Dani nodded and looked away while she took out forks from the silverware drawer. “It’s a good job. A hundred bucks a day to go through files.”

  “Dani,” Jodi said, and so much more was implied. It was much more than going through files, and both women knew it.

  “I’ll be fine,” Dani said, still keeping her voice low. She moved over to the table and helped Jonas climb up onto the chair. She put his cardboard bowl of mac and cheese in front of him and stuck a spoon in it.

  “Mom, I wanted a fork,” he said.

  She got the right utensil and turned back to her sister. They left the kids to eat at the table while they stood in the kitchen. “Tyson Pike is there,” Dani said. “He’s going to make sure everything is okay.”

  “Tyson Pike is a Hawk?” Jodi’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline. Her eyes still harbored a hint of worry. “What does he do?”

  “He said he practically runs the place,” she said. “And it’s going to be okay.” She couldn’t even imagine what she could do with five hundred dollars each week. Pay rent. Buy groceries. Get caught up on her car payments. “I need the money, and there’s nothing else like this in Grand Central.”

  “Forbidden Lake is—”

  “I’m not moving to Forbidden Lake,” Dani said. She had her reasons, and in her mind, they were good ones. She’d grown up here. She’d buried Reid here. She didn’t want to be an hour away from him, even if the southern shore of Lake Michigan was nicer than the beaches she could frequent here in Grand Central.

  Her parents were also buried here, and Dani had returned to this town upon their deaths and never left again. She’d never wanted to leave Grand Central again.

  “Is there a way I can contact you while you’re at work?” Jodi asked.

  “I have my phone,” Dani said. “I think it works out there.”

  “Out where?”

  Dani took a bite of mashed potatoes and chicken breast, the signature spices Fryer’s used sending pops of salt and spice across her tongue. “I don’t know where it is,” she said. “But it’s out in the woods somewhere.”

  “So you might not have service.”

  “I’ll check tomorrow,” she said. “But I called you this morning, and it was fine.” But that was in Tyson’s room, not Daddy’s office. She’d check to see if she had service everywhere in the clubhouse tomorrow.

  Jodi nodded, and they finished eating. Before Dani left for the night, her sister took her in a tight hug and whispered, “Please be careful.”

  “I will.” Dani smiled and waved to her niece and nephew. She took Jonas home and gave him a bath before tucking him into bed. Every muscle in her body groaned and begged for a release, though she’d slept for hours today.

  She showered first, though, because it had been a couple of days, and she simply needed the relaxation from the hot water. She didn’t have Tyson’s phone number. She hadn’t given him her home address. How was he going to pick her up in the morning? It wasn’t like she could look up the Hawks Motorcycle Club in the white pages and make a phone call.

  Once in the comfort of her own bed, she looked over to the space Reid had used to occupy. “I miss you,” she said to the empty spot. “But I have to take care of our son.”

  Feeling strong but still unsure, she finally fell asleep again.

  Morning came, and Dani actually felt like she could face today and possibly win. She fed Jonas eggs and toast, packed his backpack, and drove him over to her sister’s house. They lived a short seven minutes away from each other, and she had plenty of time to get back to her place for a nine a.m. pick-up.

  She leaned down and hugged her son, holding him by the shoulders. “You be good for Aunt Jodi now, okay? Mommy will be back a little after four.”

  Jodi leaned against the wall that separated the living areas from the bedrooms in her house. “He’ll be fine. He’s always good, and we’re going to the zoo today.”

  “You stay with Aunt Jodi,” Dani said. “Don’t run off on your own.”

  “Love you, Mama.” Jonas hugged her at the same time a deep, guttural rumbling shook the ground.

  Jodi looked toward the front of the house at the same time Dani stood and twisted that way too. “I guess my ride is here,” she said, obvious surprise in her voice.

  “You didn’t know he was coming here to get you?”

  “I don’t even have the guy’s phone number.” Dani ran her hands through her hair. She’d put on the nicest blouse she owned—a navy blue silk number with white polka dots—and paired it with tan slacks. If that wasn’t nice enough for the job, Tyson would have to hire someone else.

