Page 30

Taylor

“Boone! You said that if I left you alone for twenty-four hours, you would allow me back in The Heart.”

Tucker practically melts on the table in front of Boone, Ari, and me with an exasperated look on his face.

Boone’s eyes roll so hard and his head tilts back against the top of the booth, letting out a sigh. “Tuck. You texted me five minutes after the challenge started. You failed before it even started.”

Tucker sits up so quickly he almost falls out of the booth and whips his head towards Boone, utter disbelief splaying over his face. “That did not count. I was telling you a task was completed. And the rules never said that I couldn’t text you. I just had to physically leave you alone for twenty-four hours.”

Boone drags a tattooed hand down his face and his response is drowned out when Ari wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me until I’m practically sitting on his lap.

Ari’s head falls to my shoulder, and he nuzzles into my neck. Immediately, my stomach sinks and my hand moves to cup the side of his face.

Tilting my head so only he can hear me, I whisper, “What’s wrong?”

Did something happen? Is he not telling me about a new development? We’ve been working on little to no sleep for days since we came up with the plan to catch Clay. So far, we’ve come up empty-handed.

I know everyone is exhausted and I hate to think he is back to his old ways of trying to keep me in the dark for the sake of my safety.

He shakes his head against my shoulder, and I don’t believe him for a second. I try to move away from him so I can search his eyes for a hint of what could be racing through his mind, but he wraps his arm tighter around me.

“Stop moving, Hellhound. Why can’t a guy just relax in the presence of his girl without there being something wrong?”

Butterflies fill my stomach at his words. He is never shy about his feelings, but for some reason, hearing him say those words in front of a crowd of people makes me feel…happier than I ever have been.

This man is slowly, but surely, breaking down every single wall around my concrete-protected heart, and now he just obliterated it with his very public proclamation.

Words fail me and as if he can read my mind, Ari lifts his head, his dark chocolate eyes staring straight into my soul.

He searches my face and I wait for him to fill the silence of our little bubble, but he doesn’t. Instead, a devious little smirk spreads across his face and I narrow my eyes, knowing he is up to something.

Before I can ask, Ari abruptly stands, taking me with him. He brings us to the center of the concrete floor and only when he allows my feet to touch the ground do I look up at him. “What are you doing, Ace?”

He moves my hands to wrap around his neck and buries his face in my neck. His tattooed arms wrapping around my back. “Dance with me, my precious Butterfly.”

My fingers play in the hair hanging loose at his neck and because I can’t help myself, I pull the strands free. His long hair falls down from the bun and Ari makes no point in fixing it.

Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” filters through the common room. The place is full of people, but I can’t seem to notice or care. Because at this moment, it is just Ari and I.

It’s just the man who unexpectedly stole my heart the day he showed me what lies beyond the dark depths of his beautiful soul. The prospects, partners, and other members of the club are nothing but blurry figures, and I can’t help the unexpected and unusual emotion climbing in my throat.

As if Ari can sense the change I am so desperately trying to squash down, he stands to his full height, his hands wrapping around my waist and pulls me flush against his chest.

“What’s wrong?”

I shake my head, but he narrows his eyes at me.

“Tell me or I will take you in front of this entire club and give them a real show.”

My eyes widen and my core clenches at his words. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh yes, the fuck I would. Now, tell me before I make good on my word, Hellhound.”

Typically, I would make an exaggerated motion like rolling my eyes to purposely piss him off, but I don’t. Instead, I rise on my tiptoes and bury my face in his neck.

My lips rest against his ear as my eyes close. “What are you doing? Is something wrong?” My voice full of emotion and concern.

His arms wrap tighter around me and he lowers his head so only I can hear him. “What does it look like?” His voice is calm, with a hint of that panty-melting, seductive tone that drives me to new limits.

Letting out a long sigh, I go limp in his arms. “Fucking hell. Just tell me.”

His arms tighten around me, holding me close as his lips brush against mine. A full-body shiver overtakes my body as his low voice reverberates throughout me. “Showing everyone here what’s mine.”

Before I realize what he is doing, his hands slide down my legs, bringing them up to wind around his waist.

“What the hell, Ace? Everyone knows I am. You’ve made that very obvious. Several times.”

His dark eyes stare up at me and a sexy smile spreads across his face. “You’re mine and—”

BANG!

“EVERYONE GET DOWN!”

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Blinking rapidly, I clear the black spots dancing in my vision and beg the ringing in my ears to stop.

My head aches as shots ring out through the Clubhouse as I disentangle my legs from around Ari. No sooner than my feet hitting the ground, does he shove me behind him, his gun already aimed at the large metal doors that are now blown wide open.

“Get out of here now, Taylor!”

Yep. Not in a million years.

I glance around the room and see Boone and Tucker poking their heads out from behind the booth, their guns firing at someone beyond the door.

“NOW TAYLOR!”

Aries' voice cuts through the air and I spin around to see him running full speed towards the open doors as the wives scramble to get the kids to safety.

Grabbing my gun from the waistband of my denim shorts, I run towards Ari just as two men dressed in black ski masks barrel toward him.

Ari doesn’t waste a second before sending bullets straight into their heads. Their bodies dropping to the concrete with a thud.

I breathe a momentary sigh of relief, but it's short-lived when all the doors of the common room that lead outside fly open, masked men flooding in from every direction.

“On your right, Boone!” Tucker yells from somewhere behind me.

Gunshots ring out from every direction, and my mind takes over. With fear nowhere in sight, I don’t hesitate pulling the trigger when men come running toward me.

Bang. Thud. Bang. Thud.

Every few seconds, my eyes find Ari. He cannot die. He’s come too far to die in some stupid gunfight where we clearly have the advantage.

Shouts echo throughout the room, but I pay no attention, keeping focus on the action in front of me.

“TAYLOR. Behind you!”

My stomach drops, and it’s as if everything happens in slow motion.

I spin around in time to see someone sneaking up behind Ari, who is currently beating one of the masked men to a pulp.

My legs move of their own accord, and I sprint towards the man. Ari’s head pops up just as he lifts his gun, aiming straight at Ari's face.

“No!” I shout, jumping in front of Ari just as the man pulls the trigger.

“HELLHOUND! NO!”

Bang…

Thud…

Total blackness.