Niro (Henchmen MC Next Generation 1)

"But no one has shit," Reign concluded after telling us he'd reached out to all the organizations in town. "Whoever they are, they are keeping their shit between themselves for the most part. Andi and Toll likely only got involved because Toll pulled a gun. And Andi had the bad luck of looking like someone who could handle a gunshot wound."

"It's probably a good sign that they let her go with just a threat," Renny, Hope's profiling father, concluded. "They're not trying to start shit. We've run across some cartels over the years in passing. They don't leave witnesses. For fuck's sake, look at that one who gathered up a group of their own prostitutes and beheaded them one by one on video just to prove how ruthless they were."

"So, what?" Fallon asked, straightening. "You're suggesting we don't let them know that touching someone who belongs to us is un-fucking-acceptable?"

"I'm saying they had no way of knowing Andi was ours," Renny insisted. "She's been away for, what, eight years? Anyone new in town wouldn't know who she is. And, on top of that, she was just some random woman on the street in scrubs that they thought would be useful. If we follow that logic, killing her would be the smartest course of action for them. They didn't do that."

"Maybe only because they eventually found out who she was," I suggested. "And they didn't want that trouble."

But here we were, about to bring it to their door.

I was torn between the urge to put a bullet in the head of anyone who scared Andi, who made her feel like she couldn't turn to us, turn to me, in this situation, and the urge not to escalate this into a full-out war if it didn't need to go there.

That said, I wasn't the one in charge.

And Reign and Fallon seemed to both agree that we needed to show up and make it clear that you didn't threaten one of our people. Because, regardless of the actual kidnapping aspect when they didn't know who she was, they had known about her connection to the club when they'd told her to keep her mouth shut.

"Don't go," a voice said from behind me another hour or so after that.

"Baby, I have to," I told her, voice low as I turned, finding her leaning in the doorway that led from the bedrooms into the common area.

"No, you don't. You can stay. There are more than enough of them to go. You can stay."

Taking a deep breath, I led her back toward my room, moving us both inside, and leaned back against the door.

This was what I had reminded myself of all those years when I told myself it was in her best interest not to be involved with me. That she was softer, that she was sweeter, that she wasn't cut out for the club life. And that my life would always be attached to it.

"I can't." I usually liked a softer approach to hard truths with her, but this was just not somewhere that I could do that. My life as a biker was the metaphorical band-aid that needed to be ripped off.

"Someone needs to stay here to protect everyone."

"It wasn't my place to pick who is staying. You know how the club works, Andi."

"I know," she agreed, chewing her lower lip as she dropped down on the side of the bed. "I guess this just feels different. I mean I always worried about my dad too, but not like this. I think I need to call my mom and apologize for anytime I got on her nerves when Dad was on a run or dealing with some drama with the club."

"Please. You've never gotten on anyone's nerves," I assured her.

"Knock knock," a voice said from behind me, making me move off of the door. "Am I too late? Are you already doing it?" Billie's voice asked even as she opened the door.

"If we were, you'd be interrupting right now," I reminded her.

"If you were, I would seriously wonder if you were doing it right since I didn't hear any love sounds through the door," she said, moving inside.

"What is that?" Andi asked, eyeing the box in her hands dubiously.

"I'm glad you asked. I have some fun things for you two to play with together."

"Oh, God," Andi whimpered, looking over at me with wide eyes, begging for help.

"Did you stop at your aunt's sex store?" I asked, wondering who she could have conned into that on the way back.

"What? No."

"So you're walking around with, ah, sex stuff on you at all times?" Andi asked, brows drawing together.

"No. Well, yes, of course. I mean who doesn't shove a couple different kinds of condoms and lube and a little bullet for some lunch break sexual frustration easement?" she asked, and I could tell from Andi's parted lips that she definitely didn't. "No, all this was in my trunk. We have some flavored love lotion," she said, tossing one onto the bed. "Oh, and this one is flavored and warms up. Great for a massage and for, well, you can imagine," she told her, wiggling her eyebrows.