The instant his brother hugged him back, it finally hit home that this was real. That this wasn’t a joke.

Ava had done it.

She’d played the political game and had managed to screw up so many careers, and all to get his brother home.

Spyder shuddered as he clung to Sammy’s thin frame. His baby bro had lost a shit ton of weight and was favoring his right side as well as shielding it with his arm—an arm he hadn’t lifted to hug Spyder back.

“I’d kill the bastard who broke your ribs,” he whispered into Sammy’s ear.

“I know, but then I’d have to figure out a way to spring you from jail. I’m not sure if I’d do as good a job of it as you have.”

Spyder grinned. His brother’s sense of humor hadn’t gone anywhere—that was a relief in itself. “I had friends. Good friends who sorted shit out for me.”

“Sorted shit out is an understatement.” Sammy blew out a breath as they pulled back from one another. “They worked a fucking miracle.”

Spyder acknowledged that as he took in the prison behind Sammy. The guards were eying them both like feral dogs as he grabbed his bro’s good arm and tugged him away from the chain metal gate.

“You’re a free man,” he told Sammy as they stepped toward the car park and headed for his bike.

Sammy looked back at the low level buildings, endless chain metal fences, high walls topped with barbed wire‒ gate after gate, lock after lock.

“I’m just glad to be going home,” he whispered, his eyes on the hellhole that had been the roof over his head for far too long.

Spyder shook his head as he pointed out where his bike was parked. “We’re not going back to the clubhouse.”

“Why not?”

“I got married while you were inside, Sam,” he explained carefully. Jessie and he had decided married made more sense for the moment. They could explain it all to Sammy later, when things had calmed down and he was getting the ball rolling with putting his life back in order. To say he was mated would just make things complicated when things were already crazy for Sammy. “I live with her now.”

Sammy scowled at his reasoning. “But what about Spider’s Venom?”

It was his turn to blow out a breath. “I’m giving it up, Sam. I don’t want to rule it anymore. I don’t want to go to jail, not with Jessie in my life. And what if we had kids? I don’t want to miss out on that. Dad was never away for too long, but I hated it whenever he went inside. A part of me hated him for not being careful enough, for not giving up that shit to protect us.”

Sammy blinked. “What the fuck has happened to you? Did aliens abduct you or something?”

Rolling his eyes, he retorted, “Yeah, Sammy, that’s what happened. I got anal probed and realized I don’t like leading a life of crime anymore.”

Sammy wrinkled his nose. “TMI, dude.”

Shit, it kind of was. Not with the Sammy of old, but Spyder was nearly one hundred per cent certain Sammy had been raped in jail. What the fuck was he thinking of mentioning anal probes?

Wanting to kick his own ass, he was relieved to note that Sammy didn’t look distressed just grossed out.

“So, I’m coming to stay with you?” he asked, nose still wrinkled as they approached Spyder’s bike.

“Well, I’m kinda staying with her folks.” He sucked in a breath. “You know The Nomads?”

“The MC?” Sammy nodded. “Their IPA is the bomb.”

He snorted. “I’ll pass on the recommendation.”

“What about them?”

“Well, Jessie’s the daughter of one of The Nomad’s Council members.”

“Shit. You married well, bro.”

Spyder grinned. “Yeah, I married her for her money.” He punched him in the arm. “Get real. Anyway, we’re staying at the clubhouse for the moment.”

“That’s great, but they won’t want me there. Surely?”

“They extended the invitation to you. They’re how I got you out of this hellhole.”

Sammy froze. “For real? A rival MC helped us out?”

“Yeah. For real. And they have never been our rivals. Not really. They’re on a whole other league.” Jesus, talk about understatement. “This whole thing was orchestrated to dump The Nomads in deep shit. They’re working to counteract that, and in the interim, want to help us, you, out.”

“So I can stay there? With no problem?”

“I told them you’re not really affiliated to the MC, anyway. Which wasn’t a lie.”

“It’s not a lie, but even though I wasn’t patched in, everyone knows I kind of was.”

“Yeah, but it’s the patch that counts. And you were only involved because Dad got you involved.”

“Because I asked him,” Sammy corrected. “It’s hard to be a brother in an MC when you can’t fucking ride a bike.”

Spyder grunted. “That’s only because you refuse to take the test.”

“Fuck that. I’m not having them mark me down as dyslexic.”

“Like that’s the be all and end all. There’s nothing wrong with being dyslexic.”

“You tell that to Mrs. Janowicz. She said I was stupid.”

“Jesus, you can’t let a bitch teacher from sixth grade stop you from doing shit with your life.”

“Why not?”

Wanting to feed his bro a knuckle sandwich after being reunited for ten minutes shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. The two of them had always constantly bickered. It was the way they rolled.

“We both know you can ride a bike, fuck, you can ride a goddamn car. All you need to do is take the shitty tests.”

“You got that right. Shitty is what they are, and I’m not doing it.”

Spyder shook his head then slung his arm around Sammy’s neck. Tugging him into a gentle headlock, he gritted out, “What the fuck are you gonna do when I do have kids and I need you to run an errand for me?”

Sammy snorted. “On which part of the label ‘uncle’ does it say I have to run errands for you? I didn’t realize indentured servitude came with being a brother.”

“Good,” he put extra emphasis on the word. “Brothers do shit like that.”

“Yeah? Well, you’ll just have to send me on errands within walking distance.”

“You’re a piece of work, bro. You know that?”

Sammy grinned. “It’s why you wuv me.”

“Fuck off.” He pulled a face. “You’re going to have to explain to The Nomads about your dyslexia.”

“It isn’t dyslexia if it isn’t diagnosed.”

“That’s just fucking stupid,” Spyder retorted.

Sammy narrowed his eyes. “It makes perfect sense.”

“To a dumbass, and you might not be able to read, but you’re not an idiot, Sam. How the hell are they going to trust you to work on shit if they don’t know you can’t read?”

“I never needed to read. I just worked on the bikes. Every MC needs a good mechanic. My skills speak for themselves.”

Spyder tried and failed to seek patience. “Well, I already told Mars that you’re great with bikes. You’ll have to show them you can fix the fuckers even if you can’t ride them.”

“Like you said, we know I can ride them and they will too. Just not legally.”

“Which is all that counts. You know the cops are clamping down on shit like that. Last thing we want is to get you thrown back in a jail cell, even if it is only down at the local precinct.”

Sammy scratched his nose, middle finger facing out. “Are we ever gonna take off from this place or what?” he demanded.

Spyder shoved a helmet at his bro. “Can you manage that?”

It was awkward, but Sammy did, and the fact he remained silent throughout was a warning to Spyder to back the fuck off and let him work through it himself. It had to kill his ribs like a bitch but he managed. His baby bro had grown up in this fucking place. Spyder would have to come to terms with that on his own time.

Strapping on his helmet, Spyder climbed on the back of his hog and waited for Sammy to get on behind him. “You going to be able to cling on to me?”

“We can cuddle another time.”

“Jesus, your attitude just got shittier in that dump, didn’t it?”

Sammy laughed. “You think this is bad? You should see me when I’m high.”

“Do I even want to know how you got access to drugs in a state prison?”

“You answered that yourself, bro.”

“Fucking hell. We need to be having this conversation when we’re not within earshot of the fucking guards. You gonna get on the back of this ride or what?”

With a pained grunt, Sammy climbed behind Spyder and settled down. He groaned as he slid his right arm around Spyder’s waist, and clung on mostly with his leg. “Good to go,” he said hoarsely.

Spyder, wanting to kill the motherfucker who’d beaten up his baby bro, just nodded. It was either that or let loose a stream of curse words that would get him sent inside.

With a roar, the bike rumbled down along the prison’s drive. They passed the last checkpoint and as they made it onto the open road, Sammy let loose a holler that had Spyder grinning.

His bro was out.

He had a mate.

Could life get any fucking better?

“Are you still on that ‘errand’ for Mars?” Jessie demanded, and though she was only on the phone with Jayden, she knew he was rolling his eyes at her.

