Meyah and Dakota were on their way back to U of A with Skins and Levi who would get a hotel and wait around down there until I got there.

Just the thought of having to head back to Athens, not really having any idea about when I would see her again was already making me feel anxious. I wanted Meyah by my side every single day, but I also knew how much she loved this place, and how she’d really found her strength in Arizona.

She loved the club, there was never a doubt in my mind. But she also didn’t want to live in her family’s pocket constantly. And she needed this distance from her mom, she needed to feel free.

And me?

The club was my life, but so was Meyah. I was being pulled in two different directions, and either way I chose was going to hurt. Meyah and I needed to have a long, in-depth talk about what we were going to do. And we would, but first, I had something that I needed to do.

“You sure you want to do this?” Romeo asked as we pulled up outside the Exiled Eight clubhouse. The man standing at the entrance speaking into his phone, glaring at us through the windshield.

“Do I really want to walk in there and possibly not be able to walk out? That would be a no,” I scoffed at my brother’s idiotic question. “But you really think Huntsman’s ever going to be okay with me having his daughter as my Old Lady if I’m not man enough to show up here and give him the courtesy of letting him know how much she means to me?”

Romeo gripped the steering wheel in his hand, twisting it as he ground his teeth together. “I don’t know if you were present at the clusterfuck yesterday, but he didn’t exactly look like he was about to give you two his blessing.”

“Then I’ve got nothing to fucking loose, do I?” I threw back as the guard stepped aside and the gates began to roll open.

“Only a few limbs…”

The Exiled Eight clubhouse was huge, easily bigger than ours back home. It was an old factory by the looks, real old. Made of brick but looked like it had been well looked after or at least renovated well. A line of motorcycles sparkled outside the building, feeling kind of like home, but at the same time, reminding me these guys were outlaws.

They weren’t just going to let me walk in there and be like, ‘hey, I’m gonna keep Meyah, is that cool?’ No, they could quite possibly be like ‘um… no you’re not.’ Then shoot me and bury me in concrete.

There were two large roller doors that were open that, back in the day, would have been used for trucks to drive in and load, then drive out the other side.

As Romeo pulled up just short of the row of bikes, Huntsman and three of his men walked out, looking like they definitely were looking for a fight.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” I told Romeo as he turned off the engine.

He turned to face me, a dark smirk on his face. “You think I’m scared of Huntsman?”

Of course, he wasn’t.

Romeo had a dark past that could rival Huntsman’s any day. I had heard rumors about the MC President. What he was capable of. What he’d done time for. I knew there were rumors out there about Romeo too.

It was obvious in the way that Isiah—the devious bastard with no fucking morals—treated him like he was a long-lost friend.

If you wanted someone at your back in Las Vegas, it was Romeo.

It was just unfortunate that this was something—a message I guess you could say, that I didn’t want to be diluted by his presence. I needed Huntsman to know that Meyah was mine, no matter fucking what. And not just that, but if he decided to walk away from her because of me, and because of her connection with the Brothers by Blood, he was a fucking idiot.

How that was going to go down? I was pretty confident it wasn’t going to be received well.

Romeo and I both climbed out of the car and walked around to the front to meet Huntsman and his men. One of them I recognized as Ripley—Meyah’s brother.

“You got some mighty big balls walking in here, kid,” Huntsman announced, looking me up and down. His lip curling in anger when he realized I was wearing my cut. “I ought to burn that shit you have on your back for coming in here with another club’s colors on.”

“You’d have to kill me first,” I threw back, standing taller, not willing to back down or be made to feel ashamed of my brotherhood. Yeah, coming here I knew it would be a slap in his face, but at this stage, I felt like maybe that was what he needed.

Huntsman took another step forward, challenging me. “You best turn around and get the fuck out of here before I take you up on that offer.”

I mirrored him, stepping forward. “I got something to say first.”

Huntsman chuckled, opening his arms wide. “Well, I am a man who believes in letting a dying man have his last words before I cut them from his throat.” The way his eyes shone didn’t match the jovial tone in his voice, telling me there was probably some truth to his statement. It was hard for me to doubt it when I saw the tattoos that ran up and down his arms, added to the info that Romeo had given me about Huntsman’s past.

He was a Navy SEAL.

But not always.

He had his own missions, ones he was sent on alone, with no backup, and nothing other than a target. He was a hunter. There was no escaping him, there was no hiding from him. And it seemed like I’d just put myself in the crosshairs.

“Meyah is worth more than you turning your fucking back on her,” I told him clearly, just laying it all out there. If I was going to make an impression, there was no fucking pulling the punches.

He flinched.

This man who was larger than life, and who looked like nothing could ever rattle him, visibly flinched. Telling me that with Meyah, I’d hit a nerve.

