Chapter Two
Tank
I punch the asshole in the face and watch him topple to the ground.
“Dammit, Tank,” Spike sighs. “I needed that one awake.”
I shrug and step toward the next idiot. He drops to his knees immediately, sobbing like a little bitch.
“Don’t,” Spike growls. “We need answers.”
“Not many of ’em left, brother,” I grunt. “They’re running. All of ’em. Fleeing like the cowards they are.”
“That’s not the point,” Spike snaps. “I need him to confirm how many are hiding in the Valley.”
“None,” the man blurts out, eyes wide with desperate hope. “You kill the others. We are all that is left. Everyone else go back to Mexico. Por favor… I am sorry. I do nothing. I was just sent here with the rest.”
“I believe him,” Maverick says, leaning against the motel wall.
Sighing, I crouch until I’m nose to nose with the little fucker.
“When you wake up,” I say quietly, “you run back home and warn anyone else who thinks they can squat in our town that they’ll fucking meet their end before the first day’s over.”
“When I wake?” the man asks, confused.
I smile as I straighten, motioning for him to stand too.
“Yes,” I say once we’re both on our feet. “When you wake.”
Then I punch him hard enough that I’m certain his jaw shatters.
Poor fucker.
“I give up,” Spike mutters, tossing his hands in the air.
I shrug and turn, following Spike and Maverick out of the motel.
“You need a way to burn off some of that pent-up energy,” Maverick says as we reach our bikes. “I’m heading to the Black Mirage tonight with Foster and Crusher. You should come.”
The Black Mirage is a bar that opened about a year ago, and it’s been a hit since opening night. I’ve even been there a few times myself.
The idea of finding a woman for the night…something fast, physical, and empty…sounds like exactly what I need.
A flash of blue eyes and blonde hair pushes into my mind.
I kill the image before it can fully form.
No way in hell I’m walking down that road. No matter how badly I fucking want to.
Not gonna risk ruining that pretty girl with my rough hands and bad attitude.
“Tonight’s ladies’ night,” Maverick adds. “Music’ll be loud, and the women plentiful.”
“Meet you there,” I say, swinging a leg over my hog and turning toward the compound.
I need to get home and… what? Fucking nap?
The thought makes my jaw tighten.
“Actually,” I call out, turning my bike in the opposite direction. “I’ll head there now.”
By the time I reach the Black Mirage, it’s already in full swing.
I step inside, order a beer, and take a seat. It doesn’t take long for women to start brushing against me, cleavage pressed close, smiles practiced and inviting.
I’m not stupid. I know my size alone draws attention. And I’m not bad-looking either. Finding a willing woman has never been the problem.
I just don’t fucking want to.
There’s only one woman my heart wants beneath me, and I’ve pushed her so far away that I barely see her anymore.
And the worst part?
She lives twenty feet from my house.
“Wanna dance, big fella?”
I look down at her and wait for my dick to weigh in.
Brown hair. Long legs. Tits pushed up like they’re demanding attention. Lips made for bad decisions and worse ideas.
Nothing.
Fuck.
Maybe feeling her, touching her, letting the music drown everything else out will get my body on board.
I stand, take her hand, and let her pull me onto the dance floor. The bass is heavy, pounding through the room and straight into my bones. I slide my hands around her waist, then lower, gripping her ass and hauling her up against me.
She fits well enough. Tall for a woman. Warm. Solid.
And finally…there it is.
My dick wakes up like it’s been waiting for permission. I grind with her, let the movement take over, let the noise and heat and bodies press in around us. For a few songs, I let myself pretend this is enough. Then I’ll take her out back, fuck the edge off, and walk away satisfied.
Crude? Yeah.
Honest? Absolutely.
I’m not here to give this woman my heart.
That useless fucking organ already belongs to someone else.
Someone that I’ll never allow myself to have.
***ABBY***
“Why am I here?” I ask Cody.
Cody is Lila’s best friend. He came into the shop a few months ago to see where she worked, and we hit it off the second he opened his unfiltered mouth.
Not hit it off like he’s my soulmate. He’s gay. But he is, without a doubt, one of my best friends.
Unhinged as he is.
“Because it’s ladies’ night,” he reminds me.
“Then why am I here?” Eli asks.
“Because I need backup,” I tell him. “I’m almost positive this crazy person brought me here to help me lose my virginity.”
Both Cody and Eli laugh, but I know for a fact that was Cody’s original plan.
“I will not… nor have I ever… nor do I ever want… to pick some random man at a club and have sex with him,” I say firmly. “What kind of woman do you think I am?”
