"Go down to Sway's compound. Those guys like you."

Defeat's written all over her face. "Yeah, okay."

I motion Hoot and Birch over. "Drive her home."

Hoot ushers her to the van and I wait until they drive off before turning around.

Rock's waitin' in the doorway. "You make it clear?"

"Yeah, she knows."

Rock shakes his head. "Fuck. I shoulda given Hope more warning shit like that might happen."

Ya think?

"She did okay." We both glance over to where Trinity and Teller are clearly trying to cheer Hope up. He snorts. "Thank fuck for Trinny. Don't know what we'd do without her," he turns and glares at me.

"Yeah, she's been talking you up all night too."

Rock raises an eyebrow, silently asking me to continue. "You know, the usual, letting Hope know you're only parking your dick in her garage. Shit like that."

Rock snorts. "Fantastic."

I drill him with a stare. "She also made a point of telling Hope she's never fucked you."

Rock's expression doesn't change. "Good."

I run down to check on the champagne room and duck into the kitchen. No fights. No one drowning in puke or anything else unsavory.

Finding Trin and Teller cozy together when I return is the definition of unsavory.

I'm not gonna play games or compete with anyone for her attention. I kick Teller's foot. "Swan's looking for you."

I'm not above lying though.

Trin gives me a look. She sees right through my bullshit. I sit next to her and casually drape my arm over the back of the couch.

"We were just talking," she says.

When I don't respond, she falls back against the couch and closes her eyes. "What are we doing?"

Good fucking question. A hundred different answers run through my head. I want her to be my girl and I'm tryin' hard to figure out how to make that happen, short of kidnapping her and having "property of Wrath" tattooed on her forehead.

"Takin' the weekend off from training," I answer.

She smirks, turns and opens her eyes. Even with all the black shit smeared around them, her honey eyes are the sweetest things I've seen all night.

"What's with all the eye shit tonight?" I ask, pointing at her face.

Her mouth turns down. Fuck, I didn't mean to hurt her feelings.

"I thought you liked the plastic slut look? Peach set her make-up shotgun on whore tonight and you couldn't wait to get on her."

Fuck it. I'm gonna lay it out for her. "I didn't want Peach."

She rolls her eyes.

"I was pissed seeing you dancing for Dex like that." You should be doing that shit for me.

"Dex and I are just friends. For some stupid reason, he seems to have a thing for skank-a-rella."

I snort at that. "What's your deal with Inga? I didn't realize you guys even knew each other."

Trin sits up, turns to face me and tucks one leg under her. "Sure, I've run into her from time to time down at CB. She made it clear that she wasn't a whore like me." Trin twirls her hair and makes an airhead face. "She's an adult film actress," she says with a phony voice and snotty attitude I can definitely picture Inga using.

"You tell Rock?"

"No. She's a good stripper. What's he going to do, fire her because she's a bitch to me?"

She's right, but it still pisses me off.

"She fucks on film for money. I fuck to keep a roof over my head. No different in my book."

"Jesus fucking Christ, would you stop with that shit? You're a part of this family, Trin. Doesn't matter who you do or don't fuck."

She glances down at her hands resting in her lap and shakes her head.

Placing my hand over hers I ask her to go for a walk with me.

"Where?"

"I don't know. Let's walk down the hill and visit the big Buddha guy."

The corners of her mouth lift and she laughs. "Okay. Let me go grab a sweatshirt."

I'm waitin' by the door for a while and I start to wonder if she changed her mind. When she returns, she's got a LOKI sweatshirt on that's about two sizes too big for her, and a freshly scrubbed face.

Reaching out, I brush my hand over her cheek. "You didn't have to do that. I was only joking around."

She shrugs and takes my hand, leading us outside. Our feet crunch over the gravel as we make our way around the clubhouse and down the long driveway.

Once we get some distance between us and the clubhouse, it's easier to appreciate our surroundings.

"I love it up here," she hush-whispers. She's walking so slow, I stop to see what she's doing and find her staring up at the sky.

"Watch your step, babe."

She drops her head and we continue our walk. Z's got a bunch of motion-detector solar lights installed along the driveway, so we can at least see where we're going.

When we finally get to the statue, we sit on one of the low stone benches. Trin tips her head back to stare at the sky again.

"It's so pretty."

