“What else was on your bucket list as a kid?” Raine asked.

“My what?”

“Your bucket list, you know the things you always wanted but never got?”

“Umm, I really don’t think that’s a bucket list,” she pointed out. “That’s more of a wish list.”

“Ok then, what else was on your wish list?”

Cricket had to think about it for a minute, then she reached over and took his hand. Tangling her fingers in his she told him, “I just wanted to find a man who I could love and who loved me back in the same crazy way. I always kept that dream to myself. I couldn’t even dare to dream it out loud. I didn’t think I could ever say the words except in my head.”

“Well, that was one dream that came true,” Raine whispered.

“Yeah, it sure did,” Cricket whispered back.

“Can I ask you something else?”

“Ask me whatever you want, sweet man.”

“Why did you ask for those three days?”

Cricket was quiet for a moment then told him, “Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be twenty four years old at four o’clock in the morning. I wanted one more day after my birthday, just one more day.”

Raine got up off the lounger and walked over to the door leading to the third floor of the shop. He wrenched open the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Cricket sat there and let the tears fall down her face. Hanging her head, she knew she never should have told him the real reason she asked for the three days. But in her heart, she knew she’d do it again given the same choice. Next time though, she wouldn’t tell anyone why.

An hour later, Raine came back to the roof. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. He hugged her close and whispered in her ear, “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you so fucking much too,” she whispered back with a smile.

“Come on let’s go, we got things to do and people to see before this day is done.”

“We do?” she queried.

“Yup, we sure do.” Raine pulled her to the door and led the way as they went down three flights of stairs. When they got to the first floor, he whistled at Bones, Or better known as Bones, Deke’s father.

When Bones looked up, Raine tossed his bike keys to him. Bones threw his own truck keys back. Raine continued to drag her out the front door and over to Bones’ truck.

“Why are we taking his truck?” she asked.

“Because there’s something we need to pick up and it won’t ride very well on my bike.” He opened the door and pushed her up into the seat. Then he got in and they drove away.

They went to a place on the outside of town. When they pulled up next to the barn Cricket heard the sounds of dogs barking. She turned her head to glare at Raine. “What are we doing here?”

“Looking for a dog you can name Max,” he told her as he slid out of the truck. He came over to her side and opened the door. “Are you coming?”

Cricket stared at him with tears in her eyes. “What are you doing?” she whispered. “We can’t get a dog.”

Raine leaned in closer. “We’re getting you a dog you can name Max. Come on.” Grabbing her hand he pulled her from the truck and led her toward the kennels set up beside the barn.

They were greeted by dogs of every size and color. They were all barking and running around, crowding up to the enclosure fence.

Cricket tried to look at all the dogs but she couldn’t. There were just too many of them.

Raine found a gate in the fence line and opened it. He closed the first gate before he could open a second gate and when that gate opened, they were swarmed by the dogs.

Dogs of all sizes and breeds were all over them. Cricket laughed at their antics while Raine just shook his head.

They were met inside the kennel by another friend of Raine’s. Raine called him over and introduced him to Cricket. “Honey, this is Rocko. He takes dogs that need a new home in and he finds them their forever homes.”

Cricket smiled at the man.

“Rocko, this is my woman. She’s looking for a dog she can name Max. She’s not sure what breed Max is gonna be, so we have to find him.”

Rocko smiled. “That’s cool man. I gotta a lot of dogs here that need a good home. Take a look around and see if there’s one you think you can call Max.”

Cricket nodded and began wandering around the huge kennel.

Rocko turned to Raine. “So you got yourself a woman huh?”

“Yup, sure did.” Raine couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Good for you man.”

Raine paused and watched her for a moment. He’d seen her stop and fix on one puppy. The pup was tan and brown. He was a clumsy little thing with huge feet. When she knelt down to pick it up, the other dogs jumped all over them.

Cricket giggled and pushed them all away from her but she wouldn’t let the little tan and brown puppy go.

Raine glanced over at his friend. “What breed is that pup?”

