 
# KINGS OF ASPHALT

## Alexx Andria

### Contents

Copyright

Newsletter sign up

A Note From Alexx

Back Cover Blurb

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

ALL DOGS BITE excerpt

Also by Alexx Andria

About the Author

# Copyright

_KINGS OF ASPHALT_

_By Alexx Andria_

_© 2014 Alexx Andria. All rights reserved._

_No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. All characters are fictitious and any resemblance to an actual person is purely coincidental._

_Original cover design by Kim Killion, Hot Damn Designs._

_2nd edition cover design by Mayhem Cover Creations._

# Newsletter sign up

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# A Note From Alexx

_Dear Reader,_

* * *

Wow. What can I say? What an amazing love story. What started out as a SHORT STORY (yes, you read that right) blossomed into a good-sized novella almost immediately. Honestly, I had no control over these characters. They demanded their own story, a deeper, more satisfying story arc than a short story could sustain and I, as always, am a slave to the muse. But as I'm sitting here at the conclusion, wiping tears away, I am so satisfied with the way it turned out. I am so grateful I didn't ignore the voice that said, "keep going!" and I pushed on through to the beautiful, unorthodox love story at the soul of this book.

Of course, I hope you agree and if you do, please consider leaving a nice review. I am always ever-so-grateful for the kind words and it really helps new readers find me, too! Thank you so much. I know you're busy and I appreciate your time and effort to help me out.

I love hearing from readers so please, stop by my Facebook, Twitter or web page to say hello.

You can find me here:

Facebook: facebook.com/alexx.andria.796

Twitter: @alexxandria2772

Email: alexxandria2772@gmail.com

Oh! And as an added bonus, I've included the first chapter of ALL DOGS BITE, book 2 in the Club Chrome series! (As well as a buy link, in case you love it.)

* * *

Warmly,

_Alexx Andria_

# Back Cover Blurb

_USA TODAY_ bestselling author Alexx Andria delivers a MC romance with unforgettable characters and a desperately dangerous love affair like only Alexx can write.

* * *

_My name is Zoe Delacourte. I thought I was going to build my future on the backs of Jax Traeger and Hunter Ericksen — bad boys from the wrong side of the tracks, running the notorious motorcycle club, the Kings of Asphalt — in my mind, the story had practically written itself. I was so naïve. Little did I know they were going to change everything I ever knew about myself._

_Jax and Hunter. I can't even say their names without trembling._

_They don't see a fat girl or a girl who might be pretty if only she'd lose some weight. No, from the moment I walked into their club, they saw a hot, sexy woman with curves for days — and they couldn't wait to get their hands on me._

_Some people call them bad men. They see the rides and the rap sheets and they slap a label on them. I don't care what they've done — all I care about is what they're going to do to me next._

_But loving them is dangerous. In fact, loving them might just get me killed._

# Chapter One

The roadside bar reeked of cheap whiskey, spilled beer and bad judgment but Zoe Delacourte wasn't about to turn tail and run even though her knees were practically knocking together like two castanets in the hands of a Spanish dancer.

This was her chance, her big break, her opportunity to show her editor that she could deliver the real deal, a solid story the readers wanted to read about.

Maybe even a Pulitzer.

Okay, maybe not a Pulitzer but this was some serious journalism and she had chops to prove.

Okay, so technically, no one knew she was doing this but all the more reason to make it count.

Fortune favored the bold, or so they say. Time to put that saying to the test.

She'd been blessed — or cursed, depending on how you look at it — with a nose twitchy for information.

Her mom called it downright nosiness but whatever, that quality was exactly what was required in the newsroom.

When she happened to run across a small blurb about an execution style murder on the west end of the city, she couldn't resist the urge to poke around.

A little inquiry here, a little digging there, and she'd found quite a few tantalizing leads that she couldn't help but try and chase down for the bigger story.

The problem? No one wanted to touch it.

Not that she blamed them.

Not even the cop reporter wanted to dig into a possible retaliation hit between the two most notorious motorcycle clubs, The Kings and the Road Dogs.

Where others saw a one-way ticket to the morgue, she saw a golden opportunity to finally make her mark.

From her furtive digging she managed to dig up two names: Jax Traeger and Hunter Ericksen.

Bad boys to the core, Jax and Hunter seemed to be running The Kings, while she wasn't sure who was calling the shots for the Road Dogs, possibly a guy named Bronx, no last name that she could find.

The guy who ended up dead was a member of the The Kings, which meant she wanted to get to Jax and Hunter and see what she could get out of them by way of intel.

But it wasn't as if they were just going to spill their guts.

She had to be crafty, real sly-like to get the goods, which brought her to the current reason why she was wobbling on too-high heels into The King's known clubhouse, Bad Whiskey.

Squeezed into a skirt too tight with her breasts pushed nearly to her chin, she was risking everything by going deep under cover for the story.

That's what real journalists did — not like the paper-pushing wimps currently occupying space in the newsroom.

What happened to the golden age of investigative journalism?

What happened to digging down to the bone of a story to suck out the marrow?

What happened—

"You lost?" A thick, gravelly voice interrupted her internal dialogue and she stopped short, nearly bumping into a mammoth of a man with a beer belly big enough to double as a trampoline.

He jabbed a stubbed finger past her, pointing at a grimy sign hanging off-kilter on the wood-paneled wall to grunt, "Members only."

"I-I was invited," she stammered on the lie, her gaze darting as people within the rough crowd began to stare. "By J-Jax."

"Dimas sent you?"

Dimas?

"Um, yes."

She bobbed a nod and then yelped as the man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward a back room to thrust her inside.

She realized too late that her lie might've just landed her in really hot water but before she could try to back out the man had already left her behind, slamming the door behind him.

_Oh heavens to mergatroid_ , _what had she just gotten herself into_?

"Wait...I think—"

"A brunette with curves...I like. It's as if Dimas read my mind."

Zoe whirled at the sound of the sultry voice at her back and she found herself staring at the most sinfully handsome man she'd ever seen.

Lounging like a giant jungle cat on the worn black leather sofa, Jax Traeger's stare burned two holes into her soul as he regarded her with open interest. Goodness, he was handsome...in a dirty, I-will-likely-break-your-heart-and-ruin-your-credit sort of way. She hadn't expected that.

Talk about being blindsided.

There'd been precious few pictures of Jax on the Internet. It seemed the bad boy was camera shy, go figure. "I-I'm sorry...I think your guy got the wrong idea..."

One black slash of a brow went up in question and he leaned forward, saying, "And what idea would that be?"

"The idea that I'm...oh, I don't know...um, available for..."

_Shut up, you idiot! This was what deep cover was all about! Riding the knife's edge to the ultimate story, finding your discomfort level and pushing past it to get to the good stuff that everyone else was too chicken to look for_.

Right.

Inhaling a discreet, stabilizing breath, she straightened and braved a smile as she sauntered over to Jax, ignoring the flutters in her belly as his gaze darkened with interest.

"Available for just _anyone_."

"Oh? Isn't that the whole idea behind being a whore?"

"A ww-hore? _Excuse me_? I'm not—"

"You're not what? Not a whore?" His smile slowly faded. "Then you're not from Dimas and if that's the case...just who are you?"

_Oh crap_.

Her damn mouth. "I-I just mean...well, of course, I'm from Dimas. I was just taken aback for a minute. I mean, well, I wasn't sure I was in the right place."

Faster than she could react, he had her pressed up against the wood paneling, crowding her personal space and sending her heartrate through the roof.

He smelled of leathers, a cool midnight ride, and the faint wisp of alcohol clinging to the edge as if as a reminder that his angelic face and body was simply a ruse to lure unsuspecting women to their doom.

It should've repulsed her — truly, bad boys weren't to her tastes — but she was oddly, and dangerously thrilled by the threat of caged violence she saw in his eyes and could see rippling through his biceps as he pressed forward.

Was he going to ravage her right there like a modern day pirate or simply punt her outside the doors with a growled warning?

Was she crazy for hoping — for a wild, irresponsible moment — that he would choose to grind those sensual lips across hers as punishment for daring to breach their inner sanctum?

_Yeah, don't answer that_.

She already knew — it was fucking lunancy.

"I...I am _totally_ from D-dimas. I mean...well, of course I am. Who else would I be?"

"You're telling me you're a prostitute?" he said, mocking her brave attempt at subterfuge.

Deep cover was a lot harder than she imagined but she wasn't a quitter.

She lifted her chin and swallowed as she jerked a nod. She could handle this.

It wasn't as if she were a virgin, although technically, her one experience had been pretty lukewarm in the sizzle department.

It'd been a plain miracle that Teddy had been able to find the right place to put his...well, his _thing_ and the whole shebang had been over in less than two minutes.

But she'd definitely handed in her V-card thanks to that two-minute gropefest so yeah, she could handle whatever Jax Traeger was thinking of handing out.

Besides, weren't all men relatively the same? The parts were the same anyway. Tab A went into Slot B. Simple biology, right?

Jax chuckled as if he'd somehow heard her internal dialog and said, "then you won't mind if I do this?" right before he bent down to nuzzle her neck, scraping tender flesh with the rough growth of his beard, sending delicious waves of wonderful cascading down her spine and pooling in places she hadn't given much thought until this very moment.

"Nope," she said breathlessly. Teddy had never done that. _Ohhh, that felt nice_. Focus. Focus Zoe! "This is old hat to me. In fact, you're the tenth guy that's done that to me today."

"Tenth?" he repeated with dark amusement as he lifted his head, his gaze narrowing. "Good. Then you won't mind if we up the ante."

"What do you mean?"

"Hunter...what shall we do with our willing little harlot?" he asked, seemingly to thin air until Zoe realized with a start someone else was in the room with them. Hunter Ericksen, a man with just as wicked of a reputation, eased from the shadows, a hungry grin on his supple lips.

"Well, Dimas did promise a good time," he reminded Jax as he joined him, both men regarding her with something akin to hunger in their eyes. "And you know my weakness for soft, curvy girls."

"Oh..." Zoe melted a little even as her traitorous heart tap-danced in fear.

She was playing a dangerous game with two of the most ruthless men in Southern California, men who have carved reputations for themselves within the cutthroat circles of motorcycle gangs.

What the hell had she been thinking? But what could she do but ride it out and hope for the best? They wouldn't actually hurt her, would they?

As far as she knew they weren't cold-blooded killers but then, dead men told no tales, right?

What if her thirst for legitimacy landed her in an unmarked grave out in the desert somewhere?

Holy crap!

What if she turned out to be fodder for a crime television drama in one of those _Ripped From The Headlines!_ movie-of-the-week?

"Gentlemen, I think we got off on the wrong foot," she said, trying to edge her way out alive. "Sure, Dimas sent me because who else would I be, right? I mean who would be so stupid as to come in here and pretend to be someone she wasn't. Sounds like a suicide trip to me."

"It would be," Jax agreed but he didn't seem ready to let her go. In fact, he seemed more interested in discovering her secrets than divulging any of his own. "Let me float a theory by you," he said as he and Hunter began to circle her. "Here's what I think...I think you're a Road Dog girl and you're hoping to get some intel on that shipment slated for next week. But here's the thing, Bronx is an idiot if he thinks that a pretty face and a nice, plump ass are going to get him anything from me or Hunter on that score but seeing as you're here, we might as well take the edge off. I've had a shit day and you walking through that door is the first thing that's made it better. Take off your clothes and let's see what we're really working with."

Jax knew the minute the curvy brunette walked in she wasn't no club whore.

She had a look about her that was sweet and innocent even though those pretty doe-brown eyes snapped with open curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.

Most club girls were hard and their hearts were as jaded as the guys they fucked.

There was nothing hard about this little chicklet. Everything about her was soft and squeezable.

Her tits, bobbing right beneath his nose, were made for a man's mouth. Hell, a man could lose himself for days in that succulent body and never complain about the lost time. And damn, she was pretty cute, too.

His sharp gaze took in every detail, committing it to memory. Young, maybe about twenty-five if he were to guess, with soft-as-a-baby's-ass skin — she was a dangerous one to keep around. She was the kind of girl that made a guy wonder what the other side looked like — and that was a luxury he and Hunter couldn't afford.

The best thing he could do for this little imposter was to scare the life out of her so that she never tried something so stupid again. However, he wasn't above _enjoying_ the lesson.

"Take off my clothes?" she squeaked in open distress. "I can't. I mean, I can but I hardly know you. I mean, shouldn't we have a beer or something first?"

"Fine. Tell us your name. I think you already know who we are." Hunter poured her a whiskey shot and handed it to her. "Bottom's up, sweetheart."

"Oh, um. Okay." She took the whiskey and stared at it in dismay. Guess she wasn't a whiskey drinker. Not that he or Hunter were surprised. She probably liked wine spritzers or some shit like that. Suddenly, she suggested in desperation. "How about this...Scrabble? I have to warn you, I rule at word games. I have quite the talent for using the Q and Z on double word tiles."

"Not one for games," Hunter grunted, downing a shot and refilling Jax's. "Unless it's strip poker. I wouldn't mind seeing what's hiding beneath that leather skirt. How about you, Jax?"

"Wouldn't mind at all," Jax agreed, watching her closely as he pointed at her drink. "Come on now, don't hurt our feelings. Drink up."

She shuddered and gulped the whiskey, coughing as it no doubt burned her throat and hit her stomach like an iron fist.

"That's good stuff," she gasped. "Real good. Dang...that's some...wow." Her eyes swam as she sucked in a wild breath. "Well, you know, I think I should probably go. Thanks for everything...but...um, yeah, this just isn't my scene."

"No one leaves until we say they leave," Jax said quietly, looking to Hunter.

She stared, unsure of how to extricate herself. He pulled off his leather jacket and tossed it to the old sofa, plucking at his shirt buttons.

"Here's how I see this...I don't think you're from Bronx or from Dimas...so that leaves me to wonder...just who the hell are you?"

"I'm..."

"Don't lie."

She visibly gulped and seemed to shake in her ridiculous heels and he had to wonder why she didn't just cave and be done with the act.

She had to know her tail was caught and it was all downhill from here but then she shocked him when she reached around to her back and slowly unzipped her tight skirt to let it fall to the floor.

He stared as she approached him with an unsure expression. "You know, it's really intimidating to be around the two guys running the notorious Kings club...cut a girl some slack," she said, smiling coyly as she fumbled with her blouse before tugging it free from her body.

Standing in nothing but her black undies and bra, it was Jax's turn to swallow hard and start to tremble.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" he warned in a soft voice, his hands curling, itching to touch. "You're messing with fire, girl."

Hunter chuckled. "Don't scare her away. Clearly, she's come to the right place for a good time."

"Do you think I'm sexy?" She bit down on her bottom lip in an adorably unsure gesture.

Was she sexy?

What the hell kind of question was that?

Was she blind?

Some men didn't appreciate ample curves but that wasn't Jax or Hunter.

"The best part about a woman with curves is you know where to put your hands," he said in a husky growl right as he pulled her to him, popping a gasp from her lovely mouth as his hands found her plump ass. "See?" he said, grinning as he pressed his hard cock against her hot core. "I'd say you're pretty damn sexy to me."

Hunter observed with a small smile. "For a prostitute you're pretty...jumpy. If I didn't know better I'd say you were a virgin. But that can't be right, right? You've had plenty of men between those thighs, haven't you?" he asked, circling to sandwich her between them. "Mmm....you have just the right amount of cushion, sweetheart. Soft and sweet." Hunter unhooked her bra and her breasts bounced free. "There, that's better, isn't it?" he asked, his voice husky with appreciation.

"Much better," Jax agreed, feasting his gaze on the tits that would likely fuel his fantasies for weeks. Hunter relieved her of her panties and then she was stark naked, pressed against Jax and Hunter, a trapped little morsel just primed for the taking. "Look at these beautiful tits, Hunter," he said, taking both in his hands and squeezing. "Jesus, damn near perfect and natural to boot."

"The view from the back is pretty nice," Hunter returned, filling his palms with her ample ass cheeks. "Thick and round, my favorite kind of ass. You know what I like to do to a perfect ass?"

Jax whispered in her ear, "He likes to fuck them. Have you ever taken a cock in your ass, sweetness? Something tells me...no. What a special treat for us."

"Ohhh, I...don't think..."

" _Shhh_...no need to think. Just feel."

"But..."

Suddenly Hunter's arms went up beneath her armpits as he pulled her against him, pinning her to his front so that Jax could nudge her legs apart. "What are you doing?" she asked, almost pleading. "Please..."

"Oh yes, begging is a nice touch," Hunter whispered in her ear. "You are the most convincingly virginal whore I've ever met. Tell me...do you put on this show for every man you fuck?"

She opened her mouth, perhaps to come clean because she realized she was in over her head about to get royally fucked — in the literal sense — and Jax suffered the very real sensation of sharp disappointment that she might and they might be compelled to let her go...but then she shocked them again when she said with a brave lifted chin, "I never beg unless it's for chocolate. _Bring it on_. I can take whatever you can dish out."

_Oh, girl...you've done sealed your doom_. _We're gonna ruin you_. A slow, delighted smile curved his lips as he said, "Challenge accepted."

# Chapter Two

In hindsight, Zoe probably should've admitted that she was a terrible fraud and an overly ambitious journalist with bigger dreams than her editor appreciated but the shocking sensation of a warm, wet tongue pushing it's way past her quivering folds stole her breath and her ability to speak.

Oh God! Jax was... _oh, my word_! Never...never in a million years had she ever been kissed there, like that.

She wasn't stupid or naïve but no one in her dating pool had ever been that far and _ohhhhhh_ , it was the most heavenly feeling in the world.

Was she a terrible person because her hips were actually thrusting toward his face, trying to grind that tongue deeper inside her body?

Well, maybe not a bad person but certainly pretty slutty. She'd had no idea she had latent slut qualities lurking inside her psyche.

Her college years jumped to mind. Clearly, she'd spent too much time studying and not enough time being a complete and utter nymphomaniac.

"I think she likes it," Hunter said, warm and approving, as she squirmed and panted.

The pleasure washing over her was inescapable as Jax's tongue plunged inside, tickling, sucking, and even nipping the sensitive flesh and she was quickly losing her ability to reason.

And then slowly a finger entered her, penetrating her secret place, obliterating her final wisp of a protest, going deep as his tongue worked a devilish magic inside her body.

Sweat popped along her exposed skin and her nipples pearled into aching tips of yearning and need that made everything in her body taut with pleasure.

"Oh Hunter, you're going to love this sweet pussy," Jax told his friend, his voice muffled by her, well, her _muff_. He groaned and the sound sent tiny little vibrations rippling through her body, his fingers digging into her hips as he pressed his face into her hot, needy core. "Should I allow her come or make her wait?" he asked, stopping briefly.

"Go ahead and let her come," Hunter answered magnanimously. "I'm feeling generous tonight. Do you hear that, sweetheart? I'm not always that generous. I enjoy watching a woman twist around, begging for release, knowing that I hold the key to her pleasure. But I have a feeling you're going to milk our cocks tonight so I'll let you have this round."

She shuddered, unable to comprehend what he had in store. This was completely outside of her tiny wheelhouse of experience. Teddy had never...all he'd done was stick it in, thrust a time or two and then had pulled out to spurt on her stomach.

He'd barely been able to meet her gaze afterward and the butthead had apparently lost her number because he'd never called again.

"Do you like that, baby?" Jax asked, his gaze darkened with lust and desire.

Had anyone ever looked at her like that? Like he was ready to throw her down and eat her alive?

Oh, she liked it. She liked it a lot.

She managed to jerk a short nod and he returned with a husky voice, "Then you're going to love this..." and then he was sucking and tickling and even, oh God, _pinching_ , and it felt like carnal heaven.

She groaned, unable to hold back the sound, inching toward delirium as he made her jerk and lose herself to his touch.

There was nothing she could do to escape the pure pleasure he was forcing her to feel and she was lost to the power of his talent.

Her legs began to shake involuntarily and if Hunter hadn't been holding her securely she would've folded onto the ground like a ragdoll.

She didn't know what was happening but she wanted it. Desperately and dangerously — she had to have whatever was coming!

A zillion tendrils of pleasure burst at the same time as she lost all sense of time and space, coming so hard that she thought her heart might've stopped, and without her conscience knowledge, Jax and Hunter carried her to the black sofa to recover.

She threw a hand over her eyes as her body gently convulsed, still rocking internally to the most epic song she'd ever encountered and she realized with a watery chuckle, Teddy had been the worst lay ever.

She opened her eyes and found Jax and Hunter standing over her like two sentinels, dark eyes watching her intently with arms crossed, waiting.

Zoe came to her senses and scooted on her rear to a sitting position, a bit of that earlier fear returning. She licked her lips and said, "Thank you?" Was that the appropriate response for a mind-blowing orgasm? The first she'd ever had in her life? Thank you seemed hardly enough. "That was awesome."

Jax and Hunter exchanged amused looks. "So who are you really?"

She supposed there was no way she was going to be able to cling to the falsehood that'd gotten her into this room but it was a bit disconcerting to be naked as a jaybird in this particular circumstance.

"Mind if I get dressed?" she asked in a timid voice. "It's a little drafty."

"We'll warm you up after you've answered a few questions," Jax assured her and she actually shivered a little. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"You might not believe me if I told you," she started, crossing her arms over her breasts, feeling self-conscious. Hunter frowned and shook his head, gesturing at her arms. She slowly released her breasts and her cheeks immediately heated. "This isn't exactly ideal...not the way I usually conduct interviews."

"Interviews? For what?" Hunter asked.

"Okay, here's the real deal, no more lies. My name is Zoe Delacourte and I work for the Courier. I've been trying to get my editor to believe that I can write something of substance but he keeps throwing these shit assignments my way, like How To Find The Right Potted Plant For Your New Apartment, and I'm ready for something bigger and better." She glanced around and added in a small voice, "This room would do well with a succulent, by the way. They're very hardy. I'm pretty sure a fern would die in this room. Not enough light." She drew a deep breath. Was she really giving him advice about plants? "Um, as I was saying, I think I'm ready for the bigger stories and I thought to prove it to him, I would deliver the real story behind the hit of one of your club brothers, William "Roach" Simms."

"The real story?" Jax asked, his gaze narrowing. "And what exactly is the real story?"

She swallowed. "Well, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Simms was likely killed by someone in the Road Dog crew, right? There has to be a reason for that kind of hit. From what I understand, The Kings and the Road Dogs have been coexisting fairly peacefully for years...so what's with the sudden gangster stuff?"

"You're asking questions that could get you killed," Hunter warned. "Little girls shouldn't play games when they don't know the rules."

She frowned. "I'm not a little girl and I don't scare easily."

"You're asking for trouble."

"I won't stop asking questions," she told him stubbornly. "This is my chance to prove myself. This is how the real journalists are separated from the posers. I refuse to write another story about houseplants!"

"And what makes you think you have a story at all? No one else is writing about it."

"Exactly. And why is that? This was no ordinary murder. It was execution style, like mobster style."

"And you know this, how?" Hunter asked.

"I promised to go out on a date with a morgue intern...he let me take a peek at the autopsy report."

She forgot about her nakedness — which was pretty interesting given the fact that she barely knew these men and she wasn't exactly an exhibitionist — but she was too focused on getting what she needed to back down now.

"Originally, I thought I could write an undercover expose about a motorcycle gang life told from the inside but then I realized there's probably no way I could pull that off, not even if I got a tattoo, so I went with a different approach and granted, I hadn't really thought it through when I committed to it and here I am, admittedly, definitely not how I envisioned this interview going down." She gasped and covered her mouth in mortification. "I didn't mean to reference what you did...oh goodness...this is awkward."

"A damn reporter," Hunter muttered, perplexed. "Of all the dumb ass bad luck."

Zoe bristled at his tone. "And you're a law-breaking felon, most likely, so don't be so _judgy_ , if you please. The true art of journalism is being lost in the haze of technological gadgetry. Smart phones and the Internet are pretty awesome until you realize that they're replacing a nation with former readers and thinkers with drooling automatons who believe anything they read on their social media."

"Drooling automatons?" Jax repeated, mildly amused. "Interesting."

"Interesting? How do you mean?" she asked, her gaze darting between the two. "What do you plan to do with me now that you know the truth?"

"Oh honey, my plans haven't changed one bit," Jax answered, unzipping his jeans and pulling them from his muscular legs right before her astonished eyes.

_Good lord, what a body!_ Every nerve ending tingled in warning — and anticipation, if she were honest — but all she could do was stare until Hunter followed Jax's lead.

Suddenly, there were two sexy, dangerously hot and _NAKED_ guys staring down at her as if they were hungry cats and she were a delicious canary and she knew exactly what they planned to do with her.

Maybe she ought to stop staring at their jutting appendages and start protesting a bit!

Averting her eyes, she said, "Would you mind putting on some clothes? It's a little distracting to have your... _thing_ in my face."

Hunter and Jax laughed. "Our thing? You mean our _cocks_? I don't think that's the problem," Jax corrected, eliciting an unsure frown on her part. "I think you _want_ our cocks in your face but you're embarrassed by your desire." He leaned down, pressing her against the cushion. "Did someone tell you you were a dirty girl for being curious about a man's body?" he asked, somehow zeroing in on her secret past. How'd he know about that? "You need immersion therapy, sweetheart. A cock in your face is exactly what you need."

Zoe risked a shaky laugh, trying to seem unaffected by his suggestion.

As if! Cocks in her face. What kind of therapy was that?

"As tempting as that may be, I'd rather just be on my way. Obviously, I wasn't thinking clearly when I hatched this plan and all I can do is apologize for taking up your time."

"Are you a virgin?" Hunter asked, ignoring her comment.

"No," she answered quickly, amending to add with a small, prim sniff, "Technically, no."

"Technically?" Jax repeated, intrigued. "Explain."

Zoe huffed a short breath and actually glared. "And why would I do that? That's highly personal."

"Wasn't my face buried in your pussy a few moments ago?" Jax reminded her casually and she wanted to sink through the cushions straight to China. "And didn't you just come all over my tongue? I'm pretty sure that was you."

"Okay, yes, that was me," Zoe admitted, her cheeks burning so hot she thought her face might catch fire. "But that's not very gentlemanlike of you to bring it up."

"Oh sweetheart, you should know that neither of us are gentlemen," Hunter said, laughing. "Tell us about your _technical_ sexual experience."

"That's not what I came for," she reminded them, straightening as much as she could in the slouchy couch.

_This thing was probably murder on your back_ , she noted. _Absolutely no support for the lumbar_.

Yes, let's focus on what's important, a dry voice in her head quipped, causing her to refocus with a subtle frown.

