Deacon placed his hand on my shoulder. “I think you’re missing the vital point here.”

“And just what would that be, Mr. Know-it-all?”

“The fact that Marley is dead.”

“Uh, I think I’m aware of that one,” I snapped.

Rev sighed. “I think what Deacon was trying to say is that even though Marley is dead, you and Samantha are still alive. As hard as it is, life goes on, and people move on. Look at Kim and Breakneck. Case was Breakneck’s brother, and he’s okay with dating his widow. And as far as the Raiders are concerned, we know that they weren’t sneaking around together, because Kim was so committed to Case.”

Cocking his head, Deacon eyed me suspiciously. “You two weren’t hooking up behind his back, were you?”

“Fuck no!”

“Were you scamming her while he was alive?”

Avoiding his stare, I said, “No.”

“You’re lying,” Deacon countered.

Throwing up my hands, I replied, “Fine. Before Marley got killed, I thought about her more than I should. Anyone who looks at her would want to fuck her, but I actually liked her, too.”

“Did you hit on her or make a pass?” Rev questioned softly.

“Fuck no!” I again replied.

Rev nodded. “I believe you. Since you remained loyal to Marley by not hitting on Samantha, I don’t think there was anything wrong while Marley was alive.”

“Me, either,” Deacon chimed in.

“Really?” I questioned more to Rev than Deacon. After all, Rev was known for his moral compass.

“Hell yeah. And I say go for it with her.” At what must’ve been my skeptical look, he added, “If you’re still having issues with the guilt, talk to Breakneck. See how he handled the situation with Kim.”

“Good suggestion,” I murmured. I wasn’t sure if anything would take away the guilt that I had, but I guessed the only thing I could do was give it a try.

Rev grinned. “Come on, lover boy. We’d better get going. You don’t need to keep Samantha waiting one minute longer.”

With a roll of my eyes, I followed him out the door.

TWELVE

SAMANTHA

At five until seven, I pulled my car into the clubhouse parking lot. Well, the late-model Honda Accord wasn’t actually my car. I had borrowed it from a buddy, since it better suited the lifestyle Bishop would expect than the usual Mercedes convertible I drove.

After killing the engine, I remained seated, twirling the keys on my finger while staring ahead. My mind whirled with thoughts from the past. Most of all, I thought of the last time I had been here with Gavin—the night I had first laid eyes on Bishop Malloy. I couldn’t help marveling how much had changed in so little time. Since getting to know Bishop better, I thought of him in an entirely different light than I had at our first meeting. But when my thoughts went to Gavin, I had the usual searing pain of agony go through my heart. It was just the focus I needed to keep my eye on the prize, which was finding out the truth about the Raiders.

A knock on the car window sent me jumping out of my skin. When I composed myself enough to glance over, a small dark-haired girl stared curiously at me. “Samantha?” she asked through the glass.

“Yeah,” I croaked.

A grin spread across her cheeks. “Uncle B sent me to get you.”

“Willow?” When she nodded, I smiled. Bishop had spoken many times about his niece. The love he had for her was evident from the way he talked about her. I turned in my seat and grabbed the gift bag for Rev. Then I cracked the door. After Willow backed up, I opened it and stepped out of the car.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. Uncle B told me to be looking out for you.”

“Where is he?”

“He said he had an emergency club meeting with Daddy, Uncle Rev, and some of the other guys.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “I see.”

Taking my free hand, Willow tugged me along. “Come on.”

I followed behind her. This time there were two bouncers at the front door, which I figured was because they needed more crowd control tonight. The two men didn’t give me a moment’s glance, considering that I was with Willow. She waved to them before pushing on through the front door.

Just like the time before, I was met with thumping music, loud conversation, and hazy smoke rings. “Do you come to a lot of the parties here?” I asked. I couldn’t help asking the question.

“Mommy and Daddy only let me come to some of them.”

“I see.”

“I get to come tonight, since it’s Uncle Rev’s birthday.” She crooked her finger to beckon me closer. When I leaned down, she added in a low voice, “I think people act naughty after my bedtime. Mommy gets mad if Daddy stays too late. She says there’s nothing he can be doing but getting into trouble when he stays.”

I had to bite back a smile at her words. “She’s probably right.”

Willow smiled happily as she swung my hand back and forth in her own. “Uncle B said to take you over to Mommy and the other women.”

“Okay. That sounds good.”

After Willow led me through the wall-to-wall crowd inside the roadhouse, we went out the back door. As soon as we got outside, we entered what could only be classified as birthday party overload. Clear and multicolored Christmas lights were strung up all around the clearing, along with Chinese lanterns. My nose picked up the delicious smell of hamburgers and hot dogs cooking. When I looked to where the aromas were coming from, I saw several bikers, with beers in their hands, stationed at three commercial-sized grills.