“I don’t know if you know a woman called Christie? Well, she’s my mom. I already have one, and I don’t need two.”

“Yeah? I agree, you don’t need two, and she is your mom so stop calling me to go and pass on messages to her. Chicken shit.”

“You’re making out like it’s something I do constantly. This is the second time. Jesus. You’re such a pain in my ass.”

“A pain in your ass who’s doing you a favor. Another one. If you want me to tell momma you’re staying out of town for a while longer, I want to know what you’re doing.”

Silence came down the line, then she heard her other brother, Jayden’s twin Kon, grunt, “Tell her. Or you’ll never get off the fucking phone. You know what she’s like.”

“Tell him I heard that. And since when was I she? Don’t I have a fucking name?”

“He heard and rolled his eyes at you.”

“Well, tell him I’m flipping the bird his way.”

Jayden grunted. “Children, we digress. Can we get back on topic?”

“Sure, if the topic is what the fuck you’re doing.”

He sighed. “We’re tracking someone.”

“What kind of someone?”

“Someone Mars wants us to track?”

There was a hopeful note to the remark that made it more of a question. It also sounded more of a plea. Like he was hoping that would be enough to satisfy her. Yeah right.

If they wanted her to do them a favor, then they had to pay out with information.

“Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?”

Jayden grunted. “Woman.”

“Yeah? What kind of woman?”

“You really not going to let this go?”

“What do you think?” she asked with a snort. “I want to know. I’m curious. Plus, when momma starts crying on my shoulder about how her baby boys aren’t talking to her anymore, I can tell them you’re on a job and I can say, without lying, that you’re not in any danger.”

Jayden grunted, her guilt trip having worked. “She stole a lot of money from the brewery.”

“She worked for us?” Jessie demanded, scrunching her brow in surprise.

“Yeah. She worked in the admin block. Ava found the discrepancies and Mars sent us after the chick. Only, when we went around to find her, she wasn’t there. Mars asked us to look for her.”

“But you’re prospects. Surely that’s a big boy task?”

“You’re great for a man’s ego.”

“I’ll be sure to check up on that with my mate. He can tell me whether you’re right or wrong.”

When he made no remark, she realized he wouldn’t know about her and Spyder having bonded.

“He claimed you?”

Jayden sounded rather hoarse.

“Actually, I claimed him.”

“Goddess, I bet Dad loved that.”

“Yeah, he did. Really welcomed Spyder into the family, ya know?” she mocked. “I thought he was gonna break down the door and whoop his ass.”

“Yeah? What stopped him?”

“I told him his baby girl was buck naked on top of the man he wanted to beat up. If he wanted to get through Spyder, he’d have to get through me first.”

Jayden made a gagging sound which had laughter pealing from her.

“Yeah. He managed to see reason.”

“I can see why. Even though there was way too much information in there for my liking. You can cut down on the details next time.” He grunted. “Congrats, bat breath.”

“Thanks, shithead,” she told him brightly.

“You’re too young.”

“Fuck that. Like you’re not? You’re three years older than me. That’s hardly a lifetime and I totally know you both fuck anything that moves. Together and apart.”

A choking sound came down the line. “You do not know that.”

“Don’t I?” she retorted.

“No. You do not. And neither does Mom.”

“Like I’m gonna share shit about your sex life with Mom. I already hear enough gross stuff about her and Dad. Like I want to add to the torture. I just thought I’d let you know I’m aware of your naughtiness.”

“What? So you can use it against us at a later date?”

“Exactly,” she told him, satisfaction lacing her words. “Can’t blackmail you if you don’t know I have something against you, can I?”

“What the fuck did we do to deserve a sister like you?” Jayden moaned.

“I’m going to get a complex. I’m hearing that way too much lately.”

“That’s because the older you get, the more of a pain in the ass you become,” Jayden grumbled. “Anyway, are you going to tell Mom or what?”

“I’ll tell her. But what are you going to do with the woman when you find her?”

“Haul her in.”

“You’re not going to hurt her?”

He snorted. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. You two have been acting weird ever since you turned prospect. I don’t like the shit you’re getting involved in.”

“We’re not a real MC, Jessie. It’s not like there’s a lot to get messed up in. You know prospect is just a label. We’re fucking gofers for the most part.”

She bit her lip. “I guess not. I just don’t want you to get into trouble, that’s all. I care, dickhead.”

“I know you do. And we care about you too, ass wipe.” He paused. “Tell your mate that we’ll shoot out his kneecaps if he hurts you.”

“Yeah? Where you going to get the gun from?” She pounced upon that fact, smirking when he grunted. “Something else’s momma would like to know, I’m sure.”

“We have fucking permits,” Jayden retorted.

“Goddess, get off the phone before you owe her a thousand favors,” their brother complained in the background.

Jessie snorted. “Let’s make that a million. But, behave. For whatever reason, she only stole money. It’s not like she hurt us personally.”

Jayden grunted. “You do know that’s not how society works, right?”

“Yeah, but we work to a different set of rules, don’t we?”

He blew out a breath. “I guess.”

“I’ll talk to you later, okay? I’ll tell Mom you’re both fine.”

“Thanks, shithead.”

“Be safe.” She cut the call. Pressing her cell to her mouth, she stared up at the ceiling, trying to decide whether or not to believe the tale Jayden had told her.

She believed him about the woman embezzling funds, kind of. That was information that could be backed up. Something in his voice had caught though when he’d talked about the embezzler. Something that pricked her attention and she wasn’t entirely sure why.

Hearing a disturbance outside, she climbed off the bed and wandered over to the window.

As she made the decision to ask Ava if she’d really found evidence of embezzlement in the brewery’s accounts, she saw a gathering of brothers around the garage down below.

And when she said gathering, she meant it. Over a hundred, at least, had to be down there. Doing only the Goddess knew what.

Curious because she could only see the crowd and not what they were looking at, she pocketed her cell phone and headed for the door.

She barely passed anyone on her way out, and no wonder considering everyone seemed to be outside.

Making it to the garage, she started to shoulder her way through the brothers.

When they saw her, they stepped politely aside with a smile and let her burrow her way through. As she approached the center of the circle, she heard her mate’s voice.

Frowning, because she knew he’d gone to collect Sammy and had promised to bring him straight to her so she could be introduced to his brother, Jessie was prepared to glower at Spyder the minute she saw him.

Instead, her eyes widened at the sight before her.

The garage was where bikes kept on site were repaired and maintained. Her dad ran this particular workshop and one in Houston proper, the largest of the MC’s garages in the area. Most of the brothers traveled to the city though to get his expert eye to glean over any ‘wounds’ on the brother’s babies.

As this was more of a quick fix workshop, a lot of bikes that were too battered to make it to the city ended up being left here.

She recognized a lot of them because her father since in his spare time he tended to tinker with the more battered bikes. If she wanted anything from him, then this place was where she asked as he worked for fun.

But of the twenty or so bikes that were butchered beyond repair, some even cut apart as they’d been used for spares, the most damaged was an old Harley her dad had been working on the longest. Its engine had gone kaput a while back, and rust had started eating away at the bodywork.

Still, as she looked on, the engine was purring like a recently fed housecat. Spyder, his grin as wide as a Cheshire cat, was sitting astride it, revving the engine as a guy standing beside him wiped his hands on an oil rag.

“You just needed to look at the carburetor,” the stranger told her father who looked a mixture of pissed off and impressed.

Everyone knew her dad had a horse whisperer’s touch with bikes, so for the stranger to outfox him was no feat.

“That was one of the first places I looked,” Mundo grumbled as he peered down at the metal veins and arteries that were the bike’s innards.

She headed toward her father, and as she reached the man at his side, smiled. “Sammy?”

He turned to her.

Spyder snorted. “Say something, dumbass,” he demanded when Sammy just kept silent.

“I’m Spyder’s wife. Jessie.” She held the smile even though Sammy was just staring at her. After she flashed a concerned glance at Spyder, he took the hint and climbed off the back of the bike.

