off.

Fuck me.

When he’s gone, I rush over and kneel down, checking through the two dead men’s pockets for anything that might tell me who they are. Whatever I find, I stuff into my jacket and then disappear before anyone sees me. Fucked if I’m going to be done for three murders that occurred in these alleys tonight.

Luckily for us, it’s a dead, fucked up part of town.

People die here all the time.

I get back to my car and only when I’m certain there is no one watching me do I pull out the contents in my pocket. I shuffle through a few wallets, pocket some cash, find some I.D, but it’s a slip of paper in one of the men’s pockets that holds some interesting information. On that slip of paper is Aviana’s name. For a minute, I wonder if maybe they’re talking about a different girl, but when I see her last name, I know it’s her.

All that’s written is her name, an address, and a fucking large sum of money, some offshore account details, and a few other scribbled numbers.

What the fuck are they doin’ with Aviana’s name, and why in the hell did her brother kill them?

Curiosity burns in my chest, and I tuck the information away.

I’m going to find out what she has to do with this, even if I have to do it behind the club’s back.

Whatever it is, I’ll make sure no harm comes to her.

Those fuckers better be very fucking careful.

9

NOW – AVIANA

“Don’t fuckin’ trust her, boss, I’m not ridin’ with her.”

Cohen’s voice is angry and low, his eyes pierce me with an intensity that would make anyone a little less strong squirm. Not me, though. He doesn’t scare me, and his little tantrums aren’t going to bother me, either.

We have a mission, and I’m coming on that mission. Unfortunately, it’s a hell of a drive that’ll take us a week, with stops. Cohen and Samson are the only two who have free space in the truck they’re going in, so that means I’m entrusted to travel with them. It doesn’t both me at all, but Cohen isn’t happy about it, not at all.

He still thinks I’m leading them on a wild goose chase, but I’m not. I’m taking them to what they’re looking for, I’m giving Samson his daughter back, I’m just not sure they understand what else is in store for them when they arrive. I told Alarick to be sure he had a good plan, and I know he does, but what I didn’t tell him is that there are more men there than he could possibly imagine. Even if he picks up Benedict and manages to use him as bait, he’ll never take down the mass production they’ve got going on there, there are simply too many men.

Guilt has started to eat away at me, especially considering I’m growing closer to Waverly and I really like Mykel, Samson and hell, most of them really. The idea of doing something bad to them is starting to make me doubt myself. Maybe there is another way? I mean, surely there is a better revenge plan than to lead them right into a fucking ambush?

I don’t know.

I’m torn between two parts of myself, the part that hates what happened to me because of this club, because of Cohen, but the other part of me knows that I’m going to be risking the lives of many innocent people just to make myself feel better.

I shake the thoughts from my head, the doubt, the guilt.

Nobody had any of those feelings when I was taken away.

Nobody, not even my best friend, came after me and tried to find me.

No, I don’t have any reason to feel guilty about this.

Right?

“Don’t get a choice,” Alarick says, throwing a heap of luggage into the back of Cohen’s truck. “We’re full, and I don’t care if you trust her or not. We’ve got to do this, and that’s pretty much all there is to it.”

“She could be leadin’ us right into the devil’s fuckin’ pen, how do you trust anythin’ that comes out of her mouth?” Cohen growls, his demeanor tense and overpowering.

Alarick stops mid throw of someone’s bag and glances at Cohen. “If she does, I’ll make sure the last five years of her life are nothin’ on what I’ll have in store for her.”

His eyes swing to me when he says that, and something inside my stomach turns. Fear, bitter rage, a whole swirl of emotions I don’t fully understand nor wish to.

“Be too fuckin’ late by then,” Cohen growls, fists clenched now. “I don’t fuckin’ trust her and I think you need to be more fuckin’ careful. She shouldn’t be comin’ with us.”

“You don’t get a choice in that,” I say, before Alarick can answer.

Cohen ignores me.

“Got no other options right now, brother. Understand your hesitation, but we have to get Samson’s girl back, not to mention, we got to fuckin’ finish this. You might not like it, but we are runnin’ out of ideas.”

“Well, at the very least you need someone watchin’ her.”

Alarick grins. “You’re right, I do. You’re on the job.”

Cohen glares at him. I do, too.

“What, no?” I say, shaking my head. “He can’t stand me.”

“Well, then it’ll give you both time to get over your fuckin’ issues. Cohen, you keep an eye on her. If she’s up to no good, I expect you’ll figure it out.”

Cohen shakes his head with utter disgust and turns, getting into the truck and starting it. As the truck idles away next to me, I see Bohdi come out with Merleigh. I haven’t had much to do with the two of them, but I do know that Merleigh was someone the club rescued along with Cova and that Bohdi is only new and still a prospect. The two of them spend a good deal of time together and mostly keep to themselves.

Merleigh is lovely, from the small conversation I’ve had with her. Bohdi I haven’t spoken to, but my god he’s attractive. All surfer biker dude. He has an edge about him, and a darkness so deep, you can see it when he looks at you. His eyes are that of a broken man, and his silence speaks volumes.

I wonder what happened to him.

“Can we squeeze in your truck?” Merleigh asks Cohen as he winds down the window. “Mykel and Waverly are going to take Samson now, so we figure it’ll be best if we come with you.”

“Yeah, get in.”

Bohdi climbs into the front and Merleigh and I get into the back. She flashes a smile at me, and I return it before we hit the road, ready for our first five-hour journey. We’re stopping at a motel tonight, and we’ll do so for the next few days until we reach Benedict. Then, we have the wonderful job of somehow getting hold of him, before continuing on to where we’ll find Dax, Blanche and of course, Uncle Peter.

He has so many answers I need.

Monster.

He always was a monster.

He never liked me; I was always the outcast. After Mom died, I was the only girl in our direct family, and he made it known that I was worth absolutely nothing to their company and their family. He turned my father against me, and even my brothers refused to give me the time of day. They thought they were better than me, because that’s exactly how my father and Peter wanted it to be.

I was just a thorn in their side.

Yet still, they were the only family I had.

I glance out the window, trying to shake the emotions that are desperately fighting for the surface. I need to push them down, need to remind myself why I’m here. I close my eyes and think of the last five years, of the beatings and the rape, of the life I couldn’t get away from for so long. I think of the people who never came for me, who never checked to see if I was okay, to save me from the hell they placed me in. I think of Cohen, and the friendship he betrayed.

My rage soon overtakes any emotion.

“How are you enjoying being home?”

Merleigh’s soft voice snaps me from my memories, and I turn, facing her. “I won’t be here for long.”

“Thank fuck for that,” Cohen mutters from the front of the truck.

His words hurt, but I’ll never show him that. Instead, I ignore him and keep talking to Merleigh. We talk about how she was sold and how she is enjoying being back. The time flies and I find her really easy to get along with. Before I know it, we’re pulling into the motel and climbing out of the truck.

It’s a hot day, and my clothes feel like they’re sticking to my body as we all unpack our things and separate into rooms. I’ve been placed with Merleigh, thank god, because if I had to share a room with Cohen too, I might just lose it. Instead, he’s sharing a room right next to ours with Bohdi and Samson.

The rooms are old, but cheap. They’re clean, and I suppose that’s all you really need. I unpack enough to get me through the night and then decide I’ll go for a walk and check out the town, maybe find a bar to finish off my afternoon. It’s better than sitting here, knowing good and well that nobody really wants me around.

I get changed, slip some comfortable shoes on, and then leave the room, closing the door behind me. I glance around and decide I’ll just wander about until I find something to do. I like exploring new towns—it’s fun and exciting. When you’ve been locked away for as long as I have, you appreciate the small things, like a park, or gardens, or a fountain.

“Where are you goin’?”

Cohen’s voice comes from behind me and I jump, spinning around to see him walking after me, sunglasses covering his eyes so I can’t see his expression.

“I’m going for a walk, check things out, and then I’m going to the bar.”

“Good, I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t be serious?” I snap, crossing my arms.

“You could be meetin’ up with someone, not riskin’ it. Alarick told me to watch you, so I’m goin’ to be doin’ just that.”

I glare at him. “You don’t want anything to do with me, we both know that, so I’m not sure why you’re allowing Alarick to give you orders like that.”

“Because I don’t trust you. It’s really that simple. I’m comin’ with you.”

Fine, if he wants to come with me, I’m going to make him walk this town three fucking times. I can make it miserable for him, no doubt about it. And miserable, it will be.

I turn and start walking again, nearing the town center. It’s green and bustling, with cars and people everywhere. Cafés line the main street and there are a few parks scattered around. I stop into a café, grab myself a muffin and a coffee, and then I take a walk around. Cohen follows me silently. No doubt to people watching, it looks weirdly suspicious.

I’m strolling through a park when a man jogs up to me. He’s only young, maybe thirty, and he’s quite handsome. He slows down when he reaches me and asks in a puffed voice, “Ma’am, are you okay?”

I glance at him, confused. “Sure, why do you ask?”

“That man is following you, and I’ve seen him doing so for quite some time. I’ve been jogging through town.”

I look behind me to see Cohen about ten yards behind me, his eyes on the man I’m speaking to.

“Actually, you know, I am a bit concerned. He has been scaring me,” I say to the man, glancing at Cohen again.

“Come with me, I’ll give you a ride.”

I flash a smile in Cohen’s direction as the jogger takes my arm and walks close to me. Angrily, Cohen strides up and growls, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I don’t want any trouble, I’m just taking her home. She’s concerned that you’ve been following her,” the jogger says, stepping in front of me a little so Cohen has no access to me.

What a gentleman.

“She’s with me,” Cohen growls. “Step the fuck back or I’ll make you.”

“I can’t do that, she’s concerned for her safety, and I take that seriously. Please step back or I’ll call the police.”

“You’ll call fuckin’ no one, because she’s with me. I’m escortin’ her because she’s in danger. You want to be responsible if somethin’ happens to her?”

The jogger glances at me, and I shake my head. “He’s making it up, I don’t know him.”

My voice is soft and scared and the look Cohen gives me could blow me apart right here. The man pulls out his phone and then slowly takes my hand and starts leading me away. “If you follow us, I’ll call the police.”

Cohen lets us go, but when I look back at him to flash him another killer smile, he’s giving me a look that screams he’ll have bloody revenge for me when I return.

When we’re out of sight, the man turns to me and says, “Would you like me to circle back around to my car and give you a ride, or are you okay now?”

“I’m okay, I’ll go over the road to a café. Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it.”

I turn and jog across the street toward a large bar that’s bustling with people.

I’m causing chaos, I know it.

If only I cared.

~*~*~*~

I PLACE MY EMPTY GLASS down and wave at the bartender to fill it once more. I’m on my fifth or sixth beer. I don’t know, I stopped counting once I started feeling light-headed and happy. I’ve been in this great little bar for easily two hours and am enjoying every second of it. The atmosphere is fantastic, and the bartender is chatty and friendly, telling me about his life, how long he’s lived here and other great stories.

He puts a fresh beer down, and I give him an appreciative smile. “Thank you, keep them coming.”

“Are you meeting friends?” he asks me, wiping down the counter with a damp cloth.

“No, I’m not planning on it. I’m only here for the night, just enjoying the local attractions.”

He laughs. “Well, make sure you don’t go wandering off by yourself when it gets dark.”

“Yes, boss.”

He winks at me and goes to serve someone else. The stool beside me slides out, and I glance to my left to see Briella sitting down beside me, her face tight with anger. Great, just what I need right now, another fight with someone.

“Briella,” I say, taking a sip of the beer.

“Why did you ditch Cohen?”

She can’t be serious? What are we, third graders?

“Because I’m a grown ass woman and I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Well, what we’re doing is dangerous and he’s only looking out for the club. Once, you would have understood that.”

I’m frustrated. I know I’m not treating her right, but hell, she isn’t treating me right either. My god, she’s being so damned hurtful. I look to her and my expression shows all the rage I’m feeling in my chest. Our eyes meet and, in a hiss, I say, “What is your problem? All you do is continually tell me who I used to be. What about who you used to be, Briella? What about the girl who was supposed to be my friend, that let me disappear without ever once fucking looking for me?”

She looks like I’ve slapped her. She reels backward and her mouth drops open, her features filling with shock. “What?” she whispers.

“You heard me. I was in the hands of a fucking monster, and not one of you, not fucking one of you, bothered to look. You all assumed I left and never wanted to be found again. You were my best fucking friend, you were there that day, you should have known that I’d never fucking run away never to make contact again.”

She’s shaking her head now.

Has she not honestly thought of this before?

Considered how it felt for me?

“Aviana ...”

“You want to throw in the kind of person I am now, have a good hard look at your fucking self. Do you know what that man did to me? He raped me. He hurt me. He abused me. He kept me as his own personal fucking slave. I have seen the kind of hell you couldn’t even begin to imagine. Don’t you dare come in here telling me I’m different, I have a fucking right to be different.”

I’m screaming now, my voice high and almost frightened in its pitch. I shove the barstool back, not looking at any of the people who are currently staring at me. Tears, tears I’ve fought so damned hard to keep away, rise to the surface. This time, I don’t know if I can keep them in, this time, I don’t think I can be strong.

I’m so tired of being strong.

Sometimes, I just want to be weak, pathetic.

That is so much easier.

I turn and rush out of the bar, my head spinning from the alcohol. I don’t know where I’m going, I don’t bother to stop and look. It’s dark, and I run until I can’t run anymore. I find a park nestled amongst thick bushes. I kick my shoes off and walk into the soft sand, panting, tears burning so hard I don’t think I can hold them back a second longer. One tear rolls down my cheek, followed by another, and I don’t make it to the swing.

I fall into the sand, and then I sob.

A loud, pained sob.

I haven’t cried for so long, I have forgotten what it feels like.

It hurts.

I hate it.

But I can’t stop it.

I hang my head and cry for everything that I’ve endured, everything that I’ve lost and everything that I’ve become.

They’re right, I am a monster.

I’m right, they’re monsters.

We’re all bloody monsters.

Yet, there is so much love to be had.

So much fucking love.

Love I don’t know if I can ever accept, even though the biggest parts of me wish I would take it.

I don’t know how long I sit on that sand, alone in the darkness, but the sound of footsteps has me lifting my head and looking behind me to see Cohen walking toward me. I have no idea how he found me, but I do know I don’t want him to see me like this, so vulnerable, so broken, so pathetic.

“I thought I’d find you here,” he says, stopping in front of me and staring down at me, sitting in the sand, drunk.

“How?” I croak, my voice hoarse.

“You love playgrounds. I remember that much.”

He’s right.

I do love playgrounds.

When I was younger, and far bubblier, I used to think that people were way too serious and that they had forgotten how to have the innocence and fun of a child. I never wanted to lose that, so I would find a playground anytime I could, and I’d swing on the swings and go down the slippery slides. Once you lose the child inside, you lose so much of yourself.

“Come on, let’s get you back to the motel.”

“Don’t be nice to me, Cohen. Don’t be nice to me because you can see how fucking pathetic and broken I am right now. Don’t feel pity for me, I don’t want any of that from you. It’s your fault I’m this way.”

My words come out like acid, spitting and strong. Cohen doesn’t say anything, but he does lean down and reach out for my hand. He scoops it up with his and slowly pulls me to my feet. He doesn’t feed me pity, or kind words, he just brings me to my feet and then we start walking toward his truck.

When we reach it, he opens the door and I climb in.

The drive back to the motel is silent, but silence doesn’t scare me. I find comfort in its depths. I bring my knees up to my chest and curl my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees. My tears are long dried up, but my heart still has that same ache I can’t seem to chase away.

Everything hurts.

Sometimes, I want it all just to go away.

Other times, I relish in it.

Right now, deep down, if I were to admit the truth to myself, I wish someone would take it away for me. Just once. Just this time.

“Briella told me what you said to her tonight.”

Cohen’s voice fills the darkness of the car, and it’s softer than I’ve heard him use since I’ve been back. It’s gravelly, and always deep, but it’s missing that edge he usually uses when he talks to me.

“And?” I whisper, my voice too tired to come out.

“And I didn’t know. I didn’t know that happened to you. I know it doesn’t matter to you now, Aviana, but I never fuckin’ wanted that for you. I thought you would be safe. I thought I was doin’ the right thing.”

Of course he thought that.

Don’t we all think we’re doing right by others, until we find out we weren’t?

“You were my best friend, I trusted you.”

My voice cracks and more tears roll down my cheeks.

I turn my face away.

I don’t want to say anything more.

It won’t help.

It’ll only make things worse.

Cohen doesn’t say anything else either. Instead, he pulls up at the motel and turns off the truck.

I get out of it and don’t look back.

I can’t.

If I do, I’m scared he’ll see just how much I needed him in that moment.

10

NOW – AVIANA

My bed dips and my entire body goes stiff as I feel someone climbing underneath the covers with me. The warmth of another human form presses against me, and then small arms come around me and rest over my stomach. I know who it is the moment I catch her smell—I know because we used to lie like this all the time and talk for hours about boys and dreams.

Briella.

I clench my eyes shut. It’s dark, what time I don’t know.

I don’t even know why she’s here.

My automatic reaction is to kick her off, to scream at her to get out, but I know that reaction isn’t the right one.

I know it, even though that’s what my body is telling me to do.

“I let you down,” she whispers into the darkness. “You were right. I was your best friend and I didn’t come looking for you. I should have known you’d never just disappear. I should have turned the world upside down looking for you, Aviana, and for not doing that, I’ll be forever sorry.”

I can’t stop them.

Those horrible tears.

They burst forth, and I can’t control them.

They soak my face and my pillow.

They make my whole body shake.

Briella just hangs onto me—she just holds the pieces together as I cry. I cry so hard a loud sob fills the silent room.

Merleigh wakes and calls out into the darkness.

Then a moment later the lamp flicks on. She looks over to me, and I see her expression change through my blurred vision as she takes in the pathetic sight of me sobbing. She stands without a word and walks over to the bed, then she pulls the covers back and climbs in, too. She lies face to face with me, and her hand goes over Briella’s. Then they just hang onto me.

For a minute, god, for a blissful minute, I want this to be all there is to my life. Just these two women holding me together, not having to worry about a single other thing in this world but the fact that they’ve got my back, and they’re not going to let anything bad happen to me.

I want it to be how it goes.

God, I want it so bad.

But my soul is bitter, and confused, and so scarily broken.

I shake my head through my tears and push out of their grips, frantically sliding my body out of the bed so I don’t have to feel the intense emotions I’m feeling right now. I get to my feet, my hands shaking, and I look at the two women who slowly sit up and stare at me. I still have tears running down my face. My mind is a swimming mess that I can’t make sense of.

“It’s okay, Avi,” Briella says carefully, her hair messed up from sleep, her eyes tired. “We want to help you. We’re here to help you.”

I can’t breathe.

No.

“I don’t need help,” I say, my voice scratchy.

“You do, though. You do, and it’s okay to let us be the people who give that to you. We’re your family, your friends, we want to get you through this. We love you.”

Those words hit me like a slap to the face and I turn, running from the room, desperate to make these feelings stop. I don’t want to second guess myself. I don’t want to hope that maybe she’s right and they’re the answer to all my problems. I don’t want to believe their love might actually be what fixes me. I don’t want to trust them again, only to have my world ripped out from beneath me.

As I run, the memories of my life before this swim in my mind. Memories I can’t escape from no matter how hard I try. Memories that remind me why I am the way I am. Memories that put me back into the cold, bitter place I came here in.

“Please, stop,” I plead, sitting in the corner, hands in front of my face.

That won’t stop him, but it’s worth a shot.

It’s the only thing I have to protect myself right now, my hands.

Everything else is bruised and battered.

He walks toward me, expressionless. His body is large, and muscled, and he’s strong. So much stronger than me. He rarely speaks, but when he does his words are poison. They’re terrifying spits that burn my very soul. Sometimes, I wish he would speak so I know who he is, and why he has me, and how I got here.

I don’t know why I’m here, except to know that Cohen did it.

Cohen.

My best friend.

The man I was falling in love with.

This is his fault.

The man kneels down and curls his hands around my wrists, pulling them down so I can no longer put them up in front of me. Like they were ever going to stop him anyway.

“Please,” I plead again. “I want to go home.”

“This is your home now.”

His voice is rough and gravelly.

He pins my arms to my side and then jerks them around to my back where he pulls a set of handcuffs from his coat pocket and snaps them together. I don’t squirm, or fight, he made sure I knew what would happen to me if I did any of those things. He showed me. The cuts, bruises, and injuries on my body show me what happens if I do that.

When my hands are cuffed, he reaches forward, his fingers slowly going down to my buttons where he begins to undo them, exposing me to him. I clench my eyes shut, my whole body trembling, tears running down my cheeks. Please, someone, make this stop. I’ll do anything, anything, but just make it stop.

His hand curls around my breast, and there he squeezes.

“No,” I cry out. “No, please. Please don’t.”

“Aviana!”

The harsh voice snaps me from the horrid memory that was taking over my body. I forgot I was running, crying, going where? I don’t know. I stop, panting, and turn to see Cohen walking toward me wearing only a pair of pajama shorts. His muscled, ripped body shines underneath the streetlights, making him look like he’s here to rescue me and make all my problems just disappear with one touch.

My heart twists with the kind of agony I simply can’t process right now.

It’s a hurt, a hurt that runs so deep I don’t know how to live without it. I don’t know how to make it stop; I don’t know how to rid my soul of it so I can live freely. I don’t know how to do anything anymore.

I don’t even know who I am.

Right now, though, seeing Cohen walk toward me ... I want him. I want him to wrap his arms around me, to tell me it’s okay, to make love to me until I can’t feel anything anymore. The intensity of that want is all consuming and my knees tremble with the sudden onset of it.

I remember a time when he made it better.

When he saved me from my family.

When he held me as I cried.

When he kissed me for the first time.

I remember it all.

I remember how he smelt, how he tasted, how it felt.

“Hey,” he says when he reaches me.

His fingers curl around my shoulders and he squeezes, trying to snap me out of whatever little zone I’m in. A zone I don’t quite understand.

“Aviana, focus on me, yeah?”

My eyes meet his, and I stare at him with all the pain, hurt, and shattered pieces I’ve been stashing deep in my soul. “Why, Cohen?” I whisper, my voice far too shaky to make an appearance. “Why did you hurt me like that?”

He stares at me, and his face is full of so many emotions I can’t quite pinpoint a single one. He looks hurt, and confused, and even a little angry. At himself? At me? I don’t know.

“I fucked up. I made the worst mistake of my life doin’ that to you, but you gotta know at the time, I thought it was the safest thing. I truly thought I was doin’ right by you. I thought you would get a new identity and you’d be able to start your life fresh...”

“You could have taken me away, could have told me what you were keeping from me, could have kept me safe yourself.”

“I couldn’t have done that. The club couldn’t have done that. Your entire family was dead and you saw me do it. You watched me suck the life from their bodies. You were never goin’ to unsee that. You were never goin’ to be safe. The best thing for you, at the time, was for everyone in the world to think you were dead.”

I shake my head, breaking eye contact. I can’t hear any more. I don’t want to hear any more. I just want all of this to stop.

“I can’t make it stop, Cohen. I can’t make any of it go away. It’s breaking me. I need it to stop. Do you understand me? I need you to make it stop.”

My voice raises toward the end of the sentence, becoming frantic and desperate. My body shakes and my heart pounds. I feel desperate and needy, like if something doesn’t happen soon, I will lose it. I’ll just lose it.

“I can’t make it stop, Aviana. Only you can do that.”

