“Fucking bastard,” I grumbled, still feeling the sore ache across my back that the bar and his heavy ass had left. I grabbed the wallet out of my passenger seat and stepped out of my car, locking it behind me.

I walked up to the county jail, pawing my way through the wallet. I took whatever money was left and slipped it in my back pocket, calling it damage compensation for my wrist, before taking out the platinum credit card. I scoffed at the name written on it—Nikolay Nosov—knowing it wasn’t his real name. It was a children’s author in Russia, a famous one, too. Any idiot would know if they googled it. But Wolf was a simple man and wasn’t the type to think too much into a fake name.

“Good evening, Miss Anna,” a rough, aged voice greeted, causing me to look up.

An older man stood with the door opened wide. His light sandy-brown hair was beginning to thin around the crown of his head, and dark rings hung heavily under his eyes. His uniform was ironed and his tie loose around his neck, the collar undone by only one button; and his shoes, although black and recently polished, had a dusting of dirt on the top. His badge straight, but his pocket was weighed down by a pack of nicotine gum peeking out the top. “Sheriff Jennings,” I returned with a grin.

“Please,” he scoffed. “With the amount of time you’re here, you might as well call me Jerimiah.”

“Does that mean you’ve finally warmed to me, Sheriff?” I gave him my most charming smile, ignoring his comment about his name. I never called him by his name, no matter how many times he told me to. I didn’t want to become too friendly and do things in front of an officer that I really shouldn’t do. Stuff I otherwise did regularly.

“Sure. If you stop hanging around those troublesome boys,” he grumbled, also brushing over my use of his title.

“You know I can’t do that," I said on a laugh. “Those boys fill my pockets as much as they do this town’s.”

The sheriff chose not to acknowledge that comment, living to interfere with those boys’ lives as much as his pride would allow. They didn’t mind, though; it reminded them that just because they belonged to this town, it didn’t mean they owned it. Well, most of them. “Now, get inside, I ain’t gonna stand around like a doorstop all day. I got places to be.”

“Yes, sir.” I took his offer with a mock salute, earning me a playful eye roll, and stepped through the open doorway, where I spotted June, the fed-up, fifty-something receptionist, waiting for me with a tired look on her face, as usual. Sheriff Jennings was just about to close the door when I called out, “Best hide the smell of those cigarettes before you go see your wife, Sheriff.”

“And you stop stealing Wolf’s card before he finds out,” he threw back, letting the door shut behind him, chuckling as he went.

“It’s not like I ever try to hide it from him,” I scoffed at the closed door before turning on my heels and walking over to the desk. June held out her hand to me, not bothering with a conversation we both couldn’t give a shit about, and I handed her Wolf’s card before heading toward the gate.

It was left open. The quick whispering ended as I came to a stop in front of the boys’ jail cell. “Gotta say, I’m tempted to leave you in here this time, my selfless and brave musketeers.”

Jax pulled out a huge grin, his face a mask of mischievousness and completely absent of guilt. His body was covered in all sorts of tattoos from the neck down that peeked through several holes in his shirt, and his dark, normally mussed hair had upgraded to wild.

Pretty groaned, looking more ragged than I’d ever seen him, a defeated look on his beautiful model-hot face, his pale blond hair dyed with a tint of... was that blood?

And poor, little newbie Mint kept his lovely pale green eyes behind pinched lids as he stayed curled up and groaning on the metal detention bench. I think it was Mint’s first real night out with the infamous party animal we called Jax, and I had to feel sorry for him. Not everyone could drink his moonshine and live to tell the tale.

“Should’ve come out with us.” Jax laughed, rising and stretching from his bench seat. “It was fun.”

“Fun isn’t the word I’d use,” I scoffed, still staring at the new recruit and spotting the tiny bald patch on the back of his head.

“Fucking nightmare is the word I’d use,” Mint snapped, taking his sweet time sitting up on his bench, only to groan and drop his head in his hand at the movement. “Not that I can remember a fucking thing.”

Pretty just sighed, rising from his seat on the opposite bench next to Jax, and came up to the bars. I looked him up and down, noting the tears in his shirt, a few scratch marks faint on his cheek, and the missing belt. All in all, he was in his normal state after a night with Jax.

“I don’t know why you haven’t learned your lesson yet,” I said, despite knowing how much of a charming and persuasive bastard Jax could be.

