I hear every word that my father says to Silas as I sit in the small office with the door open. It’s so typical of my father to act like this. He sends one asshole packing, and then morphs into the same controlling asshole that he just got rid of. This has to stop. I won’t stand for it this time. Charging back to the open warehouse area, I face off with him.

“Dad, you can’t do this again.”

“Leave it alone, princess.”

“Please.”

“I’ll deal with this, honey.”

“No, Dad. You won’t. You can’t make everything about business… I mean, how dare you propose that to him? It’s not right.” I step up beside Silas and squeeze his hand. “My decision to see him again or not, has nothing to do with your business dealings together.”

“Mr. Rizzo, I appreciate and respect the offer, but your daughter is her own woman,” Silas says, backing me up. “She can do whatever she wants, and if she chooses to associate with me and my club, it’s her choice. Everything else on the table has to do with me and my choice. I’ll think about it and let you know soon, if that works for you.”

“Mmm, a diplomatic reply.” My father strokes his beard and has an unreadable expression on his face. “How do you feel about that answer, princess?”

I thread my fingers more securely through Silas’s. “I need a moment with him, Dad.”

“I don’t know how much privacy you can get, given the venue, darling. But you’re welcome to give it a shot.”

I drag Silas into the small office. The questions flitting across his face only makes me more sure of what I want. “The timing kind of sucks for a conversation like this, but…”

Silas nods, but his eyebrows are still stuck in a permanent state of confusion. “Just say it. What’s going on?”

Running a hand through my hair, I glance up at the ceiling. “I’m not sure how to put this into words without sounding completely forward right now, but I don’t want to walk away without saying it. I want to know more about you, Silas. I want to be with you. This isn’t one of those ‘let’s be together forever’ things, because I don’t know that I can see that far ahead. The reason is pretty obvious, since well, look at who we are. But I want to try, if you’re up for it.”

He turns and rubs his jaw, then starts to light up a cigarette. He probably didn’t see this coming, yet here I am, dumping a massive bomb on him. And as usual, he goes radio silent. I just wished he’d say something. Anything.

“Silas? Are you just going to stare at the wall?”

He turns to look my way again, and takes a long drag on his cigarette.

Not a word.

Jesus, it’s annoying as hell, practically baring my soul to him and not getting an iota of feedback. I fold my arms. “I’m going to assume you’re thinking it over, all right? That way, I don’t have to bash your teeth in with my fist.” That gets a smile out of him. Except I wasn’t kidding about that. “While you’re in a listening mood, I’ve got another suggestion. Since I have your full attention, you know, as you refuse to talk?”

The man remains oddly silent, but presses his lips together after taking another pull of his cigarette, and gives me an attentive nod. I’m not sure whether to choke him or get close, so I start talking and don’t stop.

“Would you consider offering protective services to clients at the law firm where I work? I’m thinking that our divorce clients may be perfect as low-hanging fruit to start off. Kind of like your own security company. With simple state licensing…probably for Arizona and Nevada as you’re practically on the border. Maybe Utah too. It’s completely legal, and a good way to generate revenue while you’re sorting things out with my father. Think about it as a potential transition plan, and a win-win for everyone. You have some extra options for your MC, and my father won’t be able to dish out any ultimatums to you like he just did, because you won’t be relying solely on his business. No one will have any control over you, and my law firm provides referrals all the time. So why not to you? That’s how I see it, anyway.”

His jaw hardens. “It’s an interesting thought,” he finally says.

“Praise the Lord. The man speaks!”

He shakes his head. “You suggested the same idea to Axe, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s smart, and keen to retire from illicit gunrunning.”

That earns me a spiteful look, but it’s worth it. He’s considering it, which is more than I thought possible. Silas surprises me by moving in closer, and kisses my forehead with a tenderness that makes my breath hitch. As quickly as he does that, he turns and heads out to my father.

“I’ll consider everything and let you know within a week,” he tells Dad.

“Fair enough.” My father takes his phone out of his pocket, searching for something on his phone. Then he looks over at me. “Sabrina, I assume you’re leaving with him. Is that what you were trying to tell me just now?”

“Yes.”

“Very well… I’ll accept it. For now.”

The answer throws me for a loop. That’s it? He’s agreeable all of a sudden? I expected to have to fight and argue some more, like I’ve been doing for years. But I won’t question whatever it is that’s caused my father to go so far as to agree, even if it’s temporary. Kissing him on the cheek, I whisper a word of thanks in his ear, and return to Silas. I follow Silas and Cole out of that warehouse with something I’ve never had before—a chance to start over with no secrets lurking around the next corner.

We stop at his bike. “So, where too, princess?” he asks.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Are you going to say something about…about everything I said inside?”

He climbs onto his bike and puts one hand out to help me on. “I chose you first.”

That’s all he says. And it’s enough for me.

“Take me back to the MC,” I tell him.

I never expected to hear those words leave my own lips. Small miracles happen every day, even for me.

On our return to the club, Silas helps me off the bike, then surprises me by throwing me over his shoulder. Caveman style. I kick around and protest a little, but the cheers and whistles from his members as he enters the clubhouse reminds me that it’s their way. Plus, I kind of like it. He carries me all the way upstairs into his room like this, only letting me down to deposit me on his bed.

“Was that some kind of MC rite of passage or something? I ask, half-laughing and still slightly dizzy.

“I guess you could call it that. Listen, Sabrina.”

Silas paces across the room, eating up the floor in large strides. Whatever he’s about to say, it’s weighing on him. I brace for what he’s about to tell me, my stomach twisted into knots.

“You need to know that if you stay with me, any visions you had of a certain type of life is gone. There’s no white picket fence with me. You’re mine, and that means I’m responsible for you. The violence you’ve seen around your father’s organization isn’t much different from what you’ll see here. And don’t think for a second that your old man is done trying to control you. More likely than not, he’ll be back. You need to know there’ll be a target on both our backs and it may never go away. Can you live with that?”

“I was born a target, Silas. It’s not much different from how it’s been every day of my life. All I’ll say is I’m not fragile… I’m not running from who I am. I don’t want normal. People like us don’t ever experience normal.”

He takes a seat on the edge of the bed next to me as if buckling under the actual weight of the idea. “So, you understand it won’t be all rainbows and unicorns, whether the MC transitions from current business operations or not. Whether we try out your security patrol rent-a-biker idea or not.”

“So you were listening.” I run my hand through his thick mess of strangely silky hair. “As long as I’ve been with you, you’ve kept me safe. I appreciate that you’ve done that, and I just need you to know that I can also protect myself. The type of life I’m choosing is one where I decide what matters to me. What I do and how, where I go and when, who I’m with… and I want you.”

He slides his hand into my hair, and I grab his cut as he closes in to kiss me hard. Pulling back, I look into his eyes. “Make love to me.”

Smiling, he leans back onto the bed, and his body covers mine. His eyes and every inch of his body scream the words he will probably never say out loud.