Rocko smiled. “He’s husky mixed with German Shepard. He’ll be a great dog, not only for loving her but with a little training he’ll keep her safe too.”

Raine smiled. “That’s good. I guess she found her Max after all.”

They both waited for her to join them. When she got close, Raine saw her smile and the joy in her eyes.

“Did you know this little guy was here?’ she asked. “Is that why you brought me here?”

“I take it you found your Max.”

Cricket smiled and nodded hugging the puppy close to her chest. “Yup, this is Max, just how I pictured him in my dreams.” She threw herself and the puppy into his arms, covering his face and neck with a thousand tiny kisses.

Raine laughed out loud and pulled them both in for a better kiss. The puppy, Max broke up the kiss when he decided to lick Raine’s cheek. Raine groaned and looked over at Rocko. “I guess we’ll take this one.”

“That’s cool. We got some paperwork to finish up but the little guy is current on all his shots, so he’s good to go.”

Cricket threw herself at Rocko and hugged him.

Rocko gave Raine a panicked look and held his arms out so as not to piss off his friend.

Raine’s hands curled into fists and he grabbed her arm and pulled her clear of the embrace.

Cricket glanced at Rocko, saw the panicked look on his face, and shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I was just so excited I forgot.” Turning to Raine, she held up her head. “I’m sorry. This one is on me, don’t kill your friend.”

Raine pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “You belong to me, you’re my woman not his. Don’t forget again.”

Cricket smiled. “Ok.” She paused briefly and her eyes began to twinkle as she held the puppy up for him to see. “But don’t you see, baby, I found my Max.”

Raine’s anger faded at the look in her eyes. He just couldn’t be mad at her over the hug anymore. The look in her eyes was like a dream come true for her and she never had that happen before.

He reached out around her back and held his hand out for Rocko.

Rocko nodded and they shook hands.

Raine looked down at his woman and said, “Come on baby, let’s go make Max yours.”

All three left the kennel and walked into the barn.

Rocko went over to a large fenced off area that housed a desk and filing cabinets and began pulling out paperwork.

Cricket went over to an area that had bags of food and other dog supplies for sale. She picked out a collar and a leash from the many she saw there as well as a couple of bowls for food and water and a couple of toys for Max to play with.

When she joined Raine again, he and Rocko were discussing which brand of food Max would eat.

Rocko pushed the paperwork in front of Cricket and she signed it.

Raine pulled out his wallet and began counting out money to pay for the dog.

When they were finished with the business part of the transaction, Rocko smiled. “He sure does like you.” He nodded at the dog in her arms.

Cricket smiled. “And I like him too.”

“Come on baby, we got to go. Deke called while you were looking for Max. He wants a powwow with you.”

Rocko grimaced. “Ouch, that might hurt.”

Cricket shook her head. “Nah, he’s mad at me but he would never hurt me. He’ll just scream and holler and stomp around some.”

Raine and Rocko froze. All they could do was stare at her for a moment. Did she not know by now, who and what Deke really was? What he could do if pushed?

Finally, Raine asked her, “And that doesn’t scare you? Not even a little bit? I mean Deke is a pretty big guy and when he’s mad, it’s usually time to duck and cover.”

“Well, that’s true enough. He’s not a man I’d want to meet in a dark alley anytime soon.” She paused the smiled sweetly at him. “But I’ve been watching the whole bunch of you guys over the last few months and I’ve noticed something unique about all of you.”

Raine frowned. “And what’s that?”

“I have never seen any of you ever hit a woman or a child. You may pound the snot out of each other on occasion but never have I ever seen any of you strike a woman or an innocent child. And do you know what that tells me?”

“No, what does that tell you about us?” Raine raised his brow at her. He glanced over at Rocko who also seemed curious.

“It tells me that you guys may be tough and like to ride the big boy bikes but that you all have a sense of honor that makes you real men. Real men would never hit a woman or a child. You’d rather walk away and hit a wall than hurt an innocent.”

