1. Bones
BONES
Two Weeks Ago
Meredith Shannon…
Thirty years old.
Expressive hazel eyes.
Chin-length dark hair.
Psychologist…
And my latest obsession.
On paper, she’s a fucking saint, but I know she has to have some skeletons in her designer closet. No one is that perfect.
She volunteers at an animal shelter.
She stops on the street and gives money to people experiencing homelessness.
And she wears fucking heels bigger than some men’s dicks.
Did I mention that she’s beautiful? Stunning, even. Xanthe, my MC brother Ghost’s old lady, was onto something when she recommended her to me for someone to speak to.
Did she genuinely think I could reveal my deepest, darkest secrets to someone that hot?
Fucking her might make me feel better. The club pussy is getting old, and so is watching my twin brother, Skull, have his own family without me.
We both look after our daughter, Natalia, and we are building connected houses next to each other, but it’s a lot of change, and sometimes I wish that things could go back to the way they were.
Hell, he even let me share his old lady, Isla, once, so I can’t even hate on him.
I love my brother. He’s the better part of me. He’s the calm to my chaos, the wise to my recklessness. And without him tethering me, I’m a loose cannon.
Skull
Where are you?
Speaking of the devil, my phone buzzes with a text message from him.
Sitting on my motorcycle, I watch Meredith as she gets out of her car and walks over to a café. I’ve noticed she has no problem going out to eat alone. She’s extremely independent.
Bones
Out. Everything okay?
I’m not meant to have Natalia until tonight, but, of course, if any of them ever need me, I’ll be there.
When Daisy, one of the club girls, got pregnant, and we found out the baby could be either Skull’s or mine, we decided to raise her together, just like we did everything else.
As identical twins, I don’t even know if they could have found out who the biological father is, and to me, it doesn’t make a difference.
His. Mine. Ours.
That’s always been the way.
Two sides of one coin.
So different and yet so very alike.
Skull
Yeah, just wondering where you are. You want to come out to lunch with us?
My twin doesn’t know about my obsession with Meredith, and I want to keep it that way.
Bones
Rain check, brother.
I see the little dots appearing, like he’s typing something, but he must delete it because the words never come. He doesn’t need to say anything because I know what he’s thinking. He’s worried. He wants to fix everything, including me, but he doesn’t know how.
And that’s because he can’t.
Our once joint pathway has spread into two different lanes for the first time in our lives. Even when we were put in foster care after our parents died, whenever they tried to separate us, we’d always run back to each other.
Meredith steps out of the elevator and walks to her car, her black high heels clicking against the road. Everything about her looks expensive, from her white blouse and tight pencil skirt to the gold diamond chain around her delicate throat. I don’t know what it is about her that draws me to her.
Maybe because she makes me feel… something.
I’m not sure what yet.
But without my twin, I’ve been feeling numb.
So for her to light a spark in my body, the feeling is fucking addictive. Enough so that I even asked fucking Ghost what security cameras he used when he was stalking Xanthe.
I’ve never been a man to obsess over a woman before.
I love women.
Plural.
I love everything about them. Their softness, the sounds they make, and the way they feel. But I’ve never met one that I felt possessive over, especially since sharing women with my twin used to be my norm.
I thought maybe if I felt something more for Isla, we could both share her, but deep down, I knew she wasn’t for me, and I knew Skull didn’t want to share her. She was different for him, and I respect that.
I’m just feeling a little lost now because Skull and I were attached at the hip. Now, he has Isla to put first, along with our daughter, as he should. I just need to accept that things have changed.
Meredith gets into her car and drives away, and I follow behind her. When she stops off at the local animal shelter, Rest Fall’s Pet Refuge, I frown when I see her chatting with a familiar face.
How the fuck does my Meredith know Pyro?
Pyro is a club brother who just transferred from our Dawson chapter last week.
He’s fucking huge. He must be at least six-foot-five and built like a linebacker.
I haven’t had a chance to speak to him much, aside from when I’ve seen him around the clubhouse or in church.
I know he trains dogs, so I suppose it’s not a big surprise to see him at the animal shelter, but if he doesn’t step away from Meredith, he’s going to wish he stayed his ass in Dawson.
