After such a monumental three days together, I hated to see Samantha go back to work on Tuesday. I would have preferred to stay in bed with her for an entire week. But it wasn’t just about the sex. No, it was so much more. It was our conversations, the way we could laugh together, the way she put me at ease. I also loved the fact that she got along so well with my family. I’d never thought about how important it would be to have a girlfriend who appreciated both my MC family and my blood family. Hell, I’d never thought about a girlfriend, period. Samantha fit right in with both of them.

Of course, I had to get back to work myself at the garage. I was sure that if I had asked for more time, Rick would have given it to me. But I hated to leave him when he was getting the new mechanic settled in. The new guy actually had twenty years of experience. Unlike Marley, he didn’t have too much to say, which made me miss the guy even more.

After thinking about her all morning, I couldn’t stop myself from calling Sam on my lunch break. When she answered on the third ring, I smiled into the phone. “Hey you.”

“Hey yourself.”

“Just wondered how you were doing.”

“Good. How about you?”

“Good.”

“Do you miss me? Is that why you called?” she questioned teasingly.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do miss you, but I also had another reason to call.”

“Mmm, that’s so sweet. I miss you, too.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“What’s the other reason why you called?”

“I wanted to see if we were still on for dinner.”

“Of course. How could I say no to a home-cooked meal?” she replied.

“Ah, I see how it is. You’re just using me for my mother’s cooking.”

“That and for your fabulous dick.”

I barked out a laugh. “At least you’re honest.”

“You know there’s more to you than your dick.”

“Like my rock-hard body, handsome face, and killer smile?”

Samantha tsked at me. “My, my, aren’t we cocky today?”

“Well, you said you liked honesty.”

With a giggle, Sam said, “True. Very true.” Someone called her name in the background, and her response was muffled as though she had put her hand over the mouthpiece. After a few seconds, she said, “Listen. I gotta go. But I’ll see you at six, right?”

“Yeah, about that. I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the weather, but we’re under a tornado watch. It’s supposed to blow in around five o’clock. You should cut out of work early and get here before it gets bad outside.”

“Aw, that’s really sweet of you to be worried about me.”

“That’s what boyfriends do, right?” After all, it had only been a couple of days, so it was really new to me how to act. I was completely fucking clueless.

“Yes, it is. And you’re doing a really good job at the boyfriend thing.”

“Thanks. So you’ll head out early?”

“I really need to stay. There’s something I need to talk to my boss about, and he’s been hard to pin down the last two days.”

“Can’t it wait?”

The line was silent for a few seconds. “I suppose one more day wouldn’t hurt.”

“Good. So get your fine ass up here as early as you can.”

“I will.”

“Good. I’ll see you then.”

“Bye, Bishop.”

“Bye.”

I woke the next morning tangled in Samantha’s arms. She had arrived just as the sky opened up and rain began to pelt down. As we sat around the table at Mama Beth’s at dinner, the wind howled while thunder rattled the windows. Eventually, we all went down into the basement, which was a good thing because the tornado sirens started going off. We’d had to use flashlights to get home, since the power had gone out. Lighting candles made for a romantic rest of the night as the storm continued to rage outside.

Glancing over at Samantha, I couldn’t help a huge grin as I watched her sleep. She had reeled me in hook, line, and sinker with her exotic beauty, her humor, and her intelligence. Most of the time I felt she was too good for me. Of course, she’d never made me feel that way. Sam always made me feel like her equal. She’d made sacrifices for me, considering her bad history with bikers. But she had shown strength and courage through it all. Although I didn’t understand it, she was always able to see the good in me.

When Samantha stirred, I reached over and kissed a trail across her jawbone to her lips. A little moan escaped her when I covered her mouth with mine. When I pulled away, she smiled up at me. “Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning to you.”

“What time is it?” she asked as she stretched her arms above her head.

“Not sure. Power must’ve been out most of the night.”

“That sure was some storm.”

“Yeah, it was.” I cupped her buttocks and squeezed one of the cheeks. “Of course, it was pretty nice riding it out with you riding me.”

Sam grinned. “I would have to say it’s the best way I’ve passed the time with the power out.”

My phone rang on the nightstand, and I reached over to get it. It was Rev. “Hello?”

“I need you to come up to the clubhouse.”

“What’s shaking?”

“The storm knocked out the security system last night, and I’m a little worried about a security breach.”

“You mean you’re a little paranoid.”

“Smart-ass. Just get up here.”

“Fine. I’ll be there in ten.”

When I hung up, Samantha peered curiously up at me. “Something wrong?”

“Just Rev being a worrywart. He needs me up at the clubhouse,” I replied as I flung off the sheet.

“I should probably get ready for work.”

“The bathroom is all yours.” I pulled a T-shirt over my head. “Come up and say good-bye.”

Samantha smiled. “If I have time, I will.”

“Make time,” I said.

“Okay, Caveman. I will.”

As I hopped into my jeans, I thought about how much I was starting to enjoy her little nickname for me. “See you in a little while.”

