Zack felt sick to his stomach as the Uber car they took from the airport pulled up in front of Nicole’s apartment in Memphis to drop off her and Liam. He’d done all he could do to convince her to stay in Texas, but she refused. She was ready to get on with her life, and as much as he didn’t blame her for that, he worried that Spider wasn’t going to give her the opportunity. He was also going to miss her, and surprisingly, Liam. After his mother dropped her bombshell, Zack tried to get close enough to Randall to talk to him, but the man was obviously avoiding him. The vote to install Randall as president had been almost unanimous and Zack suspected his mother had done a lot behind the scenes, quickly, to make that happen. He thought it was probably a good thing she didn’t have a pair of balls because otherwise she’d be ruling the club, and her evil far surpassed that of his father’s.

Zack wanted to believe Randall wouldn’t do anything to harm Gunner since Tammy was so obviously attached and crazy about him, but he knew Randall too well. He would never allow Tammy to be physically hurt, but the man didn’t put much stock into emotional attachments. Zack would be willing to bet that since Gunner wasn’t Randall’s favorite person, he might even think getting rid of him would be doing her a favor.

He looked at Nicole as he sat her and Liam’s bags down in front of the apartment door and said, “Are you one hundred percent positive that you want to do this? It’s not too late to change your mind.”

She smiled. “I’m sure. Thank you for everything. I’ll keep in touch so you don’t worry. I’m going to head down to the police station as soon as we’re settled and file the restraining order.”

Zack grimaced. “Alright, but please don’t trust that a piece of paper is going to keep you safe. I’m headed up to Massachusetts first thing in the morning, but I’m going to try and round up some of the guys to be around here in Memphis while I’m gone…just in case.”

“You really don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to. It’s more for me than you.” He winked at her and said, “I’m sure you haven’t noticed, but I’m a little self-centered.”

She rose on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “Yes, I’ve noticed how you have gone out of your way to help us, only thinking of yourself the entire, time.”

He grinned. “It’s all about Zack and the end-game, and don’t you forget it.” He looked at Liam and said, “You either, little man. Don’t go thinking because you’re cute and all that it’s about you.” Liam smiled at him and Zack felt that now familiar warmth spread through his blood and make his heart swell as he looked at the baby. With a sigh, he said, “I’m going to head back to the clubhouse. I have a meeting with my president in a bit. I could be persuaded to pick up a pizza or some Chinese food for dinner and bring it by, if you two aren’t sick of me yet.”

“Chinese food sounds wonderful.”

“How about you, kid? A little Kung Pao?”

Nicole smiled. “I think he’ll probably be turning in early tonight – he didn’t nap at all on the plane.”

Liam was staring at him with his big, dark eyes. Zack smiled at him again and ran the back of his hand down the side of his face. He was fascinated with how new everything was on him. His skin was so soft and it even smelled new. “Good, more for me,” Zack said with a wink. He leaned back down and kissed Nicole again, and putting his hand up between himself and Liam he said, “Maybe Mama will want a little dessert while little man is sleeping?”

Nicole pressed her lips back to his and smiled against them. “Mama might even want an appetizer,” she said. Zack’s cock jumped to attention. He had to mentally will it to lie back down.

“On that note,” he said, clearing his throat. “I will be back…soon.”

“Thank you, Zack.” Nicole opened the door with her key and tried to step in first. Zack held her elbow and gently moved her out of the way. He didn’t have a gun on him thanks to having to fly home, but he’d rather be the one to get jumped or shot than her. He almost laughed at that thought as he told her to stay put and he moved around the little apartment, checking all the rooms and closets. Zack had never been one to shy away from a fight, and any fear he felt was usually easily turned into adrenaline. But so far in his life he’d never met a woman that he was so willing to take a bullet for. Once he’d checked everything he told her it was all clear, kissed her again, patted Liam on the head, and waited after he closed the door to hear her engage the lock before he left. He wasn’t looking forward to his talk with Stone. Zack would be the first to admit that the club’s doing a security detail on someone who might be wanted by a club they were allied with was unorthodox, but he wasn’t willing to take no for an answer, if he had to stay there and do it himself.

