“Yeah. Ask me.”

  “You been fucking Death?”

  Freya opens her mouth, but no words come out. She starts to speak then stops. Guilt coats her features as her brows knit together.

  “All right. I see how it is. Are you still fucking Death?”

  “No.”

  “Jesus. He’s an old man.”

  “He’s not that old.”

  “Old enough to be your father. Fuck me.” I slap my palms on the steering wheel, wanting to tear it off the damn car and sling it out the window. “You fucked my VP.”

  “I didn’t think…”

  “That I’d find out?”

  “That and I never expected you to come home and especially not back to me thinking we were back together. I didn’t want to tell you like this. I…”

  “You didn’t want to tell me at all.” I swallow hard. I fucking knew there was a reason she wasn’t taking my calls or reading my letters, besides the April bullshit. “How long was I gone before he swooped in to play your hero?”

  “Fisher. I’m not going to apologize for it. He was there when I needed him to be and that’s all you need to know. I’m not fucking him now. I never dated him. Never met his son. No one else knows that we slept together. It wasn’t that big of a thing.”

  “So it was only sex?”

  “Yeah. Mostly.”

  I don’t like whatever mostly implies.

  “I’ve gotta get to work.”

  “We’ll finish this conversation later.”

  “There’s nothing else to talk about. It only happened a couple of times. He doesn’t want to be with me.” What she doesn’t say is she doesn’t want to be with him either.

  My heart squeezes tight in my chest like I may have a heart attack. “I’ll see you at seven.”

  “Okay. See you then.”

  I wrap a hand around the back of her neck and pull her into me. “I’m willing to look past this shit. To at least try to, but don’t fucking lie to me or go behind my back. I love you, Freya.”

  “I know. I’m…please, I need to get in there.”

  I press my lips to hers, prodding the tip of my tongue at the seam, seeking entrance. Needing to taste her. My girl opens to me with no hesitation, and I breathe a little easier. I want to rip Death’s balls off and shove them down his throat, but still in the end, Freya is my girl.

  Now isn’t the time to remind him but we will be having that conversation.

  He needs to remember we have a code, and he fucking broke it.

  Chapter Seven

  My heart is in my throat along with bile as I stroll into work on the verge of tears. I can’t get Death’s expression out of my head nor Fisher’s words. He knows the truth. That I’ve fucked Death. Only he doesn’t know that I care about him. That if I had the chance to be with him, I’d have taken it. I thought I was over Fisher. Was a hell of a lot easier to believe that were true when he was locked away. Out of sight out of mind. Now he’s here and he says he wants us to move forward. He loves me. I don’t doubt that. I don’t. What I doubt is my being strong enough to keep away from Death when I know he’s hurting in the worst possible way.

  When did my life get so damn complicated? I try to do good deeds. To not lie, cheat, or steal. It’d be easier to run away somewhere far from here and pretend neither Death nor Fisher exists. To forget them both altogether.

  I stash my jacket in the employee break room and shove my cell in my back pocket. Mikai is off today. I’m on with Tiffany and the new girl she’s training, Sally or Sarah. Something with an S. I can’t remember. I was only half listening when Smith told me he hired a new girl. My brain has been preoccupied with other things.

  “You’re late,” Smith complains, as I clock in.

  “By like two minutes. I had to get gas and Fisher’s back.”

  His eyes narrow on me, the tight line of his mouth expressing his displeasure. “As in your douche boyfriend who went to prison?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Damn.” He scrubs a hand over his head. “You need the day off?”

  I shake my head. “I’m good. Thanks though.” Mentally, yeah. I could use a day off. Financially, I can’t afford to take the hit.

  “He gonna have a problem with you working here?”

  “He’s not going to show up and scare customers away if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “Good. I’d hate to lose you.”

  “Aww, that’s sweet, Smith. But you don’t need to stress Fisher. He won’t be a problem.”

  “I’ve heard that before.” Smith is a decent man to work for and I get he’s been burned and had drama in the past.

  “I give you my word.”