“You can!” I scream, slamming my open hand onto his chest. It makes a slapping sound as it connects with his warm skin. “You can make it stop, you can.”

“Aviana, I can’t.”

“Please,” I beg, my fingers curling now against his skin, my nails scratching into him. “Please, Cohen.”

“Fuck.”

He takes my chin in his hand and tips my head back, looking down at me. Then, before I know what’s happening, he’s kissing me. His mouth is covering mine in the most intense and incredible kiss I’ve probably ever received in my short life. His lips are full and warm and he tastes incredible. His body is hard and firm and, as he pulls me against him, I can feel every inch of it. I want more and, yet, I want him to stop.

Our tongues clash and our kiss becomes frantic. I reach up and curl my fingers into his hair and, with a feral growl, he scoops me up off the ground and into his arms, then he’s striding toward his room with purpose. He shoves the door open, not once breaking the kiss, and he walks me straight to his bed where he lays me down, his hard body covering mine.

It’s only then I remember he’s sharing a room with two men.

I pull my mouth from his and look over to where the other two beds are.

“Samson and Bohdi are in here.”

“Then you’ll have to be really fuckin’ quiet.”

His mouth finds mine again and he kisses me into submission, his hands roaming over my body, touching every single part of me. His fingers are gentle, but his hands are rough, and with every stroke he eases something inside of me.

We don’t waste time.

It could be desperation or purely need.

Either way, he has me naked in seconds and as he slips off his pants, he becomes naked, too. His hard body falls over mine and feeling his skin against my own makes me tremble. Smelling him, feeling the power he’s holding as he towers over me, makes me want to scream with satisfaction. His mouth drowns out every moan as he slowly pushes his cock inside of me, inch by inch, filling me and stretching me in a way I couldn’t even begin to dream about.

I kiss him harder to stop the moan, and it becomes so frantic my lips burn and my tongue aches, but it doesn’t stop me. I kiss him with all the pent-up ferocity and anger I’ve held inside for so long. He takes my hands in his and holds them above my head, then he starts fucking me. Slowly, so god damned slowly it makes me squirm with desperation.

“Hush,” he murmurs into the darkness.

He rocks his hips, dragging his cock in and out, bringing my body to the edge quickly. I tighten around him and my breathing becomes labored as an orgasm threatens to rise to the surface far too quickly. Cohen releases my mouth and his lips find my neck where he kisses a trail down my throat. It’s in that moment I realize what’s happening right now.

He’s making love to me.

He’s not fucking me at all, he’s not shoving his cock in hard and deep to find release, he’s doing it slowly, passionately, carefully.

His fingers are stroking over mine; his mouth is creating fire with every path he kisses and his body is gentle. His thrusts are deep, but slow, in and out, careful not to hurt me.

I clench my eyes shut and tears roll down my cheeks. Since they started, I’ve been unable to stop them. Over and over they flow, and it only makes me frustrated. Cohen’s lips find them, and he kisses them from my cheeks, which makes me want to fall in love with him so fucking hard it’s terrifying.

I can’t do that.

I can’t do any of this.

“Stop,” I plead, turning my head to the side. “Please, stop.”

He stops immediately, my words causing him to pause. He looks down at me and murmurs, “Am I hurtin’ you?”

Yes.

He is hurting me.

He’s hurting my fucking soul.

He’s making me want things I can’t have.

I will never have.

He slowly moves his hips again and the pleasure is undeniable. Part of me wants to run, screaming, the other part of me wants to stay just so I can feel this for a second longer.

I know that’s not going to help me, though.

I can’t be doing this.

I can’t feel anything for him.

“I need to go, please, let me go.”

He doesn’t hesitate moving his body off mine. The feeling of it disappearing makes my heart ache in ways I can’t even begin to understand. I get out of the bed, scrambling for my clothes. Cohen doesn’t move, he doesn’t say anything, he just watches me as I dress myself.

I rush to the door and, before I go out, I murmur, “I’m sorry.”

Then, I’m gone.

~*~*~*~

THE NEXT DAY IS SILENT as we drive.

Nobody speaks, nobody mentions the events from the day before.

We all refuse to bring up what we all know was something incredibly emotional.

Merleigh asked me how I am before we got into the car, but that was it. She didn’t say another word after that. Briella tried to talk to me, but I kept avoiding her. As for Cohen, the stares he has been giving me all day make my heart hurt and my stomach feel heavy. He’s looking at me like he feels sorry for me, like he wants to help me but I don’t need his help.

What I need to do is get my shit together.

To finish this and move on.

I don’t want to hurt these people, I truly don’t. Right now, I want to confront my uncle, to put my past behind me, to make him suffer and then disappear. As for the club, for Cohen, I don’t know how I feel about any of that anymore. Gone is the angry rage toward them, the desire to make them suffer, now all I feel is empty and numb.

Can I bring myself to risk all their lives, to make myself as bad as the people I’m fighting against?

I don’t know.

I need to snap out of this emotional bullshit and put my wall back up, higher this time. I can’t let them in, being here with them isn’t going to fix anything. Once this is done, I’m never going to see any of them again.

Why the hell does that thought hurt so much?

Cohen reaches over and turns the radio up, the deafening silence clearly too much for him.

I lean back in the chair, closing my eyes to try and drown out the awkward feeling in this car, but I’m jerked upright when a loud bang rings out and then Cohen is swerving off the road. We’re the last in the line of cars, and whatever just happened, Cohen is losing control of the car.

Have we got a flat tire?

Merleigh jerks upright too and we both reach out for the door handles, hanging on tightly.

“Did we lose a tire?” Samson asks, eyes darting as Cohen steadies the truck.

Another loud bang.

This time it hits the metal of the car and there is no denying that it certainly is not a tire.

“Someone is fuckin’ shooting at us. Put your head down girls. Now.”

Cohen’s voice is harsh and sudden, and we do as he asks, putting our heads down between our knees. I’m terrified, and even more so now I can’t see anything. Samson shuffles, reaches back, and is grabbing for something, and I catch sight of the gun he pulls from underneath the chair. “Call Alarick,” Cohen orders, speeding up. “Alert him.”

Samson does just that, and a moment later I hear his frantic voice as he alerts Alarick to what’s happening.

“Can you see anyone behind you?” Alarick asks, his voice slightly muffled as it comes through Samson’s phone.

“Black car, it’s a sedan, can’t see who’s in it. Didn’t even notice it approachin’. What do you want us to do, boss? We don’t know how many people are in there, or what kind of weapons they’ve got. They clearly want us to fuckin’ stop. We do, we’re goin’ to die.”

Jesus. Christ.

Die?

We’ll die?

“Speed up, five miles to the left there is a dirt road. We’ll go down it, our trucks will take it well, theirs won’t go down that easily. We’ll get ahead of them there until we can lose them. Call Mykel, tell him the plan. Don’t stop. No matter what.”

Samson hangs up the phone, and I hear him alert Mykel, too.

I glance at Merleigh and she’s shaking.

Poor thing.

I reach out and take her hand, and we both keep our heads down but she gives me a look that shows how grateful she is for that small gesture.

Cohen speeds up and shots ring out, hitting different parts of the truck. I’ve never felt so sick in my life. Will a shot come right through the seat and kill one of us? What if Cohen gets shot? Or someone else.

We’re flying now, so fast the car is banging and bouncing as we power down the road. That must mean the two trucks in front of us are going even faster.

What feels like hours pass, but in reality it is only minutes. Suddenly, Cohen screeches off the side of the road and we all lose our balance, slamming into the sides of the car. Merleigh falls over onto me and my head hits the door with a hard thud. “Sorry,” Cohen growls, his voice tight. “Hang on.”

Now we’re bouncing so hard everything on my body is shaking. Trees scrape down the sides of the car and Cohen is jerking it around as he navigates his way down the dirt road. The shots stop and I wonder if the black car followed us down. My question is answered when Samson informs us, “They’re not followin’ us.”

“Tell Alarick, but we’ll keep movin’. Can’t risk them catchin’ up if they’re just laggin’ behind.”

I clench my eyes shut for what feels like forever as we bounce around, just waiting for another shot to ring out. Thankfully, it doesn’t. Cohen stops eventually. Slowly, Merleigh and I lift our heads.

We’re in the middle of some pretty thick bushland, with only a dirt road running through it, and even that is narrow and overgrown. Cohen’s truck is no doubt going to be covered in scratches, judging by the sounds we heard as we were moving. “Get out of the truck, but stay close.”

We do as he tells us and get out of the truck. I glance around, terrified at any moment they’ll pop out of the bush and start shooting at us. We’re pretty deep in, and if they’re only driving a sedan, there is just no way they’d be able to get down this far. The trucks struggled to get through as the road narrowed. I take a look at Cohen’s truck as we walk toward where Alarick and Mykel are pulled up, and I cringe at the bullet holes and scratches.

“Is everyone okay?” Alarick asks as his eyes scan over us.

“We’re all fine,” Cohen informs him.

“That was terrifying,” Briella says, stepping closer to Alarick, her eyes scanning the bush too.

“We’re not safe. Anyone know who the fuck those men were?” Alarick asks.

“No fuckin’ idea,” Kendric growls. “But whoever they were, they were determined to fuckin’ stop us.”

An idea comes to me as they’re talking.

If this road goes straight through to another road, they’re more than likely going to go to the other end to wait for us to emerge. We’re safer if we turn around. I take my phone from my pants and pull up a map. I can see the road Alarick directed us down, I can also see it comes out onto another smaller road that leads into a town, about another ten or so miles.

“We need to turn around and go back out the way we came in,” I say, looking at Alarick.

“What the fuck would we do that for?”

I take my phone over to him and show him the screen. “Because this road goes out near a town and you can bet they’re going to be waiting at that exit for us. If we turn around, we’ll be safer.”

“She has a good point,” Bohdi mutters. “Makes a fuck load of sense.”

“I gotta agree,” Mykel adds.

“It’s risky,” Alarick murmurs, more to himself than anyone else. “But you do have a good point, they’re likely on the other end waitin’.”

“If they’re not though ...” Briella says, her voice hesitant.

“I think Avi is right.” Waverly crosses her arms and leans her hip against Mykel’s truck. “It makes the most logical sense.”

“How many guns we got on us?” Cohen asks, arms tightly crossed over his chest.

“We got two,” Samson says.

“We’ve got about four in the truck,” Mykel adds.

“Another two in mine,” Alarick tells us.

“Then we’ve got enough to defend ourselves if we’re careful,” I say.

“Like to know how they knew where we were, first,” Cohen growls, and his eyes swing to me.

“No fuckin’ idea,” Alarick says, staring down at his phone, looking at a map.

“Seems convenient that they knew exactly where we were, and when ...”

He can’t be serious.

His eyes are on me, and I know exactly what he’s indicating.

“I didn’t have anything to do with this,” I snap. “I would never do that.”

Well, I mean I would, but I didn’t. I truly didn’t.

“You expect me to believe that when you’ve done nothin’ but carry on about how much you fuckin’ hate us, and now there are a bunch of fuckin’ men who happen to know exactly where we’re goin’? That isn’t a coincidence.”

“Why don’t you look at someone else in the club then?” I growl. “It’s not like it would be the first time you’ve been double crossed. No offense, Samson.”

Samson gives me a death stare that makes my skin prickle.

“Do you know anythin’ about this?” Alarick asks, his voice far less confident now.

“You’re joking, right?”

“Gotta understand that you have made it clear you’re not on our side, Aviana.”

“I didn’t do this!” I yell, throwing my hands up.

“How do we know that they’re not waitin’ at the entrance and this is your doin’? You want us to turn around and walk straight back into the fuckin’ firin’ line,” Cohen challenges, his eyes intense.

“You’re a truly horrible person,” I say, shaking my head. “I didn’t do this.”

“We can’t trust her,” Cohen tells Alarick. “You know we can’t. We need to be careful, we’ve gone wrong so many fuckin’ times now. If we go wrong again, we’re never gettin’ Samson’s daughter back and we’re never fuckin’ finishing this.”

“She didn’t do this, Alarick,” Briella says, shaking her head. “I know she didn’t.”

“How?” Alarick asks her. “How can you be one hundred percent sure?”

Briella bites her lip, unable to answer because she can’t be one hundred percent sure.

“She wouldn’t risk our lives, she’s not that cold hearted!” Waverly snaps.

“I agree,” Merleigh nods. “She wouldn’t.”

Alarick ponders it for a moment, but when his eyes swing to me, I know he’s not going to take the risk. “I’m sorry, Aviana. But I can’t risk the lives of my club members. You have made it clear you don’t want any of us around, and it is convenient they knew our location and exactly where we would be. You’re the only person who knows where we’re goin’. Gotta do this, I’m sorry. Cohen, take her phone and cuff her.”

What?

No.

They’re joking, right?

I start backing up, shaking my head. I’m so hurt, so horrified, but surely, surely they don’t think this was me? I can see why they would, but I didn’t do anything. I truly didn’t do anything.

Cohen goes to his truck and pulls out some cuffs, then he strides toward me.

“Cohen,” I say, my voice hurt. “I didn’t do this. You know I didn’t do this.”

“I don’t know anything, Aviana. I just know we’ve gotta keep the club safe. You won’t be hurt, but we need to have eyes on you at all times.”

“So, you’re going to cuff me?” I cry, backing up faster.

“Can’t know that you won’t get a phone and let someone know. Hand over your cell and don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“You were making love to me just last night,” I say, my voice broken. “You wanted me to trust you. How can you do this? Cuff me like some sort of prisoner. I’m not. You know I’m not. Please, don’t take away my freedom again.”

He hesitates, but he doesn’t stop. He moves toward me, carefully, his eyes intense and his body ready to lunge the moment I try to run. My heart is racing and my legs tremble. The very idea of being cuffed and held against my will, without the chance to have my freedom, brings back a feeling in me I’ve desperately tried to drown out. I won’t be a prisoner again. I won’t.

“Nobody will hurt you—you’ll be safe. It’s just until we can work this out.”

“I was locked up for five years, without any say in my life, without any control. You will not take my control away again. I won’t let you do this to me.”

“Aviana,” Alarick says, his voice calm. “We’re not goin’ to hurt you.”

“No,” I screech. “No.”

I turn and run.

I run as fast as my legs will carry me.

I move like I’m being chased, which I am.

The pounding footsteps of Cohen behind me has my heart racing harder and my legs moving at a rate I didn’t think was possible.

The sounds of Briella yelling at Alarick and Waverly calling my name can be heard, but with every frantic step, those voices get farther and farther away. I run like my life depends on it.

Cohen’s hand lashes out and grabs my shirt, and I’m being hauled back suddenly. I topple to the ground, my body tumbling across the dirt as he wrestles me like some sort of fucking nobody. His body lands on top of mine, but I don’t stop fighting. I kick, I punch, I bite, I hit him over and over again, squirming and thrashing, even though I can feel the rough dirt beneath me burrowing into my skin, slicing it open, scratching the surface. I don’t care. He’s not doing this to me. He’s not.

“Stop fuckin’ fighting me, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Don’t do this to me, I won’t let you do this to me,” I cry, thrashing my head from side to side, swinging my arms.

He manages to straddle me, and I thrust around with my hips trying to get him off, but there’s no use, he’s heavy and he’s strong.

He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head, forcing me to come to a stop, forcing me to abandon my fighting. “Let me go!” I scream, holding his eyes, mine no doubt frantic. “Please, Cohen, I didn’t do this. I swear I didn’t do this. Please don’t cuff me.”

He looks down at me, his face hard. “I have to, Aviana. You know I have to.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

My voice is pathetic and wounded.

“Because I have to protect my club.”

“What about me?”

He brings my hands over my chest and snaps the cuffs on them, officially trapping me. “I am doing this for you, too.”

“I hate you,” I hiss as he climbs off me and pulls me to my feet. “You will pay for this. Every single one of you will pay for this.”

He doesn’t say a word as he walks me back to the truck and pushes me into the back.

My heart, my wounded, damaged heart ...

It just broke for the final time.

11

THEN – COHEN

Who the fuck is her family?

I have dug and fucking dug, and the shit I’ve found out about Aviana’s family is utterly fucking terrifying. Not only are they running some serious illegal shit, they’re doing it in her name. Every single fucking thing is in her name, every house, every account, every fucking thing belongs to her and she doesn’t even know it. Those smart mother fuckers, keeping themselves clean, keeping her unsuspecting.

She has more than she could possibly imagine.

Her father is smart.

He’s also incredibly dangerous.

I’m determined to find out more, to find out why everything is in her name, to find out what kind of show they’re running and how they plan on involving her in it. If someone found out everything technically belonged to her, they could take her and everything would be theirs. It would be terrifyingly simple. Is that how her father wants it? If anything comes back on them, it’s automatically directed to her and he can start clean.

I don’t fucking know, but I’m going to find out.

I walk up my driveway, head in the clouds, and I consider all the possibilities of what they might be doing when I look up and see Aviana sitting on my front step. She’s got her head down, staring at nothing on the ground. She looks ... hurt. I pick up the pace and walk up to her, asking, “Hey, what’s happened?”

She looks up at me, and she has a sore and swollen eye. She’s got tears running down her fucking beautiful face and she looks like she’s had a hell of a day.

“Who did that to you?” I growl.

“My brother’s pathetic girlfriend,” she mutters. “We got into a fight, and they kicked me out. My own family kicked me out and let her stay in my house.”

I sit down beside her, and she turns to me. “Can you believe that?”

I shake my head. Mother fuckers, they don’t deserve someone like her. Not even fucking close. “I can’t begin to understand it, but you can stay here for the night. Let’s get that eye cleaned up.”

I stand and take her hand, pulling her to her feet. “Lucky Briella is still moping about her broken wrist—if she saw me like this she’d flip. I’ll have to tell her I’m sick so I have an excuse not to see her for a week. She already hates my family.”

“Sounds like she has good reason to.”

“She does.” Avi smiles.

I walk into the massive house that belongs to my parents, and their German shepherd puppy that Briella so fondly named Germy when she was younger, comes bounding out. Avi kneels down and wraps her arms around his fluffy coat, nestling in, and I watch as a huge smile spreads across her face. “Seriously,” she exhales. “This dog is the absolute best.”

“Yeah, he’s alright.” I can’t keep the grin off my face.

I find an ice pack for Avi’s eye while she’s busy playing with Germy, and then I take it back to her and hand it over. She presses it to her eye and glances around the house. “This place is massive; I don’t think I paid enough attention the other times I was here.”

“Yeah, it’s a good place. Want a drink?”

She nods. “Yeah, that would be great.”

I go to the fridge out on the back patio and she follows me out there. I grab two beers out, handing her one. We take a seat and stare out. It’s fucking nice out here, the sun slowly setting in the distance, a nice wind blowing across our faces. Avi takes a sip of her beer and glances over at me. “Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

She giggles. “I suppose you’re right.”

I wink at her, and we sit in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the afternoon. Only after we’ve done that do I dare to ask the questions burning on my mind. I want to know what she knows about her family, if anything at all. If she has no idea what they’ve done in setting her up, then she doesn’t know she could be forever in danger if people come looking for what she has.

“How come you’re not close to your family?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Ever since Mom died, I just became the invisible one. My brothers both help Dad run whatever shit he’s running, and I’m just a pain in the ass. They’re just the cold, selfish types of humans you never wish to end up with as family.”

“What business do they run that they have to keep so far away from you?”

She glances at me. “You know, the illegal shit. You’d probably know about it more than me. I do know they move a lot of drugs, that’s purely from overhearing conversations. The other night a few men came to the door and my dad made me run out the back door and go for a night. He said he didn’t want me to be around if things got dangerous. I think they were there threatening him or something like that. It’s not the first time.”

“Did he get rid of them?” I ask her, narrowing my eyes.

“Yeah, well, I mean obviously. They weren’t there when I got back. He said they had the wrong house, but I know he’s lying. There have been others come to the house and they suddenly ‘disappear’ I guess that’s what happens when you’re running the kind of life they are.”

Sounds like whoever he is sending away is looking for her.

Specifically, what she owns without knowing it.

“You ever see anyone and they approach you, or make you uncomfortable, you come to me, yeah? The club will always have your back.

She smiles at that. “I’m glad.”

“You’re family, we take care of family.”

The look she gives me when I say that makes my fucking entire body want to go to her, to take her into my arms, carry her upstairs, and fuck her slowly all god damned night long.

“Would you hate it if I hugged you right now? I feel like I want to hug you for saying that.”

Fuck.

“You wanna hug me, you hug me,” I say, my voice far huskier than I’d like.

She stands with a smile and walks over, leaning down and wrapping her arms around my neck. It takes everything, fucking everything, not to just pull her onto my lap and kiss her until she’s moaning my name. I don’t do that, though. I wrap my arms around her, inhale the fresh scent of her hair, and hug her as hard as she’ll allow.

She exhales, almost in the relieved, relaxed kind of way.

Then she pulls back, but only enough that we’re now face to face, eyes locked. Fuck me, if she doesn’t move now, I’m goin’ to kiss her. I won’t be able to stop myself.

Her eyes soften in a way that tugs at my heart, and when she bites her lip, as if contemplating if she might just lean forward and finish it, a sound has her jerking back. She glances up and then quickly stands. I turn and see Samantha standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face. “What the hell is going on here?”

Fuck me.

Here we go with the drama.

“Was huggin’ a friend,” I mutter, standing.

“Looks like you were doing a whole lot more than hugging her. Who is she? Who are you?”

She’s scowling at Aviana now.

“I’m Aviana, we’re friends.”

“I doubt that,” Samantha snaps. “Why were you touching my boyfriend?”

“Fuck me,” I growl. “I’m not your fuckin’ man, Samantha.”

She looks to me now, horrified. “Excuse me?”

“We fuck, we go out sometimes, but I’ve never told you that we’re together.”

“You were making love to me just last night.”

Avi noticeably flinches and I could swear her face scrunches with ... Is that jealousy?

Does she want me as much as I want her?

“I was fuckin’ you, there is a big fuckin’ difference.”

“You were looking into my eyes ...”

“Where the fuck else am I supposed to look? The wall?”

“You’re a pig!” she cries. “I thought this was something.”

Fuck me.

“It ain’t.”

“I should leave,” Aviana says, sidestepping so she can get past Samantha without the risk of receiving another black eye.

“You’re not leavin’, you have nowhere to go,” I say to her, but she ignores me and hurries past Samantha.

“Aviana!” I bark.

“I’m okay,” she yells out, and then she’s gone.

Fuck me.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

I don’t want her out on the streets alone.

She’s not safe.

“I gotta go,” I say, rushing past Samantha.

“Cohen!” she yells.

“It’s over, Samantha!”

With that, I’m gone, too.

Poor Samantha, she probably deserved a better ending than that.

Right now, though, I’ve got more important shit to deal with.

Keeping Aviana safe.

~*~*~*~

NOW – COHEN

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Briella seethes, getting right up into my face, her eyes flashing with wild anger.

“I don’t need your shit, Briella. Back the fuck down.”

“She has been through so much. My god, do you have any idea what that girl has endured, now you’ve got her handcuffed like a god damned prisoner. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. You need to let her go.”

“I don’t need to do fuck all, what I need is for you to back off and worry about your own shit. Do you fuckin’ understand me?” I bark.

Briella flinches, but she doesn’t back down. “She trusted you.”

“She doesn’t trust fuckin’ anyone. She made it clear she wants revenge on this club, and you’re willin’ to just let her run around and get that.”

“Why are you doing this? Is it some way of stopping yourself feeling too much for her? What, Cohen? What is it?”