“Just get me out of here. Please,” he pretty-pleaded, and I could read in his eyes that he had all but given up fighting Jax. Pretty had just turned twenty-four, which had been their excuse for celebrating last night, and of course, gave Jax a reason to break out the moonshine. He had become a new recruit when Lamb brought him in like some ragged stray when he was nineteen, and since then, he’d had enough time to learn that no matter how many times he said “never again,” there would always be an again.

I shook my head, taking pity on the poor man, and waved my hand down to June, who pressed the buzzer to open the door. It gave a horrifying screech as I swung it open, and even Jax recoiled at the sound.

Recovering from it quickly, the tall, inked, and tanned southern boy swaggered out the door with Pretty limping behind him. It took Mint a minute or so longer to gather himself before he got up to walk past me.

“Don’t think your old military superiors would be happy to know their soldiers can’t keep track of their shoes.” I laughed as I saw his feet, his toes poking out the holes in his socks, covered in grit and dirt. Mint looked down at them, only just noticing, and sighed, unable to bring himself to respond. He just walked out the door and into the car lot.

I followed after them, picking up Wolf’s card on the way out and putting it back in his wallet before slipping it into my back pocket as I pushed through the door.

All of them stood gathered around my car at a door each. My little red Volkswagen Beetle looked tiny surrounded by the towering masses, even while temporarily incapacitated. I walked to the front, seeing Jax and Pretty squabbling over the front passenger door. I watched, unamused, as Jax kicked Pretty in his gimp leg, sending him staggering back.

Pretty was more than ready to punch him back in his handsome face when I swaggered up between them. “Mint, you’re in the front.”

Pretty and Jax both frowned at me.

“Would you rather walk?” I warned, not in the mood to deal with their sibling-like squabbling as I eyed up Mint, who looked ready to throw up. I wasn’t even going to pick them up, until I pissed off Wolf—and almost knocked him out. Still, it wasn’t my loss if they had to walk.

The two read as much in my gaze and didn’t say another word as they climbed into the back seats before Mint dropped into the front. I slipped into my front seat and rolled down Mint’s window. “Your head isn’t allowed in this car,” I warned. “This thing is a bitch to clean, and I won’t hesitate to bury you alive if you throw up in it.”

Mint scowled at me, about to open his mouth to no doubt bitch at me with his poor attitude, when Jax poked his head up front. “I’d listen to her, brother. Should have seen her when I took Pretty and Hunter out last time.”

“Fuck’s sake,” he hissed but leaned his head out the window.

I didn’t realize all it took was a hangover from hell to get Mint to talk so much.

“Don’t sound so smug, Jax,” I said, looking through my rearview mirror to see him with his arms folded behind the back of his head. He was squashed up next to Pretty, who seemed determined not to talk to him. “The only reason Wolf isn’t picking you up is because he probably has a concussion.”

Jax laughed. “What’d you do this time?”

“I think that’s the least of your problems.” I gave a dark chuckle. “Wolf knows you fed him your bullshit moonshine last night. I’m handing your fine ass over as soon as we get back.”

His smile fell off his face, and I almost laughed at the fear that replaced it. “Shit,” he breathed, not even able to latch his narcissism onto my compliment of his ass. “You can’t let him at me when you’ve pissed him off first!”

“He hits you because he loves you,” I teased, turning on the engine and pulling my car out onto the road.

“Does that mean the reason you gave him a concussion is because you wanna ride Prez’s dick?” he taunted, his classic grin back on his face.

“Not as much as I want to snap yours off right now,” I retorted.

“Jeez, woman. You always get defensive when it comes to Wolf.” Jax laughed. “Has Prez finally gotten under your skin?”

“Shut the fuck up, Jax,” Mint hissed. “Don’t need to hear your voice all the way back.”

Fellpeak was a small town, so the journey home took only five minutes.

“Don’t be such a spoilsport just because you can’t handle your booze,” Jax argued.

Ten minutes if you walk.

“That shit ain’t booze. It’s fucking poison,” Mint snapped back.

Not to mention, it was nice weather considering it was fall.

“Shut up, both of you,” Pretty growled.

“Oh, fuck off, Pretty. You drank that shit, too. Don’t go barking up my ass,” Jax groaned.

