Weeks rolled by and I felt fucking on top of the world. Everything with the club seemed to be running smoothly, Raine was doing great, Abel was staying off my back, and work was slammed with fun ass projects.

“Hey, Ryder,” Jesse called from the office. 

“What’s up brother?” I started to wipe the grease from my hands, making my way up to the front of the shop.

Jesse was standing in the doorway, talking to a guy with another MC’s cut on. “This dude says his buddy is here with him to check out Holt’s bike that he listed for sale. Is it still available?”

I realized the guy was wearing a fucking Sinners’ patch on his chest. His tattoos looked really familiar but I couldn't place the dude.

I crossed my arms. “It is, but not for someone that can’t show a little more respect.”

“Do we have a fucking problem here?” The Sinner glared at me, taking a step forward. “I have cash, you want to sell a bike, what’s the deal?”

Jesse and I both put our hands on our concealeds. I took a sharp breath in and let Jesse answer. “I have a problem with the lack of respect you’re showing to this establishment.”

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Red peek around the corner and figure out that we needed a little more backup than just him. He ducked away with his phone to his ear already.

“Can I check out the bike or not?” Dude took another step forward and I saw his buddy start to walk up from where he had been leaning against the bike his old lady was straddling, leaving her to watch their motorcycles. 

“You know what, sure.” I pointed over to my old man’s hog. “Let’s check it out.”

Jesse stood by the door, keeping an eye on the situation while I walked outside to show the two Sinners what they were wanting to see. 

We started talking numbers and specs until their attitude changed and I realized that the humming of at least ten bikes was getting  louder and louder.

“What the fuck?” The second Sinner pulled his gun out of its holster and had the hammer back in seconds. Unlucky for him, Jesse and Red were both waiting for that shit to go down and he fell to the ground just as fast as the banging noise that exploded from Jesse’s Beretta. 

The dude with all the America tattoos up and down his arms hopped on his bike with his old lady, hauling ass down the road.

Abel, followed by a bunch of Unacceptables, chased after them, opening fire on the two as they made a very narrow escape. 

Jesse and Red trotted over to me.

“You all right, Ryder?” Jesse slapped me on the back as I stared down at the Sinner bleeding out at my feet.

I shrugged. “Better than this dude.”

Red snorted. “That’s for damn sure. Now we have a mess to clean up.”

The two older members eyed me down; I had no other choice. “What am I supposed to do with him?”

Right then, Abel got off his bike, pulling off his helmet. “Cut him up, mix some cement in a cooler, and toss that son of a bitch into the lake.” The coolness to his voice was unhinging, but it was a solid plan. “Just don't be late for family dinner tonight. You know how Raine and her mother get about us being late for dinner when there isn't a good excuse.” Abel winked and made his way into the office to make his usual calls to order more inventory.

* * *

After doing all the club’s dirty work and cleaning up from my overly eventful shift at the shop, I was finally able to text Raine back. 

Me: Hey babe, how’s your day going?

Raine: Pretty good. What time are you getting off?

Me: Just got out of the shower. I’ll be heading over soon.

Raine: Good. I’ll order the pizza and I have Dirty Dancing all ready for your viewing pleasure.

Me: You’re lucky there’s going to be pizza.

Raine: I’ll make it worth your while, babe, don’t you worry.

Me: Oh, I have no doubt. Anchovies and olives, please.

Raine: You eat the grossest stuff.

Me: You never complain when I’m going down on you.

Raine: STFU! That’s different. But yes, you’ll get half of the pizza the nasty way you like it.

Me: Thanks sexy. See you in a bit.

Halfway through dinner, Abel looked at the pizza on my plate. “You really have an iron stomach don’t you.” 

I laughed a little, taking another sip from my beer. “My dad eats the same pizza.”

Abel shook his head. “Y’all are some odd apples for damn sure.”

Crickett grabbed Raine’s empty plate, stacking it on her own. “Your father and I have to head to the bar to deal with the books and shit. Will you two make sure Collin eats when he gets home from practice?”

Abel threw his napkin on the table. “That boy is growing and getting home from a rough  afternoon of contact football, you should be asking them to make sure he doesn’t eat us out of house and fucking home.”

Raine smiled at her dad. “I’m sure it will be fine Dad, and of course I will make sure he showers, eats, and finishes that paper that he has due.”

“You’re such a good big sister.” Crickett popped another beer open and handed it over to me. “Abel, we gotta run. Holt just texted me again.”

Raine and I finished cleaning up from dinner after Abel and Crickett headed out and then snuggled up on the couch.

Collin walked through the front door while Raine and I sat on the couch watching some stupid girly movie I’d reluctantly gotten talked into seeing. I couldn’t believe someone would name their kid Baby; it was the most idiotic thing I could have ever thought of.

“Hey man, how was football?”

Thank God, more testosterone.

Collin was covered in grass stains and sweat.

He shrugged. “I think Coach might finally let me be a starter in the game on Friday.”

Raine popped up. “That would be awesome! There’s half a pizza on the counter waiting for you. Dad and Crickett are working late again tonight but they should be home before you go to bed.”