_Forgive me for being a little flighty under the circumstances!_

"You have to understand...desperation will cause people to do all manner of crazy things, impulsive things. I just wanted someone to realize that I have more talent than I've been given credit," she pleaded, trying to find a way out of the pickle she'd put herself into. "Surely, you can appreciate that?"

Both men surprised her by flanking her on either side. Their naked thighs rubbed against hers and she felt that sweet heat flooding her insides again.

Oh dear...her will power was slipping like an unintentional fart after too much dairy.

Why were they so beautiful? Perfect male specimens...a real testament to the human race.

Good genes, likely.

"I can appreciate that you're hotter than you realize and you really shouldn't walk into a lion's den and not expect to get eaten," Hunter warned her, moving in to nibble on her neck while Jax watched with a small smile, clearly appreciating how easily she was distracted.

"That's not fair," she moaned, unable to believe this was happening.

Maybe she was in a medically induced coma and this was one messed-up, anesthesia-fueled wet dream.

Or maybe she was actually being coerced and seduced by two dangerous bikers who were hellbent on destroying her will to resist their advances _._

_Ohhhh, no, not the breasts_!

But Hunter had moved to latch his mouth onto her right nipple, sucking and teasing until she was panting and groaning, causing her to momentarily forget that she needed to get out of there.

"You done wandered into the wrong lion's den, sweetheart," Jax said softly while Hunter kept her at a disadvantage. "The situation is this...I don't know if you have the talent you think you have but I do know that if you start asking questions like that around certain people, you're gonna put your pretty ass in a sling and that would be a real shame considering you have the sweetest ass I've ever seen. I'm not saying you're right...but I am saying that you need to back down — you're in way over your head."

She panted, "I won't stop! Tell me off-the-record, give me something to work with! I'll keep my sources confidential, I swear it!"

Jax laughed and Hunter chuckled against her flesh and she knew they wouldn't be making her any deals nor were they going to let her waltz out the door without taking their price.

Disappointment caused her eyes to well briefly but it was hard to think terribly straight when everything in her body hummed and tingled, aching with the need to be touched and teased.

They were like a drug in her system — a newly acquired taste for something exotic and likely to kill her — but she couldn't quite stop her hips from undulating in short, needy movements as she hungered for that next fix.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Jax's heated smile matched the hunger in his eyes. To be taken by these men...she'd never be the same.

There'd be no turning back after an experience like that, right? Her pathetic dating history flashed before her eyes and a tiny bubble of laughter followed.

God, a small part of her ardently hoped not.

# Chapter Three

Hunter didn't like reporters — they'd never had anything nice to write about an Ericksen in all his life — but this one...she was different.

She tugged at his need to protect, which was fucking foreign as all get out considering Hunter had never been the protector-type.

Historically, he'd mostly been the fuck-em-hard-and-leave-em-wet type.

The fact that he felt the slightest bit of _something_ for the woman was enough to make him want to run the opposite direction but damn, it would take an act of God to get him away from her after watching her come with Jax.

"When you roll the dice with the bad guys, the chances you take might just shock you," Jax said silkily before tweaking her left nipple and popping a squeak from her lips. "Now tell us about your sexual experiences."

"Why do want to know that? It was embarrassing," she grumbled, her pretty cheeks coloring. "And why do you care who I've slept with? Should I ask you the same?"

"Humor us."

She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes before starting. "It was my senior year in college and I was ready to lose my V-card but I wasn't exactly high up on the dating chain so I went on this dating site and found Teddy. He seemed nice enough, if not a little doughy in the face and stomach but who was I to judge, right? Long story short, we went back to my place, fooled around a little and then, he was doing his thing. It was very...different than I imagined it would be."

"Did you come?" Hunter asked with keen interest. The idea that someone else had made their little reporter shatter was enough to make him want to punch something.

"I don't think so," she answered sheepishly. "But it felt sort of good for a minute or two."

"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard," Jax said, shaking his head. "Did it hurt?"

"No, not really. I kept waiting for it to hurt but it didn't."

"Maybe his cock wasn't big enough," Jax joked and all Zoe could do was shrug. "Is that Teddy guy your boyfriend?"

"Oh no, he left shortly after making a mess on my stomach and I haven't seen him since. I don't really have time to date. You know, busy girl trying to make a name for herself in the cutthroat world of investigative journalism."

"What an idiot."

"Hey!"

"Not you, sweet stuff...that guy you gave your V-card to. Fucking idiot," Hunter said and she relaxed. "So...other than Teddy...what other sexual experiences have you had?"

"Um...not so many."

"Such as? Give me a number?"

"You mean not counting what just happened?" She pretended to count but then gave up all pretense and admitted, "two and that's including what just happened with you and your brother."

"Tragedy. A woman with a body like yours is made for fucking," Jax said, shaking his head. "You know, we're not exactly known for our charitable works but we're going to do you a solid tonight because you're too damn cute to go the rest of your life only knowing Teddy. Tonight, we're going to ruin you for other men."

"Oh, that's very sweet but not necessary. I think you've already done a bang up job of that already," she said with a shaky laugh. "I mean, I've never had anyone do that thing to me that you did with your mouth."

"Did you like it?" Jax asked, moving in to brush a kiss across her lips and she quivered with awareness. "I think you did. I think you liked it more than you want to admit."

"Yeah, I liked it," she said in a small voice. "But I'm not sure I want you doing it again."

"Really? That's too bad because I'm going to do a lot more than that." He rolled away before adding, "But first, it's my brother's turn."

"Come here, sweetness," Hunter said, surprising her when he pulled her onto his lap, forcing her to straddle him.

Even though it wasn't her first time, he'd go gentle...at first. Jax went behind her and filled his hands with her breasts, gently rolling the nipples in his fingers as she moaned and leaned into him.

Hunter popped his finger in his mouth and then went searching between her folds to find that sweet spot that Jax had already coaxed into performing and she was soon grinding against his finger, her hips undulating of their own accord as if she had an inner porn star just waiting to emerge.

Quivering and panting, she gave little resistance when Hunter pulled her down onto his cock.

Inch by inch, she accepted his thickness, wincing a little as she stretched to accommodate his length and girth, but she took him in like a champ.

Something inside of Hunter shifted and expanded and he knew it was more than just the hot sex...and if he hadn't been cock-deep inside Zoe...he would've pushed her out the door.

He didn't have time for anything more than a good time but damn...there was something about Zoe that made it hard to just hit-it-and-quit-it.

_She was gonna be trouble_.

"Look at that...she's a natural," Jax crooned, kissing her neck as she rode him in slow, sensual movements. "Damn, she's so hot..."

His fingers left her breasts and suddenly a finger toyed with her backdoor and she squeaked in alarm but Hunter was quick to occupy her attention elsewhere when his thumb rubbed her clitoris in sweet, teasing circles.

"That's a girl...ride that cock. I promise you're going to love this..."

The scent of something slippery and herb-like caught her senses and she realized it was oil and Jax's well-lubed finger rubbed and played with her backdoor in the most shockingly arousing motion that she never would've imagined as pleasurable.

She groaned when his finger slid past her sphincter, gently easing that opening until he managed two fingers and then a third, all the while Hunter's cock slid in and out of her tight wetness.

Who was she? She'd never been that insatiable sex queen who did these kinds of things but here she was!

Riding a giant cock while another played with her other hole.

Good lord! That was heavenly! And then just when she thought she couldn't handle anything else, the blunt, spongy head of Jax's cock was pressing against her backdoor, insistent and achingly brutal.

She didn't have time to protest, to cry out, because within seconds she was completely filled!

Her teeth chattered as both men buffeted her with their cocks, each taking from her as she took from them, accepting them into her body as if she were made to do so.

Hunter filled his hands with her breasts and squeezed as he thrust against her. The bone-crushing pleasure came at her from all angles.

This was insanity but she was a willing participant even if she knew this was the most reckless thing she'd ever done.

"Oh God..." she couldn't breathe, couldn't get the words past her lips but that was okay because words were useless anyway.

Something big was barreling her way, forcing its way through her body and rattling down the pipes to pool in her groin. Starburst exploded behind her eyes as the most extreme pleasure made soup of her brain.

Her mouth went slack even as her entire body stiffened and clenched, rocketing the brutality of her orgasm straight into the heavens, and within seconds warmth flooded her from both sides as both Jax and Hunter pumped her full of their seed.

She seeped and oozed their fluids as it mixed with her own and for a long moment all she could do was gasp for air.

Zoe fell forward and Jax eased himself free from her backdoor while Hunter lifted her from his softening cock to gently return her to the sofa.

The sound of their harsh breathing mingled with the muffled sounds of the bar on the other side of the door and Zoe couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"I'm not laughing at you," she rushed to clarify when both Hunter and Jax looked at her strangely. "It's just that if you knew me a little better you'd know that I never do stuff like this. I mean, ever. This is so outside of my wheelhouse."

Hunter nodded and rolled to his feet, padding silently to the whiskey bottle where he, bypassing the glass, swigged from the bottle before handing it off to Jax and saying, "Honey, you were made for two men. That ain't no lie. You took both cocks like a pro."

She blushed furiously. Had he just said that? Good God. "Thank you — I think."

Jax rose and grabbed a towel to hand to her. She accepted it and wiped herself but honestly, there was something perversely arousing about the idea of walking out of this place wearing their scent.

Was she permanently ruined? Would she always crave two men now that she'd tasted the forbidden fruit?

She blushed again. Well, something told her there was no going back to guys like Teddy that was for sure.

"Why was this guy Dimas sending you a prostitute?" she asked, curious.

"Because Dimas is in charge of the club girls," Hunter answered, swigging the bottle.

His body was something of an adult playground, all hard and chiseled with various tattoos marking his skin here and there. She itched to touch each one with her tongue.

"So...why don't you just tell your editor that you want better assignments?"

"I've tried," she answered glumly, remembering how dismissive her editor had been when she'd broached the subject. "He doesn't think I can handle being an investigative journalist. He says I'm too soft. But he's wrong! I can handle anything and I'm terribly tenacious. No one but me connected the dots between The Kings and the Simms, although I was kinda surprised because it seemed pretty obvious."

"Honey, maybe no one wanted to connect those dots. The thing is you're poking around in a world you know nothing about. It could get you killed."

"I can handle myself. I got myself into this room, didn't I?"

"By sheer luck," Jax told her. "The only reason we didn't toss you right back out was because you were hot and we were horny. Rough truth, babe."

Ouch. That stung a bit. "Okay, fine, but I still got in."

"No," Hunter corrected her. "We got in...you got fucked. Listen to us when we say to back off this insane idea you have to go undercover on a story that will get you nowhere but the morgue. There are some vicious guys out there who would enjoy taking their sweet time stripping the pretty skin from your bones and I'm not saying that just to scare you off...it's the truth."

That stilled Zoe's tongue for a moment.

She certainly didn't want to die. Maybe they were right and she was biting off more than she could chew.

It sucked to admit but she supposed she could find a different story to chase down, maybe start digging into a cold case or something.

When she found her voice again, she said, "So what's your story? You don't seem the hardened bikers I thought you were. You seem pretty decent."

"Looks are deceiving, chicklet," Hunter answered darkly. "Don't go painting us in a favorable light just because we made you come a few times. We're as bad as you imagined we might be."

"Um, can you elaborate for me?" she asked, pushing for details. Just how bad were they talking?

Somehow she couldn't accept that, maybe because of what they'd just shared but she sensed goodness in them both.

Maybe she was acting like one of those Too-Stupid-To-Live women in horror movies who ran through the darkened forest in heels while the monster chased her or entered dark basements with a glitchy flashlight to investigate that "weird growling noise" but she couldn't seem to stop herself from believing that beneath all that rough exterior was a heart of tarnished gold.

Okay, now that the thought had raced across her brain she had to admit maybe she was just marinating in post orgasmic bliss like they'd said.

"I could but I won't."

She frowned. "Well, how am I supposed to come to my own conclusion about how bad you are if you won't share details?"

"It's not up to you to decide. We're deciding for you," Jax said, reaching for the bottle. "Sweetness...there's a world out there that doesn't play by the rules you're used to. Where the people with the guns make the rules and we discovered it was better to be the ones controlling the guns so we didn't end up eating a bullet ourselves. Being the king is better than the peasant, you know? And when you're the king, you have to make hard choices."

She nodded, wondering what kind of world Jax and Hunter lived in. Zoe couldn't help herself and asked, a bit sheepishly, "Do you have a girlfriend? Someone special waiting for you at the end of the night?"

"Do you mean, after fucking you, am I going to go home to a wife, still wearing your juices so I can fuck her, too?" Jax asked, his eyes glittering in the dim light. She swallowed and jerked a nod. He leaned back with a short smirk before answering, "No. No wife. No girlfriend. No attachments."

She looked to Hunter. "And you?"

"Same. In this life, attachments are liabilities, especially when they're as pretty as you."

He thought she was pretty. Not 'pretty for a fat girl' but flat out, pretty. A genuine smile warmed her lips. "You don't have to say that. I know I'm not conventionally good-looking."

"Says who?" Jax countered, his hand going to his cock to stroke it lightly back to life. "My cock says otherwise. My cock says you're the prettiest woman around with the sweetest pussy. How about you, Hunter?"

"My cock agrees."

Oh lord. "You know how to sweet talk a girl," she said, laughing to cover her embarrassment but inside she was also preening like a peacock at having these two gorgeous men talk to her like that. _Take that, Teddy, you tiny dick, asshole._ "Do you say that to all the girls you bring back here?"

"No. Usually, we bend them over the nearest surface, fuck 'em hard and then send them on their way with a little cash for their trouble. Most times we don't even look at their faces."

"Oh. Why was I different?"

"Good question. I don't know. There was something about you. Something sweet. Reminded me that we haven't touched anything sweet in a long time," Jax answered in a reflective tone that tugged at her heart for some reason.

"I guess I'm not so sweet any longer," she mused with faint amusement. "Because you can't do what we just did and retain that quality, right?"

"Wrong. You're still sweet enough to eat. I'm going to dream of your pussy tonight, honey," Jax assured her, going to fold her into his arms. She went willingly, even if she was a little unsure of what was happening between them. "You know, you took a big risk coming here. There are people who might take your visit as a threat if they knew who you truly were."

She gulped, swallowing. "I know. I have a bad habit of leaping before looking."

"Well, check that shit because it's going to land your pretty ass in a sling one of these days," Jax told her. "There's a world of bad people just outside that door and the only reason you're safe in here is because we're worse."

Visions of being body dumped jumped to mind and she trembled a little in his arms. "Are you going to kill me?" she asked.

"Not my style to kill women," Jax answered, nuzzling her neck again. "Men are a different story."

She shuddered, unable to reconcile what he was doing to her and the frank information he was sharing.

Had he just admitted to being a killer? The man holding her so tenderly, so sweetly was just as capable of pulling the trigger to end a life.

She looked to Hunter and sucked in a tight breath when she saw him fully erect again.

She whimpered as Jax walked her over to Hunter and settled her between his thighs. "I want to watch you take a cock in your mouth," he told her softly. "Has a man come in your mouth, sweetheart?"

"N-no," she answered, allowing Jax to gently push her head toward Hunter's straining member. She enveloped the head of his cock and gagged a little when his enormous cock banged the back of her throat.

"That's it, sweetness," Jax encouraged her, smiling with approval as she took Hunter fully into her mouth, slowly gaining a rhythm. "Caress his balls, that's nice. How's she doing?"

"Excellent," Hunter answered, his voice tight. "God, her mouth...I'm not going to last very long."

Bent over as she was, Jax had a great view of her backside and she hoped he liked what he saw.

She had little time to wonder when she felt Jax push himself inside her pussy.

Sucking and moaning, she took both men once again, only this time it was her mouth and pussy that took their hot lengths.

If she'd known pleasure like this were possible, she would've been a raging whore all through college.

Zoe thrilled at the feeling of being an insatiable sex-a-holic, if that was a thing. She loved being the vessel for their seed.

Soon enough Hunter stiffened and his hips thrust wildly even as he held her head in place, jackhammering into her mouth as if he were doing it to her core and she loved it.

Yeah, loved it. Who knew!

Warm, salty fluid flooded her mouth and she had no choice but to gulp it down or else it would drip from her lips and spill all over the place.

She took long hard swallows, milking his cock for everything he had to give until he was jerking and moaning before pushing her gently off his rod.

His cock dribbled and pulsed as he came down off the incredible orgasmic high and she swelled with pride knowing that she'd brought him to this shuddering end.

But her moment of glory was soon eclipsed by the pleasure Jax was giving her as he pounded her hard, suddenly wrenching her hair back, shocking her with the measured violence.

The pain mixed with the pleasure and she groaned deep in her throat, still tasting Hunter in her mouth as Jax fucked her with a savagery that almost scared her.

"I might never get enough of this pussy," he warned her, his voice husky and low as their bodies slapped together.

She moaned deep in her throat while Hunter fondled her breasts and watched the show.

"Good God....she's so tight and wet!"

"Give it to her, boy," Hunter encouraged, grinning while all she could do was take the sexual frenzy that was building to a beautiful crescendo. "Fuck her good, Jax. She needs this."

How did he know that this was exactly what she needed? The brutality, the sweetness...the carnal perversion!

She wanted it all. "Yesss!" Everything converged in one final glorious sunset of pleasure and she shattered like a seasoned whore and seconds later Jax followed, filling her channel with his sweet cream, bathing her insides with his slippery fluids until he fell away from her, nearly falling on his ass from the exertion.

She collapsed in Hunter's arms and he cradled her while his brother's semen leaked from her well-used body onto his bare thigh.

"I can't take anymore," she gasped, tears spilling from her eyes, springing from an unknown place. She curled into Hunter's arms and shuddered as the remnants of her pleasure echoed in her nerve endings. "You've ruined me for any other man. I swear it. I can't believe how I feel right now. I never imagined that walking through that door would change me so viscerally," she cried, hiccupping as the emotion crested over her in a wave. "Am I losing my mind? What is wrong with me?"

"Shhhh, nothing is wrong, sweetheart," Hunter assured her with a kiss. "Nothing at all."

Jax joined them on the sofa, falling heavily beside Hunter, still breathing hard. "Did I hurt you, baby girl?" he asked, pushing a tendril of hair away from her flushed face. "You were perfect. So sweet. I think I'm addicted."

She shook her head. "No. I'm not hurt."

"Good," he breathed in relief. "Good."

Jax and Hunter exchanged looks that she didn't understand but she soon would when a loud banging at the door caused her to jump. "Dimas is here," a voice Zoe recognized as belonging to the burly man who'd thrust her into this room sounded from the other side.

"Party time is over," Hunter said with a sigh, moving from the sofa to grab his pants and quickly put them on. He tossed Jax his pants as well as Zoe's clothes. "Once word spreads that you're not from Dimas...things are going to get edgy."

"What's going to happen?" she asked, clutching at her clothes, shaking with true fear. While Jax and Hunter might not hurt her, she had no doubt that whoever this Dimas was wouldn't hesitate once he realized she'd used him to gain access to The Kings inner sanctum. "What should I do?"

Hunter brushed a quick kiss across her lips and motioned for her to dress quickly. "Jax will take you out the back door. No one knows you're here. You can leave without being noticed. I'll deal with Dimas."

She opened her mouth but Jax silenced her with a deep kiss that shocked her to her toes. "What was that for?" she asked, a little wobbly in the knees.

"Something to remember me by," he told her with a short devilish grin. As if she'd ever forget this night. Not possible. He grasped her hand and started to pull her toward the back door but Hunter bounded up to her and jerked her into his arms for a searing kiss that was as desperate as it was delicious.

"And something to remember me by," he told her softly and she melted just a little. "Now get out of here before the bullets start flying."

Zoe jerked a short nod and allowed Jax to pull her from the room and out a hidden back door. The cold night air bit at her cheeks and went straight up her short skirt, slapping against the wetness remaining on her thighs, reminding her of what'd been done to her in the space of one night.

"Where's your car?" Jax asked, scanning the dirt parking lot. She pointed at the small, unassuming sedan beneath the one streetlamp casting a weak umbrella of light in the otherwise dark dirt lot and he hurried over to it.

She climbed inside the car and stared up at the man who'd given her a glimpse of a wild life that she never truly appreciated existed beneath the veneer of polite society and wondered how she could spin this experience into something fit for print.

"Stay sweet, sweetheart," he told her, chucking her chin gently. "And stay away from bikers like me and Hunter — they'll only drag you down."

Impossible. They'd lifted her up. She was different, more worldly after a few hours spent in their arms. She'd forever crave their touch...always remember how it felt to be desired by men like them.

And she knew there was no cure for that particular addiction.

Zoe didn't know what she was going to write about but she did know she was sinfully ruined in the best possible way.

It wasn't until she was back at her own apartment, showered and tucking herself into bed with total exhaustion that she knew without a doubt that no matter the risk...she was going to dig into the Simms case...if only to find out more about Jax Traeger and Hunter Ericksen.

# Chapter Four

Jax had barely returned from the back door when Dimas entered the room with a two club girls on each arm.

After the sensual feast they'd enjoyed with Zoe, the club girls looked downright anemic — flat, little titties and even flatter asses — with pocked faces from too much meth in their lifetime and lank blonde hair that was fried on the ends.

In spite of all that they weren't ugly, just hard and used...and definitely not to his tastes after sampling the sweetness of a certain reporter who didn't have enough sense to be scared of them.

"See? I told you I'd deliver," Dimas said smugly, offloading the two grinning women toward Jax where they quickly draped themselves over him, purring and giggling like schoolgirls, one going so far as to grope his groin in search of his dick. "That girl can suck the chrome off a ball hitch," he promised, settling in a chair and snagging the whiskey bottle. "What do you think? Want to give her a spin? Club discount, as always."

Hunter took a seat at the small poker table with a second bottle of whiskey in front of him and one of the women immediately detached from Jax to edge her way into his lap, saying with breath that reeked of cigarettes and booze, "I'm down for whatever you want, big boy. I've heard stories about the way you fuck and I'm ready to see for myself what all the hype is about."

Dimas, a man they'd known for many years and considered a friend, grinned wide and knowing as he enjoyed watching his club girls do their thing.

It was his job to manage the women and thus far, he'd never disappointed.

Of course, Dimas made a killing with his whores but Hunter and Jax didn't mind paying the man for his service to the club because it kept the guys out of trouble and satisfied.

A man with a well-milked cock was far more chill than a man all juiced up with blue balls so yeah, Dimas' girls were a solid investment most times.

But tonight...neither Hunter nor Jax were interested and Dimas was quick to notice their disinterest.

He snapped his fingers and both women stopped their attempts at getting either men's attention and looked fearfully at Dimas, waiting.

"Go find someone else to blow...me and the boys got business to deal with," he said roughly and they scuttled from the room like frightened goats. Once the room was clear, Dimas tipped the bottle up and finished off what was left, saying as he wiped his mouth, "Seems like someone has already taken the edge off. Want to tell me who the girl was?"

"Which girl would that be?" Jax asked with a lazy shrug. "I have a tendency to lose count."

"I'm not talking about a club whore...I'm talking about the chick playing at being a whore. No one claims to be one of mine unless I've vetted them — I have a reputation to uphold and no one is going to fuck with that without paying the price."

"Relax Dimas, no one is screwing with your rep," Hunter said, bored as he cracked open the second bottle. "Have a drink, calm down."

Dimas' narrowed stare didn't soften as he said, "Where is she? I know a woman came in and no one has seen the girl leave."

"Careful, Dimas," Jax said, his tone dangerously soft. "You're in _my_ house, remember? Whether or not we were entertaining a woman in here is none of your goddamn business and neither is where she went. You feeling me?"

Dimas, sensing he'd overstepped choked down his outrage and tried to slow the locomotive in charge of his mouth but the effort was damn near visible as he shook with impotent rage at being denied the answers he demanded.

A few heartbeats later, a short smile found its way to Dimas' lips as he dropped into the proffered chair opposite Hunter and poured himself a shot.

"You and me...we go way back, yeah? I provide the whores and you provide the cash. It's a good relationship. I just don't want anything getting in the way of that good exchange between us. If someone else was providing you this service...well, I think I have the right to know about the competition."

Jax laughed and grabbed a deck of cards. "Settle down, Dimas. No one is edging you out. You're still the man we go to for good times. Whoever the girl was...she's nothing and she doesn't matter, okay? How about a little Seven Card Stud?" he suggested, pulling out a wad of cash and dumping it on the table. "I'm ready to take some of your money."

Dimas, never one to turn down an opportunity to gamble, grinned and pushed forward the shot glass. "Get ready to lose, muthafucka...you ain't shit with cards against me and you know it. We'll talk business after I kick your ass and take your cash."

"Sure," Jax said, looking to Hunter. "Am I dealing you in?"

"Not tonight," Hunter said, his mind still on Zoe.

He shouldn't be thinking of her. But something told him that Zoe wasn't going to stop digging into Simms' death and that was going to put her squarely in the middle of a turf war that she didn't have the weapons to protect herself with.

While Jax kept Dimas busy, he was going to do a little checking of his own...he wanted to know everything he could find out about Zoe Delacourte.

Zoe popped into the newsroom, secretly delighting in all the aches and pains left over from last night's activities, and sailed past her editor's office to go straight to her tiny cubicle where she spent too much of her life researching stupid articles that nobody in their right mind cared about.

There was no substance, no meat to the stories she'd been writing as of late and she was under no illusions that they might matter to anyone but that was all about to change as soon as she managed to dig up some more information.

Collecting her writing pad and snagging a new pen from the supply closet, she headed over to the cop reporter's desk where she found him scrolling through entertainment news sites, not even pretending to work.

"Got a minute?" she asked, leaning into his cubicle space with an eager smile. Derek Michaels, the world's most repugnant police reporter on the planet, didn't hide his irritation that she was interrupting his Internet time but she didn't care.

He was her best resource at the moment and she wasn't about to be intimidated into backing down, not when everything was so fresh in her mind.

"Don't you have a Top Ten list to write? Something like The Top 10 Reasons Why Fat Girls Can't Get Dates?"

He smirked at his own stupid joke and she hotly wished Jax or Hunter had heard him say that — they'd likely fashion a belt out of his own intestines for a dig like that.

Okay, maybe that was a bit macabre but Derek was a dickhead and deserved it.

Derek was always making snarky jokes about her weight, always outside of earshot of the boss, of course, because he wasn't stupid, but he never missed an opportunity to let those arrows fly.

As if Derek were God's gift to women. The man smelled like the tail end of a deodorant stick after spending its entire life smashed in someone's armpit.

"You know, all that misdirected anger against women could mean you harbor a latent desire to get railed in the ass by a big ol' bear of a man and you're just too much of a pussy to admit your own true nature."

