Panic starts to flood me. Did I jump out of the fire into the pits of hell? Was coming here a bad idea? In a daze, it was the first place I thought of, but now I’m wondering if I should have kept running.

“Start with the fact that someone tried to shoot you in the fucking head,” Nox says, sounding a little pissed as he hands me a towel.

I wipe my face, clearing the blood from my vision. It leaves me feeling less vulnerable having my sight back—for about half a second.

I peer up at the three burly men standing in front of the table. Suspicion is mixed with outright hostility. Then I’m looking down the barrel of a gun for the second time today. I flinch as I glance up its length to look at Ravage’s angry glare, then I steel my spine. I won’t show my fear, even if it’s there. I learnt a long time ago that fear is something that can be used against you, although I’m not always good at hiding my emotions.

“You bringing trouble to my club, little girl?”

I see his demons rise in his eyes as he peers down the gun at me.

“Easy, Rav.” Nox’s hand goes to Ravage’s arm, but he doesn’t lower the weapon.

“Start talking,” he demands.

I fiddle absently with the hem of my suit jacket, my heart pounding in my chest even as I keep my outward appearance locked down tightly. Coming here was a mistake, a huge mistake.

Ravage’s glare is so glacial I shiver, and Nox doesn’t look much warmer. This is his club too, and I’m bringing a heap of shit down on its head.

Eventually, Rav lowers the gun and speaks again. “I’ve got respect for you, Lucy. You took care of my woman and daughter when they had no one, I owe you for that, but you want my help, my club’s help, you need to tell me what the fuck you’re involved in.”

Fear of how deep I’m in this now has me saying, “They came into my workplace…” I break off and lick my dry lips as my mind races to build the lies among the half-truths. The truth is supposed to set you free. In my case, it will end with me dead. “They started shooting. My boss—he’s dead. A lot of this is his.” I peer down at the blood coating my hands, hands that are still shaking. “I saw them kill him.” This is true, but I leave out the fact they were there for me and Hank just got caught in the crossfire of my disastrous life. No one can ever know who I am. Not even Sasha. “I think my boss is involved in something dodgy.”

The lie tastes like ash on my tongue. I hate giving it, but what choice do I have? I need protection and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it—except tell the truth. I’ll only be here for a short time anyway. As soon as it’s safe, I’ll hit the open road again, go back into hiding. No one needs to know the details of my sordid affairs. It will kill me to leave Sasha and Lily-May, but I got complacent staying in the first place. I should have kept moving, but with them both, I felt like I found home and I didn’t want to lose it. I should have remembered sentimentality has no place in my life.

The door pushes open and Sasha moves into the room. Her eyes come to me and flare, concern and anxiety flashing through them. Ravage grabs her arm before she can rush at me, stopping her in her tracks. She frowns up at him, before he releases her, but I see something unspoken pass between them.

Be careful.

She doesn’t take his warning, rushing at me and coming to stand in front of me with fear dancing in her gaze.

“What the hell happened? Is this your blood?”

“I’m okay,” I assure her. “Just a little shaken.”

I’m more than a little shaken. I’m fucking petrified. Coming face-to-face with Isaac’s men dragged me back to a time I want to keep buried. A time when I was a different person to the Lucy I am now. My skin crawls, remembering my past, remembering who I became because of him.

If the Untamed Sons don’t help me, I’m screwed because now I’m on Isaac’s radar again, he will find me and he will drag me home—whether I want to go there or not.

2

Nox

I stare at Lucy sitting on the table, her knuckles white as she grips the edge of it, her gaze darting around the room like a frightened rabbit. There’s genuine fear in her eyes, even though she’s trying to hide it. I want to gut the men who put it there, although I suspect Rav and Whizz are causing some of her anxiety—especially Rav. He’s spitting fire right now, trying to get to the bottom of what the fuck happened. I don’t blame him. After everything that went down with Sin he’s been on edge. That shit rocked the club to its core.

I’m eager for answers myself, because Lucy looks like she’s been through hell. Her suit is rumpled, blood staining the collar of her jacket and her blouse is gaping open, revealing the lacy black bra she’s wearing. I’m drawn to the ample mounds of her tits as her chest heaves up and down. As I lift my eyes they land on the wound to her head, a wound that could have killed her. The thought makes my stomach twist and bile cling to the back of my throat.

I watch as Whizz wipes the last of the blood from her face. She murmurs an apology for destroying the towel he used. Like we give a fuck about the towels. I’m more worried about what she has coming her way. Every time my eyes trail over that mark on her forehead, red clouds my vision and my rage gnaws at my gut. I can see now she’s cleaned the blood from her face that she has a bruise blossoming across her cheek and her eye is starting to swell. It makes anger burn a path through my veins.

Whizz starts to clean up the wound, the smell of antiseptics clogging my nose. My fists clench at my sides as she whimpers at the first touch he makes, pulling back from his offending fingers. I’m a cunt’s hair from breaking his hand if he hurts her again.

I can’t help but feel protective of this woman. She deserves to be protected. Lucy took care of Sasha and Lily-May when the club couldn’t. Now she’s in trouble the club owes it to her to take care of her. I want to take care of her.

“Did you recognise the men?” Rav demands, his tone as sharp as a knife’s edge.

Lucy swallows hard, her head ducking a little, her blood-matted hair curtaining her face, and shakes her head. I can smell the metallic tang of it in the air, a sickly familiar scent. I don’t like that Rav’s tone has her forcing her spine straight and meeting his gaze with fear lurking beneath the steel.

“It happened so fast, but no. I don’t know the men.”

“Did they say anything to you?”

“No.”

“Did they say anything to your boss?”

Her throat works as she swallows hard, her eyes darting around the room as if looking for a way out. “No.”

Rav’s temper frays. “Well, what the fuck did happen?”

Sasha rounds on Rav, her eyes flaming. “Quit interrogating her. She’s been through hell without you getting in her face.”

There are very few people who would get away with talking to Ravage like that. Sasha is one of them. I’m the other, though Rav has his limits with me, and I know when to push them and when to step off.

Rav won’t lay a hand on Sasha ever, but he might take out his anger on nearby objects, so I brace, ready for anything, but he seems to hold onto his temper long enough to growl out, “She turned up here covered in fucking blood, talking about heads being blown off. We need to make sure this isn’t going to come back on the club.”