Hours later and I was still shaken up from Remy’s visit.

Gloria saw how he left me and rattled off a long string of what I can only assume were curses. He was a man of extreme highs and lows, and I didn’t know how much longer I could bear it. I’d never seen anyone so diffused outwardly, yet with such boiling passion a hair’s breadth beneath the surface. Everything about him seemed like barely contained violence. Even when he was gentle, the electricity in his touch and in his intentions was unmistakable.

With him, at any moment there could be an explosion followed by writhing bodies on the floor. Either ours—Remy and mine—or Remy’s enemies.

Gloria had brought me to a window where I watched the events with the police unfold. She had this forlorn look about her the whole time. Like she knew how this would end before it ever even started.

I saw Remy and that monster—Top—talking with the police. I couldn’t hear anything, of course, but I didn’t need to. The way the officers were standing with their hands ready on their guns spoke volumes.

The worst part was seeing just how easily the police were dealt with. It was so utterly unreal. At first, I wanted to run out there and jump in the back of a cruiser, but when the fat guy in the cowboy hat showed up and waved off the other cops, I realized the rules I had always been taught didn’t apply in this place.

My last security blanket was torn away.

Once they were gone, Gloria took my hand and moved me back into the room we were working on. With everything that had been happening, I half expected Gloria to betray me somehow, as well. I didn’t want to be that person. Always on edge. Skeptical of everyone.

What a terrible way to live...

There was no hidden knife waiting to attack me when we got back to that room, but a part of me wondered how I might take her down if there had been. I shook that admittedly growing distrust from my mind. I wasn’t like them.

I was more than a rabid dog in a leather vest.

I took Gloria’s hand and thanked her sincerely. I wasn’t sure for what, exactly, but I guess it was just for being a decent person.

She blushed a little, smiled, and waved the whole notion away. Before long, she had the radio on and continued dancing through the room again.

I loved the way she could just accept a situation for what it was and not let it darken her world. I had so much to learn from her. Much more than just that perfect blanket fold.

After a few more rooms, Gloria had me try some on my own. She’d pop in every once in a while to make sure I hadn’t set anything on fire. She’d look everything over, make a few changes, then leave with an exaggerated thumbs up. The woman was adorable.

Unfortunately, the time without Gloria’s wonderful distraction gave me more time alone with my thoughts than I would’ve liked.

Why was I still cleaning?

Why not? Escaping was off the table and I had no idea where I stood with Remy. He never came back after that moment in the room together. Did I want him to come back?

Part of me wondered if he was my only hope of getting out of here and another part worried that he was just playing with me like everyone else was.

I had no idea what, if anything, I could do next so I just kept cleaning until there were no rooms left.

Later, I saw Muse. No, I couldn’t think of her by her given name, not anymore. I thought I could trust her and she intended to give me back to Top, to let him know how I tried to escape.

There was nothing merciful about that woman.

Her perfectly groomed appearance seemed slightly off. It wasn’t so much in her clothes, hair or makeup, it was more in her mood and the way she moved. She wore a subtle air of being frazzled. It was off-putting because this wasn’t a state of being I’d ever expected to see her in.

Something or someone must have seriously rattled her.

When she noticed me, Muse’s eyes raked over my every feature in relentless detail as if she were searching for something. Finally, she offered me a strained smile, and went about her business.

The whole experience was uncomfortable and made me feel even more uneasy around her.

With dusk came more bikers. The low grumble of the engines was such an unmistakable sound, one I could now only associate with a sense of rising dread. I saw them from a hallway window approaching in a two-by-two line formation. The long, black, mechanical snakes slithered into the parking lot. There were more bikers showing up than were here already.

I wondered if it had anything to do with Bren being killed at my aunt and uncle’s station. What had happened to them sent pangs of guilt and remorse spiraling through me, but I forced it all away.

I needed to be sharp if I intended to survive tonight.

Occasionally, unintelligible words ricocheted up the halls over the din of rock music coming from the bar.

Gloria was running through the linens washing procedure with me. I recognized the room from last night, the closet I slept in was directly across the hall.

She had to be getting off shift soon, I could escape with her. I agonized to remember the Spanish word for escape, but I was drawing a blank.

The whirling noise and vibration of the two double-washers and dryers in the tiny room was enough to block out most of the sounds from the bar. The small cream-colored room had a few bins, the washers and dryers, a small sink, and a fold-down working table. Gloria had to wedge the door open with the cart because there really wasn’t enough room for two people to work. She had me sorting and loading the various articles, while she folded and stacked sheets.

I tried to finish every meager task she gave me as quickly as possible. This room was far closer to that shitty bar than I felt comfortable with. I think Gloria understood my anxiety because even she sped up her diligent yet leisurely pace.

“—enough with that fucking dog joke already. It wasn’t funny the first time.” Jubilation spilled out into the hall as that dreaded bar door swung open. Three coarse voices walked our way.

Gloria and I stopped working and started awkwardly shuffling around as quietly as possible.

“Fuck you, Rio. I’m jus’ tryin’ to lighten the mood. I fucking hate these things.”

“I’ll remember that when you get popped, shithead,” a nasally voice scorned the other two.

“Nah, I know what he’s sayin’, Rio. I didn’t really know the kid either. I think I met him like twice? Bren was barely even a member, who gives a shit?”

We worked furiously to move all the fabric and close the folding table. I had stacked the bins, but the table was stuck and there wasn’t enough room to pull the cart in and shut the door with it open.

Fortunately, it sounded like the men stopped, then there was some scuffling like they were shoving each other.

“Get offa me, man!”

“Both of you dipshits, listen good. I know you’re still high off these fresh patches, so you get this through your heads right now. This club is everything. We’re family. I don’t give a fuck if you didn’t know or even like your brother, but when he gets laid down, you show some fucking respect for your fucking family! Next year, when I take over for Deadeye, I’d better see you both front and center at every single one of these,” the one they called Rio scolded, then there was the unmistakable sound of a switchblade extending.

The metal sliding across metal sound made me cringe. All my muscles tightened as I waited for an inevitable scream.

“Or I swear to God, I’ll fucking cut your balls off,” Rio finished.

