“Yes. I have boy. He’s eight years old.”

Doreen gave a little sob. “Me too. I got a little boy. He’s just learning to walk. I miss him something fierce.”

Evie’s heart squeezed in her chest. “Who’s looking after him?”

“He lives with my mom. Viper killed his dad. I came to the morgue in Conundrum to see my Axle one last time. That’s when the Sinners took me.”

“Which Sinner?” Her voice dropped to a whisper, but the woman heard her.

“The dark one with the long hair is the one who caught me. I think his name is Zane.”

Evie covered her mouth to stifle her moan.

“They thought Viper would pay to get me back ’cause I was wearing his old lady cut,” Doreen continued. “But I told ‘em, Viper doesn’t care about me. He told me that the first time he threw me on his bed. Told me I was nothing but a place for his dick.”

“Oh, God.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “I’ll do everything I can to get you out of here. I’ll call the police…”

“No.” Doreen barked the word so loud Evie stepped back from the door. “This is biker business. You don’t involve the cops or everyone goes down. You gotta find another way.”

Evie heard footsteps on the stairs, but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. And dammit someone had to answer for this. She stiffened her spine, folded her arms, and glared when Arianne walked into the room.

“What are you doing down here?”

She opened her mouth to lie, but what was the point? She was standing right outside the door and Arianne would have heard her talking. “There’s a woman in that room.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Evie took a step toward Arianne. “We have to get her out of there.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Arianne gestured her away from door, keeping her voice low. “Doreen knew the risks involved if she crossed the border into Conundrum. Just like Zane knew the risks of disobeying Jagger. They both got punished the biker way, although Doreen wasn’t hurt because Jagger doesn’t allow violence toward women, and women usually. aren’t involved in biker business. This was an exception.”

“She’s imprisoned. And away from her son. That’s hurting her.”

Arianne rolled her eyes. “She’s a Black Jack old lady so it’s hard to know how much she says is lies and how much is the truth. But one thing I know for sure, Viper didn’t force that cut on her. The only way to get Viper’s old lady cut is to get rid of the woman wearing it and be stronger than the next woman who wants it. Viper thinks it’s amusing to watch them fight over him. Doreen is a hard woman. She’s ruthless, conniving, and vicious. She injured two of the junior patch who were sent down to bring her food, and that’s with her hands tied.” Her lips curled into a grin, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. “You want a little taste? Walk up the stairs really loud then come down again real quiet.”

Evie did as she asked and returned to Arianne’s side. Arianne put a finger to her lips. “Yo, Doreen.” She bashed her fist on the door. “She’s gone, so don’t waste your breath with the sob stories. We both know what goes on in the clubhouse. And guess what? Your ass is mine next time Jagger wants some intel, and I’m no softie like the boys. I know where to stick it so it hurts.”

“Fuck off you fucking bitch.” Doreen shrieked. “The minute I get outta here, I’m coming for you. It’s your face I’m gonna cut up first. I’m gonna make it so Jagger gets fucking sick every time he looks at you. Then I’m going after the dark one who snatched me. It’ll be a slice and dice. This fucking clubhouse is gonna run red with Sinner blood. I’m saving Jagger for last. He’ll be a present for Viper. I’ll deliver him all wrapped up in a bow made of your sweet little girl’s hair.”

“Our world,” Arianne said quietly. She gestured Evie toward the stairs. “You have to be strong to survive. But we do have rules and a code. And we have our own rough brand of justice.”

Still shaken by Doreen’s outburst, Evie paused on the stairs. “But how do people with kids handle this kind of life?”

“You should talk to Dawn, or Dax’s old lady, Sandy,” she said. “Or any of the other old ladies. Most of them choose to keep their family life separate from the club. And that’s fine. There are no rules for old ladies. It’s whatever works for them. And yeah, sometimes their men come home battered, bruised, and broken, but that happens to civilians, too. Boxers, fighters, stuntmen … they all put themselves in danger. The old ladies patch them up, give them heck, and then love them until they do it again. It’s the risk we take to live this life. It’s what we do to survive. But it’s a life of freedom, honor, loyalty, and brotherhood; a life where you make the rules.”

“You love this life.”

Arianne’s face softened. “Yes, I do. Although I almost gave it up to get away from Viper. But then I met Jagger, and I found a way to make it work for me. That’s the thing about love. It makes the impossible possible. And it won’t be denied.”

TWENTY-ONE

If you take it apart, and you can’t put it back together, don’t panic. Walk away, clear your head, then start again.

—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL

Evie drove up to the Sinner clubhouse and parked outside. She hadn’t been back for over a week, and she hoped the impromptu visit didn’t ruffle any feathers. Although Zane had come by Connie’s place several times to visit Ty, her son wanted to spend more time with his dad. Since they were passing by the clubhouse on their way home from a day in the mountains, she’d agreed to a brief stop to see if he was around when she couldn’t get in touch by phone.

She waved to Shooter and Tank, tinkering with their bikes out front, and turned off the Sinner SUV Zane had insisted she keep as a matter of safety. The raid on the Black Jack clubhouse had been delayed because of the increased presence of the ATF in Conundrum, drawn by the spate of fires and the explosion at the coffee shop. For now, everyone had to lay low, although Zane had gone scouting around the Black Jack clubhouse, this time with executive board approval, to try and figure out if they could try to get T-Rex out with a two- or three-man operation.

“Can I get out, mom?” Ty didn’t wait for her answer, but pushed open the door. Connie jumped out after him and they headed over to talk to Tank who they hadn’t seen since returning to the safe house.

Shortly after moving in with Connie and trying to get back to her regular life, Evie received her first lesson about keeping the police out of biker business. The morning after contacting the police to report her car stolen, she’d awoken to find her vehicle burned out and wrapped around a street light beside Connie’s driveway with the Black Jack initials spray painted on the remains. The Sinners had arrived with a flatbed truck to take it away and Connie, Ty, and Evie were moved back to the safe house above Sparky’s shop.

Concerned about Evie’s biker clients ratting her out to the Jacks, Jagger had convinced her to hold back on reopening her business in a new location. As a result, she’d kept herself busy painting Sinner bikes, talking to insurance adjusters, and trying to find a new home for her business from inside Sparky’s shop. With too much time on her hands, and after hitting her quota of video games with Ty, she’d gone through her scrapbooks and reminisced about the time she and Zane had spent together.

They didn’t talk now, except about Ty, and she missed him so much she ached. Although she was still wary about the life he led, now that she’d had some time to think, she was beginning to warm to the idea that the Sinners weren’t all bad. But she’d hurt Zane by walking away and she didn’t know how to mend the rift between them.

“He’s not here.” Ty ran toward her as she rounded the vehicle, Tank in tow. “Tank says he’s gone away.”