“Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the room?” Crazy Bitch asked as they took their seats in the stands.

She smiled, relieved when he took her hand, as the speakers blared, announcing the entrance of the cowboys.

“Mom, can I learn to ride a bull?” Harley asked excitedly from his seat, watching the bull throw a cowboy off its bucking back.

“No.” Sex Piston repeated the same answer she had ever since they had taken their seats and the little boy’s fascination had built with every skillful maneuver the cowboys were exhibiting for the oohs and aahs of the crowd.

“Can I buy one of the stuffed horses?”

“You’re too old for stuffed animals. You made me give the ones I bought you for Christmas last year away.” His disappointed reaction had her relenting. “We can buy one of the tumblers with the picture of the bull.”

Harley’s face brightened. “Cool.”

She and Calder shared a smile at the little boy’s happiness.

Meri and Keri were just as enthralled with the cowboys as their brother, but for another reason. They whispered between themselves who was the better-looking and wondered if they had girlfriends.

“Mom, can we go stand at the fence?”

“No.” Stud’s firm voice had the teenagers’ faces falling.

Crazy Bitch couldn’t blame them. The men drew the gazes of all the women in the crowd. The ability to best almost two thousand pounds of raging bull that could crush them under their hooves even managed to get her attention.

She was relieved when the two-hour show was finished, noticing that Calder was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. They waited until most of the crowd had left before going down the steps.

“Can we get their autographs?” Meri pleaded, while Keri looked at their parents with silent entreaty.

“I’m not going near that bull poop with my heels on,” Sex Piston told Stud when he looked toward her. “You and Calder can take them, and me and Craz—Anna-Kate can wait by the fence.”

Crazy Bitch winked at Star and Harley when Sex Piston almost slipped and used her nickname in front of them. Ever since Star had gotten in trouble at school for talking about her to one of her friends, she had started using her given name when she was in public.

“I don’t mind. I wouldn’t mind getting a few of their autographs, too. Calder can stay with you, and Stud and I can go with them,” Crazy Bitch hastily offered, not wanting Calder to walk farther than he had to. She had tried to get him to take a couple of pain relievers, but he had refused.

“You stay here with Sex Piston,” Calder said. “You two can go buy the tumblers and meet us back here.”

She wanted to argue, but didn’t, remembering her promise not to say anything to Sex Piston about his dick. She couldn’t understand why he was so uptight about it. It wasn’t like Sex Piston would ask for a picture of it.

They found one of the vendors pushing a cart, selling the tumblers near the gate where the cowboys entered the arena. Star and Harley started climbing the fence, watching as the workers began rolling the barrels toward a small truck.

Several children ran out to race alongside the cleaning crew, who were tossing them what was left of the bandanas that had been lobbed out to the crowd earlier in the show.

“Can we go get one?” Harley asked, already climbing down from the fence.

“Go ahead,” Sex Piston told them as she paid for the tumblers.

Crazy Bitch watched them run off, deciding to buy two for Meri and Keri.

“Trying to make Calder jealous?” Sex Piston smirked as she took out her wallet.

“They’re for Meri and Keri.” She held them tightly as she reached for the money she kept in her jacket pocket.

“You going to tell me why you needed Stud to drive you to the store to buy fans?” Her best friend turned so she could keep her eye on Star and Harley and still question her at the same time.

“I told you; our air conditioner went out. The hotel was booked and didn’t have another room they could put us in.”

“Bitch, Killyama called me and wanted to know why you wanted Dr. Price’s number. So, you need to come up with another cock-and-bull story.”

She mentally winced at her choice of words. Crazy Bitch knew Sex Piston wouldn’t let it drop until her curiosity was satisfied.

“Calder and I got a little carried away last night and this morning when we went back to our room. The man has too much for me to handle, if you know what I mean. I was so sore that I called Dr. Price to see if he could suggest something.”

Her lie had Sex Piston gaping at her in astonishment and curiosity.

“How big is he?”

“Big. Really big.” She wiggled her brows. “The biggest I’ve ever seen,” she boasted, her lie growing with each word.

“Doesn’t matter how big it is if he doesn’t know how to use it. I bet Stud’s is bigger… and better.”

