I fought to rein in my anger as my grip tightened on the steering wheel. The entire way to school I was seething, pissed at Step-Vader and his bullshit. Charles was a problem. For weeks the guys had been watching him for me, waiting for Charles to make a move. The tension and stress left me ready to snap. Both Jake and R.J. had taken shifts to share the burden, but I preferred to stay as close to Rae as possible.

Beckett and Shane popped in once or twice to help too. They weren’t prospects or patches to the Ravage Riders MC, but they were close to me and some of my best friends. Jake and R.J. were my brothers and fellow MC prospects. They did all the dirty work I didn’t have time to do. Luckily the RRMC had enough prospects and wasn’t too concerned about me or my guys until we graduated.

We were cut a little slack, and that had entirely everything to do with my father. Rae’s father too.

Being owned by Rafe and the club wasn’t what I wanted for my future, but I would bide my time for now. No sense in starting a bunch of shit until I was ready to handle it. There was little choice in becoming pledged to the RRMC. My blood demanded my allegiance.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t find a way out of it.

For now the biggest threat was Step-Vader, and I was so caught up in protecting Rae that my focus was entirely on her. Nothing was going to screw up my chance to be with her or prevent me from keeping her safe. I promised Rae’s dad, and I hadn’t broken that promise yet.

I was extra attentive at school, watching out for Rae as I always did. No, I didn’t stalk her but I sure as hell protected her from the harsh reality of life and things better left unspoken. My enemies were never far. Not only mine but her father’s too. If I had my way, she’d never know just how close to danger she lived on a daily basis. It was my duty, a deathbed promise to Ron, and I took that shit seriously.

In Providence, there weren’t many options, but you had better make it clear which side you chose. Or it may be chosen for you.

My word was my oath. Men lived by their word . . . and died by it, and their allegiance.

Ron, Rae’s father, certainly had. Mack nearly did too and all for me and Rae. The past was a fucked-up place of revenge, regret, and unresolved issues. None of that shit was getting anywhere close to Rae. Buried in secrets, lies, and the bitterness of loss I held on to the one thing that mattered.

My promise to keep Rae safe, even at the expense of my own life.

My highest priority was her safety.

I wondered off and on all morning if she was still upset about Charles and his cruel behavior. She appeared happy enough, laughing with Hayley and our friends but I still wasn’t sure she was alright. Her normally happy glow was a little dimmed today.

I didn’t like it.

I made it my personal mission to cheer her up, even if I had to resort to leaving the school and taking her somewhere else for the day. I could always sense her moods, even from a distance. She wore her heart and her emotions right on her pretty face, but it was something more. We shared a connection since we were young, one that seemed a bit different than other kids our age. Maybe we were destined to love each other. Or perhaps fate had brought us together for a reason, but the closeness I felt to her was more than simple friendship or a new relationship.

Rae and I have been able to sense each other as long as I can remember. We used to play a little game where she would reach out to me with nothing more than her thoughts and feelings and see if I could perceive her pull reaching toward me.

I could.

Every single time.

And when we reversed the process . . . she could always feel the same sensations from me.

Because of that Rae and I grew close when we were young and spent a lot of time together. Our dads noticed the deep connection and encouraged it, but I was never sure if they understood how strange and out of the ordinary these moments with Rae and I always seemed to be.

This was the reason I knew how she was feeling, even when she could fool everyone else.

At lunch, I pulled her outside and sat next to one of the large redwood trees that graced the northern California school grounds and populated the area. Providence was a city in Northern Cali surrounded by redwood trees, picturesque mountains, and the scenic Pacific coast. Surrounded by the beauty of clear blue sky and the consistent light breeze we ate and talked as the rest of the gang arrived, sitting on the grass and lounging in the early afternoon sunshine.

My thoughts were centered on Rae. I was wondering about something. In the treehouse she never really answered my question about flirting with me all year. My curiosity grew, and I couldn’t resist trying to find out the truth.

“Tell me something,” I asked, wanting to continue the easy familiarity that accompanied the last twenty-four hours. “Did you really never flirt with me? Or even want to try?”

She blushed, and I knew I had her the moment I saw her pink cheeks. Rae could never lie. She stammered under my scrutiny, “I, uh . . . maybe once or twice?”

I laughed lightly, grazing my nose across the surface of her flushed cheek as I leaned in, “Maybe?” I whispered seductively. “Just maybe?”

“Peter,” she gasped, breathless. “You know it was more than once or twice.”

My low laugh caused her to shiver as I dropped another inch closer, “I know love. I just wanted to hear you admit it.”

She smacked me lightly on the arm and shook her head, “You keep distracting me.”

“From?”

My lips trailed down the side of her slender neck, pressing tiny kisses against her smooth, creamy skin as I continued my deliberate flirtation, determined to make Rae want me as badly as I craved and desired her. My hand rested on her hip as I tugged her a little closer.

“Pet,” she half moaned using my nickname, and I growled low in triumph. “You make me dizzy.”

“Only because you want me as much as I want you,” I murmured, waiting for her denial.

It never came.

“Kiss me,” she begged, her breath quickening. “Kiss me like you mean it, Pete.”