“All right. I’m going to get this grime off me. Thanks for the food.” Collin made his way up to his room and Raine kissed my cheek. 

“Will you go to the game on Friday? Collin really looks up to you.”

I pulled her in tighter to my side. “You know I will be there.”

I felt her phone vibrate in the front pocket of her hoodie. She checked it and got a little giddy.

“Who’s that?” I asked, trying to not sound nosy, but it was ten at night, getting close to the time that if a dude was texting my chick, I’d be fucking pissed.

“Keira. Her boyfriend is having people over tonight and she wants me to come keep her company.”

“Didn’t she just meet this guy?” I shifted a little. I didn’t know Keira well and sure as shit had no idea who her guy was, but I knew that it all just felt too wrong for me.

Raine shook her head. “They’ve been dating since you saw him at the bar. Keira just moved in with him last week. She said his friends are super nice.”

I couldn’t stop the laugh that let out.

“What?” She shifted to look up at me.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to go over to a guy’s place this late in the middle of the week to be around a bunch of people you don’t know.”

“Well, I’m going. My friend asked me to hang out with her and it’s not like anything is really going on here.”

“You’re not going to a party with a bunch of dudes I don't know.”

“Well then just come with me.”

I looked down at my fresh patch; I knew that wasn’t going to be an option unless I brought more guys with me. “Jesse let Keira move in with this dude, just like that?”

“Keira is a grown ass woman, she can do whatever the fuck she wants.”

Raine shoved away from me and my blood started to boil. “I don’t know why you’re getting so fucking pissed with me, Raine. I was just asking a question and verbalizing how not okay you going to hang out with a bunch of random dudes is. You know who your father is right?”

At that she flew off the handle. “Yes, I know who the fuck my father is. I know who you are. I know that I am under a goddamned microscope because of this fucking MC I was born into. I didn't choose this life. This life chose me.”

“And with this life comes rules and shit, Raine. It’s for your own protection.”

“All the rules and the bullshit—I thought you were going to be different. How could I have been so wrong? People are people. I don’t get why a patch on a leather vest changes that.”

Shooting up from the couch, she stormed over to the front door. “Coming?” She grabbed her pack of cigarettes from her purse, flinging the front door open.

“Raine, please don’t be mad.” Digging my cigs out of my pocket, I tried to keep my tone level.

Raine rolled her eyes at me. “Easy for you to say, you’re trying to control me just like my dad does.”

“If by controlling, you mean protecting, then sure as shit I am.” I took a long drag and tried to grab Raine’s delicate hand, but she snatched it away.

“Keira’s boyfriend will be there. It will be fine. I just want to live a little outside of the club and my dad’s world.”

“Babe, I get that, but hanging out with a group of guys like that isn’t a good place to start your rebellion.”

She spun around on her heels, seething. “Guys like what, Ryder? You’re a fucking Unacceptable and you’re trying to tell me to not hang out with a group of people that might be a little sketchy? Way to call that kettle.”

I took in a few long, deep breaths. Raine was really starting to test my patience. “The Unacceptables love you like family. This group of random dudes will think of you as nothing more than a hole to get their dicks wet.”

I immediately knew I’d crossed the line. A loud slap rang out from her small hand connecting with my cheek. 

“It’s time for you to leave.” Raine’s hand was gripping the front door she was preparing to walk through and then slam in my face.

“Okay. Just know that I love you and am just trying to look out for you.”

“Whatever. Fuck you, Ryder.”

Sitting on a worn-out couch, watching Keira do her second line of coke, I realized that Ryder had been right: this was not a good situation for me to be in. I glanced around the room, eyeing all the guys wearing cuts. Dereck had never worn a cut into the bar before, so I’d had no idea until that moment that he was a damn Sinner.

“Come with me to the bathroom?” I grabbed Keira’s hand, forcing her to follow me.

Once the door was locked safely behind me, I went into a mini freak out mode.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, chica?” Her eyes were slits from the cocktail of drugs she had been consuming for God knew how long.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it is the fact that our family is in the rival gang of the one your damn boyfriend is in. Does your uncle know about Dereck?”

Keira sat down on the toilet with the lid shut. “He knows I moved in with a dude. They never met though.”

Fuck. This is bad.

“Okay, well I am going to get the fuck out of here before one of the Unacceptables figures this shit out or worse, one of the Sinners does first.”

“Oh come on.” She tried to grab my hand but completely missed, slapping at my leg instead. “Don’t be such a party pooper.”

I made my way out of the bathroom, Keira following sluggishly. “Thanks for a nice evening.” I waved goodbye to Dereck, but he locked the door before I could make a run for it.

“Come on, honey.” One of Dereck’s friends handed me a bottle of beer. “Don’t run out just yet. The night is still young.” He hooked his arm around my neck, leading me back over to the couch, practically forcing me to sit back down next to my friend.

“Okay, okay.” I smiled, trying to play off how fucking freaked out I was. “I’ll stay for one more beer.”

