“Oh, God! I could have killed you!”

“You didn’t,” I try to console her.

“I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry!”

“I know, doll. I know.” I hold her until her sobs die down to an occasional sniffle and gasp.

“About earlier...I know you’re doing everything you can. I’m just so pissed. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her as I hand her my bandana.

She stares up at me, sniffling and wiping her cheeks. “I’m sorry I called you an asshole.”

I smile, sliding my fingers through her hair. “It’s cool. You ever call me a fuck boy again, I’m tanning your ass.”

“Promise?”

I quirk a brow at her as she gives me a weak smile. I missed playful Raven, too. I don’t know how she switched gears so easily, but I’ll take it.

“You sure you wanna go there?” I ask.

“I’m sure...fuck boy.”

I grab at her and she takes off running with an excited shriek. I don’t know what got into me but I chase her, all around the fucking room. Every time I’m close to catching her, she screams and changes direction on me. She stops running and faces me, knees bent like a football player, bouncing on her feet.

“What’s the matter? Too slow, fuck boy?”

“Oh...you are gonna get it.” I warn.

“You have to catch me first.”

I fake her out. She jumps but doesn’t run. I fake once more and she laughs. The third time, I lunge at her but she doesn’t get far before I catch her around the waist, pulling her against me. I back her up against the wall, facing away from me. She wriggles and squirms, trying to break free. Her ass is rubbing on my dick and it’s quickly waking up.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was just playing. I didn’t mean it!”

“I warned you, baby doll.”

I lean in to her and she goes still, her laughter dying down. Instead, her breathing grows ragged and I know it’s not from all the running. I bury my nose in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. She’s not ready. I chant the words in my mind to keep from doing too much too soon. I can’t rush her but fuck, it feels good to have her in my arms like this.

“Gage...please...stop.”

I release her immediately. It was good while it lasted. She faces me, her expression despondent. I smile, letting her know it’s all good. She takes my outstretched hand and I lead her back to the firing line. I inspect the target and see her shots were concentrated in two areas – head and crotch. Pretty good grouping, too. Her dad taught her well.

After putting everything back in its place, I lock up and we head home. The drive back to the clubhouse is pretty much the same as the one to the shop – quiet. Only this time, she’s sad not angry.

Inside the clubhouse, preparations for Thanksgiving are in full swing. Every year, Chopper and Nita make a feast and we all get together – members, families, Hounds, everybody. The place smells amazing. Allah’s playing away in the DJ booth and everyone seems to be having a good, chill time. It’s all about being together, not getting wild.

“You wanna head back to the room or you wanna hang out here for a while?” I ask Raven.

“Here.”

I take her over to the couch and she curls up next to me, placing her head on my chest. Nita comes over, offering us mulled cider. We each take a cup and she smiles then leaves. We sit together, quietly sipping cider, and watching everyone enjoy themselves. That is, until Chrissy comes over.

“Awww...you two are so cute. Like, the cutest couple ever.” She sits on the table in front of us, eyes darting between me and Raven. “I need to find you a couple name.”

“Couple name?” I ask with raised brows.

“Yeah. You know, like Kimye or Brangelina.”

What the fuck is a Kimye? I stare at her with a blank expression. It doesn’t deter her, though, and she starts throwing out names.

“Gagen...no...Ravage...no, not catchy enough.”

She sits there pondering until Raven intercedes in a low voice. “Rage.”

Chrissy gives her an ‘aha!’ stare then claps excitedly. “Rage! I love it! That’s your couple name. ‘Rage’.”

Before I can get sucked further into this ridiculous conversation, Tek walks up with a worried frown. I excuse myself and take him to my office.

“Talk to me.”

He hands me a sheet of paper and takes a seat.

“I got into Briggs’ files. Dutch Wife wasn’t in full production yet. That’s a list of potential distributors. Apparently, he gave them small samples to test out and see if they wanted to sell for him.”

I start reading down the list. I go through a few names I’ve never even heard of and then I find one I know. All too well. “Fuck!”

“What you wanna do, Prez?”

I want to rip his fucking head off. That’s what I want to do. I’m going to string him up by his feet, cut off his balls, and feed them to him.

“Just remember what you said about starting unnecessary wars.”

Fuck. Tek’s right. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. First, I’ll give him a chance to explain himself. I know what it’s like to be falsely accused. “Give me a minute. Let me talk to him.”

When Tek leaves, I find the number in my contacts and hit dial.

“Well, if it isn’t the Grim Reaper,” the voice comes from the other end. “Not a good sign when you come calling.”

“You got that right, motherfucker.”

“Choose your words carefully, Hunter.”

“You want words? I’ll give you two. Dutch. Wife.”

He goes silent for a beat then asks, “What about it?”

“You tell me, Ace. Tell me how days after a confrontation with your boys, my girl gets raped. Tell me how you’re one of the few people who have access to the drug that was used in that rape.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s all you got?”

“Look, we were given a sample. When I saw what it did, I told The Pharmacist I was out. I didn’t want to be a part of that. I flushed the rest of what we had and that was that.”

“Where are your boys?”

“I swear, Hunter. This wasn’t us. Those two guys, I sent them to Cali the day after the show. They’ve been there ever since, handling some business for me.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” I shout, jumping out of my chair. “This is not a coincidence, Ace. I want those men.”

“I get it, okay? If it was my old lady, I’d be on the warpath, too. But I’m not gonna hand over two of my guys to you. Even if they were guilty, it would be my problem.”

“You think they’re innocent? You willing to bet your old lady’s life on that?”

“Leave Dana out of this,” he growls.

“They drugged her, tied her up, and raped her. If it was Dana, what would you do?”

“I’d kill the motherfucker. But it wasn’t my guys and I can prove it.”

“How?”

“Why don’t I come down there?” he says. “Show you I have nothing to hide. I’ll even help you out with the search. I heard about Briggs’ lab. I’m pretty sure that was you.”

“I don’t need your help. I want those men. Don’t make me find them on my own or it won’t be pretty.”

“I’m not looking for a war, Hunter, but if you want to start one, I’ll be ready. Let’s try to work this out. I’ll come down with just a few of my guys. We’ll meet and see where we go from there.”

“One chance.” I take a deep breath. “One meeting. I’m not satisfied, you hand them over.”

“It won’t come to that. You’ll see this wasn’t us.”

“For your sake, I hope you’re right.”

I hang up and pitch the phone to the other side of the room. It crashes into the wall and pieces of it go flying in different directions. “Fuck!” I need to hit something. Or someone. It had to be them. It had to be. They had motive, means, and opportunity. People have gone to prison on less information. But what if Ace is right? What if it wasn’t them and I go on a rampage? A lot of people could get hurt. Raven, my family, my brothers...I need to be smart. I’ll hear what he has to say. In the meantime, I start planning.