Crazy Bitch shook her head, going all-in with her lie. “He knows how to use it. I came four times last night and three times this morning.”

“You’re shitting me!” Envious eyes stared back at her. “How come the bitches at the club haven’t said he’s packing heat?”

She shrugged. “Jealous bitches wanted to keep him to themselves.”

“Bitches,” Sex Piston said, showing her a new respect Crazy Bitch hadn’t seen from her before. “It’s that big?”

“Bigger.”

“Damn. Stud’s big, too.” Sex Piston elbowed her conspiratorially. “They definitely must be cut from the same cloth.” she joked as they started toward the fence to watch Harley and Star get the bandanas.

Terrified screams had them turning toward where Stud and Calder had taken Meri and Keri. The sound sent a chill of fear down Crazy Bitch’s spine, especially when she saw a large crowd of people running frantically.

“Fuck!” Crazy Bitch screamed when she saw what they were running from.

Her head spun, trying to find a way out from under the trampling crowd and a pair of bull horns that were hysterically throwing people out of their way. One was heading directly toward them. The other had gone so crazy it was trying to climb the bleachers. The cowboys were running after them, trying to throw ropes over their heads to steer them away from the crowd.

“Get on the bull shoot,” she yelled at Sex Piston, taking her arm and starting to run toward it. “Run!”

While she was screaming, her foot had slid from the first board. She righted herself then quickly managed to climb up, pulling Sex Piston up with her.

“Do you see Stud? Meri and Keri?” Sex Piston panted, gripping the top of the wooden shoot. They were so focused on the girls being in immediate danger that they took their eyes off Star and Harley for a split-second.

“No… Wait, there they are!” Crazy Bitch yelled when she saw the two men shoving the crying girls through an emergency exit to the left of them.

Hearing a hair-raising scream coming from Sex Piston, she turned toward her to see what she was staring at, afraid the bull they had barely missed had come back. Sex Piston was already climbing down from the shoot.

It was then that Crazy Bitch saw that the bulls had managed to tear down a portion of the fence that the workers had left open to bring the truck inside and were heading toward the group of children. She was watching a nightmare come to life before her own eyes. Sex Piston in her heels didn’t stand a chance of reaching Star and Harley.

The rolling eyes of one of the bulls turned toward her as she started down the shoot, holding her in place. She felt death staring her down, freezing her where she stood.

“Get back on the shoot!” Calder shouted as he and Stud ran past them.

Sobs tore through her throat as she was pushed back toward the shoot, forcing Sex Piston to go with her and getting them out of the way of the cowboys who were frantically trying to corral the bulls.

She recognized Reno from the night before, his rough and hard features concentrated on the largest of the bulls. Her eyes went from him to Star and Harley.

The children had scattered when they had seen the bulls, calling for their mothers and fathers. It was heart-wrenching to see many parents running toward them, risking their own lives for their children.

Sex Piston’s cries had her covering her hand, holding her back.

“Calder and Stud will get them!” she told her, trying to give her hope. She knew that letting Sex Piston go would make matters worse for the two men.

Star had been knocked down by one of the older children. She was lying on the ground, screaming for Stud.

“Daddy!” Her scream pierced Crazy Bitch’s soul as she could only watch helplessly.

Harley bravely helped Star to her feet, only to have the other children push them apart. Harley was being pushed toward Stud and Calder, but Star remained frozen in fear as the bull stomped toward her.

Calder was running so fast he overtook Stud. She heard his yell to Stud to get Harley. Then, with a burst of speed, he darted past the bull, barely missing a flying hoof as Reno ran around the bull, trying to get the its attention away from Star.

It didn’t work. The brightly colored red shirt that Star was wearing had the bull’s focus on her.

Calder didn’t hesitate as he sprinted toward Star without care that his own life was in danger. When he reached her, he didn’t stop, scooping her up into his arms as he continued running.

She couldn’t understand why Calder didn’t run to the fence. Then she figured it out. The bull was too close.

Calder ran toward one of the barrels that hadn’t been stacked onto the truck yet. He practically threw her inside then turned back toward the bull, protecting the child within with his life.