She smiled sweetly, not quite able to believe such filth had tripped from her mouth but damn, it'd felt good to stick it to Derek for the first time ever. Before he could recover and counter with something equally vile, she charged forward with her objective.

"What do you know about the Simms murder on the west side of the city?"

Derek, still scowling, answered, "What's it to you?"

"What does it matter? Do you know anything or not? Maybe I was wrong to come to the cop reporter for information...I just thought you might know some details not readily available to the general public," she said, playing to his ego.

Derek liked being the man with privileged information, the guy who went on ride-alongs and hit the bar with the boys in blue after hours.

She shrugged and pushed away from the cubicle wall, pretending to walk, saying, "Never mind. I should've known you don't have any real information."

"Hold on, hold on," Derek called after her, his brow bunching into a scowl.

She returned with a dubious expression, although he plainly took the bait and started talking. Geesh, the man would make a terrible spy.

"I didn't say I didn't know anything. I just wanted to know why you were poking around." He drew a breath and his expression turned serious. "Okay, you want to know what's really going down? This is what I know...the guy was shot in the back of the head, execution style and according to the detectives, there's no leads, and frankly no one cares. The guy was a low-life who was offed by another low-life. Not a lot of manpower that's going to that case but I have my own theories..." He paused then asked, "Want to know what I think?"

"Sure." She shrugged as if she could care less either way but was humoring him. "Lay it on me."

"The cops don't like to give it too much press but there's a turf war going on between The Kings and the Road Dogs and it's getting dirty. Simms wasn't the first dead motorcycle club member who ended up in the morgue."

"No?" That piqued her interest. "Who else?"

"A club girl, Juanita Sanchez, was found in a back alley on Washington Avenue, behind a bar in Road Dog territory. Word was that Juanita was part of the dog crew but no one's really talking about what really happened."

"Do you think the two cases are related?" she asked.

"Seems to reason. Why else would club members on both sides end up with bullets lodged in their brain, killed execution style unless they were connected somehow."

"And the cops don't want to pursue it?"

"Naww, not enough resources to put someone on the case 24/7 like it needs. Budget cuts, man, they're a bitch. Right now, the citizens are lucky to have a uniform show up when they place a 911 call. The investigations department is a ghost town."

That didn't fill her with a lot of confidence. She drew a deep breath. "So what are they killing each other for? Why are they fighting over territory?"

"The Kings have been on top for too long. The Dogs are hungry — and hungry dogs will snap at anything."

Zoe grimaced but it was probably an apt analogy. Switching tracks, she said, "I need to run a public records search on a handful of people. I need your logon and password for the background check program licensed to the paper."

"Is that so? And why exactly would I do that?"

"Because if you don't I'm going to march into McMurphy's office and file a grievance against you for creating a hostile workplace for the past six months with every fat joke you've ever uttered because, yeah, I'm taking it personally."

He barked a short but unsure laugh as he dared her, "Go ahead...you got no proof. Besides, everyone thinks my jokes are funny but you."

"Well, we'll see. In the meantime, it's a mark on your permanent record and that's bad timing for someone who's been shopping around their resume."

Derek lost some of his cocksure attitude. "Yeah? How do you know that?"

It was her turn to smile. "You're not the only one who's good with computers. And honestly, you should really learn to log out of your email account. Anyone could see what's coming and going through your inbox."

"You sneaky little—"

"Careful...name-calling is so hurtful," Zoe said with a pretend sad frown. "So, what's that logon and password again?"

Derek shook his head, plainly screwed and not happy about this sudden turn of events where Zoe was the aggressor instead of the victim, but he scribbled the information on a sticky note and handed it to her with a scowl. "If you get caught doing something illegal, you didn't get that information from me."

"Don't worry. It's not as if I'm surfing porn on company time," she said sweetly, folding the slip of paper in her hand before tucking it into her pocket as she walked away from him, secretly chortling and drunk on her own success. "Thanks a bunch!"

Zoe returned to her computer and her joy fizzled when she saw McMurphy waiting for her, a dissatisfied frown on his paunchy mug. "Delacourte...you were supposed to deliver a 500-word story on dog grooming an hour ago. Where is it?"

"Didn't I send that? Oh! That's right, I stayed late at a friend's house last night and I completely forgot to send it. I will do that right now, Mr. McMurphy."

"Don't be getting sloppy, kid. Deadlines are a reporter's bread and butter. If you can't hack the deadline on a feature piece, how are you going to handle anything more serious?"

She tried not to protest or inadvertently spill the beans that she'd actually been working undercover — or trying to at the very least — but the urge to defend herself was hard to contain.

Somehow by the grace of God, she kept her mouth zipped and simply nodded meekly as she always did when McMurphy groused at her for whatever reason.

Besides, no need to rock the boat prematurely.

If McMurphy thought she was towing the line, he wouldn't pester her while she ran around doing the real work.

Sighing, she hit send on the email she should've sent before heading off to see Jax and Hunter, and then quickly logged into the public records search.

"Let's see what a public records search will find," she said, smiling to herself. "There are definitely perks to having the newspaper's resources at my fingertips. Why haven't I thought of this before?"

She typed in _Jax Traeger_ and _Hunter Ericksen_ to see what would pop up.

Too many search hits. She tried narrowing the search to location and known association and came back with a more manageable list.

After a few false starts she managed to click on the right names and begin reading up on her two favorite bad boys. "Let's see what kind of skeletons are hiding in your closet," she murmured to herself.

A litany of petty crime offenses were listed on the rap sheets, from petty theft to burglary and one felony a piece for aggravated assault.

So maybe it wasn't far-fetched to hope for Jax or Hunter to do some damage to Derek, she mused half-jokingly. The criminal arrest record gave her a fairly accurate view of who they were as adults but she wanted to dig a little deeper.

She wanted to know what they'd been like as kids, but unfortunately juvenile records were sealed when they turned 18. Chances were they'd been bounced in and out of the foster system but there was no way she'd be able to discern that from the search.

The only way she'd be able to find out that information would be through someone in social services and she didn't have that kind of pull or connection.

That left the old-fashioned way of digging up information — asking around.

Maybe if she went to their old neighborhood she might be able to find information that someone would be willing to part with for 20 bucks.

_Go, big spender_.

Hey, 20 bucks was all she could spare. Hopefully it would be enough.

Zoe spent half the afternoon driving up and down city streets that were completely unfamiliar to her. In her life she'd never had reason to come down to this side of the city. Pure poverty stared back at her from every angle. From rundown buildings to city streets pocked with potholes, this was probably no place for someone whose best line of defense was a witty comeback. But even so, she wasn't about to back down — hell no, not yet. She was burning with an insatiable need to know more, to know why Jax and Hunter didn't just toss her on her ear like they should've. She'd sensed something with them, something maybe they didn't want to admit, something that thrilled her to her core — her dark, perverted and quintessentially unladylike core. If she were smart she would've heeded their advice but she was too far gone, too obsessed with the idea of digging into their dangerous lifestyle to catch a glimpse of the life she'd never known. Maybe this was the true danger of investigative journalism — losing yourself. She already felt that she was a league away from the person she was yesterday. Maybe it was naïve to think that one night of soul-shattering sex with two wild guys was enough to forever change a woman but she couldn't deny how she felt. A recklessness threaded her soul and hummed in her veins that hadn't been there the day before and she wanted to experience more. Hell, she wanted to _feel_ more. If Jax or Hunter showed up this very second and commanded her to do terrible, dirty things to them right here in the street she'd probably do it. _Good God, where did your sense of dignity go_? Right out the freaking window apparently. And she didn't feel the least bit ashamed. Maybe that was the problem. She'd felt nothing but exhilaration since leaving that dirty barroom. Those men had unlocked something inside of her that was wild and insatiable and she had no interest in shutting that Pandora's box. Besides, once you've tasted the forbidden fruit there was no going back to plain old apples. Of course, that might prove a problem later when she reentered the dating pool but for now, she was going to savor every drop of this newfound confidence and thirst for life. And if one more person made another fat joke, they might just get a fist in their face for their trouble. _Her_ fist.

She rolled up on the street that was listed as their home address when they were 18 and sat in the car watching, looking for something that might jump out at her as important. The street wasn't quite as dilapidated as the others but there was definitely an air of sadness and despair that clung to the concrete. She imagined growing up in a place like this would've been tough. It was nothing like her ordinary upbringing. She'd enjoyed birthday parties and sleepovers and all manner of normal American girl childhood stuff, which taking a look around this place, was the exact opposite of her life. She tried to imagine a young Jax and Hunter running around this place, laughing like demons, playing in the street, making the good girls swoon with their bad boy attitude and she smiled at the idea of what that might look like. But her smile soon faded as she realized she couldn't romanticize what a childhood growing up in this place must've been like. People didn't end up running biker gangs without a fair amount of pain and suffering in their lives to propel them to that place. Refocusing, she pulled her cell phone out and snapped a picture of the neighborhood. She wanted it as a visual reference for her notes later. She wasn't sure what she was going to write about or even if anything here played a part in Simms' murder but for some reason she wanted a memento. Abandoning all good sense, she exited her vehicle and walked up to the house. What was she doing? She hadn't a clue. She was running on instinct, or whatever else served as intuition when you didn't have a clue as to what you were doing, and knocked on the door. She waited a heartbeat and then knocked again. The door opened slowly and frazzled woman peered out, immediately scowling when she saw Zoe.

"What you want?"

"I'm sorry to bother you but I wondered if I might ask if you know Jax Traeger and Hunter Ericksen? This house was listed as their address when they turned 18 and I just wondered if you knew them."

The woman stared, sizing her up. "Are you a cop?"

Zoe shook her head. "Just a friend."

The woman shook her head, disbelieving. "Those two ain't got no friends. Now get off my porch." She went to slam the door but Zoe stuck her foot between the door and the jamb seconds before it slammed shut. Zoe yelped as pain rippled up her foot and the mean-faced woman took the opportunity to shove Zoe's foot clear and then slammed the door again. Wow, friendly folk around here. Ouch, that was brilliant. And the award for stupid goes to Zoe Delacourte. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting but she surely hadn't expected to be assaulted by the grizzled old woman. Egad, was that Jax or Hunter's mother? Scary thought. Something told Zoe that vicious shrew didn't spend all day baking cookies.

She started to return to her car, irritated with herself for thinking it would be as easy as walking up to an old address and finding all the answers when she found a woman leaning on her car watching her, with a small smirk.

"You asking questions about Jax or Hunter?"

"Why? Did you know them when they lived here as kids?"

"I knew them good enough. They was foster brothers here together. That's how they got their start running together. What you want to know?"

Good question. "I just wanted to know what they were like as kids. I'm trying to get a picture of who they were before they became who they are now." She paused and then extended her hand in a show of friendship. "My name's Zoe...what's yours?"

The woman ignored Zoe's outstretched hand, demanding, "What's in it for me if I give you a little info on the bad boys?"

"Oh, um, we could go to that little coffee shop I saw around the corner and get something to eat, maybe a hamburger or something," she suggested, eyeing the woman and trying not to judge though it look like she hadn't had a good meal in days. Or months. When the woman's expression flattened with disinterest and looked ready to walk, Zoe threw in, "I have $20 I can give you."

The woman stuck out her hand and Zoe pulled the money from her back pocket to put it in the woman's greedy palm. Hopefully, her hard-earned cash wasn't being wasted. "Okay, so tell me what you know about them and how you know them."

"Not here," she said going around to get into the passenger side of her car. "I know place where we can talk."

Oh, okay. Now she was a taxi? Well, if the woman was willing to share information Zoe supposed it was okay to drive her wherever she needed to go.

"Go to that stoplight and take a right," the woman instructed, climbing into the passenger side, "and then pull off the road into the parking lot. Don't need a bunch of eyes staring at us while we do our business."

_Eww. That sounded all sorts of wrong_. Ignoring her misgivings, Zoe did as she was told and then put the car in park, turning to her to ask, "Okay, first off, what's your name?"

"Name's Paula..." She paused then cocked her head to the side and said, "Let me guess you're the newest girl they're screwing? Are you a club whore or something?"

The fact that Paula dropped the word _whore_ so easily made Zoe want to cringe. "No, I'm not a prostitute," she answered stiffly. "I'm just a friend and I'm looking into something that might affect them."

"They don't need no bodyguard. They can take care of themselves. Word to the wise steer clear of them, they're bad news."

"Yeah, I'm sure they've led their fair share of ladies down a dark path but I think I'm different," she said, wincing as the words left her mouth. How many women said that? And how many women stupidly thought that they were the ones who could change a man? Zoe shook her head and clarified her statement. "I'm not trying to change them. I'm not trying to be anything to them, I just want to try to understand why they are the way they are. I mean, they weren't always involved with The Kings, right?"

"The less you know, the better off you'll be. Here's the deal; girls like you don't have no business messing with Jax or Hunter. You don't know how to handle what they got. And even more so than that, you don't know how to handle the heartbreak when they walk out on you because they will. They don't stay with no one."

"Speaking from experience?" Zoe couldn't help but ask. "Did you date one of them?"

"Nobody dates them. If you're lucky you get a few nights in their bed before they toss you out and replace you with someone else. That's the way they operate. And the way they always have. Dumb girls like you get it in their head that they got a heart of gold but it's all a lie Those boys ain't got a heart of gold and they don't need saving. So, go one back to whatever cush life that you live and forget that you ever saw those two boys."

Zoe stared the woman, her cheeks burning. What was she doing? Poking around into the back story of complete strangers and for what? She was incredibly naïve to think that she'd been different or special. Chances were after she'd left, Jax and Hunter had screwed girls into the night. She blinked back unexpected tears but held them back, refusing to let Paula see the raw nerve she'd poked. Paula was right maybe she had been hoping to save them in some way. But what if they didn't want saving? Was she going to chase after them like some sad, sorry sap who didn't have the sense to know when the guy couldn't care less about her? Hell no. That was the old Zoe. The new Zoe didn't let anyone push her around like that. No matter how hot and sexy they were. She had to get back on track. William Simms' murder was what'd started her on this chase in the first place and that's where the real glory remained. Refocusing, she looked to Paula and said, "Look, here's the real deal. I could care less about Jax and Hunter. I'm here for information between the two rival motorcycle gangs. Word on the street is there's a turf war. A few weeks ago a man was murdered who was one of The Kings and a few weeks before that, a woman was killed from the Road Dog crew. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that more bloodshed is coming but why? The truth is, I'm a reporter. And I want to write the story — the true story about the turf war between the Kings and the Road Dogs."

"A reporter?" Paula shook her head as if confirming her suspicions. "People asking questions end up dead. Do yourself a favor and forget about this story. There's nothing but bad times waiting for you at the end of that information."

Zoe ignored Paula's dire prediction because it seemed everyone was a broken record when it came to this topic and by now she was becoming desensitized to the potential threat in the message. She pressed on stubbornly. "The question I have is why would the Road Dogs have Simms killed? Was it a retaliatory hit against The Kings for Juanita Sanchez? Before these two murders, things have been pretty quiet between the two gangs. Both living in their respective territories with minimal scuffles. And then all of a sudden, BAM, this woman and guy end up dead. What's going on out there?"

"You really want to know what's going down in this place? Same fucking shit, different day," Paula snorted, casting an annoyed look Zoe's way. "Why don't you go ask someone with the Road Dogs what's going down? But before you do, let me tell you what you're walking into —they're a bunch of mean sons of bitches who don't care about no one. They dope kids up to get them hooked as young as ten years old because they know that mommy and daddy are already hooked as well. Might as well get the family discount. At least The Kings, they keep their shit clean."

"The Kings are moving drugs on the streets?" she asked, her heart sinking. Why did she think Jax and Hunter would be above that stuff? Naïve girl strikes again. "Okay, so what are they fighting over?"

"Listen, I've already giving you more than $20 worth of info. The questions you're asking — they ain't worth dying for. Go pester the Road Dogs if you want to know why they're killing people. But do yourself a favor, stop asking questions and just go home before the next body in the morgue ends up being yours."

Before Zoe could say anything, Paula exited the vehicle and was already walking quickly away from her. Great, that went well. She was $20 lighter in the pocketbook and she had virtually nothing in the way of usable leads. Aside from the realization that Jax and Hunter had grown up in a shit hole and were generally thought of as assholes, she had nothing to go on. Well, this was a wasted trip. Sighing, she pulled back onto the road and backtracked her way to the freeway. Then she groaned, realizing she'd completely forgotten to write her latest assignment. McMurphy was going to freak out when he realized she'd screwed up again. Maybe if she got to the office before layout began, she could slip the article in at the 11th hour. Never in her life had she forgotten any assignment. Seems being bad was contagious.

# Chapter Five

Jax, Hunter and Dimas were deep in discussion about the latest situation brewing between The Dogs and The Kings when one of the club girls they trusted sauntered into the back room with a sweet smile on her face.

"I got some info you might like to know," she told them, tossing back purple-tipped, dyed-red curls, looking giddy with something to share.

Dimas patted his lap and she promptly put her little ass on it like a good girl.

"Yeah? Whatcha got, Cricket?" Dimas said, giving her tiny nipple a pinch through the thin crop top showing off her middle. "What kind of trouble have you been stirring up?"

"It's about that girl that was here last night. I got the 411 on her," she said, giggling and wiggling on Dimas' lap when his fingers stroked her tight snatch. Jax exchanged a look with Hunter, irritated that Dimas had sent Cricket nosing around when they'd plainly told him to forget Zoe had ever been to the club but since Cricket had already done the fieldwork, he was curious to know what she'd dredged up. "You know that cop friend of mine? The one who has a thing for bad girls with tattoos? Yeah, that one...he said she's a reporter over at the Courier and she's been nosing around, asking questions about The Kings and The Dogs, getting people all riled up."

"Riled up how?" Hunter asked.

"Well, she went down to your old neighborhood and went asking questions, saying she's gonna write the _real_ story between the turf war going on. Seems she slipped Paula D'Anne some cash and the little crackwhore sang like a dirty canary."

The nosey little shit. He told expressly told her to stop poking around and what did she do? The exact opposite.

Dimas looked to Jax and Hunter immediately called them on the carpet. "So this is the girl you were fucking with the other night? A reporter? Have you lost your damn mind? That's the last thing we need...a reporter sticking her nose where it don't belong."

"I said not to concern yourself with our visitor. We've got it under control. You just worry about what Bronx is doing. He's starting to creep up on our borders and I wouldn't put it past him to try and fuck with the delivery that's coming next week. I want extra men on the warehouse, got it?"

Dimas nodded. "Yeah, sure, but what are we going to do about Simms' murder? People are starting to talk, man. You gotta do something about it. The Dogs, they got it coming, you know that."

"Where does it stop?" Hunter asked, irritated. "We kill one of theirs, they kill one of ours? It's a fucking circle that never ends. We start bringing the heat down on us for that retribution shit, we're going to end up spending most of our time dodging cops instead of doing business. You feeling me?"

"Simms was our boy," Dimas insisted, shifting Cricket off his lap. She realized the growing tension in the room and went to leave but Dimas barked at her to stay. "Don't go nowhere. I want to know more about this reporter bitch." Then to Jax he said, "Simms was a piece of shit on his best day but he was still a King and he deserves vengeance. You don't deliver and people are gonna start wondering if you two are the right fit to keep leading The Kings."

"Fuck that," Jax said sourly, just as irritated. "You want a bloodbath in the streets? Will that satisfying everyone's lust for revenge over something we don't even know what it was about? I don't know jack shit about why Simms got shot in the head but I'm sure as hell ain't gonna put this club and everything we've worked for on the line without any facts to support the action. _You feeling me_?"

"Yeah, yeah, calm down, Jax. I'm on your side, man."

"Yeah? Sure doesn't feel like it," Jax shot back. "I told you to lay off the girl and you sent Cricket out after the information. What the hell is wrong with you? Last time I checked, you weren't the boss of this organization and I don't like being ignored when I give a direct order."

Dimas shrugged, caught but not the least bit sorry. "Listen man, I have mad love for ya but if you're not thinking straight, I got to think for you. This girl...she's bad news. A reporter splashing our business all over the front page of the Courier is the last thing we need to deal with. We got real problems, you know? And I got the club to think of if you're not. There's a shit-ton of money on the line with that shipment, money that'll set us up for life, man. Nothing's gonna get in the way of my pay-day. Not even my friendship with you."

"That's how you feel?" Jax asked in a hard tone. Dimas nodded, standing his ground. _Well, fucccccck_. "Fine. I'll take care of the girl. You keep the shipment free and clear."

"I can do that," Dimas said, nodding. "How you gonna shut up the girl?"

"Hey, let us worry about the girl," Hunter interjected sharply. "You just do as Jax said. We'll do the rest."

"Sounds good to me," Dimas returned, smiling as he rose. Immediately Cricket scampered to his side and his beefy, tattooed arm went around her tiny frame. He glanced down at his girl and said, "Let's go find someplace private, darling'. You done earned yourself a little treat."

A few moments later the roar of Dimas' Harley rumbled down the road and he was gone, no doubt to Dimas' dinky single-wide trailer so he could bang the shit out of Cricket before he turned her loose for the night.

Jax swore and snapped a beer cap out of his hands, watching as it bounced and skidded along the cement floor.

"We have to talk to Zoe," Hunter said with a short, irritated exhale of breath. "Damn girl, why didn't she just leave well enough alone?"

"Because she has a nose for news and she's out to prove herself," Jax answered with a grim smirk. "Don't you remember being hungry for validation? She's no different."

"Yeah, well, her hunger is going to get her killed. What are we going to do? You know if we don't handle this, Dimas will find a way to shut her up and then we'll be forced to put Dimas in the ground."

"You think it would come to that?"

"Dimas wouldn't hesitate to hurt her," Hunter said flatly and Jax realized Hunter was right. They'd known Dimas for years, even called him a friend, but they didn't think for a moment that Dimas wouldn't do what needed to be done in order to protect his cash flow. "Shit...fucker would enjoy it, too." He shared a look with Hunter, then said, "All right. Let's go pay a visit to our little nosey girl and set her straight."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?"

"I have no fucking clue. Guess we'll just have to wing it."

"Great plan," Hunter muttered as they stalked from the bar. "Great fucking plan."

Zoe was supposed to be going over police files and making notes but her thoughts weren't cooperating. Unfortunately, her brain seemed far more interested in reliving her one night with Hunter and Jax.

To be fair, it was probably the most amazing sexual adventure she would ever have in her life so it was only natural to dwell a little, right?

She leaned back in her chair and tossed her pencil to the table with a sigh. Her apartment, exactly what she could afford, was neat and tidy — and as boring as her sex life had been previously.

Everything matched. Everything had a place. She was tired of everything being in its place.

Wasn't that what'd happened to her? She'd been the bookworm, the girl with her nose always in a book so it'd been perfectly acceptable for her to get an English degree and later a job in journalism when the thought of getting her teaching credentials had given her hives.

And when she'd originally applied for the city beat, Mr. McMurphy had taken one look at her and laughed saying she'd be eaten alive on that beat and instead had given her the features position.

A fluff position.

The most controversial topic she'd been able to pass by McMurphy's desk had been a tongue-in-cheek column about modern dating rituals — completely sanitized, of course; Courier readers weren't looking for Cosmopolitan-esque reads — and after that it'd been a succession of vanilla stories that bored Zoe to tears. She wanted drama. Danger! She wanted —

A loud knock at her front door stopped her inner tirade.

Frowning because she rarely had visitors, she went to the door and peeped through the peephole.

Egad!

She clapped her hand over her mouth but not before a tiny squeak had escaped.

They were here! Jax and Hunter! How'd they find her? What should she do?

Casually open the door with a big smile as if she were welcoming old friends?

Or pretend she wasn't home and hope they went away?

The coward in her begged for the latter but the part of herself that was thrilled to death that her sexual liberators were outside her front door, practically propelled her to fumble with the latch and let them in.

"H-hello?" she offered as they pushed past her without offering a simple greeting.

They seemed too big in her tiny apartment. Suddenly the air seemed in short supply.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she glanced out her front door to make sure the hallway was empty and then hastily locked the door again, turning to face them with a shaky but unsure smile. "Can I offer you a beverage? All I have is water or juice," she said. "Sorry...no whiskey. But if I'd known you were coming..."

"Sit down," Jax ordered and she immediately straightened, not appreciating his tone.

"Excuse me? You're in my house."

"Sit. The. Fuck. Down," Jax said in a steely tone that brooked no argument and sent shivers skating down her spine.

She walked to the floral sofa her grandmother had given her and primly sat on the edge, clasping her hands together as if they were simply traveling salesmen and she was humoring their attempt at selling her a high-priced vacuum cleaner.

Satisfied, Jax pulled his leather jacket and tossed it to the chair to her right. Hunter did the same, only afterward, he began to inspect her apartment, as if fascinated and slightly baffled by her choice in décor.

But she didn't have the opportunity to question Hunter because Jax was already talking — no, berating her. "I told you to drop the story idea and you did the exact opposite. What the hell were you thinking?"

She opened her mouth to defend herself but then thought better of it. Why should she explain herself? It was a damn free country and she could write about what she pleased.

"I'm a reporter. I look for news," she retorted, refusing to be intimidated by either Jax's handsome cut of a jaw or the way the muscle in that same jaw jerked when he clenched his teeth. "How did you find out where I live?"

"We have eyes all over this city, pretty girl. Remember that," Hunter answered, returning to stand beside Jax, two towering, muscle-bound cavemen with enough tattoos between them to ink an entire cellblock of inmates, and she'd been intimate with them both.

That distinct feminine awareness perked to life and she averted her gaze so as to avoid allowing her stare to drift and settle downward. It was difficult to maintain a professional distance when you're imagination was providing a porno in your mental theater.

Had they been with other women since being with her? It'd only been two days ago but who knows what that meant in Jax and Hunter's world.

Ohhh, she hated that idea.

In fact, the idea that either one of them had put their _cocks_ in anyone aside from her, well, it infuriated her for reasons beyond her understanding.

She wasn't one to fixate or dwell, okay, that wasn't entirely accurate. Truth was, she'd obsessed on a certain hunky actor for quite awhile until she realized her obsession was a waste of time.

It wasn't as if Hugh Jackman were going to show up on her doorstep and sweep her off her feet any time soon. Up until her interaction with Jax and Hunter, she didn't consider herself the _sweepable_ type.

But the men standing in her living room, looking downright scary — and yet, still so sexy — had shown her just how sweepable she actually was.

They'd shown her the delights of being _manhandled_ and she'd really love another round if she were being frightfully honest.

"Are you okay? You're blushing," Jax noted with a faint growl.

Zoe pressed a hand to her heated cheek and hopped from the sofa, chattering out of nervousness and misplaced desire, saying,

"How about some lemonade? Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I just offered you something I don't have. I do have juice though. With your lifestyle, it's hardly likely that you get all your vitamins...juice it is."

