Dex crab-walked his bike backward into the spot next to Brooke’s Beemer. He shut it down and yanked his bandana from the lower half of his face and pulled the goggles he wore during cold weather off his head. He shrugged off his heavy leather motorcycle jacket and threw it over his arm. Then he turned to stare at the door of Brooke’s motel room.

A sliver of light peeked from between the two curtains that had been drawn together.

She was awake.

He had given her an hour before he followed. But that hour had been rough as fuck. He stopped himself multiple times from charging out of his room and chasing her the fuck down because there was no fucking way he was leaving her alone tonight.

Even though she was one of the strongest women he’d ever met, he’d seen what tonight did to her.

Hell, he’d seen what tonight did to everyone in that meeting. Especially Zak.

He could only imagine how tonight was going to affect not only Diamond’s life, now that the truth was out, but how it might devastate Kelsea’s when she finds out who her father is. Or was. And heard some of the recently uncovered things her “father” had done in the thirty-five plus years he was an Angel.

Dex stepped up to her door and raised his hand to pound on it when it was flung open.

His breath caught as she stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a clingy, silky robe. The light from the room caused a glow behind her that made her look surreal.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

She was so fucking beautiful. So sexy. So confident.

He knew right then, right there, she was everything he needed in his life.

Everything.

She was the first woman to ever get him and he wasn’t letting that go. He knew that was rare and that he’d never find it again.

“What the fuck are you doing here? I told you I wanted to be alone.”

Her searing words, her anger hit him dead center in the chest. He was prepared for it, though. “Heard you.”

“So when I slam this door in your face you’ll know why.”

“Ain’t slammin’ it. I’m comin’ in.”

She stared at him for a second. “No. You’re not.”

“Comin’ in, babe.”

“My name is Brooke.”

“Yeah, babe, know what your fuckin’ name is.”

“Then learn to use it.”

A muscle popped in his jaw as he ground his teeth. She thought she was the dominant in their relationship and, yeah, he allowed her to be because he liked it in the bedroom. But there came a point where that shit wasn’t going to fly with him.

Like now.

“Want me to use your name, Brooke? Is that what you fuckin’ want, Brooke? Need me to use it to remind you who you are, Brooke? I can do that.” He pushed past her into the room, grabbed the door, ripped it from her hand and slammed it shut. He twisted the deadbolt and turned to face her. “But, Brooke, you ain’t kickin’ me out of this room. I’m fuckin’ stayin’. Got me?”

She shook her head, her eyes narrowed dangerously. “No, you’re not.”

“The fuck I’m not.” He flung his arms wide. “I’m standin’ in your room. I’m stayin’. Ain’t kickin’ me out of your fuckin’ life, Brooke. Not lettin’ that happen. Know shit’s twisted right now. Know shit’s upside down for you. But it ain’t just you. It’s all of us. We’re all damaged in some fuckin’ way.”

She pressed a hand to her forehead and something crossed over her face. The strong Brooke that he knew and loved was crumbling before his eyes.

Fuck.

Did he actually love her or was that his dick thinking out loud?

“My mother suffered twice, Dex. Twice. Once from that bastard’s hands and then she suffered again when she was fighting cancer. I watched helplessly when she withered away to nothing. I couldn’t do anything to help her besides be there for her. I did that, but it never felt like it was enough. I wanted to take that pain from her and I couldn’t. And then to find what I did... to figure out that she’d suffered badly in another way... I know I’m not the cause of it, but I was the result, Dex. And I had no idea. For thirty fucking years, I had no clue. I had no idea what my mother saw every time she looked at me. What if she saw that monster? What if I was the cause of her reliving that nightmare over and over?”

Her whole body hiccuped and she covered her mouth with a shaky hand. She spun away from him and rushed to the other side of the room.

She was heading into the bathroom. She was going to go in there, lock the door and shut him out.

Fuck that.

He rushed after her, wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her backward until she slammed into him. “You’re not fuckin’ hidin’ from this. You’re not hidin’ from me. Fuck that shit.”

