“Why are you calling me so early in the morning?” Jaike Hepburn asked groggily the next day.

“Sorry,” Bobby whispered as she walked past the security guard after flashing him her Visitors I.D. “I needed someone to call and you’re the only one I know who could be up this early.” Recalling Jaike’s sleepy voice, she said guiltily, “Or at least I thought you would be. Sorry.”

The guard waved her in, but Bobby could feel his interested gaze following her every movement as she walked towards the elevators that would take her directly to the basement headquarters of Florida’s most popular underground racing club.

She passed by several biker chicks along the way and all of them eyed her with a mixture of hostility and curiosity, making Bobby press her iPhone closer to her ear. She needed to look busy or she’d die of embarrassment before she could reach the elevators. She knew what they were thinking. That she was being a stupid fool once again, coming into the lion’s den like a lamb walking into a slaughter…willingly.

Jaike yawned. “No, you were right. I’m normally up early, but last night Derek…umm…never mind. Why are you calling again?”

Before Bobby could answer, she heard a thickly accented voice mumble in the background, “Baby?”

Bobby firmly suppressed the pang of envy that hit her at the sound of Derek Christopoulos’ voice. It wasn’t that she had some kind of secret crush on Jaike’s fiancé. What made her avoid spending too much time with the couple was the fact that they were so cute and happy together, and seeing the love shared by the two had hurt. A lot. And that Derek was also a Christopoulos – proof that even former Greek billionaire playboys could indeed reform – just made it hurt even more.

“Bobby?” Jaike sounded a little more alert this time.

“Sorry,” she said miserably.

Jaike blinked at her friend’s sorrowful tone. “Hey. Are you okay? Is this about…” Her voice trailed off uncomfortably.

“You know, don’t you?”

“Umm…”

“I knew it,” Bobby said, even more depressed. “Everyone knows, so it would have been silly to think you wouldn’t have heard about what happened.”

Jaike couldn’t help asking, “Did you really slap Leandro?”

“Uh huh.”

She tried to imagine Leandro Christopoulos being slapped and her mind totally failed at the challenge. “I never thought someone could ever slap Leandro Christopoulos and come out of it alive,” Jaike said honestly.

“Yeah, well…”

“And is it really true that after slapping him, you also made out with him in the elevator?”

“Umm…”

Jaike’s eyes widened. “Really? Then is it also true that Sabastian Gabris saw…” When Bobby didn’t protest, Jaike shook her head in utter amazement. “Seriously? I honestly thought that the news were all exaggerated and now you’re telling me every bit of it is true?” Jaike paused. “Did Sabastian get mad?”

“Of course not. He understood what really happened.”

Jaike waited for more, but a few seconds passed and she realized that it was all Bobby going to say. It made her even more curious and worried, but out loud, all she asked was, “Where are you now?”

Bobby pressed the Up button for the elevator. “At the new headquarters of Áf̱xi̱si̱.”

Jaike’s eyes widened at Bobby’s answer. “You’re at Leandro’s old racing club? Why?”

“The fundraiser our foundation was planning with Versatile turned out to be sponsored by Christopoulos, Inc.,” Bobby answered shortly. “I received a message last night requesting my presence here so…here I am.”

“Are you really sure you can do this?”

Everyone kept asking her that. Did Leandro ever get asked the same question or did everyone think that she was the only one to suffer if they happened to meet again?

Bobby lifted her chin. The whole time she and Leandro had been separated, she had not allowed anyone to comfort her. Something inside her had rebelled against showing vulnerability, and she had no plans doing otherwise now.

She answered brightly, “Of course. It’s been ages since we broke up. I have Sabastian now. What he does doesn’t concern me at all.”

* * *

“Welcome to Áf̱xi̱si̱,” MJ Cartwright, the club’s resident photographer, greeted her with a shy, awkward smile. Her long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her body, covered in a loose checkered polo, gray tank top, and faded jeans, was so slender she appeared taller than she looked.

Bobby remembered Leandro telling her once that MJ was the same age as her – nineteen now – and that she had joined the club even though she was mortally afraid of bikes for one all-important reason: she had a secret crush on one of the club’s bikers.

Wondering if the cat was out of that particular bag now, Bobby smiled back at MJ. “It’s nice to meet you again, MJ.”

