Callum turns toward me, brushing his dirty-blond hair back with his fingers. “Where have you been, by the way?”

  “Everywhere and anywhere.”

  “Jail?” Quinn asks.

  I shake my head. “I did join the service, did four years overseas. Saw some action in the Middle East, but that was ten years ago.”

  “Huh,” Quinn mutters. “Never knew you enlisted.”

  “Didn’t feel the need to share.” I shrug. “Thought I’d make a career out of it, but four years was enough of following orders for me.”

  “And after that?” Callum asks.

  “As soon as my boots touched American soil, I bought a bike and took off, letting the wind and road take me wherever it wanted. I’ve been to every state except Hawaii and Alaska on the back of my girl.”

  “Can’t say I’m not jealous,” Sean says. “If I could do it all again, I’d enlist. Maybe see more of everything on Uncle Sam’s buck.”

  “You’re not too old. You can still join up,” I tell him.

  His face scrunches up. “I’ll think about it,” he says, but I know he’s full of shit. Everyone’s good at talking a big game, but following through is something entirely different.

  “It’s not as great as it sounds,” I inform him, wanting him to know the reality and not the glamorized version they sell to young kids. “Asking permission to take a shit is next level.”

  “Yeah, I’m good,” he replies, holding up his hands. “I couldn’t make it through boot camp anyway. I’m not in good enough shape.”

  “What are we going to do if you’re not a match for Ian?” Quinn asks, switching topics as he rubs the back of his neck.

  “Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out as a family,” Finn says, and he speaks those words looking right at me. “All seven of us.”

  I let out a deep breath I’ve been holding. For the first time in years, my brothers are including me, and I have a brief glimmer of hope that things could work out…at least with my family.

  19

  Rosie

  I walk in and sit down next to my sister, joining my cousins at the bar to get out for a night. It was their idea, not mine. They wanted to get my mind off what happened with Dylan, and I came along, but not without dragging my feet.

  “So, don’t get mad,” Gigi says, and I already know I’m not going to like it.

  Nothing good starts with that statement. Nothing.

  I let out a deep sigh before giving her my full attention. “What?”

  She ticks her head toward the bar, and my eyes meet Dylan’s.

  I slink down in my seat, feeling like a fool. “What’s he doing here?”

  Luna shrugs. “He’s filling in for Ian, which is weird.”

  I sit up again, fidgeting with the waiting beer bottle. “What happened to Ian?” I ask.

  “He collapsed earlier today and is at County for the night,” Luna replies.

  “And you know all this because…” I wait for her to answer me, tapping my foot feverishly under the table.

  Luna rubs her forehead, avoiding my gaze. “Because I ordered the beer and made small talk with him.”

  I groan. “Why would you make small talk with him?”

  “He started it. He asked about you first.”

  My back stiffens. “What did you say?”

  Luna rolls her eyes before she answers. “I said you were great. Totally played it off like everything was fine and you weren’t the pitiful mess that you actually are.”

  I lift my chin, hating to be a victim. “Good. I’m perfectly fine without him.”

  “Whatever you need to tell yourself, babe,” Tamara adds after my grand statement. “I heard you were bitchy at work all day today, and you’re never bitchy. There’s only one person to blame for that, and he’s standing over there looking all tall and handsome.”

  “Hey now,” Mammoth says to his wife, sliding his arm around the back of her chair and resting his hand on her shoulder. “You have someone tall, dark, and handsome right next to you.”

  She smiles at him and gives him a kiss. “I only have eyes for you, baby.”

  “Better only have eyes for me, princess, or I ain’t doing something right.”

  “You do everything right.”

  Luna pretends to gag. “You two seriously make us ill.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Lily says with a goofy smile. “They’re adorable. You’re just jealous.”

  “Oh yeah. I’m so jealous about sleeping with the same man for the rest of my life,” Luna tells Lily, rolling her eyes the entire time.

