I made it through a fitful night of sleep after ignoring a couple of dozen texts and calls from my agent. She wanted an answer about six different projects she’d sent my way. A couple of them were lead roles in movies I knew would make us both a ton of cash. Over the last three years, I’d made a sizable fortune for both of us playing the dumb blonde scream queen in the Night Terrors horror movie franchise. As much as it irked me when she said it, the woman in the lobby was spot on. I had more to offer than what I looked like.

Port Azrael was supposed to be my way to prove that. I owned the rights to the book The Club was based on. Over strong objections, my agency put me in touch with the Ransom Company, and they greenlit it on the condition that Noel served as a producer. For now, we were stuck with each other. But if I wasn’t careful, he’d ruin my plan to do some field research on the part I wanted to play.

After ignoring another barrage of texts and calls, I knocked on Noel’s door. When he didn’t answer, my heart sank. It meant he’d gone back to Port Azrael without me. With my luck, he’d have us both thrown out of town before nightfall.

“Can I help you, miss?” One of the white-gloved elevator attendants had come down the hall when he saw me. A slight blush colored his cheeks and it warmed my heart.

“Mr. Ransom,” I said. “Can you find out where he might have gone? He rented his own car, but maybe he called for a driver this morning anyway.”

The attendant blushed even deeper. His name tag said Felix. “I’ll see what I can find out. Would you like to wait in your suite?”

“What? Oh. No. I’ll head down to the lobby if the coast is clear.” God bless him, he didn’t ask me what I meant. If my picture got plastered all over Instagram after my run-in with fans last night, it might not be safe to go down there.

He pulled out a walkie and turned away from me to speak into it. After a moment, he turned back and smiled. “It’s quiet down there,” he said. “Do you want me to send a car for you? It sounds like your friend left early. He asked for directions to an address in Port Azrael. I’m going to confirm I heard it right. Because that place is ... um ... well …”

I put up a hand. “Let me guess, Mr. Ransom wanted to drive by the Dark Saints M.C. clubhouse. Is that right, Felix?”

“Um. Yes. It’s not a place I recommend you or anyone goes to.”

“Of course not, Felix. I understand. Don’t worry about it. So Mr. Ransom took his rental?”

“Yes. It appears he did.”

“Okay. I’ll tell you what. Can you arrange a car for me? I’d like to drive myself.”

“Miss Larsen, why don’t you let me get a driver for you? If you’re planning on following your friend out to ... Well, I just don’t think …”

“Relax, Felix,” I said. Though I was slightly irritated to be treated like a child, I knew it stemmed more from good old-fashioned chivalry, which I could appreciate. “I’m not going where Mr. Ransom is going. And I really would like my own car. I’m not in the mood for small talk today.” I gave him a genuine smile and Felix got the hint. He was fantastic at his job and within fifteen minutes, he’d secured a Ford Edge for me at my request. I wanted something simple, dependable, not flashy. I took the keys and headed out of Corpus Christi and back to Port Azrael.

As I crossed the bridge, my phone rang again. This time, I let it go through. “Dammit, Quinn,” my agent, Noreen, barked at me. “You can’t keep avoiding my calls.”

“I’m not,” I lied. “I just wanted to sleep in for once.”

“Fine,” she said. “But you need to get back to L.A. by the end of the week. I’ve lined up some meetings for you. And Janet Howard wants you to read for a part in her next thriller.” My heart fell. It would be a carbon copy of Night Terrors.

“I just need a few more days,” I said.

“How’s it going?” Noreen absolutely hated the idea of me pursuing this project. It was too much of a departure from my bread and butter for her tastes.

“I’ll let you know,” I said. I was already checked out from our conversation as I reached the end of the Port Azrael bridge. The town lights glittered even in broad daylight. My research told me the Dark Saints managed some businesses downtown by the docks. All I could see right now was a huge sports bar with Vegas-style lights bordering the sign. “Cups,” it was called. Just before eleven and two waitresses in skimpy referee uniforms were just heading through the back door. I parked my rental in the first open spot I saw and waited. I said goodbye to Noreen while she was still mid-sentence.

All of a sudden, I felt silly. Maybe Noel had the better idea. Exactly what had I hoped to accomplish coming down here by myself? My experience at Woody’s and in the hotel lobby had proven I couldn’t travel incognito. The minute anyone recognized me, they stopped acting naturally.

