 
## The only way to save my life is to save hers...

## FIGHT
**Karolyn** is the author of the bestselling rockstar romance series **BROTHERS OF ROCK**. Under the pen name **London Casey** , she has written the chart topping motorcycle romance series **BACK DOWN DEVIL MC**.

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**Ana** is the author of the bestselling motorcycle romance serial series, **DEVIL CALL MC**. Other projects have included BY HIS COMMAND, FULL MOON MERCY, & RAW RIVER WILD.

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FIGHT

The only way to save my life is to save hers.

The one thing that was never supposed to happen did – I lost a fight. There's a bullet waiting for me as punishment, but in the meantime, I'm sent to protect Winter from someone who wants to kill her.

Our destination for the grave isn't the only thing we have in common. The attraction is instant. But she's grieving and I'm broken. She comes with more than natural curves and enough beauty to tame a fighter's wild heart.

She comes with secrets.

I need to focus on keeping her alive and nothing else. But then I start asking questions... and the truth changes us both forever.

They told me to protect her. I didn't plan on falling for her.
1.

(Tripp)

A thick fog of sweat lingered low like a dirty blanket as I walked the hallway, hood up, head down, keeping to my personal code to never look at the circle before I was inside it. The smell of the sweat was pretty nasty, but it was better than shit. And that was the damn truth. Sometimes guys shit themselves when they fought. Sometimes it happened before the fight, during the fight, or after the fight. Rightfully, I guess, if you weren't properly prepared.

This wasn't a joke. This wasn't some fucking game either.

There were powerful men behind the fights, putting up money, scheduling murders, using these nights to conduct their business. Think of it this way - you know how a normal guy would call up his buddy to go to a baseball game or a hockey game? Or maybe some salesman looking to close a deal will grab box seats, right? That's what this was for all these pieces of shit in the crowd. Crooked people everywhere. That was another reason not to look. Because if you did, the shock would get to you. Beyond the layers of people and their drunken screams for violence, there were people there who you'd never think would be. Cops, doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians.

To me, it didn't matter. What mattered were two things.

First, that I win the goddamn fight.

Two, I get paid for winning the goddamn fight.

As I walked through the opening to the circle, the crowd got louder. Sometimes I wished I had music to walk to. You know, like on television. Some kind of wild mix between boxing, MMA, or even professional wrestling. I used to have a wicked elbow drop as a kid. Diving from the top of the couch onto a pile of stuffed animals. That's when life was so easy. So beautiful. So perfect.

One thing I've learned about beautiful and perfect is that it's all bullshit. It's a cloak to try and hide behind, but it eventually gets ripped away. That's just the hard truth of life. Sometimes you took a beating and sometimes you had to give a beating. The best thing I ever learned was to give a beating. Because if you did it right, you walked away. You became a hero to someone, even if it was for a few seconds.

I threw my hood off and opened my arms. I squeezed my eyes shut and put my head back. The underground fighting stuff was intense. We were in an old warehouse that had three levels of railings for those in attendance to watch the brutal fights. Of course, if you paid more money, you got closer to the fight. The best seats were the ones on the actual floor. There was a ring made by cinderblocks that came up maybe two feet tall. All along the border were the high profile men. Fat cigars in their mouths, most in fancy suits with loose ties. The majority of them were drunk as fuck, wanting to live out a fantasy of seeing hardcore violence in person.

Then they'd probably go home and fuck the shit out of their wives. Or maybe tie up their girlfriends and mistresses and live out even more fantasies.

I opened my eyes and looked around.

The night was in full swing. Technically, it was morning. We were well past midnight. There had been five other fights, all of them mostly entertaining. There was a single punch knockout for the second fight. The previous fight lasted a good twenty minutes, the two guys beating each other until their eyes were shut. Eventually, someone would pass out from pain or blood loss.

There was always a fucking winner. And a fucking loser.

I didn't lose.

My backing came from a man named Aldo. He was as far up the food chain as you could go. After him were the guys who never showed their faces. Aldo threw money down on me and I always won. He'd make a killing, pay his tribute up higher, and give me a kickback for the win. During the other fights, he would coordinate the rest of his business with all those in attendance.

I was the catalyst.

I was the fighter.

I stared forward at my opponent, a man in a white t-shirt that clung to his body from the sweat. His right eye had a scar that hooked down to the corner of his mouth. He made fists and lifted them. There were roman numerals on his knuckles. He spit on the ground and started to gently jump.

He was ready to fight.

So was I.

I was in a foul fucking mood. I hadn't had a good fuck in a while. The noise around me seemed louder than normal. I wasn't in the mood to be here.

But one thing was for sure... if I couldn't get a good fuck, I'd take it all out on the asshole staring me down.

The guy had no idea what he was about to experience.

Neither did I.

2.

(Winter)

I couldn't even cry anymore. It was hard to do when the tears were fake. I sat at the kitchen table with at least fifty pictures spread out across it. My job was to pick out a picture of Rocky that I liked best. I didn't like any of the pictures. I didn't even like Rocky, even if I was his old lady. I had to keep face in the situation and go with the motions of it all. Tomorrow, he'd be buried and then I'd be somewhat free. I'd still be tied down to the MC for a while - _maybe the rest of my life_ \- but I wouldn't have to deal with Rocky.

He was the VP for the Red Aces MC and he took a bullet to the throat. Then five to the chest, through his heart. I heard that the throat shot took him down and the five to the heart were for good measure. And for fun.

Which made me a little sick.

Funny how that kind of stuff still got to me.

I'd been living this kind of life as long as I could remember. From the time I was eighteen, and got too drunk and took my top off at a strip club to win enough money to pay the rent, it was all the same shit. I thought getting tied up with the MC would offer protection, which it did, for the most part. Only I didn't want the man who loved me. I didn't want him to touch me, fuck me, anything. But he did. Because I had to let him. When he spoke, I listened. If I didn't... well, I never dared to find out what would happen.

I lifted a picture of Rocky as he sat on his motorcycle. His sunglasses were back on his bald head. His eyes were narrow, the viper eyes of a snake. His lip curled, head slightly back, the tattoos on his neck visible. He gave the middle finger. Rocky knew how to ruin any picture.

I dropped the picture and grabbed my coffee cup. I sipped it. It was ice cold. It had been sitting there for an hour, just like me. There was no good reason to be drinking coffee after midnight. Then again, this had been my schedule for years. Day was night and night was day. There was no such thing as normal. No nine-to-five stuff. No worrying about paying the car insurance on time. No forgetting to buy the spaghetti sauce for pasta night and needing an emergency trip to the grocery store.

That life passed me by too long ago to care.

There was a knock at the door and then it opened.

Sarah came walking in, carrying a bag of groceries. She was Harlan's old lady. She was in her mid-thirties, looked ten years younger, and seemed to be the voice of reason throughout the MC. Mostly because she wore low cut shirts and loved to show off her breast implants. They were big but not too big. I never commented on them because she had always been jealous of my natural breasts. I guess I was considered lucky I didn't need to change anything about myself.

She was skinny, wore a tight black top with a crashing _V_ line, and had blood red nails and lipstick that matched. Her hair was pitch black, pulled back in a tight ponytail. She smelled of smoke as she put the bag down on the table. Her shirt pulled up on her body, showing off tattoos that were on her hips. She told me that her hips were too wide so she got tattoos to distract from them. Her hips were made for babies, but Sarah could never have kids. Harlan didn't want kids and he liked to grab her hips when he fucked her. I knew this because Sarah told me and I'd seen her and Harlan having sex a few times. Her tattoos were angel wings, and she always joked saying that Harlan liked to hold her wings more than her tits.

"It's late," Sarah said. "You should sleep. We have to ride in the morning."

I nodded.

The ride.

Where we'd take Rocky's body to the cemetery and say goodbye.

Bad enough we had the viewing just a few hours ago. Seeing his corpse in a black casket. His face was so pale. So dead. The work done on his neck wasn't all that great. I couldn't stop looking at it.

They were burying him with his leather cut, the ultimate sign of respect for Rocky. Which made sense since he was the VP of the club.

"I got you some stuff," Sarah said. "I know your mind is scattered right now."

"How much do I owe you?"

Sarah kissed the top of my head. "Just show me your boobs sometime and we'll call it even."

"You have your own to look at."

"Yours are nicer."

I smiled. "Thanks."

Sarah took the grocery bag into the kitchen and then came back to the table. She pulled out a chair and sat down.

"What are we doing?"

"I'm supposed to pick out a picture of Rocky."

"What do you have so far?"

"All these."

"Here, let's do something," Sarah said. "Close your eyes."

I shut my eyes. "Okay."

"Just put your hand on a picture. Now."

I grabbed a picture and then opened my eyes.

It was of Rocky and Stoney laughing. VP and President. Their arms around each other, mouths open, heads back. They were drunk as hell in the picture.

"There," Sarah said. "Done."

Sarah leaned forward and started to collect the pictures. She swiped them all together like a deck of cards and then flipped the stack over so I couldn't see anything.

"Thanks," I said. "I've just been sitting here. You know?"

"I know," Sarah said softly. She touched my hand. "I know. The entire club is mourning. It's going to take time, sweetie. But it will be okay."

I blinked and felt tears in my eyes.

It wasn't for Rocky. Well, maybe it was. Maybe just because he was dead. I mean, murder. The end of it all. Rocky had killed people. How many, I don't know. But he did. The MC had darker ties and had connections I wanted nothing to do with. Sometimes the less you knew the better.

Then again, that could work against you.

"Tell me something," Sarah said. "Get it off your chest."

So I did.

I looked right at Sarah.

She always tried to find the sunshine during the darkest days.

Well, there was no sun here.

"Rocky was murdered," I said.

"Yeah, I know that," Sarah said.

"The MC doesn't know who fucking did it. And correct me if I'm wrong, but if one goes, the other goes next, right?"

Sarah's face dropped.

Reality settled into her like it had settled into me.

Then she said what I'd been thinking for days now.

" _You're going to be killed next."_

3.

(Tripp)

The guy had a wicked right. I could at least give him that. It was like his right fist was a brick. He landed two good punches and I swore it would never happen again. Each time after that, I had my arm ready, blocking his punches, swinging at him, smacking everywhere from his gut, to his chest, to his chin, to his eyes. That's how I worked. Top to bottom, bottom to top. Technically speaking my fighting style was probably shit. If I was put into a real ring with gloves and rules, I wasn't sure if I'd make it out.

I wasn't in the business of fighting for entertainment. I fought to hurt. I fought to kill. I fought to win. I fought to survive.

When I punched the guy - announced as _Killer Kidd_ \- smack in the nose, he stumbled back. He grabbed his face and let out a scream. That was my cue to fucking attack. I lunged forward and started to unleash on him.

Left, right, right, left. I hit him in the ribs and Killer Kidd put his hands down. That opened his face for me. When I smacked him in the face a few times, he lifted his hands. Up and down, up and down, no matter what he did I always found an open spot to hit him. It was hard to fight against your body's instinctive need to protect itself. It was always smarter to keep your face covered and train your mind and body to accept rib punches.

I had Killer Kidd back against the cinderblocks. The crowd backed up a little. They were so loud and fucking annoying. Screaming in my ear and in my face.

" _Kill the fucker!"_

" _Fucking do it, Tripp! Get him! Get him!"_

" _Rip his fucking throat out!"_

" _Fuck you, Kidd! You're costing me a fucking fortune!"_

Sometimes I could block all the comments out, sometimes I couldn't.

I grabbed Killer Kidd by the collar of his shirt and pulled. The shirt ripped as he stumbled forward. I yelled as I threw him, the shirt tearing from his body. He landed on the ground with a bloody thud. I went after him, putting my knee to the middle of his back. He was smart enough to cover his head, so I went to town on his ribs.

Then a buzzer screeched and I had a fist cocked back.

I saw Aldo at the end of the circle, his tall bodyguards next to him. There was another guy - Mr. Matty - who was an accountant for the city, but loved to organize all the bets and rules for the fights. He had a buzzer in his hand.

"Time!" he called out.

My fist shook.

If I swung after the buzzer, the fight would be called in favor of Killer Kidd.

Aldo shook his head and like the good rabid beast I was for him, I stood and walked away.

The crowd was cheering and screaming.

This was the bullshit part of the fights. The rounds. Some fights were just get in and go until it was done. The bigger fights were done in rounds. That was because Aldo and Mr. Matty could collect more money. People could bet on the winner and bet on the round. They could bet on how the fight would end, too.

It was all about money.

Even for me.

Sometimes Aldo could give me a bonus to satisfy his needs. It was completely against the rules to conspire, but nobody was going to stop Aldo from doing it. Christ, the fucking fights were already illegal.

Aldo walked up behind me as I took a drink of piss warm tap water. I spit it out to the floor. My own blood tasted better than the fucking water they gave me to drink.

"We need to end it," Aldo said, his voice thick and accented. "Right now. This round. Any longer and we're going to have a problem. I need to get out of here, Tripp. With you."

I nodded.

I didn't look at Aldo because I didn't need to.

I stared at Killer Kidd. His guys were wiping the blood off his face. His left eye was swollen mostly shut. His right shoulder looked fat and purple.

I had him.

A couple more punches and he'd be done.

"Warning!" Mr. Matty cried out.

I stepped forward two steps. Killer Kidd did the same.

Then the buzzer went off.

" _Fight!"_

I hurried forward and punched Killer Kidd in the stomach. He hunched over. I grabbed him by the hair and looked down at him. His eyes were weak. He was tired. He looked ready to cry. At that point he just wanted me to knock him out.

I brought my fist back and gritted my teeth.

From the corner of my eye I saw someone step onto the cinderblocks. Then the entire crowd started to move and scream. They weren't cheering now. They were screaming with fear.

A man all in black took out a gun. He turned his head and I saw some kind of tattoo on his neck. My eyes picked up on it and then picked up on the gun. It was pointed at the back of Aldo's son, Endo.

"Fuck!" I screamed. "Endo!"

I let Killer Kidd go and started to move.

But the gun went off.

The explosion had everyone in a panic.

Endo disappeared, falling to the ground.

The guy in black turned and made a dash for it. He masterfully made his way into the crowd. My eyes followed him. I stepped forward ready to track the fucker down and get him.

That's when a fist hit me right in the nose.

I felt a crunching explosion from inside my face. I gasped and had no air. Blood sprayed everywhere as my head snapped back so hard I swore the back of my head hit the middle of my back.

I fell back and tried to set my feet, but another fist hit me. Then another, and another. Each one harder than the previous.

Killer Kidd attacked me with right after fucking right.

All I could think about was the gunman. About Endo getting shot. About what it meant for Aldo.

My eyes were watery and I blinked fast. I turned my head, needing to get this fight back in my favor. That's when I saw Killer Kidd in the air. Jumping with his fist flying at me. He cracked me in the jaw and I spun around.

I saw Aldo and that was it.

I didn't even see the ground before I hit it.

And when I hit the ground, I was out. Done. Finished.

I'd lost a fucking fight.

Which was impossible... because if you lost a fight and you were one of Aldo's guys, the punishment was simple - _you were killed._

4.

(Winter)

I wore all black. I had black mascara on, a light shade of red lipstick, and big, black sunglasses. I rode in a hearse, Harlan driving, Rocky's body in the back in the casket. The escort consisted of almost a hundred motorcycles. Guys in front of the hearse, behind the hearse, and on each side of the hearse. We took up both lanes of the road and nobody dared to honk a horn or try and stop the procession.

The cemetery was up on a small hill.

The ride took thirty minutes from the clubhouse.

Once we were there, four prospects were given the orders to carry the casket to the grave.

Stoney stood there with his hands in front of him. Black sunglasses on his face, a stray tear rolling down his cheek. He swallowed hard and let everyone get set up. The patched in members of the local charter were allowed off their motorcycles. The guys who rode in from other towns stayed on their rides.

The table members were allowed to stand on one side of the casket.

There was even a priest, the only one dressed in white, standing at the head of the casket, hands out, looking around.

It freaked me out to wonder if the MC had their hands in the church too.

"There's not much to say," the priest began, "as we begin the journey of goodbye deep within ourselves. We pay our last respects to Rocky standing - and sitting - together. The only family he knew. While we understand that death is the end of this life, it doesn't mean it's all the end." The priest put his bible down behind him. "I could read for hours, quote scripture, sing a song even. But I know how Rocky would really want this. A few kind words from his best friend and then everyone celebrate his honor by surviving."

The priest blessed himself. He stepped forward and blessed the casket. Bowing his head, his muttered something in a different language. He touched the casket, nodded, and stepped back.

Stoney took his sunglasses off. He blinked and swallowed again. "We can say a lot about Rocky. He was a miserable son of a bitch, wasn't he?"

Everyone chuckled.

"Yeah, it's okay to say that now. He can't light us up now."

A couple guys clapped.

"Bullshit aside, Rocky was one of our brothers. He stood beside me as VP of this MC, but also as my best friend. He's taking secrets to the grave that nobody else here will ever know. That's true friendship. That's real brotherhood." Stoney touched his leather cut. "That's why we wear the cut. And we know what's going to happen next. We say goodbye to Rocky but we don't forget. Our memories won't let him slip, and the reason why we're here won't ever slip."

That was a pretty clear call for revenge, which was common. If you shot at the MC, they shot back. And whoever killed Rocky...

Just as long as they didn't get to me first.

I shivered in the California sun and hugged myself. Sarah then appeared and put an arm around me.

"Now, let's say goodbye to our brother and honor him," Stoney said.

He put a hand to the casket. The table members did the same. I had to step forward and put my hand to the casket. It was then lowered into the ground. I stood there and watched it all. A man I didn't love. A man I didn't exactly care for. But he was the man who saved me from my dark past. That's why I stuck it out with him.

I felt suddenly alone. Even with a hundred bikers around me, I felt vulnerable. I would never feel safe again, no matter what.

That's when I started to cry.

Stoney walked to me and hugged me. He was tall, thin, and very strong. He held me for a few seconds and then started to turn. His fingers dug into my shoulder, his way of telling me to walk with him. So I did.

We got a little bit away from the scene and Stoney started to talk, his arm around me.

"I know you're terrified," he said. "Rightfully so."

"Who did it?" I asked.

"I don't know yet. We're not the most peaceful of people. You know that, Winter."

"I'm next, aren't I?"

"Depends on the purpose of the hit," Stoney said. "Do you feel you're in danger? Anything you've done I need to know about?"

I looked at Stoney. "I think we all have demons."

"Yeah."

Stoney stopped and turned to face me. He held me at his shoulders. I feared he was going to make a move on me. He'd done it once before and we came close to doing something crazy. Not that I wanted him at all. But he was the President of the MC. What could I do? Especially now... I had nobody to protect me.

"Winter, look at me."

I did.

"I made a call."

"A call?" I asked.

Stoney nodded. "There's protection coming for you."

"What kind of protection?"

"Trust me, this guy will be able to protect you. He's a fighter. He's ruthless. He's not part of the MC or any MC. He's a direct guy. You don't want to fuck with him."

I nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

Stoney didn't look too confident.

I didn't feel confident.

I had some stranger coming to protect me?

Just what I needed.

Someone else barging into the mess that was my life.

5.

(Tripp)

My apartment was shitty and small, but it had one amazing thing. The ocean wasn't too far away. I had my bed in the corner of my bedroom - _the only bedroom_ \- and when I opened the window I could hear the beach. I couldn't see it though. The view to see the beach came from the roof. But sitting in the corner of my room, window open, I listened. The distance _slushing_ of the waves. The call of the seagulls. A crazy feeling that right there was the end of it all. The open sea. Some kind of wild freedom and unknown world.

I looked at my hands. They were swollen as hell. The back of my head still hurt to touch and I was probably concussed. I didn't give a shit though. My job didn't come with health insurance. You either suffered or died.

When I woke up in the circle, I figured Aldo would be standing there, waiting to shoot me. But he was gone. Long fucking gone. And so was Endo's body. I was left with three guys, two of whom didn't speak English. They gave me a couple shots to numb my head and face and patched me up. They then gave me a baggie of pills to take for pain and drove my ass home.

That was three nights ago.

I was down to the bare essentials in the fridge. Three eggs, four slices of bread, a couple frozen burgers in the freezer, and a six pack of lager. With my appetite, that would last me about two hours.

I knew they were coming for me. It was only a matter of time.

Aldo wasn't a nice guy. He wasn't made to be a nice guy. He wasn't fair either. He was straight to the point. If you won your fight and won him money, he liked you enough not to kill you. If you lost your fight, you ate a bullet. That was it. I had no purpose in the world. I wasn't meant to do anything but what Aldo needed. I used the cash to pay for the shitty apartment, food, clothes, and booze. I had a little speedster car that I had paid for with cash after a really good fight a couple years ago.

My life was simple and everything was underground.

My apartment was on the top floor of the building. Under me were nothing but low life drug dealers and addicts. The place got raided on a weekly basis. I got to know the police that would bust in for two reasons. One - they were used to coming in to check on my place, just doing their job. Two - some of them would come to the fights and bet on me.

What a fucked up world.

There wasn't a knock at the door but rather a thundering bang. Someone with a fist, punching it.

They're here.

I moved from the bed and grabbed my leather jacket. I strutted through the apartment and looked around. It'd be the last time I'd see the place.

I opened the door and two of Aldo's thugs were there.

"Let's go," one said.

"Yeah," I said.

We went out back to a black car.

I had the backseat to myself as the two thugs took the front.

I figured we were going out to an open dessert. That's where Aldo liked to do it. He'd take someone out to the middle of nowhere and kill them. Then bury them.

How did he not get caught?

Between him and the guys above him, they fucking owned everything. Buildings, land, people, power.

I was shocked when the car took a turn and we got closer to the beach. The ride was still another twenty minutes, passing by all the commercial stuff for the beach. We were going up into the hills, near the cliffs. That's where the expensive beach houses were.

That's where Aldo's beach house was.

I couldn't believe that's where we stopped.

The two thugs pointed the direction for me where to go. I pictured me getting to the door and then having bullets rip through my back and kill me.

It didn't happen.

I found Aldo standing outside, in a full suit. Sweat collected at his black hairline as he turned and looked at me.

It was just me and him.

The air was comfortable, breezy, the water down the cliff crashing into the rocks. The sight was serene. Way too beautiful for the darkness that was my life.

"You look like shit," Aldo said.

"I feel it. How's Endo?"

"Coma. The bullet was close to hitting his heart. Whoever pulled the trigger must have been nervous. They hesitated just enough for Endo to move."

"Is he going to make it?"

"Don't know yet. Doesn't look good."

"Jesus Christ, Aldo. I am..."

"Save it," Aldo said, lifting a hand. "You yelled for him. That made him move. That saved him, for now."

I nodded. "Any idea who did it?"

"That's my business. Not yours."

"Of course." I looked around. So this was it. Not wanting to be a fucking pussy and take this like a man, I put my arms out. "Do it."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Aldo asked.

"I lost the fight. I know what happens next."

Aldo grinned. "You cost me a good paycheck, Tripp."

"I shouldn't have been distracted."

"It was my son who was shot. I've been replaying it over and over for days. I could have squeezed the books and had the fight again, but that would have caused problems. There's a lot of unhappy people with the outcome. But we have the reason."

"Okay."

Aldo stepped forward. He was at least six inches shorter than me. He had no muscle, no tone, nothing. But his power was greater than mine.

He reached up and touched my shoulders. His hands slid down to my arms and he put my arms at my sides.

"I'm not going to fucking shoot you, Tripp. You're not going to die right now."

The feeling was hard to explain. I thought about smiling. I was going to survive. Then again, Aldo didn't do favors. Aldo didn't give a fuck about loyalty. Everything and everyone had a price. There was always a payment.

In other words, the bullet to the head might have been better.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I lost the fight. I know the rules. No matter what."

"I'll get that money back," Aldo said. "I thought about killing you, Tripp. I considered all my options. I tended to my son and found out you survived. Toughest guy I've ever met, Tripp. That's you."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I have another job for you."

There it was... the price of my survival. The cost to not have a bullet tear through my skull and splatter my brains all over the back deck to his beach house.

I didn't speak. I didn't want to show thanks, need, regret, anything to Aldo. Because he collected emotions like a kid would collect toy cars. And then he'd pair them up, crush them, and enjoy it.

So I had to stand like a chunk of stone.

"You hear, Tripp?" Aldo asked.

"Yes."

"It's a protection job."

"Protection? I'm a fighter, Aldo. I fight."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have to fight," Aldo said. He stepped even closer to me. I could smell his expensive cologne pouring from his sweaty pores. "This is your only chance. You fuck this up and you will die."

"Okay," I said.

"You're protecting a woman. She's recently a widow and there's belief she's the next to be killed. Your job is to make sure that doesn't happen. She cannot die. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," I said.

"You will protect her with your life. Because your life is on the line, Tripp. I know you've never done a protection job for me before, but it's always good to learn something new. How many times can you get smacked in the head before your brain turns to mush, right?"

"I haven't thought that far out in life."

"Maybe you should," Aldo said, his lip curling. "Now if you don't mind I have to visit my son in the hospital. You'll be taken to your apartment. You'll be given an address. That's where you'll go."

Aldo backed away. He turned and grabbed the railing, looking out to the ocean.

"Can I at least have her name?" I asked.

"Winter," Aldo said.

Winter.

A woman named Winter.

And I have to protect her. I have to keep her alive.

~ ~ ~

The two thugs threw me into my apartment, literally. They cackled as they walked away. I was on the floor for a few seconds before I jumped up and dusted myself off. They left a piece of paper on the floor behind me.

I knew the general direction of the address.

It was a few miles south. There really wasn't anything good about the area. It was a heavy crime area, some of it organized, some of it controlled by a motorcycle club through numbers and muscle. I couldn't figure out what Aldo would have wanted down there though. He had more power than anyone. He had more muscle. Christ, if he needed a woman protected, he could have just given the orders to have her taken and hidden somewhere. He could put her up in a house, a cabin, fuck, a different goddamn country.

But he chose me.

Maybe a part of me wanted to be excited. I mean, a protection call from Aldo. That was something like a promotion in my line of business. I could handle this stuff. Keeping people alive. Fighting those who got in my way. But there was always a darker side of it.

Murder.

There was always murder. Everywhere.

I stood there, staring at the address.

This wasn't a fucking promotion. This was a punishment. Aldo was sending me into this so I'd get killed. That's what it was. That's what my fate came down to. Any other guy who lost a fight would get a bullet to the head.

Me?

I was being pushed into a protection run that made no fucking sense.

I grabbed my leather jacket, my keys, and left the apartment.

As I rode into a real shady part of the town, I looked for the address. To my complete shock, the address was a freaking coffeehouse. It was about a quarter mile from the real dark part of town. Right on the cusp of stepping from shit into true hell.

I parked my car and went into the coffeehouse. The smell was overwhelming. Everything in the place was mismatched and probably bought from yard sales and shit, but it actually worked. The vibe was a messy kind of chill place.

There were a handful of people sitting around. Some sipping coffee. Some reading books. A couple people just sitting there with earbuds in, listening to music, staring out the window. It made me wonder what world they lived in, you know? To throw on some tunes and disappear.

"Can I help you?"

I spun around and looked at the woman behind the counter. She was fucking beautiful. Naturally beautiful. Dirty blonde hair cheaply pulled back with a few chunks left dangling to the sides of her face. She wore not a spot of makeup, leaving her looking like she just rolled out of bed. I was a sucker for a woman like that. There was nothing like the pure beauty of woman. One who could just throw on some clothes and go for the day.

Her eyes were a crystal clear blue that took me back for a second. Her lips were a little thin, but had such a unique shape to them, I instantly pictured running my finger along them, tracing them. Better yet, using my tongue.

I snapped myself back to reality.

Christ, I needed to get laid. And soon.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

My eyes scanned down. I had no choice. Her breasts were perfect. Pressing against the black shirt she wore, leaving nothing for the imagination because it was easy to see she had been blessed in that department. Besides that, she had a name tag on.

Winter.

"Eyes up here," she muttered.

"Yeah, sorry," I said. "I'm actually looking for you."

She put her hands to her hips. The subtle curves of her body made my fingers twitch.

"Excuse me?"

I put my hands on the counter and leaned forward. "I'm looking for you, darling."

"Why?"

"I'm Tripp. I'm supposed to keep you alive."

The color dropped from her face. She stepped back from the counter and bumped into a stack of mugs. They jangled together and she spun to keep them from falling.

My eyes scanned at her back now. Her shirt pulled up just enough to show a sliver of skin. Her jeans did wonders for her ass. I became instantly jealous of her back pockets, wanting to slip my hands into them.

Then I reminded myself something.

She's a fucking widow, man. Remember what Aldo said. And someone out there wants to kill her.

Winter looked over her shoulder. Hair in her face, one of her blue eyes shining through it. "Give me a sec."

She then charged down the counter and disappeared.

A few seconds later she came out of a side door. When she hurried toward me, her breasts bounced so freely. I gritted my teeth with my mouth shut, demanding myself to keep my eyes on her face, which didn't help much because of how beautiful she was.

"Here," she said and pointed to a table. "Sit, please."

I grabbed a chair and spun it around. I straddled the chair.

"Do you want a coffee or something?"

"No," I said. "You work here?"

"Sometimes. My friend owns the place. I live out back."

"Out back?"

"There's a converted garage. Better than being in the clubhouse."

"The clubhouse?"

"Yeah. Red Aces MC."

"Fucking hell," I said. "You're with the MC?"

"Yeah. Didn't... whoever sent you tell you that?"

"No. I didn't get much of anything. Other than you're a widow and I have to make sure you don't end up dead."

Winter sucked in a breath. "Wow. That's bold."

"Sorry, darling. That's how I work. So who is out to kill you?"

Winter blinked fast. "Uh, well, I... I'm not sure."

"That helps. You shouldn't even be in this area right now."

"That's why you're here, right?"

"Bullshit," I said. "If it were up to me, you'd be out of here right now. When does your shift here end?"

"I'm not really on the clock," Winter said. "I just had to get away from it all." She leaned across the table to whisper. "All they do is drink and talk about revenge. Then they look at me funny, you know? Like maybe I'm the problem. Or maybe they all want to fuck me, since I'm free game now. The sad thing is... if one of them wanted to... I probably would. Out of necessity."

A weak smile flickered across her face and faded. I noticed when she spoke she had the smallest of gaps between her front two teeth. For whatever reason, it drove me goddamn wild. I balled my hands into fists.

"That's not going to happen," I said. "You're not fucking anyone while I'm protecting you. What I need you to do is show me where you live and tell me everything you know."

Winter pointed to my fists. "What happened to your hands?"

I looked at the roughed up scabs. I flexed my knuckles a few times. "A fight."

"I noticed your face and jaw looked swollen."

I stood up. "You should've seen the other guy. Let's move."

Winter pushed from the table. She stood up. I moved closer to her, realizing that she barely came up to my chest. So much shorter than me. Her heart obviously broken. In need of protection. Somewhere inside her, desperate to have the touch of a man.

Fuck. I was in big trouble. Aldo should have just shot me in the head.

6.

(Winter)

He smelled like a man, looked like a man, and threatened every desire my body had. His shoulders pressed hard against his shirt, his arms filling the short sleeves with ease. He was rough, tough, maybe even a little dirty, but not like the guys in the Red Aces. They were designed to look the way they did. Wearing leather cuts, patches that had different meanings and positions.

Not Tripp.

He looked bold and reckless.

Just what I needed.

I led the way out of the back of the coffeehouse, feeling him just inches behind me. A few times, I wondered what would happen if I just stopped walking. If he'd crash into me, his hands at my hips.

Shit.

I side stepped and waited for Tripp to walk at my side. I pointed to the garage.

"That's my palace."

"Bigger than mine," he said. "You don't feel more protected at the clubhouse?"

"I didn't say that," I said. "I just don't want to be there. All they do is talk. Trying to think of every person that ever did anything wrong to them. Trying to drag my past into it all."

"What's wrong with your past?"

I slipped a key into the door and unlocked it. "Doesn't matter."

