Now that Rae and I were together I needed to make shit clear with the RRMC, specifically Rafe. He wasn’t going to react well when I showed up with her at the clubhouse. It had been years since all of the shit went down with the Riders and the Outlaws, but it didn’t change Rafe’s opinion. He would be difficult if not outright dangerous.

I pulled my bike into the parking lot and cut the engine, turning to my girl.

“The clubhouse? Why are we here Pete?” she beat me to it, her eyes on the front entrance and the RRMC emblem painted on the doors.

“I need to notify the club we’re together and talk to Rafe. He’s not going to like it, but I don’t care. If he wants me to step down as V.P., I will, but that takes a vote. I expect he’ll call Church.”

“Church?” his face scrunched up as I laughed.

“It’s just a meeting with all of the members. Church is where we decide shit and how it goes down. No one leaves until we’re all in agreement.”

She pursed her lips together like she tasted something sour, “I suppose you could be in there a long time.”

“Maybe, depends on what we’re voting and why and how pissed everyone gets,” I chuckled, taking her hand and leading her toward the club.

She halted me and tugged my hand. I turned to Rae, hoping she wasn’t going to change her mind about us now that we were here, “No matter what happens I’m here Pete, for good, so remember that.”

In relief I placed my hands on her cheeks and lowered my head, kissing her hard and deep, “Baby I wouldn’t allow anything else.”

Satisfied, her fingers gripped mine and we walked through the door.

The moment I entered all voices stopped, the crowded room looking back and forth from me to Rae and our clenched hands. She held her head high, looking each RRMC member in the eye and dared them to say a word to her. I smirked, knowing my old lady was strong and fierce.

Nobody was fucking with her, that much was clear.

I’d have words with anyone who tried.

The quiet was broken sharply when two things happened. One, Hayley walked into the main room and saw Rae. She squealed like a loud animal and ran in Rae’s direction, calling out her name. Two, Rafe yelled my name and stood, shoving the petite blonde bunny off his lap. Her ass hit the floor, and with a surprised grunt she scurried away. His gaze was locked on us as I pushed Rae behind me and growled out, “Rae and I are back together. Get over it, Rafe.”

He opened his mouth to reply, a thunderous look of rage on his face when the sound of motorcycles filled the air, the heavy roar of multiple hogs on the lot all at once. Rafe bolted for the door as the other Riders followed, guns drawn and expecting trouble.

Fuck!

This was bad timing. I yanked Rae over to Hay and barked out an order, daring either of them to argue, “Take Rae in my room and lock the door. There’s a gun in the top dresser drawer. Protect yourselves and don’t let anyone in that room unless it’s me or Jake.” I tossed my keys to Hay and she caught them, nodding.

Before Rae could protest my lips crashed down on hers and then I spun around, running for the door as Jake joined me, rushing outside as the rest of the RRMC stood their ground. I didn’t expect what I saw, and my heart jumped into my throat as Bryce’s crumpled frame caught my attention.

My brother was lying on the ground, bloody and beat up, moaning loudly as Striker smiled cruelly in my direction.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

***

HAY WAS YANKING ON my hand, pulling me down the long hall of rooms and into a corridor that led to a locked door. She reached for the keys and unlocked the door, both of us inside as she locked it again in a hurry, “Find the gun Rae, we’ve got to stay safe.”

I snapped into action as I heard the sound of voices raised in anger outside. Sinking onto Pete’s bed I opened the nightstand’s top drawer. There, nestled inside, were five wrapped packages with my name written in Peter’s bold script on top. I pulled each one out as I completely forgot about the gun.

“Found it!” Hay exclaimed. She was by my side instantly, her arms around me in a too tight hug. “Where the hell have you been girl? I’m gonna kill you for staying away so long. Pete was a total wreck without you.”

I sighed, “Witness protection, remember?” My eyes dropped to the packages in my lap, “I didn’t want to leave Hay.”

“I know babe,” she reassured me, “I’m just giving you shit. I can’t believe you’re here!”

I managed a small smile, but I was shaken by the realization that Pete had bought me birthday presents every year we’d been apart, “Hay, have you seen these before?”

Her eyes widened as she gaped at the packages and shook her head, “No luv I haven’t. Isn’t that fucking adorable? He bought birthday gifts for you while you were apart.”

I stood abruptly, dropping the packages as I began to pace. My foot bumped into a small trash can and knocked over the contents. When I bent to retrieve the mess my eyes landed on a small cupcake, uneaten with a pale pink candle stuck in the center at an odd angle. All the blood rushed to my head, and my knees buckled as I fell the last foot to the ground.

How was this possible? He celebrated my birthday every year without me, alone?

I think I was going to hyperventilate. All this time I thought Pete didn’t really care. The years we spent apart I thought my heart was the only one that truly suffered. How could I have doubted? How could I have been so wrong?

How could I ever have thought he didn’t love me?