Page 6 of March 5

The sound of her heart beating echoed in herears. Dio leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I got you something for your birthday. I meant to give it to you yesterday."

He took the small box from his vest pocket and handed it to her. She stared at his hand. It was shaking. She swallowed hard and took the gift, unable to deny she was curious about what this year's birthday present from him would be.

She took the box and lifted the lid off. Her stomach warmed, and she plucked out a silver bracelet. She slipped it over her hand. The piece of jewelry went halfway to her elbow. It was too big.

"It's for your ankle." Dio lowered his voice. "The lady at the shop put a different latch on it so it wouldn't come off when you swim." He brushed her hair away from her face. "I figured you have enough bracelets piled on your wrists. You can start putting them around your ankles now."

She smiled. Only Dio would put that much thought into a present.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Are we good?"

"Yeah." She could never be mad at him for long.

He'd sought her out and apologized. She understood that she had no control over his sex life. She had to be satisfied that the club bitch meant nothing to him.

"I'll see you later." He tapped the top of her car. "Buckle up."

She went through the motions and pulled away from the curb. Looking in her rearview mirror, she watched him watch her drive away.

They'd made it through the embarrassing aftermath of last night. But she couldn't get him out of her head. Talking to him only made the situation worse.

He only brought up what happened last night because he worried about shocking her. He would never know that seeing him with another woman broke something painful inside of her because in her head, in her heart, Dio had always been hers.

She'd never voiced that thought to him or anyone else. Not even Mariah, who knew everything about her.

Ever since she was little, she'd loved him.

That love grew over the years and consumed her. He meant everything to her, and she'd tested him many times to see if he felt the same, and he always came to her. He always dropped whatever he was doing and sought her out.

She had no doubt that if she would've stayed in the doorway last night and asked him to stop what he was doing and come to her, he would've knocked that bitch to the ground in his hurry—because Dio had always made sure she felt special.

She was his princess.

But he never looked at her the way he had looked at the bitch last night, and she was jealous. That woman had something she wanted.

Dio had a hard time understanding that she was an adult. He still viewed her as a child who tagged after him, always bothering him.

She'd gone to college. She'd started her own business. She moved out of her dad's and Aunt Brooke's house.

What would she have to do for Dio to look at her like he'd looked at that woman last night?

Chapter Three

Cars moved along at a crawl on the main road through Seaglass Cove. Dio veered to the left, riding the middle line, passing the vehicles at a standstill. There was no accident or stalled car holding them back. It was tourists, gawking at all the shops and galleries offered in the coastal town. They all tried to decide where to go while in their car going ten miles per hour.

A driver blasted his horn as Dio passed. He held up his middle finger. Time was a thief. He wouldn't waste the next ten minutes walking his Harley up the street. He took the next right onto the back street where the Havlin Motorcycle Club Parts Shop was located.

The lights were already out. He rode down the alley to the back of the building, where the members parked and could enter the clubhouse.

The number two crew was already back from the security run at the pot shops south of Seaglass Cove. He looked at the line of motorcycles before backing his rear tire to the wall. It appeared he was the first one back from the number one crew who dealt with the cannabis stores going north on Highway 101. They'd all left at different times to avoid drawing any attention.

Jagger pushed out the back door, gazed around, and focused on Dio. His president's arm wentup in the air, and he motioned for him.

He threw his leg over the motorcycle, and instead of his boot hitting the ground, his leg buckled, and a sharp pain traveled from his lower back, down his hip, into his thigh.

"Jesus." He caught himself on his Harley and groaned when his muscles spasmed.