“Here, you look like you can use this.” A pretty woman with soft red hair, dressed way too nice for a motorcycle club, sat a drink down in front of Claire. “I’m Harley.”

Claire smiled. “Harley?”

The woman shrugged. “It’s a nickname. My real name is Hannah, but no one here ever uses it…except him,” she said, tossing her head in the direction of a nice-looking man at the bar who was engrossed in whatever the heavily made up and scantily clad woman sitting next to him was saying. He was dressed nice too, business casual, and Claire thought that he didn’t look like he belonged there either. “Mind if I sit with you?” Harley asked.

“No, not at all. Thank you for the drink. I’m Claire.” She’d been feeling like she was on display since Larry left with the other men. She was happy to have some female company.

“Nice to meet you. Are you Hunter’s old lady?”

Claire laughed. She couldn’t imagine ever referring to herself as anyone’s “old lady.” She realized that Harley was looking at her strangely and she said, “I’m sorry. It’s been a really long, really weird day.”

Harley smiled. “I’ve had those.”

“Hunter and I are…I’m not sure what we are. New acquaintances, I guess. He’s looking to take my father to jail…but he’s also helping us, maybe.”

“Hunter’s a good guy. I heard about your dad being here. I know you’re probably worried about him, but he’s with my old man and I can promise you that if Dax told Cody to keep him safe, your father’s probably safer right now than any one of us.”

Larry had just left with Cody, Jimmie, a guy named Levi with the biggest eyes Claire had ever seen, the old man whom she’d seen way too much of earlier, and several other bikers that Claire hadn’t been introduced to. Cody scared her, and it was hard for her to imagine him with this well-put-together woman sitting across from her. He was huge, and hot, in a scary sort of way. What bothered her most about him was that he’d been openly hostile toward her father, especially after Dax and Hunter left. Cody hadn’t let them out of his sight, even though Claire assured him that Larry wasn’t going anywhere. “Good to know,” she said. “Dax said they were walking into a set-up. He and Hunter were supposed to be taking care of that. Do you know if they heard from Dax before they left?”

Harley shook her head. “No, I don’t know. Honestly, I try not to know what they’re doing when they leave. I’m just always so happy when they come back.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“You seem so calm. If I did have an ‘old man’ and he was riding out into something that could be dangerous, I’d be a wreck. I’m a wreck over my dad being there right now. How do you do it?”

Harley smiled again. “I’m just a great actress,” she said. “I’m a lawyer, for one. I’m good at not showing my emotions. You have to know how to look like you’re winning a case when you’re still losing one. And then there’s Cody himself. He loves his family and when he promises me that he’s coming home to us, I believe him.”

“You have kids?”

“One,” Harley said. She reached in her purse and pulled out her phone. Holding it out toward Claire she said, “His name is Ian and there’s no one on this earth his daddy loves more. Not even me, I think.”

Claire smiled at the picture. The little boy had dark green eyes and reddish-blond hair. His cheeks were chubby and he was smiling up at someone off-camera, making his eyes shine. “He’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, he is. Thanks,” Harley said, putting the phone away. Claire finally picked up the drink Harley had put in front of her and took a sip. It was whiskey and Coke, but light on the whiskey. Claire found herself surprised at how good the warm liquid felt going down her throat. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but maybe tonight, it was what her nerves needed. “I’m going into the kitchen to see what they’ve got fixed up for dinner. Are you hungry?”

Claire’s stomach rumbled in answer to the other woman’s question. She hadn’t eaten all day. “Yeah, I am.”

“Good, come on with me and we’ll see what we can scare up.” Claire followed Harley through the great room. The men, who had been leering at Claire since she got there, looked at Harley with something more like respect, and almost every one of them greeted her—all but the dark-haired man at the counter. He made a point to turn his head more toward the scantily dressed woman he was talking to as they walked by.

Once they got into the kitchen, Claire’s stomach got even more excited. Something smelled wonderful and her mouth even began to water. “Hey, girls,” Harley said to the two women in the kitchen. One was sitting at the table texting on her phone and the other was standing near the stove. They both wore jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts. Their make-up was modest and neither of them looked like their bodies had been altered like the other women she’d seen since she’d been there. The one at the table looked up and said,

“Hi, Harley.” She looked at Claire then and Harley said:

“Hey, Twila. This is my new friend, Claire. Claire, this is Twila and that is Brenda over there by the stove.” Brenda, a dark-haired woman in her mid to late thirties, raised a hand and smiled. Twila smiled too and said:

“Welcome. I saw you come in earlier with Hunter and some other guy.”

