Page 33 of Rox

“Is this true, sir?” The cop asks, eyeing me up and down. It’s clear he thinks I lit the place up like a fucking Roman candle.

“That’s what happened. We couldn’t get out the front door and ended up breaking the window in the back.”

We do some shady shit, so none of us trust the cops here—except for the ones in our back pockets. This asshole isn’t one of them.

After the police and fire department secured the scene, I called Prez. He and Meg showed up not long after I hung up.

Somehow, her car and my bike survived. I placed Rox into the front seat of her car, and her mom hopped in the driver’s seat. Once they took off, I made my way over to Prez. He and I need to have a long heart-to-heart. And it needed to start with me apologizing. My guard was down, and someone was able to hurt Rox. Her house is gone. I failed. I was too consumed by her; I didn’t sense the danger lurking right outside.

Before I can say a word or open the door, Prez punches me once. Before I can even lose my balance, he pulls me into a tight hug. It stuns me out of my regrets but leaves me confused as hell. I’m so lost I can’t even return the hug. My body is in shock from him wrapping his arms around me.

When Prez pulls back, I don’t see anger. I see pride. I see tears of joy.

“The punch was because you waited too long to call and get us here. The hug is because you saved my little girl and got yourself out in one piece,” he smacks my arms, connecting with the cuts I sustained.

“When we get back, the first thing I want you to do is have Mama Judy get those cuts cleaned up and any glass out that might be in there. After that, we’re calling church, and we’re going to figure out who the fuck thinks they can try and kill my baby.”

I nod in agreement. We both turn on our bikes and head back to the clubhouse. Once we’re parked, I notice the rest of the guys are standing there waiting for us.

Angel is seething. “Please tell me we’re gonna retaliate?”

“You fucking know we are,” Prez states.

“Prez. I motion to have a guard on Rox twenty-four-seven until this fucker is caught. I’ll take the lead on my woman’s protection, but for the times I can’t be with her, we need to takeshifts.” I tell him before he can call church to order, and I can see Mama Judy.

“She’s not gonna like it.”

“No, she won’t. But I will not let this asshole try again and succeed. She needs our help, and she won’t be able to argue her way out of this.”

“Motion passed.”

Seventeen

Mimic

“Why are we even sitting around here? We need to be out there, tracking down that van!” I state as I try not to raise my voice.

I’m pissed because while we’ve been discussing what we’re going to do, Rox decided that listening to us wasn’t needed. We didn’t come up with much in the middle of the night, except for Rox needing someone with her. Someone’s trying to murder her, and we’re all in agreement that that isn’t going to happen—everyone except Rox.

Rox came to the club to bring Meg home and take a shower. She then went into one of our spare rooms to sleep in. We all concluded we needed sleep to formulate what was happening and how to fix it.

I’d left Rox sleeping in bed, or so I thought.

She snuck out the moment we all went into church. We found out she had left when we received a notification from the front gate.

It took everything I had to not scream at her when I called her.

“What in the fuck are you thinking?”

“That I need to work.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Rox, someone attempted to kill you last night. I’m pretty sure that awards you a day off. The last fucking thing you need is to be alone where they can try again.”

“I’m fine, Max. There are cameras at the shop.”

“And what the fuck are cameras going to do if they walk in and shoot you?” I seethe.

She’s silent for a moment, and if I weren’t so afraid for her life, I’d feel bad about what I said.

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