The room spun a little as his words worked their way through my consciousness.

Griff stays.

I balled my fists as nervous energy flowed through me, and in that moment I realised just what this family truly meant to me. I thought I’d always known, but now that knowledge was lodged in my brain, never to be forgotten.

Storm meant everything to me.

And for them to accept me, knowing the real me now...that meant even more.

As I processed that, I lost concentration and had no idea what Scott was now saying, but loud voices pierced my thoughts, jolting me back to awareness.

“I’m not fuckin’ staying if he stays!” Jones shoved his chair back and glared at me.

“Me either,” said Truck.

I watched as five more guys joined them, threatening to leave Storm if I stayed. Jesus, if Storm lost seven men, at a time when a new threat had just arrived in town, shit would not be easy.

We can’t afford to lose them.

Just as I was about to try reasoning with them, Scott thundered, “If you want out, there’s the fuckin’ door.” He pointed at the door while he glared at them.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “Can we back this up and discuss it some more?”

Scott’s head snapped around to look at me. “I refuse to run a club with divided loyalties, Griff. If anyone can’t fully support an official club ruling, they can leave as far as I am concerned. The vote to keep you was fair and square, and I won’t have a few members try to throw their weight around, issuing threats that fuck with that.”

I agreed with him, but fuck.

“I’m out!” Truck spat and dumped his cut on the table before storming out of the room. And then we watched as every other member who’d threatened to leave followed him.

Once they’d left, and Scott had regained control of the room, he spoke loud and clear. “Everyone who is still sitting here must fully support me, Griff, and the club. That means when a vote is taken, you follow it because you believe in this club and what it stands for. That means when we decide on a course of action to protect our club and our families, you follow it, no questions asked. That means you would lay your life down for the club.” He paused and looked at each member. “If anyone here wants out, now is the time to leave. With what Wilder has just told us, it looks like we’ve got tough times ahead, so we’re gonna need every member fully on board. This isn’t a time for fucking around, this is a time for taking command and getting shit done the way Storm knows how to get shit done.”

He waited a few minutes, giving everyone time to make their decision, and then he nodded, took his seat at the head of the table, and said, “Right, let’s make a plan. Nobody fucks with Storm and lives to talk about it.”

30

Sophia

I watched Griff from my kitchen as he worked on my patio. He’d been out in the sun labouring for three hours this afternoon so I’d grabbed him a beer out of the fridge and was about to take it out to him. His muscles had distracted me, though. He wore no shirt, and each nail he hammered, and each piece of wood he cut, caused his muscles to flex in a hypnotising way.

Everything about him hypnotised me – his good looks, his bossiness, his hidden sense of humour that he only seemed to share with those closest to him, his protective nature, his fierce way of caring, and so much more.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. Goosebumps flooded my skin from the way he looked at me – like he wanted to devour me. I held up the beer, and he jerked his chin in that way of his – the way that said ‘woman, come here’.” I loved that chin jerk.

As I stepped foot outside, a noise at my front door caught my attention. Turning to see what it was, I smiled at the sight of Magan traipsing down the hallway towards us. “Hey, honey,” I called out.

“I’m just going to use your printer, okay?” she said, and I nodded.

Turning back to Griff, I walked to where he stood and passed him his beer. “It’s looking good,” I said, looking at the work he’d done so far.

He took a long drink of his beer and nodded. “Yeah, much better. When I move in, we can use my barbeque. It’s one of the only decent things I own and it’s better than this one the previous owner built in. In fact, I’ll pull this one out completely.”

I blinked, and at the same time, butterflies whooshed through my stomach. “You’re moving in? When is that happening? I mean, we haven’t even discussed it…but I don’t mind…what I mean to say is I’m down with it, but I hadn’t realised we were at that stage in our relationship where we’d move in together, and I also am surprised you want to move into my house rather than me move into yours. And, wow, this seems so fast…are you sure?” I took a long breath and stared wide-eyed at him. I hadn’t even seen that coming.

His gaze was glued to mine, and I saw a determination in it that I loved. He was sure about this. “A man could search his whole life looking for a woman like you, Sophia. I know what I’ve got, and trust me when I tell you this, I’m not letting go. As far as me moving in here…it makes sense because Josie lives across the road. And as far as moving too fast…I’m not good with waiting for something I know is going to happen. I’ve already started packing my stuff.”

I smiled. “Sounds good to me, handsome.”

He drank the rest of his beer and passed me the empty bottle. “Okay, you need to move your ass inside, woman, so I can finish this job in peace. Not a man alive who could do it with you sashaying around in those shorts you like to wear.”