It’s pure bullshit. We all know men that dress in suits hide behind legit businesses. Most of them are bigger crooks than we are behind the scenes. I have no doubt good old Hank was the same.

I lean forwards on the table, refusing to believe his words, and hiss, “It makes all the fucking difference. That fucker has put Lucy on the radar of these cunts. We need to know who they are.”

And we need to know it soon. The longer they’re out there the more chance Lucy has of being found.

“Just keep looking,” Rav says, his rings glinting in the light. “There has to be something we’re missing.”

I appreciate him having my corner on this—not that I need it. I can fight my own fucking battles, but I want these men found and I want Lucy protected. As Rav said, Lucy is a loose end and if I was them, I’d want her out of the picture, so she couldn’t go running to the pigs. That puts her in danger, and that thought makes white hot rage lance through my chest.

She deserves better than to end up in some shallow grave, her brains blown out. I won’t let that happen. Not on my fucking watch. Not while I’m still breathing.

It’s more than that, though. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve felt something for Lucy from the moment she sassed her mouth off at me in the hospital. I liked her courage, her spunk. I got her number under the guise of using it in case anything happened to Sash or Lily, but I liked knowing I could contact her.

“Have you considered that maybe the boss wasn’t the target,” Titch says. His fingers move through his short black hair in a frustrated movement.

I scoff at the idea. He didn’t see her falling apart, her cries of pain for Hank. He didn’t see her shaking in my arms as she struggled to deal with what she’d seen. “You think Lucy pissed off some fucking gang banger and got targeted?”

Titch grits his teeth at my tone. It’s not often I’m on the wrong side of my brothers, but I feel strongly about this. Lucy is the innocent party here, and I believe her story. Look at what happened to Sasha when she thought no one would believe her. Don’t these fuckers learn anything?

“You that blinded by your fucking cock?” Titch demands.

I see red, anger pulsating through my veins. I shove up from my seat, my chair toppling backwards as I do, my rage flaring. No one reacts as I lean across the table and snag a handful of Titch’s kutte, dragging him up out of his chair. My brothers are used to tempers flaring, though I usually keep mine locked down better than this. Lucy is a sore point for me.

“The fuck you say?”

Titch stares back at me defiantly, not even flinching. He might be smaller than my six-foot-three by a good six inches, but that doesn’t mean he won’t fight me. The fucker packs a punch, too. I’ve been on the receiving end of his fist many times in the ring and worn the bruises to prove it

“Let him go, Nox,” Rav demands.

I curl my lip in a snarl and release him with a shove. He’s right, though, when it comes to Lucy I am blinded, but I don’t see her having this secret life. I’d know if she was lying to me. I grew up in this club, living and breathing the mechanics of it. I’ve seen my share of liars, including my own father, over the years because of it. I’ve dealt with more than enough phony people. I’d know. I’d fucking know.

“Why the fuck would she be involved in anything like that?”

“I don’t fucking know,” Titch scowls at me as he straightens his kutte. “It was just a thought.”

“Yeah, well, keep your thoughts to your-fucking-self.”

I straighten my chair and sink back down into it, my eyes still burning with anger at the brother. I huff out a breath, as my rage shows no sign of subsiding.

The rest of the meeting is spent discussing regular club business, runs we have and shipments that need to go out. I barely listen.

At the end of it, Daimon passes out envelopes with our share of the profits from this month’s takings. It feels thick, which is a sign we had a good month. I tuck mine into my back pocket as I stand.

“Nox,” Rav says my name as I’m preparing to leave the room with the others. I wait leaning on the back of my chair as everyone leaves the chapel. “There something going on with you and Lucy?”

“No, but even if there was it wouldn’t be your fucking business.”

His mouth pulls into a snarl at my tone. “It’s my business when you’re bringing shit to my fucking table.”

He’s right. I force myself to calm down.

“Titch saying that shit pissed me off.”

“I can see.”

“You honestly think Lucy is wrapped up in something bad?” I lean in and snarl in his face, “Maybe you want to remember what happened to the last girl who thought we wouldn’t believe her.”

It’s a low blow, but I make it anyway.

I don’t see the hit coming, but my jaw snaps to the side, the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. As I bring my eyes forward, I see Rav standing there like a raging bull, ready to charge.

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Rav spits out.

I grind my teeth. “She’s not fucking lying.”

He considers this for a moment, then shakes his head. “If you’d kept your mouth shut for a fucking minute, I would have said I agree with you. She ain’t lying. Sash would know. She’d tell me, but she swears Lucy ain’t hiding anything.”

“Then we need to keep digging deeper on the boss. We shake the tree hard enough eventually the fucking nuts will fall out of it.”

I leave church and head back towards the common room, my frustration still rolling through me as I step into the room. It disappears as soon as I set eyes on Lucy sitting in the corner of the room, her eyes locked to her phone as she swipes her fingers over the screen.

She looks beautiful today. Her hair piled on top of her head has come loose, strands dangling down and her makeup-free face looks fresh. She’s still wearing my clothes, although it’s a fresh pair of joggers and a tee. I like it more than I should.

I head straight for the table and she glances up as I come to stand beside her.

“Hey,” she says, her voice soft. “Is there any chance we can take a trip to my place today? I need clothes, supplies.”

“No.”

“Nox—”

“If these fuckers know who you are, they’ll be waiting for someone to turn up at your place. Can’t risk them following one of us back here.”

Her brow furrows at my words. “So, I’m stuck here indefinitely?”

“Until we sort this shit out, yeah.” She huffs out a breath. “Are we that bad?” I ask her with a twitch of my mouth.

Her head snaps up and her mouth parts slightly. “No. Of course not. I just… I would love to get back to normality. I really appreciate what the Sons are doing for me.”

I don’t like how small her voice is when she says that, like she doesn’t think she’s worthy of our help.

“Any news on the shooters?” she continues, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

I track the movement, my cock twitching. Having her this close without being able to touch her is torture. My need for her is so intense it catches my breath in the back of my throat, and although her words tell me she’s not interested, her body tells me differently. I can see the way she leans into me, even subconsciously, the little darts of her tongue as she wets her dry lips, the way her cheeks are flushed and the desire in her eyes. She wants me, but she’s holding herself back. She should. I’m not a good man. I don’t deserve someone as good as Lucy, but I want her.