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Ransom moves in front of me, and this time, it’s he who shields me with his body. “Please…anything else. She’s only twenty, practically a kid still.”

The stranger leans back against the couch and stares at him coolly. “You have nothing else of value. Nothing that would motivate you to stay close and work hard to repay the money you stole from the Steel Rebels.”

Steel Rebels? The motorcycle club?

I lean to the side to stare at him before slowly looking up at my brother.

My ears must be failing me. I must have heard the man wrong.

That has got to be it because surely there is no way in hell Ransom would be dumb enough to steal from the infamous motorcycle club.

There are petty criminals and small gangs that love to wreak havoc in the city, and then there’s the Steel Rebels MC.

The Steel Rebels are known to be the most dangerous men in all of Chicago.

Just a few weeks ago, they took out the Chrome Vipers, another criminal motorcycle club that used to terrorize the area where I work.

The Vipers forced every business in the area to pay a protection fee when they were the ones making life a living hell for everyone.

And yet, the Steel Rebels ran them out of town before taking over their territory.

Now they don’t just own one area of the city, they control more than half of Chicago.

And these are the men that Ransom stole from?

I fight the urge to smack the back of my brother’s head or kick him in his shin. Anything to knock some sense into that empty brain of his. God, he’s lucky I got here when I did, or he’d be dead already. The men in the club are not exactly rumored to be patient or understanding.

No, Ransom was writing his own death warrant when he stole from them.

“I’ll go with you,” I offer quietly, but the two men clearly hear me as they both turn to look at me.

My eyes stay on those steel gray ones, my heart pounding as the next words slip out.

“If you promise not to hurt my brother and give him a month to return the money he took, then I’ll come with you. ”

“No! I will not allow it,” my brother yells, but he doesn’t have a choice.

The stranger doesn’t bother pointing that out either.

It would be foolish for the man to blindly trust us.

Ransom would have us over the border and into Canada before the sun was fully set.

He would get us new identities, transfer my grandmother to a different nursing home under a different name, and we would start our lives over, but something tells me this man would still find us.

And he wouldn’t be so generous the next time he pointed his gun at Ransom.

I can’t risk that. I won’t. The only thing I can do is hope Ransom can pay the Rebels back before they run out of patience.

“I’ll go with you,” I say again, pushing to my feet and evading Ransom when he tries to grab my hand and stop me. “Just give me a few minutes to pack my things, then I’ll come with you.”

“CJ…Chelsea, this is madness. You can’t go with this man. The Rebels are monsters—”

I shut my bedroom door in his face, leaning against it as I push down the panic and fear that threatened to choke me earlier when I saw that gun pointed at my brother.

I’m not as scared for my safety as I am for my brother’s.

Something in the man’s eyes when we spoke earlier, the way he dropped the gun so quickly when I got in the way…

He didn’t want to hurt me. I’ve been told I’m good with people.

My job as a retail clerk has taught me how to deal with different kinds of people, how to make the toughest customer happy.

I take deep breaths until my hands have stopped shaking before I walk deeper into the room and grab a bag to pack a few clothes and toiletries.

I make quick work of it, unwilling to leave the two men alone for much longer.

Whatever I leave behind, I can always come back for.

Assuming the man doesn’t lock me in some basement and throw away the key.

I guess now I know how Belle felt with the Beast.

Ransom is still breathing when I finally emerge, which I take as a good sign, but the man has moved from the couch and is now standing by the broken front door, his massive build filling the doorway.

“CJ,” Ransom’s voice is broken as he steps forward.

My heart twists at the desperate way he says my childhood nickname.

Only Ransom has ever called me CJ. My mother insisted that everyone else always use Chelsea.

“I can’t let you leave with him. You don’t know what these kind of men are capable of like I do. ”

And yet he stole from them , I want to shout, but I know his heart was in the right place, and it can’t be undone now, so I don’t. “I’ll be fine,” I say instead, forcing a smile to assure my brother before turning to the giant blocking the doorway. “Right?”

“Yes. We don’t put our hands on women…unless they ask nicely.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes at the last part, ignoring Ransom’s angry growl.

Not exactly the resounding assurance my brother needs right now, but it’ll have to do.

“I’ll text and call every day so you don’t have to worry.

Just focus on getting them their money.” I step forward and wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

He nods, and I imagine his throat is as choked up as mine. I pull away and force another smile, one I hope is convincing enough to assuage his worries.

“I love you, sis, and I’m so sorry.”

“You’ll make it up to me, big brother. You always do.”

He doesn’t stop me when I pull away, and with a teary smile, I wave at Ransom before following the stranger out.