"You just f.u.c.king admitted it, you moron," Tate ground out. "We'll never be square. You've betrayed us. Our own brother. Guys, vote now. Kill or mercy?"

"Kill." Clint.

"Kill." Skeeter.

"Kill." Rip.

"Kill." Tate. He looked at me. "Colt? You're just as much a part of us now. What's your vote?"

"Kill," I agreed.

Bear lunged at Tate, but it was too late. Tate pulled the trigger and Bear collapsed in a pool of blood.

"You a.s.sholes!" Robby screamed from the corner. "He was gonna give me more! I was gonna set up a whole d.a.m.n lab. All I needed was to give him Krista and the kid as collateral. You just cost me twenty grand."

The a.s.shole had planned to sell his ex-wife and kid for drug money. He didn't deserve to live either, but I would deal with him later. Bear's blood was starting to pool around him and was threatening to touch Krista. Stooping, I moved to pick her up, but she started to flail her arms.

"No, no!"

She was screaming; her eyes rolled back in her head. It was probably a bad trip. I picked her up, but barely. Her hands clawed at me, her eyes were wild and unseeing. She just kept screaming.

"Here, let me." Skeeter walked around the side of me and I transferred her to his arms.

Out of nowhere, something big hit my side. It almost knocked me to the ground, but I got up, turned and saw Robby. He'd finally gotten the courage to get out of the corner.

"Give her back, she's mine! He was gonna give me twenty thousand for her. Do you know how many hits that would buy? Enough for a whole lifetime! And you ruined it! Put her down! There's a ship coming in that will take them."

"Get on your knees."

Skeeter's footsteps got softer as he retreated to the front of the warehouse, leaving me and a couple other guys to deal with Robby.

"I'll split the profits with you guys. Right? She's your wh.o.r.e, but my wife. We can be business partners." I ignored Robby as he continued to spew stupid worthless c.r.a.p about us splitting the profits. He'd put Krista and Becky in danger.

"On your knees, now."

I put my gun against his head, and this time he realized that I meant business. Dropping to his knees, he put his hands behind his head. He started to plead, beg for his life. "Please just take her. I know you want her, you can have her-"

I squeezed the trigger and the shot went off. He crumpled. Blood pooled at my feet.

She would never be afraid of this a.s.shole again.

I turned and walked into the warehouse to check on Krista. She was lying in the back of the van with Skeeter crouched over her. "We need to get her to a hospital. I don't know how much or what he gave her. Meth, I think."

I nodded. "It's your town, you're driving. I'll stay in back with her."

Chapter Forty-One.

Colt I stroked Krista's arm, careful to avoid the IV needle. She looked so small in the hospital bed. Her eyes were black and swollen, and the tiny broken blood vessels stretched from beneath her lashes over across the bridge of her nose. Her hair was a tangled mess. Krista never seemed vain, but I'd also never seen her hair like this. I ran my fingers through the parts that were around her shoulders and tried to make it look better.

Someone put a hand on my shoulder. s.h.i.t. I spun to see the intruder.

It was a black woman, pet.i.te, gorgeous and new-I hadn't seen her before. "Didn't mean to scare ya, just got on my shift."

Rip was slouched in a chair in the hall. Usually guard duty was the job of the prospects, but it seemed Krista was a special case. The guys were all sharing the duty. Everyone except me. I'd spent the last four hours next to her bed, waiting for Krista to wake up. From my s.h.i.tty reaction time to the nurse's entry, it was a d.a.m.n good thing I wasn't a guard. I was f.u.c.king tired to the bone.

"So, you're family then? Or one of her guards?" The nurse blinked at me, waiting for an answer.

Was I family? I had no clue. Krista was so small, covered in hospital blankets with beeping machines around her. This wasn't her-Krista was alive. She danced with Becky, she laughed with the guys, she made love to me. I loved her.

I'd loved Tina too. But it had been different, more shallow. My love for Tina had never seeped into my bones and taken over my soul. Maybe that was why Tina had betrayed me.

"Uh, family. She's my girl."

The nurse flicked her long braids over her shoulder and made a note in the chart. "So you're, uh..." She flipped through the chart. "Bartholomew Coulter?"

