Jax and I sat in the SUV, staking out the apartment. I didn’t even know Mike’s girlfriend’s name. I wondered if Jax did. But, really, I didn’t want to know.

“What if they’re not together anymore?” I voiced my fear. “Or what if she sleeps at the apartment with him. You know, now that I’m gone.”

“We can’t worry about that now, Sky. Let’s go with the plan we have. If we need a Plan B, we’ll come up with one.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. But I hated this waiting game. I felt like the longer it went on, the more the chances grew that our cover would get blown. Someone would notice the SUV, parked one too many times in the same damn spot. Or Jax or I would get spotted around town. This thing had to happen fast if it was going to go right.

We needed as few people involved as possible. No Skulls sensing anything was amiss, no Reapers starting to sniff around. But so far, we hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Mike.

Finally, around four p.m., his girlfriend came out, dressed in fuck-me boots and a mini dress. Nice. Seemed like a classy lady. The lucky guy wasn’t around, though. I swore, pounding my fist into the seat of the car.

“C’mon. Let’s do a test drive.” Jax tried to distract me. I climbed into the driver’s seat. I’d have to do the driving if we ever actually saw Mike and finally got to attempt this crazy stunt. Jax would have to stay hidden, leading Mike to believe I was all alone, vulnerable. Exactly how he wanted me.

Killing time, we did a test drive of the delivery. That’s what the Reapers were calling it anyway, and it sounded tidier that way. Like Jax and I were delivering a package, UPS pulling up in a brown truck, instead of luring Mike into a trap. A few streets down, I turned onto the freeway. The warehouse was 12.6 miles away, seven exits. I’d memorized it, looked at it on a map, now all that was left was actually driving the route.

Off the exit, after a Dairy Queen, a 7-11 and a gas station, I saw an untended lot. Nothing but gravel and weeds, I pulled into the driveway, feeling like I was up to no good. Which I was. Following it down, we arrived at a boarded up building, wood panels over the few windows, the metal roof dented and rusted through in a few places.

“Let’s go take a look,” Jax suggested. I parked around in back. He led me over to a side door his Reaper contact said would remain open. Jax tested it, and the metal handle moved down in his hands, opening right up. Inside, it was shadowy and cavernous.

“So, when it goes down, you pull right up next to the door. Not so close you can’t get out and open it, but block yourself in with the car. Remember, it’s bullet proof.”

“Yup, right at the door.” We’d gone over it before, how I’d come around in back, assuming Mike would be right behind me. I’d have only seconds to park and dash into the warehouse before he’d draw his gun and shoot.

“They’ll be inside, waiting. But we have to make it over there, then out that door.” He pointed to a bunch of barrels, metal drums. We were going to head alongside them, then escape out through the door in back, heading out again to the SUV.

We tried it out, walking along the route, ducking behind the barrels, out again in a few short steps though the separate door. It all seemed so easy in the light of day, all the time in the world, no one at our heels. How would it go with gunshots ringing out all around me, some directed straight at my back? I wasn’t so sure.

We got some food, used the bathroom, and went back to waiting. Waiting. Until finally, just when I thought I was going cross-eyed, when I was ready to call it quits and tell Jax we needed Plan B, we saw them.

Griller and his girl. She clung to his arm like she loved him. My eyes narrowed. I wondered if he hurt her the way he’d hurt me. I bet he did. Or if he wasn’t there yet, he’d already started with the little things. A shove here, a broken plate there. A man like that only knew violence. Things were sure to escalate.

Maybe they would tonight. But they wouldn’t for long. Because now we knew where to find Mike. All that remained was to set out the bait.

Back at the hotel, Jax made a call. It was time for some Reapers to come on up. They had to stay local, be on standby so they could beat us to the warehouse. The next time we’d see Mike, we’d go for it.

Seeing Griller had frightened me. He was so ruthless. What if he got to me first? He’d kill me quick, no questions asked. What if he didn’t follow me, but waited and watched, finding the right time to get me? Or what if he did call for back up, arriving at the warehouse with an army? Both Jax and I could get shot and killed.

