Raine made his way to his room. He went in and stopped in his tracks. His woman was just stepping out through the bathroom door, a towel wrapped her hair, and she wore not a stitch. She had obviously just got out of the shower.

When she saw it was Raine she smiled and held out her hand to him.

Raine closed the door with a thump and leaned up against it for a moment. Staring at her and all her glory, he smiled and began walking slowly toward the bed, stripping off his own clothes as he went.

When he reached her, he had his shirt off and was just reaching for his belt. She brushed his hands away and unbuckled it herself. Raine reached out and cupping the back of her neck, he pulled her to him.

His kiss set her on fire as he pulled her even closer. Grinding her naked body against his hard cock, he let her feel what she’d done to him. He groaned as the kiss broke. “I need you.”

“I need you too,” she whispered. “God, I need you inside me like right now. I need to feel your strength pushing me to my limits and beyond. Please, please, please let me have you.”

Raine groaned. “I’m not going anywhere sweetheart.” He set her down on the bed and finished getting his clothes off. Then he fell on top of her and at last, they were skin to skin.

His mouth fell on her neck where he sucked, nibbled and bit softly at her skin. All the while, his hands were busy pulling and squeezing on her breasts.

Cricket groaned and ground her core against his hard cock. When he sucked the skin on her neck, she grabbed his hips and pulled him closer. “Please, I need you to fuck me. I need you inside me now.”

“You mean like this?” he asked as he rammed deep inside her wet core. Thrusting hard, he pulled back then went deep again and again.

“Yes,” she wailed. “Yes, harder. I need you harder.”

Raine thrust harder and deeper. Wrapping her legs around his arms, he pulled her body closer and spread her legs wider as he thrust into her.

“Raine,” she screamed his name, as her body got closer.

“I’m here baby and I ain’t going anywhere.” He growled. He could feel each stroke igniting a heat he never found before with any other woman. Only this one. She had slowly become his whole world and he never wanted to lose her.

Then suddenly she exploded in his arms, her whole body shattered with her climax and it was enough to take him over the edge. She screamed his name and he answered her call. When it was over, he couldn’t move. He’d never shot off that much before and his strength was gone.

“Oh, my god…” she murmured in awe. “That was so incredible.”

Raine finally could move and he slipped to her side. Sweat ran down the side of his face and he snuggled into her neck. “That was all you sweetheart.”

“No that was us,” she corrected him gently. “That was the power of two people who feel a deep love.”

Raine smiled. “I think I need a nap. This love stuff is tiring.”

“Yeah.” She giggled. “It wears me out too.”

Raine reached down, grabbed the blanket and covered them both. “Go to sleep for a while. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Ok,” she whispered. “I trust you.”

Raine waited for a few minutes while he listened to her breathing level out. He knew she was sleeping but he couldn’t. He couldn’t accept that she was in danger. He wanted to rip the threat away from her life but knew he couldn’t.

They didn’t know where the danger was coming from or who the mystery man was. But they would find the bastard. And when they did, he wanted to get first blood.

Finally, he fell asleep holding his woman tight. He wasn’t taking any chances. She was his whole life and he wasn’t about to lose her now.

Hours later, Cricket eyes snapped open. There was something different. A vibe of hate. She didn’t know what it was but she could feel it.

Her eyes found the door and she knew instantly that whatever threat awaited her was out there, waiting for her to come to it. She squirmed out of Raine’s embrace. Quietly she got some clothes on and went over to the door.

Pressing her ear against the wood, she tried to listen but her own heart was pounding so loudly in her chest she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Finally, she gave and reached for the doorknob.

As she stepped out into the hall, she closed the door behind her carefully. The whole place was quiet and as she crept down the hall, she hoped no one else woke up.

As she reached the main room, her eyes searched the room for anything amiss. They swung through the first time so fast she missed the threat. It was only when she swung around for the second time that she saw him sitting there. Her eyes stopped and the blood froze in her veins.