I turned the doorknob and Trip put his hand to mine and squeezed. I looked up at him. His eyes were a dark, wild brown color. His face had a little scruff on it. He was a complete and total bad ass looking man.

"It does matter," he said. "I've never done this before, darling. I'm a fighter, okay? My job is to beat the shit out of someone and earn money. I'm not meant to do this protection stuff. It's not just your life on the line here. Got it?"

I slowly nodded. "Fair enough. Then I guess I'll have to be an open book."

Tripp took his hand away. I opened the door and we went inside.

I flicked on the light and screamed.

At first all I saw was a guy sitting on the arm of the couch, a gun on his lap.

Then I felt someone push me.

I went flying to the left, hitting a wall, a wild pain jolting through my shoulder and arm. My eyes filled with tears.

I saw Tripp lunge forward, fist ready.

Before I could do anything, Tripp attacked.

The guy on the couch was Harlan. But Tripp didn't know that. He tackled Harlan over the back of the couch. Harlan's gun fell to the floor, which was probably a good thing. I heard the sound of punches being exchanged and then the men were both standing.

"Stop!" I yelled.

Harlan and Tripp faced each other. Harlan was in his leather cut, fists balled tight. But he didn't protect himself. I thought about what Tripp had said.

I'm a fighter...

Tripp had his fists up and moved in. The punches were fast, hard, and effective. A punch to the face sent Harlan's head snapping back. Then _punch, punch_ to the ribs and Harlan let out a groan. He leaned forward and Tripp cocked back another fist.

It was kind of sexy to see Tripp moving like that. He was absolutely gorgeous.

But I couldn't let him kill Harlan.

I jumped up on the couch and grabbed for Tripp's arm. I locked mine around his and said, "He's not a bad guy! He's part of the MC!"

"Fuck, bro," Harlan groaned, his nose bleeding and stuffy. "What the fuck?"

Tripp looked at me. He looked at Harlan. He then shook me away and backed up from Harlan. But he didn't stand down. He kept his guard up.

"Harlan, what the hell are you doing?" I asked. I climbed over the couch.

He stood and wiped his nose. Then he grabbed his side. "What the fuck are you, man? A boxer?"

"Protector," Tripp said.

Ohmyfuckinggod, how sexy.

"He's here to protect me," I said. "Stoney said he was coming. Didn't you know?"

"Yeah, we heard," Harlan said. "I was here just in case, Winter. That's all."

"You had a gun."

"For you," Harlan said. "So you could protect yourself."

I felt Tripp creep up next to me. "She doesn't need to protect herself right now. I'm here."

Harlan stared Tripp down. "I don't know who you think you are, man. But my leather cut..."

"Want to go again?" Tripp asked.

"Jesus Christ," Harlan said. "I'm not the bad guy here. She was left stranded. I was just helping out."

"Being in her place with the lights off and scaring her is not helping," Tripp said.

"I was just bringing her a gun."

"I have a gun," Tripp said.

"What?" I asked.

Tripp reached back and pulled a gun from... nowhere. "I can take it all from here. Go back to your MC and find out who is after Winter."

"We're working on it," Harlan said. He sucked in a breath and wiped his nose again. Then he looked at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I said.

"Who is your President?" Tripp asked. "I'd like to meet him. Find out all I can."

"Really?" Harlan asked. "You're just going to walk in here and demand things from us?"

"You obviously can't do your job," Tripp said.

Harlan's eyes went wide. He then reached behind his back and pulled out a gun. He lifted it.

"Harlan!" I yelled.

"It's fine," Tripp said. He put his gun down on my dining room table. Then he stepped forward. Reaching for Harlan's gun, he lifted it to his own chest, right to his heart. "Make it count, buddy."

I could see Harlan's cheeks turning red. He was big, he acted tough, but I wasn't sure he could fight his way out of a paper bag.

Harlan lowered the gun. "Fuck."

"Harlan, go," I said. "Go back to the clubhouse. Tell Stoney that Tripp is here, okay?"

I walked Harlan to the door and he left. I shut the door and locked it. I put my forehead against the door and wanted to cry. But I had too much adrenaline running through my body to cry.

"Hey."

I cried out and jumped.

I turned and had my back against the door.

Tripp was right there, inches from me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "It's just a lot at once. That's all."

Tripp slowly reached forward and pulled at a loose strand of my hair. It clung between my lips, annoying me. He tucked it behind my ear.

"I'm here now," he whispered. "I'm going to protect you."

I nodded.

I believed Tripp. I almost instantly trusted him.

Maybe because I was just so alone. And not because Rocky was dead. I had been alone long before that. Of course, all of this Tripp didn't know about.

Yet.

~ ~ ~

The hot water hit my body. I needed a shower so badly. Truth was that half the reason I just wanted to get away from Tripp for a few minutes.

I shut my eyes and pretended for a few seconds that I was in a waterfall. Letting my mind slip away, I felt every droplet of water hit my skin. Through my hair, down my back. Down the front of my body. Then something happened.

My body started to react. The water that touched my breasts, trickled over my nipples, made me tingle. Down my stomach and between my legs, it was like something had been unleashed. Yet I was alone in the shower.

But Tripp was out there.

I stepped out of the water and shook my head.

I needed to cool off.

Right now.

I finished showering and grabbed a towel. I dried off and wrapped the towel around my body. I walked to the mirror and wiped away the steam. I stared at myself. My hair looked really dark when it was wet. And it got curly. Which was weird because when it dried the curls went away and a more blonde color showed.

I had no idea how long Tripp was going to be here or how bad things were going to get. If Stoney and the Red Aces could track down whoever shot Rocky, then it wouldn't be all that long. But nobody seemed confident in that. Normally when shit hit the fan with the MC they had a plan in place. They went out and started wars to say they could. This time was different. It was darker, slower, everyone still processing that their VP was gunned down and taken out.

When I opened the bathroom door, I let out yet another shriek.

Tripp was sitting right there, against the wall, one leg bent, the other outstretched across the open doorway.

He looked up at me. "Feel better?"

"Shit. You scared me."

I started to blush, remembering I was in nothing but a towel.

I clutched the towel tighter to my body, but even still, my arms and shoulders were exposed. The towel covered most of my chest but not all. The towel ended above my ankles and Tripp made no effort to get out of my way. So I had to step over his leg to get by. My body was on fire in a way that it shouldn't have been. This was pure temptation.

I resisted the urge to look back at him as I walked toward my bedroom.

"Where are you going now?" he asked.

I stopped but still didn't look back. "Going to get changed. Do you want to watch me?"

Tripp didn't reply.

Although, I wished he would have said yes.

7.

(Tripp)

She was fucking killing me.

Did I need to sit outside the bathroom while she showered? Hell no. Did I need to make comments at her as she strutted by me, that nice ass pressing against her towel? Not a chance.

But I did it anyway.

When she came out of her bedroom, dressed, she looked even prettier. Her hair all messy and wet. A t-shirt that hugged in all the right places. Jeans that did her hips sexy justice. And then pink socks. Freaking pink socks.

I opened her fridge and saw that she lived as poor as I did.

"Yeah, help yourself," she said.

"I'm checking for bad guys." I looked back and grinned. "And beer."

"I haven't been here in a long time," Winter said. "Sorry I didn't go shopping."

"No worries, darling. Where can we grab some food and beer?"

She called and ordered burgers, fries, and told me that the place had a cooler with six packs. That was the best thing I'd heard all day.

She was pissed that I made her come with me to get the food and beer. She was even more pissed when I escorted her into the dive bar to get our order. Funny though, she didn't seem all that mad when I paid.

Back in the car, she had the food on her lap, the beer on the floor between her feet.

"You don't like me up your ass, do you?" I asked.

"Doesn't really matter. You're here. I'm here."

"At least we have something to eat and drink."

Winter half smiled. She looked at my hands again. She touched my right knuckles and said, "You have to tell me about this."

"I already did. I'm a fighter."

"I don't know what that means."

"None of the guys in the MC fight?"

"You mean... drunk and fight?"

"No. I mean for money."

"I don't know. I was never invited."

"That's a good thing," I said.

We drove back to Winter's place in silence.

I went inside first, gun drawn, and did a quick check of the rooms. I had no clue what to do to protect her other than follow my gut and try to mimic things I'd seen in movies.

We sat, ate, and drank.

Not quite a dream meal or a dream evening, but it was something. And the beer was cold and good. I watched Winter's eyes following my knuckles each time I lifted and lowered my food and my beer bottle.

It took me four beers to finally start to open up a little.

"I fought a guy called Killer Kidd," I said. "That's where the wounds came from."

"Oh. Okay."

"It's an underground thing. It's all I've ever known to survive. Okay? I train, I fight, I earn money."

"So you win all the fights?" Winter asked.

I gritted my teeth. I felt like a jackass not being able to admit why I was actually there with her. Not because I was a winner, but because I was a loser.

"I survive," I said. "That's all that matters."

"I know the feeling," Winter said.

"Yeah? Then tell me about all this. How'd you end up here?"

"How much time do we have to talk?" she said with a grin.

"For you, darling, I've got all night."

Christ, Tripp, are you seriously flirting with her?

Winter started to smile bigger, those pretty blue eyes flirting right back at me.

I quickly stood up and grabbed the empty containers. I put them in the brown paper bag they came in and walked to the kitchen. The entire place wasn't really that big, which meant I couldn't get far from Winter.

I walked to the window and looked out. There was an open field behind the converted garage. Then there were lights of the town, the city, the night settling.

"What are you doing?" Winter asked.

"Just looking."

"So what's your plan? I mean, this doesn't make sense to me either."

"What doesn't?"

"Why you're here. I don't understand why the club can't protect me. Or why they can't just send me somewhere. Or... if someone really wants me dead that bad, why even bother protecting me?"

I slowly turned. "That's how you value your life?"

"How do you value yours, Tripp?"

"This isn't about me. I'm asking you a question."

"I don't know how I value anything."

"You're just upset," I said. "Mourning. That's normal. And for the record, the guy who sent me here is more powerful than anything you could possibly imagine. The MC might be rough and tough bullies who control what they want, but the guy I work for controls everything. It's organized. And it all looks legit."

"So?"

"Point is, darling, if this guy wants you alive, then your life has value."

"You know, that's the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a long time."

I swallowed hard. I turned back to the window. I was better off that way. Winter was driving me crazy. Her beauty, her voice, her appeared innocence, her need to be protected, it all turned me on. It was so bad that I was actually standing there at the kitchen sink getting hard.

It took me a few minutes to calm down before I could grab another beer.

I leaned against the back of the couch. "I don't want to rip into fresh wounds here, but do you have any idea who would kill your husband?"

Winter coughed and grabbed for her drink. She drank, coughed, drank again. Her face was apple red and tears in her eyes. She turned in her chair and looked at me.

"What?"

"What did I say?" I asked.

"My husband?"

"Yeah. I was told you're a widow."

Winter stood up. She put her fingertips to the table to brace herself. Three beers in and she was already feeling it pretty good.

Why did it turn me on that she was a cheap drunk?

"I've never been married," Winter said. "Get that straight."

"Okay. I'm just going by what I was told."

"Fuck what you were told," Winter said. "I was never married to Rocky. I was his old lady. So, yeah, in the world of the MC, I'm a widow. But it's not true. He never gave me a ring. He never asked me. I never got the gown and all that, okay? I was just his old lady."

Jesus, Winter," I said. "I'm sorry. You're not a widow then. Your boyfriend was murdered. Fine. I can live with that then. I'm just..."

Winter stepped toward me. Her blue eyes drunk, anger all around her.

Anger made people do crazy things. Fight. Kill. The insatiable need to fuck or get fucked.

And I was against the couch. My only defense would be to roll back and over the couch.

But I didn't.

Winter put a hand to my chest. "I was his old lady, Tripp. That meant anything he wanted, I did. No matter what. Like I was supposed to be some lucky woman, you know? Because I had him. I had protection from him and the MC. But that's not how it fucking works. He got himself killed and now I'm out there. If someone from the MC wants me, they can stake their claim. Then I'll just be an old lady again. I'll get thrown around, smacked if I do something wrong, and then I'll just be used. On my hands and knees, ass in the air, taking it... because _he_ says so."

I gritted my teeth.

Now I was angry.

Was this the life Winter had been living?

Winter blinked and tears filled her eyes.

I resisted the urge to touch her, comfort her.

I was here for business. To protect her. To keep her safe.

That was it.

Her hand moved up my chest to my neck. When his nails touched my skin, she set me on fire. My cock pressed against my jeans. There was no controlling it. She was making me hard and making it hard to keep my cool.

"So that's how I feel," Winter whispered. "I'm just here to be used up and thrown around. Is that what you want to do to me, Tripp? Go ahead. I'm drunk enough. Order me around. You want to fuck me?"

My hands shot out and I grabbed her by the waist. I pushed her back to the table. She crashed into it, knocking over all the empty beer bottles. They clanked on the table, a couple rolling off and hitting the floor.

I ignored everything but Winter's wild eyes.

The tip of my nose touched hers.

Fuck, it was just so tempting. I could just go for it. I could just rip her clothes off, put her on the table, and fuck her brains out. We both wanted it. Shit, we both needed it. She wanted to feel protected and alive. I just wanted to fuck.

My hands squeezed tight at her waist.

She was almost panting.

Then a tear fell town her cheek.

I shut my eyes and sighed.

"Fuck," I growled.

"Tripp..."

I pushed away from her and left Winter standing there, knees bent, hands gripping the edge of the table, her entire body screaming with a need for sex.

"You need to go to sleep," I said. "Right now."

"You don't want to hear anything else?" she asked.

"Right now? No. I'm not here to baby you. I'm not your fucking therapist."

Christ, Tripp.

I held myself like stone, just like I had done with Aldo when I thought he was going to kill me.

Winter's mouth fell open. She blinked faster, more tears coming to her eyes.

"Fuck you," she said. "Fucking asshole."

"Go," I ordered and pointed. "And don't lock the door either. If you do, I'll shoot it open."

Winter ran into the bedroom and slammed the door.

I pictured her diving to her bed and crying.

My hands were shaking like loose leaves in an autumn breeze.

I spun around and threw a right fist at the wall. I smashed through the drywall but then quickly found out - and remembered - it was a fucking converted garage. My punch ended where the concrete wall began under the drywall.

I growled and pulled my fist back. I walked to the fridge and grabbed a fresh beer.

Then I sat at the table, lifting the beer bottle with my right hand, fresh blood running down my hand and dripping to the floor.

I didn't give a shit.

Then I remembered the gun I had brought.

Maybe I could just finish the job myself...

8.

(Winter)

I opened the bedroom door slowly. I saw a hole in the wall and saw blood on the table. I walked to the table and saw Tripp's gun sitting there. When I turned, I saw him on the couch. His hands behind his head, his right foot on the floor, his left leg stretched out. The couch was too small for his muscular body, but there was only one bed in the place.

And like hell I was going to share my bed with Tripp. He was here to protect me and nothing more.

Even though I tried to throw myself at him last night.

Could anyone honestly blame me though? I'd been trapped in a world of darkness and mental torture for almost my entire life. The day I found out Rocky had been killed, I thought for a second I had a sliver of hope at surviving. But then the MC was right there. They all claimed they were going to take care of me, but I knew eventually one of them would choose me as their own.

I thought about waking up Tripp and apologizing for last night, but I decided against it. The front door was locked, the windows all shut. I was as good as protected for the moment.

After making coffee, I tossed up some scrambled eggs. I had exactly five eggs left to eat. I guess if Sarah wasn't going to show up with a bag of groceries again, I'd have to take care of myself. I doubted that Sarah would be in a good mood with me after Tripp jacked up Harlan. But Harlan had that coming though. He shouldn't have snuck into my place.

It really bothered me more I thought about it.

Him sitting there in the dark with a gun.

What if I was alone?

What was his real intention of being in my place?

I glanced back at the couch and smirked. Tripp might have saved me big time last night. Off to a good start, I guess.

I cleaned up the dining room table and put the eggs and coffee on it. In the back of my mind, I wondered what the hell was really going on. The MC had power and strength. Yet Stoney called in a favor to have me protected? The pieces to the puzzle were not adding up.

Tripp sat up and looked right at me. His eyes were a little weary but still so damn sexy. He looked around my place and then stood up. He grabbed his gun and tucked it away.

Then he stretched.

His shirt pulled up a little, revealing enough stomach muscle to make any decent woman's panties writhe with moisture. That included my own. I looked down at the coffee and eggs on the table.

"Breakfast," I said.

"I smell it," Tripp said. "Thank you."

"Yeah. Sure."

He walked to the table and sat down.

The silence was very weird. We exchanged a few glances and the soundtrack to our breakfast was a fork hitting the plate, a fork scraping off teeth, and the slurp of hot coffee.

Finally, I put everything down. "I'm sorry about last night."

"What about?"

"Tripp, we were drunk but not that drunk. I shouldn't have pushed at you like I did, okay? I'm sorry. I'm scared. I don't understand what's happening or why."

"I call bullshit on that, darling."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you heard me. You're tangled up with a MC and you have the guts to tell me you don't understand what's happening? I'm sure if you thought about it real hard, you could find some skeletons hanging around your closet. If you want me to protect you the right way, then start talking. If not, then I'll just be here until I'm not."

"And what does that mean?"

Tripp finished his coffee. He stood from the table. "It's simple. You have to have some idea why Rocky was killed. And if the MC thinks you're next, there's a connection. You're important enough to protect but not important enough to save. That means you have something they want."

"Who is _they_?"

"I don't know yet."

"Isn't that a great feeling," I muttered.

Tripp walked his plate and mug to the counter. He then turned and looked at me. "For the record, I'd like to believe you're important enough to protect and save. So prove it to me."

Tripp then went into the bathroom and shut the door.

He didn't lock it.

I heard the water turn on.

I frowned and thought about everything that could have been coming back to bite me in the ass. There was a lot. My life didn't have a skeleton or two in a closet. It had a house.

I waited at the bathroom door.

Tripp opened it and jumped back a step.

"Start at the beginning," I whispered. "Let's go visit the MC."

~ ~ ~

I waved and the gates to the compound were opened. I glanced casually at Tripp, wondering if he'd be intimidated by the sight of all the motorcycles and the rough and tough bikers as they wandered around.

His face was like stone.

His eyes the same.

It was like nothing bothered the guy.

Well, except whatever made him punch the wall last night.

Did I cause that?

Heat rushed to my face as he stopped the car and climbed out.

I got out of my side and rushed around, but not before a group of the guys were already on their way to greet the stranger.

"This is Tripp," I called out. "He's protecting me."

"Protecting," one of the guys - _Crusher_ \- said. "Like nothing we can't fucking do ourselves."

"Ease up," a voice growled.

It was Stoney working through the crowd.

He stopped and stared at Tripp. He eyed him up and down. "You carrying?"

"Of course I am," Tripp said.

"Give me your weapon."

"Fuck yourself."

I gasped. I grabbed for Tripp's hand.

Nobody could talk to Stoney like that without getting a beating.

It was a little weird to see Stoney standing alone without Rocky next to him. The empty space actually bothered me a little. And it seemed to bother Stoney since he didn't make a move at Tripp.

"Tough guy," Stoney said. "I can respect that." He stepped forward and grabbed for Tripp's right hand. He lifted it. "Looks like your hand took a beating."

"Yeah. You should have seen the other guy."

That must have been Tripp's standard line to tell everyone who asked about him fighting.

"Actually, I did," Stoney said. "You took care of Harlan pretty good, didn't you?"

Tripp looked right to left, taking note of the guys surrounding him. He took his hand away from Stoney and made fists.

"When you're sitting on someone's couch with a gun on your lap, what do you think is going to happen?" Tripp asked.

"You like to fight, huh?" Stoney asked.

"I'm good at it. It's how I survive."

"And now you're protecting sweet innocent Winter here."

"Just doing my job."

Stoney inched forward. "Under other circumstances you'd be beaten to a pulp right now. I want to make that clear. But since my club is mourning and out for blood, I'm going to play a different card with you,Tripp. Why don't we go sit at the table and have a talk about some things."

"Was that an actual question or an order?" Tripp asked.

Stoney grinned. "You don't give a fuck about anything, do you?"

"I've got nothing to lose," Tripp said. "So what do I have to care about? I'm on borrowed time already, so, no, I don't give a fuck about anything."

There were a few tense seconds while both men remained quiet.

Stoney then turned and let Tripp walk alongside him. Nobody dared to move without orders from their President.

I watched as Tripp walked away from me.

In that moment, I felt completely alone, cold, and completely terrified.

Not for Tripp.

But for me.

I didn't like it when he wasn't around me.

9.

(Tripp)

I hated the idea of leaving Winter behind. It was my job to protect her, but I wanted more than that for her. Something inside me clicked and I wanted to find out who would be after her and to see if I could get her to safety. If I could find out who was after her, I could point the MC in that direction. Then I could call Aldo and see what he wanted me to do next.

Probably eat a bullet.

Inside the clubhouse, it was like a movie when someone enters and everything stops. When you hear the scratch of a record needle, a stray cough, and a thousand eyes beating upon you.

They were all alike. Wide shoulders, messy hair, drunk faces, anger in their eyes. Jeans with black leather cuts donning the Red Aces MC logo on their breasts and backs. They all stared at me like I didn't belong, which I damn well didn't. I wasn't a biker. I wasn't a mobster or gangster or anything. I lived on my own. I functioned with the notion that it was my heart on the line everyday and nothing else mattered.

"Want a beer?" the President of Red Aces asked me.

"I'm good," I said.

"Fucking pussy," someone muttered.

I turned, left hand balled up. I tried throwing the fist and the President was there to hook his arm into mine. He spun me around so we were facing each other.

"I'll let it slide what happened with Harlan," the President said, showing his teeth like a rabid dog. "But you're not coming into my fucking clubhouse and throwing punches at my fucking guys. Understood?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Good."

He broke away and walked me to a door. He opened and I stepped inside. It was a long and narrow room. There was a large, dark wood table in the center with ten chairs, four on each side and one at the ends of the table. In the center was a carved skull and the Red Aces name on it. There was a desk in a corner with filing cabinets. No windows in the room. It had the lingering smell of body odor, leather, booze, and smoke.

"This is where we come to pray."

"Good to know."

"Tripp, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Stoney."

He offered his hand. I shook it.

"I'm the President of the Red Aces MC," he said. "And you're walking a fine line right now."

"Is that so?"

"You don't understand what you're involved with."

"I'm just doing my job."

"Sit down."

Stoney took a seat at the head of the table and kicked out a chair. I sat down, feeling real damn uncomfortable in the room.

"Know who used to sit there?" Stoney asked me.

"No clue."

"Rocky. My VP. Winter was his old lady."

"The guy who was shot and killed," I said.

"Exactly." Stoney folded his hands and leaned forward. "He was taken out in a real shit way, Tripp. I fear for Winter's life."

"That's why I'm here."

"You're going to do battle with MCs at war?"

"It was another club that killed Rocky?"

"He always stuck his nose where it didn't belong," Stoney said. "I always knew it would catch him in the ass. I loved him like a brother though. It doesn't make sense though. I mean, it does, because of Rocky's personality, but the timing. None of it makes sense."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I was curious to meet you, Tripp. That's why. I heard you're a prized fighter fallen from grace."

"Not sure I'd value myself all that much."

"You're serving a punishment by doing this," Stoney said with a sly grin. "So your death, if it should happen, wouldn't be a great loss."

"Agreed. But I'm wondering why your MC can't protect Winter. And better yet, what is she being protected for?"

"How about common courtesy?" Stoney asked.

"You don't look the part for courtesy."

"And you don't look the part of a fighter."

"Want to try me?" I offered.

Stoney laughed. "Offering to take on the President of a MC is a dangerous proclamation. I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Then I'll say it louder."

Stoney gritted his teeth. "Let me put it this way, Tripp. If my guys are poking around Winter, you stay the fuck back. There should have been better communication with Harlan, I'll give you that. But that cannot and will not ever happen again."

"I can't promise anything."

"So you like to fight that much?"

"Never said that. But if I need to fight to survive..."

Stoney slapped his hand to the table. "Tell you what. Why not join the MC in a little entertainment? Maybe you and Harlan can square things up the right way. You know?"

"You want me to fight Harlan?"

"I'm offering you a chance to get a little closer to the MC," Stoney said. "After all, we're all in this together, right? Someone is going to have to take care of Winter short term and long term. It's only a matter of time before you're gone, right Tripp?"

His words were cool but intensely threatening. I knew how to play cool though. I once had my best friend die in my fucking hands. Trust me, I knew how to play cool.

"That's fine by me," I said. "I'd like to know everything you know so far. And what I can do to help. If someone is coming for Winter, I want to be ready."

Stoney waved a hand. "Nothing to worry about. Anyone steps foot in this town, we'll have them. My guys are everywhere."

"Drunk at the bar?"

"That's only some. We work in shifts." Stoney stood up. "I'll organize a little gathering. The MC could use some cash. Now, can I trust you to knock Harlan out again?"

Stoney smiled and winked.

"You're going to bet against your own member to win cash?" I asked.

"Hey," Stoney said. "I go where the business is." He then grabbed my wrist and lifted my right hand. "Then again, this is too fresh on your knuckles. This isn't from skin and bones, Tripp." Stoney's eyes locked with mine. "This is from punching a wall. Stone wall, right? What happened? Winter shake that little ass of hers too close? You fucking see those tits yet, Tripp? My fucking God... they could make a blind man hard..."

I felt my left hand tightening up into a ball. I wanted to attack. I wanted to rip this guy's throat out.

But I held off. Showing restraint was definitely not my strong suit, but I managed.

"I'm here to protect her," I said. "Nothing else."

I walked to the door and Stoney whistled for me.

I paused, looking back at him.

"Watch yourself, Tripp. Aldo and I go back a long time. The Red Aces have ties you can't imagine. I know why you're here. I know what happened. I know how fragile your life actually is. You get too close. You poke around." Stoney nodded to Rocky's empty chair.

A silent warning.

I left the room and felt a chill run through my body.

If I was a detective or a betting man, my suspicion was really fucked.

I started to believe the MC took out their own guy.

~ ~ ~

I thought about holding Winter's hand. Then I thought about driving the car off the road. There was no way in hell I could hold her damn hand. Even if she was shaking. Even if she kept turning her head to hide the fact that there were tears in her eyes.

It didn't matter.

The lines were pretty clear now.

Something about the Red Aces MC stuck with me. Maybe not the entire club, but the President was a piece of shit.

Then again, I knew nothing of Winter and what she was hiding. For all I knew, she and Rocky were involved with something or someone and it came back to bite them in the ass.

"I'm going to ask something," I finally said. "I'm the one protecting you and you cannot fuck with me."

"Okay," Winter said weakly.

"Did you have anything to do with Rocky's death?"

There was silence.

Winter looked at me. "Directly or indirectly?"

"You know what I mean."

"You think I killed him?"

"Answer my question."

"What did Stoney say to you?"

"He made it pretty clear about something," I said. "He seemed to describe you perfectly."

Yeah, maybe I was testing Winter a little. Pushing her away from me, pushing her out of her comfort zone. She moved away from me, pushing against the car door. I thought she was going to try and bolt.

"He described me," she said. "They all could. They all looked at me. Because of who I was."

"Was?"

Winter stared forward. Her cheeks flushed. "Fine. I was a stripper, Tripp, okay? That's how I met Rocky. That's how I met the MC. I was a stripper."

Now I was the one in shock.

Winter seemed too taken back and shy to take off her clothes. My eyes instantly moved up and down her body. My hands gripped tighter on the wheel. Thankfully we were on a straight road with no traffic, but I was playing a dangerous game by not paying attention to the road.

But... _fuck the road._

I couldn't stop picturing it now.

I had seen Winter in a towel already. The way her cleavage poured from the towel. Her hips pressing to the sides. The curve of her ass. Fuck, the way her hair was curly when wet.

And the whole MC was able to see that? They all paid for that?

Fuck me, I was completely jealous of everyone who ever saw Winter.

"I see you looking at me now," she whispered. "Just like they all do. Is that what you want then? You think it's unfair? You want to see me naked, Tripp?"

Yes. Yes, I fucking do.

I swallowed hard.

Winter grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted. I saw her bare stomach, a little roll of skin, hiding her belly button, driving me goddamn mad, because it meant she wasn't obsessed with being _supermodel thin_ or some fake bullshit.

I caught sight of her bra, her fingers going under her bra, and I grabbed for her wrist.

"Fucking stop!" I growled. "Christ."

Winter put her shirt back down. She looked at me, her eyes glistening. "And to answer your question, I don't know. I don't know what me and Rocky were involved with or could have been involved with, okay?"

"You don't know?"

"I don't know," Winter said. "There was always something happening. Someone trying to come after the MC. They'd meet with other bikers, they'd meet with gangsters, they'd meet with men in suits."

"What about you?" I asked. "What about your past?"

Winter fell silent.

So I hit the nail on the damn head.

Something from her past was creeping forward. Christ, maybe it had nothing to do with the Red Aces MC and that's why Aldo sent me here.

I gripped the wheel even tighter, my mind making it impossible not to think about Winter naked. I shouldn't have asked, poked, pried, or cared. That's why I pushed her away last night, right? I just needed to keep her alive until Aldo called me to come back.

I didn't speak to her for the rest of the ride back to her place.

When we got there, she hurried out of the car and ran to the door.

I watched her open the door and go inside.

That's when I hurried after.

She opened the door without her key. And the door was supposed to be locked.

10.

(Winter)

I didn't use my key.

That thought processed in my mind a second before I saw the place. The couch flipped over. The dining room table the same. Everything was touched, moved, some items broken.

Tripp flew up behind me. I turned just as he was there, his hands scooping me up. Maybe he expected to find someone in the place, but there wasn't. It was just a clear message sent directly at me.

Tripp lifted me up, carried me a few steps, and then put me back down. He let me go and jumped back. His eyes scanned the room.

"Shit," he said. "You shouldn't have come in here."

"What? It's my house."

"The door was unlocked. It's a set up."

"Nobody is here. I'm fine."

Tripp gritted his teeth. He took out his gun and told me to stay near the front door and not to touch anything. I really wasn't in any position to argue with him.

I watched Tripp walk through my house. He was unbelievably sexy with the way he moved, the way he held the gun, the instinctive look in his eye that screamed for survival. I trusted him more than I trusted anyone in the MC.

Tripp emerged from the bathroom and went into my bedroom.

It was the first time he'd been in there.

I bit my lip thinking about the way I put myself out there with him when I was drunk.

Typical Winter, right?

Tripp came out of my bedroom, shaking his head.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Whoever did this kept it right here. Nothing is missing?"

"Not that I can tell," I said. "Not that I have a secret safe full of diamonds or something."

"No secret safe. Just secrets."

Tripp tucked his gun and walked to the kitchen window and looked out. He then opened the fridge and kept poking around the apartment. He fixed the couch and checked under the cushions. I fixed the dining room table and grabbed paper towels to clean up the mess on the floor.

We moved in silence until I stopped and looked up at Tripp, towering over me as I was on my knees. His hands balled into fists. His knuckles ripped up. Muscles rippling from his wrist up to where his arms pressed tight against his shirt.

"I'm not supposed to get involved," he said. "I'm supposed to just protect you."

"So what do you want? A medal? You want me to call your boss and tell him you're putting in overtime?"

"Don't get mouthy with me."

"What are you going to do?"

I was challenging Tripp and I liked it. He inched closer to me. He put a hand to the table and leaned down a little.

"Look, darling, someone wants you dead."

"They really tried this time," I said. "Flipping over my used couch. I'm terrified."

"Yeah, keep thinking that. That's how people get killed."

"Oh?" I slowly stood up. Standing, I wasn't as tall as Tripp. But I was closer to him. Closer to that steel cut jaw. Closer to the scruff on his face. Closer to those scary brown eyes that were somehow still inviting and comforting. "How would I have gotten killed then? Tripped on something tipped over?"

Tripp shook his head. "If you opened your door and saw this, and I wasn't here, what would you have done?"

I opened my mouth but stopped for a second. If I had been alone, I would have freaked out, sure. Who wouldn't have? Would I have stayed in the house and cleaned it up so casually like I was with Tripp?