Off the phone, Jax turned to me, kissing me fiercely. He sensed my tension, maybe felt it himself. “I need you naked.” He took off my shirt, slipped down my skirt. I stripped him, too, hungry to feel him against me, craving his touch on what might be our last night together. Off went the bra and panties, down went his briefs. I palmed his cock, so hard for me.

“Can you…” I hesitated, then decided to say it. “Don’t use a condom, Jax. I want you bare.”

“You’re sure?” he whispered.

“I want to feel you cum inside me.”

“I want that, too. I’m clean.”

“I am too.” I guessed I had Mike’s erectile dysfunction to thank for that.

He backed me up, kissing me, and I felt the sofa against the back of my legs. “Turn around and kneel on it.” His voice, low and commanding, drugged me. It wasn’t anything like Mike, the way he used to try to belittle me and make me feel useless. When Jax took control, I trusted him completely.

I knelt, shaking with anticipation. He brought his warm, rough hand to the center of my back and guided me forward. “Hold on.” I loved that I needed to grab hold of something with him, that he was so big and powerful I literally had to anchor myself to take his pounding. I felt my pussy ache in response, a throb of arousal.

I brought my hands to the back of the sofa. He stroked me, his hands roaming my limbs as he watched me there, positioned as he’d told me, completely naked.

Coming to stand behind me, I felt the warmth of his body, his hips at the level of mine. He slid his hand along my side, down my hip, grabbing me there, holding me firm. As he dipped his lips down my throat, I tilted my head back, giving him access. I shivered in response as he licked, then bit my neck.

“Are you ready?” he growled.

“Yes,” I moaned. I was ready for whatever he wanted to give me. Hand at my hip, he brought his cock to my entrance. With a swift, strong thrust, he pushed inside. I gasped, holding on as he’d told me to, needing the support he stretched me so wide. Determined, fierce, he began to fuck me, picking up the pace, slamming into me. I grunted with effort, taking him in, feeling used in exactly the right way.

“This was what I wanted to do to you that day. In the supply room.”

“Fuck yes,” I groaned, closing my eyes, imagining if he’d bent me over the counter and pounded into me. I’d been wet enough he could have slid right in.

Wild, animalistic, he slammed into me. The slap of his balls, the sounds of his grunts, he held onto my waist, pressed against my shoulders for leverage.

“Do you know how many times I’ve jacked off thinking about you?” He fucked me, almost sounding like he was taking it out on me, all the frustration, all the lonely nights. I cried out, wanting him to do exactly that. “All the fantasies, I couldn’t stop you from getting in my head. With my cock in my hand, all I could think about was you.”

“Come in me, Jax,” I begged, desperate to feel it. We’d been forced apart for so long, I needed it, that bond between us. I couldn’t stand the pain in his voice, the longing he remembered.

He thrust and poured himself in me, spurting so deep inside, hot and thick. I wanted every last drop and I pushed against him, never wanting him to withdraw, wanting to stay bound to him forever. I exploded, arching my back and screaming out with wild shudders.

He drew me into his arms and carried me to the shower. Under the warm stream of water, we caressed each other, taking turns with a soapy washcloth. He was so beautiful, if that word could be used for a huge, tattooed man. But I felt fascinated with him as I drew the cloth across his muscles, the lines of ink.

He massaged me, washing me tenderly. “I feel like I should be more gentle with you,” he apologized. “But I can’t. I can’t stop myself.”

“I don’t want you to be.” I looked up at him, kissing him in the steam, under the stream of warm water.

“I need to possess you, claim you.” Our kisses grew more heated, him pressing me against the wall. My desire for him knew no bounds. All that time longing, plus it might all end tomorrow. It made me reckless. We didn’t have time to waste.

“I’m yours, Jax. I belong to you.”

He dropped the cloth, now using his fingers, massaging me, caressing me, soapy around my breasts, down at my pussy. Then reaching around to my rear. I tensed as he reached a finger to my asshole, circling it. No one had ever touched me there.

“All of you, Sky.” He looked into my eyes, taking my hands up, locking my wrists under his palm. The water streamed down around us, creating our own world. I stood there, pressed against the wall, him holding me where he wanted me.