  “Would like to trust in that. Sweetheart, look at you. Fuckin’ gorgeous. Man has you and sees other men trying to get a piece of your beauty, he’s going to raise ten kinds of hell to keep’em away.”

  “It’ll be cool.”

  “We’ll see.” He shuffles into his office, and I go out to the bar to start my shift. I don’t want to argue over Fisher.

  Tiffany and her trainee have already stocked my fruit. I have clean glasses and the kegs are full. The regulars are already here. Frank, Barb, and Joe.

  I don’t have to strain too hard to hear the topic of their conversation. April Salyers. The girl who was found with her throat slit. The word RAT carved into her forehead. The bitch who set Fisher up and let me believe he cheated on me with her. And yet my heart breaks for what happened to her. She must’ve been so scared. To meet such a brutal and tragic end. Some would call her fate karma, but she didn’t deserve that.

  “No leads. They say the list of people who’d like to see her dead is so long it’ll take weeks to question the prime suspects,” Barb says to her cohorts. “She got around if you know what I mean. Didn’t matter who long as they had money.”

  My stomach churns and burns with thoughts of her with Fisher. I can’t ask April. I’d never planned to confront her. I have to accept Fisher’s word. He was with fucking Sugar and Spice. Those two have quite the reputation. Pretty sure they’ve fucked my brothers. My father too. Wouldn’t shock me if Death has been with them as well. I know they get around. More than April ever thought about doing.

  “Sucks knowing you believed the worst of me,” Fisher’s words replay in my head as I take stock of the top shelf liquor.

  “Damn shame though. Was a real beauty,” Joe carries on.

  “You know April?” Barb looks at me.

  “Not for some time.” I smile, weakly. April was once my best friend outside of my sister. We were attached at the hip. She was always chasing after my brothers, and I was chasing after Riley Fisher. He was all I ever wanted. All I ever needed.

  Life revolved around loving him. And here I am falling right back in. Loving him. Needing him. Wanting him to be the man he promised to be. And yet I can’t help but think about Death. How hard losing his son will hit him. How deep it’ll cut him. I’ve been low. Cut deep from Fisher and April’s supposed betrayal. I’ve never been a parent though. I can’t compare those wounds. But my heart aches and breaks for him. Even after the things he said and the way he looked at me, I want to fix it for him. Make it better. Make him better. I want to break through those walls and show him life can be beautiful. And though we don’t think it will, the world keeps turning. Life keeps going when we think we can’t.

  I never thought I’d get over Fisher. Maybe I truly never did. Only when I was with Death, he allowed me to forget. He made me think I was unbreakable. I wish I could return that favor.

  He doesn’t want me to. He doesn’t want me. Fisher does. I’d be a fool to throw away everything we had when he’s here giving it all back to me. Sweet little lies are better than any bitter and broken promise.

  I tune out the talk about April. We were once friends, and I can’t bear to think of her lying on a table at the funeral home. Cold and violated.

  The terrible horrors she must’ve endured. I can only hope her death was quick and painless in her last moment. Otherwise…I can’t bear to think about any of it. So I don’t. I focus on thoughts of Riley Fisher. My biker. My man.

  Seven rolls around and I’m counting out my drawer when Fisher strolls through the bar. All sexy, wearing his leather cut. Now he looks a little more like the old him.

  Tiffany grins at me and waggles her brows. “I’ve got this one.”

  I purse my lips but don’t tell her any differently. I keep counting my drawer as Fisher slides onto a stool. My skin tingles at his presence. He’s always oozed this bad ass sex appeal.

  “Hey there, what can I do you for?” Tiffany practically purrs at him as she licks her lips. She’s a bit desperate and slutty but she means well. I know she wants to earn a good tip. Sadly though, she sends the wrong message to the wrong kind of men.

  Fisher’s gaze drops to her tits then to me. He smirks. “Her. In. My. Bed. Under. Me.” He cocks his head in my direction. I try not to laugh as Tiffany’s mouth falls open. She’s a gorgeous girl who gets plenty of male attention with her flawless olive skin, big eyes, and full lips. Though like I said, she receives interest from the kind of guys who only want her for one thing and for one night.

