“I can carry that,” Lucy says, trying to reach for it.

I pull it away from her, which earns me a cute as fuck scowl.

“I know.”

I start down the stairs, chuckling at her tutting. I feel her at my back, hear her softer footfalls as she follows me, and while I’d rather be behind her and watch that arse of hers swaying from side to side, I’m not letting her go first in case there’s trouble—not that I think there will be. My brothers would have let me know if anything was going on. Not many people will come against us. We don’t have the reputation we have from shitting rainbows.

When I open the front door, I do it carefully, peering through the small gap. There’s nothing moving outside, so I open it fully, stepping out, my eyes scanning the horizon for trouble. I wait for her to lock up the flat, my back to her, making sure nothing is going to attack us from the front. She pockets her keys and while I’m itching to take her hand, I don’t. I need it free in case I need to reach for the gun hidden under my kutte.

We hurry down the walkway towards the stairs and I keep my body positioned in a way it protects Lucy. My eyes scan our surroundings, looking for trouble, but I can see my two brothers standing in the parking area, alert, but relaxed.

My galloping heart slows to a trot, but I still don’t let my guard down. I’m no stranger to violence—even death. I never cared if something happened to me. It’s part of this life, an expectation even. You ride hard and take risks, eventually they bite you on the arse. I’ve been shot at over the years, run into more brawls than I can count, headed into a rival club’s clubhouse unarmed to save my president who was being tortured. Hell, I even laid my bike down trying to escape a firefight. I’m not scared of dying.

At least I wasn’t until Lucy came into my life.

Now, the thought of being without her makes my blood turn to ice. I don’t know what to do with this thought either. There’s plenty of people I care about in this world, that I’d die to protect, including my sister, Bailey, and two nieces, but Lucy is different. She gives my entire being meaning.

Day and Titch straighten as we approach.

“Done?” Day asks, crushing the cigarette he’s smoking under a heavy motorcycle boot before blowing out the smoke. He drags a hand through his shaggy hair, pushing it back from his face.

“Yeah.”

I hand him Lucy’s bag. He takes it from me and secures it to the back of his bike while I place the helmet on Lucy’s head and quickly fasten it. Her eyes meet mine and I see the fear there, and it fucking pisses me off seeing it. Those fuckers have her terrified of her own shadow. She’s not the same Lucy who stood between me and Sasha in the hospital, spitting fire. Oh, she’d been scared then too. I’d seen it in her eyes, but there was a strength there as well. That’s being slowly eroded the longer her boss’s assassins remain out there.

Once her helmet is secured, I throw my leg over the bike and sit my arse down. Lucy doesn’t hesitate this time to get on behind me and I can feel the tension in her limbs as her hands wrap around my waist.

I rub her arm, trying to assure her I won’t let anything happen to her, and she snuggles against my back.

Glancing at my brothers, I nod and the three of us gun it out of the car park. London traffic is, as always, a fucking bitch, but we weave between the taxis and buses, moving as quickly as we can. A group of tourists step out in front of my bike, and I have to weave around them to avoid a collision. I hear Titch yelling shit at them as I race on ahead, checking my mirrors to make sure both he and Day follow me.

My heart is in my throat until the gates of the compound come into view and when Kyle opens it to us only then do I start to relax. When I pull my bike into my space, Lucy releases her hold on me, and it leaves me feeling cold. I don’t like it. I want her back in my sphere, but she’s already using my shoulders to climb off the bike.

There’s relief in her eyes as she gets her feet back onto solid ground and starts to unfasten the helmet. Day drops Lucy’s bag at my feet and gives me a chin lift before he and Titch head inside.

Once we’re alone, I turn my attention back to Lucy.

“Okay?” I ask her, tipping her chin up when her gaze goes to the tarmac.

I watch her tongue dip out and wet her bottom lip. The movement is hypnotic and it makes my dick twitch in my jeans as I imagine sucking it into my mouth.

“I hate this,” she says.

“It won’t be forever.” Just until we find the fuckers who killed her boss and take them out of the equation.

“I don’t want you getting hurt… not because of me.”

I can’t help it, I laugh. “Baby, the only people getting hurt will be the fuckers who took out Hank.”

She flinches at my words and I pull her into my arms, needing to feel her softness, her warmth. Needing to assure her things will be okay.

“I won’t let shit touch you, Luce, I promise.”

“I know,” she whispers and I kiss her hair.

It’s a promise I fully intend to keep. Nothing and no one is going to fucking touch her.

15

Lucy

As soon as we get inside, Nox’s phone starts to bleep. He pulls it out and scowls at the screen.

“Fuck, baby, I’ve got some shit I’ve got to take care of. Leave your bag here. I’ll have the prospect bring it up to your room.”

I nod, even though I have absolutely no intention of leaving my things here. Before I can do anything, his mouth is clamped over mine and he’s kissing me until my legs are trembling. Everything about this man turns me soft, takes all the fight out of me. I forget that I’m trying to survive, that I’m on the run, that I have to leave. I forget everything but the feel of him against me, the way he makes my head spin and my frantic butterflies beat against my stomach. Fuck, I forget how selfish wanting him makes me because Nox fills my heart, my soul, my everything completely. I don’t know that I can exist without him. He filled that hole inside me with light. For once my darkness is gone, and that’s his doing. How can I give up a man who makes me feel like I can do anything—that I can be anything?

Because I have to.

Staying puts Nox’s life at risk. Staying puts the club at risk too—a club Sasha and Lily-May are a part of. No, I need to leave and I need to do it sooner rather than later. I’ve already stayed too long. I’ve already allowed myself too much time because I got caught up in a dream that can never ever be. Nox will never be mine, no matter how much I want him, no matter how much he wants me. I don’t belong in his world, and the sooner both of us realise that the better. He looks at me like I’m an angel. Does he not realise they’re not wings but claws?

He pulls back, breathing hard, his eyes molten as he takes me in. His need for me terrifies me. Eventually, I’m going to break his heart and I fucking hate myself for it, but what choice do I have? I can’t tell him the truth. His club will use me as leverage against my husband. There’s no love lost between Isaac and any other gangs or clubs that operate in London. Isaac always had delusions of grandeur. He wanted to rule the entire capital with an iron-fist, but he could never expand too far because there’s so many gangs and clubs operating here. I doubt that has changed, just as I doubt his will to be crowned king has either. My husband likes to collect things, including territory and people. I’m just one of the many things he’s collected over the years.