She wove around Jax going straight to the kitchen, her mind blathering on about nothing when in fact, her heartrate had just tripled enough to give her a heart attack. Jax and Hunter were in her living room.

How was this possible? And what was she going to do with them? Or even more importantly...what were they going to do with her?

Hunter found himself oddly mesmerized by all the weird shit Zoe had spread all over in the form of knick-knacks and doo-dads, from glass figurines to ceramic kittens, she had kitsch down to an artform.

If Hunter had known a normal life, he imagined this is what his granny's house might've looked like, right down to the pastel floral sofa dominating the tiny apartment.

Everything smelled fresh and clean — shiny and happy — two things Hunter had never known in his life and he couldn't help but want to know more about the woman who oozed sexual charm — even if she didn't realize it — and the old folk décor she surrounded herself with.

There had to be a story there, he could feel it. Thing was, they weren't there to get to know Zoe...they were there to scare her away from the story she was trying to chase down and chatting about why she collected ceramic figurines of cats wasn't part of that agenda.

"Unless you've got hard cider in that fridge, forget the juice," Jax growled, stalking over to Zoe and propelling her from the kitchen and back to the sofa.

He tossed her down and she landed with a soft _oomph_ , eyes wide and hands trembling.

He leaned in close, purposefully crowding her personal space and said in a low tone, "I'm not going to say this again...drop the story."

"Why?"

The question, nothing more than a breath of a whisper, clung stubbornly to the hunger for validation and Hunter had to stomp on the wild surge of attraction that followed.

Damn her for getting under his skin in the worst way. What the hell was wrong with him? She was nothing but a nosey reporter that they'd fucked raw.

The number of women they'd screwed and forgotten were too many to count so why did she stand out among the rest? "You got a death wish, girl?" Hunter countered sharply. "Because that's exactly what you're gonna get if you keep doing this shit."

"You can't scare me away from doing this story," she said, her voice held the slightest tremble but her gaze remained clear. "The fact that you're here tells me I'm onto something."

"Wrong. You're just jumping into a murky pool without knowing how to swim. That's it. Maybe we just don't want your blood on our hands...maybe we're trying to get into heaven by doing a good deed or maybe we don't need you getting in the way of plans we've already set in motion...the point is...back off."

"I can't," she protested, determined to plead her case. "Just give me a minute to tell you my theory. I think it's important for you to know."

"There's nothing you could tell me that would make a difference," Jax said, shaking his head.

"Not even if you had a traitor in your club?"

Hunter and Jax exchanged looks. That certainly would change things a bit.

And it's not as if they hadn't suspected themselves but the idea that someone on the inside was stabbing them in the back one poke at a time was more than upsetting. "Talk."

She swallowed. "Can you please sit down. You're giving me a crick in my neck."

For a long moment they ignored her request but finally, they each took a seat, Hunter right beside Zoe and Jax in the chair near the sofa with their jackets.

"All right, now talk. What are you saying? And how did you come across this theory of yours?" Hunter asked, catching a subtle whiff of her sweet skin.

Suddenly, he was bowled over by hot, dirty memories of what they'd done to that succulent body with all those generous curves and he had to bite back a groan.

He refocused with effort but his jeans had just gotten tighter in the crotch.

_Great, a boner_. Excellent timing, he thought wryly.

_We're not here to fuck_ , he had to remind his over-eager cock.

_So settle, the hell down_.

Zoe, risking a tremulous smile, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and then grabbed a pile of papers, her excitement building at having someone to share her findings with.

"Okay, the day after I left your bar, it's true I went to your old neighborhood to try and find something out about you two...I mean, maybe that wasn't entirely grounded in journalistic integrity but I managed to talk to someone who knew you when you were kids—"

"Paula D'Ann. Yeah, we heard," Jax interrupted with a glower. "She's a crackwhore bitch who'd sell her own mother, if she knew the woman, to the first pimp who offered to buy...she's hardly a credible source."

"Well, she didn't actually give me anything of value anyway, but she did get my mind to thinking...why was everyone warning me off this story — including Paula, who doesn't know me from anyone. I mean, what's going on between The Kings and The Dogs that's different from what had always been happening? That's just it...nothing. Until recently."

"You're talking in circles. Get to the point," Jax grumbled and Hunter had to agree. The girl had a dizzying logic, even if she was pretty cute spinning ridiculous stories that made no sense. "Why do you think someone is jacking us on the inside?"

"Juanita Sanchez was a known associate of the Road Dogs but did you know that Juanita is also connected to your boy William Simms?"

Jax mirrored Hunter's frown. "What do you mean?"

"I did a little digging into their background checks and found that they had a history together. Now, granted their history wasn't entirely recent, but did you know that Simms knew Sanchez at all? And doesn't that look a little suspicious that he ended up dead a few weeks after she did? Unless you believe in coincidences, that seems a little odd."

Hunter agreed, his mind already turning. "So what was their connection in the past?"

"Well, I did some cross checking and found a newspaper blurb from about a year ago on a B&E they did together. Simms served time for priors but Sanchez walked with probation."

Jax grunted, remembering. "Simms never said who he did that job with. Why would he work a job with a Dog? Doesn't make sense."

"Exactly! There are only two reasons why someone from an opposite gang would work with someone from a rival gang. One, they were related somehow; two, they were sleeping together. Am I right?"

Hunter nodded slowly, agreeing with her reasoning. He looked to Jax. "We know he wasn't related. Simms didn't have any family."

"So that leaves..." Zoe prompted.

"He was banging her," Jax finished.

"But it had to be more than just sex," Zoe corrected, adding, "they had to have had a thing to cross those lines. I mean, as far as I know, the Dogs and Kings don't get along for any reason, right?"

"Right." Hunter agreed, respect for Zoe's intelligence sparking a new hunger inside him. One look at Jax and he knew his foster brother felt the same. They were often on the same wavelength...it's probably why they were still alive. "You did this all on your own?" he asked.

Zoe played with her lip and nodded shyly. A roar of lust ripped through him and he was tired of resisting the urge to bend her over the nearest surface. "You're pretty smart," he said, glancing at Jax. "But we'll take it from here."

"No!" Her sharp refusal didn't surprise him but the fire in her eyes did. She came alive, replacing the shyness from only moments before with a ferocity that was as arousing as it was foolish. "You're not going to pat me on the head like a dog and tell me to go sit in the corner. This is my story. I've done all the fieldwork and I'm going to write the damn story!"

"Damn it, Zoe!" Jax roared, startling her when he jerked her off the sofa and into his arms. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into. You say you don't want a pat on the back for your work but you're wrong, that's _all_ you crave! You want someone to recognize that you're talented and worth more than you've been credited for but that need for validation is going to land your pretty ass in hot water!"

"What do you care! Until two days ago, you didn't even know I existed. Just because we've had sex doesn't mean you get to run my life!"

She was right. Why did they care so much?

They didn't know her, not really. How was she any different from the scores of women they'd bagged and forgotten? Just another pussy in the dark, right?

He and Jax had gotten to where they were because they kept their circle of trust tight — as in airtight — no one got in.

But Zoe...for fuck's sake, why her?

They ought to leave her to her fate. They'd tried to warn her, they'd satisfied whatever latent chivalry still existed inside them.

If she got herself killed, that was on her. But as he watched her struggle against Jax, watched as Jax's callused hands touched that soft, sweet flesh, he knew they weren't fucking leaving...not yet.

They were all going to hell anyway. Might as well bring along a scorching memory to add to the heat.

# Chapter Six

"Take her to the bedroom," Hunter instructed and Jax hoisted Zoe over his shoulder with a grunt.

Zoe squealed and pummeled Jax's back, kicking her feet until Jax's firm hand landed sharply on her behind and she shrieked in surprise.

Seconds later she was tossed on the bed and she nearly bit her tongue in half from the jarring motion.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice shaking. She'd like to say she was afraid but she wasn't trembling out of fear — but anticipation.

Good gracious, what'd happened to her? One night with Jax and Hunter and she'd been irrevocably changed. She craved more even if it meant she'd never be normal again.

The idea of them both, touching and tasting, forcing her to the utmost pinnacle of pleasure over and over, was enough to make her forget her religion and beg for it.

Was she a slut? Was this how it all began?

A downward spiral into the darkness of pure pleasure without the safety net of dignity and self-respect to stop her fall?

She stared, meeting their hungry gaze with her own, daring them to do their worst and secretly hoping that she came away from the experience with marks on her flesh, a physical reminder of what they'd done together.

But she couldn't actually ask for that, right? Because she wasn't that kind of girl. Or was she?

She didn't even know anymore. "Take off your clothes or get out. I have leads to follow and a story to write," she said, the breathlessness of her demand causing Jax's nostrils to flare and his mouth to twitch.

"You're all piss and vinegar today aren't you?" Jax said, pulling his shirt free and tossing it. "We'll see how smart mouthed you are when my cock is banging the back of your throat."

She shivered.

_Oh God, yes_!

Heat radiated from her body, threatening to incinerate her senses and blot out anything resembling good judgment. If she were smart, she'd scramble away from both of them and run. Neither were good news.

They were sexy as hell but she wasn't fooling herself into thinking that they were good for her.

Ohhh no, that was part of the appeal.

They were like candy...sweet and guaranteed to rot her teeth if she indulged too much.

And addictive.

Hunter stripped, ripping his shirt from his body and advanced. Her mouth watered as her gaze drank in every ripple of muscle, every tattoo curving his thick biceps and inviting a wet tongue to trace.

If this was hell, she'd surely enjoy changing her zip code.

"You think you know what you're doing," Hunter said in a low tone, circling her. "But you don't. You're a kid playing with adults who like to eat soft little girls like you for lunch."

"So you say," she said, holding his gaze before turning to look at Jax who had already stripped, a mirror of primal urgency and sexed up Alpha male.

She allowed her gaze to drop to his jutting member — _his cock_ — that's right, she said it — COCK.

A shiver of total awareness rocked her body as she allowed herself every dirty thought that she'd ever shelved for fear of judgment or rejection and her breath shortened as her heartrate quickened.

Everything inside her slicked with need and want and she knew she was going to be fucked raw before either men left her apartment.

"Maybe I want it that way," she dared, risking everything, fearing everything and nothing.

"That's what you think," Hunter warned but there was no stopping it now.

Within seconds Hunter shoved her down and straddled her, the hard, thick length of him pulsing against the softness of her belly, and she gasped at the darkness in his gaze.

"You think you can handle whatever is dished out but you're wrong. You don't know what you're playing with. We aren't good men, Zoe. Make no mistake, we take what we want and it doesn't matter if it belongs to someone else. Do you hear me?"

"Then why does it matter what I do?" she whispered, taking a chance at total emotional annihilation.

Hunter hesitated and it was that brief heartbeat of a pause that undid her.

There was something between them — maybe something none of them understood or wanted but it was there, pulsating between them like a live wire, arcing and snapping with energy that had the power to kill or give life — and there was no denying it.

But Hunter wasn't about to admit it and simply ground his mouth against hers, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth, swallowing her protests and her moans, demanding her utter and total submission, which she gave without a fight.

But there was nothing sweet in Hunter's touch, not this time and it scared her even as it thrilled.

"Jax, get me something to tie her hands," he instructed and Zoe gasped, her mouth throbbing from the abusive kiss.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trembling. Jax returned from her closet with a belt. Her eyes widened at the implication. "What are you doing?"

"Quiet," he barked, motioning to Jax who immediately jerked her hands behind her back and cinched them tight with the belt. Then, he roughly pulled off her pants and panties, scraping her tender skin in the process.

Tears welled in her eyes but she held them back. Her milky thighs gleamed in the pale light of the bedroom and Jax and Hunter seemed bigger than life, soaking up all the air in the room.

Within seconds Jax had cut her shirt from her body with a nasty looking pocketknife and her bra followed. Sitting completely bare on the edge of her bed, she didn't know what to think or say so she remained silent.

Once again, Hunter invaded her personal space, crowding out her breath and forcing her to look into his eyes. "The world we live in is nothing like you've ever known. There is no mercy, no kindness. We are always one blink away from death. We live hard, fuck harder, and there's no room for a sweet, soft, nosey reporter who collects ceramic cats. You feeling me?"

"I'm not asking you to let me be a part of your life," she said, but even as she said the words, they cut her mouth. She wanted something. Something with them. But Hunter was right...what she yearned for wasn't possible. "I'm just following the story."

"There is no story," Hunter said with a growl as he pushed her hard to the bed. She cried out as she fell, her hands tied behind her back.

Bowed and uncomfortable, she bit back a scream when Hunter roughly shoved his finger inside her.

He knew it hurt, damn him. He was hurting her on purpose!

But she was wet enough to ease his finger after that first initial breach and for that she was thankful because he was finger-fucking her so hard, it would've hurt like a sonofabitch.

"There's no foreplay, no consideration in our world, babe. You're here to serve, you got that? Is that what you want?"

He pinched her clit and she bucked, squeezing out tears but refusing to cry out. Hunter flipped her to her stomach and pulled her hips over the bed.

_Thwack_!

The sting of his hand hitting her bare ass took the air from her lungs as his handprint burned into her skin.

_Thwack_!

Harder this time, hard enough to leave a bruise and she buried her face into the bedding, muffling the cries that escaped her mouth.

And then Hunter's cock was nudging between her thighs, seeking out her slick heat and she tensed as the sensitized flesh on her buttocks sang with awareness.

He didn't waste time and plunged deep inside her, sinking balls deep into her willing body, burying himself to the hilt with a satisfied grunt that she could feel in her soul.

But there was no slow build up this time. Hunter fucked her hard. His thrusts jarred her teeth and lifted her from the bed with each pump.

Bound, she had no choice but to take it. In and out, harder and faster, but there was glory in the pain, too.

She wouldn't have imagined it possible but she was building fast to a bone-crushing orgasm that was as brutal as Hunter's thrusts, as intent as his marauding cock.

She forgot about Jax, forgot about everything but Hunter and what he was doing to her body.

_Holy...holy_... _OHMYFUCKINGGOD_!

Her fingers clenched in her binding as her entire frame seized up with an intense orgasm that curled her toes as her mouth worked soundlessly.

Pulse after pulse, wave after wave rocked her insides as she milked his cock, drawing that seed deeper inside herself, shuddering as she slowly came back to earth, shocked and appalled at the brutality but lost to the wonder that it'd wrought.

Hunter pulled out and rolled her over. Without gentleness, he pushed her to the floor and forced her to her knees. "Now suck Jax's cock," he ordered her in a harsh, breathless tone.

"I need a minute," she started but suddenly, Jax's cock was stuffed in her mouth and she gagged as it hit the back of her throat without mercy.

Still bound, she could do nothing but accept his thick member as it slid between her lips.

She tried to please him but Jax wasn't interested in her efforts. He was proving a point. She got it.

Blinking back tears, she allowed Jax to fuck her mouth until he spilled, choking her with his seed and sending it down her throat in great, salty loads that she had to swallow or risk choking to death.

Zoe collapsed to her behind as Jax stepped away on unsteady feet, shaking off his cock as a few remaining driblets of cum leaked from the head.

She felt dirty, used and that'd been their objective. Hunter and Jax stood over her, arms crossed, watching her cry silent tears.

"This is our world," Hunter said quietly. "Trust me, you don't want any part of it. Forget the story. It doesn't end well for someone like you."

Zoe swallowed, still tasting Jax on her tongue and she slowly lifted her gaze to them both. Her insides ached from the abuse, everything felt bruised. "Are you going to untie me now?"

"Not yet," Jax said, bending to pick her up. He draped her arms around his neck and carried her to the bed.

Was that a hint of remorse she heard? Probably not. Jax and Hunter had just proven to her that they were hard as granite.

They'd set out to prove a point to her and they'd done exactly that — exuberantly. But as Jax gently spread her legs and eased himself between them, her breath hitched in her throat, as she frowned in confusion.

Jax buried his face between her legs, seeking out that sensitive bud that'd been ignored, and sucked it sweetly into his mouth. Stars of pleasure burst behind her eyes and she sank back onto the bed with a gasp.

The bed gave under Hunter's weight as he watched Jax eat her out and she lost herself to the sweet surrender that only Jax and Hunter could give her.

His tongue, a force of nature wreaking havoc on her senses, worked her clitoris as if his life depended on it and within moments, she was thrashing, twisting and crying out as another orgasm wrung her out without mercy.

Jax pulled away and placed a small kiss on her pubic mound before rising. Hunter untied her hands and she shook them out with relief though there'd been something incredibly alluring about being completely helpless.

The only sounds between them were their recovering breaths and the sound of Jax and Hunter dressing.

She reluctantly found her own clothes and pulled them on. Hunter walked from the room without another word, leaving Jax to tie up loose ends.

His gentle touch on the curve of her jaw surprised her.

"You're different, it's true," he admitted softly. "But different isn't good in our world. There's no happy ending for this movie, you know? We're trying to protect you, not because we're good men or because we're trying to save ourselves but because the thought of something happening to you does bad things to us. There will be other stories. Let this one go."

"Does Hunter hate me?"

Jax shook his head. "If he did, he wouldn't give two shits about what happens to you." He bent and sealed his lips to hers in a kiss that was both dirty and tender and she melted all over again. "Stay sweet," he told her and walked away.

She heard her front door open and close and she knew she was alone in her apartment again.

Her entire body ached and tingled. Zoe rubbed at the chaffing on her wrists, smiling slightly when she realized she'd gotten the marks she'd hoped for.

What was bloody wrong with her? What kind of life was she chasing after?

The pain, the pleasure, the uncertainty...she didn't know anymore.

She just wanted Jax and Hunter — anyway she could get them.

Once they were back at the club house, Hunter attempted to return to business as usual but Jax was bothered by what'd went down with Zoe. "You hurt her," Jax said.

"I had to. She had that puppy dog look in her eyes, like we're some kind of hero worth chasing after. You know there's no place for her in our world."

Jax remained quiet then said, "Do you ever wonder what life on the other side is like?"

Hunter stopped and stared at Jax. "Don't do this, man. That road leads to crazy. She's one of the shiny, happy people we used to see as kids. Remember when we'd see kids with their new shoes and slick new clothes at the start of school and we ended up with the worst of the hand-me-downs from whomever happened to be there before us? Yeah? Well, we don't fit in with her people and she don't fit in with ours. Now get your head on straight and focus. We need to find out if what she said is true. I need to know if Simms was fucking Sanchez and why."

Jax knew Hunter was right but damn, there was something so tantalizing about the idea of starting fresh, going someplace where no one knew their past and just living life.

No more gang shit. No more running the streets and fucking whores.

_What the hell are you talking about? Beaver-cleaver-style? No fucking way_.

Hunter was right; their lifestyle was miles away from anything Zoe would ever understand and the last thing he wanted to do was to drag Zoe into the craphole that was their life.

"How we supposed to find out about Simms?" Jax asked gruffly, doing his best to shake off his thoughts about Zoe but it was hard. He could smell her on his fingers and his upper lip and all it did was give him a stiff one all over again.

He stalked over to the dingy bathroom and splashed some water on his face, scrubbing it with a thin paper towel. He emerged and Hunter gave him a knowing smirk that Jax ignored.

"No one is going to give us the truth and besides, we wouldn't know who to trust anyway."

"We can have Dimas ask around. His girls seem to be pretty good at ferreting out information."

"Yeah, I suppose," Jax agreed but he felt uneasy about involving Dimas anymore than he already was. Dimas was a loose cannon and there was no telling what he might do to Zoe at this point. "Maybe we need to have a sit down with Bronx."

"That fucker? I'd soon as well drink my own piss," Hunter shot back. "I told him the next time I saw him I'd fuck up his pretty face and that's a promise I aim to keep."

"Well, fuck, Hunter, we need answers and it doesn't seem as if anyone's gonna be very forthcoming, you feeling me?" Jax said, exasperated. "If Zoe is right, someone's messing with us and I want to know who and why."

"I do, too but I don't want to go off like a kid with his first porno. We have to be smart about this. Pretty coincidental timing, don't you think? All this shit going down right on the cusp of our biggest shipment ever? We're talking millions on the line. Everything we've worked so hard to attain is finally within grabbing distance and now all this shit goes down."

"What if all this is a distraction?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it: if we're too busy chasing down ghosts and shadows, no one's paying attention to the shipment details, right?"

"Yeah," Hunter agreed. "And if that's the case, someone is playing the end against the middle."

"Exactly, which means whoever is doing this isn't with The Dogs _or_ The Kings."

Hunter took a moment to consider the possibility, then came to the same grudging conclusion as Jax. "I guess you're right...time to talk to Bronx."

# Chapter Seven

Zoe pushed her lunch idly around her plate, not hungry but consumed with a restlessness that had everything to do with Jax and Hunter.

Her best friend in the whole world, Delainey Jones, an artist who paid the bills with graphic design, sat across from her, chattering about something but for the life of her Zoe couldn't recall what until Delainey snapped her fingers in front of Zoe, breaking into her morose melancholy.

"Hellllo? Earth to Zoe? Have you listened to a word I've said?"

Zoe sighed, immediately apologizing. "I'm sorry. I'm a terrible lunch date. I probably should've told you I'm lousy company right now."

"Yeah? So what's going on?" Delainey asked, munching on her salad with as much enthusiasm as she could muster because she was, once again, dieting. "What's new? Oh! Are you dating someone? Did that dating site I sent you work out? I've gone out on a few dinners but nothing so far has really sparked anything special. I seem to attract a lot of accountants. Do you think that's weird?"

Delainey's comically perplexed expression was enough to lift Zoe's spirits a little. "There's nothing wrong with accountants. They're good with money," Zoe said, trying to help. "I mean, frugal and financially responsible can be very sexy."

"Yeah. Sure it can," Delainey retorted, stuffing a piece of spinach in her mouth with a wry expression. "Excel spreadsheets and budget programs are soooo sexy. The last one spent the entire dinner talking about how important it is to budget for emergencies. And then he asked to split the check."

"Oh, ouch," Zoe commiserated, unable to stop from comparing Hunter and Jax to the stereotypical accountant type.

She really knew nothing about either of them aside from the fact that they had criminal records and fucked like beasts in heat.

Her cheeks immediately pinked with heat and Delainey's eyes widened with knowing and called her on it.

"You better spill, girl. I know that look! Who are you seeing? And why haven't you told me?"

"Calm down, Delainey," she told her, her gaze darting to the other restaurant patrons. "I'm not actually seeing anyone...not in the traditional sense..." Good lord, how was she supposed to explain her experiences with Jax and Hunter? How does a person admit that they're engaging in a sordid threesome with two of the hottest bad boys to walk the planet? She licked her lips and reached for her water with an embarrassed laugh. "It's nothing. We're not dating."

Delainey's eyes widened even more. " _A one night stand_?" When Zoe didn't immediately correct her, she gasped with scandalized delight. "Are you kidding me? No, wait, I need details. I mean, not the whole in and out but, well, up until that point."

"I told you it's nothing," Zoe said, wishing she'd lied about dating some harmless guy from Delainey's dating site because now Delainey would hound her until she caved.

What if she just told Delainey the truth? Just threw it out there and let the judgment fall where it may. Delainey was her oldest and dearest friend.

They'd been fast friends since freshman year in high school when they were both chubby outcasts always crushing on the quarterback even though he didn't know either of them existed.

They'd bonded over disappointment and expanding waistlines and a fair amount of late night ice cream dates when life had served up a bowl of rotten lemons and if she couldn't trust Delainey with her secret, then who could she trust?

All that being true, it was still hard to actually admit what was going on. Zoe opened her mouth but the words felt stuck.

_You can do this. Just admit that you're falling in love with two incredibly bad men who managed to change your life with the talent in their pants_.

Ha! Sounded simple enough.

"The suspense is killing me," Delainey complained, chomping harder on her lettuce. "C'mon, Zoe, this is cruel. Just out with it. What could be so bad?"

"It's not bad, per se," she hedged.

"Yeah? Then spill the juicy details."

Zoe let out a tight breath she'd been holding and decided, _screw it, let's go for it_ , and said, "Well, here's the deal, I was chasing down a story idea about The Kings and I happen to run into two guys whom I thought I could interview but as it turned out they were not amenable to giving interviews and instead they...um...screwed my brains out. Yep. That's about it in a nutshell. Are you going to eat that crouton?"

Delainey stared, her mouth dropping open and giving Zoe an unflattering view of her half-masticated salad.

Recovering, Delainey swallowed with effort and then gulped down some water to wash it down when it stuck.

"Are you kidding me? Wait a minute...what story and just how exactly?" Delainey looked boggled. "I have so many questions."

"That's mostly it." Well, not entirely but as Delainey continued to stare as if Zoe had just admitted to stripping on the side, she wasn't sure if she should share any more details. "And, you know, it's complicated."

"Complicated. Huh. I can imagine. I wish I had a complicated relationship status." Just then Delainey nearly choked as she caught what Zoe had really said. "Did you sleep with them _both_? At the same time?"

"Um, yes." Zoe cringed.

But Delainey didn't squeal or shriek or gasp. In fact, she just continued to stare in a way that made Zoe wish she would just freak out and get it over with.

The thing was, something like this was so far afield of anything they'd ever known that it was hard to metabolize, even for Zoe. "What are they like?" Delainey's quiet question shocked Zoe. "Are they...gross?"

"No, not at all. They are the hottest guys I've ever seen in my life," Zoe admitted without hesitation, adding wistfully, "They're the kind of guys we used to daydream about except with more muscles and more tattoos."

"They have tattoos? Of course they do, they're bikers," Delainey answered herself as if irritated for asking such an obvious question. "What's it like?"

"What is what like?" Zoe repeated, not wanting to misunderstand and inadvertently share too much.

Delainey glanced around first to see if anyone was within earshot, then whispered dramatically, "Being with _two men_ at once."

Zoe colored.

Oh, so she hadn't misunderstood.

She cleared her throat, prepared to be all clinical about the situation, as in, _yes, being with two men is physically pleasurable, as one might expect when two different people are worshipping a woman's body simultaneously_ , but what came out was more gushy and fangirl-like instead.

"It was the most amazing experience of my life! I mean, at first, I was totally shocked, because, oh my God, who aside from porn stars have threesomes in real life, right? But then, it just happened and it was so incredibly hot and dirty, and wonderful, that I think I'll never be able to go back to vanilla sex again."

"Vanilla?" Delainey blinked. "What does that mean?"

"That means, you know, regular sex."

"Oh." Delainey, suddenly remembering her salad, pushed a sodden piece of lettuce around, saying, "So, are you dating them both? Now I understand what you meant about things being complicated."