There was laughter behind me and I checked my rearview mirror. My heart tripped as the vibration rumbled through my chest. Three Harleys pulled up right alongside me. Their leather-clad riders each wore mirrored aviator sunglasses. I recognized one of them from last night. He was huge with olive-toned skin that made it hard to tell if he was black, white, Hispanic, or a mixture of all. The worn leather of his vest stretched across his broad back, bearing the club insignia. The Dark Saints M.C., Port Azrael. Beneath that, a figure crouched with great wings spread behind him and a sword between his knees. The guy had ink swirling across both powerful forearms. He flicked his wrist and cut the engine of his massive bike. A tremor of desire flooded through me unbidden as I imagined what it might feel like to ride behind him, wrapping my arms beneath that leather and feeling his rock hard abs as we flew down the highway.

He dismounted. He wore weathered jeans that stretched taut over his muscular thighs. He was oblivious to my presence. They all were. One gave the other a good-natured slap on the back. I felt invisible behind the tinted windows of the Ford SUV. From here, I could stare to my heart’s content.

“Shut the fuck up, Dom,” the biggest one said to the other. He was the one who throttled Noel last night. From here, I could just make out the white patch on his lapel as he turned toward the street. Axle, it said. Beneath that, a single word that made my pulse quicken. “Enforcer.”

“Axle, you’re full of shit,” Dom said. Dom turned and leaned against the side of the building. His companion lit a cigarette.

Dom. The patch on his lapel read “Domino.” Domino. Domino. I let the name roll through my mind. Domino. Axle. Chase. These were road names. Nicknames given to them by senior members of the club. They all had secret meanings and my imagination raced with made-up backstories for each of them.

I crouched low in my seat as one of the club members finally looked in my direction. It was Domino with the ruddy complexion and sinful gaze. He was brutal and beautiful. His full lips curled into a snarl as he pressed his back to the building with one booted foot against the wall. He jerked his chin and said something I couldn’t hear to his companion, Axle. Axle shrugged and slapped Domino on the back.

Chase gripped Axle on the shoulder, slid his sunglasses into his collar, and walked through the front door of the restaurant. Axle tilted his head to the side and held up a fist. Domino knocked his against it and the two separated.

Domino pushed himself away from the wall as Axle left him to follow Chase into the building. Domino turned his back to me and looked up at the sky. He straightened his shoulders and I expected him to follow the others in. Instead, he turned and stared right at me.

My heart went into my throat as he took four long strides and swaggered right up to my window. He leaned against the car door and knocked his index finger against the glass.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I could have put the car in gear and backed the hell out of there. I supposed that might even be worse than taking pictures on my phone like Noel had. Crap. For all the shit I’d given him for acting like an idiot last night, I was no better.

Taking a deep breath, I rolled my window down and mustered my best movie-star smile.

“Hi,” I said. My throat felt like sandpaper. My pulse thundered in my ears.

From a distance, Domino looked tough and mysterious. From two inches away, he made my heart stop. He had a pair of light green eyes that seemed able to see straight through me. The scent of leather and metal hit me. This man was dangerous and compelling at the same time.

“You want to tell me why you keep following me?” he asked. There was no malice in his tone, but his deep voice sent goosebumps skittering across my arms.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I was in it now. No point in trying to lie. “My name is Quinn,” I said, thrusting my hand out of the window to shake his.

Domino cocked his head to the side, reminding me of a confused pit bull. “Quinn,” he repeated, sending my heartbeat into overdrive. When he took my hand and his rough fingers brushed the underside of my wrist, I couldn’t breathe.

“Quinn,” he said.“I think we need to have a conversation.”

“I think we do too,” I answered. It was as if somebody else had taken over my mouth. What was I saying? “I’m not here to cause any trouble for you. You should know that.”

Domino’s deep, sultry laugh ignited every nerve ending in my body. A blush heated my cheeks as I realized how ridiculous I sounded. Right. As if he were worried about me being dangerous to him.

“Can we talk somewhere?” I asked, still not sure what had come over me. But I knew this was important. Noel had gotten us off on the wrong foot. I’d come this close to making things even worse. At this point, honesty was the only play I had.

Domino stood up. He walked around the front of my car. At first, I thought he was about to leave. Then he came around to the passenger side and opened the door. A little voice inside of me told me I was stupid for not locking it.

As my heart raced a mile a minute, an unfamiliar desire coursed through me. Domino stood in the open door and peered at me. “You want to just sit there or do you want to drive?”

Taking a deep breath, I gripped the steering wheel and put the car in reverse. “Get in,” I said. As I let my breath out, it felt like jumping off a cliff. Domino’s slow smile spread and his eyes sparked with mischief. Then he slid into the passenger seat and closed the door.

“Let’s roll, Quinn,” he said. “I’ll tell you where to go.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and drew in one more breath for courage, then I backed out of the parking space and headed toward the bridge.