eBooks are not transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is

an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names,

characters, places, and incidents are products of the

writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously

and are not to be construed as real. Any

resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual

events, locale or organizations is entirely

coincidental.

All Rights Reserved

Diesel

Dark Falcons

Book 4

Copyright Em Petrova 2021

Ebook Edition

Electronic book publication 2021

Cover Art by Em Petrova

All rights reserved. Any violation of this will be

prosecuted by the law.

SUBSCRIBE

to Em Petrova’s Newsletter to

keep up to date and for special reader features.

More in this series:

DIXON
TANK
PATRIOT
DIESEL
BLADE

RIO

A woman in peril. A man willing to ride through
the flames for her.

Bad ass member of the Dark Falcons Motorcycle
Club, Diesel, doesn’t think anything could be worse
than the sweet and caring angel who tumbled into
his life walking out on him—but he’s wrong.
Learning she’s embroiled in a dark and criminal
game and needs his help threatens to send him over
the edge.

Loyal to her family to the bitter end, Selena
answers a cry to help her sister—then finds her
world ripped to shreds. Losing Diesel is the worst
part. Their fleeting nights of passion seem like a
dream, and just when she’s about to give up all
hope…

Diesel will challenge any man who tries to stand in
his way of reaching Selena. He may not know a lot
about love, but he does understand the word
revenge.

Diesel

by

Em Petrova

Prologue

The minute Judd spotted Selena, he knew

something was wrong. Off.

Her shoulders slumped, and some of the life

seemed to have drained out of her. He pulled away
from where he leaned against his Harley and ate up
the space between them with long strides.

When she looked up and spotted him, even

Selena’s usual bright smile was missing. As he
approached, though, she conjured one. He couldn’t
help but feel her expression was more grimace than
happy to see him.

“What

happened?”

he

asked

without

preamble. He looked past her to the men filing out
of the office building where she worked. The
government office had more men than women
working there, and Selena told him on a regular
basis how imbalanced everything was.

If it was one thing Judd knew—from high

school football to his current position running a
diesel mechanics shop—it was that men were
assholes. As one exited and shot a sneer at Selena,
Judd clenched his fists.

“What the hell are you lookin’ at, dickhead?”

he called out to the guy in dorky loafers with little
tassels on them and a dweeby sweater.

“Oh my God!” Selena grabbed Judd by the

arm and towed him away from the building,
through the parking lot to his bike. “I have to work
with these people. You can’t call them names!”

“Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry, honey. But I

can’t allow them to think they’re better than you
are.”

“Well, I didn’t get the promotion, so it doesn’t

matter, does it?”

He studied her beautiful face and the

devastation written there. “Fuck. That’s not right.
You went above and beyond.”

“It’s more of a popularity contest. What head

of department likes who best.” She tried to wave it
away with a simple explanation, but he knew
better.

“It’s because you’re a woman, isn’t it?”
She met his stare. The Tennessee breeze

ruffled her warm brown hair and sent a lock
skittering over her cheek. She hooked a finger in
the tendril and directed it away from her face.
“Please let it drop, Diesel.”

Her use of his nickname threw him. She didn’t

always call him by his Christian name of Judd, but
when she didn’t, it was typically when they were at

the motorcycle club and with his brothers, the Dark
Falcons.

He clenched his jaw but forced his fists to

loosen. “I won’t allow you to be trampled on here
by a bunch of bastards who believe they’re better
than you because they have a set of nuts swinging
between their legs.”

“Diesel. Please don’t. I’ll handle the situation.

Your reaction is the reason I didn’t want to tell you
at all. Why are you here, anyway?”

“I was coming to surprise you.” Her tone

bugged him—a lot. Stress or not, she didn’t sound
happy to see him.

Her shoulders slumped further. “Oh. Well,

thank you for the surprise.”

“I hoped you’d go for a ride with me. We can

return for your car.”

Her deep, expressive blue eyes slipped to his

Harley and back to him. “That sounds nice.”

He nodded and handed her a helmet. When

they were both settled with her thighs wrapped
around his hips and her arms crossed over his waist,
they had nothing but the open road before them.

While he wanted to take out his frustration and

anger at what just passed between them, and the
fact that his woman had been hurt by being passed
up—again—for a well-deserved promotion, he let
the open road work to relax him.

One of his and Selena’s favorite spots to spend

time was at a local lookout. In the five months
they’d been seeing each other, he knew that the
stunning view of the Smoky Mountains would
soothe her too. Plus, he’d brought her favorite wine
and sandwich from the local deli.

He slowed his bike as they approached the

spot. A few picnic tables dotted the area, but
nobody occupied them. Good—he wanted to be
alone with Selena.

After parking, he cut the engine. She

dismounted from the bike first, and he followed and
moved to pull the wine and sandwiches from his
pack behind the seat.

She watched this wordlessly, but her face

softened as she saw the bag with the deli logo. He
slashed a grin her way and raised the bottle of wine
in his grip. “I thought we’d have dinner and watch
the sunset.”

“That sounds wonderful.”
They moved to the nearest picnic table and

settled with the wine and food. He opened the wine
by producing a corkscrew from his rear pocket.
Selena’s eyes sparkled. “You came prepared.”

“That’s the kinda guy I am.” He shrugged.
“I know. You always have a solution and a

plan.”

Across the table from her, he met her gaze.

“That’s why it pisses me off so much that those
guys treat you that way at work. You deserve
better, Selena.”

She looked down at the table. “I don’t want to

talk about it, Judd.”

“You want me to wait for that department head

and have a talk with him—”

She tossed down her sandwich. “No! Do not

do that. You’ll mess things up for me.”

“Why do you work at a place that doesn’t

appreciate your efforts anyway?”

Her brows shot up and her eyes were wide.

“Where do you expect me to work?”

“Don’t work at all. I make enough for both of

us.”

She went dead still. Even the breeze seemed to

stop toying with her hair. One look into her eyes
and he knew he’d fucked up. Stuck his foot in his
mouth by suggesting she allow him to take care of
her rather than him supporting her the way she
needed.

“Selena,” he began.
She jumped up. “Take me back to my car,

Judd.”

“You know I respect your work.”
“Do you?” She glared. “It doesn’t sound like

it. It sounds as if you want me to give up everything
I love. All my goals I’ve set for myself.”

“I didn’t mean that. I meant—”
“Why don’t I do your sink full of dishes and

have a few of your babies too?” She took off
walking to his bike.

“Dammit! Selena, wait.” He grabbed the

sandwiches and wine and dumped all of it into the
nearest trash can before catching up to her. She was
already seated on the bike with her helmet on.

He reached for the strap to pull it off so they

could talk. But she jerked her head away.

“This isn’t the old days when women stay

home to support their man, with nothing of their
own to care about. I’m not one of those honeys at
the club!”

His temper ruffled. “Is that what you think I’m

looking for? A honey?” The women who hung out
at the Dark Falcons clubhouse cooked and cleaned
for them, sure. But he’d never been involved with
one and wanted more depth to his woman than
someone who was willing to kiss up in exchange for
a patch that declared she belonged to a club
member.

“When you say I should quit the job I love and

let you take care of me, it sounds like that’s what
you’re looking for.”

He spread his hands. He opened his mouth to

speak, but it hit him that maybe he did want her to
quit and be by his side. Maybe he was a selfish
motherfucker because he didn’t want her working

late hours or attending conferences with those jerk
men who didn’t view her as anything but a piece of
ass.

With those thoughts circling his head like a

cyclone, what else was there to say? He obviously
needed to get his head on straight before he said
something else that damaged their relationship and
insulted her.

“Take me to my car,” she said quietly.

“Please.”

What choice did he have? He swung his leg

over the bike and pointed it down the road.

Chapter One

Judd parked his Harley in front of the long

brick-fronted roadside motel and cut the engine.
One look at the place screamed bedbugs, but he
didn’t give a damn.

It was unlikely he’d sleep anyway—he just

needed a place to escape to.

His hometown of Mersey, Tennessee had felt

too constricting, the weight of the motorcycle club
responsibilities and his friends there pressing down
on him this past month since his girl walked out of
his life without so much as a goodbye, fuck you or
have a good life. She simply disappeared.

He sat there on his bike for a moment, the

warm night air smelling faintly of garbage from a
nearby dumpster. He should have gone into the
Smoky Mountains instead, but too late now. He was
bone-weary and sick of thinking.

Swinging his leg off his bike, he removed his

helmet and tucked it under his arm as he
approached the motel entrance. Mosquitoes buzzed
about his face, and he swatted them, ducked under
the doorway and stopped in front of an outdated

counter paneled with cheap wood.

The guy seated there looked up as if surprised

to see a customer. No wonder, judging by the looks
of this place. Smarter people continued down the
road to the ritzier chain hotels.

“Need a room,” Judd said.
“Sixty bucks.”
“For this place?” He shook his head but pulled

out his wallet and removed three twenties. He
dropped them onto the counter. The guy didn’t look
at him when he slid the money into a drawer and
handed him a key on a plastic ring that looked as if
somebody’s dog had chewed it.

“Thanks. Is there a vending machine?”
“Around the corner of the building by the

dumpster.”

Fantastic.
Judd walked out, ducking under the frame

again. Most doorframes accommodated his six-five
height, but this one was unusually short. The place
was probably built before building codes were the
norm.

Outside, he checked that nobody was messing

with his bike and located the vending machine. The
stench coming from the dumpster could be rotting
meat or a dead body—he didn’t want to know. He
stuffed some bills into the vending machine and
took two sodas and a bag of chips to his room at the

opposite end of the motel.

When he opened the door of number eight, he

hardly gave a damn anymore. He only wanted to
sink down in a chair and stop thinking for a while.
His MC president would be questioning his
whereabouts come morning, when Judd was
supposed to check in with Dixon and give him the
low-down on the next big ride he’d organized, a
ride for charity with the club from the neighboring
town.

To say he was distracted would be an

understatement. The minute Selena took off, he
struggled to think or even breathe.

He popped the top of his soda and drank while

his mind flooded with their last moments together.
The argument. Okay, the fight.

He’d fucked up good this time. Evidently, his

words exposed enough about his archaic state of
mind and selfish leanings to send her running.

But he didn’t mean it. He was proud of

Selena’s achievements. How she’d worked her way
up the chain of command in the government office
to even be considered for a promotion. He only
experienced a heavy case of mouth diarrhea and
allowed his inner protector to speak out before he
thought about his words.

Now he realized his suggestion insulted her,

stifled her and drove her away. Since that night, she
hadn’t taken a single call from him, either at her

office or on her cell phone. All his calls went to
voicemail. After a week, he gave up.

He slammed the empty soda can on the small,

dirty, wobbly-legged table. He needed something
harder.

Across the street stood an equally rundown

bar, and he pocketed the room key before heading
over there. Accustomed to the nicer atmosphere of
The Painted Pig back home, this bar made him
cringe a bit and wonder if he’d get a disease off a
barstool. Two ladies at the end of the bar leered at
him and swirled their straws in some murky-looking
alcoholic drink.

“What can I get ya, sugar?” the bartender

asked.

He named a specific beer in a bottle in order to

avoid a dirty glass. He was no prude—he worked
with his hands repairing diesel trucks for a living—
but places such as this gave him the creeps.

At least nobody knew him here. At home, the

brothers in the MC took one look at him and knew
something was off. Their instincts were better than
any woman he’d ever known.

The thought almost brought a chuckle to his

lips as he lifted his beer and swigged. Damn, he
needed more of that—worrying about the club, his
brothers and the next ride that would bring in
money for the club and charities. To hell with
women who took off because of one argument

without even letting him explain or apologize.

He suspected Selena had gone to stay with her

sister. After swinging by her place a few times and
seeing she wasn’t home, he guessed she was truly
avoiding him.

Who could blame her, after he went

Neanderthal and basically said she should stay
home and give up her dreams.

He’d been hanging with some of those guys at

the club too long. The ‘honeys’, as the guys liked to
call them, hung around the club just waiting for a
man to support them and make them their ‘old
ladies.’

He knew when he started dating Selena that

she’d never be that woman. She had too much
going for her, a strong mind and a stronger will.

And Christ, her beauty could knock a man flat.

Warm brown hair with streaks of mahogany and
snapping blue eyes, curves as twisty as the road
leading out of Mersey and into the Smokies…

His guts gripped at the memory of her

straddling him. Sliding down over his cock. The
expression in her eyes one of burning lust—and
he’d convinced himself, it was more than lust.

What kind of dumb fucker sits and broods in

his beer over a woman who left a month ago?

Dixon, Tank and Patriot would laugh at him.

Blade would never let him live it down if he knew.

Though he suspected they all did know and

weren’t saying. They knew when to leave a guy
alone and when to intervene.

“Hey, can I get a beer or are you too busy?”

The grumbled demand from a few stools away
brought Judd’s head up.

He pierced the guy in his gaze, seeing slack

jaw and reddened nose from imbibing too much.

The bartender shook her head. “I can’t serve

you anymore, Dwight. You know the rules. I don’t
want to lose my job.”

The woman stood across the bar from the

aging drunk and gave him a look of sympathy,
whether for the fact that he’d reached his limit or
that he had no better place to be than on this
barstool.

He slammed his glass on the surface.

“Whiskey. Now, woman.”

She shifted her gaze away from him as if

expecting an explosion. Judd waited for it—he’d
helped out the bouncer at The Painted Pig plenty of
times by heaving a hothead or two out the front
door into the gravel parking lot, and he’d do the
same here. He set down his beer and waited.

Then it came—the man lurched across the bar

and grabbed the bartender by the hair. She
screamed, and Judd launched to his feet. In one
step he reached the guy, ripped him off his stool
and hurled him to the grubby floor.

“Get the hell outta here, you drunk,” he spat

out in his voice of deadly calm that typically got his
point across.

The man, for all his alcohol consumption,

bounced to his feet and took a swing at Judd. He
dodged it and jabbed a right hook at the man’s jaw,
rocking his head.

His eyes rolled up. He started to tip backward.
When he hit the floor, nobody attempted to

cushion his fall. Toes up, he lay there knocked out.

Pain shot through Judd’s hand—he knew

better than to aim for the bony parts.

He slanted a look at the bartender, who stared

with wide eyes. “You all right?” he asked her.

She nodded.
“I’ll help him outside.” Without a word, he

reached for his wallet to pay for the beer.

She waved a hand. “On the house. Thank

you.”

He gave a nod, grabbed the guy by the boots

and dragged him out the door, where he left him
beside a cracked flowerpot overflowing with
cigarette butts. He continued on across the road to
his motel room.

After the door closed, he locked it and dropped

to the edge of the sagging mattress. Damn, this
wasn’t his idea of unwinding.

He took his ice bucket outside and filled it,

then returned to the room and sank his sore
knuckles into the ice. He let out a heavy sigh and
out of habit glanced at the screen of his phone.

His heart jerked—hard. His throat slammed

closed, cutting off any air he might try to drag into
his lungs.

Selena had called. When? While he sat on a

barstool brooding over her? When he was dragging
the drunk out of the bar?

His lungs burned from lack of air, and he

forced a breath into them. When he hovered his
thumb over the screen, he noted how it shook.

The moment he’d waited for was here. A

chance to win her back.

Disgust crawled through him, and he threw his

phone onto the bed. After a month, she decided to
call? He wouldn’t take her back—he tried and she
didn’t give him so much as a text in return.

A month of not knowing if she was furious

with him. With no way to remedy the situation—
she’d simply cut him off completely.

Screw this. He wasn’t going to give her the

time of day for what she’d put him through.

He dropped his aching hand into the ice again

and stared at the shabby, threadbare motel carpet,
wondering how the hell to move on with his life
without her now that he’d made his choice.

A guard walked by Selena’s open door.
He pretended as if he didn’t glance inside, but

she knew he was paid to do exactly that.

To keep tabs on her every waking—and

sleeping—minute. He and three other guards she
saw on a daily basis all reported to Kenzo.