She inhaled a shaky breath and then yelled, “I just want to be left alone.”

“No.”

She struggled against his hold, digging her nails into his arms. “Let me go and leave me alone, Dex. I don’t need a reminder of where I came from, who I came from and that’s nothing but what you are. A damn reminder.”

Dex went solid against her. He tried not to take her words personally, because she was hurting and just lashing out, but it was hard not to.

She clawed at his arms, but luckily, he wore a long-sleeved tee that protected his skin from her desperate attempts of escape. “Let me go!”

“No,” he growled in her ear as she struggled against him.

“I can’t do this with you. Not now.”

“You’re doin’ this. You’re gonna let it all go an’ I’m gonna be here when you do it. Gotta get that toxic shit outta your system. It’s the only way to move the fuck on. Got me?”

She let out a scream that pierced his ear drums. He grunted when she elbowed his gut and kicked his shin in an attempt to escape his hold.

“You fucking bikers! You have to force yourself on women! You don’t care about the damage you cause!”

“Ain’t the same thing, babe. Not forcin’ you to do anything but face the shit that’s eatin’ away at you deep down inside.”

“You don’t know what’s eating at me. You don’t know shit.”

“Bullshit. I know ‘cause I see you sufferin’. See it. Feel it, too, Brooke. Jesus fuckin’ Christ. You ain’t the only one sufferin’ so stop bein’ a selfish bitch.”

Dex knew by calling her that, by poking at her deep-seated pain, she was going to snap. But it needed to happen for her to release that building pressure. To rid it from her system. And if he needed to take the brunt of her anger, then he was willing to do so.

She froze in his arms. “I’m a selfish bitch?”

His life flashed before his eyes, but he said it anyway, “Yeah.”

“I’m the one being selfish?”

He was playing with fire. “Yeah, you are.”

“Fuck you, asshole. Fuck all of you. I can’t wait to get the fuck out of this goddamn town. I’m never setting foot in it again.” The tone of her voice had turned high, almost a shriek, enough to make him wince, but he wasn’t backing off. Not yet.

“That ain’t gonna happen,” he murmured.

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Then you’re talking out of your ass. Because I want nothing to do with you, your club, or Shadow Valley. I found out the shit I needed to and I’m... I’m done.”

“Ain’t done. Not with me. Not with the Valley. Not with my club, Brooke. Ain’t done. You don’t want anything to do with the DAMC, but it’s too fuckin’ late. Got a sister who’s DAMC. Even though your father was a piece of fuckin’ dog shit, you’re now family. We accept you as family no matter what, babe. You belong to me; you belong to this club.”

“I belong to you?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “I belong to you?” She jerked against him. “I must have missed that memo. You can’t treat me like property. I don’t belong to anyone! Especially you!”

He pressed his cheek to the side of her face and tightened his arms even more. “Babe, you do. You just don’t see it yet.”

“I don’t belong to you.” This time it wasn’t a scream, it was a whimper.

Her body went lax against him but he was still afraid to loosen his hold. It could be a trick since she was smart and cunning.

But when her knees buckled, he held her up, supporting her weight. Her head fell forward and her body heaved.

Jesus fuckin’ Christ.

Sweeping her off her feet into his arms, he took two long strides to the bed and placed her down gently. Brooke covered her face as her body wracked with silent sobs. When she curled up into a ball, his stomach felt hollow, like it had been scooped out with a large spoon.

He quickly shed his cut and took off his boots before sliding next to her, gathering her into his arms and once again squeezing her tight.

His fucking heart squeezed because it was painful to hear her finally let it all out. The tears, the frustration, that bitterness she was clinging to. She probably wasn’t even aware of all that toxic shit she was hanging onto. But now that everything had come to a head tonight and there was nowhere else to focus, it was finally coming to the surface.

“Everything I thought was my life was a lie,” came muffled from behind her hands.