“The kind who’s going to die a virgin if she doesn’t loosen the hell up,” Cody shoots back. “Back me up, Eli.”
“No can do, buddy,” Eli says, shaking his head. “One, she’s my best friend. Two, helping her find a random guy to sleep with would get me killed by not one, but several, Shadows. My fiancée included.”
“Skip wouldn’t hurt a hair on your head,” Cody laughs, turning to him. “Would you?”
The man in question glares at my new friend.
“No,” Skip says, pulling Eli back against his body. “But I wouldn’t be so sure about yours.”
“Oh, come on,” Cody whines. “You used to be the cool one. What the hell happened?”
“I’m still the fucking cool one, twinkie,” Skip replies, failing to hide the smirk tugging at his mouth. “You know damn well how club politics work. Especially with the Shadows. Family always comes first.”
His arm tightens around Eli, possessive and unapologetic.
“And our precious ones?” Skip continues. “They’re always protected. Even from little twinks who try to convince the club Princess to slip onto some random dick.”
“Who’s trying to slip onto some random dick?”
Crusher and Maverick slide into our loose circle, both of them looking at Skip like they’re expecting an answer.
I don’t wait for one.
I’m suddenly exhausted by the conversation, by the noise, by the music pounding against my ribs. So I turn and walk away, knowing…like I always do…that someone will follow.
Because someone always does.
The only time I’m truly alone is when I’m home. And even then, the compound is never quiet. There’s always something loudly going on. Fighting, laughter, engines revving, or my neighbors having sex.
And I live right next to Bubby and Riley.
A shiver runs through me at the reminder that I hear my brother having sex every single night.
Not for the first time, the thought slips into my mind.
I could move out.
Rent a small apartment near my shop. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere that feels like it’s mine.
There’s only one thing that’s ever stopped me.
Tank.
No matter how many times he’s told me he doesn’t want me… my heart has always held onto the hope that one day, he’d wake up and realize we’re meant to be together.
As I weave through the crowd toward the bar, bodies shifting and parting around me, that hope finally dies.
The crowd opens.
And I freeze.
Tank is on the dance floor.
His hands are on her ass, fingers digging in like he’s claiming territory. Her hands are everywhere…his shoulders, his chest, her body pressed tight against his like there isn’t an inch of space between them.
It looks like they’re having sex standing up.
His body is interested. There’s no mistaking that.
But his face?
His face is empty.
No smile. No heat. No emotion at all.
Just… there.
I’ve always known he slept with other women. I tried not to think about it. Tried to tell myself it didn’t matter because it wasn’t real.
Seeing it is different.
Seeing it breaks something open in my chest that I don’t think will ever close again.
Even after everything he’s said to me… even after every rejection… I still wanted him.
Still loved him.
And standing here, watching him touch someone else like that, I finally understand something with absolute clarity.
I will never move on as long as Tank is in my life.
Nothing is holding me back anymore. Tomorrow, I’m telling Bubby I’m moving out.
I take another step back…and that’s when Tank turns.
His eyes lock on me instantly.
Everything changes.
His hands release her like she burned him. His body goes rigid, anger flashing across his face as he pushes through the crowd toward me.
He stops inches away, towering over me, eyes dark and furious.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he snaps. “Why are you in this club?”
He waits, jaw tight, like he’s owed an answer.
My heart cracks quietly.
This is it.
No more waiting. No more hoping.
I look up at him, all six-foot-something of anger and confusion, and instead of answering… I rise up onto my tiptoes.
I kiss his chin.
It’s brief. Almost reverent. And…so…freaking…devastating.
“Okay,” I say. “I get it now.”
His breath hitches.
“I’ve always loved you, Tank,” I continue quietly. “And I always will. But I finally understand.”
His hand twitches, like he’s about to grab me.
“You’ll never have to see me again.”
The words hit him like a punch, and his eyes widen.
“What?” he breathes, the anger gone, replaced with something raw and unsteady. “Abigail. Wait.”
I step back before he can touch me.
Then I turn and walk away.
I don’t look back.
Outside, the cool air hits my face, and I flag down a taxi with shaking hands. As I slide into the backseat, the club doors burst open behind me, but I don’t turn around.
“Take me home,” I tell the driver, ignoring the two men who slide in beside me.
“Iron Shadows compound,” Skip says quietly, giving the address.
My tears fall in silence as the car pulls away. I don’t bother wiping them away. There’s no point.
Eli’s hand finds mine, his grip firm and grounding, and he doesn’t let go the entire ride back.