I want all of you,” he repeated, pushing his finger inside my ass. I gasped, writhing under his grip, feeling so possessed, so hot at the same time. It was forbidden, he wasn’t supposed to touch me there. I’d never thought I’d like that. But with Jax, he knew what I’d like even if I didn’t.

“That’s it,” he coaxed me, reading the start of my reaction on my face. He massaged me, thrusting into my ass, slowly, leisurely. “Let it feel good.”

Shivering, I closed my eyes, sighing, relaxing. And it started to feel good, the rhythm he started, pushing into me. So wrong and so right at the same time. The way he had my wrists trapped over my head, it released me. I didn’t have to worry about whether I should or shouldn’t like it. I could just let go.

“I love your ass, Sky.” He pushed into it, further up, working in a second finger.

Using the soap, the water, he slid in, opening me up. My legs quivered, my breath coming in quick pants. Still holding my wrists firmly overhead, he dipped his mouth down to my breasts, sucking, licking, toying with my nipples.

Up my throat, he made his way to my ear. As he worked his two fingers up into my rear, I could feel the tremor of an orgasm start. With a low, dirty whisper, he told me, “I’m going to fuck you here, Sky. I need to possess all of you.”

I gasped, mouth open, wriggling against his grasp, imagining what he told me he’d do. His cock was so big. I looked down at it, the crown purple and swollen, bobbing against my hip. He wanted that up my ass?

“It’s going to stretch you, Sky. Fill you up. But you’re going to want it.” As he talked, he fucked me with his fingers, shoving them in, faster, harder. And I wanted him to, I wanted what he talked about.

“Yes,” I panted, moving against him, pushing my buttocks back into his hand.

He thrust in deep and I came, pressing back into him, ripples of pleasure shaking me to my core. I’d never known, never understood how that could be erotic. But now he’d showed me, how the forbidden could be such delicious fruit.

We rinsed off and climbed into bed. Spent as we both were, neither of us were ready to fall asleep. The sun would rise in a few hours, and who knew what would happen? I prayed everything would work out. But it wasn’t as if I had a lot of experience with this sort of thing. I’d been married to a criminal, not engaged in any of it myself. I shivered in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me. We lay together naked, warm beneath the sheets.

“I’m frightened.”

He drew me up, kissing me. “Trust me, Sky.” He ran his hands down my back, along my arms. I wound myself around him, wanting to feel his heat. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

“I need you, Jax,” I murmured, shameless in the dark. Maybe I should have been more reserved, but I couldn’t afford to hold back. We might not have another night together.

“I need you too, Sky.” He leaned down, pressing me to him and I could feel his erection. The man was a miracle. He reached down a finger and found my pussy, stroking it, slick for him. But that wasn’t where I wanted to take his cock.

“I need you to fuck me,” I whispered. “Fuck me how you told me you would in the shower.”

He stilled against me, his grip on my ass tightening. “You sure?”

“Yes,” I pleaded, my body already tingling with anticipation.

He teased me, grazing his palm lightly over my rear. As he used his fingers to stroke and touch, a tremor of pleasure welled up inside me. I bucked against him, wanting more. I reached down and wrapped my fingers around his shaft, stroking him as I asked, “Please?”

That did it. He flipped me over, tucking a pillow underneath my hips. Using my own arousal, he took his fingers and slid them over my asshole, massaging it, lubing it up.

“It’s going to hurt, Sky,” he warned me as I lay there, panting, waiting. “But then it’s going to feel good.” I felt tense but excited, putting myself completely in his hands. He worked in a finger, then two, massaging my tight hole.

I wriggled, spreading my thighs, taking him in deep. “Please, Jax. Please.”

With a groan, he removed his fingers, but I didn’t miss contact with him for long. I felt the velvet tip of his cock, slippery with his precum, starting to push. I clenched, involuntarily, on instinct.

“Relax, Sky,” he reminded me, hand up to my neck, rubbing me there. He kept his hand on me, his strong touch making me sigh and release. He pushed again, and this time his mushroom-thick crown shoved past my tight ring.

“Ah!” I cried out, stiff, eyes and mouth wide open with shock. It did hurt.

