I shrugged, and Preppy chimed in before I could say anything. “Don’t get all fucking butt hurt about it, Bear. King doesn’t even trust me around her, and I only wanted to take her out on a date, and maybe put the tip in a little, but noooooo.”

It was a lie. I hope Preppy knew that. I trusted him with my life, and I knew he wouldn’t do anything with Doe that meant upsetting me. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want to slit his throat every time he smiled at her. Especially when every single day since the day I decided I needed her in my life, I’d felt like my every move had to be thought out around her so I wouldn’t send her running scared.

Or worse, accidentally tell her the truth.

“You wanna get this shit started?” Bear asked, holding out his hand he pointed to an old nightstand where several lines of white powder were already cut. I shook my head. I hadn’t touched anything but alcohol and weed since I got out, but Preppy stepped up and did two lines. He knew me better than anyone, and he knew that a bump was the last thing I needed with all the adrenaline already coursing through my veins. But he also knew that doing coke with the bikers, especially Bear, was like their version of bringing a nice bottle of wine to a dinner party. A show of respect. Biker etiquette, if that makes any sense. I lit a cigarette and glanced over at Doe, who was looking around the place like she was discovering the lost city of Atlantis.

Another one of Bear’s crew popped his head into the room. I recognized him right away as a guy named Harris, who’d been voted in just before I went away. “Bear, your old man’s here. He wants to see you and said to bring King and his crew so he can say hi. He’s back in the office.”

Bear chugged his beer and let out a long belch. He threw his now empty cup at Bump. It bounced off his head and landed on the ground.

“Clean that shit up,” Bear ordered, leading us from the room. “Come on, kids. Let’s say hi to my old man and get it over with.”

Bear’s dad was the president of the Beach Bastards. One day, he would take the gavel from him and become the man in charge.

When we walked into the office, the door closed behind us and a clicking noise echoed in the room. Preppy turned back to the door and turned the handle, but it was already locked.

Shit. Bear swore.

Behind the desk, on the far side of the room, a chair sat, facing away from us. It slowly turned, and where I’d expected to see Bear’s dad, was Isaac.

“Motherfucker,” Preppy swore.

Isaac’s feet were propped up on the top of the desk. He was caressing his long braided beard. A toothpick hung haphazardly from his bottom lip. His eyes immediately narrowed in on Doe.

Fuck.

His eyes darted from me to Doe as he spoke. “And who is this?”

I felt my face getting hot with rage. If I ever saw that cocksucker Harris again I was going to tear him limb from chubby limb.

It was at that moment I realized how stupid bringing Doe to the party really was. Isaac was a dangerous man, and although I thought I had time before he rolled into town, I’d known him being around was a possibility. I’d planned to send Doe to Grace’s house in a couple of days, at least until this all blew over.

Obviously, it wasn’t soon enough.

It was a complete lapse in judgment on my part. My brain had been put on hold because all the blood had been in my cock, which for the better part of a week had been deeply lodged inside Doe’s tight as fuck pussy.

“She’s with me,” I answered, keeping my voice as casual as possible. Trying not to let my words scream SHE’S WITH ME, IN A FOREVER KIND OF WAY SO BACK THE FUCK OFF OF HER, ASSHOLE. Instead, I kept my face hard and unemotional. “They with you?”

I gestured to the two blondes with sketchy looking matching pink BITCH tattoos on their biceps. They were making a show of touching each other’s huge fake tits.

“I guess they are,” Isaac said with a laugh. He clasped his hands together and gestured to the chair in front of him. “Have a seat, Mr. King.”

I sat and pulled Doe down onto my lap where I kept a hand possessively around the back of her neck. It was a gesture that said she was with me, but it was disrespectful enough to Doe to tell Isaac that she wasn’t all that important. She let out a surprised little yelp, and I rubbed the back of her neck with the pad of my thumb to comfort her. Her pulse raced in her neck.

Isaac’s gaze roamed up her calves and settled between her legs where I was sure he’d caught a glimpse of her panties. I wanted to cross her legs or throw her off of my lap so that he’d stop looking at my girl like he wanted to eat her, but that would show him that she was my weakness. Instead, I slightly parted her knees with my hands to show Isaac more of her. He licked his bottom lip, and his gaze met mine.