The little green phone starts dancing across my LED dash and I hit the phone button on the steering wheel. “I don’t want a lecture.”

“I know. But damn. Are you both going to be this toxic the entire time?”

“Val, you didn’t know us back then. You don’t know what he has done to me. Me keeping Wolf from him for four years is nothing.”

“Lala,” Val warns. “You know we’ve got to keep these things in-house. We don’t want it getting out that you have a loose end.”

“He’s not just a loose end, Val. These men? This club? They’re anything but, and aside from that, Wicked—” I pause, wondering how I should say the next words or even say them at all. Because did Val know? Does anyone know about Wicked being a made man? I find myself closing in around the secret, not wanting anyone to know. “It doesn’t matter,” I say instead. “Just enjoy the ride.” I press the red phone button and pick up speed. Twenty minutes later, I’m pulling down the familiar street and stopping outside the wired gates. It’s not as busy as it was the last time I was here, as if after we left the party emptied out. Honestly, what the fuck were they thinking throwing a party with a pile of bodies in their backyard anyway? The gates part open for me instantly, and I floor it faster through the gate, parking right at the front of the clubhouse. Jade, Silver, and the blonde—the blonde who really needs a name, I think Jade called her Sloane—are all inside.

Sliding out with only one foot out, a loud bike rumbles to a stop beside me, and I watch as Wicked rolls off his bike, tossing his helmet onto the ground.

“The fuck did I say to you, Ruby?”

Rolling my eyes, I climb out of the car and slam the door down. “Leave me alone, Wicked.” Shoving him out of the way, I pause when I notice everyone watching us from the entry.

“You both need to behave while we sort through this shit!” Papa juts his finger between the two of us.

Lion, the president, gestures into the clubhouse. “Ruby, you can come into church. What we need to discuss involves you—”

“—the fuck?” Wicked argues, and Lion curves a brow at him before going to Royce.

I ignore them all, nodding to Lion in passing. I don’t have the patience for Wicked tonight. Not when I’ve already maxed out on my energy. Fucking hours ago.