Rocko chuckled. “Well, she’s got a point there. I’ve seen Deke and the guys madder than hell at somebody but I’ve never seen the man hit a woman or a kid.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, if the need requires it I’m sure he’d do it in a heartbeat but then the woman wouldn’t be innocent and she’d have to do something to wrong him or the club.” Cricket assured them both. “That is something Deke would never allow. He looked like he wanted to beat the everlovin shit out of Cordy the day he caught her. But she wasn’t innocent and she had kidnapped his babies and wronged his club. It took an effort on his part to hold himself back that day.” She shrugged. “For that, I wouldn’t have blamed him.”

Raine’s eye took on a haunted look for a moment. “I remember that day. That’s the day you came to the compound.”

Cricket nodded. “I was terrified when you guys caught me. I thought I was dead for sure.”

“I also remember the punch Dusty threw.” He remembered as his hand went down to protect his nuts.

“He was just trying to protect me from getting hurt.”

Raine nodded. “I remember.”

“If he’s waiting on you, you guys better get going,” Rocko told them. “Deke is not a man who likes to wait for anything.”

“Come on Max,” Cricket cooed to the puppy. “We need to talk to somebody.” She began walking to the door.

Raine glanced over at Rocko and laughed.

“Oh brother, you’re gonna have your hands full with that one.” Rocko chuckled.

Raine felt his throat close up. He was determined to make this statement true. He wanted his hands full of her forever. “I know but she’s worth it. She’s so worth it. ” Raine followed her out.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the clubhouse parking lot. There were a lot of bikes parked there, more than normal and Cricket turned to Raine. “What’s going on here? Why is everyone here?”

“I’m not sure baby.” Raine looked a little concerned. “Maybe we should go find out.”

Cricket glanced around the parking lot then her gaze came back to him. “I’m afraid,” she whispered.

Raine didn’t want to lie to her so he couldn’t say much. “Let’s just go and find out what’s going on here. Deke isn’t going to throw you under the bus.”

“No, but he’d do whatever it took to protect this club.”

Raine got out of the truck and walked around to her side. Opening the door, he waited for her to get out.

Cricket finally slid across the seat and slipped down to the ground. Grasping the puppy close to her, she nodded. “Ok, let’s go find out what’s up.”

They walked into the clubhouse.

The room was full of the men who made up the Sin’s Bastards. Deke, Gator, Bones, Mountain, and Iceman sat at the main table.

They silently made their way to stand in front of the Deke.

“What’s going on here Deke?” Raine finally asked.

Deke stared at him for a moment then turned his head to stare at Cricket. Turning back to Raine, he told the other man, “After you guys left this morning, we did some checking. We needed to know if the story she told Bane was true or not.”

Raine felt his stomach tighten. “And was it? True I mean?”

Deke nodded. “Oh yeah, it was true. Dragon’s Breath MC did knock over an armored truck and they got away with about eight million but it wasn’t all cash. There was about two million in cash and about six million in diamonds. Those diamonds are uncut and unregistered, by the way. There’s no way they can be traced or tracked by the police. But that’s not what’s important.” Deke shrugged. “Do you know why Stark spent four years in jail?”

“Do I want to know?” Raine asked.

Deke nodded. “Fuck yeah, this is very interesting, and the real reason why the man is so pissed. After they got away from the robbery, they stopped long enough to see what their haul was. When they discovered the diamonds, the club was pumped. To make sure they couldn’t be tied to the robbery, Stark handed off the load to Cordy and she was supposed to meet up with them later to give it back, just in case the bikers were questioned by the police. What Stark didn’t know was that Cordy had slipped a couple of the stones into his vest. When the cops stopped them for questioning they found the stones and arrested Stark on the spot.” Deke turned to stare at Cricket. “Your sister was a real piece of work.”

“I knew that. I grew up under her thumb remember?” Cricket retorted.

“Then you can understand why the man is pissed, can’t you?”