The breaks screeched and the car jerked forward as it came to a sudden halt. The smell of burning rubber filled my nose as I pried my stiff hands from the steering wheel and turned in my seat. Mint had his door open, his body leaning out of the car, throwing up, while Jax and Pretty both pinned themselves against the back seats, their eyes looking anywhere but mine.

“Walk.”

“What?” Jax jerked up in his seat.

“Get out,” I repeated, slow and careful, making sure to punctuate each sound. “And walk.”

Pretty was out of the car in seconds, and although Jax hesitated for a moment, I saw him slowly open the door and step out before they both came around to the passenger door and helped Mint to his feet.

The second the passenger door was slammed shut, I put my foot on the gas and drove away, not giving them a second glance.

* * *

It was only another two minutes or so of a peaceful drive before I came up to the compound gates and spotted all the brothers gathered out front. Aaron, or as the brotherhood had christened him, Pipe, stood guard by the gate, but instead of watching me drive up, he had a super focus on the crowd of brothers.

“Pipe,” I called out to him. He didn’t respond at first, but the second he recognized my voice, he spun like his heels were on fire, and his eyes bugged out when they landed on me. And not in a good way.

“Fuck, Anna,” were the first words out of his mouth, and I immediately knew that whatever was going on wasn’t good.

He moved to open the gate, and I saw Wolf’s head come up from the crowd the second my car came to a stop, and two familiarly bright green eyes were staring down at me before I could even get out.

“What’s going on?” I asked as Hunter’s large, freshly-tanned hand came around my bicep. “Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?”

He began to lead me toward the clubhouse, his green eyes flickering back down to mine. “I got back ten minutes ago. Got a message from Lamb to get here as soon as I could.” He frowned down at me. “I thought you were the one who told him I was back?”

“Lamb’s got his own connections that are a hell of a lot faster than mine,” I retorted, feeling that little spike of annoyance I always got when Lamb beat me to information. I was connected, sure, but Lamb was on another level, and despite how much I loved the sly bastard, he had also become somewhat of a rival of mine. “But that’s not the point.” I returned to the topic. “What the fuck is going on over there?” I pointed to the crowd.

As we passed, I managed to see through a gap in the crowd and spotted a man sitting on a bike in the center, knowing he wasn’t one of ours. He wore his leathers, but he was facing me, so I couldn’t see the colors on the back. All I could make out was a patch on his front, but it was too far for me to read it. Through the gaps in his coverings, I could see dark skin and hair. He was leaned back, comfortable as he looked up the great wall that was Wolf, who seemed to dwarf the man on the bike, despite seeming tall himself.

As if sensing my gaze, his eyes cut straight through the crowd and met mine. Even from the distance, I could see the bright, molten gold against his dark skin, the sun’s light reflecting off them in a way that made them seem as if they were almost glowing.

“Charon?” I breathed. My whole body jerked to a stop, breaking Hunter’s grasp on my arm. A deep tremor raced down my spine at the sight of him. This man was not welcome. Not in my world. Not on my compound. And certainly not near my boys.

Charon was president of the Grim Reapers. The president of the club that just unofficially took over our neighboring club, the Hell’s Runners. They were like the big boss of the western states, including Oregon, and were shrouded in legend and mystery. And despite Charon being the face of the club, there was even less known about him than any of the other members—the ones we knew existed, anyway.

Charon and his club had also been participants in a plot by the Hell’s Runners that had nearly killed Mallory, one of the few women I actually liked and Hunter’s wife. Not to mention, she had a three-year-old son who almost became an orphan because of it.

He came into our MC family and stirred shit that almost killed a woman, destroyed a man, and orphaned a child. There were few times in my life when I lost my temper. And there was probably only one other person on this earth who could stop my rampages. But that person wasn’t here right now, and the one thing I couldn’t stand was someone hurting those I held dear.

Never again would anyone get away with hurting my loved ones.

Never again.

Hunter must have seen something on my face, because his eyes darted between me and the gathering group and his foot took a long step forward. I moved one slow step back, my gaze never moving away from that man.

“Don’t you dare...,” Hunter growled, but it was too late.

My feet were moving before I realized it, and I barely remembered crossing the compound’s wide car lot. I didn’t run, but I walked fast enough that the clicking of my boots matched my thrumming heartbeat. It was like my mind tunneled and all I could see was the side of his face, my blood boiling and my mind growing numb as I flew across the car lot.

Time seemed to speed up when I was barging through the group and coming out the other side in seconds. “Get the fuck off this compound!” I hissed.

