The silence was heavy as we got in Christian’s truck and headed north. I wanted to comfort him, but knew there was nothing I could say that would make him feel better. Still, I had to break the tension if only to let him know I cared.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to get out, my voice raspy.

“Don’t be,” he answered evenly without looking over at me. “I’m not.”

“What do you mean you’re not? Aren’t you upset at Slade’s outburst?”

“Nope.”

I looked at his profile and didn’t recognize any sign of him lying. No tightening of his jaw, no clenching of the steering wheel.

“What about when Abby ran to him instead of you?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“I expected it,” came his sound reply. He let out a long breath. “And I wasn’t surprised at Slade’s reaction either. Maybe taken off guard that he did it in front of you. But no, not surprised.”

“Why not?” I looked over and waited for his answer.

He shot me a glance. “Because everything he said was true.” Looking back out over the steering wheel, he confessed, “I love my brother and I know he loves me, but we’re total opposites. Slade is a methodical planner. I’m sure he’s mapped out his entire life down to where he’ll vacation every summer with his future wife and kids, and where he’ll spend his retirement. He’s never understood my compulsiveness. My…uh…not quite sure how to describe it.”

“You don’t have to,” I told him. “I get what you’re trying to say. He sees things working out for you when you handle something differently than he would have.”

“Exactly,” Christian replied. “And he resents it. He would’ve slowly insinuated himself into your life. He would’ve wined and dined you, then proposed on bended knee with a traditional diamond ring.”

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “And there is nothing wrong with that. I admire my brother, and I hope he finds a good woman. But just because he likes to live a predictable and by-the-book life, doesn’t mean he should resent me because I don’t. And it’s not like I haven’t accepted the consequences for my actions.”

I knew he was alluding to not being there for his daughter, and the time he’d spent in prison away from her.

“I guess that’s part of the problem,” I added. “He thinks there should’ve been consequences for violating your parole and abducting me.”

“Yep. And again, he’s right, and I’m not mad that he was upset,” Christian quickly added. “However, I am mad that he showed his ass in front of you. And he would have in front of Daisy, too, if Mom hadn’t sent her off.”

I nodded in agreement. Before I realized it we’d arrived at our destination. I couldn’t tell where we were because we’d apparently driven down a back alley and were now parked behind a business. What kind of business, I didn’t know.

“Where are we?” I asked while scanning around me. I spied two dumpsters to our left, and an unusually large pile of tires to our right.

Christian opened the console between us and started rummaging through it. “Axel’s garage.”

“Where you work?” I asked as he muttered under his breath while digging for something.

“Yeah.”

“What are we doing here?” I asked as I took another look at our surroundings. It was almost spooky. There was one light over the only door to the building, and it made clicking sounds as it flickered on and off.

“Found it.” He was holding up a tool. “We’re breaking in,” he told me after opening his door and jumping out. He looked over at me. “You coming?”

I flung open my door and jumped out of the truck. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Didn’t know I married a rebel,” Christian teased as he expertly picked not one, but three locks that opened the back door to the garage.

I stood with my hands on my hips and sardonically asked, “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t the first time you’ve broken in here?”

“Because it isn’t.” He chuckled, opening the door and flipping on a light before waving me in.

“What are we stealing?” I followed behind him, and looked around for hidden cameras.

He stopped and turned around. “Mimi, do you really think I’d bring you with me to commit a crime?”

I shrugged my shoulders and looked away, embarrassed. I wouldn’t let myself think about how quickly and without reservation I’d agreed to accompany him to what I thought was a real break-in. “What are we here for?”

Ten minutes later, I had my arms wrapped around Christian as we sped through the night on his Harley. Apparently, he kept it at Axel’s garage, and since he didn’t have his own key, he had to break in to get his bike.

We ended up at what appeared to be a trashy biker bar in a not-so-nice part of town. It didn’t turn out to be as bad as I thought. The Alibi was actually a decent place inside, and I was grateful the waitresses were wearing shirts. I'd watched Christian shirk off Tina at Chicky's, but I had no clue how he'd react if a woman shoved her breasts in his face. I knew it was acceptable in the biker world, but by now, Christian should know it wasn't acceptable to me. He'd assured me infidelity would never be an issue. Once again I wrestled with how easily I’d assimilated into what I thought was going to be an illegal break-in, followed by my nonchalant acceptance of what at first appeared to be a seedy juke joint, but ended up being a biker hangout.

This wasn’t me.

Or was it?

When we’d first arrived I was getting admiring glances from some of the men, and I immediately noticed a change in Christian’s demeanor. They noticed it too. It was as if a crackle of electricity swept through the small pub, and all eyes respectfully turned the other way. Without even uttering a syllable, Christian Bear established a boundary that no one dared cross.

I never understood my father’s overbearing and aggressive protectiveness of my mother. I’d always thought it was attributed to one of two reasons. The first and most obvious was that Grizz was naturally intimidating and pushy. The second, I surmised, was because he lived in fear of losing my mom again, and would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

But in watching my twenty-three-year-old man threaten men twice his age with only a glance, I realized it wasn’t either option. Both man and beast instinctively knew not to mess with a grizzly bear cub if its mother was around. And that was the same type of energy Grizz and Christian exuded. The same type of natural panic that one might feel if up against a grizzly. I smiled at the ironic comparison.

