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The front door swung open, and Blakely answered, looking like she’d just rolled out of bed in a T-shirt and oversized shorts. Her red pixie cut stuck up in every direction. “Ace,” she said, her mouth slack with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

Her surprised expression morphed into something a little more sultry. “Oh, do we? Why don’t you come inside?”

Jesus. This girl couldn’t let anything go, could she? “Don’t be cute,” I snarled. “Who paid you?”

“Paid me? Paid me to what?”

“To break into Cole’s,” I snapped. “To plant the drugs there and tell Forrest we had them.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “I haven’t even been to that part of Lakeview in ages. Ever since someone banned me.”

“You sure about that?” I glared at her, and let my dragon surge closer to the surface to flash in my eyes. “Because we have security camera footage of someone breaking into the garage and planting them. Whoever it was built a hell of a lot like you.”

“Glad to know you remember my build,” Blakely said. She was still angry, but couldn’t keep the coy edge out of her voice. “But that wasn’t me. All I did last night was watch a bad horror movie and pass out.”

She wasn’t lying. My dragon could sense the truth in her words.

“Fuck,” I muttered. I stepped away from her front door and pinched the bridge of my nose. If Blakely hadn’t planted the drugs, then who did? I didn’t know any other women who were so keen on ruining my life. Who the hell would do something like that?

If it wasn’t Blakely, it had to be Sean.

Had he hired someone? As much as I hated the thought, it was feasible.

Maybe he hired some desperate girl from one of those shit bars he frequented, offered her drugs or booze or whatever, and told her to plant the rest in my garage.

Then, he’d called in the anonymous tip. If the photos he had weren’t good enough to get me locked up again, drugs on the premises might be.

“Is that it?” Blakely stepped out of her apartment and into the parking lot, wincing at the asphalt under her bare feet. “You just came here to accuse me of breaking into your shop?”

“Well, you did threaten me after I banned you from the clan premises. Sue me for making a logical leap.”

“You’re such an asshole.” Her eyes shone bright with unshed tears. “For a second I thought you might actually be here to apologize.”

“Apologize?” I raised my eyebrows. “You tried to permanently ruin my relationship with my mate more than once.”

“Ace—”

“I can admit when I’m wrong. I know you’re not lying about planting the drugs, at least.”

“Of course I’m not.” She pouted. “Why don’t you come inside and have a cup of coffee? Sounds like you’ve had a stressful morning.”

“Jesus Christ, Blakely, give it up.” I turned back toward my motorcycle, eager to get home to see my mate and my son, when my dragon suddenly snapped into alertness.

Something was heading our way. The distant roar of an engine suddenly became louder.

A black truck tore down the highway and sped into the parking lot, taking the turn so hard the tires squealed, and the truck rocked to the side.

The tinted window on the passenger side rolled down, and I saw the unmistakable dark gleam of a pistol.

Whoever was holding it was masked, wearing a beanie like the girl in the security footage.

The gun fired. I leaped backward and grabbed Blakely instinctively, hauling her down behind a nearby car.

Bullets went flying in short succession.

Blakely screamed and covered her ears, huddling close to me.

The sedan rocked as the bullets hit it, and more slammed into the brick behind us, showering us in dust.

Voices shouted from the truck, but they were indistinguishable. My sharp dragon ears caught the click of an empty magazine, and I stood up from behind the truck, fangs and claws extended.

“Oh, shit!” someone shouted from the truck. “Go, go!”

The truck peeled out from the parking lot as fast as it had arrived. I had half a mind to shift and chase them down, but between Blakely and the 911 calls I was sure were being made, I knew that’d cause more problems than it would solve. This day was just getting better and better.

“They’re gone,” I said to Blakely, who was still cowering behind the sedan. “Get up.”

“You saved me,” Blakely said softly. Her face was tear-stained, and she was shaking from fear. “Ace, you saved me.”

Great. Just what I needed. “Yeah, I would’ve pulled a stray dog out of the way, too, because it’s the right thing to do. This doesn’t change a damn thing about your status in Lakeview, so don’t go getting delusional again.”

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re such an asshole, Ace,” she snapped as she stormed back into her apartment.

The ploy for sympathy only irritated me more. I paced back toward my motorcycle and leaned against it while I waited for the inevitable arrival of the cops.

More people in the apartment complex had stepped out onto their balconies to see what was going on. When the sirens announced the cops’ approach, Blakely stepped back outside, cradling a mug of coffee.

That damned black SUV pulled in. I really couldn’t catch a break today, huh?

“Why am I not surprised to see you here?” Forrest asked as he slammed his door. “You want to tell me what mess you and your thugs have gotten into now?”

“I think you’d get a lot more done if you tried to track down that truck that shot at us. Or you can go ahead and help whoever owns this sedan file an insurance claim for the damage.”

“You think you’re a real hoot, don’t you?”

“She’ll tell you what happened.” I nodded toward Blakely. “Start there.”

I leaned against my bike and waited while Forrest talked to Blakely. I was surprised to see him doing some actual police work, taking notes on his little pad and everything. After speaking to her and a few other people, he strode back over to me. “So, you have any idea who was shooting at you?”

“Not a damn clue,” I said.

“Well, with this kind of information, there’s not a whole lot for us to go off of. I’d recommend you watch your back.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Is that a threat?”

“No, it’s a recommendation.” Forrest smirked. “I’d offer you a police detail, but I’m sure you’d turn that down.”

He was right about that, at least.

“Someone has it out for you,” Forrest continued. “So, you and your thugs better keep an eye out. The police department will look into it, but I can’t make any promises.”

My dragon knew he was bullshitting. Forrest was going to put this case in a drawer and never look at it again. If anything, he’d be praying I did get caught in a drive-by. “I wouldn’t expect anything else,” I said.

