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Chapter One

Rooster

“All clear,” Jumper calls, sauntering out of the little yellow cottage in front of me with a damn smirk on his face and his usual amount of cocky swagger. I roll my eyes trying like hell to bite back my irritation.

He’s so fucking glib.

The work we do with the club has real life or death consequences but looking at him, you’d never know it. This asshole never takes anything seriously so why would this be any different? It’s not like a woman’s life is on the line or anything.

Oh, wait.

It is.

Rolling my shoulders in an attempt to work some of the tension out, I turn to Raya - the woman my brothers and I are helping today. She stares up at the place she’s called home for the last four years, painful memories haunting her green eyes.

Nine months ago, Raya first approached the club, asking for help to get away from her piece of shit boyfriend, Derek. She had semi healed bruises all over her arms and trembled anytime one of us got too close or moved too fast around her. We made a plan but when it came time to actually walk away, she got scared and backed out at the last second. Three months later, she was back with fresh bruises on her skin and a renewed resolve to leave. But just like the first time, when we tried to get her out, she was just too damn scared to follow through.

Not that any of us blame her.

Derek is some big-wig, smooth-talking lawyer but with Raya, he prefers to communicate with his fists instead of his words. Although maybe it’s not all that shocking that a man like that would resort to using fear and intimidation to get whatever he wants. The rumors about his ruthlessness in the courtroom run rampant through town and his record is damn near perfect. No one wants to go up against Derek LaBeouf. I don’t really care much about his record or the reasons why he’s such a slimy piece of shit who likes to smack women around. I only care about stopping him.

“All right,” Gear says, pushing off his bike and shoving his phone in his pocket as he scans the street on either side of us. I follow his gaze, on edge and ready to get this whole damn thing over with before Derek makes bail for the latest beating he gave Raya. “Y’all need to go inside and pack only things that can’t be replaced - baby photos, family heirlooms, that kind of thing - but be quick. We don’t want to be hanging out here any longer than we need to.”

Raya nods, pulling Joey into her side as she looks up at the house again. “Is he out?”

“No.” I shake my head as she swings her gaze to me. “Last we checked a few hours ago, he was still locked up but he was able to get in front of a judge this morning and they set bail so it’s only a matter of time before he’s a free man again.”

“Bastard,” she hisses, clutching her son tightly like he’s a lifeline. But she’s not any more surprised by this information than we are. Because of who he is and what he does, Derek’s got all kinds of friends in all the right places. Any other time the police have been called to the house, Derek was about to use those connections to avoid being arrested. It was just a stroke of luck that the arresting officer on Friday night was new and didn’t know who Derek was. On top of that, the guy he usually calls to help him out in a pinch just so happens to be on his honeymoon in Bora Bora. All of that combined with the fact that this all went down on a Friday evening before a three-day weekend means Derek wasn’t able to get in front of a judge until this morning. None of us are dumb enough to think the charges will stick but as far as we’re concerned, we’re never going to get a better chance to get her away from him.

“Go on,” I urge, flicking my chin up to the house. “We’ll stay out here and keep watch.”

“Okay,” she whispers, nodding along but her eyes are a hundred miles away as she looks up at the home she built for herself and her son. Her chest heaves and her eyes glaze over just before she drops her head, her gaze locking onto a spot on the pavement in front of her.

Aw, fuck.

We’re losing her.

“You can do this, Raya,” I say, softening my voice as I push off the truck and approach her slowly. Her eyes stay locked on the concrete in front of her like it’s the most interesting damn thing she’s ever seen in her life. She’s not here, though. She is lost in the memories, the trauma that she’s endured for the last few years. But if we’re going to get her out, we need to move now. I take one more slow, deliberate step towards her so she’s not startled and gently touch her elbow to get her attention. Her eyes fly to me, wide and wild.

“I don’t think…” she murmurs, shaking her head. “What am I going to… How will I…”

“Raya,” I bark, cutting off her incoherent rambling and her gaze meets mine, her eyes a little less chaotic than a moment before. But there is no mistaking the terror shining back at me and I can’t even say I fucking blame her.

When she called up from the hospital four nights ago, I knew it would be bad but I never could have prepared myself for the sight that awaited us in that room - three broken fingers, a fractured wrist, two cracked ribs and her face almost entirely covered in bruises. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. The long, angry red slashes on her forearms where he came at her with a knife was the thing that concerned me the most. Derek had done a fucking number on her and if Joey hadn’t stolen his mom’s phone to call for help, I can’t help but think that she may have not survived that night. So, I know she’s scared and traumatized and disoriented as fuck but I need to find a way to convince her to walk away this time.

If we don’t, we probably won’t get another chance.

“You can do this, Raya, but more importantly, you have to.”

She sucks in a ragged breath and I know she understands exactly what I’m saying.

“There are no more chances, no more maybe next times,” I add, gently gripping her shoulder as I look into her eyes to drive my point home. “He put you in the hospital for two days this time and if you stay, we both know you won’t get another chance to leave. Anything you need, the club will be here for you. We won’t walk away. We won’t abandon you, not ever.”

“What if Jumper goes with you?” Gear suggests, fidgeting as he scans the street again. His anxiety only amps mine up to a new level and I turn back to Raya, practically vibrating with the need to move. She glances up at the house one last time before turning back to me and releasing a heavy breath as she nods.

“Yeah, okay.”

I nod as Jumper steps forward, crooking his elbow for her. “Right this way, gorgeous.”