The Seven Sins was basically empty. Only Wilder's bike remained in the lot, but I needed a beer or two before I went home to bed. And my refrigerator was as dry as the desert.

It was still an hour before Jemma normally closed up, but she had turned down all the lights except two sconces over the counter and one copper light fixture hanging over the table closest to the bar. Wilder was sitting at the table with Jemma and a pitcher of beer. The sound of my footsteps pulled their attention quickly to the door.

"Just me." I held out my arms. "Where the hell is everyone?" Jemma shot a look at Wilder that assured me something was up. I walked to the bar and reached over the counter for a glass and then sat at the table.

They both watched me fill my glass and drain it. I smacked the glass down and reached for the pitcher again.

"Where the hell have you been?" Wilder asked. "And don't feed me any bullshit about meeting with Steemer."

"I was busy, that's all. Just cuz we grew up together and we work in the same place doesn't mean we have to share every detail of our lives."

Wilder lifted his hands. "Whatever. So did you hear the news or were you too busy with your new secret life?"

I looked over at Jemma and noticed for the first time that she looked stricken, as if something had upset her.

"What happened?"

"The local police paid Jemma a visit earlier this evening." Wilder looked at Jemma and waited for her to elaborate.

Jemma fingered the napkin under her hand. "Yesterday morning the police found a body out in the woods, about a mile from the highway. It was pretty mangled, but they identified her today. It was Kay."

I sat back against the seat. "Shit. Do they know who did it?"

Jemma shook her head. "No, but I've got a strong hunch about it."

"Those motherfuckers of Mayhem?" I asked. "Did you let the cops know that she rode off with them?"

"I sure did."

Wilder sat forward. "Here's the weird thing though. As you can imagine, the police around here know every local MC. But they've never heard of the Masters of Mayhem."

"We haven't either. They might be from out of town."

Jemma rested her arms on the table. "The local police cross referenced the name with databases from across the country. No mention of that MC in any of the law enforcement lists."

"Strange." I looked around at the empty bar. "Is that why it's so quiet in here?"

Jemma sighed and slid out from the table. "Murder isn't exactly great for business. Supposedly there are two other unsolved murder investigations going on up the coast too. Same MC name comes up with those. The Wynter Fare decided to stay clear of Cliffmoor until the police figure out what's going on."

"I'm heading home." Wilder clapped me on the shoulder. "Could you hang out and make sure Jemma gets safely to her car?"

"Yeah, I'll stay. I need one more beer anyhow."

Wilder stood in front of the table and stared down at me trying to read my face and figure out just what the hell I was up to.

I lifted my glass in a toast. "You can stand there all night looking at me, buddy, but you're just never going to guess where the hell I've been tonight."

"Well shit, now you've got me more curious than ever." He waved to Jemma and headed out.

I finished the last of the beer as Jemma shut off all the lights and locked the cash up in her office safe.

She grabbed her coat off the hook, and we walked to the front door. "This is going to hurt me financially," she said. "Sure hope they catch those guys fast. I knew something wasn't right the first time I saw them."

"That's really shitty about Kay. I warned her more than once that she seemed to be pushing the boundaries. She was smart as hell, but she also seemed determined to go to extremes in her social life."

We reached Jemma's car, and I opened the door for her. She looked up at me with that gracious smile she was so good at. "I guess I'm lucky the Boys of Wynter like to frequent my bar. I feel much safer when you guys are around. Like having my own personal set of hunky bouncers."

I leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Damn right. Anybody stupid enough to mess with the Seven Sins or its incredible owner is going to end up in a big fucking pile of regret. Drive safely and keep aware of your surroundings, Jem. I'll see you later." I shut the door and waited until she got the car started and turned out onto the highway.

The long shift of work coupled with the side adventure into Vapour's realm had finally gotten to me. I was ready to collapse into bed. I started up my motorcycle, pulled out onto the deserted highway and headed home. As I reached the turnoff that led to the marina and the stretch of beach cottages where most of the fishermen lived, I decided to take a quick detour just to make sure Rikki and Walt were safely inside for the night. Especially after hearing the news about Kay.

Not wanting to wake everyone, I coasted the bike along the road where the fishermen’s cottages sat like a row of crooked teeth, each one more weather-worn than the next. They weren't beautiful, modern homes, but they had one hell of a view of the ocean and the surrounding coastline. Who needed stainless steel appliances and cavernous rooms when you had the deep blue ocean, an endless horizon and the salty breeze right outside your front door?

Every house was quiet, including the small tan house with blue shutters that I'd already spotted as Rikki's house because her car was parked out front. She'd lived right there, just a short highway drive or a long beach hike away from my place. It made me realize just how fucking small my world was. My life was a perfect, never changing triangle. I went from my beach house and the waves, to the ugly shithole of Wynter, to the Seven Sins and then back home again. I really needed to smash that triangle, but there was never a break from work and Jemma's beer, the Wynter Fare and surfing helped me keep my sanity.

I turned the bike around at the end of the road and headed back toward the highway. It seemed Rikki and Walt had made it home safely. I was more than curious to hear what Walt had to say. It seemed to me that Feenix had no clue what was going on right outside his realm, but something told me he might want to know about this. Once I heard the details of Walt's kidnapping, I'd be better able to decide next steps.

As I passed the marina, I inadvertently glanced down the pier. A small figure was walking along the wood planks. I had already memorized her shape and the soft swing of her hips. My pulse raced at the sight of her. I was still having a hard time believing the impact she had on me. It was as if I was just walking along, minding my own business, going about my usual life of killing demons, fucking women and riding waves, and suddenly, out of nowhere, I get t-boned by a hundred pound brunette. She had knocked me not just off the road but over the damn cliff. I was done for. I was totally defenseless when it came to Rikki.

She stopped halfway along the pier and watched as I parked the bike and climbed off. Boat pulleys clanged against masts and hulls thudded against the pylons as I walked toward her. The relief that her father was safe at home in his bed showed in her face.

"How is he doing?" My voice startled one of the marina cats out from the shadows. It went scurrying past with a mouse clamped between its teeth.

"After my mother cried in his arms for ten straight minutes, he ate a bowl of oatmeal. Believe it or not, that was what he'd been craving all this time. Then he showered and went to bed. He was snoring before I turned out the hallway light."

My mind went back to the conversation at Jemma's. But tonight wasn't a night to bring up murder. Especially after the night we'd just been through.

"You shouldn't be out here alone." I had no idea when I'd turned into an overbearing, overprotective fool, but I couldn't help myself with her. And she took the admonishment just as I expected her to.

Her full pink lips pursed with disapproval as her cute fists rested on her hips. When she peered up at me with those big hazel eyes, my gaze didn't know which way to fall, on her eyes or on her lips.

"I'll remind you that I managed to survive these past twenty-three years without you watching over me. I went to school, had friends and boyfriends and even had a few enemies. Not only that, but I spent many days on the deck of a fishing boat, occasionally in terrible squalls and rough seas." She held out her arms. "And yet, here I am. In fact, confidence wise, I was a damn rock until I started working on dad's ferry and the giant, in all his blond, muscular glory stepped on deck. Then all my years of character development and steadfast determination to remain independent frittered away in the gloomy river air."

I raised a brow at her. "So I was right about why you’re always scolding me on the ferry? You want some of this." I pointed to myself.

Rikki blinked up at me. "I want you to stop treating me like a kid."

I nodded. "You got it, darlin'." I pulled her against me and slammed my mouth down over hers.