“Don’t let that asshole steal your real life away from you.” He gently pulled her hands away from her face and even though he was glad she was purging herself of all the shit buried deep down, seeing her red-rimmed eyes and her tears rolling down her face twisted his gut. “Loved your dad?”

She blinked up at him in confusion.

“Your real dad, not your sperm donor. You loved ‘im?”

“Yes.”

“Your mom?”

“Of course,” she answered without hesitation.

“They give you a good life?”

She sniffled. “Yes.”

He tapped her temple gently. “Your parents loved you, too. Made you who you are. A strong woman.” Raking his fingers through her hair, he pulled away the strands that clung to her damp cheeks. “That’s all that fuckin’ matters, babe. Don’t let Pierce’s evil shit win by destroyin’ you. He’s a nobody now. He’ll no longer exist.”

She closed her eyes and didn’t say anything for the longest time. “Judge and jury.”

“What?”

Her blue eyes popped open. “You’re all judge and jury. Then you dispense your own justice.”

“When necessary. That bother you?”

“Was there any other choice if I wanted him to meet justice?”

“No. ‘Cause 5-0 ain’t gonna do shit. ‘Specially with no solid proof. Even that diary.”

She got quiet again for a moment, then turned troubled eyes to him. “If my mom would’ve come forward. Said something. Did something other than just scribbling it down in a diary... Diamond...”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Don’t know that. Don’t blame your mother. Sure she did her best.”

“I loved her, Dex.”

“Know it, babe.”

“It was so rough for her in the end. I felt so helpless.”

“But you were there for her. By her side. That’s all you could do.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t.” A whole fresh batch of tears began to stream down her face.

He rolled to his back, wrapped his arms around her head, holding her close and pressing his lips to her temple.

Like Brooke had felt with her mother, he felt the same with her right now. Helpless. However, he could do the same thing he told her: be there for her, remain by her side until she was all cried out.

He nuzzled his nose into her blonde hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. It was hard to believe it was only this morning that they had woken up in this very bed and had some awesome sex. Things went all fucking downhill from there.

But it was over. Pierce was handled. The Warriors were handled.

And he hoped she’d eventually forgive him for stealing her DNA and her mother’s diary pages without her knowledge.

He also hoped she’d realize how much she belonged with him.

He held her for hours, even after her tears dried up. During that time, he refused to let her go, not even for a second.

Because letting her go wasn’t an option. But he needed her to feel the same way.

Brooke’s eyes blinked open and she turned her head toward the sound of her phone vibrating on the nightstand. She did a quick mental check.

She was still in her motel room, still completely dressed and still pinned against Dex.

His breathing was steady as it blew across her cheek. After carefully peeling herself out of his embrace, she grabbed her phone, but it had gone to voicemail before she could answer it.

Three missed calls. All unknown. She frowned. Who was calling her at...

The time displayed on her phone said 3:34 AM.

What the hell...

She couldn’t believe she slept through three calls. She turned and glanced down at Dex sleeping. No, she could. She had cried herself to sleep in his arms last night. And being in his arms, she had felt safe and... something else... Enough to sleep soundly.

Something else.

What did she feel for the man who had forced his way into her room? Hell, forced his way into her life.

The man who had the balls big enough to follow her home to Harrisburg. Follow her to her motel room after she’d told him to leave her alone. And not just once either.

He had balls big enough to allow her to let her be herself in the bedroom when it came to sex but never lost those balls afterward, outside the bedroom.

She wondered if he’d shown that secret side of himself to anyone besides her.

If he wasn’t a biker, didn’t live in Shadow Valley, didn’t have a connection with the DAMC, then he might have been perfect for her.

But he wasn’t.

So she needed to ignore that feeling... that something else.

At this point, she saw no reason to get entangled in something that would never last.

She pressed the voicemail icon on her cellphone and lifted it to her ear.