MJ’s cheeks flushed, making Bobby realize that MJ was a lot shyer than she realized. “Same here.” MJ was playing with the SLR in her hands, as if needing the contact with her gadget to keep her from bolting. “I’ve been sent by Helios to show you around while the officers are having a meeting. It should be done soon.”

Bobby debated asking whether Leandro was part of the meeting and decided that with MJ, it was safe to do so. “Feel free to tell me it’s none of my business if I’m violating some kind of club rule, but is, umm, Leandro part of the meeting?”

“He is.”

“Oh.” A chaotic mix of emotions erupted inside Bobby at MJ’s answer. She felt lightheaded, her heart jumping even as her stomach dropped. Damn him. Damn him to hell. She hated how he could make her feel so mixed-up even after learning of his callous use of her.

The silence became strained, and MJ asked hesitantly, “Shall I give you the official tour now?” She didn’t know Bobby Granger very well, but she did read the papers and knew from club gossip that things weren’t exactly great between Bobby and her ex-boyfriend, the notorious Leandro Christopoulos. She had a feeling the other girl needed a distraction, and MJ hoped to provide her with one.

MJ’s invitation made Bobby flash her a smile tinged with relief. An official tour would definitely keep her from dwelling on the fact that once again Leandro was nearby. “Please do. I’m excited to see the whole place.” She looked around with unfeigned interest. The building’s elevator opened directly to the lab’s small mezzanine, which had waist-high glass walls and steel rails. It gave Bobby a nice bird’s eye view of the lab, which was so expansive she could barely see what was going on at the very end.

The lab had shiny hard plastic walls, and fluorescent LED bulbs installed behind the glass edges of the ceiling blazed down on the cemented white floor like alien-powered beams.

“It looks like a spaceship, doesn’t it?” MJ asked cheerfully.

“Umm, yeah, it kinda does,” Bobby agreed laughingly. “But I like it so much better than the old club.”

“I feel the same way, too.” MJ started for the stairs and Bobby fell into step next to her. “Teamwork is very important to the club, and it’s why there are no dividers separating the different work areas. The only rooms here are those that absolutely require privacy like the conference suite, the private quarters of the officers, and the security room.”

“Security room?”

“It’s where the CCTV monitors are plus the club’s database servers and their armory.”

Bobby choked. “Armory? Seriously?”

MJ grinned. “Not that kind of armory. Basically, it’s all the cool prototype parts the guys can add to their beasts---”

“Beasts?” Bobby was starting to feel that she and MJ were not talking in the same language.

“It’s what the guys call their bikes. Beasts – or more specifically, beasts on wheels.”

Bobby saw the unspoken curiosity in MJ’s pretty violet eyes. “I know. I don’t know much about racing club lingo, do I?”

MJ could only smile awkwardly.

“Leandro and I didn’t get to talk much about bikes then.” Actually, they hadn’t really talked much at all since most of the time, they had only…Bobby’s cheeks turned red as she realized the direction her stupid brain had taken.

Unfortunately, the other girl easily guessed what she had been thinking.

MJ blushed as well. “Oh.”

Bobby hastily changed the subject. “So, any areas here that are off-limits to me since I’m a non-member?”

MJ was visibly surprised. “But you are a member.”

It was Bobby’s turn to be surprised. “I am?”

“You became one when you and Leandro were a couple and even though you broke up, Leandro made it very clear to the club that you retained your membership.”

“I don’t think I got my ID,” Bobby quipped even though inside she was starting to feel restless. She didn’t like knowing all these things about Leandro, and she didn’t like remembering what she used to do with him either.

MJ explained earnestly, “You see, it’s all about being a family. I think...it was his way of protecting you while he couldn’t do it on his own.”

Bobby didn’t answer. She was too busy remembering the countless instances when club members had suddenly shown up and kept her company while she was out alone and struggling with depression. Most times it had been Kellion, but even the quiet Yuri had kept her company once, and there were times when she found herself sharing breakfast in the diner near her school with Helios himself.

When Bobby still didn’t speak, MJ said slowly, “I won’t pretend to know what really happened between the two of you, but that night when you broke up, he came here and…” Unable to find the right words to tell Bobby about what she had seen, MJ switched her camera on and quickly began swiping at the photos on the screen until she found the image she was looking for.

“Here…”

Bobby reluctantly took the camera from MJ, feeling like she had just been offered a forbidden fruit. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the photo on the screen.