Hand around to stroke my clit, he started to thrust into my ass. I closed my eyes, narrowing my focus. His firm hand on the back of my neck, the sound of his breathing. He had me. I trusted him, completely.

Exhaling, I relaxed once again, letting him press into me. It tingled, it burned, but it also started to throb, building pressure in my clit as he moved in rhythm with his fingers. In and out, bit by bit, pushing his huge cock up my tight asshole.

“Jax,” I moaned, taking more of him in, starting to want it. It turned me on to give him so much. I started shaking, parting my thighs more.

“That’s it.” He pushed down on my neck, starting to ride me, pushing his hips into my buttocks, working his shaft deep inside. “Yes.” His groan came from deep inside, a place of male, primal satisfaction, owning me, filling me, possessing me in my most secret, intimate of all places.

“You’re mine,” he growled, working me faster, harder. “Mine.”

“Yes,” I moaned, thrusting against his fingers, still on my clit. Fevered, desperate, I’d never felt that way before, the pressure so intense, the edge between pleasure and pain so sharp, so close.

With him in to the hilt, I screamed, quaking under his onslaught, right at the brink. “Please,” I begged, not even aware where I was anymore, a quivering mess, every nerve bundled tight together, pleading for release.

He fisted my hair, pulling it as he thrust hard and deep. “Cum for me.”

“Yes!” I screamed out. With a mighty groan, he ground into me, jetting his hot cum into my tight asshole. Crying out, I pushed into his fingers, throbbing, cumming along with him, mewling and creaming and incoherent.

“Sky.” He fell down on top of me, bearing the brunt of his weight on his hands, but pressing against me with his broad, strong chest. “So good,” he panted.

“Oh, Jax.” I was crying now, real tears of release. It had felt so intimate, so intense.

“Come here.” He withdrew and pulled me to him, my breasts crushed against his chest. “Shh.” He stroked my hair, calmed me as I shook. “Are you all right? Was that too much?”

“I love you so much, Jax.” I sobbed, feeling it overwhelm me, shake me to my core. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Sky.” Against his chest, breathing him in, I calmed down, my breathing still ragged.

“I’m OK,” I tried to reassure him. “I didn’t mean to lose it like that.”

“You can lose it like that any time you need to.” He kissed my forehead, nuzzled my cheek. “I’m an intense man, Sky. And I’m not holding back anything with you. But if you need me to back off—”

“No.” I clutched at him, pressing my lips up to his. “No, I need you. I need this. I’m just…” I shook my head, not wanting to say it out loud. “What if, later on, things go wrong? I might lose you.” My voice cracked and tears spilled from my eyes yet again.

“No, baby.” He kissed me again, rubbing my back, pulling the covers up over us. “No. Nothing but blue skies for my Sky. I’m going to take care of you, the rest of your life if you let me.” He held me, wrapping me in his powerful arms until I could feel the certainty in his hold. He meant it. I sighed, feeling exhaustion finally overtake my senses, a heavy curtain of sleep drawing over me.

The next day, mid-afternoon, Jax and I were lying in wait. He was sitting in the back of the SUV. I was waiting down the block, standing in front of a donut shop, hoping I looked inconspicuous as I sipped a cup of coffee. I’d already been standing there for half an hour. Were the people in the shop starting to wonder what was up? I didn’t want to change location, give away where I was too soon. What if Mike rounded the corner when I was unaware? I couldn’t let my guard down for even a second.

But as I stood, my anxiety spun and grew. Was it obvious, the same black SUV parked in the same spot yet again? Maybe it was clear that we were staking out her apartment? Maybe Mike had already seen us, was already on to our plan. He might have someone watching us that very second.

But then, the moment we’d been waiting for, Mike rounded the corner. I could barely breathe, but I forced myself to do it, to remember the plan. I took off my cap and shook out my hair to make sure he’d be able to recognize me when he saw me. I watched out of the corner of my eye until he’d passed the blue car. Close enough, but not so close he could catch me before I got to the SUV. At least I hoped.

