Page 2 of Just Heartbeats (Royalla Motorcycle Club #1)

Roma strolled into the clubhouse with a grace that made Kodiak's chest tighten.

She wore a leather jacket, sleeves rolled up, revealing daisy-chain tattoos on her wrists that Kodiak hadn't been able to stop her from getting.

Her brown hair, which nearly looked black, hung loose, falling in wild waves over her shoulders.

Her eyes—those damn amber eyes—were the same as Chopper's, full of passion and wisdom beyond her years.

He remembered Chopper saying Roma had the eyes of an old soul.

She could see past the surface. There was no hiding anything from her.

She understood things beyond what others expected.

Being her guardian, he'd found that her curiosity opened her up to feelings that were too big for her to handle.

She'd gone through stuff most kids her age never even imagined.

Life was rough lately. The one person he trusted with everything wasn't there to push him or stop him from making the wrong choices.

Fuck. He missed Chopper.

He'd grown up with Roma's dad. They were two juvenile delinquents, constantly in and out of detention.

At eighteen, he'd convinced Chopper to join Royalla as soon as he aged out of the foster care system.

At that time, his dad, Geiser, ran the club.

Instead of getting into trouble, they both threw themselves into riding under the patch.

Chopper was there to persuade him to step up as president when his dad got cancer and could no longer lead Royalla.

He was there when he had to bury his dad six short months later.

He supported Kodiak during those tough first years, managing a hundred and fifty members.

Chopper played a significant role in making the club what it was today.

Now, he was alone, caring for an eighteen-year-old girl who leaned on him as her grief-stricken gaze searched constantly for the father who promised to protect her— the one who wasn't coming back.

If he could take her pain away, he would have. Hell, he'd even change places with Chopper, so Roma wouldn't have to hurt anymore.

But all he could do was stand beside her and watch. He'd kept his word to his V.P. and taken care of his daughter.

He'd raised her like he raised the members of the club—tough, strong, with no room for weakness. But somewhere along the way, Kodiak realized he was losing her. Not because she was growing up, but because she was starting to become something he couldn't control.

Her independence, her fire, and her new awareness of her sexuality scared him.

When she stood in the room, looking like something out of a dream he had no right to have, he felt that fear deep in his bones.

Roma moved toward him. His tongue felt thick in his mouth.

He noticed how her hips swayed in tight, worn jeans when she walked.

It was impossible to ignore. She wasn't a girl anymore, not in any way that mattered.

She was a full-grown woman. If he hadn't seen it himself, the looks on the other members' faces would have told him Roma was ripe for taking.

"You look like him," Kodiak finally muttered, his voice hoarse.

Roma tilted her head, a gentle smile forming at the corners of her lips. "You always say that."

Her smile was too much. It made his heart beat quicker, harder. Kodiak fought the impulse to reach out, to pull her into his arms, to shield her from the world that greedily tempted her away from him.

"Kodiak, I need to know who killed my dad." The way she said it, with that edge in her voice, was so much like her father. "You promised to tell me when I turned eighteen. I've given you a week. I need to know who did it."

Kodiak's jaw tightened. He was supposed to protect her from the grief, the anger, the darkness. But she wouldn't let him. She wouldn't forget.

"Nothing good will come of you knowing." The words slipped out before he could stop them. "You're a kid. This isn't your fight."

He'd discovered that Deception Motorcycle Club had ordered the hit on Chopper. But he had yet to find out who pulled the trigger. He only had one clue.

The murderer had a snake tattoo curled around his forearm. Everywhere he went, he looked for that tattoo. One day, he'd make that person pay for what they'd done to Chopper.

Roma's eyes flashed with something he couldn't read, something dangerous. She wasn't going to drop the subject.

"I'm not a kid anymore. You don't get to control me, Kodiak."

The way she said his name, as if it were a challenge, made his blood run cold.

Kodiak stared at her for a long moment. The air between them thickened with everything he wanted to tell her.

She was too young. The world wasn't kind to women.

He wanted to ask her to stay safe, to stay away from the club members, to stop pushing him until every glance her way from the other men made him lose his fucking mind.

But what could he say? She wasn't his to control.

She was her own person, and she was going to burn through this world like wildfire, whether he liked it or not.

"You promised me," she said softly, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and sorrow. "So why are you holding back from telling me?"

Kodiak's heart lurched. Her question crashed into him like a freight train. Disappointing her was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'm doing what's best for you." The hollow words were a lie.

He was selfish. Not only was he trying to protect her, but he wanted her at the clubhouse, under his watch.

Roma reached up, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his face. Her fingers lingered longer than they should have. The touch was electric, a shock to his testosterone-filled body.

The hair on his arms stood. Lately, it seemed every time she touched him, she knew what she was doing to him.

"You can't protect me forever," she whispered. "If I know the truth about what happened to my dad, maybe I can move on."

And that was the moment he knew—one day she wouldn't ask for permission. She was going to grow up, no matter how much he wished she'd stay young forever.

But in the back of his mind, as he stared down at her, there was another thought creeping in. One that troubled him more than anything else.

He wasn't losing her to the world. He was losing her to himself.

When he refused to give her the answers she wanted, she whirled around and stormed across the main room of the clubhouse. At least in anger, she dropped the subject of wanting to know who was responsible for killing her dad.

He knew her well enough to know she'd act with her emotions rather than common sense. Pain was life's biggest motivator. She wouldn't think about her safety. All she'd do was end up getting hurt, or worse.

Club business was best left to the members of Royalla. As president, he would find the man who killed Chopper. It might not be today or tomorrow, but one day, he'd find him.

Roma disappeared into the hallway, probably going to her room. The same room she'd shared with Chopper since she was a baby. The room was across from where he lived. There wasn't a day that went by without seeing her.

He looked away and found Rocco and Baddy returning to their conversation after following Roma with their gazes.

Every day got worse. He found himself increasingly irritated with his men for the attention they paid to Roma.

She was eighteen now.

A woman.

And no amount of denial would change that.