Page 62

“Lady—”

“Please, what could it hurt to ask? If he says no, I’ll leave.”

He stared at me for a moment before looking back at the huge building in front of me. I thought for sure he would refuse, but he surprised me when he shook his head and walked back to the shack and called the clubhouse. While he spoke to someone, he turned back, fixing his eyes on me.

“Yea, ok.”

He hung up the phone and leaned over. I sighed in relief when the gate began to move, sliding to the side, allowing me to drive in. I pulled up to the front door and quickly hopped out, pulling Dani out with me.

I jogged up the steps to the front door, and a shudder racked my body as I remembered the last time I stepped into this building.

My excitement had me swinging the door open hard enough that it flung back and hit the wall. My eyes took a minute to adjust to the dark room, and I stepped forward, scanning the men and women that lounged around.

My nerves were like little shockwaves searing through me as my eagerness to share my news overrode all sense of self-preservation. Gunner had forbidden me from ever coming to the clubhouse alone. But I knew he was here.

I wanted to tell Gunner first, but the words were bubbling so close to the surface that I was afraid they would spill over to the first brother I knew.

Moving toward the bar, I saw Smokey sitting on a stool, a club girl hanging off his arm. He would do. The thrill of being accepted to my first-choice college had me so enthusiastic I forgot where I was.

Before I could reach the bar, an arm swung around my waist and I was pulled back against a hard chest.

“What do I have here?” The man that held me against his body whispered in my ear, “I licked you first,” as he licked my neck, causing a shudder he mistook as desire. “That means I get to break you in.”

He carried me to a dark corner as I kicked and tugged at the arm banded across my middle. I was so scared, my screams were frozen in my throat. My mouth opened and closed, but no sound escaped.

This couldn’t be happening.

Where was Gunner?

Where was Steele?

“Please,” I cried. “Let me go.”

“I like it when a bitch begs.”

He pushed me against the wall. Lifting my hands above my head, he held them tightly in his meaty fist. He rubbed his erection against me as his other hand roughly squeezed my breast and I finally found my voice. I screamed just as the front door opened behind us and my brother walked in.

The weight holding me against the wall was suddenly gone, and I slid to the ground. Pulling my knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around my legs as I stared helplessly, watching my brother as he pummeled my attacker. I was afraid he would kill another man.

“MICHAEL!”

My hands covered my ears as I screamed out his name. Suddenly, he was on his knees in front of me. His bloody hands lifted me from the floor and carried me out of the clubhouse.

I’d never stepped foot inside the clubhouse again.

Until today.

I held my head high as I once again stepped into the dark interior of the Silver Shadows’ clubhouse. I held Dani tight against me. Desperate to protect her. I slipped to the side and kept my back against the wall as I looked around for any face I recognized.

I knew better now. I wouldn’t be taken by surprise and mistaken for a club whore, despite the prospect outside asking me if I was applying for the position.

I didn’t move toward the bar, just continued searching, letting my eyes wander over the room. I wasn’t surprised to see the faces had changed over the ten years I had been gone. New brothers lounged around; men I had no hope of recognizing. My eyes frantically searched, hoping someone could tell me where my brother was.

“Little girl, didn’t you learn your lesson the first time you showed up here unannounced?”

A heavy breath expelled from my lungs, and my shoulders sagged in relief. Tears threatened to fall, knowing, with him in the room, I was safe.

“Hi, Steele.”