“Come on, Dolly. We got to head to the club. It’s getting bad out there, and it’s just gonna get worse. Don’t make this hard, darlin’.”

  I didn’t move. “Why can’t I stay here?”

  He walked inside the room and knelt down in front of me. “Because the hurricane is a big one. We have a secure place at the club, a generator, and plenty of food. I’ve been told to get you there even if I have to carry you out, kicking and screaming. And I really don’t want to do that.”

  Sighing, I knew this was a battle I wasn’t going to win. The longer Brick had to stay here and convince me, the more danger he was going to be put in when he finally left.

  I nodded. “Okay. Let me go pack a bag.”

  He smiled then and held out a hand for me to take. I let him help me up, then excused myself to go get my things. I wasn’t sure how long we would be stuck there. It could be a week or more if it was a Category 4. Electricity would be out everywhere. I couldn’t just leave Jeremy here. I knew Mrs. Mildred would be taken care of, and I had been planning on going to see if I could convince Harold to come sleep in my apartment.

  Once I was in my room, I grabbed all the essentials and several outfits. Folding them neatly, I worked at a quick pace because I wanted time to help Jeremy and Harold before we went to the club. Grabbing my cell phone off the dresser, I saw where I’d missed a call from Momma and two texts from Pepper.

  Get your ass to the club. NOW!

  And…

  I swear to God, if you are not at the club when I get finished prepping the bar for the storm, I am going to be furious.

  I typed back.

  Headed there now.

  Then, I tucked it in my pocket without calling Mom back. She would be worried, but I didn’t have time to reassure her I was going to be safe. I needed to think up a good lie to tell her too.

  Brick was standing in the living room with his arms crossed over his chest, staring out the window at the rain and winds that were already here. He glanced back at me. “Ready?”

  “I need to check on Jeremy and Harold before we go,” I told him.

  “Already handled. Jeremy and his dad are gone. They went to a friend of his dad’s. Harold is at the Baptist church shelter.”

  I frowned. “How do you know?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “Because Micah handled things before he left. He knew you’d want them safe.”

  I just nodded. What else could I say? He was the most confusing man I had ever known. I wanted to hate him for not wanting me, yet he made it impossible by stepping in when I needed him and handling things for me. Dang him!

  “Let’s go,” Brick said as he walked over to me and took my overnight bag.

  I followed him out the door and down to the parking lot.

  He stopped at the covering. “You stay here and wait with the bag. I’ll go get the truck and pull it up so you don’t get wet.”

  I didn’t argue. “Thank you,” I said as he took off running into the sideways rain.

  My phone began to ring again, and I pulled it from my pocket, expecting to see my mom. Instead, it was a blocked call. I stared at it for a moment more, then hit Decline before shoving it back into my pocket. The only person that could be was Canyon.

  Did he think I was slow too? Who else would call me from a blocked number?

  Brick pulled his red truck up as close as he could get it and jumped out to run around and help me inside. Once he had my bag and me safely inside, he went back to the driver’s side and climbed in. He was soaking wet, and I felt bad about that, but I was also not the one making him do this. Micah was.

  “Do you mind getting the towel out of the backseat and handing it to me?” Brick asked.

  I unbuckled and turned around to find a beach-sized towel folded up beside where he had put my overnight bag. Grabbing it, I handed it to him, then sat back down and reached for my seat belt again. Brick dried off his arms and face, then ran the towel over his hair before laying it down and finally driving out of the parking lot.

  We hadn’t gotten far when my phone rang again. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw my mom’s name and figured I’d better do this now and get it over with. Hopefully, I could manufacture up a lie that she believed.

  “Hey, Momma,” I said, mentally preparing for what I would say to her.

  “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” she asked. “There is a hurricane about to hit Miami. You’d better be in your car, almost back to Stuart by now. Men from the church came and boarded up the windows, and I got gas for the generator, along with plenty of bread and milk.”

  She finally stopped long enough to take a breath, and I took it as my cue to start lying.

  “Sorry, Momma. I was busy getting myself to safety. I’m not headed home. I just got off work an hour ago. I don’t have time to drive there now. The weather here is already deteriorating.” My word of the day from my app. I didn’t have time to enjoy getting to use it though. I had to finish this before we got to the club. “I’m with Pepper. We are safe and sound. Ready to ride this storm out.”

  “It’s a Cat 4. You don’t need to be in Miami. You need to be here in Stuart with me,” she said, her voice going high-pitched, the way it did when she was anxious.

  “I can’t help it, Momma. There is no time to get there. But Pepper’s family has a safe place with all that we need to make it through the storm. I am fine. I promise you.”

  “Please stay inside and don’t leave. Call me and update me. Let me know you’re okay,” she pleaded.

  I hated the fear I heard in her voice, but it was time she stopped worrying over me all the time. I was grown now, and she had to let me be an adult. Feeling guilty every time I didn’t do what she wanted me to do was my toxic trait.

  “I will, Momma. You stay safe, too, and I’ll check with you soon. Right now, I need to keep my phone charged though.” Okay, that was a bad lie, but I had no other way to get off this call.