Then her heart began to pound in her chest and the blood that was frozen heated up to lava strength. She stomped forward and shouted, “What the fuck are you doing here? You promised you’d never come back here. You promised!”

The man never moved, he didn’t even flinch at the sound of her voice.

Suddenly, there were other people rushing into the room. Deke, Bones, Gator, Mountain and several other men came running with their weapons drawn. The last one to join the melee was Raine. He only had his pants on but his gun was ready and it took every ounce of his resolve to hold back from shooting the man calmly sitting at one of the tables.

The only light was coming from the kitchen so someone snapped on the lights in the main room.

Cricket didn’t even flinch when she saw her uncle sitting there. He had a cup of coffee in front of him and he calmly reached for his cup.

She marched over to his table and knocked the cup out of his hand spilling the coffee on the floor. The cup smashed when it hit and her uncle slowly raised his eyes to hers.

“I asked you a question,” she snapped. “What the hell are you doing here? Or doesn’t your word mean anything to you?”

“I suggest you be very careful in the way you speak to me little girl,” Bane said quietly. His voice was heavy with the threat behind his words. “People don’t usually speak to me in this manner.”

Cricket sat down at the table ignoring everyone else in the room. “Were you here last night too?” she asked. “Are you the one who was watching me today?”

Bane tipped his head as if to answer her questions without words.

“Why?” she asked. “Why did you come back here? Why?”

“I came back here for a purpose, niece. I did have every intention of keeping my word to you but something came up and I felt I needed to warn you.”

“Warn me?” She frowned. “Warn me about what?” She looked around the room, trying to see into the shadows. “Where is Michael? Is he here as well?”

Bane shifted in his seat slightly. He wasn’t reaching for a weapon but his movement was just enough for everyone in the room to cock their weapons. Holding up his hands slowly, he looked at his niece as if to tell her to call off her protectors.

Cricket glanced around and nodded at Deke.

They dropped their guns but kept them ready.

Then she looked at Bane. “Where is your son?”

Bane’s lips tightened at her question. Keeping eye contact with her he stated, “Michael made a fatal mistake, one that I could not overlook.”

Cricket swallowed hard. “So why are you here then?”

Bane looked away from her for a moment. He stared at Deke and Raine. “Can you all take a seat while I explain the reason for my afterhours visits?”

Deke, Raine and Bones sat down at the same table as Bane and Cricket. Everyone else sat down nearby, close enough to hear whatever Bane had to say.

Bane turned his eyes back to Cricket. For a moment, he didn’t speak then he told her, “I had every intention of following through with my promise to never come back here. I had no desire at all to ever see you again. Family to me has been nothing but a source of betrayal and great disappointment. Even my own son thought he could betrayed me and not pay the price.”

“So what brought you back then?”

Bane smiled without any glee. “I wanted to tell you that you’ve crossed paths with a very dangerous man and he’s looking for you. He also put out a contract on your life. A very big contract. One that most men would take just for a chance at that kind of money.”

Cricket gasped out loud, while everyone around her growled with anger. “What are you talking about?”

Bane shook his head. “Have you ever herd the name Zevon Stark?”

She started to shake her head, then she realized she couldn’t deny his question. “I didn’t but Cordy did. She told me about him four years ago.”

Bane stared at her for a moment. “Apparently, Cordy took something that didn’t belong to her. It belonged to Stark and he’s been looking for her for the past four years. Only he thinks you’re the one he’s looking for.”

Cricket nodded. “Yeah that would be thanks to my sweet sister. She liked to use my name when it suited her. That way if she ever got into trouble, I would be the one who took the blame, not her.”

Bane frowned. “Did that happen often?”

“She framed me for murder once, a murder she committed and then turned around to blame me for it. So yeah, it happened more than one time.”

“What was it Cordy stole from this Stark guy?” Deke asked.

“About eight million dollars,” Bane told him in a low voice.

