The man laughed, looking down at Miles amused. He finally released the tight hold on Miles’s neck, and the boy dropped his head to lick Black’s shoes, his exposed ass in the air. The camera zoomed directly on Miles’s ass.

  I grabbed the phone from Dusty and threw it across the room.

  “What the fuck, man!”

  I shoved him into the locker at his back. “I need to get into one of those events, and you’re going to get me in.”

  He tried to push back, but nothing short of a bulldozer would me get off him. “I can’t.”

  “The fuck you can’t.”

  “Seriously, man, it’s invite-only. The guest list is carefully vetted, and even so, he never holds the event at the same place back to back.”

  “Then find out where the next one’s taking place.”

  “I can’t. I know it’s Sunday night, but we won’t know where until a couple of hours before the fight starts. That’s how it always is, and you just broke my fucking phone.”

  Fuck.

  I released him, got my wallet from my jeans pocket, and threw some bills at him. “Get yourself a new one.”

  “Look, man.” He piled the money together and folded the bills. “I’m not coming between you and Tempus Black. You got your little army behind you, and I got nothing. I already made one fucking mistake borrowing money from the guy, and now I’ve got to live the rest of my life like some fucking animal fighting in a cage whenever he says so. I just want out.”

  “Then let me know where I can find him. It’ll solve your problem too.”

  I grabbed my bag and strode from the locker room. I was done here and had a boy I had to go home to and lay my love on. Fuck Tempus Black and the way he’d humiliated Miles. I had a feeling Miles hadn’t told me half of what Black had made him do. He might not have physically raped the boy, but he’d been mentally torturing him all these years.

  Now I wanted to put him in Miles’s shoes and make him into a goddamn animal wallowing in its own filth. Tempus Black had a lot coming to him.

  In the main area, I searched around for my brother, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  “He left,” Bear said, and although he didn’t say anything else, his disapproving look was enough.

  “I’ll fucking talk to him,” I grumbled the promise under my breath.

  Chapter 28

  Miles

  The day I buried my father, it didn’t rain like it usually did in the movies when there was a burial. The sun had never shone brighter, the sky an endless stretch of azure that blessed us with great weather. The trees and flowers planted at the town’s cemetery were in full bloom, the yellow blossoms dressing the ground and giving off a sweet fragrance.

  It was almost sacrilege to bury a man on a day that was so bright and fair.

  I’d planned a small ritual with Reverend Homer, who Rubble had gotten to commit the body back to the ground. My father had been a religious man, so it made sense to follow through with what he would have wanted. Although I did wonder that a man who once had hope so blatantly had given it up, but he must have buckled under years of Tempus Black’s abuse.

  At least he was free from that now. That thought was the only way I could get through the day and not focus on how he’d died.

  Reverend Homer was waiting for us at my father’s grave, but Rubble kept stalling.

  “I just want to get it over with and go home,” I said, my eyes burning. Not home but back to Jamie and Grimm’s house. Tempus was still at large, and the bikers were adamant that their boys remain safe on the compound. Just two days ago, Jamie had had a huge row with Grimm that he couldn’t hide and had to be at the hospital. Grimm had finally caved, but the big man had looked devastated at the idea of Jamie going off on his own. Jamie had later confessed he’d threatened the security company if anything happened to him on their watch. Then they’d gotten into an argument again about that too.

  “But it’s such a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Rubble said.

  I stared at him, confused. Didn’t he realize that I was about to bury my father and the beauty of the day was only taunting?

  “Yes, and we should get on with the burial before the weather changes.” I turned to Reverend Homer. “Can we start, please?”

  “Baby, I really think…” Rubble’s words were drowned out by the roar of engines. “Thank fuck. No offense, Reverend. I just thought they’d never get here.”

  “They who?” I asked, but Rubble didn’t respond, and he didn’t need to.

  I gaped at the two rows of motorcycles heading in our direction. The lineup was amazing and stretched farther than I could see.

