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“Sit, Cherry.”
I do as I’m told with my back to his front. Tank’s hands explore my body as the warm water takes some of the tension out of me.
“This should make you feel better.” He kisses my shoulder. “You belong to me now.”
And I do, now I am Cherry of the Defiant Men MC. I will be a phoenix rising from the ashes of a life I once knew. The night whispers its secrets, one truth echoes louder than the rest, the battle for my soul had only just begun.
Chapter One
Cherry
Years later
The air is charged with a raw energy, the sort that electrifies your veins and makes your heart pound like the bass thumping from concealed speakers. I’m elbowing through the throng of bodies packed into the convention center, a sea of leather cuts, inked flesh, and hungry eyes all here for the Author Signing event. It’s a bizarre blend of two worlds, the literary enthusiasts with their paperbacks clutched to their chests, and the motorcycle club members who guard their territory and brothers with an unspoken promise of violence.
“Cherry, you coming?” calls a voice over the din, slicing through the noise like a knife.
I nod at Rhage, Tank’s trusted VP, and flash a quick smile. Weaving closer to the table where Tank is holding court, his charisma drawing a crowd as thick as the smog outside. Fans and fellow authors buzz around him, eager for a moment in his formidable shadow.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” I say under my breath, watching Tank sign another copy of someone’s book. His laughter booms, genuine and warm. It’s strange to see such a hardened man, leader of the Defiant Men MC, so at ease among civilians.
That’s when I spot him—Toxin. There’s something predatory in the way he skulks, a serpent slithering at the edge of this garden. His gaze is locked on Grim, the president of the Warriors of Destruction MC.
“Something wrong, Cherry?” asks a woman next to me, her eyes bright with too much enthusiasm.
“Uh, no, just thought I saw someone I knew,” I reply, my voice tight.
My instincts are screaming, and every scar I’ve earned in this life is tingling with alarm. Toxin’s stare is unsettling, a silent declaration of ill intent amidst the noise of celebration.
“Is that so?” she says, oblivious to the tension coiling within me. “Well, make sure you get Tank to sign a book. He’ll get a kick out of it.”
“Sure,” I say, barely listening. My focus is on Toxin, tracking his movements like prey monitors a circling predator.
Why is he here?
What’s his play?
As I pretend to be absorbed by the festivities, I keep one eye on Toxin. I’m caught in a whirlpool of what-ifs, my mind racing with the possibilities of why Toxin would risk showing his face here, especially when there’s no love lost between the Warriors of Destruction and the Defiant Men.
“Cherry, you’re looking a little pale,” Rhage observes, his brow furrowed with concern as he sidles up beside me. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I snap, sharper than I intend. “Just the crowd, you know?”
“Right,” Rhage says, though his eyes tell me he doesn’t buy it.
But before he can press further, I turn away, pretending to be interested in a nearby author signing her latest romance novel. All the while, my heart hammers with the knowledge, something wicked this way comes, and Toxin’s presence is the harbinger of chaos.
I’m queen of the Defiant Men MC, and in my own way, I’ve grown accustomed to Tank. He’s easily fooled and thinks I love him. I don’t but it’s better to go along with the charade than be traded for younger, sweeter meat or worse yet, be a club whore and have them pass me around.
Moving through the crowd, I see Tank as he walks into the room to collect his gun. This author signing is a no weapons, no violence weekend between the MC’s present. There was a scuffle outside with Toxin, but Tank put a stop to it.
The crowd parts as I move toward Tank, he’s staring at his hand, I take hold of it and see a drop of blood in his palm. Tank puts his hand to his mouth and sucks. He looks at the bottom of his gun and shrugs.
“Are you okay?”
“Must have somehow pinched the skin when I checked the cartridge.” He possessively puts an arm over my shoulders, and we walk toward the exit.
The President of the Warriors of Destruction walks toward us, deliberately bumping into Toxin as he makes his way across the room.
