Jagger lifted an eyebrow. “Do I want to know?”

“You may want to send a coupla brothers over there with this key.” He pulled the key out of his pocket and handed it to Jagger. “She was gonna go to Viper and bargain herself for Ty so I handcuffed her to the radiator. Whoever goes to get her should be armed and wearing a padded safety suit, maybe a helmet and a face mask. I got Benson checking on her through the window every half hour or so.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Jagger tucked the key into the pocket of his cut. “Well, that’s the end of that relationship.”

“Nah.” Dax laughed. “That’s called having a family. Anything to do with the kids and the old ladies go fucking ballistic and start thinkin’ they’re gonna handle things themselves. A man’s gotta know how to deal with them. I always keep a set of cuffs in the house.”

“Listen to the big talker shootin’ off his mouth like Sandy doesn’t have him by the balls.” Cade snorted. “You got those cuffs ’cause you’re a kinky bastard.”

“Guess we’re all kinky bastards ’cause I heard you cuffed Dawn to the bathroom sink when she found out some bully hit one of your little twin girls.”

“My girls. My responsibility.” Cade puffed out his chest. “That nine-year-old bully’s not gonna be saying dick to anyone on that playground ever again. And after I got home and uncuffed Dawn I made sure she understand how things were gonna be with me and the girls.”

“Wasn’t that the day you showed up with a black eye?” Gunner pushed himself to his feet and grabbed a branch for balance. His old injury from the night the Jacks burned down the Sinner clubhouse still bothered him, but he would never admit to suffering any pain.

“You want a fucking black eye now?”

“Like I said.” Jagger looked over at Zane and grinned. “That’s the end of that relationship.”

“No, like I said.” Dax laughed. “It’s called having a family. Sinner style.”

TWENTY-SIX

If you use the right tools, take your time, and follow the manual, the risk of disaster is quite low.

—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL

Viper’s bodyguard gestured for Evie to follow him through the spacious, chalet-style cabin, set into the side of the mountain and surrounded by dense forest. Evie breathed in the fresh scent of pine and cedar as they emerged into an open-plan living room with vaulted ceilings and giant picture windows boasting views over the valley below. Across the room she could see a honey oak kitchen, separated from the living space with a granite-topped counter and four tall stools. Bright rugs covered the polished teak floors, and large, comfortable sofas and chairs surrounded an open Victorian fireplace.

“Not what you expected?” Sprawled on the couch, his arms across the burnt amber cushions, legs parted wide, Viper gestured for her to sit. “Doreen did the decorating. Or maybe it was Shelly. I go through old ladies so fast, it’s hard to keep track.”

Evie wasn’t interested in pleasantries. Or sitting. “Where’s Ty?”

Viper cocked his head to the side. “Is that anyway to greet your man?”

“You’re not my man. I thought I made that clear.” Her heart drummed in her chest when he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“And I thought I made it clear that you are mine. Apparently you didn’t get the memo. I hear you’ve been spreading your legs for the Sinners. If I’d known you were such a little slut, I’d have taken you that first day I saw you in your shop. I would have tied you to the bench and fucked you till you screamed.”

“Who I fuck is none of your business.” Unable to stay still, she walked over to the window. Construction materials littered the lawn. Four workers were busy erecting, of all things, a white picket fence, while a few bored Black Jacks looked on.

“It is if the man you’re fucking is supposed to be me.” His voice was soft and all the more threatening for it. Evie shivered and her hand strayed to the phone hidden in her jacket, a backup in case Viper or his bodyguards took her purse. Arianne had also given her a gun, but Evie couldn’t even think about using it.

She turned and sat on the windowsill, the position giving her some courage because the workers could see in, and she could easily escape to the balcony if necessary. “I don’t understand how you think. Yes, I enjoyed your company. You are interesting, well read, articulate, and very savvy about the world. But you also killed Bill and T-Rex, threatened me, burned down my shop, and kidnapped my child. Pick one, and it’s a deal killer. Put them together and there isn’t a chance in hell I would ever want to spend another minute with you.”

His lips quirked, amused. “And yet you want to be with the Sinner VP, who I can assure you has committed crimes no less heinous than the list you just spat out?”

“The difference is in the choices you make.” Her fingers tightened on her purse. “You liked me. You wanted me. And when it didn’t work out, you chose violence to get me. Zane wanted me, too. So he chose to sacrifice himself, to give up the life to keep me safe. He protected me. I don’t think there is anything in this world that I would ask that he wouldn’t do for me. And I would do the same for him. I’m not about to judge him when he does what he does to protect the people he cares about.”

Viper’s face tightened. “As do I.”

“I want to see Ty,” she snapped, her patience at an end.

“And I want the pleasure of your company, Evangeline. I’ll let you see Ty and then we’ll have dinner together. That is why you got all dressed up, isn’t it?”

“I dressed up because you made it a condition for seeing Ty,” she said. “I didn’t dress up for you.”

“Shame.” Viper turned on the television and she saw Ty in a bedroom sitting on a red race-car bed playing a video game. The shelves around him were filled with toys. Her heart ached when she saw his tear-streaked face, but at least he didn’t appear to be harmed.

“I want to see him in person.”

“You will, but not yet,” Viper said. “But just to ease your anxiety, he’s upstairs. When I moved here I had them bring Jeff’s old things from my house. My son, Jeff, was spoiled so Ty will be well entertained.”

Hope flared in her chest. She had made a big assumption that Viper wanted her because she wasn’t part of the biker world, and that he wouldn’t be violent unless she forced his hand. But the main premise of her rescue attempt was that Viper would care about his now motherless son, and that he would fear for his safety if he knew the Sinners had him. The hostage trade hadn’t worked before because he clearly had no feelings for Doreen. But if he’d brought Jeff’s old toys to his new house, maybe there was hope for her plan after all.

Arianne had told her that although Viper had been a hard and cruel father, deep down he had feelings for Jeff and he had been devastated when his son died. From the conversations she’d had with Viper, Evie thought he also cared deeply about Arianne, even admired her for defying him and becoming Jagger’s old lady. Arianne didn’t believe Evie, however; she had been more than happy to go to Ennis to visit her new stepbrother.

Since meeting Zane, Evie had realized that people weren’t black and white, monsters or men. Everyone had a little bit of both inside them; it was their choices that made the difference.

Viper turned off the television and stood, holding out his hand. “Come. My chef has dinner waiting. And since you’re here because you want to be here, I’m looking forward to our meal together.”

She accepted his outstretched hand, grimacing when he squeezed it just a little too hard, and followed him to the kitchen where Viper introduced her to Mario, a short, nervous, slightly balding man wearing a white apron.

“Mario came to me looking for work after the Sinners burned down his restaurant.” Viper pulled out Evie’s chair and she took her seat. “Saved me from hunting him down. He was paying off his debt to us by keeping my boys fed. Now he cooks just for me, and we’re gonna rebuild his restaurant after we repair the clubhouse. The Sinners broke an unspoken rule when they took out a civilian building.”