Slade pushed through the swinging doors of the commercial kitchen that separated the clubhouse from the public side.

“It over?” Bella asked as she slid a pint of beer in front of a customer.

“Yeah.”

Bella watched the man as he stepped behind the bar. His hair was still trimmed as high and tight as when he first entered The Iron Horse all those months ago. His haircut reminded her of Axel’s, though for him it was a leftover from when he’d been in the military. If it wasn’t for the tattoos that crept up his neck and completely covered his arms he could pass for some sort of law enforcement.

Besides being a former Marine, Bella had to admit she didn’t know much about the man. Only that he’d patched into another club previously, but bought out his membership when that club began doing some sort of illegal activity.

She also knew Diesel wasn’t on board with the way Slade patched into DAMC. Most prospects had to do at least a year before even being considered. Slade did none of that. He just hung around the club for a few months on Z’s invitation and then after an executive committee vote, he was handed his cut in exchange for paying his dues.

“You stayin’ or am I takin’ over?” he asked her, sliding behind her close enough that she could feel his heat against her ass. He wasn’t touching her but it was close.

Though she thought the man was hot, she never gave him any indication she was interested. She had never shown any interest in any biker since Rebel. She’d learned her lesson about hooking up with a brother the hard way.

He braced a hand on the bar beside her, practically caging her in. Taking a slow, deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves. She turned, pressing back against the bar to put some space between them.

“Hawk coming?” she asked, keeping the tremor from her words.

He shook his head and stepped back. She was relieved he wasn’t pushing for contact. But when he didn’t answer, she realized he was a typical brother... A man of little words.

“Is he heading home to Kiki?”

“Yeah,” he grunted.

Now that they faced each other, still a little too close for her comfort, he eyeballed her. It wasn’t aggressive, but his look definitely held some interest. The brothers knew to leave her alone and Slade was new, but that was no excuse.

“Wanna hang here with me an’ come up to my room later?” he asked her unexpectedly.

On the surface it sounded innocent and in the past few months, he’d never disrespected any of the women, so his attention caught her off guard. Maybe he wanted to work his way through the available DAMC women.

“Are you done doing Diamond?” she asked, surprised at his offer.

He frowned and jerked his head back. “Never did her.”

“I thought... I heard...”

“She tell you otherwise?”

“No.”

He shrugged, his eyes on her neck. She raised her hand to her throat and could feel her pulse racing under her fingertips.

“Had a couple fun times, that’s it. So...” He tilted his head as he studied her. “Wanna wait around ‘til I’m done here?”

Out of nowhere, Diesel was towering over Slade. He scrubbed his fingers over his ear. “Hearin’ must be fucked,” he barked. “Thought I heard you offerin’ to stick your dick in my cousin. Can’t be right.”

Slade turned to face Diesel, his shoulders squaring off. “Up to her. She can say no.”

Diesel’s eyes narrowed and his fists clenched.

Jesus, she did not need D punching Slade out over her, too.

“She ain’t takin’ your dick. Already got a dick in ‘er that shouldn’t be there.”

Bella’s jaw dropped, and she groaned, covering her face with her hands. “For fuck’s sake, D.”

“Rather you be with a brother than a fuckin’ cop, woman. But this ain’t the one.”

Slade’s gaze slid back to her, his brow raised. “A cop? You doin’ Z’s brother?”

She bugged her eyes out at the two of them in disbelief and shook her head. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the customers lining the bar, all listening with great interest.

“It’s no one’s business who I’m doing if I’m doing anyone.” She scowled at Diesel. “Even you.”

He grunted.

She rolled her eyes. “Come with me.”

Bella didn’t even wait to see if her asshole cousin followed her back through the kitchen and into church. When she stepped through the door into the clubhouse, she was dismayed to see there wasn’t any privacy there, either. She should’ve known everyone would be hanging out, drinking and playing pool after the annual club election.

But it would have to do. Grizzly sat at the end of the bar in his usual spot with his perpetual pint of beer sitting in front of him. Crow was sitting at the other end, nursing a whiskey.

His long black silky hair hung loose tonight and her fingers itched to go braid it. She moved closer to him and away from Grizz’s nosey ears.

“Hey, baby,” Crow greeted her softly, his dark eyes flashing.

“Hey, handsome. Can I braid your hair?”

“Fuck no.”

Bella laughed. She always asked, and he always refused. So now it was a regular routine between them.

“Can I just run my fingers through it?”

“Only if you’re naked while you do it,” he shot back his usual response, then took a sip of his whiskey.

“One of these days when I say okay to that, are you going to fall off your stool?”