“Ms. Monroe,” the deep recorded voice said. “This is Trooper Jenkins, a fire marshal for the Pennsylvania State Police. I need you to call me back as soon as you can. Your house has been involved in an alleged arson and we want to make sure you’re safe. Please contact me on my cell as soon as you get this message at—”

The phone tumbled from Brooke’s fingers and landed on the bed. The deep voice in the message rattled off some numbers and some other stuff, but she didn’t know what. Her heart stopped as she stared at the phone that caused a glow in the room that suddenly seemed glaring.

Dex sat up abruptly and, leaning over her, grabbed the phone. He hit the replay button and put it to his ear.

“Fuckin’ motherfuckers,” he barked as he pulled the phone away, and hit another button. After a few seconds, he said, “Yeah, it is. This is her phone. She’s safe. What’s goin’ on?” After a few more moments, he muttered, “Be there in about three hours.” A pause. “Shadow Valley. South of the ‘burgh.” Another pause. “Yeah. Right. Got you.” He disconnected the phone, threw it back onto the bed then gripped her face within his large, warm hands.

She could only blink at him. She couldn’t focus because her thoughts kept whirling around in her head like a cyclone. She couldn’t get them to stop no matter how hard she tried. “Dex,” she whispered.

“Yeah, babe. Get your shoes on, gather your shit, pack up your Beemer. Gotta drop off my sled at church, then takin’ your cage to Harrisburg. Got me?”

“But—”

“No fuckin’ buts. Get it done. Now. Gotta go.”

“But...”

He didn’t release her face, but shook her gently. “Listen. No buts. Get movin’.”

She felt herself nod, but it didn’t feel like herself. It was like someone else was nodding for her.

What the hell was happening?

She tried to concentrate on the man all up in her face. “What are we doing?”

“Headin’ back to Harrisburg. Gotta deal with this shit an’ the pigs. They need to talk to you.”

“My house...”

“Yeah, babe. Don’t know the extent. Gotta get rollin’ now. Got me?”

She nodded again, pushed out of the bed, automatically straightening the rumpled clothes on her body. She gathered her belongings without thinking, without feeling. Without anything. The only thing that kept her going was Dex’s firm commands.

Nothing remained of her inside. Nothing.

She was completely fucking empty.

Dex pulled her BMW over to the curb as close as the firefighters would allow. Which wasn’t close because they had their rigs blocking the street and along with a few parked pigmobiles.

Before they could even get out of the car, a cop approached them asking who they were. When he explained who Brooke was, he got a long eyeballing from the man in a black and grey uniform. Dex bit his insult back because he needed to keep his shit together and the Trooper that called Brooke needed to talk to her.

He also didn’t need to be arrested for disorderly conduct and let Brooke deal with this whole new shit show by herself.

The pig pointed toward another man in a suit that stood scribbling shit down in a notebook. The blond guy looked up, saw them approaching and met them halfway.

He held out his hand to Brooke as he introduced himself and then ignored Dex once he noticed the colors on Dex’s back.

What-fucking-ever.

Would it have been smart to leave his cut in Brooke’s cage? Probably. But fuck everybody who was judging him right now. He wasn’t hiding who he was. They could suck his fucking dick.

Dex turned his eyes from Brooke talking to the Trooper to what remained of her home.

What remained was nothing but ashes, glowing embers, her stone fireplace and some random blackened skeletal remains of her house. Smoke still rose up as the firemen poked and prodded, looking for hot spots and hosing some areas down.

He took a few steps forward, drawn to the devastation and sick to his stomach at what the Warriors had done.

Because no one else had done this besides that scum sucking MC. That wasn’t even in question. It was because of this, he knew Brooke hadn’t been safe at home. This was why he insisted she come back with him to Shadow Valley. He knew that the Warriors would seek retribution for their president going missing.

And her house was his last known location.

As he moved forward as if in a trance, staring at what remained, a fireman reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked up and the man jerked his chin back to where Brooke and the Trooper talked. “Your woman just collapsed.”