  “That’s because you haven’t slept with the right one,” Gigi says, putting her in her place. “Once you do, you’ll stop looking for your next.”

  “Never happening,” Luna mutters. “I’m too young to settle down. So much peen, so little time.”

  An awkward silence falls over the table. The men are mortified, and the women are holding in their laughter at the ridiculousness of my sister.

  “Someday, you’ll grow up,” Nick tells her, shaking his head, judging her.

  Luna grabs her beer, raising it in the air. “Not anytime soon. I have too much life to live before I’m tied down.”

  Mammoth grunts again, something he does well and sounds so sexy when he does it, too. “You really need to be tied down and taught some restraint,” he tells her.

  I almost fall off my chair, but somehow, I stay seated because his statement is so damn on point. She’s not going to be an easy catch for any man. Wild doesn’t even begin to describe my sister, and that’s probably what I love about her most.

  “Not funny,” Luna snaps as the table erupts in laughter at her expense.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I announce, pushing my chair back.

  “I’ll come,” Luna says, but I put my hand on her shoulder and push her back down.

  “I need a minute alone.”

  She puts her ass back in her chair, studying my face and seeing something that makes her say, “Okay.”

  I don’t need to look Dylan’s way to know he’s watching me and every move I make. I can feel the heat from his gaze all the way across the room. Somehow, I keep my head high and eyes forward, concentrating on every step I take. I will not show any emotions. I won’t let him know that I felt any pain when I woke up without him or his palpable silence afterward.

  Once inside the bathroom and behind the closed door, I lean over the countertop, trying to catch my breath. Seeing him hurts more than I expected since I’ve only known him for a few short days.

  Anger, hurt, longing, and a dozen other emotions crash over me all at once. I’m being irrational about someone who’s almost a stranger, but the sting is there, lodged deep in my chest.

  I lift my head, looking at myself in the mirror. I look cute tonight. My dirty-blond hair is pinned up in a bun that’s made up of twisted braid. It’s a crazy hairstyle I found on the internet, and somehow, I’m able to pull it off without looking like a complete weirdo. My makeup is flawless, and my eye shadow makes my blue eyes pop.

  I am going to march out of here and make Dylan regret walking out and ghosting me the last few days without so much as an I’m sorry. Pulling my lip gloss from my purse, I give my lips a once-over to make them extra shiny and even more noticeable.

  Eat your heart out, Dylan Walsh.

  The shirt I have on shows a small amount of cleavage, but I give it a good yank, exposing more of my breasts before I walk out the door and into the long hallway. I’m halfway back to the bar when a hand grabs me around the waist, hauling me backward.

  I yelp and somehow maintain my footing even though he’s more powerful than I am. “Dylan, this isn’t how you get me back.”

  I glance down and realize my mistake immediately. It’s not Dylan’s ink and not his arm around me either. “Shut up, bitch,” he growls before clamping his hand over my mouth, making it impossible for anyone to hear me scream.

  But I try anyway, clawing at his hand, hoping someone will hear me over the music and nonstop voices filling the bar. The few sips of beer I drank before I left the table climb up my throat, filling my mouth with nowhere to go. I swallow it down, my stomach instantly revolting, but I scream again, ignoring the pain.

  The man’s arm tightens around my stomach underneath my ribs, winding me. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to knock your ass out. But that would be a pity because I wouldn’t be able to see the fear in your eyes at what I have planned for you.”

  I kick my feet back, making it easier for him to carry me, and I don’t land a single blow that does a damn. He opens a door, throwing me into the darkened room before he joins me, slamming the door behind us.

  I climb to my feet, coming face-to-face with a man I know and will never forget. “You,” I whisper, backing up even though there’s no escape.

  “You owe me, bitch.” He licks his lips, looking at me in a way I never want to see another man look at me. His face is still messed up from Dylan’s beating, but I will never forget what he looks like.