“Get the fuck out of my space,” I snarl.

“No,” Briella challenges, crossing her arms. “I’m not scared of you. Not even close.”

“I’m warnin’ you, Briella. You’re walkin’ a fine line.”

“She has been through so much, Cohen. She deserves a friend right now.”

“What would you know about fuckin’ friendship? You didn’t give her the time of day when she came back, either.”

“That was until I saw her break. I know what happened to her. What he did to her. She has every right to be hurt and angry, but she didn’t tell those men where we were.”

“How do you fuckin’ know that?”

“Because I saw her face, because I know her. She wasn’t lying. It had nothing to do with her. If you knew her as well as you should, you would have seen that, too.”

I did fucking see that.

I saw it when she was pleading at me.

But I had no choice.

This club has lost too much for us to take any risks, even if it means going against what feels right or wrong.

I had to do it.

There was simply no other fucking option.

“You need to back off,” I growl again. “I have work to do, go and find Alarick and tell him your problems.”

Briella shakes her head in horror. “I don’t know who you are anymore.”

She turns and walks off, and the moment I’m alone, I slam my fist into the motel wall so hard it shatters and a gaping hole appears. I roar with rage. I’m trying to do what’s right, I’m trying to fucking protect this club. I never wanted to fucking hurt her, not once. She was right, when we turned around and went out the way we came in on the dirt road, they were gone.

If she was setting it up, they would have been there waiting.

She made sure we got out safe.

I don’t know what I fucking believe anymore.

I want to believe in her, but I’ve seen the hatred in her eyes, the broken soul of a girl I once knew.

I let her down and, deep down, she wants me to suffer for that.

I can’t trust she hasn’t got a plan.

I just fucking can’t trust that.

“Everything good, brother?”

I turn and see Mykel standing by the door. He looks concerned, like he’s worried for my fucking mental health or something like that. He shouldn’t be, I’ve handled far fucking worse than this, and I’ll do it again.

“I’m good, brother. Briella was just rippin’ me a new one, nothin’ to worry about.”

Mykel walks in and leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms. “She’s worried about her friend, can’t blame her for that.”

“Never said I was blamin’ her, but she’s gotta know we’re doin’ what’s right here. Nobody particularly likes it, but we have to be careful. We don’t know what Aviana has planned.”

“We’ve checked through her phone, nothin’ at all in there. Ever think maybe she’s tellin’ the truth?”

“About not givin’ them the location? Yeah. About everything else? No. Trust me when I say that girl has a problem, rightfully so, but it’s eaten away at big parts of her and she wants to make us suffer for it. I’m not takin’ the risk that she won’t inform someone where we are.”

“Well,” Mykel says, pushing off the wall, “either way, Alarick has uncuffed her so she can sleep. She’s not goin’ anywhere, we’re keepin’ a watch on her. She’s all scratched up, but she won’t let anyone help her.”

I stand, walking toward the closet and jerking it open, pulling out the first-aid kit I always take with me when I’m not at home. I turn and say, “I’ll sort it out.”

“Be careful, brother. You ain’t her biggest fan.”

“I’m not bothered. Her bark is worse than her bite.”

“I hope so, for your sake.”

It’ll be fine.

It fucking has to be.

We’re running out of time.

12

NOW – AVIANA

Cohen opens the door and walks into the room where I’m sitting at the end of the bed with Kendric watching me like I’m some sort of fucking terrorist. They’ve even got him sleeping in the same room as me. What the fuck do they think I’m going to do? Murder them all in their sleep? For god’s sake. One thing is for certain, though, I’m getting out of here tonight. I’m going to escape this and never look back.

They don’t deserve my god damned help.

Without me, they’ll never find what they’re looking for.

Without me, they’re fucked.

Gone is the need for vengeance.

No, my vengeance will be knowing that they can’t get what they need when I’m gone.

My favor to them is that without me, they’ll fall.

They can all go to hell.

“I’ve got this covered for a few hours, go and eat, do what you gotta do. Call Zariah, see how she’s holdin’ up,” Cohen tells Kendric, who nods and stands, walking out of the room.

Cohen looks to me, and I stare at him. I refuse, outright refuse, to speak to him. I will not give him another ounce of myself. Not a fucking ounce. I sit on the end of the bed, eyes on him, rage pouring out of them. I don’t need words—he can see exactly how I feel about him in the depths of my angry glare.

“You need to clean those scratches or you’re goin’ to get an infection. You either sit there and let me do it, or I cuff you again and do it anyway. The choice is yours.”

I stand, never breaking eye contact. I strip every item of my clothing off until I’m standing before him, fully naked. He looks stunned for a minute, but quickly returns his face back to that empty, stony expression. If he wants to make my life hell, I’ll return the favor. Let’s see how he likes having to sit with my naked body for a few hours.

I stay standing as he walks forward with his first-aid kit and places it down on the bed, pulling out some white cloth, some sort of spray, and some bandages. He sprays the cloth and then steps over to me, murmuring, “This’ll sting.”

He pats the aching wounds on my back from where I fell onto the dirt as he captured me. They aren’t deep, but there are a lot of them and they’re sore. I grit my teeth and stare straight ahead, trying to fight back the urge to cry out in pain when he continues to clean them up.

“Didn’t mean to hurt you so bad,” he says, moving around my body, finding all the locations where I’m hurt.

He stops when he reaches my hips and his fingers run over the skin there. I shudder and jerk away, knowing what he can see. Scars, plenty of them. All the years of abuse left behind their marks. The whipping, the hitting, the kicking, there was no way they were going to let me walk away without forever being reminded of the damage they did to my body.

I have a deep scar on my hip from a gash that was given to me by a very sharp knife when I was fighting to get away. It wasn’t intentionally meant to hit me there, but it did. The wound then got infected and I got very sick. Eventually, it healed. Not before leaving a hideous scar in its place.

“What happened here?”

I clench my teeth together.

“What did he do to you, Aviana?”

No worse than you, Cohen.

Okay, that’s a lie. He was far worse.

“You’re goin’ to ignore me like I’m not here? I get that. You’re angry. Get that, too. But if this was your family, your club, wouldn’t you be doing the same thing if you were in our shoes?”

They were my family.

That’s what he told me once. That they’d always have my back.

He lied.

They all did.

I say nothing, even though he makes a point.

“You can hate me if it makes you feel better, but you’re refusin’ to fuckin’ face what’s really goin’ on here. You’re livin’ in the shoes of a victim, swimmin’ in blame, and you’re lookin’ for someone to take that out on. That person is me, because I’m the one who sent you away. Get that, but it ain’t on my club what happened to you, Aviana.”

He’s right, but he’s also wrong.

It is on them, too.

King had a lot to do with the goings down of that day, even though they maintain he didn’t.

He often asked questions about my family.

Wanting to know the ins and outs of what they were doing.

They could have looked for me, could have helped me.

They chose not to.

I simply wasn’t important enough.

“One day, you’ll have to move on from this. Remember that before you do anythin’ stupid. If you do somethin’ you can’t come back from, you’ll have to live with that for the rest of your days. Can you do that? Can you live with that kind of weight on your shoulders?”

I stare blankly at the wall.

He’ll not get anything out of me.

Not now.

None of them will.

I’ve spoken the last of my words.

I’ve pleaded for the final time.

I’ve given them everything, and yet not quite enough.

I’m done. Finally done.

Tonight, tonight I’ll leave.

Only this time, I’ll not return.

But they’ll remember me this time.

I’ll make sure of that.

~*~*~*~

I MOVE SLOWLY. OH, so slowly.

I push to my hands out of the bed and glance over to where Cohen is sleeping in the chair beside the door. He has made sure I can’t go out that front door without waking him. It’s squeaky and loud, and there would be absolutely no way I can get through it. That’s fine by me, he didn’t consider the other option—the window.

There is a small window in the bathroom, it’s above the sink, but it has no screen. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but I’ll get through it. I will escape this madness. Where I’ll go after that, I don’t know. I have no money, no job and, currently, no phone. Still, I’ll find a way. I always do.

My feet land on the old school red carpet, and I glance over at Cohen again. He’s still sleeping, head tipped to the side, and when he looks like that, I can’t help but feel a certain type of way. My heart longs for the friend I lost, my body craves his touch. Those things aren’t real, though. They’re something my mind has put together to try and make me believe that he’s good for me.

He isn’t.

He is toxic to me.

Like a drug.

I might get hooked and, eventually, it’ll kill me.

Step by step, I move toward the bathroom, not daring to look back, terrified he’ll be awake, and my entire plan will come crashing down. When I get inside and close the door softly, I hold my breath for a moment. No sounds can be heard, he’s still asleep. I find the clothes I stashed in the drawers earlier and pull them out, quickly getting changed. Then, I run the brush through my hair, tie it up, and carefully climb up onto the sink.

It makes a squeaking sound, and once again, I find myself holding my breath in hopes that it isn’t loud enough to wake him. When he doesn’t come bursting in, I push the window up. It takes a good amount of force to get it to slide up, and dust covers my face when I finally dislodge it. Coughing into my elbow, I push it up as far as I can and then lift my body up into the small gap. I try to ignore the dirt covering me as I shuffle through, and when I manage to get my body halfway, I peer down. We’re on the first floor. Thank god, it isn’t a big fall.

I maneuver my body to the side slightly, so my fall is less sudden, and then I clench my eyes shut and push the rest of the way through. I land with a thump onto my side and wheeze as the wind is knocked out of me. I lie there for a moment, catching my breath, and then I slowly push to my feet. I stare back at the window, and after a minute or two, I know I’m safe.

He’s still asleep.

I turn and face the street, and then take a deep breath and start walking.

That’s all I can do.

Just walk until I find my way.

I don’t know where I’ll end up, but being someone’s prisoner isn’t something I’m going to be again.

Not in this lifetime.

I walk down the quiet streets, and only a few cars pass me. I don’t know what time it is, perhaps early morning, just before sunrise. I pull my hoodie up over my head and keep moving.

I don’t hear the car slow down, not until it’s right next to me. My head whips around and my eyes widen when I see two men inside a dark black sedan. The same sedan that was following us. The same sedan we escaped from. I thought we had lost them; it appears we hadn’t. They’ve been watching, and now they’re pointing two guns at me, their blank faces hard and terrifying. Yet, scarily familiar. I’ve seen these men before, I know it.

“Get in the car.”

The man who speaks is older, maybe in his forties. He’s got greying hair and a thick beard. He’s large, with wide shoulders and a terrifying scar that runs down the left side of his face. His eye is miscolored and clearly damaged on that side, too. When he speaks, his teeth are browning in areas. He’s horrible. Possibly one of the scariest men I’ve ever seen, but one thing is for certain, I have seen him before.

I have a choice right now.

I turn and run, praying they don’t hit me when they shoot.

Or I get into the car and allow myself to be captured.

The worst possible thing I could imagine in this moment, is being taken again.

I’d rather be shot and take the risk that it won’t kill me.

I remember in school, when the teachers told us if we ever had a gun pointed at us and we were told to get in a car, that we should take the risk and run, making sure to zig zag and bob up and down as we did. The chances of the gun hitting something vital were a lot less than ending up murdered or worse because we got into the car.

Seems like valid advice.

I stare at the man, and he gives me a feral snarl and growls, “Three seconds, Aviana, or I blow your brains all over this fuckin’ sidewalk.”

Wait, how does he know my name?

These men are after ... me?

A gunshot rings out.

I instinctively clench my eyes shut, waiting for the pain to radiate through my body. Only that pain doesn’t come. Instead, another shot rings out and then the car speeds off, disappearing into the night as if it were never there. I spin around, confused, and I see Cohen standing beside a large tree, gun pointed in the direction the car was just sitting. My eyes widen, and I’m completely stunned, unable to say or do anything.

He just saved my life.

“I ...” I begin, but nothing more comes out.

“Get back into that motel room, right fuckin’ now. You’re not safe out here.”

I do as he asks, and I move back toward the location of the motel, terrified that those men are going to show back up and finish the job. I pick up into a jog, and Cohen follows closely behind me, jogging also. We round the corner to the motel room and run inside the room I just managed to escape from. Only when we’re inside, and Cohen has locked the door, do I breathe a sigh of relief.

“What the fuck were you thinkin’?” Cohen barks, spinning to face me. “You could have gotten yourself killed, or worse.”

I stare at him. “Those men knew who I was. How the fuck did they know me? Why have I seen them before? What is going on? I’m done with the secrets and lies. Tell me who those men were, Cohen.”

“I don’t fuckin’ know who they are.”

“You’re lying!” I yell, throwing my hands up. “You’re fucking lying.”

“What were you thinkin’ runnin’ out there and riskin’ your life?”

He’s changing the subject. I’ll let him, for now. But he is going to tell me who those two men were and what the hell they wanted with me.

“I wasn’t going to be your prisoner, Cohen. If you don’t trust me, then I wasn’t going to hang around so you could all treat me like the enemy.”

“So you fuckin’ ran off in the middle of the night? Where the fuck were you goin’ to go, Aviana? You’ve got no money, no phone, and no family.”

“I would have figured it out,” I say, crossing my arms.

“You’re fuckin’ lucky I woke up and saw you were gone. If I had slept even five minutes longer, you’d be fuckin’ dead right now. Is that what you want? To be fuckin’ killed because you refuse to use your brain?”

Anger bubbles in my chest. “I didn’t know they were following me, but you can clearly see now that I had nothing to do with why they’re here. They wanted me to get into that car, and I’m sick and tired of wondering why that is. Tell me, Cohen. I want to know the truth. If you want me to stay here with you, and trust that you’re going to protect me, then you need to be honest. I’ve seen those men before. I want to know what’s going on.”

“You want me to be honest? What about you? You complain that we don’t fuckin’ trust you, but you’ve given us nothin’ to trust. You came back and all you’ve wanted was to get your revenge on me. I’m not so stupid that I didn’t figure that out the second you came back in. Trust goes both ways.”

Dammit, he has a point.

I stare at him.

Do I let it all go and just tell him the truth? Tell him what I planned on doing? Tell him anything else I know?

Do I decide in this moment, that I’m going to move forward?

Or will I stay exactly where I am, living this bitter lifestyle?

“I’ll be honest with you, if you can promise me that you’ll have my back. You gave me away out there, just threw me under the bus like I didn’t matter. You’ve not trusted a single word that has come out of my mouth, how can I be sure you’re going to now?”

His jaw ticks. “I was protectin’ the club, you know I had a right to do that. As for the rest of it, I’ll have your back if you fuckin’ let me.”

Let him.

Can I do that?

Can I let him in?

Can I trust him?

“Tell me why those men wanted me. Tell me what it is you’ve been hiding from me for so god damned long. I want to understand, Cohen. I need to know why you did what you did.”

He turns and walks over to his bag, unzipping it and pulling out a large file. He walks over and hands it to me, then he sits back in his chair and watches. “You want to know, that’s everything you need to know.”

I sit down, feeling a lump rising in my throat. My stomach twists and fills with butterflies as I glance down at the large file. Then, I open it and begin reading. What I see makes my head spin and my heart race. Over and over I read it, confused and a little shocked. When I’m done, I look up at him and whisper, “Is this real?”

“It’s fuckin’ real alright. There are people that want what you’ve got, Aviana. People that your father had beef with, and they’re willin’ to do whatever it takes to get hold of you so they can get what you’re sittin’ on.”

Sitting on.

That’s one way of putting it.

What I’m sitting on is a hell of a lot.

Houses, bank accounts, real estate, and even my father’s business which has now been taken over by another man, someone I don’t know, but as far as I know he stepped up when my family was killed and I went missing.

All of it is in my name.

The entirety of what he owned ... belongs to me.

“I don’t understand why he’d do this,” I say, shaking my head.

“He’s smart. You were barely known by most; some people didn’t even know he had a daughter. He left everything of his to you because you were the safest option. You were a secret option. If someone took him, if someone took your brothers, they’d fail because everything was smartly put into your name.”

It makes sense, but it also doesn’t. My mind spins with confusion. If my father put everything in my name, he would have done more to protect me. He didn’t do that. He treated me as if I didn’t matter. Is that why he did that? So the world wouldn’t know I mattered. Who would suspect his daughter owned everything when he acted like he couldn’t stand her?

I search my mind for memories, for things that would indicate the time he chose to put everything in my name. I can’t remember anything, not about that side of things, he simply never included me. He always kept me at arm’s length.

“Those two men, I’ve seen them before,” I say to Cohen, rubbing my arms as if that’ll make anything feel better.

“I have, too. Didn’t know who they were when they were shootin’ at us yesterday but now I’ve seen them up close, I know exactly who they are. Those two men were the exact people I was keepin’ you away from. They will take you, they will take everything you own, then they’ll kill you. You’re not safe while those two are livin’, Aviana.”

I swallow and try to remember a time when I interacted with those two men. I don’t remember exactly, but I know their faces. I know that I’ve seen them before. I know my father had something to do with them. If I recall, they have been to our house before, but I just can’t remember anything else. Maybe because back then, I didn’t know I had anything to be scared of.

“Why did you kill my whole family, Cohen?” I ask him, staring at his face, wanting to know the answers for a final time.

“Because that day, the day I came into your house, your father had organized someone to come and collect you. He was going to sell you, to make sure there was never a way you’d be able to access what he’d left to you. Not only that, but if you weren’t around, there was never any leverage. He had it all figured out, he was going to make you disappear and with everything in your name, he had all the power he needed.”

I shake my head, not believing what’s coming out of his mouth.

My father would never have sold me.

He might not have wanted me around, but selling me ...

Not to mention, if everything was in my name, then why would he get rid of me? If I was the only one who could access it, why would he make me disappear?

“If I was the only person who had control of all this, why would he want me gone? Then he wouldn’t be able to access any of it.”

“Aviana,” Cohen growls, his voice low. “He was going to declare you dead after five years and had it set up so it would all transfer back to him. He only needed you to have it for a small period of time. I don’t know why, but it was part of his plan. Sell you, after five years of nobody being able to find you, then you’re able to be legally declared dead. Once that happened, he would get it all back, and continue with whatever plan he had in place.”

No.

This can’t be real.

It can’t.

“How do you know all of this?” I whisper, shaking my head. “How, Cohen?”

“I got wind of it, and so I started diggin’. That one time I was at your place with you, when you were havin’ all those boy troubles, I bugged the place. I found out enough and from there I was able to figure out his plan. I got hold of your brother and threatened the rest out of him. Once I knew for sure what they were plannin’, I knew I had to stop them. The only fuckin’ way to do that, was to take them out.”

“So you used me, and then killed them?”

“No,” he barks. “No, I did not fuckin’ use you. I didn’t know what was happenin’ until long after we were friends. I was protectin’ you, if they had stayed alive, any one of them, you’d be dead right now, or worse ...”

“You mean I’d be someone’s slave, just like you sent me to be?”

“I never fuckin’ intended for you to get hurt, I thought they’d give you a new identification and you could live your life in another place. I never, fuckin’ ever, wanted you in the hands of a monster. That was not my plan.”

My anger swirls around in my chest, yet funnily enough, I believe him. Even though I’m fighting against myself, I don’t think Cohen ever intentionally hurt me. He wouldn’t have wanted me to have a bad life, he thought he was doing the right thing. Yet still, it burns. It hurts so god damned badly when I think about what he did.

“Why did you kill all of them?” I ask, my voice tight.

“Because they were all in on it. They had a fuckin’ buyer and everything, you were goin’ to get sent away and nobody would have ever seen you again. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“I just don’t understand, Cohen. If it was as simple as taking my family out, why did you send me away?”

“It wasn’t until the day I went to take out your family, that I learned other people knew about your father’s plan. Those two men knew and they were going to take you before he could sell you, then they were going to force you into marriage so they could have you sign it all over to them. It’s fuckin’ genius, really. After it belonged to them, you’d be dead and that would be the end of it.”

I shake my head, struggling to process any of this.

It’s almost unbelievable, like it has been made up for a story.

Like it couldn’t possibly be real.

“I had to get you out of there, because no matter what way I looked at it, you were going to end up in trouble. If I just killed your father and brothers, those men would have found you. It all happened so fuckin’ fast, and I never planned on you endin’ up where you did. I was goin’ to hunt down those men, and then bring you back, but I couldn’t get hold of them ...”

“So, you forgot about me,” I whisper, pain clogging my throat.

“No, I never fuckin’ forgot about you. Not for a single fuckin’ second, but I didn’t know where you were. I had to trust you ended up somewhere safe, and I accepted I’d never see you again.”

“You could have checked!” I cry.

“I tried,” he barks. “I couldn’t find you, which is exactly how it was meant to be. I had to believe the best.”

“You believed whatever made you feel better!”

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t argue.

He doesn’t argue because he knows I’m right.

He did do what made him feel better. Believing I was in a good place made him think that he had done the right thing, but deep down, I’m sure he knows he didn’t.

“Are those two men the only two that know?” I ask, my heart racing.

“As far as I know, yeah.”

“Then we need to have them taken out.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, his voice tight.

“What about the rest of it?”

“All the things you own?”

I nod, unable to fathom the amount that has been left to me.

“It’s up to you. You can do whatever you see fit with all of that, one thing is for sure, you’re a fuckin’ rich human.”

Yeah.

Rich in money ...

But what about the rest of it?

Life, love, happiness?

What about that?

Will I ever be rich in that?

13

THEN – COHEN

“What’s goin’ on?” I ask, standing at Aviana’s front door.

She has puffy eyes and she looks upset about something. I’ve never been to her house but have been trying to find a way to get over here since I started digging around in her family history. I need to know more about what her father is up to, and the only way for me to do that is to bug this place. I need to get in to bug it, and now is my chance.

I hate that I’m being dishonest with her, but she’s safer if she simply doesn’t know what I’m starting to learn.

Once I know the truth, the full truth, I might be able to tell her but, for now, it’s safer this way.

“I went on a date with this guy,” she hiccups. “He was really aggressive.”

My back goes up, and I find myself on high alert immediately. “What do you mean aggressive? Who is he? Where is he? Did he fuckin’ hurt you?”

She swipes under her eyes. “Well, we went on this date and after dinner he was driving me to the movies and when we stopped he started getting really grabby. I couldn’t get him to stop, I was really scared.”

“Did he do anything to you?”

She shakes her head. “I managed to punch him in the balls and get out. I ran off.”

I grit my teeth. “Who the fuck is this dick? I will take him the fuck out.”

She looks up at me, and a small smile spreads across her face. “I don’t know his full name, and I’m sure you would.”

“Find his fuckin’ name, give me his number, I don’t give a fuck. I’m payin’ that dog a visit.”

Her cheeks grow pink. “You’d do that for me?”

“Do fuckin’ anything for you.”

She stares at me like I’m giving her the fucking world, but all I’m doing is promising her nobody else will take that world from her.

“Give me his information, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt another woman.”

She bites her lip, glances past me, and then says, “My dad and brothers are out of town tonight, did you want to stay for a movie and pizza?”

I shouldn’t, mostly because I don’t trust myself around her, but also because I’m not being honest, but the fact is I need to plant these bugs and the only way to do that is to have access to her house. So, I nod. “Yeah, got nothin’ on.”

She smiles and steps aside. “Well, come in then.”

She shows me around her house, her very fucking big house, and then we settle in on a very big, very comfortable couch and start watching a movie while we wait for the pizza to arrive. She must get lonely in this fucking big house by herself, it feels like it’s never ending. Just a gigantic mansion.

“Your dad ain’t goin’ to flip if he sees me on the security footage, is he?”

She laughs and looks to me. “I turn that off when he’s not here. I don’t like him seeing everything I do.”

