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Billie

“ What are they doing?” I asked, horror ringing in my voice as I watched Toxic take a punch beneath the chin that had him staggering backward.

“Ohhhh, nice uppercut, Lock!” Isla called out.

All the women looked at her and she shrugged. “It was nice. What?” But she quieted down.

Seek sighed. “Trying to get Lockout to see reason.”

I winced as Toxic launched his own attack and went after his president with punishing blows. “What does that mean?” I wasn’t enjoying watching this. I didn’t like seeing Toxic get hurt, and even though all the men were smiling and placing bets, this didn’t seem right to me.

“He’s been…” Kit met Seek’s eyes and shrugged as she tried to find the words she wanted, “avoiding something.”

“For a long time,” Jordan added with a grin.

“Women trouble,” Isla said, taking a large bite of her apple. Her eyes were glued on the fight.

Toxic and Lock were inside a boxing ring and we were all sitting around the gym watching. I’d asked if I could come with him this morning, to see the other women, and now I understood why he’d hesitated. It was a week after Brently had been…taken care of…as Toxic put it, and I’d been getting a bit antsy to talk with my new friends.

Turned out I liked having a group of women as friends. Before it’d mostly been Keely and Dani, and I hadn’t even seen them in a long time. “What women?” I asked.

Dani laughed. “He’s in love with someone, but thinks we’re all stupid and don’t know it.”

“The only two who don’t know it are her and him,” Sloane said.

“Who is she?” I asked.

They all exchanged glances.

“Who?” I asked, curiosity eating me up.

“It’s Keely,” Dani told me.

I gasped. “What? She didn’t even say anything to me…” Then it clicked. The way she’d known these men would come and help me with my problem. The way she’d seemed so amused when I asked if she was in love with Toxic. “Oh.” I started smiling.

“Exactly,” Dani said with a laugh when she saw the look on my face.

“I can’t wait to see them when they realize how they feel about each other,” Eva sighed.

“So, what are they waiting for?” I asked.

“They’ve both been focusing on everything but each other,” Gwen said with a sardonic smile. “There’s more than one of us who were guilty of that.”

“At some point, they’re going to have to notice their own damn feelings,” Susie said with a grumble. Daisha and Tori nodded in agreement.

“So…” I looked back at the ring and cringed again. “What’s this about then?” My brows shot up when Hush entered the ring and tapped Toxic on the shoulder.

Toxic glared at the man, but finally nodded and left Hush and Lock facing each other. After a few brief moments the two men slammed together, showering each other with blows that made me and the others gasp.

“They think they’re helping,” Seek said with a roll of her eyes. “Like this is going to make him face facts.”

“That’s what they did to Hush,” Kit pointed out. “Worked for him.”

“You’d be surprised how well this works for men,” Isla said. “Sometimes they need the truth beaten into them.”

“Do you really think it’ll work?” I asked.

“If not, they’ll keep pestering him until he gives in,” Sloane said with a soft laugh.

“They want him to be as happy as they are,” Kit added.

“He deserves it,” Gwen said. “He takes care of everyone else. He deserves a woman who’s going to love and take care of him, too.”

“We all want that for him,” Seek said.

I agreed. Even though I didn’t know him as well, Lockout seemed like a really good guy. And maybe it was because I was so ridiculously happy, but I wanted Keely to have this, too. She was such an amazing woman and friend. I fully planned to call and start working on her.

It was slightly selfish because I wanted her to come home so I’d have my friend in the same city again, but also so that she could find this level of happiness. I kept that plan to myself. I was sure Dani was constantly trying to convince her sister to date the sexy biker president, but I didn’t want them to dissuade me from adding pressure on Keely. I smiled as I began plotting. Keely deserved it. She’d sent Toxic into my life. It was my job to return the favor and help out however I could.

We fell silent as Toxic walked up. He grinned up at me, blood pouring down from a split over his eye. “Hey, Sweet Girl.”

I frowned at him. “Hi.” I motioned toward the ring where the fight continued. “Really?”

He chuckled. “This is the least of what you’ll see around here, Lightning,” he said with a grin. He wrapped his arms around me and everything fell away.

I stared up at him, in awe that this powerful, gorgeous man loved me. That he’d done so much to keep me safe. And to save my ranch, too. Just like that, I had myself a man who loved me and a whole new, huge, family who cared too. It was like my dreams had all come true, and I hadn’t even known this was what I was searching for. I thought all I needed was my Gramps and my ranch. Turned out I’d needed so much more.

Toxic was going to give that to me. I looked down on my hand at where the ring he’d given me last night sparkled in the fluorescent lights. That was one of the reasons I’d wanted to come talk to the women. None of them had noticed my new jewelry because we’d all been transfixed with the fight that was going on, but it was just a matter of time.

I was going to marry Toxic. And give him babies. And I really couldn’t wait. Daryl and Toxic were already making plans to expand my house and add on enough bedrooms for our future children.

The planning wasn’t even freaking me out because I was all in with Toxic. How could I be anything different? He’d killed for me. Risked death for me. Loved my animals and my ranch as much as I did and took amazing care of it all. I knew he would do the same for me and our family.

“I love you,” I told him, smiling up at him.

“I love you too, Lightning.”

The sweat didn’t even bother me as he hugged me close. The blood was a bit off putting, but I wasn’t about to pull away. I’d finally found that one person who was the other half of my soul and I was going to make sure that he never got away. If he tried, I’d ride him down and let Hank drag him back home, hogtied. He belonged to me now.

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