Balancing my hand on his shoulder, I threw my leg over the bike, and we took off.

I was still trembling like crazy when we got to the MC. Rock ushered me straight into his office.

"Trinity, I like you. I know you been spending time with my boy. Not sure where that's headed, and I'm sorry I had to send him on that run."

"It's okay."

"You want to tell me more about tonight?"

"Can you protect me?"

Rock studied me for a second. "How serious is this thing with Wrath?"

Shit, I didn't know how to answer that. "He hasn't said he wants me to be his ol' lady or anything like that."

That didn't seem to surprise Rock.

"Look, we're moving up to the new clubhouse in a week or so. I could use a girl up there to take care of stuff. Cooking, cleaning, that sort of thing. I think I can trust you. You'll be safe up there. You interested?"

From the little bit I'd gathered from Wrath, the place was a large, secluded piece of property at the edge of Empire County. I was extremely interested. "What else will I have to do?" I asked because I wasn't stupid. Any MC providing me with shelter and protection would expect more than a little cleaning in return.

He cocked his head and studied me for a moment. "Nothing you don't want to do, sweetheart. I promise. Now tell me why this guy got you so rattled."

I gave him the most concise version of my life story that would leave me with some dignity yet still convey how desperate I was for his club's protection. Even so, it was an ugly story. Rock remained stoic as I laid everything out for him, but his ticking jaw muscle told me how furious he was about what he was hearing.

As soon as I finished, he said, "Trinity. I give you my word that shit does not happen in my club."

I nodded because I believed him to a certain extent. There was something different about the Lost Kings. I sensed I would be safe under their protection and would do whatever I had to do to earn it and keep it.

Rock glanced at his phone. "Dex says the guy's starting to cause trouble. I'm going to have him take care of it so word's not getting back to Tyler about you just yet."

"Okay."

He sighed. "I got a spare room here. Nothing fancy. You can stay there until we figure this out."

"Okay. Thank you so much, Rock."

A couple days later, Dex took me to clean out my apartment. I packed up anything I cared about and stuffed it into my car. He handed me directions to the new clubhouse, and I made my way there.

Rock eyed my little beater car suspiciously when I pulled up to the building. He opened my door and looked the car over. I was mildly embarrassed, but up until a couple days earlier, I tended bar. What did he expect me to drive? It was bought and paid for and good on gas. That's all I cared about. Men-they were all the same when it came to vehicles.

"You'll need four-wheel drive up here in the winter," he finally said.

I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off before I got a word out. "Club will find you something, Trinity."

Not sure how I felt about that. I mean technically, I was offering to be a whore for the club, right? It still felt weird to have the club president talk so casually about taking care of my transportation arrangements that way. I'd never heard of an MC that worried about shit like that for someone as insignificant as a club whore.

The space was pretty fantastic. I'd never seen such an elaborate MC setup. Most were rundown, converted warehouses or trailers. Nothing so flashy. Rock explained it belonged to some sort of religious group that used to hold fancy retreats. That made more sense.

He gave me the grand tour. "It's a lot for one person to keep up on, especially with ten guys messing it up, so if you need to hire someone to help you out, just let me know."

"The club has other girls, right? Regular sweetbutts?"

One corner of his mouth lifted in a bit of a smirk. "We've got regular club girls. Good luck getting any of them to help you clean, though."

What the hell? Any girl who wanted to enjoy the benefits of an MC, their weed, booze, protection dick, ought to be prepared to give back and help out. I told Rock that and he laughed.

"Okay. You want to whip them into shape, I'll back you all the way, Trinny. Any of them give you shit, they're gone."

Lot of power for one club girl to have, but I think Rock knew I wouldn't abuse it.

The last place we stopped was a room across from a partially furnished workout room. My mind flashed to Wrath telling me he was saving to buy his own gym. I wondered if he'd hang out here a lot.

Rock opened the door and stepped inside. It was a decent-sized suite with a little walk-in closet, its own bathroom, and lots of built-in bookshelves.

"This is nice. What are you going to use it for?" I asked.

"It's yours."

My mouth dropped. I assumed I'd be expected to bunk wherever. Couch, floor. Whoever wanted me in their bed for the night. I'd never heard of a club girl having her own room, unless she belonged to the president or something.

Oh.

Rock sensed the shift in my attitude. Two fingers pressed under my chin, tipping my head up. "Trinity, I want you to have your own space, where the guys won't bother you if you want to be left alone. Nothing more."

Oh, wow.

"I'm asking a lot of you. Cooking, housekeeping, running the other girls, and overseeing party stuff. The least I can do is make sure you have your own room."

"Okay."

"That's all I expect from you."

"Okay," I whispered, not entirely convinced.