Dex spun and saw the Trooper squatting down next to Brooke who had fallen to her knees, her head in her hands, her body curled over itself.

“What the fuck?” he yelled, rushing back to her. He pushed the Trooper out of the way, dropped to his knees, and grabbed Brooke, pulling her into his arms. “What the fuck happened?” he asked the cop standing over them.

“More bad news,” he murmured, concern in his dark eyes as he stared at Brooke.

“What?” What else could there be? How much more could this woman take?

“This fire is being deemed an arson at this point. But I just found out another arson took place. Though, not in my area.”

“Yeah and?”

“Whoever hit her house, hit her business, too. This was personal. Not random.”

No fucking shit. But he wasn’t saying that.

The Trooper met Dex’s gaze, his eyes hard. “Do you know who could’ve done this?”

Dex’s nostrils flared but he kept his face hard, unreadable. “Nope.”

Trooper Jenkins’ mouth flattened out. “Right.” His spine snapped straight and he faced Dex head-on. “Dealt with people like you before. Like I said, it’s definitely not random. Someone’s targeting her.” He tilted his head. “Or you.” He tapped his pen against his notebook as he jerked his chin toward the patches on the front of his cut. “Or your club.”

Dex stood, pulling Brooke up with him, pressing her face into his chest and holding her tight. “Don’t know who that’d be.”

The Trooper nodded, not hiding the fact that he didn’t believe Dex. “Right.” With a sigh, he pulled a couple business cards from his pocket and held them out to Dex. “If, for some reason, you suspect anyone who might have done it, here’s my card. Hang onto one. Give the other to her insurance company.”

Dex said nothing but pulled the cards from his fingers and tucked them into his back pocket.

Jenkins stared at Brooke for a moment then said, “Sorry this happened to her. No one deserves this. Maybe she needs to pick different people to associate with.”

Dex ignored his dig and dropped his attention to Brooke as the Trooper strode away. “Babe,” he whispered, stroking her hair.

“It’s all gone.” Her words were smothered into his shirt.

“Yeah.”

“Everything I’ve known. Everything I built. Everything that was... me. I have nothing left.”

“Not true, babe.”

She pulled away slightly and looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. “What? What do I have left? They took everything from me. Everything, Dex.”

“Babe, got me. Got all of us.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Us? You mean your club? The very thing that caused my life to spiral into the depths of hell?”

Dex locked his jaw from saying something he would regret later. He needed to keep his head on straight. He didn’t need to make this any worse for her. Because, yeah, he got what she meant. He understood why she’d blame the club.

Pierce created her and, because of that, was the catalyst of all the shit that resulted from that moment. The man had been an Angel, had been embedded deeply into the DAMC for longer than either of them had been born. He’d been the club’s president for a decade.

So, yeah, he got it. He could understand why she wanted nothing to do with the DAMC.

But that didn’t mean he’d accept that.

“I have nowhere to live,” she said softly, the deep sadness in her words like a twisted knife in his chest. “My business is gone.”

“Know you’re probably gonna hate what I’m about to say to you, but... gotta take this as a new beginnin’. A fresh start.”

“I can’t just walk away from my business, my clients. Hell, even my employees.”

“You’ll figure it out. Got insurance, right?”

She nodded, staring toward what remained of her former house as the smoke rose up into the early morning sky.

“The Trooper said that a Molotov cocktail was used to firebomb my offices and showroom.” She released a bitter laugh. “A fucking Molotov cocktail! What the hell?”

Dex mumbled, “Like they tried to do with Sophie’s bakery.”

She turned surprised eyes to him. “They burned her bakery down?”

He shook his head. “No. Tried. Sophie was livin’ above the bakery. She was lucky that attempt failed.”

“But what did she do to them?”

“Fuckin’ nothin’. Besides being involved with Z.”

“So, if I hadn’t been involved with their president’s disappearance, if I hadn’t been Pierce’s daughter and if, for some reason, I’d just been with you, this still might have happened to me?”