"Oh, that's not the half of it," Zoe said, frowning. "In the bedroom, things are amazing. I mean, they have bodies for days, and they really know how to, um, you know, make things happen, which, incidentally, has made me realize that I've been settling for far less than I deserve in the sex department. Did you know that I never came with Teddy? Nope. Not even once. Not that I would've had a chance because he was one and done in two blinks. All he did was grunt a few times and then leave a mess on my stomach to clean up."

"I thought you said you enjoyed the sex with Teddy."

Zoe laughed. "I lied," she admitted. "But then what did I have it to compare to? Now, I know and I have to say, there's no putting that genie back in the bottle."

"So, back to my original question...are you dating?"

"No."

"Oh. So it's just a sex thing?"

Zoe lost her smile.

Ouch.

Hard to admit but yeah, what she had with Jax and Hunter was purely sexual, right?

It wasn't as if she knew anything about them or if they cared to share anything about themselves that wasn't sexual in nature.

Did she want more? What did that mean in the overall scheme of things? She didn't know.

Crap, she didn't have answers to the tough questions.

Realizing Delainey was still waiting for an answer, she nodded glumly. "Yeah, it's a sex thing."

"But you want more?" Delainey supplied in an unsure voice.

"I don't know what I want," Zoe admitted. "Hence, it's complicated."

Delainey nodded in commiseration, adding, "Well, at least if it's just going to be about sex, the sex sounds pretty amazing." She chewed on her bottom lip for a minute before muttering, "I'd love to have some dirty, awesome sex at least once in my life."

"Every girl should," Zoe agreed. "Before Jax and Hunter I thought I had to settle. Now, I say, forget about settling, go for the hot guy and see what happens."

Delainey grinned in somewhat awe. "Wow. Those guys really did a number on you. You're so full of confidence and bravado. I like this new Zoe."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. She gives me hope that there's someone out there for me, too. Someone who wants me — all of me." Delainey pushed her salad away with a grimace. "Someone who won't insist that I eat a salad for every meal."

Sudden moisture stung Zoe's eyes for Delainey's comment. How many times had she thought that very same thing?

The fact that Jax and Hunter seemed to celebrate her curves, to enjoy every hill and valley, from the bounty of her breasts to the rounded curve of her stomach, made her feel beautiful and sexy — two traits she'd never imagined someone might attribute to her.

But amidst all that feel-good empowerment that'd come with the phenomenal sex was the buzzkill of reality — Jax and Hunter were active criminals.

That shipment they were so intent on protecting probably wasn't filled with children's toys for an orphanage.

Drugs and guns were the staple income for most street gangs, motorcycle gangs included.

Hell, Paula had pretty much told her that The Kings sold drugs same as The Dogs.

And when she envisioned her life, she hadn't factored in two hunky, drug-dealing thugs as life partners.

Returning to Delainey, she squeezed her hand and smiled. "There's a guy out there for you, I promise. Just don't settle for a Teddy, okay? There's so much better out there."

Delainey nodded, soaking up the good advice. "You're like my new hero. A rock star. When do you see them again?"

Good question. She didn't know. The last time felt final. Hunter hadn't even said goodbye.

Jax had been sweet and tender but Hunter? No, he'd walked out as if he didn't want to give her another thought.

She winced as the memory returned with the pain of his cold departure, particularly after he'd given her so much pleasure _and_ pain.

"Do you think it's possible to sustain a polyamorous relationship?"

"I have no idea," Delainey answered with complete honesty. "This isn't exactly in my wheelhouse, you know? But I would imagine that anything is possible if you work at it. Are you saying you want to have a relationship with them both?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But I don't know how it would work. There are more than the living arrangements to consider. I don't think their vocation, if you can call it that, is exactly legal and I have no interest in going to jail as an accessory."

"Right," Delainey agreed with a shudder at the idea of prison. "Orange may be the new black but it would do absolutely nothing for your complexion."

Zoe smiled at that, wishing for the easy button. "I don't know what to do. Should I forget about them and move on? Or should I try to see if there's something there?"

"Well, do you want there to be something there?"

"I don't know. I never imagined I'd be in this kind of situation."

"Yeah, poor you."

Delainey's derisive quip made Zoe giggle. "Yeah, sounds rough, huh?"

"Cry me a river. I can't get one guy lusting after me, much less two."

Zoe remembered those days — because it was less than a week ago.

She'd cringed when she'd listed _curvy_ as her body type on her online dating profile because she always felt judged by doing so.

Maybe this was just her battered self-esteem but somehow she'd always pictured potential suitors clicking past her once they saw she had a little extra padding.

She shook herself off that thought train to focus on the now. "There's more going on," she told Delainey. "There's a story I really want to write but Jax and Hunter have warned me off of it because they feel putting the information out there will put my life in danger."

"Holy shit, really?" Delainey breathed in a shocked gasp. "What kind of story?"

"Do you remember that guy who was killed execution style on the west side of the city? It was a small blurb in the paper...anyway, I think his murder is tied to another murder that happened a few weeks prior and both murders are indicative of a street war over turf between The Dogs and The Kings."

Delainey whistled, intrigued. "That's a big story. Why are _you_ writing it, though? Did you get moved to the city beat?"

"No." Zoe grimaced. "I was doing it on my own. I wanted to prove to McMurphy that I could handle the big stories. I was going undercover when I met Jax and Hunter."

"Damn. That's some serious stuff." Delainey paused a beat before saying with uncertainty, "But it does sound really dangerous. No story is worth prison time or getting killed. Please tell me you're going to let it go."

Zoe didn't answer right away. After Jax and Hunter had left and she'd taken a long, hot shower, she'd been pretty sure she wasn't going to chase the story any longer but then her thoughts had started spinning again and she'd found herself itching to jump back into the research.

In her defense, it was really hard to walk away from the promise of legitimacy and it was even harder to explain her reasoning to someone who couldn't possibly understand that need.

"Zoe," Delainey said, drawing out her name like her mother used to when she was in trouble. "Please tell me you're not going to keep chasing this story. I can't lose my best friend in the whole world, okay? There will be other stories, I'm sure of it. And honestly, what's so bad about the stories you write now? I loved your last one, How To Cheat On Your Diet And Still Lose Pounds, it really works!"

Zoe grimaced, then groaned. "That's just it, Delainey. I don't want to write that stuff anymore. Stories like that aren't changing lives."

Delainey shrugged, then said in a small voice, "Well, I like those kinds of stories. And it made a difference in my life. I lost five pounds with your advice."

Realizing she'd marginalized Delainey, Zoe crumpled in on herself with shame. "I'm sorry. I know you like those stories. And you're right...maybe I do a bit of good out there but I want more. Is that so bad?"

"No," Delainey answered with a sweet smile as she grasped Zoe's hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's what I love most about you — you're fearless. Even before you became this new and improved Zoe, there was always something about you that was unstoppable. If you feel you have to do this story...then go for it. I'll pray for your guardian angel to be on his or her toes though, because I was serious about not being able to lose you. You're my bestest friend and I can't lose you."

Tears sprung to Zoe's eyes and she jumped up from her chair to wrap Delainey in her arms for a good, bone-crushing hug.

Delainey, as soft as she was sweet, hugged her back and Zoe hoped someone realized what a gem Delainey was and scooped her up before too long.

Delainey deserved to know how it felt to be worshipped sexually, to lose herself in carnal wonder, and quite possibly how it felt to have two men so mindlessly in lust for her body that they couldn't keep their hands off her.

Zoe pulled away and they both wiped away tears. Then without missing a beat, Delainey asked, "So...how do I go about finding me a dirty, sexy biker who has a thing for curvy women?"

# Chapter Eight

Each time Jax laid eyes on Bronx Harris, leader of The Dogs motorcycle club, he suffered the urge to bury his fist in his pretty boy face.

So, setting up a meet-and-greet to shoot the shit wasn't high on his list of desirables but there was no denying that something didn't feel right and the only way to discern if Bronx was behind all this shit, was to go straight to the source.

The thing was, Bronx, for all his good-looks, was a vicious fucker like the rest of them and wouldn't hesitate to throw his own mama under the wheels of a bus if she got in his way.

And he didn't like Jax or Hunter anymore than they liked him. So yeah, the feeling of general animosity was pretty fucking mutual.

They walked into the bare warehouse, their booted heels echoing in the gloom, dust motes spiraling like drunken fairies, and Bronx stood with his entourage, guns drawn and expressions hard.

"Helluva welcome wagon you got," Jax drawled, raising his hands to show he'd come unarmed (or relatively unarmed because he never went anywhere without the knife strapped to his calf) and Hunter did the same. "We came under the white flag, man. Don't tell me you're going to go back on your word that this would be civilized."

"I never said anything about being civilized," Bronx retorted with a cold smirk. "It's not my fault you're as dumb as you look."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't trust your lying ass further than I could throw you," Jax returned with an equally cold smile. "Right now, my guys are standing outside your window with your woman in their gun sight. Anything happens to me or my brother and your girl goes lights out. You feelin' me?"

Bronx held Jax's stare in a mutual stand-off until Bronx, realizing Jax wasn't fucking around, gave his boys the signal to stand down.

He shrugged, saying, "Can't waste a golden opportunity to remove the biggest pain in my ass since junior high, right?"

Jax's cold smile didn't falter but he was tensed and ready to move at the slightest indication that Bronx was going to try and put a bullet in his head, no matter the consequence to his woman.

Yeah, Bronx was that cruel.

"So are we going to quit measuring each other's dicks and get down to business or what?"

Bronx warily motioned for them to come closer. When they were close enough, he said, "So what's this about?" he asked.

"I'm going to ask you something point blank and if you lie to me, I'll find out eventually and when I do, I'll cut your lying tongue from your mouth, got it?" Jax said.

"Talk dirty to me some more, Jax," Bronx said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I like it rough."

Hunter, irritated with their exchange, cut in, saying, "Here's the deal...did you have anything to do with the hit on William Simms?"

"Who the fuck is William Simms?" Bronx asked, equally irritated.

"He was a King. Now he's dead. Bullet in the head, execution-style. Like someone was sending a message."

"Wasn't my message," Bronx said. "I can't say that I know everything my guys do but when it comes to spilling blood, I always know the score."

"Rumor has it that Simms was shacking up with Juanita Sanchez...that a name you recognize?" Hunter asked.

Bronx's gaze hardened. "Now, that's a name I know. What the hell are you talking about? Juanita wasn't shacking up with no filthy, bitch-ass King."

"Watch your mouth or this conversation will stop being civilized," Jax warned.

"And if it were true, would that be enough to put a hit out on Simms?" Hunter pressed. Bronx's stony expression didn't change but he bit out a terse, "No" and Jax knew he was telling the truth, which was a shame because he'd really been looking forward to busting those pearly whites out of Bronx's mouth. He and Hunter exchanged looks, confirming what they feared the most — someone was playing them and it wasn't Bronx.

"What makes you think Juanita was seeing your boy?" Bronx asked.

"It's a rumor from a reliable source," Jax answered with a shrug. "What makes you think she wasn't?"

"Juanita was loyal."

"Yeah, well, sounds like her pussy was equal opportunity," Jax quipped and Bronx's face flushed.

"Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and wipe you off this planet," Bronx snarled.

Hunter tugged at Jax's arm and they walked backward away from Bronx and his posse until they were far enough away to risk turning their back on the sneaky bastards.

They each mounted their Harleys and roared away from the warehouse but Jax's mind wasn't focused on the ride. What the hell was going on?

The life they lived wasn't easy or soft but he'd always understood the rules of the street.

Now, it seemed everything was out of whack, twisted-up and turned on its head because he couldn't make sense of the current events.

Zoe jumped to mind and something warm and gooey spread across his heart.

He was mid-smile and risking bugs in his teeth when he realized what he was doing.

What the fuck? No attachments — that was the golden rule that kept them on top.

No distractions. Pussy was a dime a dozen.

On any given night he and Hunter could have any number of hot, saucy bitches performing all manner of raunchy and debauched acts on them so why did one curvy, sassy-as-hell, gonna-get-herself-killed woman stick in his mind?

There was something about her that tugged at him in a way he'd forgotten how to feel — and that was bad.

Why she'd have to walk into their lives? One thing was for certain...he was going to go against his better judgment and see her again.

And if his tightening groin were any indication, sooner rather than later.

Following the meet-up with Bronx, Hunter remained in a funk that he couldn't shake.

He growled and snapped at everyone in his vicinity until everyone pretty much started avoiding him. Dimas, ever the smart-ass, was the one person who wouldn't take the hint.

"You on your period?" he quipped, lighting his cigarette with a shit-eating grin. "Because you're pretty bitchy tonight."

"Fuck off," he growled, leaning back in his chair as tossed back a whiskey. The bar was hopping tonight, filled with Kings in good standing.

Laughter mixed with the raucous music as everyone got their drank on. By the end of the night, the till would be full and wicks would be dipped.

It should've been a good night but it wasn't. Jax was gone for the night — he didn't say where he was going, but Hunter had a good idea, and maybe that was the reason he was out of sorts — but suffice to say, he wasn't good company.

The knowledge that someone within their own club was pulling tricks on the side didn't sit well with him at all. The fact that they didn't have a clue, felt worse.

He looked to Dimas. "We got problems," he said finally and Dimas lost his grin.

"Yeah? What kind of problems?"

Hunter paused, then said, "We have a rat."

"How so?"

Instead of divulging details Hunter said, "I want you to circulate your best girl out there. See if she can get some useful pillow talk out of someone."

"I can't set my girl on a mission without some detail of what I'm looking for," Dimas returned, snagging the whiskey bottle. "Just give me a clue as to what I'm trying to find out for you." When Hunter just regarded him with a narrowed stare, he chuckled. "Must be pretty bad if you're looking at me like I'm a suspect, bud. We've been through too much for you to question me now. If anyone's got your back in this place, it's me and you know it."

"Do I?" Hunter asked quietly, leaning forward to pin Dimas with a hard stare. "Do I really?"

"Calm the fuck down, cowboy. I'm gonna pretend that I didn't hear that fucking insult you just threw my way and we're gonna keep drinking like the buddies we are." To prove his point, he poured himself and Hunter another shot and downed his quickly. "Listen, I don't know what's got you so hot and bothered but it's bad fucking timing, you know? It took a long-ass time to get Ebony to trust us with a shipment of this size and I ain't about to let your paranoia screw us all. Whatever the fuck is eating your shorts, stow it, cuz this shit's about to get real and I ain't gonna eat a bullet because Ebony caught wind of your whining about rats and shit. Got it? And before you get all twisted up in a knot, you know I'm just saying this to save your ass so shut the fuck up and listen for once, you stubborn ass."

Hunter pulled the whiskey shot toward him with a deliberate motion, regarding the amber liquid and wondering if Dimas was right.

Maybe all this conspiracy theory shit was messing with his head when he should be concentrating on the details of the shipment coming in two days.

He and Dimas went way back and Dimas was right, he needed to focus on what's important.

Whoever whacked Simms could wait. "Shit man," he said, downing the shot with a dark chuckle. "I need to get fucked up tonight. My head is all sorts of wrong these days."

Dimas brightened and reached over to clap Hunter on the back with a hearty guffaw. "Now that I can get behind!" He motioned to Rocket, the bartender. "Bring my man another bottle of Jameson, we're gonna get loose tonight!" And then he leaned in to whisper in Hunter's ear, saying, "Let me introduce you to the woman of your dreams. She's my newest...I'd consider it an honor if you break her in first."

For some reason Zoe flashed in his mind and he hesitated but the fact that he hesitated at all filled him with disquiet.

What the hell?

Why was he thinking of Zoe when he should be salivating at the idea of fucking some fresh strange?

New pussy was usually an instant aphrodisiac for him. He forced a smile. "Yeah? What's she like?" he asked, stuffing any thought of Zoe far from his head. "Blond, brunette?"

"A red-head, baby," Dimas answered with a lecherous grin. "And she can suck the chrome from your wheel-well, I can promise you that."

"You always promise that," Hunter said, laughing. "Where'd you find her?"

"You don't care about those fucking details," Dimas answered with a short smirk. "All you need to know is that her pussy is fresh, clean and ready for business."

New pussy with strawberry curls, damp and sweet. The very thought made him semi-hard. But lately, dark curls covering a soft mound were what haunted his dreams.

Damn it, Zoe. And those curves! His hands itched with the need to grip those hips and drive into that willing, wet heat.

_Lose the Zoe obsession_ , he told himself.

She wasn't part of his future and never would be. Maybe if he got drunk enough he'd cease to care what pussy he was driving into — and a redhead would do as well as any other.

"Sure," he agreed with a shrug. "Have her drop by. I'll take a look."

"You won't be disappointed," Dimas promised before whipping out his cell. He punched out a quick text and then lifted his shot glass with a gleam in his eye for a toast. "To good friends and better business connections."

Hunter laughed and lifted his glass, already feeling nicely buzzed and ready to party. "Yeah, sure. Here's to making lots of fucking money."

"Amen to that."

Zoe opened her front door and actually gasped when she saw Jax standing there. He didn't wait to be invited, he simply walked in, grabbed her and stuck his tongue down her throat.

She should've pushed him away — she wasn't his goodtime, anytime girl — but instead she melted like chocolate on a warm day.

Damn him for knowing just how weak she was at her core. Slightly breathless and a bit giddy, she sank against him to draw air back into her lungs.

"What are you doing here?" she managed as he shut the door and pulled her toward the bedroom without so much as a howdy-do. "Wait," she protested, her good sense returning as she tugged against him.

He stopped, fixed her with that gorgeous, dangerous stare and her knees threatened to give out.

There was a wealth of carnal promise in that hungry stare and she was nearly helpless against it.

For a girl who spent most of her life wishing and wanting to finally having a man who couldn't get enough of her, it was as intoxicating as any illicit drug — and just as addictive. "What are you doing?"

"I would've thought that was obvious," Jax answered with a sexy smile that created a circus of bouncy butterflies in her belly. "I came to fuck you until you can't walk." His brow arched. "Unless you had other plans for the evening..."

_Ohhhh....yesssss_.....Oh, wait! No! Stand strong. "I need to talk to you," she said, even as he pulled her into his arms, his gaze never wavering. "As much as I enjoy the idea of being f-fucked until I can't walk, egad, that sounds lovely, I need to talk to about this William Simms situation."

His gaze darkened and he shook his head but instead of shutting her down as she expected, he simply took her mouth again, only this time if there had been any resolve left in her ample body, that sweet, tender kiss had obliterated it.

"I don't want to talk. I just want to feel," Jax said quietly against her mouth, rubbing his nose against hers, his eyes closed as if he didn't have the courage to open them for fear of what he'd see. "But if you want me to leave...I will. Just say the word."

"N-no, I don't want you to leave," she answered, licking her lips. "I want you to kiss me like that again."

"My pleasure." Jax's mouth opened and his tongue delved inside, teasing her like the wicked thing that he was.

Within seconds Zoe had forgotten why she'd tried to stop him and they were tumbling to the bed, eager and anxious to feel one another naked, skin on skin.

It was then she realized, this time would be different because Hunter wasn't there.

She sighed with pure pleasure as Jax's warm mouth worked a trail down her belly, his hot tongue rimming her navel before settling between her thighs with a satisfied grunt that was so purely male that Zoe shuddered from the sound. "Part your lips. I want to see you offer yourself to me," he instructed in a husky tone that thrilled her senseless.

Refusing him wasn't an option.

The quiet authority in his tone prompted her to shyly part her own nether lips so that he could gaze on her sex unimpeded. Her cheeks burned but she squirmed with desire.

"Such a beautiful little clitty," he said with warm approval before gently sucking her swollen nub into his mouth, torturing it with the rough rasp of his tongue.

_Oh, good gravy_ , _that's so good!_

Zoe arched, gasping with abandon as arcs of wild, sweet sensation zipped through her body as he easily worked her into a frenzy of hot, sweaty wonder.

Her hands began to shake as she struggled to hold herself open, her thighs and belly trembling as she lost her ability to think or speak. Her fingers slipped and Jax shocked her with a sharp _thwack_ on the side of her behind.

"Don't let go," he warned silkily and she grasped her lips once more, her heart hammering so hard she couldn't breathe. But it didn't matter.

Breath wasn't necessary any longer. She spiraled deep and hard into a toe-curling orgasm that propelled her out of her skin for a split second and she lost all sense of time and purpose.

Wave after wave of beautiful death crashed over her in boundless succession and she knew she'd sell her soul for pleasure like this.

In that moment, she'd do or say anything that Jax asked because she belonged to him in that space in time.

He had such complete mastery over her body that she craved the oblivion that she knew he would bring.

_Ohhhhh, yesssss_...maybe deep down she'd always been a craven whore, a dirty slut who craved domination, or maybe there was a much simpler explanation for the pleasure still rocking her body — she was falling in love with the biker bad boy and there was no turning back.

Was it possible to fall in love so quickly?

Only in the movies, right?

The sweat dribbled down her side as her chest heaved and Jax rose up to seal his mouth to hers in a deep kiss that automatically revved her engine all over again.

"Can you smell yourself on me," he murmured, grinning because he knew the answer. She nodded shyly and he kissed her again. "Good. Does that embarrass you?"

"A little," she admitted, risking a glance up at him. "Do you like the way I smell?"

"Girl, I fucking love the way you smell," he told her before rolling to her side onto his back. He pulled her to him and she snuggled up to his shoulder, loving the intimacy of the moment.

His cock was rock-hard and waiting but he didn't seem in a hurry to do anything about it.

His arms closed around her and her hand went to his cock to curl around it, lightly stroking. "I like that," he told her with approval as he allowed her to pleasure him slowly until he said, "Climb on top, baby," and she carefully mounted his sweet, thick length. She sank onto his cock and groaned with delight as he stretched her as far as she could go.

The head rubbed at a perfect angle, hitting what she could only assume was her G-spot — _it exists! Glory be to God, it really exists!_ — and soon enough she was writhing on his cock like a seasoned whore, losing herself to the pleasure and not caring one bit if she looked like a stark, raving lunatic squealing like a porn star at her first audition.

She couldn't help herself and soon she was milking his cock for all it was worth. Jax stiffened, crying out as his fingers dug into her hip as he came, shooting his load deep inside her, lubing up her core with his cream until she fairly dripped with his seed.

She fell forward and cried out as a cramp seized her left cheek in a vise grip. _Holy mother of God!_ "Ouchouchouchouch, cramp!"

Jax laughed and rolled her over onto her stomach so he could knead her butt cheek and she laughed into the covers, mortified and charmed at the same time that he was rubbing out her cramp.

When the pain subsided, she turned to Jax and said sheepishly, "Guess I need to stretch or something before that kind of epic sex session, huh?"

He bent to kiss her poor butt cheek and she shivered when his lips touched her flesh.

She stilled and their gaze met. Something deep and real passed between them — of that she was sure because Jax's expression flitted between desperate to bothered and she knew he wasn't prepared any more than she was.

Silence filled the space between them as Jax's finger continued to rub tiny circles into her muscle.

She loved his touch. She loved... _don't go there_. Get real. No one fell in love that quickly in real life. It just didn't happen. "So...what are you really doing here?" she asked.

"I needed to see you," he surprised her with an answer then gave a short derisive snort. "Yeah, I don't know what the hell I'm doing here. I shouldn't be here. Here with you...is the last place I should be."

"But you are here," she pointed out. "If it means anything...I'm glad you're here."

He glanced at her, a wealth of vulnerability staring back at her. "I shouldn't drag you through this," he made a frustrated motion "whatever _this_ is."

"Can I ask you something?" He regarded her warily but agreed with a slow nod. "How did you end up in with The Kings?"

Jax sighed and he rose from the bed to dress. "I don't know, just kinda fell into it I guess. Guys like me and Hunter, we don't know what it's like to have a 'family' life, nothing normal anyway. I bounced from foster home to foster home until I landed at Mrs. H's house. That's where I met Hunter. We were two fucked-up kids from the same sad side of the tracks. We fit together like peas and carrots, you know?" He leaned against her dresser, shirt in hand, looking sexy — and tortured — as hell. "That's the thing, Zoe. We're fucked up in the head and that's why I shouldn't be here. We'll just drag you down. You're one of the shiny people we used to see growing up. You know, the ones who had normal parents and happy home lives. That's not me or Hunter and frankly, sweetheart, we wouldn't know what to do with that kind of life at this point. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"You're saying that you have nothing to offer me," she answered.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I don't recall asking anything of you."

He shook his head and said with fatalistic knowing, "But you will. Sooner or later you'll want more than we can give you, like stability and any sense of normalcy. We aren't backyard barbecuing sons of bitches, you feelin' me?"

"I never asked you to be," she told him, frowning. Why was he ramming this down her throat? Had she inadvertently sent out a signal saying that she wanted all that suburbia crap? "You're right, I grew up in a different environment than you or Hunter but I never asked you to give me what I had. I've never actually asked anything of you."

"But you should," he said in earnest, shocking her, possibly shocking himself. "That's the thing, Zoe. You deserve the suburbia crap. I'm a bad man, dollface. I'll bring you nothing but heartache and misery and that's the one promise I can make you."

His statement rang with truth and as much as it hurt to admit, he was right. Jax and Hunter were an unconventional choice in a romantic _anything_ but she also knew she wasn't interested in anyone else at this point.

She didn't care about the unconventionality.

"I don't think you're as bad as you think you are," she risked and his short barked laugh in response made her cheeks burn.

She lifted her chin. "Go ahead and laugh. Call me silly or naïve, but I sense goodness in you, Jax, and Hunter, too. But even more than that I don't care about any of that stuff you say I should care about. Maybe you're right and I should steer clear of you and Hunter but the moment I saw you on the other side of my door...I was happier than I've been in my whole life. What does that tell you?"

"Stop it, Zoe," he demanded, pushing away from the dresser with a hard expression. "We aren't going to ride off into the sunset together because in my world, there is no fucking sunset. Fuck! Why did I come here tonight?" He pushed his hand through his hair, agitated with himself and with her. "Listen, I'm not going to lie...I crave your fucking body like I've never craved another human being and I don't know what that means but maybe it doesn't mean shit. Maybe it just means that you're an intriguing diversion and I'll tire of you soon enough. What if that's the case? What happens to your heart then? I know exactly what happens — it fucking _breaks_. And then, I'm the asshole I always was and you were too blind to see in the first place."

Tears welled in her eyes. "Fine," she shot back. "I have feelings for you and Hunter that I shouldn't have. I get it. But that doesn't change how I feel inside, okay? You can't make me stop caring for you or stop wanting you." She sniffed back the moisture crowding her sinuses. "And you know what? I'm not completely helpless, stupid or _blind_." She wiped at her eyes in an angry motion. "Why the hell are we fighting about this? If you don't want to be here, then go. You know where the door is."

