I need Harlow to wrap her arms around me right now. Even if she doesn’t know why, I need her comfort more than anything.

Opening up the door to the clubhouse, a small bit of fear rushes through me at the thought of seeing G.T. again after all this time. Can I handle seeing him with his women? How will he react to Mia? I need to get my shit together. I can do this. He is safe and not my responsibility.

“Holy Shit! Look who the cat dragged in!” Dagger’s voice bellows as he walks up, quickly sweeping me in his arms, my arms wrapping around his neck. His tight hug continues and I am grateful he is keeping his hands away from my ass. Dagger loves the ladies and makes no qualms about it. His long blond hair is braided neatly, falling down his back with his signature red, white and blue bandana covering the top of his head. His arms are incredibly strong as he picks me up as if I weigh nothing. The smell of smokes and booze radiates off of him.

“Hey Dagger. Good to see ya.” I squeeze back as he sets me down on the floor looking me up and down.

“Damn girl.” He says licking his lips and raising his eyebrows.

“Stop it, Dagger.” I flirt in the sweetest voice I can muster and give him a soft smile. Two can play at this game.

“Get over here!” Becs calls from the end of the walkway.

Leaving Dagger, I fall into Becs’ warm arms hugging him as tight as I can, trying to hold back the tears that want to fall from my eyes. Whenever I’m around Becs, I feel very close to Bam. They were best friends and I was always drawn to Becs because of that. They had so many similar characteristics, even the way they both held their coffee cup with their pinky wrapping around the bottom of the cup. Little things that I’m sure no one else noticed, but I did. I love seeing those things, but it hurt at the same time.

“Hey Becs.” I whisper in his ear as he pulls me back looking at me.

“College girl, huh? I’m so proud of you.” I close my eyes and smile, he didn’t know but I felt as if my dad said those words to me right along with him.

“Yeah. It’s going okay. Tough at times.” But really not because of school.

“Anybody bothering you up there?” Becs eyes turn menacing in a flash and I want to immediately wipe the look away.

“Nope. No one. Just classes are a little tough. But I’ll get it.”

No sooner did I finish the last word when I heard, “Where the hell is she!” being screamed by Harlow. Looking around Becs, sure enough Harlow is barreling down the hall heading right towards me. When her eyes lock on mine, she takes off in a dead sprint pushing through the people standing in her way.

Stepping around Becs, I smile wide and steady my stance as she full out collides with me, almost knocking me down to the ground. Her grip is unbelievably tight on me as she whispers, “I’m so glad you’re home. I need you.”

I need you too. “I’m here babe. We’ll get through this.” She clutches me like she’s afraid that if she let go, I’d disappear. I relish in the feeling, biting back the tears that want to escape. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll help you with whatever you need done.”

“Thank you.” Her voice is so quiet which is not like Harlow. She’s always in your face demanding. Not this time.

“No place would I rather be. None. Love you.” The anger I had for her earlier dissipates from my body.

“Love you.”

We stay in this exact position for a long time, with our arms wrapped tight around each other and our heads buried in each other’s shoulders, just enjoying each other’s closeness. God I missed this woman and this is exactly what I need. I feel small bits of weight leaving my shoulders just by this small, simple embrace.

“We’ll get through this.” I slowly pull away from Harlow whose tight smile is forced on her face. Grabbing my hand, she leads me to the bar where Breaker is pouring drinks.

“Glad you’re home. What do ya want?” His gruff voice reverberates.

“Sprite, please.” My genuine smile flashes at him.

“Well… well… well. What do we have here? A club momma disguised as a biker brat.” I jerk abruptly to the piercing voice behind me, my body tenses and heat flushes through my body. The woman standing before me is about five foot two on a good day, has beautiful brown hair and a very pretty face. But her stance and attitude scream bitch. And it’s one I’ve never seen before.

Before words leave my mouth, Harlow takes over pushing me behind her quickly. I grasp on to the bar trying not to fall on my ass.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Harlow wails, her finger pointing in the woman’s face. The brunette stops abruptly looking at Harlow, the slight quiver of her lip showing the fear rising. “Biker brat? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Quickly the room electrifies and the tension becomes thick. Cruz, Becs and Dagger rush up to Harlow and me, taking in the situation. “What the fuck is going on here?” Cruz pushes Harlow behind him, unknowingly pushing me too.

“It’s…” I try to speak but get nothing out. Princess is now on a rampage and cuts me off.

