Page 22 of Property of Legend

"You fought like hell tonight, Prez," she purrs, fingers skimming my chest.

"Always do."

She leans in."Why don’t you come upstairs for a spell?"

I step back.Not harsh, but clear."I gotta get back to Sophie."

Her eyes flare."She don’t belong here, Legend."

"Maybe.But she’s under my protection."

"It’s not just protection if your heart's already in her hands."Becki knows too much ‘bout me.

I say nothin'.'Cause she ain’t wrong.

She storms off, heels stomping like war drums.

I head for the bar.Sophie looks up, guarded.

"You win?"

"Always."

She smirks, but there’s something softer behind her eyes.A question she won’t ask.Not yet.

I slide onto the stool beside her.Close, but not touching.Not yet.

"You think I’m just a brute in a ring?"

She looks at me for a long beat."No.I think you’re a man used to fighting for what he wants."

"Damn straight."

She sips her drink, gaze steady."Maybe you should start fighting for something more."

And just like that, the noise fades.It’s just her and me.

Chapter 12

Sophie

Heck’s Kitchen smells like bourbon, cigars and sweat, all scents I’m more than used to.But it’s loud, rowdy, lit in flickering red neon like a sinner’s sanctuary.Not my usual crowd.

I’ve driven past a thousand times but never dared to look too closely.These men, these outlaws, they’re my neighbors.Not that I’ve ever waved from the porch.

I sit at the edge of the bar, nursing a glass of bourbon.My heels are killing me.My dress is a little too tight.And every time I glance toward the ring, my eyes find him.

Legend.

He’s the reason I’m here.The reason the Kings of Anarchy MC are guarding my land like it’s sacred.The reason I’ve crossed every line my daddy ever drew in the dirt.

Legend's been a shadow in my life for years.I’ve seen him at gas stations, farmer’s markets, in town parades when he and his crew rolled through with too much noise and too much leather.

I avoid him on purpose.My daddy doesn’t approve of his kind, men with inked skin, heavy fists, and a taste for anarchy.And daddy doesn’t approve of him in particular after what happened on the farm.Which, naturally, made Legend all the more fascinating to me.

My fingers tighten around the glass.Daddy can’t stop me now.Not from hiring the very people he warned me about.Not from looking at Legend the way I do.

He’s lying in a hospital bed back at the house, fighting to outlive death the way he always has, three cancers, a bad heart, a fall off the roof.I thought losing Mama two years ago would’ve broken him, but no.He’s still here, refusing to go, even if all the doctors say it’ll be any day now.

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