"That's the fucking problem! I don't want to go!"

But that's exactly what he did. Zoe stared as he stormed from her apartment, slamming the front door so hard her photos bounced on the wall.

"Fine!" she yelled after him as the tears began to drop like rain.

_Jerk_.

She ought to feel something more warm and fuzzy seeing as Jax had pretty much admitted that he was feeling something for her, too, but she couldn't muster the appropriate emotion to follow through with that thought.

He was right, there was no happy ending for them. Jax and Hunter didn't fit in her world and she didn't fit in theirs.

So where did that leave her?

Rock — _hard place_ — Zoe.

Because, yeah, she was pretty falling for them both and that kinda sucked.

# Chapter Nine

After a bottle of whiskey and a handful of beers, Hunter had to piss like a racehorse and one look at the long-ass line for the can caused him to head outside to take a leak.

Even drunk, his mind was stubbornly set on Zoe. Dimas was out fucking one of his whores, no doubt, having left the bar some time ago, and Hunter was about to crash himself when a small, white hand crept around his front to hold his cock while he pissed.

Startled, he half-turned and saw a petite redhead smiling up at him, her tight black dress so short he could practically count her pubes and he realized this chick must be the girl Dimas was talking about earlier.

"Need help with that?" she asked, smiling as she gave his cock a little shake. Weirdly aroused, he thought with a wry smirk as he watched her slender fingers curl around his shaft. "I heard you might like a little company tonight."

"Yeah? I might. What's your name?"

"Roxy," she answered, withdrawing her hand so he could tuck his cock away and zip his pants. He turned and she pressed herself against him.

Her tits were small but pert, a mouthful at the least, nothing like the abundant sweetness of Zoe's tits but he had to stop comparing every woman to Zoe.

What the fuck was wrong with him? He was losing his damn mind.

All this crap with the shipment and conspiracy of a possible rat in their midst was driving him ape-shit crazy.

"I'm down for a good time if you are," he said, though the words tasted hollow.

He must've drank too much if he was forcing himself to accept an invitation for a good time with a hot woman.

He held out his hand and she eagerly slipped her hand into his, allowing him to lead her behind the bar where his trailer was.

He opened the door and walked inside the small doublewide. Dishes were piled in the sink and the stale odor of old food, dirty laundry and sweat assaulted his nostrils.

What a far cry from Zoe's cute little apartment. Well, you wouldn't find a single cat figurine in this place, that was for sure.

Stop it!

He shook his head as if trying to shake the thoughts of Zoe loose and before Roxy could question him, he pulled her roughly to him, slanting his mouth over the red berry of hers.

She followed his lead and accepted his tongue in her mouth without missing a beat, expertly tangling and twisting alongside as her hand found the semi-hard bulge in his pants.

"What do we have here?" she purred, jerking his jeans open and boldly reaching inside to fondle his cock. Her nimble fingers were soft but her touch was professional.

She knew exactly what she was doing and he closed his eyes to let her. Seconds later, she was on her knees and his cock was in her hot mouth.

His fingers found their way to her thick red hair and gripped her scalp.

A groan escaped him as she bobbed on his nob, caressing his shaft along with her mouth, taking time to tickle his balls and massage his taint.

Yeah, she was good. Dimas would certainly get his money's worth for this hot little number. His balls tightened and he pushed her away.

He didn't want to come in her mouth — he wanted her pussy. Jerking her dress up over her hips, he unceremoniously bent her over the short kitchen counter.

No time for foreplay, no time for sexy talk. He just wanted to fuck. He wanted it dirty and he wanted it raw. But seconds before he plunged inside Roxy's tight little cunt, he grabbed a condom and slipped it on.

He hadn't used protection with Zoe, hadn't even thought of it and neither had Jax.

But the thought of fucking Roxy without protection left him with a bad feeling. Besides, there was no way he could possibly fuck Zoe again with a clear conscience if he didn't glove up with Roxy.

Without ceremony or finesse, he jammed his cock inside that wet hole with total disregard for technique other than his own pleasure.

Yeah, he was a bastard but Roxy knew that and if she didn't, that was Dimas' fault. If she was expecting flowers and poetry, she was barking up the wrong tree with him.

But the little greedy whore seemed to like it rough, wiggling on his cock with a squeal as he pumped into her sopping heat.

Her walls gripped him like a monkey on a tree, squeezing his cock with delicious pressure until it wasn't long until he was building to an explosive end.

Slamming hard into her body, he punished her with his cock but she didn't complain.

No, in fact, quite the opposite.

She growled with appreciation, urging him on, harder, faster, she panted and moaned, squealed and groaned until she was shuddering, clenching and howling as she came.

Hunter followed, grateful for that split second of oblivion that came with an orgasm so that he could blank out and just ride that wave of pleasure until the end.

Moments later, he stumbled away and pulled the used condom from his dick, tossing it in the trash before collapsing on the ugly, ratty sofa.

The springs protested from his weight and the sound, usually a familiar comfort, irritated him. Hell, everything irritated him right now. Everything in his life was shit.

Why did this bother him now? That's all gonna change, a voice reminded him. That shipment is going to change their lives. Millions are on the line. As long as everything went by the numbers, they were in the clear.

Suddenly, he was aware of Roxy beside him. He turned to her with a brief flash of annoyance that she was still there but swallowed his bad attitude because he wasn't that much of a prick.

At least not tonight. "Thanks baby," he said with a crooked grin. "You're a sweet ride."

Roxy smiled and took the opportunity to straddle him. Even though he was ready to crash, he let her remain there.

"You sure live up to the hype," she said with appreciation, trailing her red-nailed finger down his chest. "A girl could get used to this kind of lovin'."

"Sorry babe. Not accepting applications for a permanent gig, if you know what I mean."

She pouted then said, "You don't know what you're missing. A man like you needs a good woman on his arm. Someone to look out for him."

There was something about her tone, something about the mild suggestion lying beneath the proposition that halted the haze train. His gaze narrowed and he removed her from his lap. "Yeah? And what makes you think that I need someone watching my back?"

Realizing her mistake, she tried to backpedal. "Baby, I'm just saying, a man in your position within the club, there's gotta be people who'd rather see you gone. A man like you needs someone who'll always have his back."

"I have those people," he growled, not letting her back down. "Are you saying that someone out there has it in for me?"

Roxy hesitated and then admitted, "Yeah. You're not the hero in everyone's story."

"What are you talking about?"

Roxy didn't look happy about spilling whatever information she held but she said, "Listen, I shouldn't tell you this because it's my ass on the line but there's something about you that seems better than you let on. I don't know, I guess somehow that tugs at something in my heart, though Lord knows, it'll probably put my ass in a sling or a body bag."

"I'll protect you," he promised her. "Just tell me what you know."

"I was set up as a distraction tonight. Someone wanted you out of commission and out of the way."

"Someone, as in?"

His stomach rebelled as she confirmed his worst fear. "Dimas."

"A distraction from what?"

Roxy bit her lip. "Something about a reporter...does that mean anything to you?"

A cold, hard knot grew in his gut. "Yeah, what about the reporter?"

"I don't know exactly but I think he's going to do something to her."

Dimas? Next to Jax, Dimas was his best friend. They'd shared time together since they were kids running the streets, up to no good and doing short stints in county jail for petty crimes. He and Dimas were fucking tight!

And now he had the balls to double cross him using Zoe as leverage?

White-hot rage bubbled up from the sense of betrayal and he wanted to kill Dimas.

But he had a bigger problem that demanded his immediate attention — Zoe was in danger.

A knock at her front door had Zoe's heart racing. Had Jax come back?

Maybe he was remorseful over what he'd said to her. The thought buoyed her ragged heart and as she opened the front door, prepared to forgive Jax immediately, she stopped short with a squeak when she saw someone she didn't know standing there with a hard look in his eyes that matched the cold grin on his lips.

"W-who are you?" she stammered but he wasn't there to chat. The man, hard as granite and just as soulless, pushed her back into the apartment and kicked the door shut with his fingers pressed to his lips. "What do you want?"

"Shhhh," he told her as he circled her, raping her with his gaze. She clutched her robe around her body, wishing she'd checked her peephole before opening her door. Rule No. 1 in the Living Single handbook and she totally blew it. "So you're Zoe Delacourte...can't say I blame them for losing their focus over you — you are highly fuckable."

Her cheeks colored and she squeezed her lapels together like a prim maiden. "Excuse me?" She dared to point toward the door with a believable amount of outrage to demand, "Who the hell do you think you are? Get out of my apartment!"

"Sorry, dollface. Can't do that. You see, there's a lot of money on the line and I'm owed a good payday after everything I've gone through to make this happen. Nothing, not even an old friendship is going to fuck this up for me."

Zoe swallowed. "What does that have to do with me?"

He grinned. "Funny you should ask. Before you came along, I had everyone playing their individual parts just as they were supposed to. But then you showed up and started poking into things that are none of your business and that started Jax and Hunter asking questions that I didn't need answering."

"Simms and Sanchez," she murmured and he nodded with a subtle sneer. "You had something to do with their murders?"

"You could say that. Not my best work but loose ends have to be snipped."

"I don't understand," she said, stalling for time, trying to think of an exit plan. Her apartment was woefully small and she was regrettably short of defensible weapons. Pepper spray! That's right, she had a canister of the stuff in her bedroom drawer. Great place for it, right? Zoe refocused on the man stalking her. "I already told Jax and Hunter I wasn't doing the story."

"Too late," he said with finality. "You've already got Jax and Hunter thinking. Hell, somehow you managed to get Jax and Hunter to have a meet-and-greet with Bronx and I would've thought that'd never happen. You must have a powerful pussy to get them to override their burning hatred for the guy to ask questions."

"I never told them to talk to Bronx," she retorted, but a small part of her was proud of them for trying to hunt down answers for the greater good of their club, even if it meant talking to someone they couldn't stand. "What they did, they did on their own. I had nothing to do with it. If you have a problem with them asking questions, why don't you take it up with them?"

He laughed as if she were stupid. "If they even had a clue what I've been up to for the past six months, they'd dump my body in the desert and forget I was ever born. They don't take kindly to traitors. And for that matter, neither do I, but I've earned this payday, far more than Jax and Hunter ever did. I secured the deal, I took the risks, and I'm the one who spent a year in prison for a stint that should've been Hunter's. So yeah, I earned this." By the way his eyes blazed at the mention of his prison time Zoe took a wild guess that it hadn't been easy time. Was he raped in prison? Was it bad that she hoped so? "Enough talk, get dressed. You're coming with me."

"Oh, I don't think so," she disagreed vehemently. Statistically, if she walked out that front door with him, chances were she wasn't coming back. "You're going to have to drag me kicking and screaming if you want me to come with you. I should warn you, my neighbors are incredibly nosey. The minute I start screaming, they'll come running."

That wasn't entirely true but Zoe was completely fine with stretching the truth until it broke if it meant she'd live to the see the morning.

She made a little scoot gesture with her fingers, telling him, "Why don't you run along and threaten someone else? Maybe I won't tell Jax and Hunter what you've been doing."

His gaze narrowed as he growled, "Wrong answer," and then sprang at her, scaring her into sudden motion.

She bolted for the bedroom but it was a mad dash of futility because he tackled her way before she could reach her dresser drawer.

They crashed to the floor and Zoe managed a pained scream before he clocked her right across the jaw, silencing her with a starburst of agony.

_MOTHERFUCKER_! That hurt!

_Get up, Zoe_! She tried to scramble to her feet but he was too fast and his grip was like iron when he wrenched her head back with a handful of her own hair.

Lifting her from the floor by her head, she blinked back the tears and sucked in great lungfuls of air as the pain in her jaw nearly caused her to pass out.

"Tough girl, huh?" he crooned in her ear before roughly pushing her to the bed.

Was he going to rape her?

_Noooooo_!

She kicked at him, not caring that her robe had opened and she was nearly naked underneath.

She'd been preparing for a shower when she'd heard the knock and her silly heart had fluttered like a dumb girl at the hope that Jax had returned.

Would Jax or Hunter even know what'd happened to her? He punched her hard in the thigh, giving her an immediate Charlie horse and she screamed, her leg useless. He took advantage and jerked her to her feet, griping her chin hard.

"Now listen up, sweetheart, this is how this is going to play out. With you out of the picture, Jax and Hunter will be too preoccupied with your pretty ass to pay attention to what's going on right in front of their faces."

"You overestimate Jax and Hunter's feelings for me," Zoe said against the grinding pain in her jaw and leg. "I'm just a booty call to them."

"For your sake, you better hope not." He released her chin with a jerk. "Now get dressed."

For a brief, fleeting moment, she considered trying to run again but her leg was almost useless and she could barely put any weight on it. If she tried to run, she'd end up face-planting on the floor with the creep's laughter ringing in her ear. She sent him a dirty look before asking, "Care to give me some privacy?"

"I think I'll stick around and make sure you don't tuck a knife into those bloomers of yours — they're damn big enough."

"Oh, a fat joke, real original," she hissed. "Top of the class weren't you, huh?"

"Keep it up, honey. I'm in a real playful mood," he said with a cruel smile. "But I don't think you'll enjoy my games. My games leave scars."

Zoe shuddered in spite of her attempt to appear unaffected by his threat but he was scary in a psychotic way, which made her realize that neither Jax nor Hunter had ever truly scared her.

There'd always been something about them that she'd been drawn to and it wasn't the fact that they were supposedly bad men.

This guy, with his permanent cold sneer and rough, callused hands, was scary and bad — terrible combo — and she was going to leave with him.

Her hands shook as she quickly jerked on her clothing, trying to move at the speed of light so that the creep couldn't get a nice eyeful of her private parts but his leering gaze caught plenty.

She swallowed her mortification and prayed that somehow, someway Jax and Hunter figured things out before she ended up eating dirt in a shallow grave.

# Chapter Ten

Hunter burst into Jax's place, nearly taking the door off the hinges.

Jax, quick with his gun, had Hunter in his sights within seconds but Hunter ignored the gun and went straight to Jax, ripping him from the old, ratty recliner to shout in his face, "Dimas has double-crossed us and he's going after Zoe!"

Jax pushed Hunter away with a scowl. "What the fuck are you talking about? Are you drunk?"

"I wish I were," he answered. "Come on, we gotta find her."

"What makes you think it's Dimas?"

"I can give you details on the ride. We're taking your truck."

Hunter wasn't the kind of guy who cried wolf. If he thought Zoe was in danger, chances were, he was right. Jax grabbed his keys and they sprinted to his truck.

"Dimas? Are you sure?" he asked as they climbed in and he throttled the engine.

The lifted truck was a mean-ass piece of metal. There was no sneaking up on anyone in that rig but there was also no stopping it either. Jax could squash anything in his path if need be.

"I don't understand. I was just with Zoe three hours ago and she was fine. Have you tried her cell?"

"Yeah, no answer."

Jax nodded and he pressed the gas pedal harder. Within fifteen minutes they were at Zoe's apartment.

Sprinting the stairs, they found Zoe's apartment door unlocked, which didn't give him a warm and fuzzy feeling. They walked in and knew within seconds that her tiny apartment was empty.

Hunter went to Zoe's bedroom and came out with a tense expression. "There's evidence of a struggle," he said, showing Jax several broken cat figurines. "Something went down in this room and she's not here. I'm willing to bet my left nut Dimas has her."

"Why would Dimas take Zoe?" Jax asked, his gaze searching the living room before snagging on a small note taped to the television. He ripped the note from the screen, reading it to Hunter, "Meet me at the warehouse. Come alone or you're going to end up with one dead reporter."

"Fucking Dimas, you back-stabbing piece of shit," Hunter swore under his breath. "This has to do with the shipment."

Jax agreed, though he still didn't have a clear picture of why Dimas would do something so fucked up. Why now? There were countless times that Dimas could've killed them and taken over the club before this moment. Apparently, the fucker had been biding his time, waiting for the most opportune moment to completely ream them in the ass. "Let's go," he said tersely. "There's nothing left to see here."

Hunter followed and they strode away from Zoe's apartment, head and hearts in sync with one another. They climbed back into the truck and Jax told Hunter without an ounce of hesitation, "If he hurts her...I'm going to kill him."

At that Hunter barked an ugly laugh filled with the promise of pain as he muttered a dark oath, saying, "I'm going to kill him regardless."

Jax had no reason to disbelieve Hunter.

And he had no reason to stop him either.

A million different scenarios were ripping through Hunter's mind as they approached the warehouse. What if Zoe were already dead?

What if they were showing up too late to stop what was going to be inevitable from the start? The last words he spoke to Zoe were mean.

A sick twist in his gut made him want to puke. Zoe, sweet, spunky, irritatingly sexy Zoe...how did someone get attached so quickly?

He felt as if she were the missing puzzle that he'd forgotten he'd been searching for and now that someone else was holding that piece hostage, he wanted to do some major damage.

"She's going to be fine," Jax assured Hunter and all he could was grunt in response. Jax didn't know that — he couldn't make promises and Hunter wouldn't be so stupid as to pin his hopes on something that couldn't be secured. "Do you have any idea what Dimas is up to?"

"My guess is it has something to do with the shipment. He's double-crossing us for the money. Simplest explanation don't you think?"

They entered the warehouse, the empty space illuminated by one sickly fluorescent lamp overhead that threw menacing shadows on the walls and ratcheted the creep factor to ten.

The warehouse, one of the few holdings along with the bar that actually belonged to the club, wasn't much to look at but it was a convenient, out of sight place to conduct business in a private manner.

Plus blood was easier to wash out of concrete than carpet. However, at the moment, the warehouse was stocked with boxes of artillery, waiting for the buyer — five million dollars worth to be exact.

"You come alone?"

At the sound of Dimas' voice, they whipped around to see Dimas standing above them on the catwalk.

"That's what you said, isn't it," Hunter barked in answer.

"You're smarter than you look."

"Why don't come down here and I'll show you just how _dumb_ you are," Hunter proposed.

"I think I'm good right where I'm at," Dimas said, pulling Zoe from the shadows. "Looking for this?"

Her hands were tied and her mouth gagged but even in the milky light of the dim fluorescents Hunter could see her fear. Dimas pretended to push Zoe over the edge and her terrified, muffled scream sent a shaft of pure terror through Hunter's heart.

"Ohhh, careful now...that's a nasty drop," he said, chuckling as he pulled her away from the edge. "I'd say a drop like that could kill a person."

"What the fuck are you doing, Dimas?" Jax demanded. "Let Zoe go. This has nothing to do with her. Hell, I don't even know what the fuck this is all about. Why don't you let us in on your little drama and we can sort this out."

Dimas laughed. "You're such a dumbass, Hunter. Always have been and always will be. You're the muscle but definitely no brain. No wonder you've always stuck around Jax...does he wipe your ass, too?"

Jax clenched his fists but kept his cool. "You gonna throw insults like a whiny bitch or start talking about the shit that matters? You want a bigger cut of the payday? Is that what this is about?"

"Hell yes, I want a bigger cut. I want it all, jackass," Dimas shot back. "What do you think of those terms?"

"I think they fucking suck," Hunter barked, beginning to prowl beneath the catwalk, violence rippling from every pore. "Get over yourself. What makes you think you deserve everything we've worked so hard to gain?"

"Because I fucking earned it! Remember that little stint in prison I did for your ass? Remember when I took the fall when it was your fault that we got caught? Yeah, well, I remember quite well my time in prison and I'm the one who made the contacts for this job. I paid for this job with my _motherfucking_ ass. What did you do but sit around and look pretty while I did the hard work?"

"Are you saying you got ass-raped in prison so now you're taking the money as your compensation?" Jax asked, disgusted by Dimas' thought process. "Life is fucking hard, you pussy. If prison was the first time you got felt up or touched 'in a bad way' then you got off fucking easy. Give me a motherfucking break. Get some therapy if you're gonna be a pussy about it but don't throw everything away like this. We had something good and you ruined it."

"You got it all wrong," Dimas said, wrenching Zoe close to him so that he could nuzzle her neck. Zoe whimpered and tried to pull away but he wasn't having none of that and just jerked her harder to actually bite her shoulder. "She's nice and soft in all the right places," he said as if complimenting their taste in women. "But a little too doughy in the middle if you ask me."

"I wasn't asking you," Jax returned in a steely tone. "Leave Zoe out of this. What do you want?"

"I want you and Hunter to know pain," Dimas answered simply. "It's not enough to just take your money, which I admit, feels pretty damn good, but I realized, just recently actually, that in order to truly fuck you over, I gotta leave a mark. And that's where this little pigeon comes in. You care about her. I can see it in your eyes. I could see it that first night when you wouldn't tell me who she was or who'd been in the room with you. And that's when I knew the final cog had slid into place."

"You know we're just going to kill you as soon as you come down from there," Hunter promised. "So get on with it. I'm done listening to you flap your jaws."

"But wait, you might want to know this...the shipment isn't tomorrow as you thought. It's tonight. I changed the drop _and the location_." Dimas let that information sink in and when Hunter and Jax shared a subtle look of confusion Dimas let them in on the deal. "Those boxes you think are filled with guns? Yeah, they're empty. Decoy boxes so if anyone came by the warehouse — mainly either of you — you wouldn't suspect anything was different. Fact is...the guns are nowhere near here."

"You sonofabitch," Jax muttered under his breath, going to the closest box and prying open the top to peer inside. He swore and looked to Hunter, confirming Dimas' story. "They're fucking empty."

"Don't worry, I know where the real shipment is. You have bigger problems."

"Such as?"

"Always in such a hurry...hold on, there's more to this story."

"This story bores me. Get to the fucking point."

"My point is your little reporter played quite the important role without even knowing it. Simms was the only other person who knew about the drop change and of course, loose ends gotta go. Conveniently, Simms was banging that Dog woman, Sanchez and it was easy enough to knock them both off and make it look like a club hit. Everything was quiet until your little fuckbuddy started asking questions, which then made you go and talk to Bronx — I mean, I never saw that coming — and that's when you figured out that someone on the inside was pulling strings behind your back. It was only a matter of time after that and I like to hedge my bets. But honestly, when it all came down to brass tacks, I just didn't want to share. Simms got greedy and started pushing the boundaries, saying he was going to go to you and Jax with the details. Couldn't have that, now could I? So, yeah, greed kills, man." He checked his cell. "Oh, game time. As much as I'd love to stay and shoot the shit, it's time to put the players into the game. Mainly...the pawn."

With a sudden, gut-wrenching movement, Dimas pushed Zoe from the catwalk and both watched in utter horror as Zoe plummeted to the ground like a bird with a broken wing.

Funny how time works when you're about to die.

Moments before Dimas shoved her off the catwalk, she'd been thinking, how had her life taken such an abrupt change in direction?

And then she answered her own question: Jax and Hunter.

But even so, she couldn't say she would change anything if she'd known ahead of time what her fate was going to be. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true but she knew that she didn't regret anything.

Certainly not the time spent learning what it was supposed to be like in a lover's arms.

Two lovers' arms to be exact. Tears slid down her cheek as she listened to the men trade insults and Dimas ranted like a lunatic. He thought he was so smart, so smug.

If she managed to survive this night...well, _let's be honest_ , she probably wouldn't, but if she _did_ , that asshole deserved a hot poker up the keister.

And then that awful push.

Followed with frightening speed by the terrifying plunge.

It was true what they say about your life flashing before your eyes because seconds before Zoe went _boom_ , _splat_ , _dead,_ she saw her entire life zip like one of those 8mm movie reels from the '60s.

Why not digital, she had no clue but there was something nostalgic and sweet about the old-time movie feel. Maybe that was why.

She'd always been partial to real film anyway. Digital had no soul as her father used to say.

But here was the thing, until those days with Jax and Hunter her life had been terribly dull. And so her last thought was of Jax and Hunter — naked, of course!

Because if she were going to die, well, hell, she was going to go out with the dirtiest thought in her damn head to make up for lost time.

Hopefully, they had hot, hunky guys with a thing for chubby girls up in heaven, too.

That was the point of heaven right? Total bliss? A week ago her idea of bliss might've been a fresh chocolate éclair but now?

It was Jax and Hunter — all day, everyday. Funny how things changed, huh?

Jax watched the whole thing unfold as if watching a nightmare. Everything moved in slow motion up until Zoe crashed through an empty wooden decoy box like a broken doll flung by a giant to the floor.

Hunter and Jax ran to her side, forgetting about Dimas for the moment, which was likely his intention, and carefully with shaking fingers checked for a pulse.

_Sweet Jesus_!

"She's alive! Call a fucking ambulance," Jax shouted and Hunter rose to do exactly that, fumbling with his phone to dial emergency.

There was so much blood. How was it possible that she was still alive?

"I'm going to kill Dimas with my bare hands," he promised in a hoarse tone, trying not to hurt her by inadvertently moving her.

He'd read somewhere that people with possible neck or back injuries shouldn't be moved.

Well, falling ten feet onto a wooden box on a cement floor probably qualified as possibly breaking something.

It seemed to take days for the ambulance to arrive but soon Zoe was loaded into the ambulance and speeding to the hospital, leaving Jax and Hunter to answer questions from the local PD and lucky them, they got their favorite (not) police officer, Richard Bent or, as they enjoyed calling him, Officer Bent Dick.

"What happened to the girl?" Officer Bent asked, going straight to the point, his shark gray eyes boring into Jax. "You push her or something? She one of your club whores?"

"Watch it," Hunter growled before Jax could. "Why don't you make yourself useful and find the asshole who did push her from the catwalk. His name is Dimas Michaels and he was last seen running that way," he pointed toward the back of the warehouse "like the fucking coward that he is."

"Dimas Michaels...last I heard you were running together. What changed?"

"What difference does it make?" Jax shot back, irritated. "The fact remains, he did this to Zoe. She's a good woman who didn't deserve what Dimas did."

"What reason would he have to push her from the catwalk?"

"Because he's a dick," Jax answered, deliberately withholding information about the evening's events. Dimas was going to pay but it wasn't going to be Officer Bent Dick who put the screws to him — that pleasure was reserved for Jax and Hunter.

"Look you can tell me now or I can take you downtown and we can talk there. Either way, someone is going to tell me what's going on. Let me tell you what I think went down—"

"This ought to be a laugh-a-minute," Hunter muttered, shooting Jax a glance that mirrored his own feelings of immense fuck-all irritation mixed with fear that Zoe was dying and Dimas was getting off-scot-free with a shit-ton of money that they'd worked their asses off to secure. "Don't cops get some kind of training before they're set out on the streets to fuck with people?"

Bent's gaze narrowed. "Keep it up, asshole. It'd make my day to run your ass in and tie you up in paperwork until the morning. Your girl looked pretty bad off. I'd hate for you to be in jail when she kicks it, you know?"