Even thinking the man’s name made her

shudder, and Selena wrapped her arms around her
middle. The guard continued past her door, but she
knew he would report that she was cold or
frightened. Not that either one mattered to Kenzo.
The animal would continue ignoring her requests to
leave his house.

Of course, she begged him to come here, to

take her sister’s place as what he called his ‘prime
piece’, which only meant being dolled up in
beautiful dresses and high heels and forced into a
room full of men who would buy the drugs she
carried with her.

Selena knew for months that something was

wrong with Alexus. She withdrew from her, and
eventually didn’t return any of her phone calls or
requests to see her. She was seeing a man named
Kenzo, and thank God that bit of information had
been enough for Selena to find her.

The minute she realized her sister was a high-

class drug trafficker, held against her will by the
man who persuaded her with money and the
promise of love, Selena knew she had to take

action.

This landed her here, in this prison that

appeared to be nothing but light and beautiful
things. But she knew those windows were watched
by more guards outside as well as closed circuit
cameras.

She’d agreed to stay here. At least Alexus was

free.

Her stomach cramped, and she folded over.

Her stomach always hurt, and she suspected the
past month had given her one hell of an ulcer.
Being unable to eat or sometimes drink, as well as
the constant worry and terror of what would
happen to her, she expected more than one ulcer.

One month she’d been in this place, held

captive, forced to sell Kenzo’s cocaine, crack and
meth with no hope of ever getting free.

The only person she had in the world capable

of breaking her out of here was the man she’d
walked away from. Judd. They called him Diesel,
which only made him sound rougher and more bad
ass, which he was.

If only she could get word to him—
“Selena.”
She jerked her head up at the sound of her

name on Kenzo’s lips. When she saw him
silhouetted in her bedroom doorway, his broad
shoulders nearly filling it, his fit body sickening her

with the thought of what he kept pushing her for
but she continued to deny—but for how long? He
knew she was helpless if he wanted to force himself
on her.

Her stomach burned as acid sizzled through the

hole there.

“I brought you a present. Stand up.”
She had taken to sitting on the floor between

her wall and bed. The guards had started looking
there for her automatically, after seeing her so
many times. Kenzo did too.

He stepped into the room, and her muscles

locked with the terror of what this present may be.

Would tonight be the night he made her come

to his bed? Or would she be donning makeup, a
beautiful dress and selecting a pair of designer heels
to wear to one of his drug parties?

On the streets, she could sell drugs wearing

rags. But wealthy, influential junkies liked their
women sellers to look like models.

She waited as Kenzo approached the bed. She

wished the wall at her back would dissolve and she
could fall through it.

He crouched before her. The scent of his

cologne and the leather jacket he wore made her
stomach flinch. As he extended a hand to her, she
saw the small bag he held. A silver paper bag filled
with some jewel or bauble that kept up the ruse that

she wanted to be here and was really a cherished,
pampered woman.

Judd’s suggestion that she quit her job and he

would take care of her now sounded like a lovely
dream compared to her horrific reality.

“Take it,” Kenzo urged.
She twisted her face from him. “I don’t want

it. I want to leave.”

He sighed. “We made a deal, sweet thing.” He

reached out and dumped the bag on her lap but
cupped her face.

Her stomach churned. She might throw up.

How long before he demanded more from her? She
was lucky to have escaped it these past weeks.

She kept her gaze downcast as he studied her.

After a moment, he dropped his hand and stood
from his crouch, hovering over her. She held her
breath, waiting for what would come, but in the
end, he turned and walked out of her room.

Shivers overtook her, but she steeled herself

against them. Without even looking at the contents
of the gift, she stuffed the bag beneath her bed and
pushed to her feet. She was going to be sick.

She ran into the adjoining bathroom and knelt

on the floor in front of the commode, but after
taking big gulps of air, her fear subsided with some
of the nausea.

Now that she’d given the guards a show, she

got off her knees, went to the door, and she closed
and locked it. She was allowed a measure of
privacy for personal needs, but if she took too
much time in the bathroom or something appeared
suspicious, they’d barge in.

She had approximately five minutes.
She rushed to the bathtub and hit her knees,

scrabbling at the tile she’d managed to tear off
using a fingernail file and glued on again with thick
toothpaste. She pulled off the tile and fished in the
hole she’d made in the backer board until she
touched her cell phone.

Kenzo didn’t know she had it—she told him

she’d lost it, left it on a park bench and when she
returned for it, someone had picked it up. All
innocent stories and a pack of lies.

She grabbed her phone and stared at the black

screen. Please don’t be dead.

When she pressed the home button, it came to

life in her hands, a living link to the outside world
—and help. One call might bring the police and
feds here for the drug bust of the century, but she
only wanted to get a call out to one person –Judd.
Diesel had to know that she might have been angry
and hurt by their talk, but in the end, she’d forgiven
him.

Seventeen missed calls.
Her heart plummeted.

On the day she’d gone missing, after taking her

sister’s place, Judd called five of those times. Then
once a day for a full week. Finally, it seemed as if
he’d given up and stopped trying to contact her.

She hit his number and brought the phone to

her ear. Heart thudding, she wondered what to
say…how to explain she was a prisoner, hiding in a
mansion up in the hills and acting as a drug dealer
to the rich and famous.

Her call went unanswered. She frantically

dialed again. This time his voice rang out in her ear,
that deep, low rumble that made her insides clutch
and her heart shatter with longing for him.

“Judd!” she rasped in a hushed whisper.
A beat of silence followed, and he grated out,

“Selena.”

“Judd, I’m so sorry! I—”
A door slammed in her bedroom. Her heart

gave a wild flip. Someone was coming.

She cut off the call and stuffed her phone into

the excavated hole. She scooted to the sink and
grabbed her toothpaste, hastily smearing it over the
tile back to keep it in place.

Shaking inside and out, she returned to the

toilet, threw up and flushed. She washed her hands
and splashed water on her pale face.

A knock sounded on the door, making her

jump.

“Everything okay, Selena?” One of the guards

checking on her.

She was right—five minutes.
“Yes, just feeling a little under the weather. I’ll

be out in a minute.”

She threw a look at the tile. It didn’t fall off,

and God help her if it ever did and someone
discovered it before she did. She would put Diesel
in danger, something the man would never back
down from.

Her heart leaped. She was counting on that.

Chapter Two

“Fuck!” Judd threw the bucket of ice across

the room. It hit the wall with a sharp crack and ice
scattered all over the ugly carpet.

He paced to the door, grabbed the handle with

the thought to leave, to go to Selena.

But go where?
He strode to the bed and snatched up his

phone, staring at the screen as though it would give
him some clues as to where she was and why she
called.

Judd, I’m so sorry!
That one breathless, despairing cry wrenched

his goddamn soul. Thanks to a fucked up home life,
he didn’t trust easily, and once that trust was
broken, he struggled to give it a second time.
Backstabbing and cruelty was a daily occurrence in
his childhood, and he’d come to expect it from
everybody in the world.

Until he became friends with a great group of

guys in high school, he believed every human
operated in this manner. So reuniting with Dixon,

Tank, Patriot and the others had renewed his faith
in humanity, and he trusted those guys with his life.

Then Selena walked into his world, and he

slowly began to tear down some walls for her. Her
leaving devastated him—made him bitter.

But her rasped apology raised the hairs on his

arms and nape.

That didn’t sound like a woman who realized

after a month of not speaking that she’d made a
mistake. Her tone sounded with soul-deep
desperation.

He dialed her number but it went to voicemail

the same as all the other times. “Call me,” he
grated out and ended the call.

Dropping his head into one hand, he massaged

the strain forming at his temples with his thumb and
middle finger. Dammit, there must be some answer.
His mind replayed the call again.

Judd!
Judd, I’m so sorry!
The faint noise of a door slamming. Selena’s

sharp gasp.

He played it over in his memory a second time,

then a third.

On edge, he paced to the door again, kicking

the ice bucket out of the way. He hurried to his
bike, taking long strides with his mind locked on
one thing—finding some answers about that phone

call.

And now, he was starting to wonder if Selena

had stayed away this past month against her will.

The door slam and her gasp told him somebody

was coming, someone she didn’t want to hear her
talking on the phone.

As he threw his leg over his bike and settled

his helmet in place, he had one goal in mind—get to
Mersey and talk to his brothers. He’d shared very
little with them about Selena. He wasn’t one of
those guys who fucked a honey at the club and
everybody knew it. Selena was different. She had
her life together. So why hadn’t he thought to walk
into her office where she worked and demand she
speak with him over the course of a month?

His pride got in the way, pure and simple. She

refused to give him a second chance after that
argument, and instead of asking forgiveness face-
to-face, he took the coward’s way out by calling.

What if something happened…something that

kept her from picking up? His parents ran in rough
circles, and he and his sister Lily had been around a
lot of criminals growing up. So he knew what
people were capable of. The thought that Selena
had gotten wrapped up in something to prevent her
from reaching out to him burned a hole straight
through his gut.

He laid on the gas and hit the highway, taking

the road to Mersey at high speeds. He slowed for

the twisty curves, remembering how his fellow
Dark Falcon, Tank, had wiped out on one of these
curves a while ago. Fucked up his bike and himself.

He didn’t have time for mistakes.
He’d made too many this past month as it was.
When he rolled into the club parking lot to see

several motorcycles still out front, his fingers
numbed with relief. Someone would be there to talk
to about his situation. What he needed was a friend
to tell him he wasn’t crazy in thinking something
might have happened to Selena to keep her away
from him.

He quickly parked and entered the club. As

soon as he opened the door and smelled the familiar
wood of the paneled walls, he calmed a measure.

He looked to Blade, who was kicked back with

a beer in hand, staring at the game highlights on the
big screen on the club wall. “Where’s Dixon?”

“Went home with Fiona. What’s up?”
“Get him. I’m calling a meeting.” Any club

officer had the right to demand the brothers all sit
down at the big table. Until now, he never needed
to, but he couldn’t think of anything more worth
doing so for than Selena.

Blade got off the chair and walked out to

collect Dixon, who lived a short walk from the
clubhouse. Judd located Tank and Rio poring over
an order for more T-shirts with the Dark Falcons

logo on them. While they were very selective about
membership these days, ever since Patriot had
experienced hell with a prospect who betrayed him,
their numbers in the club were swelling. Everybody
wanted to be a Dark Falcon or associated with one.
If they couldn’t help Judd now, what the hell was
he doing here?

He grabbed Tank by the shoulder, and he

looked up. Concern creased his brows. “What
happened?” he demanded.

Rio stood. “What’s going on, Diesel?”
He looked between them. “I’m callin’ a

meeting.”

They stared at him for a moment, faces blank.

Tank shoved away from the table where he sat and
gained his feet. Eye-to-eye, he and Judd faced each
other. Tank rested a hand on his shoulder.

The unspoken camaraderie was exactly what

he needed at that moment. He walked into the
meeting room of the club and switched on the light.
The big table was illuminated, the logo of the Dark
Falcons in the center seeming to jump off the hand-
hewn wood.

Under other circumstances, he might have

choked up at seeing it. A gnawing fear for Selena’s
safety consumed his mind.

He walked to the table and braced his hands on

the warm wood, bowing his head. When the guys
began to filter into the room, silence abounded.

Finally, Dixon walked to the head of the table,

waiting. “What’s going on, Diesel?” he asked
quietly.

He dragged in a deep breath. All of a sudden,

he wondered if he was overreacting, if his
imagination had gotten the best of him. After all, it
was a door slam and a gasp. It could mean nothing.

He didn’t think so, though.
He looked up at his prez. Their gazes met, and

he started to talk. He told them about how he’d
gone to the motel to have time away from his
thoughts—his misery—and then he got the phone
call from Selena.

When he finished, they remained still.
Dixon nodded. “Your instincts have never

been off, Diesel, in all the years I’ve known you. If
a guy on the football field was going right, you
sensed it and blocked him. I’ve trusted you since,
and that extends to right now. If you think your
girl’s in trouble, I believe you.”

Relief washed through him, a tidal wave of

emotion that he battled to control for a moment.
Finally, he issued a long, low breath. “Thank you.”
Until this moment, he didn’t know how much it
meant to him to have this support, the backing of
his brothers.

“I believe you too, man. I’ll do anything you

need me to in order to find her.” Patriot’s voice
grated out with a roughness that had Diesel looking

up and meeting his stare. Understanding passed
between them. While he’d never told Patriot how
he felt about Selena, his friend possessed strong
feelings for his own old lady Aarica.

“Means a lot, man,” Diesel returned.
“We’re all with you,” Blade told him with a

measure of force.

He gave a nod.
“So where do we start?” Dixon asked.
“That’s the trouble—I have no fucking idea.”

Energy exploded out of him, and he couldn’t sit still
any longer. He bolted to his feet and paced to the
wall of windows, looking out at the yard between
the club and Dixon’s family garage. It was too dark
to see, but he knew that out there, somewhere,
Selena was in trouble and counting on him to save
her.

Selena woke to Kenzo barging into her room.

She had no sense of time, and having nothing to do,
she slept at odd hours. It could be seven in the
morning or the middle of the afternoon.

Her time was not her own, nor was her privacy,

so she’d taken to sleeping fully clothed for such a
circumstance. The last thing she wanted was to
encourage the man if he caught a peek of her
exposed.

Blinking at the sunny bedroom and all the

beautiful things surrounding her, she centered her

gaze on the man wearing jeans and a designer
button-down shirt standing in her doorway.

His dark hair was slicked back and oiled into

place. She didn’t need to be near him to remember
the smell of that oil and how it made her stomach
twist.

“Get up. I want you to wear the white dress.

We’re going out.”

She swung her legs over the side of the

mattress. He looked her up and down, seeing her
jeans and hoodie.

“You slept in that?” he asked.
“Fell asleep early and forgot to change into

pajamas,” she lied.

His stare lingered on her breasts. “Wear the

white dress. Meet me downstairs in half an hour.”
He waved his hand around his head. “I like your
hair up too, with some hanging down around your
face.”

Her stomach churned, but she nodded

nonetheless. What choice did she have? It was
either she perform this duty or her sister did. She
was stronger. Alexus would eventually break and
Selena didn’t want to think about what the woman
might do then.

Kenzo left the room, closing the door behind

him, thank God. Selena dropped her face into her
hands, breathing through the tears that threatened

to fall. Each time she went out with Kenzo, her
mind was bombarded with what-ifs.

What if things went sideways and Kenzo got

killed by one of the men he sold drugs to? What
would happen to her? She could end up in worse
hands.

She also imagined shootouts and the possibility

of her getting stuck in the line of fire. Not to
mention the very real terror that she’d do
something to make Kenzo snap, and he’d go back
on his promise to let her stay in Alexus’s stead.

She stood and went to her closet. Gorgeous

gowns and negligees that any woman would drool
over hung there, but she wished they would all
burn, along with this beautiful mansion and
everything in it. Including the owner.

Hopelessness really was the biggest weight in

the world.

As she went about dressing in the white gown,

applying mascara and lipstick and pinning her hair
up to Kenzo’s liking, with a few long tendrils
framing her face, she tried to find some good thing
in the world to cling to.

Alexus.
Her sister was safe and that was all that

mattered, right?

So why did a daydream of Judd sweeping in

and saving her flood her thoughts?

A tear threatened to trickle down her freshly

powdered face, and she counted to ten until the
urge to cry subsided.

She threw a look at the tub and the tile that

concealed her phone. The toothpaste still held. If
she had time, she could attempt another call to
Diesel.

She took a step toward the tub, but suddenly

the door whipped open. She froze as Kenzo stuck
his head in.

Heart pounding, she wondered if he knew what

she had been about to do.

He swept a look over the bathroom and turned

his attention to her. “What are you doing?”

“Only grabbing the hand towel.” She

continued across the floor to the gold finish towel
bar and expensive, luxurious towel in creamy white
hanging there. She pulled it off and pretended to
dab at her lip gloss.

Satisfied, he jerked his head for her to come to

him, and she did, like the dog she was in this
place…taking orders…doing as she was told,
staying where she was told.

On her very high sparkly heels, she crossed the

bathroom to the man waiting for her.