He curled an arm about his brother’s shoulder and asked, “Everything okay, bro?”

Sammy cleared his throat. “Yes. Everything’s fine.”

“Good. Aren’t you going to say hi to my wife?”

She felt raised brows at that, and knew the men wouldn’t have failed to pick up on the significance of that one word.

By using wife instead of mate, Spyder had inadvertently informed everyone that they hadn’t told Sammy he was now related to a Shifter Clan.

“Hi,” Sammy said woodenly, all of his excitement having flushed away at the sight of her.

“You certainly made an impression, short stuff,” her dad mumbled to her, and she elbowed him in the side. He grinned and pulled her into a hug. “You can’t win them all over, Jessie.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re used to having men fall at your feet. It’s probably a good job your mate’s brother hasn’t.”

She blinked at him in astonishment. “What the hell are you talking about, Dad?”

He frowned at her. “You know what I mean.”

His conversational tone was starting to piss her off. “No. I really don’t.”

“You know the way guys just fall about when you walk in a room. Leaping over mountains to get stuff done for you, to help out.”

“They do that because they’re kind.”

“They do that because you’re beautiful,” he corrected.

She frowned. “Don’t be silly.”

He studied her. “You really didn’t know?” Laughter hooted from him. “Wait until I tell you ma.”

“What’s there to tell her?” she demanded, folding her arms across her chest in discomfort.

“That you’re apparently as blind as a bat.” He shook his head. “You really didn’t know the effect you have on men?”

“No. Why would I? It’s not like...” She bit off her next word, and as she thought about how men did treat her, like just then—how they’d let her pass through, making way by forming a tunnel rather than just letting her step ahead. They always treated her with respect, but she’d figured that was more to do with Mundo and his place on the Council. Still, if what he was saying was true?

She immediately flushed, intensely discomfited by the idea.

Mundo nodded. “See. Although, actually, don’t. Forget I said anything. You’re already trouble without you having known that. Last thing I need is to make your ego any bigger.”

She sniffed at that. “My ego is just fine, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what concerns me,” he teased.

Before she could retort, Spyder approached her. Sammy had ducked down beside the bike and was working on it once more.

“Sorry about that. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him.” He looked concerned, and she didn’t like that; not when he’d seemed so happy moments before she’d arrived as the two brothers had worked together to stun the Clan with Sammy’s talents as a mechanic.

She’d spoiled it for both siblings, and she wasn’t entirely sure how she’d done that.

“He doesn’t have to like me straight away,” she tried to comfort him, more for Spyder’s sake than her own. It hurt that Sammy had taken such an instant dislike to her, but what could she do? She couldn’t make Sammy like her. “I guess he’s just a little unsure of how the land lies. I mean, he thought he’d be back with his brother, but instead he’s in an MC clubhouse he’s never been to before, and his bro is newly joined with someone he’s never met. It’s okay for him to be out of sorts.”

He kissed her temple. “What did I do to deserve you?”

Mundo hooted. “Ask yourself that twenty years down the line when you have a mini her to contend with. Goddess, you’ll be wishing you went to confession a hell of a lot more than you did.”

“Considering you’re not a Catholic,” Jessie stated sweetly, “that particular solution can’t be laid at your door.”

“Having kids like you and your brothers is enough to make anyone convert.”

“Like we’re worse than you. I’ve spoken to Aunty Cinda. She told me how difficult you were.”

“Difficult? I was an angel in comparison to her. You She Bears.” He said that on a hush for Sammy’s benefit. “You’re all the same. All big babies and you all throw your rattle out of the cot if you don’t get your own way.”

“I’ll bet momma would say the exact same thing about you if we asked her.” She folded her arms across her chest, not appreciating, yet again, being accused of throwing tantrums.

If nobody fucking listened to her, what was a woman supposed to do? Get an ulcer from holding her fucking tongue, or just letting it rip and getting the poison out?

And boy, in this fucking Clan, didn’t she have a hell of a lot of poison to lance?

“I bet she would, and you know why?” When she just frowned at him, he retorted, “Because then she can pass the blame on to me. Can say it’s all my genes. Ha! Like she wasn’t a troublemaker herself.”

“She’s a dentist, Dad,” Jessie replied, amused now by her father’s attempt to pass the blame of their ‘delinquency’ on to her mom. “You, on the other hand, ride for an MC, and have been to jail more times than I have fingers and thumbs. You’re not exactly angel material. Mom, on the other hand, kind of is. Plus, she’s like a saint anyway for putting up with you.”

He huffed. “I’m starting to take offense, young lady.”

Spyder chuckled. “Jesus, the two of you when you’re together... You belong on a comedy act.”

“We probably do,” she admitted. “Unless comedy shows ended with him trying to strangle me and me trying to trip him up.”

“Why not? It worked for Bart and Homer.”

She grinned at that. “True. Maybe we should, Dad. You up for it?”

“Your mother would kill me.”

“Because you always do as you’re told.” She chuckled and nudged him. “Wuss.” His eyes twinkled in reply, and she grinned at him. Widely. Then, nudging her chin in Sammy’s direction, asked, “He’s got to be good if he got that shit heap working.”

“That shit heap happens to be a classic,” Spyder retorted while Mundo started banging his chest.

“You’re not having a heart attack, Dad,” she retorted. “And don’t make out like you haven’t called it that a time or two. Mostly when you couldn’t get the engine running again.”

He glowered at her. “I was just biding my time.”

“Seems Sammy didn’t have to,” she retorted sweetly and was on the receiving end of the evil eye from her dad. “You going to offer him a job at one of the workshops?”

Mundo nodded. “How can I not? Boy’s got the magic touch.”

“Hear that, Sammy?” Spyder called out. “Mundo’s hiring you.”

Sammy peered up at them. “You mean that, Mr. Mundo?”

“Heck, call me Mundo, boy. Don’t need the mister round here. And yep, I surely do. Ain’t seen nobody with fingers like yours.”

Sammy beamed a smile at him. “I won’t let you down.”

“I’m sure you won’t. Your choice, though. I’m in charge of this workshop, but we only really do minor stuff here, and then there’s another in Houston. We do major re-hauls there.”

“Is there enough work for me to stay here full time?”

Mundo nodded. “Sure. We can redirect some of the work here if not.”

Sammy frowned at that and clambered to his feet. Jessie knew they had different mothers, but he looked so like Spyder at that moment, only a little shorter and a lot darker, that her heart melted at his confusion. “Why are you being so kind to me, sir?”

“You’re my girl’s brother-in-law, Sammy. Why wouldn’t I be?” Mundo said easily. He clapped Sammy on the back. “Plus, I’m one of the best mechanics we’ve got in the MC, and you’re already better than me. You don’t think I’d be a damn fool to let somebody sneak you off from under my nose?”

Sammy’s grin was slow in coming. “Well, it might be a bit dumb, yeah.”

At her side, Spyder was tense, and when she shot him a look, she saw how nervous he was on his brother’s behalf. Determined to ask Spyder about that later, she murmured, “We should show you your room, Sammy. You’ve got your own digs here.”

He blinked at her, and sheepishly lowered his head. “Thanks, Jessie.”

“Hey, it’s no trouble at all. If anything,” she confided, “My aunty Annette had to do all the maneuvering. They won’t let me do anything because they say I’m too young.”

He frowned at that. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

“I’m twenty-two.” To Mundo, and sounding concerned now, he asked, “Does that mean I can’t work here? Because I’m too young?”

Mundo blinked. “Nah, son. We’re a little chauvinistic around these parts, that’s all.”

She huffed when Sammy accepted that with just a nod. “Well, that’s fair,” she retorted, glowering at her dad who just grinned. Hell, this was still Texas. Didn’t matter how many years into the new Millennium they were, the modern woman managed to confuse the chauvinists on a daily basis.

Spyder cleared his throat. “If you want to keep on working, buddy, I can show you your room later?”

Sammy nodded. “That would be great. Thanks, Spyder.”

Her mate grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the garage. “I thought I’d best get you out of there before you exploded.”

