Page 5 of July 27

He walked off and tossed his smoke in the sand-filled bucket by the door.

"Hey," yelled Jagger. "Call if you change your mind."

He waved his hand, letting Jagger know he heard, and walked into the clubhouse. There wasn't much to do to get Rachel ready to leave. She had no belongings. Most days, she wore one of his t-shirts. He stopped, turned around, and went back outside.

"Katrina?" He walked up to his daughter. "Rachel needs clothes. She's leaving today. Can you get her something to wear?"

If he tried putting his clothes on her small frame, the clothes would whip off in the wind.

"Okay." Katrina raised her brows. "I'll find something for her to wear."

It was obvious Katrina wanted Rachel gone. Maybe now, his daughter would get rid of the attitude toward him, and they could work on having some kind of father/daughter relationship. She was going to have his grandchild in a few months. He'd like to have a part in his grandson's life.

"Thanks, baby." He went back inside and walked to the bedroom.

He wasn't going to bail on his family the way his parents stepped out of his life the moment their picture-perfect family got a little dirty.

He opened the door and checked the clock on the wall. He only had a half hour to get Rachel ready before they had to leave.

Having jumped up from the couch when the door opened, Rachel stilled and relaxed at the sight of him. He hated how fear always set in whenever he walked through the door.

Los Li had damaged her. It would take years for her to recover, if possible.

Chapter Two

Ruger closed the door. Rachel's chest pounded. The anxiety that remained after escaping her brother's enemies continued to beat her each day. The constant pain weakened her despite trying to make herself stronger.

Sometimes, it hurt to breathe.

There was a ball of fear sitting on her chest, making it impossible for her to expand her lungs all the way.

The stress made her lightheaded.

Physically, her body had healed, and even though the bruises changed colors daily, they were fading. Emotionally, she wanted to stay in the room and pretend the outside world had disappeared.

Beyond the door in the clubhouse, there was evil all around.

Her entire life was filled with danger.

That's what happened when you were born into the Silverstone family that stole, lied, and probably murdered. She wouldn't put any crime past her brother. Unfortunately, he was her only living relative.

Her mother died from a drug overdose when she was five years old. She barely remembered her. When she was fifteen, her father passed away quickly after finding out he had lung cancer. That left only her brother in her life. Shady was five years older than her and had taken her father's position in their crime-filled world at the young age of twenty.

Soon after she turned eighteen years old, Shady went to prison.

She'd survived four years by herself, working, living alone, taking care of the rundown house. Everything was fine until recently when the evil men broke into the house and kidnapped her.

With Ruger, she had experienced the worst part of her life. And yet, she felt safe with him.

"We're going for a ride." Ruger's gaze moved down her body and back up to her eyes. "Katrina's bringing you some clothes to wear."

She shook her head. It was safe in the room. If he wanted to leave for a while, he could go. But she was staying here.

"You don't have a choice. You're going with me." Ruger tossed the tools scattered on the floor into a metal box.

She swallowed. "But I don't want to go out."

It was hard enough to walk into the clubhouse with the others around, looking at her. She couldn't go outside. What if there were more men Shady screwed over and were looking for her?

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