He looked into her eyes. While his were a

shocking shade of light blue and some women
might find them beautiful, she hated them. Pure evil

looked back at her.

Raising a hand to her face, he touched a

fingertip to the tendril of hair following the curve of
her cheek. “Perfect,” he whispered.

Her stomach hollowed. Panic swept in. She

thought of ways to kill him if he attempted to lay a
hand on her.

Manicure scissors. The spike of her high heel.
She swallowed hard. “I’m ready.”
He didn’t move. When she lifted her gaze to

his again, she found his heavy stare on her.

“Tonight you’re mine, Selena. When we reach

our destination, you will be on my arm and you’ll
show everyone what you are to me.”

Her lips trembled. “Uh…what exactly is that?”
He jerked his hand so quick that she flinched.

The blow she expected never came—he couldn’t
exactly parade her around these buyers willing to
dump tens of thousands of dollars on his drugs if
she sported a black eye or fat lip.

“Maybe we have some time for me to finally

show you.” He nodded. “I’m sick of waiting.”

Her mind shot to the moment she’d been

dreading all this time—when he forced himself on
her. There had to be a way to get out of this. She
was strong, smart and resourceful. She’d come this
far and helped her sister to escape.

She looked into his eyes and nodded. “It’s

time, Kenzo.”

The tip of his eyebrow flitted up and a smile

crossed his face. “Now we’re talkin’.” He slipped
his arm around her waist, pulling her up against his
solid form.

Panic and bile filled her throat, but she

pretended to be consumed with his kisses as she
walked him toward the bed.

He shoved her down roughly. Her first instinct

was to scramble up, but she went still, counting
heartbeats while she willed her body to remain
quiet and her brain to find a place of calm in order
to function at its peak performance.

She wiggled up the bed as if moving toward the

fluffy pillows there.

“Sir, is everything okay?” the guard spoke

from the doorway.

Kenzo twisted, half lying atop her, to send a

glare at the guard. “Yes, goddammit, get the hell
outta here and shut the door.”

The door closed quietly, but it sounded as a

death knell to her. She curled her fingers into the
covers and waited for Kenzo’s next move.

He jammed his knee between her legs. She

sucked in a harsh breath.

“You like that, do you?” He ground his knee

hard into her pussy.

She groaned loudly, and he chuckled.

He grabbed for her breast, kneading it too hard

and bruising her. She cried out, and he took it as
desire.

Good. She needed him engrossed in the

moment.

He shoved onto his knees, grinning at her as he

unzipped his fly. She wiggled on the bed,
shimmying ever closer to the nightstand where a
big, heavy, expensive brass lamp sat.

If she could get her hand around it, manage to

lift it and bring it down over his head while he
kissed her…

He threw himself atop her, working her gown

up her hips. She stretched her fingers toward the
lamp. Nearly there.

“You’re wrinkling the beautiful dress you

bought me,” she cooed.

“Huh?” He leaned away from her and looked

down.

She took the chance to wiggle toward the side

of the bed more, straightening her gown on her legs
as she did in order to convince Kenzo that her
actions weren’t taking a vile, downward turn.

Was she capable of bashing his skull with that

lamp?

Yes, she thought as she smelled his breath and

hair oil. She could.

He shoved his way between her legs again, and

she anchored one hand to his shoulder, holding him
in place even as she reached out for the lamp.

He kissed her, and the moment was here.
Curling her hand on the thinnest part of the

lamp, she yanked it off the nightstand and brought
it down with a cry onto the back of his head.

He slumped on top of her with a loud grunt and

went dead still.

Her heart hammered. She thought she might

throw up. Was he unconscious or dead?

She couldn’t wait to find out—she had to get

him off her and make her escape.

One look at his face revealed his slack lips and

closed eyes, but the man was still breathing.

She shoved him to the side, and he rolled onto

the mattress, a dead weight.

Bolting to her feet, she grabbed the lamp and

held it, ready to strike. But the man didn’t move.

A soft knock on the door made her issue a

shrill scream.

“Everything all right, sir?” the guard asked

through the door.

“Yes!” she cried out in a mockery of pleasure.

“Yes! Oh Kenzo, yes!”

Heart slamming her ribs, she looked at Kenzo

unconscious on the bed while she mimicked sexual
bliss to his guard.

It worked—seconds later, she heard the man’s

footsteps moving away from her door.

She nudged Kenzo one more time, and he

didn’t budge. How long would he be out for? She
had no way of knowing, but she couldn’t waste
time.

Rushing to the bathroom, she scrabbled at the

tile. It fell into her hand, and she reached into the
hole, pinched her phone between two fingers and
extracted it. Without bothering to reattach the tile,
she ran out of the bathroom. A glance at the bed
showed her captor still out cold.

Escaping the mansion without the guards

stopping her wasn’t even a possibility in her mind.
She had to find a place to hide, though, and quick.

With the phone stuffed in the bodice of her

gown, she opened the door, peeked right and left
and found the corridor empty. Then she slipped out
and took off at a fast run. She turned the corner and
her heels threatened to spill her on the tile. As she
ran past a table along one wall, she spotted a heavy
geode paperweight and picked it up. If anybody
came after her, she’d brain him too.

She had explored the mansion extensively,

with guards on her tail, of course, but exactly for
this reason. She knew a few hiding spots, and her
favorite was in the basement level of the
compound.

Looking over her shoulders, and right and left,

she managed to escape notice of the guards as she

made her way past the kitchens and to the
basement door. She’d only had a peek down the
stairs once before she grew too scared someone
would find her, but she knew the darkness would
provide a place to hide, and every basement had an
exit, right?

She was hoping for a door or a window to

shimmy out. Once outside, escaping the guards who
patrolled the grounds and avoiding the security
cameras would be another challenge, but she’d
think about that when she got there.

With all the confidence in the world, she

reached the door and closed it behind her. She
heard the whir of some machine in the basement,
possibly the air conditioner unit or a washing
machine. She hurried down the stairs, thanking God
above that they were solid, sturdy stairs. She had
no desire to trip on her heels and fall to her death at
the bottom.

Darkness enveloped her, and a single window

along the wall showed her a few blades of grass
from the yard outside. Shrinking from sight of the
window, she ducked into the shadows of some wine
shelves and pulled out her phone.

Oh God. The battery was at three percent. She

had little time to make a call before it died
completely.

She had to make it a good one.
Who would she call? The cops? The idea of

them raiding the mansion gave her a strong urge to
say fuck it all and dial 9-1-1. But explaining would
take too long—precious time she needed to remain
hidden.

Besides, if one cop showed up on the scene,

he’d be no match for the guards or even Kenzo if
he woke up.

She knew only one person who would come

with a team of bad-asses as backup. Diesel.

She pressed his contact and put the phone to

her ear.

Chapter Three

“You sure this is it?” Dixon’s murmur reached

Diesel from his right side.

“Fucking positive.” Looking up at the windows

of the mansion, Diesel wondered how the hell
Selena had gotten herself into this mess—and how
much he’d failed her.

His bowels felt watery and his lungs hot and

tight. Knowing that for a month she’d been held
prisoner in this place, by some monster…and that
she’d knocked him out and was now hiding in the
basement wine cellar…

He tightened his already cramped fists.
They’d been waiting for the guard to make his

appearance so they could take the fucker out. As
soon as he stepped around the corner of the house,
Diesel, Dixon and two other brothers were on him.

Diesel slammed the pistol he held into the back

of his head. The guard crumpled, but before he hit
the ground, Dixon had disarmed him and the other
two dragged his body off and tied him up out of
sight.

On each side of the house, he knew the rest of

his brothers were doing the same thing, and only
when all the guards outside were subdued would
they breach the mansion.

Diesel stared at the basement entrance. “You

think Patriot disarmed the system?”

Since Patriot worked in construction, he had

extensive knowledge of security systems.

Dixon met his stare. “Unless it’s something he

hasn’t come up against before, he got it.”

Diesel nodded. “Let’s go.” He took off running

to the basement entry. This all seemed too easy.
Bash a couple thugs over the head, cut some
wires…they had to be missing something.

He’d trust his brothers to handle whatever was

to come. His job was to go in and get Selena out.

The basement door was locked, as expected.

His petty crime days of his early twenties would
work in his favor now, because he knew how to
pick a lock like the best of them.

Slipping the metal sliver into the lock, he

pressed it upward into the inner workings and felt
when it sweetly tripped open.

His heart leaped from that one little flick,

barely detectable. Slowly, he extracted the metal
pick and held his breath as he twisted the handle.
Beside him, Dixon counted down with his fingers to
the others.

Three, two, one, forward.
Diesel opened the door. He, Dixon and three

guys entered at a rapid pace. When Diesel swept
his gaze over the space and spotted the glint of
wine bottles, he damn near cried out for her.

He rushed forward. When she phoned, she told

him she was hiding between the tall wooden
shelves, and he knew she wouldn’t show herself
unless she knew it was him coming after her.

“Selena,” he whispered.
A roughened cry met his ears, and she stepped

out, wearing a white gown that skimmed the floor.

His knees threatened to buckle at the mere

sight of the woman, but he held steady, masked his
expression and reached out a hand to her. She slid
hers into his, the skin cool from being in the
basement, but soft and familiar.

“I got her,” Diesel said to the others. He pulled

her out of her hiding place, and Dixon and the
others made haste to the exit. They had seconds at
best. At worst, there were other guards who
discovered their invasion.

The men ahead of him cleared the way, and

with Selena’s hand in his grasp, Diesel’s focus was
on getting her outside that door, across the lawn
and to their van.

“Clear!” Dixon alerted him.
He stepped outside and pulled Selena with him.

Swinging his head right and left to be on alert for
dangers, he towed her across the manicured lawn.
She stumbled, and he turned, saw the reason for her
struggles were the heels she wore. He whipped her
off her feet into his arms, and she latched on to
him.

As he closed the distance between the mansion

and the van at warp speed, he heard a shout.
People were running from all directions. Some of
them were Dark Falcons, who jumped in one of the
vans. Doors were slammed, and they peeled out of
the driveway.

Sirens sounded just as he thundered up to the

van door with Selena in his arms. “Get in!” he
ordered. She lunged through the door, hit her knees
with her dress twisted around her legs, but she
scrambled up into the seat.

“Duck down.” He jumped in behind her and

called the driver of the other van that had already
made a getaway. “Give me a roll call,” he
demanded.

As the man said the names, Diesel repeated

them to Dixon.

“We’re missing Jesse. Where the hell is he?”

More adrenaline hit Diesel’s system, and he
grabbed the door handle again. “I’m going after
him.”

“No, man, wait a minute.” Dixon held up a

hand to stay him.

“I can’t leave a man behind for my cause.” He

opened the door and stuck one foot out to go after
their brother.

“The cops are coming. When we cut the

security, we must have tripped some alarm. We
gotta move fast—there’s no way we’re going to
explain our way out of why we broke into that
mansion,” one of the guys seated in the rear of the
van said.

At that second, they saw a man running out of

the building, hell-bent for the van.

“Here he comes! Tank, drive!” Dixon

commanded.

Tank stepped on the gas, whipping the van

toward the man running away from the mansion
with two thugs on his ass. Jesse was fast and
several paces away from them. He spotted the van
coming toward him.

Diesel grabbed hold of the van’s frame, leaning

all the way out of the door with one hand out.
Jesse’s palm hit his, and Diesel jerked the brother
into the van.

“Drive!” he called out, and Tank laid on the

gas, tearing up that pristine yard and laying rubber
on the driveway leading off the property.

Jesse dropped into the seat and the door

slammed shut from momentum. Diesel’s chest
heaved from relief. Only then did he turn to Selena.

She sat huddled on the seat next to the door,

arms folded around herself and head bowed. But
she wasn’t crying.

“Jesus Christ,” he ground out and reached for

her. When he touched her shoulder, she flinched
away from him.

My God, what did they do to her? His

beautiful, free-spirited girl wore a shroud of terror.

“Anybody have a bottle of water?” he asked.
One of the guys in the rear row handed him an

unopened bottle. Diesel uncapped it and put it into
Selena’s hand. She was pale, thinner and dark
bruises stood out beneath her dark blue eyes.

“Drink this, honey. It will help with the shock.”

His low tone urged her to wrap her fingers around
the plastic and lift the bottle to her lips. He watched
her closely as she swallowed the water, her delicate
throat working.

He dipped his gaze to her breasts. The dress

plunged low, revealing most of her cleavage. He
had no doubt if he leaned over her, he’d see clear
to her navel. Fuck—while she appeared to bear no
marks on the surface, he saw scars layered on top
of more scars when he looked into her eyes.

She lowered the water and met his stare.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded. Hell, all he wanted to do was pull

her into his lap and hold tight. But the way she’d

reacted when he touched her kept him from doing
that.

He didn’t pay attention to the guys talking

nearby until Dixon said, “We got lucky.”

Diesel glanced away from Selena. “That could

have ended far worse.”

Dixon’s stare slid to Selena, sitting so still and

quiet next to him. When their gazes met again,
Diesel read the acknowledgement in Dixon’s eyes
—she’d endured shit they couldn’t even guess at
yet. She may not be okay—ever. She might still be
lost to him, but at least she was safe.

He didn’t have near enough of the story. Her

frantic call had given him two pieces of the puzzle
—that she was being held and the address to come
rescue her.

He hadn’t hesitated in rallying the brothers,

and soon the clubhouse had emptied and the Dark
Falcons were at his back. Thank Christ too.
Without them, she wouldn’t be sitting here.

“Forty minutes until we’re in Mersey,” he told

her.

She nodded but didn’t speak. His insides

churned. Seeing her so changed made him want to
drive back to that mansion, light some explosives
and watch the whole place go up in flames. He
didn’t even know the name of the man who kept
her there or why.

Well, he could guess as to why. Was he some

sort of pimp, running a brothel or what? The mere
idea had Diesel wanting to break bones.

Silently, Selena quickly drank the rest of the

water, which made him wonder at what else she’d
endured. She was thinner—had she been starved?

There were too many question marks and no

way to receive answers yet. He tried to focus on
the positives. She was here. Alive. All their men
were accounted for and on the road home to their
loved ones.

The negatives flooded in. Of course he

couldn’t think of all the good things without the
bad. He wasn’t made up that way.

She was damaged, maybe irreparably. She’d

been forced to do things against her will. He still
didn’t know if she could forgive him for their
argument he couldn’t help but think started it all.

He closed his eyes against the torrent of

emotions surging in him.

Then he felt Selena’s soft fingers close around

his.

Selena’s insides shook, and that extended to

the outside. As shudders racked her, she gritted her
teeth against the painful sensation.

Kenzo, if he was alive, would go after her

sister again. Oh God, what had she done?

“Selena, what can I do?” The hopeless tone of

Diesel’s voice brought tears to her eyes. He looked
ready to jump out of the seat and battle Kenzo’s
entire compound of guards for her, and she had no
doubt he would do exactly that.

She opened her mouth, but her teeth started to

chatter.

“Fuck!” He wrapped his arms around her and

pulled her into his lap. God, he was warm and felt
so good—solid steel he’d used to save her—and
she knew he’d do anything to protect her, both then
and now.

She curled into his hold, and he flexed his

arms, bringing her tight to his chest. She hated
feeling so helpless and pathetic.

“I’m not…weak,” she pushed the words past

her trembling lips.

“Never,” he murmured against her hair.
“I bashed Kenzo over the head with a-a l-

lamp. He might be dead.”

She felt Diesel’s chest swell as he dragged in a

big breath of air. “Kenzo? Is that the fucker’s
name?”

She nodded, rubbing her forehead against his

leather vest he called a cut. The mark of a Dark
Falcon. The leather felt good against her skin, and
smelled good too, imbued with his personal male
musk as well as its inherent scent. She closed her

eyes and let him hold her.

“Y-you don’t know how many times I dreamed

of this,” she managed to say.

He made a noise deep in his throat, like his

vocal cords were severing. Then she felt his lips
brush across her hair.