She grunted. “I hate Texas.”

“You love it really,” he teased.

“Only here would that be the perfect reasoning for the MC not trusting me. Because I’m young and a woman.” She folded her arms across her chest. “It’s a good thing you do your own laundry, Spyder. I wouldn’t want to mix up detergent with bleach. And I think the buttons are a little too difficult for me to press, what with my dainty pinkies. In fact, I think it’s too much trouble to breathe. Goddes forbid my lungs can manage to work out how to use the oxygen in the air.”

He snorted. “I never said I agreed with that, did I? And it’s not like I could argue. We both agreed to keep him in the dark about the whole Shifter thing for a little while.”

“Might be easier said than done. You know, what with the men that turn into bears in the back yard.”

He rubbed his nose. “You have a point.”

“I made the same point when we talked about it yesterday, and the day before,” she retorted.

He grimaced. “I just wanted to get him back. To bring him home.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, softening. “And now he’s here, you’ve got to address the fact that this is a Shifter Clan. The guys heard you call me wife earlier, so they’ll know to behave, but they can’t behave for long. This is the one place they don’t have to,” she explained. “This is their home.”

“I get that. I do. Look,” he said, holding his hands out. “I’ll tell him when I show him his room later. He’ll be glued to that engine for hours. He wouldn’t even notice if a den of Bears stormed through the gates.”

She gawked at him, somehow sensing he wasn’t joking. “Seriously?”

He nodded, and ruefully grimaced. “He doesn’t want anyone to know but he had learning difficulties as a kid. Can barely read and write thanks to dyslexia. His focus is shit, and he has some ticks and in deeply stressful situations, like you just saw, will either shut down entirely or stutter. But, when it comes to bikes, he’s a demon.”

“Why doesn’t he want anyone to know? People will make exceptions if they understand.”

“That’s just it. He doesn’t want them to make exceptions. His teachers all made him feel like an idiot as a kid. It’s given him a complex.” He shrugged. “There’s no convincing him otherwise. I’ve tried. Trust me. I’m surprised I managed to get him here, if I’m really being honest. He likes everything in its proper place, and he clings to what he knows. I can only imagine he’s just relieved to be out of jail that he’ll settle for anywhere that isn’t connected to that place.”

She processed that, then unable to help it, chuckled a little. She knew she’d offended him, but she held up a hand. “Sorry, Devon, but I was just thinking... he and Ava should get on like a house on fire. I mean, she doesn’t stutter but she’s just as particular.”

His lips twitched. “Particular’s definitely the word. For both of them.”

“Family. You have to love them, right?”

Spyder laughed. “Either that, or hit them with big sticks.”

“I certainly feel like doing that with my dad sometimes.”

“You love him, really.”

Her grin was sheepish. “Maybe. I can certainly appreciate him more now he’s not the boss of me.” She eyed him. “Not that you’re the boss of me now, buddy, but he doesn’t have to know that, does he?”

“I’m the honorary boss, but I have no power,” he teased, then leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I was lucky to find you, wasn’t I?”

“The feeling’s mutual.” She sighed as she turned and looked around the yard. “It’s not much, but it’s home, and if you hadn’t popped up when you did, then I probably wouldn’t be here.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She jerked a shoulder. “I was going to run away.” Her words had her blowing out an irritated breath. “Running away. Goddess, that makes me sound like a melodramatic kid. I just wanted to live my life on my own rules, you know? I was tired of having to live like a ten year old in a twenty year old’s body.”

He frowned. “Did anyone know about this?”

“No.” She conceded. “Well, no one aside from the travel agent I used to buy my tickets. I went old school. Figured there’d be no way of tracing me that way if I left no electronic trail. I knew they’d stick Ava on my tail otherwise. That would have my plan blowing up before I even got out of the state.”

He blinked at her. “How long ago did you book the tickets?”

She shrugged. “Ten months ago.”

“Why did you leave it so long?”

“I’ve been paying off the tickets with my wages. I didn’t want to start my life in debt, and I wanted to have some money saved up for where I was heading. Why?”

“I think I know what started this whole shitstorm with Martinez.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Where’s Mars?”

“Probably in his quarters.” She shrugged. “Either that or the Council room.”

He dragged her along, heading for the Council room first.

“What are we doing?” she complained as she trudged behind him.

“I want to explain this once and once only,” he answered as he knocked on the Council door. When Mars bellowed at them to come in, he stepped inside without hesitation.

Jessie eyed Kiko and Mars and smiled wanly at them. If her revelation was about to be shared with them, then she really wasn’t looking forward to the repercussions. But hell, it wasn’t like she could complain if what she’d told him had something to do with Martinez.

It was his brother, after all, who’d been sent to jail by the son of a bitch.

“What’s wrong, Spyder?” Mars asked, frowning at him over some papers he was reading.

“Jessie just told me something, and I think it explains what triggered Martinez to start this whole shitstorm.”

Mars slowly put down the papers. “Tell me more.”

Spyder shot Jessie an apologetic look, which had her grimacing and holding up a hand. “I’ll tell them.” She glanced at the Prez and VP. “Now, before I say anything, I’m legally an adult in the human world. I can do anything I damn well want. Be it drink, smoke, vote, or have sex. You got that?”

Mars scowled. “You know we don’t adhere to those rules.”

“I could tell you the laws and bylaws that state we do adhere to those rules,” she huffed, and knew she could because she’d made it a damn point of pride to know exactly what rules she had by right. “But it’s by choice that Clans don’t,” she retorted disgruntledly. “However, that’s neither here nor there. Ten months ago, I decided I was going to leave. I bought some tickets. And about two weeks after I met Spyder, that was when I was supposed to take off.”

Kiko gawked at her so hard, he looked like he was about to tip forward out of his chair. If a man of his size and stature could squeak, he did now as he asked, “You were going to run away?”

She folded her arms across her chest, feeling as defensive as she undoubtedly looked. “Yes. I was tired of being treated like a baby. Tired of working for slave wages at the store.”

Mars frowned. “You can have whatever you want within reason. You know that’s how it works.”

“That’s how it works with females,” she retorted bitterly. “My brothers get decent wages, and what do they do with it? Toss it all against the wall. But me, the pittance I got? I saved.” She huffed. “How’s that for fair?”

Mars frowned. “You only had to ask your parents.”

“But that’s just it. I shouldn’t have to ask, Mars. Dammit, I’m an adult and I worked hard and a lot of hours—I should have been paid what I deserved to earn. I know you guys persist in thinking of us as kids, and hell, I know you’re all ancient and in comparison, we are kids, but that doesn’t take away from the fact we’re mentally mature enough to ‘adult’.”

“We’re never mentally mature enough to adult,” Mars stated, a tad ruefully. “You think I don’t wish my dad was around still to ask for advice?”

She shook her head. “No, of course I know you would. But asking him for pocket money because you want a new dress is a little out of your comfort zone, no?”

He coughed at that. “Just a little.”

She nodded, and pressed her lips together. “At least now, I only have to ask Spyder for money.”

He frowned at her. “Will you, now ? Well,” he admitted, “I thought we’d both put into the pot and pay our share. That’s only fair.”

“Really?” she asked, falling for him even more at how easily he accepted that. Goddess, she should have been praying for a human mate all along. They were so much more forward thinking than fuddy duddy Shifter males. “I don’t earn a lot at the store.”

“I think that might be changing now you’re mated.” He pressed his hands to the table and leaned over it. “Right, gentlemen?”

“It was only while she was a cub,” Kiko defended. “I didn’t realize the pay was so bad.”

He aimed that last part at Mars, and his tone was a little guilt-stricken, Jessie had to admit.

“It’s a good wage if we were still living in the seventies, Kiko.”

He flinched. “Shit. I really didn’t think it would be a problem. Your parents provide for everything. I just assumed it was pin money.”

“I don’t want pin money. I want what’s mine. What I’ve rightfully earned. And I want my independence. Even now that I’m mated, that doesn’t change any of that.”

