“Okay, you make a habit of busting—”

  “Don’t ask more questions than you want answers to, kid.” He waited a second to see if I’d open my mouth again. “That piece of shit broke a girl’s wrist and shoved her down the stairs so hard she sprained her ankle. She can’t work for weeks now. And she’s got a kid to support.”

  Who? His sister? A friend? “You must care about her a lot.”

  He glanced over but didn’t say anything at first. We navigated out of the neighborhood and back onto the highway before he spoke again. “Someone who works for me.”

  “Calling the police wasn't an option?”

  “Why?” His tone sharpened. “So they can harass her for being a stripper, humiliate her, and then do nothing about it anyway? My way’s more effective.”

  “Stripper?”

  “Crystal Ball.” He smirked. “What’d you think it was?”

  I shrugged. “Fortune-teller’s parlor?”

  The asshole laughed for a solid minute. “Maybe we’ll host your eighteenth birthday party there. I’ll make sure the girls show you a good time.”

  Disgust rolled through me. Watching strange girls dance around naked would feel like cheating on Juliet. “No thanks. Not interested.”

  He glanced over and quirked an eyebrow. Was this another test? Whatever. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared straight ahead.

  “I see why Juliet likes you,” he said quietly.

  No wonder he wanted me to tag along. It solved two issues for him. Payback for the girl who’d been hurt, and the beating provided me with a powerful visual of what would happen to me if I ever hurt Juliet.

  “What if that guy injures your employee worse next time? Because of what you did tonight?”

  Dex growled and flicked the blinker on, taking a turn way too fast. “Then next time, I’ll kill him.”

  The deathly calm tone of his voice left no doubt he meant it.

  “You’re a brave kid,” he said after a few more miles. “Honorable too.”

  “How so?”

  “Well,” he drawled, “you could’ve taken the car keys and driven off. Sold it for parts.”

  “I couldn’t do that to Juliet. You're her family.”

  He roared with laughter. “But if I was a stranger?”

  “I wouldn’t have gotten in your car in the first place. Stranger danger.”

  He smirked. “How’s work going?”

  “All right.”

  “Ulfric treat you fairly?”

  It seemed like an odd question. Weren’t he and Ulfric friends? Why wouldn’t he treat me fairly?

  “He runs a different motorcycle club, but the clubs are friendly to each other,” Dex said as if he’d read my mind.

  That didn’t exactly clear things up. “What does that mean?”

  “You really don’t know anything about MCs? Figured you woulda run into at least one or two MC brats in the system. A kid with a father in a club.”

  “I tend to stick to myself as much as possible.”

  “Hmm.” My answer seemed to disappoint him.

  “Hard to trust people you barely know,” I added. Not that I owed him any explanation.

  “Yeah, I get that.” He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “I can’t speak for every MC, but mine’s a brotherhood. I’d die for any one of them and they’d do the same for me.”

  I couldn’t think of anyone—except Juliet—I felt that strongly about. I’d protect Pip, but I don’t know if I’d be willing to die for him.

  “So why’re you hiding tonight’s adventures from your brothers, then?”

  “I’m not hiding shit.” He laughed again. “My president’s more than okay with what just went down. He would’ve done it himself, but he had other business to attend to.”

  “Busy beating up the neighborhood drug dealer?”

  “Not tonight.”

  There wasn’t a lot more to say. He’d given me plenty to think about.

  As promised, before I got out of the car, he handed over a wad of cash.

  In a few short hours, the direction of my life had been steered onto an entirely new path.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Juliet

  School was finally out for the summer.

  Mrs. Shields had returned from her trip, which meant I needed another way to keep myself out of the house for as many hours a day as possible.

  As Roman predicted, my “interview” at Jericho Two consisted of a brief meeting with Uncle Dex’s friend where he asked me a few questions before handing over a pile of papers to fill out. His way of saying I was hired.

  “Ice cream shop closes right after the second movie starts,” Ulfric explained. “You’ll be responsible for wiping everything down and cleaning out the machine with the flavor of the day. I’ll handle the registers in the morning.”

  That suited me fine, I didn’t want to be responsible for counting the money.

  He glanced at the open doorway. “I understand you’re Roman’s girl. I can trust you two to behave, right?”

  My cheeks heated. He wasn’t asking in a creepy way, more in the way a father who actually cared about his daughter might warn.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m kidding, sweetheart,” he said in his deep, rumbly voice. “Just don’t do anything to get your uncle pissed at me.”

  I’m pretty sure Dex suspected how close Roman and I were. We didn’t discuss it, but he’d gone out of his way to help Roman find this job. According to Roman, Dex also threw other side jobs at him. Although when I asked him for details he refused to elaborate.

  Either way, I appreciated this opportunity, and I had no intentions of squandering it.

  After my very first shift, Roman and I climbed into Mrs. Shields’ car together.

  “She’s still letting you borrow her car?” he asked.

  “Just to go to work. She said she doesn’t drive at night and she didn’t want me taking the bus.” I still felt guilty about using her car and wasn’t sure how Uncle Jared would tolerate this newfound independence of mine.