We spent the next few hours listening to music, playing pool, drinking beer, and laughing with a few of Christian’s friends. Some of the men were wearing leather jackets and the patch was unmistakable—my father’s old club. The name and design were different, but I knew who they were based on Christian’s explanation.

The women weren't as friendly, but I knew to expect that after hearing some of my mother's old stories about when Grizz had taken her to the motel. I was sipping on my beer, listening to Christian and a bar regular comparing prison stories, when the woman I’d been casually chatting with leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Krystal is harmless. She's had her eye on Christian since before he went to prison. Even made a point of visiting him there."

"Am I being that obvious?" I stared back at the woman sitting next to me. She’d introduced herself as Chili, and I guessed she was in her late forties, maybe early fifties. The bright-red dyed hair that she kept piled on top of her head may have hidden the gray, but it couldn't erase the obvious lines on her face that came with hard living.

"Nah. But I recognize the looks you're trying not to give her."

I took another swig of beer and set it down with a sigh. "Yeah, just like I recognize the looks she’s trying not to give Christian."

Chili waved her hand nonchalantly, the bracelets jangling around her wrist. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. He couldn’t care less. Even before he went to prison, and for the short time he's been out, he's never brought a woman here or to any of his other hangouts. You're the first."

She leaned sideways toward me, close enough that our temples touched. "That tells me you'll be the only one." She smelled of cigarettes, beer, and sickly sweet perfume.

I pulled away and gave her a huge smile. Raising my beer, I said, "I'll drink to that." Our bottles clinked, and we both downed the rest of our brew in one long swallow. Chili signaled Krystal to bring another round, when Christian shouted toward the bar, "Krystal, two more."

I looked over at him, surprised that he'd been paying attention. "Chili's right, you know?" he said with a smile. "You're the only one. And you always will be."

Christian didn't even look at Krystal as she delivered our beers, deliberately trying to make small talk to get his attention. When he wouldn't acknowledge her, she bent down between us and whispered loud enough for me to hear, "I have a message for you."

He continued his conversation with the ex-con barfly as if he hadn't heard her. She jabbed at his right shoulder. She raised her voice this time, saying, "Christian, I have a message for you." There was a pause, and I was certain he was purposely ignoring her when she said a little louder, "From Blue."

This got my husband's attention and he finally turned around to her and snapped, "What is it?"

She slapped her tray against her hip and rolled her eyes before answering him. "I can't give it to you here. Meet me in the storeroom."

She walked away with a bounce in her step, and peeked back over her shoulder to see if Christian was following her. He stood up, bent over, and kissed the top of my head, saying, "I'll be right back, baby."

I watched as Krystal disappeared down the hallway that led to the restrooms, and wondered if there really was a message from Blue or if this was a ploy to get my husband alone. Or both. I was getting ready to excuse myself when Chili nudged me with her elbow. "Don't just sit here."

I hadn’t planned on it.

"Follow them," she said before returning her eyes to the hallway.

"You read my mind," I answered as I stood so quickly my chair almost fell over.

"Second door on the right past the ladies’ room," she said to my back as I strode toward the rear of the bar.

It was easy enough to find the door to the storage room. I stopped long enough to catch my breath, but not long enough to let myself think about what I would find on the other side. I only knew that I would either be beside Christian in our hotel room bed tonight or sitting next to a stranger on the first flight home. I slowly turned the door handle, and prayed there wouldn't be a noise to announce my intrusion. I was able to crack it just enough to go undetected and hear the conversation between Krystal and Christian.

I heard Krystal say, "There is no message, Christian. It was obvious you needed rescuing from that woman you brought here. I've missed you the past couple of weeks. I thought we'd be spending more time together after you got out of prison."

"You thought wrong, Krystal. And I'll never need rescuing from Mimi. She's my wife."

"Your wife?" Krystal was astonished. "You got married?"

"Yeah, I got married." Even though we'd never gotten around to asking Micah to officially file our paperwork, Christian and I still considered ourselves wed.

"Does your wife know I've blown you every time you've stepped foot in this bar?"

I heard him scoff before saying, “Mimi knows that I've been with other women. She also knows I won't be anymore."

"Just because you’re married doesn't mean we have to stop doing what we were doing," she cooed.

I heard her heels clicking against the aged floor and could only assume she was approaching my husband.

I held my breath as I waited for Christian's response. He didn't give one, and my heart sank at what was about to happen. Then I heard Krystal give a small cry, "You're hurting me, Christian. Let go of my wrists."

"Keep your fucking hands off me and I won't have to hurt them, Krystal."

"Fuck you!" she cried.

I'd heard enough. I quietly closed the door. Not knowing if I would be caught walking away, I ducked into the ladies’ room. I was splashing cold water on my face when the door behind me opened. I looked up and saw Krystal's reflection in the mirror. She was rubbing one of her wrists. She gave me a dirty look and said, "Your husband is an asshole."