Mars blew out a breath. “Okay, you’ve shaken us up a little. We understand why you were feeling constricted.”

She nodded. “Well, I wanted to make a life of my own.”

“I can’t believe you wanted to leave the Clan,” Kiko admitted huskily.

“I was desperate,” she retorted. “I felt like I was drowning here. You all treat me like a kid, and I know I am in your eyes, but I couldn’t live like that any longer. I need responsibility. Some kind of duty. I don’t want to just sit in my room like a good girl when I’ve finished my eight hour shift folding clothes all day.

“You know I’m a good worker. You know I’m smart, and you’re not utilizing me.”

“All staff say that,” Kiko retorted.

“Yeah, they do, but you can ask my manager. You ask her if I’m good at what I do, and if I’m wasted on folding clothes. It’s a given that someday, when you all think I’m ready, I’ll actually learn to be the manager of the place, but nobody’s told me when that miraculous day might be.”

“I’ll be sure to remind him to ask her,” Mars said, his tone like silk.

She didn’t trust it and hunched her shoulders at his words. Not because she thought her manager wouldn’t agree with what she’d said, but because his voice was pitched to make her nervous.

Damn Clan leaders. Always had the unfair advantage.

“What does this have to do with Martinez?” he asked after a few seconds, and she just knew that silence had been for her and her alone. To make her sweat.

He was going to tell her parents.

Dear Goddesses.

That was going to be a fun conversation.

Before she could huff out her exasperation at being ‘told on’, Spyder murmured, “Jessie booked her tickets with a travel agent.”

“Are there still some of those around?” Mars asked, astonishment coating his words.

“A few,” she confided. “Not many. But enough. Some people prefer the personal touch,” she explained as he carried on gawking at her.

“What if that travel agent recognized who she was. After all, Jessie had to hand out her identity cards to reserve the tickets. What if the agent knew Martinez or someone who works for him, and knows the bastard has a grudge against The Nomads.”

“This seems like a lot of speculation,” Kiko started to say, but Mars held up a hand to stall him.

“Carry on, Spyder.”

Her mate nodded. “Once Jessie was on her way, out of Clan protection, they could have snatched her. Getting us involved with this package drop might have been a distraction. Like smoke and mirrors. It would have worked too, if Jessie wasn’t in the picture.

“Let’s face it. Our MCs would have gone to war. Even if you’d noticed Jessie had gone missing, you’d have been focused elsewhere. Especially considering how I decided to get your attention.”

“You really think Martinez wanted to abduct Jessie?”

“What better way to punish you all?” he replied softly. “I mean, the dates just add up. Jessie buys tickets ten months ago. Nine months ago, that farce is set up and Sammy gets locked up. The trial was a joke and he was in jail within a few months. Then, Martinez gets in touch with me a handful of weeks before Jessie’s due to leave? Just enough time for me to convince you to do my MC a favor and carry that package for me. Then boom, we’re at war because you’d check the package and see that it was loaded with contraband and would assume Spider’s Venom was trying to get you into deep shit.” He shrugged. “A distraction. All while Jessie’s winging her way out of here and he can get his dirty hands on her.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, the man sells skin, guys. Look at her. She’s perfect. Blonde, petite, curvy? She’s prime market material.”

Jessie blinked at that. “Thanks, I think,” she snarled. “It’s nice to know I’m worth a pretty penny on the meat market.”

Spyder’s grin was rueful. “Sorry, babe. But you know what I’m trying to say.”

Mars shot Kiko a look. “What do you think?”

“I think it sounds like it could be what went down, but we’ve no way of knowing for sure.”

Mars murmured, “You did say, Jessie, that you felt like the package wasn’t big enough in the retribution stakes. Your being kidnapped certainly hikes it up a few notches.”

She rubbed her arms as chills ran down her spine. “Just a little.” Goddess, she’d put herself, unwittingly, in so much danger.

“And that look on your face is exactly what we’ve always tried to avoid, Jessie,” Kiko said in a low growl. “All of us, this entire Clan, none of it matters without our cubs. You’re the future, Jessie. Without you, we’re nothing. That’s why we keep you tight to the nest. I know you all rail at it, and I know it gets you mad, but there are bastards out there who’ll play on your connection to us. Do you understand?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Do you have to tell my parents? I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Mars grunted. “That’s why I should tell them.”

Her eyes popped open. “Please, don’t. Honestly, I know I was stupid. And I’m not going anywhere now Spyder’s here. I’m safe.”

“What if you’re not happy with Spyder, Jessie?” Mars asked softly. “Every relationship has its highs and its lows. How do I know you’re not going to try to cut and run when the going gets tough? If this theory is true, then you know how much danger that puts you in, right?”

His words made her want to scream. It had taken twenty-three years of this pressure cooker environment for her to realize that she needed to do something to blow off the steam. And here he was, making her look fickle and flighty. She could cope with the slurs, just hated that he was saying it all in front of Spyder. Her mate who might take all this as granted and start believing she was fickle.

“Look, the MC has been straight all my life. Longer even. How was I to know that my buying some plane tickets could have the potential to trigger this entire farce? I didn’t know there was any danger because for my entire life, there’s never been any. Now I know, I’m not stupid. We’re all entitled to make mistakes, but in this instance, my mistake was innocent.”

“Most mistakes are,” Mars chimed in gloomily. He rubbed his jaw, and like Solomon passing down a law, stated, “Relationships are hard work, Jessie. Even mate bonds. You know Annette and I fight. A lot. If anything happens between you and Spyder, if you feel like enough is enough and you want out...” He shot Spyder an apologetic look when her mate let out a pissed off snarl at the Prez’s words. “Then you have to promise to come to me first. Do you hear me?”

She wanted to promise to hit him if he maintained this topic, but decided the better option was to try to stop him from talking to her parents. “If I promise, will you promise not to tell my mom and dad? They’ll never let me hear the end of it, and it will just scare my mom when there’s no real need.”

“I’m not sure if you’re in a position to bargain, Jessie,” Kiko pointed out, though his tone was more rueful than annoyed.

She shrugged. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

“I’m tempted to tell your father but not your mother. I’ll not lie, Jessie, I’m very disappointed in you.”

She frowned at him and tried not to feel regret at his disappointment. It was hard when she was the focus of three male scowls. “You can still say that even though you know my reasoning why?”

“That doesn’t excuse it. You’re close to Annette. Why didn’t you discuss this with her?” Mars froze, his eyes narrowing with displeasure. “Unless you did, and she didn’t tell me?”

Jessie scoffed at that. “Like she could keep that from you anyway.” She shot him a pointed look, one that had him rearing back in surprise. “But no, Annette didn’t know. I didn’t tell her. I knew it would be unfair on her. I didn’t want to test her loyalties.”

Mars nodded at that. “For the moment, we’ll leave this conversation where it stands. But we need to react to the possibility that Spyder’s theory is based on truth.

“Jessie, I want you to tell Ava where you bought your tickets and who attended you. I want her to find out if the assistant has Cartel affiliations.”

Jessie nodded. “I’ll go to her right away.”

“Good. Once we know that, then we can figure out if there’s some foundation to this because,” Mars let out a long sigh. “As much as I dislike it, I think there’s every chance this is exactly why all of this has started. Martinez found an opportunity and he’s seized on the weakness.”

“I’ll go now.” To Spyder, she murmured, “I’ll see you later.”

He frowned. “I’ll go with you.”

“I think we’re having a low,” she retorted sweetly, using Mars’s word as reference. “But I’m not running too far. Just to the bedroom down the hall.” Her eyes flashed at the men who thought they were in charge of her life. “You can tell my parents. I can handle their shit. But if you want to hurt them, that’s down to you.”

With her nose in the air, she headed out of the Council room. Shrugging off Spyder’s hand with a glower when he tried to stop her, she murmured, “We’ll talk about this later.”

He sighed but let her go. As the door closed, she heard Mars chuckle. “She always did have an attitude to rival the iceberg that sank the Titanic.”

Geez, wasn’t that a compliment?