* * *

The car dropped Zack off out in front of the clubhouse. He couldn’t wait to get back on his bike; he’d missed it while he was gone. He grabbed his bag out of the trunk and tipped the driver before walking up toward the door. Hashtag and two of the prospects were standing out front, smoking a joint, and as he approached Hashtag said, “Well, hell, now I’ve fucking seen everything.”

Zack walked up and dropped his bag before taking the joint that one of the prospects was offering him. He took a drag and smiled, then asked Hashtag, “What makes you think you’ve seen everything?” Zack knew what his answer would be even before he said:

“Zack Attack Leoni getting out of the back seat of a fucking hybrid.”

Zack laughed. He had the same thought when he’d gotten into the little economy car at the airport. “Good thing I can make any car look cool,” he told Hashtag.

Hash laughed and took a long drag off the joint. He held the smoke for several long seconds and after he let it out he said, “You get the girl and the kid settled?”

Zack sighed and lost his smile. “She wouldn’t stay in Texas.”

Hashtag raised an eyebrow and said, “We spent some time at the Defenders clubhouse yesterday while Stone and Skid met with their president. I had the pleasure of meeting this Spider asshole. I admit that I thought you were being a little paranoid at first, but now I think getting her out of the state was the best fucking idea you’ve had all year.”

“Yeah, me too. But short of kidnapping her and the baby, it wasn’t happening. I’m headed in to see Stone now. I’m hoping he’ll agree to let some of you guys keep an eye on them, at least while I’m out of town.”

Hashtag nodded. “I’d be willing. I’m just not sure Stone’s going to agree to it. If the Defenders find out that we’re involved…” He didn’t have to finish that sentence. Zack knew that an alliance between clubs meant they agreed to watch each other’s backs and take on the enemies of the other club as their own. In this case, Nicole’s keeping Liam from Spider and now filing a restraining order made her an enemy of the Defenders. It was unlikely that Stone would agree to a security detail, but he had to give it a shot.

“I’m not sure either,” Zack told him. “I guess we’ll see.”

Zack stepped around the guys and went inside the clubhouse. It was early in the day and most people were out at work or taking care of club business, so there were just a few old-timers drinking beer and watching television. “Zack!” Bethany, one of the club girls that Zack used often in the past, spotted him and stood up mid-conversation with an old-timer, to say hello. “I hadn’t seen you around for so long that I thought maybe you’d gone back out on the road already.”

The big-chested twenty-five-year-old with the bleached-blonde dreads and colorful tats all over every exposed part of her body was close enough suddenly that he could feel her hard nipples rubbing up against his arm through her shirt. Bethany came from money and before she’d left her father’s home in Mississippi, she’d used Daddy’s credit card to make sure her body looked like a porn star’s. Zack appreciated it, but strangely enough, after being with Nicole, he wasn’t interested in it at all. “Hey, Beth. Did you get a new eyebrow piercing?”

She smiled. Her teeth were whiter than a movie star’s, each one straightened and capped with a ceramic veneer. “I did. You’re the only one that noticed.” She turned so she was standing in front of him and her nipples were rubbing into the front of his kutte while he got a full view of her bra-less tits down the front of her shirt. “You wanna go up to your room and party?” The idea of her lips around his cock did give him a slight rise. He was glad to see that he was still human and undeniably male.

“Another time, darlin’,” he told her. “I have club business to take care of.”

She set her face in a pout and said, “Okay, but find me when you’re done, alright? It’s been a while.” He was sure she meant between him and her, and not for her. She was one of the most popular girls in the club and her “dance card” was always full.

“Sure,” he said, not meaning it. He wondered if he was going crazy. It wasn’t like he was in a relationship with Nicole. He was free to fuck whoever he wanted. But so far, she was the only one he craved. “I’ll see you later, Beth, okay?”

She blew him a kiss with her precisely lined and heavily painted red lips before he continued through the great room to the meeting room. He knocked on the door and Stone said:

“Yeah?”