“Shit, man! Fuck! OK! I’m sorry! Put that shit away. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”

Come on, come on. Almost there... click. The table swung down.

Yes!

Gloria pulled the cart in and the door began to close itself. Once shut, it’d self-lock and we would wait it out with relative safety. The wide arc came to a close, but it didn’t shut. I tore through Gloria’s expertly folded laundry to see what the blockage was. I saw nothing.

Why was the door still open?

“What do we got here?” a voice asked.

No! How? I leaned back to get an angle at the floor.

A thick leather boot was firmly placed between the door and frame. Fingers folded around the edge, followed by the side of a scruffy, sweaty face.

“Peek a boo...” The door opened wide revealing three of them eagerly gawking inside the closet like they were pirates prying open a treasure chest.

Rio and Lug Nut read the name-patches on the front of their vests. I couldn’t tell if they were Steel Veins or a different gang. It probably wouldn’t matter. With the notable exception of Remy, all these bikers were the same. At least to me.

A biker with the patch name of Skinpipe leaned in and looked us both over. “Well shit, this works out. You girls wanna party?”

We said nothing.

“Yo, Skin, you’re not talkin’ bout the Spanish bitch too, right?” Lug Nut’s rubbery face contorted as if he was slapped with an insult.

“Don’t hate. I like my fish tacos with a little meat on em.” Skinpipe reached out to grab Gloria’s waist.

She tried to step back, but the room was just too small for her to move.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” I kicked the cart at the biker as hard I could.

The corner caught him in the balls and he staggered backwards, cursing.

I stepped forward to block the other two from getting at her. This was happening—I just couldn’t escape it. If it wasn’t Top, it was going to be one of these other assholes that dragged me away.

Fine. I felt a fiery resolve boil in my stomach. Take me, but you’re not taking her.

Gloria was the only one who’d been nice to me since…. Hell, since before I got to Oklahoma. It felt good to protect someone worthwhile, even if the consequences were horrible.

“I like this one!” Rio declared.

He and Lug Nut erupted into laughter when Skinpipe had to let go and grab his nuts.

“Bitch is feisty. How’re them nuts, Skin?” Rio sniggered.

“Fuck you.” Skinpipe groaned, wiping away the water from his eyes.

“These girls definitely want to party!” Rio laughed and started in for us, again.

I pulled the steak knife from my waistband.

Rio’s smile fell and the laughter stopped.

Right away, I felt like I just made a bad decision.

“Heh, feisty girl wants to play...” The playfulness drained from Rio. He stepped back a few steps and whipped out the switchblade I’d heard earlier.

Had it just been me there alone in that closet, I don’t know, maybe I would’ve held onto the knife and seen what would happen. But with Gloria there... I couldn’t risk it. There was three of them and I was hopelessly outnumbered. They might kill her if I became too much of a nuisance. I dropped the knife. “Just take me, leave her alone,” I said.

Rio contemplated it for a moment. If his eyes could have jumped out of his head, I would’ve felt them roll up my legs and tits. “Nah, take them both,” he decided then slapped a hand on Lug Nut’s shoulder. Rio jerked the cart I kept defensively between us sidelong down the hall, and grabbed me while Lug Nut went for Gloria.

“Wait! You can’t take her! It’s against the house rules. You can take Muse’s working girls, but not her employees,” I cried loudly. It was a total bluff, but I hadn’t seen any of the junkies and whores from last night with the cleaning crew today. There were actual maids like Gloria and then there were working girls that only dressed like maids. They had to be separate jobs! Muse was too smart of a businesswoman to let them mix like that.

“The fuck are you talkin’ about, bitch?” Skinpipe grunted, rubbing the soreness from his groin.

“I don’t work here yet, I was just helping Gloria out.” There was no way both of us were getting off the hook. Gloria obviously didn’t know exactly what was being said, but the worried look she wore told me she was getting the gist of it. “If you fuck things up for Muse, then you fuck things up for Top! Do you really want that kind of trouble?” I finished, praying the bluff worked.

Rio physically rolled his head left and right while mulling it over.

Gloria flashed me a concerned glance, then with a motherly firmness she latched onto my arm as if to keep the whole world from pulling me away. She didn’t like where this was headed.

“Leave the Spanish bitch. Skin, once your balls pop back out, go talk to Muse. See if this cunt is lying.” Rio reluctantly decided to err on the side of caution.

Thank you.

I pried Gloria’s hand away and let myself be dragged away without a fight.

Gloria watched me go with a great sadness etched on her features. She replaced it with sternness and ran off in the opposite direction, bumping Skinpipe with her elbow as she passed.

Gloria, bless her heart, was probably running to Muse for all the good that was bound to do. Remy’s words floated through my head. “Simple economics.” I’m the product, they’re the customers, and, “The customer always gets what he wants.”

Passing through that barroom door, I was being dragged into the maw of a giant beast. Swallowed whole. With the sheer volume of people in the bar, it was noticeably hotter and the stale air reeked of a long day’s ride in both sweat and dust.

Rio threw me into a booth and told me if I moved he’d kill me.

I was back in hell, where could I possibly go now? I was one booth over from where Top took me last night. It figured. I just sat there and waited for the inevitable.

The only thing that kept my spirits up was imagining Gloria storming into Muse’s office and demanding that I be released or she was quitting. Then the fantasy part kicked in. Muse, terrified of losing her best worker, buckled immediately then ran down here in those black stilettos and forced everyone to let me go. Why stop at Muse? Why not Superman crashing through the ceiling and spiriting me off to safety?

It was about as probable.

My heart jumped a beat when I saw Remy across the room. He was talking to a grizzled, bearded bald man with an eye patch over one eye—the quintessential old guard biker— and the way everyone was shaking his hand and hanging on his words, I could tell he was a big deal in their community. I didn’t care about him though. My eyes followed only Remy.

I didn’t know what Remy’s status in the club was, but almost everyone looked older than him. Remy looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He spoke and moved with such surety that he stood out among the rabble almost to the degree of Top and Old One-eye.

I’d always been perceptive. It was easy for me to pick out the decision-makers in a crowd and Remy was certainly one of those men.

