Page 17 of Tick Tock, Boom!

I took a step back, heat rushing up my spine. "No."

His brow shot up. "No?"

"I don’t want to be there," I said, shaking my head. "I’m not some club chick. I don’t want to be around your…brothers."

He stepped closer, voice lowering. "You think I don’t see through you? You’ve been lying. I don’t know what you’re into, but I’m not stupid. You need money, you come to me. You don’t need to sneak around."

“I’ll figure it out,” I snapped, heart racing.

I couldn’t go to the clubhouse. Not withhimthere.

I was a club brat. An MC baby. Members didn’t touch girls like me, not out of some code or morality, but out of respect for their brothers. But here I was being put on my knees by one.

And the worst part? I’d let him do it again.

My father didn’t back down easily. He stood there, arms crossed, eyes dark with suspicion as if he already knew I was lying through my teeth. “You’re not telling me everything,” he said, voice rough. “And I don’t like being kept in the dark.”

“I’ve got classes,” I lied quickly, my voice too steady to be believable. “Midterms. Projects. I can’t just drop everything to sling burgers at the clubhouse.”

His mouth tightened. “It’s not burgers. And it’s not just about the damn job. It’s about keeping an eye on you, Nat. You’re not a kid anymore, but you sure as hell act like one sometimes. You’re hiding something, and I can feel it.”

I swallowed hard, forcing my gaze to hold his. “I’m not hiding anything. I just… I need time to figure things out.”

He studied me a long moment, jaw tight. Then finally, he let out a breath and stepped back. “Fine. A few days. But after that, I expect you at the clubhouse. I may not be here all the time, but this is still my roof and I’m responsible for you. You do as I say before I see you in a ditch somewhere. Got it?”

I nodded, tension uncoiling just enough to breathe. “Yeah. Got it.”

He didn’t believe me. Not really. But he let it go. For now.

I knew I’d bought myself maybe a week at most. I wasn’t going to be able to dodge my father forever. Eventually, he’d want answers. Eventually, I’d have to face the fallout.

And if he found out the truth. that I’d given myself to a patched member in a way no MC daughter ever should, he wouldn’t just burn the city down. He’d light the match himself and smile as it turned to ash.

And Tick Tock?He wouldn’t get a warning. He’d be gutted before he could even reach for his Glock.

TICK TOCK

Ineeded a fucking break. The edge I carried was still sharp, my fists still twitching for action. So I spent the day doing something that made no damn sense, and was so damn normal. Normalcy was not my thing.

I was looking for my own place. When we moved from Washington, I sold my parents’ old home. Nothing fancy, but it had memories, roots, history. That money had been sitting in the bank ever since, collecting dust. It was time I did something with it, something that grounded me.

Hell, maybe I thought buying a house would make me feel less like a ghost drifting from one run to the next.

The realtor had tried to sell me on some tidy shotgun house with a porch and a patch of dying grass. Said it had "charm" and "potential." I didn’t give a shit about either. What I needed was privacy, something out of the way, something I could lock down tight with reinforced doors and blackout shades. Something no one could get into unless I wanted them there.

Why? Because lately we’d been watching our backs more than usual. Ever since Rancid started slithering into Bulldog’s ear, things hadn’t felt right. The walls weren’t as safe, the air wasn’t as still. Clubhouse used to be a sanctuary. Now it felt like a powder keg.

I didn’t want to be too far from Bulldog, he was still my Prez, and I’d bleed for that man, but I needed space. I needed something I could call mine. A place where I didn’t have to keep my gun loaded under my pillow. Somewhere quiet. Out of reach. Mine alone.

Mine.

My mind hadn’t been on safety or peace. It had been on her.

Amethyst.

That sweet little thing with eyes too wide and a mouth that tasted like sin. I’d walked away from her, but my cock hadn’t gotten the memo. Neither had my mind. Every night I lay in bed, picturing her spread out, begging, purring. I could still taste her on my tongue, could still hear that shaky little gasp when I buried my face between her thighs.

I needed to stay away.

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