Page 3

3

Phoenix

T he guy with all the tattoos—Raptor, I heard someone call him—is talking with Elias and the other men. His eyes wander back to where Raven and I are sitting every once in a while. The look in his eyes is curious as he takes us in.

I hear the older man, called Hammer, ask who we are. Elias tells him, "Apparently, they're my kids."

Hammer's eyes shoot wide as they appraise Rae and me with undiluted shock. The grumpy older one, Bear, glares at us again, mumbling, "Allegedly."

Elias echoes Bear's words, looking back at my sister and me. There's something new in his gaze. Hope, maybe. It's like he wants it to be real as bad as I do. He's had this strange spark in his eyes ever since I told him our story. The big, scary biker man seemed to soften at the mention of Mom, giving me hope that things would work out.

Did he still love her after all this time?

My lip quirks at the thought.

Movement from where the men are standing catches my attention. When I look up, I find Raptor watching me with interest. The way his eyes wander makes me shudder with anticipation. I've never dated bad boys before. They always seemed too intimidating or uninterested in me. But Raptor? He has bad boy written all over him, and I can't seem to stop aching for more of his attention.

Before my mind can wander too far, I hear Bear's voice cut through the air. "It's gotta be a fuckin' scam, Viper. Somethin' don't sit right about this."

My head snaps toward him. Is this guy serious? We agreed to a paternity test, showed him our pictures with Mom, and showed him our birth certificates with Elias clearly marked as our father. What more does this guy want?

Raven mumbles obscenities under her breath next to me as she glares daggers at Bear. I'm surprised she's keeping herself so calm. Normally, she'd already be cursing out everyone and threatening them with violence. I'm impressed that she's holding herself in check. I know how much she hated the idea of coming here. I'm willing to bet she's only keeping herself cool because I want this.

She's trying not to ruin this for me.

When the grumpy Bear finally shuts up, Elias turns to us, introducing us to the newcomers. He does the same for the guys in the room, finally putting a name to each of the faces. The friendly bartender from earlier, Jesse, is the kindest of all. He smiles widely when Elias tells us his name, which is more than the others offer.

As the introductions finish, a loud commotion by the door grabs everyone's attention. I turn to see two scantily-clad women stumble in with glassy eyes. They're clearly tweaking on something as they clumsily make their way inside. One of them stops dead in her tracks when she notices Rae and me.

Her face morphs into a vicious sneer as she looks us up and down. "Who the fuck are these bitches?"

My jaw goes slack, and Raven bristles beside me. I know what's about to happen. No one insults Raven like that and gets away with it, and even fewer do so to me. Not anywhere near my sister, at least. She's less than a second from lashing out at this girl when a venomous voice sounds.

"I beg your fuckin' pardon?" The authority in his voice makes the women cower. They make themselves smaller as Elias approaches them with fire in his eyes.

My sister relaxes slightly as she watches him with curiosity. The mouthy blonde stammers out an apology, mumbling that she didn't know he'd brought in new girls for the club. Elias levels her with a dangerous glare. "What I do in my club is none of your fuckin' business. You don't comment on shit. You're lucky I let you stick around to entertain the boys at all."

The now mute ringleader of the two women stares at the ground as she nods. "Who the fuck brought the sweetbutts here?" Elias shouts.

A man wearing a vest with the word "Prospect" sewn onto the back rushes in. "Sorry, Prez, some of the boys were just lookin' to have some fun. The girls came for a little party."

Looking even less enthused than he did moments ago, Elias replies, "Get them the fuck out of here." He looks over at the two women, still cowering in a corner. "Party's over. Go home."

The girls rush to the door, ushered by the prospect. Before they leave, the mouthy one from earlier takes one last look at Raven and me, then Raptor. His eyes are back on me, and the sweetbutt takes notice. Her eyes narrow as she ambles up to him. In an attempt to be seductive, she tells him, "Come see me later if you wanna have another good time."

She shoots me a wicked gleam as she finishes her sentence. The smirk she gives me tells me all I need to know—those two have history, and she's not willing to let him go yet; I'm just her latest threat.

An irrational pang of jealousy runs through me as she runs her palm up his chest. "We had such a good time before. Remember, Raptor?" My stomach drops as a sick feeling churns in my gut.

"I'm sure they all know who to look for if they want a nice long trip down chlamydia lane." My sister's unmistakable voice rings out as she takes aim at the blonde who's trying to mark her territory.

Sharp intakes of air and unmuffled chuckles start filling the air at Raven's words. I don't think I've ever loved her more than in that moment. My eyes snap toward her, and I see her ice-cold stare cutting to the woman standing by Raptor. The fake smile on her face is as sharp as she is.

You're my freaking hero, Rae.

The blonde looks baffled, but she quickly recovers. As her mouth opens up to clap back at Rae, a booming voice silences her. "What the fuck did I tell you?"

The girl shrinks at Elias's outburst, then quickly disappears with the other woman. When they're gone, I hear him muttering about sweetbutts and drama under his breath. "Dunno why the fuck I keep letting them come around."

"Because the boys love it," Jesse tells him in an attempt to break the tension.

"You mean you love it," replies Reaper, the terrifying mountain of a man who greeted Raven when she arrived. His voice is deep and broody like the rest of him. He'd be attractive if he weren't so terrifying. I look his way to find him looking unamused as Jesse snickers.

The friendly bartender adds, "Apparently, so does Raptor."

The sick feeling in my stomach returns as Raptor shoots a glare at Jesse. The thought of that woman having anything with him makes me want to puke. I wonder how recent their last encounter was . . .

The thought only makes me feel worse, but I get a welcome distraction when Bear's phone chimes. He goes to the kitchen to answer it, talking to the person on the other line briefly before returning. "Doc will be here first thing in the morning to do the DNA test."

Elias nods, looking at me and Rae. "You got a place to stay for the night?"

I nod. "Yeah, I got a room at the Shady Palm Motel."

Jesse makes a face, and Hammer hisses. I see Elias shake his head. "You shouldn't stay there. Place is crawling with low lives."

I hear Raven scoff. Elias looks her way shortly before looking back at me. "You two will end up dead or worse if you stay there," he tells us.

My heart sinks. It was the only place with availability when I looked for accommodations nearby. I have no idea how far out I'd have to go to get a room at this point. Shit. We may have to sleep in our cars now. I'm about to say as much when he continues, "No, you'll stay here tonight. There's a couple of empty rooms you can use."

"That way, we can keep an eye on you," Bear's voice chimes in as he locks his untrusting gaze on Raven and me. She glares right back at the grumpy man.

Even with Bear's suspicious attitude, I can't help the zing of excitement that rushes through me. "Are you sure?"

Elias nods. "If you really are my kids, I can't have you staying in some shit hole like Shady Palm. Nasty people like to crawl around that place."

Beside me, I hear Raven scoff again. I can tell what she's thinking. I can almost hear her sarcastic response: "Not any worse than the ones crawling around here." It's a massive shock that she hasn't actually said it. Rae isn't one to hold back what she's thinking, and I know she has a whole lot she'd like to say to these men. I slide my hand over hers, squeezing lightly, my way of saying thanks for not piping up like I know she's dying to.

She sighs as I give Elias our gratitude for offering up his empty rooms for us. There's a kindness inside the rough man that makes me trust him. He hides it well, but I still sense it. I'm sure Mom did, too, all those years ago.

My mouth twitches at the thought of them together. Two wildly different people who fell in love—the rough around the edges biker and my sweet, soft-spoken mother. Talk about opposites attract . . .

When my eyes flit to the other side of the room, they meet Raptor's, and my heart does a backflip. Opposites indeed.