“So this is AJ’s sister,” he said as he got closer to me. “He mentioned you were pretty, but he was definitely holding back.”

  “Fucking hot is a better description,” Skid added.

  “Hmm,” the man said, walking around me, as if inspecting me completely. “AJ believes she will draw them out?”

  “Yeah. She belongs to one of them,” Tick told him.

  “Which one?”

  Tick and Skid looked at each other. They had no idea.

  “Take her gag off,” he said to them. “We need to know who we pissed off. How many they’ll bring. If Blaise will be coming too.”

  “I got it, Acid,” Tick said, hurrying over to me.

  This was Acid. I should have guessed. He had more snake tattoos, and the other two seemed to be nervous around him.

  Once the gag was gone, I glared up at Acid. I wasn’t telling him anything. His gaze was appreciative as he took in my face now.

  “Those lips,” he said softly. “You have a lovely, full bottom lip. It’s incredibly tempting.”

  I said nothing.

  He sighed. “I’m going to have to keep you safe. I don’t want you hurt. Now, who do you belong to?”

  “I don’t belong to anyone,” I replied.

  He grinned. “Defiance. I like it. I should have known you’d have some fire in you. AJ is your brother after all. We have time. They aren’t going to find us here,” he said, holding out his hands. “We can wait it out. Get to know each other.”

  The way he said it, like he meant something more by that, made me cringe.

  “I know you’re not Gage’s. I’ve met Shiloh. Then, the new boss is married, so you don’t belong to Blaise. The two scariest fuckers are checked off the list. There’s the younger Hughes.” He glanced over at Tick. “Do you know if he has a woman?”

  Tick shrugged. “No clue.”

  Acid sighed. “I could get Destiny here, but she’s so damn bitter about all of them that she would go for your throat.” He leaned in closer to me. “My sister used to be a stunner. Got mixed up with that family and pissed off Gage. Had Shiloh abducted. She is now a carved-up monster, I’m afraid. But he did let her live. That’s part of my revenge. They ruined her life. It’s time someone takes them down a few pegs,” he said, sitting down beside me. “Besides, when I kill off the family, then the Vipers will have power. I want power.” He smiled at me as if I understood him.

  I continued in my silence.

  He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What? You aren’t going to tell me how they’re going to slaughter me? Take out everyone in their way?”

  I shook my head. “They don’t know where I am,” I finally said.

  My throat clogged as I let myself accept that. Saxon wouldn’t find me. I had to survive this without him.

  He grinned. “You don’t have much faith in them. Tell me, how long have you been involved with the family?”

  “Not long enough,” Tick said with amusement.

  “I’m not involved with them,” I corrected him.

  He made it sound like I participated in their business.

  “Oh, you are. You’re fucking one of them,” he informed me.

  I looked away from him, fighting back the tears in my eyes. I was tired. My body ached from being tied up, but more than anything, I missed Saxon.

  A loud thud made me jump. Then a crash. Acid shot up, turning around as he pulled a gun from his waist. I tried to scoot my body over, but couldn’t manage to get far. Just enough to see Tick lying facedown on the floor with blood pooling around his head.

  “Where the fuck are you bastards?” Acid asked, turning around with his gun ready as he scanned the room. “I’ll put a bullet in her pretty head,” he warned.

  He didn’t get a chance to say anything more before he let out a loud shout and his gun fell to the floor while he grabbed his wrist. Blood trickled down his arm. He hurried over to grab his gun, but then he cried out, and he fell to his knees on the ground. More blood oozed from his leg.

  I looked from him to search the room again. Was I next? I wanted to cover my stomach to protect the baby, but my hands were still bound behind me. Tears were streaming down my face as I waited to see where the silent bullets would go next.

  AJ came stumbling from behind a wall. I gasped as he tripped, hitting the floor. Blaise Hughes walked in behind him. His eyes found mine just as the wooden doors swung open. The sight of Saxon coming through the doors with Trev and Kye behind caused a loud sob to tear from my chest.

