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  Jake nodded and walked away. Okay, so if she was swapping sides, it was going to get nasty. And why would anyone bother to leave him a note unless it was legit? The thing with Martinez, her obvious history of frustration with the gang, and now this . . . ? Lucy was reckless, more than reckless. He was stupid thinking that he could . . . could what? Could love her? He could hardly love himself at the moment. And worse, if this was true, she was putting everyone else in danger. His heart darkened, a solid hand clenching around the organ and squeezing it, hard.

  WATCH OUT FOR BRI. That’s what he was supposed to be doing. And now, had he gone and screwed that up too?

  Looking at his watch, he worked out that Briony would most likely be awake, and not coupled with her new husband. So heading back to the office, he dialed her cell.

  “Hey there. You okay? Everything okay with the hotel?” Briony’s voice was instantly on the alert.

  “It’s fine. I’m fine. Mostly. There was a bit of a fuckup with one of the Dumpsters, but no harm done.” She didn’t need to hear about the fire right now. Not after nothing had been burned down. He took a breath. “I need some advice. About gang stuff.”

  “Advice? Stay well out of it and let them sort their own shit. Hade and Rocco know that I don’t get in the middle of it.”

  “It’s about another gang.”

  “Oh. Fuck. Which one? The Menace?”

  Jake nodded then shook his head. “There’s rumors of something starting. With your friend Lucy Black in the middle.”

  “Luce? In bed with the Menace? Shit.”

  “I only know what I’ve heard. That she’s going to work for them. She hasn’t said anything to me. Yet. We sort of . . .”

  He heard the intake of breath before she spoke. “Get out of town. You and Lucy? Jesus, can’t leave you alone for two seconds.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to—”

  “Phft. I’ll get over it. Have to say I wouldn’t have picked it though. But then again, I’m shit at picking it, look how long it took me to realize Cole was a nice guy.”

  Jake heard a laugh in the background and realized Cole was likely listening in. Time to get to the point. “Do I call her on it? She’s staying here. Working here. Last thing you need is some sort of gang war starting out with Wilde’s in the middle.”

  There was a pause. “Lucy’s had plenty to deal with. She’s a fighter for a reason. I can’t see her getting into anything dangerous with the Reapers of Menace on purpose, not unless someone pushed her to do it. Or unless she feels like she’s run out of options. But if it has happened, it’s time to be careful. Real careful. Those guys don’t fuck around. Have a chat with Hade about it. A quiet one.”

  “Right.”

  “Just be careful, okay? You’ve got some stuff to deal with too, don’t go adding to your pile. Iceman you may be, but Luce has enough fire to melt you right where it hurts.”

  Jake found a smile. Finally. His stepsister always had a great way with words. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I’ll see you soon anyway. Just keep the hotel together ’till then and then it won’t be your problem anymore. Call me back after you’ve talked to Hade or I’ll be up all night, fretting.” She hung up.

  Jake looked at the phone in his hands. It wouldn’t be his problem anymore? He hoped that Briony would always be in his life now. And that he’d be there for her problems in whatever way he could. Adding Lucy to Briony’s pile though hadn’t been the idea.

  Rubbing his face, Jake stood to go and find Hade. Lucy being in his life had been exciting, invigorating even. But she was trouble, Briony had just told him as much. And he didn’t need any extra trouble now. If he didn’t do something to stop the danger lurking around the corner, he’d be back staring fear in the face and unable to stop it from taking out the ones he loved. No, he didn’t want that. He might not have stopped Sarah, but he could help Lucy. He would make sure nothing put Briony and her life’s work in danger, and stop Lucy before she fell down the wormhole of recklessness she was obviously standing at the edge of.

  The quiet word with Hade didn’t help much. As soon as Jake mentioned the Reapers of Menace, Hade’s face darkened and he shut down most of the conversation. “Lucy needs to be careful. Real careful. She might not be in Hell’s yet, but I’ve told her I’m working on it. And she’s connected to us, whether she wants to admit it or not. She knows it, everyone knows it. Needs to think hard about that before she does anything. And about what it means to other people.”