Smart girl, also dangerous considering that means she can’t tell if anyone is coming in. “That safe?” I ask her.

She rolls her eyes. “The house locks, you know. I don’t need cameras on me all the time.”

I chuckle, and then fiddle with the tiny camera in my pocket. Cost me a fucking lot of money to get this, but the only way I’ll know what her dad is up to is to put this in his office, which is convenient right now because Aviana turned the fucking cameras off. I can get in and out without being seen. I’m sure her dad doesn’t keep anything just lying around when he’s not here, but I’d like the chance to look anyway.

Pizza arrives and we eat, laughing at the mindless comedy on the television. Mid-way through, Aviana dozes off, her head falling down to land on my shoulder. This is my chance to get up and plant this camera, but feeling her against me, listening to her soft breath, it’s fucking nice. I sit there for a moment more, wondering how it would feel to have her doing this every damned day of my life.

Not bad, I’d imagine.

I carefully lay her down as I stand, and then I glance at her one more time before disappearing down the hall to her dad’s office. She happened to show me where the key was stashed when she showed me around, so I go and get it before entering. The office is dark, and I try to keep it that way, only using the flashlight on my phone to look around. I find a spot on his bookshelf where I can wedge the camera so that it won’t get seen.

I do that, turn it on, and then check on my phone that it’s working. It shows a live stream, and the sound is good, so I turn and have a look around. As suspected, her father isn’t leaving anything out. There is a massive safe that I have no doubt holds a lot of information, but you’d need a fucking bomb to get that open.

I leave the office and join Aviana on the sofa again. I check the camera and sure enough it’s working. My heart races, and I feel like a fucking criminal, but I have to do it. I have a bad gut feeling about what her father is up to, and I’m determined to get my answers, even if it means I’m lying to the only person I really like having around right now.

“Gosh,” Aviana groans, sitting up. “Did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah,” I say. “I should get going anyway, let you get to bed.”

“Oh,” she whispers, her eyes dropping to my mouth.

Fuck me.

She wants me to kiss her. It’s written all over her pretty face.

Fuck.

I can’t do that.

If I do, there is no going back.

I want this girl in my life, but not until I know what is going on. Not until I can be sure she’s safe. Only then will I take the next step, and fuck me, it’ll be a big one. I want nothing more than to lay her down on this sofa and let my body fall over hers, fucking her slowly, listening to her whimpers beneath me.

My dick twitches.

That’s my cue to get the fuck out of here.

Before I know what’s happening, Aviana leans forward and her lips are on mine. For a stunned second, I sit there, completely taken aback. I didn’t even fucking see her move and now her sweet fucking mouth is on mine.

Her lips move, softly, and her tongue creeps out, pressing itself against my lips. I can’t fucking stop the urges, and I find myself kissing her deeply, passionately, tongues fucking dancing, hand in her hair, the other on her waist. I pull her closer with a growl and kiss her like I’ll never fucking see her again.

She moans against my mouth.

Then she moves until she’s straddling me, rubbing her pussy against my cock.

Fuck.

I can’t be doing this.

I fucking can’t.

Not yet.

I pull my mouth from hers, place two hands on her hips, and stand, placing her on her feet. She stares at me in confusion and shock, and then her cheeks grow red and she looks away.

“Hey,” I say, grabbing her jaw. “This ain’t about you, I promise. I got somethin’ I have to do before we can take this further, but we will fuckin’ take this further. Do you understand me? I want you, more than you could fuckin’ understand.”

She looks back at me, and without question, she nods. “Okay.”

I run my thumb down her cheek, and then I let her face go before turning and walking out.

I need to finish this.

Now.

So I can have her exactly how I want her.

Fucking right next to me.

~*~*~*~

COHEN – NOW

“So, you’re tellin’ me that those two men are after Aviana?” Alarick asks, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yep.” I nod. “I thought there might have been more, I knew about the two of them but figured they were workin’ for someone or maybe more people knew but I’m startin’ to think they’re the only two that know about what Aviana is sittin’ on and they’ve worked out she’s still alive and are goin’ to try again.”

“Can you be sure there is no one else?”

“At this point, no, but I’m fairly certain there isn’t. I’m goin’ to do some more diggin’, see if I can find out more. I want to get my hands on those two fuckers, it’s the only way we’ll get our answers.”

“You know they gotta go, yeah?” Alarick growls.

“I know. I’ll take care of it.”

“Work out a way to get hold of them; we got so much shit we’re tryin’ to deal with, we don’t need this too. You owe it to her to finish this for her, so make her safe and put this shit to bed.”

I nod. “On it, boss.”

“She know about all of this now?”

“Yeah, she knows.”

“How’d she take it?”

“Not the greatest, she’s pretty fuckin’ confused, but she’ll come around. I told her we’d have her back, that we’d trust her if she let us in. I’m hopin’ she’s done that now and will stop tryin’ to run. I want to keep her safe, regardless of the past.”

“You tell her that?” Alarick questions.

I glare at him. “Of course I fuckin’ told her that.”

“No, Cohen, I mean have you looked her in the fuckin’ eye and told her you want to keep her safe, and then tell her why ...”

“What do you mean why?”

“You know exactly what I mean. You never told her how you felt back then, and you haven’t fuckin’ told her now. Don’t make the same mistakes over and over again. Tell her all of the truth, not just your part of it.”

I grit my teeth and turn, walking out of his room.

I’m done with this fucking conversation.

I get back to the motel room where I left Aviana with Briella and Merleigh. The three of them are sitting on the bed when I walk in, watching something on the television and talking amongst themselves. All their eyes move to me when I enter the room, and I glance at Bohdi in the corner, sitting on the same chair I had pushed over to the door to stop Aviana escaping. He’s off in a silent world, not saying anything, just staring at the wall.

That man scares me sometimes, the depths of his soul are terrifying.

He goes off into this world where you can’t get him back until he’s ready.

I wonder where the fuck he goes?

He jerks when I slam the door and his eyes move to mine. He stands quickly and walks over. “All good?”

“Yeah, brother, thanks for filling in.”

“You can stay, if you want,” Merleigh says to him when he walks to the door.

“I don’t want,” he murmurs. “But if you want to take a walk with me, I wouldn’t say no.”

She smiles and stands, pulling on her shoes and then disappearing out the door with him. The two of them have formed a friendship, maybe more, it’s hard to tell because neither of them say a great deal. I wonder if he’s told her about his past and why he’s so fucking vacant all the time.

Maybe she’ll do him some good.

“Avi told me everything,” Briella says, turning the television down. “Those men aren’t going to get her, are they, Cohen?”

I shake my head. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”

“They seem pretty determined,” she goes on.

“Yeah, well, I’m more fuckin’ determined.”

Aviana looks to me and her eyes soften, just a touch. I hope with time, they’ll get as soft as they were when we were friends. Back when she was a fun-loving, high-spirited girl I couldn’t get enough of.

I want her back, so fucking bad.

“Do you know their names?” I ask her, hoping maybe she’s had time to jog her memory a little.

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t recall. I do remember my father talking to my brothers about a man he was having issues with. I don’t know if it’s one of those men or not, but his name was Xander. I heard that name come up a few times, so maybe it’s worth looking into.”

I heard that name, too.

Heard it on the tapes when they were talking. Heard it mentioned more than once after that. Guarantee whoever Xander is, he knows about Aviana and he’s trying to get his hands on her. Only one way to finish this problem, and that’s to get rid of him once and for all, so she can move on with her life.

“I want to take a walk,” Avi says, standing. “Can someone come with me? I need fresh air.”

“I’ll come,” I say, meeting her eyes. “Can’t go out there alone.”

She nods and gives Briella a weak smile before we both leave the room.

We walk in silence for a few minutes, and even though I’m standing way too close to her, she doesn’t say anything. I’m not risking anything happening to her. While I don’t think they’d kill her, because that won’t get them what they want, I do think they’d do some serious damage to get her. I point down a quieter street and tell her we should go down there to be safe.

She nods, and we walk until we find a small park with an old, rusty slide and a rickety swing. As suspected, Aviana walks right over to that swing and sits on it, closing her eyes and launching off, making the entire swing set creak. It doesn’t bother her at all, though. She swings her worries away, a small smile on her face. I sit on the other swing and watch her for a moment, so carefree.

She finally slows down and looks to me. “It’s bothering me a lot.”

“What is?” I ask, holding her gaze.

“That my father was planning on doing something so awful to me. I know he didn’t particularly like me, but I never thought he’d hurt me. It’s a shitty feeling when you suddenly realize that even your own family doesn’t give a shit about you.”

“They didn’t fuckin’ deserve you,” I tell her. “You’re a thousand times the person they were ...”

“Am I?” she laughs bitterly. “I was planning on taking this entire club down. I wanted to hurt you all. I wanted to see you suffer. How does that make me any better than them?”

“Because you didn’t do it,” I say, shocked at her plan.

Though I had a suspicion she was up to something.

“So?” she mutters, kicking the sand with her shoe. “I wanted to. God, I wanted to so badly it was all I could think about. Hell, part of me still does, just to get the bitter feeling out of my chest. Like if I hurt you all, then I won’t feel so much pain myself.”

“It won’t help, but you already know that. Deep down, you know that or you would have done somethin’ by now. What I did to you, what the club did, you have a right to be hurt about that but you don’t really want to hurt us, if you did you would have done it by now. You’re just lookin’ for a way to make yourself feel less pain, and you think that’s how you’re goin’ to do that.”

“Since when did you become a therapist?” she asks, her lips twitching.

I grunt. “Since I had to deal with all the shit this club throws around. We’re all fucked up, Avi, it’s how we control it that counts.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“We’ll find the men that want you and we’ll get them out of the picture. You’ll be able to go and live the free life you fuckin’ deserve and you’ll be able to do it with a fuck load of money and choices. If I can give you anything for what I did, I’ll give you that. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I’ll make sure you’re free.”

She stares over at me, small fingers curling around the chains of the swing. Her hair blows over her face, but she doesn’t reach up to move it, she just looks at me with those intense eyes. “You could get hurt going after them.”

“Chance I’m willing to take.”

“You’d do that, for me?”

I grin at her, because she’s asked me that very same question once before, and I answered her then the same way I’ll answer her now. “I’d do fuckin’ anything for you.”

She smiles, the first true smile she’s given me since she came back. “Well, I should hope so.”

There she is.

A glimmer of the girl we lost.

One way or another, I’m going to get her back.

I’m going to get Aviana back.

14

NOW – AVIANA

“I wasn’t entirely honest with you,” I tell Alarick and the group of bikers all glaring at me as I speak. “It’s not as safe as you thought, nor is it as easy to get to Benedict. It’s possible, but it’s dangerous. I’m not going to lie to you any further, so I will tell you that I wanted you to get hurt, I wanted you all to get caught out. I was angry, I was bitter, but I’m telling you the truth now.”

“You were goin’ to have my club ambushed?” Alarick growls.

“Yes,” I say honestly. “Yes, I was.”

“What makes me believe you’re tellin’ the truth now?”

I glance at Cohen. “Because I trust that you’ll have my back and make sure nothing bad happens to me. In exchange, I’m coming clean. I didn’t have to, but I am. I’m choosing to try and leave the past behind and to do that, I have to be honest.”

Alarick stares at Cohen and then back at me. “You put her up to this?”

Cohen shrugs. “I gave her the truth, she gave me the truth. Fair deal.”

“So, we’re fucked then?” Kendric growls, clenching his fists. “We’re goin’ to walk into a fuckin’ battle with wooden swords.”

So dramatic.

“No, you’re not fucked,” I say, crossing my arms. “And wood can do a lot of damage.”

“Don’t be fuckin’ smart with me,” he warns.

I give him a grin to try and ease the anger flowing out of him, then I look back to Alarick. “I know where Benedict spends a lot of his time. I can get him alone. When I do that, you can take him. Once you’ve got him, the hardest part is over. As for where the rest of them are, that’ll be easy enough because they don’t allow a lot of people there so you’ll have more than enough men.”

“You’re goin’ to risk your life, so we can get Benedict?”

“You’re risking your life to take out those men after me, I think it’s a fair trade.”

“No fuckin’ way,” Cohen growls. “We know nothin’ about this fucker and you’re not goin’ anywhere with him alone. One thing we’ve learned from all of this, is that nothin’ we do is secret. If he has any idea you’re comin’, you’ll be killed.”

I glance at Cohen. “It’s the only option. He sees a group of bikers coming for him, he’s going to have a hell of a lot more men than you can take on after you. If I go alone, I have more chance of getting him alone. He liked me, believe me when I say he’ll be happy to see me.”

“And if he questions why you’re not with that fucker who held you captive?” Alarick questions.

“Then I’ll tell him the truth, I ran away. If he still communicates with him, then he’ll know for certain that I’ve gone. If I lie, he’ll know, and it’ll be over. So, I’ll tell him the truth and hope that maybe he takes it as his chance to have me, which he always wanted.”

“It’s too fuckin’ risky,” Cohen growls. “I won’t allow it.”

“We have no other options,” Mykel says, leaning back in his chair. “We’re walkin’ into an ambush if we try to go in alone. The only way to get this fucker out, is for Aviana to do it.”

“Gotta agree,” Samson mutters. “Seems like the only option.”

“It’s fuckin’ suicide!” Cohen barks, clenching his fists.

“It’s our only choice,” Alarick calmly tells him. “We’re sendin’ her in.”

“No,” Cohen growls. “No, you’re fuckin’ not.”

“Cohen,” I say, my voice steady and careful. “I know this man better than any of you. This is our only choice. Let me do this, please.”

Cohen walks over to me, leaning in close. “I let you down once before and because of that your life was fuckin’ ruined. I will not let that happen again.”

My heart twists, and I want to say so many things, but now is not the time.

“The difference between then and now is that this time I have a choice. This is what I want to do.”

“You could die.”

“If I do so bringing this operation down, it’s worth the risk.”

Cohen shakes his head. “I can’t let you do this.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

With an angry growl, he turns and walks out of the room, slamming the door so hard it shakes the frame.

“He’ll get over it,” Alarick says, then looks to Kendric. “Zariah meetin’ us tomorrow still?”

“Yeah, she had some shit to sort out but she’s going to be here.”

“Good, get her onto looking into Benedict more before she comes, anything we can find out the better.”

Kendric nods and stands, leaving the room.

Mykel looks to me. “You sure you’re good with this?”

I nod.

“You’re braver than me, girl.”

I laugh. “I hope so.”

He grins at me and then leaves the room too, Samson following him out, but not before he gives my shoulder a squeeze. I’m doing this for him, too. For his daughter. She doesn’t deserve to live out there with people like that. She deserves to be home, to be safe.

“We’ll have eyes on you at all times, anything goes wrong, we’ll be there,” Alarick tells me.

“I know,” I say, nodding. “I should go and talk to Cohen.”

I reach the door when Alarick calls my name.

I turn back and look at him.

“Appreciate your honesty, but know this, if you try to do anythin’ to hurt my family, I will take you out. Is that clear?”

I nod. “It’s clear.”

“Good.”

I walk out, exhaling as I do.

One step at a time.

That’s all I can do right now.

Just take one damned step at a time.

And hope like hell it works out.

~*~*~*~

“WE NEED TO GO OUT AND drink.”

Waverly’s voice fills the motel room we’re sitting in, silently. We’re one more town away from Benedict now, and the closer we get, the more I realize what I’ve signed up to do. It is dangerous, that’s for damned certain, it’s also the only option. If something happens to me, then it’s all over. For them. For me. For all of us.

I have to be smart.

“I agree,” Briella stands, clapping her hands together. “We’ve been moping around these motel rooms for days. I’m bored out of my mind. Let’s go to the bar and drink away this misery.”

“Sounds good to me,” I say, standing too.

“Fuck it, let’s go,” Alarick murmurs, taking Briella’s hand and pulling her closer to him.

She smiles up at him, and the love I can see in her eyes make my heart yearn for the same thing. Not only that, but it makes me wish I had the same friendship with her that I had years ago. I haven’t exactly made things easy since I came home, and I can feel the distance between us. Maybe tonight is a good time to change that.

We all clean up and then head to the local bar.

We could be being followed, there is a high chance of that, so Alarick is careful on his journey there, making sure to keep an eye out and see if anyone is behind us. We arrive and the bar is just starting to become busy. People are walking in and out, music is playing, and the smell of pizza wafts out.

I need this more than I realized until this very moment.

We all get out and with another check around, we head inside.

After finding a booth, we order a round of shots and after a few of those burning our throats, we relax a little. I’m squashed into the seat next to Cohen and I can feel his body pressed against mine, his hard biceps moving when he lifts his arm to take a drink. There is a funny fluttering feeling in my tummy, a feeling I’m not overly familiar with. I like it, though. I like how it makes me feel.

My mind continues to wander back to the night he was making love to me, and how good it felt. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and the more I do, the more I want him. More of him, everything he has got to offer.

“We should dance!” Waverly cries, throwing her hands up.

“Bikers don’t fuckin’ dance,” Mykel mutters.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. It’ll do you good.”

“Didn’t do me good in New York, won’t do me good now.”

Waverly rolls her eyes. I can’t help but smile at the two of them; they’re perfect together. She is the best woman you could pick for Mykel. They match in a way that I long for.

“I’m up for a dance.” Briella grins. “Let’s do this. C’mon, Merleigh, Avi, let’s go.”

Fuck it.

I used to love a good dance.

I stand and climb out of the booth, sliding past Cohen. I don’t miss the deep growl he gives me when my ass rubs against his chest on the way past. I like the power that gives me, the deep feeling in my chest that gives me the kind of confidence I haven’t felt in a very long time.

I haven’t danced in a long time, and gosh, I have missed it.

We reach the dance floor and start moving right away. I sway my hips, throwing my hands up, and a huge smile breaks out over my face. I haven’t felt so free in such a long time. Briella dances beside me, and her laughter fills the room as she takes my hand and spins me around. “I’ve missed this,” she yells over the music. “We used to dance all the time.”

“Yeah,” I yell back. “I’ve missed it too.”

The smile she gives me is so genuine it makes my heart ache. I didn’t realize just how much I’ve needed her until this very moment. My walls have been up so high that I’ve not let any emotions in. That wasn’t healthy, and I’m beginning to realize just how close I came to losing everything because of it.

“I’m so glad you’re back, Avi,” Briella throws her arms around me.

The first time she did this, I wanted her hands off me.

This time, though.

Well, it doesn’t feel so bad.

I hug her back, and then we both laugh and continue dancing. Only when we’ve exhausted ourselves do we finally slow down and go back to the table for a drink. All the guys are on another round, and all of them seem a whole lot more relaxed now than they did half an hour ago. Waverly was right, we all needed this.

“We should go to a club,” Briella cries when she slides back into her seat. “I want to dance the night away.”

“Yes!” I yell. “Yes, let’s go.”

Alarick glances at Briella, a small smile spreading across his face. “This is goin’ to be messy later, ain’t it?”

Briella giggles. “Probably.”

“Well then, let’s get to it.”

We all stand and shuffle out of the club. The moment we reach the sidewalk, the fresh air tickles my face and I realize I’m pretty well on my way to being smashed. The truth is though, I don’t mind. I really don’t mind. It feels incredible feeling like this. This is something I never thought I’d experience again.

We walk down the street, chatting and laughing.

Cohen and I walk side by side and as the streets get quieter, I can finally hear him when he talks to me.

“I like this side of you,” he tells me, facing forward as he walks.

“I like this side of me, too.”

“Glad to see it comin’ back.”

So am I, believe me.

“I feel like since I’ve been back, we’ve skipped over so much replacing it with utter hatred. We were friends once, right?”

He side eyes me and nods. “Once, yeah.”

“Can’t we be again?”

“Bit hard when all I want to do is push you down that alley, lift that fuckin’ tiny dress, and bury my mouth in your pussy.”

I’m stunned.

Utterly stunned.

I didn’t expect that to come out of his mouth. I stop walking and look to him, staring up at his handsome face. “You want to fuck me?”

“I want to do more than fuck you, Aviana, I want to fuckin’ devour you.”

Oh.

My.

God.

I bite my bottom lip and give him the most teasing smile I can conjure up. “Well, if you play your cards right, tonight might just be your lucky night.”

Then I keep walking.

He growls and follows me.

“It’s clear there isn’t a Mrs. Cohen, what happened there?”

His jaw gets tight. “Never found anyone that filled the spot.”

“What spot?”

“The spot you left wide fuckin’ open. Nobody matched up to the connection we had. Didn’t even come close.”

He was aching for me, all this time?

My heart feels like it’s going to explode.

I didn’t realize until this very moment that he was likely suffering far more than I realized because he sent me away.

I was so wrapped up in my revenge and my pain that I didn’t stop to think that he was hurting too.

“We did have a great connection,” I say, my voice softer now. “We can have that again.”

“Maybe,” he murmurs.

“You don’t think it’s possible?”

He glances at me, his face blank. “I don’t know if we can ever truly move past the hurt. I don’t know if you’ll ever really get over what I did to you. Don’t want to spend the rest of my life bein’ reminded of the one fuckin’ mistake I made every single time we argue.”

“So that’s it then? You’re not even going to try?”

My voice is stern now, maybe a little snippy.

“I don’t know what I’m goin’ to fuckin’ do, Aviana.”

“Well, if you wait too long, someone else will figure it out for you.”

I walk ahead of him, shame and anger swirling around in my chest. Of course I didn’t expect him to just be my friend again and the entirety of our past would disappear, but I did figure that since we both chose to try and leave the past behind us, that he’d at least try.

I guess I was wrong.

We round a corner and a man steps out in front of us.

I come to a dead stop, my entire body freezing, my whole world stopping.

The air in my lungs stops flowing out and my body turns into a stone, my mind spinning, my heart racing.

There, standing in front of me ... is my brother Manny.

“Manny?” I croak.

How?

It’s not possible.

Manny is dead.

15

NOW – AVIANA

“Hello, sister.”

My brother’s husky voice rings out, and I stand, staring at him, sure I’m having some sort of hallucination. Maybe I got drugged at the club? That’s the only way that this could be explained away. I saw Cohen kill my brother all those years ago. I stared at his dead body. There was absolutely no way that was fake.

“Alarick,” I croak. “Did someone drug me?”

“No,” he growls. “No, they did not. That is your brother.”

I meet the eyes of the boy I grew up with, the boy that turned into a man and followed in my father’s footsteps, slowly losing his love for me and becoming the monster who was in on the plan to sell me.

The years have been very, very kind to him.

Gone are his young man features, now he’s rugged and incredibly masculine. His dark hair is slicked back, shining under the streetlight. His brown eyes are deep, almost black, and his face is chiseled and strong. He’s tall, well-built and, wearing the dark suit he’s currently sporting, he looks powerful.

“I don’t understand,” I say, grabbing the side of my head, checking it’s still there because to be honest, this must be a nightmare. “I saw you die.”

Manny smiles, showing perfect white teeth. “You saw Manny die. I’m not Manny.”

Excuse me?

What did he just say?

Is this a joke?

What?

I shake my head. Cohen steps up beside me, his body pressing against mine, almost protectively. “Who the fuck are you?” he growls.

“I’m Romeo. Manny’s twin brother and the family’s biggest secret.”

Three other men are standing behind Romeo, but until now I hadn’t even noticed them. My focus has been solely on him. They’re standing like loyal servants, arms crossed, all their eyes on me. The club has gathered in front of their women, all of them on high alert, creating a line across the sidewalk, Alarick standing slightly in front of the rest.