  Jodi opened the door first, and Dani once again felt like her younger sister should’ve been born before her. “That is not Tyson Pike,” she said.

  “Yes, it is.” Dani moved past her sister and went down the steps as Tyson got off his huge motorcycle and came around the back of it. Dani lifted her hand in a wave, though every cell in her body quaked. She actually thought some of them might be excited to see Tyson.

  Could that even be possible?

  She collected the motorcycle helmet from the passenger seat of her car and walked toward him. “How did you know where I’d be?”

  “I have my ways,” he said. “Your sister is okay to take your son?”

  “Yes,” Dani said. “Is this an everyday type of job? Or five days a week? I should probably know so I can make arrangements.”

  “Monday through Friday,” he said. “You don’t want to be in the club on the weekends, trust me.” He didn’t smile. He hadn’t said hello. He didn’t offer to help her onto the back of his bike. She strapped on the helmet and swung her leg over herself, holding on as he sat in front of her.

  He was a big, broad-shouldered man, and he smelled like fresh rain and concrete. She hadn’t realized until that moment how sexy that scent was, and she had no problem wrapping her arms around his strong back and holding on tight.

  “Remember to lean,” he said, and then he took off from the curb, filling the quiet neighborhood with the grumbling roar of his huge engine.

  Dani smiled, because sometimes she thought Grand Central could use a little excitement.

  Tyson let her see all the way to the highway that ran north out of town, along the lake. The trees thickened here, and he pulled over and flipped a black cloth over his shoulder.

  “Sorry, sweetheart, but you’ve gotta wear this.” He didn’t check to see if she put it on, though she did. She told herself that yes, not being able to see was disorienting. Even frightening. But she didn’t want to know where this club was.

  The road twisted and turned and curved, and Dani stayed glued to Tyson’s body. By the time he pulled up to the clubhouse, her cells vibrated happily from the warmth of his back, the fresh morning air, and the possibility of a good day’s pay.

  She removed the blindfold and looked around. The gravel road they’d come in on stretched south, and a huge parking lot waited for them. At least two dozen motorcycles were parked under a corrugated metal car port, with tall pine trees towering on the far side of the lot.

  She may have imagined it, but she thought she could hear the distant sound of waves lapping against the shore.

  “You look nice,” Tyson said, drawing her attention back to him.

  Dani had no idea what to do with the compliment. He wore jeans, a pair of those black motorcycle boots she’d seen in his closet, and a black leather jacket. As she watched, he unzipped the jacket and shrugged out of it to reveal a green T-shirt with a triangle on it.

  She had no idea what to make of his wardrobe. He sure didn’t seem like a scary gang member. Well, the tattoos that covered his arms and ran up his neck definitely told her to keep her distance, while at the same time, they called to her to touch his skin. See what it felt like, and what patterns those tattoos ran in under the fabric of his shirt.

  Heat filled her face, and she cleared her throat as she looked away.

  Tyson said nothing as he turned toward the clubhouse and walked away from her. Dani scampered after him, half-wanting to take his hand in hers so she could feel grounded. Their fingers brushed, and a shock ran through her body.

  She gasped and stepped a bit farther from him. The clubhouse was a great big gray box of a building. Windows lined the front on two levels, and a set of double-wide doors led inside. A small cement pad held three doormats, but Tyson didn’t bother wiping his boots before he opened the door and held it for her.

  Like an office building, a small foyer without heat or air conditioning held them until he opened the next set of doors. The place felt eerily silent, and Dani reminded herself that the party she’d come to a couple of nights ago had lasted until almost dawn. Most club members probably lived a very opposite schedule than she did.

  Which is good for you, she told herself. Then she wouldn’t have to interact with many of them.

  “To your right,” Tyson said, and Dani veered that way. The rec room spread before her, with its various couches and recliners, armchairs and tables. “I didn’t have time to clean up this morning,” he added. “And we have someone who comes to do that anyway.”

  “How many people do you employ?”