A sense of calm infused her. He cared, and that

was all she needed right now. That and his strength
to hold her up until she could stand on her own. She
didn’t mind her moment of weakness so much
knowing that the traumas of the day would move
through her and she would be able to breathe again
soon.

The rest of the drive seemed to fly by, with her

snuggled in Diesel’s lap and his arms around her.
She’d forgotten how roped they were with muscle
and how his hard chest became her personal pillow.

When they slowed and stopped, Diesel

caressed her spine with his big hand. “Honey, we’re
here at the clubhouse. Can you walk or do you
want me to carry you?”

She was still wearing the stupid high heels. “I

can manage.”

The van doors opened, and men began jumping

out.

She started to slide off his lap, and he settled

her next to him on the seat. Slowly, she moved to
the door, got her footing and clutched the long

dress in one hand to keep from falling over it.

Stupid, useless garment. Now she wanted

nothing more than to set it on fire as soon as
possible in order to forget all of Kenzo’s
commands. When she thought of the man, she
envisioned his face in a state of unconsciousness
and her stomach burned.

She started to lower her foot to the ground, and

suddenly Diesel was there before her, holding out
his hands for her. She tipped into his hold and he
lowered her to her feet.

People began pouring out of the clubhouse, all

of them staring at her with shock on their faces. Did
she really look so horrid? She’d knocked a man
unconscious, escaped to the basement where she’d
spent a long time in the cold space hiding among
spiderwebs and dust. She wouldn’t win any beauty
pageants.

A woman emerged from between the broad

shoulders of two Dark Falcons, set her gaze on
Selena and gave a cry. Fiona hurried forward and
gathered her into her arms.

“Thank God you’re safe! I knew they’d get

you out. What on earth are you wearing? Come
with me. Diesel?” She looked to him.

He hesitated to answer. “Selena, do you want

to go with her? I can come with you.”

Her stomach hurt thinking about being

separated from the man she’d longed for so much,

yet she knew Fiona would make her feel more like
herself with a set of clean, normal clothes and a
hairbrush than anybody could.

She nodded. “I’ll be okay,” she said softly.
He didn’t touch her but searched her eyes. “I’ll

find you in a few minutes.”

Fiona enveloped her with an arm around her

shoulders and led her through the throng of Dark
Falcons clad in black and leather and a group of
women who hung in the club as well as the
members’ old ladies.

Selena had never felt completely as though she

belonged here, yet…it was a homecoming, and a
welcome one.

She allowed Fiona to lead her away to her own

home which was only a short walk from the
clubhouse. It felt good to be in the open Tennessee
air. She hadn’t had exercise or air in a month.

Thinking of Kenzo heaped on fears about her

sister. He’d go after Alexus. As soon as Selena
cleaned up, she’d tell Diesel the whole story and
maybe he could help with keeping her sister safe.

But as soon as she walked out of Fiona’s house

wearing jeans and a comfortable sweatshirt, as well
as borrowed sneakers, she found Diesel waiting for
her on his bike. Wordlessly, he handed her a
helmet.

She strapped it on and climbed onto his bike,

like old times. But nothing was the same.

Nearly an hour later, when they pulled up to

the simple cabin-style house tucked between
mountains and forest, Selena realized what was
going on—Diesel was hiding her.

She didn’t think she could feel more of a surge

of relief than she already had experienced twice
before—when she heard his voice in that dim
basement or after Fiona helped her out of that
godforsaken gown and into regular clothes—but
she sagged against his back.

He cut the bike’s engine. “This is my sister’s

place.”

“Does she know we’re coming?”
“I texted her before we left.”
She moved away from him enough to allow

him to climb off the bike, but her stupid legs
refused to work.

Diesel stared at her for a moment. “Honey, I

want to help you, if you’ll allow me.”

So this was what her life had been reduced to

—the man she wanted more than anything in the
world this past month was afraid of how she may
react.

“I got it.” She slipped off the bike and her

borrowed sneakers hit the gravel driveway.

He extended a hand but drew it back against

his side. “Come on. My sister is married to a

Marine, who’s in South Korea right now. But she
lives here with their two-year-old son Brady.”

She followed him up to the door. Before they

reached the inviting wooden entrance, the door
opened to reveal a woman holding a toddler in her
arms. She was petite with pale brown curls framing
her face, and it was obvious the big, strong boy was
a handful to her straining arms.

When Brady spotted Diesel, he threw himself

forward. His mother barely kept him from hurling
himself to the ground before Diesel rushed forward
to take him from her. They traded a grin and Diesel
turned his attention to the toddler.

“Hey, champ.”
“Fishin’!” he cried, setting one little boy hand

on each of Diesel’s broad shoulders. Clearly they
were cut from the same cloth, and Brady would
most likely be as big as his uncle someday.

Diesel chuckled. “You remember that, huh?

Okay, we can go fishing later, I promise.”

He wrapped his arms around Diesel’s neck and

squeezed tight, his little eyes pinched shut with
happiness.

Selena had never seen anything so beautiful in

her life as this boy’s love for his uncle. With his
father away, he was lucky to have a male role
model in his life such as Diesel, and the way he
patted Brady’s back revealed his love for the boy
as well.

His sister’s gaze fell on Selena. In one glance,

Selena felt the woman had sized her up, assessed
her character and sprouted sympathy for her
current situation.

“Selena, this is my sister Lily and Brady.”
“Brady!” the boy cried with glee.
They laughed, and Selena formed the smallest

of smiles. How odd it felt to smile at all after a
month of misery.

“Hi, Selena. Why don’t you come inside and

sit down?”

Did Lily see that she felt about to collapse?

Those sharp eyes of hers seemed to take in
everything.

“I was about to get this little monster a snack,”

she said, taking Brady from Diesel’s arms.

“Snack!”
“Go to your mom, champ. I’m going to move

my bike.” He gave Lily a pointed look, and she
nodded.

Selena had no idea which side of the world was

up or down right now. After spending a month in
the mansion and never going out, with no hope of a
real life again, she found it difficult to adapt to the
day. First, the van ride. After that, arriving at the
club and being in Fiona’s bedroom putting on her
clothes. Finally, coming to this quiet and peaceful
sector of the world seemed completely bonkers.

She gave herself a little shake and saw that

Lily held out a hand to her. “Come on inside,
Selena. Judd’s going to park in back.”

Selena stepped inside and finally drew a full

breath.

Safety.

Chapter Four

“Beer?” Lily turned from the refrigerator with

a jug of milk in her hand for Brady.

“Nah, I’ll have what he’s having.”
She grinned and set the jug on the counter to

reach for a sippy cup and a glass. As she poured,
she shot him a glance from the corner of her eye.
“You better fill me in before Selena comes out of
the shower, Judd.”

She nudged the glass his direction, and he

curled his hand around it.

“Thank you for letting us crash here,” he said

quietly.

“Always.” She screwed the cap onto the sippy

cup and handed it to Brady, who sat in a booster
seat pushed up to the table. Before him was a small
pile of crackers in the shape of penguins, which he
stuffed into his mouth by the chubby handful.

“Slow down, boy!” she admonished, and

Brady looked up at her with big brown eyes.

Diesel chuckled. “He’s looking at you like

you’re crazy.”

“Tell me about it. It’s a daily occurrence.

Anyway, enough about us. Talk.” She leaned
against the counter and popped one of the crackers
into her mouth.

He drank half his milk and lowered his glass

before finding the words. “She’s been held prisoner
in a house for a month. I lost contact with her—we
had a fight. I thought she was being stubborn,
refusing to talk to me, and I gave up after a few
weeks.”

Lily expelled a breath. “Any idea what she

went through?”

He shook his head, guts clenching at the mere

thought. “All I know is we need to hide out here a
while, as long as you don’t mind. If I think at any
point that you and Brady are in danger, we’ll split. I
won’t put you through that.”

She waved a hand as if their safety could never

be compromised in this remote home, and he did
wonder if she was right. Her husband never would
settle his family in a place that wasn’t safe.

“She looks frail,” Lily said.
“Fuck”—he pinched the bridge of his nose

with his thumb and forefinger—“I hate that
someone stripped her strength from her. But I’m
determined to help her get it back.” The force of his
tone made Brady look up, cheeks bulging with
crackers.

“You’d better chew all those,” Lily told the

boy, and he started working his jaws to crush his big
mouthful. She returned her attention to Diesel. “Do
you think this guy will come after her?”

“I don’t know if he’s alive.”
She blinked at him.
“I guess to make her escape, Selena bashed

him over the head with a lamp. She said when she
left him, he was unconscious. The world would
only be a better place if the motherfucker never
wakes up.”

He heard a click of a door and knew she was

emerging from the bathroom, freshly showered and
probably wrapped in the bathrobe and pajamas that
Lily lent her. It was just past seven in the evening,
but if he felt as though he’d lived through five days
in one, he could imagine how Selena felt.

Lily met his stare. She always had the keen

ability of reading people’s thoughts, and she read
that he was uncertain about whether or not he
should check on Selena or if doing so would
frighten her. The last thing he wanted to see was
her shrinking from him again. The times she’d
allowed his touch, and let him hold her in the van,
he took as a gift.

“I’ll see if she’d like something to eat or would

rather lie down.” Lily left the kitchen. He heard
their voices as they spoke. Then Lily returned with
Selena behind her.

His gaze shot to her. Christ, could she be any

more beautiful? Her feminine features and dark
blue eyes snared him like a hook in the guts. She’d
washed her hair, and it lay damp on the shoulders
of the terrycloth robe she wore.

Her eyes flicked to the milk glass in his hand,

and he raised it to her. “Brady and I are having
some milk. Do you want some?” he asked.

She gave a hesitant nod. “Yes, thank you.”
To busy himself and keep from either roaring

with rage or grabbing her and scaring her half to
death, he walked to the fridge and retrieved the
milk again. After he poured her a glass, he handed
it to her, careful to keep his fingers away from hers.

It was killing him to give her the space she

needed. For a month he’d ached to have her back
in his arms, and now he couldn’t even hold her
unless she gave him a cue that it was all right to do
so.

“Have a seat, Selena.” Thankfully, Lily was as

relaxed in speaking to her as she was to anybody.
He’d counted on that.

She sat across from Brady. The boy picked up

a cracker and threw it at her.

“Brady, that’s not nice! We don’t throw food

at people.” Lily shot Selena an apologetic look.

Selena offered the boy a watery semblance of

her usual smile and plucked the cracker off the
table. She popped it into her mouth and chewed.

He giggled and picked up another to toss. But

as soon as he caught his mother’s glare, he pushed
it over the surface to Selena.

“It’s so nice of you to share your crackers,”

she told him.

Hearing her voice spiked every protective

instinct in Diesel. He quickly drank off his milk and
set the glass in the sink. When he turned, he found
Selena’s gaze on him.

Her stare plucked at his heartstrings, and he

found it hard to breathe for a moment. Their
relationship might be over, but he wouldn’t leave
her side. He’d protect her and listen to anything she
had to tell him. He was dreading asking her
questions, but he had to know what he was up
against—if her captor would be looking for her and
how she got tangled up in the mess to begin with.

The idea that she was seeing the man ripped

his heart out, but he’d deal with whatever she told
him. This wasn’t about him right now.

After she finished a few of the crackers that

Brady agreed to share, and her milk too, she settled
her attention on Diesel again. He suspected she
might be ready to have a private conversation.

“Thanks for everything, Lily. I think we’re

going to sit by the fireplace and talk a while if that’s
all right.”

“Of course. It’s time for Brady to go to bed.”

His head shot up at the word bed, and Diesel

couldn’t help but laugh. He ruffled the boy’s brown
hair. “Tomorrow we’ll go fishin’. Sound good?”

“Yes!” He threw his arms in the air to be

picked up, and Diesel and Selena left the pair to get
cleaned up for bed.

He led her into the small but cozy living room.

He took up a corner of the sofa and waited to see
where Selena would sit. She chose an overstuffed
chair adjacent to him. He tried not to allow the
disappointment to snake through him. She was
damaged and hurting and scared. He understood.

But it hurt.
After she folded her hands in her lap, she

looked into his eyes. “Thank you, Judd. For
everything.”

“No need to thank me. I would have done so

much more to help.”

She nodded and directed her stare to her

twisted hands.

“I have to know if he’ll come after you,

Selena. Do I need to post my brothers on this
property to keep you safe?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I wish I

did. I doubt he’d find me here, and I’m guessing
that’s why you chose this place.”

He nodded.
“I’ll listen to anything you want to tell me,

honey.” His voice dipped low.

She opened her mouth to speak, but at that

moment, Brady raced into the room in a pair of
spotted pajamas that zipped up the front.

“G’night, Unca Judd!” He ran to a big basket

of toys in the corner, grabbed a stuffed bear and ran
out again.

When he looked away from the door where his

nephew had disappeared, he found Selena staring at
him, eyes soft.

“You’re good with him,” she said.
“We’re pals.”
“I remember you talked about coming here to

take him fishing, when we were…we were
together.”

Her words slashed his heart. “That’s right.”
She heaved a sigh that seemed to rattle her

narrow shoulders. Lily was right—she was frail.

“Do you need a hospital, Selena?”
Her brows slammed together. “No. I’m fine.”
He arched his brow. “You’re so thin.”
“It’s my stomach. I think I might have an

ulcer.”

“So you do need a doctor at the very least.”
“In time, I suppose. Right now, I only need

this. Being safe. Quiet. No guards pacing by my
room day and night. No…no K-Kenzo.”

He hardened his jaw.

“What if I killed him, Judd?”
“What if? You had no choice. You were saving

yourself.”

“Yes…but now I’m more afraid.”
“Why is that, honey?” He burned to touch her,

pull her into his lap and vanquish that tormented
expression in her eyes.

She looked at him directly. “Because I went

with Kenzo to save my sister Alexus. And now that
I’m not there, he will try to get her back in my
place.”

The double bed wasn’t large enough to

accommodate Diesel’s long body, and his feet hung
off the end, but Selena was too selfish to care.

She nestled against his broad chest and tried to

stop the tremors running through her.

At least now he knew everything—or as much

as she could manage to tell him. In time, she knew
it would all have to come out—either to him or a
therapist—but she was too exhausted to continue
dredging it all up.

“Shhh, honey.” He smoothed his hand over her

hair. His touch comforted more than she could ever
ask for.

“Judd.” She shivered in his hold.
“Yeah, honey.”
“I-I’m sorry for our argument. I realize now

that you only wanted to take care of me. You’re
one of those men who wants to give the sun and
moon to his woman and I wasn’t receptive to that
need in you.”

“No. It’s me who wasn’t receptive to the

importance of your career. I wasn’t thinking about
anybody but myself at the time.”

A sigh trickled out of her. Her job would be

gone by now. She had failed to show up for a
month. All her hard work, the long hours she put in
to prove she was worthy of climbing the ranks and
becoming director of the program that benefited
disabled persons had been dumped down life’s
drain the minute she found out what Alexus was
involved in.

“It was drugs,” she said suddenly.
His hand stilled on her hair. “Kenzo?”
She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his soft

T-shirt. “Alexus got caught up in it. She was using
cocaine, and when she couldn’t pay him anymore,
he made her his…” She floundered. “I don’t know
what to call it. She was made to sell his drugs to big
buyers. Wealthy people.”

“That’s why you were wearing that gown.”
“Yes.” She shivered, and his slow, comforting

strokes on her hair started again.

“Honey. I have to ask this. Did he take you?

Claim you with his body, I mean.”

She sucked in a harsh gasp. Her worst fear

brought to light, but now she was away from Kenzo
and it wouldn’t happen. Diesel would shield her
with his life.

“No,” she whispered.
He was frozen for so long that she started to

worry about his state of mind. Then he issued a
shaky breath and dropped his face to the top of her
head. “Thank Christ,” he grated out.

She clutched at his shirt, anchoring them

together in the sea of this aftermath. They were
together. And she still had feelings for him. If she
had any sense of his words, looks and actions, so
did he.

At the same time she lifted her head to look at

him, he dropped his stare to her. Their gazes
clung…held for eternal heartbeats that strung
together to the next and the next. Her breaths came
faster as her heart pounded.