  “You have a ride with the bikers?” I asked Rubble. “Is that why they’re coming for you?”

  He stepped up to me and hugged me from behind. “They’re not coming for me, baby. They’re here for you.”

  “For me?”

  I didn’t know half of these men. I hadn’t even known there were so many Grimm Reapers. I’d thought only the ones who showed up at the clubhouse were affiliated with the club, but apparently, I was mistaken.

  Booker and Grimm spearheaded the bikers who fanned out in an arc around us. Jamie slid from Grimm’s bike. Fable had ridden with Booker and Cass with one of the other brothers.

  How were they all here?

  “You didn’t think we wouldn’t be here for you, did you?” Jamie ran up to me and hugged me. I clung to him tightly while the other two boys wrapped their arms around us. For the first time, I believed Rubble that I wasn’t alone. That I had a new family who would be there for me.

  “Thank you,” I murmured, squeezing them.

  “We wouldn’t let you go through this alone,” Fable said. “You’re a part of our family now.”

  “Damn straight he is,” Grimm said, and it took everything out of me not to dissolve into tears at their kindness and acceptance. They could have all so easily hated me because of Mort getting shot and putting their club members in danger, but they’d chosen to embrace me instead.

  My gaze swept over the faces of the bikers. Even those who hadn’t known me were here.

  “I take it we’re ready to begin now?” Reverend Homer asked.

  I nodded, returning to Rubble’s side. “Yes, we can begin.”

  The ceremony was simple and beautiful. I felt like I had a boulder lodged inside my chest, but Rubble’s hand kept me steady. The boys were right behind us with a pat on my shoulder whenever they thought I could use the moral support.

  Reverend Homer was wrapping up when the patrol cars arrived. They didn’t disturb the funeral or try to engage in the proceedings, but they remained on the periphery, looking on, I assumed, in case there was any disturbance. With so many bikers present, they must have been getting antsy.

  At the end of the ceremony, I was drained. The boys hugged me again, and I thanked everyone for coming, but it all felt surreal.

  My father was gone.

  The procession returned to the clubhouse, although Jamie and Cass headed for the hospital shortly after, leaving only Fable and me in the middle of all the bikers who’d stuck around. Rubble kept to my side, urging me to eat, but I couldn’t swallow a morsel. I drank some wine, though, which might not have been such a good idea on an empty stomach.

  Fable leaned toward me and whispered in my ear, “Are you drunk?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said, but I was definitely feeling pleasantly buzzed.

  “I guess that’s the norm.” He patted my hand. “You do whatever you need to in order to process everything.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t process how a man like Tempus Black is still alive and my father is dead.”

  I never thought I was bloodthirsty before, but I grew impatient. Rubble went to work every day, but I’d lost my job at the restaurant because I was stuck on the compound. Although it was for my safety, this was no way to live. Even shy Fable, who liked staying in, seemed restless.

  “They’re going to get him,” Fable said. “I know it’s taking a long time, but they’re being really cautious. I heard Papa talking to Daddy about it, but I’m not supposed to know, so don’t tell them I told you.”

  The men didn’t tell us anything, stating it was for our own good. I could now see why Jamie rebelled against that policy. Considering that the situation revolved around me, I should know everything that was going on. And maybe if I knew what Rubble had planned, I wouldn’t worry so much about him. He not only had Tempus’s men to deal with but also the police who were paying close attention to them.

  Strong hands plucked me from my chair, and I gasped when I ended up in Rubble’s lap as he claimed my seat. Fable laughed, shuffling to the end of the couch. “I’m going to find my Daddy.”

  I gave him a thumbs-up and leaned back into Rubble.

  “You good?” he whispered in my ear.

  “Yes, though I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you for getting everyone at the cemetery today.”

  “Well, you can always thank me later.” He pecked my cheek. “How does that sound?”

  “Like a tall order.” I shuffled on his lap to face him. “But I’m sure I can deliver it.”