  “She’s a really nice woman.” Roman cranked down the window on his side and stared into the night.

  “She is. I want to do something to thank her, but I haven’t decided what yet.”

  “I’ll help you figure out something.” He glanced around the car. “We could take it to get it detailed.”

  “It’s not that dirty.”

  “Maybe some of those hanging flower baskets she likes for the front porch.”

  “Oh, that’s a great idea! I can run over and water them in the mornings for her.”

  “Perfect.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I’ll help you pick them out this weekend.”

  It would’ve made more sense to drop Roman off first, but he wouldn’t allow it. I parked the car in Mrs. Shields’ driveway and he walked me home, refusing to leave until I was safely inside. Then, he’d walk home by himself.

  “What if someone mugs you?”

  He snorted. “Good luck to them.”

  He had a point. I felt sorry for anyone who thought they could take Roman on. All the manual work around the movie theater had added a lot of muscle to his already large frame.

  Still, I worried. I ran up to my room and watched him walk down the street until I couldn’t see him anymore.

  As soon as he was able to, he always sent me a text.

  Home safe.

  “Are you still hanging around with that boy after I told you not to?” Uncle Jared’s voice reminded me that in my eagerness to watch Roman walking home, I’d forgotten to close and lock my bedroom door.

  I turned and faced my uncle. “Yes. He’s good to me.” I wouldn’t bother explaining that I loved Roman. Or that we were soul mates. Or that after high school we planned to get married. He didn’t deserve to know those things.

  He stepped into my room and fear knotted my stomach. He hadn’t been in here in a very long time.

  “Where’s Aunt Susan?” I asked, backing up against the window.

  The corners of his mouth twitched. “Asleep.” He jerked his head toward the window. “You fucking him?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Like fuck it’s not. I’ve been taking care of you for years. You owe me some damn respect, girl.”

  I braced my hand against my nightstand, my fingers brushing against a pair of scissors I’d left there earlier. I curled my hand around them and brought them to my side.

  Uncle Jared didn’t miss the movement. He smirked. “What are you gonna do with those?”

  I straightened my spine and stared back. “Do you really want to find out?”

  That seemed to give him second thoughts.

  I’m not a scared little girl you can bully and trick anymore.

  Slowly, he backed out the door. As soon as he was gone, I raced over, closed, and locked it. Still not feeling it was enough, I tucked my desk chair under the door handle.

  I needed out of this house. Where could I go? I couldn’t confide in Roman. Not about this. I had no doubt he’d go after my uncle if he knew the truth about how he treated me. And I wouldn’t be responsible for Roman getting in trouble.

  Mrs. Shields might let me move in with her. But if Aunt Susan made an issue of it, Mrs. Shields might have to go to court and I didn’t know if I could ask her to make that kind of commitment.

  My eighteenth birthday had never seemed so far away.

  Chapter Thirty

  Roman

  The summer was ours. Juliet and I worked as many shifts together at the movie theater as possible. Ulfric put me in charge of collecting money at the gate. He said I was scary looking enough that no one would try to sneak in any extra people on my watch. I think it was supposed to be a compliment.

  After a few weeks, Juliet was promoted to night manager of the ice cream shop. She had a knack for handling multiple orders with speed, grace, and a sweet smile for every customer.

  Once the first movie started and the carloads of people entering slowed, someone else took over at the gate for me. My job was to walk the grounds. Make sure nothing nefarious was happening in one of the drive-in’s many dark corners. When that was finished, I was supposed to help clean up in the ice cream shop.

  My favorite part of the night.

  Juliet and I raced to get the work done so we could sneak over to the darkest corner of the lot where her car was parked. We’d slip inside and frantically tear off our uniforms, sighing and groaning as we came together.

  We fogged those windows up every night. Even left handprints on the back windows. Maybe a footprint on the ceiling of the car.

  When we were spent, we’d crawl out of the steamy interior, spread a blanket over the grass, and watch the end of whatever movie was playing second that week. Some nights, Juliet fell asleep in my arms, and I hated when it was time to wake her.

  It was almost the perfect fantasy life. Except for the end of the night when we had to go to separate homes.

  One night, near the end of the summer, we talked about how we’d change up our shifts once school started back up. After Labor Day, the theater would only be open on the weekends. The ice cream shop was still open every afternoon, so Juliet’s job was safe. I’d have to look for something else though.

  “Chris is leaving to go back to college. Maybe you can take his shifts,” she suggested.

  “Maybe.” I hated that guy. He’d tried asking Juliet out right in front of me on his first day. Never did it again once I’d made it clear who she belonged to.

  She rolled her eyes, knowing where my thoughts had gone. “Get over it, Roman. That was weeks ago. He has a girlfriend now.”

  “Get over it? Get over it?” I reached over and pulled her into my lap. I tickled my hands over her ribs and kissed her neck. “A man doesn’t get over another man hittin’ on his woman. He gets even.”

  “You’ve terrorized him enough.”

  I reached down and squeezed her butt through the tiny denim cutoff shorts she was wearing. She placed a finger over my lips. “You’re the only man I want.” Her eyes narrowed. “And don’t think I didn’t notice Jessica flirting with you the other night.”

