“You doing good back there, baby?” Vengeance asked over the rumble of the Harley’s engine.

“I’m good,” she hollered back, the wind rushing through her hair, the vibration of the motorcycle under her thighs.

It had been a month since the whole Craig incident, and although her face was nearly healed, and her nightmares were fading, she still occasionally struggled with what happened. She was even speaking to a therapist, not just about being brutalized by Craig, but also about losing her family.

But these sessions were different than the ones she’d gone to in the past. She was older, dealing with her emotions better, and she knew it was because she was happy, because she was finally with Vengeance and had found her voice.

She’d even started taking online classes. They were just prerequisite courses, because she didn’t know what her degree would be in, but she enjoyed being able to focus on things that weren’t about herself.

Vengeance rounded another corner, taking her deeper into town, away from civilization. They were going to the small lake, just spending some time with each other, and getting away from the hustle of life. The lake was a secluded area so isolated and private … just what she wanted.

Once they were at the lake and had found the perfect spot to just sit and admire the beauty in front of them, she wondered how things would play out in the future. Things had been hard at first, but since they talked things out it was smooth and happy.

For long minutes all Vengeance did was hold her. After all the shit that had gone down, she knew that these men, these bikers, were a breed all their own.

The sound of the wind whistling through the trees had a hypnotic quality to it, but it was the sound of Vengeance’s heart beating beneath her ear that lulled her to calmness. They sat side by side, neither saying anything and both focusing on the water.

He turned and faced her after a few moments, and just stared at her. Then he lifted his other hand and cupped her cheek. “Before you I didn’t know what living was really like. I didn’t care what it was like.”

She smiled, feeling the same way.

“I don’t think you realize how much I care about you.” He took her hand and placed it right over his heart. “You feel how hard my heat is beating? It’s all because of you.”

This biker was big, muscular, and brought fear in other men with just a look. But here he was, holding her hand over his heart, and looking at her with this vulnerable, open expression.

It was strange to be able to feel someone’s emotions as strongly as if they were her own.

He let go of her and faced the lake once more. It seemed like ages that they sat there in silence, but it was comfortable, easy. When he faced her again there was this peace in his expression.

She smiled and glanced down at his lips, her body warming, her need rising. Constance finally lifted her gaze to his eyes.

“I really do love you.” He smiled softly. Vengeance then leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers. “I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you. Always.” He pulled her onto his lap, and with her legs on either side of him and her body pressed to his, she let the feeling of belonging wash through her.

Constance pressed her lips to his and closed her eyes.

“Take your clothes off for me, baby.” He grinned at her.

She knew she looked surprised, but heat still moved through her body. “Someone might see.”

“We’re isolated out here, but even if someone came by I don’t care. I want them to know you’re mine.”

As the heat continued to course through her, she moved off of him and started removing her clothes. Once she was naked it didn’t take long for him to grab her again. He removed his clothing too. She thought—anticipated—they’d be intimate, but when he grabbed her hand and led her to the water, she realized he had other plans.

“It’ll be too cold, Vengeance,” she said, eyeing the water.

“I can warm you up,” he said right beside her ear. In the next instant he had his arms wrapped around her waist. She didn’t know what he was doing, not until he was taking them closer to the water and finally crashing into the cold depths.

They broke through the top, and she gasped out, laughing at the same time.

“I’ll always protect you,” he said right beside her ear. He wrapped his arms tighter around her.

Constance knew he would never let her go.

* * *

Renee listened to her brother Vengeance’s message over and over again. She knew that what they’d gone through, that they were the only people they truly had in each other’s lives, should mean more than the fight they’d gotten into.

They were family, but he’d hurt her, his words like a knife in her gut.

And the things I said had to have hurt him, too.

Life was so short, so precious. She stared at the man, her boyfriend, who had started this fight, although inadvertently. He didn’t know that Vengeance didn’t want her with him, and because of that she’d kept her mouth shut, never telling her boyfriend any of it.

And here they were, about to travel to Europe, enjoy their life.

But what kind of life was it without family?