Her breath caught in her throat, her mouth open in a silent scream. It was the same terrified expression that was on Stud’s, Sex Piston’s, and the parents’ faces who were trying to get their children out of danger.

The bull was inches away from him when a rope settled over the bull’s horns, turning it from Calder to Reno.

The screams of the adults and the children faded into the background as two shots rang out, dropping the bulls onto the ground.

Her jaw dropped as she looked around, trying to see where the shots had come from, seeing Shade sitting atop the fence on the other side of the bull shoot.

“Give me that back!”

Shade tossed the tranquilizer gun to the man he must have taken it from before jumping off the fence with an impassive face.

She and Sex Piston climbed down, running toward Stud and Harley as Calder helped Star out of the barrel, holding her tightly as he carried her toward them also. Star was crying frightened tears in his arms.

When they drew closer to Sex Piston, she reached out to take Star. It took a long wrenching second for Calder to release Star to her stepmother’s hold.

It was hard to miss the twisting agony of Calder’s expression, or the fact that he turned away when Star held her arms out for Stud, crying for her father.

Harley’s head was on one of his shoulders, crying, and Star buried her face in the other one, both holding him so tightly that Sex Piston wasn’t able to pry one away.

“I got them.” He moved closer to Sex Piston so she could enfold all of them in a heartfelt hug that moved Crazy Bitch to tears at the love the family felt toward one another.

“Everyone okay?”

Shade’s cold voice broke through the spell of witnessing the family being reunited after they could have lost one of them.

Stud gave Shade a look of gratitude. “Brother, if I can ever….” His clogged emotions had him holding Star closer, burying his face in her hair.

Shade’s eyes shifted from Stud to Calder. “The Last Riders always pay their debts.” His voice was flat and emotionless as he gave him a brief nod before walking away while the cowboys shouted at everyone to leave the arena.

“We need to find Meri and Keri.” Sex Piston walked closely next to Stud as Crazy Bitch and Calder lagged behind them, giving them the opportunity to be alone.

They went through the same door the girls had exited the arena, finding a large crowd milling around. Meri and Keri jumped up and down, waving at them to get their notice. They were standing with Lily, who was holding John’s hand, and Razer and Beth were on the other side of them with their children, Noah and Chance.

“I didn’t know half of Treepoint was inside,” Crazy Bitch said as they approached the small group.

“When Sex Piston told me she was bringing her kids, we decided to make the extra trip and bring ours. Lily and Shade didn’t want John to feel left out, so they tagged along.” Beth kept a firm hand on her twin boys’ shoulders as they talked.

“Where’s Shade?” Lily smoothed a trembling hand through John’s hair, trying to be calm for her son.

“I thought I saw him come out here.” Calder searched through the milling crowd. “I don’t see him.”

Razer nodded toward the side of the building. “I saw him that way. If he’s not back in a minute, I’ll go look for him.”

When Meri and Keri finally calmed down after seeing Star and Harley were safe, everyone started talking at once.

“What in the hell happened?” Crazy Bitch heard Sex Piston asking Stud.

She had been about to ask Calder, who still seemed shaken and hadn’t taken his eyes off Star.

“I have no clue. One second, we were in line for the autographs. Some of the cowboys were posing for pictures by the horse stalls. We were waiting for Reno to finish with the one in front of us in line. And the next thing I know, two bulls come charging down from the back of the building. I assume they were trying to load them on the trailer to leave when they escaped. I didn’t stand around to ask. Calder and I just took off running with Meri and Keri.”

“How did Shade get the tranquilizer gun?” Crazy Bitch gripped Calder’s arm tightly, relieved they had been able to get the girls and themselves away.

“I don’t know. I was too busy running toward Harley.”

“I saw him taking it away from Clint when he couldn’t figure out how to load the dart,” Calder answered grimly. “If he hadn’t reacted so fast, I would be dead.”

Crazy Bitch wound her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest and feeling the beat of his heart beneath her cheek.

“He probably has experience using one to keep The Last Riders in line,” Crazy Bitch joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. She released Calder to give Harley and Star their tumblers. “Little Stud, I saw you helping your sister up instead of running away like the rest of those sissies. When I get home, I’m going to make you a chocolate cake.”