Forrest and his lackeys left the scene, leaving nothing but a bullet-riddled car and a bunch of traumatized residents. Blakely looked toward me, clearly wanting to keep up our conversation, but then one of her neighbors grabbed her by the elbow and led her back into her apartment.

I exhaled and called Hawk.

“Yo, Ace, how are things at the garage?” he asked when he picked up.

“Garage is fine, but there’s been another complication.” I explained what had just happened.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Hawk said. “Right in broad daylight? That seems ballsy, even for Sean.”

“I know. And Forrest seemed a little too happy about it. With the drugs being planted, and now this… Do you think there’s any chance Sean has got Forrest in his pocket?”

Hawk sighed. “Usually I’d say it was unlikely because Sean doesn’t have the resources to bribe a cop. But…”

“But it’s Forrest,” I said.

“Yeah. And he hates us. You, in particular. He might be working with Sean just to take you down. It still seems kind of crazy, but it’s not totally unbelievable.”

“We need to do some digging,” I said. “We need to know if Forrest is a pain in our ass or something a lot worse.”

“On it,” Hawk said and ended the call.

A headache built behind my eyes, and my dragon growled in frustration.

I climbed on my bike and drove home as fast as I could without getting pulled over. There was only one thing that would calm down my irritated dragon—our mate’s soft touch.

As soon as I pulled up to the house, the front door burst open, and Harley ran out. Her face was ghostly pale, and her eyes were red-rimmed like she’d been crying. “Steph!” she cried as she launched herself at me.

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her close. “What happened? What’s wrong?’

“What the hell do you mean what’s wrong?

” She pulled back and smacked my chest. “You left this morning and ended up getting shot at!” My confusion must have shown on my face.

“Hawk called me. He wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything going on here.

Should I be worried those psychos are going to show up here and start shooting at the house? ”

“Let’s go inside, honey,” I said, guiding her to the front door.

She didn’t let go of me as we walked. She pushed her face into the crook of my arm and inhaled deeply. “I’m so worried, Steph. I’m so sick of all of this.”

Red-hot anger flared through me at Forrest, at Sean, at everyone who was making our lives feel so unstable and dangerous.

I had my fated mate in my arms—we should be together, she should be claimed, we should be happy.

Yet at every turn, someone was trying to tear us apart. And I couldn’t seem to make it stop.

“I know. I’m sorry.” I picked her up, the same way I had at the clubhouse last night. But this time, there was no intense, heated passion in the gesture. She needed to be close to me, and I wasn’t about to force her to step away for something as silly as going inside the house.

I walked inside with Harley in my arms. Striker nodded at me and stepped onto the porch to give us some privacy.

I sat down on the couch, and Harley pulled away just enough to meet my eyes.

I brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she leaned into the motion.

“Who was it?” she asked. “Are the cops going to do anything?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it. Hawk and I suspect the sheriff might be in Sean’s pocket.”

“Seriously? How is that possible? I thought Sean was out of resources.”

“Forrest hates me as much as Sean does,” I said. “He has since high school. If Sean has convinced him he can get me out of Lakeview, that might be enough.”

“I can’t believe a police officer would stoop that low. Just to get back at you from high school?”

“He never really matured past his teen years.”

“I guess there’s a few people like that in Lakeview,” Harley grumbled, and I knew she was thinking of Blakely.

“I don’t have proof of it, but Hawk and I are on it. This complicates things, though.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.” Harley ran her hands over my chest, like she was checking for bullet wounds she didn’t quite believe weren’t there. “You could’ve been killed, Steph. It feels like the walls are closing in.”

“I know you hate this. I hate it, too. I hate how unpredictable everything is. I hate that Sean and his lackeys keep catching me off-guard. I hate that this is still going on.”

“What are we going to do?” Harley asked. “How are we going to stay safe?”

My dragon hummed with pleasure at that word— we .

Even as bad as things were, she wasn’t planning to leave again.

She wanted to stay in Lakeview with me and solve this as a team.

As mates. “Right now, I think it’s best if you stay on the property,” I said.

“I know I said it’d be okay to go into town with a few enforcers with you, but after this… ”

“I agree.”

That surprised me. If feisty, independent Harley Founty was willing to be locked up like a princess in a tower, she must be seriously scared.

“This is really fucked up,” Harley said quietly.

“I thought I was kidnapped because I wasn’t with you or any of the clan.

I figured Sean and his guys were still afraid enough to avoid attacking you directly, and they’d never cross that boundary.

Until now, everything has seemed…” She paused and searched for the word.

“Roundabout. Like if I stuck around you and the clan, it’d be okay.

But now, they’re going for you directly, Steph.

First your car, and now a drive-by. I don’t think they’ll stop at anything to hurt you. To hurt us. ”

“I won’t let that happen,” I said fiercely.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder.

“I know I keep promising that,” I continued. “And it keeps happening.”

“That’s what scares me,” she said. “It keeps getting worse. And what about Dylan? He’ll have to be cooped up here, too, and that’ll be a lot harder for him than it is for me.”

“It won’t be for long. I’m going to end this, Harley.”

“I need you to.” She pulled back and stared into my eyes. “I need this to be over. And now…” She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

I brushed my fingers over her cheeks. “And now what?”

“And now I don’t know how we’d live without you,” she whispered. “You can’t get hurt, Steph. You can’t get killed. We need you. You can’t leave me.”

I kissed her cheeks, then pressed my forehead to hers. My dragon was right under the surface, desperate to make our mate feel safe and protected.

But there were limits to that feeling. There was only so much I could do to protect her while Sean and Forrest were out there.

“I won’t leave you, Harley. Not now, not ever. And I’ll take down anyone who tries to separate us again.”

That much I could promise her with my whole heart.