When Rev shifted uncomfortably on his feet, I knew I needed to brace myself for more horrible news. “One of Mendoza’s men called. He said unless they gave up the information where Roja was, more of them would die.”

Hearing Mendoza’s demand caused my knees to buckle. I would have sunk to the floor if Rev hadn’t reached out and caught me. He eased me down onto the couch. Although I hated myself for my weakness, I began to sob uncontrollably.

“Shh, Annabel, it’s going to be all right.”

Jerking my head up, I stared at him in disbelief. “How can you possibly say that? Two innocent men were killed today because of me. They could just be the tip of the iceberg if Mendoza gets his way. Some of them could be your brothers. . . . It could even be Deacon or Bishop.”

Rev brought a hand up to cup my cheek. “Listen to me. You are not to blame for what happened today. You never asked to be kidnapped or to be Mendoza’s slave. Rescuing you was the right thing to do. This was all done to you, not by you.”

“I wish I could feel that way.”

“My Raiders brothers and I aren’t going to just sit back and let Mendoza win. We’ve been in church since the call came through from El Paso.” At what must’ve been my questioning look, Rev replied, “Church is what we call our meetings.”

I nodded in understanding. There was still so much of his world I had to learn about. “So you have a plan?” When Rev only nodded and didn’t seem ready to fill me in, I growled in frustration. “Be honest with me, dammit! This is your life and mine we’re talking about here.”

“Fine. You want to know all the details? Then here it is. Mendoza is a lieutenant for the Rodriguez drug cartel. If anyone can make him listen or take him out, they can. To get them on our side, we have offered them all our gun trade. The supplier we used to run guns for would simply ship to Texas and then go on to them in Mexico. At no charge.”

“Isn’t that bad for the Raiders businesswise?”

“It cuts us off at the knees in one way, and then in another it ensures that we go legitimate.”

“You’re willing to do all of that just for me?”

Rev smiled. “I would do all of that just for you, but in this case, it’s for all of us. We’ve been working to go legitimate for several months. It was a promise Deacon made to Alexandra to get her to marry him. It was also something we all wanted to do to honor Case’s memory.”

As I stared into Rev’s handsome face, I couldn’t help feeling like my love for him would overflow beyond the confines of my physical body. He was so loyal, so strong, and so honorable. I wanted their plan to work so much for him, for his brothers, and for me. Most of all, I wanted to stay strong for him.

Rising off the couch, Rev said, “You just have to have faith. In the meantime, we all need to lay low in case Mendoza knows more than he’s letting on.” He held out his hand. “Now hurry up with the packing. I need to be back to the roadhouse to supervise as soon as I can.”

When I stood up, Rev drew me back into his arms for a moment. “The only thing you need to be worrying about right now is how well you’ll handle being cooped up with a crowd.” He stared intently into my eyes. “Mendoza will never hurt you again. I swear.”

As I brought my lips to his, I wanted to believe him, but I just couldn’t seem to drive away the dark feeling of foreboding that enveloped me.

Three days into the lockdown felt like thirty days. Although I loved my new MC family, it was hard being cooped up together with tension weighing heavy in the air. I also couldn’t help feeling like people were staring at me because I was the source of the trouble. I didn’t bother voicing my concern to Rev because I knew he would say I was just being silly or paranoid.

Considering how laid-back everyone usually was, life during lockdown ran on a pretty strict schedule. There had to be order to ensure that everyone got fed, showered, and slept. Most of the men were housed down at the warehouse, since it was poorly insulated and heated. Rev and I barely had time alone since Bishop slept on the floor in our room with his flavor-of-the-week club whore. His bedroom had been given to Mama Beth, who was bunking with some of the older women.

It was also Alexandra’s first time on lockdown, and she wasn’t handling being cooped up any better than I was. Of course, she was also dealing with swollen feet, backaches, and exhaustion from being pregnant. At breakfast, she had appeared utterly spent and kept rubbing her lower back. She had excused herself in the middle of the meal and gone to lie down. After that, I was surprised that she insisted on helping out the officers’ old ladies who were in charge of meals.

We were all hard at work preparing the chicken and rice when Alexandra said, “Shit. I think we need more rice.”

I held my hand up to stop her. “Take it easy, mama. I’m on it,” I said as I headed into the giant pantry just off the kitchen. As I reached for the bulk-sized box of rice, I heard the door close behind me. I didn’t think much of it until a hand snaked around my waist, drawing me against a hard, familiar body. Although his intent was clear, I asked, “What are you doing?”

Rev’s reply came in the form of his warm tongue sliding up the column of my neck, causing me to shiver in pleasure. One of his hands slid from my waist up to cup my breast. When he squeezed it, I gasped and tried to turn toward him. His breath scorched my ear as he whispered, “I need you.”

“So badly you have to molest me in the pantry with your brothers’ old ladies outside?” I teased.