  “All right. I’m praying. The good Lord will be right there with you.”

  I seriously doubted the Lord was gonna be anywhere near The Judgment MC compound. “I know, Momma.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Finally able to end the call, I placed the phone in my lap, relieved that was done. It had been far less dramatic than I had expected. Maybe she was getting better at letting me go.

  “You handled her well,” Brick said with a smile in his voice.

  “Yeah, I’m getting good at lying these days.”

  He chuckled then. “Sometimes, it’s best that our mommas don’t know the details. No need in worrying them more than they already do.”

  I nodded. That I could agree with.

  We pulled up to the gate, and it opened moments after I said goodbye to my momma. The parking lot was packed with trucks, SUVs and even some boats.

  “Who all is here?” I asked, not seeing a bike anywhere.

  “Judgment,” he replied. “And their families.”

  “But there aren’t any bikes.”

  “Those are all stored in the shed out back. No one wants their ride getting trashed,” he said, pulling up close to the door. “You run on inside. I’ll bring your things.”

  I started to get out when the door to the club opened and Tex came running out. I watched him as he came straight for me.

  “Come on, Dolly,” he called out, reaching for me.

  I let him help me down, but he picked me up instead and rushed back inside.

  I was on my feet in the dark hallway so fast that I had barely gotten wet at all. “Thanks,” I said, wiping the little rain that had dampened my arms off with my hands.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Is Pepper here yet?” I asked hopefully.

  He shook his head. “No. She is at her bar, boarded in with Anson and Country. It got too bad for them to start this way, and they decided to wait it out there.”

  Not what I wanted to hear. If I had known that, I would have asked to go to her bar. I’d rather be there than here. Anywhere Micah was not.

  17

  Micah

  The text from Brick came through, taking a massive weight off my shoulders.

  Here. She’s with Nina and Goldie in the kitchen.

  I took another pull from the cigarette and tried not to think about the fact that I had caved in and lit one. This was the only thing I could think of to take the edge off. She’d heard me call her slow. That was going to fuck me up for a while. How did I even go about fixing that shit? I’d let my emotions get the better of me. That wasn’t me. I didn’t let emotions in. So, why was it that little Dolly Dixon was messing me up like this?

  I’d hurt her. It was there in her eyes. Yet she had still been ready to let me take her virginity against a damn wall like a caveman. I held my fingers up to my nose and inhaled. Fuck, her scent was still there, and it was sweet. I needed to wash it away, but it was so damn addictive, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She was a goddamn virgin. I didn’t fuck virgins.

  Didn’t mean I couldn’t spread her legs open and feast on that sweet honey though. Listen to her get off with my head between her thighs. Lick her swollen clit and hear her crying out my name.

  “FUCK!” I shouted, jamming what was left of my smoke into the ashtray.

  I had to stop this. It was Dolly. I couldn’t think about Dolly like that. She deserved all the romantic shit. I didn’t want anything to do with romantic shit.

  Regardless, my desire to go downstairs, snatch her up, haul her to my room, and chain her to my bed was real damn strong. I stuck my middle finger—the one I had slid inside her tight cunt—into my mouth and sucked. I needed to fuck. Problem was, I couldn’t bring myself to touch one of the willing cunts here. None of them smelled like this, and they sure as hell didn’t taste this good. There was one pussy I wanted, and I couldn’t have it.

  The door to the library opened, and Brick walked in. I lifted my gaze to meet his as he made his way to the center of the room. I was sitting in Liam’s leather chair with my booted feet propped up on his desk. I could see that Brick was pissed at me. Well, join the fucking club. I wasn’t real damn happy with me either.

  “This place is crawling with Judgment. Some of them that don’t understand she’s off-limits. You gonna sit up here and ignore that?” Brick asked me.

  “You said you left her with Nina and your ol’ lady in the kitchen,” I replied.

  “They’re not gonna be there all damn night with her, and the way some of these horny-ass prospects are, I don’t want that shit on Goldie’s shoulders. You had me bring her here. Now, it’s your turn to take care of her.”

  I dropped my feet to the floor and stood up. He was right, but that didn’t mean I wanted to listen to it. “You think me taking care of her makes her safer?” I asked. “I almost fucked her earlier. She’s a virgin. I can’t be near her.”

  A low, deep chuckle came from Brick, and I glared at him.

  “You’re afraid to fuck her.”

  “Yeah, because virgins are clingy. They get attached. They expect things.”

  “Is that what you’re telling yourself?” he asked, grinning. “Because the way I see it, you don’t want to fuck her because you won’t be able to stop. You will want to keep her, and no woman has ever held that power over you.” He paused. “Not even Calista. When she left, you didn’t even chase her.”

  Calista had been the only girl I’d ever loved. But that had been years ago. I started to argue, but stopped. Was he right? Was I scared I wouldn’t be able to get enough? That I’d keep wanting more?

  “She’s a sweet girl. Too damn nice for the likes of your ass. But seeing as she looks at you like you hung the goddamn moon, I can’t say it’s a bad thing. She wants you. You want her. Just get this over and fuck. If she owns you after that, then so be it.. You’ve been a fucking whore for long enough.”