“Y’all hungry?” Brenda asked.

“Starving,” Harley answered for both.

“Have a seat. We’ve got fried chicken and mashed potatoes tonight.”

“Sounds amazing,” Harley said. She and Claire sat down at the table where Twila was sitting, and Twila looked up from her phone again and said:

“Did Cody ride over to Brownie’s?” Harley nodded and the other woman looked back down at her phone. She had what looked like a worried crease between her eyes. Harley must have noticed it too because she said:

“What? What’s happened?”

Twila shook her head. “Nothing, I guess. It’s just that I was texting with Hurricane about a brunch I’m working with her to cater in a few days and she just disappeared on me in mid-conversation.”

“Maybe she just got busy?” Harley said, almost like she was trying to convince herself. Claire didn’t know who this “Hurricane” was, but she did know that Brownie’s was where her father had gone with the bikers.

“Maybe. It’s just not like her. She’ll usually tell me that she’ll talk later or something, but she just kind of disappeared…”

“Shit,” Harley said. She took her phone back out just as Brenda sat two plates of delicious-looking food down in front of them. Suddenly, Claire had lost her appetite. She watched Harley as the other woman sent a text. Harley’s green eyes didn’t leave the face of the phone for several long minutes. When she finally looked up, she looked worried. “Cody’s not answering.”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Brenda said. She didn’t sound any more convinced that the other two women looked. Harley was sending another text and seconds later, she got one back.

“Shit,” she said. “They’re okay, so far…but they’re holed up in the bar. Street Chaos did show up, in full force. Cody had them lock the bar rather than try to face off with them, outnumbered.”

“How do you know?” Twila asked.

“I texted Bess. Dillon sent her up to the apartment. She says everyone’s okay, so far.”

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Claire asked. She had her own phone in her hand and she nearly fell in the floor with shock when Twila snatched it out of her hand. “What the hell? Give it back!”

“Fuck that! Call the police? Who the hell…?”

“Twila,” Harley said, not as calm as she had sounded earlier. Twila stopped talking and put Claire’s phone down on the table. When Claire went to reach for it, Harley gently laid her hand on top of the other woman’s. “We don’t call the police,” she said.

“I don’t understand,” Claire said, genuinely confused. “Normally, where my father is concerned, I wouldn’t either. But their lives are in danger, right?”

“And most of them are armed. Most of them are felons and are not supposed to be carrying. Your father is wanted by the police, Claire. They’ll arrest him and anyone else in there who’s carrying. Calling the police will only make matters worse.”

“I thought Dax was supposed to take care of this. Where is he, and Hunter?”

Harley shook her head again. With a thoughtful look, she punched another number into her phone. After a few seconds she said, “Angel, have you talked to Dax?”

Harley listened and didn’t say another word. She pressed “end call” and sat there staring at the wall for several seconds before she said, “Handsome is with her right now. Angel got a phone call from a man. He wouldn’t give her his name. He said that Dax and Hunter are dead.”

Claire gasped out loud. She felt dizzy. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Hunter is dead? She felt like she was going to pass out. It was all surreal. Hunter’s dead? No. She just made love to him. He was the first man she’d let touch her since…he couldn’t be dead. Her head was spinning and for a few seconds she checked out. When she looked up again, Harley was already going out the kitchen door, back into the great room. Claire ignored the dirty looks Twila was now giving her and followed Harley.

Harley was behind the bar, talking to the nice-looking man that had ignored her earlier. He looked interested now. “Fuck, where is she?”

“She’s up at the house with Handsome. Hopefully he stays with her because, Kyle, you know she won’t stay put. If she thinks there’s even a chance Dax is dead…”

The man was already on his feet. “Yeah, I know. My sister is a pain in the ass. This all sounds like bullshit to me. I’ve got to go catch her before she does something stupid.” Harley was nodding and Claire stepped up next to her. The man in the business suit headed for the door.

“Who is he?” Claire asked.

“Kyle Brady,” Harley said. “He’s Dax’s brother-in-law.”

“Harley, do you believe Dax and Hunter are really dead?”

Harley slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. I hope not…for a lot of reasons. I love Dax. He’s been like an older brother to me for a long time, and I like Hunter. As much as it would hurt to lose either of them, personally, it will kill this club. If Dax is gone, whoever killed him will have hell to pay and the Skulls will wage a war unlike any the city has ever seen.”

Claire felt sick to her stomach. She was worried about Larry, but she was sick over the idea of Hunter’s being dead. God couldn’t really be that cruel…could he?