Irritated beyond all belief, she rushed to Ava’s room. When she knocked on the door and Ava, her fingers tapping on her keyboard, ignored her, she hollered, “Ava, open the damn door. I’m here on your stupid father’s orders.”

Within ten seconds, the door was open. “Anyone who calls my father stupid is welcome in here any time of the day or night.”

Jessie rolled her eyes, not in the mood for Ava’s shit but still willing to throw dung at Mars’s door if she was willing too. “He managed to piss you off today as well?”

“Yes, always,” was all Ava said, but there was a flash of anger in her eyes.

“Want to talk about it?” Jessie asked, tone casual. “I know my brothers are off looking for that woman embezzling in the brewery if that helps?”

Ava shrugged but her gaze narrowed down. “I found out the reason why she was embezzling. I said we should cut her some slack. He didn’t agree.”

“What reason?”

She firmed her lips. “Her mother’s ill. Dying. She’s on radical cancer care treatment, but she doesn’t qualify for any aid.”

“The money she stole went on that?” When Ava nodded, Jessie let out a low whistle. “Goddess, what a choice.”

Ava huffed. “Exactly.”

“I can kind of understand your dad’s point though.” She grimaced. “And trust me, I really don’t want to. We can’t all go around stealing shit just because we’re in a really bad financial position.”

“Even if it’s life or death?” Ava peppered. “Even if it was your mom’s life on the line? Come on, Jessie, we both know you’d do anything to save Christie. And hell, my mom drives me around the bend more than anything, but I’d still go to the ends of the fucking universe to get her back to full health.”

Jessie grimaced. “Agreed.”

“So, we both agree. He’s being a prick?”

Jessie nodded. “Motion carried.”

Their gazes met, clashed, and they both snickered.

“What’s he done to piss you off?”

“Not just him, but Kiko and Spyder too.”

“Lover’s tiff already?” Ava asked, brows lifting as she took a seat on her sofa.

“Kind of. I told him something and he immediately went to the Council. I mean, granted, it all might fit this theory he has, but still, it’s a shitty thing to do when he knows the bastards around here are like fucking dinosaurs.”

Ava held up her hands. “Whoa. Slow it down, and back right up. Start from the beginning.”

Jessie moved over to the sofa. “Mind if I sit down?”

“Sure. Take a seat.”

Jessie perched on the arm chair and slumped over so her elbows were on her knees. “I arranged late last years for some plane tickets.”

Ava frowned. “You wanted to go on vacation?”

“No.” She blew out a breath and prepared for the shit to hit the fan. “I was intending on running away.”

Silence fell, and she peeked over at the woman who was her elder by a handful of years, shared no blood with her, but was her sister by Clan.

Ava looked astonished. “You were going to leave? Without telling anyone?”

“Like they’d have let me go if they’d known,” she snapped, then sucked in a breath that was supposed to calm but did nothing to settle her anger. “I told Spyder that if it wasn’t for him, I’d have left by now. My ticket dates were for two weeks after I met him.”

“Dear Goddess. That’s playing it fine.”

“I know. The Goddess works in mysterious ways, I guess.”

Ava grimaced. “It’s always spooky as hell to realize how much she interferes in our lives.”

A shiver rushed down Jessie’s spine. “Tell me about it.”

“Go on. You were saying.”

“Well, I told him, and he asked me a couple of questions. Like, when I bought them. Then, he drags me off to the Council room and tells Mars this whole tale he’s cooked up.”

Ava frowned. “What kind of tale?”

“Basically, that the ticket agent I used could be in in cahoots with Martinez. And everything else, from Sammy being arrested to Spyder having to persuade The Nomads to deliver that package for him, was basically all a front so they could take advantage of the fact I was out of The Nomads’ protection, and they could get to me with that window of opportunity.”

A long hiss escaped Ava. “Fuck, that could be true.”

Jessie’s voice was gloomy as she admitted, “I know.”

“My dad wants me to see if the assistant who served you has anything to do with the Cartel, right?” As she spoke, she got to her feet and headed over to her computer. Before Jessie could even tell her she was bang on the nose, Ava asked, “Who did you use to buy the ticket and do you remember the name?”

“Sunny Horizons. It’s in Houston.”

“What about the person who attended you? It’s a big ask for you to remember her name, but maybe something sticks out?”

Jessie grimaced. “I remember it because I thought it was weird. Benedicion.”

“Hispanic,” Ava grumbled. “Figures.”

“Yeah. I know. And Spyder didn’t even ask that. He just immediately leaped onto this theory of his.”

She got to her feet and stepped up behind Ava’s chair to watch her work her magic. Within seconds, and Jessie had no idea how, but Ava had managed to hack into Sunny Horizons’ email account.

“How did you do that?” she asked, astonished.

“Best not to ask,” Chris murmured, making her jump. Again.

“Dear Goddess. Do you try to sneak around or something?” Jessie demanded, spinning around and finding him, again, on the goddamn bed.

He chuckled and shot her a benevolent smile. “It’s my room. I’m not exactly hiding out.”

“You should have said you were in here, dammit. The last thing I need is someone else on the Council knowing I wanted to run away.”

“I’m not going to tell your dad,” Chris said softly. “I know how hard it’s been for you two. We’ve treated you like little girls for far too long.”

Jessie accepted his words with a shaky breath. “Thanks, Chris.”

“That isn’t to say I agree with what you did.”

Ava snorted, and absentmindedly mumbled, “I don’t agree with it either. Still, it’s not our place to judge.”

“Your father doesn’t agree.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me? The man’s the Prez. But he keeps on forgetting that doesn’t mean he’s a god,” she stated idly as she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. Before Jessie could ask who she was calling, Ava murmured, “Jonesy, hey buddy. How are you doing?”

Jessie’s supernatural hearing had her listening in to both sides of the conversation.

“You know how it goes. These dicks with pricks think they’re better than us.”

Ava snorted. “Tell me about it. That jackass in Internal Affairs still sniffing around?”

“Yeah, but not in the way you think.”

Ava paused, then hooted. “You giving him some?”

“Nah, that would be far too easy.” Jonesy laughed. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a name. I was wondering if you could tell me if she’s got a record.”

“Sure. Anything for you.”

“Cheers, sweets. You’re a star. The name’s Benedicion Garcia Gonzalez.”

“Just give me two secs.”

“Sure.” Ava caught her eye and winked.

But before Jessie could do more than gawk, Jonesy was back on the line. “She’s the sister of Pedro Garcia Gonzalez. He’s a drug runner for the Martinez Cartel. He’s serving four years upstate for distribution. Why d’you ask?”

Heart sinking at the realization Spyder’s theory was right, Jessie grumbled, “Son of a bitch.”

Ava shot Jessie an apologetic look, but to Jonesy said, “I’ll be in touch, hun. Thanks as always.”

“Before you go, you got anything for me?”

Ava simply said, “Soon as I do, you’ll be the first to know.” As she cut the call, to Jessie she said, “Don’t ask because I won’t tell.”

“So many damn secrets in this goddamn clubhouse.”

“Like you can talk,” Ava retorted. “You’re the one who was going to run.”

“Like you didn’t know it was on the cards, anyway.”

She pshawed. “You think I didn’t want to? I’ve had it a hundred times worse than you, and I wanted to split a million times. I didn’t though.”

Jessie rolled her eyes. “Preach, preach, preach. Anyway, you wouldn’t run, would you? Your fucking mate was here. Running away would have been beside the point. Plus, I didn’t go in the end, did I?”

“Only because of Spyder. Not because your family is here. And hell, I wanted to go to college. There’s a big difference between what you wanted to do and what I wanted.”

“How do you know college wasn’t my goal too?”

Ava cocked a brow. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re not the only one with goals, Ava.” She was on the receiving end of a considering look that had her further defending herself, “I’d have called.”

“How often? And not before your mom was shitting herself out of terror over where you were.”

“Goddess, what is it with you two? The minute you’re alone, you’re like cats,” Chris yelled. “Back down both of you. We need to tell Mars that it’s highly probable Jessie was the target all along.”