I cringed. I had to fill out all the paperwork when we first got to the hospital. I'd listed myself on the form as her significant other.

"Colt."

"Well, then go home, Colt. Take care of yourself until she wakes up. It's gonna be a while. She's on so many sedatives, she'd sleep through the apocalypse. And she's gonna. That much meth would feel like the end of her world if she was awake right now. Go home and take care of things there. You'll need to take care of her when she gets out of here. Come back in about twelve hours."

I watched Krista's face. She was safe, asleep but safe. Tests had shown the needle had been clean and she was gonna be okay. Becky had a few bruises, but was pretty much unhurt. Rip had dropped her off at Senora Lopez's apartment.

I started to get up, but the nurse hooked her fingers under my arm and hauled me upright.

"Come on, baby. Go home. Take care of yourself so you can take care of your girl."

I got on my bike and rode. As the interstate disappeared under my tires, I just kept repeating to myself: Take care of yourself so you can take care of your girl. I had to face the music in California before I could do anything else.

I hit I-5 and rode and rode and rode until my entire body was numb. Finally I dropped down Cajon Pa.s.s and into the bright lights of Southern California. I rode through the cities, through the smog and the traffic, through the high-walled freeways covered in graffiti, through the concrete and asphalt that was home.

On the way, I had been receiving text messages from Hawkeye. They were holding a special summit with all the chapters at Volk's cabin in Big Bear. Instead of going to the club, I went straight to the cabin where everyone was gathered. It was time to give my recommendation about the Kings. I would give my report and the fate of the Kings would be decided by Volk and all the presidents of the chapter clubs.

Volk's cabin was located down a private dirt road in the mountains. Thirty or so bikes lined his driveway as I pulled in. I was late. s.h.i.t.

I hauled a.s.s inside and found the door to the dining room that was functioning as the chapel. This was the first time I'd been invited to a meeting with all the chapter presidents. I knocked on the door.

The dull roar of voices on the other side of the doors quieted. "Name?" someone commanded.

"Colt. San Berdoo."

The doors opened and the guys let me in. Pretty soon everyone was introducing themselves to me. It was all the presidents from all the chapters. This was the big yearly business meeting. After all the s.h.i.t that went down in Tacoma, I had forgotten all about it. I nodded, shook hands with all the top guys. f.u.c.k, I wanted to sleep. I lost track of how many hours I'd been awake.

Once introductions had been made, Volk cleared his throat. "Colt, why don't you fill us in on your adventures up north."

s.h.i.t, they were all staring at me. I made it quick.

"The Storm Kings wash counterfeit cash and they had a member who was stealing the bills and using them as his own. Bear, the member who was stealing, took a little off the top and then used it to start his private operation as a loan shark. We set a trap for him to steal more of the club money. Sure enough, he fell for it. It ended in a gunfight and he's dead, along with a junkie meth head who got in the way."

Every man was quiet. Now that the rundown was over, it was time for my recommendation.

"The Kings are flawed, but good guys. Tate had an idea that the skimmer was someone from within the club, not their supply chain. He brought us in for two reasons. One, he wanted the support a larger club can bring." Heads nodded around the table. We all knew clubs were consolidating. "Two, he knew he would need extra support to get rid of the skimmer if it was in fact a brother. They have some good investments, and their money is solid now. They've gotten rid of their traitor." I shrugged. "They're doing well."

Volk stood up and walked me to the door. Just like that, it was done. I'd given my report and now everyone else would decide the fate of the Storm Kings. "Hang around in the office, we have some decisions. We may want to call you in for more discussion."

I nodded and wandered around the living room. There was a nice arrangement of fake plants on the coffee table and family photos on the fireplace mantel. Volk had a wife. I'd seen her a few times. Would Krista want to live this life? Meetings and club business?

After about twenty minutes, I sat on the couch and went to sleep. I dreamed about watching movies with Krista and Becky snuggled next to me. I had no idea how long I slept before someone shook me awake.

Pizza boxes, beer bottles and cigar stubs littered the council table. I must have been out a while before they woke me. Volk indicated an empty chair. "Sit down at the table with us, Colt."