I didn’t know if he felt my gaze on him, but Remy casually scanned the room and found me. When he did, that roughly, handsome face sunk a bit. Remy let his gaze drift to the ceiling in subdued exasperation. I was sure he was asking himself the question, how many times do I have to pull this silly girl out of the fire?

Part of me expected him to stay over there, deciding he couldn’t help me anymore. I was a lost cause. Maybe he should give up on me. The depression hit hard in that moment.

Was I really worth it? I couldn’t fathom why he’d risked so much for me already. Our roles being reversed, I probably would have cut my losses with me too.

Could you abandon him if your roles were reversed?

No, I didn’t think I could…

Remy stood there so long that I thought he actually had finally wised up and decided to ignore me. Then he looked back at me with these half-set eyes. The look was that of willful resignation, like even he could barely believe what he was going to do next.

Remy parted the crowd and walked toward me.

I was never happier to be wrong in my entire life. Jesus, I could’ve cried. Locking eyes with him pulled a smile from the depths of my soul that I didn’t know existed. I had to cover my face.

“Rio, the fuck are you thinking?” Remy said, turning away from me at the last moment.

“Woah, easy, Poe,” Rio replied.

Poe? Like the author, Edgar Allan Poe? I guess Remy’s penchant for literature was widely known.

“Did you not see the uniform?” Remy pointed at me. “Top sent you to Muse to get the girls, not the staff.”

“I’m the national president’s fucking Vice, I get who the fuck I want.” Rio rose up off the bar and got in Remy’s face.

Remy sneered. “Remember whose house you’re in, boy.”

Rio did look young, maybe early twenties.

Remy didn’t give him an inch, if anything, he pushed in closer. “Deadeye has rules in place for a reason. I don’t mind telling him why his kid is missing a few teeth.”

The radius of men taking notice of the argument grew exponentially, and it looked like they were siding with Remy. Rio probably could’ve argued the fact that I said I didn’t work here yet, but he picked up the vibe from his peers and just sat back down. “S’fine, you’re right. My bad.” Rio put his hands up and frowned in reluctant agreement.

“Glasses, get the fuck back to work before Muse beats your ass.” Remy shot me a quick glance that told me to get as far away as possible, then he sat down next to Rio and changed the subject entirely. “What are you drinking? It’s on me.”

“Whiskey and coke,” Rio said, calming down. Remy gave him an amiable way out that didn’t cause him to lose too much face.

I shot up and headed for the door. God, I hoped Remy would find a way to me tonight. There were a thousand ways I wanted to thank him. None of them involved me wearing this outfit.

Remy ordered two Jack and Cokes and purposefully kept his vision stapled elsewhere until I was gone.

That creep, Rio, drank in every step I took. “Hey, Glasses,” Rio called to me just as I reached the door.

I stopped and acknowledged him. I had to, no matter how much it felt like someone poured a cold, bucket of slime down my back. I didn’t respond but I turned to at least face him.

“Apologize to Muse for me—”

Almost as if on cue, the door to the hall was pushed open. Muse, followed by ten working girls filed in. After the initial cheers died down, Muse regarded me with a sly wink. That fluster from earlier was completely gone. “Oooh, my ears are burnin’! Hello, Rio,” Muse purred, sailing him a kiss on the air.

He smirked, got up, and gave her a hug.

“Don’t worry boys, I have more friends coming!” she announced.

Through the renewed round of cheers, Remy paid for the drinks and decidedly sat this conversation out. He pretended to be watching the football game on one of the TVs, but I knew he was listening intently, gauging the rapidly changing situation.

“I was just telling your girl here,” Rio resumed, “to apologize to you for the misunderstanding.”

“Sugar, there’s no misunderstanding. The shining Star is a free agent. She doesn’t work for me. Silly girl got herself all wet, so I gave her something dry to slip into, is all.”

She wasn’t just cutting me loose—she was serving me up! That bitch! Ugh, I hated myself for trusting her this morning, but I hated her more for what she was doing now. I wasn’t waiting around for her to strip me naked in front of everyone—I needed to get the hell out of there.

Not even two steps later Rio’s boney hand snatched my arm. “Is that so? Looks like mommy will let you stay out past your bedtime.” He pulled me in close.

Past him, I could see Remy turn in his bar stool and take us in. He leveled his deadly gaze at the back of Rio’s head, then on to Muse. It was a look that sent a shiver up my spine to rival earlier, when he had his hand to my throat.

Catching Remy’s glare, Muse’s smile lost its luster, dropped and peeled away like old paint as she unconsciously took a small step backward.

“I didn’t mean to be so rough earlier, I just get excited,” Rio cooed at me. “How’s about a kiss?”

“Get off me!” I twisted away from him. The skin on my neck crawled away from the heat of Rio’s breath. When I glanced back, I found Rio’s face painfully contorted.

Remy had his hand wrapped so tightly around Rio’s wrist that the man’s whole arm was turning white. “Let go,” Remy said so quietly that I didn’t actually hear the words, I read them off his lips.

Rio immediately complied and I wrenched myself free.

Remy then turned to Muse without letting go of Rio. “You and I are going to have words later. Leave.”

“What for?” Muse asked coyly. “Little bird found her way here all by herself and this is my bar, Remy. No one tells me what I can or—”

“Fucking goddammit!” Rio sharply growled at Remy’s tightened grip.

Remy stared at Muse, his eyes narrowing slightly, full to bursting with hellish promises. Remy used Rio’s anguish to send Muse a taste of what he was capable of.

Muse looked around to see if she could rally any support for her defense, but everyone was more interested in her girls and booze than her. She swallowed, anxiously tugging at the bottom of her shirt before curtly walking out of the bar.

Remy released Rio.

“What the fuck, Remy?!” Rio was fuming. He struck me as an entitled brat who was used to getting his way. “If the bitch was your Ol’ Lady, then fucking say so!”

“Her name is Star.”

“Who gives a fuck? Is she or isn’t she?” Rio snarled in pain, rubbing his wrist.

“Answer his question, Remy. Is she your Ol’ Lady?” Top waited expectantly with the one eyed guy right behind him. Despite all the other distractions, Top had somehow noticed the situation and walked over for a closer look. “Because I’m getting real fucking tired of having that big a loose end kicking around.”