She begins talking into Cruz’s back. “This fucking bitch called Casey a fucking club momma and biker brat. So now I’m gonna fucking destroy her.” Princess grips the back of Cruz’s back balling her hands into fists.

“Who the fuck do you think you are bitch?” Dagger busts out of the pack behind us, grabbing the woman’s arm.

“I… I didn’t think…” She stammers out.

“That’s right bitch. You didn’t fucking think. Casey is fucking family. You’re not!” Becs walks up to the other side of the woman who is now visibly shaking. I would be too if I had both Dagger and Becs holding my arms with death piercing in their eyes.

It’s sick to say, but at that moment a small part of me feels wanted, loved.

“Now you’ve given yourself a one-way-fucking ticket to get the fuck out of here and never think about returning.” Cruz retorts nodding to Dagger and Becs.

“Really, I’m sor…” The men pick the woman up and carry her out of the club, her words lost to me.

“I’m so sorry, Casey. You should never have to deal with that shit when you’re home.” Cruz turns to me his eyes brimming with sympathy. I can see why Harlow loves him so.

“It’s okay. Everything’s fine.” I try to reassure and bring the tension down in the room a notch.

“Don’t brush that shit off, Casey. If one of those bitches tries that shit again, you fucking stand up for yourself. She’s just a fucking club momma. She has no right.” She fumes.

Sad thing is, what the bitch said is partially true. I am a club momma where G.T. is concerned. I breathe in deep. “Babe. I didn’t have a chance to. You jumped right in. Remember?” I give a short smile.

“That bitch… No bitch talks to you that way. I’ll fucking kill ‘em.” Her face is red and her body is shaking a bit.

“I know. Calm down babe.” I wrap my arms around Harlow and try to hug all the tightness in her body out. After a bit, she wraps her arms around me too and melts into me, all the tension leaving. Cruz nods walking back to the other side of the room giving us a minute.

“It’s just been hard and… I just… Lost it.” She whispers so quietly in my ear that I can barely hear her. Hard. I know the feeling.

“I know babe. I know.” I hug her tight, warmth spreading throughout my body.

“Now I want some of that.” Tug’s rough voice comes from the side of me. I slowly pull away and look over at him giving him a small smile.

He is a very handsome man with brown hair that hangs below his ears and the richest chocolate brown eyes I’ve ever seen. But the thing I love about Tug is that he talks and listens to me. Back when I lived here, Tug would come by the shop, talk to me and overall help me out, being the friend I needed. He’s a great listener and I feel unbelievably comfortable with him. I can tell him just about anything and he doesn’t bat an eye. Thoughts of Mia invade me and I quickly push them to the side. I couldn’t tell him about the baby, he would have told G.T. Some things are just not kept from the brotherhood.

He knows about G.T. and me, which I’m sure most of the guys do because we were not quiet. But he didn’t badger me; he listened and even let me cry on his shoulder when things got bad. The really sad part is I haven’t talked to him since I left and I damn well missed him. I actually hope he isn’t pissed about that fact.

He pulls me tight to his strong body and locks his arms around my waist as I reached up linking mine around his neck. “I missed you.” I whisper.

“You could have called me.” He mumbles into my shoulder.

“I know. Sorry.” A low grumbling sound comes from the left of me, almost sounding like a growl, but I didn’t think that was possible, but when the hair on the back of my neck and tops of my arms begins to stand, I know who entered the room.

Pulling away slowly, my eyes instantly lock on the sharp, crystal ocean blue eyes of G.T. Those same eyes pull me like a thousand invisible ropes and my body is impossible to stop. No matter what words he said to me or the loss of Mia, I cannot stay away.

Without thinking, I move directly to G.T., leaving Tug and everyone else in the dust. All I can see and all I can hear is G.T. His straight, silky, honey blonde hair hangs low to his neck, but the sides tuck behind his ears. His broad shoulders are now covered with a brace that holds his arm and shoulder immobile on one side. As his sexier than sin smirk graces his face around the scruff of his blonde beard, my heart squeezes.

I need to feel him, need to feel his warmth and know he is alive. Even if he doesn’t need me, I need him, more than he can ever know. The invisible strings continue to pull me towards G.T. and before I know it, I am standing face to face with this gorgeous man. Not wasting any time, I latch on to him hard, wrapping my arms around his waist being careful not to touch his arm and bury my face in his neck. I suck in deep breaths, taking in his all too familiar scent of leather and the erotic smell of his body. I swear he never wore cologne or anything, but there is something about his skin that always draws me in and turns me into a sex crazed lunatic.