“I don’t understand,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m hallucinating. I think I was drugged. This isn’t real.”

Romeo steps forward, and Alarick does, too. “Take another step, I’ll make sure you don’t walk away from here,” he growls.

Romeo looks to him, his smile cocky. “Calm down, biker. I’m not here to hurt her.”

“Then why are you here?” Kendric barks. “Because as far as we’re concerned, anyone in that family is fuckin’ dangerous and this is a fuckin’ bad situation to be in.”

Romeo’s eyes flick to Kendric, then back to mine where he locks with them. “I thought I was the only one left. I thought you were dead until I got word you had returned and someone had seen you. I had to come and see for myself.”

What is happening?

What the fuck is happening?

“I don’t ... I don’t understand.”

I shake my head, swallowing the thick lump in my throat. This man, this man who looks exactly like my brother, is standing before me saying he is Manny’s twin, that we’re related and basically saying I still have family alive and well. This can’t be real. It simply cannot be real.

“I was given away when Manny and I were born,” Romeo begins, his voice silky smooth and incredibly calm. “A deal your father made with the woman who gave birth to us.”

“Excuse me?” I shake my head. “My mother would have never given her babies up.”

“Your mother isn’t my mother,” Romeo goes on. “He was having an affair. Your mother found out and to make the woman go away, that was the deal made. She took one of the babies, our father took the other. He paid her out, and they went on their way.”

“You’re not making any sense,” I say frantically. “My mother would have never stayed around if she knew he was cheating on her. I don’t believe it. Is this some sort of trick so you can take me and take everything I’ve got? Is it?”

I’m screaming now, my voice high pitched and frightened.

Cohen’s hand goes to my shoulder where he squeezes and pulls me back a little, so I’m closer to him. “Calm down,” he murmurs into my ear. “Take a deep breath. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“I’d like the chance to talk to you, Aviana. We can help each other out.”

“How?” I whisper.

“Because I have the power to finish what you’re all here for, and you have something I want.”

“No,” Cohen barks. “You are not fuckin’ takin’ the only thing she has left. That money is fuckin’ hers.”

Romeo looks to him, his face stern. “Back down, biker. This doesn’t concern you.”

“It does fuckin’ concern me.”

I shake my head, putting my hands out in front of me. “Can we do this somewhere else?”

“Agreed,” Alarick mutters, never taking his eyes off Romeo.

“Fine with me,” Romeo says calmly. “I have a lot to talk about.”

“There is a quiet restaurant downtown, I saw it earlier,” Briella says. “Maybe we can go there? Get something to eat?”

Romeo steps aside and extends his hand. “Lead the way.”

What the hell is happening right now?

I stare at my “brother” as I walk past, and when his eyes meet mine, I see something that I never saw in any other family members eyes—kindness. He smiles at me, but it’s not cold or cruel, it’s warm.

Is he different?

Or is this a trick?

I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I do know one thing for sure ...

Things just got very fucking complicated.

~*~*~*~

“TELL ME EVERYTHING you know,” I say, stuffing a hot fry into my mouth.

I barely taste it, even though it’s covered in salt. I’m mindlessly eating, sitting at a large table with my brother sitting across from me, watching me with a certain level of curiosity. One thing is for sure, I sobered up damned quickly. Cohen is sitting to my right, and Alarick is to my left. Everyone else is sort of scattered out across the table, all of them eating.

“As I said earlier, a deal was made with my mother to separate Manny and myself. Your mother found out about the affair, and at first, I am told she didn’t want anything to do with it, but, as you know, our father was an incredibly powerful man. Somehow, he convinced her to take Manny, and raise him as her own. I was left with my mother, and she was paid a lot of money to disappear with me.”

“I don’t understand, why wouldn’t he just keep both of you?”

Romeo gives a bitter laugh. “My mother wasn’t going to just go away without her babies, that was the only way he could get what he wanted. He didn’t want a mistress hanging around, causing chaos for him. She accepted the deal because she had nothing else at the time. She was in love with a man who was using her, pregnant with twins, and she had no money. He had promised her things he simply wasn’t going to deliver on.”

“So, she gave Manny up?” I whisper, horrified at how hard that must have been.

“She knew how powerful our father was, she knew if she didn’t agree he would ... make her disappear in other ways.”

Horrified, I stare at him. “He would have hurt her?”

“Do you believe he wouldn’t have?”

No.

I don’t believe that.

He treated my mother poorly, and he treated me poorly. He didn’t have respect for women, they were simply things he needed to make himself feel good or to make himself look better. It is very logical that he would have made Romeo’s mother disappear if it meant he looked good in the public eye.

That poor woman, to hand over her child must have been the hardest thing in the world for her.

“Did Manny ever know this?”

Romeo shakes his head. “No, he did not.”

“And your mother ... is she still around?”

Romeo nods. “She is.”

“Does she ... does she know about Manny?”

His face tightens. “Yes.”

“How ... how did you find me, and why?”

Romeo leans forward, placing his hands together on the table and meeting my gaze. “It wasn’t hard to find you, Aviana. I have been searching for information on you for quite some time, I thought you were dead but then ...”

“You learned I’m not.”

“Yes.”

“What is it you want? We both know it’s not to sit here and get to know me,” I snap.

He tips his head to the side. “You’d be wrong about that. I do wish to get to know you. You were—you are—my sister. That’s not the only reason I’m here though, you’re right. I am here to offer you a deal.”

“What kind of fuckin’ deal?” Cohen growls, glaring at Romeo.

“You have people after you for the money and assets you’re sitting on. I happen to know who those people are and exactly where to find them. I can make them disappear, I can take that away completely so you’re safe.”

“What’s in it for you?” I say, narrowing my eyes.

“Our father’s business.”

“Like fuck,” Cohen barks. “He’s just after you for fuckin’ money, we’re done here.”

I reach over and take Cohen’s arm, squeezing it. “It’s okay.”

“He’s fuckin’ using you, Aviana. He, like everyone else, is in it for fuckin’ cash.”

“You’re wrong, biker,” Romeo growls. “And you’re really starting to get under my skin. Back off, this has nothing to do with you.”

“Why would you want his business?” I ask, heart racing.

“Because it’s a solid business with a lot of potential. I’m a powerful man, I also have plenty of my own money. That is the only legacy left behind, and I would like it to be mine.”

“And that’s it?” I ask, glancing at my cold burger in front of me I haven’t touched. “That’s all you want.”

“Yes, that’s all I want. We can have it done legally, I’m not here to take what isn’t mine.”

“How do I know this isn’t ... this isn’t some sort of trick?”

He shrugs, slightly. “You don’t, Aviana. You simply have to trust that I am not like the rest of your family, I was raised differently, and I am not a bad man. I’m a smart man.”

“That business could be worth fuckin’ millions,” Alarick says, shooting daggers in Romeo’s direction.

“Billions, actually,” Romeo corrects him.

Billions?

Holy shit.

“And you want her to pass it all over to you?” Cohen shakes his head, horrified. “Fuckin’ no way.”

“I want her to sign it over to me, yes. I will also offer her a certain percentage of the turnaround, yearly. Besides, the accounts and real-estate he’s sitting on will leave Aviana with millions of her own, not to mention a constant income from what she will get out of the business. It’s a win-win, it’ll set you up for life.”

He’s looking at me again now.

I can’t wrap my head around all of this.

I don’t know if I trust him, I don’t know if what he’s saying is legit.

What if this is a set up to take everything from me?

But what if it’s not?

What if this man, my brother, actually wants to do a good thing here?

Does he want to be part of my life?

Does he want to be ... family?

“Can I think on this?” I ask, my voice low.

“Yes, of course,” Romeo says.

“What about those men after me, you can really make them go away?”

Romeo smiles, and it’s terrifying. “Without a trace.”

Jesus Christ.

“How the fuck do you know so much about who is after her if you have nothin’ to do with it?” Cohen questions, his voice more than a little skeptical.

“Because I was looking for her too, and in doing that, I stumbled across them. I told them who I was, I told them what I wanted, and I told them I’d help them find her. I never planned on doing that, I simply wanted to get close. They thought if they got hold of her, they would get her fortune. They agreed to sign the business over to me if I helped them.”

“How the fuck do we know you’re not helping them then?” Alarick snarls.

“Because if I wanted to do it that way, I would have taken Aviana and you never would have known about me. I’m here, because I want her in my life. She’s my family. It’s up to you if you choose to believe that.”

Family.

I’m his family.

“I want to meet your mom,” I say, suddenly.

Romeo jerks a little. “What?”

“I want to meet her. I want you to take me there, right now. I want to hear it from her mouth. If you’re telling the truth, you’ll let me meet her and talk to her. If you’re not, then you’re not going to. What’s it going to be?”

“You want to meet my mother?”

He looks quite confused by this.

“Yes. I do.”

Romeo stands and extends his arm toward the door. “Very well then, let’s go.”

God.

I hope I’m making the right choice here.

I’m terrified, but if anyone has the answers I need, it’s his mother.

The only way I’ll get to the truth, is to go back to where it all began ...

To the woman who fell in love with a monster and had her life turned upside down.

Here goes nothing.

16

NOW – AVIANA

Cohen, Alarick, and I are the only ones to follow Romeo back to the house where his mother is living. The chances of being in the same town, at the same time, is insane. I’m sure that’s exactly how he planned this, though. He wants to make sure his story can be backed up. The fear for me is, what if it can be backed up? What if the things he’s saying are true and I have to face the reality that I have a brother, a brother who actually wants to be part of my life?

We arrive at a beautiful old home that has been well maintained. It’s dark out, but I can see the stunning gardens surrounding the small house. His mom clearly enjoys gardening. The porch light shines a dim glow over the patio, where I can see a beautiful restored swing chair and some nice timber furniture. This place, even before you walk into it, feels so much like a home should feel.

My heart aches.

Romeo walks up the front stairs and opens the front door, yelling out, “Momma?”

A voice echoes through the house. The sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. “Romeo? Honey, is that you?”

Honey.

I can hear it even before I see it—this woman adores her son.

A woman comes around the corner, her eyes lighting up when she sees her son. She stretches out her arms, throwing them up around his neck as she hugs him tightly. She’s only tiny, petite, and very beautiful for her age. Her dark hair is starting to grey, but it’s exceptionally beautiful, long and thick. Her skin is only slightly showing signs of aging, and she has the most incredible green eyes I’ve ever seen. She’s beautiful in a way very few are.

She looks to all of us, and slowly releases Romeo.

Her eyes fall on me and widen. She places a hand over her mouth and starts slowly moving toward me. “Well, as I live and breathe ... You look just like your momma.”

A lump forms in my throat. I don’t have a great deal of memories about my momma, she died before I could create enough of them. I do know she was beautiful, and from what I recall, a beautiful soul with so much love to give. She adored her children, and she would have done anything for us. I never would have guessed that Manny didn’t belong to her, because she loved him in a way that was unconditional.

I step forward as Romeo’s mom reaches me, and when her hands comes out and touches my cheek, the urge to cry and hug her is incredibly intense. She releases me and looks to Romeo. “You found her.”

“Yeah, Momma, I found her. I told her everything. She’s having a hard time with it all and wanted to come and talk to you.”

She looks back to me. “This must be very confusing for you. Come in, sit down. Let me get you a drink. Who are your friends?”

“This is Cohen and Alarick,” I say, my voice choking up.

“Strapping gentleman they are, come in.”

She’s beautiful.

So damned beautiful.

The presence of two large bikers does not bother her in the slightest. She invites them into her home as if she’s known them a lifetime.

“Romeo, show them to the living room, and I will fetch some tea.”

I glance at Cohen and his expression, which was hard as a rock the entire way here, has softened a little.

Maybe, just maybe, he’s seeing what I’m seeing.

This might be real after all.

I walk into the living area and over to the mantel where a heap of photos are set in frames. I let my eyes rake over them, feeling a smile pull at the corners of my mouth. Romeo, gosh, he’s identical to Manny. Looking at the pictures, I’d swear it was him. It makes my heart ache for my brother, who is gone. Not because we were close, but because I see now he could have had such a different life. A life not influenced by my father, a life that would have taught him the kind of love he simply didn’t know.

Every photo is of Romeo and his mom.

You can see exactly how close the two of them are.

I turn and see Romeo standing behind me, his eyes on the photos, too.

“It’s like looking at Manny, it’s quite overwhelming,” I admit.

“What was he like? My brother?” Romeo asks, his eyes moving to mine now.

“He was ... He was a child raised by a man who taught him all the wrong things in life. He was strong, though. Really strong. And he was smart as hell.”

Romeo opens his mouth to say something, but his momma comes in with a tray full of cups, tea, sugar, and cream. She places it down on the coffee table and ushers me to the chair. “Sit, let us talk.”

I go over and sit down beside Cohen, preparing myself a cup of tea.

“What is your name?” I ask her, now just realizing that nobody has told me her name.

“My name is Marcella.”

Marcella. Beautiful.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Marcella. I’m Aviana.”

She smiles. “I know who you are, my darling.”

I give her a small smile and sip my tea.

“I’m sure you’ve got many questions, feel free to ask when you are ready,” she tells me, making herself a cup of tea and sitting back in the chair.

“You ... you had a relationship with my father. Can you tell me about that, please?”

Marcella’s face flashes with pain, and I know the memories would be hard for her. I can’t imagine what it must have been like back then.

“I met him at the café I was waitressing at. I spilled coffee all over him, it was my first day. I was certain he would make a scene, but instead he laughed. Right there, he just burst out with this loud laughter.”

My father laughed?

That’s so hard for me to wrap my head around.

“I offered to dry clean his suit for him, so I took him back to my apartment and gave him some of my brother’s clothes so I could take his suit. That’s how it all started. I didn’t ... I didn’t know he was married at first. He took me out, we formed a relationship, and then I found out he was already in one.”

“That must have been hard,” I say, my voice tight.

“It was awful, but I was young and naïve. I was in love with him. I thought he was going to give me this incredible life. He told me he’d leave his wife, that we’d be together, and I believed him. I was only nineteen years old. When I fell pregnant, everything changed. He no longer wanted a relationship with me, and this man, this prince ... turned into a monster. He was cold and calculated. He didn’t want me ruining anything in his perfect little world, and that’s when I realized he was never going to leave his wife. I was just a bit of fun for him ...”

God.

My heart aches for this woman.

I can hear the pain in her voice as she tells her story.

“I wasn’t going to give up my baby, I told him so. Then I found out I was having twins. Terrified, I knew I couldn’t care for both of them. I was struggling as it was, and without any support from him, I was not going to be able to give them a good life. I told him I wanted money, help, or I would tell people about our affair. It wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever said, but, again, I was young, and I was scared.”

I can only imagine.

“He told me to get an abortion, to get rid of them and the problem would be solved. I refused to do that, and one day, I went and confronted your mother about our affair. I told her everything. The worst part for me was, she was the kindest, most gentle soul I’d ever met, and I knew that she was as trapped as I was. Of course, she was devastated. Days later, your father came to me with a deal. He would take one of the babies and raise him with his family, I would take the other and he would give me some money, but I was never to contact him again.”

God, this just gets worse.

“At first, I refused. No way was I giving up my baby, but as time went on, I began to struggle. I had some health concerns, and I had no money. I couldn’t raise two babies—I would barely afford one. I told him I would take the deal. Your momma wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, she didn’t want to raise my baby, but I went to see her one day, and I told her that I needed her to do it, for me.”

“And she did,” I say softly.

Marcella nods with a smile. “She did. She agreed and when my sons were born, one of them was whisked out of my life and I was paid out. I moved away and that was the last time I ever saw my son. Occasionally, your momma would send me a picture. It was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life, but having Romeo here with me, that made things so much easier.”

God.

This is a lot.

A lot to process.

A lot to understand.

“Thank you, for telling me all of that,” I say, my voice tired.

“Doesn’t really explain why your son is now seekin’ her out after all these years,” Cohen says, his voice incredibly respectful, but firm.

Marcella looks to him. “He didn’t know the truth until he was older, and by then, she was gone, and we thought she had passed. He looked into it for years, and finally we got word she wasn’t dead. We came right away.”

I mean, it makes sense.

Cohen nods, accepting her answer, his face still tight.

“My son,” Marcella asks me, her face full of hurt and suppressed emotions I imagine she has long ago smothered down. “Was he a good man?”

No.

He wasn’t.

But I can hardly tell her that. It will break her heart, and that’s the last thing I want to do. Romeo, who is standing behind her, meets my eyes and slowly shakes his head. He doesn’t want me to tell her the truth, but I don’t want to feed her full of lies either. So, I give her the best parts of him that I can remember over the years. There weren’t many, but when he was younger, before my father changed him, we did get along.

“He was protective,” I begin. “He had a wicked sense of humor and was always pulling pranks on me, but he took care of me if I needed it. He was strong and a hard worker.”

She smiles, but it trembles.

My god I feel like my heart is being torn from my chest.

“When he died ... was it painless for him?”

Cohen stiffens beside me, knowing full well it wasn’t painless. She doesn’t need to know that, either. All she needs to know is her son passed and is in a better place. That’s all any mom needs to know.

“He went quickly,” I tell her.

She nods, pressing her hands together tightly.

“We should go, it is getting late and we have a lot to process,” Cohen says, standing. “Thank you for your time, ma’am.”

Marcella nods and stands. I do so, too.

She walks over to me and gives me a hug, the kind of hug I didn’t realize I had longed for, for so long. The kind of hug a mother gives her child, full of warmth and kindness. I close my eyes and take a moment to let that hug wash over me, to let the feelings break free and consume my body.

“My son,” Marcella whispers to me. “He is a good man. You can trust him. He was raised in a home full of love and good values, he will cause you no harm.”

I believe her.

I truly do.

So, where do I go from here?

~*~*~*~

“DO WE RISK TAKIN’ THE deal? It’ll get a big problem off our backs, allow Aviana to be safe again, and we can focus on getting Samson’s daughter, finishing that and gettin’ the hell out of here.”

Alarick speaks, sitting with his back against the chair, legs spread apart, arms crossed. He’s in my motel room with Cohen and me, and I’m trying very hard to stay away. The night has finally caught up with me and I’m exhausted. I want to go to sleep, but know it’s important we discuss this, too.

“I think we take the deal,” Cohen says, his voice tired, too.

I look to him. “You do?”

He nods. “Yeah, I do. I think he’s tellin’ the truth. That business is far over your head, and if he’s willin’ to give you a cut of it, I think it’s worth it provided it’s done through the correct legal channels.”

I’m surprised by this.

I guess the visit to Marcella convinced him, too.

I know it did for me.

“Then it’s sorted,” Alarick says, standing. “We’ll get the ball rolling with Romeo tomorrow, get them fuckers off our backs and we can go forward with our plan to get Benedict so we can finish this.”

“Sounds good to me,” I say, followed by a yawn.

“I’ll see you both in the morning.”

Alarick leaves and I turn to Cohen, who looks exhausted. He has his own room, but for whatever reason, he’s still here. He has been by my side all night, making sure to have my back at every turn. Just as he promised. That means the world to me, he might not know it, but it truly does.

“I’m going to shower,” I say softly. “Would you ... like to join me?”

He stares at me, and then without a word, drops his jacket from his shoulders and lets it fall to the floor. I guess that’s a yes. My heart races as I turn and walk to the shower, slowly removing my clothes as I go. I reach in and turn the water on, but before I can do anything more, Cohen’s hard, naked body presses against my back and his mouth finds my neck. I shudder with pure delight as he nibbles at the overly sensitive skin.

His hand goes around and finds my breast, where he gently begins to knead, rolling my nipple around between his thumb and forefinger. I whimper and arch with delight as his cock presses against my back, hard and aching. I want it so badly. I want him so badly. But I also want to enjoy every damned second of his hands on me, loving the way it makes me feel.

“I’ve been thinking about your pussy all day,” he growls, nipping my earlobe. “I’m fuckin’ starving. It’s time I get a feed.”

Oh, my word.

He spins me around and we back into the shower, the warm water cascading over our bodies and soaking us. Cohen gets down to his knees, takes my leg, and places it over his shoulder, and then he buries his face between my legs. The pleasure is immediate and intense as his tongue does incredible things. I whimper and my hands press against the cool tiled walls to stop myself from falling.

He devours me and there is no doubting that the man knows what he’s doing with his tongue. I cry out as he increases the pressure, licking with a force that I can’t fight against. I cum so hard I lose my footing, slipping down. Cohen’s hands immediately stop me, his big fingers curling into my thighs so I don’t fall. He buries his face deeper, making sure every shudder of my orgasm is dragged out.

Only then does he stand, licking his lips like a fucking deviant. Then he steps closer to me, grabs my hair and growls, “My turn.”

Oh, boy.

He pushes me down to my knees and I immediately take his cock into my mouth, my lips stretching around the hard length of it. I slide my head up and down, using my tongue to make little swirling motions under the head. A feral growl lets me know I’m doing a good job. His fingers in my hair, guiding me, makes my entire body ache for me. He lets me suck him, cupping his balls and tasting his cock, for about five minutes.

Then, he brings me to my feet and, with a raspy growl, tells me, “Turn around. I gotta fuck you.”

I turn around, pressing my ass into his cock. He slaps it, hard, and the echo of that rings out through the bathroom. I whimper and he takes my hip in one hand and places the other hand on my back to bend me over a little more. Then he plunges his cock inside of me, deep and hard, causing a burning, stretching sensation. I cry out, but my cries are quickly turned into moans of pleasure as he starts to fuck me.

His thrusts go from slow, to fast, then back to slow again.

The way he moves his hips is pure torture.

He knows how to fuck, and he’s driving me insane, keeping me on edge, bringing me to the limit and then slowing down again.

“Please,” I plead. “Cohen please.”

“All in good time,” he growls.

As he works his hips, his cock feels like it gets bigger inside of me. He won’t last much longer, but the way he’s fucking me, I won’t either. He picks up the pace for the final time, driving his cock in and out of me, skin slapping, bodies moving together so fucking perfectly. I can’t hold back my orgasm a second longer—I let it wash over me with a cry of pure ecstasy.

A moment later, Cohen joins me, his body tightening and shuddering as he finds his own release.

Then we fall silent together, both of us hanging on to each other.

When he finally releases me, my body feels incredible. Like he has taken the stresses of the night and just removed them. We wash and get out, dressing. Once we’re out of the bathroom, I sit on the edge of the bed as Cohen grabs his jacket off the floor.

“You can stay ... if you like.”

He looks to me, his eyes tired, his body heavy. “You want me to stay?”

I bite my lip, hesitating. Then, I nod. “Yeah, I want you to stay.”

He drops that jacket to the floor again, slides into bed with me, and I can tell you, nothing in the world has ever felt this fucking good.

Nothing.

I want to stay here forever.

17

NOW – COHEN

Romeo takes a seat at the large table, his suit as crisp as it was the night before, his hair as fucking shiny, too. He’s well put together, nothing like the other brother I killed. This man is poised and he’s professional. I doubted him when he approached for the first time, but after meeting his momma, I can see he’s different to the rest of Aviana’s family. That’s because he had nothing to do with them.

“Thanks for calling me over,” he tells Aviana, who is sitting beside me, her hand firmly clasped in mine.

Holding her last night, feeling her body pressed against mine, it felt fucking good. Exactly how I always imagined it would feel. Being with her makes something inside me feel right again, and it terrifies me, especially knowing that she’s going to be risking her life in a matter of days.

I lost her once, not fucking sure I can do it again.