Remy saw the worried look on my face or maybe it was the way I tried to push myself backwards through the wall I was up against. Remy quietly scanned the faces of everyone who waited on his answer. His expression was completely unreadable. He could have an amazing plan, or…none at all.

I didn’t know him well enough to know which.

“Fine, little brother. Force my hand.” Top put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, the music cut out and everyone quieted to hear what the big man had to say. “Brothers, we got ourselves a situation here. This girl was at the gas station when Bren was killed. In fact, her boyfriend is the one who killed Bren.” Top began loudly.

A wave of growing anger rolled off the crowd. It didn’t take much to agitate these bikers, and even less for them to become fully enraged.

“Not only that, but she saw one of our members, Remy, pull the trigger on the fucker. For whatever reason, he hasn’t done what needs doin’ yet. No more near misses. No more fucking around. We’re resolving this issue right fucking here, right fucking now! We got the national president with us, so I say we put it to a vote. What do you think, Deadeye?”

The stoic one-eyed man crossed his arms, thinking on it for a moment, then dipped his head in a slight nod.

“All in favor of putting a bullet in this pretty, little piece-of-incriminating-evidence say Aye!”

When Top finished, the overwhelming Ayes that roared through the crowd rattled the windows.

I was about to be lynched.

It was staggering how many angry men there were here and how quick they were to decide if I lived or died. This kind of hatred was so hard for me to understand. These men were willing to kill me despite half of them never even knowing I existed before Top decided to vote on my death.

I was an introverted girl from New Hampshire. Sure, I had my flaws, and I made a few mistakes in my life, especially the one with my teacher that landed me here, but did I really deserve to die? I was an eyewitness to a murder.

I closed my eyes, awaiting judgment. The naïve part of me died then and there. Witnesses never survived.

“All opposed?” Top bellowed confidently that no one would, not that it mattered now. From the little bit I’d gathered, the MC world was almost a true democracy. One member, one vote. Majority rules and this time majority wanted me dead.

“Nay!” Remy defiantly stood between me and fifty of the scariest men I’d ever seen. His lone, startlingly loud cry rang out like a hammer striking an anvil.

I’d never heard his voice that loud before.

In the face of so much anger, Remy’s nerve was that of fire-tempered steel. In that golden moment, he felt larger than life to me.

Superman had come.

Everyone looked as shocked as I was, and it was a testament to how much respect he commanded, that they didn’t just brush by him and tear me to shreds anyway.

Remy stood there and dared them to do just that.

No one moved.

“The Nays have it. Leave her be,” Deadeye declared, a subtle smirk turning the side of his face.

Just like that, the crowd began breaking off into smaller groups, the music was turned back on, and things generally resumed.

Jesus, how important was this Deadeye guy if he could enforce that kind of ruling?

Top and Rio notably disapproved, but it honestly looked like that didn’t matter. Biker justice had been meted out. It was over.

My heart was beating so fast that I was light-headed. My vision blurred, I had to sit down. I must have looked so pitiful when Remy finally turned to check on me.

Fuck, I felt like I’d just walked through a hurricane.

There was even the slightest flash of hesitance in Remy’s eyes when Deadeye called him away. He didn’t want to go.

More than anything, I didn’t want Remy to leave either, but after that ruling, even I could tell that Deadeye wasn’t a man to be argued with.

The club voted and I’d somehow made it through…so what was that concern on his face? It was over, right?

Then why did I have such a pit in my stomach?

Before he left, Remy gently touched my hand. I felt like I’d been struck by lightning and throughout the whole trial, it was trapped within me, agonizingly arcing between my extremities. His touch was so grounding. He stole away all my nervousness and electric anxiety. I could breathe again. I slumped into the booth and watched him walk off.

I couldn’t worry anymore I was too exhausted.

After a bit, I did get a bit nervous when I’d lost him in the bar. I walked through the throng of people, the other bikers kept their distance from me not wanting to mess with Deadeye’s ruling. Where did Top and Deadeye take him? I hoped Remy was all right, then I reminded myself that if he made it this far, he could probably take care of himself.

I didn’t see Rio creep around behind me. I should’ve been more careful. I tried to scream Remy’s name but his hand quickly clamped down over my mouth as he dragged me outside in plain view. Maybe it was because he was the national president’s son, or because they still blamed me for Bren’s death, but so many of the Veins saw this happening, and no one moved to stop it.

Once we were outside, Rio dragged me far enough out into the parking lot that the exterior flood lights couldn’t reach us, then he slapped me hard across the face.

My lips and check burned from the hit then went numb, but I didn’t cry out. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

He threw me against the side of a truck and slapped me again.

“Taking out some of that impotent rage, Rio? Remy’s going to fucking kill you,” I spat at him.

“Fuck you, cunt. I’ll show you who’s impotent!”

I slapped away his hands as best I could, but he punched all the air from me with a blow to my stomach. I collapsed. My shoes and pants were ripped off while I wheezed in agony. I kicked feebly and scratched at his face, but my strength had drained away.

Rio was on top of me, squeezing my tits through the thin work shirt.

“Remy...” I cried out weakly through a torrent of coughs. The air was only now starting to return to my lungs.

I struggled, but Rio was deceptively strong. With one hand, he had my wrists pinned and was fondling my tits with the other. He started slobbering down my chest and painfully chewed my nipples. It felt like my chest was being scrubbed with worn-through sandpaper. His beard wasn’t uniformly stubbly like Remy’s; it was a scraggly mustache with sporadic tufts of hair in between bald flesh all along his chin.

“Remy!” I screamed, finally finding the air to do so.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch. The only thing he’s going to hear is the gunshot when I’m done.” Rio reached into his pants and pulled out his hairy, uncircumcised penis.

It had a weird bend to it. I couldn’t imagine a more horrible looking dick. He had me bound so much that I could only squirm.

“Who the fuck does he think he is? Next year, I’m gonna be running the show.”

“Remy.” My voice was little more than a whisper.

“I fucking told you! He can’t h—”

“I’m here.”

I didn’t think it was real. There was no way Remy could’ve heard me.