  “Please don’t do this,” I beg, not wanting to go another round with this asshole. “Let me go, and I won’t say anything to anyone.”

  He laughs, moving toward me and pinning me against a table. “Not until you pay up.”

  My chin trembles, and my breathing is fast, coming out through my nose and reeking of vomit. I lean back, almost flattening myself against the table to get away from his touch. “Name your price. I’ll pay anything.”

  He pushes my legs apart, placing his body between them. “A rich bitch too.”

  My chest burns more with each passing second and every agonizing, panicked breath. “Whatever it is, I’ll pay. Just let me go. Please,” I plead with him.

  His hand goes to my jeans, and he grabs the button. “I only want a piece of the sweet pussy everyone seems to be fighting over.”

  Oh my God. No. No. No.

  I’m not weak. I know better than this. My father and uncles taught me how to protect myself, but that day at the Caves, he caught me off guard. That shit is not going to happen twice.

  The fear leaves me, and anger takes over.

  I reach up and dig my nails into the skin of his face, tearing at his flesh as I lift my knee, getting him right in the balls. “Fuck you,” I hiss as he rolls over, falling to the floor in agony.

  He howls, holding his junk, his face bleeding again, but this time, because of me. I don’t stick around to rub it in his face that I was the one to take him down this time.

  I run for the door, flinging it open, and smash into a tall, hard body.

  “Wildcat,” he whispers, and I glance up with wide eyes. “What the…” He looks beyond me and into the room. “Go to your family, and I’ll take care of him.”

  I grab his shirt, needing the contact and to give him the assurance that I’m okay. “I didn’t… He didn’t…”

  He brushes the hair away from my eyes. “Don’t worry, Ro. Go to your family. I’ll take care of him. Go.”

  I don’t waste another moment before taking off down the hallway, not looking back, and head straight for the table. By the time I make it, I’m out of breath, panting, and sweating.

  “What the fuck, Ro?” Luna asks, her gaze moving from my face to my hands. “Why do you have blood on your fingers?”

  “Man…” I point toward the hallway. “He…”

  Every guy at the table stands and runs toward the hallway without another word or all the information. Based on the looks on everyone’s faces, I’m pretty damn sure no other explanation is needed.

  Gigi stands and wraps an arm around me, comforting me.

  “He didn’t…”

  “Shh, baby. We got you,” she says softly.

  “I got away,” I stammer as my body shakes, the reality of what happened and my escape finally crashing over me.

  “Call Uncle James and Thomas,” Gigi says, rubbing my back slowly. “We need them here.”

  “On it,” Rebel says, picking up her phone and walking away from the table.

  “I kicked him and got away before he could…” I can’t say the word. He was going to rape me as payback for the other day.

  “You’re okay,” Gigi keeps repeating. “You did good.”

  And I did.

  I did what I was taught, remembering to go for the face and balls if any man bothered me. Those are the two weakest points, and I used them to my advantage.

  “Dylan’s back there,” I whisper to my sister as I look up into her soft eyes. “He found me.”

  She rocks me back and forth for a moment until my body isn’t shaking quite as bad. “We should go wait outside for Uncle James and Thomas.”

  I nod, sick of talking and still trying to slow down my heart, which has been pounding for what feels like hours instead of minutes. People in the bar are staring at us as Gigi helps me to the door, followed by every other woman from our table. The men are still busy doing whatever unholy things they want to the asshole who attacked me.

  He deserves whatever he gets, too. I’m sure I’m not his first victim. He already has a track record, trying to drug Luna and then hitting me. Tonight is just another day in the life of a slimeball, but his extracurricular activities are about to come to an end.

  Rocco’s right behind us as we all make it outside. “He’s secured in the storage room until James and Thomas get here.”

  “Why didn’t we just call the cops?” Rebel asks. “I’m sure they could be of more help.”

  Nick shakes his head. “Uncle Joe’s coming too.”

  My stomach drops again. “Oh God,” I groan.