  More concerned than ever, Jake headed to his room when a familiar voice caught him off guard.

  “Jake.”

  Turning he saw Lucy, beaming, a low-cut white top showing off her soft skin and freshly washed hair, tumbling in waves from the dampness. His body wanted to pull hers to him. To stroke the hair from her cheek, to tell her to stop doing whatever it was that was getting the gangs riled up. But Briony’s words echoed in his head. He was going to be careful. And protect his family, like he was supposed to be doing all this time. Letting his body get overly excited was not what he was here for.

  “I was just coming to look for you.” Her smile was lopsided, the warmth of it immediate, lascivious, heart melting. Briony had been right about that too.

  This you can do. “Good. I needed to talk to you too.”

  She stiffened at his cool, measured tone and her smile slipped. But she didn’t adjust her posture. “I got a job.”

  Good, she isn’t going to pretend. “I heard.”

  “Really? I can’t believe it’s happened. And with people who don’t give a fuck that I’m a woman.” She beamed, but when he didn’t respond in kind, the smile slipped.

  “You sure about that?”

  “What? That they offered me a job? Or that they don’t care that I’m a woman?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe both. You sure you’re not getting stuck in the middle of something that’s bigger than you? It’s not going to go down well.”

  “With who? The Hell’s Boys? Screw them. They had their chance. I’ve been trying to get Hade to let me open up shop for them for almost a year and it was all, ‘Nah, Luce, we’re just not ready.’ Then some guy turns up for two seconds and boom, it’s all on. What part of that doesn’t suck hard?”

  “Getting into bed with someone else isn’t going to make it any better, surely. Those sort of guys don’t really care whether you’re good on the bikes or not. They want to use you.”

  “Excuse me?” Her face was a mask of incredulity. And right there he saw the change in her. Her whole body shifted, going beyond stiff, becoming rigid and cool. Damn. That wasn’t what he’d meant to do. Really? And what part of kicking her out of your sister’s hotel is going to keep her coming back to your bed?

  “I’m just saying you should be careful.”

  “Right. ’Cause you have a bodyguard complex and need to make sure you’re the hero all the time.”

  That cut. Deep, but Jake refused to let it show. Channeling his Iceman center he squared his shoulders. “Hardly. But if you’re not going to be smart about it, it’s probably best you find somewhere else to stay.”

  “Just like that? I don’t need your protection anymore and boom, I’m out? Shit, man, and I thought I had issues.”

  “That’s taking it a bit far. I’m looking out for Briony. She’s just got things steady with Wilde’s. There are regular people staying here now, not just the gang. The kind of trouble you bring is not what she needs. Not what either of us need. That fire almost destroyed the hotel. Next time we might not be so lucky. I can’t afford to sit back and let you bring that sort of drama here.”

  “Seriously? You’re going to lay all of that on me? I’m not even in the gang.”

  “I know. And I’m sorry. I know that’s a bone of contention for you. Hade told me. But this isn’t about you being a woman this time. This is about me looking out for my sister. For my family.”

  She laughed but without any humor. “Typical. It’s just like a
man to lay all of that at my feet and then walk away. It’s you idiots who can’t get used to a woman being better than you at something. I’m good on bikes. But no one wants to let me really show them because they’re scared of how their precious ego will react. Well, this new place doesn’t give a shit about that. They’ve seen me work. I got a trial on the spot. So I’m out of here. It’s been swell and all, but screw you too, Iceman. You’re no better than the rest of them.” She turned to walk away but he caught her arm, unwilling for it to end like this.

  “Lucy.”

  “No. Save it.” She shook him off. “I thought you were different, that we had something, but I guess I was wrong about that. See you around, Iceman. I’m outta here.”

  He watched her stalk down the corridor and out a fire exit. His heart sank. More than sank, it filled itself up with fast-set concrete and started sinking through all his other organs until it settled, hard and cold at the bottom of his stomach. Guess you care about her more than you thought. He shook off the thought. So what if he’d had feelings for Lucy? Last thing he needed was being with someone reckless enough to work for a rival gang and then brag about how great they were in the middle of the Hell’s hotel. If he was ever going to get working again, he needed evenness, calm. And calm Lucy Black was not.