She gave me a wave as she went into the bathroom. After heading out of the house, I pounded down the porch steps. Gazing left and right, I checked to see if there was any damage to the compound. Everything looked pretty good. There were only a few large tree limbs scattered around.

When I got inside the clubhouse, I found Deacon and Rev sitting at a table with Boone and Mac. “So you got all the officers out this morning, huh?” I asked as I slid into a chair.

“I got the alerts about the system being down last night, but there was nothing I could do about it in the storm,” Boone said.

“What are we looking at?” I questioned.

“The wired fence along the perimeter was down for the night. It went out even before the power did. The cameras turned off around the time the storm blew in.” Boone sighed. “We were pretty fucking vulnerable for most of the night.”

“I think we each need to take a portion of the property and check for any breaches,” Rev said.

Deacon nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Just as we rose out of our chairs, the front door blew open, and agents poured into the room. I didn’t have to see the backs of their jackets to know they were ATF. “All right, everyone freeze, and put your hands in the air!”

“What the fuck is this about?” Deacon demanded.

The agent trained his gun on Deacon. “I said put your hands in the air!”

“Okay, okay.” He reluctantly threw his arms over his head.

The crowd parted, and an older agent with salt-and-pepper hair stepped forward. He flashed his badge at us. “I’m Agent Peterson with the ATF. We have a warrant to search the premises on suspicion of harboring illegal guns.”

Rev shook his head. “I’m sorry to waste your time, but you won’t find any guns here,” he said politely.

Agent Peterson stepped forward to stand toe-to-toe with Rev. “Really? Then can you explain why we received a tip this morning that the Raiders were in possession of a large stockpile of illegal weapons?”

Deacon and I exchanged a look. Who in the hell would call the ATF with a bogus tip on us? Then it hit me. “Eddy,” I grunted at the same time Deacon did.

“I’m sure it’s just a mistake. Someone playing a joke on you,” Rev argued.

Agent Peterson sneered at Rev. “You boys must think we’re a bunch of dumb fuckers. You and I both know you’ve been running guns out of here for at least thirty years. You’ve always been one step ahead of us until now. And this time, you’re going down.”

Two agents ran in from the back. “Sir, we’ve located the weapons down in the warehouse.”

A murmur of disbelief went up among all the Raiders in the room. Rev whirled around and stared at me and Deacon. His face had paled. In a strangled voice, he uttered the words we were all thinking. “Eddy fucking set us up.”

Agent Peterson reached out to take Rev by the arm. He brought his hands behind his back and cuffed him. “Nathaniel Malloy, you’re under arrest for being in possession of illegal firearms with intent to sell.”

Other agents stepped forward to start handcuffing the rest of us. At that moment, the back door flew open again. But this time an agent was ushering in Mama Beth and Samantha. I grimaced at the sight of them, especially Samantha. I never, ever wanted her to see me like this.

“What’s going on?” Mama Beth demanded.

Before anyone could answer her, Agent Peterson abandoned Rev and went charging toward them. “Agent Vargas, what the hell are you doing here?”

I glanced from him to Samantha. “Agent Vargas? What is he talking about?”

Samantha’s eyes pinched shut as if she were in pain.

“Vargas, I asked you a question,” Agent Peterson demanded.

“Sam?” I questioned.

When she opened her eyes, she didn’t look at him. Instead, she looked at me with an agonized expression. “I’m so sorry, Bishop. I never meant for anything like this to happen.”

“All this time you’ve been a fucking fed?”

“Yes.”

“Un-fucking-believable.”

“But I swear I’ve been trying to prove you’re not involved in anything illegal—I’ve been trying to find a way to exonerate you all of any future charges.”

My head shook furiously from side to side and I found I couldn’t speak. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to believe it. In that moment, my chest constricted so tightly that I had to fight to breathe. I bent over at the waist, sucking in air and wheezing it out. If there truly was a hell on earth, I found myself consumed by the flames.

Samantha was an ATF agent.

The woman I loved was a lie.

The woman I loved had betrayed not only me but my brothers.

Samantha closed the gap between us. “I swear to you that I had nothing to do with what happened today.”

“Vargas, you get your ass out of here ASAP and back to the office before you compromise this raid any further!” Peterson bellowed.

With a broken expression, Samantha pleaded, “Bishop, you have to believe me.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, and I snapped. “You lying bitch! Get the fuck away from me!” I bellowed.

Samantha jumped back as if I had slapped her. Her face crumpled, and tears sparkled in her eyes. Without another word, she whirled around and fled the room.

“Okay, boys, let’s go,” Peterson barked.

“Call John Morgan,” Rev called to Mama Beth. She nodded as she swiped away the tears pouring down her cheeks.

The agent at my side dragged me by the arm out the door. The parking lot that was usually filled with bikes was overrun by the ATF’s black SUVs. Each of us was loaded into a separate one. As the door closed, I caught one final glimpse of Samantha as she stood alone by her car. Her body shook from her sobs.

An agent. Fuck. In that moment, I understood what it meant to both love and loathe someone.