  Saxon broke into a run until he was in front of me. His eyes scanned my face and body. “Did they hurt you?” he asked.

  “No, just the ropes,” I said to him, and he let out a sigh of relief and began untying my legs.

  “He’s new. Y’all came out blazing for the new kid’s woman?” Acid’s voice was pained as he held his good hand over the shot on his leg.

  Saxon tensed up as he untied my arms. When I was free, I stared up at him. He touched my face.

  “I love you,” he whispered, then stood up in front of me, facing Acid.

  “FUCK!” AJ roared as Blaise kicked him.

  “Stand up,” he said, looking annoyed.

  “You led them here?” Acid accused my brother.

  AJ was bruised and bleeding. One of his eyes was completely swollen closed.

  “They tortured me,” he said in a raspy voice. His open eye swung to me. “This make you happy, bitch?! Seeing what they did to me?”

  I covered my mouth to muffle my cry.

  He glared at me as if I had done this. He had taken me. I hadn’t done anything to him.

  “Stupid trash. You’re one of their whores now.” AJ spit blood as his hateful stare held me.

  “AJ,” I choked out. “Why are you doing this?”

  I felt my heart breaking. Where was the brother I’d grown up with?

  “I’m not doing shit! You did this. Used your pussy, just like our slut mom. Got knocked up like the white trash you are—” He didn’t get to finish the horrible words spewing from his mouth.

  Saxon had moved so quickly that I missed it. I opened my mouth to scream when Saxon’s gun was pointed directly at AJ. The click of the trigger, and then my brother crumbled to the floor. I thought I heard myself scream. Everything seemed to be locked in a haze. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

  Acid fell facedown with a heavy thud, and I didn’t even see who had pulled the trigger that killed him. It was all happening so fast. There was a rush. Gage and Levi were there, and Gage walked over and kicked Acid with the toe of his boot.

  “Bye, fucker,” he drawled.

  Saxon was in front of me, then pulling me up and into his arms. I felt numb. I couldn’t make my feet work. I just stared at the scene in front of me. AJ unmoving. A pool of blood around his head.

  Images of us as kids flashed through my mind. We had survived that life together.

  Now, here I was, the reason he was dead.

  “Haisley, baby, look at me.” Saxon’s voice seemed so far away, but he was right here.

  I shook my head. I couldn’t. I took a step back and stumbled. He reached to steady me, and I held out my hand to hold him away.

  “No!” I cried out. “Don’t.”

  The pain in his eyes sliced through me on top of the other agony I was already enduring. I couldn’t comfort him though. How could I? He’d shot my brother. I couldn’t just let him hold me. What kind of person would that make me?

  “Haisley.” Trev’s voice surprised me. I hadn’t known he was so close. He placed a hand around my arm. “We need to get out of here.”

  The bodies were everywhere. What would they do with AJ? Would my mom get to bury him? She’d have to bury another child. A sob tore out of me, and I had to grab Trev’s shirt to hold on to him. My knees buckled. This would destroy my mom.

  “Baby, please,” Saxon begged, taking a step toward me.

  I shook my head frantically. No. If he touched me, I would cling to him. I wouldn’t let go of him. I couldn’t do that. Not with AJ right there.

  “Let me get her,” Trev said gently.

  I couldn’t look at Saxon. Any more emotion, and I was going to crack. Maybe I already had.

  “Come with me,” Trev told me with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Lean on me if you need to. Let’s just get you to the car.”

  We walked out of the church, leaving AJ’s body bleeding out. I didn’t look back. Seeing him like that was going to forever be burned in my brain. When we stepped out into the darkness of the night, a black SUV pulled up, and Trev walked me over to it, opening the back door for me to climb inside. He held my hand and eased me inside. When he turned, I heard him whispering. Saxon’s voice was a little louder than a whisper.

