Page 38 of Heron's Flame

Crow stood in front of Heron. He held out a hand as if to stop my man from doing something reckless and spoke directly to Hammerhead. “We’ve come to this meeting without animosity, Hammerhead, but if you don’t release Rebel, we’ll have no choice but to consider it an act of war against our club.”

“Why does this club whore matter to you?”

Heron snarled. “She’s not a hanger-on.”

Crow shot him a look before focusing on Paul. “Rebel has been claimed by one of our members. She’s an ol’ lady.”

“I don’t recognize anyone named Rebel.”

For fuck’s sake.

“I’m Rebel,” I declared loudly, frowning at Heron.Don’t do anything stupid.

Paul seemed amused. “Then we’ve got a problem.”

Crow stiffened along with most of the Devil’s Murder.

“Because this woman,” he glanced at me, “is my ol’ lady, Rebecca.”

Heron looked ready to explode. Hawk’s hand rested on his shoulder, probably to keep him calm.

“Then it’s easy. We ask her which club she wants to belong to. Not an issue.” Crow knew I’d choose them.

“Not possible. She ran from me, and now she needs to learn her place. Can’t have our whores thinking they can do whatever the fuck they want.”

Paul’s club members laughed in agreement, and a few nudged one another like this shit was funny. I couldn’t imagine what horrors women were subjected to at the hands of such men.

“I’m an ol’ lady,” I respond, not giving a shit if I corrected him in front of everyone. “I choose my man, Heron, and his club, the Devil’s Murder.”

No matter what happened next, I had to make that known.

Heron’s gaze caressed me from head to toe, softening a few heartbeats before his dark eyes hardened to onyx. The fury boiling under his skin made him appear imposing and lethal. He’d kill Paul before we ever left this room.

“The only claim that fucking matters is mine.” Paul raised his left hand. “She’s my wife.”

I’d only had one lover who treated me with kindness, respect, and love. My Heron. He never looked at me with doubt until now. The shock on his features felt like a sucker punch to the gut. I should have explained and told him about Paul. He would have understood if he knew about all the abuse. I’d been fucking sold! No part of Paul or the wedding was ever my choice. His friend officiated, and I had to sign or risk a beating and additional rapes.

“Was your vow given willingly?” Heron asked, staring into my eyes. The agony there felt like it reached across the space separating us and latched onto my heart with poisoned barbs.

“No,” I replied firmly.

Paul laughed. He didn’t care about consent. He never did.

“Then there’s no marriage,” Heron replied firmly.

Paul whipped out a gun from inside his cut, and every member of his club followed his lead. “I say there is.”

Crow calmly stared at his new nemesis. “Put the guns away and release Rebel or deal with the consequences.”

The smug look on Paul’s face proved he didn’t have any intention of releasing me.

Before anyone else could speak, a man walked into the tent. I’d know him anywhere since he visited The Roost often. Rael, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the RBMC Tonopah, strode forward.

He had a magnetic, terrifying personality, and the skull-themed black and white face paint he always wore only added to that deadly vibe. His hollowed-out nose and black sunken eyes gave him the appearance of a devilish spirit. When he grinned, as he did right now, the ghostly specter of his features seemed almost demonic. I’d never want to be someone on the receiving end of his rage. And the way he singularly focused on Paul gave the impression he barely restrained the need to kill.

Paul had no idea who he attempted to fuck with. If he’d done his research, he would have seen the Devil’s Murder hadclose allies with several prominent clubs, including the RBMC, Feral Rebels, and Reaper’s Vale. Even I knew this, and I wasn’t anything more than a girl who ended up being taken in by honorable men. Bikers who weren’t afraid to stand up to the vilest, most sadistic in our society, the champions of victims, women, children, and the innocent. The Feral Rebels, Devil’s Murder, the RBMC Tonopah, and RBMC Las Vegas were all protectors.

Rael glided to a stop in front of Paul and invaded his personal space. He got so close that I leaned my head back to stay out of his way. “Let go of the girl.”

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