If, for some reason, I’d just been with you.

That sentence drove home what he knew. That certain circumstances had brought them together. If seeking the truth hadn’t brought Brooke to Shadow Valley, they never would’ve crossed paths, and even if they had, other than for a reason they had, she never would have looked twice at him. Not once, probably, either.

“Just being with you could’ve brought on their wrath?” she asked when he didn’t answer.

“Can’t answer that, babe. Don’t know. Don’t know what goes on in their fucked up minds. Can’t say that you bein’ with me wouldn’t have drawn their attention. They kidnapped Kiki, an’ only because she was seein’ Hawk. Was at his place at the wrong time. She wasn’t DAMC, but they didn’t know that. You bein’ with me could be a risk.” He scrubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. “Don’t wanna tell you that so you’re scared to be with me, but gotta be honest with you. This shit’s been goin’ on forever. Don’t know if it’ll ever end.” He shook his head and stared at his boots. “Just don’t know, Brooke.”

“But I’m not with you,” she whispered. “We were just thrown together... We...” She took a deep breath. “I’m here. You’re there.”

“You got nothin’ here anymore.”

“My employees...”

“They’ll find their own way.”

“A business.”

“You can rebuild. Don’t hafta be here.”

“What are you saying?”

“Don’t need to say it out loud, babe. You know what I’m sayin’.”

Her brows furrowed as she stared at him. “No. I need to hear it. I need you to spell out what you want. Because I’m not sure that what you want is the same thing I want.”

He grabbed her hand and began to tug her toward the burned-out remains of her house. One of the firemen yelled as he yanked her close. Close enough to feel the heat of the smoldering ashes.

He dug into his cut, into that slit cut inside his vest, and pulled out the pages from her mother’s diary, holding them out to her. She stared at them blankly, her brows still furrowed.

“That shit’s the past.” Swinging his arm out over the devastation before them, he continued, “This house is the past. Your business is the past. This has given you a chance to start fresh. Take those pages, babe. Burn them. Cleanse yourself of that poison. Yeah?”

She turned blue eyes up from her mother’s handwritten words to him. “And you think you’re my future.”

“Yeah, babe, I do. Know it’s gonna be a difficult road to get back on your feet. Know it. Gonna be there every second for you, gonna be there to help you every step of the fuckin’ way. Help you as much as I can. Don’t know shit about decoratin’ or anything, but whatever you need, whatever I can help you with, I’ll do it. An’ not just me. The whole fuckin’ club, my family. Your family. We’ll be there for you. Babe, you are now DAMC.”

“Because you think I belong to you.” It wasn’t a question, but a soft statement.

One that she was going to deny. Tell him that she didn’t, she never would. She was a strong, independent woman and she didn’t need anybody. Dex. The DAMC. Her sister. Nobody.

She was gearing up to tell him to go fuck off. To laugh in his face because she didn’t need a man like him in her life. He was so not her caliber and for him to think so would be laughable.

That was what she was about to say to him and, when she did, it was going to fucking kill him. So he needed to convince her otherwise, before she shut him out. Before she closed herself off to the possibility of a future with him. A future back in Shadow Valley. Not a future where they lived hours apart, where he could be easily forgotten as she went about building a new life. Without him.

He dropped to his knees. Right there on the wet ground, in the mud created from dirt and ash and water from the fire hoses. Right there at her feet. He grabbed both of her hands and pressed his forehead to them for a moment, gathering his breath, gathering his courage to fight any disappointment she’d rain on him.

When he finally looked up, met her eyes, which were shiny, shocked, even scared, he began, not caring who watched them, not caring who heard. “Babe, beggin’ you. Just give me a chance. Give us a chance. Know we’re not from the same world. Hell, from the same universe. But it works. I promise, it works. Look at Kiki an’ Hawk. Hell, he was fuckin’ in county jail an’ she was his lawyer. Can’t get any more different than that. Look at Z, the prez of a MC who did ten years in prison an’ Sophie, a sweet baker who probably never had a parkin’ ticket. Look at Axel, a fuckin’ cop, an’ Bella, a born biker chick. An’ then there’s Emma. A kindergarten teacher.” He shook his head and snorted. “Dawg was runnin’ a strip club when a kindergarten teacher walked the fuck into his life. Can’t get much more different than that. An’ it works for ‘em, swear it. Those men would die for ‘em. Every single one of ‘em. An’ babe...”