On school grounds, with most of our friends only feet away, I was taking a risk but I didn’t care. Correction, I really didn’t give a shit at all. My lips crashed down on hers passionately, demanding her response, and she gave it willingly as her fingers grasped the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I lost myself in her warmth and forgot where we were until R.J. cleared his throat and Hayley giggled.

“Dude, the bell rang.”

Rae and I separated instantly, but I held her against my chest as she blushed, “I’m sure it did.”

R.J. huffed off and shook his head as I pulled Rae to her feet, my arm sliding across her shoulders.

“Walking me to class?” she asked, smirking.

“Be right there. Wait for me? Over by the snack machine?”

She glanced at me questioningly but nodded, her arm looping through Hay’s as they walked away. My attention focused on Jake who ticked his head toward the fence and the group of guys lingering against the chain links. Jake followed as I sauntered closer, my eyes locked on my nemesis.

Striker’s son, the MC Pres of our rival Satan’s Outlaws, was a huge pain in my ass. Not to mention the fact that he was a dick. I drew one on his forehead once in middle school when he fell asleep in class with a black permanent marker. Didn’t help the lack of friendship we had for each other, but I sure laughed my ass off along with half the school.

He had it coming.

“Bryce,” I replied coolly. “Feel the need to scent the area with your piss like the dog you are?”

Bryce sneered, pulling the skin by his mouth upward toward the right, and stretching the long puffy scar that ran jagged across the left side of his face from temple to chin, “Slumming it. Looking for your girl, I’d sure like to tap that ass. Maybe she’ll want a real cock to stuff that tight pussy.” He made a motion like he was doing her doggy and grabbing her hips with his rough hands.

Deep breath. One. Two. Three . . .

I rolled my shoulders and exhaled slowly, cool as a cucumber. Losing my shit right now would help no one, but I could have a little fun, especially at his expense, “When are you gonna change that pussy ass name Bryce?”

Jake laughed next to me. Beckett and Shane snickered, hanging back a little in case I needed them.

Several guys held Bryce back as he snarled, “Where’s the slut off to? Doesn’t she need your protection?”

I smiled calmly, my body relaxing even as I fought the urge to reach through the chain links and choke the fucker. “I don’t think she’s your concern,” I drawled, ticking my head toward the line of bikes parked along the curb. “What I’d be concerned about is how I was going to pay all of those tickets.”

Bryce swung his head in time to see the sheriff posting parking tickets on all the bikes and smiling a cheesy grin.

“What the fuck man?” he screeched, but the sheriff gave no indication that he heard, whistling as he walked toward his cruiser parked across the street.

“Looks like you were in the wrong place at the right time,” I quipped, laughing at Bryce’s sudden anger. “I’d leave the area if I were you.”

Bryce grabbed the fence and shook the chain links, rattling the metal against the solid poles, “This conversation isn’t over Edge.”

Edge.

Fucking Rafe and his nicknames.

I waited until I knew Bryce and his brothers were gone before rushing to find Rae. I reached her right as the bell rang, hoping she didn’t ask too many questions, “Sorry honey looks like we’re late to class.”

She frowned, biting her lower lip which was her only indication she was irritated, “What took you so long?”

I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead, “Nothing baby, I had to talk to Jake about something.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” her hands planted on her hips in a little show of attitude as I laughed lightly.

“Baby I love it when you act possessive.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed, “Come on, I can’t miss Chem.”

Later I dropped Rae off at home and drove away since she insisted she needed to study for finals and couldn’t get that done if I was there. Probably true since I’d spend every minute kissing her as much as I could while we had the privacy. All afternoon I tried not to be too clingy but seeing Bryce rose the threat level and I was concerned that shit could go down.

I drove slowly through the upper-middle-class neighborhood and smirked. Some of the neighbors watched as I passed, but only a few nodded their heads or waved. Same old shit. My dad bought our house when I was a little baby, not long after I was born. Mack wanted his son brought up right in decent schools and around good people – citizens who obeyed the law and worked real jobs for a living.

Not that it mattered.

I had never been accepted by these people. I was tainted by my father and his association with the RRMC. They’d never shake my hand or invite me over to dinner. Hell, they didn’t even come to make sure I was still alive when I nearly burned down the house a few years ago and had to call the fire department. Rae thought it was funny that I couldn’t cook and I tried to prove her wrong by making a nice chicken dinner. Yeah . . . fucking disaster.

A light laugh bubbled out of my chest at the memory.

Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to be free of the MC and my father’s past, from the death of Rae’s father Ron, and the disaster that threatened her existence every single day. What would it be like not to have the influence of the RRMC over every aspect of my life? Maybe I wouldn’t be so damn stressed out, for one. MC life was gonna be the death of me.

I parked my Nova in the driveway at home, paced for about fifteen minutes, and decided to walk the ten minutes to Rae’s house. An uneasy feeling in my gut wouldn’t go away and seemed to only worsen and intensify the longer I was away from her.

When I arrived, I saw Charles’ car in the driveway. He was home early. Too early.

In a sudden panic, I ran to the backyard and listened for any indication that Rae was in trouble. Inside the house, I heard a bottle drop and the sound of broken glass. I was almost ready to throw open the sliding glass doors of the patio and barge in when I heard Rae singing up in the treehouse.

Ten seconds later I was climbing up the side, fear clutching at my heart.

She was in danger.