"You sonofabitch," Jax bit out, hating that Bent had the upper hand. "Get on with it. Dimas was holding a grudge for something that happened a while ago and he saw an opportunity to get even. He knew Zoe was our weak spot and he used it. He fucking pushed her from the catwalk to punish me and Hunter. End of story. He's a twisted fuck and you're letting him get away by asking us stupid questions. If you're not gonna go after him, I will. You feeling me?"

Bent regarded Jax and Hunter for a long moment, weighing whether or not he bought their version of the story, then with a dissatisfied grunt, he motioned for them to go.

"Your friend Dimas will pop up sooner or later. Scum has a way of oozing out from beneath the rocks eventually. Bit of advice...stick to your own kind. People like you bring nothing but trouble to girls like her."

Jax held back the snarl but Hunter's stony expression was everything he was feeling inside. Bent was an asshole but he was right. It was their fault that Zoe was in the hospital.

They should've stayed away — they should've made _her_ stay away.

But they hadn't been able to stop seeing her — from craving her body to knowing her quirky mind. She was the total package, the girl they were never meant to have. And this was their punishment.

Their life wasn't conducive to whatever they'd been doing with Zoe. She belonged with people like her, people who had backyard barbecues and chatted with their neighbors over the fence about the best grass feed or pool cleaning service.

She was everything they'd never have and before she came along, Jax was fine with that.

But now...he wanted what he couldn't have, tasted the forbidden fruit and found all else lacking. And Zoe was paying the price.

Hunter and Jax climbed into the truck but when Hunter confirmed they were heading to the hospital, Jax shook his head. "She's in the best hands. There's nothing we can do for her."

"So we just leave her?"

He shot Hunter a dark look. "Don't you think we've done enough damage to the girl? Jesus Hunter...Bent was right...the best thing we can do for Zoe is to get out of her life."

"You don't mean that," Hunter said.

Jax didn't answer, just punched the engine. "We've got a score to settle," he said, tearing up the pavement. When he found Dimas, he would rip him to pieces with his bare hands. Maybe that would ease the inexplicable roar of anguish bellowing silently in his heart.

Or maybe it wouldn't help at all.

But that's all he had right now.

Because what he wanted was to go to straight to Zoe's side and promise to never put her in harm's way again. That woman had changed him and he didn't think he could handle the consequence of being different.

Not now. Not ever.

# Chapter Eleven

Several days passed with no word on Dimas. Contrary to what Bent thought, whatever rock Dimas was hiding under, he seemed content to stay there.

"Anything?" Hunter asked when Jax returned, a dark glower on his face. "Nothing?"

Jax fell heavily into the chair with a shake of his head. "Not a goddamn peep. Either he's dead or he's being damn careful about not showing his fucking mug around town. Any word on Zoe?"

"She's stabilized well enough to be moved from ICU but she's still pretty banged up," Jax answered, chewing on the side of his cheek. A nurse friend of theirs was keeping them in the loop on the sly, seeing as neither was family and didn't actually have the right to know about her recovery. "Caro said they're keeping her sedated with plenty of good drugs so she's not in too much pain."

"Well, that's at least something," Hunter said, risking a brief look at Jax. "Want to go take a look? See for ourselves how she's doing?"

"No," Jax said brusquely. "We need to fucking find Dimas. He has $5 million of our money. If we don't catch him soon, we'll lose it all. Besides, I told you, Zoe is better off without us."

"I get that," Hunter snapped. "I don't need you schooling me on what's important. But only getting the bare minimum of information on Zoe's condition is driving me crazy, you know? And if you were being honest with yourself, you'd admit that, too. Instead, you're funneling all of your rage, fear and frustration into the search for Dimas."

"Yeah, well someone has to keep us focused on the real details. Zoe is better off where she's at, which is the exact opposite of our money. Get it?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, I care about the money," Hunter said. "But I don't know, I've been doing a lot of thinking."

"That sounds dangerous."

"I'm being serious." A long moment of silence passed between them until Hunter continued, "You know I never believed in love at first sight and all that bullshit but if that doesn't exist...why do I care so much about Zoe?"

Jax shoved away from the table where he'd been sitting, not interested in this conversation. Hunter was only voicing the same questions he'd been asking himself but it didn't help that he'd been avoiding the simple truth for as many days.

"What's the fucking point of all this?" he demanded. "It's not like we're cut out for the kind of life Zoe deserves so who fucking cares what the answer is. Maybe in the biggest cosmic joke of the century, we just happened to find the perfect woman for us — as if that were fucking possible — and she just happened to be the most incredible woman on the planet but none of that matters, right? Because we're not good enough for Zoe and you know it. So who fucking cares about the answer!"

He stalked away and slammed the door behind him, leaving Hunter to shake his head with fatalistic understanding. Yeah, Jax was right.

What a fucked up situation.

They never thought they'd find a woman like Zoe, equally attracted to them and not the least bit hesitant or shy about being loved by two men, and so they'd buried deep that burning spark of hope.

But Zoe had somehow unearthed the spark and fanned the ember into a raging fire that he wasn't sure how to stomp out.

Who was he fooling? He didn't want to stomp it out. He wanted to feed it, watch it grow and see what would happen if they allowed it to consume them all.

Zoe blinked through the haze of medication that kept her halfway to Zonked-Out Land and nearly to I-Don't-Know-My-Own-Name Land and fought the lethargy that came with heavy doses of narcotics. She was in bad shape, that much she knew but she didn't like this zombie-out feeling. She'd rather writhe in agony with perfect lucidity than languish in pain-free nothingness. Maybe she was weird that way. Wouldn't be a huge surprise if she were.

One thing she did know was that Jax and Hunter had abandoned her when she needed them the most. Who was she kidding? Why did that knowledge hurt so much? It wasn't as if they'd pledged some kind of commitment to her. If she'd been able to properly work her mouth, she would've barked a short laugh at her stupidity. Bad boys were bad for a reason — because they weren't good. Good men didn't dump their injured lovers off at the hospital and disappear. _Yeah, preaching to the choir, snarky Inner Voice of Captain Obvious. Tell me something I don't know_. She shifted in her bed, having the wherewithal to wince. So, that was it. She had her epic fling of a lifetime — a brief, glorious, insanely dirty and wild love affair that she could remember fondly into her dotage — and now it was time to get back to real life. Honestly, what had she been thinking was going to happen between them? Who fell in love with two of the most unattainable men in their entire zip code in epically rapid time? A dreamy-eyed girl whose version of Prince Charming had tattoos and a rap sheet, apparently. Were they supposed to ride off into the sunset together? Throw motorcycle rallies and take turns playing house so no one caught on that she was actually the girlfriend to both men? Imagine the scandal around the Homeowner's Association table! 'Dirty whore' would become her new nickname in civilized circles. She certainly didn't relish that idea. Why did people have to poke their nose into the business of others, anyway _? Hellllllooo pot calling the kettle black._ Sticking their noses where it didn't belong was the bread and butter of every journalist. It was dangerous and reckless, particularly when she'd just been unceremoniously dumped, but she couldn't help but wish that if things were different, she and her bad boys actually could find their happy ending together. She never imagined that it would feel natural to be sandwiched between two men, both physically and emotionally, but it really did. Almost as if they'd been born to find one another. _Ah crap, Zoe, romanticizing again!_ _Stop it, already._

The reality was whatever she'd had with Jax and Hunter, it'd run its course. Time to focus on putting the pieces of her life — and body — back together again. After she'd recovered, she'd find a good man, probably someone who was financially responsible who drives a car listed in _Consumer Reports_ as a sensible investment and she'd resign herself to vanilla sex because the trade-off was fair. Maybe it was the meds but she saw things very clearly. Maybe she'd been chasing the wrong dream. McMurphy was never going to give her a fair shot at something better; he was too comfortable in her specific role as a fluff feature girl and she was naïve to think that even if she'd managed to pull off the story on Jax and Hunter that he'd ever see her as anything more.

But she _wanted_ more — in every facet of her life.

She wanted more professionally and she definitely wanted more in her personal life.

Time to change everything. Time to dump all the contents of her life onto the kitchen table and start sorting out what to keep and what to toss.

McMurphy and the cramped creative cage he'd put her in — definitely toss.

That was an easy decision.

The hard one? The one involving her stubborn heart.

She knew the right decision was to walk away from Jax and Hunter as surely as they'd walked away from her but it hurt more than she imagined. Hurt more than her broken bones.

And there were no meds for that particular pain.

_Put your big girl panties on and just deal, Zoe. Just deal._

A week after Dimas pushed Zoe off the catwalk and split with their payday, Hunter burst into the club office with news. "Someone's seen Dimas."

Jax perked up, instantly on alert. "Yeah? Where?"

"He's hiding out with a cousin of Paula D'Ann's. The word is he's been waiting on a fake passport and I.D. so he can skip the country, likely Mexico but Dimas didn't plan on his counterfeiter getting picked up and now he's sweating it out until the guy gets let loose."

Jax smiled, the first ray of hope splitting his heart. "Well, let's go pay our friend a visit before he says goodbye."

Hunter paused, surprising Jax when he said, "Maybe we ought to call Bent. Let him take care of the shit."

"Why would we do that?" Jax queried in irritation. "Dimas is _our_ problem. We'll handle it."

"Because if we kill Dimas, Bent will know it was us and no amount of money is going to do us any good if we're sitting in prison on a murder charge."

Jax barked a mocking laugh. "Look at you, all domesticated all of a sudden. Bent can only pin a murder charge on us if there's evidence tying us to the crime. So the easy answer is...don't leave any fucking evidence."

Hunter's mouth seamed in frustration before he said, "Look, hear me out. I have a plan that might just get us the money and off the hook for Dimas. You want to hear it or do you want to go fuck yourself for a little vengeance? We've come too far to play it stupid at the final moment. Just hear me out, okay?"

Jax didn't want to listen; he wanted blood. But as he stood there, muscles flexed and ready to do some damage, Zoe's smiling face in his mind cooled his temper and he found himself assenting to Hunter's question with a reluctant nod. "Out with it, then," he growled. "But if your plan doesn't work, I'm going back to my original plan and I'm going to fucking kill Dimas with my bare hands."

"Fair enough. If my plan doesn't work, I'll be right there with you. We aren't blood, but you're my brother and I would do anything for you, man. I just don't want to go to jail if we don't have to."

A smile found Jax's mouth. _Amen, brother_.

They found the squalid little shack Dimas was holed up in with little trouble once they knew where to look. Hunter wasted no time with knocking and simply kicked in the flimsy door, busting the doorjamb sending splinters of wood flying. Dimas, startled by the sudden shock, scrambled for the gun but he'd fucked up and it wasn't within grabbing distance. Jax grabbed Dimas' gun first and then the sorry shithead had two guns pointed at him, one of those being his own.

"Heard you've hit a stretch of bad luck," Hunter said coldly, his heart freezing over so he didn't feel the pain of his friend's betrayal. "Word of advice, _friend_...if you're gonna skip town after stabbing your buddies in the back, best to plan an airtight getaway or else you're gonna get fucked. Like right this minute."

Dimas held his hands up, visibly swallowing, his dark hair oily and lank as if he hadn't seen a shower in a week, and had the balls to try and convince them that he hadn't tried to royally screw them. "Guys, you've got the wrong idea...I was coming back for you. I was! There was too much heat within the club. If they knew about this job...they'd skin you for it. You know that! I was just taking off the pressure, you know?"

"And Zoe? What exactly was that for?" Jax queried softly. When Jax was really dangerous, he got quiet — real quiet. Judging by Jax's tone...Dimas was a walking dead man but Hunter knew that already.

"C'mon man, you're gonna let a snooty bitch like her come between us? She was bad news! She was gonna bring us all down! I did you a solid by pushing her off that catwalk. Loose the baggage, you know?"

Jax smiled thinly. "C'mon Dimas, you know us better than that. No one messes with what's ours...especially our women."

"I did it because I care about you, man," Dimas pleaded, starting to sweat. "Don't you see how that chick is changing you? Somehow she took your balls and tucked them into her little purse. We can't have that happen to our leaders, you know? I had to make a bold move for the club and for my oldest friends."

"I'm not you're friend," Jax told Dimas with a flicked glance at Hunter for confirmation. "And he ain't either."

"We've got history," Dimas reminded him, almost desperately. "Doesn't that mean nothing?"

"Before you screwed us...it meant everything. Now you're just like anyone else who tried to bury the knife — dead to us," Hunter said, removing the safety. "Where's the money, Dimas?"

"Can't we talk this over? You gotta understand...the money...it did weird things to my head. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm actually _glad_ you're here to take it off my hands. It's _evil_ , man!"

Jax laughed at the absurdity. "The only thing evil in this room is the piece of shit in front of me. Now, where's the fucking money?"

Caught, with nowhere to go, Dimas pointed to the bedroom. Jax left Hunter with Dimas and moments later returned with a giant black duffel. "How much you spend?" Jax asked. "Every dime not accounted for will be taken out on your miserable hide."

"All but $100." Dimas promised bitterly. "I've been stuck in this fucking room since that night."

"A hundred bucks sounds more than you deserve but since it'll be a while before you taste anything but prison food...I'll let you have that one," Jax said, his gaze hardening as he shouldered the bag. He removed the safety from his gun and leveled it at Dimas' heart. Dimas panicked and thrust his hands out, begging and pleading for his life like a bitch and Hunter held his breath, waiting to see if Jax was going to follow through with the plan. Either way, Hunter was prepared to back him but he was hoping and praying that some thread of self-preservation won out over the thirst for vengeance. The seconds ticked by until Jax slowly lowered his gun and Dimas sagged against the dirty sofa.

"Thank you, man," Dimas said, letting out a shaky breath. "For a second I really thought you were going to kill me."

"You're not worth prison time," Jax bit out, clearly disappointed he didn't plug Dimas full of holes. He looked to Hunter. "You tell him how it is. I don't trust myself not to blow his lying face off."

"My pleasure," Hunter said as Dimas' gaze went from one to the other in confusion. "Here's how this is going down. We're going to walk out of here with the money. You're going to forget there ever was money. In about ten minutes, cops are going to show up and you're going to turn yourself in for the murders of William Simms and Juanita Sanchez and then you're gonna spend the rest of your miserable fucking life taking it up the ass by a big bubba in prison. Got it?"

Confusion cleared from Dimas' expression and some semblance of outrage returned as he balked. "Fuck that! You can't make me do that and besides there's no fucking proof I killed Simms and his bitch."

"True. Your confession hinges on your conviction but here's the thing...you bail before the cops get here and you walk the streets...you're gonna die. First off, once word spreads among the Kings that you killed Simms, you're gonna be Public Enemy No. 1 and second, once the Dogs find out that you killed Sanchez, they're gonna want your blood, too. Frankly, it seems to me that taking it up the ass and getting three squares a day might be safer than being on the streets with both the Dogs and the Kings after you. But, hey, it's your call. Just know this...you will die an ugly and painful death if you leave this building. Trust me on this. Between you and me, I hope you run," Hunter's admitted with a mean grin. "Oh, I hope you run, _friend_ — because you deserve what's coming for you."

Dimas paled. "You would do that to me?"

"Ask yourself...have I ever forgiven someone who's betrayed me?"

Dimas didn't bother answering, he already knew.

"Choice is yours," Hunter said with a shrug, following Jax out. Hunter took a final look at his former friend and then locked him out of his life. With an icy smirk, he quipped over his shoulder, "Hey, I hear orange is the new black. Hopefully, they have Vasoline where you're going."

_Goodbye, old friend — you rotten piece of shit._

Hunter turned to Jax once they were back in the truck, saying, "Maybe we need better friends."

Jax glowered. "Fuck friends. We don't need no one. If you don't let no one in, they can't screw you over."

Couldn't argue with that logic. But...they both wanted — no, needed — Zoe. He risked a glance at Jax. How did he convince Jax that Zoe needed them as well?

Hell, he didn't know the answers and it hurt his head just trying to figure it all out but as much as he'd like to say, fuck it and forget all about Zoe, he simply couldn't.

And neither could Jax. Maybe if the stubborn shit would come to that realization, too, he'd stop being a royal asshole.

That was a big maybe.

# Chapter Twelve

Delainey picked up Zoe from the hospital, her eyes agog at the saga Zoe had endured and God love her, a little jealous it seemed for the adventure.

"It's like a scene from a movie," Delainey exclaimed, chattering like a magpie while Zoe stared out the window, still moving slowly and a bit doped up on pain meds. "I mean, I know it must've been sooooo terrifying and OHMYGOD, you could've DIED! But think of the story you have to tell! The scariest thing that's ever happened to me is when I accidently forgot where I parked the car and it was near dark at the mall. I could've been raped but I wasn't, of course — thank goodness — but for a full minute, my heart was racing. You were kidnapped at gun point by a thug and then pushed by that same thug off a catwalk. You should write novels or something because you've lived such an amazing experience."

"One death-dying plunge from a catwalk does not a novelist make," Zoe answered dryly but there was something to what Delainey had inadvertently triggered.

Write a novel. Why not? After all this time she'd been looking for something deeper, for her work to have more meaning but she'd never considered the possibility of going inward for her own inspiration.

When she'd been in junior high, she'd dreamed of writing novels but her parents had encouraged her to find a "sensible" career.

When she'd selected journalism, her father had at least acknowledged that it was a real job and not just mental doodles and somehow she'd forgotten about her true dream of creating something from nothing.

She looked to Delainey. "Do you think I could write a book?"

"Oh yes," Delainey answered with a fervent nod, ever the supportive cheerleader. "I love your style of writing. I'd read anything you wrote."

Zoe smiled, loving her friend. "But would anyone else?"

"You know, I thought the same thing when I started my graphic design business. I didn't have the confidence to believe that my stuff was worth paying for but I took a chance and went for it and then my clients reassured me with their hard-earned cash that my stuff was good enough. I've struggled, yes, but I've found that my graphic design keeps my bank account happy while my other art keeps my soul happy. What are you doing for your soul, Zoe?"

"Wow, that was deep," Zoe said with an unsure laugh. "Nothing?"

"Exactly! That's what I'm talking about. You just had a near-death experience. You need to grab onto this second chance with both hands and don't let go."

Zoe nodded. Delainey was right. She couldn't squander this second chance. A sudden warmth filled her chest and she smiled bigger with more surety. "I'm going to write a novel. Holy cow. A novel. I'm gonna do it. Oh crap," she looked to Delainey with happy tears. "Now I'm scared to death! How will I eat? How will I pay my bills?"

"You'll figure it out. In the meantime, ramen noodles and peanut butter will keep you alive," Delainey provided with a giggle. "Trust me."

Zoe nodded, so thankful for her best friend in the whole world. What would she do without her? Hopefully, she'd never have to find out.

The rest of the drive was fairly sedate as Zoe remained locked in her thoughts and Delainey, sensing her fatigue, was content to play music until they arrived at her apartment.

Delainey got out to help Zoe up the stairs and Jax and Hunter peeled away from the building shadows like two angel-demons coming to whisk her to heaven or drag her to hell — it was anyone's guess — and Delainey was clearly intimidated but fascinated as well.

_Oh good Lord, this girl was going to be trouble around the bad boys_. Had she been any different? _My, things had changed in such a short amount of time_. Zoe felt leagues away from the silly girl she'd been.

"We'll take it from here," Jax said solicitously to Delainey, shocking Zoe as he hoisted her into his arms. Zoe could almost hear Delainey's envious sigh.

"Are you sure?" Delainey asked tremulously. "Zo? You good?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Dee," Zoe said to reassure her best friend but she wasn't entirely pleased with either Hunter nor Jax at the moment and she planned to tell them exactly how she felt right before she kicked them out of her life just as unceremoniously as they'd dumped her off at the hospital to recover alone.

"I'll call you later," she promised Delainey before they disappeared into her apartment. The moment the door closed, she glowered at Jax. "You can put me down now."

Jax gently placed her on the sofa and stood beside Hunter, both looking adorably uncertain and yet gruffly concerned for her wellbeing.

_Well, a little too late for that now, buster(s)_.

"How are you?" Jax ventured, his gaze straying to her various lacerations and bruises, wincing when he saw the really bad one on her calf where the fractured wood had speared her leg.

"You don't get to ask me that question," she stated flatly. "The timing for that particular question was two weeks ago."

"We had things to take care of," Jax started but she didn't want to hear it and waved away his attempt.

"Don't bother. I don't care what you have to say."

Jax's mouth clamped shut and he immediately looked to Hunter for reinforcements. "Look, we thought the best thing would be to keep away so you could rest and heal without all the drama going on around you."

"That might be easier to swallow if you'd even tried to call," she pointed out bluntly. "It doesn't matter what excuse you manufacture because I don't care any more. Being dropped on your face and nearly dying brings certain things into perspective. I don't need to chase after guys who care so little for me. I mean, yeah, in the beginning I was all amazed that two guys like you would even look twice at someone like me but now...I realize if someone doesn't like my curves, that's their problem, not mine. I'm tired of chasing after things that don't serve me. And right now...you don't serve me at all. Got it? Now, please, get out of my apartment."

"Zoe, it's not like that," Hunter began in earnest. "We wanted to come by. First, we couldn't because we weren't family and we didn't want anyone asking questions that none of us knew how to answer. So we had a friend of ours, a nurse, check in on you daily and let us know what was going on with you. We knew at all times how you were doing."

Zoe tried not be affected by Hunter's admission but she'd had no idea they were watching covertly, secretly caring about her welfare.

It softened the blow of abandonment, a little, she supposed. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter. Not really.

"I appreciate that you actually do care. But what are we hoping to achieve here? It can't be endless sex all the time. At some point, real life intrudes, you know? I want things that I doubt fit in your 'want' column and after going through what I did...I realize, I won't settle for anything less than I deserve."

"We would never ask you to settle nor would we allow you to settle, ever," Jax said in a cool, even tone that sent shivers down her back. "You deserve the very best, Zoe."

There was such sincerity, such raw honesty that Zoe couldn't help but want to forgive them anything, to promise them anything but she had to stay strong, not only for herself but for them as well.

"I want kids. Not today, but someday," she said. "And kids need stability. I may not have had the most glamorous life but I had a good childhood. I want that, too. I don't want to live in fear that someone is going to come along and kidnap my kids and drop them from a catwalk because they're pissed off or getting even with their father. You know?"

Jax and Hunter both nodded but she could tell they weren't going to walk away, not yet.

"I want the picket fence and the barbecues. And frankly, I'll never have that with either of you."

"We have something...you can't deny it," Hunter stated and he was right, she couldn't deny it. "You changed us, Zoe, just as we changed you. If you want backyard barbecues and a white fences...you can have it. We'll give it to you."

"But that's just it...I shouldn't ask you to keep changing who you are just to fit my dreams. It's not fair to you and I l-love you, too much to ask," she said, her voice breaking. Oh damn, she told herself not to cry but the tears were coming anyway. She wiped at her eyes. "See? Now I'm crying and it's all your fault. Can't you see that we're never going to work in the real world?"

"Fuck the real world, Zoe," Jax shot back, shocking her. He came to her side, gripping her hand gently. "Fuck all the haters. We'll make our own rules. All that matters is you, me and Hunter. Say it and it'll be true."

Her throat clogged. "It's not that simple."

"It is if you make it that way," Jax said. "I need you, baby. I've never needed a woman like I need you. You remind me of times I never realized I could have. I used to make fun of that shit — neighbors, barbecues, family times — but only because I'd never been able to have it. With you...I want it all."

Was it possible? Zoe wavered, desperately wanting to sink into that declaration and wrap herself tightly with it but she knew wanting something and living it were two different things.

Suddenly, Hunter, sensing her weakness, joined Jax at her feet. Two of the biggest, baddest men were kneeling at her feet as if she were a goddess and they were merely her servants. It was a heady feeling, to be honest.

Too many questions, too many possibilities. Her head swam while her heart wailed. She wanted them. She wanted them like a fat kid wanted cake but was it feasible?

What would people say when they found out they were all together? She chewed her bottom lip.

"I don't know," she whispered, more to the questions in her head than to the men at waiting for her. "I just don't know. I need time to think."

Both Jax and Hunter wore their disappointment but they handled her request with grace. Jax pressed a tender kiss on her cheek while Hunter boldly went for her mouth.

Their touch ignited a firestorm of banked need inside her and it took every ounce of strength in her weakened body not to pull them to her.

"This isn't over," Hunter promised. "We never give up on what we want. Ever."

A smile threatened on her lips but she suppressed it through sheer will.

She watched as they walked out the front door and closed it softly behind them.

She let out a deep breath and sank against the sofa. What was she going to do?

Fatigue dragged on her eyelids like an unwelcome guest and she knew the first thing she was going to do was sleep.

Maybe things would be clearer after she'd spent a few hours in her own bed.

Or maybe they'd remain the same.

She loved them. That wasn't likely to change with a few hours of shut-eye.

Damn it. She really loved them.

Who knew life could be so painfully, deliciously complicated?

The next few days Zoe spent recuperating at home while Delainey popped in with fresh groceries and a sunny disposition that came with a tidbit of juicy gossip here and there.

Jax and Hunter came by every night to check on her but never pushed her beyond what she was comfortable giving, which filled her with some silly sort of warm girly feelings that went beyond the love she already felt for them.

"You have that look again," Delainey said, gesturing toward her as she eyed the huge spray of roses dominating her tiny table. "And I'm guessing your lover boys sent these?"

"Yeah...sweet huh?"

"Oh come on! It's more than sweet, it's cavity-causing and I'm so jealous. No one is sending me long-stemmed roses," she said with a slight pout that didn't last long because Delainey switched tracks so quickly. "So, what's going on?" she asked, going straight to the point. "I mean...are you boyfriend/girlfriend or what? I don't know how this works."

"Join the club," Zoe muttered, then clarified with a cleared throat. "We aren't anything."

"And why not?"

"What do you mean?"

Delainey looked incredulous. "Two hot guys drooling over you, wanting to share you and adore you...what's the problem? I think when you fell from the catwalk you suffered a head injury, too. Girl, you're living the dream!"

"The Hustler dream maybe. I want a normal life at some point."

"What's normal?" Dleainey asked with complete honesty. "We live in a world where polygamists have hit television shows and everyone vacations at famous swinger clubs in Jamaica at least once in their lives. It's not like we're stuck in the '50s with an outdated morality clause hanging over our heads. Today's world is incredibly forgiving and frankly, most people just don't care and the people who _do_ care, well, who cares about _them_? Honey, the only question that matters is...how do you feel about Jax and Hunter?"

Zoe's eyes watered. "I love them," she whispered.

"Then stop being so stuck in your own way. Live in full color, honey! Step outside of those black and white drabs and into the rainbow hues of life. I would if I were you."

