“Cash will be enough to scare that kid.”

Viper frowned. “Shade, Razer didn’t mean anything by what he said. He’s trying to protect Lily.”

“He doesn’t have to protect her from me. I’m not going to make a move until I know she’s old enough to handle it.”

“Brother, that woman has problems age isn’t going to fix.”

“Not with everyone wrapping her in cotton. Overprotecting her can get her hurt.”

“It isn’t up to you to make that decision,” Viper cautioned.

“Not yet.”

“You always were a patient bastard.”

* * *

Shade passed out beers to the brothers as they watched the women get ready to leave for Beth’s bachelorette party at Rosie’s. The brothers were complaing that the women looked to hot to leave the house without them.

Shade eyed Bliss who had been one of the first downstairs. She would be coming home early with the Biker Bitches coming after she left. I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t feel left out when she returns, he thought in anticipation.

“Let’s go!” Natasha’s yell had doors from the upstairs banging open as the women rushed to answer her summons.

It wasn’t long before the women were all waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the happy couple to come down the steps. As they did, Razer kept his arm around Beth’s shoulders, who was wearing a pink ‘Bride to be’ T-shirt and a modest blue jean skirt. The couple didn’t try to hide their happiness from the large group watching them.

A couple of months had passed since his and Razer’s argument and since then, Razer had tried to make friendly overtures, which Shade had rejected. He wasn’t nursing hurt feelings like a pussy, but he resented the lack of faith Razer had him, thinking he would make a move on Lily while she was still so young.

“They are perfect together,” Shade overheard Winter’s comment to Viper.

“Let’s go, or Bliss is going to miss the party.” Evie nudged everyone out the door.

Viper swept Winter into his arms, following the women who were excitedly rushing outside.

“He’s fucking whipped,” Knox groaned.

Rider laughed. “Better not let Viper hear you say that, or you’ll be the one getting your ass whipped.”

Knox shrugged, the huge biker clearly not worried about anyone giving him an ass-whipping. “What are we going to do with all the women gone?” he whined for the fourth time.

Shade took a seat at the card table, shuffling the cards. “Let’s play poker until Bliss gets back.”

Knox took a seat in front of him. “What good is one woman going to be with so many brothers waiting?”

“We’re talking about Bliss,” Shade reminded him, dealing the cards as Razer sat down. The other brothers fought for the remaining chairs. Then the ones who hadn’t claimed a seat found solace at the pool table, getting drunk off their ass.

Viper came back into the room, going to the pool table. He was a lousy poker player.

Shade hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed until Bliss came through the front door, and was immediately attacked by both Rider and Train. She giggled as they hauled her ass up the stairs. Shade sighed, thinking it would be at least two hours before he got his turn, for which he would ask Knox to follow them down to his room to join.

Shade had a pile of cash in front of him and was looking forward to winning another hand while Razer dealt the cards. He was dealing the last one when Viper’s cell phone rang.

Shade caught Viper’s frown as he stared at the caller ID before answering.

“Hello?” The expression that came to his face had Shade’s blood running cold.

“We’re on our way.” Viper snapped his pool stick in two by slamming it on the corner of the pool table. “That was one of the Bitches. They were on their way to the party when they saw Winter on the side of the road about a mile from Rosie’s being attacked. She said Lily took off into the woods.”

Viper, Shade, Cash, and Knox were running out the door while Razer ran upstairs, calling for Rider and Train to get their asses moving. Shade was the first on his bike with Cash and Viper right behind him.

The bikers sped down the mountain road, unconcerned for their own safety. They came around a curve and to a scene which brought them to a stop a few inches away from Beth’s SUV.

As he climbed off his bike, Shade took in what was going down. Winter was surrounded by the biker bitches, one with a gun in her waistband and holding a baseball bat. One of the sheriff’s deputies Shade instantly recognized was lying on the road, unconscious.

Viper got off his bike, running directly to Winter. “What happened?”

Shade studied the nearby hillside while impatiently waiting for Winter to explain.

“The deputy pulled us over. He’s crazy, Viper. He’s the one who attacked me at the school, to pay me back for almost getting him fired. When he knew I recognized him, he hit me. He was going to kill me, but I fought him off. Lily managed to get away.” Winter broke down in tears. “He shot at her twice before she ran into the woods.”

Viper took command. “Sex Piston, take Winter in Beth’s vehicle back to Rosie’s. Don’t open your mouths about what happened. You never stopped. You came directly to Rosie’s after you left your home. Understand me?”

“You going to finish this motherfucker, or do you need me to stay and help?” the scary one named Killyama asked.

“I think we can handle this piece of shit from here. Go on to the bar, get drunk, and have some fun. Forget this happened.” Viper’s eyes bore into the biker bitches’ faces.

Getting the message, all the women except Sex Piston and Winter climbed back in their vehicle, the tires screeching as Crazy Bitch’s car peeled out.

“Razer, call Beth, tell her what happened and not to tell anyone. You tell her we’ll find Lily. Winter, get in the SUV and go with Sex Piston. You need to keep Beth calm.”

Sex Piston was behind the wheel before Viper finished talking. Winter shakily walked to the passenger door, getting inside with Viper’s help. Then Winter and Viper exchanged a few words, and Sex Piston did a U-turn before driving off in the direction of the bar.

“Cash, Shade, Rider, find Lily.”

The men moved, each going to their bikes where they pulled out what they needed before running into the dark woods.

“Slow down, Shade; give me a second to find her tracks,” Cash ordered.

Shade forced himself to move slowly. Cash was an excellent tracker, probably the best there was, but Shade was good, too. Both men separated themselves by a short distance, trying to find a clue as to the direction Lily had run, while Rider stood still, not wanting to damage any of the tracks.

Expertly, Cash shone his flashlight back and forth across the ground. They were lucky because it took them less than fifteen minutes to find her first track.

“There it is.” Shade flashed the beam of his own flashlight on the overturned rock.

Moving apart a few feet, they began a search grid, steadily working their way closer to Lily. Cash was familiar with the mountain and instantly began searching for areas it would be easier for her to run.

Shade soon found a ripped portion of her dress with blood on it. He gripped the torn cloth tightly in his hand as they moved forward, changing direction slightly.