“Nope, gonna take you upstairs an’ hold you to it,” he murmured back with amusement.

Heat crept into her belly at the thought of doing Crow, though she’d never follow through. It was a nice fantasy, but that was all she ever allowed herself.

She felt Diesel’s massive presence behind her. She sighed and turned toward him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Said you needed to talk to me after the meetin’, so talk,” he grumbled.

She propped a hip against the bar. “Everything go smoothly at the election?”

“Yep,” Diesel grunted. “Everythin’s as it should be.”

Her gaze slid through the busy common area. Pierce was nowhere in sight.

“He show up?”

“Was here an’ gone, baby.” Crow’s voice sounded just like his honey-like skin tone... warm, smooth and delicious.

Bella nodded as she turned her attention to the ink slinger. “Any problems?”

“Nope,” Crow answered, lifting his whiskey again and taking another sip. “When you gonna let me finish that sleeve of yours?”

“When you do it naked,” she shot back.

Crow gave her a slow, panty-soaking smile. “Deal.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Diesel barked. “Bad ‘nough I gotta hear Slade tryin’ to get down your pants...”

Crow’s head spun toward him, and Bella decided she needed this to stop before it got blown out of proportion.

“He was just flirting.”

“No, what you an’ Crow do is flirtin’, he was tryin’ to get his dick wet.”

“It was harmless. I’m not interested and I think he knows it now.”

“Gonna make sure it’s clear,” D mumbled, glancing back toward the double swinging doors to the kitchen.

“D, let it go.”

He grunted.

She released a long, loud sigh. “Anyway, I do need to talk to you.”

“’Bout what?”

“Warriors.”

D scowled. “What about ‘em?”

“Got a text today from...” She drifted off. Maybe now was not a good time to mention Axel’s name. “Got a message earlier today saying all the toys from the donation boxes were taken and the storage unit was emptied.”

Crow whistled low while D shouted, “What the fuck!”

“I stopped out there before coming here. It’s true. The padlock had been cut off and there wasn’t anything left in the unit. It had been cleaned out completely.”

“Sure it was those piles of dog shit?” Crow asked, now ignoring his whiskey and his eyes hard like black diamonds.

“Not sure. The PD’s investigating it since their stuff was taken, too. They’ll be checking with the business owners.”

“Toys still in the box at my shop,” Crow mentioned.

Bella nodded. There was no way a Warrior could walk into any of the DAMC businesses and take the toys from the donation boxes without someone stopping them, including the one in Crow’s tattoo shop. “Good, but you should’ve seen how much we and the PD had collected. And we weren’t the only two organizations using the unit for that purpose.”

“Fuck,” D grumbled.

“Yeah, D, fuck. Thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of toys for needy children.”

“Gonna fence the shit probably,” he mumbled.

“Do me a favor and check with Magnum to see if they were hit, too. If so, then we know it had to be those bastards.”

“Gonna get my crew on it,” D grumbled, sending a text, she hoped to Magnum, as they spoke.

“Keep it on the D.L., D.”

He cocked a heavy brow in her direction. “Need a woman tellin’ me how to handle shit?”

Bella rolled her eyes at him. “Just saying, SVPD took a report.”

“Mean that pig who stuck his dick in you took a report.”

“If you mean pig as in Axel, Z’s brother, then yes.”

“What about my so-called brother?” Zak asked, taking a seat on the stool next to Crow.

D jerked his chin toward her. “Caught the fucker in ‘er bed.”

Crow and Z both shouted, “What?” at the same time.

Normally, she’d find that simultaneous outraged reaction humorous. Tonight, it was anything but.

She whacked D on the arm. “You mind not telling everyone about my sex life?”

“Didn’t know you had one,” Crow murmured. “Always wearin’ that ‘property of no one’ bullshit.”

Bella planted her hands on her hips and turned on Crow. “Do I ask you who you’re boning?”

He picked up his whiskey and hid his grin behind the glass.

She answered for him. “Didn’t think so. Now, can we get back to Toys for Tots?”

“What about it?” Z asked.

“Wiped out,” D grunted.

Z was clearly confused. “What’s wiped out?”

“All the toys are gone, Z,” Bella clarified. “Might have been the Warriors.”

He shook his head, pounding his knuckles on the bar top. “Motherfuckers.”

That described them perfectly.

“How much time do we have left to collect?” the club president asked.

“Two weeks? Maybe a little more?” Bella guessed.

“Gives us time to get the word out, try to get the community to step up even more.”

What he said was true, but... “Still a huge loss,” she murmured.

“If we gotta, we’ll take funds outta the club coffers to make up for whatever was lost.”