Tossing the paper towel in the garbage, I swung the door open, and gave her a wide smile. "Consider yourself permanently relieved of blow job duty, Krystal." I tilted my head to one side. "At least where my husband is concerned."

I didn't give her time for a retort as I let the door close behind me. When I returned to the table, Christian stood up and pulled out my chair.

"I ran into your friend in the restroom," I said as I took my seat.

"She's not my friend," he answered.

"What was the message that was so important?" I batted my eyelashes innocently.

"There was no message, and I'll tell you about it later, Mimi."

After that, Krystal avoided our table. The rest of the evening passed without incident.

Later in our hotel room, I was sitting on the bed cross-legged when Christian asked, "What are you doing?"

He'd just come out of the bathroom after showering and drying off. At the moment, he was standing in front of me completely nude and stuffing a Q-tip in his ear.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Returning to the object of my attention, I said, "I'm looking at my ring. I still can't believe you picked it out."

He tossed the used cotton swab in the trash and crawled up the bed toward me, hovering over me until he had my back pressed against the pillow behind me.

"Believe it, Mimi," he said before giving me a long, lingering kiss. He made his way down my body, removing my clothes as he went.

Later, wrapped in his arms, I ran my fingers against his chest. I asked him to tell me about the conversation with Krystal.

And he did. He told me word for word everything that was said in the storeroom.

"I know," I confessed without looking at him. "I followed you. I was listening." I held my breath and waited for his reply.

"Good," was all he said before tilting my chin up. Our eyes locked and he said, "I'm glad you were listening, Mimi. At least you know I'm telling you the truth."

I asked why he would take me to a bar where I was bound to run into a woman he'd obviously been screwing around with. His answer made sense.

"Krystal is a whore and nothing more. I never thought twice about what it would look like to you. I’ve told you before, I've never had a girlfriend, let alone a wife. I'm sorry if it made you feel bad."

I waved him off and told him I had no problem handling Krystal. But something else occurred to me. "You also said that you had to stay away from the motorcycle club as a condition of your parole. I saw men in there that I know are from that gang. They wore patches." I leaned up on my elbow and looked down at him.

"I was having a beer with my wife and some friends. Some of the men you met tonight are mechanics at Axel's garage and have nothing to do with the club. I can't say who is going to be at what bar or if they have any gang affiliation. I wouldn't be in violation unless I was caught at an official meeting or a crime scene with them."

He picked up my hand and kissed it. "I won't deliberately risk screwing this up, Mimi. I've waited too long to be with you."

I must've had a worried expression on my face because he added, "It's why I purposely chose The Alibi, and didn't even think about Krystal."

"Because it's not a known hangout?" I asked.

"No," he corrected. "It's because it lives up to its name."

I didn't understand, so he went on to explain that the owner of The Alibi was an ex-biker named Ken who'd served time in prison, and had no intention of ever going back. He established the bar as a neutral zone for people like Christian who were out and had conditions to their parole. “The police can raid The Alibi any time they want. They might find ex-cons or people who regularly engage in criminal activity, but they won't find anything illegal going on there. No prostitution, no drugs, no gambling, and specifically, no cameras."

"What's so important about no cameras?" I asked with a suspicious tone.

He laughed. "It's kind of how the bar originally got its name. Back when Ken first opened it, people that were committing crimes started saying they had an alibi if they were caught. All they had to do was tell the police they were at Ken's bar, and he always verified it for them, whether it was true or not. Ken proved his loyalty to his biker buddies without participating in any way. They're very serious about protecting him so they help enforce the ‘no illegal activity’ rule. Without surveillance cameras, the police don't have a way to dispute someone's alibi."

"I saw two men fighting in the parking lot when we were leaving," I informed him.

"There will always be bar fights. Two guys even died there. But it was their own doing, and not tied to anything illegal. I won't take you back there if it makes you feel uncomfortable.”

"I didn't feel uncomfortable." If anything, I felt a little too comfortable, and my brain was trying to process why. I wondered if it was because I was with Christian. Or something else.

Christian mistook my silence as I mulled things over for something else.

"I'll have Krystal fired," he told me.

"No!" I shouted. In a calmer voice, I told him, "I don't want the girl to lose her job because of me. I'm not threatened at all by her, Christian, and if I was, I'd handle her on my own."

My answer seemed to satisfy him. I reached over and turned off the light. I was exhausted and on the brink of sleep when he said, "I forgot to tell you that Chili thought you looked familiar."

"What?" I popped up. The room was dark and I couldn't see his face.

"Yeah," he commented. "She said you looked familiar, but she couldn't place you. I think she was around during the old days when Grizz had that motel out on State Road 84. I'm pretty sure if they hadn't changed up the club patch with your mother's likeness on the jackets, she'd have guessed who you were."

"What jacket with my mother's likeness?" I asked.

"Axel has an old one in his garage. I'll show you when I take the bike back and get my truck."