  “I dunno,” he said, stepping in front of her and leading her down the hallway now. The rec room disappeared behind them, and a chill descended on Dani’s exposed skin. Her shoes pinched with every step, and as she passed one closed door, it exploded open and two men came barreling out.

  Snarling and expletives split the air, and Dani went down to her knees as bodies knocked into her. Her hands stung, and she cried out.

  Tyson yelled and pulled her out of the way, stepping over her and putting himself between her and the men throwing punches.

  “Stop it,” he commanded, putting himself right in between the flying fists. “Knock it off, Tick. Now.”

  Dani would never disobey him when he spoke in that barking, clipped voice, and she pushed herself further from the fray, scooting backward as she realized she’d lost a shoe.

  “This ain’t got nothin’ to do with you, Bulldog,” a man said, his voice cold and menacing.

  “You’re the Enforcement Officer,” Tyson said, as if he was Bulldog. “This isn’t how we handle things.” He had his arms out straight, keeping the two burly bikers apart.

  “Daddy is absent,” the other man said. “And he’s stealing my stuff.”

  Dani got to her feet, spying her shoe over by the man closest to the door they’d come out of. She didn’t dare move to get it, because her getting to her feet had already garnered their attention.

  “Who’s she?” one of them asked, and fists began to uncurl. Dani wanted to bolt. Run away from here as fast as she could.

  She swallowed and said, “I’m Danielle Robbins. Who are you?”

  Chapter Five

  Bulldog’s head drooped as he heard the challenge in Dani’s voice. Why had she spoken? Hadn’t he told her to stay silent when it came to the other men here?

  “She’s my new secretary,” he said, a definite edge to his voice. “She’s none of your concern.” He dropped his arms, as it seemed the punches had stopped flying. For now.

  He fell back a step, partially shielding Dani from the hungry eyes of Tick and Canine, who was the Enforcement Officer and should know better. Bulldog didn’t doubt for a single second about the credibility of Canine’s accusation about Tick’s sticky fingers. He’d seen for himself that the man had a way of picking things up casually and taking them with him.

  But that didn’t give Canine the right to go into Tick’s room and do anything. They had rules about privacy and all that. Procedures to keep the peace inside the clubhouse. After all, with twenty-six grown men living together in close quarters, the testosterone could really get out of control.

  He should take them to Daddy, but the boss probably wasn’t awake yet. And Tyson didn’t want him to get up any earlier than normal. That way, he and Dani could work for probably five hours in the office before the leader of the Hawks even rolled out of bed.

  “Since it’s Dani’s first day, I’m going to let this slide,” Bulldog said. “Canine, get me the paperwork for a grievance and I’ll take it to Daddy personally.” He switched his gaze to the smaller man who had a nervous tick that made his left eye squint every few seconds, thus earning him his biker name. “And you give back whatever you took, and maybe Daddy won’t have to hear about it at all.”

  “He slept with Sheila,” Canine growled, his eyes firing with lasers. “He can’t give that back.”

  Surprise moved through Bulldog. “That’s an expulsion accusation,” he said, as if Tick didn’t know it. Sheila for sure would have to leave the club. They couldn’t have their old ladies just doing whatever they wanted.

  Bulldog sighed. He’d really been hoping to hide this side of the club from Dani for a good, long while. She stood strongly behind him, hearing everything.

  “Tick, pack your bag,” he said, making an executive decision. “You’ll have to find somewhere else to stay while we work this out.” He looked at Canine, not wanting to upset the guy. He actually liked Canine, and he agreed that Daddy was absent. Canine was an ally, but Bulldog couldn’t play any cards yet. “Sheila too, Canine.”

  “That’s crap,” he said, his dark eyes glittering with anger.

  “I’m assuming she knew who she was going to bed with,” Bulldog said. “You can go with her, if you’d like. Make sure she’s set up okay for now.”

  He switched his glare from Bulldog to Tick, and Bulldog saw the movement as he cocked his arm back. This was going to hurt.