That shocked Zoe a bit. "Really? You would be okay living with two men as your lovers?"

"If I felt the way you feel about them, absolutely. Love comes in all shapes and sizes and you got lucky with two. Why wouldn't I?"

"You wouldn't care about what people say?"

"Well, maybe at first but small-minded people are always going to remain small-minded. Can't change that. Besides, at the end of the day...who are you snuggling with — the small-minded jerks, or the two massively hot guys who can't keep their hands off you?"

"Well, when you put like that..." Zoe laughed, wiping at her nose. "I guess that puts things in perspective."

"Doesn't it though?" Delainey winked then added, "And boy, does that help out in the inspiration department for the love scenes in the fabulous book you're going to write!"

Zoe laughed bigger at that, loving how Delainey always managed to put things in a way that everything seem like common sense knowledge.

What did she care what people said about her? She'd spent her life being laughed at because of her size, picked on, marginalized and overlooked simply because of what people saw on the outside and yet, she was pushing away two men who wanted her — just her — and she was freaking out over what people _might_ think?

Oh, screw that. SCREW THAT. She looked to Delainey.

"I'm so dumb," she admitted. "I'm so freaking dumb."

"No, you're not. You're just scared. Now, stop being a fraidey-cat and go get your men before someone else figures out what you just realized."

That thought galvanized her into action until Zoe realized she wasn't in any shape to drive just yet.

She looked to Delainey and her friend already had her car keys out.

"Just tell me where you need to go," she said, jingling the car keys. "I'm your willing chauffer to density, er, I mean destiny!"

They both yukked it up at the private reference to a favorite movie line (think Marty McFly) and then Zoe gave Delainey directions to the club house because frankly, she had no idea where either Jax nor Hunter actually lived.

A bubble of laughter tickled her chest at that realization because soon enough, they were going to squeeze into her tiny apartment — all three of them.

She might have to box up some ceramic cats to make more room.

Her heart swelled with the promise of tomorrow with her bad biker boys and she realized she didn't actually want to domesticate them all that much.

She liked their rough edges and hard bodies.

A lot.

Nope. Come to think of it...she didn't want to change them at all.

She was okay with whatever their future became — whether or not it came with picket fences or radiators in the yard. She just wanted them.

Their future would be perfect, no matter how it worked out.

"Can you drive a little faster?" Zoe begged and Delainey laughed, pressing the gas a tiny bit harder. Zoe grinned. Her new life couldn't come fast enough.

# Epilogue

As luck would have it ramen and peanut butter were not required to keep Zoe fed as she embarked on her new career because her two bad boys were actually pretty comfortable in the pocketbook — a fact that was revealed to her after she'd agreed to build a life with them in willing poverty.

At first Zoe had been appalled that they were using "blood money" as she called it to fund their modest yet awesome lifestyle until she managed to convince Jax and Hunter to put the money to good use.

"You want us to what?"

"You renovated the clubhouse and built your motorcycle shop so now it's time to donate some of the money," Zoe repeated, not backing down. "You have to do something to counter balance that bad karma. Trust me. I've done a lot of research into tainted money sources. It's the best way to return the balance."

"That's a bunch of horse-"

"Careful! Fate is listening. Haven't you have ever watched a movie where someone benefits from ill-gotten gains? Don't piss off fate — it has a terrible sense of humor. The next thing you know, you could be sporting rebar through your skull after a freak accident on the highway. Nope, not gonna chance it. That money has to do some good in the world or else it's going to bite us all in the ass."

Jax and Hunter both heaved beleaguered sighs but eventually gave in because they knew she was terribly stubborn when she planted her feet. "So how exactly are we supposed to appease these gods of fate?" Jax asked.

"Well, I was thinking, we could make a donation to an organization that teaches gun safety," she suggested with a small, playful smile. Seeing as the money came from the sale of illegal guns, she figured it was only fitting that they make a donation to promote safety. Twisted, huh? "Or, we could donate to a children's hospital for kids who've been injured by guns?"

"Oh good grief," Hunter moaned. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not," she answered primly. "That money is going to do some good in the world aside from catering to our own selfish purposes. Got it?"

"All right," Jax said, shaking his head. "You pick the charity or organization and we'll make it happen."

She grinned with pure happiness and then, because she couldn't help herself, kissed both men in turn. "My bad boys are the best softies at heart," she murmured with pure love.

"You've gone and neutered us," Hunter grumbled, half-joking but his gaze was warm.

"Well, that's not true and you know it," Zoe said with a wink as she rubbed her belly.

Yep.

One of them was going to be a daddy.

Of course, they had no way of knowing whose sperm had actually hit the target so they were just saying both were going to be daddies and that was just fine with them.

To be honest, having two men waiting on her hand and foot, fretting over her needs and taking turns giving her endless orgasms was pretty sweet.

Rough life, huh? She laughed when she remembered how she'd almost pissed away her future by refusing their love.

Who would've imagined the turn of events?

Zoe released a happy sigh. "And another thing...we need to find someone for Delainey. Someone nice but not too nice, you know? She needs someone who can handle her without breaking her spirit. How about Roger? Or maybe Cutter? No, not Roger. Or maybe Sal?"

"Whoa! We're not up to play match-maker," Jax said, alarmed. "Jesus, girl, you're killing me."

"She's my best friend and I want her to be as happy as I am," she said simply and they both melted as she knew they would.

"Well, when you put it that way...." Hunter said.

"I'll think about it," Jax grumbled before pulling her gently from the chair. "But for now, it's time for lunch. You're practically wasting away to nothing."

"Not hardly," she laughed, tickled that they were so concerned. Morning sickness thus far had been a bit of a bitch. She threw up more than she kept down but she didn't mind. She was happier than any woman had a right to be.

Zoe had spent most of her life believing she wasn't worthy of the best things in life because of her size.

Oh, can't have that dress because they don't make it in her size; can't have the hot quarterback because she had tummy rolls and the quarterback only wanted the head cheerleader; can't enjoy a slice (or two) of pizza because she should be eating a small salad.

Right? Wrong.

Jax and Hunter had shown her that she deserved it all.

Funny thing, she never had a problem finding chic clothing anymore and she never felt the need to order a salad out of guilt or shame.

Even funnier, she'd landed better than the quarterback — each night she slept between two Kings.

And she was their queen.

Yeah...what could she say? Life was pretty damn awesome and Zoe was never going to settle ever again.

# ALL DOGS BITE excerpt

Fire wracked Bronx Harris' body as he ran blindly away from the deadly zing and crack of gunfire, gripping his side as blood pumped from his body like an open faucet.

Fuck! He wasn't going to die face-down in a dirty alley, not like this!

The shouts and screaming tires receded into the city night as he painfully climbed the first fire escape he could grab and pull down.

The metal groaned in the night, echoing like a squealing narc pressed too hard by the cops but he couldn't stop.

If he stopped, they'd find him and if they found him — he was dead.

Drops of rain began pelting him in an uncharacteristically cold storm as he made his way to a window cracked far enough to push through.

Swallowing the agony from the gunshot wound leaking the life out of his body, he slid through the window and collapsed on the floor, black dots swimming in front of his eyes.

Something crashed to the floor but he was too weak to climb to his feet and run before whoever lived in this apartment, came with a shotgun.

Hell, this was better than the grime of an alley, right? He blinked against the coming darkness, his eyes adjusting to the gloom just as he was about to pass out from blood loss...whoever lived here liked quirky art.

Not his scene but he supposed it wasn't so bad if this was his last look around this thing called life. A delirious smile found his lips as a woman came into view.

Hey, the devil had a sense of humor it seemed. Ahh, a strawberry blonde. His favorite. And looks like luscious tits beneath that sleep shirt...yeah, so maybe dying wasn't going to be so bad...

Her mouth moved as if she were trying to say something but Bronx couldn't hear her. Hell, he couldn't hear anything.

Delainey Jones gasped as the hot stranger passed out on her carpet, all leather and bad attitude, as if conjured from her deepest, most secret fantasies.

Should she call 911? The police? Zoe? She flipped the light and swallowed a shriek when she saw the blood trail leading from the window to where he'd stopped to pass out.

He was hurt! Wasn't it her moral obligation to help the poor man?

_What if he's an axe murderer?_

Delainey paused and gave the area around him a quick look. Okay, no axe.

Maybe not an axe murderer.

But he could be a psychopath just the same.

Maybe this was divine intervention and it was his time to go. Or maybe she's supposed to help him because of all the windows he had to crawl through, it had to be hers because only she had the tools to save his life.

She frowned, caught in her own web of indecision, chewing on her bottom lip as the moments ticked by.

So, she couldn't just stand there and watch him bleed, right? Right.

Many, many moons ago when she'd been trying to find a respectable, reliable career choice, she'd taken ROTC nursing classes her senior year in high school.

It was there she learned she emphatically did _not_ want to be a nurse and she'd rather wait tables or dance with pizza signs on the street corner than deal with sick people but she had managed to pick up a few skills that might come in handy at the moment.

_Time to get to it_.

She grunted with the effort it took to roll him out of his leather jacket and then gently pulled his shirt up to reveal a small, gaping wound in his side dribbling blood. Oh God — she straightened — that was a gunshot wound! This was a horse of a different color.

Gunshot wound? Who'd been shooting at him, or rather, what'd he done to deserve getting shot? She surveyed him more critically.

Jealous husband?

Yes, she could definitely see that.

The crimson smears did little to disguise the hard, chiseled abs of that physique.

_Yep. Jealous husband is totally believable._

Maybe it served him right. No one liked to be cuckolded. He groaned in the most piteous of manners and she softened a bit more, realizing her moral compass wouldn't allow her to sit and pass judgment on the poor man while he was grievously wounded.

"You might've deserved what you got but I can't just let you die on my floor. What if you came back and haunted me? Total disclosure, I'm scared of the paranormal so that just wouldn't work for me, you haunting my ass because I was stuck in a moral quandary," she muttered as she rolled him over to check for an exit wound.

Hallelujah!

An equally sized hole was punched through his backside, telling her that the bullet wasn't still lodged in his guts somewhere.

After further examination, Delainey concluded that the bullet had also missed every major organ — luck of the Irish, this one — but he could still die from blood loss if she didn't get that wound to stop leaking.

She ran to her bathroom, grabbing rubbing alcohol and butterfly bandages and then hustled back, still not quite sure she was doing the right thing — what if she made it worse?

Maybe she ought to stop playing nurse and call 911? — but even with the doubts ringing in her head, she didn't stop.

"If I end up killing you, please remember that I was doing my best to help," she said, hands shaking as she washed the wound on both sides and then with a silent prayer she pinched the skin together to apply the butterfly bandage.

The wound was small enough but it probably could've used stitching — _hell no, she wasn't going to try that!_ — but she was relieved to see that the blood had stopped at the very least so maybe he was going to make it long enough to ask his name.

She rocked back on her heels, slightly amazed that he'd slept through all of her clumsy ministrations and then, on impulse, pushed a lock of dirty blond hair from his face.

_Wow_. He had the face of an angel. So pretty.

What the heck had he gotten himself into? Delainey grabbed the leather jacket and examined it more closely.

She squinted at the patch on his arm and then straightened with her mouth gaped.

_Oh heavens to Betsy!_ He was part of that awful Road Dog motorcycle gang.

The one that The Kings were always at odds with. Maybe she ought to call Zoe after all. Delainey bit her lip with indecision.

Zoe Delacourte was her best friend and currently off living _la vida loca_ with her biker bad boys, Jax and Hunter, who just happened to be the leaders of The Kings, the rival motorcycle gang.

Maybe she'd have some insight as to what to do with this particular bad boy.

But then again, it didn't seem right to rat the poor guy out when he was obviously having a terrible night. She could always call in the morning.

Where was the harm in waiting a few hours? At the very least she could ask his name and find out what'd happened, right? Darn her innate nosiness.

Zoe had always said her natural curiosity was wasted in her current career as a graphic artist. Delainey settled cautiously in the sofa nearest to the injured stranger and grabbed the throw blanket to gently place over him.

Grannie Jane would turn over in her grave if she saw her crocheted masterpiece draped over a criminal or maybe she'd find it quite amusing.

Grannie Jane had been an odd duck.

Sort of like her, she supposed.

Bronx groaned as the pain returned with a vengeance, slamming into him like a mack truck and leaving behind a mangled mess to contend with.

He opened his eyes and blinked sluggishly, struggling to focus on the spinning room.

Worse than a tequila hangover, he thought blearily to himself as he tried to keep it together.

Where was he?

_Think, Bronx_. _Where the hell did you end up?_

His vision finally cleared and he heard light snoring to his left.

Startled, he swiveled his head slowly to find a disheveled strawberry blond, tucked into a quilt, oblivious to the world and the fact that a bloody stranger had slept on her floor.

He started to move and winced as the fresh searing pain of his wound reminded him that he wasn't about to go partying anytime soon.

His hand strayed gingerly to the wound and found bandages taped to his side.

Had she done that? He couldn't remember anything beyond crawling through that open window.

He must've passed out from the blood loss.

Ah hell, this was some shit to get himself into.

"Oh!" the soft, surprised, distinctly feminine gasp caused him to turn and run right into the blue-eyed gaze of the woman who'd saved his life.

They locked stares and he was pinned by something he hadn't felt in a long-ass time — hell, if ever — and it freaked him out more than a little.

"What the fuck you staring at?" he growled and she rose up on her elbow to scowl. "Stop fucking looking at me like that."

"Like what? Like a wounded stranger who came barreling into my house to die in the middle of the night?" she said, scowling as she rose to a sitting position.

Her hair — crazy, damn hair — was loosely piled on top of her head and all manner of bits and tendrils sprang free with wild abandon and he was briefly compelled to reach out and touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked but he caught himself before doing so.

The woman continued to regard him with open curiosity and he supposed he didn't have to be such a dick but the words had just come out.

"Sorry," he bit out, nearly choking on the words. "Caught me off guard. You got a cigarette? I could use one right about now."

"A cigarette is the last thing you need," she disagreed, rising to walk to the kitchen.

He caught a glimpse of generous thigh and his imagination sent a vision of milky skin and strawberry curls on her pussy straight to his cock, proving that even shot up, he could still get it up — which was not something that was helpful right now.

"I do have coffee, though. Want some?"

"If that's all you're offering," he said grumpily, rubbing at the scruff on his chin.

He rose stiffly from the floor and limped to the sofa where he surmised she'd slept — _she'd slept beside him? Why hadn't she just called the cops?_ — and fell into the soft cushions, swallowing an embarrassing, unmanly yelp as the pain sent stars flying behind his eyes.

Fuck. A gunshot wound was serious shit. He supposed he ought to be thankful this was the first time he'd taken a bullet, considering the kind of people he ran with.

"Black, no sugar or cream," he told her as she brought him a steaming mug. His shaking fingers wrapped around the mug and he took a bracing sip.

He risked a short, "Thanks" before going back to his coffee, not quite sure what to say given the situation but she didn't seem to have any such reservations about jumping right in with the obvious.

"So...who shot you?"

"Better you keep your questions to yourself. Safer that way."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have climbed through my window," she countered, her blue eyes dancing. "So...you're a Road Dog?"

"How'd you know?" he asked and she pointed to his leather jacket. Ah, the patch. "Pretty observant. What else have you figured out?"

"I figured out that you probably didn't get shot over Girl Scout cookies. Was it illegal?"

"What do you think?"

"I think it was."

"Then you have your answer."

"Did you deserve it?"

He shot her an irritated look. "You're sure full of fucking questions and no, I didn't deserve it. I got double-crossed and when I find who did this to me, I'm gonna fuck up their world. See? Better off that you stop asking questions."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Are you fucking deaf?" Who was this chick? And what the hell was she hoping to gain by asking all these questions. A sudden suspicion entered his mind. "You working for the Kings?"

She straightened and laughed as if the question was something silly to ask. Her laughter had a musical quality that he liked but didn't fucking like being laughed at. "What's so funny?"

"Just that you would think that I would run with a motorcycle gang. I mean, it's kind of flattering, you know? I never imagined that someone might consider me a badass like that."

He saw her point — she was wholesome, down to the white T-shirt and the white panties he could see through her shirt, which was fucking sexy, by the way — and grudgingly doused his quick fuse. "All right, you're no motorcycle chick. So what's your deal? Why didn't you call the cops?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Should I have? I mean, are you going to hurt me?"

"If I were, do you think I would tell you?"

"Fair point." A beat passed between them. "So...what happens now?"

He smirked. "We could fuck."

She gasped and her cheeks colored even as her eyes widened with shock and maybe a little arousal. "Excuse me? Where I come from you don't just throw out an invitation like that to a complete stranger. I mean, goodness! I'm not that kind of girl," she finished primly.

"No? Too bad cuz I'm exactly that kind of man," he said, sighing as he took another sip of the coffee, mildly enjoying the odd exchange between them. "But you'd have to expect something of the sort from someone who'd been shot doing something illegal, right?"

"Are you a bad man?"

He grinned in spite of the pain splitting his side. "The worst."

She drew back, not quite sure what to make of him, biting down on her lip in a way that made him want to do it for her. "I could call the cops."

"You could but you won't."

"And why won't I?"

"Because if you were going to, you would've already."

She tucked her feet beneath her but not before he caught a tantalizing view of pretty pedicured toes.

He swallowed, hiding the immediate, visceral shot to the groin seeing her painted toes caused, and realized he had two choices: one, he could leave and in his weakened state, be a sitting a duck for whomever had tried to put him down; or two, he could hide out with this odd but intriguing woman while he recovered, buying him some time to rest up and formulate a plan to find out who he was going to put in the ground for this betrayal.

A quick look over the rim of his mug told him more about the woman — she was thick.

Big tits, round hips and thick thighs. She'd be relatively easy to seduce.

Fat chicks had terrible self-esteem, right? All he had to do was show her a little loving and she'd fall at his feet, ready to do whatever he needed her to do.

Not a bad plan. Yeah, not bad at all. This place was a perfect hide-out, too.

No one would ever think to look for him here. "So...my name's Bronx...what's yours?"

"Delainey but my friends call me Dee."

He waited a moment, then asked in a low, teasing voice. "Are we going to be friends?"

"I don't know," she answered, watching him. "Logic tells me probably not but...there's something about you that's pretty exciting."

"You mean, aside from the obvious?" He pointed at his bandaged wound and she grinned.

Hell, she had a great smile — in fact, it light up her whole face and suddenly, she was almost pretty.

Okay, he was downplaying things a bit. She wasn't hard on the eyes.

Everything about her was soft and sweet, a definite 180 from the chicks he usually fucked around with and his fat cock was nearly busting through his jeans, ready to agree with him.

"Yeah, aside from the obvious. Let's just say I agree...will I live to regret this newfound friendship?"

"Probably," he said with complete honesty, then hit her with a charming smile of his own.

"But it'll be a wild ride, for sure. You game for a little excitement in your life?"

_Hello, magic words._

Her pupils dilated and her tongue darted out and she nodded slowly, almost reluctantly, only he saw the arousal in her flushed cheeks and shortened breath and he knew he had her.

Oh yeah, this chick would be easy to manipulate and it might even be a little fun, too.

"All right, _Dee_ , buckle up, baby, cuz this joy ride is dangerous."

**Want to read more? Click here ALL DOGS BITE**

# Also by Alexx Andria

Are you looking for more by USA Today bestselling author Alexx Andria? Check out the following titles (the titles are clickable for your convenience!)

***BUCHANAN ROMANCE**

***Bought By The Billionaire Brothers**

_Three ridiculously wealthy men, one curvy woman and the fight to own her. Which one will win her heart? #billionaireromance_

***The Buchanan's Baby**

_Nolan Buchanan is used to getting what he wants, until the mother of his baby girl wants nothing to do with him. Can this billionaire convince his baby mama to take a chance on love? #billionaireromance_

***The Buchanan's Redemption**

_Vince Buchanan is all about the win — in business and in the bedroom — so when he's forced to shelter a woman to protect his business interests, he never suspects he might fall for the difficult woman. Will he earn redemption or will he cling to old habits? #billionaireromance_

***A Christmas Promise**

_Laird Teichert isn't a gentle man but when he's called upon to protect a broken woman, he finds himself wanting to be the man she needs. Can he change before it's too late? Or will he lose the woman of his dreams forever...#billionaireromance_

***The Billionaire's Sweet Surprise**

_Vince Buchanan thought he had everything he needed in life...until his feisty little wife surprised him with the ultimate gift._

_Old demons from his past threaten his future happiness unless he can put them to rest but can he make the change in time? #billionaireromance_

***Coerced**

_Nobody says no to Sutton Buchanan, except one curvy artist who doesn't know any better._

_Can he trust his heart or will he cling to his old ways and ruin the woman of his dreams? #billionaireromance_

***Pushed**

_Reece Buchanan is a player and he's good at what he does. Now he's supposed to use that charm to bring down a woman holding up an essential investment._

_So what's he supposed to do when he accidentally falls in love?_

_It's the woman or his family...what choice will he make? #billionaireromance_

***Damaged**

**_Some dreams refuse to die._**

_Whitney Buchanan has it all – money, beauty, a hot guy she adores – until one night everything changes and she flees the country without a word to anyone._

_Charlie Pearson believes in the good things in life: good food, good friendship, and great sex. He takes pride in his blue-collar job and loves his woman. All that shatters when Whitney breaks his heart and bails. As far as he's concerned, if he never sees her again — it'll be too soon._

_Now Whitney's home again._

_Charlie figures one chance per customer, and Whitney has had hers. No way he'll allow his dignity and self-esteem to get trampled in the dirt a second time. He's not willing to pay that price. He once dreamed that she might be The One; now he sees her as damaged goods. But, damaged or not, he still feels the pull every time she's around._

_And, dammit, dreams die hard._

_#billionaireromance_

**Leverage**

_Boston Kincaid is ruthless, hard and filthy rich. He takes what he wants and gives zero f*cks._

_Until he meets Julianna. In an instant, everything changes._

_Except Julianna hates him and she's bound and determined to keep him away from her...and their baby. #billionaireromance_

**Still Into You (Miles and Dani's story) (Formerly Falling from** **Grace**

_Dr. Miles Lassiter doesn't want anything to do with a certain Hollywood starlet but when he's the only who can save her...he finds himself torn._

_Will Miles lose his heart again or will he walk away forever from the woman he needs the most? #beachread_

**Club Chrome series:**

**Kings of Asphalt (MC romance)**

_Two hard-bodied motorcycle club leaders and one curvy journalist looking for a story adds up to trouble of the most interesting kind! #MCromance #menage #badboy_

**All Dogs Bite (MC romance)**

_Some bad boys can't be tamed...or can they?_

_A curvy graphic artist and a motorcycle club leader with a nose for trouble team up in an unlikely duo that's sexy, dirty and fun!_

_But when things get serious...will the bad boy run or become the hero she needs? #MCromance #badboy_

**Up In Flames (MC romance)**

_Redemption is a dish best served spicy hot! Pyro is no hero, at least that's what he tells himself but when he finds himself standing between certain death and a woman from his past...he can't walk away._

_Even if it costs him his life. #MCromance #badboy_

***The Awakening series (Parts 1-6)**

_A special shifter baby is prophecied to be born and all the rival clans are hungry to claim the woman who is supposed to bear the special child!_

_Who will protect her and the baby when someone wants her dead? #paranormal romance #shifters #werewolves_

***One Naughty Girl series (Parts 1-5)**

_Bored housewife turned secret sex spy? Of course! Wild, campy fun with lots of dirty sex for your reading enjoyment! (Don't take this too seriously!) #erotica #lotsofsex #humor_

**Against The Wall**

_This hard-assed cop is willing to do anything to catch the man...even use a beautiful woman's need to protect her brother._

_But he never imagined he might catch feelings..._

**Caged**

_Damon McAvoy is no hero but when he inadvertently finds himself protecting a woman who's nothing but trouble...he gets way more than he bargained for._

_Will love save these two hard-headed people or will they destroy each other before their enemies do? #badboy #cagefighter_

**Irreversible**

_What happens when a hardened hitman falls for his target? Well, they might just be screwed! Can love survive on the run? Read and find out in this sexy, romantic comedy! #romcom #badboy #hitman_

**Temporary**

_A broken billionaire with a heart of stone paid a waitress for one night of anything goes...but can one night change everything? #billionaireromance #angst #HEA_

* * *

**Play Me**

_Lacy is Prodigal Son's biggest fan and she's ready for guitarist Adrian Banks to pluck her strings. But can she walk away when it's time for the show to end?_

_Jorie is the shy girl but her heart beats for drummer Noah Duff. Is Jorie ready to discover parts about herself she never knew were there?_

_Poppy is the cynic but Benjamin Oz is desperate to learn the song that will have her screaming his name. Is it possible that Benjamin could be The One or is he simply The One She Let Go?_

**_Three best friends._**

**_Three musicians._**

**_Three stories bound by the hottest band in history._**

_#rockstar #erotica #beachread_

* * *

**His Gin And Juice**

**_Lars James isn't looking for happily-ever-after but then, he hadn't planned on meeting her either._**

* * *

_To most, Kennedy Shae is all sass and curves as one of the cocktail girls at the infamous Little Black Dress bar in Sin City but from the minute billionaire Lars James sets eyes on the sexy brunette, he knows there's more to her than meets the eye and he has to know more!_

_Lars isn't the marrying kind but there's something about Kennedy that sets him on fire even though he has plenty of reasons to put out that flame and keep walking._

_Kennedy is sick of Vegas and is just trying to get back home to Tennessee so when Lars makes her an offer she can't refuse, she finds herself getting more than she bargained for — mainly a man she can't forget!_

* * *

_These two aren't looking for love but love finds them in the most unlikely of places..._

* * *

Looking for something really HOT and NAUGHTY? If you dare...here are some value-packed bundles for your reading pleasure!

**Dark Control *formerly Unwilling**

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Or, if you're looking for something paranormal...

**Blood Moon Rising, The Omnibus**

_In an alternate world where creatures exist within the human world, a prophecy is building that will change everything._

_One reluctant hero and one desperate woman are all that stands between the world's destruction and the extinction of the human race._

_#urbanfantasy #paranormal #romance_

**Or if you're looking for something a little off-the-beaten path with plenty of sass and a little bit twisted? Check out the episodic serial by Angel James!**

**Property of Heartbreak Ranch, PT 1**

_Sold to a despicable man, Dallas survive Heartbreak Ranch or die trying!_

**Property of Heartbreak Ranch, PT 2**

**Property of Heartbreak Ranch, PT 3**

# About the Author

Alexx Andria writes romantic suspense and contemporary romance with the hottest heroes and their feisty ladies, working toward their Happily-Ever-After.

_For more information:_

alexxandria2772@gmail.com

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