Probably not.

"Silence," Tripp said. "That's what I fucking thought."

He started to turn and I grabbed his arm. I pulled at him, bringing him back to me.

Tripp stood sideways. My fingers moved up and over the natural round feel of his bicep. A muscle built off throwing punches, defending himself, hurting other people.

Yet I still liked it. I still touched him.

"I would have ran," I said. "Okay? If I was alone and I came in here and the place was trashed, I would have left. I would have grabbed my keys and took off."

"Shit," Tripp said.

He shook away from me and ran to the front door. A second later, he was gone. My fingertips were tingling, wishing they were still touching Tripp's muscle.

I ran after him, outside and around the side of the converted garage.

He went right to my car and stopped.

"What is it?" I asked as I approached.

"Ten bucks you don't lock your car."

"I don't have ten bucks," I said. I grabbed for the door handle, knowing it wasn't locked. What the hell did I care to lock the door? There was nothing in the car that was of value. The car itself was a piece of junk anyway.

Tripp grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to his body. "Don't."

"Why?"

"They trashed your place to get you into your car," Tripp said. "Any idea why?"

I shook my head.

Tripp gritted his teeth. "Just stand back in case I get lit up. And if I do..." Tripp took out his cell and handed it to me. "Dial 1 and just say that I'm dead. I can't promise anything good, but it might be better than that MC."

"Tripp, what are you..."

He rushed around to the driver's door. Slowly, he opened it, wincing. It was like he was waiting for the car to blow up or something.

Blow up.

The car's going to blow up!

The car's wired!

I gasped and stepped back.

Tripp was bold and brave, climbing across the front seat. Digging around, searching. He then popped the hood and moved out of the car. He went to the hood and opened it.

"Fuck!" he yelled.

I ran toward him. "Tripp. What is it?"

"I told you to stay away."

"I don't listen. Get used to it."

"Look. Right here." He pointed to a little box. "That right there. That's wired up to your starter. You get in the car, turn the key, and..."

"Boom," I whispered.

"Yeah, boom," he said and laughed. "Christ, darling, doesn't it scare you?"

"I'm numb to it all," I said.

Tripp wiped a line of sweat from his forehead. He backed up and slowly shut the hood.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"I'll make a call. I'll get this diffused."

"I thought you were a fighter," I said. "How do you know about bombs and stuff?"

Tripp turned and touched my shoulder. "Darling, I didn't survive this long just by fighting. Okay? I've seen things. I've done things. Just do yourself a favor and keep away. Arm's length, okay? I'm sorry for whatever you're going through. I'm sorry I pushed at your past. I don't give a shit about it. Someone is out to kill you. My only job is to make sure that doesn't happen."

I was hurt.

Tripp was touching my shoulder while telling me to stay away. He was a freaking hypocrite with this.

I wiggled away and put my hands up. "Fair enough. It's for the better I guess. Because as of right now, you kind of suck at protecting me."

Tripp lunged at me. My response should have been to jump back and away from him, like I used to with Rocky. Rocky would sometimes catch me, sometimes miss me. With Tripp, I just stood there. He crashed into me and had his face inches from mine.

"Get in my fucking car," he said. "We're out of here."

"We're out of here? What the hell does that mean?"

Tripp didn't respond. He just started walking. He took me with him, turning me around, basically dragging me to his car. I didn't fight him off though. It was almost comforting to know I wasn't going back inside that house again.

Then again, _where the hell was I going?_

11.

(Tripp)

I had hideouts. We all had hideouts. It was just part of the life and the gig. This one wasn't paid for out of my pocket, but by Aldo. He gave me a key to the apartment a long time ago, telling me that if shit ever got bad enough and I needed a night away, use it. To be honest, I figured there was no chance in hell the key would actually work. After all, it was a beachfront motel, not an apartment complex.

The damn key worked.

It slid right in and turned, the lock clicking open.

The room was cramped, but it smelled clean enough. There was only one bed, a nightstand on each side with a lamp on each nightstand. A dresser with a mirror, a small television on the corner of it. There was a closet, a bathroom, and one of the corners served as some kind of kitchenette. The best part was the small balcony that overlooked the ocean. The sight, the sound, that was my favorite thing in the world. It brought me a sense of freedom. A sense of hope.

None of that shit I could let Winter know about though.

I shut the door and locked it.

I had a bag of my clothes. Winter had a bag of her clothes.

We barely spoke a word on the ride over, and there probably wasn't much of a purpose to talk right now either.

I pointed to the bed and said, "Get settled. I have to make a phone call."

Outside, I leaned against the railing for a minute to catch my breath. Seeing Winter's place trashed and finding a bomb under the hood of her car really got to me. I thought I was going to be dealing with someone trying to hurt her or take her, but to not plant a bomb. And after talking to Stoney, it was all weighing on me.

I called Aldo.

"Tripp," a voice said. It was one of Aldo's thugs.

"Where is he?"

"Not here. Grocery shopping."

Cue, he's right next to me but not going to talk to you.

"Did you fix the car?"

"Yeah, it's all fixed."

"Any idea what was wrong?" I asked. _Who planted the bomb?_

"Eh, it's a car. You know how it goes. They work, they break, you fix them."

"So you have no idea?"

"Did you get where you had to go, Tripp?"

"I'm here," I said. "All is well."

"Good. You just stay where you are then. Nothing to worry about."

"Except the car breaking again," I said. "I didn't sign up for this."

"You do as told. You know what waits."

I gripped the cell phone tight and held it away from my ear for a second. I turned and saw Winter standing with the door open.

"I have to go," I said.

"Take care, Tripp."

The call ended.

"You didn't sign up for this?" Winter asked.

"What? Is that supposed to be a shock?"

"I guess not."

Winter turned and stepped back into the room. She shut the door. So I stood there and grabbed the railing, facing the closed door, looking through the glass as she just kept her back to me.

Protect her, man. Nothing else. Nothing more.

I opened the door and went into the room.

"Let me ask you something," I said. "Did you sign up for all this? Is this where you expected to be? In the arms of a biker who winds up dead? Now being protected by some thug like me."

That's when I saw Winter's shoulders starting to bob.

She was crying.

I rolled my eyes and tried to hold back. I had no business getting closer to her and comforting her. This was her life and it was her mess to deal with.

But I couldn't stop myself.

I knew the feeling. That burning deep inside when you're completely alone and have nothing or nobody. Nights I'd sit on the edge of my bed, listening to the ocean, drinking a warm beer, and I'd stare at my phone, begging for it to ring and have Aldo be on the other line with a fight for me. Just so I could feel wanted. Of use. To grasp at anything that resembled a purpose.

I touched Winter's shoulders. I pulled at her, letting her rest against my chest. My chin rested easily against the top of her head. I could smell her hair. The faint fragrance of shampoo mixed with dried sweat.

It made me throb in a way it shouldn't have.

My hands eased down to her arms and I started to rub, anything to settle her emotions and pain.

"You miss him?" I asked.

"No," Winter whispered. "That's the thing, Tripp. I don't. I never really wanted it. It was just convenient. My chance to hide from the world. Like I'm doing right now."

She lowered her head and let out a cry.

"Jesus, darling," I whispered. "You don't have to feel that way."

I brought my left hand up and pulled her hair from her face, gently brushing it all to the right side of her head and right shoulder. I caught sight of the side of her cheek. And then she curved her neck, just a little, exposing skin, testing my hunger to taste her.

"I'm right here," I said. "I'm not going to lie to you. Expect that from me. And if you don't want to open up to me anymore than you have, that's fine. I'm just trying to help you. To protect you. You could have been killed today. If you were alone... and you hurried to your car to get away. I mean, it was a terrible set up because your car wouldn't have been there if you were alone. Even still. Someone was there. Where was the fucking MC then?"

"Probably drinking. Worried about who gets to fuck me next."

I felt a rage of jealous anger surge through my body. I squeezed at Winter's arms. She let out a purring sigh. I shut my eyes and told myself no. The women I fucked were one night stands. They lingered after the fights and sometimes were paid for by Aldo as an extra prize for me.

This couldn't...

My lips brushed Winter's neck. The tip of my tongue flirted with her skin. I pulled my mouth away. I saw Winter's bottom lip tremble. I kissed her neck again. I pulled her body tighter to mine. My cock thickened, pressing hard against my jeans and just as hard against Winter's lower back. I knew she could feel me and she didn't jump away in shock.

Fuck.

I flickered my tongue at her neck and kissed one last time.

I then opened my hands and stepped back.

I let out a long breath. "Shit. Darling."

Winter turned. She put one hand to my face. Then in a bold move she put her other hand between my legs and tried to cup my hard dick.

"Don't fight it for too long," she whispered. "We might be dead soon."

Christ, if that wasn't the most desperate and romantic thing I'd ever heard in my life.

My hands touched her waist. I slipped my fingers under her shirt, touching her soft and warm skin. My hand moved across her belly, my thumb touching her belly button. Her stomach tensed and she gasped. _She was fucking ticklish._

Slowly, I moved both hands up her shirt, grabbing it, wanting the damn thing off her body. Winter lifted her arms and her shirt went up and over her head. It dropped to the floor. Her breasts were beautiful, pushing so heavily against her white laced bra. There was something innocent about the color white and it completely went against everything that was happening with me and her.

I couldn't take my eyes off her tits. I wanted to rip her bra off and devour her.

Winter let out a cry of pain and I opened my hands. That's when I saw the bruise on her left shoulder. My left hand touched her belly again and I spun her so her shoulder was facing me.

God, her fucking tits were amazing. They way they bounced when I moved her...

"What happened?" I asked. "Did one of those fuckers touch you?"

Winter looked at me, her face flushed. "No. You did it."

"Me? What?"

I thought about the night before. Being drunk. Did something happen? Did I hurt her? No fucking way. I'd never touch a woman like that. Not after everything I'd been through. No way...

"Tripp?"

I shook my head. "What? What happened? How did I..."

Winter turned to face me again. Her tits were calling to me, but I forced to keep my eyes to hers. It was killing me from the inside.

"When we went into the house," she said. "You saw Harlan on the couch and pushed me out of the way. I fell into the wall and hit my shoulder."

"Jesus Christ, darling," I said. I touched just below the bruise. "I'm so sorry. I'd never..."

"I believe you," she said. "You didn't mean to. You were protecting me."

The bruise took up most of her shoulder. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to it. Winter jumped, winced, and groaned. Her hand shot to the back of my head, her fingers digging.

My left hand was still against her stomach. If I moved my hand up, I could cup her tit. Rip it right from her bra. Feel the warmth and heaviness. My thumb teasing her nipple, feeling it getting hard. Better yet, I could move my hand down. Shove my hand right into her jeans and panties and find her wet slit. She'd be wet for me. She'd be wet for my touch. But she wouldn't be prepared for what I wanted to do to her.

I gritted my teeth and broke away from her again.

I walked forward, my back to her. "Put your shirt back on."

"What?"

"You fucking heard me. Enough."

I rushed to the bathroom door and slammed the door shut. I went to the sink and turned on the cold water. I leaned down and considered drowning myself in. I considered opening my jeans and stuffing my dick into the sink, too.

This was bullshit. This had to stop.

I couldn't touch her again. I couldn't kiss her. I couldn't fuck her.

I had to keep to the plan.

Just keep her alive.

12.

(Winter)

I lost track of the days because they all started to blend together. The first night was the worst though. Tripp ordered food and went to pick it up. He left his gun under the pillow on the bed and told me to kill anyone who wasn't him.

We ate in silence. We barely talked. I lay in the bed that night as he stood on the balcony. Part of me wanted to wake up and find him next to me, but that didn't happen. He slept on the floor.

It then became rinse and repeat.

We left the motel to walk for food, to do laundry, and I got Tripp to break down and actually take me to the beach. That lasted all of twenty minutes and consisted of him constantly looking around, not enjoying himself. Yeah, we weren't there on a vacation. We were there to hide and survive. I was fully clothed, couldn't enjoy the atmosphere. I locked myself in the bathroom after that for an hour and cried. When I emerged, Tripp was on the balcony again, on his cell phone. One hand to his ear, the other waving like crazy.

He was pissed.

Probably about taking care of me.

I had been nothing but a liability from day one - not just to Tripp either.

That night I considered bolting. If it meant stealing his car, then I would do it. I could get on the highway and go east. As far east as I could make it before I'd figure out a plan or get caught and killed.

I fell asleep with intentions of doing just that. When I woke a few hours later, Tripp was at the door. Sitting at the door, asleep. One leg up, a hat down over his face, his keys in his hand. It was like he knew what I was thinking. He was fucking with me even worse than when he talked to me and touched me.

The worst part of it all was feeling stuck. I didn't want to go home because there was no home for me. The converted garage was owned by the MC. It had been Rocky's place and now the MC had their hands on it. Which was fine. This wasn't my dream house or dream town. I was like a wave in the ocean; just going with the flow. Moving along, pushing to the shore, pulling back, doing it again and again.

I was outside on the balcony watching the water, a nice breeze blowing from the side. I begged my mind to slip away. It started to do just that when I heard the door slide open.

Tripp then stood next to me. Black jeans. A white shirt that seemed unfair to fit his body the way it did. For the love of everything, I could see the ripples of his stomach when the wind pushed the shirt tight to his body! I couldn't remember the last time I felt really turned on and really able to be pleasured. There was a difference between coming and feeling good while coming.

We stood there for a little bit.

"At night," Tripp said.

"What?"

"That's when we'll go down and walk around. I promise. I know you want to go down there right now. But I don't want to risk anything. I've been talking to Stoney and he's had guys around the house for days. No sign."

"Do you trust him?"

"Do you?"

I smiled. "I don't know."

"Yeah, well, we're going to be seeing him tomorrow anyway."

"Oh?"

"I have to fight Harlan."

I heard the words and froze for a few seconds. "Wait. You have to fight Harlan?"

"Yeah. When I was there the first time, he suggested it. He wants to see me fight. I figured it would only be fair. Plus, I haven't had a fight since..."

I saw Tripp turn his head.

I reached for his arm. "Hey. What happened?"

He pulled away. "Nothing. It doesn't really matter."

He started to move toward the door and I scrambled to do anything to keep him near me. My brain ran fast.

"Beer?" I called out.

"What?"

"You and me. Beer. I mean, let's get something to drink. Beer and pizza? Something to eat? It's almost the end of the day anyway, right? We can hang out, have a couple drinks, maybe talk?"

"Now you want to talk?"

"If it breaks up this tension," I said. "I hate this, Tripp. I know you don't want to be here. Neither do I. So... you can ask me anything."

"Did you ever fuck anyone else in the MC?" he asked, so quick and bold, as though it had been burning in his mind for a while.

"No," I said. "I'm not that kind of person, Tripp. I haven't been with... I'm not that kind of person."

Tripp didn't make a move, didn't change his expression. "I have one more question."

"Okay."

"Plain or pepperoni?"

I smiled. "Pepperoni works for me."

And a side of you, Tripp.

13.

(Tripp)

I threw the crust into the box and let out a groan. I was full. We sat on the floor, my back against the wall, Winter across from me, legs bent, hugging her knees. There was a pizza and a half gone and we were well into our second six pack.

"You can't waste the crust," she said.

"Like fuck I can't," I said.

"You must have grown up with parents and money."

"You grew up on the street?"

"Close enough."

I took a swig of beer. Seven in and my mind was well beyond thinking logical. The most important thing was that I knew where the gun was. Just in case anything happened.

"Tell me about it," I said. "You want to be an open book tonight, right?"

"Yeah, right," Winter said. "I don't know. My father was the one who tried to raise me. My mother left long before I could remember her. At one point my father tried to convince me she was dead because I guess it's easier to believe a parent is dead rather than believe that they just abandoned you."

"Did that work for you?"

"No. I knew the truth. My mother was this phantom and my father never let it go. He was a drunk. He lost jobs every week. We had no electricity. Got kicked out of apartments and houses. There were times when he'd wake me up in the middle of the night and we'd have to leave to avoid paying the rent."

"What happened to him?"

"What makes you think something happened?"

"I can see it in those blue eyes, darling," I said.

Those fucking blue eyes.

They were staring right at me. They were big, beautiful, and goddammit, they deserved something so much better than all this happening.

"He was stabbed to death when I was sixteen."

"Christ."

"He got involved with gambling and had some serious debts. He thought he could work cards to make things right. He owed a lot and was killed. Then I found out he was going to offer me as payment. My... innocence."

"Fucking asshole," I muttered.

"So be it," Winter said. "So I was on my own. I survived. I moved around. I tried not to trust anyone. I made a friend, Angie. She was a stripper and bartender. I started out behind the bar. Then there was a night the owner of the club begged me to help out when he was short a girl. So I took a few shots of whiskey and got up there. It was like one in the morning and everyone was just throwing money around. They wouldn't remember me if they saw me the next day. I made more that night than I did an entire month bartending."

"You don't do that anymore?"

"No. Not for a while. Years."

"Because of the MC?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

We both finished our beers and I leaned over to the small fridge and pulled it open. I grabbed two more, assuming Winter would need one. Next time I looked at her, she was teary eyed. I told myself I couldn't comfort her again, not when we were damn drunk.

I twisted off the cap and handed her the beer. She took it and drank half the bottle in one big drink.

"Feel better?" I asked.

"Hardly," she said. She then put her left foot forward and kicked at my foot. "Tell me your story, Tripp."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know. You're protecting me, which doesn't make sense. You owe someone favors, which doesn't seem like your style. And you're going to fight someone from the Red Aces MC for the hell of it."

"First off, there are no favors," I said. "I'm supposed to be dead right now. But that's a different story. You want to know about my life? I was forced to fight to survive."

"Survive what?"

"Whatever guy that was done fucking my mother."

The room fell silent. I couldn't believe I actually said that to Winter, but whatever. She wanted to know the story, then I'd give it to her.

"That's how she survived. She'd fuck anyone that could bring some food or throw her a few bucks. Trust me, it's not a sob story though, she couldn't get her life together. She had family and refused to talk to them. But me? I was always just there. And I became a punching bag around the age of ten. I'll never forget it. This fat guy in the kitchen, digging through the fridge. Shirtless with a set of lips tattooed above his left nipple. He turned to me and smiled. 'You wanna fight me, kid?' he asked. I shook my head. The guy then made a fist and swung at me. He cracked me in the shoulder. It hurt. He walked away. I never saw that guy again. But my shoulder bruised for a week. Then it happened again with a different guy. He was bigger, stronger, and he smacked me in the face. For no damn reason. Then another beat me. Like I was his own kid or something. Another one pummeled me until I passed out. My mother then told me in a drunken state that I needed to swing back. One of our neighbors, a guy everyone called Mutt, had a punching bag in his living room. He was an old school boxer kind of guy. Won some fights and money, then lost it all to booze. But he knew what went on with my mother. He taught me how to fight. I'd sneak out of the apartment and go to his. He'd stand there with a bottle of vodka in one hand and scream at me. Yelling what punches to throw, how to throw them, how to set my feet for the most power. I had long arms but they were skinny. Mutt's cousin owned a boxing gym and Mutt would take me there after school. I'd meet him there and I'd lift weights and box. I'd go until I puked or fell over. Then Mutt would toss me five bucks and tell me to get as much meat as I could with it."

I paused and sipped my drink. Damn, it had been a while since I dusted off this little gem of history. I'll never forget the way it all happened. Mutt's missing front teeth. The yellow ring around his eyes. His dark skin. His boney figure. And his rough voice.

" _Come on, motherfucker, hit the bag. Don't be a pussy."_

"One night after I was done, some guy took my five bucks. Snatched it right out of my hand. I didn't eat that night. I was weak, tired, and everything hurt. My mother had some guy over and it only made things worse. I swore right then I would forever fight. The next day I got my five bucks from Mutt and I waited outside. The same damn guy came by and tried to take my money again. You know what I did?"

"You fought him and won?" Winter asked, looking hopeful, like there was some white knight at the end of this story.

"I broke his fucking jaw," I said. "And then beat him until he passed out. I took all his money."

Silence again. I warned her who I was. A thug. Never did I pick a fight that wasn't coming. But when I won, I took what I wanted.

"It was how I survived," I said. "Fight, win. Fight, win. And when one of my mother's fuck buddies tried touching me, I broke his wrist. Another guy, I knocked two teeth out. Anyone who came near me got their ass beat. Right down to Mutt."

"You beat up Mutt?"

I nodded. "He told me I was being an asshole. Told me I needed to control myself or I was going to end up in jail. We argued and he challenged me to a fight. So I fought him in the ring, with gloves, and I knocked him out. He came to and I kissed his forehead. I told him I loved him like the father I never had. Then I left for good. I was done. Out. Gone. I hit the streets and fought for survival. That's how I met Aldo. He promised me a shot at something real. Like I could go pro. Get on a real circuit and earn. But that didn't happen at all. I made Aldo too much money."

"So why did you stay?"

I didn't respond. I knew why. I just didn't want to talk about it.

"You had to stay," Winter whispered. "Just like being here. You have to be here. He's got you, Tripp. Why?"

"I'm done talking," I said. "You have the story. Back to you, darling. Think about who would take out Rocky and want to come after you."

"There's so many," Winter said. "The MC is not friendly."

"But why you?"

"Maybe someone thinks I know something I'm not supposed to."

"Do you?"

Now it was Winter's turn. She fell silent.

And there we sat, like a couple of fools, hiding from each other.

Finally, I said, "Whatever. As long as you're alive, I don't give a shit."

"And if I get killed?" she asked.

"Like I said, I'm supposed to be dead. What the hell do I really care?"

Winter put her drink down. She leaned forward. Her palms touched the floor and she brought her legs behind her.

Jesus Christ, she's on her hands and knees before me.

Her breasts pushed at her shirt.

She knew exactly what she was doing and how she looked.

"Then if you really don't care," she whispered and crawled toward me. "Prove it."

I looked to my left and saw all the empty beer bottles next to me. I regretted each and every one of them.

I looked forward and Winter was right there, an inch from my face.

She touched my face and curled her lip, trying to look mean.

"Come on, tough guy," she whispered. "Try me."

~ ~ ~

She climbed right on top of me. Her hands were around my neck, holding tight. Pressing those damn breasts in my face. Even through her bra and shirt, damn, she had it all going on the right way. She looked down at me, her hair falling forward. Her eyes, those eyes, they were so blue and yet so seductive. I thought about all the guys who threw money at her. Who saw her under a glittering disco ball or some cheap lighting, all wanting their five bucks to end up somewhere naughty on her precious and beautiful body.

What the fuck do you know, man? She's got a past... she's being hunted...

Yeah, she was being hunted. And not by whoever killed Rocky.

She was being hunted by my desires. My cock.

I put my hands to her hips. I went right up her shirt, just like before, and this time, hesitation was not a problem. I cupped my hands over her bra, squeezing her breasts. She put her head back and groaned. She leaned down against my pulsing dick and rubbed. Her hips cocked right to left, grinding on me.

Christ, is this what she used to do?

I felt my balls ache and tighten. I thought for a second I was going to come. That would have been terrible. But her hips were just so damn perfect. Curves in all the right places, she was able to cut directions, swooping down hard, rubbing across my shaft with the right amount of pressure, and then lifting back up.

Over and over.

My hands slid around and I unsnapped her bra. When I came back around, I was finally able to touch her. Her heavy and warm breasts, bigger than the palms of my big fighter hands. Her nipples were hard, rubbing against my palms.

She tried to move her chest, like she wanted to jiggle and dance for me.

I squeezed tighter and sat up straighter. I put my lips to her neck and kissed. I ran my nose up to her ear and groaned.

"No, darling," I said. "You're not doing that for me. I'm in fucking control. Understand?"

"Yes," Winter whispered. "Yes, please, Tripp..."

I pushed forward from the wall. A second later, she was on the floor, on her back. I was now on top of her. Beer bottles scattered all around, but neither of us gave a damn. I stared down into her blue eyes and gritted my teeth.

I was used to crossing lines. I never cared about lines before.

But this? With Winter?

Man, this was...

"Fuck it," I said.

I brought my lips down to hers. The kiss was like lightening through my body. I turned my head, opened my mouth, and stuck my tongue into her mouth. She kissed me back, breathing so heavily.

It told me one thing.

It had been a long time for her. And Christ did that turn me on.

I ended the kiss with a wet pop sound and grabbed at her shirt, lifting it up. Once again, her shirt was up and over her head. I threw it across the room and set my sights on her bra. I ripped it from her arms and threw it the other way.

"Christ," I said as I cupped her breasts.

I thrust between her legs, wanting to just keep going. I wanted to finish tearing her clothes off, do the same to mine, and then fuck her. I wanted her pussy so bad.

But first...

I brought my mouth down to her neck. I kissed her hard, biting more than I should have. I loved the way she writhed with a ticklish pleasure at the touch of my tongue. I kissed around to her throat and then down. My right hand eased away from her breast, as I cupped at her ribcage. That's where my mouth went. I gently kissed her nipple, nuzzling my nose to it. The hard nub had a pink hue to it, making my mouth water.

I swirled my tongue around her nipple, opening my mouth wider, engulfing all I could. Winter tried to thrust her chest at me again, but I held her down. She cried out and grabbed at my hair. She pulled and let out a groan.

I pulled back from her breast and nipple, then allowed the tip of my tongue to flick her nipple until she was jumping and trying to get away from me.

My right hand then moved down her body. With ease, I opened her jeans and moved up on my knees. Both hands were then at her open jeans, and I tugged on them. Winter lifted her lower half and I pulled her jeans down only a few inches. I pressed my left hand to her lower belly, my right hand between her legs. I felt the warmth and tender wetness pouring through her panties.

Winter closed her eyes and put her hands to the carpet. She dug her nails, trying to hold onto something. It was my chance to take my cock out and fuck her.

But I didn't do that.

Instead, I moved her panties to one side and touched her sopping folds. With my pointer and middle fingers, I cut between her lips and touched her pussy. She was tight, but she was so ready.

Goddammit.

I moved my thumb to Winter's clit and pressed.

She jumped and cried out.

That was it for me.

I was going to do it. I was going to fuck her.

I needed to fuck her.

But then Winter grabbed my wrist.

"Right there!" she cried out. "Oh, fuck, Tripp! Right there!"

If that's what she wanted.

I dug and twisted my thumb against the pearly nub of her clit as my two fingers pressed deeper into her body. I curled my fingers, slid them out of her slickness, and plunged right back in. I was on my knees, watching this beautiful woman thrusting her hips, making her breasts dance right before my eyes. Her eyes were shut, her right hand clawing at the carpet, her left hand still holding my wrist.

The faster she moved, the harder I dug at her pussy. Her sweet smell started to fill the room, leaving my mouth hungry and my dick pressing even harder to my jeans. I was not this kind of guy at all. Not the kind to hold back like this and watch. I should have been inside her already. But she wanted this.

"Yes," she purred over and over.

Her body jerked up, down, left, right. Like it was becoming too much for her.

Her right hand moved from the carpet, climbing up my shirt and pulling. That's when she let out a scream. Her back arched and she started to wiggle those goddamn hips hard and fast. My left hand grabbed at her waist as my right hand continued to do all the work. She climaxed with her heels dug into the floor and her pussy throbbing around my fingers. Squeezing at me, releasing a warmth and wetness that seemed too impossible to be real. A woman like Winter couldn't go that long without being properly touched.

I eased her down and then moved my hands away from her body. I took her jeans completely off and then scooped her up off the floor. Her drunk eyes met mine and she kissed me. A wild and messy kiss.

As I put her on the bed, I killed the kiss.

"Sleep," I whispered.

"Tripp..."

I reached for the light and turned it off.

"Just sleep, darling," I said.

I reached down and touched Winter's cheek.

I was supposed to be protecting her, and now we had entered a very dangerous and deadly game.

14.

(Winter)

I sat on top of a picnic table, listening to the sound of punches hitting sweaty skin. The unique _thud, smack_ sound had been forever tattooed in my mind. It was two prospects just messing around, throwing lefts and rights, taking and giving a few punches. The guys surrounding them were drunk, high, and cheering for more punches. Sometimes the MC did things like this. They would split up into groups and place bets with each other on the prospects.

Of course there were times when the fights were more serious and had more meaning. Money, respect, or just a set up as a diversion for something else.

That's why it bothered me that Tripp was going to fight Harlan. It didn't make sense. Yeah, it was a manly pride thing, but whatever. Maybe Tripp thought I was safer with all the Red Aces around, but truthfully, I felt safer with just Tripp. Not to mention when Tripp and I were alone, there was heat. Instant heat.

I couldn't get him out of my mind either. Not with what he had done to me. The way he kissed me, nibbled at my neck, my breast, the way his fingers knew just where to touch and how. It had been impossibly long since someone touched me like that. Maybe never in my life. To have someone just go for me like that and it worked. It made my toes curl in my shoes just thinking about the way he made me come.

The prospect fight was finally called when one of the guys landed a right hook and knocked the other to his knees.

" _Kick him in the fucking ribs!"_ Stoney bellowed from the side.

But the prospect didn't. He helped the other guy back up and they left the makeshift circle. Everyone started to _boo_ and then laughed.

Stoney stepped into the circle and started to talk. It was all bullshit stuff at first. About the MC. About the memory of Rocky. How they were closing in on some ideas and were going to get revenge. Oh, and in Rocky's honor, Stoney wasn't going to choose a new VP until Rocky's killer was taken down.

I let his voice fade out as my eyes searched for Tripp.

But all I found was Sarah.

She walked with two beers and offered me one. "Peace offering."

"Peace? Didn't know we were at war."

"Well, our guys are fighting," she said.

"Your guy is fighting," I said. "Tripp is not my guy."

Sarah climbed up on the table and sat next to me. "Then what's that?"

"What?"

Sarah touched my neck. "Looks like..."

I moved my hair.

Shit.

Tripp had nibbled a little too hard on my neck. And, yeah, there was a mark there.

"Nothing," I said.

"You wild thing. You're fucking the guy that's supposed to be protecting you."

"I am not fucking him," I said. "I can say that with a straight face."

Sarah grinned. "So he's just doing all the work then."

"No comment."

Sarah giggled. "Hey, this isn't going to hurt us, right? I mean, these two fighting. I know Tripp beat Harlan up already. He hasn't been able to get over it. I mean, everyday he talks about it. That he was jumped..."

"Well, he wasn't jumped," I said. "I'm not going to argue with you. But Harlan had no business being in my house with the lights off and a gun on his lap."

"He was trying to protect you," Sarah said.

I looked at Sarah. I thought about arguing with her. I thought about smacking her. She was as dumb as the... _rest of them..._

But wasn't I one of them? I was Sarah just a couple weeks ago. Succumbing to the allure of the leather cut and the patch.

"Are you ready for this one?" Stoney's voice bellowed.

I wasn't ready, but I kind of was. It was sort of exciting to actually see Tripp fight.

"This guy is a beast," Stoney said. "He's vicious, vile, he's... he's horrible. Let's hear it for our patched in boy, Harlan!"

The crowd cheered.

Harlan pushed through and entered the circle. He was shirtless. He was cut with muscle, but his gut was round and flabby. He had beer muscles and tattoos that littered his body in weird places. He showed his fists and then lifted his middle fingers.

"And now," Stoney said, "a man that's not patched in. A man who attacked Harlan."

The crowd _boo_ 'd.

"That's right," Stoney said. "This guy tried to hurt one of our own!"

"He has to stop," I said.

"You know him," Sarah said. "He just gets them excited."

I didn't like it though. They were all drunk.

"Everyone... meet Tripp..."

They all growled and _boo_ 'd Tripp as he walked into the circle. He looked like normal Tripp. A guy in jeans and t-shirt. When he saw Harlan shirtless he then grabbed his shirt and tore it off.

Behind him, a guy name Mac was howling. _"Fuck you, you piece of shit. You hoodlum motherfucker."_

Tripp turned and threw his shirt at Mac.

Mac was nothing but a useless drunk. He was fat, going bald, and couldn't run from the bar to the bathroom without needing a water break.

