“Amalie!”

I hear my mother’s screeching it’s that loud. It’s blurred, but I don’t miss the tone of my name. I turn and see her at my door. No wonder I heard it. I’m just finished getting dressed to go to the cookout and have just put the last curl in my hair when she came roaring into my room, waving her arms around. It’s not often I can hear without looking directly at someone, but she is certainly making a scene.

“What’s the matter?”

My voice is tired, I know it is, and I honestly don’t feel like putting up with her constant nagging tonight. I wish she would go home. I love her, she’s my mother, but I need my alone time again. My own space has become vital to me. It has become everything. The only way I can remember how to breathe again without my demons suffocating me.

“There is a biker at the door!”

Malakai.

Well, I knew that him arriving to pick me up would go down well, but she was going to find out eventually. Quite frankly, I’m surprised she hasn’t noticed them yet.

“Yes.”

Her eyes bulge and she comes closer, getting in my space, whispering even though she knows damn well I can’t hear her no matter what she does. I want to roll my eyes, and I hate myself for that because I’ve never been the type to act like a brat.

So, instead, I listen.

“What in the name of heaven are you doing hanging around bikers?”

I know she’s whisper-yelling; I can tell by the way her mouth moves, by her body language. When you take sound away, you can read a lot about a person by the way their mouth moves, their expressions, and their body movements. It’s quite incredible, really. You learn a lot more about people when their voices are no longer your focus.

“Scarlett’s boyfriend is part of the club and so they’ve been protecting us. You should be thankful; without them I would be in a lot more danger than I am.”

Her eyes get wider. Oh, yes, this is going down beautifully.

“You’re joking, right?”

I exhale. “No, Mom, I’m not. They’re good people.”

“And you’re ... going out with one! What about Caiden?”

God.

I’m so tired of dramatics.

“I’m not going out with one, I’m going to a cookout tonight with Scarlett. And Caiden and I aren’t together, you know this.”

She crosses her arms angrily over her chest. “Yes, we know why.”

Here we go.

“Mom, please, for once I wish I could go a whole day without feeling guilt. Let me, I beg of you. I’m going out, purely because I’m a grown woman and I don’t actually have to ask.”

“You can’t be serious!” she says, throwing her hands into the air.

“I’m serious. Now, I can’t keep him waiting.”

“That man looks dangerous!”

I stare at her. “That’s the best part about him. At least I know I’m safe when he’s around.”

Her mouth drops open. I take my purse and step past her, walking down the stairs and to the front door when Malakai is waiting, looking so incredibly gorgeous I stop in my tracks, and for a second, I just stare at him. His beauty is terrifying. He’s wearing faded black jeans with chunky black boots. He’s got his jacket on over a dark fitting grey tee that clings to his chest muscles. His hair is damp, falling over his forehead and curling at the base of his neck.

His eyes, though.

They take my very soul and claim it.

He could own me in one single heartbeat, and I’d never look back.

My cheeks flush when I realize I’ve been staring at him for more than a few seconds. I look down, tangling a curl around my finger and twisting it nervously. I take a shaky breath and look back up. I wonder if I’m overdressed. Mal is staring at me, his eyes running down the length of my body, making my heart beat so fast it feels as though it’s going to launch out of my chest.

I’m wearing a pair of blue jeans and a halter neck tee. My hair is down, washed and curled, and I have on my favorite pair of black boots. I didn’t want to look completely out of place. I meet Mal’s eyes and one side of his mouth jerks up into an absolutely heartbreaking grin. “Ready to go, darlin’?”

I nod, and walk toward the door. I take one step out and my mother takes my arm. I spin toward her and stare into her wide eyes. She looks from Malakai to me, then back to him. Finally, after scrutinizing him for a minute, she meets my gaze. “You aren’t going out tonight.”

“Mom,” I say, patting the hand she has on my arm. “I’m safe. And I’m going.”

“You can’t do this,” she says, giving me a look that says “you know what I’m talking about."

Caiden.

Always Caiden.

“I can do this, please don’t cause a scene.”

“If you go, Amalie, I’m going to be so bitterly disappointed in you.”

I’m tired of those words.

Everyone disappointed in me. Everyone let down by my presence. I’m so damned tired of always feeling like the thorn in everyone’s side. I’m about to open my mouth, and say what, I don’t know. Maybe agree with her to get her off my back. Maybe argue with her because I’m tired of it. I’ll never know what would have come out of my mouth, because a hard hand touches my shoulder and I turn to see Malakai standing behind me, staring at my mother.

I read every word that leaves his lips.

“Don’t know you, don’t claim to. What I do know is no woman should ever speak to her daughter the way you just spoke to yours. Last time I checked, she’s a grown ass girl. Last time I checked, that meant she could do whatever she pleased. Using emotional blackmail ain’t the act of a good mother. As I said, don’t know you, don’t care to, but I do know her, and pardon me, ma’am, but she’s a fuckin’ angel. And I’m takin’ her with me. Goodnight.”

Without giving my mother a chance to respond, he curls an arm around my waist and hauls me against him, and then we’re moving down the front path toward his ... motorcycle. I stare at it and come to a stop, but that doesn’t deter him in the slightest. He doesn’t give me a chance to fight against him and tell him no. He plucks a helmet from the seat, spins around, and brings it down over my head.

Then he climbs onto the bike and looks at me.

He is not taking no for an answer.

I turn and glance at my mother, who is staring at us, horrified.

A choice, really.

For the first time in such a long time, I’m getting a choice.

So, I turn, and I climb on the bike.