Remy kicked Rio in the ribs with such force that the man lifted off the ground. Remy knelt down beside me to see how badly I was hurt.

“I’m OK,” I said through a whimper, shivering at such an awful violation.

Wordlessly, Remy stood back up and walked over to Rio who was just finding his feet.

“My fucking ribs...” Rio started protesting, but was abruptly cut off when Remy grabbed the back of his head and smashed his face into the driver’s side window of the truck. The glass didn’t break with the first hit, but Rio’s nose did. Blood smeared across the clear pane like a Rorschach test.

I shuddered as wet, red flecks sprinkled my face and shoulder. The second smash bashed in the window and when Rio’s face was pulled back out it was a horror show.

I almost felt bad for him. Almost. Although there were no large chunks of glass in him, the skin on his face and neck was shredded from the impact. One eyelid had been torn off completely, the mutilated orb beneath was just pulp. Nausea flooded me, forcing my eyes away.

Remy took a long hard look back at me to bolster himself against whatever doubts he might’ve had over his own brutality.

I know my face was bloody where Rio had slapped me. I was doubled over, lying on the ground, near-naked, wet, filthy, and shivering. I was a wretched sight.

Visible rage bubbled within Remy at what had been done to me. My pain and anguish was the catalyst, it turned Remy into a hammer. Rio was the nail. “So eager to replace your father.” Remy opened Rio’s other eye wide with his fingers. “Do you see me, little Deadeye?”

Rio gargled blood and spat a wet wad of gore onto the ground. None of the words that escaped his wreckage of a face was intelligible.

“Rio?” Remy asked.

“…Yes.” Rio started sobbing.

“Do you see me?” Remy repeated.

“Yes, fuck. Yes! I see you.”

“I did this to you.” Remy growled softly in his ear. “Say it.”

“Yes... please... sorry...” Rio’s limp form was shaking. He was saying anything he could to get the torture to stop.

It wasn’t what Remy wanted to hear so he stuck his thumb into the mutilated, milky hole where Rio’s mangled eye was a few moments before. Rio screamed and thrashed at an unfathomably specific kind of pain.

I screamed too, but clasped my hands over my mouth. I will never forget the sight of an eyeball popping like a pimple or that hideous sound! It was like someone crushed a cherry tomato filled with yogurt.

It was frightening to see that Remy had the capacity for this much unflinching violence.

Normal people didn’t do these kinds of things to people!

Normal people didn’t willingly watch them happen either. Something dark shifted inside me... I needed to see this. I needed to see a man like Rio taken apart for what he’d done to me.

“Say. It,” Remy was vengeance given form.

“You did it! Youdidityoudidityoudidit!”

Remy released him. He took a moment to clean his hands on Rio’s shirt, then stood the man up and pushed him toward the bar.

I thought he was going to drop dead right there, but aside from the grotesque disfiguring, he really only had some broken bones, a bunch of cuts and well, only one working eye now.

For better or worse, that monster would survive.

Remy put down the tailgate of the truck and helped me up into it. I had put most of my clothes back on at this point. I could see genuine compassion in his eyes before I looked away. After all that, I wasn’t ready to meet his gaze fully.

The grey button-up he wore was pulled off so he could use it to wipe the blood from my face and shoulders. Remy’s skin was a network of scars and tattoos. It was the roadmap of a tragic life lived violently.

“How am I still alive?” With my finger I traced the ragged line I’d cut across his chest earlier today. The cut I’d given him this morning had been cleaned, but wasn’t deep enough to merit stitches, probably just bandages, not that he’d bothered. I wasn’t sorry I had done it. We were different people back then and at this breakneck speed, who knew what kind of person I’d be in another six hours.

“Turns out you’re stronger than you thought.” His words, though still tinged with residual violence, were soothing. “You’re full of unforeseen surprises, aren’t you, Star?”

“No, I mean… Back inside. Your vote, it was so outnumbered.”

“Motorcycle Clubs like ours.” He began. Remy wasn’t the kind of guy to explain his lifestyle to anyone, so he struggled to find the right words. “In matters of life and death, if just one person says Nay, then the Nays have it. Most of the time. Top would’ve overturned it. We were lucky Deadeye showed up.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Who is Deadeye? Isn’t Top in charge?”

“Top is our local chapter’s president, yeah, but Deadeye’s the national president. He’s one of the two guys who originally formed the Steel Veins back in the day, and oversees all the chapters in the US. Deadeye’s word is law.” Remy was distinctly deliberate when he said this. This was obviously something that was taken very seriously.

“Did you know that he’d side with you?” I asked.

Remy looked off and didn’t say anything. He didn’t know. He put himself on the line, not having any idea how it would turn out. His reputation, his aspirations, and maybe even his life—he risked it all for me!

When his dark, endless eyes finally found me again, I broke down and just started crying. It was the gravity of everything finally pulling me back to Earth. I mean, fuck!

How did I even begin to deal with all this?

Remy’s fingers slid across my scalp, and instantly I started to feel better. I actually got embarrassed at the tearful display, and wiped my eyes as quickly as possible. For some reason, I didn’t want him to see me as this spoiled, weak girl. But in all honesty, that was exactly what I was a little over twenty-four hours ago.

God, I felt terrible.

To my utter amazement, he pulled me gently to his stomach. I could feel his breath and heartbeat through his rigid abs. I didn’t think he was even capable of tenderness. The man still terrified the shit out of me, but somehow made me feel safe at the same time.

“Holy shit! Rio is Deadeye’s son!” The realization slapped me like a wet fish. “Did you just blind the national president’s son?!”

“The little fucker deserved it.” Remy chuckled sardonically.

“What’s going to happen to you?” I slid off the truck and gazed up at him. His hair looked a mess.

“Whatever it is I’ll handle it,” he said.

I couldn’t help but worry. Although seeing him smile immediately made me smile. If anyone could handle it, it was Remy. “Listen, I see now, all the things you’ve done for me. I just want to say thank—” Abruptly, he swept me up into a glorious kiss. I’ve been kissed before, but never like this. It was sharp, passionate and wonderful. His lips were dry and cracked, but I didn’t care. Our tongues teased and trespassed. He bit my lip lightly. I sighed heavily, my breath stolen. The beating I’d taken by Rio turned Remy’s every touch into crackled electricity across my face.