  “I have no doubt that you can.”

  His expression shuttered, and I frowned. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen that happen this week. We would be talking about something, and he just fell silent.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

  He tried to smile, but I knew his real smile, and that wasn’t it. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “You’re lying to me.”

  “How can you be so sure something’s wrong?”

  I ran my hands down his arms. “Because I know you, and I know what being around you feels like, and right now, you’re tense. Is it Tempus?”

  “Isn’t it always that fucker?” he growled, and his limbs stiffened even more.

  “Will you tell me already?”

  He stared at me for a few seconds, then boosted me from his lap and stood. “Let’s go somewhere private where we can talk.”

  My heart skipped a beat. If we needed to do this in private, then this was more serious than I’d thought. Without a word, I followed him out of the clubhouse. We walked in silence toward the Great House, which was empty. Rubble let me get ahead of him, up the stairs and toward our room. Once we were inside, he wrapped his arms around my waist and carried me to the bed.

  His reaction freaked me out. He sat with me in his arms, clutching me to his chest, but his breathing was all messed up.

  “Rubble.” I squirmed against him until he loosened his hold on me. But then the damndest thing happened. He buried his face into my neck and sobbed. I froze, not knowing what to do.

  Was he hurt? Had something happened I hadn’t been aware of because I’d been planning the funeral?

  I gasped, a slow tremble starting in my body. I have to be wrong.

  I tucked in the tendrils of hair that had escaped his bun. “I don’t know what’s wrong, and you’re scaring me. How can I make it better?”

  “Fuck, baby, I’m sorry.” He inhaled deeply, then let out the breath. “I didn’t mean for you to see me fall apart like this, but I’ve been holding it in for days.”

  “Holding what in?”

  “Just gimme a minute.”

  Without a word, I slipped off his lap and padded to the bathroom. I got a damp towel and returned to him.

  “Thanks,” he said, sounding gruff. “I fucking hate this.”

  “Hate what?”

  He scrubbed at his face with the towel. I dropped to my knees and wedged myself between his thighs.

  “Rubble, I don’t care that I saw you cry. In fact, I feel relieved you’re comfortable enough around me to do that. You don’t have to be a tough Daddy all the time. I like you as sensitive Daddy too.”

  “I’m not sensitive,” he grunted. “I’m pissed. So fucking pissed, and it’s killing me that I still can’t do anything about it yet.”

  He removed the towel from his face and threw it across the room. He scowled when he saw me between his legs. “What are you doing down there? Get up!”

  “I think you’re deflecting from—”

  “Seriously, Miles, get up, now!”

  At his harsh order, I scrambled to my feet, my cheeks burning. “What’s going on with you?”

  “What’s going on with me?” He caught me around the waist and lifted me to straddle his lap. “It’s quite simple, Miles. You’re the most wonderful guy I’ve ever met. You wouldn’t harm a fly. And I had to watch a video that’s circulating of Black making you do stupid shit in public, humiliating you, and all I want to do is snap his fucking neck, but I have to get to him first.”

  My stomach twisted in knots. “You watched a video?”

  “I didn’t know what it was about when someone showed it to me. I’ve never wanted to kill someone so badly in all my life.”

  How much had he seen? Enough for him to be acting this way. “Oh my god.” It was one thing for people I didn’t know to see me being humiliated like that in public. It was a completely different scenario when it was the man I loved watching me do all those embarrassing things to another man.

  I pushed away from Rubble’s shoulders and scrambled off his lap, but I didn’t get far. He caught me by the waist and tugged me against him.

  “Please, let me go.”

  “No, Miles, listen to me.” He rolled us over onto the bed so I was under him. He held both my hands over my head to keep me from hiding behind them. “I didn’t want to tell you I’d seen the video because I knew you’d be embarrassed and ashamed. But that’s not how I see you. You’ll always be that beautiful boy who won me over when you pointed me out in a roomful of bikers that you wanted me to be the one to watch over you. That’s not about to change.”

