Wrench stood silently and watched her go.

“You know Optimus would kill you, right?” I warned softly.

He didn’t even flinch. “Somethings are worth the risk,” he muttered before walking away.

Don’t think I’ll be mentioning that one anytime soon.

I watched as Blizzard chased Harlyn around the playground. Blizzard was like a big fucking kid. He could be serious at times almost scary but, for the most part, he liked to joke, flirt and have fun.

The weather was beginning to feel warmer even though autumn was still in full swing. I almost had the urge to take off my jumper that I’d thrown on over my workout clothes. Just as I was about to pull it over my head, there was mind-blowing explosion. My body instantly dropped to the ground and my ears began to ring. I didn’t know what was going on. There was chaos all around me.

I lay still, watching as Blizzard threw a crying Harlyn over his shoulder and sprinted for the doors of the clubhouse—Sugar right behind him. He tossed her inside before ushering Sugar in quickly behind her. His face was frantic as he spun around. I could see his mouth was moving, but the ringing in my ears was blocking out any other noise. I just stared at him in shock and confusion until I felt my body being lifted from the ground. I briefly recognized Neil’s face as he ran with me toward the clubhouse doors, my body jostling and jumping with each stride of his legs.

There were men everywhere, scowling faces and orders being thrown left right and center. I was in a daze, my body in complete shock. Optimus appeared momentarily. He placed a hand on my cheek and I caught a second of what I thought was fear cross his face before he was once again gone. Neil carried me to my room. At this stage, my hearing was beginning to come back and Harlyn’s crying filled my heart with pain. Neil dumped me on the bed and I attempted to climb off, needing to make sure everyone was okay.

“Stay there, Chelsea,” Neil growled, pointing to the bed. “Optimus needs you in your room until we figure out what the fuck is going on.”

I nodded, as much as I wanted to run out there and help, he needed me out of the way so he could concentrate on what he was doing. He didn’t need me running around wailing.

Neil slammed the door closed and I pulled myself up to the head of the bed, climbing under the covers and wrapping them around myself, needing some sort of comfort.

Shit had just gotten serious and I had to admit – I was scared.

It took over an hour before I heard a soft knock at the door. I cleared my throat before calling out for whoever it was to come in. Optimus slipped in and shut the door quietly behind him. His face looked ashen and almost defeated as he stared at me. I wanted to get up and go to him. I wanted him to hold me and soothe the fears that plagued me. But instead I just watched him as he came closer.

“Your car,” he said gently. “It’s gone.”

I scrambled out of the blankets. My car was old, it was nothing flash. Why someone would want to steal it, I didn’t know. “Can we get it back?” I asked, my voice croaky.

“Chelsea. It’s gone. It fucking blew up.”

I shot up then, climbing to my feet and scrambling to find the words with all the ‘what the fuck’ feelings going on in my head.

That was the loud bang. That was the noise that had made my ears ring. Someone had made my car explode.

Was it meant for me? To hurt me? Or was it just an attack against the club?

“There were some photos left at the club last night.” He folded his arms across his chest, but his posture slumped. “They were of us.”

“Okay…So what does that mean?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

“It was a warning, they were showing that they knew you were important to me.” His eyes met mine and he held my gaze before he continued, “You could have been in that car, Chelsea.”

I shook my head and took two quick steps to him. I reached out and touched his face with my hand, my eyes never leaving his. “I wasn’t. I’m here. I’m okay.”

His eyes blazed. “For how long? This time they got it wrong. But trust me, they’ll try again if they think you’re the key to bringing me down.”

I shook my head, we were back to this again. “Don’t say it. Don’t fucking push me away again.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it wavered.

“Do you want to be fucking killed?” he boomed. “This is not a game. This is life or death.”

“I don’t care. You’re pushing me away just when I thought things were about to change between us. I want you! I want to be with you, and I know that’s what you want too.”

“So I’m just supposed to risk your life because I want you? You want me to ignore your safety so that we can play a happy couple?” He stepped away and walked around me. “I’ve watched people I cared about, people I loved be hurt because I chose what I wanted over what was right. Do you know what that does to me every single day? Knowing they aren’t here because I took the selfish route and thought about myself first.”

My heart broke for him. He’d lost both parents and blamed himself for their deaths, thinking he could have done something to prevent it.

“You can’t change the past, Op,” I told him softly, following his movements as he paced.

“No, but I can do what’s right now. And if that means putting a barrier between us in order to keep you alive, I’ll fucking do it.”

Tears built up in my eyes. Just when I felt things start to shift, here we were, back at the same place once again.

“I’ve spent my whole life running when things got hard and for the first time I had a reason to stop. You gave me a reason to stay.”

“I’m not asking you to leave,” he said, confusion causing his brows to crease.

“Tell me you care about me. Tell me you want me. I’m sick of being that girl who sits around and waits for the guy to realize what he’s got,” I pleaded with him, unable to stop the tears that were now streaming down my cheeks. “Show me that you need me.”

“I do need you!” he growled, taking hold of my shoulders harshly and pulling me close. “I need you so bad that I can’t breathe when you’re not near.”

“Then stop pushing me away,” I cried, throwing my hands at his chest in frustration. “Stop pushing me away!”

“Chelsea! There’s someone watching us. They see our every interaction and it just shows them exactly what they want—that they could use you to destroy me and the club. They are telling Anthony DePalma everything, and if they get wind of how strong our connection is, they will hurt you,” he choked out. His hands moved from my shoulders up my neck to my cheeks. His thumbs brushed at the tears that continued to flow steadily.

I laughed, the noise sounding foreign in my throat. “So until then I just have to be a good little club girl, hang around, watch you rub against other girls and pretend like I’m not suffocating.”

He frowned. “I need to be able to protect you—”

“I don’t want you to protect me!”

“That’s not your choice to make,” he snapped.

“Well, I’m sorry, but for once I want to make a choice.” I pushed away from him, stepping backward so there was some space between our bodies. I sighed as I attempted to gather enough courage to say what I needed to say. “My parents chose to protect me. A crazy man came into our house with a gun. They said all he wanted was to steal shit that he could sell so he could get his next fix. When my dad tried to stop him, he got shot. Dead. Straight through the heart. Then the man came after me and my mom.”

Optimus reached out for me, but I moved, putting even more space between us.

“My mom chose to put me out a window and made me run. My mom decided for me that day that I was going to live, and she was going to die. She chose that path for me. I didn’t get a fucking say in that!” Anger burned in me, it flourished like a deadly flower.