“See what happens when you try to leave the Clan?” Jessie grumbled. “You almost get kidnapped for your pains.”

Ava snorted. “I guess I can understand why my mom and dad didn’t want me to go to Harvard. And here we were, just thinking they were overreacting.”

“Tell me about it.”

The minute Mars walked into the clubroom, Jessie had a bit of a deja vu moment. She, Annette, and Ava were all taking part in the meeting, and the rest of the Council was there too.

The only difference was now her father was aware she’d been planning to run off. Someone had told him, and considering this farce had all started because of her, it wasn’t like they could keep him out of the loop.

Still, he was sulking with her now. Which was working in her favor. It meant he was leaving her the hell alone.

Bitch of it was, now he was leaving her alone, she didn’t want him to.

Life could be a real motherfucker sometimes. She huffed when Mars took a seat and stated, “We need to figure out what our next plan of action is. We ended our last meeting with the idea that Spyder was going to get visitation rights to meet up with Martinez’s cellmate. Jessie was going to go with him to try to convince him to get on our side. But now we know why this whole thing has gone down, or at least have a theory, so we have a choice. We can leave things as they are or we can try to make it hit home that he needs to back the fuck off.”

“How certain are we that Martinez’s intention was to kidnap Jessie?” Jarvis asked.

“As certain as we can be without him actually kidnapping her,” Mars said ruefully. “The girl she dealt with is the sister of one of Martinez’s runners. A runner who is actually serving time in the same jail as Martinez.” Mars shrugged. “It could just be a coincidence of course.”

Annette shook her head. “I can’t see it. It’s just too neat. Plus, it’s the only thing that makes sense. After all these years of leaving us the hell alone, there had to be a catalyst. Jessie’s running away was it.”

Now that the words were out there, properly out and reverberating around the Council room, Jessie hunched her shoulders. Then, when she realized what she was doing, she straightened up.

It might have seemed foolhardy, but she refused to feel guilty. Point blank refused. And she didn’t care who knew that.

Her father saw her straighten her shoulders though and snarled, “Consider yourself lucky you’ve got a mate now, girl.”

“Why? Would you have beaten me with a stick?” she retorted, eyes flashing.

Mundo leapt to his feet. “It’s what you deserve. You were going to put your mother through hell, and for what?”

“To get away from you. From all of you,” she snarled. “From having every part of my life dictated to. From having to follow stupid Clan rules that make no sense. From having nothing explained to me.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think if I’d have known we were in danger I’d have run away?”

Annette’s voice was soft as she murmured, “Danger doesn’t work to a set of standard rules, Jessie. It’s not like we could have known Martinez would still be interested in the MC.”

She could tell from Annette’s tone that she was equally as offended as her father. The notion annoyed her more than anything because Annette knew how hemmed in she’d been feeling. How trapped.

If anyone could have understood, she’d figured it would be her.

Apparently not.

Apparently she was all on her own here, because unlike the last meeting, Spyder’s hands weren’t on her shoulders. He wasn’t offering her his silent support.

That hurt.

It really fucking hurt.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m well aware there are no cues as to when the shit hit the fan but for twenty-three years you’ve perpetuated the belief in all us cubs that the MC was all show.” Before anyone could say anything, she demanded of Ava, “Am I right?”

The Council swung to look at the other cub in the room. Thankfully, Ava was too honest for her own good because she nodded. “She’s right. You have. I only realized we had a past when I started working on the accounts and delved deeper into things.”

“The Nomads has a reputation,” Jarvis argued. “You had to figure out we had a past.”

“That’s just it. A past. It could have been forty years ago, sixty. Hell, the Nazis aren’t exactly friends of the world, are they? And they were in power over a century ago!” She pursed her lips. “If you’d told me, if you’d told us, that even if it was unlikely, there was the potential for risk, I’d have listened. I’d have understood. And maybe I’d have still felt trapped, and maybe I’d have still tried to run, but don’t blame me for this. Not when I didn’t have a single clue about our past. The worst I knew was that Mischa was an illegal immigrant. I didn’t know The Nomads were singlehandedly responsible for saving her, dammit. I didn’t know the MC was involved in human trafficking.”

Mars blew out a shaky breath. “You have to understand something, Jessie. No matter how much you argue, no matter how much sense you make, we’re all going to be hurt. You tried to cut and run on us. Your family. That stings.”

“So I just have to wait it out for you to forgive me?” she asked, and when he nodded, she hooted. “Fuck that,” she retorted. “I haven’t done a damn thing wrong. My actions were a catalyst, yeah, I know. And I apologize for that because it was a bizarre twist of fate that got this started. I could have been targeted by someone else, but it was my bad luck that the woman who did serve me has a brother who runs for the Cartel, but I refuse to apologize for trying to make a life for myself.

“If all of you hadn’t made it so terrible for Ava and I, none of this would be happening. You want to shove all the blame on my shoulders, but some of it lies on yours too.”

Ava cleared her throat. “Though I don’t appreciate being thrown into the mix, she isn’t wrong. You can’t expect us to behave like children when we’re women. You can’t keep us in the dark when we’re adults.”

“All we’ve ever tried to do is protect you,” Mundo said hoarsely.

“Then you should have told us. All it felt like you were doing was caging us in.”

Ava’s words had Jessie stating, “We couldn’t tell our friends we were Shifters. We couldn’t tell our friends shit. They went off to college, got their degrees, made lives for themselves. We were stuck at home, doing what you wanted us to do. Since they’ve gone off and been adult, do you know how alone I’ve felt? How isolated?” She sucked down a shaky gulp of air. Her own words were affecting her, making all the hurt bubble and boil away in her veins. “Ava said something the other day and she’s right. She had it a hundred times worse than I did. You just shoved me in a clothing store and got me to work nine hour days for slave wages. Ava’s running this corporation, and what thanks did she get?” Jessie shook her head. “Annette, you know I love you but you treat her like shit. Like she’s lower than staff, for God’s sake. She’s like a gofer for the company or something.

“And yet, my brothers, your sons,” she stated, looking pointedly at her father, Kiko, Graver, and Justiss, “They’re all prospects. Even Lewis who’s only just turned eighteen. And when Major’s kids hit eighteen, they will be too. Where’s the justice in that? You can’t say it’s because we’re young and then push him out into the big, bad world when they’re younger than us.” She scraped her chair back. “I’ve had enough of this shit. I’m done.”

“Jessie, sit down,” Mars demanded as she got to her feet.

“Why should I?”

“Because we’re here for more than just another of your tantrums.”

Jessie’s hands became fists at his derogatory comment. Everything inside her tensed. “You can dismiss every word I’ve just said as easy as that?” She stared at him and felt her heart rate start to increase. Her blood pressure began to soar; she knew because she felt the pounding behind her eyes. She began to pant, and it swiftly became impossible to control her breathing.

Ava hollered, “She’s going to shift.”

“Don’t be stupid,” one of the men said. “She’s just having another tantrum.”

It was that, that finally did it, that pushed Jessie right over the damn edge.

The dreaded fucking ‘t’ word. Spoken twice in less than a handful of minutes.

All her life, whenever she’d rocked the boat, it had been dismissed as a tantrum.

When she’d learned to play the piano and had won the state’s pianoforte competition which had taken her to the next place, on a national level, and her parents had said she couldn’t go because she had to leave Texas... that had been a tantrum. Years of effort and dedication, all thrown away because Goddess forbid, they let her out of their sight for a moment. And even worse, Goddess forbid they travel with her to let her have that moment. To enjoy playing to a crowd of people in New York.

It had been a tantrum when she’d hit puberty, had suffered terrible period pains, and had wanted to go on the pill which her daddy had promptly refused in case it gave her ‘bad ideas’.

The time she’d tried to go to classes at the local community college, to try to do something with her fucking life, that had been a tantrum too.

So many rational decisions thrown down the drain all because they wanted to keep her cloistered here. And not one of them had the decency to shrug and admit that they’d basically imprisoned her and Ava.