“That a girl.” The random guy and Dereck both clanked their beer bottles with mine while Keira clapped her hands like a fucking deranged crackhead jacked up on Mountain Dew.

My eyelids started to get really heavy within minutes. “Maybe I need to lie down. I…getting…really…” The last thing I remembered was my head falling onto the shoulder of the Sinner sitting next to me on the couch.

After a few whiskey and gingers, it finally clicked how I knew the guy that had been trying to buy my old man’s bike. It was fucking Keira’s new boyfriend. He was a damned Sinner and I was going to have to get to Raine before one of those douchebags figured out who she actually was and tried to do something to her.

“Dad!” I yelled as I trotted down the front steps of our porch.

“Yep?” I found my old man sitting by himself in a rolling computer chair, in untied boots with his feet up on his Harley, jeans that were stained all to hell, beer gut hanging out, a can of Coors in one hand and a wood-tipped black and mild in the other, and a sleeve of Biscoff cookies resting on his bare chest.

“Raine is in trouble.”

He jumped up, cookies crashing to the floor. “Oh, not a problem. Not a problem.”

“Dad, what the fuck are you on?”

Holt’s eyes darted around. “I am high as shit, but I’ll sober up on the drive.”

I shoved his helmet into his chest. “You better fucking shape up. My girl’s life is on the line.”

“What’s wrong with Raine?”

My dad stumbled over to his bike, throwing the white shirt that was laying on the seat back on and pulling his cut over his shoulders.

“I’ll explain once we have Abel with us.”

I rushed to the Hellock home as fast as my Harley would let me with Holt following closely on my tail.

I banged on the front door.

Thank fucking God for liquid courage.

The whiskey was making me warm. The panic of losing Raine was making me frantic. The fact that I knew she was in an incredibly dangerous situation was making me want to rip the fucking front door down.

“Ryder? For fuck’s sake…” Crickett threw the front door open, rubbing her sleepy eyes. “It’s three in the morning.”

“Is Raine home?” 

Crickett shook her head. “She went out with Keira. They said they were going to be late.”

I pulled in a deep breath as my dad trudged up the wooden steps behind me. “Well, it’s fucking late. Is Abel up?”

I heard his thudding steps quicken after I said his name, trotting down the stairs. “What in God’s name?” He was already pulling his boots on, no questions asked.

“We need to get to her before something happens.”

“What’s going on Ryder? Where is Raine?” Crickett’s eyes started to tear up as she pleaded for answers.

I grabbed Crickett’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll bring her home safely.”

Abel pulled his jacket on and followed me out the door. “Lead the way.”

That was it. We were on a mission. 

* * *

Once we were outside the house Keira had just moved into, I filled my dad and Abel in on what I had figured out.

“We really don't have a fucking second to waste.” Abel was trying to keep his head on straight but the three of us were all about to go into a rage.

Holt dug his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to call Red and Jesse. Even if it takes them a few minutes, delayed backup is better than nothing.”

Abel nodded. “Good thinking. You wait out here for them and Ryder and I will try to get Raine out with minimal force.”

I took in a deep breath. “Lead the way boss.”

He wrapped me in a quick hug. “Let’s go get our girl back.”

I followed Abel at a quick pace up to the front door. We had our guns drawn and ready. He hunched down and silently counted to three before kicking the front door in.

“Where the fuck is she?”

All the guys pulled out their guns and Keira screamed, ducking under the coffee table.

“Keira,” I yelled. 

She peeked out from her hiding spot.

“Where is Raine?”

Wide eyed, she looked up at me, tweaking out of her fucking skull. “I don’t know. She said she was tired.”

“Fuck.” I threw my hands in the air as Abel kept his gun firmly in place. “I need to find her, Keira.”

Her douchebag boyfriend glared over at me. “Your kind ain’t welcome around here, boy. Now why don't you and the old timer get the fuck out and consider this your only warning.”

Abel’s gun discharged, hitting Keira’s guy right in the temple. I ran to the back of the house, bullets starting to fly.

“Abel?” I yelled.

“I’ll cover you, just fucking find Raine.”

Abel must have had a guardian angel looking out for him and one hell of an amazing Kevlar vest, because the odds of him not winding up six feet under from that firefight were slim to none.

I threw open the first door I came to and found a dude with his dick in his hand, about to climb on top of Raine’s motionless body. 

“Hey, fucker!” I yelled, shooting the dude in the leg as he jumped through the closed window next to him.

I wanted to run after the son of a bitch, but there was no way he was worth letting Raine lie their helpless. I scooped her non-responsive body into my arms and made my way to the front room where Abel was standing in the doorway holding his bleeding arm.

“Is she…?” He couldn't finish the words.

“She’s breathing, but I need to get her to a doctor right the fuck now. Are you okay?”

Abel shrugged it off. “Just a flesh wound.”

My dad looked over at me. “Jesse and Red are nearly here in one of the vans. Jump in and take her and Abel to the ER. We’ll handle the rest here.”

“Thanks Dad.”

He patted me on the back. “No worries, son. Way to follow your gut.”