“And what is the contract worth?” Raine asked.

“Whatever is left of the eight million dollars.”

There was a loud gasp that went all the way around the room.

Cricket stared at her uncle and announced to him and everyone within hearing distance, “Then the contract is worth about eight million dollars.”

Bane frowned. “You never spent the money?”

Cricket shook her head. “No, we never touched the money. By the time Cordy got home with it, she was freaking out. She was supposed to meet this Stark guy at a certain place at a certain time and when she didn’t show up she was worried he would kill her, so she just brought it home with her. When she told me what had happened I refused to help her. When she couldn’t beat me into submission she agreed to hide it and leave. She didn’t want to be there when Stark showed up looking for the money.”

“Where did the money come from?” Deke asked.

Cricket let out a sigh as all of this brought back bad memories. “Stark is president of the Dragon’s Breath MC out of Bethlehem Pennsylvania. They took down an armored truck. They gave it to Cordy as a getaway driver so they wouldn’t get picked up by the cops for the robbery. She was supposed to meet them two days later but never showed up.”

“So why did it take him four years to put a hit out on her?” Bones asked. “If he knew Cordy had the money why’d he wait so long?”

“He went to prison on related charges and just got out of the pen,” Bane explained. “He hasn’t told any of his crew they were ripped off yet. He’s had people he trusted looking for the girls since then but they haven’t found them yet.”

“And you’ve taken the contract?” Cricket wondered out loud.

Bane didn’t answer her query, he just stared at her.

Raine jumped up and pulled her behind him. “Over my dead body.” He growled.

Deke and all the others got to their feet as well. They all stood around her making a circle to protect her. “You’ll have to go through all of us to get to her.” Deke snarled.

“No!” Cricket cried out. “Please don’t so this.” She fought her way through the lineup of men. When she finally broke free, she faced her uncle with tears in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt them. No one here needs to die tonight.”

Bane frowned. “What are you suggesting?”

“I want three days to say my goodbyes. Then I’ll surrender to you but I need your word that no one here will be hurt.” She turned to Deke and the others. “And I need your word that you’ll let him be. I can’t and won’t have anyone die in my place. I love you all too much to have you hurt because of something my sister did. Cordy wins this one. I hope that wherever she is she finally knows the grief she’s caused people all her life.”

“You can’t do this,” Raine whispered brokenly. “I won’t let you do this.”

Cricket turned to the one man who held her heart. “Sweetheart, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I wanted a lifetime with you but it didn’t turn out that way. Our time just ran out. But to keep you and your brothers alive I will do it. I’ll make a deal with the devil himself to keep you safe from harm.” She turned to glare at her uncle. “I have made a deal with the devil himself.” She turned back to Raine. “I love you more than life itself and I don’t do this lightly. You mean so much to me but I can’t and won’t watch you or any of them die in my place. I wouldn’t want to live knowing I could have stopped that from happening.” She looked around the room at all the men. “You all have wives and family that don’t want anything to happen to you. How am I supposed to face them if I let you get hurt or worse killed and I didn’t try to stop it? How am I supposed to face them if I allow you to take my place?”

“How the hell are we supposed to face our loved ones if we allow him to just kill you without trying to stop him?” Deke snarled back.

“As fun as this show of emotions is I think I’ll pass on viewing any more of it.” Bane stated as he got to his feet. “I’ll give you the three days you’ve asked for.” Then he paused, “How do I know you won’t run?”

Cricket sighed and stared at her uncle. “I’ve been running from one thing or another my whole life. We were running from before the time I was born but you were the one my parents were running from back then. Then after Mom died, my dad couldn’t run far enough away from his demons to be finally free of them. He died still fighting his demons and after he died, then Cordy started running and she dragged me along with her. She had her hooks in so deep, neither of us could get away from the other one. She’s gone and she’s still got ahold on me that not even death can break. She was bound and determined to drag me down into hell right alongside of her and now she’s finally done it. All my life I’ve never had a choice of not running. Well, I have a choice now. Here is where I’ll make my stand. If I have to die I’ll get the choice of where that will be.”