  * * *

  Storming outside, not sure where she was going, but determined to get away from Wilde’s, Lucy’s heart was pounding almost out of her chest. Jake might think she wasn’t worth the butter on sliced toast, but she had a new life to dive into. Screw him. But as she walked a short distance from the hotel, she became aware of the throb of a motor following her. A bike on a joyride should have passed her by now. Maybe the bike needed work. She stopped and looked around but couldn’t see anything so she shrugged it off.

  Work! What a nice four-letter word. Her body expanded into the night as it tried out the sensation of glee. The warmth of the day was gone and a chill wind was just starting to pick up; it seemed the end of her time at Wilde’s might just coincide with the end of summer. Heart racing, eyes focused, she tried to let the wind come at her and whip her darkness away.

  The other four-letter word, the L one, rattling round in her head, however, didn’t fill her with anything like joy. Jake doesn’t deserve any more of your energy. True. But it was hard to let go of the thought of him, of the vision of his cold impassive face, when Katie had spurred her on to seek him out, to try to build something with him.

  She’d thought he was impressed with her, that he believed in her, that they had an understanding. And then he turns up and spits vitriol all over you like spent oil. His face floated out into the night and she punched out at the air to try to make herself feel better. He might think he was doing her a favor, telling her she should wait for Hade to give her a go, or trying to get her work on his film so he could keep an eye on her, but it was just controlling. Like most of the men around here. And half the women, she thought, thinking about her mom.

  She hiccupped. No. She would not do this. She would not get upset over a guy who might have been. She set off again, the pavement illuminated by a streetlamp. He wanted her out of Wilde’s? No problem. She was going to leave, tonight.

  But looking behind her, Lucy saw a bike swing into view. A bike she didn’t recognize, and on it, a guy with a jacket that didn’t have a Hell’s patch.

  He headed toward her and as he got closer she made out the silver scythe logo with a long black lightning bolt. Oh. Fuck.

  12.

  Jake walked out the fire exit after Lucy, and for a moment couldn’t see which way she’d gone. The night was dark and chilly, eerie after so many long days of summer. Instead, his eye was drawn to the lights of a lone biker. The guy drove slowly, the low bubble of noise his engine made odd against the usual roar of Wilde’s. As Jake watched, the bike drew up behind a woman who had just come into view under the spill of light from a streetlamp. The concrete around Jake’s heart cracked, and sharp shards of it pricked at his veins. The woman turned. Lucy. The biker paused and the guy got off, leaving his helmet on. Lucy faced him, animated, hands on her hips, then, oh shit, the biker grabbed her.

  “Lucy!”

  The biker’s head turned and Lucy took the opportunity to try to kick him, but he dodged and pressed something over her face. Quickly, too quickly, she stopped struggling and the biker crammed a helmet onto her head, loaded her slumped form onto the front of his bike, and took off.

  Unable to believe what he’d seen, Jake shook his head, then as the taillights started to get smaller he ran toward where the bikes were parked out in front of Wilde’s. “Lend me your bike. Some fucker has just grabbed Lucy and he wasn’t wearing a Hell’s jacket. Tell Hade.”

  The Hell’s Boy who had just stumbled out of the bar and put his keys in his bike started to protest, but Jake didn’t let him get very far, grabbing the helmet, jamming it on, and roaring off after Lucy.

  Blinking hard, Jake pushed everything out of his head except the chase. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except catching up to Lucy. He could do this. He would do this.

  He let the world flick by faster and faster, always keeping his eyes on the taillight in front of him. Luckily, it was an industrial area and wasn’t crowded with traffic like the rest of LA. Revving the engine hard, Jake tried for that elusive sweet spot where the world stopped and only the wind remained, and little by little he started making headway on the biker in front of him.

