“I knew today was too good to be true.” A tease rose in her eyes. “You got me high on all those beautiful gardens and riding on the open road and brought me to an abandoned property to slaughter me and get rid of the body, didn’t you? I was too chatty over lunch, wasn’t I?”

He cocked a brow. “Baby girl, you’ve got a twisted sense of humor. This is the old Whiskey place, where Biggs and his brothers and sister grew up.” He set their helmets down and gazed up at the mountains. “Tiny told me about it when I first came out this way.”

“Why don’t you stay here instead of the club?”

“Because I’m not a Whiskey.”

“Oh, sorry. I think of the Dark Knights as one big family, and you’re part of them. The Whiskeys treat you like family.”

“The club is a brotherhood, and the Whiskeys are friends, not family.”

“But—”

He shut her down with a glare.

She sighed, and he could tell she wanted to argue the point, but she relented. “Fine.” She looked up at the cabin. “So why are we here? It’s all boarded up.”

“I don’t know. It reminds me of home, and I guess I wanted you to see it.”

“I’ve never heard you talk about where you’re from.” She wrapped her arms around him, her smile reaching all the way up to her eyes. “Careful, growly boy. Your armor is cracking.”

It was crazy how much he craved her touch, her smile, and he had a feeling it was those desires that had led him there. “My armor will never crack, baby girl.” He kissed her and slung an arm over her shoulder, walking toward the path he’d worn in the woods over the years. “Let’s go down by the creek.”

“I like creeks. There was one by my house growing up. Was there one where you grew up?”

“Yup.” He pulled back a branch as they made their way through the woods.

“Where was that?”

“Hope Valley, Colorado. Same place as Redemption Ranch. I went to school with Tiny’s kids.”

“And…?”

“And nothing.” They made their way past thick patches of ferns, their leaves shaking as creatures skittered along the forest floor. He pulled back more branches blocking the clearing by the creek and followed Tracey into the grass, which was peppered with wildflowers.

“Come on, Diesel. Tell me something. Anything. Why did Tiny tell you about this place?”

“I don’t know. We’re close. I mean, I worked at their ranch for a while and joined the Dark Knights because of him. My mom and I used to go to the ranch for Friendsgivings and other gatherings. When I took off, he said I should check out the view from here.”