I could’ve stopped him, I think, but I didn’t mind the pain. It was thrilling.

My mouth was abandoned. The slow scratch of his rough chin scraped down my neck, occasionally broken by his firm lips, or even more sparsely, by unyielding teeth. I ran my fingers through his hair and my nails over his neck and corded shoulders.

He grabbed me easily in one arm, lifting me off the truck to hang in the air, pressed against him. He held me there and dragged his lower lip across my collarbone.

I crushed my legs around his rigid frame. He could’ve let go completely and I wouldn’t have fallen. My foot clipped the handle of that big revolver Remy kept in the back of his waistband. The more I touched him, the less I could let go.

My head rolled back and before I knew it, he was on top of me on the bed of someone’s weather-worn pickup truck. His hand on the back of my head shielded me from the impact. The rear shocks groaned and gave way to the weight of our bodies before springing back up, we hardly noticed. Beer cans and what sounded like loose scrap metal rattled around in the bed.

I tore my shirt off, we were past decency. I could see the compassion drain from his eyes. It was replaced with something more primal; that familiar spark of danger. My lower back snapped into a wicked arch as his tongue made smooth lines from my navel to across my ribcage. He lost himself in the slightly salty taste and scent of my supple skin. I could feel his teeth more and more.

I liked it.

I was mesmerized by the scars. He had so many, not just on his chest but his back and sides too. What did this to him? I couldn’t ponder long. Remy’s hand clamped down on the crotch of my pants and in one quick jerk tore them down to my ankles.

Fuck, this was really happening.

A swell of resolve burned through me. I was done being passive.

I had to fill both hands full of his dark brown hair to have the strength I needed. I wrenched his head backwards. My pussy screamed for his touch so much that I was actually trembling. I would have to wait just a little longer. The surprise etched across his face was worth every agonizing second. He wanted me. I could feel how bad he wanted it.

I was right here, but he couldn’t have it, not just yet.

Remy watched as I moved fingers across my lower pink lips. Playing lightly in practiced rhythm. I knew what I liked. I think the only reason he didn’t overcome my feeble defenses was because he studied me. My every flick, rub and pinch carved definitively into his memory.

With a growl of…Enough was enough! He tore his head free and dove for me. I scooted out of the way and flipped him onto his back. He let it happen of course, but did so with a measure of surprise at how aggressive I could be. I had the feeling he was always the one doing the fucking.

Oh, really? He didn’t need to say the words. An entertained chuckle and smile accompanied a soft glare that said… okay, give me your best shot.

So, I did. I walked out of my discarded pants and stood naked before him in the surprisingly quiet parking lot out in the middle of nowhere. The dance I’d done for him on the bar came to mind and my hips started to move all by themselves.

A near inaudible Mmmmm sound escaped him. I’d wanted to dance for him privately since the second I crawled toward him across the bar. This time it was my cruelty that knew no bounds as I rubbed myself all over.

My hands pushed up along his tight thighs to either side of the massive bulge of his crotch. My nimble fingers unbuttoned the length of his jeans. With every freed button, I feared the added stress pressing from his escaping cock threatened to push right through the denim.

His pants intact, I slid them to his knees with a shadow of the force he’d used on me. His forgotten revolver flopped out comically. Remy’s eyes narrowed slightly, as I nervously picked the gun up. The gun sat surprisingly comfortably in my hand.

My chest sharply rose and fell with the realization of how much power I now held. I didn’t know exactly what, but I had the general feeling I could change things with this gun.

“How do you feel?” Remy asked not moving. His muscles were all taught like a coiled snake, ready to strike if he needed to.

“Good.” I swallowed hard, wrapping my fingers tighter around the cold handle. “Powerful. Dangerous.”

“The real power comes from knowing that a gun is just a tool. There are so many ways to destroy a person. Inside and out.” Remy’s hard eyes seemed to look right through me.

Even unarmed, Remy was the most intimidating person I’d ever met. I gently placed the gun further back in the truck bed and turned my idle fingers to his hard body instead. A surge of sexual energy pumped through my veins when I looked back into his eyes.

Remy propped himself up on his elbows to watch my every labored motion as I pulled down his heavy jeans. It was unbelievably hard to control myself, and keep to the slow speed I’d set. The thin layer of ash grey briefs could barely constrain his hard-on. He flexed and his cock straightened. I shook the images of its long length sliding into me aside and grabbed it.

His cock throbbed in my hand.

I pulled the fabric back and plunged his cock deep into the back of my mouth. Careful to avoid using my teeth I bobbed slow, working his stem with my hand. I maintained eye contact with him the whole time. His lips cracked apart, baring clenched teeth. The impenetrable walls in his stoic resolve cracked and that only spurred me on faster. My hands and lips worked his wet flesh. I squeezed, sucked and pumped until at last, Remy’s head lulled back and finally, he groaned. For a moment, I thought that was going to be it, he would come and that would be the end.

How wrong I was.

When I worked my tongue around the tip of his swollen head, he pulled me off him. A panicked flinch made me wonder if we were under attack again, but Remy didn’t look concerned and that settled my nerves a bit.

Leaning forward, he peeled off the truck bed and picked me up and in such a way that his hard cock grinded against my thigh and the lips of my pussy. He held me in the air a moment before bringing us down on the hood of an old Toyota Camry parked next to the truck. I landed hard on my back with a loud crunch, Remy on top of me. I was sure that we’d just put sizable dent in the metal hood. I grunted from the impact, but wasn’t too bothered by it. If anything, the roughness only made me hornier and want him that much more.

Remy hardly noticed the force, he’d submitted fully to insatiable lust. His eyes flared with masculine intensity as he griped his cock and slowly slid it into me, he was going to fuck me through this car.

I tried to get my bearings, but it didn’t matter, Remy was a force of nature. My eyes glazed over with every thick, hot inch he pushed into me. He was bigger than I thought he’d be. I could tell it was taking everything he had to ease in slowly, but once he was fully in, there was no stopping him. Quickly ramping up in speed and force, he slammed into me again and again. That thick, hard cock filled every part of me. My stomach contracted, I could only take in rapid shallow breaths and for fuck’s sake, I couldn’t stop moaning!