  “But it’s so humiliating.” A sob tore from me, and I clamped my eyes shut.

  “Open your eyes, baby.”

  “No.”

  “Please. Open for Daddy.” When I didn’t, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Please, Miles.”

  My eyelids fluttered open, and a tear slipped out. He released my hand and removed my glasses, using his thumb to wipe away the wetness.

  “I’m sorry,” I gasped. “I didn’t want you to know how bad it was.”

  “What do you have to be sorry for, baby? Absolutely nothing.”

  “That you’re with someone who’s been used in front of so many—”

  He kissed me hard. “All I see when I look at you is how lucky I am to have a boy like you choose me. I didn’t get a lot of people choosing me in my life, Miles.”

  “But—”

  “No, you listen to me. The only person who’s going to be sorry is Black. He’s going to regret the day he gave a second glance your way. I promise you that. He’s going to fucking pay for ever touching you.”

  Chapter 29

  Rubble

  Frustration poured off me in waves as I entered the Great House. Still no sign of Black and still no fucking invite to the fight that was taking place tonight. We had brothers canvassing the streets, ears to the ground in case they caught a whiff of anything, but apparently, Tempus Black was nobody’s fool. No wonder the cops hadn’t been able to catch him and the operations he ran.

  I followed excited chatter to the living room, where the congregation of boys gathered, minus Cass. My heart hurt for the little dude and everything he had to endure with Mort in the hospital, still in that damn coma.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Three heads swung in my direction. My boy scrambled to his feet, beaming. The delight on his face made me even more frustrated. For him, I had to find Black and make him pay. Fuck, I hated playing fucking nice for so long.

  I’m going to get you wherever you are, asshole.

  He could count on that.

  “We’ve got good news!” Miles threw his arms around my neck, and I leaned forward to capture his lips with mine for a long, sweet kiss. The boys made a long “ooooh” sound behind us. I released Miles and shook my head. When would all this be over so we could have the privacy of my apartment back?

  “What good news?”

  “Mort. He responded to Cass today!” he said with a grin. “Squeezed Cass’s hand.”

  “That’s an improvement, isn’t it?” I asked.

  I glanced from Miles to the other two boys, who nodded like crazy.

  “Thank fuck.” I let out a sigh that seemed to be coming from the core of my being. “He’s getting there, then.”

  “They texted it in the group chat,” Jamie said. “You didn’t get it?”

  “Battery’s dead.” I’d been on my phone all night trying to find out where Black would have his fight tonight. “That reminds me why I’m here. I need to charge it.” I kissed his temple. “Going to do that now.”

  I ran up to the guest bedroom to get my phone plugged in. As soon as the icon appeared on the screen that it was charging, I powered on the device.

  Several message alerts popped up, most from the biker group chat, one directly from Cass, and another from Miles. I opened the group chat first and scrolled past all the BS they sometimes sent in the chat and started with Grimm’s text.

  Mort had responded to Cass talking to him by squeezing his hand, and the doctors believed he would come out of his coma anytime now.

  Thank fuck. One less thing to stress about. Miles didn’t have to continue carrying that guilt on his shoulders.

  I had no other messages. No missed calls from anyone outside the club. Frustrated, I threw the phone onto the nightstand and flopped onto my back on the bed with my feet hanging off. How hard was it to catch one man?

  I’d thought for sure Dusty would have come through, especially after revealing he was being forced to fight for Black.

  The bedroom door creaked open. I didn’t need to look to know who had entered. I threw my arm over my eyes and hoped like hell my frustration wasn’t so obvious to Miles, but he was so damn intuitive.

  He stood between my thighs. He didn’t say anything, just caught my belt buckle and started to undo it. I didn’t protest. I was ripe for something to take the edge off my frustration. When he peeled back the sides of the jeans, I lifted my ass for him to pull them off.

 

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