Zack pushed open the door and was happy to see that Stone was alone. He wasn’t one for manipulation; growing up with Mona had made him despise it. But in this case there was something he wanted badly and Stone’s fondness for him might help, if he wasn’t surrounded by naysayers like Skid. “Hey, Prez, how’s it going?”

Stone waved him in and Zack closed the door behind him. “You know, same old,” he said. “Sometimes I think I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Zack sat down and smiled. “You ready to retire to some beach, somewhere?”

“Hell yes,” the older man said and smiled. He held it for a minute and then with a serious look he said, “So, I could tell by the tone of your voice on the phone that this is no social call. What’s up?”

“You know about the girl and the baby…Nicole and Liam…”

“Yeah,” Stone chuckled and shook his head. “I never thought I’d see the day where the Zack Attack was spun out over a pussy.”

Zack smiled, but he was fighting not to argue the point that Nicole was more than just a “pussy.” He knew that would only amuse and confuse Stone further. Hell, it confused the hell out of him. Instead he sucked all that up and said, “I’m going to Massachusetts in the morning…”

Stone frowned. “I thought that wasn’t for a couple of weeks.”

“Yeah, some things came up that I need to discuss with Dax before then. I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about it all yet…but, you know that I told you Randall Covey is the Head Hunters’ new president, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what I didn’t tell you is that he’s hooked up with Satan herself, my mother.” Stone chuckled. Zack shook his head and said, “She has already started trying to convince Randall that he needs to get revenge for my father’s death. The kid that shot my dad is Dax Marshall’s brother. If Randall goes after him, he’s taking on the whole Southside.”

Stone nodded. “Last I heard, Dax had done a fine job building that club up strong. It would be one hell of a war between those two clubs.”

“And I know from personal experience that the Head Hunters don’t play fair. Dax Marshall is big on family and keeping their women and kids safe. The Head Hunters could give a shit about women or kids. It could turn into a bloody mess. I’m hoping a heads-up will give the Skulls an advantage.”

“Okay, I agree with that. If it was my club I’d want to know, and you telling him will only strengthen the argument for the alliance you’re going there to discuss in the first place. So, now tell me how the girl factors into this.”

“Nicole is back at the apartment that the guys and I helped her move into. She’s alone, with the baby. She’s talking to the police about a restraining order…” Stone rolled his eyes. “I know. I tried to tell her that no biker I’ve ever known would let a piece of paper stop him from going after what he wants. Unfortunately, what Spider wants is her, and that piece of shit is going to kill her one of these days if for no other reason than she fights back and it pisses him off. I can’t be in two places at once, Stone. I’m here to ask if you can spare a couple of the guys a day to just keep an eye on her and the baby until I get back.”

Stone groaned. “You know if the Defenders find out, we’re putting our alliance with them in jeopardy. And just so we’re clear…whether you agree with that alliance or not, Zachary, it’s necessary and it’s happening.”

“I get that, I do. But does that mean we sit back and let this fool kill a woman and steal her baby? If he was a part of this club, you wouldn’t let him get away with it.”

“No, but his president doesn’t give a shit about what they do in their private lives, just so it doesn’t hurt the club. I’m not one to tell a man how to run his own club.”

Zack nodded. “I know. But Stone, with me out of town, Spider is free to torment Nicole as much as he wants. Even if she calls the cops and they arrest him, you know he’ll get kicked out of lock-up in less than 24 hours.”

Stone sighed and rubbed his temples. “You know I don’t like going behind the club’s back, especially my own executives, but if I agree to put a few of the guys on this, it has to be just between us. If Skid or any of the other guys find out that I’m involved in this…”

“They won’t. Send Hash and Barber and one of the prospects that you trust. You know Hash and Barber won’t say a word and they won’t do anything stupid, either, to piss off the Defenders.”

“Okay, kid, but this better not go bad.”

Zack smiled at him and stood up. “It won’t, I promise.”

Stone chuckled again. “Famous last words, kid.”