Remy was a machine that was set to escalation. Faster. Harder. His nails dug into my ass as he slid himself into me, before violently pushing away. The car’s hood was slick with sweat as he manhandled me. My legs split to either side of him as he thrust in over and over, my pussy vibrated with soreness and ecstasy.

I was no virgin, but I’d never experienced anything like this. I couldn’t think. Everything was a blur of motion, strength and sweat, pleasure and pain. I never in a million years thought I could like rough sex, but this was… fucking life-affirming!

This was what it was like to be fucked.

I laughed between wailing moans. My whole body was dancing lights. I wanted him to rip me in half, and when he threw my haphazardly flailing legs over his shoulders, I swear to god, he almost did! My wail became a scream. He pushed in so deep—I thought the lump in the back of my throat was his cock. He leaned back enough to take in my writhing body beneath him. His dark smirk cracked into a wider smile, then he dove back into my neck. Remy had my throat in his teeth.

I wanted it so badly I could cry.

“Fuuu—!” My words betrayed me, not that they were worth saying or in my control. Regardless, I held on for dear life while spurring him on. I was fucking a killer. My every fiber tingled. I bit my lower lip and pushed my chin up to the stars above as an orgasm rocketed through me with soul crushing force. Muscles I didn’t know existed contracted. My pussy tightened like a slick vice around that throbbing piston.

Remy wouldn’t stop.

Two, three, four. I felt like a rocket ship leaving the earth’s atmosphere. His dick and these aftershocks were shaking me apart. There would be nothing left of me after this. I was completely enthralled with him. I’d shaken this demon from his apathy and I had to deal with his passionate consequences!

Right when I thought I couldn’t take any more, he pushed on further. The car beneath us rocked, its old chassis squeaking loudly in protest, but we paid it no heed. He melded my body into his. We were one. His corded muscles melted my quivering stomach. His pecs pressed fiercely into my tits. His coarse chest rubbed against my sensitive nipples.

There was so much heat and friction billowing out between us that I was surprised the car we were fucking on didn’t catch fire.

Remy’s face finally flickered, his body trembling with ecstasy. He screwed his eyes shut and buried his head in my welcoming chest. Grunting, his cock slid out and exploded, hot white cum streamed all over my stomach.

I felt dirty and amazing! I didn’t want this to end, even if I knew I couldn’t take anymore.

He rolled off, but lay next to me close enough that our arms touched, his slick cock standing rigidly defiant. Seeing the moonlight glisten off his sweaty body as he pulled in those heavy breaths was indescribable.

I tried to stand and although I knew I still had legs, fuck if I knew where the hell they were. I gained my strength and tried again to get up and clean myself off, but Remy’s strong arm stopped me. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Fuck! I can’t, not yet! Give a girl a minute.

It wasn’t that. Remy used more of an intimate delicateness when he pulled me on top of him. His hard cock mashed vertically against me, rising up my stomach. The slightest touch of his bent thigh along the sensitive lips of my pussy racked me with shivers. He felt it and that horrible smug smile clawed its way over his face again.

He was torturing me... and I loved every agonizing second.

We just looked at each other. This bliss, it couldn’t last. We both knew. It was insane to think that this—us—could survive in such a harsh world. He drew me in tighter. My hair matted against his chest.

What would become of us?

Eventually, I found the strength to tear myself away. I gathered my clothes and found his shirt. It was stained with blood, dirt and who knows what else. “May I?” I asked, hoping to use it as the rag it now was.

“Yeah, that’s a burner now.”

When we cleaned ourselves off, I laid back down next to Remy. Next to this man that couldn’t exist in my old world. This is where I was meant to be. Here, with him, everything felt right. It was all worth it. My aunt and uncle, Top, Muse, Rio, the dancing, everything. Every damn bit of it. All that horror drove me into his arms. One day in his world, and my soul had hardened.

I was a different person now.

“So does this make me your old woman?” I teased, trying not to think about exactly how much I’d changed.

“It’s Ol Lady.” Remy chuckled, squeezing my thigh.

“Remy…” I swallowed, my curiosity outweighing my anxiety. “Why did you do this for me?”

Remy rolled his head back and looked up at the night sky. It was dark enough in this part of the parking lot that you could see the moon and stars shining brightly. “It’s been so long since I had anything to hold on to, even before Bren’s death. I think I needed this.” He turned to look at me. “I needed to remember that I could care.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

Did that mean he cared…about me?

Quick footsteps pattered down the pavement toward us tearing us from our moment in time.

Remy shot up and reached around for his gun before realizing it was in the bed of the pickup truck. He slid on his pants and dashed toward the truck, but the bikers were on him before he could reach it.

I gathered up the tangled mess of my clothes and hid behind the car. I would help if the opportunity presented itself, but I didn’t know how to fight or anything. The best thing I could do would be to stay out of Remy’s way. I needed to trust in Remy, and let him do what he did best. My throbbing pussy was quick to remind me that fighting was the thing he did second best.

Remy was outnumbered two to one, but that didn’t deter him. He fought like a cornered animal. I was thankful, but still found it odd that none of the other bikers had any weapons out. There were plenty in the bar and I could see that Skinpipe had a knife sticking out of his pocket.

Was it some code of a twisted honor system?

Remy immediately knocked Skinpipe on his ass, then focused on Tee. From their interactions in the bar, it was pretty clear that these two were friends. Why was Tee out here? If Remy was going to be attacked, I figured it would’ve been by just Rio’s thugs.

It was the wheeze that caused me to spin on my heels and probably even saved my life.

Rio was back with a knife, and looked like a villain from a horror film. Apparently, that weaponless code of conduct didn’t apply to me. The layers of red-stained gauze didn’t do much to dull the wreck that his face was now. Rio resembled poorly wrapped hamburger meat. His face was a bloody, pulpy mess and his one remaining eye was fiery with single-mindedness. He must’ve been high on something, because after the beating he took by Remy there was no way a normal man would even be walking around.