She closed her eyes.

He squeezed her hands. “I’d die for you.”

Her fingers flexed within his. “Don’t say that,” she whispered.

“It’s true. Never thought it would happen to me. Never thought I’d find the right woman that’d make me feel that way. But fuck,” he blew out a breath, “you fuckin’ walked into that pawn shop an’ gave me wood that wouldn’t quit. Knew it right there an’ then, I needed to know you.”

“You just wanted to fuck me.”

“Yeah, that, too. But believe me, a lot of good-lookin’ women walk into that pawn shop. Not one of ‘em... not one, babe, had ever affected me like you did. I get now what Z, Hawk an’ Dawg say about how when they found their women it hit ‘em hard. The second I saw you it hit me just as fuckin’ hard. So,” he released her hands and pushed to his feet, cupping her cheeks, not allowing her to avoid his gaze. He needed her to see him. See how much she meant to him. Because this could be his only shot. “Beggin’ you, babe, just gimme a chance to prove I’m everything you need. Promise I’ll do my damnedest for you every fuckin’ day. An’ if one day you decide I ain’t good enough, that I didn’t do my fuckin’ best for you an’ you wanna walk away, then ain’t gonna stop you.”

She sucked in a breath and her eyes went wide. She jerked her face out of his hands and said, “Dexter Dougherty, you’d let me just walk away from you?”

His heart stuttered then began to beat furiously. “Only want what’s best for you, babe.”

“You think you might not be it?”

“Fuck that. Know I am.”

“Then I’ll ask you again... You’d let me just walk away from you?”

His lips twitched. “Truth, babe? No. Would never let you walk away. Would do everythin’ in my power to keep you by my side. Keep you where you belong.”

“Dex,” she whispered. “We haven’t even known each other that long.”

“Yeah, babe. We’ve known each other our whole lives,” he patted his chest, “in here. Was only just recent we found each other. Realized you’re what I’ve been missin’ all my fuckin’ life. Hopin’ it’s the same for you.”

She shook her head. “You’re something else.”

“Ain’t gonna deny it.”

She turned and looked over at the remains of her home. “So much stuff has happened. So much.”

“Yeah. Know it.”

She held out her hand and he knew exactly what she wanted. He placed the folded, torn-out pages from her mother’s diary into her palm. She closed her fist around them, then took a step toward some remaining embers. After looking one last time at the crumpled papers in her hand, she dropped them onto the glowing hot coals. The pages instantly ignited and burned quickly until there was nothing but a swirl of paper ash. Some of those remnants actually floated up into the early December air.

Dex stepped up to her and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. She didn’t pull away, but instead tightened her fingers on his.

“Can’t change the past,” he murmured. “But can put it behind you.”

“You’re right, you can’t change the past.” She tugged on his hand and looked up at him. “But you can shape the future.”

He jerked her toward him and into his arms. He pressed his mouth into her hair. “Sorry, babe. Sorry all this shit had to happen to you. Sorry you had to deal with so much loss.”

“The house. My business. Those are things I can rebuild. Start fresh, like you said. Losing my mother... That was, still is, the hardest. She was the only reason I stayed in this area. Now everything’s gone that held me here. I realize I can go anywhere I want now.”

He said nothing and just waited.

And waited.

And fucking waited.

“Yeah,” he finally said, hoping that would spur her to continue.

“Yeah,” she echoed him on a breath.

“Babe.”

“Yes?”

“That all you gonna say?”

“No.”

