I couldn’t keep the secret a second longer if Gina stayed under the club roof. A few nights ago, we’d nearly gotten caught when I came out of her room. Deacon stood at the end of the hall and he saw me come out. Had it been anyone other than him, things could have gone way worse. But as club chaplain, Deacon Wade was used to holding the deepest of our secrets. He didn’t say a word as I passed him.

At the end of Gina’s third week at the club, we met for church. I was the last to head into the conference room. Mama had taken Gina down to the salvage yard office. She planned to put her to work sorting through some of the books.

Bear and E.Z. had already taken their seats at the head of the table. Maddox sat beside them. I walked around the table to take my chair opposite Maddox. The four of us plus Benz formed the top officers of the entire club. In the twelve years since I’d patched in, I’d held nothing back from these men. Now guilt seeped through me as I looked down the table at Axle, Kade, and Chase. Their attention was focused on Bear. He’d called the meeting. Shep and Domino sat at the other end of the table. The shit between Dom and me only flared that one time. It was over as far as I was concerned. He’d never brought it up again but I could feel his eyes boring into me. He wasn’t stupid. No man at this table was. Shep must have sensed something because he shifted in his seat, looking to Deacon.

I couldn’t meet Deacon’s gaze. Outside of Bear, deceiving Deacon hurt the most. This couldn’t go on. I felt torn between my loyalty to the club and my growing feelings for Gina. I still couldn’t bring myself to name it. It was as if the moment I did, it would set me on an irreversible path. Except I knew in my heart when it came down to it, I would die for that woman. There was no going back.

“I’ll cut right to it,” Bear said. “We’ve all got shit to do. Shep, you set up for the run to San Antonio?”

Shep leaned forward and gave his father a sharp nod. Our biggest shipment of the year was coming in just over a week. The revenue we’d net from our contacts there would keep us all flush for months. We couldn’t afford any surprises like what happened in Dallas.

“Good,” Bear said. “I want everyone watching their backs especially close. What do we think about letting Toby and Moose in on this one?”

E.Z. grumbled beside him. It wasn’t that he had anything personal against our two brightest prospects. E.Z. was just the biggest tightwad in the bunch. He saw patching either of them in as a threat to his bottom line. It was short-sighted and a constant source of tension between Bear and E.Z. It’s also one of the reasons Bear was prez and E.Z. wasn’t. He was a long-term thinker.

“It’s a good plan,” I said. I knew everyone would expect me to raise a fuss after E.Z. The attempt on Gina and Toby’s role in it was still pretty fresh in everyone’s mind.

Bear knocked his ring against the table and the rest of the membership agreed. Moose and Toby were riding along to San Antonio. It didn’t mean we’d vote on patches anytime soon, but it was an important next step.

“Now,” Bear said, ready to move to other business. My heartbeat quickened. There was really only one other matter that rivaled the importance of the San Antonio run. “We’ve back burnered the DiSalvo situation as long as possible.”

“Back burnered?” Kade said. “Baby girl’s living in our fucking house, Bear.”

I clenched my fists then quickly shoved them in my lap under the table. I had to let this shit play out naturally. I felt Deacon and Dom’s eyes on me.

“Yeah,” Bear said. “That’s what I’m talking about. I just got off the phone with Christine a few minutes before you guys sat down. She’s ready to end the contract.”

My chest seemed to fill with lava. My mouth ran dry. “What the fuck does she mean, end the contract?”

Bear let out a sigh. “Whatever trouble she’s had in her backyard, Christine’s convinced she’s got a lid on it. She doesn’t want us involved anymore. Time to send our little houseguest home.”

Thank God for Deacon. If he hadn’t spoken up next, I can’t trust that I wouldn’t have launched myself across the table.

“We haven’t ruled out the idea that her own kids are behind the hit on her though, have we, Bear?” Deacon said. “You sure we won’t just be sending that kid from the frying pan to the fire?”

Bear rested his chin against his fist. His eyelids fluttered through a hard exhale. “We haven’t ruled out a fucking thing. But it’s Christine’s mess, not ours. Much as I hate the smell of this whole thing, we gotta untangle from it. We deliver the girl to her mother’s waiting arms, and she’s considering it a job well done.”

“I don’t like it,” I said, trying hard to keep my tone even. “Not one fucking bit, Bear. She’s not safe with them.”

