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“Fuck yeah.You’re still a Midnight Kings member.And I’m sure Cutter will let you in on everything later.”
“Thanks.”
When I turn, I almost bump right into Rowan, a member of the crew.“We kept this for you.”He holds my cut out to me.It still says Enforcer on it.
“Fuck, man.Thank you.”
“It’s good to have you back, brother.”He slaps a hand on my shoulder.
Putting my cut on, it feels like I never left.It feels like home.This is definitely where I belong…here with my brothers.
Astera walks into the club and it’s as if time stands still.Little Astera.God, she’s got to be about twenty-three or so.She was only fourteen or something back when I was a prospect.I remember she didn’t have anyone except Logan.He was about six years older than her.In actuality, he had no business being with a girl that young, but no one had any issues with it because she lived with her grandma at the time and didn’t have any other family.We all just accepted it.
I was happy to learn that even when Logan died, the brothers still looked out for her, and she was working full-time in the tattoo shop and doing all the paperwork.I am sure she wanted and needed to prove her worth and not end up becoming a club whore.
“How’s it feel to be back?”Rowan asks.He is the least talkative of the group of us.
I nod.“It feels fucking fantastic.”I plant my back against the wall next to Rowan and take a long swig of my third beer.It tasted so good; I am planning on getting good and drunk.
“Here’s some food for you all.”Becca calls out.Cutter’s mom plants trays of food on the large table.She sets a stack of plates on the table as well as silverware.Taking a plate, we form a line to get some food.This is a far cry from the shitty prison food I’d been eating.I pile my plate with baked ziti with sausage, hot ham and cheese sliders, and a baked potato with all the fixings.
“How is it, Griff?”Becca asks.
“The best food I have ever had.”
She laughs.“Well, eat all you want.I don’t care if you sit here all night to eat.You deserve it, honey.”
Two plates later, I am full.Being so engrossed with the food, I look around to see where Astera is.She’s talking to Rowan’s sister.It takes me a minute to get her name…Claire.She and Astera seem to be close friends, from my observation.I shouldn’t want Astera as bad as I want her.She’s too young.She should be off-limits.But the way she is looking at me, the feeling might be mutual.Fuck.For some reason, I couldn’t tear my eyes from her gaze.
ChapterTwo
ASTERA
Spotting Griffin from a distance, tattoos line his arms from his hands up to his elbows.Where else does he have ink that isn’t visible?His dark hair is cut short on the sides and a little longer on the top, enough to run my fingers through.Griffin is the first guy I’ve actually ogled in a long time.
I haven’t been with anyone since losing Logan.No one interests me.Most days, I feel a void inside and get through each day, barely surviving.Losing Logan cut a hole deep inside me that makes my chest ache.I swallow a lump thinking back to that day, it was a good day until it wasn’t.I’ll never forget that day because it was wintertime, and he shouldn’t have been on his bike in that weather.The road he was on was icy, and add in the twists and turns of the road, and he was thrown from his bike, and it cost him his life.That was the day I lost a piece of myself.
I’m not sure I’ll ever feel what I felt for him again.
Cutter cuts my line of vision by trapping me against the wall.“Hey, sweetie.Why don’t you go over and make Griffin feel welcome?”
“I’m not one of your whores, Cutter.So, you can go fuck yourself.”
Pinned against the wall, one hand tightens around my throat.“You don’t get to talk to me like that, bitch.You should know your place in this club because it would be easy to make you a club whore.”
All the guys came rushing over.“Whoa!What’s going on?”Griffin cuts in, pulling Cutter away from me.
“Just putting the little lady back in her place,” he spews.
“Fuck, Cutter.We don’t touch women like that.Calm the fuck down,” Griffin yells.
Cutter releases me, and I rub my throat where he had me pinned.“You’re a fucking asshole!”Pissed, I slam the door in my wake while tears stream down my cheeks.
Cutter has never laid a hand on me like that.Nor has any other man in this club, for that matter.I’ve never seen him lay a hand on anyone now that I think about it.I know he wants to make Griffin feel welcome and at home.But I’m not that kind of girl.I’ve never been that kind of girl, and I sure as hell am not starting now.I earn my keep by working my ass off.
Arriving at my tiny apartment in ten minutes flat, I head inside, place my keys and purse on the counter, unclip my watch, and place it in my room on my nightstand while I strip out of my clothes to take a shower.I let the hot water cascade over my body.I can still feel Cutter’s hands on me.It’s a memory I don’t want to stay in my brain.
Stepping out of the shower wrapping a towel around my body, I look in the mirror.No red marks on my neck, thank god.If Griffin hadn’t stopped Cutter, I probably would have marks.What an asshole.I dress in a pair of black satin pajama shorts and a pink satin top.In the kitchen, I grab a bottle of water when a knock on the door startles me.Looking through the peephole, I see Griffin.