Charon’s eyes widened in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“I said, get the fuck—” I didn’t get any more words out as arms came around my waist and hauled me up before I could even comprehend what was happening. The second I realized it, however, I began struggling and clawing at the hands around my waist, only causing the grip to tighten further.

“Stop fighting me,” Wolf growled, and I opened my mouth to argue before his hand clamped over it to stop me. “Fucking stop,” he snapped in my ear. The command vibrated across my skin and down my nerves with a harshness I’d never heard before. It made me still in his grasp without hesitation, shocking me to my core.

Wolf dragged me away from where Charon was kicking down his bike stand and rising from the seat. Hunter, having caught up, and Ripper stood in front of him, their arms across their chest, eyes narrowed. Lamb stood back, almost unnoticed in the crowd of brothers stepping outside. His eyes seemed casual as they looked Charon up and down without him noticing.

“Anna, get the fuck inside,” Wolf growled, his face strained from trying to not snarl at me. I could feel the tension rolling off him in waves, telling me not to argue with him, but I couldn’t abide.

“No,” I hissed back. “Tell me what the fuck that man is doing here.”

“It doesn’t concern you. Now, go back inside with all the other women.”

I felt my blood boil at the instant dismissal. “I’m not the other women, Wolf. I’m not anybody’s old lady, and I’m not some club whore. You can’t tell me what to do, because you don’t own me.”

“I’m practically paying diamonds for you, Anna. That means I fucking own your ass.” Wolf’s rough hand came around my arm. “Get inside.”

“I. Said. No,” I hissed, snapping my arm out of his grip. I could feel his anger growing, but I didn’t give a shit if I hurt his feelings. He didn’t get to tell me what to do, and nobody fucking owned me. “You pay me to be your club’s fucking lawyer, so you better stop getting your panties in a fucking twist every time I’m doing my fucking job. I need to know what shit is going on in this club, so you have no other fucking choice but to listen to me.”

“Anna,” Wolf growled, and I could see it in his eyes, the frustration that was tempting him to curl his hands around my neck and squeeze. I had that effect on people. Because I was always right.

“Wolf, you can argue with me until your balls drop off, but you know there’s no way I’m leaving.”

I saw the moment Wolf gave in. It was like a small twitch in the corner of his eye as his hand closed brutally hard around my arm and began dragging my ass behind him as he moved over to the boys. “Don’t. Say. A. Fucking. Word,” Wolf bit out, punctuating each word with a slight snarl. His pulse was throbbing like crazy in the skin touching me, and I knew his blood was practically boiling with rage at my rebellion, but I didn’t give two shits.

I got what I wanted, and Wolf couldn’t argue with me.

Charon lit up at our return, and Wolf immediately shoved me behind him until I was practically pressed up against his spine. His hand released its death grip around my arm and instead shifted until it was pinned tightly on my hip, keeping me from stepping out into Charon’s view. I peeked around his shoulder, just enough to see Charon’s eyes flicker down to mine. I scowled back, and Charon’s lips flinched with a smile.

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying anything more to the bastard. I may have won my argument with Wolf, but that had pushed him to a fine line, and I knew when to stopping pushing—most of the time, anyway.

“Didn’t realize you had an old lady, Wolf. I’m impressed.” Charon smiled, the sight sending a sickly throb to my stomach.

“It’s not your place to be, Charon,” Wolf growled back, not disputing the old lady comment. “Now, tell me why the fuck I shouldn’t put a bullet in your head for stepping onto my fucking property?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Charon shrugged, tucking his hand into his pockets. I felt the muscles in Wolf’s back tense and his grip tighten painfully on my hip. Charon’s lips twitched at his action. “I have news that you might be interested in.”

“What news?” Wolf demanded.

I turned my head to see Lamb sidling up next to Wolf. He moved so silently I didn’t even hear him, and I didn’t think Charon noticed until he was only a few feet from him. I saw his torso shift away from Lamb. Exposed chest meant calm, which he had been doing to Wolf, while turned away meant threatened.

I looked to Lamb, but despite looking relaxed, his entire focus was pinpointed on the intruder.