Bella nodded, it was better than nothing. She hoped either the PD or at least D’s crew could track those fuckers down, if it was them, and recover at least some of the toys.

Axel was not going to be happy that she told D. But he’d have to get over it. Someone needed to recover those toys before they were sold, pawned or simply destroyed.

Zak continued, “I’ll spread the word that everyone comin’ to the Christmas party gotta bring at least one toy or a cash donation.”

Bella braced herself. “Speaking of the Christmas party...” she began.

* * *

“And they said what?” Axel asked after Bella just dropped a bomb on him.

She shifted her head on his chest and tipped her brown eyes up to him. “Really want to know?”

He shook his head. “I can imagine.” Combing his fingers through her long dark hair, he spread the silky locks over his bare skin. She was curled against his side, a bare leg thrown over his, an arm over his waist and her soft breasts pressed to his ribs. “Not a good idea, Bella,” he murmured.

“About as good as me coming to Christmas dinner at your parents.”

He snorted and was relieved it was less painful this time. The swelling had gone down on his face, including his nose and eye. Though the bruises looked worse than ever since they had started to change colors. His father and the other cops at the station demanded to know what happened. He vaguely told them he’d been working on his bike when it fell over on him. Mitch eyeballed him suspiciously but didn’t call him out on it in front of everyone else.

“It’s not the same and you know it.”

Attending the club’s Christmas party would be like a mouse voluntarily entering a den of vipers. It would be like suicide. Only worse.

They might let him live but they sure would make him suffer and wish he was dead.

He couldn’t imagine any of the brothers would be okay with it, especially his own. Or Hawk and Diesel. It was bad enough when one six-foot-four pissed off beast of a man wanted to kick his ass, but two?

“Told them what you said, you’d be coming as Axel Jamison, not Officer Jamison.”

That was the other rub. His father aside, he was sure his captain wouldn’t be thrilled with him hanging out with the club, whether they were one-percenters or not.

“Oh, I’m sure they started writing out the invitation right then and there.”

She traced her fingers back and forth over the wiry chest hairs that lightly covered his pecs. Every once in a while, she’d brush over a nipple. He never realized just how sensitive they were.

She sighed. “No.”

“Right.”

“You talked about mending fences. It’s a start.”

“It’s one thing to try to mend a fence one on one with my brother, but to walk into a party with at least twenty fucking bikers,” he lifted a finger, “who are drinking heavily, by the way, and who all hate my guts, it’s another.”

“Probably more like forty or fifty.”

He lifted his head and stared at her. “What?”

“Dark Knights are going to be there, too.”

Well, that was even better! His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Biker bonding.”

Axel dropped his head back onto his pillow and studied the ceiling. “Right. And what better way to bond then to kill the sole cop amongst their midst.”

Her fingers followed the thin line of hair that lead to his pelvis. “Too many witnesses.”

“I’m glad you find this amusing. I could see going into the bathroom to take a piss, the lights go out, my throat gets slashed and one of D’s crew hacks my body into small pieces, so it’s never to be found again.”

She chuckled as she palmed his sac and squeezed lightly. “You’ve been watching too many movies.”

“You told me yourself that D wants to kill me.”

“It was a metaphor.”

“For what? For him wanting to give me a great big bear hug?”

She placed a kiss over his heart then her tongue came out to flick his nipple. “You said yourself that he won’t kill you.”

“Well, after he punched my lights out, I kind of had an epiphany.” He sighed. “I still don’t understand why in the hell they’d agree to me coming.”

“A brother’s never going to claim me.”

“Okay?”

“I think they all realize that now.”

That was nothing new, so he didn’t understand where this conversation was headed. “And?”

“So unless I’m claimed, I’m up for grabs.”

“By who?”

“Anyone.”

He swept the hair away from her face to see her more clearly. “I’m confused.”

“D’s got his hands full with Jewel and...” She paused. “Everything else.”

That was clear as mud, but then it wasn’t helping that she kept kneading his balls and teasing his nipples. If they hadn’t just had a sweaty, noisy, awesome round of sex, his cock would be ready to go. But it wasn’t and what she was doing to him was exquisite torture. Not that he was going to tell her to stop.

She continued, “And Hawk has his hands full with Kiki and... everything else.”

Everything else. He could just imagine. “Right. And Z has Sophie, Jag has Ivy. Get to the point.”

“None of us are easy women to deal with.”

He almost let “no shit” slip from his lips, but he caught it in time. When she released his balls, clarity suddenly hit him. “So you’re saying they’re trying to lighten the load? Less DAMC women to watch since I’d have your back? It would make sense since the Warriors are on a rampage. But still... Can’t see any one of them being that reasonable.”

