Alena nodded. “Yes.”
“And you still want to go with him?”
“I need to,” she admitted, her gaze still meeting his.
Ice was glad she was really looking at him. She needed to see him for what he was. What they all were. She needed that reminder. She was theirs. She belonged with them and she always would. He knew if he said she couldn’t go with Pierce, she wouldn’t. She was a fully patched member of Torpedo Ink. She was a lethal assassin. She was also his little sister and his word was law.
“Storm and Savage will shadow you. Don’t try to shake them. That will get him killed as well. Don’t go near his club. He tries to take you any place they are, walk away. You get me, Alena? You walk.”
“I give you my word.”
Pierce hadn’t moved during their conversation. Soleil kept her hand on his back, probably because his voice was pitched low and harsh. Ice lifted his gaze to Pierce and waited for the man to look at him.
“You need to see what I am,” Ice said quietly. “It doesn’t matter that all of us are like me. You just need to see me. She will be safe with you, no matter what your club thinks about her.”
Pierce took his time looking into Ice’s eyes. Seeing him. Seeing the ice-cold killer that he was. Ice didn’t hide a thing. He wanted the man to know what he would be dealing with if there was one bruise on his younger sister. Just one.
“I get you,” Pierce replied. “And I saw you back when we first met. She’s safe with me. She always will be.” He held out his hand to Alena.
She didn’t move until Ice gave her a barely perceptible nod. She straightened again, a slow, sensual movement that set Ice’s teeth on edge. He believed in equal rights. Well. He didn’t mind his sister hooking up as long as it was safe. There was nothing safe about Pierce or his club. Ice had no doubts that Alena could kill him. He wouldn’t ever be expecting it from her, but she had some kind of soft spot for the man, and she might hesitate. If she killed him, she’d be running for the rest of her life.
Alena knew Ice. She knew he meant what he said. If Pierce did anything to her, if a single member of his club did, if she tripped on the sidewalk, he would hunt the enforcer down and kill him—and most likely it would be a slow and very painful death, because Ice could be all about that shit when it was called for.
He waited until Alena and Pierce had exited the game room and his gaze settled on his twin. Storm didn’t hesitate. He went out the back exit. Savage went with him.
Soleil watched the two men go and then she looked up at Ice. “Who was that man?”
“He belongs to a very big club and he’s bad news, especially for Alena.”
Instantly Soleil felt guilty. She liked Alena. If she wasn’t there, wouldn’t Ice have gone after her to make certain no one hurt her? She bit down hard on her lower lip, frowning, trying to think of the right thing to do. Alena had a family and they were clearly worried about her. Soleil had never had a family, but she’d always wanted one. She’d fantasized over that very thing more times than she wanted to admit.
She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay with Ice, with his friends. Why couldn’t she have met him a long time ago, before Winston? Just a long time ago, when she would have thrown caution to the wind and gone with every impulse she’d ever had? He was a beautiful man. Gorgeous. Sweet. He made her feel beautiful and hot as hell. When he looked at her, she wanted to strip right there and wind her body around his. She wanted to go home with him and be part of his very cool family. But she was all about doing the right thing, wasn’t she? Shouldn’t she?
“Will she be all right?”
Ice tucked a stray strand of her dark hair behind her ear. Just his touch made her heart accelerate. Her breasts ached. She could feel her nipples push against the material of her dress. She was worried about Alena. She wasn’t trying to be selfish, even if she did secretly want to get Ice so drunk, he’d sign the prenup she had burning in her pocket and take her to a twenty-four-hour wedding chapel. She felt guilty just at the thought slipping into her mind, but it had, and she couldn’t get it out. She could seduce him. She wanted to seduce him. She wanted him with every breath she took.
“You saw Savage and Storm slip out after them. Alena can handle herself, but just in case, they’ll follow. It’s hard to spot them if they don’t want to be seen.”