“Judd…”
“Yeah, honey?”
“Will you kiss me?”
He closed his eyes slowly and finally reopened

them, the depths going from shiny to burning.
When he cupped her face, she leaned into his touch
and tipped her face up to his.

In slow increments he bent to capture her

mouth. And it was a mere brush of lips, too soft to

be called a kiss. He froze.

A gasp escaped her, and she pushed upward,

uniting their mouths in a harder kiss. He grated out
a primal noise, and she slipped her hands into his
hair and deepened the kiss.

He allowed her to shimmy on top of him and

take the lead. But that didn’t mean he didn’t drive
her crazy with his hands working down her spine to
cup her ass and draw her against his swelling cock.

Need blasted through her, an emotion totally

different from anything she’d felt this past month
and something she needed like she needed to
breathe.

“Judd! Please take me. I need you. I want your

arms around me. Your skin against mine. I want
your…your cock inside me.”

His gaze ticked up to hers. “Fuck, honey. Are

you sure?”

Her only answer was a kiss.
She tugged at the robe she still wore, parting

the flaps. After she found the belt and freed it, he
helped her push the thick cloth off her shoulders.
With only the thin cotton pajamas Lily had lent her
between her and the huge man she desired, she
went wild tearing off her top and pushing at the
bottoms.

He seemed to sense her urgency to be loved on

her terms, and he assisted her in yanking her PJ

pants off. Beneath that, she wore nothing, and he
shuddered as his hands met bare flesh.

Hovering over her, he looked into her eyes as

he deliberately covered her pussy with his big hand.
His index finger lay along her slick seam. “Mine.”

She nodded and surged upward to claim his

lips again as he burrowed his finger between her
folds and stroked her for the first time. Her hips
shot off the bed. She clung to him as she rode his
fingertip where it nestled over her throbbing bud.

He rubbed, stroked and swirled his finger along

her clit until the first clasps of pleasure struck her
core. She rocked upward. He looked into her eyes.
And she came for him.

For Judd.
Every wave of ecstasy that swept her up eased

the ache of seconds, minutes and hours of fear. She
gave a muted cry, which he swallowed with his kiss.

As soon as her final pulsation ebbed away, she

went for his jeans, tearing at the denim. He leaned
away from her and stripped off his T-shirt. His
leather cut already hung on a chair in the corner of
the guest room.

She saw the carved dips and swells of his chest

and abs and spread her legs to him. “Take me,
Judd.”

His eyes darkened as he kicked off his jeans

and boxers. His beautiful, long cock sprang free. He

gripped it at the base and lay atop her again,
angling the head straight for her pussy.

He stilled. “Fuck! A condom.”
“That’s the last thing I’m worried about.” She

hooked her ankles around his back and arched up.
His mushroomed head buried itself into her folds
and then he entered her in one swift jerk of his hips.

They shared a moan, and he took her lips again

as he withdrew. The pace wasn’t enough for her—
she needed more. Now.

She bucked, and he took the cue. Braced on

both arms, he looked into her eyes as he fucked her
with a quick, thorough precision. It wasn’t enough
—she needed the wild side of Judd. That man who
threw her down on a bed, pinned her hands and
sank into her until she was screaming.

She scraped her nails over his spine, and he

reared away. One look at her face and he
understood.

He grabbed her hands in one of his and locked

them to the bed. Drilling into her, he forced her to
look at him. Ten strokes turned into twenty, and too
soon she was coming apart for him again, this time
bearing her soul.

He took in her pain and fear and gave her back

the first hot spurt of cum. When the thick cream
splashed her insides, her pussy contracted faster.
Need wrapped them both in a tight grip, and she
kissed him with a brutality that brought out the final

spurts of his cum and her own orgasm peaked.

He bit into her lip, stealing her cry. And she

succumbed to the only man she ever wanted in her
life.

They fell apart, panting hard. She leaned over

him, grasping his glistening wet and still hard cock
in her fist. She pumped him once. He grunted and
shuddered.

“If I’m yours, then you’re mine too.”
He met her stare. “That’s the only way, Selena.

We do this together.”

Chapter Five

They exorcised her demons two more times

before she fell into a dead, healing sleep.

When the morning rays of sun streamed

through the window, he saw that her face didn’t
bear as many of the creases it had the previous day.
Only a tiny crinkle above one brow suggested that
she had endured anything.

But he knew better.
One night of wild, passionate sex wouldn’t be

enough to heal her. But she’d broken down some
brick walls, and it was a start.

He eased out of bed without waking her and

pulled on his clothes. Running his fingers through
his longer hair on the top, he used the bathroom
and then walked out into the kitchen.

He found Lily seated at the table with an

enormous pink mug of coffee. She slumped over
the table and cracked an eye at him as he entered.

“Now I remember you’re not a morning

person. Why are you up?”

“It’s the only quiet time I have before Brady

gets up.” She brought her mug to her lips and
downed more coffee. “Is Selena sleeping?”

He nodded.
“Everything all right?”
“Not yet. But hopefully in time it will be.”
“Momma?” the tiny little boy voice projected

from down the hall.

She looked up, prepared to go collect her son

from his bed.

“I’ll get him.” Diesel moved to the boy’s room.

The instant Brady saw him, he threw his arms up in
the air to be lifted. His heart welling with love for
the tot, he lifted him and held his pajama’d body
against him as he carried him out to the kitchen.

“Momma, I’m gonna go fishin’,” he said very

clearly, rubbing a fist in his eye.

She and Diesel traded a grin. “Yes, you are,

buddy. Later today. First, we need to get you
cleaned up and you have to eat breakfast. Why
don’t you go play in the living room for a little bit
while I have coffee?”

He did, running off the minute Diesel set him

on his feet. Lily slumped once more.

“You could use a break, sis.” He crossed the

room to pour himself coffee.

“I know, but that isn’t easy when I’m the wife

of a Marine.”

“When does Keith get leave?”

“Three months.”
He turned from the counter with a full mug in

hand. “Too long. It doesn’t seem fair. I thought I’d
lose my mind not seeing Selena for a month.” The
words broke from him unchecked.

She met his stare.
To cover what he just blurted, and how it

sounded, he sipped his coffee.

“You have feelings for her. Strong ones,” Lily

said.

Was there any point in denying it? Even if he

did, his sister picked up the vibes anyway. “I don’t
know what will happen, so there isn’t any point in
talking about it.”

“I understand.”
“What will you do next? You can’t hide her

forever.”

He slicked his fingers through his hair again.

“Tell me about it. But I’m a planner. I’ll figure it
out.”

“You could contact the police. They would go

after the person—”

He cut her off with a gentle, “Leave it to me.”
After that, their discussion ended when Brady

ran back into the kitchen with a toy that broke.
While Diesel glued the plastic together, his mom
shuttled him out of the room for a diaper change
and a set of clothes.

When he heard a footstep and looked up to see

Selena standing there, his heart caved in. God, how
had he forgotten how stunning she was in her
morning state, all sweet, warm and disheveled?

His cock stirred as their gazes locked. “Good

morning. Would you like some coffee?”

“Not yet. I was thinking.”
“So early?” His tease fell flat. She compressed

her lips, as solemn as he’d seen her the day before.
Of course one night away from danger and in his
arms wouldn’t be enough to shake the fear from
her.

With eyes downcast, she said, “I can’t stop

thinking about my sister. I know he’ll go after her,
and I can’t allow that to happen. The reason I
stepped in to take her place was to keep her safe.”

He stood and moved slowly toward her,

wanting to grab her and never let go, but he knew
she wasn’t in the right frame of mind for that right
now. That defiant tip of her jaw told him that she
was about to blast him with more things he didn’t
want to hear.

“I need to return to the mansion.”
Her statement sent him reeling. He fisted his

hands and leveled her in a stare. “No way.”

“Diesel, I’m not asking for permission.” There

seemed no rhyme or reason as to her interchanging
his name with his nickname, but right now it felt

like her putting a wall between them again.

His chest heaved. “I’m not expecting you to.

Sit down.” His command came out too harsh, and
he softened it with, “Please.”

She remained rooted to the floor a moment and

finally crossed the kitchen to pull out a chair at the
table.

He sank to the opposite seat and looked at her.

So vulnerable yet with a core of steel. He wouldn’t
allow her to put herself into that danger, though.
There were other ways to see her sister safe from
this Kenzo dude.

“I know you want to protect Alexus—” he

started.

“I have a plan,” she interrupted him.
“Okay. Let’s hear it.”
“It’s not only for Alexus. It’s to protect other

women from falling victim to Kenzo. I return and
we let the feds know that he’s dealing drugs. If I do
this—carry drugs for him—it will show the feds
when they show up. They can jump in and arrest
him and raid the mansion.”

He shook his head. “No way will you be a

decoy. It’s too dangerous, Selena.”

“Again, I’m not asking permission.”
He stood so fast, his chair rocketed backward.

She sucked in a quick breath in reaction, which
only left him feeling worse about frightening her.

After pacing to the counter, he braced his

hands on it and bowed his head. How to make her
see this was a terrible idea? Putting herself in
danger could be disastrous. He couldn’t allow it,
even if he had to bind her hand and foot and lock
her up in this cabin.

A long minute passed. “Judd… You have to

know what this means to me to stop him.”

He didn’t turn. “I know, honey. But you have

to know that thinking of you going back is killing
me.”

Diesel’s back muscles rippled even though he

didn’t move from his despondent pose. On the
counter, she saw his knuckles of one hand whiten
as he tensed more.

The black T-shirt he wore molded to his broad

shoulders, conformed to his spine layered with
muscle and hung at his lean waist. She knew if she
went to him and slipped her hands underneath that
cotton, she’d feel the warm, velvety steel of his
corded muscles.

“Judd, listen to me.”
He whirled on her. Across the kitchen, his eyes

resembled two bloodshot holes in his head, and the
breath snagged in her throat as she realized what
she was doing to him.

Slowly, she rose from the chair and went to

him. The minute she slid her arms around his torso
and tipped her head against his hard chest, he
issued a rough breath. He squeezed her as though
he’d never let her go.

“The authorities would keep me safe. You and

the Dark Falcons would keep me safe too.”

He bowed his face into her hair and dragged in

a breath but said nothing. When Lily and Brady
entered, they found them in this pose, holding each
other, at a standstill. Or a standoff.

Suddenly, Judd pulled away from her. “I’m

gonna hit the shower.” Without another word, he
strode from the kitchen.

Leaving her alone with Lily and Brady.
She turned to face his sister. “I’m sorry about

that,” she said softly.

Lily busied herself helping Brady into his

booster at the table and fetching him a cup of
orange juice. “Not your fault, Selena. I know my
brother and how he can be. Why don’t you sit
down and I’ll fix you some scrambled eggs. They’re
Brady’s favorite.”

He pounded the plastic cup off the table.

“Eggs!”

“Be patient, my son.” Lily flashed a grin at

Selena, and she relaxed into the chair, some of her
energy draining away too.

While Lily began setting items on the counter,

Selena watched, her mind elsewhere. On Alexus.
Was her sister safe? On the mansion and Kenzo.
Had he woken from that blow to his head, or was
she a murderer?

“I take it you told my brother something he

didn’t like hearing.” Lily dumped the egg mixture
into the hot buttered frying pan.

“Yes. I…told him that I want to return to the

mansion where I was held captive and try to lure
the authorities there to bust my captor.”

Lily shot her a look over her shoulder, one that

was neither surprised nor judgmental. “Doesn’t
surprise me that you’d want to put things to rights.
Some of us women don’t sit by waiting for people
to take action.”

Selena’s shoulders drooped with the relief that

somebody understood her motives. “Thank you.”

She turned with a smile and bustled the pan of

eggs to the table, where she served three plates.
“My brother will calm down. Don’t worry about
him.” She sent Selena a warm wink, and the three
of them tucked in to their breakfasts.

After a short time, Diesel emerged from the

shower, hair damp but slicked in his usual style.
Selena’s body reacted to his handsome appearance
with memories of how demanding she’d been the
previous night in bed. Giving herself had felt like a
desperate need. Purging all the small, too-intimate
touches that Kenzo had given her by using Judd’s

body had been exactly what she needed to wash
her clean.

Was she really planning to return to that place?
What choice did she have?
If he didn’t go after her or Alexus, some other

woman would become his victim. She couldn’t save
those who’d come before her and her sister, but she
could stop future women from becoming his prey.

She met Judd’s eyes and all at once felt the

need to give him space. She stood from the table.
“I’ll shower next. Thank you for breakfast, Lily.”

“My pleasure.”
Quickly, she made a hasty rush to the haven of

the bathroom. She wished she felt more at ease
with Judd, but his disapproval and lack of
understanding of her choices stung. She’d spent a
month believing he’d take her side in everything,
but that had been smoke and mirrors. Nobody got
along perfectly. Sometimes even when you loved
someone, you didn’t agree.

As she showered and changed into Fiona’s

borrowed clothes, she thought about how she
would feel if Judd told her he was putting himself
into danger. She wouldn’t like it. In fact, she’d feel
as fiercely against it as he did.

When she started out of the bathroom, she

stopped at the sound of voices. Lily and Judd were
talking about her.

“Selena’s strong. Don’t treat her as if she’s so

fragile. She can handle herself, Judd. She did for an
entire month with those guys,” Lily was saying.

She froze, listening, heart pounding at what

Judd would say.

“Dammit.” He cleared his throat twice before

going on, as though he struggled to force the words
out. “Thinking of what she went through… Lily,
you can’t blame me for wanting to keep her safe.”

Selena imagined his expression and the way his

eyes would burn as he spoke these words.

“Judd, you’ll be there to support her if this is

the course she chooses. And we both know you’re
strong enough to keep her safe.”

“Yeah…but I’m not strong enough to live

through her being in danger.” His voice cracked.

So did Selena’s heart.

Chapter Six

Diesel hoisted Brady into his arms and carried

him into the house. The boy was covered in mud
from the pond where they’d fished, and he’d licked
some mud off his fingers as well, but he’d caught a
tiny bluegill fish and for that he was wearing the
widest grin.

Lily turned to the door as they entered, dusting

cloth in her hand. “What on earth? Did he fall in?”
Her stare shot to Diesel, who also smiled.

“Almost. I caught him by the collar and hauled

him back before he got wet.” He set Brady on the
rug in front of the door and helped him strip off his
boots.

“Take off his pants too. Look at those knees!

Actually, let me take him straight to the tub.” She
swept her son up into her arms, and he kicked and
giggled.

“He might have some dirt in his teeth too,”

Diesel called to her, shucking his own steel-toe
combat boots.

He washed his hands after handling fish and a

heck of a lot of muddy little boy, and then he went
straight to the guest room.

Selena sat on the edge of the bed as though

waiting for him. Their gazes connected. His insides
burned for her. Did she realize how he felt about
her?

Right now, she felt out of his reach. Whatever

happened between them a month ago was not yet
healed. Heap on a pile of fears and enough
hesitation to stop up the Mississippi River and
Diesel didn’t know how to make things right.

“Brady’s happy,” Selena said as the child’s

squeal of excitement echoed through the house and
over the rush of water in the bathtub.

He gave a nod and closed the bedroom door,

watching her face to ensure the move didn’t
frighten her.

To his surprise, she relaxed slightly, leaning on

her palms on the bed. He flicked his gaze over her
beautiful curves. Lush breasts entrapped in the
black sweatshirt she wore and her borrowed jeans
that were just tight enough to pull across her lower
abdomen and tug into the slit of her pussy a bit. The
glimpse of that outline of her pussy lips had him
hard and aching in a blink.

He looked at her, letting her see the naked

hunger in his eyes.

She sucked in a breath and pushed off the bed.

Each sway of her hips as she neared him enticed,

enthralled.

He fisted his hands at his sides to keep from

grabbing her, stripping her and taking her in all the
wild and rough ways she had begged for last night
but may not want again. He couldn’t gauge her
mood.

Standing completely still, he waited for her to

approach him. She stopped a step away and tilted
her face up.

