“She isn’t with you, brother. And even if the past few days she was, no one will know. She’s safe. She isn’t related to the club.”

“She could have been seen with Santana. You know it, Maddox,” Tyke roars.

“I can’t keep her here against her will and you fuckin’ well know it. She isn’t an old lady, Tyke.”

“She’s my old lady,” Tyke snarls.

“No,” I whisper. “I’m not.”

Tyke turns to me, his eyes full of grief and pain. “Pippa, I fucked up. I get that. But it was an honest mistake.”

“You made love to me Tyke, you spent days with me, and all that time you’re telling me Andi hasn’t crossed your mind once?”

He looks down at his boots, his jaw ticking.

“That’s what I thought,” I say, my voice shaky. “You might not have thought about her much, but one thought is all it would have taken for you to know it was wrong.”

“She isn’t even my girlfriend,” he says, his voice thick.

“Then why have you been with her for over two months? You and I both know that’s not just a one-night stand.”

“Jesus, Pippa, don’t leave.”

“I just need a few days, I . . . I just need space.”

Tyke’s eyes flash to Rainer. “You touch her . . .”

Rainer glares at Tyke, and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “I’ve got this.”

Then he turns us and we walk out the front door. Santana comes running over when we reach Rainer’s truck.

“Pip,” she says, taking my arm and spinning me around. “Is this really what you want?”

“He’s still with another woman. He didn’t even tell her; that’s not right, Tana.”

“No, it’s not, but he loves you. Surely you can see that.”

“And I love him, but he should never have put his hands on me while he was still with another girl. That does things to me; it makes me ache, because she doesn’t know. Like her or not, that doesn’t matter. She likes him, even if she is a bitch. And she still has no idea he’s no longer interested. That’s not fair.”

Santana drops her head and sighs. “No, it’s not. Look, Pippa, you’re safest here.”

“Maybe, but Rainer will take care of me.”

“I know, but . . .”

I reach out and cup her jaw. “I’ll be fine, Tana. Okay?”

She nods, swallowing. “Just don’t be mad at him forever, okay?”

I hug her. “I love him—that could never happen. But he needs to realize what he’s done and finish it, then I’ll talk more with him.”

“I understand that. Let me know when you’re safe, please?”

I nod, and then Rainer and I climb into his truck.

As we back out, I look over and see Tyke standing at the door, his face so pained it breaks my heart. I look away with pain in my heart. He doesn’t understand how much this means to me, but I can’t start something with a man who hasn’t respected the last woman he was with enough to give her one simple phone call.

He needs to get that. And until he does . . . I can’t be here.

No matter how much it hurts.

CHAPTER TWENTY- THREE

NOW – Pippa

The drive down to the town is slow, and quiet. Rainer doesn’t say anything—he just lets me have my silence. As we reach the base of them mountains, things change. It happens quickly, so quickly I don’t even realize what is going on until Rainer bellows my name and the car speeds up. Then I hear it.

Gunfire.

The first bullet hits the back of the truck, bouncing off and disappearing into the setting light. Then another one comes, smashing the back mirror. Terror grips my chest and I turn to Rainer, gasping. “What’s happening? Rainer? W . . . w . . . w . . . what’s happening?”

“Someone is shooting at us. Get down, Pippa, and call Maddox. Whoever it is was waiting at the base of the mountain. I was obviously followed.”

Another bullet explodes into the silence, hitting the windscreen and smashing it into a thousand tiny pieces. I scream and Rainer reaches over, grabbing my head and shoving it forcefully down. I get as low as I can and shuffle through my bag to find my phone. More bullets sound out and Rainer growls with anger. “Whoever it is isn’t trying to run us off the road—they’re trying to kill us.”

Oh my God.

Panic grips my chest and I fumble furiously for the phone. I find it and flick it open just as another bullet hits the car. I dial Maddox, and it rings and rings. Crying out with frustration, I call Krypt.

“Pippa?”

“Krypt!” I screech. “Krypt we’re being shot at.”

“Hang on, slow down, kid. What’s going on?”

“We hit the base of the mountain and suddenly there were people behind us shooting.”

“Shit, where are you now?”

“Rainer?” I pant. “Where are we now?”

He looks around. “Maybe a couple of miles from the base.”

“A couple of miles from the base.”

“We’re on our way; we won’t be down for about twenty minutes. Tell Rainer to circle, but don’t go too far. If they get hold of you, Pip, things will get ugly. You need to try and stay as close as possible so we can get hold of them ourselves.”

“Krypt,” I whisper. “Rainer said they’re shooting to kill.”