There are few things people know about me. I'm Scottish. I really hate pants. And Poodle is me best friend. But. There are always buts. There is one thing people don't know. Me love for fightin'. I come from a long line of fighters. I live it. I breathe it. Flesh. Blood. And brass knuckles. It's me way of life. So I fight, legally. No one knows.

I miss alcohol. The craving claws against my stomach every day. And being in this rehab center doesn’t help. No one understands how it feels to not be able to save someone you love. And a patient here, Sunnie, she tries to make me feel better. She reads a damn book to me every chance she gets, and it grinds my nerves. Who the hell is that happy? She makes me want to drink. Then, she shares her pain, and I realize her bright disposition is a mask. I find myself wanting to make her smile, to make her happiness permanent. 

I am who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. I don’t know how to be...normal. I have my reasons. I've been through hell. I've touched the flames themselves, and I've danced with the devil. Intimately. Damnation torched my soul until it was black. I am who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. I don’t know how to be...normal. I have my reasons. I've been through hell. I've touched the flames themselves, and I've danced with the devil. Intimately. Damnation torched my soul until it was black.

I've never known the calm before the storm. The storm never leaves. Thunder raging. Lightning crashing. With me, right in the middle. The worst storm hit when I was 17. My girlfriend? Dead. My daughter? Missing without a trace. That broke me worse than thunder and lightning ever could. Then, the Ruthless Kings MC became my salvation. The brotherhood turned a boy into a man. Never knowing the beast within. Or the storms that followed me everywhere.

I went from being an irresponsible kid who didn’t know any better to an irresponsible man who does. I make no apologies. Don’t take my carelessness for strength. My blood is as deadly as the bullet that killed my brother, and once I’m cut, there’s no stopping the river of rage. My past is dead. I’m not like my MC brothers. Nothing is going to come bite me in the ass. Or so I thought. Because life gave me Mary, the little hellraiser who tries to be reckless. She’s only looking to escape the nightmare of what happened to her in Atlantic City.

My hand shakes when I read the note. Everyone is here. I think. There are so many people. So many painted faces. How am I supposed to know who is missing? I knew this party was a bad idea. Now, one of my own is in trouble and as the Prez of the MC, I should know not to play a game. But we are on a timer and someone is using us as pawns. It’s up to us to save one of our own.

I wouldn't burden anyone with loving me. I'm a hard man to love. Until she walks through the garage doors, looking perfect in her little blue dress and high heels. She's neat and clean and too damn good for me, but I'm determined to get her filthy. Then Reaper reminds me of the debt I owe him, and the fine is costly — stay away from the woman whose voice is a song.

Bitterness and anger cloud my judgment when it comes to the MC. What is so great about them that I can't have on the outside? What is so great about the patch? Death? Blood? Fear? That is all I've experienced with the club. I hated to leave my sister. She's the only reason I stayed as long as I did. But it's time for something new.

It’s natural to want the one you can’t have. And for as long as I could remember, I’d secretly wanted my brother’s best friend, Jace. He was six years older and always treated me like the sister he never had. Fast forward a decade. We were all in our 20s now. Jace had moved in with my brother, Nathan, and me to help us make ends meet after our parents died. It was just the three of us - an odd family dynamic. Living under our roof, Jace was as bossy and protective as ever. But he certainly didn’t look at me like a sister anymore. That was what made things so complicated.

For the last two years, I've told myself she’s off limits. That a man like me, can't be with a woman her age. Then my little maniac turned 18...and I gave in to my temptation. I shouldn't have, but now it's too late. She's mine now, and I'll never let her go. Then one of the biggest sinners in Vegas thought he could just take her. He's forgetting; it's my job to protect her. Mine. Now, I'm going to burn this city to the ground. I'll reap havoc until my little maniac is back in my arms.