“Thanks for coming by,” Avi tells him, shifting in her chair. “I’ve thought about what you said, and I’d like to accept your offer. I’ll sign the business over, but it has to be done legally. Then, I’d like you to take the club members to the people who want to hurt me and have that sorted out.”

Fucking yeah we’ll sort that out.

I have wanted to get my hands on those fuckers since I found out what they wanted from Aviana.

Their day has come, and I’ll be the one taking them down.

Romeo nods. “I accept your terms; I can have it drawn up with my lawyer. You can accept whatever terms work for you. What percentage of the annual turnaround you’d like.”

Aviana glances at me, then back to Romeo. “I want twenty percent. The rest is yours.”

Romeo nods. “Done. Anything else?”

“There is something, actually.”

Romeo raises his brows, staring at her. “Please, state it.”

“I want to get to know you better. I don’t have any family left, as you know, and considering you’re my brother I’d like to have some kind of relationship with you, and your mother, if you’ll allow that.”

Romeo smiles. “I’d like nothing more. Consider it done.”

Aviana’s smile could just about light up the fucking room. “Well, then we have a deal.”

The two of them reach across the table and shake hands.

Romeo looks to me. “Can we schedule a meeting with your president to discuss how and when we will deal with the other problem?”

I can’t see Romeo as the kind of man to deal with anything, but he knows where these men are, and he knows how we can get to them. If he shows us the way, we can take it from there. I can’t imagine him getting his hands dirty. Doesn’t seem like the type.

“Come around this afternoon, we’ll discuss,” I say to him.

He nods and then stands. “I have to get to work, thank you both for speaking to me. Aviana, I’ll be in touch.”

She gives her brother a smile and when he’s gone, she turns to me. “How’d I do, boss?”

I snort. “You did better than I thought. You didn’t attack him once, or scowl, or call him a name.”

She laughs. “What sort of person do you think I am?”

“The feistiest one I’ve met.”

“Well,” she says with a grin, “I guess family might just soften me a little.”

“Not too soft, I hope,” I growl, taking her hand and putting it on my hardening cock.

Her cheeks grow red, and her smile grows devious. “You know, there’s a restroom here we could go sneak into. If you’d like to fuck me right now, that is?”

She squeezes my dick and I’m standing and moving before she can say anything more. I take her hand and pull her toward the restroom out the back of the café we’re in. The moment we get inside I have her against the wall, her skirt up, her panties aside, and my cock so fucking deep in her I can feel her warmth covering every inch. Her moans fill the small space and, fuck me, if it isn’t the best fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

I want her more than she could possibly understand.

She drives me fucking wild.

“Fuck me harder,” she gasps, tangling her fingers into my hair.

I do just that, fucking her until her moans turn into screams and the sounds of our skin slapping together can be heard echoing over and over again. She cums with a cry that makes my dick swell. I follow less than a minute after, growling her name as I find my release inside her. Fuck me.

Nothing like spontaneous sex.

Especially with a girl as wild as her.

I let her down when my cock finishes pulsing and she smiles up at me, her cheeks flushed. I love seeing her like this, looking like a fucking angel. I cup the side of her face without realizing. The gentle gesture makes her face harden, just a touch.

“What is it about me touchin’ you that makes you look at me like that?”

She swallows, and then looks away. “Fear.”

“Fear of what?”

She meets my eyes once more. “Fear of getting hurt again. I want you, Cohen, but I’m still holding some pain about what happened. I don’t want to ruin something that could potentially be good because I rush into it.”

“Get that,” I murmur. “We’ve got time.”

She nods. “Yeah, we do.”

“For what it’s worth,” I say, leaning down close, “I’ll never fuckin’ hurt you again, Aviana.”

With that, I take her hand and lead her out of the bathroom. We order some lunch and eat it, then we head back early. Tomorrow, we’ll be meeting with Benedict. Tomorrow, Aviana will put the plan into motion.

Now more than ever, I don’t like it.

I don’t like the fact that she’s going in there without protection.

She assures me she knows what she’s doing. The club assures me they’ve got her back. But if one thing goes wrong ... it’s over for her.

Surely, by now, it’s our turn for something to go right?

Fucking surely.

~*~*~*~

“YOU’RE CLEAR ON THE plan?” Alarick says to Aviana as we arrive at a new motel in the town where she is going to meet up with Benedict.

“I’m clear on the plan, you don’t have to worry,” Aviana tells him, tucking her hair up into a ponytail. “I’ll get this done. I’ll make sure we get hold of him and I’ll come out alive.”

“We’ll have eyes on you at all times, but if somethin’ goes wrong ...”

“It won’t,” she assures him.

Then she looks to me, I know my face is hard, I can feel just how tight my jaw is right now.

“It’s going to be okay,” she tells me, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “I’m tough. I’ve got this.”

“Last time we sent a girl in, it ended very fuckin’ badly ...” Mykel tells her.

“Hey!” Waverly slaps him on the shoulder. “I did good.”

He meets her eyes. “We all got into a lot of fuckin’ trouble because of that. Kendric still has to go to court and could very likely be charged if we don’t finish this now. We have to do it right.”

“We’re doin’ it right,” Kendric mutters.

“We’ll be waitin’ to back you up if you need it,” Samson tells her.

She smiles at them all, giving them the kind of look that would soften any man. “Thank you all. I’ll be okay.”

We settle into our rooms and Aviana gets herself ready for her meeting with Benedict tonight. She claims to know where to find him, and I’m certain she probably does. She hasn’t told me a lot about how she knows him, but she has told me she remembers a place he owned and was often at, especially on a Saturday night. So, we can only fucking hope that he’s there and she can manage to lure him away.

We’ll be waiting.

“Well, hey!”

I turn to see Zariah striding toward us, suitcase in hand. She was never not going to be part of this. She, more than most, has good reason to want to be there when we take this operation and fucking destroy it. She’s been on the island, she’s been used by Blanche and more than that, she is the only one of us to have met Samson’s daughter. Because of that, she’s invested.

“How’s it goin’?” I ask her, shielding my eyes from the sun.

“It’s good, Cohen. How are you?”

I nod. “Livin’.”

She smiles and then looks to Aviana. “How are you, honey?”

“I’m doing good.”

“Well, you’re doing a pretty incredible thing for us tonight.”

Aviana smiles and then lets us know she has to start getting ready before disappearing inside. Kendric comes out of his room at the sound of Zariah’s voice and, in minutes, the two of them are back in there. The way he just looked at her, tells me he’s going to be fucking her in less than five minutes.

“You good, brother?”

I see Mykel walking down the path, cigarette in hand.

“I’m gettin’ there.”

“She’s goin’ to come out of this,” he says, stopping and leaning against a pole, inhaling deeply.

“How many chances are we goin’ to get here? We’ve fucked up so many times, and so far we’ve kept everyone safe. What if she’s the end of that lucky streak?”

“You’re thinkin’ out of fear. Aviana is smart, and you have to believe she knows what she’s doin’. Gotta trust her.”

I cross my arms. “Ready for this shit to be over. Rather go back to runnin’ fuckin’ drugs and weapons. At least you always knew what you were dealin’ with.”

Mykel chuckles. “Fuckin’ A, I hear you.”

“You find much out about your parents in New York? Haven’t even had a fuckin’ chance to talk to you about that.”

“Bits and pieces, not enough to give me anything I can use. I’ll get there. Club business is more important right now.”

“How are you and Waverly travelin’?”

Mykel grins. “Fuckin’ wild, that girl, but I wouldn’t have her any other way.”

I chuckle. “She fuckin’ sure is.”

He claps me on the back as he pushes off the pole. “It’ll work out, brother. We’ve got you covered.”

Yeah, yeah, they do.

But right now, I don’t fucking know if that’s enough.

It has to be, right?

It just fucking has to be.

18

NOW – AVIANA

I walk into the bar where I’m praying Benedict will be. Considering he owns it, or at least half of it, I’m hoping he’ll be here. The few times I was brought here, it was always a Saturday night and he would always be in his office, just watching everyone, his eyes scanning the crowd. Benedict is an incredibly powerful man, and he has his finger in a lot of pies, so to speak.

I go right over to the bar after shuffling past a crowd of incredibly well-dressed people. I look great, no doubt about it, but these people make me look like I’ve come in off the streets. I stick out like a sore thumb, which is kind of the point but also may attract a bit too much attention. Either way, I’m here, and there is no backing down now.

I order a drink, ignoring the stares of women who walk by and give me a once over that shows, very clearly, their disapproval with what I’m wearing.

Like I give a shit.

I’m not here for their opinions, I’m here to get a job done.

Besides, my short, tight, red dress is beautiful, and I know I look great in it. Just because I’m not wearing what likes like the equivalent of a fucking ball gown doesn’t mean I don’t belong here.

Bitches.

“I wonder who let the trash in,” a woman says as she walks past.

I have a drink of vodka cranberry in my hands and she has a gorgeous white dress on. I spin around quickly, letting the drink fly out and land all over her perfect outfit. She squeals immediately, waving her hands around like I’ve thrown hot acid on her.

“Oops,” I say innocently. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“You whore!” she wails. “This dress cost me thousands of dollars. You’ve ruined it.”

Whoopsie.

Oh well.

I give her a smile and say, “It must have been the trashier side of me that simply didn’t see you. Sorry.”

She scowls at me and, with a turn and a huff, she and her friends disappear. I grin and face the bar again where the bartender is smiling at me. “That was ballsy.”

I shrug. “What can I say? I don’t like being called names.”

He chuckles. “Been a while since I’ve seen a woman with such spunk in here. They’re all stuck up,” he extends his hand. “BJ.”

“Aviana.”

“Nice to meet you, Aviana. Can I get you another drink considering you lost the last one?”

I grin. “Please.”

He serves me another drink and then gets back to work. I sip it, pretending to bop away to the music and act like I’m fitting in. I don’t want to draw attention to myself so it looks like I’m here for Benedict, but I also want him to notice me.

My little plan works.

Mid-way through my third drink, a deep, rugged voice comes from behind me. “Aviana, a face I never thought I’d see again.”

I turn slowly in my stool and look at Benedict, who is standing behind me in his sharp suit, his perfectly slicked back brown hair, those blue eyes and that face that’s terrifyingly calm at all times. He’s aging, but my god he’s making it look good.

“Benedict,” I say softly. “I wondered if you were still the owner of this place.”

“Did you come to see me?”

I laugh. “No. I just ... wanted to come back to this place. I guess you could say I never got a chance to look around before.”

“I heard you ran away. That wasn’t a very smart thing to do, now was it?”

I meet his eyes. “You know me, I never did like to follow the rules.”

“A man’s possession is very valuable to him.”

“Well, good thing I’m not a possession then.”

I give him a smile and he returns it, only his is slower, far more dangerous. “May I sit and have a drink?”

“It’s your bar,” I say, waving a hand at the stool beside me.

He takes a seat and the bartender immediately serves him a whiskey on the rocks. Benedict nods and then glances at me. “Tell me where you’ve been, and what you’ve been doing.”

“I’m not sure that’s wise. I don’t want to go back there, Benedict. I’m free now.”

“Completely your choice,” he says slowly. “You’re doing well, then?”

“Well enough,” I tell him with a shrug. “It’s hard, you know, out here ...”

I’m playing a game, telling him whatever he wants to hear without making it too obvious that it’s an act. I was always strong willed and sassy, because of that he would know if I was too submissive.

“Have you found work?”

I shake my head. “No, I have literally no skills. Money is hard to come by. I’m just crashing on couches at the moment, but I’m free. I can’t complain.”

“I could help you out,” he says, sipping his drink.

“I’m not going to be anyone’s pet again, thank you very much.”

He chuckles, low. “I don’t keep pets, Aviana. I build them a house and let them live their own lives.”

“Except you own them, control them ...”

His eyes are piercing when they meet mine. “Precisely.”

“I’ll be okay, thanks.”

“I can offer you far more than you were given before. A home, a job, money ...”

I take a sip of my drink before answering, “I can find those things on my own.”

“A house by the ocean, a car of your dreams, any job you want I can get for you, all you have to do is say the word, Aviana, and it’s yours.”

I squint. “What is it about me that would make you offer up so much?”

“You’re different than the rest. Fiery and strong. I like you; I always have liked you. I don’t like a girl that’s openly a pushover, or materialistic. The women I encounter, that’s all they are.”

I frown. “Well, how do you know I’m not like that?”

He grins. “By the way you’re dressed.”

I throw my hands up. “What’s wrong with my damned dress? I happen to like it very much!”

He chuckles. “I imagine you do, and that right there is exactly why I want you ...”

“I don’t wish to be controlled by you. I take all of those things, and I’m forever in your debt. I don’t want to live like that.”

“I wouldn’t control you, Aviana. I’d simply ... guide you.”

Pffft.

Yeah fucking right.

I take another drink, not answering him.

“Think about it, at the very least. I can give you a good, stable life. In return, I simply ask for your companionship.”

To fuck him.

That’s what he means.

“That’s all?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

He takes a drink. “That’s all.”

“Mmmm.”

“Will you consider my offer?”

“I’ll think about it, but right now, I really want to dance.”

I swallow the rest of my drink, and then take myself onto the dance floor and start swaying my hips. I don’t want him to see me as being overly keen, because that’ll give him suspicion and I don’t want him to be suspicious. I simply want him to think I’m here because I want to be. I dance until I’ve worked up a sweat, but not too much that I look even more “trashy” then I do already.

I go back to the bar, where Benedict is still sitting, watching me, his eyes never having moved.

I get another drink, and then sit back down.

“Would you like to see my office?”

Also code for, would you like to see my penis?

I shrug. “Sure, why not? You’re not going to kidnap me or something, are you?”

He chuckles and stands. “I don’t need to kidnap you, Aviana. You’re going to come to me willingly.”

Doubtful.

But I give a shy smile and follow him up the stairs and into his office. The office is covering half the entire top floor and my god it’s massive. A huge glass window looks out over the city, showcasing its utter beauty. The furniture in here is expensive and lush. This man sure knows how to set himself up.

I walk over to the large glass window and stare out. “Wow,” I say, with honesty.

It is breathtaking.

A moment later, I feel a hard form behind me. Benedict presses his body against my back, leaning in and sweeping my hair away from my neck as he brings his lips down to the skin there. I want to vomit, because ew, he’s like double my age, but I can’t do that. Not if I want to get him out of here with me tonight.

I grit my teeth instead.

“Where are you staying?” he asks me, dragging his lips down my neck.

I want to turn around and kick him in the balls. But I don’t.

“I’m not certain tonight, I only got in today. I’ll find a motel.”

“Stay with me, let me show you what I have to offer.”

Ugh, old penis.

No thanks.

I turn, needing to get his disgusting lips off my damned neck.

“With you?”

He nods.

“I don’t know ... I’m not sure I trust you.”

I make my voice sound incredibly hesitant, because it has to be. If he so much as even thinks I am up to something, he’ll probably kill me on the spot. The only way I can get away with this, is to genuinely sound like I’m not sure about what he’s offering.

“You’ll have to see that you can, but the only way to do that is with time ...”

“Why, considering I haven’t seen you for a few years, are you suddenly so interested in me?”

“I know a good thing when I see one. I don’t want to lose that again.”

I bite my lip.

“How about we have a drink so I can think about it?”

He grins. “Splendid.”

Ugh.

Splendid.

Can we get this over with already?

~*~*~*~

I SWALLOW THE VOMIT threatening to rise as Benedicts tongue tries to creep into my mouth as he kisses me. I can only be thankful I’m so incredibly drunk because otherwise, I’d probably let that vomit out. I remind myself of the bigger picture and let him kiss me. We’ve had more than a few drinks, and the night is winding down. It’s now or never.

I pull back and murmur, “Take me home.”

He grins and, without hesitation, calls his security guard in to instruct him to lock up on closing, and then he takes my hand and leads me toward the back exit. We pass the bathroom, and I hop around, saying, “Can I go first? I’m busting.”

He nods, and I turn and rush into the women’s restroom. I pull out my phone from my purse and text Cohen. “We’re leaving out of the back exit now. Be ready.”

I pee, because I actually need to, and that gives me time to let Cohen reply. “Copy that.”

They’re ready.

I swallow, wash my hands, and then walk back out. “Those are really nice bathrooms,” I say to Benedict.

“I only offer the best in my bar,” he informs me, putting his arm out so I can link mine through.

He’s weirdly old school, and yet strangely new age. What an odd combination. We walk out, with me chatting and laughing, as I normally would. We step out of the back exit, and over to his Rolls Royce, which holy mother, it’s fancy. I know the bikers aren’t going to do anything yet, there is too much security around and they don’t want anybody to know it was them that took the man himself.

They’ll follow us until we arrive at his house.

I can only hope nobody in the club was important enough to link me to his death, though they were all just workers I met tonight and none of them took a good look at me. The bartender, maybe. It’s worth the risk, at the very least. I don’t particularly like the idea of harming Benedict but he’s the only way we’re ever going to bring this operation down.

We arrive at his massive home, and he slows down the car. I try not to think of the fact that he’s drunk driving. This rich prick thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants. I can’t stand people like that. It’s not your life you’re risking, it’s the poor innocent person driving home, possibly with a family, that you’re going to take out. Dick.

“This is your house?” I breathe, staring up at the home through the massive windshield.

“It is. I’m sure once you see inside, you’ll agree to my terms. I can offer you the world, Aviana.”

I’m sure he can.

We get out of the car which he has parked on the street and walk toward the large gates surrounding his property. They would want to hurry up, because this particular gate isn’t going to stay open long.

I stall him, pausing and looking back at the car. I can see Alarick’s truck pulling in to a stop over the road. “You’re going to just leave your car out here in the open?” I ask.

He looks at me, then the car, then grins slowly. “It isn’t my car.”

“It isn’t?”

“No. It’s my employee’s. He will collect it in the morning.”

“Oh,” I say, nodding.

We turn and go to walk through the gates when I hear the sound of a gun cocking. I spin around and see Alarick, Cohen, Samson, Mykel, and Kendric all standing, pointing their guns at Benedict. He turns around when he realizes I’m not stopping. When he sees the club, his eyes widen. Probably from shock, he honestly didn’t see them coming. That’s one on the club score board.

“Move, I blow your fuckin’ brains out,” Alarick growls.

“Get in the truck,” Cohen orders, nodding to the truck that is now rolling in to park up behind Benedict’s car. Zariah is driving.

“Who the hell are you?” Benedict demands, his face stony.

“You’ll find out, when you get into the car.”

“I won’t get into your car. I’m calling for help!”

He pulls out his phone, and Cohen aims his gun and shoots his foot. The sound that comes out of Benedict’s mouth is horrifying. It’s a pained bellow that makes my skin prickle. He drops down to the ground and his phone skitters out of his hand. The men move fast, cuffing him and dragging him, still roaring in pain, into the back of the truck. As they’re about to close the door, he looks to me and mouths, “You?”

I smile and shrug. “Me.”

Then his eyes flutter closed, probably from the pain, and he passes out. I turn and walk over, picking up his phone. This will have location tracking on it, so I don’t want to be leaving it anywhere that will lead to us. I check the screen—it’s still unlocked so I quickly scroll through his messages. One is from a man he seems to contact quite a lot, and I send a message saying, “Business as usual tomorrow, I’m turning in for the evening.”

It sounds very similar to the other messages. I simply want them to know he’s at home.

I glance around, there are no cameras pointing out to the street that I can see, probably lucky because as soon as we stepped inside those gates it’s a given that there would be cameras surrounding that house. I suppose Benedict doesn’t spend much time worrying about who is on the street. I bet he’ll come to regret that decision. I throw his phone into his yard and then get into Cohen’s truck when it pulls up.

He looks to me and a grin spreads across his face. “We did it.”

We fucking did it.

Finally.

19

NOW – COHEN

I take Aviana’s face in my hands, eyes scanning over it to look for one single fucking mark that might tell me if she’s hurt, but she’s relaxed and smiling, a victorious smile, one full of pride and glee. “I did it,” she whispers, looking up at me with those sweet fucking eyes. “I fucking did it, Cohen. I got him here. I can’t believe I got him here.”

I exhale the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding since the moment she walked into that bar. “You’re fuckin’ incredible. You know that?”

She beams. “We’re halfway there.”

I lean down, pressing my lips to hers. Neither of us has established any sort of relationship or what it is we’re doing here, but right now, I need to fucking kiss her more than she could imagine. She melts into me, soft hands going up and playing with my hair, lips parting, and a small whimper coming from her throat. Fuck yeah. She wants this as much as I want it.

Thank fuck for that.

“Get a room, you two. We’ve got business.”

We part to see Alarick, Kendric, and Zariah walking into the room. I release Aviana, but I’m not fucking happy about it. This better be good.

“Where’s Benedict?” I ask.

Alarick glances at Aviana. “He’s chained up. We’ve got to keep moving because a scene is goin’ to be caused if we stay here.”

“Are we talkin’ to him first?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

“He wants to talk to her,” Kendric nods to Aviana. “I say we let him. Whatever we can do to get the information...”

“He wants to do it alone,” Alarick goes on.

“No fuckin’ way. As if we trust him,” I growl.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll talk to him,” Aviana shrugs. “I got him this far. If he’s going to talk to me, then we’d be stupid not to take that chance.”

I look to her. “He’s a clever, very dangerous man. Don’t want you anywhere near him alone.”

She smiles at me. “I appreciate that, but we have to get this moving, as Alarick said.”

“He’s secured,” Zariah tells us. “I’ve double-checked. You’ll be safe. We’ll be at the door the entire time, one sound of distress, and we’re in there.”

Aviana nods. “It’s cool. Let’s go.”

I keep my frustration in and follow them as they go towards the room where they’re keeping Benedict. I don’t know what he wants with Aviana, and I don’t like it at all. He’s very likely going to try and convince her that he doesn’t belong here. Luckily for him, she’s not stupid. Still, men like that, they have gotten as far as he has in life by being very fucking good at what they do.

I don’t like it, but I don’t get a choice.

“Dial me, and then put your phone in your pocket,” I say as we reach the door. “Best we hear what he’s sayin’, too. It might be information we need to hear too, can’t risk anything bein’ missed.”

Aviana nods, pulling out her phone and dialing me. I answer it, and she slips it carefully back into her jeans pocket before giving us a thumbs up. “I’ll be fine!”

Then she goes inside and closes the door.

We stand on full alert, waiting for any sign of something going wrong. I’ll fucking break his neck. There is absolutely no doubt about it. One wrong move, I’ll finish that motherfucker.

“Well,” Benedict says, his voice croaky. Probably from the touch-up Alarick and Kendric gave him earlier, trying to get him to talk. “I’ll give it to you, Aviana. It has been a long time since someone has fooled me so effortlessly.”

“I guess you figured because I was a girl, I didn’t have it in me. That’ll teach you for thinking girls are nothing more than toys.”

Fuck. I adore her.

Benedict grunts. “Perhaps it will. I don’t appreciate being thrown around by a bunch of dirty bikers.”

Aviana snorts. “Dirty bikers, you are so set in a certain way, aren’t you. Right now, those dirty bikers are far cleaner than you are. Did you piss yourself, Benedict?”

Kendric chuckles, low in this throat. “She’s fuckin’ good.”

I nod.

“You do know that someone is going to have seen you leave with me on security footage, and when I don’t show up, they’re going to come for you. You do know that, don’t you, Aviana?”

“I’ll take my chances. I’ll be long gone by then, and so will you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I’m sure you know exactly what we want by now, but you’re refusing to give it to us, so without it, you’re useless to our cause.”

Benedict chuckles, low and throaty. “What are you going to do, kill me?”