It was Leandro, standing on the old club’s balcony. He hadn’t changed, still in his dirty shirt and jeans – the same clothes he had been wearing when he barged in on her dinner with her half-brother. He looked beautiful in the photo like he always did, but MJ had also captured something else on his face.

Grief.

Loss of the most excruciating kind was etched on the handsome planes of his face, and Bobby had to bite hard on her lip to keep it from trembling. She didn’t want to see this, didn’t want to start hoping again and think that maybe Leandro Christopoulos had loved her after all.

She returned the camera to MJ. “I don’t want to see any of his photos again.” Her voice came out harsher than she intended, and Bobby grimaced. “Sorry, I---”

“It’s okay, I understand,” MJ reassured the other girl quickly. “I respect your wishes.”

Bobby made a frustrated sound. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I’m just…I just don’t want to have anything to do with him again. If the kids in the foundation weren’t so excited about this project, I would’ve canceled it. But they want this so…”

MJ impulsively reached out to squeeze Bobby’s hand. “I really understand, Bobby. There’s no need to apologize.”

Bobby managed a smile. “I know you meant well. But it’s just not---” She stopped, the sound of the conference hall’s doors opening. Both she and MJ turned towards the sound just in time to see the club members file out one by one. Leandro was one of the last to come out, and he was talking to a girl wearing a tight leather dress and boots.

Bobby’s smile vanished completely as the other girl murmured something with a laugh and reached out to caress Leandro’s face.

Her heart went cold at the sight.

Some things never changed.

Leandro Christopoulos was still not a man to be trusted, and Bobby was still too naïve when it came to him.

Just then, Leandro looked up, his eyes unerringly finding her. Bobby quickly looked away, fumbling for her phone so she could once again call whoever to look busy, but it was too late. By the time she fished her iPhone out, Leandro was already standing across her.

“Hello, mégaira.” She looked unbelievably pretty…and hot. Leandro frowned, not liking the way her loose floral blouse, tucked into a too-tiny pair of denim shorts, had several buttons free. She was showing too much skin, and he hated it.

“Please don’t call me that.” She kept her voice low even though she knew that all the members of the club were too honorable to listen in on their conversation. She supposed she should be thankful that none of them were looking at them either, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Kellion drawing away the girl that Leandro had been flirting with.

The coldness in Bobby’s voice ignited his temper. It made him jealous as hell, too, and Leandro said abruptly, “You didn’t answer any of my calls last night.” Only the knowledge that he would create an even greater scandal and make Bobby a target of the press had kept Leandro from storming to her house. And so he had stayed at home, not sleeping a wink because he had wanted to be awake if she ever returned his call.

“I was busy.” And it was true. She had been busy crying on Sabastian’s shoulder, but he didn’t have to know that.

His jaw hardened at her words. “Busy doing what?” If she told him she had been busy with Gabris, Leandro knew nothing would stop him from killing the other man. He didn’t give a fuck that a year had passed since he and Bobby had broken up. Bobby was his.

“None of your business,” she answered right away. “Besides, I didn’t come here to talk about us. If you’ve forgotten, I’m here for the project you’re sponsoring---” She stopped speaking when Leandro’s fingers suddenly went around her wrist. “Let go of me.”

“Not until you find the courage to look at me.” He knew he was deliberately goading her, and he didn’t care. He did not like this cold side of Bobby. His Bobby, the girl he had fallen in love with, was no cold fish. She had been fiery and passionate, the perfect match for someone as hot-blooded as he was.

Leandro’s words had her gasping and her head snapped up, her defiant gaze meeting his. “I’m not scared to look at you!”

“Then why haven’t you been looking at me? Why do you treat me like I’m a leper?” His voice was thick and guttural, his words sounding more Greek than English, and it betrayed the true state of his emotions.

Bobby was incredulous. “Are you seriously asking me that?” she hissed back. “After what you did?” She remembered the girl he had been talking to earlier and her heart shriveled even more. She had the strongest urge to cry, but she firmly held on to her resolve. Leandro didn’t deserve another one of her tears, not one freaking drop.

“I don’t know why you suddenly want to be back in my life, but I know whatever it is, it won’t be good for me. I’m done being a fool for you---”

Leandro cut her off, gritting out, “I want you back because I love you!”

She whitened at the words.

Before either of them could speak, a shadow fell over them.

It was, again, Sabastian Gabris, and his voice was low and amused as he murmured, “I see the fun has already started without me.”