Bear slammed his ring to the table again. “You’re too close to this one, Zig. I hear ya though.”

He met my eyes and my nostrils flared. “And what if it’s all a setup? Huh? What if Georgio’s got his mother sold on the idea he’s got shit under control? Gina walks into a goddamn ambush.”

Bear was close enough to reach across the table and put a hand on my forearm. “I’ve got the same bad feeling, Zig. I swear to God. But we’ve got plenty of other fires of our own to put out.”

“She’s a nice kid,” Chase said. “A little snooty, maybe, but she doesn’t deserve to get dragged under because of her questionable DNA, Bear.”

Bear leaned back in his chair. “You too? Jesus Christ. I ain’t looking to adopt a club mascot. You got it? The girl is quickly gonna become fucking plutonium to us if Christine DiSalvo thinks we’re trying to get in the middle of her family business. Now look, I sure as shit don’t want any blood on my hands where this girl is concerned. But we can only do so much. You know?”

“Let me stick with it,” I said. “She’ll tell her mother it was her idea. I know her. Hell, that’s the one thing Gino Sr. was good at, giving his daughter whatever she wanted. Gina doesn’t feel safe. You think her mama’s gonna blame her for that after what happened? So you let me go with her. Just me. Freelance.”

“Freelance.” E.Z. spat out the word. “You fucking kidding me, Zig? There is no freelance when you wear that patch.”

I had to get a grip on the rage I felt rising to the surface. I knew exactly what was gonna happen if Bear and E.Z. caught wind of the fact that I had deep feelings for Gina. They’d take me off this job for good. Then what? I didn’t think Bear would actually wash his hands of it. At best, he’d have somebody else deliver Gina to her mother’s doorstep. Would that be so bad? Maybe it was the smartest play here. Maybe I was too damn close to this. But the idea of letting anyone else near Gina made my vision cloud and my heart turn to stone. She was mine. I knew every man at this table would lay down their lives for me as I would for them. I just couldn’t be sure they’d lay down their lives for Gina.

“Look,” Bear said. “Zig, you go with her. Take her to her parents. Make sure she gets there in one piece. But then, we gotta turn and walk away. There’s a whole lotta shit at stake. Like it or not, the DiSalvos still pay a fat chunk of the bills around here. You think the Hawks haven’t been looking to move in on that? That’s exactly what that shit in Dallas was all about. They’re trying to make our regulars twitchy. I’ve heard rumors that somebody from the DiSalvo family has taken meetings with the Hawks’ club prez right after he went in the hospital the first time.”

“Son of a bitch.” Axle pushed his chair away from the table. He started pacing behind it. “This is bullshit, Bear. The old lady isn’t going to be able to hang onto things for very long.”

Bear made a gesture with his hand, trying to silence Axle. “Relax. We’re not at crisis level. Not yet anyway. But it’s coming. That’s why I’m not gonna take any chances by pissing Christine off. I’m still putting my money on her over her worthless sons. You gotta trust me on that.”

Axle slammed a hand against the back of his chair. If he hadn’t done it, I would have. I wanted to punch the shit out of something. “I got it, Bear,” he said. “Zig, you want me to ride with you? Cuz I gotta bad feeling about all of this. Worthless doesn’t begin to cover what those DiSalvo boys are. I never got that kind of vibe from their old man, but this wouldn’t be the first time his sons were willing to do bad shit where a woman was concerned.”

Axle’s fury matched my own. Now I understood what he went through last year on a whole new level. Junior Disalvo had put a hit out on the girl Axle fell in love with. Axle had been willing to go against the club to protect her. At the time, I couldn’t fathom letting anything come between my brothers and me at this table. Everything was different now. I knew in my heart I should come clean and tell them all. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not yet. Not until I talked it out with Gina.

“Nah,” I said. “I got this.”

“Then it’s settled.” Bear looked straight at me. “You get the girl to her mother’s house. Then you walk away. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep tabs on shit. I’m planning on having a little chat with Georgio in the next couple of days. Just the two of us. Christine doesn’t need to know. Believe me, he’s going to get an earful about just how much his family needs this club.”

A bitter taste filled my mouth. Bear banged his fist against the table, punctuating his statement. It meant he’d made up his mind. I’d been given a direct order. Hands off Gina once she was safe in her mother’s house. Except I couldn’t shake the awful feeling that I’d be throwing her to the wolves.