“I’m sorry, Penni. I should have told you, especially when I egged you on to try to make Train interested in you. As far as I know, it was the one time, and the two fight all the time. Killyama insults him more than flirts with him. But that’s no excuse. I guess I’ve been missing you so much I lost my judgement. That and I’m not allowed to talk about anything that involves the men.”

“The bro code?”

“Yes.” Lily laid her head on her shoulder. “Can you forgive me?”

John sat on Lily’s lap, tugging at the dangling tie of her blouse.

“That depends on whether you make me French toast for breakfast.”

“With strawberries?”

“I forgive you.” Penni hugged Lily then lifted John onto her lap. “Your mama knows I can’t resist a good meal. Is that how you get Shade to stop being mad at you?”

“Yeah, sure.” Lily blushed, getting off the couch.

“Jackal said the way to his heart is through his dick.” Penni fell back on the couch cushions, laughing when Lily’s face turned even redder.

Lily picked up one of the pillows, hitting her with it, making sure she didn’t hit John.

Penni only shook her head at Lily as she left to make breakfast.

A knock came to door as they were finishing breakfast. Penni smiled when Lily opened the door to find Jackal filling the doorway.

He came in, sitting down at the table with them.

“You want some breakfast?” Lily offered.

“No thanks. I’m not hungry.”

Penni knew Jackal wasn’t a man who smiled a lot, but his flinty expression had her wondering what troubled him so early in the day.

“Willa is going to take Genny clothes shopping in Lexington.”

“That’s a good idea. I told her to help herself to my clothes, but nothing is like having your own.”

Was his distant behavior just because of the fire last night?

Penni reached out, covering his hand with hers and giving it a tight squeeze.

He pulled his away. “Genny asked if you want to go.”

If she went, they wouldn’t be able to sneak out to the hotel tonight. It would take at least three hours to drive there, so by the time they shopped and drove back, it would be late.

“Willa wants to make a day out of it, staying for dinner and then staying in a hotel and driving back tomorrow. She thinks giving Genny a day away from Treepoint will help instead of having to drive back and forth to work and seeing the shell of her house.”

“Is it safe? I thought Viper wanted us to stay near the club.” Penni asked. She wanted to help by spending time with Genny, but dammit, she had waited a long time to lose her virginity, and since making her mind up that Jackal would be the one, she was anxious to be with him.

“Viper will send Cash and Shade with you.”

Yep, they would be safe.

“Then of course I’ll go.” Penni’s disappointment burned a hole in her chest.

“Since Shade is coming, do you think you could go?” Penni asked Lily just as Lily got a text message from Shade.

“Looks like John and I are going, too. We’re going to have so much fun!”

“Yippee,” Penni said, trying to cheer herself up.

“I’ll go and get John and myself ready.” Lily picked John up from his highchair.

“Go ahead. I’ll be up in a minute.” Penni rose from the table when Jackal stood up, heading toward the door. Penni caught his hand as he was about leave. “Is something wrong?”

Jackal didn’t smile. “No. You go and spend time with Genny.”

“I was looking forward to tonight.”

“I was, too. We can do it another night when this mess is over.”

Penni’s face fell. “Are you trying to tell me that you want to wait to make love to me until after we get back to Queen City?”

“I think that’s for the best.” He didn’t meet her eyes, which wasn’t like him.

“I don’t understand. If you’re changing your mind about us, then just tell me so.” Penni felt a sharp pain she had never experienced before. Maybe she should cancel going with Genny and go to a doctor.

Before she could analyze where the sharp pain was coming from, Penni found herself pinned against the wall next to the front door.

“I haven’t changed shit about how I feel about you. You’re mine. You have been since I made you get on my bike and duct taped your hands around my waist. I can’t feel bad about it, even if I know it made you hate me, but I did what I had to for the club. I will always do what I have to do for the club.

“I never had a home before the Predators. I had been living on the fucking streets since I was fourteen years old. The only time I had a roof over my head was when I was in juvie. My father made sure that he scared potential foster parents from taking me in.”

“I’m so sorry, Jackal.”

Penni had her parents, Shade, and even Shade’s father had been kind to her, making sure she had felt like a part of their family. Meanwhile, Jackal had no one. His father was the one he should have been protected from.

“Don’t be. I’m not the first runaway who found themselves on the streets, and I won’t be the last. We live in a fucked world, and it just becomes more fucked every day.”

“That’s not true … There are good people everywhere.”

“That may be true, but they didn’t do shit to help me. I survived by doing anything and everything I had to in order to put food in my stomach and sleep in a bed. I’m not going to lie; I’ve done things that would make you sick. It makes me sick.

“Ice took one look at me, Hennessy, and DJ and fed us, gave us our rooms, and gave us a family. DJ was willing to give it up for the drugs, Hennessy for DJ, but me? Hell no. I’ll stand behind the Predators until I’m dead and gone.”

Penni felt the tears slip out of the corners of her eyes. Jackal brushed them away with his callused thumbs.

“I understand.”

“You don’t, but you will. There are going to be a lot of fights between you and me over the club. There’s going to be times you hate me and walk away, but I’m not going to let you go.”

“You’re not?”

“Hell no.”

Penni let her head drop down on Jackal’s chest. “Is that a promise?”

“It’s an oath.” Jackal’s arms tightened around her, nearly cutting off her breath before he loosened his hold and stepped back.

She watched him go, wanting to pull back and barricade the door against the world. Lily would complain, but she would get over it.

Penni shook her head. It was a sad when she was thinking about taking her sister-law and nephew hostage just so she could have sex.

“Dammit, am I ever going to get laid?” she asked the closed door.

“Uh … Are you talking to me?” Lily said, coming down the steps.

Penni turned around to face her friend. “Do you know how many men have tried to get me to sleep with them?”

“Uh … No, and I probably don’t want to know.”

“Hundreds.” Penni’s anger had her exaggerating. “I damn near shot one’s dick off.”

“Okay …”