“I’m sorry for earlier, Judd.”
He gave a nod. “So am I.”
“I’ve been thinking about us a lot.”
Fuck, he wasn’t going to hold back.
He closed the gap between them, hands on her

upper arms, pulling her onto tiptoe so her lips were
a breath away. “I can see the outline of your pussy
through those jeans,” he rasped out.

A hot pink flush coated the crests of her

cheeks. “They’re a bit tight. I—”

“It’s fucking hot as hell.” He didn’t treat her

with kid gloves—he walked her to the bed and
nudged her down. She flopped onto her back, eyes
wide with surprise but her lip trapped in her teeth.

Leaning over her, he smoothed his thumbs

over that tight seam separating her pussy in a way
that gave him the bluest balls he’d ever had in his
life. She gasped as he traced her outline and moved
his fingers up to the button and zipper. With quick,

deft moves, he opened her fly.

With her trapped under his gaze, he slid his

hands into the opening and touched her warm flesh.
She arched upward, a shiver of a sigh escaping her
lips.

In one jerking move, he whipped her jeans

down her curvy hips to her knees and cupped her
pussy through the panties she wore. “You need my
cock right here.” He pushed his finger into her
opening, panties and all.

She thrashed her head on the bed. “Yes!”
He dragged his fingertip up her seam to her clit

and pressed down lightly. She issued a squeak and
swallowed it down so nobody heard.

Her knees were trapped in her jeans, and she

couldn’t spread her legs very far. She tried to
wiggle them down, but he stopped her by dipping
his fingertips into the elastic band of her panties.
The instant he touched the soft, wet petals of her
pussy, she bit down on her lip again, staving off any
more noises.

Placing one knee on the bed, he watched her

face as he tormented her clit. She went wild,
bucking and trying to shuck off her jeans. He knew
it would drive her crazy to be bound in this way,
and he was determined to make her come before he
stripped her.

He planted a hand on the bed next to her hip

while teasing and coaxing shudders from her with

his finger gently stroking over her clit. “Feels so
good, doesn’t it? Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

“I…want you!” She rocked her hips.
He swirled his finger over her bundle of

nerves, watching her eyes take on a shine of bliss.
“Not until you come for me, honey. Oh yeah, right
there. It feels good when I touch you like this,
doesn’t it?”

One heel stomped into the bed with frustration.

“Yes!”

He smeared her juices over her clit and dipped

down into her pussy to gather more. He barely sank
his finger to the first knuckle before she was
pushing upward to take his entire digit. Her heat
brought a growl to his lips, which he bit off too.

He plunged his finger into her pussy in deep,

juicy strokes. Her walls clutched at him. Then he
withdrew and coated her clit in her own arousal
again.

She stopped breathing, hips thrust in the air,

unmoving. He watched her eyes darken a shade,
and she shattered.

Her insides were liquid fire, her pulsations so

hard they stole her breath.

Fisting the covers, she rode his fingertip until

she thought she’d grow mad with the pleasure and
pressure in her core.

Diesel stopped strumming her clit, holding his

finger against it but not moving. That only sent her
rocketing higher on the need scale.

“Please, Judd!”
He pulled his finger free of her sticky clit and

stuck it into his mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her
head at the hotness of the man. She wanted to
shove him down on the bed and strip off her clothes
and his too, then rub herself all over his hard,
muscled body until they both couldn’t stand
another second and she slid over his rigid cock.

Slowly, he pushed off the bed. In one sharp

tug, he removed her jeans and panties, leaving her
panting and spread for him.

Next he took off her top and cupped one

breast in his palm for the scantest of moments
before he stood at the side of the bed and stripped
for her.

She held her breath. Still throbbing from her

release and yet aching for so much more, she
watched inch after inch of his ridged body bared to
her. She scraped her gaze over him, from his
rounded pecs to his cock, stiff and jutting toward
her.

“Come to me, Judd. God, I want you.”
He took her knees in his rough hands and

spread her apart at the same moment he lowered
his face between them. His hot mouth covered her
pussy in one big kiss. Her stomach hollowed out.

Her insides turned into molten lava.

He slid his hands under her ass, lifting her to

his feasting mouth and questing tongue. Need
exploded through her, and she forgot every past
moment of pain between them ever existed as she
gave herself up to him.

He ate her with slow, deliberate strokes of his

tongue, roaming from clit to core and back again.
He slipped his fingers into her, pressed on her G-
spot and sucked her clit until she shook apart for
him a second time.

Mind impaired by the rush of ecstasy in her

body, she could only input sensation as he locked
her to the bed and slid his cock into her.

Filled, stretched, out of her mind with want,

she began to ride him. He meshed their hands and
pinned them over her head as he took her mouth
and body in fast, thundering strokes of tongue and
cock. She bit off her cries of need between deep
passes of his tongue. His chest rumbled with an
unending groan as he plunged in her pussy.

Her insides clenched. His cock burrowed

toward her innermost point. He slammed his hips
against hers, and she pulled her knees up to take
him to the hilt. When she came, he was kissing her
with passionate swaths of his tongue.

But the minute she began to contract around

him, he reared back and let loose too. The
expression of utter consuming love on his face

blasted her with the realization that she loved him
too. As much as her fears had kept her from
feelings this past month, she felt them now.

And it was a love so huge that it shone bright

over the world, casting her life in a warm glow. He
released her hands and she brought them to his
neck, clinging as they rode the last seconds of their
orgasm together.

He collapsed atop her, and she closed her eyes,

inhaling the musk of his skin and the feel of his hot
cum seeping out from around his cock.

She shivered, and he rolled with her, pulling a

blanket over her as he did. With his hand on her
nape, he held her against his thumping heart.
“Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it, Selena.”

She stilled. Had she misheard him over the

hard pounding of his heart? “You’ll…let me try to
trap Kenzo?”

His hands clamped on her waist and relaxed

again. “I’m your protector, not your keeper. Yes.”

Leaning upward, she looked into his eyes and

saw the effort that had cost him. “We have to do it,
Judd. Not only for me and Alexus but for other
women.”

“I know.” His voice sounded tight with control.
She brushed a kiss across his pec. “Thank

you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t promised to

keep my cool, Selena.”

For some reason, that brought a soft smile to

her lips. A genuine smile she felt from the bottom
of her heart. Her grumpy, protective biker would
never change, and for that she was grateful.

Chapter Seven

“No go.” Brady’s stubborn order as he ran to

Diesel’s bike and threw his arms wide to block him
from leaving touched him to the core.

Slowing his steps, he looked down at the boy.

His heart gave an undeniable squeeze at the
thought of leaving his nephew too.

He crouched in front of Brady and looked into

his big eyes. “I’ll be back very soon, champ.”

“No go,” he repeated, not budging from his

position.

“I think he’s met his match,” he heard Lily say

to Selena.

“I don’t know who’s more stubborn,” Selena

returned.

“What if I take you on a little ride on my

motorcycle before I leave?”

Brady’s gaze ticked to his helmet tucked

beneath his arm and his eyes widened. “I wear
that.” He pointed one stubby finger.

“It’s gonna be big on you, but absolutely.” He

glanced at Lily with a brow cocked in question.

“Go ahead, but only up and down the

driveway,” Lily said.

Diesel held out the helmet in both hands.

“Ready, champ?”

He nodded so hard his hair flopped up and

down. Diesel settled the massive helmet over the
kid’s head. It rested on his shoulders, making him
resemble a spaceman.

“Oh my God. Let me get a picture first.” Lily

rushed forward with her phone out. She snapped
one of Brady standing alone by the bike sporting
the helmet, and Diesel crouched beside him and she
got one of the pair.

When the photo op was over, he sent a look at

Selena, only to see her chewing her lip, a faraway
expression in her soft doe eyes. What was going on
in her mind?

She caught his gaze and he offered a crooked

smile. To his relief, she returned it with a smile of
her own—a genuine one, not the canned, fake one
she believed he wanted to see from her.

He swung his leg over his bike and shifted the

kickstand up. When he started the engine, Brady
waved his arms. He reached down and plucked the
boy up, settling him in front of him. Leaning down
next to where his ear would be inside the thick
helmet, he said, “Ready?”

“Yeah!” he cried out.

Chuckling, Diesel started to roll the bike

forward. The driveway wasn’t very long, but it was
enough to entertain a two-year-old. Lily and Selena
waved at him as he passed. With a tight hold on
Brady, Diesel guided the bike to the end of the
gravel drive. There he turned it around and
returned.

“Faster!” Brady demanded.
He issued a deep laugh. “I don’t think your

mom will like that.” He had no idea if the boy could
hear him but he did give it a bit more speed on the
return trip.

They pulled up beside the women, who were

grinning from ear to ear.

“Momma! I zoomed!”
Diesel drew the helmet off his head and Lily

took him from the bike. He cut the engine and Lily
embraced him, planting a fat kiss on his cheek. “I
love you, Judd. Stay safe.”

With one arm, he crushed her against him. “I

will. You two need anything at all…”

She nodded. “We’ll call.” She leaned in. “Take

care of her but remember to give her space.”

He didn’t slide his gaze to Selena as he wanted

to, but he said quietly, “I will.”

Lily stepped back and the women embraced.

Selena ruffled Brady’s hair. She climbed onto his
bike and once her helmet was strapped in place, he

threw Lily and Brady a wave and they took off.

Home to Mersey and the clubhouse.
Selena tightened her hold on his waist, and his

heart soared at having her with him. Weeks ago, he
never thought he’d see her again let alone get her
back in his life. Though she wasn’t totally herself
yet, he believed in time they would find their
course again.

When they entered the city limits, he went on

hyper alert, keeping his eyes peeled for anything
different. He didn’t see a thing but when he drove
up to the club, he found the parking lot packed full
of every single member’s bike and then some.

Without a word, he parked and grabbed Selena

by the hand, rushing her inside. As soon as they
entered, everybody looked up at them—Dark
Falcons down through the ranks to prospects. And
a few members of a club in the nearby city, who he
sometimes organized rides with.

He gave a hard nod to their road captain.

“Bull. How are ya?”

“You just rode in here, man?” Bull asked in

return.

The prickles of danger raised the hair on his

nape. “Didn’t see anything out of the norm,” Diesel
said.

Fiona walked up. “C’mon, Selena. We’ll let

them talk.”

She plastered herself to Diesel’s side.
“She’s not leaving my sight. She needs to hear

what’s going on.” Diesel looked up as the meeting
room door opened and Dixon and Tank emerged.
Their gazes locked on Diesel.

“Somebody better tell us what’s happening.

Did those guys find out where we are?”

Selena gripped his arm hard.
Dixon nodded. “Paid us a visit last night.

Trashed two of our bikes.” He sought out the two
members who sat at a table with beers in hand.

Diesel steeled his jaw. “Why didn’t anybody

call me?”

“Figured the longer you and Selena stayed

away, the better off you’d be. If we’d known you
were headed to Mersey, we would have given you
escort.”

He pictured it, his bike in the center of a pack,

surrounded on all sides by steel and chrome and the
men who’d have his back to his dying day.

“Kenzo is here?” Selena’s voice rose to a high

pitch.

He looked at her face, into her eyes, past the

cloud of terror covering them. Putting his arm
around her, he drew her into his side, where she’d
stay. “Nobody is going to hurt you. Ever again,” he
told her.

She issued a shaky breath.

Turning his attention to Dixon, he asked,

“What’s the plan?”

Dixon glanced at Selena and then to Fiona. A

silent conversation passed between the couple, and
Fiona stepped forward again.

“Selena, let’s go get some coffee. Okay?”
Reluctantly, Diesel realized that discussing

their strike against the man who’d hurt Selena in
front of her wouldn’t work. He’d always trusted
Dixon, and he wouldn’t stop now.

Diesel hovered over Selena. “Go with Fiona.

Have coffee. Let us talk. I promise I’ll fill you in on
everything when we’re finished.”

“Every word?” That spunk surfaced.
“Every word.”
Seeing the promise in his expression, she

released her grip on his arm and followed Fiona
through the bodies of men to the kitchen located at
the rear of the club.

Diesel swept his glance over the room. “Start

talkin’.”

“Rankin and Pat made a beer run about

midnight last night. They said two men were in the
beer distributor but didn’t appear to be buying
anything. That’s when they got suspicious that they
might have been followed there.”

“What did the guys look like?” Diesel

clenched his fists.

Rankin described them both, and as he did,

Diesel and the others who’d raided that mansion
nodded.

“Fuck, that’s two of those thugs we knocked

out.”

Dixon gave a nod. “When they walked out,

their bikes were gone.”

His brows shot upward. “Gone? Where?”
Tank edged forward, arms folded over his big

chest. “Found ’em up the road destroyed. Looked
to have been dragged down the road and a bat or a
metal pipe was taken to them.”

“Shit.” He looked down and up again. “We

have to assume they’re still in town. So why didn’t
they ambush me when I rode in with Selena on the
back of my bike?”

“It seems like they’re biding their time,” Dixon

said.

“We’re gonna sit here in the clubhouse while

they’re out there waiting for us? Why don’t we go
after them?” Diesel looked from Dixon to Tank to
Patriot, who leaned against one of the tables where
Blade, Rio and a bunch of others gathered.

“That’s what Tank and I were just discussing—

when to strike. And where.” Dixon looked at the
men.

“Well, let’s do it. I’m not waiting for some

assholes to ride up to me and start shit.” Diesel

jerked his head toward the meeting room. “Let’s
make a plan.”

Without another word, Dixon headed into the

meeting room and took up the head of the table,
with all of them falling in around the perimeter
according to ranks.

Diesel clenched his fists on the tabletop, eyes

blurring with rage when he stared at the Dark
Falcons logo in the center and he thought of the
threat against their club.

Against Selena.
Twenty minutes later, they stood from the

table, a plan in place. When he walked out into the
clubhouse first, he scanned the rest of the members
waiting for the word. “The others will fill you in on
the plan.”

He strode into the kitchen, only to see a few

honeys fixing meals for their preferred guys. A
blonde looked up at him, a coy smile in place
before she even saw who he was.

“Where’s Selena? And Fiona?” he demanded.
“Fiona ran home to take a call from her

employee at the bar.”

His heart gave a hard lurch in his chest. “And

Selena?” he practically roared.

The blonde exchanged a look with the brunette

there. “She…went outside.”

He stormed forward. “Outside?” This time his

roar sent the women into a tizzy. They backed away
from him.

Remembering he was no monster who enjoyed

scaring women, he turned and strode out of the
kitchen. In the main room, he demanded,
“Anybody see Selena leave?”

“What the fuck? She left?” Blade flashed to

his feet.

“The women said she went outside. Six of you,

come with me. Be at the ready.”

They stalked out, and he scoured the grounds.

No sign of Selena. If she’d come out here and was
snatched right out from under their noses while he
was engaged, he’d never fucking stop until he
found her…or forgive himself if he didn’t.

Selena twisted her fingers in her lap. The van

carrying her away from the club and toward her
sister sped down the highway, out of Mersey.

Diesel would go ballistic when he learned that

she’d left. But what was she to do? As soon as she
spotted the man sneaking past the clubhouse
window and recognized him as the one and only
guard who ever cut her some slack or gave her a bit
of privacy at the mansion, she knew she had to
speak to him.

In her time there, she learned that her sister

had come to trust him. And he’d protected Alexus

in small ways from Kenzo, warning her when the
man was coming and to hide in the bathroom and
pretend to bathe.

She prayed the snap decision to go with

Anthony wouldn’t come back to haunt her.

She cast him a look. He shook his head. “I

know what you’re going to ask, Selena. And I don’t
know if your sister’s okay. I only know that Kenzo
raged when you left and her name left his lips many
times.”

Her heart clutched in her chest, and a

sickening dread took hold. They rounded a bend,
and he slammed on the brakes. Tires squealed, and
she braced a hand on the dash as their van rushed
toward a wall of motorcycles, a steely barricade
across the road, with Diesel standing in the center.

“Oh my God!” she burst out.
“Fuck! They’re going to kill me.” Anthony

tried to whip the van around, but he’d slowed
enough that three Dark Falcons ran to the driver’s
door, whipped it open and dragged him bodily from
the vehicle.