“Our mutual enemy has been making waves in the underground,” Charon began. Considering Spider was sent to Hell where he belonged a few months back, the mutual enemy must be the person who sent Spider there; it hadn’t been Charon, Wolf, or unfortunately, me. It had been at the hands of a new group on the scene on the west coast. They were fond of using mercenaries and had a seemingly endless stack of money, which was foreboding, to say the least. “Our new foe has officially put a bounty out on the Black Angels MC.”

“A bounty?” Wolf snapped.

“For now, they only want information, though there’s little of it with you guys being such a small club.” He shrugged, adjusting his jacket as if he was talking about the weather. “People can’t fathom what they want with small-timers like you. Unless you’ve been pissing off more people than usual recently?”

Wolf went silent, his eyes narrowing on Charon. I could hear his mind ticking before he said exactly what I was thinking. “Why are you really here, Charon?” Wolf demanded. “You’re not a charitable bastard.”

It seemed Charon had an idea of why people would be interested in us. But interested in what?

“You’re right,” Charon said, dropping his pretense of innocence. He revealed white teeth behind a pleased smile. “I’m glad you noticed so quickly. The information was a gesture of goodwill.” He looked at Wolf with sharp eyes, and the molten gold seemed to swirl as the words fell off his tongue with a honey-rich smoothness. “I want you to form an alliance with me.”

“No.” Wolf didn’t even wait a heartbeat.

Charon’s eyes flinched wider in surprise, but he quickly covered it with a curving grin. “It’s a good offer. I can give you protection. We can be united against these new people. Not to mention, my information is of the fast and top-class variety.”

“The answer is no.” Wolf stayed steadfast, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t even yelling, but his voice held a steely sternness that gave no room for budging. “Getting into bed with the Reapers would only bring more trouble to our door and make us a target we can’t seem to afford right now.”

“I can’t deny it. Grim Reapers are notoriously elusive. You’d be a beacon for those looking for a way to get to us, in the case of any idiotic club wanting to pick a fight with the Reapers. So, I guess I can understand your logic for rejecting me. However—”

“That’s not the reason I’m saying no,” Wolf interjected, catching Charon off-guard.

Charon turned to him with a frown.

Wolf lowered his face down the few inches between him and Charon, and with a threatening, hate-spitting snarl, he said, “The reason I’m not accepting your offer is because I’m not going to let any fucking club manipulate me and my men, especially not slimy, cunning fuckers like you Reapers.”

With that, Wolf stood back straight, looking down at Charon, who looked shocked by his answer. Wolf had just told one of the most influential, powerful, and dangerous men on the west coast to fuck off. I felt my blood rise with a tingling fear that consequences would follow, but Charon’s reaction wasn’t what I expected.

He smiled. I’d seen him smile in the space of the conversation; a few sly grins or smug smiles, but not like this. It was genuine joy, like a kid who’d just found a new toy. Any tension in the air dissipated from Charon’s end.

“I can see you’re not in the mood to budge,” Charon said, moving back to his bike. The boys parted, but their eyes stayed vigilant as they watched Charon flick his leg over the seat of his bike and sit.

Charon looked back up to Wolf. “The time will come when you need my help, Wolf,” Charon said. “My offer stands until you’re ready.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” he snapped back. Unfortunately for Charon, Wolf had no care in the world for legends or people who were much more powerful than he was, and he seemed to be quite content to tell one of the most powerful men in the country to fuck off. Well, I suppose we were alike in that sense. “And while you’re at it,” Wolf added, “get the fuck off my property.”

“You honestly don’t give two shits who you’re talking to, do you?” Charon asked, but I could sense it was rhetorical. I felt Wolf’s back vibrate as he growled his answer. Fortunately, Charon seemed amused and just shook his head.

He turned his keys and the bike panted a breath of smoke as the color gradually faded from black to gray, the bike humming to life with a quietness I’d never heard in a Harley before. “I look forward to hearing from you,” Charon added, and this time, he didn’t wait for Wolf’s reply as he turned and tore out of the compound with Pipe shutting the gate behind him.

Wolf’s arms uncrossed from over his chest, and I took my chance to step around him. I didn’t make it. He turned around, ducked his head down to my waist, wrapped his arm around the back of my knees, and threw me over his shoulder. I met a face full of ass before I even realized we were moving across the compound.

“Church?” Lamb called after us as I fought to break through my shock.

“Not now!” Wolf bellowed as he stormed across the car lot, through the bar, into his room on the first floor, and threw me down on the bed at such a speed, I bounced almost all the way over the other side before I even had a chance to breathe. He turned, slammed his door shut, and whirled on me with so much force, I wasn’t prepared for the anger that exploded from him.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Wolf yelled.

