“Touch her, and I will fucking kill you.”

Bishop throws his head back and laughs. “There’s the X I knew.”

There’s nothing more I want at this very moment than to bash his face in with my fists, but I’ve got enough sense to know that if I do that—Cole being a witness to seeing me take off with Kai—I won’t be walking out of this place.

“Here’s the situation, X. You’re going to cooperate with me and help me get the nightclub going. You will invest some of your money, and your name will be on all the legal stuff.”

My nostrils flare as I allow him to talk, knowing full well that I’ll never go along with what he says.

Bishop straightens his suit jacket. “Now all of that is taken care of, sit down with me, and let’s have a celebratory drink.”

“No. I’m good.”

“All right then.” He gives Kai a pointed look before turning back to me. “Your ride will be out front.”

I begin to head back the way I came when Bishop’s voice stops me dead in my tracks, “Tell Anna hello for me.”

I flex my fingers, and as hard as it is for me to walk away, I know I have to.

Wandering through the bodies to make it to the exit, the only thing I can think of is how thankful I am that Anna will soon be back on the road and far away from this city. As much as I hate to admit it, I would much rather risk her being around Rex without me than her being here in this city with me while Bishop has her in his sights.

I shove open the metal door leading outside, and I find a white Mercedes waiting with the engine running. The windows are tinted, so I can’t tell who’s waiting inside.

The passenger window rolls down, and a familiar face leans over and smiles.

“Hello, X.”

Angie Martinez, a girl I used to fuck around with back in the day, is sitting behind the steering wheel.

I scrub my hand down my face. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Get in,” she says.

I glance around, but there’s no other option for a ride, so as much as I don’t want to, I open the car door and slide into the passenger seat of Angie’s car.

She smiles and I can’t help but to notice her too-tight skirt, showing off more leg than should be legal. Her dark hair flows loosely around her shoulders in big waves, and her face hasn’t changed a bit since I saw her ten years ago.

“Where exactly am I taking you?”

“Tough’s Gym.”

The car rolls forward, and Angie’s gaze slides over to me for a brief second before turning back to the road. “You look good, X. Glad to see you’re doing so well. I’ve missed you around the Block.”

I fold my arms over my chest, wanting to cut to the chase. “What are you doing with Bishop, Angie?”

She sits up a little straighter in her seat. “I’m not with Bishop. I work for him.”

I shake my head in disgust. “What happened to getting out of here and going to college?”

She shrugs. “I didn’t see the point in spending time hitting the books when I could work on the Block and make four times as much as I could at a regular job.”

“A negative of a regular job isn’t prison time though,” I retort.

“Still righteous, I see. You’re the only person I’ve ever known who actually left here and made something of himself. The rest of us who try always find our way back.”

“Then, you didn’t try hard enough to stay away.”

Angie parks the car outside of Tough’s Gym, and I don’t waste any time in getting out of the car.

She’s right behind me as I walk toward my bike. “Where are you staying? Maybe I can swing by a little later to keep you company.”

I turn around to tell her there’s no way in hell that’s going down, but before I can get the words out, she kisses my cheek.

I grab her wrist before she can reach up and touch my face. “No, Angie. It’s not happening.”

She pokes her bottom lip out. “You’ve never told me no before.”

“I’ve met someone,” I tell her.

Her eyes scan my face, taking in my serious expression. She slowly pulls out of my grasp. “You love her?”

I nod. “I do.”

Angie adjusts the blue top she’s wearing, and her lips pull down into a deep frown. “She’s a lucky lady.” She takes a step back. “Good-bye, X.”

I stand there, watching Angie hop into the car.

I have no doubt that my rejection hurt her. Back when we used to mess around, she made it clear that I wasn’t the only man in her life, which was why I never took her seriously. We never loved each other.

I never knew what love was until I met Anna. She’s my heart.

Chapter 14

Anna

Several shades of colored tulle line the table from the aftermath of Quinn picking her wedding colors. She points to a piece of violet tulle and holds it up next to a pale yellow one. “Perfect. It’s so girlie. Don’t you love it?”

Aunt Dee smiles at her. “Aye, they’re lovely. I can’t wait to see them paired next to your dress.”

“My dress!” Quinn’s excitement is evident. “Oh my God, Anna, wait until you see it. We need to figure out a time when we can go get you fitted for your dress.”

I lay the fabric down on the table. “Oh, it’ll have to be sometime in the middle of next week. I have to fly out to Seattle to meet up with Tension for a show on Sunday, and then I have to stay there for Tuesday’s show.”

Quinn’s eyes widen. “Seattle? You do realize, being that close to Portland, Uncle Simon might just pop up.”

I sigh. “I know, but if he shows up, I’ll handle him.”

“I don’t doubt that, baby girl,” Aunt Dee says as she adjusts the scarf wrapped around her head. “From what I heard, you shocked the hell out of him when he showed up in Atlanta. He wasn’t prepared for you to speak to him that way while you were defending your relationship with X. It’s hard for my brother to realize that his little girl is all grown-up.”

“It took some real guts, telling him off like you did in Atlanta, cuz,” Quinn adds. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to handle facing Uncle Simon because of how hell-bent you were to avoid him when you first got into town, so major props to you for actually growing a little backbone.”