I flickered a smile, thinking of how sexy it was to see Tripp like this. But then Harlan came after him. And Stoney didn't stop it. So when Tripp turned, Harlan was there and a fist connected with Tripp's jaw.

Tripp was on his ass a second later, the crowd going wild.

Tripp jumped back up, nodding. He touched his jaw and then flexed it. He put his fists up.

"That was cheap," I muttered.

"He should have been looking," Sarah said.

I felt my blood starting to boil now.

Better yet, looking at Tripp's bare body, my jaw almost hit the ground. It was the first time I got to see Tripp without a shirt. Yet he had seen me basically naked. He'd touched and tasted my body. His fingers had dug between my legs. He'd brought on a rush of pleasure that made me so relaxed, it was like a drug.

And yet, right now, this was the first time I saw him without a shirt.

His chest was wide, his pecs cut with beautiful lines of muscle. Not too big, but definitely well earned. When he breathed, his stomach moved in, showing more stomach than I'd ever seen on a person before. Two lines from the sides cut down into his jeans.

He was the sexiest man I'd ever seen in my life, officially.

"Wow," Sarah said. "That's not bad at all."

"Nope," I said.

She leaned close and said, "You better let that in you. You'll regret it if you don't."

I caught myself nodding.

Yeah, I wanted Tripp inside me.

But first he had to get through this fight.

He and Harlan circled each other and Tripp waited him out. He let Harlan throw the first couple punches, which Tripp either moved out of the way of, or boldly smacked them away.

Then Tripp lowered his hands and shook his head.

Harlan lunged forward.

Tripp moved to the side and whacked him in the gut. Harlan stumbled forward and fell into the crowd. Tripp danced back and waited for Harlan.

When Harlan stood, he turned and moved right at Tripp.

They exchanged some punches, nothing too serious, but when Harlan tried to lock up arms with Tripp, Tripp was ready. He broke the hold, and threw a _one, two, three, jab, jab, hook_ combo that sent Harlan flying back. The hits were someone throwing bricks.

Harlan's face opened up where Tripp had already hit that night in my house. It also opened up Tripp's knuckles. He stood and blood trickled down his arm.

I slowly stood, watching with amazement.

Harlan inched back in and Tripp lit him up again. Tripp's punches were calculated and lethal. He wasn't just throwing a punch because it was a fight. It was like he knew what Harlan was going to do - or not do.

A hit to the gut then had Harlan hunched over a little. Tripp pushed him back and came up with an uppercut.

Harlan hit the ground.

"No!" Sarah yelled.

She clawed at my hand. I shook her away.

That's when I saw Stoney nod his head.

No, no, no...

There was nothing I could do to stop what was going to happen next.

Two guys came forward and grabbed Tripp by the arms. The shocking part to me was that he didn't fight back. He just stood there with two Red Aces guys holding him. Stoney crossed his arms and the crowd started to go a little quiet.

I felt Sarah touch my wrist. "I don't know what this is."

I knew.

Harlan climbed to his feet and wiped blood from his nose. He then approached Tripp.

Another surprise came when Tripp started to nod his head.

Tripp was going to let Harlan hit him!

Harlan cocked back a fist and punched Tripp in the mouth. Tripp's head snapped back and the crowd cheered.

"No!" I yelled. "This is bullshit!"

I tried to move forward, but Sarah clawed at me. "Don't. Let it..."

"Shut up," I growled and pushed Sarah.

She fell back to the table, eyes wide.

I heard another punch and the crowd screamed again.

I had a chance to create a diversion now.

I got up on the table. "Get up, bitch!" I screamed at Sarah.

People started to look at me.

Sarah got up and slapped me right across the face.

That gained a lot of _ooohh_ 's.

Tears filled my eyes and I blinked them away.

I wasn't in the business of bitch slaps. So I wound up and punched Sarah in the mouth. She stumbled back and fell off the table.

Now the crowd cheered for me.

I watched Sarah's face as it twisted in horror with what I had done.

I looked to the circle and saw Harlan ready to hit Tripp again.

Finally, Tripp made a move. He pulled at his arms, strong enough to move the two guys holding him. He twisted his arms, dropped down a little, and then popped up, breaking free. He caught Harlan's fist and walked him backwards.

"Okay!" Stoney bellowed. "That's enough!"

Tripp pushed away from Harlan and turned. Our eyes locked. He was glistening with sweat, blood running from his mouth, his left cheek red and swollen.

It was the sexiest sight of my life.

I wanted him.

I needed him.

This was beyond protection now.

~ ~ ~

I opened the door and hurried to shut it behind me. Tripp splashed water on his face and turned, looking surprised.

I locked the door and walked right to him. My hands went for his jeans, grabbing at his belt, opening it. I'd officially lost my damn mind. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Christ," Tripp whispered. He grabbed at my hips, pushing me back. "What are you doing here?"

"Shut up," I said. "I can't take it anymore. They fucking set you up out there, Tripp."

"I know, darling," he said. He touched my face with his bloody hand. "I know. It's okay. I knew it was coming. Sometimes in life you have to take a hit or two."

I swallowed hard.

This guy wasn't just hot, he was romantic. Edgy, gritty, sure, but behind those dark and wild eyes, there was a man with a big heart.

I lifted my right hand to his face and rubbed at the corner of his lip. I touched his cut. "Does it hurt?"

"Everything hurts," Tripp said. "You just have to accept the pain. Move on. Let go."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the cut. I kissed once, twice, inched my lips to the left so our lips pressed together. I opened my mouth, wanting to taste his tongue again. Tripp kissed me back, setting my body on fire.

My other hand slipped into his open jeans.

As if the guy couldn't get any sexier, he wasn't wearing anything but jeans.

My fingertips felt a thatch of hair and then the thick root of his dick. I slipped my palm down along his shaft, trying to find the head of his cock. It seemed like I never would, that he was forever long. When my fingertips felt his thick and fleshy tip, I turned my hand and curled my fingers. I jerked him, my hand shaking with anticipation, my mind racing, body aching, already wondering how he was going to fit inside me.

Tripp groaned as we kissed. I slipped my hand down his face to his chest. I traced the lines of muscle, all the way down to his stomach. The ripples of his abs were hard ridges. No wonder the guy could take a punch and just keep going. He was built to fight.

With his cock in my hand... I knew he was also built to fuck.

He was against the sink, his hands at my waist, struggling between holding me close and pushing me away.

He broke the kiss, my mouth open, my tongue still searching for his mouth.

"Darling," he whispered. "You don't know what it's like after a fight." He pushed me away a little. "The fucking anger. The fucking rage. My blood pumping a million times over."

I nodded. I was burning from the inside out. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Tripp said. His lip snarled at me. "But when I touch you, it's ten times that feeling. If you don't take your hand off my dick..."

I squeezed tighter at him. My other hand moved from his stomach to his jeans and pushed them down. His cock popped free and I ran my fingertips down his shaft.

Tripp gritted his teeth and brought his hands to the front of my pants.

Before I knew it... it was all happening.

Tripp opened my pants and pushed them down, panties too. Down to my knees and he stepped forward, tearing them down to my ankles. I hurried to step out of them, fighting with damn shoes, trying my best not to look like a fool.

His hands came up my legs and around to my ass. He squeezed tight and lifted me. I threw my legs around his body and was eye level with him. We started to kiss. The hottest and sloppiest kiss of my entire life. Our tongues fought, battling, rolling back and forth. I groaned into his mouth and he growled back at me.

Tripp slowly turned, putting me against the sink.

He kissed down my neck and ran his teeth along the other side of my neck.

His right hand moved between our bodies and he touched between my legs. His thick fingers touched my pussy, opening me. Two fingers darted inside and he groaned.

"Fuck, darling," he said. "You're so tight for me."

"Open me then," I said. I was desperate. I couldn't remember being so turned on before. "Hurry. Now, Tripp. Please."

He grinned.

He enjoyed me begging.

His fingers left my body and the feel was replaced by his cock. When he touched me, I gasped. I lost my breath, breaking our kiss, looking down. I watched his cock press at me, tearing me open, filling me in a way I knew never existed.

Just halfway inside me, I was holding onto his shirt for dear life, seeking relief. But I wanted more. My body craved more. Everything about it was so fucking wrong. Being in the bathroom in the clubhouse of the Red Aces MC. Tripp was supposed to be protecting me. It was all too risky, but so well worth it.

Tripp pulled back and then thrust at me, burying deep inside me.

I felt a tearing feeling that sent a rush of pain. I threw my head back, crying out, the pain quickly becoming a warm pleasure. My head smacked the mirror with a hard _thud_. I felt my hair pull a little and knew we had broken the mirror.

Seven years bad luck? If it was with Tripp and his cock, it was worth it.

Tripp started to pump at me, fucking me hard, making my body accept him as fast as he wanted to go.

It felt so good. There was so much pressure. Each time I thought my insides were going to explode there was a fresh wave of pleasure to overtake the pressure and pain. My legs were wrapped tight around Tripp's body, my ankles locked. I held his shirt at the sides, shaking as I pulled, wanting him more and more.

Our mouths and tongue flirted, randomly touching as we breathed heavy at each other. Our eyes were open, staring at each other. I couldn't remember ever feeling so controlled before. Just staring in his eyes as he fucked me... it was like it was changing me.

His thrusts grew harder and deeper. He grunted each time he came forward, filling me. I licked at his top lip, my bottom lip quivering. His mouth then came over my bottom lip, sucking for a second, then overtaking my mouth completely. I hurried to move a hand to the back of his head.

We kissed and kissed as he sped up. I could actually feel his cock getting thicker, ready to let go. I dug my ankles into his back, pulling, wanting it. His tongue sought out my neck again, going down to the top of my shirt. Yeah, maybe this wasn't the romantic, making love dream that I had locked somewhere in the back of my mind.

But what was wrong with a good, hard fuck?

Nothing.

I looked down and forced Tripp to kiss me again. His tongue explored my mouth, his mouth opening wider as he groaned. His cock started to pulse, releasing as he thrust deep and held there. His hands grabbed my ass, his fingers digging so tight, it hurt. Yet again, another good hurt.

His lower half flexed hard with each push and release of his cock. He filled me, leaving me almost breathless as our kiss broke for the last time. My mouth was open, my body bouncing gently with each thrust he offered, taking good care of my insides. I couldn't tell where my own pleasure began and ended. It was like a constant orgasm.

Tripp slowed and finally stopped. He was still inside me. His hands opened and ran up my body to my face. I was used to it being long over by now. Never anything that lingered like this. Never anything that felt like it could have meaning.

"Fuck, darling," Tripp said. "We're in deep shit. Such deep, deep shit."

"I know. It's worth it. Right?"

Tripp gently kissed me. "Come on, we have to get moving."

He pulled from me with a warm gush that left my body paralyzed. I gripped the edge of the sink as my lower half tingled. It took me a good minute to regain composure and get dressed.

When I turned around, sure enough, the mirror was broken.

Whoops.

Tripp put his hand to my lower back and opened the bathroom door.

Stoney stood there, arms crossed. "Finished?"

"Jesus," I said.

Stoney nodded to Tripp. "You and I need to have a talk. Right now."

15.

(Tripp)

We were outside.

The clubhouse was behind us, lots of noise and partying going on inside. My car was parked at the end of the lot, Winter waiting there. As long as I could see her, I felt comfortable.

I made fists and looked at my knuckles. Freshly cut, damp with blood.

A little regret surged through my body.

I shouldn't have fucked Winter. I mean, realistically it did no good for anyone in any situation. Except it felt really good. And she really liked it. She begged for it.

The biggest problem?

I wanted to do it again. And again. And again.

Stoney sat next to me, smoking a cigar and drinking a bottle of whiskey. He offered it to me and I shook my head. I had to drive. I had to protect Winter. Christ, what was I thinking? I could barely protect her from myself.

Even if she had been the one to burst into the bathroom and come after me. I should have kept her at arm's length. Shit, I could have just touched her again. Gotten her off and kept her away from me.

"Hope there's no hard feelings," Stoney finally spoke. "I mean, what happened there."

"Your guys holding me and letting Harlan get a couple shots. It's good. I get it. Pride."

"Yeah."

"My guys are rattled," Stoney said. "Hard times for the MC. I don't want to send them out there starting wars. Then you show up and have control. We don't share kindly."

I looked at Stoney. "Winter?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "She should have been kept close to the club. I thought Aldo was going to send down some thugs to guard her door. Nothing else. Give me a chance to regroup. You have to be careful where you're stepping now, Tripp. You're in deep water."

"I know how to swim," I said.

Stoney laughed. "You'd do great in a leather cut, my friend."

"I'm nobody's bitch."

"Except Aldo's."

I gritted my teeth. "Yeah. I guess."

"Look, I'm going to tell you something. Do what you want with it."

"Okay."

"There's a crew up north called Skull X. They're real bad guys."

"There's bad guys everywhere."

"No," Stoney said. "These are... bad guys. Take anything you think about bad people and double it, easily. They can't be controlled, just contained."

"You're telling me this why?"

Stoney sucked on his cigar. He blew out smoke. "They took down Rocky."

"You know this?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you known this?"

"Since it happened," Stoney said.

"And you don't have your boys up there tearing them apart?"

"That's not how they work," Stoney said. "If we rolled up, they'd destroy us. They're powerful. They're not as much of a MC as they are an underground fighting ring. They see everything. They know everything. Far beyond anything I could imagine."

"So you're afraid of these guys," I said.

"Not a thing I like to admit, Tripp. I'm telling you because I appreciate your guts. You've got some serious balls. And if you know what you're against... I don't know, maybe Aldo..."

I stood up and turned to face Stoney. "You expect me to ask Aldo to help you? Fuck you, Stoney. You want help, then ask. If you know who did this, then why am I here? If they wanted Rocky, they got him. Why bother with Winter?"

Stoney took his cigar out of his mouth and rolled it between his fingers. "You know what they'd do to her? I mean, I have no love for Winter. She's an old lady. A dime a dozen, Tripp. But if Skull X got her." He shook his head. "I thought if Aldo sent some muscle, it could end a little easier. But one guy? That won't cut it."

I backed up a little. "Try me then. I'm here to protect her and that's what I'm going to do. You waited until now to tell me this? After her car was rigged with a bomb?"

"It wasn't Skull X," Stoney said. "And it wasn't anything that would have killed her."

"What are you talking about?"

"I had my guys do it," Stoney admitted. "Thought if I rattled you enough, Aldo would send more help."

"You fucking put her life in danger..."

I moved at Stoney and he pulled out a gun. "Deep water, Tripp. Deep fucking water. I'm the President of the Red Aces MC. That might not mean much to you, but just know, in this clubhouse, this compound, there are eyes watching. You raise a fist at me, you'll eat a bullet."

I faced Stoney and his gun. I wasn't afraid of dying. But I was afraid of leaving Winter alone. With Stoney. With the Red Aces. And with whatever the hell the Skull X guys were.

"Think about what you just said to me," I said.

"You think about what I just said to you," Stoney said. He stood up and tucked his gun away. He stuck his cigar in his mouth and said in a choppy voice, "Now take Winter and get the fuck out of here. I've said more than enough."

I turned and started to walk away.

"Tripp," Stoney's voice yelled.

I looked back. "Yeah?"

"Not many people get to walk out of here twice standing. Consider yourself lucky."

The truth of it?

I only considered myself lucky when I looked at Winter.

16.

(Winter)

I was sick of the hideout motel life.

Of course, Tripp slept on the floor again. After all we'd been through he still chose the floor over the bed. Wild bathroom sex aside, it didn't make sense that he wouldn't climb into bed with me.

He got more food, more beer, and another day passed by.

It was close to dusk when I stood on the balcony, looking out at the water yet again. It was tiresome to watch people come and go. Normal people with normal lives. Even if they didn't like their lives completely, they had some kind of freedom.

Tripp wouldn't tell me what he and Stoney talked about after the fight, but it bothered him. He wasn't the same. He was taken back, angry, and he seemed paranoid.

I turned just in time to catch him walking from the bathroom in nothing but a white towel that covered up just the lower half of his body. He was beautiful. In my life, I'd never seen a man put together like Tripp. Even clean, he had a grungy look to him. And it drove me wild.

I chose looking at him over looking at the beach. Any sane woman would.

He grabbed jeans and went back into the bathroom.

Just jeans.

A few seconds later he came back out in his jeans. He grabbed a t-shirt and walked to the door.

"Food?" he asked.

"Beach."

"What?"

"You said we could go for a walk."

"Ah, darling," he said. "I don't know."

"Tripp, please. I'm almost to the point that I'd rather get out there and get shot than hide out here any longer. This doesn't make any sense to me."

"You don't get it," Tripp said. "What's out there."

"Then tell me. Tell me what happened with Stoney. What I should be..."

A ball was suddenly in my throat. I had no idea why, but I was ready to burst into tears. I lowered my head and shook it.

A second later arms were around my body. Tripp's clean, manly smell overtook my nose and it made me want to cry even more. I put my hands around his body and gripped his back. I dug into his muscles.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," he said. "I... I promise you, Winter. It's going to be okay. Let me figure something out."

I slowly looked up at him. "Am I really in danger?"

Tripp gritted his teeth. "At first, I wasn't sure what the point was. But now? Yeah. You're in trouble. But not when I'm with you, okay?" He wiped a tear off my cheek. "I'm here."

"Can we go for a walk on the beach?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

I just wanted to feel normal. I just wanted to hold his hand, open my heart a little more.

But what I had hidden... no. I couldn't even think about it.

~ ~ ~

It was mostly dark. We sat on a rock, the water crashing, spraying us with cool ocean water.

Tripp was talking and my heart was sinking by the second.

"Do you know the Skull X crew?"

"Yeah," I said. "I mean, I've seen them. I've never dealt with them. I know them and the Red Aces have had some history. They like to fight. A lot. I wouldn't be surprised if your boss was involved with them."

I didn't mean anything by it, but Tripp jumped and stormed away from me. He walked to the water and kicked at a wave as it slithered into the shore. We were barefoot, walking, and any thought of something soft, sweet, or romantic was long gone out the window.

Slowly, I approached Tripp. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "You might be right. Maybe. I don't know what to believe anymore."

"So Stoney set all this up thinking it would get your boss down here?"

"Yeah," Tripp said. "He thought Aldo would come in and bring muscle. Even that doesn't make sense to me. Why the hell would Aldo give a damn?"

I swallowed my answer and let Tripp figure it out.

"Maybe he is involved too," Tripp said. "But sending me..." He then looked out to the water, his face angry. "I'm just a casualty in all this. I'm here to check on things, report back, and then die."

I reached for Tripp's hand. I squeezed it. "No. You're not going to die."

He ripped his hand away from me. "What do you know?" He looked at me. "In my business, if you lose, you die. And... I lost. I lost my last fight, darling. For what it's all worth, I should be dead right now. Trust me, I've seen it."

Tripp started to walk and I went after him. "What do you mean you lost?"

He stopped. "I lost a fight. I was taking on some guy. I had the fight in the bag, too. But then someone took out a gun and shot Aldo's son. Almost fucking killed him. Put him in a coma. My eyes were on the shooter, trying to figure out what to do." Tripp looked at me. "One second. That's all it took. The other guy got a shot on me and rocked me. The thing with fighting, darling, is that muscle and size look nice, but a punch is a punch. The right punch to the right spot could knock anyone out. A lot of times guys get hit and go down and it's when they smack their head on the ground, that they go out for good."

I could see the pain and even embarrassment in Tripp's eyes when he spoke.

"Hey, you're still here. With me."

"I'm on borrowed time," he said. "When this is done... I'm done."

"No. I don't believe that. You're keeping me safe. That's what you were told to do."

"And when my purpose is up, it's over. Trust me. I know Aldo."

"But if the loss wasn't your fault..."

"Doesn't matter," he said. "There was money on it. Aldo is simple. Make him money, he keeps you alive. Lose him money and he has no use for you. Believe me, you don't want to meet him, get to know him, or be anything close to him."

I felt bad for Tripp. I had nothing to say because I had been living the same life. No matter what I did or where I stepped, it was wrong, bad, and deadly. Even after Rocky was killed, any chance of freedom was quickly taken.

My brain was processing so much at once. I had Tripp confessing something so powerful to me just at the same time he told me that Skull X took out Rocky and that Stoney had put a bomb in my car, wanting to get Tripp's boss here.

"You're quiet," Tripp said.

"I'm in shock."

"Don't be. This is our life. At least we have each other right now."

"You mean that, Tripp?"

Tripp reached for my hand. He held it tight and nodded.

"I mean it, darling."

Everything about Tripp oozed sex. But in that moment, he got to my heart.

And I knew I had to tell him everything.

17.

(Tripp)

I held her hand all the way back to the motel. Maybe Winter was right. If we were going to get shot at and killed, then fuck it. Let the bullets tear us apart.

Tear us apart.

Thinking as though we were together.

I glanced at my hand locked tight with hers and realized we were far beyond the line. This was really bad. And Stoney had practically caught me fucking her in the bathroom.

Someone had ties with Red Aces, Skull X, and Aldo. This shit was tied tighter than I originally thought.

When Winter got into the room, she plopped down on the bed. I walked to our bags and grabbed them with one hand. With my other hand, I grabbed her hand and made her stand back up.

"Tripp..."

"We're going back to your place," he said. "I'm done being here. I'm not going to be afraid. I'll fucking take on the Red Aces myself if I have to."

I expected her to fight me on it.

But she didn't. She nodded.

"Yes," she whispered. "There's something I want to show you. Something... it's private, Tripp."

"Okay." I touched her face. "What is it?"

"It's bad."

"Bad?"

"Yeah. Bad. I'm worried you'll judge me. You'll leave me."

I gritted my teeth. _Don't say you'll never leave her, man. That's not what this thing is. It's not a fucking movie or something._

"I'm not going to judge you, darling. If you think it has anything to do with what's going on..."

"What if it doesn't?"

"Then why would you tell me?"

"Because I trust you. Because I want you to see what it's like for me."

"What does that mean?"

I saw the hurt wash over her pretty face. Her blue eyes weren't quite as bright as before. "It's just stuff. Stuff Rocky used to hold against me. Why I'm stuck."

Jesus, she was terrified, almost shaking now.

"Okay," I said. I kissed her forehead. "It's okay. Let's get out of here. I'll protect you."

Part of me was talking out of my ass. I couldn't really protect Winter, could I? The best I could do was offer my life. And if this Skull X group wanted her, they'd kill me and get her.

Fuck, the thought shook me to my core.

We got to my car. I started it, half expecting it to blow up.

It didn't.

We drove to her place without any incident. The same as when we got inside, which I did first. Again, there was no winning because if someone was there to kill me, that left Winter all for the taking.

I remembered Skull X hadn't been here though. Whatever happened with Rocky they had acted upon and had kept quiet since. Maybe Aldo was involved and keeping them at bay. Or maybe something was waiting for me tomorrow.

I locked the door and Winter went right for a drink. We had a few beers left in the fridge. Not enough to get drunk, but enough for a taste. She opened me a beer, gave it to me, and I grabbed her arm.

"Show me right now," I said.

Her face dropped again as she nodded. "Okay."

Winter led the way to her bedroom. The second she opened the door, my body tightened. My cock pressed against my jeans, already thickening. It was wild what this woman did to me. Christ, it was a bedroom. It wasn't like she was naked.

The room smelled of her. It smelled of blankets and a sleep smell.

There was a dresser across from a wide bed. The sheets were black with red trim. It was kind of girlie, dark and pretty. I shut the door and looked around the room. There were some clothes on the floor, a pink thong showing. I walked to it and kicked the clothes, covering it up. It would have driven me damn crazy.

Winter put her beer on the dresser and went to the closet. She opened it and stepped inside. A light flicked on and she crouched down. I stepped up behind her, watching her shirt pull up her back. The bones and curve of her spine pushed from her back, her black panties showing a thin line.

Everything about her turned me on.

I wanted to protect more than just what was around me.

Christ, was I actually starting to have feelings for her?

Winter slithered back out of the closet and had a box in her hand. An old, maroon colored shoebox.

"This," she whispered.

"What is it?"

"Pictures."

"Of?"

"Me."

My heart sank a little. I crouched down and saw her eyes were already filled with tears.

"What kind of pictures?"

She turned her head and took off the lid.

The pictures were in a messy pile. But they were all pretty simple.

Topless pictures of Winter.

I grabbed a small stack and flipped through them.

Each picture she was in a different pose. Starting to take her clothes off, bending over with her tits pressing against her bra, then her bra on the ground, hands covering her nipples. Topless pictures followed. Winter touching, cupping, playing. Even a couple pictures of Winter tasting herself.

I threw them down and didn't want to see anything else.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Just pictures. They'd come in and shut the place down. They'd demand we take pictures. The owner went along with it. It was money, Tripp. It was harmless, I thought. But Rocky wanted more and more and more. He loved taking pictures and keeping them."

"For what reason? Blackmail?"

"I was a stripper," Winter said. "Anyone could have seen me..."

Jealousy flooded my body.

He stood up and kicked at the box. "That's what you were worried about? Topless pictures? Is there more?"

"Sort of," she whispered.

"What? You and some guys fucking?"

"No!" Winter cried out. "They did that with some women, but not me. I refused. As long as Rocky could take pictures, he was happy. It was a horrible way to try and feel safe."

"Yeah, real fucking safe."

"I always wanted to burn them," she said. "Just burn them all. But he would never..."

"He's dead."

"Yeah, he is."

I turned and stormed from the room. Winter called my name, but I had to get away, again. Each twist and turn with her made me want to scream. Christ, it was so tempting to just get in my car and go. For real this time. Let Aldo track me down.

Instead, I started to open drawers. There had been candles on the coffee table in the living room, which meant there had to be a lighter somewhere. I found one in a junk drawer and grabbed a heavy duty glass bowl from one of the cabinets.

I returned to the room and sat down.

"Do it then," I said to Winter. "Start burning them."

I watched as she collected a few of the pictures and put them in the bowl. She clicked the lighter and they caught. The flames ate the pictures right up. I grabbed a few and put them into the dying flames, keeping them alive. I couldn't help myself as I stared at a few of them though.

Christ, she was really pretty. I mean beyond looking at her perfect big tits and everything. Her eyes, her face, her hair. Even her smile in some of the pictures.

I turned one around. "You seemed happy here."

Winter had her hands in her hair, pulling it back, smiling. Completely damn topless.

"I was probably drunk," she said. "Burn it."

I brought it back to me. "I'll keep it for myself then."

"No," she growled. She grabbed the picture from me and dropped it into the fire. She then inched closer and kissed my cheek. "I'll give you a live picture later."

Good hell.

A woman teasing me and I enjoyed it. Hell, this was the closest thing I had to a date in longer than I cared to remember. And the date was setting pictures on fire. Forced pictures that were taken of Winter. It was wrong and it pissed me off, but there was nothing I could do about it.

As the stack dwindled, Winter seemed to ease a little. She really thought I was going to get mad at her for this. Yeah, sure, I was mad, but not at her. I didn't know Winter when all this happened. If I had, she would have never lived this kind of life.

What kind of life then?

That question felt like a punch to the gut. I had no way of giving Winter a better life, did I? I had a small apartment in a building that got raided once a week. I was at the mercy of Aldo. When he needed me to fight, I had to fight. And nobody is perfect. I'd never get a chance to lose again. Hell, for all I knew, when this protection thing ended Aldo would kill me.

I grabbed another small stack of pictures but looked at Winter instead of the pictures.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm really damn sorry all this happened to you," I said. "I mean, for everything." I shook the pictures. "This stuff. You feeling trapped. Being trapped. Stuck with me. What happened in that motel room and bathroom... it shouldn't have."

"You can't say that," Winter said. "I wanted it. Both times. I was begging for it. I needed it, Tripp. Don't you get that?"

"You were lonely."

"You were there."

I shook my head. "Yeah, I was there. But I can't promise that tomorrow. Or a week after that."

"Nobody can." Winter reached for my hand. "Please finish burning these. Because there's something else I want you to see. I'm scared, Tripp."

"Don't be," I said. "Let's just get through this and try to enjoy the night together. Let everything happen tomorrow."

"I like that."

"I... I like you, darling."

As if I couldn't cross anymore lines.

I started to flick the pictures into the fire like a fast card dealer. With two left in my hand, I dropped one down and hurried to grab it.

I jumped back and got to my feet.

"Who the fuck is this?" I growled.

I showed Winter the picture and her face turned white. "Tripp..."

"No way. You know who this is?"

Winter didn't respond.

"Goddammit, darling," I said. "You better not choose right now to start lying to me."

Her bottom lip quivered. It was sexy, but I couldn't have that shit right now. This was serious. This was...

Winter nodded. "Yes. I know him. There's more, Tripp... what I'm trying to tell you..."

"Fuck," I bellowed.

I looked at the picture again and wanted to throw up.

It was a picture of Winter, this time in a bra. A lacy black bra that matched the panties she wore in the picture. She was on someone's lap, arms around his neck, her cheek pressed to his.

The guy sitting in the chair had a nice grey suit on. Money in his hand. A cigar in his mouth. Slicked back black hair. An aura of complete asshole that burned even through the picture.

My world spun as I tried to make sense of it.

It was a picture of Winter sitting on Endo's lap.

Endo.

Aldo's son... who was shot and in a coma.

Fuck.

~ ~ ~

I knew I had to stop running away from Winter. But it seemed each time she dropped something on me, I was pissed enough that I had to leave. I had to get away from her for a second to catch my breath. To convince myself none of this shit was her fault.

Christ, I had been told to come and protect her.

Yet there was a picture of her on Endo's lap?

It seemed that Aldo was getting more and more tied into this fucking mess. And I was smack dab in the middle of it and had no clue what was happening, what had happened, or what was going to happen.

I walked to the wall I had punched already.

Fight. Do it. Fucking fight, man. That's what you're meant to do. Not to fall for some woman. Not to care about how you fuck her. Not to feel a little guilty for fucking her in the bathroom... because you want to take her to her bed and taste her fucking body. No. You punch the wall. You leave this house. You find someone to fight. A real fight.

I cocked my fist back. It was my only sense of relief. The pain I'd feel in my knuckles, hand, wrist, and arm would mask the pain in my heart. And that's what it all was right now. Pain in my damn heart.

"That won't fix anything."

My fist shook. Then I lowered it. "You think I don't know that?"

"Tripp, why are you so angry?"

"Endo. He was the one shot at the fight." I looked over my shoulder. "The fight I lost. He's in a coma right now."

Winter touched her mouth. "Holy shit."

I turned and walked toward Winter. She looked terrified. But I couldn't let her win this battle. No fucking way her emotions were going to overpower mine.

"Endo is Aldo's son," I said. "Aldo and his _family_ control everything. Aldo sent me here to protect you. Skull X kills Rocky. Stoney tries to set you up, wanting Aldo to send more people down here to help. What the hell does it all mean, Winter? What else do you fucking know?"

She shook her head and backed up until she bumped into the doorway to the bedroom. She stumbled and I grabbed for her arm to keep her from hitting the floor. I pulled her toward me. Her hair fell in front of her face. I could see her blue eyes burning at me.

Slowly, I ran my fingers into her hair and pushed it out of her face. I cupped her cheek and started to pull her closer. My mouth ached for her. My body demanded I have her.

"You have to tell me everything," I whispered. "Now or never. I'm sorry if you've never been able to trust anyone in your life. You can trust me. You have to trust me, darling. I don't think we're safe. I don't think I was sent here to actually protect you. Something else is going on."

"Okay," Winter said. "Okay. Just..."

"Tell me how you know Endo."

She just stared at me for a few seconds. Usually when life was going to fuck me over or knock me down I didn't see it coming. Like the first time one of my mother's boyfriends used me as a punching bag. Or the first time I had to really fight and defend myself. Even the fight I lost that put me in this position. My head was turned and I got rocked.

Hell, meeting Winter was taking its toll on me.

But looking at her now, I knew it wasn't going to be anything good.

"Winter," I said. "We're wasting time. Tell me everything you know about Endo. If you don't, I'm gone. I'm going to get in my car and just go. For good."

"You said you wouldn't leave," Winter whispered.

"How can I stay if I don't know why I'm here?"