There is a pause, and then in a calm voice, Aviana says, “I’ve done worse, I suppose. You can blame my captor for that. He sucked my soul right out of me. If you think I care what happens to you, Benedict, you’d be wrong.”

“You kill me,” he growls. “You’ll die. You will fucking die.”

He’s breaking.

Fuck.

She is good.

“Death wouldn’t be such a bad vacation,” she says, and then her voice grows chipper again, “now, are you going to play nice, or are you simply worthless to us?”

Benedict falls silent for so long. I figure he’s shut his mouth and isn’t willing to say another word. Then, after a few moments, he offers her a deal. “I’ll do you a deal. I’ll give you exactly what you and your little club want in return for my freedom.”

“How do you know what my little club and I want?”

“You want Blanche, Peter, and Dax? Am I correct, Aviana? You want to take down that operation, thinking you’re going to be saving the fucking world if you do. You do know that there are thousands more like them out there?”

“I do, but those particular ones have something we want. Not to mention, they have ruined many people’s lives. We have a biker who needs Dax, so he doesn’t go to prison, we have bodies lined up that they’ve taken from us, we have a young girl who doesn’t fucking belong with them.”

“I’ll give them to you to do with as you please. I can have that entire operation annihilated in a matter of hours. You let me go; I’ll give you that.”

Aviana snorts. “You think I believe that if we let you go, that you’ll just hand over an operation and people that are making you millions, and let us deal with them and go on with our lives without ever hearing from you again?”

Benedict’s tone is serious when he replies with a firm yes.

“Why would I ever believe that?” Aviana questions.

“They’ve been causing me problems for a while now, and if you think the money they’re bringing in is worth anything to me, you’d be wrong. It isn’t worth even a small percentage of what I earn. They are nothing but thorns in my side. You want them gone? I’ll make that happen. You want the girl back? I’ll have her returned. As for me, you let me go. You and your little club will never hear from me again. Do we have a deal?”

“You know I can’t make decisions for the club, Benedict. They’re never going to believe you’re going to just hand them everything they want.”

“I will not speak. You kill me; you kill the information that comes with me. You’ll never take down the operation I’ve got running there. You’ll all be killed. I have the manpower to do it, without even a glitch. You simply do not. Do you want to see those people die?”

Aviana falls silent.

“Go and speak to them. I’ll wait for your answer.”

Aviana leaves without another word. We step away from the door, and she walks out, glancing at us. Alarick puts a finger to his lips, silencing her, and then we all make our way to his room where the others are waiting before speaking.

“No fuckin’ way,” Kendric says first. “Second he’s gone, he’ll have us all killed.”

“I have to disagree,” Zariah says. “I think his life is far more important to him than those people. I think he’ll help us.”

“I do, too,” Aviana nods.

“It’s fuckin’ risky,” Alarick murmurs. “If we trust him, and he turns on us... he’ll take our entire fuckin’ club down.”

“Then we have to be smart about it,” Aviana suggests. “We have to make sure that it’s done in a way that he can’t take us down without it hurting him, too.”

“How are we goin’ to do that?” I murmur, crossing my arms.

“By taking something he loves the most and holding it until we have what we want.”

“That man doesn’t love a single fuckin’ thing,” Alarick mutters.

“You’re wrong. He does,” Aviana grins. “He loves his daughter very much.”

“Wait,” Zariah says, her smile widening. “He has a daughter?”

“Indeed, he does. Not many people know about her, it’s to keep her safe, but I happened to find out about her. I know her name, too.”

“You’re fuckin’ genius,” I grin at her.

She shrugs. “What can I say? I’ve learned a few tricks...”

“Any idea where we might find this daughter of his, quickly?” Alarick asks.

Aviana nods. “I have an idea or two.”

“Well then,” he extends an arm. “Lead the way.”

~*~*~*~

“THAT’S HER, RIGHT THERE!” Aviana says, her voice a frantic hiss. She points to a girl who is walking down the street after leaving a café that she works at. We have been waiting for hours for her shift to end, and finally, it has.

“So what are we gonna do, follow her home?” I ask Alarick, sitting in the idling truck.

“We’re goin’ to have to. Can’t abduct her from the street.”

“Where are we going to take her?” Aviana asks.

“Somewhere he can’t find her, but safe. Zariah knows a place and is getting it set up so we can hold her there until Benedict delivers.”

“I kind of feel sorry for her,” Aviana murmurs. “Poor girl hasn’t done anything wrong.”

I turn and glance at her. “We have no intention of hurting her. She’ll be okay.”

Aviana nods and stares at the young woman walking down the sidewalk. When she gets into a car and pulls out, we follow her. She lives not too far away, at a small apartment complex. We park right behind her, and Alarick gets out. Here’s hoping she doesn’t fucking scream. I get out, too.

We approach her as she goes to the passenger side to get something out. When she turns around, we’re right there. Alarick is pointing his gun at her. “Don’t scream, or I’ll shoot. We’re not goin’ to hurt you. We need your help.”

“Who are you?” she gasps, face white as a ghost.

“Friends of your fathers.”

“I can’t help you,” she shakes her head, “I don’t even speak to him, I swear. I can’t stand that man. Please, don’t...”

“Get in the truck,” Alarick orders. “Again, we’re not goin’ to hurt you.”

He waves the gun at her, and she obliges, climbing into the back of the truck. I get in the passenger side, and Alarick stands at her door until I can turn and point my gun at her while he goes around and gets in. She’s white as a ghost and staring at Aviana, no doubt figuring we’ve captured her, too.

“It’s okay,” Aviana says, her voice soft and careful. “Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise.”

“I find that hard to believe when he’s pointing a gun at me,” she says, her eyes going to me.

“It’s only so you don’t run. I’m not goin’ to use it.”

Alarick turns and takes over the job of watching her so I can drive.

Aviana said she knows about Benedict’s daughter from the time earlier in her life when she spent a few months with him. She said he had pictures of her, and she saw her name on one of those and knew she lived locally. Benedict had told her their relationship was strained, but he would do anything for her. It was a good fucking call, and I can only hope it all goes to plan, and he is more inclined not to turn on us if he knows we have his daughter.

“What do you want from me?”

“We don’t want to hurt you, Angelica. Your dad has something we want back, and we’re just holding you to make sure he returns it,” Aviana explains.

“How do you know my name?” Angelica asks, her voice shocked.

“I have heard your father speak of you.”

“Well, that must have been a rare time; he doesn’t give a crap about me now.”

Here’s hoping that isn’t the truth.

“I think you’d find that’s not true,” Aviana explains. “Either way, we have no intention of hurting you. You’re just something we need to ensure he does as we’re asking.”

“What has he taken that you want so badly?” Angelica asks.

“A daughter, who has never met her father,” I tell her from the front seat.

“Oh,” she says, her voice soft.

“Please, don’t be scared. We’ll have you home soon, I promise you.” Aviana assures her.

Angelica doesn’t say anything more.

We drive to the location Zariah has set up to hold Angelica, and when we get into the small house, we lead her to a cool, clean room in the basement. There is a television, a bed, and a bathroom. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and tidy, and she’ll be safe here. Angelica looks around and then faces us once more. “How long do I have to stay here?”

“A couple of days.”

She’s scarily calm. It makes me wonder if this isn’t the first time she’s found herself being taken for something her father has done.

“After this, I’m changing my name,” she mutters, sitting on the bed. “Can I have a book, please?”

“Of course,” Zariah says. “Anything you need, you let me know.”

We walk out of the basement, locking the door. Zariah has secured all other entries and exits to make sure she can’t get out. Kendric has done a full sweep of the place to make sure there are no weapons she can use when we go down there.

“She’s calm,” Zariah says when we’re at the top of the stairs, and the door is closed.

“Guessin’ it’s not her first rodeo,” I mutter. “How did you find this place?”

“I know a lot of safe houses, joys of being a cop. Or...formerly, I guess. Now, let’s go and tell Benedict the great news.”

I nod. “I’ll go over with Aviana, and we’ll have him facetime her so he can see we’re not bluffing. Keep it short and sweet; hang up quickly when you’re done. We don’t want him seeing that she’s not distressed.”

Zariah nods. “On it.”

“Let’s fuckin’ do this.”

Finally, it feels like the end might just be closer than we think.

Fucking finally.

20

NOW – AVIANA

Benedict glares at us when we walk into the room, his face tight, his eyes narrowed. He doesn’t trust us, but that’s fine – we don’t fucking trust him either. Still, he’s our only chance to get out of this alive. No war. No fighting. No guns. No death. That’s what we want more than anything. To return those we love home safely and end this war once and for all. The only way we can do that is through this man right here.

He looks to Cohen, and then his eyes move back to me. “This is what you settled with? After everything you’ve been through, you pick a biker?”

I’m offended, to be quite honest. He thinks because he has money, and nice things, that he can have any girl he wants, and they’ll just do as he asks without hesitation. Not me. I’m not going to be that girl, nor will I ever be.

That’s exactly what he likes about me, and the only reason he keeps coming back for more.

I don’t take his crap.

“This biker,” I say, crossing my arms, “has done more for me in the past few weeks than anyone else in my life. I’d say I’m pretty damned lucky. But we’re not here to talk about me, are we...”

Cohen looks at me, and the expression on his face makes my heart flutter. My words meant something to him. Hell, they meant something to me even if I didn’t realize it when I was saying them.

“What do you want? Did you come to accept my offer?” Benedict asks. “If so, can you uncuff me because this isn’t comfortable.”

“Poor baby,” Cohen mutters, his voice more than a little sarcastic.

Benedict shoots him a glare. “Why is he here?”

“He is here because I want him to be,” I say, crossing my arms. “Now, I did discuss your offer with the club, and they don’t trust you, which is to be expected.”

“You’re making a mistake!” Benedict cuts me off before I’m done.

I put up a hand. “I wasn’t finished. They don’t trust you, but we would like to take you up on your offer, so we’ve secured something to ensure you don’t turn on us...”

Benedict’s face goes a touch lighter. Just a touch. I think he already knows exactly what I’m about to present. Cohen pulls out his phone and dials Zariah, who answers immediately. She doesn’t show her face. Instead, she has the camera right on Angelica. Benedict jerks in his chair when he sees his daughter sitting on the bed, staring at the camera. He doesn’t get the chance to speak to her. The phone goes dead.

Exactly how we wanted it.

Cohen puts it back in his pocket, and we both stare at the man sitting in front of us, his face wild with anger.

“We have no intention of hurting her,” I say, my voice calm. “However, if you so much as attempt to go back on your word or try to do something to harm anyone in my family, we will harm her. I promise you that. You want your family safe? So do I. She will be released safely the moment the job is done. Do we have a deal?”

“If you so much as harm a hair on her head...” he growls, jerking in the cuffs.

“You do right by us; we’ll do right by you. She will be released safely. I give you my word. Now, do we have a deal?”

He glares at me but nods sharply. “We have a deal. I will eliminate the problem, return your girl safely to you, and then we’ll all go our separate ways never to fucking cross again.”

It’s rare to hear Benedict swear, which tells me we’ve done the right thing taking his daughter. He’s worried, he’s angry, and now I’m far more likely to believe he’s going to keep to his word, which is exactly what we need.

“If you wish me to finish this, you’ll need to release me,” he goes on, voice tight, “I’ll need to make calls, get this set up.”

I nod. “I’ll have some men come in to watch you.”

Cohen and I turn and walk out, closing the door behind us.

Cohen spins quickly, grabbing me and pressing me against the wall, kissing me with a ferocity I’ve never felt from him. His mouth is hard and rough, and he is ravishing my lips like a man who will never taste a woman again. I whimper and curl my fingers into his hair, kissing him until my mouth hurts. Then I pull back. “What was that for?”

“You are the strongest, most fuckin’ beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Seein’ you like that, takin’ charge, fuck me...it does things to me.”

My cheeks heat. “Really?” I say with a sly smile.

“If I had time right now, I’d fuck you so god damned hard you’d lose your voice from screamin’, but unfortunately, we’ve got a little girl to save and a war to finish.”

“You’re right, we do. To be continued...”

He chuckles. “Oh, it’ll be continued.”

I pull out my phone and dial Alarick to give him the good news. He organizes for Samson and Zariah to watch Angelica, not wanting Samson anywhere near this. Then he sends Kendric, Bohdi, and Mykel to the room to watch Benedict while we get this started.

It feels like we’re so close.

This is nearly over.

God, please let this go to plan.

If we deserve something, anything in the world, it’s this.

The club needs this to be done with.

I need this to be done.

We all just need this to be over.

~*~*~*~

“YES,” BENEDICT SAYS, phone held in his hand on speaker so everyone can hear what he’s saying.

That was another condition of our deal, we have to be able to hear everything he’s saying, and if he wasn’t willing to do that, then we wouldn’t agree.

He had no problem with it.

I don’t have a bad feeling about this, and considering my gut is usually pretty good at reading things, I’d say that’s an excellent thing. I think Benedict is far more worried about his company, reputation, and life to care about Blanche, Dax, and Peter. Though, I do want the chance to see my uncle, to look him in the eye before he is taken from this world.

Maybe I’m bitter because of the life I have endured for the last five-plus years, but the fact is, death doesn’t scare me. Not with other people. I don’t care that those men are going to be taken out, that they will no longer be here. I honestly couldn’t give a crap that they’ll never walk another day on this earth. Briella has said she is concerned about it and the guilt that might follow, but I know when she can breathe easily again, she is going to feel so much better.

As for Kendric, and his need to have Dax admit to everything so his charges are dropped, Benedict has a plan for that, too. He has a friend of a friend who is a reporter and is going to make an announcement when all of this blows up about the operation they were running and how it went bad. It’ll be all over the news, and Benedict, with all his power, is going to ensure Dax is linked to the murder of Bennett and not Kendric.

He assured us everything would be cleared.

I have to trust him. We all do.

It’s really our only chance.

“You want me to get all of them?” The man on the phone says, snapping me back to the here and now.

“All of them,” Benedict orders. “We are going to take down that operation ourselves.”

“Any chance of this coming back on you?”

“None,” Benedict confirms. “They’re all going to stop breathing. Nobody will be there to speak. It’ll be a big police bust, and they’ll think they’ve taken down everyone involved. I’m a silent partner for a reason. Make sure all the money is transferred away from them before they’re taken care of.”

I glance at Cohen, but he’s staring intensely at Benedict.

“Make sure it cannot be traced, too.”

The man makes a sound of agreeance. “I’m on it, boss. It’ll be done.”

“You make sure that girl is out of there safe before you do anything. That is the number one priority. You get her out; I’ll give you instruction on where to take her.”

“Confirming her name is Lilian, she’s approximately sixteen or seventeen and has brown eyes and dark hair?”

“Correct.”

“I’ll have it done. Await my call.”

Benedict hangs up the phone and glances at Alarick. “Happy now?”

“I will be when this is over. You’re certain Kendric will be cleared?”

“You underestimate my power,” Benedict scoffs.

“It’s not your power I care about. It’s the fact that I don’t fuckin’ trust you. That man deserves to walk free because he had fuck all to do with what Dax was running in our down. You have his name cleared, or our deal is off.”

“Sit down, biker,” Benedict mutters. “I’ll have his name cleared. I have more people on the police force than you could possibly imagine. I run that fucking show. Blanche is mine, and he’s the best there is. You give me zero credit. This will be finished by days end.”

“You’re confident,” Cohen growls. “Anythin’ could go wrong.”

“It won’t,” Benedict says. “I’ve handled far worse than this. My men far outweigh what Blanche has running over there. It’ll look like a deal gone wrong, and the media will have a field day with it. The cops will love it. They’ll think they’ve uncovered a massive operation that is now finished, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“You’re sure that’s how it’s going to go?” I ask.

“One hundred percent. You should know by now, Aviana, that I’m just that powerful.”

Oh, I know he is.

I fucking know it.

“Just make sure it’s done, so we can take that poor girl home safely. She doesn’t deserve what’s happening. I hope you know these little operations you’re running, they’re sick. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Benedict grins. “Money is money, sweetheart.”

“Those girls have families!”

“You’re wrong,” he says casually, “they don’t.”

“You’re horrible.”

He shrugs, not a single care in the world. “Perhaps, but I can live with that. Are we done here? I’d like to eat something.”

I grit my teeth.

Cohen walks over and takes my arm. “Let’s take a walk.”

We turn and exit the room, the other men stay with Benedict. Cohen takes me to the large gardens at the motel we’re staying at, and we stroll past the duck ponds that compliment them. It’s a nice place, if only they knew the kind of dealings that were going on in their rooms. They’re be horrified, no doubt.

“Can’t worry about what else makes that man so powerful, babe,” Cohen says as we walk. “You gotta worry about what you can change. I’d love to take him out, too, but a man that powerful...it’ll come back, and it’ll destroy us. Can’t save the world.”

“I know,” I exhale. “I just hate that this is happening in so many places and to so many young men and women. They might not have families, they might be on the streets, but they don’t deserve that. Imagine the trauma...I just...I know how it feels.”

“You ever goin’ to tell me what happened to you those years you were away?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does to me.”

“Why, so it can upset you?”

“No, so it can fuckin’ show me what I did to you and remind me never to make a bad decision like that again.”

I sigh and stop, turning towards him. “You thought you were helping me, Cohen. You thought I’d be sent somewhere safe. You weren’t to know that deal would go wrong.”

“I could have done more...”

I shrug. “Talking about it doesn’t change anything. I was with a man who was cruel, harsh, and nearly broke me, but the thing is...he didn’t. I escaped. I got out. I’m free now. He did not beat me.”

Cohen takes my face in his rough hand, giving me a gentle expression. “You’re a fuckin’ warrior, do you know that?”

“Oh, I know it.”

He chuckles. “If you want to do something, something for the things you can’t control, then why don’t you use some of that money left to you and open yourself a big center for people who have been sold, or abandoned, or left on the streets alone. Give them a place to be. Give them hope. Stop people like Benedict being able to touch them.”

I look to him, my heart swelling. That is the most incredible idea. I have been wondering what to do with money like that for days, wanting to give it back in a way it would count. That counts. My god, does it count.

“You’re incredible,” I say, smiling up at him. “That is the best idea I’ve ever heard.”

“We’ll discuss it more when this is over, but I know one thing about you...if you can give back, if you can help in some way, then you’re goin’ to find your peace. Your inner peace.”

My smile widens. “When did you become so wise?”

He grins. “Just now.”

“Well, I must admit, it’s quite charming.”

He grunts. “Don’t get too fuckin’ excited.”

I laugh. “Come on, let’s go and get Lilian home to her daddy.”

“Fuck yeah.”

Here goes nothing.

21

NOW – AVIANA

“Why haven’t we heard anything?” I ask, pacing the room, rubbing my arms as nerves begin to eat away at me.

It’s seven p.m., and we still haven’t heard anything. There has been no word, nothing on the news, and Benedict hasn’t been able to make contact with the man in charge. Has something gone wrong? Is this going to blow up in our faces? Is he double-crossing us, and we just don’t know it? So many questions and so little answers. I’m frustrated, and it feels like I’m walking on eggshells as we wait to see how this is going to end.

Surely it’s our turn for it to end, right?

Surely.

“What have you done?” I demand, glaring at Benedict with a look that promises I’ll make him wish he didn’t double-cross us if that’s what he’s doing.

I swear, I will make him pay.

“I haven’t done anything, Aviana. Give it time. You’re overreacting,” he says calmly, but even his face shows that he’s feeling some sort of anxiety towards the whole situation.

“Is there any way we can tune into some sort of police radio here?” Kendric asks, his voice incredibly skeptical. “See if there are any reports?”

“I have people,” Benedict says, pulling out his phone and dialing.

Of course he has people.

He is people.

A man answers the phone with a careful tone. “Benedict?”

“I’m not here to call in my favor yet, Favian. I need some information, you give it to me, and I might just be a little kinder on you when I do call in that favor.”

“What do you need?”

“Police report from the last few hours. Anything happening out there that we should know about?”

“Of course this has something to do with you.”

“So, there is something...”

“Huge trade deal went wrong, fucking guns and death everywhere. They all turned on each other, and it became an all-out war. All our men are currently on scene. It’s a mess. We have handfuls of girls that were going to be sold, and an investigator dead who was running the whole show, but I don’t need to tell you that, do I?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I appreciate the information. Are you able to tell me, were there any left alive?”

“As far as we can tell, only the women. The men are all dead. As I said, they turned on each other. Clearly one betrayed another, and it blew up. You care to share anything about those men with me?”

“All I know is that one of them is responsible for the death of Constable Bennett and set the man who is going to trial up for it. If you dip a little deeper, you’ll find that and be able to close the case. That’s all I can offer you.”

“I’ll take that with me. Anything else I can do for you, Benedict?”

“Not right now. I’ll be in touch soon, though.”

“I’m sure you will.”

He hangs up the phone, and my heart is racing as Benedict turns towards me and says in a calm and rather cocky voice, “Satisfied?”

“I will be when I know Lilian is returned safely.”

Cohen reaches for my hand, taking it and squeezing it.

“Give him time. He’ll return,” Benedict says casually. “Then, you can let me and my daughter go and get the hell out of my city.”

“You’re hardly in a position to be calling the shots right now,” I scowl at him.

Benedict grins and then turns back to watch the television playing in the background. I press against Cohen, closing my eyes and trying to keep it together. I want this to be over, so we can all finally be free. I know this club needs it so much more than I do.

“It’s goin’ to be okay,” Cohen says to me, pulling me into him, his big arm wrapped around me.

“Yeah, I know.”

Alarick’s phone rings, and Zariah’s number flashes across the screen. He answers it, his voice tight. “They’re not here yet, but we have confirmation that the mission has been carried out, and they’re on the way back.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Zariah says, her voice seemingly panicked. “That’s not why I’m calling.”

Alarick glances at Cohen, his face suddenly going a shade lighter. “What the fuck is goin’ on, Zariah. Speak to me now.”

“Samson...he said he was going to the bathroom and...he never came back. I was hoping you’d call and say Lilian was returned and Samson had come over there. He’s gone, Alarick. I didn’t want to bother you, but...”

“Fuck,” Alarick barks. “Fuck me. Where the hell has he gone?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m going to hang up and call him. I’ll get back to you.”

He hangs up and immediately dials Samson’s number. It goes to voicemail.

My heart lodges in my throat, and I feel like I might just vomit from fear. Samson wouldn’t miss the return of his daughter, which leaves only one option...he went to retrieve her himself. Perhaps he doesn’t trust Benedict. Perhaps he just wanted to make the people who hurt his little girl suffer, either way - it’s so dangerous. So incredibly dangerous.

“He went to find her,” Cohen says, his voice gruff. “I know him. He would have wanted to make sure she got back safe. Fuck. He’s so fuckin’ stupid.”

“Fuck,” Alarick growls, rubbing his face. He looks to Kendric. “Take Bohdi, go and see if you can find him. Mykel, ring the hospitals. See if anyone by that name has shown up. If he went to that scene, he’ll be fuckin’ killed. What was he fuckin’ thinking?”

“He’s smart,” Kendric says, but I can hear the hesitation in his voice. “He wouldn’t do somethin’ stupid when he’s so close to havin’ her back.”

Wouldn’t he, though?

Before we can say or do another thing, Benedict’s phone rings with the confirmation we have all been waiting for. He has returned, and he has Lilian. Benedict instructs him to come to the room, and I swear to god, we all stare at the door, holding our breaths, waiting for the moment he brings that girl home. To her new family. To the people who are going to take care of her.

