Page 4 of Knight's Last Chance

I care about her. More than I ever have about anyone else in my life.

Men like my MC brothers and me, brought together by brotherhood and our love for riding, rarely have much of a past. We are adrenaline junkies who live in the moment, letting the future play out how it will. Most of us prefer not to foster deep connections with people outside of the club, and that’s how I have lived my whole life.

Until Rhea.

When the girl came into my life, she wrecked everything. She was young and broken, and as my best friend’s younger sister, I was naturally protective of her. Everyone was.

Not only is Priest my best friend, he’s also our MC’s president. As a result, Rhea became one of us almost immediately, and I swore to protect her with my life. But on her eighteenth birthday, when I gifted her a camera, everything changed. She’d leaned up and shyly brushed her lips over mine before confessing that she was in love with me.

Unlocking Pandora’s box with a few whispered words.

An angel as precious as Rhea had no right wanting a rogue like me. She was so young, too young to really know what love even is. She should have not given her first kiss to a hard, dangerous man such as myself, but she did.

And she wanted more.

More of something I couldn’t give her. No matter how much I wanted to, I knew I had to push her away so she could live a little, enjoy her life without the baggage that comes along with a man like me. I just never thought my words would send her running out of reach for a nearly a full fucking year!

But she’s back.

Fuck, I never had the chance to fix it before she left, but now I need to. I can’t have her trying to hide from me for the entirety of her visit instead of having fun and celebrating her brother’s coming engagement. I’m going to fix this.

With the thought in place, I head back into my bedroom, the water forgotten. My mind is on the girl next door as I dress in dark jeans and a black shirt, and I am out of the door in record time before I can change my mind. But all the bravado slips away, and I experience a moment of doubt when I walk up to my best friend’s door.

Now that I am here, I can’t bring myself to knock, because . . . what would I even say?

Hey Priest, I thought I saw someone that looks like your sister in your house, and I am here to say hi. Oh, by the way, I’m the guy who broke her heart and sent her running off to another state for almost a year. And I’ve regretted it ever since.

Yeah, I bet that would go over so well.

“Shit!” I curse, grabbing a fistful of my hair and tugging hard, tempted to turn around and hurry away when the door suddenly opens to reveal my best friend.

“Knight?” he says with a frown on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s about tonight.” I blurt the first thing that comes to my mind.

“Shh,” he hisses, glaring at me as he steps out and closes the door softly behind him. “We can’t let Sky hear this.”

Right. His girlfriend can’t learn about the surprise proposal he has prepared for tonight. Is that why Rhea came back? It makes sense that Priest would call her home for this.

“I just came here to tell you that we have everything set,” I say, ignoring the voice at the back of my head that calls me a coward.

I’m not exactly afraid of Priest. He and I have fought enough times growing up to know we’re evenly matched. He is built like a linebacker with bulky muscles, but I am a big man too. Unlike him, though, I don’t rely on just strength. I have the skills too. Fifteen years of boxing will do that. But it’s not just a physical altercation that I have to worry about. Priest is the president of the Steel Order MC. His word is law, his decisions final. He could cast me out and leave me with nothing. He might be my best friend, but Rhea is his baby sister.

Still, as worried as I am about pissing of Priest, I am even more wary of the five-foot-nothing redhead with a temper to match currently hiding in his house.

She could bring me to my knees in ways no one ever has before.

“This better be a surprise. If someone dares tell her before tonight, I will break both of their legs and then ride my Harley over them.”

“You’ve already threatened everyone in the club. We all got the message, Priest.”

The man nods, opening his door to head back inside when he suddenly stops, whipping around to face me. “I almost forgot. Rhea is back.” I swallow hard at the information. “It’s the first time she’s come home since she started college, and I want her to be comfortable and feel welcome here. I don’t want her to think my relationship with Sky makes her any less important. I’m still holding out hope that she’ll transfer back to Austin and come home.”

My eyes shift over his broad shoulders to the small figure hiding behind a large flower vase, but I can still make her out.

“You think she might consider it?” My voice is carefully devoid of emotion, and so is my face, but I can practically hear the loud thump of my heart, and it’s deafening.

“I wasn’t sure she was going to show up, but she did. I’m taking that as a good sign. Can you look after her tonight? I’m going to be a bit occupied, and I don’t want her to be alone—”

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