“What kind of fucking trap?”
“Well, Dec concluded that the body found around town was different from uh...” I waved my hand in a circle hoping he would speed it up. “Different from the other bodies found on theranch. Karlyn has a serial killer hunting her. Ravage knew who it was, so he took Karlyn camping—”
“He’s fucking camping?!” I shouted.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “So let me get this straight. I have one brother, whose wife is ready to drop his kid any fucking second, and he’s traipsing around in the goddamn woods? And another brother who decides to go camping while a fucking serial killer is hunting his woman?”
“That about sums it up, Prez.”
I turned to glare at Romeo. I inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly as I silently counted to ten.
“When they get back,” I said with a calm I didn’t feel, “I want to know. Other than that, don’t fucking bother me unless someone is dead.” I stalked toward the hallway but turned back to the room and added, “Or if Maureen goes into labor and you can’t find her asshole husband.”
Shifting on the bed, I put my head in my hand, resting on my elbow. I stared at Grace. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on in her head. For years, we’d fought about being together. She didn’t understand why I couldn’t claim her. And I didn’t understand what the fuck she didn’t get.
There were rules I had to follow, especially if I expected my men to follow those same rules. Not to mention the fact that she was too fucking good for me.
I didn’t deserve her.
She was so fucking perfect.
My blonde bombshell.
And she was finally mine.
Mine to hold.
Mine to protect.
Mine to love the way she deserved to be loved.
I might never do something that made me worthy of her, but fuck if I was giving her up now. I was happier than I should have been, knowing that Steele wasn’t her father. I’d need to get Nav on it and see if he could track down who was. It might make me an asshole, but I hoped whoever he was, he was fucking dead already.
Grace stirred beside me, and my eyes roamed over her face as she stretched and looked up at me.
“It’s always been you, Grace. From the first moment I saw you behind the bar, men swarming around you hoping you would notice them. But I’m the lucky son of a bitch who took you home.”
Her eyes closed, shame flitting over her features, and I knew what she was thinking about.
“I noticed you the second you walked in,” she confessed. “I’d had a plan. I was so stupid.” Her eyes opened, and she stared at me. With tears in her eyes, she added, “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you.”
I leaned down and kissed her. “I love you, Grace.”
Her expression changed then to one of concern. “You said nothing had changed.”
“I meant my feelings for you.” My fingers grazed her cheek, and she leaned into my hand. “It doesn’t matter to me who the fuck your father is. You’re mine now, and I’m never letting you go.”
“And what happens if my father is the president of another club?”
I shook my head. “I don’t fucking care. I’ve already claimed you at the table. Jack will have your cut tomorrow, and I’m gonna put a fucking ring on your finger before the bastard, whoever the fuck he is, comes looking for you.”
“And what if I don’t want all that?” she asked.
“I don’t fucking care.”
“I want to believe you, King, but the moment you thought Steele was my father, you pushed me away. I can’t handle being pushed away again.”
“Steele was my president. I know I’ve said this before, but there are rules, baby. Rules I have to follow.” I paused before I told her everything. I needed her to know what happened. “The man you met—Jude. His road name is Chasm. He was my best friend. He’d joined the club a year before I did and worked his way up to enforcer as I worked my way up to road captain. We used to talk about branching off. Starting another chapter. Neither of us wanted to be in the club when Steele eventually took over from Titan. I’d talked to Titan about it. He hadn’t planned for Steele to take over. He didn’t trust him. His own fucking son. Titan had planned to have the charter changed. He wanted me to take over from him. And Chasm would have been my VP.”