"Yes." But I'm looking at her, not the stars.

"Do you ever look up and wonder if somewhere out in all that blackness is another planet full of people?"

This time I do lean back and take in the oil-black sky and stars. "Not since I was a kid."

She hums in agreement. "Do you think we'll ever know?"

"Maybe." I glance over at her, but she's still gazing up at the stars. "You okay?"

She doesn't answer for a while. "I'll be thirty soon."

I guess I knew that. "Yeah."

"There was a time in my life I didn't think I'd live to see twenty-five, let alone thirty."

Given what Rock's told me about her past, I understand. I've certainly felt that way once or twice in my life. "I know what you mean."

She finally stops staring at the sky and turns to face me. "Yeah, you probably do."

She's close enough to kiss, but I also want her to keep talking.

She sighs. "I've concentrated on survival for so long, I don't even know what I'm doing with my life. Or what I should do."

Her tone. Her words. The lost look on her face. All of it scares me. "Do you want to leave the club?"

"No. It's the only real home and family I've ever had."

I slip my arm around her and pull her against me. Her head drops on my shoulder. "I think that's true for all of us."

To be honest, I'm shocked to be having this conversation with Wrath. I don't know what's gotten into me.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, I'm happy with my life here. But there's that one percent of me, always questioning. Is this all there is to life? Warming one bed after another? Parties? Do I want a family? Could I raise a kid in the life, the way I was? If I wanted to leave, where would I go?

"Want to head back?" Wrath asks.

"Not yet."

He stands and stretches. "That bench is killing me," he says as if he's apologizing for leaving my side.

"Sorry."

"You're not the only one getting older. Been abusing this body for years."

If by abusing, he means working it into sinful perfection then, yeah, he's right. "Think you should give up fighting?"

He stares down at his hands, opening and closing them into fists. "I need it."

Yeah, he needs to unleash his anger the same way I need to have sex to feel good about myself.

Admitting what he probably thinks is weakness must have left him feeling vulnerable. He jumps up, grabbing a thick branch and hangs from it. Then starts doing chin-ups.

"What are you doing? You're going to kill that tree," I scold.

He lifts himself up a few more times, and yeah, I definitely admire the flexing of his arms, then he drops down. "Don't want you to think I'm getting soft."

I knew it. "You're the hardest man I know."

He doesn't get all cocky, just nods.

An unexpected yawn escapes me, and I realize I've been going all day. I'm tired.

"Come on, babe. You've had a busy day and it's a long hike back up the hill." Wrath holds his hand out and I take it. He pulls me up on my feet and yanks me against him. Without thinking about it, my arms wrap around his middle and I lay my cheek against his chest. He holds me like that for a while. That's it. His hands don't slide down and grab my ass or anything like that. He does kiss the top of my head, though.

Pulling away, I take his hand and we head back to the clubhouse. I don't think much about the fact that we're holding hands, but I am grateful for it a minute later, when I stumble over a rut in the road. My ankle twists, but I don't fall because Wrath's there to catch me.

Sucking in air through my teeth, I bend over and press my fingers against my foot and up my leg. "Fuck."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Just need to shake it off." I'm proved wrong a second later when I try to step on it and yelp in pain.

"Come on." Wrath scoops me into his arms, one arm behind my back, one under my knees.

"You can't carry me back the whole way like this."

"Babe, we're not that far. It'll be a good workout."

That makes me chuckle and smack his chest. "You're crazy."

He's barely out of breath by the time we get inside. People have disappeared to more quiet locations, because the living room is almost empty. Wrath sets me on the couch.

"Stay here, I'll go grab an ice pack."

"Okay."

He pauses briefly as if he's surprised I didn't argue with him. How can I argue? My ankle's throbbing. The thought of hobbling to the kitchen makes me cringe.

While he's gone, I slip off my sneakers and socks. The ankle looks a little puffy, but not horrible.

"Let me see," Wrath says, startling me.

He drops next to me, gently pulling my feet into his lap. With a tenderness you wouldn't expect from such a frightening guy, he inspects both ankles. Finally, he reaches over to the coffee table and grabs an ace bandage. He unwinds it and wraps my foot and ankle with a skill that suggests he's done this before.

"I think it's just a sprain, but if it keeps swelling, I'll take you down to urgent care in the morning."