He waited again as they stood at the edge of her burned-out home. He was trying his damnedest to be patient, but that was wearing thin. It was now mid-December and even though the air was a little warmer around the house because of the fire, it wasn’t that warm, and he only wore his long-sleeved tee and his cut. His nipples had pebbled painfully and his piercings ached from the brisk weather. He rubbed a palm over one of them and that caught her eye.

“Kelsea.”

He frowned. “What about her?”

“I want to meet her.”

“Yeah. Not sure she knows yet.”

“She’s my sister. I want to be there for her. Get to know her.”

“Yeah, babe. Got it.”

“That will be part of the whole ‘shaping the future.’ I assume I’m her older sister.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“Maybe she can help me with restarting my business.”

“Yeah, that’d be good. She don’t do shit but party an’ get her ass in trouble. But, babe... She lives in the Valley.”

“I know. Pittsburgh’s only like twenty minutes from Shadow Valley, right?”

“On a good day.”

“Well then, we’ll make every day a good day.”

He locked his knees so he wouldn’t fall at her feet once again. He couldn’t believe things were going his way, but they were and he wasn’t going to fuck it up.

“Do you think your uncle would mind you sticking around Harrisburg for a week or so while I get my stuff sorted? I’ll need to meet with the insurance companies and my employees, figure out what I need to do since I now have nothing. Not even clothes or paperwork. Or anything. I mean it’s like being totally reborn.”

That it was. “Don’t think Ace will fuckin’ mind me stayin’ here to help you get your shit sorted.”

“While we’re getting that shit sorted, maybe we can figure out where we’re going to live. I’m not staying in your room at church with you.”

“Can’t anyway.”

“Why?”

“We discussed this shit.”

She snorted. “Oh, that’s right, because I’m a woman.” Her gaze bounced back over the remains of her house. “Then we might have to find somewhere temporary until I can get a check from the insurance company.”

“Got it covered.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“Wanna house? Want one just like this? Got it covered. Club will cover it ‘til your check comes through. Got some green stashed away, too. That’s one bonus of livin’ for free at church, can bank a bunch of money.”

“How much money?”

“Probably enough for a healthy down payment dependin’ how big a house you want.”

Her mouth dropped open. “An’ you lived in that hovel?”

“Yeah. Just slept, showered an’ jerked off in there. Didn’t need much.” He met her blue eyes and he pulled her into his arms. “Babe.”

“Yes?”

“You comin’ to Shadow Valley for me or Kelsea?”

“Well, I have to say you.” She reached into his cut and tweaked his nipple. “I have so many more things I want to do to you yet.”

He smiled at her words. “But your toys are gone.”

“Yes, but they’re replaceable.”

“Glad you were in the Valley with me, babe, when the Warriors struck. Because one thing I fuckin’ know is, you ain’t replaceable. Got me?”

She pressed her forehead into his chest and wrapped her arms under his cut and around his waist. “Yes, Dex, I got you.”

“Got your back, babe. All this shit’s just a bump in the road. What don’t kill you makes you stronger. Though, not sure how much stronger you can get. You’re one fuckin’ amazin’ woman, Brooke. Can’t believe you’re in my arms right now. Can’t believe you’re comin’ home with me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” she whispered. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

He dropped his head and took her mouth, kissing her long and hard. Claiming her, letting her know that, yeah, she belonged to him, but he belonged to her, too.

“Let’s go find a motel.”

“So I can get my affairs in order and call the insurance company?”

“Yeah, that, too.”

They wandered back to her cage, but he stopped suddenly, drawing her to a halt.

She looked at him with a question on her face.

“Just gotta say... Thank fuck you walked into the pawn shop that day.”

Her lips twitched. “And thank fuck you undressed me with your eyes. Just like you’re doing right now.”

“Nope. Ain’t doin’ that. Got told by some bossy chick that it’s sexual harassment.”

“Yes, well, there’s a punishment for that.”

He smiled and tugged her faster toward the car. “Can’t fuckin’ wait.”