  “Oh boy,” Gigi says, holding me tighter. “This is going to turn into a real shitshow in a hot minute.”

  “Don’t let them get in trouble,” I beg my sister.

  Gigi smiles down at me as we sit on the sidewalk like two drunkards. “Baby, Dad, Uncle James, and Uncle Thomas know what they’re doing. Don’t ask how I know, but have faith they’ll do the right thing…whatever they feel is the right thing, at least.”

  Three cars come blazing into the parking lot like they were all racing to get here first. Dad’s the first one out, running to me with Uncle James and Thomas right behind him.

  He kneels down, staring me straight in the eyes with such tenderness. “You okay, baby?”

  “I’m fine, Daddy. I got away. I remembered what you taught me. Face and balls.”

  He touches my cheeks, giving me a small smile. “Good girl.”

  I smile back, some of the fear from earlier evaporating. “I listened.”

  “I know, honey. You always do. You going to be okay out here while I go inside?”

  I nod. “Don’t do anything…”

  “Shh. You just worry about yourself. We’ll do the rest,” he tells me.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I mutter as he follows my two uncles into the bar. “This is bad. It’s going to be bad.”

  All my female cousins are standing around guessing at what’s happening inside, but they don’t have to wait long because the rest of the men file out, minus my dad, James, and Thomas.

  “What’s happening?” I ask Pike.

  He shakes his head and sits down next to Gigi. “None of my business. It’s in their hands now.”

  The gravel near my feet moves as Dylan sits down next to me. “I’m going to take her home,” he announces to everyone like it’s that damn simple.

  “Um. No, you’re not,” I reply immediately, staring at him like he’s off his rocker.

  His eyes search mine, but I can see the determination on his face. “Wildcat, we have shit to talk about, and I’m not waiting another minute to say what needs to be said.”

  “Go with Dylan, and I’ll look after Dad,” Gigi says, letting me go.

  I turn to her with a glare. “Excuse me?”

  She leans over so only I can hear her. “Come on, Ro. You like him. He’s saved you twice now. Let him baby you and grovel all night for your forgiveness. After that, if you want to kick his ass to the curb, at least you’re doing it on your terms,” she whispers.

  I stare at her, my lips twisting. “I don’t know.”

  “Ro, please,” he begs at my side.

  Gigi winks. “And let the groveling commence. Don’t go easy on him.”

  “I don’t know if I’m in the mood to play hardball, sis.”

  “You do whatever you want,” she tells me, bumping into me with her shoulder. “Just get some rest and try to relax. Make him rub your feet or some shit.”

  Dylan stands, holding out a hand to me. “Come on, baby.”

  I turn toward him, my face not soft or friendly. After staring at him for a few seconds, I slide my hand into his, letting him pull me up from the ground. “Don’t you have to work?” I ask.

  “Fuck no. I was only here as an extra hand as a favor. It’s not like it’s busy.”

  “Don’t get any ideas about tonight. I’m still pissed at you,” I remind him.

  “I know,” he says, but instead of letting me walk, he lifts me into his arms and starts walking toward his brother’s truck. “I have a lot to make up for and even more explaining to do. Just give me tonight to do it.”

  I want to say something, but it feels too good being in his arms. For the first time, I finally relax, letting the safety of his size and warmth pull me under.

  Dylan has me…

  I am physically safe, but my heart is not.

  20

  Dylan

  We’re almost back to Rosie’s apartment, and we haven’t spoken a word to each other since I started the engine. I’m so angry—at myself, at the man who attacked her for a second time, at the world.

  Hell, I’m even pissed at my father for fucking up my head and my heart so badly, I do dumb shit like pushing away my chance at something freaking spectacular.

  “What happened back there?” she asks me.

  I glance over at Rosie as the lights from oncoming cars sweep across her tear-stained face. “Don’t worry about it, wildcat. Between your family and me, he’ll never lay hands on you again.”