She shifted and nipped the flesh near his nipple hard. He sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his skin when she moved on to another spot.

“First of all, I don’t need a babysitter. But I think what happened earlier kind of threw it in their face that they can’t be everywhere at all times. That their women make them vulnerable.”

“So they need all hands on deck?”

“Sort of, but—”

He lifted his hand. “Wait. Hold up. What happened earlier?”

“Slade asked me to...”

Axel sat up, dislodging her from his chest. “To what?”

“To go up to his room.”

Blood rushed into his ears and a muscle in his jaw flexed.

“Nothing I haven’t heard before,” she added quickly.

“Slade hit on you?”

She sat up, too, pulling the sheet up around her. He hated that she felt the need to cover herself around him. He understood that she felt self-conscious about her scars, but he’d been working hard on showing her that he loved her, scars and all. They didn’t make him change the way he felt. And never would.

“Yeah. He didn’t force the issue or anything. He was just showing interest and probably gauging what mine was in return. It was innocent.”

Sure it was. “I thought he was doing Diamond?” Though anyone in their right mind wouldn’t take on Diamond. From what he understood, Slade had been a Marine. So maybe the man liked a challenge.

“Yeah, no. Apparently not.”

His chest tightened. “Now he’s got his sights set on you?” If so, the man definitely liked challenges. But Bella was one Slade was never going to get to try. Not if Axel had any say in the matter.

“Mmm. I think D kind of cleared that up.”

He chuckled. “Oh, fuck. Did he get to read the word ‘dirty’ before being knocked out, too?”

She smirked. “No. I think he likes Slade more than you. Though he doesn’t like Slade much, either.”

Axel’s ears perked at that information. “Why doesn’t he like Slade?” Maybe he needed to run a background check on the guy and see what legal skeletons the biker had in his closet.

“Not sure. It could be just D being D. Being overprotective.”

“So he was there when Slade hit on you?”

“Yeah, he heard it... at least the last part.”

For once, he was glad that Diesel had been around and looking out for Bella when he couldn’t be. “You going to be safe around him?”

Bella looked at him in surprise. “Are you going into cop mode?”

Was he? Maybe, but more like protecting his woman mode, protecting what was his.

“He wasn’t pushy, he was just testing the waters, Axel. It’s over and done with. He doesn’t creep me out, he was just being a typical horn dog. Unlike Pierce...”

“Yeah. Glad they ousted his ass.”

“Still a brother,” she reminded him.

“Right, but he no longer holds any power. That makes a difference for someone with his ego.”

“Cops should know all about ego.”

“Very funny.”

“Anyway, I think it’s an olive branch.”

It still didn’t make any sense to him. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was a trap and they invited him to the party so they could string him up and club him like a piñata.

“I still can’t see D agreeing to this.” This whole thing just made his cop Spidey sense tingle.

“He knows we’re sleeping together.”

Axel pointed at his face. “You think?”

“Again, I’m sorry about that.”

“Do you think he is?”

She grinned. “No.”

“So if I do this, you’ll come to Christmas dinner?”

“I’ll think about it. By the way, Z’s going to invite Jayde to the party.”

Well, there was another interesting twist. “My sister doesn’t need an invitation. She already planned on crashing it.”

“Well, there you go. You’ll have someone else there who’ll tolerate you. Ace, Janice, Jayde and me.”

“Sounds like a great time. Nothing like only being tolerated.”

“Now you know how I’ll feel at your parents.”

“It’s only my father you’ll have to win over.”

“I’m not going to do that, Axel. I’m not going to force him to like me.”

“No forcing necessary. He’ll love you as much as I do.”

“Damn, did my bullshit meter just hit red.”

“I’m telling you right now, I’m wearing my ankle holster to the party. Hell, I’m wearing two.”

“Axel...”

He sighed. “Okay, I’ll do it for you.” He had a feeling he would regret this. But someone needed to take the first step. And if he had to take a little bit of abuse to move this all forward, then he would.

He sank back onto the bed, and Bella curled back around him. She felt so right being there. In his bed. In his life. So maybe this was a good thing. If he survived it.

“You wouldn’t be doing it for me. You’d be doing it for you. For Jayde. For Z. For Sophie and the baby.” She hesitated. “I guess it would be for me, too, since I don't want to live the rest of my life with that turmoil.”

His heart thumped heavily in his chest. “The rest of your life?”

“I can’t continue to do this with you, Axel, if these burned bridges can’t be repaired.”

“Are you saying you want this to continue?”