Bane gave her a nod then walked out of the clubhouse.

No one moved until he was finally gone. Then Deke turned on her and began yelling at her, “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing? You had no right to make that bargain and he had no right to accept it. You don’t make deals for the MC and we don’t hide behind our women.”

“I didn’t make the deal for the MC!” She screamed at him.

“You sure enough did,” Deke yelled right back.

“I made it for the women you’re supposed to love. I made it for them not you.”

“You don’t get to do that either.” Deke growled. “Those are our women to protect, not you.”

“And you are my woman to protect.” Raine snarled. “Tell me something, am I supposed to watch as your uncle puts a bullet in your head and do nothing to stop him? Is that how little you really think of me?”

“Tell me something you dumb ass bastards,” Cricket growled. “Yeah, I’m talking to all of you, you all claim to love your women don’t you?” she looked around at every man standing there. “Well, don’t you?”

Slowly… each and every one of them nodded.

“And your women, they love you just as much right?”

Again, they all nodded.

“Then what makes you think for one nano second, they wouldn’t do the same thing for you that I just did? They don’t want you to die any more than I do. They would stand up to the devil himself and make the same bargain I did to keep your ornery dumb hides on this earth. We aren’t so different from you. We know how to love the right man and we are protectors in our own way. We take your seed, nurture it deep inside our bodies and produce your progeny. That doesn’t mean we can’t or won’t protect those babies with our very lives if that’s what the situation calls for. We would do that and more to protect our men too. Just the same as you would.” She went over to Deke and poked him in the chest. “So in three days’ time when my uncle comes back here, I’ll stand proudly and I’ll take that bullet. Do I want to? Hell no, I don’t. I wanted to live. I wanted a lifetime with Raine but I will do it all the same.”

Deke shook his head.

“I told Bane I’ve been running all my life. I never had a choice. With my parents, I was just a kid. With Cordy, I was still a kid and too young to be on my own, then there was Dusty. God only knows what that bitch would have done to him if I hadn’t been there to stop her. Here, I finally had peace. Here, I found Raine and I wanted him so much I didn’t dare dream of having him. But my dreams have a way of not coming true. He actually loved me back and for short time, I had everything I ever wanted. For a little while, I had what I could only dream of before. I had friends and maybe even a family again. I found the one man, the only man I would ever love here. I lived on the edge of evil, my whole life, now it will claim me. But NOT any of you! I’ll be damned if I’m running anymore. The feelings I have for every man, woman and child here has me standing tall and proud because I won’t carry your blood to hell with me when he finds me and he will find me if I run.” She paused and looked at all of them again. “You go and ask your women if they wouldn’t do what I did. They will answer yes. God, yes!” Tear poured down her cheeks as she turned around and walked back to the room she shared with Raine, gently closing the door behind her.

“Damn her,” Deke swore softly and not too loudly. “Who the fuck does she think she is?”

“Son…” Bones shook his head. “She’s a woman in love with her man and she’d do anything to keep him safe from taking a bullet. Damn, the little girl is right. Our women would make the same kinda deal she did.”

“I know I would,” Cassie called out from the kitchen entryway.

Deke looked up and met her eyes.

“Me too,” Peaches admitted.

Mountain stared at her.

“As would I,” Reva called out.

Gator sighed and met her eyes.

“I would too,” Melora voiced her opinion.

Bones stared at his beautiful woman as his eyes sparkled with moisture.

The rest of the women of the club chimed in their responses as well. As they had come in upon hearing the shouting. They all had tears in their eyes but they looked proud of Cricket’s stand.

Their men were left with no doubt, no doubt at all. Every last one of them stood proud beside their woman.

Every one of them—except for Raine. He was stalking down the hall after his woman.