  She stares at Fisher then notices his vest. Everyone knows my family is in the club. “You’re a bird.”

  His teeth flash. “Yeah, sweetheart. I’m Freya’s ol’ man.” The way he smiles when he says he’s my man has my belly doing a warm curl.

  Tiffany looks back at me with her brows drawn inward. I haven’t told her I was back with Fisher.

  “Tiff, this is Fisher. Fisher, Tiff.”

  “As in the Fisher?” Her green eyes brighten.

  “Hope Freya only sings my praises,” he teases.

  “Something like that,” she squeaks. “I need to go check on my tables.” Tiffany hauls ass away from the bar. I think most people are aware of my history with Fisher.

  “Guess I’ve got a reputation around here.”

  “Something like that. You want a beer while you wait?”

  “No drinking. Since I had a drug charge. Gotta piss clean according to my PO. Gotta hold down a stable job. Only the straight and narrow for me.”

  “Will that be a problem?”

  “Nope. Whiskey set me up with a job at the garage.”

  “That’s good.”

  He shrugs. “Take a Coke. Might want to pour something stronger for yourself.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Not sure if I should tell you here or wait.”

  “Tell me now.”

  “Finish up and we’ll take a drive.”

  “Okay.” I know whatever he’s holding back it can’t be anything good. I’m not certain how much more bad news I can take.

  “What are we doing here?” When Fisher said we would go for a drive I didn’t imagine he was talking about coming to the damn Crow’s Nest, the clubhouse.

  He opens the passenger door of my car. “Thought you’d want to be with family for this.”

  I glance around the parking lot making note of how many cars there are. “What’s happened? Fisher, please.” I fear he’s going to tell me that Death’s son is dead. I’ve not heard any updates from my sister, and I didn’t have a chance to text or call her during my shift.

  Fisher takes my hand, brushing his rough fingers over my knuckles. “Walk with me.”

  I exit the car.

  It’s too damn cold to be going for a twilight stroll, but I entertain him anyway. Fisher’s good at getting what he wants. As badly as I want him to get it over with, I don’t know if I’m prepared to hear whatever he’s about to share. Once more he takes my hand. Only now its to guide me down one of the old hiking trails that lead down to the lake. It’s as frozen as I imagine Death’s heart to be. As cold and lonely as mine was when Fisher was gone.

  I follow him down the winding path. My breath visible in the night air. The pine trees loom over us, creating a canopy, partially shielding the moon. Silence surrounds us. I clutch his hand, preparing for the worst.

  “Felt I should be the one to tell you.”

  “Honey, you’re really starting to freak me out.”

  “It’s Zuko. He’s been brought in for questioning in connection with April’s murder. I don’t know all the details yet. There were some text messages exchanged between them that don’t look good for him.”

  Knees buckling, I nearly drop to the ground. Fisher steadies me in his arms.

  “My brother is a lot of things, but he would never do that to April.” I can’t believe he’d have anything to do with her murder and yet I questioned if Fisher had any involvement. I don’t know what that says about me. I’m only glad he doesn’t throw my asking him if he did in my face.

  “There’s one more thing you should know.”

  “What’s that?”

  His mouth pulls tight, then he says, “Your mother is here.”

  “Take me home.”

  “Babe.” He hugs me tight against his chest and kisses the top of my head.

  “I can’t see her. Not tonight.” I have had enough of surprises and bad news. Her being here is the icing on the shit cake that is currently my life.

  “Gentry is losing his mind and your old man is barely holding the club together.”

  “They have Yara.”

  “But they need their Freya.”

  “Whatever.” I roll my eyes. He knows how to play me. Convincing me that my family needs me is super rude of him, but I suck it up.

  Fisher kisses me and I melt into him, thankful he’s here. Glad I don’t have to navigate this alone. It hits me like a bolt of lightning. How much I’ve missed Fisher. Missed him having my back and my front.

  I missed how good we were and how good we can be.