  What the hell had he been thinking ripping into her like that? He should have locked her in his room until she registered just who she was toying with. Bike gangs didn’t screw around, Hade had made that much clear. And now Jake understood just what Hade had meant. Kidnapping? Out in front of the Hell’s hangout? It had to be the Reapers of Menace. The boys in the Menace had balls, that was for sure.

  “Be okay. Just be okay,” he muttered under his breath, the thought of her slumped, without the ability to protect herself, on the front of someone’s bike threading fear through every part of his body.

  The guy was a good rider, but he wasn’t a stunt rider. Jake’s stunt-brain unconsciously calculated the amount of risk with each turn, and followed slightly faster knowing he could keep the bike steady. Ahead of him, the other biker took a sharp right turn and Jake followed. Using every bit of his training, Jake roared up beside him and started to crowd him over to the side of the alley. The biker kept flicking his glance over his shoulder and Jake knew he had to be careful: he’d gotten to him, unnerved him, and this is where everything could go horribly wrong.

  You push him too hard and he’ll spin out, then it’ll be Lucy in a mess on the ground without you there to catch her. He backed off, just a little. But finally, Jake spotted his opportunity. Around the next bend, the alley ahead stopped at a dead end.

  Not allowing himself to think about it too hard, Jake pulled his bike into a sideswipe, letting it straddle the alley, and lay it on the ground, blocking the way out for the other biker. Ahead of him, the Menace was already at the end, his head moving side to side, obviously looking for an escape and seeing none. He pulled his bike into a turn and revved the engine. Jake started walking steadily toward him. Unless the guy was a pro, there was no way he was getting his bike to jump over Jake’s, and Jake was damn sure the guy wasn’t a pro. One foot in front of the other, he walked toward the now-stationary bike, its engine whining with the need to escape. Pulling off his helmet, Jake started talking, hoping the guy could hear him despite the noise.

  “I’ve got no argument with you. Just let the girl go and we’re good.”

  The rev of the engine was the only answer he got.

  “Lucy? Lucy, can you hear me?” She stirred, but didn’t lift her head properly and Jake’s body clenched, fear drawing thorns out of his skin. Then, the biker took off toward him.

  You are a sea of calm. You maintain control.

  The dark walls of the alley blurred around him as he focused in on the biker, on rooting his feet into the ground, as the bright
headlight bore down on him.

  You are solid. An immovable rock. Jake stood still, his helmet in his hand in front of him, his eyes never leaving the biker’s black visor. The world slowed.

  The biker was in perfect focus. Jake could see his hands clenched on the brakes, his legs tucked in tight to the body of the bike. The night closed around them, but fingers of fear never had a chance to get a grip on him even as the bike seemed set on mowing him down. Jake sidestepped the bike at the last moment but threw his helmet at the guy’s head, knocking him off. And in almost the same move, Jake grabbed for Lucy.

  The biker fell, but the bike and Lucy flew. Flew through the night as the bike’s wheel hit the alley wall and Lucy left the seat; soared as the engine kept up its incessant charge and sparks spun out as its chrome tank shredded itself across the tarmac; spun as Lucy’s elbow connected with the wing mirror. And the chassis. And the handlebars.

  And then Jake grabbed her. He put himself in her way, and she flew at him. Her head snapped back as she slammed into Jake’s chest and shoulder, knocking him over and leaving him behind her as she rolled for what seemed like forever until with a crack, her helmet connected with the alley wall, and she crumpled.

  13.

  The ambulance came, minutes, hours, days later, it felt like, as Jake sat with Lucy, not touching, not cradling her, as every bone in his body ached to do. He didn’t dare shift her in case he moved her neck, which must surely be broken after a fall like that.

  He replayed the previous five minutes over and over in his head. He’d done the right thing, the only thing available to him at the time. If he’d done nothing the biker would have roared off into the night, Lucy precariously slung in front and she have would been gone, possibly forever. But still, when he looked down at her prone form the nervous hand of doubt worried at him, scratched at his skin, trying to get in and make him feel guilty. I didn’t have a choice. But if he hadn’t thrown her out of Wilde’s . . . Breathe in, breathe out. Be okay, Lucy, just be okay.