“None of your fucking business,” he hissed, pointing at me and narrowing his eyes. “Now get the fuck off my land before I keep good on my word to burn those colors. Or maybe, I’ll just throw your entire body on the fire for good measure.”

He turned to walk away, dismissed me like I was nothing, but fuck that.

“She draws,” I called, catching him before he got more than two steps. The men around him not saying anything, just watching things play out. Romeo stood back, leaning against the bonnet of the SUV, but his body was tight, ready to jump in if need be. “She sketches. She’s fucking good at it, too. It helps her to keep calm. Gives her something to focus on. Gave her something to get excited about when her mom practically wrapped her in cotton wool.”

That got his attention.

He rolled his shoulders and turned back to face me.

“You know… Meyah hasn’t always been this girl? She hasn’t always had the strength to voice how she feels. She hasn’t always had that smart fucking mouth. Her confidence was less than zero.” I just kept talking. I wanted him to know where she’d come from and how far she’d come. This wasn’t about me having her as my Old Lady. This was about her.

“She was teased at school. Tormented by this rich kid. Made to feel worthless.” My words were harsh, and with each one, I could feel myself getting more and more agitated. “She didn’t have a lot of friends. She was raised to hide from her problems. To walk away. Not to make waves. Not to draw attention to herself. She wasn’t allowed to play sports, or go to parties, or anything else that even had the possibility of her twisting an ankle or skinning an elbow.”

I saw Ripley squeeze his fists and look over at his father. He cared. I could see it in his eyes, the way he hated hearing me talk about the way she was treated, or how she was confined into this bubble that her mom had created for her out of fear. That, at least, would be worth this bullshit if Huntsman did decide to burn me alive.

“And let me guess, she met you, and suddenly she found this amazing strength,” Huntsman fired back. “That you two have some fucking amazing bond.”

I snorted loudly, followed by Romeo’s deep chuckle from behind me. “Are you kidding? Meyah has grown into this amazing woman. She’s powerful. Beautiful. And doesn’t take shit from anyone. And that’s in no way because of me. Or because of her Uncle Leo who practically helped raise her. Or her mom who tried to keep her to herself. And it definitely fucking wasn’t any thanks to you.”

He wanted to kill me.

He pulled out his gun, taking three giant steps forward and pointing it directly at my forehead, point-fucking-blank range, but I didn’t even fucking flinch.

“It’s all because of her. She didn’t need anyone. Because she’s fucking amazing, and you’re a fucking dumbass because you’re gonna miss out on having her in your life.”

“You come here, disrespect my club, disrespect me, and expect to just walk away with your head intact?”

I stared him straight in the eye. Not giving a shit that I could lose my head right now because all I cared about was him knowing what he was missing.

It was all true.

She would say she found her strength within the club. Or that I gave her the boost she needed. Or maybe say it was because of her family.

It was none of that.

It was because of her.

Because she was fucking powerful.

“Whether you’re in her life, or whether I’m in her life or not, she will not stop making strides and moving forward and fighting to be the woman she wants to be. The kind of person who’s going to make her own decisions, her own choices, and fuck anyone else,” I rambled on, this time for good measure. “We’re just along for the fucking ride.”

She was going to be the kind of Old Lady who would break down behind closed doors, but who would put on a brave face, lift her chin and stand by me when I needed her. And I would stare down the barrel of a fucking gun if it meant this stubborn asshole might make an effort to be in his daughter’s life.

“You’d be surprised what I would do for, Meyah. I’ll fight for her every damn fucking day if I have to.”

There was complete silence.

Huntsman continued to hold his gun at my head, and I continued to stare straight down the fucking barrel and into the eyes of a man who didn’t ever show any mercy, but who seemed to have heard what I had to say. “You got balls, kid.”

“Right now, they’re hiding just in case you decide to cut them off,” I responded, as a joke, but not really.

“You ever talk to me that way again, I’ll slice them into tiny pieces, stir-fry them and then feed them to you.” He slowly lowered the gun.

I nodded, trying not to look too relieved. “Noted.”

 Releasing a long slow breath, I allowed my body to relax a little.

“Oh, one more thing kid.” He didn’t even allow me a moment to brace, his fist swung around, the heavy blow connecting with my cheekbone and sending excruciating pain vibrating through my skull. The punch was so hard it spun my body, and I stumbled, hitting the bonnet of the SUV with my body, trying to hold on to it as my legs wobbled under me.

“Fucking hell, Huntsman. You couldn’t just leave it, could you?” Romeo groaned as he reached over and held me up while my mind fought to stay conscious.

“Fucker called me a dumbass,” Huntsman retorted before adding, “Come on. He’s gonna need a drink when he comes to. I already do.”