She barely had a chance to look away from

this when a harsh grip closed on her forearm. She
looked up into Judd’s eyes—fury radiated off him.

He pulled her out and propelled her away from

the van. She struggled against his grip and fast
pace, but he jerked around to glare at her. “If you
don’t come with me right now, Selena, I swear to

God I will handcuff you to me.”

Seeing that he meant it, she continued across

the road to the line of bikes. As soon as they
walked forward, the ranks of men separated to
allow them to pass and then closed the line again.

She heard a howl of pain and whirled. “Don’t

hurt him! He was trying to get me to my sister!”

When she took a step to return to Anthony,

Diesel locked his fingers on her wrist and pulled her
to him. She had no place to look but his eyes. Doing
so hurt, because she saw what her leaving had cost
him.

Remorse flooded in.
“You’re not walking away from me again,

Selena.” His voice came out low and so flat that her
heart joggled.

“I promise you, Anthony was trying to help

Alexus. He was her friend at the mansion, and he
told me things about her time there. How he kept
her safe and watched over her.”

“And you don’t think this could all be lies to

earn your trust?” He snorted.

Fury hit her. “You don’t trust me or my

judgment?”

“I trust you. It’s him I don’t. Listen and listen

well, woman. I will see you safe and if that means I
have to put you inside a rocket and fly you to the
moon, I will find a way.”

She bowed her head, eyes burning with tears.

“He said Kenzo’s going after Alexus. He said—”

Diesel hooked a big finger under her chin and

lifted her face to his. “I have no doubt he said a lot
of shit. But you don’t listen to him anymore. If
anybody saves your sister, it will be the Dark
Falcons. But we have another issue to deal with,
and that is we got word that Kenzo’s lackeys are in
Mersey and they know we left the clubhouse. Or
some of us did—we’d never leave the place
unguarded. I need to get you to a safe place before
—”

They both jolted their attention up the road to

the sound of shrieking tires. Diesel shoved her
behind him. “Don’t move!” he barked to her.

The first gunshot rang out, shattering her

world. This was all her fault—someone might be
killed because of her. If she hadn’t taken it upon
herself to save Alexus, none of this would be
happening.

She swallowed a scream as a second shot

exploded, and she realized the Dark Falcons were
not going down without a fight. Stealing a peek to
the side of Judd’s big body, she spotted Kenzo’s
crew facing down the Dark Falcons like some old
time army shooting at each other across a field,
only asphalt separated their groups.

Judd swiped out a hand, shoving her into

hiding again even as she saw him reach behind his

back and lay it on a weapon he carried along his
spine.

Her blood ran cold. She never knew him to be

packing heat. Suddenly, a vision of little Brady
running toward Judd, arms up, and the glee on his
face when he rode Judd’s bike slammed into her
mind’s eye. She gulped in a cry.

If he took a bullet and lost his life for her,

she’d never forgive herself.

She pulled at his hand. “We have to leave. Get

us out of here!”

“Stay behind me,” he said in a mechanical

voice, his mind far from her and centered on what
sounded like a horrific scene taking place in front
of them.

The pounding of footsteps sounded from

behind her on the right, and she whirled in time to
see three men running at her.

Judd whipped to the side and fired, taking one

in the thigh. He crumpled. Judd flung out an arm to
shield her. Her breaths came rough and fast as
sheer terror overcame her brain. What could she do
to help? What did she—

The men were on them now. He ducked a

bullet and threw out his leg in a move that wiped
the attacker’s legs out from under him even as he
pistol-whipped the other across the face. Blood
spurted from his broken nose and he bellowed in
agony, slapping a hand to his shattered eye socket.

Judd lifted her and suddenly the leather seat of

his bike was between her legs. He hopped on in
front of her, started the engine and took off.

“Goddammit!” he raged to the open air as they

sped away from the scene, away from his brothers.

“It’s my fault!” she cried. He had to leave his

brothers in order to protect her. If she hadn’t been
there in the first place…if she hadn’t left…

She would have crumpled into tears of anger at

her own actions if not for the need to remain
upright on the bike and take the curves along with
Diesel.

This moment wasn’t only a dumpster fire—it

was a dumpster fire floating downstream in a flood.
She grabbed at his sides, digging her fingers in.

“What do we do?”
“I don’t know. Fuck!” He zipped the bike off a

side road that appeared to lead into the mountains.
After only a few hundred yards, he braked. He got
off the bike and dug his fingers into the long strands
of his hair. When he looked at her, she saw the
panic in his eyes.

He stormed over to her again. “Where was that

guy taking you?”

“To my s-sister. He said two guys were picking

her up right now and taking her to Kenzo.”

He scraped a hand over his face, but it didn’t

erase his furious expression. “Selena, I love you

with everything in my goddamn being. But I don’t
know how to keep you safe and go after your sister
too.”

“Take me to the clubhouse. To Fiona. I’ll stay

there this time, I swear.”

He gave a shake of his head. “I created this

mess and I have to fix it. I don’t even want to think
about what my brothers are going through back
there.” He pointed toward the place where they’d
come from, and her mind tracked to the shootout.
Sirens sounded in the distance, and she prayed
none of the Dark Falcons had sustained an injury—
or worse—from her carelessness.

“I only thought to get to Alexus. I’m sorry.”

Her voice cracked as she bowed her head.

“Goddammit,” he grated out, and then he

crushed her against his hard chest. She closed her
fingers on his leather cut. After a long moment, he
hauled in a deep breath. “We’ll go to the mansion.
If Kenzo is taking Alexus there, we’ll step in.”

She lifted her head and studied his eyes.

“You’re serious?”

“Yes. It’s a risk. You’re a risk.”
“I promise I won’t do anything to put anybody

in danger again.”

He gently cupped her face. “You’re a risk

because my heart can’t take it if anything happens
to you, honey. Okay, we’re going now. When we

get there, you do as I say. Understand?”

“Yes.” They got on the highway, headed

toward the mansion, toward her sister…toward
what might be the end of them all.

Chapter Eight

“Where are you?” Dixon’s voice projected

through the cell phone into Diesel’s ear.

He threw a look at Selena, who was staying

where he told her to stay—for once. “Outside the
mansion.”

“We’re four miles out. Try not to make a move

until we get there to back you up, man.”

Dixon ended the call. Diesel stared at the

mansion, at the front entrance and the corners.
Kenzo wouldn’t leave his drug fortress unguarded,
even if he’d sent his thugs to Mersey.

Tank informed him that only one Dark Falcon

had been injured in that gun fight—thank Christ—
and it was Rio. Hell, he wasn’t even an official
Dark Falcon. He didn’t wear the patch, and if it’d
been any other man, they would have kicked his
ass out long ago. But something about Rio’s past
kept him from agreeing to join them. And now he’d
taken a bullet in the leg for them.

For him.
Selena pressed her spine against the wall of the

garage, her stare trained on him as if waiting for his
next command. He felt like a shit for ordering her
around the way he had—or speaking harshly to her
after she made that escape. Maybe he really was a
high-handed ass who didn’t deserve a woman like
her.

He counted down the minutes before his

brothers arrived. He wished to hell he was in on the
plan, but he knew Dixon would come through.

When he shifted to get a better look toward the

road, Selena grabbed his arm. “The cameras,” she
warned in a hushed whisper.

“I know where they’re at. We cut them last

time.”

Her gaze swept over his face. “Judd, I’m so

sorry about all of this. I not only put you in danger
but all your brothers.”

“We’d do it for anyone, Selena. That’s what

the Dark Falcons stand for—justice.” He also knew
the meaning of revenge. Kenzo was about to be
educated about the meaning too. “We won’t allow
anybody to be hurt or tread upon. We will defend
you until the end and you don’t need to thank us or
ever apologize. It’s the club. It’s a family. You
understand?”

She bowed her head. “I don’t deserve any of

it, as far as I can see.”

His chest flexed as he dragged in a deep

breath. Cradling her beautiful face, he looked into

her eyes. “You’re with me, and that’s enough. At
least I hope you’re with me?” It came out as a
question.

She threw her arms around his neck and

dragged him down so their foreheads met.
Breathing in her feminine scent, he allowed all of
this to sink in. The danger. The passion. Both
seemed to meld inside him, and what he wouldn’t
give to take her right here against the wall of the
garage while they waited for her captor to return.

She shivered, and he delivered a swift kiss to

her mouth before he pulled away from her. That
action took more effort than he expected. What he
wanted was to gently scoop her up into his arms
while plundering her sweet mouth and carry her
straight to the nearest bed. Who it belonged to
didn’t matter to him, as long as he could strip
Selena and lick and kiss every inch of her beautiful
body in the moments before burying his cock in her
tight walls.

Claiming her.
Forever.
Dammit, he wanted her and as soon as they

were out of this fucked-up mess, he’d tell her too.

“Here they come,” he murmured as he spotted

the Dark Falcons hitting the driveway. They didn’t
bother to cut their engines but were roaring up as if
they owned the place. Fuck—Dixon had balls of
steel with his plan, whatever it was.

And Diesel was more than ready to follow

their lead.

The world seemed to be rocked by an

earthquake.

But Selena knew it was her heart pounding out

of her chest with such force that her body shook
with each pulsation.

The instant her sister stepped from Kenzo’s

sleek black SUV, blood surged to Selena’s face, and
her vocal cords burned to scream her name. But
Kenzo took hold of her arm and led her to the front
door.

Where the Dark Falcons were waiting for him.
When Diesel opened the door to the man with

a wide grin, all hell broke loose.

They’d infiltrated Kenzo’s home with little to

no difficulty, and she had to hand it to the guys for
being savvier than millions of dollars could buy in
the way of security systems and armed guards.

Men clad in leather and black sprinted from all

corners of the property. Fights broke out.

Kenzo grabbed her sister by the neck and held

a gun to her head.

Selena’s heart stopped beating…and restarted

with a wild jerk.

“I have to help!” she cried out to the Dark

Falcon with his broad back to her, guarding her

position at Diesel’s order.

“Can’t let you go. Diesel will hunt me down

and kill me in my sleep.”

Terror shivered through her.
She glanced at her surroundings. The side of

the garage was heavily stacked with Dark Falcons.
Getting through the wall of men would be
impossible odds.

But she had to reach her sister.
There must be a way. I have to find a way.
Her gaze landed on the man in front of her.

Tall, muscular, a weapon clutched in his hand at the
ready.

But at his hip, he wore a lethal-looking knife.
She didn’t stop to think.
She grabbed the knife from his belt and took

off running. “Let her go! Take me!”

On the front stoop of the mansion, Diesel’s

eyes went wide with shock and fear. Kenzo
whipped around, Alexus flopping in his grasp like a
ragdoll. Her sister’s mouth fell open on a silent cry,
but Kenzo’s eyes narrowed in fury.

Exactly what she wanted—a distraction.
“Jesus Christ, woman! Get back!” The man

meant to be guarding her ran in her direction, but
seeing Kenzo’s hand tighten on the gun poised at
her sister’s temple, she threw up her hands to stay
him.

And with Kenzo turned, Diesel made his move.
Everything happened in slow motion. He took

Kenzo out from the side, which sent her sister
sprawling. She hit her head and didn’t move, but
Selena rushed to action.

She grabbed Alexus by the shoulders and

started to drag her to safety. She didn’t make it
more than five feet before her own bodyguard took
over for her, easily lifting Alexus and running with
her.

Selena looked up to see Diesel and Kenzo

locked in a battle of wills if not physical strength.
Diesel was huge and as strong as a bull. But Kenzo
was scrappy and used to fighting for what he
wanted.

Someone grabbed her, threw her over his

shoulder and ran with her, cutting off Selena’s sight
of the man she loved. When the police cars shot up
the driveway, she wasn’t surprised at the timing.
One of the Dark Falcons would have placed the call
as soon as Kenzo stepped foot on the property.

She twisted atop her perch over the biker’s

shoulder and she saw who carried her. “Blade! Put
me down! I have to help Diesel!”

“You’ll help him by staying alive, and I’m here

to see to that. Hold still before I drop you, woman!”

She fell still, not wishing to cause more trouble

for the brothers. When he lowered her to the
ground but retained a grip on her arm, she gave him

a frantic look. “Please help him!”

He sliced her a grin. “You don’t think he can

handle himself?”

Her eyes flew wider. “What? Of course I do.”
“Then let him do what needs to be done.”
She slumped, breathing hard. He was right.

Maybe Diesel wasn’t trying to take over her life
and force her to back down to make way for him—
he was showing her that sometimes people needed
help, support and a freakin’ bad-ass who could take
down a notorious drug dealer who had hurt her and
her family.

Her family…
She realized the man had Alexus laid out on

the ground not far away. She dropped to her knees
beside her and touched her pale face. Her sister’s
eyes fluttered but didn’t open right away. After
what felt like forever, she sucked in a quick breath
and opened her eyes.

“What happened?” Alexus’s gaze landed on

Selena. “Sis!”

“Oh my God, are you okay? You hit your

head.”

“It hurts but I don’t think it’s bad. What’s

happening?”

“Hold still. Don’t move until they tell us to.”

She gestured to Blade and the other Dark Falcons
member.

“Are you with them?” Alexus asked. “Are

they Diesel’s club friends?”

She nodded.
“And Diesel?” Alexus pushed into a sitting

position.

Selena stared at the corner of the building

where they were hiding. Everything in her ached to
go to her man and ensure he was safe and alive.

Instead, she looked up imploringly into Blade’s

eyes. “Please go help him.”

“Only if you promise you won’t try to play

superhero the minute I walk away.”

“I won’t!”
As if this wasn’t the tense and volatile situation

it was, he shot her a grin and took off running to the
fight.

Selena bowed her head, trembling with visions

of what could happen to Diesel. “I haven’t told him
I love him. But I love him, Alexus. I can’t lose
him.”

“Oh sis…you won’t.” She wrapped her arms

around her, and they took comfort in each other.

What might have been an hour or mere

minutes passed and Diesel appeared in front of her.
She followed his steel-toed boots up to familiar
calves, hips, that broad chest…and his face.

A cry escaped her, and she jumped to her feet.

He yanked her against him and kissed her hard and

soundly.

Tears hit the surface of her eyes and

threatened to spill out. “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“Me too—so I can warm your ass with my

palm when I spank you for going against my wishes
to stay put. What the hell were you thinking putting
yourself in that danger?”

She cut off his tirade with another kiss, going

onto tiptoe and clinging to his shoulders. “You’re
right.”

“Damn right I am,” he grumbled between

plundering passes of his tongue.

“And I love you.”
He went dead still, cupping her face and

planting his other hand on her lower back. He
raised his head and met her gaze. “Selena…”

“I do, Judd. I love you with all my heart, and

not only because you saved me. And my sister
too.” She glanced at Alexus, who had been given a
bottle of water from their guard.

Diesel searched her eyes. “I messed up with

you before, but now I know that you won’t sit back
and allow any man to be in the driver’s seat. Today
proved that if nothing else. God, to think of what
might have happened…”

She pressed soft kisses to his jaw and up to his

lips. The kiss they shared was long and deep.

When they pulled away, he searched her eyes

as if afraid he’d never be able to do so again. “I
love you more than my life, Selena. And my only
goal will be to show you how much. Every single
day. For the rest of our lives.”

She leaned into his hold, eyes closing on the

roughly spoken words that would forever be her
heart and soul.

The cringey, poorly-sung notes of “Happy

Birthday” drifted through the club. Diesel didn’t
know if his ears would bleed or if he would tear up
from the touching sentiment of everyone here to
celebrate his birthday.

He looked from his brothers and their old

ladies and girlfriends, to his sister Lily and his
nephew Brady, and finally landed on Selena’s
beautiful face.

His heart gave a hard tug at the look of love in

her eyes. The song came to an end, and he leaned
forward, gathered his lungs full of air and blew out
every single candle.

Applause rang out, and beers were raised in his

honor. Then Brady escaped his mother and wound
up in Diesel’s lap poking his finger into the thick
frosting on the cake.

