Page 75 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

“I needed someone to protect Lauren in case Clyde made a move on her while I was away,” Max explained.

“You mean while you put your life at risk.” I heard Jake’s slap his hand down hard on something. “You could have died, Max.”

“I already told you. I wanted to keep Black Storm and Lauren safe.” I could hear Max’s frustration as well. “I didn’t know Clyde was involved. I didn’t understand what I was up against. But now I know. Clyde picked a fight with me. I’m not going to let him get away with it.”

“No!” Jake said firmly. “You don’t get to decide that. You don’t get to do everything. This involves all of us, all of Black Storm. We’re all in it now.”

Right. I got them all involved in this mess. Not just Jake, Max and Wade, but the people they cared about.

Just then, a phone rang.

“What?” I heard Max ask as soon as the ringing stopped. Then there was a pause, which made me wonder what Max was hearing.

What was the call all about?

“Fuck,” Max muttered, making me even more curious, then, after another pause, he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

I heard a phone clatter afterward then another curse.

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

“That was Irina,” Max said. “She said she was just informed that there’s a clip of me going around the internet. Someone took a video of the fight at the dirt track and they’re spreading it around. My face is in it.”

“A video?”

Oh, fuck.

“I’m guessing this is part of Roarke’s plan,” Max said. “I should have known he’d be the kind of guy who gets a thrill from watching other people get their hands dirty for him.”

As Max spoke, I took out my phone and did a quick search on the video. Sure enough, everyone was already talking about it, some people labeling the mystery CEO of Xosmo as a biker thug and others saying he wasn’t at all fit to head a Fortune 500 company. There was even an article from a few seconds ago saying that the stock of Xosmo was already dropping.

“Isn’t that bad for your reputation?” Jake asked. “For your company?”

“Irina and I will handle it,” Max said. “She’s on her way here right now so we can discuss it. In the meantime, I have to make some calls.”

As I heard footsteps approach the door, I quickly left, hiding behind a shelf. When the coast was clear, I slipped into my room. For a moment, I just leaned on the door I had shut behind me, in disbelief over everything that was happening. Just this morning, I had a beautiful breakfast in bed with Jake, and now this? Whilehe and I were lost in our own happy bubble, Max nearly died. And now, Max was in even bigger trouble?

It was all because of me.

Yes, Clyde was the bad guy here, but if not for me, Max would never have had to deal with him. Clyde would never have pulled off all this shit to bring him down. And Black Storm would be okay. Jake’s chosen family would all still be drinking at Billie’s and riding like the wind without any cares in the world.

I buried my face in my hands as I slid to the floor, pain gripping my chest. I was about to start sobbing when my phone rang. When I saw the unknown number on the screen, I hesitated to answer the call, but I wondered if it might be Irina, so I answered.

“Hello?” I spoke softly.

“My sweet Lauren. How I’ve missed you.”

The sound of the voice at the other end of the line sent a shudder down my spine.

It was Clyde. There was no mistaking it. I blocked his number, but he must be using someone else’s phone. I should have changed my number. I should have thrown my old phone away. I was careless, and so I was paying the price. I didn’t have to prolong my suffering, though.

“Well, I haven’t, and I don’t want to talk to you ever again,” I told Clyde, surprising myself with my own courage to find the words to defy him when back when we were together, I never did. “Goodbye.”

I was about to hang up when he spoke again.

“By the way, how’s that friend of yours who got shot?”

I froze. What friend?

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