She smiles up at him and then keeps walking inside. Pyro spins around to watch her ass with each step until she disappears.
Yeah, I’m going to beat the shit out of him.
Revving my engine, his head snaps toward me as I ride off.
Best believe we’re going to have words back at the clubhouse, but first, I stop by her house and send Ghost a text.
Bones
I need you to help me install some cameras. And I need no one else to know about it.
He replies instantly.
Ghost
How many?
My gaze takes in her modern, two-bedroom unit.
Bones
How many did you put in Xanthe’s?
I’m not the first biker stalking his woman, and I won’t be the last.
Wait, my woman?
No.
She’s just caught my eye for now.
She’s a distraction, that’s all.
Ghost
One at the front door, one at the back, and one in the living room.
Not in the bedroom. I’m surprised he didn’t cross that line, but I suppose some things won’t be forgiven as easily, right?
Bones
Yeah, that sounds good.
Ghost
Text me the address. I’m on it.
Bones
Thanks, brother, but I’ll do it. Just get me whatever setup you used.
Ghost
On it.
I don’t want him in her house—that’s weird and inappropriate.
Only I am allowed inside her personal space.
But this is what I love about the Serpents of Chaos MC brotherhood. No questions asked, no judgment, and I know he’s not going to open his mouth and say shit to anyone, unless Prez asks, of course.
But this has nothing to do with the MC. This is just me seeing if I can trust Little Miss Perfect with my secrets. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
When I get back to the clubhouse, the old ladies are sitting around the dining table, all talking over each other.
“How could you not tell us this, Xanthe? This is huge!” Ora states, her palms on her cheeks. “Who even are you?”
“It’s always the quiet ones.” Lu smirks, shaking her head in amusement. “Who knew you had such a dirty little mind?”
“Ghost knew,” Atiana adds, laughing.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe. All their heads snap to me like a scene from The Exorcist.
“Did you know that Xanthe is a best-selling author? She’s been hiding it from us. I literally read her book, and she didn’t even say anything,” Ora says, crossing her arms over her ample chest.
My gaze moves to Xanthe, who is sitting there with a flushed face and a sheepish grin. “You write dirty books, sweetheart?”
“I write romance novels under a pen name. I didn’t tell anyone. I was pretty much living a double life until recently. I told Ghost about it, and now I’m letting everyone else know.”
“Can we get your autograph or what?” Isla asks, smiling widely.
“What else are you hiding, Xanthe?” Lu asks, narrowing her green eyes at her friend.
“Nothing.” Xanthe laughs, tucking her dark hair back behind her ear. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t want to make it a thing, you know?”
“No, we don’t. If I were a best-selling romance author, I’d be screaming it from the rooftops,” Isla says, and the rest of the women nod.
How the fuck did Blade not know this? There’s no way, unless the bastard found out and kept it to himself.
Isla comes over and wraps her arms around my waist. “Where have you been?”
“Out and about,” I reply, resting my hand on her back. “Where’s Skull and Natalia?”
“They’re in the living room,” she says, nodding to the women. “We’re having a kid-free cocktail evening.”
“Is that what this is?” I grin, glancing around the room. “I thought you were all just bullying Xanthe.”
“We were just very surprised,” Lu admits, twirling one of her blonde curls around her finger. “She looks so sweet. I read her books, and her mind is definitely not!”
“That’s why she’s perfect for Ghost,” I tease, and Xanthe blushes.
“Can we talk?” Isla asks, leading me out into the hallway.
“Skull is worried about you. We’re both worried about you.
Whenever you don’t have Natalia, you’re never around anymore.
” She takes a deep breath. “Is it me? I don’t ever want to come between you two, Bones.
Why don’t you both go and do something together?
You can take a day off from Vipers, right? What did you do before I got here?”
When my eyebrows rise, she laughs. “Not that. Do something else together. Anything else?”
“What, you didn’t have fun with us both?” I tease, and she smirks, her hands going to her hips. It’s a running joke between us, and I already know what her reply is going to be.
“Of course, I did. You ready to be a one-woman man, Bones?”
“Never,” I respond like I usually do, except now I’m not so sure.
Hazel eyes flash through my mind.
Maybe I could be a one-woman man with the right woman.
Maybe.