  “Shut up,” I growled, stalking past him.

  I wasn’t going to stand here and listen to this. I was going to get weak and give in. I needed to go wash her smell from my fingers. Get this out of my head. Stop fantasizing about it.

  “It’s not a prison sentence. First taste I got of Goldie’s pussy, and I was done. Happily so. I didn’t want another one. She had all I needed with her pot of gold.”

  I didn’t look back at him. He was one of the few happily married men I knew. Men weren’t meant to be tied down to one woman. It was their downfall. It messed them up. Took away their youth. I wasn’t falling into that trap.

  I jerked open the door and got away from Brick and all his words that were digging into my skull and trying to settle in and stay. Telling me that just maybe I could have her. That it would be worth it. That I wouldn’t end up breaking her heart. I’d already hurt her once, and the idea of doing it again nearly brought me to my knees. I couldn’t stand it.

  Getting her out of my head was what I needed to do. I’d go get one of the girls and fuck her until Dolly’s sweet scent was gone. If I didn’t, then there was a good chance I’d snap and lock Dolly in my bedroom and keep her naked in my bed all damn night.

  18

  Dolly

  The pink cocktail that Goldie had given me tasted nothing like vodka. It was fruity with a slight kick to it. If I had to stay down here with these loud, rough, slightly scary people, then I needed something to ease my nerves. Two men had already gotten in a fight. Brick and Tex had broken it up. There was a blonde woman who was currently straddling a guy I didn’t know on one of the sofas, and I was afraid to look in that direction again because I wasn’t so sure they weren’t having sex.

  “Hey, beautiful,” a guy I didn’t know said as he leaned against the bar, facing me.

  I looked up at him and forced a smile. He was around my age, maybe a year or so older. His arms were bare and covered in tattoos, and he was lean but still built well.

  “Off-limits, Pinch,” Nina informed him. “Go flirt with one of the club sluts.”

  The guy grinned at Nina, but his gaze came right back to me. “Why would I want to do that when there’s a pretty thing like this one sitting here, all alone?”

  “Unless you want Micah on your ass, you will walk away,” Nina warned.

  He didn’t budge, but his grin grew bigger. “Micah’s busy fucking Dylan,” he replied. Then, he leaned closer to me. “Tell me, sweetheart, what’s your name?”

  I’d never been hit in the chest, but I imagined that the current sensation that slammed into me at his words was what it would feel like. My nails bit into my thigh as I squeezed, trying to control the raw emotion creeping through me.

  I wasn’t enough. I was never enough. I would never be enough. No one wanted me. I was nothing more than a pawn to the only guy who I’d thought wanted me. How much more rejection could I take before I cracked completely?

  “PINCH!”

  Micah’s shout caused me to jump, startled. The room quieted, and the guy in front of me paled as he began moving back from me, his eyes widening. The sting from my nails breaking my skin didn’t concern me. It was a relief in a way. The pain taking away from the reality of how unwanted I was. Reminding me of how I had once used that like a drug. I’d forgotten how it felt, how it numbed the truth.

  “Don’t look at her again.” Micah’s voice was threatening. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t breathe her fucking air.”

  “About time you got down here,” Goldie said to Micah with a scowl on her face.

  Micah was beside me, his body close enough that his arm brushed against my back. “You okay?” he asked, leaning down toward me.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  “Dolly?” His voice sounded concerned.

  I had to respond.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  I managed to nod my head. The guy he’d called Pinch muttered an apology in my general direction, then headed to the other side of the room.

  Micah’s fingers wrapped around my upper arm. “Come with me.” His words didn’t leave anything up for discussion.

  He was gently pulling me from my seat. I could either fight him or stand up. Not wanting to draw more attention to myself, I did as told, although I hoped he intended to take me to a room and leave me. Talking to him after what had happened at the apartment earlier would be more humiliation dropped on top of what I was already suffering.

  I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. I kept my gaze down, not enjoying being the center of attention. I was unfamiliar with it, and I was finding I didn’t care for it at all. Micah wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me out of there, through the red door. Once we were in the dark hallway and away from prying eyes, I moved away, shrugging him off me.

  One hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two, one hundred twenty-two.

  “I prefer you not touch me,” I said, walking away from him. Unsure where it was I should be going.

  “We both know that’s not true, Tink,” he said behind me.

  I stopped and inhaled a deep breath. I wouldn’t allow this to break me. I was stronger than that. I had to be. I’d lived through worse.

  “Just take me to a room and drop me off. I want to be alone and get through this hell so that I can go back home,” I replied.

  Micah walked past me and toward the stairs. “Fine,” was all he said.

  I fell into step behind him and tried to tamp down all the anger, hurt, and mix of several emotions churning in my chest. I should add hate to that list. I hated that he could make me feel like this. That I cared what he thought of me. I hated that I wanted his approval. And I hated that he’d pushed me to self-harm. It had been years since I’d injured myself on purpose. To deal with my inner turmoil. I’d been to therapy for it. I had overcome it. Yet Micah had sent me back to it with little work on his part at all.