“With peanut butter frosting on top?” He proudly beamed up at her as if she had promised him a gold medal.

Sex Piston aimed a grateful smile at her for stopping to pick up the tumblers she had forgotten about.

“Should we go back to the car and wait for Shade there?” Lily asked when the children started complaining they wanted to go home.

“Shade’s coming.” Razer pointed, seeing him coming from the side of the building. “Did you find out what happened?” he asked when he got within talking distance.

His expression had her apprehension rising.

“They think one of the crew members didn’t check to make sure the bulls’ stalls were properly locked before they loaded them onto the trailer. The crew says they did and don’t know how they managed to get loose.”

“Whoever did it should be fired,” Sex Piston snapped. “It was an accident that could have cost someone their life.”

“One of the workers is in pretty bad shape. They took him through the back exit so no one could see,” Shade informed them. “Lily, you and Beth stay here, while Razer and I get the cars. Stud and Calder, mind staying here until we get back?”

“Not at all,” Stud said, giving Shade a perceptive gaze that sent alarm bells going off inside her.

The ex-Navy SEAL was known to be protective of his wife and child, but that he didn’t want them left alone long enough for him to get his car spoke of his concern.

Calder must have felt the same worry as her. He slid an arm around her waist and moved her closer to the group, keeping a wary eye around those who were near them.

When Shade and Razer arrived back with their vehicles, Stud told Sex Piston to stay beside their car until he could return with theirs, giving Calder a signal he didn’t intend her to see to watch them.

Once they were loaded into Stud’s van, they drove back to the hotel. Now that they felt safe and secure, the kids relived the experience, not noticing the adults were remaining silent in thought.

Once they were in the lobby, Crazy Bitch gave each of the kids a hug before saying good night to Stud and Sex Piston.

In their room, she sat down on the bed, taking off her boots. “Your dick better?” she asked as he took off his T-shirt and jeans.

“Yes.” He tossed his clothes down next to his suitcase before going into the bathroom and closing the door.

Stung at his abruptness, she undressed as she heard the shower turn on.

Twisting the doorknob, she went inside uninvited.

Opening the shower door, she stepped under the cold water, shuddering at the temperature. She dipped her head under the ice-cold water to give herself courage before turning around to face him.

“How long have you known Star is your daughter?”

His expression didn’t show any trace of emotion at her question.

She held her breath, hoping she was wrong, that she had made too much out of the resemblance between them, and that the look on his face when Star had come close to being trampled was just a reaction to seeing his niece in danger.

“Since she was born and Stud sent me a picture of her. She has the same birthmark on her thigh as I do.”

That he made no effort to deny his parentage to Star didn’t stem the irritation that was swelling inside her.

“Does Stud know that Star isn’t his?”

“I would assume so. I’m sure that’s why he married Candi.”

His matter-of-fact answer settled in the pit of her stomach like a stone.

“What do you mean, assume? You two have talked about it, right?”

“No.”

“Why in the fuck not?” Outrage on Star’s behalf had Crazy Bitch raising her voice in the small confines of the shower.

Calder turned the water off, getting out of the shower and leaving her inside alone.

Angry at his dismissive ending of their conservation, she grabbed a towel, following him into the bedroom.

“Hot thang, I don’t like the way you’re treating me when I’m trying to talk to you.”

Slinging his damp towel over his shoulders, he pulled a pair of loose shorts on. “There’s nothing to talk about. Stud and I haven’t talked about Star because she’s better off not knowing I’m her father. You saw Star tonight. Stud might not be her biological father, but he is her father in every way that counts.” Reaching for the T-shirt he had discarded, he fished for his cigarettes.

She stared at him numbly as he went to the bathroom, seeing him lay the towel over the shower rail before coming back into the room and going to the balcony door.

Sliding it open, he went outside then closed the door behind him.

“Hell no, you don’t!” She went to her suitcase, grabbing the first thing she touched, which was a grey T-shirt of Calder’s. The oversized shirt came to the middle of her thighs.

Padding across the room, she opened the door and went outside.

