Page 6 of July 27

"Don't argue—"

A knock interrupted him, and he walked to the door without finishing the discussion. She stayed back, uninterested in the people Ruger claimed were his MC brothers. She could tell he had no one close to him except Katrina.

The men stayed away from him. She found that strange, considering he belonged to the club. It was almost as if they were afraid of him. When he walked, people moved out of his way.

Ruger shifted, allowing her to see Katrina standing in the hallway holding a sack. Unable to stop her curiosity, she stepped to the side to get a better view of Ruger's daughter. The way he'd talked about her when they were both held hostage, she assumed Katrina was a young girl. To her surprise, Katrina was around her age, maybe a little older. She guessed about twenty-two to twenty-five.

Now, she was pregnant. There was a definite bump going on behind her tight shirt.

"I have no idea what size she is." Katrina glanced at Rachel. "So I threw a pair of joggers in there in case the jeans were too big. She's smaller than me."

"That'll work." Ruger caressed Katrina's face. "Appreciate it, baby."

"So, she's leaving?" whispered Katrina.

Rachel turned around to hide her shock. Ruger wasn't only taking her outside. He planned to get rid of her.

Her heart raced. She had to convince him to let her stay with him. It wasn't safe out there.

"Yeah. It's time."

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut at the pain that stabbed her chest. Going home was the last place she wanted to go. The bad men had already broken into her home once and taken her. There was nothing to stop them from doing it again. She'd rather die than go back home.

The door clicked.

She rushed to Ruger, grabbing his vest. "Please. Please. Please, don't make me leave."

"Your brother wants you."

"He's in prison."

"Well, he's set it up, so you're taken care of." He lowered his voice. "It's time."

"Shady doesn't have any say over me." She shook him, but all she managed to do was yank his vest. His body never budged. "I live by myself."

"If Shady says you're safe to go home, then you're going home." He peeled her hands off him. "You can't stay here. The clubhouse isn't any place for a woman."

"Katrina stays here." She wrapped her arms around her waist.

He came off a hardass, but she knew there was a soft side to him. She'd listened to him talk about his daughter as if the sun rose and set with Katrina. That had to mean something. He had to care if he was breaking her heart.

"Not anymore," he muttered. "She moved out."

Her one bargaining chip was no longer available. The only person Ruger cared about was his daughter. Now Katrina was gone, living life with the president of Havlin and having a kid.

Ruger dumped the sack on the sofa. "Change into these clothes."

"I don't want to go," she mumbled.

She hated the way she sounded like a whining child. In her head, she knew she couldn't stay forever or inconvenience Ruger's life anymore. She was scared. She had nobody to help her once Ruger took her home.

She watched him, hoping he'd change his mind, but he moved his tools around, ignoring her.

There was nothing more for her to do but get out of his t-shirt. He would force her to go outside, and she couldn't ride his motorcycle without clothes.

She went through the bag, picking out a pair of jeans and a shirt. It was the most feminine thing she'd had on since the night of the kidnapping.

The men who'd kidnapped her quickly stripped her down to nothing and made her stay that way the entire time. Only after Ruger killed the men had he found clothes in the house for her to wear. She'd taken them off the moment she could and refused to put them back on again.

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