  I buried my face against her neck. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. But I do enjoy your jealousy.”

  She lightly smacked my shoulder while I shook with laughter.

  We teased and joked around with each other all the way home. I hated saying goodnight, but I did it.

  Eyes on the prize, I kept reminding myself. I had a good nest egg saved up. More than enough for first and last month’s rent on an apartment near the college Juliet was thinking of attending. My eighteenth birthday was a few months away, but I wouldn’t graduate until next June. I was hoping that as long as I stayed in school, I could move into my own place and still be eligible for the scholarship Ms. Simpson had told me about.

  She hadn’t checked in with me in weeks. That wasn’t unusual. I hadn’t noticed because I’d been too wrapped up in work and Juliet. But I should probably call her soon.

  A counselor I didn’t recognize met me at the front door.

  “You’re late.”

  I bit back the Who the fuck are you I wanted to say and glanced at the clock. It was exactly five minutes after midnight. As long as I made it home within fifteen minutes of midnight, Mike and Judy never had a problem.

  “Sorry, my shift ran a little late.”

  “Don’t let it happen again,” he barked.

  I sized him up. Short but bulky. Probably in his twenties. Could already tell he had a complex and would use what power he held over me to make him feel like a bigger man.

  Just what I needed.

  “Yes, sir,” I said. I mentally patted myself on the back for keeping the sarcasm out of my voice. “I’m Roman by the way.”

  “I know who you are,” he sneered.

  Okay. “And you are…?”

  “Jason. The new weekend counselor.”

  Great. So I’d be seeing more of this asshole.

  He jerked his head toward the stairs. “Get to bed. You need to be up early tomorrow. It’s chore day.”

  “I have to work at noon.”

  “Not my problem.”

  Fuck him. I wasn’t missing a shift. My schedule had already been approved by the counselors and my caseworker. But I bit my tongue. No sense getting this jackass riled up now. I’d deal with it tomorrow.

  “Look, it’s golden boy,” Squire taunted at the top of the stairs.

  “Isn’t it past your bedtime, Squire?” I shot back.

  “Was waiting up to see if the new guy reamed you out.”

  I glanced behind me, sure I’d find Jason hot on my tail. He wasn’t. “What a dick. Where’d he come from?”

  For a minute Squire dropped the attitude and we were allies. Two inmates vs. the warden. “Don’t know. But he’s a prick for sure. Came down hard on everyone at dinner. Sent us upstairs at nine. On a weekend.”

  “What bullshit,” I growled. “Who’d he replace?”

  “Ozzie failed a drug test. So I guess whoever is higher up on the food chain is taking a harder look at this house now. That’s why Officer Time Clock was sent here.”

  “Fuck.” Not what I needed just when I had managed to carve out such a sweet setup for myself. I wanted to stay off this guy’s radar.

  To thank him for the information, I handed over one of the two packs of Twizzlers I’d brought home for Pip and said good night.

  “You awake, Pip?” I whispered as I stepped into our room.

  He flicked on his flashlight, the light nearly blinding me. I shut the door behind me quickly.

  “Heard it was an exciting night.”

  A few sad sniffles were his only response.

  “You okay, Pip?”

  “Yeah,” he answered.

  “Brought you something.” I walked closer to his bed and waved the candy at him.

  He snatched it out of my hand, immediately tearing into the wrapper.

  “Don’t you want to wait until tomorrow?”

  “No. Officer Hard-Ass will probably confiscate it.”

  “True.”

  All night long I tossed and turned, worrying over what trouble this new change would bring to my life.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Juliet

  I couldn’t miss the tension in Roman’s shoulders when he finally showed up for work the next day.

  “What happened?”

  “Don’t ask,” he grumbled, walking past me. Roman had never brushed me off. Something was wrong.

  “Hey.” I grabbed his arm and tried to turn him to face me, but he might as well have been made of stone.

  His shoulders dropped and he took a deep breath before turning around. “Sorry, butterfly.” He reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Bad night. Bad morning. There’s a new weekend counselor who has made it his mission to make our lives miserable.”

  “Oh no.” Damn. Things had been going so well for him. This was the last thing he needed. “Just the weekends, though, right?”

  “So far.”

  “You all right, son?” Ulfric’s big voice boomed over the parking lot. He came up next to Roman and clapped him on the back.

  “I’m sorry about getting here late, sir. The house—”

  “I got your message. No worries.” He nodded toward the lawn. “Grass ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  “I feel for you, kid. Living under someone’s thumb ain’t right. Been avoiding it my whole life.”

  Ulfric frequently broke into long rambles about the “outlaw life” and “riding the wind.” His were more colorful versions of the stories Uncle Dex gave when anyone asked him why he didn’t work a regular nine-to-five.

  When I’d asked Roman why Ulfric ran a business if he hated rules so much, he’d explained that most likely Ulfric used the drive-in theater and ice cream shop to launder money since they were cash-based businesses. All those “jobs” Uncle Dex had Roman help him with began to take a different shape in my mind after that conversation.