Chin down, not looking his way, I strode out onto the sidewalk. Like I’d just bought myself a coffee. Now I was headed to my car. I had no idea my violent husband was mere feet away, about to go visit his girlfriend. Did he see me? I couldn’t look up to check. Was he running right at me? I couldn’t peek to see that, either. If he wasn’t, it would ruin the whole plan. If he was, I just had to pray to God Jax was quicker.

Hand shaking, I pressed the unlock button on my keychain and opened the car. Sliding into the front seat, I locked the doors and started the engine.

“He saw you,” Jax assured me from the back seat. I couldn’t breathe. I had to wait a few seconds, give him time to get to his bike. But that also left me vulnerable to sudden moves. What if he decided to draw his gun and appear at the driver’s side window instead, demanding I come out? Jax had assured me the SUV had bullet proof glass, but what if it didn’t?

“He’s gone to get his bike. It’s working.” Jax’s words sent a shiver down my spine. So far the plan was working. But it was far from over. “I’ve texted them. But wait another few seconds.” We sat there, both silent. The Reapers were on their way, speeding toward the warehouse. But we had to wait and see whether Mike was going to go in for the chase.

It felt like an eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than twenty seconds before we saw Mike pull to the corner on his bike.

“Now,” Jax said. With a quick look out my side mirror, I merged into the street. Hands shaking, I drove up to the intersection where he waited to my right. If the light was red, I was supposed to turn left. If it stayed green, I could push on through. I didn’t turn my head as I drew near, but I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He looked ready to murder, venom pumping through his veins.

The light stayed green and I drove on through. I could hear the roar of his engine pull out behind me. The chase was on.

“OK, you remember. Second right, then left to get onto the freeway.”

I’d headed from downtown Cavallo onto the freeway a couple hundred times over the past four years. But this time, my hands were shaking and sweaty. My brain felt like it was filled with white, hot static. I didn’t mind Jax giving me directions. I needed them.

In the rear view mirror, I could see Mike following me, close on my tail. Did he think I’d spotted him? He probably didn’t care. He was just going to wait until I stopped. He didn’t care where or when, he’d be there to strike.

I made it to the freeway. Traffic was moving, thank God. “You’re doing good, baby.” Jax reached a hand around to my leg, giving me a reassuring rub. “So good.”

I nodded, unable to manage more than that. I knew he hated that I had to play this role. He wanted to be the one on the line, the one taking the heat and driving the car. But I had to do it. If Mike thought I wasn’t alone, he might get suspicious. He might already be. If he called any other Skulls, the plan would fall apart. Or blow up, escalating into gang warfare.

No, I needed to do it. And, frightened as I was, it felt right. I’d gotten myself into this mess. Now I was getting myself out. True, I was leading him into other’s hands but in a way, he was dying by his own sword. He’d been a sick, twisted fuck, to me and to others. Now the jig was up.

Realizing he wasn’t trying to catch up, that he was trailing me, I breathed a little easier. A little. He clearly thought he was following me, as if he’d caught me unaware. Just like we wanted him to think. Part of me had worried he’d try to pull up alongside the SUV, waving his gun or even shooting out my tires. He was crazy enough to do it. But it looked like he was playing into our hands instead.

“Into the right lane. Exit after this,” Jax reminded me. I put on my blinker, merging into the right lane like I did this every day. Leading my husband who wanted to murder me to a bunch of people who wanted to murder him. I pulled off at the warehouse, heading down the driveway, the dilapidated building in my view. Mike was right behind me. It was going to be tight. I had to pull right up to the door and run in fast. We had no room for error.

“Right by the door, baby.” Jax’s voice guided and calmed me and I pulled in just like we’d planned. Just like we needed. Key out, door open, I jumped out, heart pounding. Jax got there before me, yanking open the door, grabbing my hand to pull me through.

I saw no one in the gloom, but I knew they must be there, the Reapers waiting for their delivery. We ran toward the barrels. I could see the door beyond them, the one we needed to escape through.

The door we’d entered through banged open with a loud clatter.

“Where you think you’re going, bitch?” Mike’s voice rang out even louder, rage and hate pumping through his lungs.

Gunshots rang out from everywhere. Behind me, next to me. I shoved my hands over my ears, the acrid smoke in my nose, disoriented as Jax pulled me forward.