  “She’s fragile right now.” Levi’s voice carried over theirs. “She needs some rest and time. Don’t push her.”

  “I’m not letting her leave without me.” Saxon sounded angry, but there was panic laced in his voice.

  “Trev, go with her. Take her to Trinity,” Blaise’s voice called out. “Sax, we have business to handle. You are seeing this through.”

  There was silence, and then Trev climbed in beside me and closed the door. I looked at the front seat to see Kye and a guy I didn’t know.

  “Ready?” Kye asked.

  “Yeah,” Trev replied.

  As we pulled away, it felt like my soul was being torn from my body. And not because I was leaving my dead brother in an abandoned church. But because I was leaving Saxon.

  Thirty-One

  Haisley

  It was late afternoon the next day before any of the guys returned.

  Sleep last night hadn’t come. Although my body was exhausted, my mind wouldn’t shut off. A doctor had come to the house, and Trinity explained to me that he was Shiloh’s uncle and he worked for the family. He had been called to come check on me and the baby. He listened to the heartbeat and checked my vitals. Everything was fine. He had asked if I wanted something to help me sleep, but I’d said no. Maybe I should have taken something.

  When I went downstairs at sunrise, Trinity was already in the kitchen, making coffee. She insisted I eat something and reminded me I needed to eat for the baby. I had no appetite, but she was right. I managed to get down a cup of yogurt with granola and berries.

  I didn’t think I wanted to talk, and both girls seemed to understand that. Trinity and Aspen gave me space. Aspen brought me a few books, suggesting I take a mental escape with a story. I understood that. I’d done that in my life more than once. However, I couldn’t focus on the words. The events of last night kept replaying in my head.

  When Levi and Huck walked into the house, I was sitting on the sofa, curled up in a blanket, looking out the window. Trinity rushed out of the kitchen to wrap her arms around Huck. Aspen had gone out back earlier with a book in her hand.

  “I’m working on dinner now,” she told them. “But if you need something to eat now, Levi, Aspen made her brownies earlier.”

  Levi ran a hand over his head. “Thanks. Is she outside still?”

  “Yes,” Trinity replied.

  Levi turned to look at me, but said nothing, then walked to the doors leading out back.

  Huck whispered something in Trinity’s ear, and she shook her head slightly. I turned my gaze to stare at the unlit logs in the fireplace. If they were back, then Saxon was home.

  Was he at our house alone? Part of me had thought he’d come here. Was he going to leave me here? Could I see him and not fall apart?

  Huck’s heavy footsteps left the room, and I thought Trinity had gone with him, but she sat down on the sofa beside me. I turned to look at her, and she gave me a sad smile.

  “If you want to stay here, you can, but Saxon really wants to see you. He’s been texting me all day, worried about you,” she said softly.

  I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to cry. How did I deal with this?

  “I don’t think I can …” I couldn’t say the words.

  Part of me wanted to see him so bad that it physically hurt. The other part kept screaming at me that he had killed my brother.

  “This life, what they do, it’s not easy. It takes some adjusting. But at the end of the day, no matter what I know Huck has done, I can’t imagine a life without him. It requires unconditional love to live this life by their side.”

  “He killed my brother,” I said. I knew she’d already been told what happened, but I needed to hear myself say the words aloud. See if I could face it.

  “I know.” She reached out and laid her hand over mine. “He’s not the first one who has killed a family member of someone they love. Maybe Maddy will tell you about it sometime. I wasn’t here then, but she struggled hard until Blaise went to her and explained what had happened. Why he had done it. Saxon is one of the nicest guys I know. If you love him, then you need to let him in. Let him explain it.”

  She squeezed my hand as a tear ran down my face.

  “What if it’s not enough?” I whisper.

  “If your love for him is unconditional, it will be,” she replied.

  A door slammed, and I looked up to see Kye walk into the room. He was holding a bloody cloth to his nose, and his eye looked like it had a cut over it.

