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My heartbeat was loud in my ears, blood rushing to whatever part of the brain was responsible for murderous rage.

“I am capable of forming thoughts all by myself, Toni.”

“That’s not what I?—”

“You know what? Don’t worry about it.” I shook my head and headed for the door.

“Zar,” Rome called, but I had already slammed the door shut behind me and was sprinting for the stairs.

I didn’t know why I even bothered.

What a waste of my fucking time.

I knew that Theo would be hot on my heels, but I wouldn’t give him a chance to catch up—not with where I was going.

I didn’t stop until I was down the street, away from the house and winding through the familiar suburban streets. Ashe picked up on the first ring when I called him.

“Zarina,” he said like he was expecting to hear from me.

“Yeah. Can you come and get me?”

There were a few beats of silence where I thought he might refuse, or ask what happened, or just plain hang up on me.

“I’ll be there in 30 seconds.”

But I only got to the count of 20 by the time I heard the rumble of his bike approaching.

17

ZARINA

I wasn’tsure what to expect from an MC clubhouse, but the view I got when I stepped inside was a pretty close match to what someone might imagine.

Almost stereotypical, if I wanted to be cruel.

Posters of women in bikinis slung over the tanks of Harleys donned every wall, a neon light over the bar in the shape of a pair of tits (which I needed in my house ASAP), and stripped-back bodies of differently shaped motorcycles were placed throughout the large, open room as pieces of decor.

The vibe was very much that of an old local Aussie pub, homey and warm, with AC/DC playing in the background.

By the looks of the general membership of the Redline Angels, I could tell that the clubhouse had not been updated to match the age of the members, and it had probably been this way since the 80’s.

The women in the bikini posters were probably grandmothers now.

But my attention didn’t remain on the decor for too long. All eyes snapped up to watch as Ashe guided me inside with his hand at the small of my back. I was still in the denim skirt and boots I wore to work, and felt overdressed to the point where I thought it might actually be offensive.

After scanning the room, I also learned that I was currently the only woman in the place—which made me very nervous.

So I stayed close to Ashe, and pretended not to notice the two dozen men openly either staring or scowling in my direction.

I spotted Bull in the corner from a mile away, his large frame making him impossible to miss. He shot me a wave and an almost-smile, and I returned it shyly, still feeling very out of my element.

Jesus, I had literally walked into the lion’s den.

Every person here hated my family, and by extension, me.

I saw a few other familiar faces as Ashe directed me towards the booth at the back.

Charmer was there, that stupid, cocky grin on his face. And so was Shag, the old bloke who had nearly pissed himself with laughter when Ashe and I met for the second time.