“Yeah. Montana challenged Stone to a fight to the death, thinking he would win and be able to take his place as President. When Stone declined—because he’s not an idiot—Montana told Stone he was forming his own Club, and they’d be out for blood.”

“Jesus,” I curse. “I had no idea.”

“Stone didn’t want to do much explaining. He knew what it was going to come to, and he wanted to keep you all out of it as much as possible. You know how he is.”

I nod. Stone knows we would all go down on behalf of saving one of our brothers. Especially him. So when it comes to the really dirty shit, he tends to keep us out of it. One—so we remaininnocent.Two—so the cops can’t try to pit us against one another.

“Around this same time, Montana was trying to recruit members of Death’s Road for this new Club. Rush found out and wanted retribution. He and Stone arranged a secret meeting. They came to an agreement that Montana needed to be stopped. Apparently, Montana promised Jasper, the current President of Death’s Road, the Vice spot in the new Club. He also promised him he’d be able to take the Skull down, and Jasper could have reign over our territory. We couldn’t have that. So, the plan was for Death’s Road to kill Montana, and the Skull would take out Jasper. Only before we got the chance to fulfill our end of the bargain, Jasper had Rush and Yo-Yo killed.”

He shifts in bed a little, getting himself more comfortable. I’d imagine he wishes he was home in his own bed right now.

“Turns out, Jasper wanted to run more than just our territory. He wanted Rush’s too. Once he took over Death’s Road, he became almost untouchable. Whoever pledged their allegiance to Rush was killed until everyone was either gone or scared into working for Jasper. We weren’t able to get at him. His numbers are too high, and he’s too well guarded.”

“Fuck me. That’s why Stone doesn’t want us going after them,” I say.

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t I feel like a dick.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You didn’t know, which is exactly what Stone wanted. Now that youdoknow, make sure you don’t go doing anything stupid.”

“As long as they stay away from Sasha, I won’t pursue a fight. But if they don’t…” I shoot him with a serious look.

When it comes to Sasha, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Or I’ll die trying.

* * *

After I left Iron,I climbed on my bike and cruised back into town. I need to make sure Death’s Road is gone. If not, then I need to keep Sasha from going inside until after they leave. When I get to the heart of town, I see their bikes are still parked out front. There’s a towing company directly behind the diner, which is where I end up parking my bike while I stake it out.

As I pass by the rear of the diner, my eyes catch sight of the doorway where I first saw Sasha. My cock twitches and her hazel eyes flash through my mind for a split second.

As inconspicuously as possible, I walk toward the front of the diner to see if I can catch a glimpse of them inside. They’re sitting at a table, eating. They almost look like normal people and not the pure evil motherfuckers that I know them to be. I fear for their server. She’s the new one. She’s so tiny and innocent looking. I hope they don’t give her a hard time. Before I leave to get back to my lookout spot, I see her bringing them their check.

Good. Get the fuck out.

I walk back to my bike just in time to see Sasha approaching Main Street from Westminster Street. Her hair is dry now—God, she looked fucking sexy earlier when her wet hair hung like a mess around her beautiful face.

But I can’t get lost in that memory just now. She only has a few minutes’ walk until she gets to the diner. The other bikers haven’t left yet. I walk back toward the diner so I can intercept her when I hear the growl of bike engines starting up. I wait to see which direction they go. When they turn north and head back in the direction they came from, my suspicion grows.

They came here, specifically, to this diner.

Why?

Backing away from the building again, I tuck myself behind one of the tow trucks and watch Sasha through its windows until she disappears inside. I decide to stay until she leaves, but I promise myself that it will end there.

For today, anyway.

She isn’t inside for too long. Fifteen minutes maybe. When she leaves, she walks across the street to Mr. Shepherd’s drugstore. That’s when I remember what else she said she needed to buy today—the morning-after pill.

My heart clenches a little, thinking that she could be well on the way to getting pregnant until she takes it. But the feeling doesn’t stick around long. No matter how much I care about her or how much I like the idea of starting a family with her, even I know it’s way too soon for anything like that.

I only watch her until she turns back onto Westminster Street, and I can double-check that she’s heading home. Then I go back to the clubhouse and try to stay busy enough to keep myself from going to see her again.

* * *

I spentthe rest of the day working on Sasha’s car. If it weren’t for the fact that it means so much to her, I would have already stripped it for the parts that are still functional and sent the rest of it to Teddy’s junkyard. After I gave it a full inspection, I started some of the work that it needs. I replaced the alternator and installed new fuel injectors, spark plugs, and a distributor.