  He stepped in front of Tick, his back to Canine, and shoved the man against the wall. Canine’s punch landed on Bulldog’s shoulder blade, sending pain down and up and out. He barely flinched.

  Pressing his forearm against Tick’s throat, he growled, “Pack and go. You have ten minutes.”

  “Fine,” Tick said, his eye practically in a full-on spasm. He slipped out from under the weight of Bulldog’s arm, and Bulldog turned back to Canine.

  “You too.”

  “I’m just going to kill him out there,” Canine said. “Where there are no clubhouse rules.”

  “No, you won’t,” Bulldog said. “Because out there, you’ll go to prison, and then you won’t be useful to anyone.”

  Canine glared with everything he had, and Bulldog would not want to be out in the real world with this man’s anger.

  “Listen,” Bulldog said quietly. “We can use you here. Please, don’t do anything stupid.”

  Canine’s eyes glittered with only half-malice now. “What are you planning?” His gaze switched to Dani, and Bulldog had the insane desire to shield her from his view. “With your ‘secretary’?”

  “I’m just saying that there’s a better life than this.”

  The fight left Canine’s body, and he nodded, his long hair flopping against his forehead. Interest filled his gaze. “So….”

  “So nothing,” Bulldog said. “I know where to find you when I’m ready to move.”

  Canine had wanted to leave the club since Derrick Lydell’s death, and Bulldog needed him for the contest vote. He’d said all of that without using the right words.

  “Fine, you win.” Canine stepped back and pushed his hair out of his face. “Sorry about the punch. I’ll go help Sheila pack and make sure she gets somewhere safe for tonight. Then I’ll come back.”

  “Good man,” Bulldog said, turning back to Dani. She looked like a mouse in a room full of tigers, and he practically shoved her to get her to turn around and walk away from the scuffle that had knocked her to the ground.

  “My shoe,” she said, and Bulldog looked down at her feet.

  “Where is it?”

  “Back there.” She slipped past him before he knew what was happening and returned to where the ordeal had gone down. She put it back on and returned to him.

  Bulldog couldn’t explain the fierce way he wanted to protect her. But when he’d heard her cry out and seen her go down…. He’d just reacted. Something that had been dead for a long time had roared to life, and he’d moved to make sure she wouldn’t be hurt.

  He cast her a look out of the side of his eye, but she kept her face forward. She was pretty, dang it, and his heart seemed to have forgotten how to beat when this woman was around.

  Pausing outside of Daddy’s rooms, he put his hand against the door and leaned into it. “You cannot come here without me,” he said. “Ever.” He didn’t care if he scared her. She needed to be scared about this.

  He made his voice as hard and as icy as he could. “Promise me. If you do, I’ll fire you on the spot, no questions asked. I don’t care what time it is, and I won’t take you back to town.”

  She started nodding before he finished speaking. “Okay, I won’t come here without you.”

  “Not even one step into the room,” he said. “Not one.”

  “Daddy lives here, doesn’t he?”

  And she wasn’t stupid, which only made Bulldog like her more. Respect her too. “That’s right. And he is not to be trusted or trifled with. Ever. You do not talk to him. You do not look at him. You pretend he doesn’t exist. Got it?”

  “Yes.” Her voice came out raspy, filled with fear.

  Bulldog softened, all the muscles in his face relaxing as he exhaled. His shoulders went down, and he lifted his arm slightly until his hand touched hers. “You okay? Did you get hurt when you fell?”

  He didn’t dare look at her, and he barely recognized his own voice. Who knew he could talk so kindly or put so much care in his tone? To his nieces and nephews, he was the “fun uncle” who took them for rides on his motorcycle and pushed them too high on the swings. He hadn’t had a woman in his life in over a decade, and he barely wanted one now.

  His eyes betrayed him by looking up, and a rush of adrenaline moved through him when he looked right into Dani’s dark eyes. Her hair looked almost black in this light, making her skin an unearthly white. She wore a little makeup that only enhanced the beauty in the lines of her heart-shaped face, and Bulldog wondered if he could trust her.