Winter slipped away from me. She backed up to the bed and sat down.

And the truth poured from her mouth.

18.

(Winter)

I'd never forget the look on his face when he found the picture of Endo. The anger that washed over him. How badly he wanted to punch the wall, but I saved him from it. If anything, he should have punched me. But he wouldn't do that. Tripp was too good of a man. A real man. No matter what he said and no matter how he tried to play his life off, deep down, Tripp was a good person.

I felt it when he looked at me. When he touched me. When he kissed me. I felt it when he thrust his perfect cock inside me. Most of all, I felt it when he held my hand.

I sucked in a breath and knew it was no time to cry.

"He used to come in where I worked," I said. "I met him before I met the Red Aces."

"Were they friends?" Tripp asked.

"Close enough. I mean, Stoney called your boss for help, right?"

"True."

"So they've had ties," I said. "At first, it was kind of neat. I don't know. I mean, there were guys in really nice suits with a lot of money. Five dollar bills were suddenly fifties. You know?"

Tripp nodded. He folded his arms and leaned against the doorway. Like he was keeping himself guarded, halfway out of the room. I hated it. It hurt to see.

"There was a group of them. I don't remember all their names. Mostly like Bobby, Richie, Petey, little Jack."

"Aldo?" Tripp asked.

"No. I'm not sure I remember that name. Well, Stoney had said it before. But he never came into the club."

"Just Endo then," Tripp whispered.

"Yeah. One night after closing, I went outside and Endo was waiting for me. He had a car. He had money. He had a nice smile. It wasn't uncommon for any of us to do it, okay? I mean, if the guy was rich and wanted a night, it was easy money. Sometimes we fantasized about someone showing up and saving us from the life. Like in the movies and stuff. But it never happened."

"You didn't fall in love and marry Endo?"

"No. Not that Endo was a bad person. He was just busy and violent. But he never raised a hand though, no. He had other people do it. I mean if someone touched me, they were taken out back and beat up. But with the Red Aces, it was all good. They were all friends. They sat together, laughed together, but any conversations were handled elsewhere. To me, I didn't get involved. Maybe I should have, Tripp. Maybe I should have poked around."

"No," Tripp said. "You would have been killed. Easily."

"I know. Endo warned me of that a few times. That's part of the reason I... well, I was with him, I guess. I wasn't supposed to be anywhere else. It got scary, Tripp. It really did."

"Scary how?"

"Endo would get really drunk and have people hurt and killed. For fun. He would force me to watch one of his guys shoot someone. I'd never seen that stuff before."

"Christ. You shouldn't have seen it then."

"Well, that's why Rocky seemed so... inviting."

"You left Endo for Rocky."

"Something like that."

"Meaning?" Tripp asked.

This was it. It was brewing inside me. Something I hadn't talked about in a long time. Something that would open gates inside me that I swore would be shut forever. Part of me would rather die than talk about it.

"Endo and I had to end," I whispered. "There was a problem. A situation. Rocky was able to swing in and save me. Endo kind of left me for dead at the end of it all. Not that I could blame him, Tripp."

"I hate that guy," Tripp said. "He always lived off his father's presence and cash. He never did anything himself. It was always handed to him. It didn't surprise me he was shot. I just wanted to find out who and help Aldo." Tripp shook his head. "Sorry. Keep talking, darling."

My body tingled. The way his voice said _darling_ turned me on. I needed that feeling, because I was getting cold on the inside. It hurt. I hated this shit.

"Rocky took me away from Endo," I said. "And he took me away from the life. From everything that happened to me. From the notion that I had to take my clothes off to pay my bills. Plus, when I was with Endo or Rocky, I didn't have bills. Survival seemed so easy. I wasn't happy. I was actually really depressed. After everything that had happened."

"Which was what? You were with Endo at one point. How does it all make sense now?"

I looked at Tripp and instead of talking, I pointed to box of pictures. "There's a picture on the bottom that will make more sense to you."

"Do I want to see it?"

"It's not me naked. It's the truth. Of what happened. Of what I did."

Tripp stepped into the room and I shot up from the bed. I couldn't believe I was trying to block him now. But I was scared. Scared he'd get mad at me and then abandon me.

"You have to know what it was like for me..."

"It's okay," Tripp said. "Trust me."

"I care about you. I like you. I'm..."

I'm falling for you. You're supposed to protect me. Now you'll know my darkest secret.

Tripp crouched down and dumped the rest of the pictures out. My plan had been to have him find the picture and figure it out himself. He was going to do that anyway now, but there was more tension behind it.

Tripp grabbed the last picture and flipped it around.

Slowly, he stood up.

I saw the look in his eyes. The shock on his face.

Tripp then looked at me. "Winter..."

I nodded.

" _You're pregnant in this picture."_

19.

(Tripp)

I couldn't process it.

The picture was of Winter pregnant. Her hand over her shirt, touching her round belly. Her face was bright, radiant, a little pudgy in her cheeks. She looked beautiful. Even thinking something like that jarred me a little.

I dropped the picture.

"What happened?" I whispered.

"Endo."

"No."

Winter nodded. "Yeah."

"You had a baby with Endo. That's what you've been hiding from me?"

"Not hiding," Winter said. "I'm telling you now. You have no idea how bad it hurts me."

"Why?"

Winter's eyes filled with tears. "Does it look like I have a kid with me now?"

I swallowed hard. "Endo..."

"No."

"Oh, shit," I said. "You..."

"No," Winter said again. "I gave her up."

"You gave her up?" I asked.

"Yes. Endo told me he couldn't have a baby like that. With someone like me. I wasn't part of his family and I wasn't the right blood."

"Christ," I said. "They have beliefs about marriage, family, keeping their bloodline pure."

"Yeah. I'm not pure. I don't even know where the hell my ancestors came from. Never thought it would matter so much."

"So you let him tell you what to do?"

"What fucking choice did I have?" Winter yelled. "Look at my life. I couldn't fucking have a baby and take care of it. And Endo gave me no choice. Either I did it or he had me killed."

"No way."

"Yes. And if he killed me, he would have taken the baby anyway."

I touched my forehead, ran a hand through my hair. It was getting worse by the second. More confusing. It was too much to take in at once. I thought I was coming here to keep some woman alive. Yeah, maybe I'd get into a fight or two. Maybe take a bullet or something.

But all this?

"Tripp," Winter said. "Please don't leave me."

I moved at Winter. My hands touched her waist. I felt her hips. Those beautiful and natural curves of her hips. My thumbs pressed against her stomach, over her shirt. Whatever she had done after having a baby had worked wonders. I had no idea that she had ever been pregnant.

"I was terrified," she said. "I didn't know what to do. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. To give up my baby like that. I was able to pick who got her and I even picked her name."

"Your daughter."

"Autumn."

"That's what you named her?"

"Yes. I had her on the first day of fall. I went into labor in the middle of the night. But it wasn't anything pleasant. I didn't go to a hospital. I was taken in a car to a place. Like a building. It was all set up by Endo. It all had to be secret. The doctor there was paid a lot of money to keep it all silent."

"Jesus Christ," I said. "You gave birth in a building?"

"Yeah. I was fine. The baby was healthy. The woman who took her was there. She was a cleaned up woman. She had a real job, a real life. Endo worked with her to set it all up and make it legit. Whatever power he had, it was meant to work. I held Autumn for a minute and then she was gone. Just... like... that..."

Winter put her head to my chest and started to cry.

Yeah, I had about million more questions for her, but I couldn't pressure her right now. What a thing to carry in life. To have a child and have it taken away. Especially by someone like Endo. Endo and Aldo were connected to the Red Aces MC. Endo slept with Winter, got her pregnant, and then stole all that from her. Because she wasn't the right bloodline. I had heard stories before of people having children outside the bloodline and it wasn't pretty. People were killed. People disappeared.

It was a life I didn't understand. It was about a _family_ that I never knew and would never know. My family was of Irish descent anyway. I couldn't track them down and didn't really give a shit to do so. For all I knew, my family were a bunch of drunk Irishmen fighting anyone who wanted to throw a punch. That was fine by me.

I held Winter tight as she wept. Her hands slid up to my neck, her nails digging hard into my skin.

"I never meant it," she said. "I screwed up with my pills and it happened. Endo hated me for it. Hated me. He thought I did everything on purpose, to trick him into getting me pregnant. That's what he said to me over and over. He drank a lot. He got more violent. I think that's when and why Rocky stepped in. He became a friend to Endo."

"And now Rocky's dead," I said. "And Endo was supposed to die. He's in a hospital bed in a coma."

Winter looked up at me. I hated to think it but her eyes looked even prettier when she cried. The wetness of her tears made the blue color brighter.

I was falling for her, and hard.

I kissed her forehead. "Thank you for telling me this."

"It's the darkest secret I've got. All I can hope for is that Autumn is okay. Living a good life. A happy life somewhere."

"You don't know where she is?"

"No idea," Winter said. "That was how it was meant to go. After it all happened, Endo disappeared. He was done with me. Rocky kind of picked up the pieces. He took me in and took me away from that life. He brought me here and let me stay. I worked at the cafe when I wanted and slowly came back to life. I don't know, Tripp. It was hard to do. I ran. I exercised. I did anything to try and erase it all. It's impossible to do that. Because Rocky didn't wait long to show his true colors. The whole picture thing... it was his way of being jealous. He was always angry that other men had seen my boobs. So he wanted pictures like it would erase my past. I don't know."

"Did he ever hurt you?" I asked.

Why would you ask that, Tripp? What good can come of the answer?

"Of course he did," Winter said. "But all I knew was that when I came to the Red Aces MC, I felt protected. Safe. Up until the last few months. Everyone seemed on edge. Rocky and Stoney argued a lot. They got into a couple fist fights even. I think Rocky wanted to push at Skull X for some reason. Stoney tried to stop him. And, well, look how it turned out."

I couldn't stop putting the pieces together. I knew nothing of this shit. Trying to figure out murder, betrayal, all that stuff. I was a fighter. When I wasn't fighting, I was fucking. When I wasn't fighting or fucking, I was having a few drinks and waiting to fall asleep.

But Aldo had sent me here for a reason and it wasn't protection.

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"That's everything," Winter said. "I had no idea who your boss was. Or that it was all connected."

"I know, darling. I know. There's something going on. There's..."

And then it hit me. Oh, man, it fucking hit me.

I stepped back, putting Winter at arms length. Her blue eyes tore through the last few shreds of my heart. There was no turning away. There was no turning back either.

"Tripp, what is it?"

"I know what this is now," I said. "I know what's happening."

"What?" Winter asked.

"This has nothing to do with you," I said. "I wasn't sent here to protect you. It's about her... _shit, darling, they want your kid."_

~ ~ ~

It made sense now. Rocky was dead because of what he knew or what he wouldn't share that he knew. Someone tried to take out Endo. They were the ones who were directly involved with Winter. And if they wanted Winter dead, she'd be dead. I had nothing to do with protecting her. This was all about what she had done. What she had been forced to do.

Winter was shaking as we stared at each other.

"Tripp," she whispered. "We're in danger, aren't we?"

"Yeah," I said. "We're in this deep, darling."

"What do we do?"

There was a handful of things we could have done right then. None of them should have been what I decided to do.

I pulled Winter close to me and kissed her.

Our lips collided in a dark and beautiful way. My hands pulled at her shirt, wanting to touch her bare skin again. My right hand touched against her belly. My intrigue was through the roof with her. The intense feelings racing through my body were almost foreign to me.

When our tongues touched, she moaned into my mouth. Her nails dug harder at my neck, scratching at me, tearing at my skin.

I walked forward, pushing her to the bed.

I lifted her shirt up and over her head. My hands cupped her face, pulling her back to me for another kiss. Her mouth was delicious, she was the best kiss I ever had in my life.

Reaching around, I unsnapped her bra and she let it fall to the floor.

My hands cupped her breasts, keeping a small distance between us. Our kiss broke, our foreheads touching, and I looked down at my hands touching her. I cupped her hard, gritting my teeth, my cock pulsing in my jeans. I slid my hands down and cupped under her breasts, admiring their beautiful shape and size. I then inched down and kissed her chest, slowly working down to her left breast first. My tongue demanded another taste of her nipple, swirling around, flicking, my teething gently grazing, just enough to make Winter shiver.

I moved to her other breast and did the same.

I slipped my hands around to her back, leaving her breasts dangling in my face. I looked up at her. Her head was down, hair in her face, and a little smile crept across her face. My heart pounded fucking hard. Harder than any fight I'd ever been involved with. That meant Winter was more addicting than a fight, which seemed impossible.

Her hands played with my hair.

I kissed below her breasts.

Then I moved down a little more and did it again.

And again.

I kissed above her belly button and quickly moved under it.

Her stomach fluttered with my kisses.

She was beautiful, her skin soft and sweet.

But I wanted something sweeter.

I opened her pants and tugged at the sides. Her hips _tick-tocked_ left to right as I took them off her. She kicked her pants off.

Finally.

I ran my hands up her legs and wasted no time gripping the top of her black panties and pulling at them. I watched her bare mound appear before my eyes, her tender folds there, her pussy for the taking.

When she stepped out of her panties, I gritted my teeth.

I came forward and pressed my lips to her mound, tasting her smooth skin. Inching down, I slipped my tongue between her legs, demanding to taste her. The tip of my tongue cut along her wet folds, bringing me her sweet flavor. One taste was not enough for me. No fucking way in hell.

My hands slapped at her hips and I pushed her back on the bed. Winter cried out as she fell to her ass on the bed. My hands touched her knees and opened her legs. No more time could pass by now.

I kissed her inner thigh and then raced up her leg. Her smell flooded my senses. I placed my right hand on her mound, my thumb rubbing the gentle nub of her clit. She cried out and thrust at me. My thumb slid down between her folds.

I had to devour her right then.

I brought my mouth to her slick center and tasted her. My tongue moved up and down, pressing against her pussy, feeling her throb against my touch. I put my hands to her inner thighs and kept her open. I was fast, aggressive, needing her so badly.

At her clit I suckled, rolling her between my lips. Each time she jumped, groaned, pressing her hips at me, wanting more.

One of her hands grabbed at my neck and then my shirt. She scratched, pulled, cried out, wanting my shirt off.

I tasted her again, top to bottom, then bottom to top. I pulled away, savoring her sweet taste.

I stood up and hurried to rip my own shirt off.

There before me on the bed, Winter was fully nude. Her succulent body was all mine now. Her hands on the bed, holding the covers. Her left leg a little bent, her legs still open, her tender pussy folded up for me. The curve of her hips, her breasts just hanging there, hard and rose pink nipples. But it was her face that got me the most. Her natural beauty shined through.

Goddammit, I think I loved her right then.

Love?

I shoved my jeans down and kicked them off.

My cock was almost painfully hard.

I grabbed her legs and pulled at her, bringing her to me.

She cried out and I lowered my body down to hers. Her burning warmth instantly welcomed me. I thrust and opened her, sliding just a little into her. She throbbed against me, her pussy teasing me to fucking come already.

I pulled back and thrust again, easing myself into her.

Once I was deep, I lowered my body to hers. Her hands instantly went around my back, holding me. My right hand pressed at her waist, holding her steady. My left hand slid up her body, over her breast, and up to her face.

I held her just like that as I started to fuck her with slow and long thrusts of my cock. Pulling all the way out to the tip of my dick and then rushing right back inside her. Each thrust she moaned, her mouth open, a sexy desperation in her eyes.

She then started to thrust her hips at me. She rocked left to right, lifting, wanting it. Her head slowly fell back and her body shook as she reached her first climax. Her nails cut into my back muscles like she wanted to tear me apart.

I fucking loved it.

I held tight inside her as she came. I kissed her neck as she cried out with each push of my cock and each throb of her insides.

Winter looked at me again, panting. I didn't give her a chance to catch her breath. I simply kissed her. My tongue explored her mouth, wondering if she could taste her own sweetness on my tongue.

That turned me on even more.

I pushed and pulled, thrusting and fucking her. I kept our bodies tight, tighter than I had ever been with someone before. Maybe this was beyond a good and sweaty fuck. Maybe this was me making love to her tender body. Showing her how beautiful she was, no matter what happened to her.

I had no clue.

I kept thrusting at her though. My knees hit the bed and then I climbed up on the bed. My hands grabbed her ass and lifted. Without exiting her, I crawled up the bed even more. When her head was on a pillow, I started to fuck her again. Slowly, I inched away, lifting the top half of my body.

Winter grabbed at my chest, clawing at first, then her hands opening. I was on my knees, fucking her. Watching my cock slide in and out her. Watching her breasts bounce with my movements. All of it added up inside me. My anger, frustration, guilt. My deepest needs that I never thought would be cared for.

That feeling of love raced through me.

Maybe I just loved her pussy. Or her body. Or the moment we were in. She was frail and needed me. That was a turn on.

I gritted my teeth and hissed as the rush started. My balls tightened and I sped up even more. The wild sound of bodies hitting became matched by Winter's cries of pleasure. My cock finally started to pulse, spilling inside her.

I held her hips tight and pressed deep, holding steady as I came inside her.

With each release inside Winter, her body jumped. She rocked her hips, her sweet pussy squeezing at me, wanting it all. So I gave her all of it, over and over.

There were just too many emotions raging inside me to figure out what the fuck I was doing, why, or if anything could make any kind of sense.

When I finished, I stayed there, with Winter, deep inside her. My stomach touched hers. My hands were tight around the pillows, holding my chest off hers. Our eyes met. Gently, she reached up and touched my face. She pulled at me, bringing me down so I'd kiss her again.

That kiss kept going. Our kiss was hot, wet, sloppy, perfect. Ours heads moved side to side. I nibbled on her lip, tasting her tongue. She did the same to me.

It only took a matter of a few minutes for me to get hard again.

And I started to thrust at her.

Fuck, again.

20.

(Winter)

I woke and wanted everything to be a dream. The fact that I had given everything to Tripp the night before seemed impossible. Nobody knew my secrets. Sarah didn't even know, and she was kind of my best friend.

Endo had his grip on me for a while. We had been playing a dangerous game that was fun in the beginning, but got old fast. Then I got pregnant. He kept me hidden to keep the pregnancy hidden. The only ones who really knew were Rocky and Stoney. Endo had some deal with them to keep it from Endo's father.

Who I now knew was Tripp's boss.

It was a mess to think about. But my mind wouldn't erase it. Let alone being in that room when they took Autumn from me. I had the chance to kiss her, just once. That warm, small head of hers. There was a sweet smell to her, something I could never find again. She wasn't exactly ripped from my arms, but taken gently. Yet my heart would beg to differ. My heart was never able to accept it.

Fine, I hated myself for it all. Even if Autumn had the best life in the world, with the best mother and father, it still hurt me. Then again, if my pain and sacrifice was for her, then what more could a mother give a child?

I tried to shut my eyes and chase it away.

The truth was lingering though. Someone wanted to find Autumn. Killing Rocky was part of it. Coming after me? Maybe someone wanted to kill me, but they wanted information first. That was something I didn't have. My secrets were exposed, the rest of it all in ashes on the floor.

I forced myself to sit up.

The covers inched down my body. I was still naked. That at least made me smile.

The bedroom door slowly opened and I was treated to something sexy.

Tripp, standing with two mugs of coffee.

He was shirtless, leaving my eyes all the time in the world to climb up and down his body. Picking out all the lines and cuts of muscles, miles for my tongue to explore.

If we could survive all this shit.

"Hey, you're finally awake," he said.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Well past noon."

"Oh. Wow."

I couldn't have been that surprised. Last time I saw the clock it was past three in the morning and I was rolling off of Tripp. That would have been three of four times we were together before I finally tapped out and had to fall asleep.

My body felt like I had run a marathon. And God help me, I was still warm between my legs. I was still feeling good, because of him.

Tripp climbed onto the bed and handed me a coffee.

"Thanks," I said.

"I'd make you breakfast but there's no food. We'll have to go out and grab something when you get out of bed."

"Maybe I won't get out of bed."

"Good. Don't."

"Maybe not forever," I said with a grin.

Tripp touched my cheek. "We can't do that, darling. I just want you to know everything you told me last night, it means something to me. I'm sorry if I bullied it all out of you. I had no idea what you were going to say. I mean, I just... I just wanted you to not be involved in all of it."

"But I am. Something is going to happen to me. To us."

Tripp nodded. "I'm a fighter, darling. So are you. Just let me get my head around it all and come up with a plan here. It's a lot to take in."

I nodded. "I know."

I leaned up and kissed his chin.

Tripp tugged the sheet down, exposing my breasts. His free hand touched and played, bringing my nipple to an erect state. The palm of his hand moved over my breast, cupping, sending a warm pressure down my body.

"Keep that up and I'm definitely not going to leave this bed."

"Good point," Tripp said.

He took his hand away. He sipped the coffee and then anger washed over his face.

"What's wrong?"

"This Skull X group," he said. "Was Endo involved there?"

"I don't know. I only saw him with Rocky and Stoney. I'm not even sure the rest of the Red Aces knew Endo. And obviously it was all a secret from your boss. So I don't know what to think."

"That's all family shit," Tripp said. "Bad family shit. It doesn't take much for them to kill each other. And depending on what you did depends on if you even get a fucking funeral."

"Then why are you involved?" I asked. "You're a good fighter, right? Can't you do something else? Fight for real?"

"Real? So what I do isn't real? You and me right now? This isn't real?"

Tripp moved out of the bed. I grabbed the sheet and tried to go after him, almost spilling coffee on myself.

"Tripp! No. I didn't mean it like that. I meant like, you know, legal fighting."

"It doesn't work that way," he said. "If I tried to leave Aldo, he'd have me killed. Simple as that. Plus, why would I want legit?" Tripp looked back at me. "I like fighting the way I do. Knowing that there's no rules. Knowing that there's death waiting. It's like a drug to me. I told you. I'm no good. I'm street trash. A thug."

"Stop saying that," I said. I finally got out of the damn bed. I put my coffee down and walked to Tripp. I let the sheet fall from my body, standing there completely naked. I pressed my breasts to his back and kissed him. "You are nothing bad. You are all good, I swear. I'm sorry I said anything, Tripp. I just want to find an answer out of this."

Tripp turned and faced me. His hands touched my waist, sending warmth everywhere. "I don't know if there is an answer, darling. One thing I need to do... I need to talk to Stoney again. I need to get to Skull X and see what they know."

"They won't tell you anything. They'll kill you."

"They like to fight, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So do I. I'll fight it out of them."

"That's cocky and cute at the same time," I said. I dug my hands into his back. "I really like you, Tripp. I mean, aside from you throwing me into a wall, beating up my best friend's boyfriend, twice, and me almost getting blown up, hiding in a motel, and confessing everything to you. It's been... nice."

"No it hasn't," Tripp said. "This situation is bad. But us together. Yeah, that's nice."

We kissed. So soft. So romantic.

"I hate to fucking say this," Tripp said, "but you need to put on some clothes."

I backed away from him, grinning. I slipped my hands over my breasts and just stood there. Anytime I had to deal with taking my clothes off, I was numb. I taught myself to be numb. It was easier that way. The thing with Tripp though was that he was far too real to feel numb around. I was standing there, touching myself. I felt sexy. Alive.

Even if we were just messing with expiring time.

~ ~ ~

Harlan jumped from the top of a picnic table. He threw a cigarette to the ground and embers danced along the pavement. He blew his smoke with a curled lip. His face was looking better now, but there were still some yellow fading bruises from where Tripp had gotten him.

"Round three?" Tripp asked as he walked by, holding my hand.

"Fuck you," Harlan said.

He turned and walked away.

I didn't know how Tripp could walk the way he did. Without fear, worry, even care. I mean, the Red Aces weren't exactly the biggest MC in the world, but they were powerful. There were bodies of their enemies buried too close for comfort.

Stoney came walking from the back of the compound, wiping his hands with a towel.

"Didn't expect to see you so soon," Stoney said. "Figured you'd be making your calls and..."

The second Stoney got within range, Tripp grabbed him by his leather cut. I screamed and watched in horror as Tripp spun Stoney around and put him against a pole that was part of a canopy off the back of the clubhouse.

Stoney put his hands out.

There were ten guys charging toward Tripp, guns drawn, ready to take him out.

"No!" I yelled.

"You're not going to have to them shoot me," Tripp said. "So call them off."

Stoney grinned. "Mind getting your fucking hands off me first?"

Tripp backed away.

One of Rocky's friends, Pat, put a gun to the back of Tripp's skull. "Stupid asshole."

"Pull the trigger," Tripp said. "Trust me, brother, do it."

"Brother?"

"That's good," Stoney said. "Everyone stand down." A few seconds later Stoney bellowed, "I said _STAND DOWN!_ "

All the guys backed away and put their weapons away.

"I want everyone inside. This is personal business."

"Boss," Pat said. "If he..."

"Pat, get the hell out of my face," Stoney said. "Or I will shoot you."

Everyone cleared out.

Tripp looked at me and nodded.

I had no idea what he was planning on doing.

"Did you call Aldo?" Stoney said.

"No," Tripp said. "You want to be afraid, be afraid. But I need to know what happened."

"You know," Stoney said.

"I know about the baby. What happened with Endo."

Stoney looked at me, eyebrow raised. "Fuck."

"Endo is in a coma right now," Tripp said. "Someone tried killing him. They shot him."

"What?" Stoney asked.

"If Skull X wants the baby, well, the kid, and is going after who knows... it's not making sense to me, Stoney. Your hands aren't as clean as you think, are they?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Stoney asked. "Rocky was my best friend. He was like my brother. He insisted on pushing on them."

"Why?"

"Personal."

"I don't buy it."

"Before Winter, there was a woman Rocky loved. Skull X took her out, okay? He always wanted revenge."

"What does that have to do with Endo?"

"Rocky and Endo were close," Stoney said. He looked at me again. "For obvious reasons. Maybe Rocky tried pulling Endo into something. All I know is that Rocky was on his own at the end there. He wouldn't listen to me. We got into a fight, he took off, and he never came back again. I should have never let him leave alone. And I knew he was going to go right to them."

Tripp shook his head. "It's not adding up. Give me a contact for Skull X. I'll go up there."

Stoney laughed. "Are you fucking kidding me? You can't go near them. They'll tear you apart."

"I have fists. I know how to fight. I'll go up there and challenge them."

"And say what? You tell them who you are, you're dead."

"I'll stumble across them."

"Talk sense into him," Stoney said. He started to move away.

Tripp lunged forward. "Hey, I'm not done with you yet."

Stoney shook away and turned, a gun in his hand, right between Tripp's eyes. "I'll tell you the same damn thing I told Rocky before he left. If you go near them, they will kill you. I won't be held responsible for any of it."

"Tripp, come on," I said. "Don't..."

"How can call yourself a leader when you're afraid?" Tripp asked. "All those men in there ride behind you, fight for you, and you can't even fight for them?"

"I'm protecting them," Stoney said. "Just like you should be protecting her. If Skull X is going after everyone involved with that kid, Winter is going to be next. Mark my word. She will be next."

"Is that a threat?"

"No," Stoney said. "I don't threaten. I take action."

Tripp took a step back and turned. It was risky to turn your back on the Red Aces MC President.

I walked alongside him as we walked back to his car. It was a quiet walk. We were both tired from last night, and I knew in both our hearts were desperate to make sense of everything that had gone wrong.

But life was never that easy.

We got into his car and he backed up.

Stoney was no longer in sight.

"This is all wrong," Tripp said. "I just have a feeling about it. Something is going to happen."

Before I could open my mouth, a black car pulled up behind us, blocking our way out. The passenger door flew open and a man in a suit came out.

"Ah, fuck," Tripp growled.

"What is it?"

He looked at me. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Darling, listen to me. Take my car back to your place. Park it around back. Go inside, lock the doors, leave all the lights off. Just hang. For as long as you can."

"Tripp!"

The man opened the door and got out. I turned to watch what was about to happen. Tripp showed his hands and started to say something. The big man in the suit then punched Tripp in the stomach and threw him into the side of the car. Tripp ricocheted back and the guy caught him. He opened the back door and tossed Tripp inside. He slammed the door, got back into his seat, and the car drove away.

What the fuck just happened?

21.

(Tripp)

This was how it was going to go down. Something had gone wrong and my number was called. I shouldn't have pushed and poked into Winter's personal life. Now I knew too much or I did something to trigger something and I was a dead man.

I was huddled on the floor of the car, a gun pressed to the back of my head. A foot on my back. I was a bitch right now. There was no way in hell I was going out like this.

I put my hands to the floor of the car and pushed up.

"Hey, motherfucker, stay down!"

I made a quick move, throwing my right arm up and around, grabbing the guy's ankle. I locked, twisted, and felt a _pop_ sound. The guy let out a scream and the gun dropped, hitting me in the back.

I got up quick, pulling him by his ankle, putting him down on the floor. That's when I unleashed punch after goddamn punch, gut, chest, face. _Gut, chest, face. Gut. Chest. Face._

My body raged with an anger that was fresh, hungry for blood. I put my left hand to his chest and held him down. My right hand came back and punched at him over and over, not giving a damn about anything.

"Jesus Fuck!" someone screamed.

I felt something touch the side of my head.

Another gun.

I turned and saw the guy that had first hit me. "You're next."

"Like hell I am. You need to sit down."

I fell back to the seat, breathing heavily.

"Jesus, Emilio," the guy said. "Are you dead?"

The guy on the floor gurgled something as his lips moved.

"We have to get him to a hospital."

"Give it time," I said. "Then you can just take him to the morgue."

"You're a crazy motherfucker, man."

"Where's Aldo?" I asked.

"Waiting for you. We have to be secure about this. There's risk."

"There's risk just sneaking up on me like that," I said. "And you left Winter alone."

"I'm not at liberty to talk," the guy said and turned around.

The guy on the floor was wheezing now. I reached down and lifted him, grunting as I turned him.

"There," I said. "So the blood flows out. You might survive."

I sat back and caught my reflection in the rearview mirror. I was smiling. _Smiling._ Why? Because I had just beaten some guy half to death for no real reason? My smile faded. This was why Winter shouldn't have been near me. We shouldn't have slept together (over and over and over again). She shouldn't have shown me pictures or anything.

I was in too deep.

Aldo probably knew it.

The car stopped and I was led into the back of a warehouse. It was some kind of storage center, no doubt a front for Aldo and his business connections. For every one legit storage unit rented, there was probably ten with bodies or stolen shit inside.

There were two men guarding the main office door. They frisked me, took my gun, and then opened the door.

And there he was.

Aldo.

Leaning against a desk, arms folded.

The office looked like any other normal office.

Aldo reached down and grabbed a picture frame from the desk. He turned it around and pointed to it. It was of a man and woman, cheek to cheek, smiling. They were on some mountain, smiling big.

"You know who this is?" Aldo asked.

"No idea," I said.

"His name was Andrew. Worked here. Manager type. But then he kept poking at me. Got real fucking annoying. You know where he is now?"

"One of the storage units?" I asked.

"No. He loved his job so much. He told me that. This was his goddamn career. So I had him buried right beneath this floor."

It made me shiver to think. Some guy tossed into concrete as it was poured for a new floor in the office.

But that was how Aldo and his _family_ did business. They did what they wanted, when they wanted, and they generally acted upon emotion. And Aldo always kept his cool.

"How's Endo?" I asked.

"Tripp, I know you're a smart guy," Aldo said. "It was always strange to me to see someone like you fighting on the streets. You were like a dog fighting for a piece of old meat. But you could fight. And you listened. You never asked for more than what I was willing to give you."

That was probably the best form of a compliment I'd ever gotten from Aldo.

"Do you understand what I'm getting at?" Aldo asked.

"I'm not sure."

"You came here to protect Winter. That was your job. You know, the Red Aces have come to me several times for assistance. No different this time. But I know what I was looking for. Guilt is a powerful thing, Tripp."

"Guilt?" I asked.

"I know everything," Aldo said. He pushed from the desk. "Everything."

"Meaning?"

"You know why you're here now," he said. "Not to protect her, Tripp. I want to know where my granddaughter is."

The words came at me, attacked me, and I stepped back.

