Page 10 of Sunrise

“Let’s go on a bike ride. Get you some fresh air.”

My girl swallows hard and stares at me.

“Do you want to go on a ride with Vault?” Ryker asks cautiously.

She nods, still staring at me.

“Come on, let’s go.” I take her hand and pull her away from the guys and out of the club. Neither of us seem to care that she’s not wearing pants.

“Where can we go?” she asks while I put her helmet on.

“Anywhere you want, Sunrise.”

Fuuuuck. Second slip of the night. What the hell is the matter with me?

Her chest rises and falls with the deep breaths she’s taking. “Anywhere at all?”

“Absolutely.”

“Take me to Knox.”

???

I’m not surprised she’d ask to see Knox. Like I said, he’s the one who holds us all together, and that very much includes Sophie because she’s become part of our little chosen family. We pull up to his place, and I quickly see his bike isn’t parked in its normal spot.

Shit.

Busting a U-turn, I go to the only other place he could be.

Midnight Run.

Sure enough, his bike is out front. I pull up behind him and shut my engine off. I have no idea what I’m going to walk into, but he won’t turn Sophie away, even if he kicks me out.

“Are you okay?” I ask her for the dozenth time. She nods and tugs my shirt down. The damn thing barely covers her ass. “Come on.” I reach for her hand, grateful for the physical contact when she laces her fingers with mine.

I always flashback to the days when we’d getsmacked in the face with stale beer and cigarettes any time we came here. What used to be a rundown shithole is now one of the hottest destinations in the city. My bone marrow rumbles from the bass of the DJ’s music, perfume saturates the air, and there’s a neon sign over a set of leather couches that says, “Ride it like you stole it” and another by the large glossy black bar that says, “People like you need to fuck people like me.”

Sometimes I wonder if Knox wishes he had the damn sex club instead of Ryker.

We head back to what used to be the large kitchen and is now a massive storage space and hit the stairs. There’s a sign above another set of double doors that are painted deep purple. This one says, “Don’t just stare at it. Eat it.”

The underground restaurant, Midnight Run, is bustling with socialites and influencers. Between Tara’s networking and Ryker’s membership list, Knox’s business is booming. But the biggest reason Midnight Run is a huge success is because of Knox’s dedication to it. He might have hated this place once, but he loves it with his whole soul now and it fucking shows.

From the plush leather seating to the chandeliers, to the custom designed wallpaper, to the weight of the silverware… it screams Knox in here.

Sophie noticeably relaxes as we slither past several tables, and she squeezes my hand just before letting herself into the kitchen.

Knox’s head is down and he’s sautéing something with a huge flame under the pan.

As if sensing someone new is in his domain, he turns and sees us, his eyes widening in surprise. “Sophie! What the fuck are you—” His gaze lowersand he frowns. “Where are your pants?” He drops his pan down on the flames and rushes over. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Knox finally looks at me. “What’s going on?”

“There was an incident at the Monarch.”

His gaze darkens as he calmly turns to Sophie. He’s guarded. A hair-trigger. I know the signs well. “Tell me what happened.”

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