“You have freedom,” Rake says, looking between Sin and me.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he replies. “You go to school and do your thing. I’m not with you all the time.”
“College is my freedom?” I ask in a dry tone. “What about with men?”
Tension fills the room.
“Like I said, I’m not around you all the time. You have freedom.”
“No, I don’t. I can’t even have a boyfriend who I don’t have to hide.”
Three voices come at me, speaking over one another. “Who the fuck are you seeing?”
“What boyfriend?”
“The fuck?”
“See?” I yell. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”
Rake sighs heavily and scrubs a hand down his face. I notice his knuckles are busted up again. “You’re my sister, I can’t even think about you—”
“Fucking?” I add dryly.
He grimaces. “Yes, that.”
“Well, I’m your sister and I don’t want to know about you being into bondage and shit, but I still hear it around, don’t I? And I’m alive.”
“No men are allowed in the clubhouse unless they’re a brother,” Sin says as he grabs another beer from the fridge.
“Maybe I’ll just hook up with a brother, then,” I say casually, ignoring the four pointed glares I instantly receive.
“That’s not happening,” Rake adds. “No fuckin’ way.”
“Why? Your own club brothers not good enough for me?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“No one is, Anna,” Rake replies. “No one is good enough for you.”
My eyes widen. He actually believes that.
“This is all about what happened with Jacob, isn’t it? You need to let that go, Adam! He didn’t get to hurt me! You saved me, and I’ll always be thankful for that, but now you need to trust that I can protect myself.”
I realize I call him Adam every time I get emotional.
I watch as his expression turns fierce, his eyes sparking with anger. “Don’t even say that fucker’s name to me! He’s lucky to be breathing, and only it’s thanks to you he is!”
Okay, bad idea bringing up Jacob. The atmosphere in the room is now even more tense, and filled with scowling pissed-off alpha males.
Note to self: never bring up Jacob again.
The men glance at one another but stay silent.
“What about Tracker?” I ask, choosing him because he’s the safest. “Maybe I want to fuck him.”
“Thanks for that, Anna Bell.” Tracker grimaces.
I fight a smile. “I’m sorry, you were the first person I thought of.”
“Not happening,” Arrow seethes, finally speaking again. “Not fucking happening.”
Ha! So he doesn’t want me, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have me either.
I look around at all their varying expressions and roll my eyes. “I was trying to make a point.”
Sin looks at my brother. “Like I said, give her some space, Rake, she isn’t a kid.”
Rake’s eyes harden, but he doesn’t say anything.
“She might actually want to come to the clubhouse if you give her a little freedom,” Tracker adds, earning himself a glare from both Arrow and Rake.
“You’re no one’s club whore, Anna,” Rake says between clenched teeth. “I won’t have it.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “I know that! You’re missing the point here.”
He shakes his head. “No brothers. But I’ll lay off you dating anyone else. As long as he’s good to you.”
There was no one I was interested in besides Arrow, but at least it was something. My eyes find his to see him already watching me, a scowl etched on his face.
I nod, keeping my gaze trained on Arrow but answering Rake. “Deal.”
Arrow didn’t want me, so what the hell? I just saved the next man I dated from my brother and his goons.
It’s the small things in life.
“But, Anna . . .” my brother adds. “If they hurt you, they die. Painfully.”
* * *
I bend over, leaning on my knees, laughing so hard that I have to gasp for air.
“What did I miss?” Ryan asks as he walks in carrying a huge box in his hands.
My laughs turn to giggles as I look over at Summer, who is shaking her head at me, covering her mouth with her hand. “Nothing much, just the usual.”
He raises an eyebrow and places the box down on the floor. “This is the usual?”
Summer shrugs and leans back against the bar. “Dude, it’s dead. We have to amuse ourselves somehow, so we were doing a quiz.”
Summer had brought in one of those girly magazines and we were having a good laugh over this month’s quiz: Is He All Man, or Part Pansy? Ryan picks up the magazine and reads one of the questions. “Is it okay for a man to go to the movies alone?”
Summer looks at me and starts laughing again.
I look at Ryan and shrug. “What? I was just saying, who cares if a man goes to the movies alone. As long as he doesn’t have his hand down his pants, it’s okay with me.”
Ryan blinks, then starts laughing too. “You’re something else, Anna.”
My shift goes by quickly, and then Tracker is here to take me to the clubhouse. My stuff is already there. I walk up to Tracker with a smile on my face until I see his own. He has a red scratch mark down his jaw, fingernails by the look of it.
“What did you do?” I ask, cupping his jaw for a closer inspection. “You let that bitch hit you?”
He walks with me to his bike before he speaks. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Since you can’t hit a woman, can I do it for you?”
He smirks. “Thank you for wanting to defend my honor, Anna Bell, but don’t worry about Allie. I’m done with her.”
“I’m guessing she didn’t take it well,” I say in a dry tone.
I squeal as he suddenly lifts me onto the bike. “You’d be guessing right.”
What’s the bet they’ll be back together tomorrow? That’s how their relationship seems to be. Two people who were never meant to be together yet stuck with each other because they’d gotten too comfortable. But hey, who am I to judge? I didn’t even have anyone special in my life. Maybe Tracker just didn’t want to be alone and Allie was a sure bet who knew his lifestyle and didn’t have a problem with it.
When we arrive at the clubhouse, Arrow walks out to greet us. “Hey, Anna.”
I look around. He’s talking to me now?
“Hey, Arrow,” I say, a little unsure. I walk in with him and Tracker on either side of me. No one is around, for which I’m grateful. “Where is everyone?”
“Getting ready to go on a run,” Arrow replies, opening my room door for me. I walk in and toss my handbag on the bed before flopping onto the mattress.
“So who’s going to be here? How is this safe when no one is even here, and what exactly is the danger anyway?” I ask.
He closes the door and comes and sits next to me on my bed. “I’m staying, and a few of the prospects are staying. Everyone else is needed.”
“Why do you get to stay?” I ask, looking into his eyes.
“Just because,” he answers a little gruffly. “It’s my turn to stay behind.”
“And the danger? If you say club business I swear I’ll scream.”
A lip twitch. “Something’s going down, that’s all you need to know. If another MC sees a weakness, they will take that opportunity to use it against us and we can’t take the chance. Because of where you work, people know you belong to the club, and they might use that to their advantage.”
I remember Reid saying something similar.
“Why do they call you Arrow?” I blurt out, something I’ve been wondering for a while now. Is he good with a bow and arrow? Maybe he has an arrow tattoo. For some reason he finds the question really amusing, his eyes sparkling with humor. I can tell he’s trying not to laugh.
It’s a good look on him.
Really good.
Damn him, he isn’t making this easy on me.
“If you ask Faye, I’m sure she will tell you why,” he starts. “But she would be wrong.”
“What does Faye think?” I ask, assuming it’s going to be something dirty. Has he been with Faye? In my mind I picture myself strangling her.