"So you know," Aldo said with a grin. He put a hand out. "I'm not mad at you, Tripp. You went above and beyond, like I knew you would. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist her. She's a beautiful woman. Just tainted."

"How?" I asked.

"Endo," Aldo said. "The guilt. It was eating him up. See, we had a meeting about making him. Think of it as a promotion. He'd be on my level in the family. With that kind of power comes a responsibility that not many can take on. So he started talking. Told me about a deal he had with the Red Aces. About a woman he met. And how she fucked him over. Tricked him into getting her pregnant."

"That's not how it happened," I said.

"You were there?"

"No. But Winter..."

"Is manipulative," Aldo said. "The second she was done with Endo she moved on to the next guy. Rocky. Poor Rocky met his death and now she's latched onto you. Right?"

I gritted my teeth, refusing to answer.

"Oh, come on, Tripp," Aldo said. "You're telling me you haven't fucked her yet? I know you. You like to fight and fuck. That's your gig."

I swallowed hard and started to feel angry. I felt used. I felt like I was part of a plan that I wanted nothing to do with. Worse yet, my heart had been put in the middle of everything too. I really cared about Winter. I think I loved her.

"Trust me, I know I'm right," Aldo said.

"Yeah, okay," I said. "What do you want me to do?"

"She has to know," Aldo said. "My son is in a hospital bed right now. We started talking about the kid before the fight and the gunshot. He was drunk as anything, almost weeping, feeling embarrassed that he hurt the bloodline. But the thing is, Tripp, all that shit is for the movies. It's a guideline. And with Endo in a coma, that child is my only blood now. So I guess you could say there's a provision."

"You think Winter knows where she is?"

Aldo nodded. "Nobody just gives it up like that. That woman always has a motive. And I'm sure Endo knows, but he's not waking up. And I'm not waiting any longer. Someone out there is my blood. Do you realize what that means to me?"

"No, I don't, Aldo. I don't know much about you. My job has been to fight and win you money."

Aldo laughed. He crept forward and patted my cheek. "Too bad you're the wrong blood. Bunch of Irishmen. Wild things. Can't have that too close to me. Tripp, you've gone above and you need to keep going. Winter's life is in danger, yes. But it's going to be me who makes the call on her life. I want my granddaughter."

_Jesus Christ..._ I swallowed hard again. I forced myself to nod.

"You know, we talked," I said. "She opened up."

"Legs?"

"Her fucking heart," I yelled. "She told me all she knows. Endo paid for the pregnancy to be hidden. He paid for her to deliver the baby and had everything arranged for the baby to be taken. That's the last she knew. Endo left her hanging."

"You really believe all that shit," Aldo said. "Pull your head out of her pussy for a second."

"Fine. The other thing I know about is Skull X. That's where the answers are going to be."

"Then find them."

"Why can't you?" I asked. "You have power."

"The bloodline," Aldo said. "This is touchy still. I can't just run around like a damn fool." Aldo came closer. "So here's what you're going to do. First, you're going to keep your dick to yourself. No more fucking Winter. It's done. Second, you're going to go back to her with the assumption that she knows more than she's been telling you. Remember who she is. A fucking stripper. She got paid to do that. Then she won over Endo. Then she won over Rocky. Put it all together for a second, Tripp."

That was the problem. My mind was putting it together. And I hated that it made some kind of sense.

"Do you understand me?" Aldo asked.

"Sure."

"You're on your own from here. I want answers and I want my granddaughter."

I thought for a second. "Aldo, if this Skull X group is serious... they killed Rocky. They went after Endo too. Do you understand that? If they..."

Aldo put a hand to my shoulder. He kissed my cheek. "Don't fuck this up, Tripp. You're still owed a bullet to the head. It's just a matter of time and what you can do for me. As far as Rocky goes, I had to do something to bring this to life. Okay?"

For a second I thought my heart stopped.

Aldo killed Rocky.

"Now if you don't mind, I have to go visit my son," Aldo said.

Aldo left the room.

I stood there alone.

Everything I knew was a fucking lie.

Typical.

22.

(Winter)

I did as I was told.

I parked the car. I rushed inside. I locked the doors. I kept the lights off. I sat at the side of the bed, waiting. The silence was horrible. Staring at the clock didn't help at all. The minutes were going too slow. I had no idea how long I was supposed to wait for Tripp to come back, if he did come back.

What if he was killed?

What was I supposed to do then?

I hugged my knees and fought back tears.

It was hard to explain, but Tripp meant everything to me. Whatever circumstances brought us together didn't matter. When he was near me, holding me, touching me, loving me, it gave me a reason to look forward to tomorrow. The hell of darkness had been lifted.

Until now.

I was stuck in a room, in darkness, waiting. Hiding. Hoping nobody came to get me.

My mind went back in time, too.

I never meant to get pregnant. I never expected to give up my child. It was the hardest decision I had to face and yet my decision didn't matter. Either way I was going to lose Autumn.

I knew who she was with.

That part I didn't tell Tripp about. Yet. Not that it mattered. I hadn't been in contact with Andrea for a long time. The last I heard from Andrea was that Autumn had teeth cutting through her little gums...

That's when I finally broke down.

I cried like I would never cry again.

I gripped my knees. I grabbed for the carpet. I ran my hands through my hair. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break something.

When I couldn't calm down, I stood up. I turned and flicked on the lamp.

Fuck the light.

Fuck getting caught.

Fuck getting killed.

I made a fist and thought about Tripp. The way he liked to fight and the relief it gave him. I bit my lip and brought my fist back. I swung forward and smashed my fist against the wall. I wanted to put a hole in the wall. My fist hit the wall and bounced back. I spun around and screamed as pain shot up my hand.

But I won though.

There wasn't a hole in the wall, but there was a crack.

I cracked the wall.

I heard a knock at the front door.

I jumped and gasped.

Tripp would knock, right? If someone wanted to attack me, they'd just come in and get me.

I slowly went to the front door, all the lights off outside the bedroom.

The knocking sounded again.

"Winter?"

It was Tripp's voice.

I turned on a light and opened the door. I jumped at him, kissing him, never needing someone as badly as I needed Tripp.

He put his hands to my waist and pushed me away from him. I stumbled back, almost falling, forgetting his insane strength.

"Tripp?" I asked.

The rage in his eyes was fresh, real, simply raw.

He was dangerous.

He stepped into the house and slammed the door.

He took out his gun. He looked at the gun, then looked at me.

"Winter, I'm so sorry..."

My mind had one thought.

He's going to kill me.

23.

(Tripp)

I didn't want to take out my gun. At the same time, I didn't want to believe that anything Aldo could have said to me would have been true. It was though. Endo, the kid, Red Aces, this Skull X group. Winter had been in the middle of it all. All these storms and she was the goddamn catalyst.

And I was in love with her.

It was bound to happen, right? Even the toughest would eventually fall for someone. Figures I'd pick a woman that was as fucked up in life as I was.

"Tripp..."

"No," I said. "No. It's time we get all the cards on the table."

"What happened to you?"

"Aldo," I said. "He needed to meet. That's how he calls a meeting."

"That guy attacked you."

"You should have seen what I did to him."

Winter froze. She was afraid of me, which was good. She should have been afraid of me. She should have been afraid from day one and stayed that way. We were too close, in everything.

"I'm going to tell you something," I said. "And then you're going to tell me everything Aldo wants to know."

"Which is what?"

"Autumn. He wants her. That's his granddaughter. He's forgoing the _family_ idea and wants his granddaughter. And he believes you know where she is."

"I don't," Winter said. "I swear."

"He painted a really different picture," I said. "What happened with Endo. With Rocky. The Red Aces. And then me. Aldo sent me, knowing what would happen between us. That I'd fuck you. That you'd let me."

"Fuck you," Winter said.

"Is that your game here?"

"My game? There is no fucking game, Tripp. My life is in danger."

"So is mine."

"I don't know what you want from me."

"The entire truth," I said. "Not just bits and pieces."

"What do you... I don't have her. I gave her up. Thanks for bringing that up again. Do you have any idea how much that hurts me to think about it? To talk about?"

I put the gun down and walked toward her. I didn't touch her though. I kept my distance at about an inch. I stared down at her.

"Do you have any idea what it feels like to meet someone... you know what? Screw it. It doesn't matter. I came here to tell you that I've only lost two fights in my life. The one that brought me here. The first one cost my best friend his life. And it was made very clear to me then that if I stood in the way of anyone in the _family_ or lost a fight, it was my ass on the line. I came here to protect you, darling, and now I'm wondering if I should have been protecting myself."

"Then don't be here," Winter whispered. "Leave. I don't give a shit."

"I'm not leaving without knowing where Autumn is."

"What are you going to do? Threaten me with a gun? Slap me? Punch me around?"

I shook my head. "No. I'd never do that to you."

"Even if it cost you your life?"

I gritted my teeth so hard, my jaw hurt.

Was I willing to die for Winter? Or because of her?

Man, that was a hard question to answer.

I touched her face, hating that I was doing so. She looked ready to collapse into tears, but I had to hold off with her.

"I need to know," I said. "Goddammit, darling, you don't realize what he has planned."

"He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

I wasn't going to be a hypocrite and lie to her. "He'll kill anyone who gets in his way. Or anyone who he thinks is lying."

"And I'm a fucking liar, right?" Winter asked.

My hand slid around to the back of her neck. She put her head back, her mouth slightly parted. "Then stop fucking lying."

"I'm not," she whispered.

Then I kissed her.

It was a desperate kiss, a hopeless kiss. My addiction to her lips was so obvious and unruly. Maybe it was our last kiss, so I had to make it count.

I managed a few seconds before Winter broke it off. She clawed at my chest and pushed me away. Then her hand swung and slapped my face.

It stung. It surprised me.

"Just fucking leave then," Winter said. "I'm sorry for everything."

My rage started to boil over. I had two choices again. I could either grab her and carry her to the bedroom, or I could really leave. Once and for all. Just be done with it. If she wasn't going to tell me everything, what did it matter? We would both end up dead anyway.

So fuck it.

I nodded and then walked away.

I left the house and went to my car. I stood there and then swung my hand at it, hitting the side. I got in the car and started to drive.

I didn't look back.

I was done.

And that's when I knew what heartbreak felt like.

It didn't feel good at all.

24.

(Winter)

He left.

He didn't just walk away. He didn't just leave the house. He left the house and kept going. I hurried to the kitchen window and watched him go. Pausing at his car, I feared the worst. I feared that he was going to get in the car and leave forever. That would be the death of both of us.

Tripp punched the car and walked.

I watched until he disappeared. Then I watched some more.

I had no idea what his boss had said to him. I didn't know where Autumn was. I never had anything to do with her precious life other than carrying her in my belly and giving birth. After that she was in the arms of someone I trusted. Someone Endo trusted, too. Someone he paid to take Autumn and give her a good life.

Tears filled my eyes and I started to shake. Going back in time was not the way I intended on living my life. That meant I only had one choice.

I had to leave.

If Aldo thought Tripp was going to muscle information out of me, I had no choice. If I stayed, I was going to die. Or Stoney and the Red Aces were going to stake their claim on me _._ And everything had all become tied together with a neat ribbon on it, didn't it?

In the bedroom, I ran to the box of pictures that were mostly burned. One swing of my foot sent the remaining pictures scattering. Another kick sent the bowl and the ashes floating through the air. I grabbed a bag, some clothes, and packed up.

There was only one person in this situation that deserved hell. It wasn't me. It was Endo. For everything he'd done to me. Making me feel bad that I got pregnant. Forcing me to hide it from the world. Taking my baby away. And now, with him in a coma, I was the one who was going to pay for it.

Like hell.

It wasn't going to be me.

It was all Endo's fault. He and Stoney had something all worked out together. That much I could sense. That much I kind of knew. Endo kept close with certain members of the Red Aces, always telling me it was business. It was family. That I needed to keep my mouth shut.

No more.

I was gone.

With me gone, then everyone could go screw themselves. Maybe I'd eventually get caught and killed, but whatever. They'd find out that I knew nothing of Autumn. And if Tripp didn't believe me, then what was the point of staying?

I had been thinking about leaving before. Then Rocky was killed. I thought I would have a chance to slip between the cracks and go. But then Stoney told me I was getting protection. That scared me enough to keep me here. The protection ended up being Tripp. And, yes, I started to fall in love with the man protecting me.

I wiped a tear from my cheek.

I could handle it.

I could handle the pain.

That part didn't bother me. I had been through loss and letting go before.

I threw my bag over my shoulder and left the bedroom. My eyes saw the hole in the wall where Tripp had punched. I thought about the first night with him, getting drunk at the table. The next morning, him sleeping on the couch.

They were all memories now. They didn't matter.

I got to the front door and opened.

Two men stood there, larger than life, meaner than a pissed off rattlesnake. They showed their teeth, then their guns.

I needed Tripp.

~ ~ ~

The first guy grabbed my bag and welcomed himself into my house. He unzipped it and dumped it on the floor. The second guy pulled the front door shut, his eyes locked to mine.

"Goddamn, she is pretty," he said to me and licked his lips. "I heard her tits were great. Lift her shirt up right now. I want see them."

"Easy now," the other guy said. "We haven't been properly introduced yet."

"Get out," I managed to say. "You don't know what you're doing."

"Shut her up," the first guy said.

The other guy lunged at me, trying to swing his gun at me. All I could think about was Tripp though. Him telling me that we were meant to fight. That we fought our entire lives, even though we weren't together. So I jumped back and dodged the guy swinging his gun. I brought my foot forward and kicked him in the shin. I meant to kick him in the balls but royally screwed that up.

I made fists and put them up.

"Are you serious?" the guy ask. "You want to fight me? Bitch, you don't even know..."

"Yo, Kyle, just don't kill her yet. We have to wait for that other one."

"I know, Dana."

"You're name is Dana?" I asked. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

"Fuck you," Dana said. He kicked at my clothes. "Going on a trip?"

"Thinking about it," I said.

He crouched down and hooked his finger around a lacy pair of panties. He stood back up. "Look at these. Who you wearing these for?"

"Nobody."

"She can wear 'em for me," Kyle said. "After I fight her. Then I'm going to fuck her. In every hole."

"Easy," Dana said. He lifted the panties up and stuck them against his nose. "Oh, so fresh."

Kyle turned his head and laughed. "Give me a pair."

I threw a right fist and hit Kyle in the side of the face. The punch sounded like a smack and it hurt so bad, my eyes squirted tears. I hurried back and jumped up on the couch, watching as the two of them were coming after me now.

I don't know why I thought I could get away. I got back to the dining room table and they were around the couch. They stopped and leaned against the couch, showing their weapons.

"One more step," Dana said. "We'll fucking kill you."

"And then I'll still..."

"Shut up," Dana growled.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Friend of a friend, I guess. Tying up loose ends around here."

"Stoney send you? You know this is Red Aces territory."

"Red Aces should be called the _Red Pussies_ ," Kyle said.

Dana snickered. "Nice, man."

"What do you want with me? I have nothing to do with them. You know Rocky is dead."

"Yeah, we're really sorry about that," Dana said. "But this is a little business and a little fun. The business is finding out who you've been fucking around with. Heard there was some hotshot in town."

"The fun is between your legs," Kyle said.

He licked his lips again.

My stomach turned.

I wanted to throw up.

"But I'd like to see that fight," Dana said. "You and Kyle. Tell you what, Winter. You fight Kyle. If you win, we'll tell you where your daughter is."

My heart stopped for a second. "What?"

"Sweet little Autumn," Dana said. "Damn, she does look like you. Darker skin though. That's because you got knocked up by that greaseball, right? But, oh, give her ten years or so... damn..."

"Shut up," I growled. "You fucking piece of shit."

"Yeah," Kyle said. "Get her angry. She'll fight harder."

"Wait, wait," Dana said. "If Kyle wins, he's going to take you down. And I can't promise what I'll do first..."

"Fuck off," I said. "Both of you."

"Fight Kyle or I'll kill you," Dana said.

I put my arms out. "Do it."

"Bitch," Kyle said.

"No," Dana said. "Fight Kyle or I'll kill you. Then I'll kill Autumn."

"I don't believe you."

"Want to hear about her pretty blue eyes? Her brown hair. The way she can never finish a cupcake without getting icing all over her face. Oh, and anything you want me to tell Andrea? Because I'll kill her too."

I lost feeling in my knees.

I caught myself on the table.

The room started to spin.

I told myself not to pass out. I couldn't pass out. These crazy guys would...

Andrea...

Holy shit.

They knew everything.

25.

(Tripp)

What the fuck am I thinking?

The thought attacked me again and again. Leaving Winter was wrong. Leaving the nothing I had was only going to cost me my life. Plus, I fucking loved her. If she was going to end up dead or I was going to end up dead, at least I had finally found a good cause for it to happen. It wouldn't just be me sitting in the shit hole apartment of mine with the windows open, listening to the waves crashing in the ocean.

More than anything else, Winter required a sense of trust that I knew nothing about. I wasn't incapable of trusting... I just never had a reason to. Some people can read someone and their lies by their eyes. For me, it was about the fists. If someone was willing to fight for the truth, then it was worth the trust.

I touched my cheek.

She had landed a hell of a slap to my face. There was a beautiful grit about her that drove me wild. She'd never leave my head, my heart, my soul. Even if this thing came to a crashing end and I was back to fighting for Aldo, she would have a place in my heart forever. She ruined any other woman I'd fuck because they'd never be as good as her. Then again, I had no desire for any other woman in the world but Winter. I wanted her. All of her.

I cut the wheel and spun the car around. The tires screamed in protest; maybe I was making the biggest mistake of my life. I had never followed love before so I didn't know the outcome.

When I got back to the house, I parked the car a little bit away because something hit me. Not literally but just a sense of something. It was like I knew Winter was in trouble.

I ran from the car to the front door.

That's when I heard the voices.

" _Fucking hit her!"_

I turned at the knob and it was locked.

Locked.

I cut around to the side of the house and looked in the window.

There was Winter, circling around with some guy twice her size. Another guy leaned against the couch, smiling, calling out orders.

The dining room table was flipped over and moved.

I was about to punch the window when Winter leapt forward. She threw a punch and hit the guy in the face. His head bobbed, then he burst out laughing. Winter clutched her hand and slipped back, wincing in pain.

" _My turn!"_ the guy yelled.

" _Come on, Kyle. Make it fast, so we can get down to business with this little slut."_

I pushed at the glass. The window was locked. If I jumped at it though, it would break. If I got a good enough head start I could dive through the damn thing.

Or I could just go around to the front door and knock. Work my way in. Shoot the door. Break it down. Something.

As I debated, I saw Winter's eyes. Those stunning blue eyes were filled with hurt and fear. I blamed myself. If I hadn't left, this wouldn't be happening.

Winter took another swing and missed. She stumbled forward and the guy stood there. I saw his hand moving before Winter knew what was about to happen. With a solid backhand, he cracked Winter's jaw. She was off her feet and I ran backwards. There was no other choice now.

I ran forward and jumped, tucking my head, leading with my right shoulder. I hit the window and it exploded. I sailed through the broken glass and landed down on the floor in a roll.

" _What the fuck?"_ someone screamed.

I kicked up to my feet, already assessing the room. Winter to my right, on the floor, holding her jaw, crying. I wanted to console her, but I couldn't right now.

The guy who had hit her - _Kyle_ \- looked shocked. His eyes went from the window to me. He was the weaker of the two. I dove at him, burying my same shoulder into his gut and drove him back into the wall. We hit with a thud and I pushed off him. Three punches later, he didn't know what to do with his hands.

"Shoot him!" he screamed.

Well, that gave that away...

I grabbed Kyle and turned with him.

A second later, a gun went off. I felt Kyle's body jerk as he took the bullet instead me. His mouth fell open, his eyes wide and already going dead. I walked Kyle backwards and threw him to the right.

The other guy still had a gun pointed, like he didn't give a fuck he just killed someone. I jumped at him and knocked the gun out of his hand. He swung his foot up and kicked me in the stomach. As I started to hunch over, I threw a right and got him in the face. He went over the couch. I scrambled to catch my breath and went after him.

He was back up on his feet, stepping back.

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked.

"Fuck off," he growled. "You have no idea what you're up against here. Stay the fuck away from it all."

I moved fast and gave a one, two right and left combo. I sent the guy back against the fridge. His nose squirted blood. He started to inch down. I went at him and then felt something grab my leg.

It was Kyle, slowly dying, trying to make a last stand. I turned and stomped my foot on his jaw, feeling it crush like a soda can. All I could see was him hurting Winter.

I lifted my foot again.

"Tripp!" Winter's voice screamed.

I turned just in time to see the other guy slashing a piece of the broken window at me. I turned, offering my shoulder rather than my damn throat. The glass cut me, but I managed to swing my left hand at him, hitting him in the mouth. The glass was stuck in my shoulder, the pain white hot. I fell forward and put my right hand to the fridge.

The guy jumped at the broken window and was gone. I watched him crawl, climb to his feet, and run.

There was no use chasing him.

I turned and saw Kyle on the floor, dead. I looked at Winter. She slowly rose to her feet. She was shaking, in shock.

"Stay there," I said.

I grabbed the piece of glass and pulled. It hurt worse coming out than it did going into my shoulder. I screamed and then threw it to the floor. I ran to Winter and scooped her up. She buried her face in my shoulder - my non wounded shoulder - and she cried.

I turned so her back faced the carnage in her house.

It was worse than anything I could have ever imagined.

The guy on the floor had his hand stretched out. Palm up. On his forearm was a tattoo. A pretty damn obvious tattoo. A skull. Under that? X.

Skull X.

That's who had come here to attack Winter.

That meant one thing.

It was time to go after them.

It was time to find all the truth and give Aldo what he wanted.

Because all I wanted was Winter. Once and for all.

"We're out of here, darling," I whispered.

Fuck, I really loved her.

~ ~ ~

I opened the door to the hotel room and went in first. I checked the room and it was all clear. I had a bag of clothes and Winter had a bag of clothes. That was it. We were two people on the run, but at least we were together.

I shut the door and locked it.

Then I went after Winter. I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close. I kissed her forehead, her nose, then her lips. My hand gently rubbed against her jaw. She winced and gasped. I kissed her harder, wishing I could steal her pain. It was my fault her jaw hurt because I had left her to be attacked by those two goons.

I kissed down her neck and caught myself burying my face into her neck. I could smell her sweet skin. One hand touched her face, the other hand at her back, holding her tight to me. A wave of emotion ran rampant and I thought I was going to cry.

Winter groaned and dug her hands into my hair. We were in silence because that's all we had for each other. Years of bullshit brought us together, but at the same time, all those years left scars that wanted to tear us apart.

I slowly kissed back up her neck to her mouth. We kissed deep, fast, pulling away, staring at each other, going at it again. We kissed like that, over and over, for a while. Like one of us wanted to make a move but just couldn't. Like we were afraid of each other. Our hearts raced, destruction all around us. We both felt the desperate need to be together.

Finally, Winter started to take my shirt off. Her bare hands ran up my bare body. I lifted my arms and saw the flicker of a smile as she took my shirt off. I let it fall to the floor and then she let out a gasp.

"You're cut," she whispered. "That looks nasty."

I looked to my left and there was a decent sized gash. Maybe it could have used a stitch or two, but I wasn't going anywhere near a hospital right now. There was enough of my blood in Winter's house to implicate me, plus whatever the hell Stoney, the Red Aces, and Aldo had going on behind the scenes.

"I'll be fine," I whispered. "Just a cut. I'll go wash it out in the shower."

Winter slipped her hands to my chest. She stared at me. She was still hurt. I slowly put my hands to hers and squeezed.

"It's..."

"No, not right now. You just have to trust me, Tripp. Just not right now."

"Okay," I said. "I'm going to grab a shower. Then we can talk."

Winter nodded.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers again. On the tip of my tongue was _I love you,_ but I wouldn't let it slide.

I'd hurt her enough already for one night.

26.

(Winter)

I love you, Tripp.

He turned and walked to the bathroom. His back rippled were mountains of muscle. My fingertips had played on those ripples when he loved my body. Now I watched him walk away.

The door shut.

I reached down for his t-shirt. I balled it up and smelled it.

Tripp.

Sweaty and sexy man.

I looked at the cut at the shoulder, the blood on the shirt. Dana had come so close to slashing Tripp's throat. And Kyle was on the floor. Dead.

I dropped the shirt.

One second it seemed like the pieces of the puzzle made sense. Then the next second they didn't. But one thing was for sure. Those guys were from Skull X. And they knew about Autumn, and Andrea. That meant...

If they had Autumn and Andrea, why? What did that do for anyone?

My head started to spin.

Then I looked at the bathroom door.

There was one thing that could make me feel better.

Tripp.

I stepped to the bathroom door and it was unlocked. Slowly, I opened it and stepped inside. The shower ran, the hot water already producing a comforting steam. I shut the door as quietly as I could behind me. I saw Tripp standing in the shower, facing the water, head down. His hands against the wall. The water beat his head and neck, dropping down. His body cut with impossible muscles, the lines along the sides of his stomach splicing straight down between his legs. His cock dangled there, still thick and beautiful.

I walked to the sink and turned. I wiped the mirror and caught Tripp looking at me. Our eyes met in the reflection and I shook my head.

No talking about anything. Please.

I knew what I wanted, what I needed.

I started to strip.

Nothing seductive and sexy. Just me standing with my back to the shower, taking off all my clothes. I took my bra off, leaving my panties for last. I then slowly bent forward, my hands at my hips, gently pushing my panties down.

I stepped out of them and turned around.

Tripp had the shower door open already, waiting for me.

I walked to the shower and Tripp wasted no time in grabbing my hips and pulling me right into the water. When the water hit me, I jumped. But it quickly became soothing, just like Tripp's touch.

His hands ran up my body, cupping my breasts. I put my head back into the water, letting it soak my hair, my face. I then felt Tripp kiss just above my breasts. Kiss after kiss, teasing his way down to my nipple. I was so sensitive, my chest gently thrusting, wanting him to taste me. His tongue cut over my nipple and then back up. His lips touched, mouth sucked, then he moved to my other nipple. After repeating the same motion, Tripp kissed up my chest, my neck, his hands going around my body, pulling me tight to his.

I felt the swell of his cock pressing between our bodies. I rocked my hips left to right, feeling his thickness rubbing against my belly. My hands moved up his arms, tracing the lines of his biceps, up to his shoulders. I put my right foot up on the ledge of the tub, opening my legs for him.

I was so ready. So desperate.

Tripp's right hand cupped around to my ass, keeping me close. His other hand played with my leg, climbing around to my inner thigh. His fingers inched up until he touched me. His strong fingers pressed against my pussy, gently moving. There was nothing gentle about what was happening inside my body though. I throbbed with a wild need, my wetness and heat demanding more of Tripp.

He thrust with his fingers, opening me. I sighed and jumped, loving the feeling. His fingers turned and pulled out. He then put a little distance between us, looking down at my body. Our eyes met for a moment and then Tripp went on the attack.

His mouth grazed mine and then inched down. His lips and tongue kissed between my breasts and right down to my stomach. I shuddered and cried out when his tongue flickered at my belly button. I reached up and grabbed the top of the shower door, my other hand at his hair.

I felt his tongue moving down beyond my lower stomach. The tip of his tongue sliced between my legs, curling, tasting me. He came up, found my clit with ease and then pulled away. Tripp looked up at me. Even though he was on his knees before me, he controlled everything. He was my protector in more than one way.

His mouth connected with my sex again, suckling my folds, his tongue making circles, gently penetrating me, then curling up to my clit again. He stayed there this time, his lips holding tight, pulling, making me cry out and thrust harder at him. His hands kneaded into my ass, fingertips pulling at my cheeks.

As his tongue continued to explore, I put my head back. I kept my eyes open, losing myself in the sexy moment. The water beat on my chest, on my nipples, and it actually felt really good. With Tripp between my legs and the water hitting my chest, it started to make me feel way too good. My legs started to pump as I felt an orgasm already building.

But as fast as that started, Tripp stopped. He pulled away and stood back up, his hands still at my ass, positioning me so he could enter me.

But I didn't get my turn.

I put my hands to his hard chest and pushed him away.

"What the hell?" he growled.

I grinned and came forward, kissing his chest. My right hand reached down and found his cock with ease. My fingers slipped around the hard, wet skin, and I jerked at him. I kept kissing down his body, dropping to my knees before him. My hand stroked his cock, up and back. The water hit the back of my head and my back.

Tripp's fingers ran through my wet hair.

"Oh, fuck, darling," he whispered. "You have no idea..."

I gripped the root of his cock as hard as I could, allowing my mouth to slide over the tip of his cock. My mouth opened as wide as it could, sliding down on him. My lips moved over the soft ridge of his tip right to his steel hard shaft. My hand gently pumped as I sucked him, pulling back slowly, moving down slowly. Back and forth, tasting his beautiful cock, feeling his fingers digging into the top of my head.

Tripp then started to gently thrust, groaning each time my lips pulled back over the tip of his cock. I came forward again, wanting to see how far I could take him in. But as I tried, Tripp pulled away from me. He stepped back, forcing my mouth away from him.

I looked up and saw him gritting his teeth. He took his hands away from my hair. His right hand stroked my cheek. Bending forward a little, his left hand grabbed for my elbow and he helped me up. Before I could take a breath or say a word, Tripp came at me. His lips crashed to mine, our mouths opening. He turned me and pinned me against the shower wall. The tile was cold and I wanted to scream but I couldn't. Tripp's kisses took my breath, my words, _my heart_.

His right hand moved down the side of my body to my leg. Reaching down and around he pulled at me, opening my leg, letting me wrap it around him. I then felt his cock touch me. Right against my center, pressing, the pressure already enough to make me moan.

Tripp grunted as he thrust forward, opening me. He welcomed himself deep inside my body. I grabbed at the backs of his shoulders, kissing his neck, losing myself again.

He pulled back and thrust forward again, even harder. My ass crashed against the tile over and over, taking him in. Feeling him so deep. Feeling one orgasm after another cresting, crashing, building up again.

There was a small gap between us, just enough for me to get my hand on his body, feeling his stomach muscles flexing, working so hard at fucking me. I moved to my tip toes on my left foot and then made a daring move. I jumped up a little and hurried to wrap my left leg around him too. Tripp's hands were there to catch me, holding my ass again. I was now all his.

He put his forehead to mine, our noses touching and flirting. But our eyes were locked tight. The connection was undeniable. This was far beyond the circumstances that brought us together.

"Fuck, Tripp," I groaned.

"I know, darling, I know."

He sped up even more. The shower water hit our bodies. The steam blanketed the bathroom. The sound of the rushing water was gentle, the opposite of the collision course Tripp and I had been on together.

"Fuck," I cried out.

I was coming again. I had no idea how my body was able to do it so many times like it was. The pleasure and pressure just kept crashing together, making it impossible not to keep letting go.

As I squeezed at Tripp, I felt him thickening. His body was getting ready to come, too. I kissed him, my lips grazing his. I kissed him harder, my tongue licking his lips. There was nothing hotter than a sloppy kiss with Tripp.

Tripp kissed me back and thrust deep, holding there.

I felt the explosion of his orgasm, his cock pulsing deep inside me, spilling everywhere. He kept fucking me, staying deep, throbbing with each thrust. He stayed like that until he was done. Then he pulled back slowly and eased forward again. Going super slow, in and out of me, leaving my entire body tingling.

Tripp then put me on my feet, hands touching my ass.

"I... I love you, darling," Tripp whispered.

"I love you too, Tripp."

His forehead touched mine again. "I'm not going to let anything ever happen to you again. I swear on my life."

"I believe you," I said. I reached up and touched his face. "I swear, I believe you."

"Good. Now what?"

I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Wash me, Tripp."

27.

(Tripp)

She turned her back to me. I stared up and down. She was the sexiest and prettiest woman I'd ever been with in my entire life. And she didn't even know it. She didn't understand it. Her beauty was assumed to be bought and her heart always left behind.

I couldn't let that happen again, but there was just so much out of my control.

Except this moment right now.

I grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap. I lathered it up and touched her shoulder. She reached back and grabbed her hair, holding it up with both hands, giving me access to her neck. As I slid the washcloth along her neck and down her back, my cock ached. I was getting hard again, already. I couldn't help what she did to me and how she made me feel.

I eased down to the curve of her ass. Down and around, I bent my knees a little and touched the back of her legs.

When I came back up the other side, I slid the washcloth around to the front of her body. Winter let her hair back down and put her head back, to my chest, as I ran the washcloth over her breasts. If this was a cruel game of torture, she fucking won. She fucking won it all. She left me standing there, gritting my teeth, my eyes wide as I brought the washcloth up to her neck and then back down her body. I touched just below her belly and then tossed the washcloth to the side.

I brought my mouth down to hers, kissing her, walking her forward into the water. The kiss only lasted a few seconds and then Winter turned around to face me. The look in her eyes told me she had something to tell me.

"What happened before..."

"I should have never left you alone," I said. "I'll never forgive myself."

"No. Maybe it was good."

"Why?"

"I know what's happening. I think."

"What do you mean?"

"The woman who took Autumn... the woman I gave Autumn to..."

"Yeah?"

"I know who it was. That was at least one thing I had been involved with besides carrying the baby for nine months."

I slipped a hand to her belly, touching her. I couldn't imagine Winter pregnant. I also couldn't imagine her giving up her baby and trying to live life like nothing bad ever happened.

It pained me and angered me.

"She was a close friend," Winter said. "So smart. She worked at the club to pay off her loans."

"Another stripper?"

"Yeah. But she's not anymore. Not for a long time. She was done right after I started there. When everything happened, Endo insisted on her."

"Why?"

"Andrea had been pregnant. She'd been with some guy who was crazy for her. And crazy in general. She told him she was done with him after he started to stalk her. But he wouldn't let her go. Andrea had a one night stand and got pregnant. Her ex set out to take care of her... and he came close."

"What happened?"

"He crashed her car. Ran his car into hers. She wasn't far along, but she lost the pregnancy. She had to get emergency surgery and was told she'd never have a baby. Then she met Endo and he killed her ex for her. They probably slept together for all I know. It wouldn't surprise me. So when everything happened with me and Endo, he wanted to give the baby to Andrea. And she wanted it so badly. I just went along with it all."

"She's a good person?" I asked.

"Yeah. But she has tendencies." Winter took a breath. "Those guys at my place talked about her. She has Autumn and they have her. I know it, Tripp. They have her."

"Skull X has her? Why?"

Winter and I looked at each other. I could tell she knew the answer before I spoke it.

Leverage.

Skull X had Andrea and Autumn, which meant they had Endo's deep, dark secret. They were probably holding that against him. They had power over Endo, which meant favors, money, anything they wanted. It also meant a direct line not only to Aldo but a direct line to the Red Aces MC.

"Shit," I whispered. "That's... that's heavy."

Winter nodded. "It's all my fault, Tripp."

"No. It's not your fault at all. You should have never had to give up..."

"I wouldn't change that. Andrea is a good person."

I swallowed hard. "When this is done, you can..."

"No," Winter said. Her eyes filled with tears. "No. I would never do that to her. If she calls Andrea _Mom_..."

"Christ," I said. I pulled Winter close. I held her, knowing I could only protect her present and her future. I couldn't do a thing about her past.

I killed the shower and grabbed a towel for her. I wrapped Winter up and got a towel for myself. A few minutes later, she was in bed. I crashed down next to her and pulled her tight to my body again.

"Tripp, what's going to happen?"

I stared at the ceiling. I wanted to lie to her. I wanted to tell her everything would be perfectly okay. That there was nothing in the world to worry about.

"I don't know," I whispered. "I'm still piecing all of this together."

"Aldo wanted you to kill me."

"Yeah, he did."

"If you don't listen to him..."

"Hey, I'll worry about that, okay? He thinks you are hiding Autumn. Or you know something."

Winter looked at me. "Tripp, you know everything."

"I know. I believe you."

"You're the first person to tell me that in a long time."

"I understand that. You needed to hide. I don't blame you. I hide too. But when I'm with you, Winter, I don't want to hide. I want to be normal. I don't even know what that means. But if it's us together, in bed like this, then I want it."

"You have it," Winter whispered. She kissed my chest and put her head down on me.

I held her until she fell asleep.

I looked at her and realized something.

I may never get to hold her like this again.

~ ~ ~

I stood on the balcony.

The only question that burned inside me was if Aldo had something to do with it all. So far Endo was the catalyst. And he was the one who had been shot and left in a coma. He had ties to the Red Aces. Ties to Stoney and Rocky. Now he had ties to Skull X because of Winter, Winter's kid, and the woman who took Winter's kid.

It was a giant circle that just kept going round and round.

It made no sense either that Aldo wanted Autumn. The _family_ always lived by their beliefs. I had no business getting involved with anything related to the _family_. I was a fighter. Aldo's prized fighter at that. I made Aldo money and when he kicked some up higher, I made money for everyone. That was my job.

I stared at my fists.

How fucking badly I just wanted to be in a circle... staring down some guy... watching his feet, his stance, his shoulders. Watching him watch me. Figuring out his strong hand, weak hand, and seeing if he was afraid. Anything that could give me that edge in a fight.

All I needed was one good punch and then I had the fight. Then I'd wait for Aldo to give me the cue. I could knock the guy out. I could last the entire fight. Whatever he needed from me.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Winter in bed, sleeping.

This fight? Damn, this was something entirely new.

My cell started to ring.

It was a blocked number.

"Hello?"

"Tripp. You alone?"

"I'm alone."

"Here's Aldo."

"Tripp," Aldo's voice said. "How's the problem?"

"There is no problem. I know what I need to do."

"Is she dead yet?"

"No, she's not. I can't kill her. She didn't do anything wrong. I'm a fighter. I'm not a hit man."

"You're playing a dangerous game," Aldo said.

"You know what she was forced..."

"Get my granddaughter," Aldo said. "I can't start a war over this."

"Aldo, I don't get..."

"Fuck," Aldo growled. "Get Autumn."

I swallowed my pride. "Okay. I'll figure something out."

"Good. Oh, and by the way, Tripp, don't fuck this up. That kid is all I have now."

"What do you mean?"

There was a pause. Then Aldo said, "Endo's dead. He died today."

The call then went dead.

28.

(Winter)

When I woke up, Tripp was on the edge of the bed, fully dressed. He kept the blankets against my body. I felt so well rested. So comfortable and so safe. It was probably the best mood I had woken up in in a long time.

I inched toward Tripp and nuzzled at his neck.

"Hey you," I whispered, my mind offering the worst of intentions.

"You sleep good?" he asked.

"Great," I said. "Think we can do the shower thing every night before bed?"

I smiled.

Tripp turned his head.

He wasn't smiling.

"What?" I asked.

"I have to go," Tripp said. "Alone."

"What?"

"Listen to me, darling," he said. He turned his body and touched my face. "I have to end all this. But I have to do it alone."

"Why?"

"I'm going after Skull X."

"Tripp! No."

"Stop," he said and stood. "I have to do this. I have to do it alone so there's no chance you can get hurt. You stay right here. Don't leave the room, okay? Promise you won't leave the room."

"Tripp... I..."

"Promise me!" he bellowed.

"Okay. I promise. I'll be right here. I'll be waiting for you."

"I just have to do this. Once and for all. One more fucking fight."

I was scared to death. I wasn't going to lie. Not to myself, not to Tripp. I couldn't imagine Tripp going to Skull X and coming back alive.

I looked up at him. I moved closer to the edge of the bed.

I dropped the blanket off my chest.

I reached forward and grabbed between his legs.

I needed him. _Right now._

~ ~ ~

Tripp thrust into me and I cried out his name. One hand held my breast tight, the other held the sheets on the bed. He stood on the floor, fully dressed, his zipper undone. His cock was buried deep inside my body as I had my legs around him, pulling at him as he sank into me over and over. His mouth felt like it had been everywhere. My lips, tongue, neck, chest all tingled where he had kissed me. My left nipple was red and swollen where he had suckled me so hard I screamed.

But I loved it.

I fucking loved it.

Desire flowed through my body so freely as I clawed at his shirt, pumping my lower body at him, never wanting him to stop fucking me. It was a need I never knew, and a need I never wanted to lose.

There was only one Tripp. I wanted him all to myself.

My hands fought their way up to his neck. I scratched at him, then my fingers dug into the back of his neck. I needed his mouth to mine.

Tripp kissed me and it set off fireworks deep in my core. I throbbed, pulsed, and started to come. My ankles unlocked and my legs fell open for him. His hands slid down and cupped my ass, lifting me off the bed. He moved harder, faster, bringing himself to a breakneck speed. The bed groaned almost as loud as I was.

He then moved into me one last time and started to come. My pussy clenched at him, throbbing each time he did, coaxing every last little bit out of his sexy body. My right hand was up and over his shoulder, holding onto his muscular back. My other hand touched his face.

And as he gently fucked me some more, my eyes filled with tears. Tripp brushed one away but more were to follow. So then he simply kissed me. Because he knew the truth as much as I did. That maybe sometimes it was easier to live with nothing because there's no pain.

Tripp buried his face into my neck, his body rocking back and forth.

I loved him.

And now... now I had to let him go.

29.

(Tripp)

I should have never let it get as far as it did. It was too late now though. We were far too deep and there was a slim chance we would make it out alive. In my mind, I tried to keep it simple. All I needed to do was get to Skull X and get to Autumn. I could fight my way there, fight my way through anything. I just needed more of the truth. I would make everything right by Aldo, by his now dead son, by Winter, and by all the pain and suffering she had to endure.

When I pulled up to the Red Aces lot, they were at the front gate, all together, ready to leave. All their motorcycles firing up at once sounded like scattered thunder.

Of course, Stoney was in front.

When he saw me, he put up a fist. He then climbed off the motorcycle and took his sunglasses and helmet off. He approached my car.

"Tripp," he said. "I think it's time I get sick of seeing you around here." A second later he asked, "Where's Winter?"

"Not with me."

"Everything okay?"

"Not your business. Just so you know, Aldo's son died. Couldn't survive the coma or the bullet. It's not going to be good around here anytime soon."

"You came all that way to tell me that?" Stoney asked. He was defiant and had a smirk on his face.

Like he enjoyed this shit.

"No, I came here for directions to Skull X."

Stoney's face dropped. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Give me the goddamn directions."

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, Tripp."

"I'm willing to take the risk."

"They'll kill you."

"I know that."

"What's the point then?" Stoney asked. "Christ, you're willing to do this for a woman? For Winter? Trust me, when you get to know her better..."

I took out my gun and pointed it at Stoney. It was a bad move to make, considering he was the President of the Red Aces and there were two dozen bikers that would die for him, that would kill for him.

"You want it that bad?" Stoney asked. "Fine. Enjoy your fucking funeral." He shook his head. "Too bad Endo died. We had a good relationship. That pains me."

"You look really upset," I said. "Now give me the fucking directions."

Stoney told me where to go, what to do. Honestly, there wasn't a piece of it I trusted other than the general direction of where to go. It wouldn't surprise me if Stoney hadn't planned on me going right into Skull X and getting killed before I could say a word.

I knew the risk.

I thanked Stoney and he stuck a hand in my car. "Nice knowing you, Tripp."

"Is that what you said to Rocky before he left?" I asked.

I backed away, forcing Stoney to jump away from my car.

I took off.

One man ready to fight a war.

~ ~ ~

It was a large warehouse. It looked like the kind of place where Aldo would have fights. There was a tall chain linked fence with barbed wire across the top of it. The inside of the property had broken concrete, growth pushing through it. It had all the signs of being abandoned but it was certainly anything but that.

I circled once and then waited across the street in another parking lot, along the side of a white building with faded blue letters that read _Jimmy's Auto & Body._ This was definitely a forgotten part of the town. Probably forgotten for good reason. This looked prime for crime and drugs.

Sitting for a while, there wasn't much traffic. A few cars here and there. A couple motorcycles. And then came the big vehicles. The massive SUVs, some of them looking like they belonged in the damn military. The first one pulled up to the gate. The passenger door opened and a huge guy climbed out. He had a gun slung around his shoulder like a rockstar would have a guitar. He grabbed the gun and surveyed the area. With a nod, two more men came out. They ran to the gate and unlocked it.

They were all big guys. Thick with muscle from who the hells knows... lifting weights, beating people to death, shooting shit in their bodies to get bigger...

The convoy of five vehicles all went into the lot and around the building.

This was Skull X territory for sure. Stoney hadn't lied about the directions. Now I just needed a plan. A way to get inside the building and find Autumn. Find Andrea. Find out what the fuck waited, what it had to do with Endo, with Aldo, and how to save everyone, including myself and Winter. Especially Winter. Hell, if anything, she deserved a chance to run away the most.

I slowly climbed out of the car.

Yeah, I was nothing more than some lowlife thug fighter. I beat up people for money when I needed it. I beat up the guy who trained me to fight. I beat up all the men my mother brought home. Yeah, that was all true. I was stuck with Aldo as his toy to earn cash. I may have had muscle, a little bit of a crooked nose, and scars on my knuckles for days.

But it didn't make me an idiot.

There was only one way to get inside the Skull X compound.

I had to get caught.

And a group like this wasn't just going to have one building.

That I knew.

That's why I parked where I did.

"Put your fucking hands up," a voice said behind me.

I grinned.

I was caught.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

30.

(Winter)

I chewed my nails until there was nothing left. I bit at my fingers until they were soggy and sore. I got dressed, changed twice, stood on the balcony four times, and paced the room three times. And it barely killed a couple hours.

Being stuck in the motel room the first time was bad enough because I couldn't get Tripp to even look at me, let alone talk to me, touch me, fall in love with me. Now was worse. I had no idea how long to wait.

Would his boss, Aldo, call me if something happened? Or would Aldo just have me taken out then too? I had nobody to call. I had nowhere to turn. Everything I knew seemed to be a lie, except the feelings I had for Tripp. They were painfully real. And they were painfully dangerous.

I sat on the bed and outstretched my hands. The sheets, the pillows, they all lingered of his smell. My body tingled thinking about him. The way he grabbed me. The way he came at me, opening my legs, thrusting forward. Thrusting inside. Thrusting deep.

My toes curled and I put my head back. My body ached all over.

There was something I could do to kill some time.

My fingers touched the bottom of my shirt, then the top of my jeans. My fingertips slipped down, feeling the laced edges of my panties.

And my cell phone rang.

I exhaled, feeling warm and flushed.

I grabbed my phone and saw it was Stoney.

Stoney?

"Stoney," I said as I answered it.

"Ah, fuck, Winter!" he groaned into the phone.

"Stoney! What is it? Are you okay?"

"No," he said. "I'm... fuck, it's so bad..."

I jumped up. "What?"

"Tripp lost his mind," Stoney said.

"What?"

"He came here. He wanted to know how to get to Skull X. I sat him down in the clubhouse, Winter. I tried to explain what he was getting into. We all did. We tried to explain what Skull X was. We tried to help him get a better plan together than just going after them... ah, fuck, it hurts..."

"Hurts? What hurts? What did Tripp do? Is he still there?"

"Yeah, he's right here," Stoney said. "He got mad and started swinging. We tried to stop him. He stabbed three of us, including me."

"Tripp stabbed you?" I asked.

"Right in the fucking arm and stomach. I think I'll be good. Winter, you have to get here. He's lucky he's not dead yet."

"Holy shit..."

"Can you get here?" Stoney asked.

"I have no car. I have no ride. Can you put him on the phone?"

"No," Stoney said. "We have him in a room. I have two guys with guns on him. I gave orders not to kill him. For your sake. Christ, Winter, what the fuck is going on?"

"I'm sorry," I said. "Something happened with Tripp's boss. They all want Autumn. They think I'm involved. I'm... Stoney, what do I do?"

"Okay, just take a breath," Stoney said. "Here's what you do. I need you to tell me where you're staying. I'll come get you. I'll bring you back here and we can figure this out. Okay?"

"Okay," I said.

"Winter. You can trust me... I promise..."

I nodded as my body shook.

Then I rambled off the address to the motel and my room number.

In the process, I was making one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

31.

(Tripp)

The warehouse had started to fill up.

There was going to be a fight tonight. I had fucked up their plans, and that was fine. The set up was nothing like Aldo's system, but it worked. A guy at a table took bets on the fights. People filtered in, but they weren't the same clientele that Aldo would attract. These were just regular people. Throwing down five, ten bucks to see something they thought was going to be cool.

Of course, I stole the attention for a few minutes as I was escorted along a back wall, a gun to the back of my head. I moved peacefully and had no intention of doing anything stupid. I was here on business and here to find out why Skull X had Autumn, then find a way to get her to Aldo.

Then this would all end.

I could prove Winter wasn't a liar and I could escape with her.

"Here," the guy behind me said.

He stopped and opened a door.

We went up a set of old metal steps that rang out with echoes with each step we took. At the top of those steps, we went through another door. There was a walkway that overlooked the floor. A nice place to stand and admire the fights when they started. Along that walkway was a door where we stopped again. The guy knocked and opened it.

There was a black desk and a black chair. The chair slowly turned and a man sat with his hands folded, covering his mouth. His eyes were dark and beady, his shoulders wide. He wore a black button down shirt. He put his hands to the table and pushed up.

"Leave him," the man ordered.

"Okay. Hey, Dmitry, should we guard the other doors? In case this asshole came with a crew?"

"No. I can smell him. He's alone. He's got big balls between his legs and wants to show them off."

The guy left the office.

I stood there, waiting.

Dmitry eyed me up and down a few times. "You're a fighter, aren't you?"

"I'm not here to talk about me," I said. "If you know who I am, then you know why I'm here."

"Let's pretend I know nothing. And you know nothing."

"You're hosting a fight out there," I said. "You run Skull X. I've heard that name floating around for a while now. A lot of people are afraid of you."

"Should be. We don't fuck around, Tripp."

Yeah, that one took me back a couple steps. The logical question would have been _how did you know my name?_ but I let that slide. It didn't matter that he knew my name.

"Where's the kid?" I asked. "That's why I'm here. I'm taking her where she belongs. No more bullshit. I want Autumn and Andrea."

Dmitry knocked his right hand on the table and then chuckled. "Goddamn. That's a tall order to make."

"I made it," I said. "So what's the problem?"

"Have a seat."

"No."

Dmitry nodded. "I will then." He sat back down. He opened a drawer and dug through it. Then he brought out a picture. He put it on the desk and turned it around and slid it forward. "So you're here for this?"

I stepped forward and looked down at the picture. For a second I lost my breath. The picture was of a little girl, maybe four years old. She had dark, curly hair, a big smile, but the eyes got to me. They were Winter's eyes. It was definitely her daughter. The daughter she had been forced to give up.

"Cat got your tongue there?" Dmitry asked.

I looked at him. My right hand was in a fist. I really thought about going after him.

"Easy," Dmitry said. He lifted his right hand and put a gun on the desk. "I know how to take care of myself. So let's just be men and talk."

"I'd rather fight."

"Understandable," Dmitry said. "This isn't your gig. So why are you here?"

"You took something that's not yours. That little girl doesn't belong to you."

"She's taken care of, along with her mother."

"So let me try your game," I said. "What do you want from me to get them?"

Dmitry nodded. "That's a tough decision. I was just going to kill them."

"Why?"

"I have no fucking use for them now."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Dmitry grinned.

He leaned back in his chair.

I made my move.

I grabbed the gun and pointed it at him. "Where are they?"

"Don't do this, Tripp. I want to like you."

"Fuck you. I have no loyalty to anyone. To anything."

"Except that little tight slit between Winter's legs, right?"

I pulled the trigger.

My eyes went wide...

Click.

I dropped the gun and Dmitry stood up. "And I thought we could trust each other."

The door to the office busted open and I turned just in time to have three huge guys charge in after me. My instinct was to fight, so I started throwing punches. I had no chance - and I fucking knew it - but if I didn't fight, then what was the point of living?

32.

(Winter)

I opened the door and Stoney threw his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Oh, fuck, Winter. I'm just so fucking sorry for everything. For Rocky. For Endo. For everything. What a goddamn mess."

He squeezed me tight. I felt nothing. Stoney and I never had a thing for each other. Well, maybe he eyed me after Rocky's death, but no more. I was Tripp's. No matter what it took.

"Is Tripp okay?"

"No," Stoney said. "I'm just so sorry."

I broke away from Stoney's hug, but he kept his hands on my shoulders. He looked ready to cry.

"Stoney, what is it?"

"Everything..."

"You don't have to be upset. It's not like you caused any of this."

33.

(Tripp)

I took one more punch and they let me go. It felt like someone had thrown a cinderblock into my gut. I collapsed to the ground and put my hands to the floor. Outside the door people were cheering.

"That's enough," Dmitry said. "You three leave now. Go run security."

The door opened and shut.

I climbed to my feet and wiped blood off my mouth. I looked at Dmitry. He was standing there, a smug look on his face.

"That's how you do it?" I asked.

"I take care of things. It's not always about being fair, Tripp. It's about winning. My father taught me that as a young kid. So, can we start over? Find some trust?"

"No," I said. "I have no interest in trusting you. Or helping you. I'm here for Autumn. Give me the kid and I'll leave."

"You have no muscle here," Dmitry said. He stepped from around the desk. "Come on, let's walk. You need to keep moving. It'll help blood flow and chase away the pain."

I had no idea if that was true or not.

Dmitry opened the door and we walked out together. We went to the railing just as the first fight was about to begin. It was two scrawny guys in the middle of a square. One had his fists up. The other hand his hands down, loose, dancing around.

"This is the warmup," Dmitry said. "We let these fools knock each other around a little. Gets the crowd excited."

"Why the low class shit?" I asked.

"It makes money."

"Can't be much though."

Dmitry looked at me. "Brings in the exact clientele I need for my real business."

Real business.

I looked back down at the floor and realized what that was. In the corners of the warehouse were a few more tables. Sex, drugs, and fighting. That's what Skull X did. Seeing women sitting behind the tables, in nothing but bikinis, waiting to be paid for.

"Christ," I whispered.

"I know what your boss does," Dmitry said. "I have my own way. We control everything. And we have a good working relationship."

"If you want it to be kept that way, then give me Autumn. You realize who she is, right?"

Dmitry nodded. "That I do."

"And you realize that Endo is dead?"

"I heard. What a tragedy. That's why I put the call in."

"For what?"

Dmitry pushed from the railing. He faced me. "To have them killed. I don't need them anymore, Tripp. With Endo gone, they're worthless to me."

I stepped at Dmitry. He put a hand out and stopped me.

Below us, the crowd cheered. I looked over the railing and saw the guy who had been dangling his arms like an ass on the ground, out cold. The other guy stood over him, shaking, in shock that he had won the fight.

"They're not worthless to me," I said. "I'm not leaving here without what I came for."

"What about what you didn't realize you've lost?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I bet you wish you were down there," Dmitry said. "You want to fight. I can feel it pouring from you."

I gripped the railing and couldn't deny it. It was a strange feeling to be at a fight and not be the one in the middle of the square ready to unleash hell on someone.

"Look," I said. "You don't want Aldo and his guys to come through here."

"If he wanted it that bad, he'd be here already."

"Trust me, you don't want him here," I said. "I don't even know if I'm supposed to be here. Name your price. You want me to get down there and throw some punches? I'll do it."

"What's the kid mean to you?" Dmitry asked.

"Nothing. I've never met her. But those close to me... she's everything. I won't leave without her. Unless you just want to kill me."

Dmitry shrugged his shoulders. He took out a gun and pointed it at my chest. He pushed at me, but I refused to move.

"Is that even loaded?" I asked.

Dmitry lifted the gun and pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang out. My heart instantly began to race. He put the gun back to my chest.

"You don't know what you stepped into here," Dmitry said. "I'm only keeping you alive to see how far I could drag this out."

"Drag what out?"

Dmitry grinned. "See, it was pretty easy for me once I figured out what Endo was doing. He was a real piece of shit, Tripp. Everything was a backdoor deal with him. He fucked everyone possible. Including Winter."

I felt hot jealousy surge through my veins. I gritted my teeth and told myself to keep my mouth shut. Dmitry wanted to get a rise out of me. He wanted me to fuck up. He wanted to kill me. But I knew he couldn't do it. He didn't want to start the war with Aldo and the _family_.

"Endo needed help to keep everything nice and quiet. He'd been a client of mine for a long time. It was actually very interesting, you know? To have this high profile guy wanting to slum around here. Wanting to pay fifty bucks to fuck some woman. Dropping a couple hundred on some blow. I knew he must have had a way to get better stuff. But he didn't. He liked it here. Then he fucked up and got Winter pregnant. So I helped him. In return? I got money and power, Tripp."

"That's why you have her?" I asked.

"Exactly," Dmitry said. "Exactly. See, having Autumn and Andrea gave me more power than I could have imagined. If I needed something done, I called Endo. If he dared to resist..."

"You threatened to kill his kid?"

"No," Dmitry said. "Endo wanted them dead. I refused. They were worth more alive. Bargaining chips for me. Get it?"

I was shaking now. I knew Endo was a bad guy, but this was something different. He wanted his own child murdered. And that was after he forced Winter to give that child up.

"I promise you," Dmitry said. "I've taken care of Andrea and Autumn. In fact, if Andrea could have lost about ten pounds, gotten better tits, I might have made a run at her."

"You're an asshole," I said. "If you're not going to fucking shoot me, then get out of my way. I don't care who you are. Or what you do. I'll find Autumn and I'll save her."

I grabbed the gun and twisted it out of Dmitry's hand. I tucked it behind me. I put my hand out and shoved Dmitry out of the way.

Autumn had to be close. If she wasn't, then maybe it was time for Aldo to actually take a stand. I could only do so much right now. My mind cared about finding Autumn, yeah, but my heart and soul focused on Winter.

"Oh, Tripp?"

I stopped and looked back. "What?"

"Don't go too far. I have a fight for you."

"Fuck off."

"You're going to want to see the prize."

"The prize?"

Dmitry grinned.

I had enough. I spun and charged at him. As I ran, I saw two more bodyguards appear. We were in a mad dash to see who could get to Dmitry first.

I won and had him by the shirt. I put him against the railing and had him dangling over it a second later. Below us, another fight had started, two thicker guys without shirts on. They had beards, beer bellies, and were throwing wild punches at each other.

"Try me," I growled. "I'm not afraid of you. Or Skull X. I'm not even afraid of dying."

"Your prize is Winter," Dmitry said.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Dmitry turned his head. I looked where he was looking.

And there was Winter, wrists taped together, in front of her body.

I put Dmitry back to his feet.

Winter looked up at me.

I was too distracted to hear anything Dmitry was saying.

And I was too distracted to realize the two bodyguards each had a set of knuckles on... at least not until they swung at me...

~ ~ ~

"We have something really special for you motherfuckers out there!" a voice boomed.

I sat against a wall, touching my ribs. There was definitely at least one rib broken, probably more. At least the bodyguards spared my face this time.

It was a narrow corridor out to the square. The people were cheering, ready to see some bloodshed.

And I was the one who had to do it. I now had to fight to save Winter. If I didn't, Dmitry was going to keep her and offer her to his guys as a reward. My mind suddenly thought about all the shit Stoney had said. _All the shit Skull X would do to her... keep her alive... keep using her..._

I had to pull myself to my feet. I had to do this.

I'd fight for Winter. I'd fight for anything to do with her.

Yeah, there was a good chance Skull X were nothing but pieces of shit and they weren't going to keep their word. Which meant I'd have to do something crazy. I'd have to win this fight, get to Winter, and then start the hell over again. To find Autumn. To make Aldo happy. But most of all... to protect Winter.

One question burned in my mind - _how in the hell did she get here?_

"I need everyone to throw their money at me. Right now! This is a five-buck-free-for-all!"

I stood with my back to the wall, trying to stretch my side. Pain shot through my ribs. I'd have to mask that pain though. I had no idea who I was fighting, but if he saw it, and he was a half smart fighter, he'd go after that spot over and over until one of my ribs punctured my lungs and took me down for good.

The circle was filled with money. Five dollar bills and ones everywhere. The guy who had been yelling quickly picked up all the money. He sniffed it and smiled. Christ, he was missing half his teeth. Probably a burned out user just trying to do Dmitry a favor to get a fix for free.

"This works," the guy said. "Oh, this works. You motherfuckers are going to love this one! There's no bets on this. This is pure entertainment. This is a bonus fight. Because this one... this one doesn't go until someone goes down... no, no, no... this one goes until someone doesn't get back up!"

Great. Just fucking great.

Fighting was one thing, but now I had to trick my mind into being okay with really hurting someone. _With killing someone._

For Winter, I reminded myself.

It was all for Winter.

"Now get the fuck out here!" the guy yelled and pointed at me. "You fucking piece of shit thug!"

I walked forward toward the square. The second people saw me, they went crazy. Screaming, throwing stuff at me, cursing me out. A mix of cheers, booing, laughter. These people knew nothing of my life. Of what I'd seen, what I'd done.

"This piece of shit is fighting for a nice piece of ass," the guy said. "He thinks he can fucking win! Do you think he can win?"

People kept cheering, booing, getting lost in it all.

Like it was a game.

The guy waved his hands and got the crowd mostly silent. He then looked at me, grinning with his rotted mouth. "Now, let's meet the guy that's going to kill him."

34.

(Winter)

All I could think about was Stoney turning left. We were supposed to go right. Toward the clubhouse. That's where Stoney said Tripp was waiting for me. He said he got Tripp to calm down. His guys were sitting with him at the bar having a drink and things were going to be just fine.

But we turned left, down a side road that became another turn, then another. I tugged at Stoney's leather cut, wanting him to pull over and tell me what the hell was going on. My heart was pounding in my chest.

When he finally did pull off the side of the road, I jumped off the motorcycle. He looked back at me, his motorcycle still running.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled at him.

"All I can say is sorry," he screamed back at me. "Remember... Tripp wanted this..."

Within seconds there was a black SUV speeding toward us.

Stoney screamed _fuck_ and then dove off his motorcycle. The SUV hit his motorcycle and sent it flying into the dirt. The motorcycle rolled, chunks of chrome flying all around.

The back doors opened and guys came pouring out, each of them carrying weapons. One of the guys smacked Stoney in the face, sending him to the ground.

I didn't know what to think.

~ ~ ~

"Meet Kane!" a voice boomed.

The crowd cheered.

I stood with hands taped together and watched a lumbering man walk across the floor toward the square. He was tall, thick with muscle. No shirt on, revealing intricate tattoos of skulls, fire, death, and naked women. He went to the edge of the crowd and started grabbing people, making his own path to the square.

"Remember," the guy yelled. "We don't stop until someone can't get up."

This was insane. Tripp could have just gotten Autumn and left. He had no business trying to save me.

None of it made sense yet either. It was like Skull X knew everything. And Stoney had been acting weird. But he'd been attacked too.

"Get a good look," the guy next to me said. "Watch your fighter one last time. He's fucking dead."

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

The guy making the announcements left the square and the fight started.

Tripp went right in, fists up, throwing two punches. They connected off Kane's jaw, sending him stumbling back. Kane threw a right and Tripp ducked. A quick left from Kane and Tripp knocked it away. Tripp landed two body punches, sending Kane's hands to protect himself. That left his face exposed and Tripp took advantage of it.

I wanted to smile. I wanted to cheer for Tripp.

But it was no use. Even if he won this fight, it wouldn't be over. It would never be over. Not until we were dead. That was the finale in this mess, wasn't it?

My eyes filled with tears and I blinked them away.

Tripp landed two more punches. He had Kane against the edge of the crowd.

"Don't get excited," the guy next to me said. "There's no rules here. Just wait for it."

Before I could ask what that meant, the guy who had made the announcements called for Kane. The entire fight then changed as the guy gave Kane a knife.

Then he gave one simple order.

" _Kill him!"_

35.

(Tripp)

I still had a gun in my back pocket. The gun I took from Dmitry. I just needed a chance at a clean shot to get Kane. The worst part was that I had no problem with this guy in front of me. He was doing his job, and that meant I had to do mine.

