Page 2 of Gio

It was just a reminder of why I never came home. Everyone only thought about the bright casino lights and famous residencies that lasted for years. No one ever thought about the prostitution and the gangs. And the bikers.

But I didn’t want to hear any more, so I started walking—loudly—and pasted on my most professional, slightly clueless smile. “Excuse me, gentleman, I seem to be lost.” When bothheads swung towards me, my eyes widened. “Carl! You are just the man I’ve been looking for,” I began, determined to keep talking until I was far away from here. “I need a map. I can’t do much more without a map.”

Carl nodded and let out a frustrated sigh at the interruption. “Yeah, I’ll email it to you.” He took a step forward but the other man, Viper put a hand to his chest.

“Hold up. Who the fuck are you and why are you sneaking around back here?”

I frowned, ignoring my racing heart. “I’m Harper and I’m planning a charity gala here in the hotel.”

“Bullshit,” he spat out. “Where did you come from?”

I rolled my eyes and let out a slow breath. “Back that way. I tried to get out with one of the bellhops, but the door closed behind him.”

“Shit,” Carl muttered. “You should have gotten a temporary pass to get you through all the access points.” He pulled out a small plastic card and started moving in my direction when, once again, Viper stopped him.

“No. Wait one fucking minute. What did you hear?”

“About what?”

His expression darkened and I knew without a doubt that this man wasn’t just a biker, he was a killer. “Whatever the fuck you heard.” He took several big steps forward until he was right in my face, his grown eyes were black and angry. “Talk. Now.”

“I didn’t hear anything. I don’t know where I am, and I was on the phone with my bitch of a boss who pissed me off and I took a moment to calm down.”

He gripped my upper arm tight enough to make me gasp in pain. “Good. You didn’t hear nothing at all. Got it?”

“Since I didn’t hear anything, yeah, I got it.” I tried to yank free of his hold, but he kept me there in a classic power play, only releasing me when he was ready to.

“If I find out otherwise, you’re dead.” His index finger traced the line of my jaw, down my throat and across my collarbone. “Then again, maybe I’ll just make you wish that I’d killed you.”

Understood. I took a step back and nodded. “The map, Carl?”

This time when Carl stepped forward, Viper allowed it. “I’ll email that map to you shortly, Harper. Sorry about the mix up.”

Mix up. Was that what we were calling shady deals with biker gangs these days?

Home sweet hell.

I rushed back to the ballroom with my heart racing, trying like hell to forget everything I just heard.

After a few hours I managed to forget, and then an uneasy feeling settled over me that I couldn’t shake for the rest of the evening.

Chapter 2

Gio

“Road Captain, hell fuckin’ yeah!” My best friend, Cole, clapped me on the back, his smile was damn near as big as mine. “Congratulations, brother.”

“Thanks, man.” I shrugged my shoulders and turned around to show off the patches, freshly done for tonight’s patching ceremony. “I’m official.” It felt like I’d been a prospect for years and there were times I wondered if I would ever get patched in.

“How does it feel?”

My smile grew wide. “Fucking amazing, man.”

“You earned it,” Cole assured me. “Been a long ride but it paid off.”

My brother and my sister-in-law, Petyon, stopped beside me and clapped me on the back a little harder than necessary but that’s what annoying older brothers were for, pissing off their younger brothers. “You earned it, brother. You stepped up every time we asked.”

“It’s what we do.” Although I’d grown up with Cole and Rocky—so I knew what it was to live with brothers and to have their backs—this was a whole new level. This was a lot more than just the three of us against the world.

---