Page 8 of Suspicious

But the thing that really stood out to me was the septum ring she has through her cute little button nose. It’s sexy as fuck, giving her that little bit of a harder edge she was missing when she was younger.

I wasn’t expecting Bea to be this freaking goddess, and that every time I look at her, my cock instantly reacts. But I can’t think about any of this right now. I have a job to do. I am the vice president of LA Defiance. It doesn’t matter that the love of my fucking life and the woman who completely ruined me just walked back into my world. I need to be the biker and brother I am supposed to be.

My personal life has to be put on hold—the clubalwayscomes first.

Rolling my shoulders, I risk another glance toward Bea as I ascend the stairs to the Chapel. She’s slowly sipping on her coffee, and my chest squeezes tightly. Then Theo starts walkingover to sit with her, so I turn my head away, not wanting my best friend and her brother to see me staring.

I need to focus anyway.

Walking into the Chapel, Alpha spots me as I make my way to my designated seat to his left. I grab my laptop to open it in front of me.

He lets out a soft chuckle. “Been a big night for you, VP,” he states, not offering anything further other than a cheesy smirk.

Scowling, I huff. “I don’t even know where to begin. So how about we just don’t?”

Alpha snickers. “Hearing you loud and clear. If you need to vent, I’m always here.”

“Thanks, Pres. For now, let’s have Church like any other normal day.”

He nods while the rest of my brothers file into the room, and then he bangs his gavel on the desk. “Church is in session. Is everyone here?”

“Yeah, Pres, everyone is accounted for,” I tell him.

He sits taller, placing his hands on the table in front of him. “All right… I know we had our celebration last night to welcome Montana into the club officially.”

Everyone cheers as Montana, our newest patched member, chuckles, even if he does look a little green from celebrating hard last night. Not only did he get his patch, but he also claimed Rhyan as his Old Lady. So, he had plenty to celebrate.

He steps away from the wall and smiles. “Thanks for allowing me into this Church session. I know, technically, I still have to earn my place here, but I am thankful I get to sit in this one today… well, stand.”

We smile as he moves back to the wall, lifting his foot to rest against the sheetrock. His arms cross over his chest.

The seats at this table are taken by the higher-ranking brothers. Once you work your way up in the club, you earnyour seat at the table. Montana is right—he shouldn’t even be in Church, but this meeting concerns him, so he needs to be here.

Alpha dips his chin, then starts the meeting officially. “Atlas… that asshole caused a lot of damage to Montana and Rhyan, and we have him in holding. We could easily have ended his life, but as I told Montana, I have bigger plans for him.”

We all sit up taller, listening as he continues, “But before we carry that out, I am going to let you have some fun with him first, Montana.”

Montana steps forward. “Oh, yeah… what do you have in mind?”

Sinking back in my chair, a memory catches hold of something Alpha said, “I’m gonna let you have some fun,” and instantly, I’m pulled from the conversation with my brothers and straight back to my childhood with Bea. I can’t help it—the recollection hits with such an intense force that I have to just let it replay through my mind.

Crawling into Bea’s window, I knew Theo would be in his room down the hall studying for his test at school tomorrow. I probably should have been, too, but I tended to wing those things. I always did, and somehow, I got by. Flicking the curtain back, I stepped through onto her bench seat beneath her window. Looking in, I saw her lying on her stomach, legs bent up and kicking back and forth as she listened to music on her iPod, studying. She had no clue I was even coming through her window, and it made me smile that I could sneak in like this, and no one knew—especially not Theo.

We grew up next door to each other. Theo was two years older than me. I was a year older than Bea. And Jason, my brother, was two years younger than her. We all grew up together as the best of friends, being close in age.

Quietly making my way over to her bed, I stepped in behindher, then leaned over and wrapped my hand around her mouth to stop her from screaming. Her body jerked, leaping around to try to defend herself from whatever intruder was attacking, but when she spotted me with a huge smirk on my face, she stopped fighting. Then she reached out, and pulled me down onto the bed with her, her earbuds falling out of her ears as she dropped to the mattress.

“What are you doing here, Alex? It’s a school night, and Theo’s just down the hall. What if he comes in and sees you?” she whispered, her smile only growing wider.

Reaching out, I slid a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. “Then I guess we better get out of here. I’m gonna let you have some fun tonight, Bea.”

She widened her eyes, and excitement flowed through her. “Alex, we’re teens. What the hell are we gonna do on a school night?”

Grinning, I jumped off her bed, gesturing for her to take her hand in mine. “Do you trust me?”

She chuckled loudly, then smacked her hand to her mouth to cover the noise. “Not at all. You’re always leading me astray.”

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a packet of Mike and Ike sour candies. Bea’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas as I tossed them at her, and she caught them, clutching them to her chest. “You know how you were desperate to see the movieValentine’s Day, even though I think it is a stupid representation of a holiday that’s all about making money—”

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