It didn’t matter that their need to defend the two female cubs had been justified. All those years, their blanket commands had been made without logical or rational reason because, unbeknown to teenaged Ava and Jessie, the MC had a past they were ashamed to admit to.

Tantrum.

Tantrum.

Tantrum.

Her pores burst. Fur forging through the tiny holes as her form morphed, her bones shattered and broke before being reborn into longer, stronger ones. Her teeth formed into fangs. Her nails into claws.

The agony of those moments was more than she’d ever expected.

The pain washed through her, but if anything, it was a welcome relief.

Her anger, her righteous wrath at being treated like an imbecile all these years, needed release.

Almost like that thought was the trigger, she released a roar.

Dear Goddess, that felt good.

The She Bear and Jessie were on the same page as they flooded the room with the sound of their enraged exasperation.

All of this could have been prevented. None of this had to happen. If they’d just stop treating her like a fucking baby.

By the time she reared up onto her back legs, nearly everyone on the Council had backed off and were around the other side of the table.

She couldn’t blame them.

She Bears usually shifted in times of danger. Either to themselves, their mate, cubs, or loved ones.

She wasn’t sure why she’d shifted when she hadn’t been in danger, and she could only think that her very sense of self had been in peril.

For so long, she’d felt like she was drowning. Apparently, her Bear had felt the same way.

Only two people hadn’t fled around the table.

Ava and Spyder.

Ava, because hell, when shit came to shit, Ava could throw down with Jessie.

And Spyder. Well, she didn’t know why he was standing there. He looked petrified. Still, he wasn’t budging.

The men on the opposite side of the table weren’t scared. Not exactly. More like wary. They knew the destructive rage of a pissed off She Bear and that knowledge was on their faces.

Truth was, neither she nor the Bear wanted to hurt anyone. In a sense, Jessie figured it was a cry for help.

And didn’t that make her feel like poor little rich girl?

So cosseted, so loved, that she felt like she was suffocating.

That thought had her plunking down on the ground. She ignored the fact that the floor shook beneath her weight. Ignored the fact that dust motes rose from between the floorboards, too. Instead, she sat there, looking at them as they looked at her.

A stalemate of sorts.

“Change back, Jessie. You’ve made your point.” Ava’s tone was bored.

It had her snarling.

“Don’t piss her off, Ava,” Jarvis grumbled. “That’s the last thing we need.”

Ava snorted. “She’s already pissed off. That’s why she shifted. And you’re all to blame.”

Jessie rumbled at that, trying to indicate that Ava was bang on the money.

“It’s time to shift back though.” Ava shot her a look. One loaded with warning. “Now.”

She rumbled, then swiped a paw because she’d have liked to shift back, but had no idea how to do it.

“I don’t think she can,” Mars said quietly. “She’s not exactly on the rampage, is she? Taking a seat isn’t exactly an in-your-face method of getting attention.” To Chris, he demanded, “Get her to shift back.”

“And how the hell would I know how to do that?”

“You managed to get Ava back on two legs.”

Ava snorted. “Chris didn’t have much to do with my shifting back, I don’t think. I guess I felt his calming presence but it didn’t do much.”

“Oh yeah, real calm. Doped up on an adrenaline high and blood lust. Real healthy,” he retorted with an eye roll.

“I think we should just leave her,” Spyder proffered. “Get back to what we’re doing, and when she’s calm enough to change back, then she will.”

Annette commented, “It’s not like there’s much else more we can do. I second what Spyder just said.”

Mars nodded and cautiously returned to the head of table where he waited for Annette to take his seat.

For the first time since the meeting had started, the focus wasn’t on Jessie and she felt like she could breathe again.

She focused on what they were saying as well as she could in this form. The She Bear was still angry, still feeling rebellious but the human side was trying to remain in control so she’d know what the MC’s next move would be without having to sit through another explanation.

“I, for one, don’t think it’s a bad idea getting Martinez’s cellmate involved,” Major admitted. “It’s just an extra threat to him. A warning that if he can get to us on the outside, we can get to him on the in.”

Annette shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. How can it? That cellmate is just one man. Martinez has a gang in there. He might not be safe when the cell door closes, but at any other time, he’s king of the hill.”

“She has a point. I don’t want to put Joe in danger for no reason. Before, we were lost. We didn’t know what kind of game Martinez was playing. Now, we do,” Spyder remarked.

Ava tapped her nails against the table. “How about you still use your friend, Spyder, but as a messenger rather than for his fists?”

Her mate frowned. “To send what kind of message?”

“I have a lot of friends in a lot of nasty places. Martinez is stuck inside until he’s dead. That’s already decided—his fate is sealed. But the power he has, that can change.”

Mars frowned. “What are you suggesting?”

“Just because he’s on the inside, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have people on the outside. People he loves.”

Annette nodded. “When I did a piece on him back when he was first sent down, I found out he has at least three daughters to two women.”

“Well, he’ll be paying their way, won’t he? Maintaining them?”

“I’d imagine so.”

“If I hacked their account, drained it dry, then we could use that to persuade him to leave us alone.”

Mars blinked. “Goddess. You can do that?”

She grinned. “Yes, Dad. I can do that. I’m not sure why I keep on shocking you.”

“Because that’s like...”

“Breaking so many state and federal and international laws that there’s no point in even bothering to count them?” Annette pointed out grimly.

“It will never fall back on the MC.”

“I’m more worried about it falling back on you,” Annette retorted. “How risky is it?”

“Not very. I’ve done it before.” She cleared her throat. “Well, it was only a test run. I didn’t keep the money. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”

“My mate, the hacker,” Chris mumbled.

She shot him a look. “You love it.”

He snorted, but bent down and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Don’t you know it.”

Her smile was loaded with satisfaction. It wasn’t smug, just warm. Content.

Even the Bear recognized that base emotion and responded to it with a gentle rumble of shared happiness on her sister’s behalf.

Ava shot her a look and a quick smile before she returned her attention to the men around the table.

“I can do it,” she said, brimming with confidence.

“It seems safer,” Mars pointed out nervously. “Hit him in his pocket. That’s bound to piss him off and make him question targeting us again.”

Though his words were spoken to the room at large, they were really aimed at Annette.

And everybody knew it.

After a few seconds, Annette let out a shaky breath. “If you think you can do it without getting into trouble.”

Ava nodded instantly. “I know I can.”

Annette turned to Spyder. “Did you send off for visitation rights?”

“I did. I can visit in two weeks’ time.”

“That was fast.”

Spyder shrugged. “I thought so too but it works better for us, no?”

Annette grimaced. “If you look hard enough, you can find a conspiracy every damn place you look.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Kiko butted in.

Mars sighed. “So, what do we do then? How do we go about using the visit as leverage?”

Spyder said, “If Ava hacks into the bank account the morning of my visit, tells me the account number, I can get Joe to memorize it. He can tell Martinez that his guest had a message for him. Martinez might shoot the messenger, but at first, he’ll want to call his family and make sure it’s not bullshit.”

Mars nodded. “Then when he calls, he’ll recognize that his cellmate is telling the truth.”

Spyder grimaced. “That’s when Joe could get his ass whooped, but for Savannah, that’s his daughter, well, for her sake, he’d put up with anything.”

“If he wants his money back,” Ava inserted coolly. “He’d better make sure he doesn’t beat Joe up. We hold the cards, don’t forget.”

Mars shivered. “It ain’t right for a man to be frightened of what his daughter can do with a computer.”

Ava grinned. “Be grateful I’ve chosen to help the MC rather than shut it down.” Her grin turned wicked. “Who knows, I might have gone as batshit as Jessie.”

Still in Bear form, Jessie could do no more than roar at Ava’s cheek. When she just laughed, Jessie huffed and slumped against the wall.

Only the Goddess knew when she’d be able to shift back, but Jessie decided, for the moment, being in this form was probably the wisest choice.

It kept her from mouthing off and getting into deeper trouble with the Council, and kept them off her back too.

Win, Win.