The cop sat at Chelsea’s small table in the center of her kitchen, tapping his fingers impatiently on the wooden surface. “I figured you weren’t done yet.”

“Stay away from her and we won’t have any problems,” I said sternly.

The corner of his mouth turned up, even at my warning. “She’s one of a kind isn’t she?”

“She’s mine, is what she is.”

He finally looked up at me. “That’s funny because I didn’t see you throwing yourself over her as a hail of bullets shattered the windows of the gym.”

“Are you trying to protect her or get in her fucking pants?” His fists clenched and I knew I’d hit a nerve. I smirked. “That’s it isn’t it? You’re pissed she didn’t pick you.”

“She’s obviously not as smart as I thought if she’d rather run with some biker brats than have proper protection,” he spat.

“Why are you here?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest, sick of fucking dancing around the issue. “What do you want?

“I want to know what your ties are with the Italian Mafia.” He stood from his seat, the chair under him scraping across the floor. “I’ve been following the DePalma family for a long time. Never have they even thought about leaving the east coast. Now suddenly, Anthony DePalma has decided to pay a little visit to Alabama, showing up at your clubhouse and hanging around well-known Brothers by Blood establishments.”

I frowned. “You’re not just a cop.”

He laughed. “No, no, I’m not. I’m with the DEA.”

I tried not to act surprised. It was one thing for some small time cop to be sniffing around asking questions, but it was another thing to have a federal law enforcement agency throwing their weight around where it wasn’t wanted.

“Your buddies know about you having a hard-on for one of your focuses?” I taunted, enjoying watching him squirm. “The Brothers don’t have anything to do with your little investigation, so leave it alone before you find more trouble than you can handle.”

“It’s not that simple, Bryce.” I ground my teeth at the use of my real name, something no one but the bank, the taxman, and my father had called me in years. “Like I said, word out there is that Chelsea has a hit on her head. So if you aren’t working with them, what the hell have you done to piss them off?”

I shrugged and held my hands out to the side. “People just seem to not like me. I’m not sure why. I can be a pretty nice guy when you’re on my good side.”

“This is the only warning you’ll get,” he said as he walked around the table and headed for the front door. “If I find her alone, I’ll take her in, and trust me when I say I’ll put her so far into protective custody, you will never find her.” He twisted the door handle and pulled it open.

“Cop,” he didn’t turn to face me, but he stopped. “This is my warning. You try to take her from me and I’ll kill you.”

“Threats don’t go down well with law enforcement.”

“Just a fair warning.”

He didn’t answer but pulled the door closed behind him. As soon as I heard his car pull away from the apartment, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed.

Wrench answered after the first ring. “Yo!”

“I need you to get to Chelsea and Rose’s place ASAP. The place needs an exterminator. Get rid of any bugs you can find,” I told him.

The bastard had had a good few minutes to plant something, and I knew for a fact that he had been there before.

Not that Chelsea would be coming back here.

I was done.

Hearing that the front of her work had been shot up, and not knowing whether she was dead or alive, it was like the reality check of the century. No matter what I did, the only way to make sure she was safe was to have her with me. The one thing I should have just seen in the first place.

It didn’t matter if she was at the club or fucking in China, we still had a connection and killing her would fucking destroy me.

I was stupid to think that my enemies didn’t already know that, and that I was fooling them by pushing her away. The only person I was fooling was myself.

And that ended now.

Just as I parked my bike next to the clubhouse and sat my helmet on the seat, Blizzard came storming out the patio doors, looking like he was ready to murder.

“Where you going?” I asked as he stomped to me.

“Bitch won’t fucking listen.”

I frowned. “Chelsea?”

He whipped his helmet onto his head angrily. “No, her fucking friend.”

I had to laugh, Chelsea’s friend Rose had Blizzard all kinds of twisted up ever since he’d dropped her off home from the club that night. “You going to bring her in?”

“If they know where Chel works, they’re gonna know where she lives.” He mounted his bike and kicked up the stand. “Stupid woman is going to get herself killed by staying there.”

I nodded in agreement. “Bring her in, but she’s staying with you.”

He just glared at me silently as he started his bike. I laughed as I watched him take off out the gates, his back end sliding out as he took the corner and nearly running one of the prospects over in the process.

The main room was filled with my brothers when I returned, many welcoming Chelsea back with open arms. I stood to the side and watched as both my brothers and the club girls showed her how much she’d been missed. I gave them all a moment before I banged my fist loudly on the nearest table, gaining everyone's attention. I needed them all to hear what I was about to say.

“I want you all to listen very carefully,” I thundered across the room, but my eyes were only for Chelsea as I spoke. I pointed at her and her eyes widened. “That woman there … she’s mine. Should’ve done this a long time ago, but I guess I’m a fucking idiot. So now you all know, I’m putting my claim on her, so all you fuckers better treat her with the respect an Old Lady deserves.”

I scanned the room, making sure everyone of them got what I was saying. There were no surprised or shocked faces, just smiles—all except one.

My gaze finally landed back on Chelsea, who stood still and quiet. I thought for a second I’d have to chase her, that she was going to run. But I guess my girl finally got it.

She started walking toward me, quick steps which soon turned into a run as she leaped straight into my arms, our mouths connecting like they were pulled together by a magnet. My hands found her ass and her legs wrapped tightly around my hips.

It was a moment I never wanted to end, finally having her completely. She pulled back but quickly tucked her head into my neck.

“Take me to your room,” I heard her whisper softly.

I ignored the cheers and hoots as I carried her out and up the stairs to my bedroom—our fucking bedroom. I wasn’t even in the door before she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. I growled, pressing my hips against her as I stepped inside and kicked the door shut with my foot. I launched her at the bed and she landed with a bounce. She quickly leaned forward and reached for my belt, but I grabbed her hand. She looked up at me curiously.

“Wait,” I said softly.

“I don’t want to wait, I want you,” she said impatiently, her other hand reaching out for me. I grabbed that too and pulled her off the bed so she was standing in front of me.

I clasped both her hands in mine and held them captive. “I said wait.”

She looked up at me, her head tilted to the side in curiosity. I cleared my throat. I wasn’t even sure of what I wanted to say, so I stopped thinking and just let the words fall. “I’m sorry. I was fucking stupid to think that I could push you away and that would fix all our problems. That cop was right, if he hadn’t been there looking out for you, I could have lost you. All because I was too stubborn to see my mistakes.” I shook my head, trying to clear out all the noise. “I sent Sugar and Harlyn away and they stayed safe. I thought that by doing the same thing...never mind. It was a mistake. One I’m trying to make right now.”