Kane lunged at me with the knife. I was able to get out of the way. My focus was completely on the knife, so I missed a left hook coming. He hit my shoulder and I spun around. I bumped into the crowd and someone threw a drink in my face. I stumbled back and Kane threw an arm around my chest. He squeezed like a python with prey.

I blinked fast to regain my sight and threw an elbow, hitting Kane in the gut. I saw the knife coming around at me and I had to drop down. The water that had been splashed in my face made it so I was able to wiggle free and get down. Kane spun around with the knife. I punched at the side of his knee and brought him down. He screamed. I threw a right up at his mouth and connected, busting him open.

Kane swung with a strong backhand and hit me. He got me real good, sending me to my ass. I kicked back and away. Kane grabbed the knife and was back on his feet. I got up and started to reach back for the gun, but I didn't have enough time to get it. The knife slashed at my shirt, slicing it but not slicing me.

"Kill him!" someone yelled from the side. "Fucking gut him!"

The crowd started to get rowdy. They started to work together to chant for my death. It was something I had never experienced before. Then I felt people swinging at me. Grabbing at my shirt, my hair. Throwing their legs out, wanting to trip me as I dodged and darted away from Kane and the knife.

Someone socked me in the ribs and the pain stole my breath. I fell forward and right into Kane's free hand. He grabbed my throat and slashed at my side. I felt the knife cut my skin with a white hot pain. The entire room started to spin and I begged myself to keep composure.

Kane brought the knife back, ready to go for the kill.

Kill him! Fucking kill him! Show them blood! They paid for blood!

Kane grinned, my death already playing through his fucking mind. I had only one chance to make a move... I jumped up, smashing my head off his face. Kane instantly let me go, walking back a few steps. His nose opened and spilled down his chin. I turned and threw a punch, hitting him in the forearm. His bones shattered against my hit, his arm flopping in half, the knife falling from his hand.

The people that saw the hit let out an _ooohhh!_ sound.

Kane pulled his arm to his body, screaming in pain.

This was my chance to go for the kill.

I hit him in the nose again, then the stomach. He swung with his free hand but had nothing. He didn't have his feet in place. He didn't have his balance. He didn't have his focus. The pain from his broken forearm bones controlled him now. And that meant I had the chance to end the fight. The knife was on the ground and Kane was stumbling around.

Each time he threw a fist, I moved out of the way and threw my own. From his ribs, to his gut, to his face, I had him in a wide stance, his body rocking back and forth. One more good punch would take him down. With any luck, he'd smash his head on the floor and either pass out or die.

I brought my fist back and something caught the corner of my eye.

A tattoo.

I turned my head, my fist not gaining any steam.

I saw a guy walking through the crowd. The tattoo on his neck was what got me though.

I stopped dead. The entire crowd became nothing but a murmur.

The guy looked at me, grinned, and kept walking.

I knew the guy.

It was the guy who shot Endo.

~ ~ ~

It was like stepping into a damn time warp. The guy with the tattoo kept walking, my eyes locked on him. My mind screamed to focus on the fight at hand. But I couldn't let this guy get away from me again, could I?

I took a small step and then sensed it coming.

I threw my shoulder up as fast as I could, but Kane's large fist hit me. If the guy had been completely stable and not in pain, I would have been knocked out cold. Even still, the punch worked.

I flew forward to the edge of the crowd. People swung at me, hitting me in the face, clawing me, spitting at me, pushing me back to Kane. I turned and Kane landed another punch. Thankfully it was his left hand, definitely not his power hand.

He landed two more punches on me and I dropped to one knee.

I looked up at Kane. His eyes were glazed. There was no more excitement in his face. I thought about the guy with the tattoo. The one that had shot Endo. Skull X. All of this put in motion because of that guy. Because of a bigger situation I still hadn't figured out yet.

Kane brought a fist back, thinking he had a chance at me.

To my right was the knife. I grabbed it and stood up, ramming it into his stomach. I grunted as I did, feeling his flesh give way to the sharp blade. I walked him back and pushed him into the crowd.

I then spun, drawing my gun.

That's when the crowd broke up.

Kane collapsed and it seemed the entire event had become too damn real. Which worked to my benefit. I was able to see Winter, able to see Dmitry, able to see the guy with the tattoo. He was talking to Dmitry.

As the crowd cleared out of the warehouse, I ran toward the guy.

"Ray!" Dmitry yelled.

The guy - _Ray_ \- turned. Dmitry then shoved Ray forward, right into my range. I wasted no time in pulling the trigger. The gun went off and Ray spun and fell. I pointed the gun at Dmitry. He put his hands up. His bodyguards pulled out their weapons, but he called them off. He even kicked them out of the warehouse, leaving just me, him, and Winter. And Ray, on the floor, bleeding out.

I tossed the gun aside and ran to Winter. I tore at the tape at her hands, freeing her. Her face was in shock. She touched my face, her soft touch hurting like fire over my wounds, but it was the greatest pain I'd ever felt.

"Holy shit," she whispered. "Tripp..."

"Fuck, darling," I said. I kissed her.

My instincts told me to watch Dmitry.

I turned, putting Winter behind me. Dmitry stood with his hands out, like he wasn't sure what to do next.

Ray put his head up and looked right at me.

"Aldo... he..."

Aldo?

I stepped toward Ray. I looked at him. It took all my nerve not to crush his face with my foot.

"Aldo..., " he said again.

"What?" I asked.

"He paid me... fuck... he... paid..."

He paid me?

I crouched down and grabbed Ray's shirt. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"He..."

Ray groaned and his head fell back and hit the ground.

He was dead.

I had killed him.

I killed the guy that killed Endo.

At least that was done.

And I had saved Winter.

The entire warehouse was empty now, everyone scattered and gone. Which meant all I had to do was face Dmitry and get Autumn. Then it would be all over. Done.

I turned my head and Dmitry stood behind me. There was a gun to my head. Another gun was in his other hand, pointed at Winter.

"Game over," he said. "Game fucking over."

36.

(Winter)

I saw Dmitry take out guns. It was so fast. He seemed confused, right up until Tripp went to check on the guy he shot. Dmitry pulled out two guns. One at Tripp's head. One pointed at me.

"Who goes first?" Dmitry asked. "I'll give you that much."

"Thought we had a deal?" Tripp asked. "If I win the fight, I get Winter back. You got paid for it, right?"

"It was okay," Dmitry said. "But you took away my after party fun. That's where the real money is. Fuck with me, fuck with my crew, you eat a bullet."

Slowly, Tripp started to stand. He showed his hands. He had no weapon. Neither did I. I thought about diving at him, taking the gunshot myself. If I distracted Dmitry, even for a second, it could be enough for Tripp to punch him and take him out.

"Winter, don't move," Tripp said.

"Get back on your knees," Dmitry said to me. "You look better that way."

"Take the gun off her," Tripp said. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this. This is you and me. I came to you."

"Yeah," Dmitry said. "And how did she get here?"

I watched Tripp grit his teeth. Everything had been happening so fast, he hadn't a chance to process my presence there.

Tripp looked at me. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "I..."

"Never challenge Skull X," Dmitry said. "You don't know our power and our purpose. We control everything."

"Just let him go," I said. "He did what you wanted."

"Shut up," Dmitry said. "The deal was easy with Endo. And now it's gone. That means..."

"Don't say it," Tripp said.

"Say what?" I asked.

Dmitry smiled again. "Oh, this is just too fucking fun." He looked at me. "That bitch Andrea, dead. That little kid with her, dead."

"Autumn?"

"No more," Dmitry said. "It was worth my time when Endo was alive. I asked for money, I got it. I asked for a hit, I got it. I asked for control, I got it. Hell, who do you think helped me to set up my own fights? His old man wasn't taking care of him so he wandered. And he spent money. So I have to take a hit on my business. I don't like that."

"Don't kill them!" I cried out. "Kill me instead. Let them go."

"Too late," Dmitry said. "And if it matters, you're going to die too."

There were literally two seconds of silence. In that time, I somehow managed to look around the warehouse and assess everything. Tripp on his knees, hands out. Being in a position he would have never accepted before meeting me. But because he wanted to protect me, like he was meant to do, he was on his knees. Dmitry stood with too much power. _And he was going to kill my daughter... if she wasn't already dead..._

That's when I snapped. I knew there was a gun pointed at me but I ran at Dmitry anyway. He looked surprised. I swung my hands like I knew what I was doing. But I didn't. I was just trying to help Tripp.

Dmitry was smart and strong though. Maybe someone else would have stumbled back or panicked, but not him. He pulled the trigger of one of the guns...

The one pointed at Tripp.

~ ~ ~

Tripp was on his back. I cut to the right and a gun went off again. That bullet was probably meant for me, but my quick move saved my life. In reality, I was now going after Tripp. I collapsed before him, watching him touch his shoulder. There was blood seeping through his shirt already.

"You're not dead," I whispered.

"Fuck, no," Tripp groaned.

"Not yet," Dmitry said.

"Tripp, I love you," I said. "I'm sorry this all happened. Stoney called me. He said you tried hurting everyone there. He came to get me..."

That's when everything hit me.

Terror ran through my body. I leaned forward and kissed Tripp. Then I stood. Tripp called for me and was already fighting back to his feet.

I looked at Dmitry. He was sweating. He may have been smart, but he was out of his normal element for sure. He wanted to kill us, but he just couldn't pull the trigger yet.

"That's why Rocky's dead," I whispered. "He found out."

"And if you figured it out, then you're going to join him," Dmitry said. "I'll give you one chance to shut your eyes and turn around. Then you can take the bullet just like your daughter did."

"Winter!" Tripp yelled.

I was lunging at Dmitry again. There was no stopping me. My mind replayed every damn moment with Endo. His money, greed, manipulation. The way he made me feel, the things he did to me.

Dmitry could have shot me. Instead, he swung the gun and smacked me in the mouth. Hot pain shot through my jaw and I left my feet for a second. I came down, my knees bent and twisted, and I was on the ground. I pushed with my hands and turned, on my ass, looking up at Dmitry.

Now he had the power again with a gun on each of us. Tripp's shoulder bled. He lifted his hands and balled them into fists. He was going to fight a man with a gun? He had already beat a man with a knife, so why not?

Endo and Stoney were tied together in this, with Skull X. With Dmitry. That meant the President of the Red Aces was a two faced guy. Working for two crews at once. Which meant Stoney set up Rocky to be killed. While I didn't love Rocky, it wasn't right. He sent Rocky right into the dark shadow of death.

"Now," Dmitry said, "let's get back to our business here. Tripp, nice meeting you. Great fight. You've got solid feet and solid fists. Winter, I wish we could have met under different terms. I would have loved to fuck your brains out. But sometimes fate just dictates... eh, who the fuck cares? I take what I want, when I want. And I'll never stop. Know that as the last words you hear. Nothing will ever stop me."

I braced myself to actually die. I looked at Tripp, wanting him to be my last sight.

I heard a gunshot boom through the warehouse.

Tripp wasn't dead though.

I wasn't dead either.

I slowly turned my head and realized... Dmitry's face was missing.

37.

(Tripp)

Dmitry fell to the ground. I saw Winter looking at him, trying to process what had just happened. I sure as hell didn't shoot the guy, but someone did. The need to protect Winter took over again and I jumped toward her. I grabbed her, hugged her, and spun her around so she couldn't see anything.

I held her tight and rubbed her back.

"It's okay, darling," I whispered. "It's all going to be okay. I'm right here with you."

Winter let out a soft sob. I squeezed her tighter.

From the shadows of the warehouse, I saw a figure approaching. Tall and wide, I realized it was Stoney. A gun in his hand, a sad look on his face. He was in a black t-shirt and had no leather cut on. Nothing to represent himself as the President of the Red Aces MC.

"I'm not going to kill you," Stoney said.

Winter jumped and tried to turn. I held her close, never wanting to let her slip away from me again. I needed her. Without Winter, I had no purpose to exist. I was better off taking that bullet Aldo owed me for losing that fight.

I stroked her hair and kept my eyes locked with Stoney's.

"It's done now," he said. "You two need to get out of here. Police are on their way."

"What the fuck did you do?" Winter asked. "You piece of shit."

"Yeah," Stoney said. "That's right. That's what I am." Stoney looked at Dmitry. "He had a good plan. It all came together perfectly. Especially when I got him to grab Autumn and Andrea."

"You helped with that?" Winter asked.

"Christ," I whispered.

"It was the bargaining chip," Stoney said. "And once we had things in place with Endo, we were going to destroy the Red Aces. I'd play it off that I was hurt, killed, kidnapped. Whatever it took. Then I was going to get a different kind of cut. A different kind of power." Stoney looked at me. "But it all got fucked up. Rocky started asking questions. Poking around my personal shit. Getting in my way. He followed me one night when I took a woman from the bar. I did it as a diversion. I dumped her at her apartment and met Dmitry. Rocky confronted me and I told him I was working something. I told him Dmitry wanted to meet up. That I had a plan to kill Dmitry. Rocky was on board. So I sent him off, telling him the MC would be there to get his back."

"They were never involved," I said. "You set him up to get killed."

"That's right," Stoney said. "That's how much this all meant to me. I let my best friend fucking die."

"You killed him," I said. "You did it. You set up your best friend to be murdered."

"Yeah, I did. So fuck it. Who cares? It's all a mess anyway. The guys pegged me. Dmitry must have tipped them off. He found out that Endo was gone, which meant everything we'd been working on was gone."

I started to open my mouth but shut it.

Why would someone from Skull X take out Endo if he was so important?

I held my question back.

I heard the cry of sirens.

Stoney at least had been telling the truth about that. The police were on their way.

Nodding, Stoney looked around. "I never wanted it all. It just fell into my lap. Fighting, drugs, always working for something that seemed to be nothing but death. This fucker screwed me. So now he's dead. You won the fight, Tripp. You won it all. Now get out of here."

"What about Autumn?" Winter asked. "Did he..."

"I don't know anything else," Stoney said. "Just get out of here. I'll pay my debts as needed. I killed Dmitry. Let the police come find me. This is your only chance to get away from it all. Both of you. I never meant for it to be this."

"But you meant something," I said. "You were going to team up with Skull X and take down your own club. And that would have included Winter. Either way, you lose."

"I lose," Stoney said.

I pulled at Winter. "Come on, darling. We have to go right now."

We charged toward a side door. I kicked it open and we went outside. It was pitch black. The sirens were getting closer, louder. I held the door open, trying to figure out what to do. I needed to get to my car. I could take the risk and run with Winter.

Or we could hide...

A gunshot rang out.

I looked back and saw Stoney on the ground.

He'd shot himself.

"What was that?" Winter asked.

"Nothing, darling. Get ready to run with me."

I took her by the hand and started to run. We moved along the back of the building and then around the side. We started to run faster, cutting in and out of a few of the emergency lights that weren't burned out hanging off the building. When I looked at Winter, she looked at me. Her hair danced behind her, her blue eyes looked simply beautiful against the light when it was there. She was everything to me now. She was what fate was made of in life.

Then she smiled. Shit. In the face of danger, death, people wanting to hurt us and kill us, Winter smiled at me. The most beautiful smile I'd ever seen in my life. There was no turning back, not like I ever had a chance. From the moment I met her, everything changed in my life.

We made it to the front of the warehouse and the flashing lights were off in the distance. The police would come and find Dmitry, Stoney, and Kane dead. With any luck, they'd play it all off as some kind of turf war over money, drugs, and women.

Maybe they'd find my blood on the floor and my ass would get dragged into things. None of that mattered though, just as long as Winter made it out of all this safe and alive. I'd do anything to make sure she'd be protected.

"Don't stop moving, darling," I said as we ran across the street.

I saw my car. I somehow still had the goddamn keys in my pocket.

I opened the passenger door for Winter. I hurried around and opened my door. I stuck my key in the ignition and turned it. For a split second, I wondered if Dmitry had been smart enough to disable my car... or bomb it...

The car started with ease, just like it was built to do.

All we had to do was back up and back track through the lot and find an access road that would lead to one of the main roads. The police would never find us. They'd be too far concentrated on the dead bodies in the warehouse and what it all meant.

I looked at Winter. I grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Darling, I love you."

"I love you, Tripp," she said. "Just get me out of here. Get me out of everything."

"Done."

I put the car in reverse and looked up in the mirror.

I saw the silhouette of a car a second before the headlights came on.

~ ~ ~

I held Winter's hand tight. I wanted to tell her not to be afraid, but I couldn't. Why? Because I was fucking terrified. Part of me hoped it had been the police behind us. It would have been easier to navigate the legal system where I had some rights. Dealing with Aldo and the _family_ , however, was much different. There were no rights. There were no privileges. Just commands. Orders that if weren't followed, people would die. Easily.

We were in a living room in one of Aldo's beach houses. The guys who came out of the car were with Aldo. He was in the backseat and they let me see him. He looked at me and simply said two words.

" _Follow me."_

The car then drove right by the police, Aldo able to give command to them. That meant we would be free in the situation, unless Aldo changed his mind.

That was to still be determined.

The leather couch wasn't exactly comfortable. The fire in the fireplace was a little too much for the room. It was hot and stuffy. Just beyond the living room was a large glass window and door that went to a balcony.

That's were Aldo stood. Smoking a cigar. Someone handed him a cell phone. He talked for a few seconds and handed it back to the person. They then put the phone down and stepped on it. That's how they all communicated. Cell phones that were used once and then destroyed.

When Aldo turned around, he took one last puff on his cigar. He handed it off and then came inside.

Winter gripped my hand tighter.

I couldn't say a word to her. She was supposed to be dead in all this. Aldo had nothing to do with her. He had no care for her.

Slowly, he walked toward the couch across from us. He put his hands on it.

"Drink?"

"No thanks," I said.

"You?" he asked Winter.

"No thank you."

"I heard Stoney is dead. Suicide."

"Yeah," I said.

"Dmitry is dead," Aldo said. "Piece of scum."

"I agree," I said.

"But one person isn't dead that should be," Aldo said.

"Look, Aldo..."

He pointed at Winter. "I don't know why you're sitting on my couch."

"I didn't do anything," she said. "I did everything Tripp asked. I knew nothing. You can't blame me that they're dead." Winter sucked in a breath. "She was my..."

Aldo nodded. "I know. My son fucked you over. I knew about Autumn a year ago."

"What?" I asked. I rose from the couch. "You knew..."

"Tripp, don't fuck with me," Aldo said.

"I want to fucking hit you," I said.

"You owe me a bullet."

"Then just do it."

Aldo slowly walked around the couch. He reached for a glass of something on the table. I quickly slapped it out of his hand. I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close. The door busted open and men came rushing in.

"Easy!" Aldo ordered. "Leave us be. We're fine. Aren't we, Tripp?"

"Yeah," I growled. "Just fucking fine."

"Good."

Winter then stood up. "How did you know about..."

"Please," Aldo said. I let him go and stood there. "I knew my son was rotten for a long time. He cared about the money. Not the family. Not what we stand for. He cared about himself. I hoped he would eventually disappear. But then he did something stupid. He knocked up a woman who wasn't one of us."

"So that means I'm guilty of something?" Winter asked.

"Christ," I said. "Darling, easy now."

"Easy now," Aldo said. "See, we're not supposed to accept any kind of family that doesn't have the rich blood of our heritage. Any kind of mixing? What a fucking shame. But there's always an exception to things. In this case, if Endo were to die... I have no other children, so the closest I've got to keeping my legacy, my name, was Autumn."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"The night of the fight. It cost me a lot more than some cash on the actual fight. It cost me my son. My only son. But it had to be done."

"You killed your own son?"

"I didn't kill him," Aldo said. "Skull X did."

"Ray," I whispered. "Christ, that's what he was saying. I shot him, Aldo. I shot him out of respect for Endo..."

Aldo put a hand to my face. "No. You did for me. For my family. And now my family can continue to live and survive. It's tragic what happened to my son. But he has a child to bear the name. Some of the blood." Aldo grinned. "And it's you who did it all for me, Tripp. The only man I could trust with such a heavy burden."

"Trust," I said. "You trust me?"

"Of course I do. That's why I sent you. I knew you'd figure something out. I knew you'd find a way inside Winter's panties." Aldo stepped back. "Don't get mad at me for saying it. Because it's true. You figured it all out."

"Well, whether it matters or not, I love her," I said. "And if you kill her, you better kill me."

"I should kill you for losing that fight," Aldo said. "But it was my doing. I cost you the fight. So how can I kill you? What kind of man would that make me?"

"A murderer," Winter said.

"Exactly." Aldo turned toward Winter. "And you, beautiful Winter. Tripp says you knew nothing. You were just a sidelined casualty to everything."

"It's true," Winter said. "I can tell you anything you want to know. I have nothing to hide from the world."

"And you love Tripp?"

"Yes. I do."

Aldo nodded. "So I'm going to lose my best fighter."

"I never said that," I said. "Just don't kill Winter."

"So if I offered you one favor," Aldo said. "Anything in the world. A million dollars. A mansion. Never the need to fight again. One thing, Tripp."

"I want Winter," I said without hesitation.

"She means that much?"

"More than anything you could ever understand," I said.

"Done," Aldo said. He grabbed another glass and poured scotch. He sipped and nodded to both me and Winter. "Salut. I'm going to be leaving for the evening. The house is yours. Tomorrow, I want you to get your keys and get out of here. Take a vacation, Tripp. I'll be out of town myself. I have to get Andrea and Autumn somewhere safe."

"They're alive?" Winter yelled.

"Yes," Aldo said. "Of course they are." He smiled. "While you were fucking around with Skull X, I had my guys get them."

"You set that entire thing up?" I asked.

"Nobody fucks with my family, Tripp. Ever. Have a good night."

Aldo slowly walked from the room.

I stood frozen and listened to the door open and close. I turned, just in time for Winter to jump into my arms.

38.

(Winter)

We kissed.

I thought it would never happen again. My lips touched Tripp's. Our tongues gently came together. My hands tore at his shirt, playing with his hair. My body lost all its control as my hips grind against him, wanting him.

"Fuck, darling," he said as I kept kissing him. "You need to calm down."

"Then make me," I teased.

That was all I needed to say.

Tripp turned and rushed to a door. He opened it and, lucky enough, it was a bedroom door. He kicked the door shut with a hard thud and locked it.

He took me right to the bed and put me down. His lower half pressed hard to my body, the rest of his body hovering over me. His right hand climbed up my shirt, cupping my breast. His other hand on the bed, holding himself up.

I put my hands to the back of his hair and pulled him down. I needed to taste his mouth again. His wicked and amazing tongue darted all around my mouth, sending tingling signals to all the right places in my body.

Slowly, his hand crept from my breast and around to my back. I arched my back and he unclasped my bra. He then pulled away and sat me up, taking my shirt off and letting my bra fall forward. I sat there topless, hands on the bed, slightly leaning back.

"Off," I purred at him.

Tripp ripped his shirt off. When I saw his shoulder, I gasped. I jumped up, my boobs bouncing, my eyes focused on the cut from the knife.

"Your shoulder..."

"It's fine for now," he said. "I'll patch it up later."

I gently touched the wound and stared into his eyes. "Does it hurt?"

"Nothing hurts when I'm with you, darling."

I melted everywhere. My panties were getting wet.

I reached forward and grabbed his jeans, quickly opening them. My hands touched his hard stomach muscles and I slipped down into his jeans, pushing them right down. I wasted no time in moving my hand around his thickening cock, tugging at him, finally feeling okay with the world.

"Fuck," Tripp groaned.

He brought his mouth down to my neck and climbed down to my chest. His mouth and tongue slid over my left breast, circling around my nipple, then suckling until I cried out.

I squeezed at his dick until he groaned.

Then we looked at each other and smiled.

Fuck, I had never experienced a love like this before.

I took my hand off his body and stepped back. My legs hit the bed and I stopped. I reached for my own jeans and opened them. I shoved my hands along the side of my jeans and panties and pushed them down. As I leaned forward, Tripp's big and strong fighter hands were there to cup my breasts. I was so tender and achy, my breasts and sex connected in such a wild way.

I stepped out of all my clothes and put my hands to Tripp's waist. I pulled at him, bringing him to me. I fell back to the bed, his hands quick to grab at my back as he eased me down. He came forward with a beautiful force, touching me, thrusting, entering me.

The sudden jolt stole my breath and I cried out in a dry voice. I shut my eyes and put my head back. I felt Tripp's mouth against my neck, down to my chest again. My hands slowly reached for the covers, curling around them, bracing myself.

He thrust again, finishing me off that quick, holding deep as my pussy tightened around him. I pulsed with a warm gush, whimpering at the rush of pressure.

"Oh, darling," he whispered, his hot breath against my right breast. "You're fucking coming already."

"I can't help it," I said.

I rocked my hips, wanting him again. Tripp slowly pulled back and thrust forward again. He eased himself into fucking me, allowing my body to react to his touch the way it needed to. I was a mess for him and I loved it.

As he fucked me harder and faster, one of his hands cupped behind my head, keeping my mouth close to his. His other hand cupped at my ass, holding me right where he wanted me. He loved me, he fucked me, _he had all of me._

The sound of his body pounding in and out of me, our bodies hitting together, the wetness, the groans, sighs, whimpers, and grunts... it was easily the hottest sex of my life. My nails dug at his back, slid down to his ass, pulling at him.

"Harder," I groaned. "Fuck, Tripp, harder."

He gave it to me harder. Each thrust threw me back on the bed more. When I started to get a little out of reach, he paused for a split second to climb up on the bed. He was then before me, on his knees, his hands touching my inner thighs. He held my legs open and picked right up where he left off. Pumping and thrusting, bringing a pleasure upon my body that left me shuddering and burning, unable to figure out when my climaxes began and ended.

Tripp grunted as he slowed just a little.

He was getting ready to go.

I touched his chest, then moved up to his face. I held his face and pulled, wanting to kiss him as he came inside me.

But then Tripp had a wild move of his own.

He pulled out of my tender body and pulled me on top of him. I cried out as I rolled right over, now on top of him. My hands were at his chest. His hands were at my ass. He guided his cock right back to me and thrust up, burying deep inside me. He then lifted and lowered me on him, until I took over. I fucked and rocked against him hard, desperate to feel him release.

I lowered my mouth to his with a sense of control. I felt his cock getting more and more ready by the second until he started to come. That's when I came down on him and just held there, moving my hips left to right.

Tripp hissed and bit at my neck, kissing me, groaning each time my pussy squeezed against his pulsing shaft. I couldn't stop rocking against his body. I then collapsed completely down to him, losing everything to Tripp. His arms went around me and he held me tight.

"You're amazing, darling," he whispered to me. "I'll protect you forever."

I groaned and kissed Tripp's neck.

I shut my eyes and fell asleep. In the arms of the man I loved. The man who protected me.

~ ~ ~

I woke up and was alone in bed. I threw the covers off and grabbed my clothes. A sense of dread went through my body. I didn't trust anyone in the world except Tripp.

I opened the bedroom door and crept out. I looked to my left and saw Tripp standing on the balcony. He was alone.

I sighed and smiled. A weight lifted off my shoulders.

I opened the door and joined him out on the balcony.

"Morning, darling," he said without looking back.

I slipped my arms around his body and squeezed. "Morning. I love you, Tripp."

"I love you," he said. "Now we have to figure out where to go. Together."

39.

(Tripp)

I stood at the car and waited for Aldo. He finally showed, in a black car, as always. Someone opened the back door for him and he climbed out. He adjusted his tie and then grabbed a bag. He walked it to me and handed it to me. I went to touch the zipper and he smacked at my hand.

"Put it in your trunk," he said. "That's a thank you. From the entire family."

"Money?" Winter asked.

"A gift," Aldo said. "You have protection wherever you end up. Just don't be gone long. I heard about a guy down near San Diego that has the underground taken by storm. He's got fast feet. Real smart and technical."

"I'll kick his ass," I said.

"I know you will," Aldo said. "I know you will. And we're going to become rich from it."

I threw a hand out and waited for Aldo to take it. "I can't stand you, Aldo. For all you did to me. But I have to respect you. Because it brought me Winter."

Aldo shook my hand.

Another vehicle pulled up. The back window went down and when I saw the face, I tried to shield Winter.

She pushed me away.

It was a little face in the open window. Just sitting there in her booster seat. Curly hair, big blue eyes, casually smiling with all the innocence a child could possibly have.

Winter's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, shit," I whispered.

"Just to show you she's okay," Aldo said. "She'll be taken care of the way she deserves. She knows she's moving. She's excited to start a preschool program. Taking her to a nice small town where she and Andrea can settle. They never have to live in fear again."

Winter nodded. A tear escaped her eye.

I put my hand to her lower back. "Do you want to go say something?"

"No," Winter said. "I don't want to confuse her. She has a mother, right? A good mother."

"A very good mother," Aldo said. "I spent the night with both of them. Andrea is a good person. I trust her with my granddaughter's life. Andrea is being escorted to the new house right now. We're taking Autumn there next and it's going to be a big surprise for her. She has no idea what's happened, what's been happening."

"The innocence," Winter whispered.

"You're a strong person," I whispered to Winter. "Anything you want to do right now, just know how strong you are. What you've done and given to the world."

"She's beautiful, Tripp."

"Just like you, darling."

Autumn looked out the window and smiled at us. Winter lifted a hand and waved. Autumn waved back. She then looked down and started to play with a stuffed unicorn in her lap.

That's when Winter turned to me. She came to me. She needed me. It was an amazing feeling.

"You're all set," Aldo said. "Remember, no leaving the damn country. I'll be touch when I need to be. Go be free. Go live."

Aldo went back to his car.

The window went up on the other car and Autumn was out of sight.

The two vehicles left us there, me hugging Winter. In the background was the crash of the waves, the call of the gulls, the end of the world that I had always obsessed with.

"Say something," Winter whispered.

I took her by the face and wiped her tears. "You fixed my world with your eyes. You fixed my heart with your love. You fixed me, as a man, with your honesty. You've given me life in many ways, darling, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life giving it back to you."

I gently kissed her and then took her by the hand. I turned, Winter by my side. We had a car, cash, and roads that could take us anywhere we wanted.

Life would never be easy because it wasn't meant to be. Sometimes you just had no choice but to make a fist, put it up, and fight.

I made a fist around Winter's hand, pulled it up, and kissed it.

Sometimes... the fight really was worth it all.
_Did you enjoy reading FIGHT? If so..._ _please leave your review!_

Don't miss the NEXT book in the FIGHT series:

### INVINCIBLE

I was sent to kill her... not fake a marriage and then actually fall for her.

I survived by following one rule – never fight on the anniversary of my brother's death. When that rule is broken, all hell breaks loose for everyone around me. After taking a step away from fighting, I was given the orders to help take out an enemy. No big deal, right? I didn't think so... until I saw a picture of who it was. A woman named Rose.

The second I see her, I know I won't kill her. The only way to keep her alive is to tell a lie that puts us both one foot in the grave. She becomes a marked woman by her own family and I become her savior. I never asked for it, but there's one thing that keeps me close to her and it's not just her beauty or the wild passion we share.

She knows who killed my brother.

Our lies and secrets are as wild as the passion we share, and I find myself in the greatest fight of my life... one I know I can't win, but I am willing to die for.

**

_Make sure you're signed up to receive an offer when INVINCIBLE is released:_ www.tinyurl.com/KJSignup
Bestselling books from Karolyn James:

### BACK DOWN DEVIL MC

### Read the entire series today!

(Note: all the books are stand alone novels and do not have to be read in order!)

### Novels

### OUTLAW REVENGE

### CRASH & BURN

### DARK FALL

### SECRET MAYHEM

### TWISTED PIECES

### STEEL TEMPTATION

### SAVAGE LOVE

### VIPER'S KISS

### Novellas

### RIDING DARKNESS

### WILD BLAZE

### EMPTY SECRETS

### BROKEN ROAD
Bestselling books from Ana Fawkes:

The super charged, super hot **DEVIL CALL MC** series! Read the wild story between Talon and Everly. Don't forget the check out the *new* story between Layne and Shelby!

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First electronic edition January 2016

Copyright © 2015 by Karolyn James, London Casey, Ana W. Fawkes

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.