  “Kye! What happened to you?!” Trinity asked, jumping up and going over to him.

  “I’m fine,” he grunted, then looked at me. “Are you making Saxon stay outside? Dude has had a fucking hard night. Jesus, at least let him come in and eat.”

  My heart sped up. “He’s outside?” I asked, not sure if I should be ashamed of the sudden urge to run outside and throw my arms around him or feel relieved that he was here.

  “Yeah, sitting on the tailgate of his truck, looking like the saddest fuck alive. Give him a break,” he said, shaking his head as if he was disgusted with me before walking toward the kitchen. “I smell food. Trinity, I love you!” he told her.

  “He’s been there since noon,” Trinity said, turning back to me. “He came straight here from the airport.”

  I covered my face with my hands. I missed him so much. He was out there, not pushing me to see him. He was always so selfless. He put me first with everything. It was hard to accept that he could also kill a person. Specifically my brother. It didn’t fit with what I knew of Saxon.

  “I was going to take him a plate of food. I took him some lunch but that was hours ago. Do you want to?” she asked.

  I didn’t want him sitting outside. I’d thought he’d be at home. But I also didn’t want him to leave me.

  “Why didn’t he go home? He’s got to be tired and hungry.”

  “He loves you,” she said with a sad smile. “I need to go get the rest of the food out of the oven. Let me know what you want to do.”

  I unwrapped the blanket from around me. “I’ll go talk to him.”

  She smiled. “Good.”

  Kye walked back into the room with a brownie in his hand and his mouth full and blood coming out of both sides of his nose. He saw me get up, and he studied me hard as he chewed, then swallowed. “You going out there to see him?” he asked me.

  “Leave her alone, Kye,” Trinity told him. “And go wash your face.”

  He looked at Trinity and shrugged. “I was just asking. I’m worried about him. She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him—”

  “Kye!” Trinity said sharply, stopping him from what he was going to say.

  “Whatever,” he grumbled, turning and walking back to the kitchen.

  I made my way to the front door, feeling more anxious with every step. By the time I opened it, my chest felt like it was going to burst. Saxon was sitting on the back of his truck. His cowboy hat shadowed his face, but I knew the moment he saw me. He stood up but stayed where he was. His entire body was rigid, and I wished I could see his expression. The closer I got, the more of his face I could see.

  He reached up and tilted his hat back, as if he could read my mind. There were dark circles under his eyes and a cut on his right cheek. His bottom lip looked busted.

  Why hadn’t anyone told me he was hurt? What had happened to him? My eyes scanned the rest of his body to see if he was okay. Was there blood anywhere?

  When I reached him, a lump had formed in my throat. “What happened to you?” I asked.

  Had he even put something on his wounds?

  He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter,” he replied. His voice was raspy.

  “You look exhausted, and you need to clean and doctor those cuts,” I told him. “Why are you sitting out here?”

  “Because it’s as close as I could get to you.”

  I stood there, looking at him. The ache inside of my chest was for him. He looked so defeated and broken. The sadness in his eyes was killing me.

  “I don’t know how to do this,” I whispered. “I want you to hold me, but I feel like wanting that is betraying my brother.”

  Saxon opened his arms. “We can figure it out, but right now, I really fucking need to hold you.”

  I went into his arms, unable to resist. All the emotions, tangled up and battling inside me, were still there, but needing Saxon was the strongest one. His arms tightened around me, and he took a deep breath, lowering his head close to my ear.

  “I’m sorry.” His voice was raw with pain. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

  I clung to him the way I had known I would once I let him touch me. I wouldn’t be able to leave him. Saxon owned my heart. No matter what he had done or what he would do in the future, I needed him. I blinked as the tears clouded my vision. This must be unconditional love.

  “Please, Haisley, don’t leave me. I can’t—” His voice broke. “I need you with me. You’re my center. Please, if you leave me, you’re going to destroy me. I can’t survive that.”