Page 75 of Beast

“Obviously.”

“Okay, what happens when an Outsider steps out of line and decides she wants to fuck the club king? And you can bet your life there will be many Outsiders who think they can turn the eye of the club president. What will you do then?”

“Beast isn’t like that,” I reply.

“Maybe. But this club is about to go to war with the Psychos. Things are different during war. The stress will be high and Beast will feel the weight of it all on his shoulders. You will be left alone a lot. There will be arguments because he’ll have put the club before you. And you’ll storm off because he didn’t come home, or you feel lonely, or because you don’t feel important enough to him. And when you do, a sexy little Outsider will swoop in like a cute little starling, and in a moment of weakness your old man will succumb to her pumped-up lips offering to suck his cock.”

I turn my head and pop an eyebrow at her. “Are you suggesting your club president has a weakness?”

Annika’s lips twitch. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

“Then, hypothetically speaking, I would kick the little starling’s ass.”

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. And they surprise me. Because I am not a smack talker. I’m not badass. And I don’t know why I give a damn about what Annika thinks of me.

Or why the idea of another woman sucking Beast’s cock feels like a punch in my chest. Which is a sudden revelation. But it’s true. And if any Outsider puts her paws on Beast then I will give her many reasons to remove them.

Beside me, Annika shakes her head. “I’m not sure you could kick anyone’s ass.”

“Then you need to speak to Ben Pocock.”

She glances at me. “Who is Ben Pocock?”

“I broke his nose when he called me an orphan on the school playground.”

Annika gives me another sideways glance. “You broke his nose? How old were you?”

“Ten. He didn’t like me because I could draw better than he could. So he used to pick on me. Called me names. So I gave him a good reason to stop.”

Annika keeps her eyes on the road but she chuckles lightly. “There might be hope for you after all.”

“Why, because I broke the nose of a mean schoolboy for being a dick?”

“No, because you’re not afraid to stand up for yourself.”

I sharpen my gaze on her. “And you should remember that.”

At first, she doesn’t react. Then she starts to laugh. “Okay, Punchy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

We pull off the winding road leading to town and turn down a narrow street. It’s Friday and there are a lot of people out shopping and running errands.

“Where exactly are we going?” I ask as she pulls into Main Street, the only historical part of town that survived the firestorm. It’s a long street filled with cute stores and cobblestone streets.

“Rina is having cravings. We’re getting her cupcakes, and The Village Bakery makes the best cupcakes in town,” she says, climbing out of the car.

I follow her along the street to the bakery but the moment we step up to the front door, the owner, a pinched-face woman with mean eyes, steps in front of us.

“We’re closed,” she says coldly.

Annika tilts her head. “But it’s lunchtime.”

“Let me rephrase that. We’re closed to the likes of you.”

The owner points to aNo Bikers Allowedsticker on the window by the door.

“What the hell?” I gasp.

The woman’s eyes flick to me. “We don’t need your type in here. Don’t need your blood money. The sooner you leave this town, the better off we’ll all be.”

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