  “You ready to go in?”

  “Not really, but I’m cold.”

  “My Freya,” Fisher whispers, sounding nostalgic.

  I can’t believe what I’m witnessing. My mother and father are seated at the bar shoulder to shoulder having a drink and engaged in civil conversation. At least I’m assuming since they aren’t at each other’s throats. Normally they can’t be in the same room together. Not since before the divorce. Nothing like a murder to bring people together I suppose. Yara is with Whiskey, sitting at a table with Gentry. That’s where Fisher and I decide to park our rears. Gentry nods at me then dives back into his conversation with our brother-in-law.

  None of them are discussing the elephant in the room—our mother.

  “Zuko hadn’t fucked that bitch in months. Knew she was fuckin’ trouble. Fisher knows her cunt ain’t worth the headache,” my brother states, without sparing a thought for my feelings.

  “Never fucked that bitch,” Fisher grits.

  “Man, whatever. We all know.”

  Fisher’s chair falls back as he jumps up and snatches my brother up by his shirt. “Watch your mouth or I’m going to knock your teeth down your God damn throat.”

  “Fuck you, asshole.”

  “Guys come on. Shit. This isn’t helping,” Whiskey attempts to make peace.

  “Nah. Fuck that and fuck you,” Gentry says, spitting in Fisher’s face. All hell breaks loose as the two of them go at it, throwing punches and flipping the table over. Yara and I move out of the way. We know better than to get involved. My sister learned the hard way once when Whiskey and Fat Bastard fought. She caught an elbow to the nose.

  “Let them fight it out,” Yara tells me. “Gentry’s wanted a go at him since he broke your heart.” While I’m touched my brother gives a shit about me, fighting with Fisher doesn’t do a damn thing for Zuko and his legal woes.

  Finally with bloodshed happening, my father wades between them. “Enough,” he barks. My mother’s gaze catches mine. She starts toward us but I shake my head. No way. She doesn’t get to show up here and play mommy. Too little too late.

  Maybe if she’d been a better mother one of her sons wouldn’t be part of a murder investigation.

  Chapter Eight

  Gentry’s got a mean left hook on him.

  I know he’s a smart ass and pissed about Zuko but he’s not going to disrespect his sister. Not on my watch. He might not think it’s a big deal. To me though, that shit burns me up. April’s bullshit fucked my life up. Freya cut off all contact with me over that unfortunate setup. That’s all it was. The bitch setting me up to save her own skin.

  That cunt was always after her next pay day. I’m surprised she was fucking Zuko. Sure the club has money but not the type of money April had her sight set on. Nah. She was mixed up with a dope dealer. Said if I helped with a drop it’d pay good. Fucking paid me all right. Paid me with a three year vacation to prison.

  Freya presses an ice pack to the cut over my right brow where Gentry clocked me. “You didn’t have to trade blows with him.”

  “Yeah, I did. Little prick needs to know he can’t go around saying stupid shit. Not on my watch. It wasn’t cool. Was a fucked thing to say considering.”

  “Is this where I thank you for you caring so much about my delicate feelings?”

  “Something like that.” I grin, the action forcing me to wince. My discomfort earns me a kiss.

  Freya rewards me with her sweetness. She dotes on me, tending to every scratch and cut. Giving me little kisses on each injury.

  Sensing eyes on us, I glance over to see her mother watching our exchange. “I think that’s for you.”

  Freya looks over her shoulder. “We need to get home.”

  I don’t push it. She’ll talk to Cate when she’s ready. The decision is Freya’s. My girl has mommy issues. I sling the bag of ice in the nearby sink. “Let’s go. You want to ride with me or am I following you?”

  “Follow me. I don’t want to make an extra trip to get my car later.”

  “Freya, can we talk?” Cate finds her courage. The woman is a mirror image of Freya. Same dark hair. Same height. Only Cate is thicker and older.

  “There’s nothing we need to say to each other.”

  “I left Theo.”

  “I don’t care. Though I’m not really all that surprised. Leaving is what you’re good at.”