“What?” I stuttered.

“You know what I fucking mean, Anna,” Wolf snapped, his hands fisting into balls at his side. He unraveled one just enough to point his finger in my face. “You don’t fucking walk up to the president of one of the biggest MCs on the coast and tell him to fuck off!”

“You did!” I fired back, launching myself up off the bed. I only came to chest height, but that didn’t stop me from squaring up to the big bastard. “Don’t fucking start telling me what to do, you hypocrite.”

“Anna, I can handle myself and—”

“You think I can’t handle myself?” I screeched back, offended. “I can do whatever the fuck I want, Wolf. You don’t own me. I’m the sole reason you and the boys aren’t in jail for half the shit you get up to, so don’t get high and mighty on me. I’m not some pathetic girl who needs some fat bastard to protect me.”

“I know you can handle yourself, but I also think you need to start reining yourself in. I let you get away with a lot of shit here, Anna, but don’t start walking around thinking that I don’t own your ass, because I do. I’ll tell you as many times as I have to. It’s mine.”

“It’s not yours!” I hissed, throwing my hands on my hips. “It’s my ass.”

Wolf moved with a speed I couldn’t avoid, and I was pinned up against the wall in a second. His torso pressed against mine, my tits near flattened against his chest as his mouth pressed into the shell of my ear. His hands slid down under my round ass and his fingers squeezed hard enough to make me gasp in pain. “I pay for it. I own it. You understand me?”

I tried to wriggle away from his touch, but that only made my chest rub up against his, nearly forcing my boobs out of my shirt. He growled, and I stiffened at the sound. My mind flickered back to outside and the force of his voice that instantly made me submit.

I hated myself for it, and remembering that feeling only made me fight harder. I raked my nails down his back, digging in where I knew the club colors were inked into his skin.

“Fuck,” Wolf hissed as I felt the shirt dampen where I drew blood. His hands slid away from my ass and came around my hands before pinning them back against the wall. He pressed more of his waist against me, pushing my tits up further and keeping me pinned against the wall. Wolf lifted his head to rake his eyes down my shirt then up to my eyes.

I glared at him, trying to buck my hips, but he had too much of his weight pushed against me.

He must have noticed, because a hunger lit his eyes, and his wicked grin flattened. My breath hitched as he leaned the few inches between us until his lips brushed mine. I held perfectly still, fighting not to move as the fresh smell of whiskey and the unique smell of his cigarettes burned across my face.

“I could take you right now,” he murmured.

My heart began to race harder in my chest, and I could feel my skin rippling against his. His mouth moved slightly away and a shuddering breath slipped from my lips. His nose brushed against the edge of mine as it began a soft, gentle trail across my cheek to where my jaw met my neck, and then down along the tendon until his lips stroked across my throat.

I remained perfectly still, but my body pounded hard with adrenaline. I fought the need to kick him, to fight, all too aware of his teeth poised near my jugular. It was like I had gained super sensitive hearing as I heard his lips part and the tiny, crisp breath that escaped them. My whole body shuddered as his teeth pressed against my neck. They didn’t bite, but the sensation of them on my skin was almost overwhelming.

I wanted to end it, but at the same time, I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted him to bite me. I wanted him to sink his teeth into the skin of my neck and hold me there like the beast he was and demand his claim on me.

But then I heard his breath, his teeth grazing my skin, and I felt the familiar adrenaline rush through my veins.

I swung before I realized I was moving and watched as the lamp shade smashed into the side of Wolf’s head.

He roared and staggered to the side, his hand going up to his head.

My boots dropped hard onto the wooden floor, carrying my feet fast out of the room as I listened to the cursing and the rapid flow of Russian that followed when I escaped out the bar, past the boys, and out the door to my car.

I fumbled the keys into the lock, heaving hard breaths as I struggled to keep the burn in my chest at bay.

I let it get too far. For a moment, I let the situation slip out of my control, and I almost paid dearly. But I stopped myself at the last minute. I felt relieved. And I hated myself for it. Always asking myself why I continued to play this sadistic, fruitless game since meeting Wolf. Deep down, I knew the truth of it, but I pretended it didn’t exist. Telling myself if I never accept the truth, I’d never have to face it.