“I can understand. But that was Cordy, not me. She did that, not me.”

Deke nodded. “I understand but according to Stark, she told him her name was Cricket not Cordy.”

“I know.” Cricket hid her face in the dog’s fur. “I always paid for her screw-ups.”

“I had the president of my old club call Stark and tell him he had the wrong woman under contract,” Bones told the group. “Hawkeye tried but it didn’t make any difference to Stark. He didn’t give a shit. He wants the money and the diamonds back and he also wants your blood. Hawkeye told him Cordy was dead but it didn’t make any difference. Stark still wants blood spilt for the time he spent behind bars. He said he would settle for yours.”

Cricket paled and had to sit down.

“We can’t let that happen.” Raine growled.

“I know and it won’t,” Deke assured him. “It was Stark’s mistake to trust Cordy. He should have known better.”

“Does he know where I am?” Cricket asked.

“No, we made sure of that.” Deke shook his head. “But Stark is a hothead. He’s demanding the money and the diamonds returned to him. He claims he spent time in jail, so he feels he’s paid for them already.”

“But the money and the diamonds didn’t belong to him to begin with,” Cricket argued.

“What does he plan to use as the payment on the contract if he wants the money and the diamonds back?” Raine asked.

Deke shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care. What can I say, the man is an idiot. Having a man like that in charge of an MC is always a mistake. He’s gonna end up getting his club killed over nothing.”

“So now what?” Raine asked.

“That depends on what Cricket does next,” Deke stated.

“What I do next?” Cricket repeated. “What can I do?”

“You have a couple of options here.” Deke stared at her. “You told Bane that you hid the money and the diamonds before you left town. You can tell Stark where to find them and look over your shoulder for the rest of your life waiting for the bullet with your name on it. That’s option one. Option two is you can run, you’d still be looking over your shoulder but he’d have a harder time finding you to kill you. And believe me he’d track you down to get the money back and then he would kill you anyway. He wants what he thinks is his and he’s already spent time in jail for what your sister did to him.”

“And option three?” she asked.

“Option three is you turn the money back over to the people it belongs to and agree to testify against him when the case comes to court. The only problem with that is Cordy isn’t around to backup any testimony on your behalf.”

“That won’t solve the problem,” Raine stated angrily. “Even if Stark goes to jail, he’d get out eventually and he’d come after her then. He’d have even more reason to kill her then.”

“Yup, that’s one scenario,” Deke agreed.

“Then there is no way out of this is there?” Cricket asked dejectedly.” I need to just turn myself into Bane.”

“No. There is one way out,” Bones offered. “We could declare war on the Dragon’s Breath MC and wipe them out.”

Cricket jumped to her feet. “NO!” she cried out. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?’ Bones asked. “Is there something you aren’t telling us about this incident?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve told you everything I know. But you can’t just kill them. That’s just wrong. It would be murder. And I won’t have a war on my conscience either. NO.”

“He wouldn’t hesitate to murder you,” Deke pointed out.

Cricket shuddered. “That’s on his soul. If you wiped them out that would be on yours and mine.” Shaking her head she added, “I can’t allow that to happen. There’s been enough bloodshed caused by my family already.”

“Yeah well, we checked on that too,” Deke went on. “The MC isn’t very big and they’re all the same type of men. In other words, they are all just plain no good. But that’s not the point. As Raine pointed out even if Stark goes back to jail, the next man up will come after her and I don’t want that threat to be never ending. The only thing they’ll see is the fact that she put their president in jail and they’ll want their pound of flesh. What we need to decide is what we’re going to do about this.” He got to his feet and looked around the room. “But we need to do this as an MC.”

Before anyone could say anything, a single shot rang out. Glass shattered and everyone scrambled for cover.

Raine turned to Cricket and saw her paling as she dropped to the floor. It took him a minute to see the red stain on her shoulder along with the growing pool of blood underneath her.

“Cricket!” he shouted as he fell to his knees and crawled over to her. Gathering her into his arms, he held her close.