Everyone's face was pa.s.sive. There was a newcomer at the table. I'd only seen him once before-Gerald Englestein. He was the head of the club's legal team. He didn't handle my weapons charge, too small-time. It went to one of his lackeys. What the f.u.c.k was going on?

"We like your report on the Kings," Volk began. "I think it shows insight and maturity. There's a sergeant at arms spot open in your own chapter."

I nodded. Fatso had retired last year and left the spot vacant. We all a.s.sumed that Hawkeye just didn't intend to fill it.

"We'd like to offer you the position."

I drummed my fingertips on the table, trying to determine if I was still asleep. The mother chapter of the Demon Horde was offering me a position as an officer?

I looked around at the guys at the table. Two weeks ago, if they had offered me this position, I would have jumped at the chance. But now everything was different. I loved Krista. It was life-changing, and my life was definitely gonna change.

"I have another idea," I said.

If I was dreaming, I was gonna dream big.

Chapter Forty-Two.

Krista "Becky?" My throat burned as I tried to wring sound out of my vocal cords.

"Hey, girl. Drink this." It was Skeeter. He held a cup up to my lips and the water put out the burning in my throat. "Becky's okay. She's with the old Mexican lady. Just lean back, okay? You can see her tonight."

Senora Lopez. Becky was with Senora Lopez. I leaned back on the pillows. She was okay. I needed to hug her, check her over, count her toes.

A nurse poked her head in and looked at me. "Well, look who's awake. How you doing, baby?"

The woman came over and took my pulse. She nodded and made a note on her clipboard.

I spent the next hour with doctors and nurses. The meth was causing withdrawals. My entire body itched and I alternately wanted to sleep or run. Mostly I wanted to run to Colt, but he wasn't there. Skeeter was there. He held my hand the whole time, but he wasn't Colt. I burned to ask Skeeter where Colt was. I just had to know.

When my eyes drooped, the nurse left the room and it was just Skeeter and me.

"Colt?"

"Just lay back, okay? Close your eyes."

My brain wasn't functioning enough to form words. My entire body hurt and all I could do was lie back and close my eyes. Sleep crawled inside my brain. I would ask more about him when I woke up.

I woke up over and over, but Colt was never there.

Nearly two weeks later and Colt still hadn't called. I'd been home from the hospital for six days. The club knew my attending physician and he never reported my condition to the cops. Thank G.o.d.

It looked like I was just a convenient f.u.c.k while Colt was in town. Now that he was back in California, he forgot all about me. Well, screw him. Most of what happened between us had been heartbreak anyway.

Tate a.s.signed a constant rotation of the three prospects to watch over me. The youngest prospect had let slip that Colt was in California, but that's all I knew.

The smell of burning wafted in from the kitchen and Becky and I looked up from our animal-themed crossword puzzle. The prospect a.s.signed for tonight's shift was in the process of ruining dinner. The fire detector started to shriek.

"s.h.i.t. I'm sorry." The prospect was fanning the blackened sandwich, as if that would help.

Running into the kitchen, I grabbed the skillet and plunged the whole thing into the sink. "You get the alarm."

The stovetop was on high and glowed a cherry red. No wonder everything was black. I turned it off and ran water over what had been a grilled cheese.

The prospect, Roach, was just a kid. He couldn't figure out to press the big blue b.u.t.ton to turn off the alarm, so he ripped out the batteries and set the whole mess on the table.

"Look, I can make dinner, okay? Bear and Robby are gone, right? So I don't need a guard anymore."

The kid stared at me. "I, uh, well, Tate said I had to be here. I can wait outside, though."

Roach settled himself on my new patio chairs while I dialed Tate. When Tate answered, I didn't even bother with the h.e.l.los.

"I don't want a guard anymore. This is ridiculous. I don't need someone in my apartment every minute of the day. I appreciate your concern, but I'm done. I quit, remember? I start my new job tomorrow."

The accounting firm heard that I was in the hospital and were nice enough to hold my job for me. I was excited to start my new job and live my new life. I couldn't have someone from the club constantly hanging around and reminding me of Colt.

Tate was quiet on the other end of the phone and just let me do my tirade. Dammit. I was sounding like a b.i.t.c.h.

I took a deep breath and apologized. "I appreciate everything you've done, but I need my life back, okay?"

"It's not my call. It's his."