“Let’s get you a piece, champ.” He chuckled

as Lily removed him from his lap. They sat at a
nearby table to wait for one of the honeys to slice

up Diesel’s cake for the masses.

When he got his slice, he twitched his head

toward Selena. She followed him to a corner of the
crowded room.

“Happy birthday,” she said to him.
He grinned. “Best one yet.”
“You have so many people who love you.” She

took a bite of rich chocolate cake.

“The most important one is sitting in front of

me.”

She flushed and glanced down at his words. He

found her still shy about their relationship and yet
fierce in her love for him when alone. And her
blushes only made his heart beat for her more.

“After the party, I have a gift for you at

home.”

He arched a brow. She must have seen the

intense desire in his stare, because her face turned a
dark red hue.

Reaching out, he caught her hand. “I’m sorry

to tease you that way.”

“You don’t even have to say a word and I

know what you’re thinking. It’s your eyes, Diesel.”

“Only because you know me.” He pushed

away the empty cake plate. “What do you say we
start our own celebration now?”

She glanced around at the party in full swing.

A few guys had pulled out some guitars and were

set up at the front of the room. Two honeys lingered
in front of them, swaying their hips in time.

Selena followed his gaze. “Why do they do

that? Throw themselves at you guys?”

He riveted his attention on her. “Because they

hope to gain any guy’s attention and become a
permanent fixture here among the Dark Falcons.
They want the protection. Many seek a sense of
family. We come from all walks of life here.”

She nodded. “It’s a lot for me to take in. I have

been on my own since I graduated from community
college. I don’t know how to sit back and allow
someone to take care of me.”

He squeezed her fingers and brought them to

his lips. When he brushed a kiss across her
knuckles, she shivered. “This isn’t about you giving
up control to me, honey. It’s a partnership between
you and me. I want you to know I respect your
career goals.”

She chuckled. “I don’t even have a job now.”
“But you’ll find one and when you do, you’ll

be amazing at it. Look at Fiona.” They both pivoted
to see Fiona seated on Dixon’s lap feeding him
cake. “She’s the most independent woman I’ve
ever seen—before you, that is. She will mop the
floor with any man at The Painted Pig, but when it
comes to her man, she’s there for him.”

Selena nodded.

“Catarina is a full-time paramedic. Aarica

works with special needs children. I don’t want to
harness you, honey. You had the wrong impression
of the Dark Falcons and what we want from the
women in our lives.”

She took it all in. “If you can slip away, I want

to be alone with you.”

Her soft tone hardened his cock, making his

jeans fit a little more snug than before. He stood
and drew her to her feet as well. Saying goodbye to
everyone took another half hour.

Blade thumped him on the shoulder. “You

know we’ll be celebrating your birthday for hours
without you.”

Diesel chuckled. “You damn well better have a

few shots for me.”

“After you have your private party, come on

back to the clubhouse and I’ll pour.” Blade reached
for his whiskey.

“I might do that.” He wondered if he’d ever be

able to pull himself away from Selena once he had
her alone in his arms, though.

What felt like endless minutes later, they left

the clubhouse. He went on high alert, scoping the
parking lot for dangers that weren’t there now that
they’d taken care of Kenzo and his cronies. He still
remained close to Selena as they crossed the lot to
his bike. Looking into each other’s eyes, they
fastened their helmets in place, climbed on the bike

and took off down the highway.

He didn’t immediately take her to his house.

Instead, he took advantage of the good weather and
sunshine, navigating the curvier road that led
toward the mountains.

Thinking of what could have happened to her

still threatened to bring him to his knees, but she
was here, with her arms locked around his waist as
they took the curves in sync.

When he felt the release of stress that only the

open road and his engine could provide him, he
headed for home. The minute he cut the engine and
turned to Selena, a burning hunger hit.

He flicked the strap fastened beneath her chin

and pulled off her helmet. Before she could even
gasp in surprise, he was kissing her. Thrusting his
tongue into her mouth. Sweeping her off her feet
into his arms and carrying her to the front door.

They fell inside together, fighting with buttons

and zippers. His leather cut hit the floor, the Dark
Falcons patch face up. He stepped over it and
walked her through the house to his bedroom. The
instant he flattened her on the bed and plucked at
the hook holding her bra in place, she cradled his
face in her hands.

Smoothing her thumbs over his jaw, she looked

into his eyes. “Thank you for getting me safe. And
Alexus too.” Her sister was in rehab a short
distance away.

“You had a hand in both, honey.” He dropped

a tender kiss to her chin as he slipped his hand into
her loosened bra cup. Her nipple puckered at his
touch, and he skimmed a fingertip over it, back and
forth, until it beaded into a tight gem.

He pushed his throbbing cock against her

cotton-covered pussy. She moaned out.

“I never got you out of my system, Selena. I

couldn’t if I tried.” He ran a hand down her bare
side, hooked his thumb into her panties and
divested her of them.

Naked, wet and panting for him, she raised her

head to stare at him as he worked his way
downward, dropping kisses as he went. As he
reached the treasure laying beneath her short curls,
he groaned with dark need.

He worked a fingertip into her pussy and

dipped his head to tongue her slick folds. She came
off the bed, instantly tense. Pleasure and need
drove him to lick and finger her to a peak so big
that any fears she harbored against being with him
would vanish.

She shuddered. Cried out. Twisted the sheets in

her small fists. When she bucked into his mouth
and came apart with a rough cry, he drew on her
tight bud with his lips until she collapsed to the
mattress.

Slowly, he eased his finger free, dripping wet,

and smoothed it down to her pucker.

She gasped at the surprise touch that he’d

never explored with her before but planned to
again.

He gained his knees, and gripping his cock at

the base, guided it into her tight entrance.

Heaven and hell wrapped in one tight sheath.

He tossed his head with a growl and churned his
hips.

Selena clung to Diesel’s bulky shoulders as he

sank his cock into her body again. And again. Need
spiked and her breaths came fast. Tingles of her last
release seemed to net together into one constant
thrum of pleasure, so when her next orgasm hit, it
caught her by surprise.

Ecstasy pounded her core. Diesel’s mouth

found hers, and he edged little cries from her with
each swirl of his tongue.

She felt him stiffen and knew he was close.

She opened her eyes to watch his face as his release
rocked through him. Dark sparks shot from his eyes
as he held her gaze. Each jet of cum filling and
overflowing her pussy towed her under.

When she surfaced from the moment, emotion

burned in her chest.

“I love you so damn much.” He buried his face

against her neck.

Stroking his hair, she soaked in the bliss of

being in her man’s arms. “I still have to give you
your birthday present.”

He raised his head with a grin. “You just did.”
She giggled. “Let me up and I’ll get it out of

my purse.”

First, he kissed her lingeringly and then he

sucked her nipples until she was gasping and
burning for more. But he rolled off her, giving her
the chance to slip out of bed and grab her purse,
which had been dropped inside the front door.

She returned to the bed to find him propped on

a pillow, naked and chiseled with his thick erection
in his fist. Her stomach hollowed at the erotic sight.
“Starting the party without me?”

“I’m too turned on. You do this to me, honey.”

As he spoke, he rolled his cock head through his
fist, squeezing a bead of juices from it.

Her insides squeezed at the sight, but she

wanted to get the gift into his hands before she
straddled him and rode that impressive cock.

She sank to the bed beside him and placed the

small, wrapped present on his chest.

He released his cock, and it bobbed on his abs.

He reached for the present and sat up in order to
open it.

When he pulled that off to reveal a big knuckle

ring with a black onyx stone and silver engraving
on the sides, she realized she was holding her

breath and sucked in deeply.

His gaze jerked to hers. “Jesus, Selena. This is

engraved with the Dark Falcons logo and my
initials. When did you get this done?”

“More than a month ago.”
He froze.
“Before our argument. Before all of this.”
He made a grating noise in his throat as he

cleared it. Looking into her eyes, he said, “It’s
fucking beautiful. I love it.” He slid it onto his ring
finger, and it was a perfect snug fit as she had
planned it to be.

She leaned over to admire it, her hair falling

over one shoulder. He caught it up and moved it
aside to expose her throat to his lips. As he teased a
warm path up and down her neck, she twisted her
body to align it with his and did what she’d been
aching to do—she threw her leg over his hips and
sank over his cock in one slick glide.

She’d never walk away from him again.

Epilogue

He might stay drunk the rest of the week. Or

month.

Blade raised his glass to his lips and sipped the

good whiskey. It blazed a path down his throat,
where it blazed as a small fire in his stomach.

Across the room, Rio’s little sister Juliette sat

with some of the other ladies, laughing. He couldn’t
fucking take his eyes off her and hadn’t been able
to for the past two weeks the woman had been
coming along to the club with her brother.

Juliette was a fucking ray of sunshine, granting

her heart-stopping smiles to anybody she passed.
Her big blue eyes and freckles spoke of an
innocence that he had no business thinking about
let alone touching.

He drank too much. He’d earned his nickname

of Blade from the scar he bore on his hand, a result
of a bad attitude and worse decision years ago
when he got into it with some guys outside a bar.
Thirty-six stitches had puckered the skin on his
hand and left him with a stigma for the rest of his
days.

Tonight, she wore a warm red top that clung to

her full breasts but was high enough at the neck to
not reveal much skin. What did he expect from a
kindergarten teacher? Why the hell was she even
hanging out in a place like the Dark Falcons
clubhouse? She should be at some elite country
club, being treated to elaborate dinners.

All things Blade couldn’t give her.
He was a fucking common laborer, hauling

bricks and concrete from one place to the next for a
living. Sure, he made the materials into something
beautiful by the time he was done, but he couldn’t
lay a rough, callused finger on a woman of
Juliette’s caliber.

Besides, Rio would have him buried in the

back yard the minute he made a move toward his
sister. How could he begin to explain to his best
friend that he wanted his baby sister with
everything in his goddamn body?

He shifted in his seat, and her eyes flashed

toward him. Big. Blue. Luminous. He couldn’t look
away…and she didn’t either.

Lifting a hand to her hair, she tugged at a lock.

After watching her these past weeks, he knew she
did that when she happened to catch him staring at
her. He assumed it was a nervous reaction, but she
was too polite to tell him to stop.

Hell, he didn’t know if he could. Even if she

kicked him in the balls, he’d get off his knees and

settle in the nearest chair to watch her again.

Maybe he was a sick pervert, lusting over her.

Of course she was well over eighteen, but his
fantasies of having something soft, priceless and
good in his life had long ago been beaten into the
dark recesses of his mind.

The son of a killer didn’t deserve those things.
Face it, Blade. She’ll never be yours.
He downed his whiskey, scraped his chair back

and walked out of the clubhouse. But damn if he
didn’t feel Juliette’s stare follow him until the door
slammed shut behind him.

THE END

UP NEXT: BLADE

Blade dropped out of high school.
He drinks too much.
He’s the son of a killer.
And he’s in love with a woman so sweet that even
looking at her too long will taint her.

Yet Titus, aka Blade, can’t seem to stay away from
the clubhouse, where his best friend’s little sister
has been hanging out lately. Laying a hand on her
would mean strained ties with his buddy…and
besides, Juliette is far too good for a man like him.

When Juliette isn’t teaching kindergarten during the
day, she is sitting at the Dark Falcons clubhouse.
She also can’t keep her eyes off a man named
Blade. The scar he sports on his face doesn’t come
close to the ones she sees in his eyes. Trouble is, he
won’t make a move toward her.

Then Blade turns to her for help, and Juliette will
never be the same. Except bald desire isn’t enough
to last for more than one night…or is it?

1-click your copy

SUBSCRIBE

to Em Petrova’s Newsletter to

keep up to date and for special reader features.

Em Petrova

Em Petrova was raised by hippies

in the wilds of Pennsylvania but told
her parents at the age of four she
wanted to be a gypsy when she grew up.
She has a soft spot for babies, puppies
and 90s Grunge music and believes in
Bigfoot and aliens. She started writing
at the age of twelve and prides herself
on making her characters larger than
life and her sex scenes hotter than hot.

She burst into the world of

publishing in 2010 after having five
beautiful bambinos and figuring they
were old enough to get their own snacks
while she pounds away at the keys. In

her not-so-spare time, she is fur-mommy
to a Labradoodle named Daisy
Hasselhoff.

Find More Books by Em Petrova on her

Website

And Follow On:

Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
FB Fan Page
Instagram
SUBSCRIBE
Bookbub

Other Titles by Em Petrova

Xtreme Ops

HITTING XTREMES
TO THE XTREME

XTREME BEHAVIOR

XTREME AFFAIRS
XTREME MEASURES

West Protection

RESCUED BY THE COWBOY

GUARDED BY THE COWBOY
COWBOY CONSPIRACY THEORY
COWBOY IN THE CROSSHAIRS
PROTECTED BY THE COWBOY

The Guard

HIS TO SHELTER
HIS TO DEFEND
HIS TO PROTECT

Crossroads

BAD IN BOOTS
CONFIDENT IN CHAPS
COCKY IN A COWBOY HAT
SAVAGE IN A STETSON
SHOW-OFF IN SPURS

Dark Falcons MC

DIXON
TANK
PATRIOT
DIESEL
BLADE

RIO


Moon Ranch

TOUGH AND TAMED
SCREWED AND SATISFIED
CHISELED AND CHERISHED

Ranger Ops

AT CLOSE RANGE
WITHIN RANGE
POINT BLANK RANGE
RANGE OF MOTION
TARGET IN RANGE

OUT OF RANGE

Knight Ops Series

ALL KNIGHTER
HEAT OF THE KNIGHT
HOT LOUISIANA KNIGHT
AFTER MIDKNIGHT
KNIGHT SHIFT
O’ CHRISTMAS KNIGHT
ANGEL OF THE KNIGHT

6-Pack Cowboys Series

6-PACK RANCHER
6-PACK WRANGLER

Wild West Series

SOMETHING ABOUT A LAWMAN
SOMETHING ABOUT A SHERIFF
SOMETHING ABOUT A BOUNTY
HUNTER

SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUNTAIN
MAN

Operation Cowboy Series

KICKIN’ UP DUST
SPURS & SURRENDER

The Boot Knockers Ranch Series

PUSHIN’ BUTTONS
BODY LANGUAGE
REINING MEN
ROPIN’ HEARTS
ROPE BURN
COWBOY NOT INCLUDED
CUPID COWBOYS
COWBOY BY CANDLELIGHT
THE BOOT KNOCKER’S BABY
ROPIN’ A ROMEO

Ménage à Trouble Series

WRANGLED UP

UP FOR GRABS
HOOKING UP
ALL WOUND UP
DOUBLED UP novella duet
STIRRED UP
GETTING WARMED UP

Another Shot at Love Series

GRIFFIN
BRANT
AXEL

Rope ‘n Ride Series

BUCK
RYDER
RIDGE
WEST
LANE
WYNONNA

The Dalton Boys

COWBOY CRAZY

Hank’s story

COWBOY BARGAIN

Cash’s story

COWBOY CRUSHIN’

Witt’s story

COWBOY SECRET

Beck’s story

COWBOY RUSH

Kade’s Story

COWBOY MISTLETOE

a Christmas

novella

COWBOY FLIRTATION Ford’s Story
COWBOY TEMPTATION Easton’s
Story
COWBOY SURPRISE

Justus’s Story

COWGIRL DREAMER

Gracie’s Story

COWGIRL

MIRACLE

Jessamine’s

Story

COWGIRL HEART

Kezziah’s Story

Single Titles and Boxes

THE DALTON BOYS BOX SET
BOOKS 1-5
BOOT KNOCKERS RANCH SERIES
BOOKS 1-6 PLUS BONUS
SINFUL HEARTS
JINGLE BOOTS
A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS
FULL RIDE

Firehouse 5 Series

ONE FIERY NIGHT
CONTROLLED BURN
SMOLDERING HEARTS

Club Ties Series

LOVE TIES
HEART TIES
MARKED AS HIS

SOUL TIES
ACE’S WILD

Hardworking Heroes Novellas

STRANDED AND STRADDLED
DALLAS NIGHTS
SLICK RIDER
SPURRED ON