A knock sounds out. Alarick pulls out his gun and walks over, opening the door.

His gun lowers. He makes a pained sound.

In steps Benedict’s man with a girl by his side. One look at that girl and there is no doubt she is Samson’s daughter. She is just like him, and oh, she’s absolutely beautiful. She’s also crying, big heavy sobs that make my heart immediately sore for her. I rush over before anyone can say or do anything, Briella and Merleigh both stand and follow, no doubt feeling the same way I do.

I reach her and carefully say, “Hi Lilian, I’m Aviana. We’re not here to hurt you, honey. We’re here to bring you home.”

She looks up at me, tears running down her face. “I know who you are,” she sobs. “That’s not why I’m crying.”

“What is it then?” I ask softly.

“They killed him. They killed him...”

My entire world stops.

My heart lodges into my throat.

For a second, I forget how to breathe.

“Who, honey? Who did they kill?”

“My daddy.”

~*~*~*~

“WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?” Cohen roars, lunging at Benedict, his hands going around his throat and tightening as he shakes him.

Benedict’s face goes a dark shade of red as he gasps, unable to push Cohen’s hands away because he is bound. Alarick and Kendric move quickly, jerking Cohen away and holding onto him as he roars with anger, trying with everything he has to get back to Benedict. Briella and Lilian are sobbing in the corner, Briella’s arms wrapped around the young girl, a blanket over her body to keep her warm. Merleigh is standing beside me, clutching my hand so tightly my fingers hurt, but I don’t pull away.

Tears threaten to roll down my cheeks. It takes everything in me not to break right now. I want to scream and break down, but I can’t. Everyone else is falling apart. Someone has to hold them together. Samson is dead. The very thought of that makes me sick to my stomach; it makes the ball of tears stinging my nose want to burst forth and not stop. I can’t give in to them, but knowing he didn’t even get the chance to meet his baby...it crushes the very parts of my soul I honestly didn’t believe could be crushed any further.

I’m breaking.

We all are.

“I don’t know where he is,” Benedict roars. “You heard my partner. He didn’t see Samson. He got the girl and got the fuck out of there. If that man is there, then you need to go and find his body. I have nothing to do with this.”

“You’re a fuckin’ liar,” Cohen bellows, and my heart breaks for him. I want to go over and hold him, but that won’t help things right now. “You did this on purpose. You set this up. You couldn’t get away with not having one of us taken down.”

Benedict’s face is so hard his mouth is a pale, stretched outline. “I did nothing of the sort. I held up my end of the deal. If your friend wanted to go out there and risk his life, it wasn’t on me. How the hell do you think I could have planned him running away? Control your man, Alarick. I will not help any further if you don’t.”

“Take him outside,” Alarick orders Kendric and Mykel, his voice equally as broken.

The two men take Cohen outside, and he resists the entire time. When they’re gone, Alarick walks over to Benedict and leans down close. “You call every person you know. I want a breakdown of the bodies found at that scene. I want to know where he is. I want him home with his club.”

Benedict nods and begins making phone calls. Bohdi stands by the window, staring out, his body stiff. We’re all feeling this, every single one of us. How the hell are we going to get past this?

I glance over at Lilian, who has her face buried in Briella’s shoulder, sobbing so heavily it makes my heart ache. That poor girl, with everything she has been through, now she has to live with this, too? Nobody deserves that kind of pain.

I wonder how Zariah and Waverly are doing with Angelica? Do they know yet?

It’ll break their hearts, too.

Oh, Samson.

We sit in silence for what feels like hours as Benedict makes calls, trying to find out what he can. On his last call, he hangs up and looks to Alarick. “His body is not on scene. He isn’t there.”

“Where the fuck is he then?” Alarick barks, fists clenched.

“Someone took him?” I croak. “Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know,” Benedict says. “I have an officer calling the hospitals. Perhaps he was taken to one in an attempt to save his life.”

“I saw him get shot,” Lilian whispers. “They shot him so many times, he fell on the ground, and there was blood coming from his mouth...”

Her voice is so pained it makes me feel like I might just vomit. I cross my arms and rub them, trying to make my body feel just a touch better than it feels right now. It doesn’t work. I still feel as though I’m going to lose it and start screaming at any second.

“Did you see him die?” Alarick asks her, his voice quieter when he speaks.

“No, but...he couldn’t have lived. He couldn’t have. You didn’t see it.”

Alarick glances at Bohdi, and in a careful voice, he orders him to call the local hospitals.

Could Samson still be alive?

I don’t want to allow myself to even hold hope because it’ll be even more crushing if it isn’t the case...but...miracles do happen. They happen every day. Look at me, I never thought I’d be here, I never thought this would be how my life ended up after I was given to that monster, but here I am.

Do I dare hope?

Bohdi starts making calls, and we all wait with baited breath as he hangs up from each hospital with a shake of his head. It’s the last hospital he calls that he turns towards the window and starts speaking in a low voice. Then, he hangs up and turns towards us. “There is a man in critical condition in surgery right now that matches his description.”

“Let’s move,” Alarick says. “Bohdi, you and Mykel stay here and keep an eye on that fuck. Girls, go back to your room and let that poor girl rest. We’ll keep you updated.”

I nod and help Briella and Merleigh take Lilian from the room. They take her to another room while I stop and glance at Cohen, who is pacing up and down the hall, anger in his eyes, tension in his body. I walk towards him, taking the risk that he might lose it at me, and reach out when I get to him and take his face in my hands. “There is a man in the hospital matching Samson’s description. He’s in surgery. They’re going to see him now.”

Cohen’s eyes widen, and he murmurs in a low, broken tone. “Is it him?”

“I hope so.”

“Fuck,” he exhales. “I can’t take this feelin’, Aviana.”

“I know, honey. I know you can’t.”

“It fuckin’ hurts. Feels like my damned heart is bein’ torn from my chest.”

“I know,” I say softly, leaning up to kiss him. “Go with them, see if it’s him. Stay by his side. I love you.”

The words come out without thought, and I stiffen. I didn’t expect those feelings to even be real, let alone those words to come out so naturally, but they did, and they feel...well...okay. Perhaps I’ve always loved Cohen. Perhaps the anger has simmered down and let those emotions free? I don’t know. All I know is that at this moment, I mean it one hundred percent.

“You love me?” he asks, his eyes searching my face.

“I do, yes.”

It’s the truth.

The beautiful truth.

“Fuck,” he murmurs, leaning in to kiss me. “Love you too, babe.”

Shit.

Those words.

They hit me right in the feels.

I have to fight a whole lot harder to keep those tears at bay now.

“Go,” I say, my voice croaky. “Go and be with him.”

Cohen kisses me again, and then he’s gone.

This day has been both the worst and, weirdly, the best...

Today, I started to find myself again.

Today, I began to remember who I am.

Today, I fully found my freedom.

22

NOW – COHEN

“He’s in critical condition. We don’t know if he’ll make it through the night, let alone the next twenty-four hours. If he does, his chances are a lot higher. If he doesn’t, you’ll have to consider the chance that he won’t wake up from this. He was in a bad way. He had been shot eight times, yet only one of those shots hit his lung. We were able to repair that, but he had severe internal bleeding and serious damage to his body. He took a hard hit to the head, which has caused significant swelling. You need to be aware that the chances are incredibly high that he won’t come out of this alive. If he does, he may very well be a different man to the one you know.”

We stare at the doctor, hearts in our fucking throats.

It’s Samson. The man they just operated on. Alarick was able to look and confirm for them and give them some information on him.

It’s not looking good.

The doctor doesn’t believe he’ll pull through.

Fucking terrifying thought, considering he knows what he’s talking about.

Samson is a fighter, strong, and fucking determined, but can you fight past eight fucking bullet wounds?

I’ll find whoever shot him.

I’ll fucking kill them if they’re not already dead yet.

“Thank you,” Alarick says. “When can we see him?”

“You can see him one at a time, very briefly. He needs the rest.”

Alarick nods, and the doctor leaves, telling us he’ll keep us updated. Alarick goes in to see Samson first. Kendric and I sit, both of us staring at the fucking bland hospital walls, neither of us saying a damned thing. He’s our brother. He did the wrong thing by the club, betrayed our trust, but he’s our fucking family, and he didn’t deserve the shit he was put through.

I don’t fucking pray, but right now, I’m pleading with whoever is listening to let my brother live.

Let him see his daughter.

Let him piece his life back together again.

“He didn’t even fuckin’ get the chance to look into his baby girls' eyes,” Kendric murmurs, staring at his hands.

“Gotta believe he’ll get that chance, brother,” I say.

“If he doesn’t?”

He looks to me now.

“Then we make sure she knows him, we make sure she’s safe, we make sure she is always taken care of in the way he would want.”

Kendric looks away. “What the fuck was he thinkin’?”

“He was thinkin’ he wanted to get his baby out. He was thinkin’ he didn’t trust anyone else to do that. He was thinkin’ he owed it to everyone to be the person to go in and get her. He was tryin’ to fix his wrongs.”

“He didn’t have to fuckin’ do that,” he growls.

“Yeah, brother, he did. For himself, he did.”

“And now he might fuckin’ die! So what was it worth?”

I don’t say anything else.

Truth is, nothing I say will make him feel any better.

He’s fucking broken. We all are.

“All we can do is be here, brother,” I say carefully. “That’s all we’ve got left.”

Kendric nods and then goes back to sitting in silence.

Alarick comes out a minute later, his face hard, his body wound up tight. We both stand and walk over.

“How’s he doin’?” I ask.

“I don’t fuckin’ know how he’s alive. He looks defeated. Dead. Broken.”

“We need to get his girl in here,” Kendric rasps. “We need to get her talkin’ to him. She’s the only thing that’ll pull him out of this.”

“You’re right about that,” Alarick agrees. “Give her time to rest, and we’ll get her in here. Do you want to go in there? Not much to see, he’s got fuckin’ tubes comin’ out of him everywhere, and he’s pale as a ghost.”

“No,” I shake my head. “Let’s get the girl.”

“Agreed,” Kendric nods. “The girl.”

Here goes nothing.

~*~*~*~

“SHE HAS BEEN IN THERE for hours. Have we heard anything yet?” Aviana asks, walking towards me with a tray of coffee in her hands.

Waverly and Mykel come over and take a coffee before sitting back down. We’ve all spoken enough, talked enough, fucking cried enough. Now, we’re just waiting and praying that he’s going to wake up. It has been sixteen hours. The doctor said if it goes past twenty-four and he isn’t awake, the chances of him coming out of this get lower and lower.

We’re watching the clock.

Fuck.

Please wake up, brother.

“Nothin’,” I answer Aviana. “Nothin’ at all.”

“I hope this works,” she says softly.

“You and me both, babe. How are you holdin’ up? You haven’t rested for fuckin’ days, Aviana. You need to go home and sleep.”

“Without you?” She shakes her head. “No.”

“I’m good here.”

“So am I.”

Stubborn girl.

I fucking love her for it, though.

“Have you been watching the news?” she asks, sitting down on a squeaky chair in the hall.

I sit beside her, holding the hot coffee between my hands, liking how it gives me a feeling of warmth.

“Yeah,” I answer. “Been seein’ it all. Benedict was right, they took it as those men turning on each other and it ending in a blood bath. They’re braggin’ about bringing down one of the biggest operations in the state. Gotta love how they take all the credit.”

Aviana snorts. “Yeah, better them than us, though. I’m glad we weren’t there. It looked dangerous.”

“Yeah, it was. Has Alarick released Benedict?”

“Not until he knows Samson is going to pull through, and we can have him transferred back home. Then he’ll set him free. Zariah did say that Kendric’s lawyer has contacted him and told him they had received new evidence against Dax and that his charges were being dropped, which is incredible news. He has to go and deal with it when he gets home, but so far, it’s looking really positive for him.”

“That’s fuckin’ great news,” I exhale with relief.

Kendric never deserved to be done for that crime.

He took one for the team, but without Dax around, he was it.

I guess now they see that he wasn’t part of it at all.

“He was standin’ by the body, and he did confess. Is that going to affect him?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s what he’s got to go back for. It may still go to trial, but with Dax dead, there is a chance it won’t because, well, who will they convict? I guess Kendric has to come up with something to prove his innocence. I’m sure Zariah has that covered. Also, Benedict has his top men working on it, so we can almost guarantee they’re going to wipe the slate clean on that case.”

“Powerful man that one,” I mutter.

“Yeah, he really is.”

The doors open, and a doctor walks out with Lilian by his side. My heart leaps into my fucking throat, but when that beautiful girl smiles, I know she is about to share something pretty incredible.

“He’s awake,” she says, her voice soft and quiet. “He’s okay.”

“Doctor?” I ask, holding my breath as if that’ll make any fucking difference at all.

The doctor nods. “So far, it’s looking good. He is able to tell us his name and what happened. His vitals are strong, though it’s a long recovery he has ahead. I am confident now that he might very well make a full recovery.”

Aviana squeezes my hand. I didn’t even feel her grab it.

Waverly turns and hugs Mykel, and the two of them stand there like that for a while.

Bohdi smiles, small and weak, but a smile.

I’ve never even seen him get close to a smile.

“I’d like him to rest, but you can all see him in a few hours. Go home, get some sleep, and we’ll keep you updated.”

Aviana walks over and carefully hugs Lilian, who buries her face into her shoulder. That girl is a rock in all the ways it counts, and I fucking love her. Lilian is a little battler, and she’s going to go a long way with us by her side.

I guess things are working out after all.

Fucking finally.

23

NOW – AVIANA

“I am so damned glad to be home,” I exhale as we pull into Alarick and Briella’s driveway.

It has been a long few days home. We have all taken turns in driving just so we could get here quicker. Nobody stopped. We slept and drove. That was it.

Benedict was released when we were packed and ready to head out of town. Angelica was brought to him, and the deal was made. We would all go our separate ways, and that would be the end of it. So far, it seems Benedict has held up his end of the deal. I didn’t doubt he would, but with a man that powerful, it’s hard to ever truly know if he’s going to come back and bite you sometime in the future.

Luckily for us, he hasn’t.

Yet.

Still, in the end, it’s all over.

Finally.

“I can’t wait to climb into that bed,” Briella exhales, yawning. “I’m so tired.”

God, I feel that.

All I want to do is sleep.

Samson was transferred back as soon as he was stable enough to handle the flight, and will be waiting for us in our local hospital. He’s doing well. Lilian hasn’t left his side. Seeing them together, it’s absolutely beautiful and also incredibly heartbreaking. I know why he betrayed everyone to get her back. Why the hell wouldn’t you? They’re going to have an incredible bond. I just know it.

For now, Lilian is going to stay with Zariah, who she is incredibly close to. I guess because Zariah is the first person she saw and the person she trusts the most right now. I’m glad she has someone, god knows her road to recovery will take a while. We don’t even know her full story yet, or how she got in the hands of those monsters. I know one thing for certain, though. That haunts you forever.

Even now that I’ve made peace, those demons still linger inside me.

Cohen puts his hand on my leg, and I jerk out of my thoughts. I turn to him and smile. He looks exhausted, and I’m sure he’s looking forward to bed, too.

“Are you going to stay with me?” I ask.

He nods. “I’m not fuckin’ goin’ anywhere, babe.”

That makes me happy.

So incredibly happy.

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m starting to think I could sleep for days.”

He leans in closer, his hand running up my leg. “Not until I’m done with you.”

His voice is gravelly, and my word, it does things to me. I shiver and turn, finding his lips and kissing him. He growls against my mouth, and I bite his lip when he tries to deepen the kiss.

“Get a room you two, fuck,” Alarick mutters.

Briella laughs. “Leave them. They’re so super cute. Remember when we were younger, and we used to talk about these guys. You always did like Cohen best.”

I grin. “Don’t make his head bigger than it already is.”

“You talked about us, huh?” Cohen murmurs into my ear. “What did you say?”

“We don’t ever talk and tell,” I chuckle. “Sorry, honey.”

“I will tell you this,” Briella laughs. “She was a wild one. You were never getting away from her.”

We all laugh.

Alarick pulls into the house, and slowly, we pile out of the truck and go inside, bags in hand. The guys go to have a shower, and we prepare some lunch to have before we all fall into those deliciously soft beds and pass out until tomorrow. I can’t fucking wait.

“I’m glad you two are together,” Briella tells me, sliding a sandwich in my direction as she cuts the ingredients for the next ones.

“Me, too,” I smile, taking a bite.

“I’m glad you’re back, too. I hope now this is all over, the two of us can find that friendship we lost. I have really missed it.”

I stare at her and give her a small smile. “I think we can do that. I’ve missed it, too.”

The relief in her face makes me happy.

I do want our friendship back. I want it all back.

My whole life.

“Have you heard any more from Romeo?” Briella asks, taking a bite of her own sandwich.

“Yeah, he has text me a few times. He’s coming this way next week with all the documents, and he asked if we can hang out and get to know each other. It’s so weird, knowing I have a brother...”

“He seems like a nice guy. I’m sure you two will grow close. It’s good for you to have a family again.”

“Yeah,” I nod. “It really is.”

“Did he deal with the men who were after you?”

I nod. “Alarick said he was happy to take care of it, and he confirmed he had a few days ago. I guess with everything going on, I didn’t even think too much about it. I’m glad that’s over though.”

“I can imagine, it must feel nice to finally be safe.”

It really does.

“What are you two yabberin’ about?”

We turn and see Alarick and Cohen walking into the room, both shirtless, both with their wet hair falling around their faces. My god, we’re two lucky ladies. My eyes move down Cohen’s body, across those tight muscles and damp skin. Suddenly, I don’t have an appetite for food. I have an appetite for him.

I stand, taking our two plates of sandwiches.

“I’m going to finish these in my room,” I say, locking eyes with the gorgeous man in front of me.

He grins and extends his arm. “Lead the way.”

Oh, yummy.

Bring. It. On.

~*~*~*~

“HOW ARE YOU FEELING, Lilian?” I ask, smiling at her as she sits on the sofa at the club.

“I’m okay,” she says softly. “It’s weird, being here with all of you. I never thought...”

I know that feeling.

She never thought she would ever escape.

I give her my warmest expression. “You’re here now, and you’re family. We’re going to make sure you have everything you need.”

She smiles at me. “I know, you have all been so nice.”

“How’s your dad?”

She nods and then rolls her eyes. “He hates being in the hospital. He’s grumpy, but I like him a lot.”

I laugh. “They’re all grumpy sometimes, honey. That’s just bikers.”

Her smile widens.

I go to the bar to grab another drink.

Alarick has put on a cookout to welcome Lilian to the family. It’s nice being back here, all together, finally feeling free from the pressure the entire situation was bringing.

“How do you feel now we’re home?” Merleigh asks me when I approach the bar.

She’s waiting to collect two drinks for her and Bohdi.

“I’m glad to be back. What about you, honey?”

She nods. “Yeah, I’m glad that’s over.”

“You and Bohdi seem to be getting along well,” I say, winking at her.

She laughs softly. “We really do get along well, but he’s so closed off. I still don’t know anything about him. He just doesn’t open up...at all. I tell him everything, but he gives me nothing.”

Yes, Bohdi certainly is an interesting one.

“I’m sure he’ll come ‘round. Give him time. Maybe he has a past that’s hard to talk about.”

I know how that feels.

“Yeah, I’m certain he does. Come and have a drink with us?”

I nod, and we walk outside to a large wooden table where everyone is sitting. I sit beside Cohen, and Merleigh sits across from us next to Bohdi. He gives her a nod when she places the drink down in front of him. There is a warmth in his eyes when he looks at her, a depth that certainly goes deeper than friendship. I wonder what he’s so afraid to share with her?

What kind of secrets is he keeping?

We talk for hours, laughing and joking, and as the night slowly goes on, everyone unwinds. The pressure of the last few weeks dissipates. It’s about seven p.m. when a car pulls into the club parking lot. I figure it must be Zariah and Kendric, coming back from whatever it is that kept them from being here earlier, but instead, a young woman and two children get out of the car.

“They must have the wrong address or be lost,” I say, watching as the woman carries one of the kids on her hip and holds the other one's hand as she walks into the club.

She approaches the group, and up close, I see she is very pretty. Long, blonde hair that’s very surfer type. It’s not soft and flowing, but it’s not a dreadlock style. It’s kind of in-between. Like she has spent her days in the sun and the sand. She has piercing blue eyes and tanned skin. The little kids are the same, both of them clearly boys and both of them sporting long locks of blond hair, blue eyes, and little beaded necklaces around their necks. They’re gorgeous kids.

“Sorry to bother you,” the woman says, her voice soft. “I was looking for someone and was told he might be here.”

Alarick stands and smiles at her. “Name is Alarick. I’m President here. Who are you lookin’ for?”

“His name is Bohdi.”

Bohdi.

No way.

“Are you a friend of his?” Alarick asks.

The woman shakes her head. “No, no, I’m not. Is he here?”

Alarick nods. “He is.”

Alarick sends Mykel to go inside and get Bohdi. He and Merleigh just disappeared in there for another drink, but they’ve been gone a while. I stare at the woman and kids, wondering who she is? Is it possible she is his sister? Maybe a friend? He has never mentioned having kids, so I couldn’t see them being his.

Mykel returns a minute later, with Bohdi and Merleigh following him.

The second Bohdi lays eyes on the woman, he freezes. His entire body goes stiff, and he stares at her like he has seen a ghost. His eyes widen, and his jaw tightens. I look back at her and see she is staring at him almost the same way. Her face is swirling full of emotion and heartbreak as she stares at him.

“Isla?” he murmurs, his voice low.

“You’re here. I thought the lead was wrong, that you couldn’t possibly be here, but...”

“What’s goin’ on?” Alarick asks, looking between the two of them. “Bohdi, is this a friend of yours?”

“I’m not a friend,” Isla says, her voice cracking. “I’m his wife.”

Wait.

What?

Everyone in the room falls silent.

Merleigh looks like she’s been struck as she turns and stares in horror at Bohdi.

He glances at her, giving her an expression as if to say ‘I’m sorry’ but she turns away and disappears. Oh, Merleigh. That poor girl.

Nobody saw this coming.

That’s Bohdi’s wife, and those are clearly his children.

What in the ever-loving hell is he doing here?

“And he,” Isla points to Bohdi, her face hard, a tear rolling down her cheek, “is meant to be dead.”

A gasp can be heard in the group.

Dead?

He’s meant to be dead?

What the hell is going on here?

Alarick looks to Bohdi and carefully asks, “You want to explain this?”

“No,” Bohdi says, his voice hard.

“These are your children,” Isla says. “I am your wife. We thought you were dead.”

This is messy.

So messy.

“Can we do this somewhere else?” Bohdi asks, his eyes falling on the boys clinging to her.

It makes sense now I look at them. They’re just like him.

Isla nods, and the two of them disappear into the darkness.

I turn to Cohen. “What the hell just happened?”

“Fucks me, but whatever it is...it’s fuckin’ bad.”

That’s one way of putting it.

Bohdi has a wife and kids.

A wife and kids who thought he was dead?

We all knew he had a story.

We just didn’t know the story was going to be so twisted.

Things are about to get interesting around here.

Really. Fucking. Interesting.

THE END

Bohdi and Merleigh’s story will be coming to you in December 2020 and is the FINAL book in the King’s Descendants MC series. I can’t wait to wrap this story up for you, in a nice pretty bow, but you know...it has to get worse before it gets better...right? He he.

As always, thank you for reading. Your reviews as a reader means so much to me, and I’d love it if you could leave an honest review wherever you purchase your books. It would mean the world to me.

~*~*~*~

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