"You want to be with any of the guys, that's your choice." He studied me for a moment before continuing. "Wait for Wrath to get back before you make any decisions. I haven't had a chance to talk to him."

"You think he's going to be mad?"

Rock shrugged. "All the brothers are good guys. I don't expect you to have any problems. But if you do, talk to me."

Surprised, I just nodded my head.

With another glance at the empty space, Rock clapped his hands. "We're going to be ordering furniture for the rest of the house. I'll drop the catalogs off to you. Just make a list of what you want, and I'll make sure you have it."

I was dumbfounded but managed to mumble an okay.

His face broke into a warm smile. "Everything's going to be fine. You'll be safe here."

I wished I believed him.

Stopping to take a break would have been the smart move, but I never claimed to be smart. I needed to see Trinity. We'd talked a few times, but she'd stopped answering her phone a couple days ago. Had she gotten fed up with me? Found someone else? I needed to find out.

This run seemed to take forever. For the first time in my life, I hated every second I was away. My first stop, of course, needed to be the MC to give Rock an update. Naturally, he was nowhere to be found.

Dex stopped me with a big, manly bro hug as I came out of Rock's office. "How'd it go?"

"Good. Long trip."

Z and the prospect shuffled in behind me and headed for the showers.

"Anything new?" I asked.

"Naw, man. Got us a club mama installed at the property, though."

That's new.

"Girl was being hassled by some shady fuck at the bar she worked at. Rock brought her in. Total sweetheart."

A bad feeling curled in my gut.

"Prez up there now?"

"I think so."

Christ, the last thing I felt like doing was getting back on the road. But I pushed aside my fatigue and made my way to the center. I spotted the prospect's bike and a couple others, but not the one I was looking for.

Laughter greeted my ears as I entered. Immediately, my gaze darted to the left where someone had placed barstools along the front desk area. A flash of blond hair turned my vision red.

No.

Trinity-my girl-was the new club mama, Dex mentioned?

No. Fucking. Way.

"Trinity?"

She turned and almost fell off her stool. Guilt or surprise flashed in her eyes. I couldn't tell which. She certainly didn't welcome me home with open arms.

The prospect shot me a welcome home wave, but I ignored him.

Trinity's mouth opened, but no words came out.

I approached her with slow, precise steps. "Can I speak to you outside, Trinity?"

"You guys know each other?" the prospect asked.

I glared at him. Prospect was dangerously close to being murdered. "Shouldn't you be outside, prospecting?" I growled at him. He hustled out of the building.

Now I could focus all my rage where it belonged. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

She blinked, but still didn't offer any explanation.

"Because someone said something about us having a club girl on a permanent basis, and I just know that isn't you."

"Well, I, uh Rock offered."

Motherfucking Rock. I was going to gut him. My president. My best fucking friend. I'd fucking kill him the second I saw him.

"You are not doing this, Trinity."

That finally loosened her tongue. "Wrath. I need protection and a safe place to stay. There are people-"

"You need a place to live, I'll fucking get you an apartment. You're not living here, spreading your legs for my brothers."

Those pretty lips I'd been dreaming about wrapping around my cock for the last three weeks screwed up into a pissed-off pout. "You don't understand."

"You're right. I don't. Were you so goddamned desperate for cock while I was gone you decided to do this?"

Her face twisted into a scowl. "I haven't done anything, Wrath. Would you listen-"

Fury and exhaustion overwhelmed me. "No. You fucking listen. You're not doing this, Trinity. I thought we had something. But this? This ends now."

Girl had her own fury going. She crossed her arms over her chest. "You better talk to Rock."

"Where is he?"

"Down at Crystal Ball. Said he had interviews."

Rage that she knew where he was when Dex-a brother-didn't consumed me. What the fuck went on while I was away? "Yeah, babe, interviews means he's busy fucking dancers," I said to twist her.

She shrugged. "That's his business."

Shit. Was I reading things wrong?

I stormed out the door, Trinity behind me. "Wrath, please-"

I turned and took her in. All that beauty was mine. Jesus, it physically hurt to look at her.

It was a miracle I didn't crash my bike on the way back to Empire. I was so livid. I barely remembered the ride. One minute I was tearing out of the center, and the next I was storming into Crystal Ball. Throwing my fist against Rock's office door earned me an invitation. Could have done without the visual that greeted me on the other side. Rock was busy pounding into a petite brunette he had bent over his desk.

He glanced up long enough to greet me. "Welcome back, brother."

"We gotta talk, prez."

He waved a hand over the girl's back. "Join in or get the fuck out."

She wouldn't have been the first chick we spitroasted. And since I'd just spent three weeks turning down club bitches from here to Cali only to come home and find my girl had installed herself as club ass at my MC without anyone having the decency to warn me, I could have used the stress relief. The chick on the desk crooked her finger at me inviting me closer.