I didn’t think this was about me anymore. Rio was just trying to wound Remy any way he could. I threw myself out of the way; Rio’s thrust skewered the sheet metal, side panels of the car. I dodged, but the creep was hot on my heels. I narrowly slunk away and was barely able to outpace Rio. I wanted to scream for Remy, but he already had his hands full.

I dove into the back of the pickup and frantically started searching for Remy’s revolver. That was my only hope now.

Rio reached over the side of the truck’s bed and slashed at me. The very tip nicked my thigh. Despite the coursing adrenaline, the cut hurt like hell! I didn’t want to imagine what he would do when he caught me. I kept searching, but it was so dark that I couldn’t see anything. Things were growing desperate.

Where the fuck was it?

“Nowhere to run now, cunt.” Rio stepped up on the down tailgate of the truck and loomed over me, knife glinting in the moonlight. His weight caused the truck to lurch and a piece of scrap metal shifted reflecting a little light off the barrel of Remy’s revolver.

I reached for it, cutting my hand up on the jagged, rusted corners of scrap. Whirling around, I fired as quickly as I could, flinching as I pulled the trigger.

The bang was way louder than I thought it would be.

Remy and the other two guys broke off the fight to regard me with surprise.

Rio took the slug squarely in the chest. The freakshow gaped in mute horror, eye opened wide in disbelief then tumbled backwards off the truck.

I’d just killed someone!

“Rio!” Skinpipe yelled.

“Fuck!” Tee put a hand over his head and turned away, no doubt wondering how he was going to explain this to Deadeye.

Remy walked up and took the gun out of my shaking hands.

“Remy, this has gone way too fucking far!” Skinpipe was in mild shock.

“Did Top put you up to this?” The way the words came out, Remy meant it as a statement not a question.

“Yeah, of course he did! He’s your brother, Rem. He’s just looking out for you. This bitch has you all fucked up, man. Pretty pussy or not, she is a witness to a murder, that you committed! She’s gotta die, bro. You know we’re right!” Tee pleaded with Remy.

“Holy shit, the motherfucker is still alive! Tee, get over here and give me a hand,” Skinpipe squealed and ran over to Rio.

Remy pointed the pistol at them, stopping their progress.

Skinpipe immediately threw his hands up. He’d seen firsthand through Rio what Remy was capable of. “Easy! You know the rules. Throwin’ down is one thing but weapons are strictly not allowed against members!”

“When Deadeye finds out that Top went behind his back, they’re going to nail you all to the wall too, Tee.” Remy ignored Skinpipe, and let the words hang ominously.

“C’mon Rem,” Tee replied. “Deadeye is on his way out. Everyone knows it. He just wanted to stretch his muscles in there, for old time’s sake, is all. Shit, especially now. If Rio goes down, Top’ll probably go national.”

“Top’s not going to let this stand. Star’ll be dead next time he lays eyes on her.” Remy was talking more to himself than the other two.

“Yeah, so what?” Skinpipe barked. “What’s some bitch, when it comes to family?”

“Family? Bren was family.” Remy growled, grinding his heel into Rio’s chest wound. The monster was barely sucking air. Spasms riddled Rio’s body. He couldn’t find the vocal chords to scream, but he did find the strength to stop convulsing when Remy put the gun barrel to his forehead. “Rio is not.”

“Rem, you pull that trigger and every single Steel Veins chapter will be gunning for you. That’s not a war you can win, man. Just walk away and let me do what needs to be done. I’m begging you, bro.” Tee took a few slow steps toward me.

Remy stood up straight, pulling the gun away from Rio.

This decision came down to the life he’d always known. Brothers, by blood and by patch, or me—a stupid girl he’d only known for a day.

I stopped myself from calling his name. I might have been able to sway him if I said anything, but I knew if I really were in love with this man, I would have to let him decide for himself. Even if that decision was to turn his back on me—even if I had to pay for my silence with my life.

“All pity choked with custom of fell deeds. And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice,” Remy quoted from something that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“Remy...” Tee nervously reached for his gun.

“Cry ‘Havoc,’” Remy’s eyes burned as he had made his decision. “And let slip the dogs of war.”

“Remy, no! Don’t—” Tee wasn’t quick enough. Remy raised and fired twice. Tee took a round in the chest, crumpled in a heap and Skinpipe’s head exploded. Then Remy looked down at Rio. “That this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial,” he finished the quote.

Rio’s eye went wide as he tried to gurgle out a protest.

“We all groan.” Remy fired.

“That passage, was that Shakespeare?” I asked stupidly, in a daze from all the violence.

Was I already growing numb to it?

“We don’t have much time until more come out to investigate. We need to go.” Remy ignored me and searched the bodies. He took whatever valuables he could, then grabbed my arm. I could see the concern for me etched across his face.

With those three gunshots, Remy had closed an important chapter in his life.

“Things are going to get really bad. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to protect you through what comes next.” His intensity startled me as he pulled me along towards his Kawasaki.

I tried my best to keep up, but my legs were still weak from the sex and the battle. “What comes next?” I was almost too afraid to ask, but I had to know.

It was only after he’d helped me onto the bike, that he answered, “Deadeye is going to send kill teams out for me and this time it’ll be so much worse. He’s going to unleash some real monsters. The baddest men the Steel Veins have. They’re going to be ruthless, Star.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked.

Remy’s face hardened even more, then he kissed me. It felt like it was for the last time. That had me really worried. He kicked up the side stand and started the bike. “Because I led one of those teams.”

The engine almost muffled his reply. I almost wish it had.

Kill teams? I’d seen how easily Remy was able to kill and had I not seen him throw everything away to save me, I would have feared that I could be next. Even still, I couldn’t shake the feeling there was still so much about him I didn’t know. Murder is the type of darkness that doesn’t shed so easily from the soul. What depths would he be truly capable of in pursuit of what he thought was necessary?

What kind of monster had I fallen in love with?

As darkness and uncertainty took us, I squeezed his body in front of me with everything I had left.

Muse’s place was a shining speck at our backs. Danger closed in at every turn, and the odds were stacked heavily against us. We made our decision. We chose each other.

Let them come and get us.