“What is your problem? Why don’t you discuss this with me instead of running away?”

“I’m not running anywhere. My dick hurts too much to run.” He squinted at her mockingly through the smoke he exhaled.

“Be very careful of the tone you’re using with me right now. I’m not one of the sluts at the club or Candi who will put up with your bullshit. I apologized for forgetting to use the lube. Believe it or not, I’m not really experienced at using them. I fucked up. But you’re fucking up more now with how you’re treating me.”

“What do you want me to say? That when I got out of prison, I told Stud that I knew Star was my daughter? That I want her to know?” He gave a bark of bitter laughter. “That I want visitation? Star worships Stud. She thinks he hung the moon. I’m Uncle Calder to her. She knows I’ve been in prison—Meri and Keri asked me about it. Little kids hear shit; that’s why they quit calling you Crazy Bitch in front of her and Harley. She asked me if it hurt when they put the handcuffs on me.

“She already knows Sex Piston isn’t her real mom, that Candi is in prison. Let’s just fuck her up even more by telling her that I’m her father. I don’t even have an apartment where she can go spend the night with me. I live in a motorcycle club. Not exactly a place I want my daughter to be able to brag about in school.”

“You make enough money working for Stud. You could afford a place if you wanted to.”

“I’m not going to waste my money on rent. I’m saving my money for a home. One that I don’t have to kiss a landlord’s ass for to keep him happy. One that will be mine, with the woman I want to share it with. One with a backyard that I don’t have to share with thirty other tenants.”

His pointed gaze had her leaning backward on the rail, staring at the glass balcony door. Her emotions churned at the pain that his face didn’t mirror.

“I never knew who my father was until I was in sixth grade. I kept asking my mother, but she would change the subject, or said it didn’t matter because he lived too far away.” She bit her lip, trying to explain to him how important it was for Star to know the truth.

“At the end of the school year, there was going to be a father and daughter dance. I wanted to go so badly I dreamed of it at night, imagining getting a new dress, just like all the other girls in my grade.

“I waited for my mom to go to work one day and went into her room. In her closet, I found an old box that had my school records in it. My birth certificate was in there, too. Then I used the phonebook to see if he lived in Jamestown. He did.

“The next day, when my mom went to work, I stole some money out of a jar she would put her tips in every night. That was the money she would save to buy groceries with. What money she made waitressing after she paid rent for the dump we lived in would go to her drugs, so I knew when she found out, she was going to beat my ass when she got home. I didn’t care.

“I called a taxi and gave the driver the address I found in the phonebook. The driver didn’t want to take me, but I cried and said my dad had a flat tire and was late picking me up after school. He believed me, and when we got there, I had to count out the change to pay him, knowing I didn’t have enough to get home. I was dumb as shit, thinking that, when my dad saw me and we talked, he would give me a ride home. Truthfully, I hoped he would let me stay with him.” She kept staring into the empty hotel room, her mind going back to that day, while Calder silently listened, smoking his cigarette.

“When the taxi pulled away, I was too nervous to knock on his door. I walked up and down that street, I bet, twenty times before I saw a big car pull into the driveway.” She gave a soft laugh, brushing her sweaty palms against the bottom of the T-shirt. “A man got out of the car wearing a suit. I was standing on the sidewalk, and I fucking knew he was my father. I looked just like him. I was so busy staring at him I didn’t notice the woman or the girl getting out of the back seat until they slammed the car doors.

“His wife was all dressed up in a matching pant suit with her hair all done up. She was nothing like my mother. My mom wouldn’t want to be buried in that outfit. The little girl was handing my father her backpack as if it was too heavy to carry. She wasn’t anything like me, either.

“I was too self-conscious of my jeans that were so old they came up to my ankles, and the shirt that was so big on me it hung off my shoulders, that my mom had gotten from the Goodwill. I hid behind a tree until they went inside and then walked home. I took the beating my mom gave me for stealing her money and never told her what I had done.”

“You never tried to contact him again, even when you got older?”

“No. When I saw who his little girl was, I never wanted to see him again.”

“For God’s sake, why not?”

“Because she was in the same grade I was in. You’ve probably even met her. It’s Allison Staff.”