Chapter 7

Standingin front of my ex half-naked was not on my to-do list. I shift uncomfortably, and I'm pretty certain he's getting some kind of kick out of staring at me critically while I slowly turn for him. He's spent the last twenty minutes asking me random questions, which felt less like an interview and more like an inquisition into my personal life. And I've had to talk myself into sticking this out because I've come this far.

"Would you consider a boob job?" he asks, tapping his pen against his bottom lip.

"No," I say clearly. "There's nothing wrong with my boobs." He shrugs, like it's an argument he can't be arsed to have, and I arch a brow. "You don't like my breasts?"

"I'm not talking about me, but the punters might want . . . more."

"Yeah, well, if they don't like it, they can keep their cash."

He grins. "Same old Nora."

"Look, do you wanna see me dance or not?"

He casually rests his arm over the back of the chair. "You seeing anyone?"

"I already told you, I'm not answering personal questions, Ray. Fuck, just forget this," I snap, snatching up my dress. He grabs my wrist and pulls me close, using his free hand to run a finger over the swell of my breast.

"You left without talking about it."

"There was nothing to say," I snap. "I ended it."

"No reason, no explanation."

"My mum is sick, I had to make her my priority. Now, let me go."

"The thing is, Nora, you don't get to make those decisions. I decide if we end."

I scoff. "You're talking crazy. Let me go."

"And you leaving like you did, refusing to answer my calls, just pissed me off."

I try to pull free to no avail. "Well, the constant calls pissed me off, but I didn't show up to your place like a nut job. Let me fucking go or I will scream this place down."

"No use," he says, shrugging. "No one can hear us." I stare at the door, wondering if the women waiting in the bar would come should I scream loud enough. He grins. "I hired those women, so you'd think this was all real. It's just you and me here."

My blood runs cold. "What?"

"I saw you before, dancing," he remarks. "I was hiding in the shadows. You wanna know what else I saw?" I shake my head as he slowly rises to his feet. He's tall, and the way he's now towering over me makes me uneasy. "I saw you with him," he whispers in my ear. "My woman with some fucking scumbag biker." He twists my arm up my back. "And now, because of you, I have to fucking destroy him."

I stare wide-eyed. I've never seen Ray like this. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been watching you for weeks. I've seen the way you look at him, how he looks at you. Do you know how many times I've wanted to put a bullet in him?"

I feel tears in my eyes and hate that I'm panicking. "I'm not your property," I mutter, shaking my head. "You don't own me. We ended. Just move on like a normal person."

"I knew right from the second he was rude to you in that playground that you'd fall for him. Nora fucking Coles, the bad boy magnet."

"You're talking crazy," I spit, trying again to pull free. The fact he's followed me relentlessly makes me sick to my stomach. He twists my arm higher, and I cry out. "Please, Ray, you're hurting me."

"You're coming home with me."

"I can't," I cry. "My mum is sick."

"Not my problem. Shall I tell you what happens if you don't come home tonight?" I don't bother to respond. He sneers, grabbing a handful of my hair and ripping my head back so I'm looking into his crazy eyes. "I'll kill your mum, your dimwit brother, that cute little kid you have a soft spot for, and then I'll kill her dad."

"Jesus, listen to yourself," I scream as he tugs harder. "I'm not worth this."

"Let's go."

He flings the door open and uses my hair as a leash to pull me through. I feel the roots ripping from my scalp and scramble to keep up as he strides through the bar. He stops suddenly, and I fall to my knees.

"Let her go."

My eyes find Bear's, and for a second, I'm flooded with relief. Until I notice the gun trained on us. I've never seen a gun before and my instant reaction is to scream. It's not until Ray pulls me to my feet and hisses in my ear to shut the fuck up that I begin to sob. Beside Bear is another guy in the same leather jacket, and then beside him is Josh. It takes a second for my brain to comprehend that my younger brother is in the same room as all these bad men, but before I can ask, a dull sound pops through the air. Ray releases his death grip on my hair and yells before dropping to the floor.

"I told you to let her go," Bear repeats, his voice low and deadly.

Josh rushes to me, grabbing my hand and dragging me to where Bear is. Bear grabs me and pulls me against him, holding my face into his chest.

BEAR

She'sin her fucking underwear. Her damn underwear. And to make it worse, she's crying. I hate seeing her tears. I instinctively hold her to me, keeping her face to my chest. "I hear you wanna come for my club," I say in Ray's direction.

He looks up from where he's kneeling on the floor, holding his bloodied arm. "You fucking shot me."

I pass Nora to Hunter and close the space between us in seconds. Pushing the gun to his temple, I get closer to his ear. "No one threatens my club."

"You took my woman," he spits.

"I'm not your fucking woman, you psychopath," Nora screams.

I turn to Josh. "Take her home," I order as I shrug out of my kutte and throw it to him so he can cover up his sister.

He gives a nod, trying to grab Nora, who's glaring at me. "How do you all know each other?"

"Now, Josh," I yell, and he drags her away.

"All this was over her?" I ask, almost amused. "You came for the MC over a woman?"

"She's mine," he snaps.

I laugh. "Well, now, she's mine." I pull the trigger, and he falls to the side in a heap.

Hunter goes behind the bar and takes two glasses, putting a double measure of whiskey in each. I head over to join him. "What the fuck just happened?" I mutter, scrubbing my hands over my face.

"He must've been coming here for her," says Hunter, knocking his drink back. "Bet that sent him over the edge, seeing you and her together."

"Do you think she knew? Did she target me to piss him off?"

He shrugs. "You know her better than anyone, Pres."

"We'll get this cleaned up and maybe I'll head over. We got shit to talk about."

He takes my now empty glass and begins washing the two. "If she didn't know, and all this was purely coincidence, are you claiming her?"

It's my turn to shrug because I haven't even thought that far ahead. Seeing her with him made me see red, so I know I don't want another man near her. That's just the possessive arsehole in me, right? But claiming, that's a whole new thing. And then there's her brother. Once she finds out I've been getting him hooked on shit, she's gonna lose her mind. I groan, running my fingers through my already messed hair. "Shit was easier before she came along."

Hunter laughs. "All good things are hard work."