“I don’t know how I’m going to let her go, Hammer. Gabriel is going to take her to the Alpha Gathering and have the men file past, each hoping she is her mate. She’s expected to go with him, to start a family. I’m going to lose her, brother.”


    “You won’t lose her, she loves you too much to shut you out. She is growing up, and you can’t hold on forever. The tighter you hold the leash, the more she pulls.”


    “I just want her to be happy. Gabriel says that she will be, I hope to hell he’s right.”


    “Carson and Jessica were happy together, and they were choice mates. It works different for them, but a true mate for her will be amazing. I know you’re nervous about it, but it will happen and you have to support her.”


    “Easy for you to say, Meghan didn’t even date much and still shows little interest in guys.”


    “Yeah, well… she may be thirty, but she’s still my little girl.”


    “You haven’t gone through this with a daughter, Hammer. It’s not the same as your boys.” Connor and Cash were both off and married now, Connor lived in Florida with his wife and two children, Cash was a Marine stationed in Hawaii with his wife.


    We passed the rest of the trip in silence, arriving back at the clubhouse just before eight. We carefully lifted a sleeping Eve in her nket, carrying her inside and up to her room. I kissed her forehead as I covered her up, thinking about the talk we needed to have. The one I needed Gabriel here for.


    Mitchell’s POV


    I woke up at 5:30, my old habits were hard to break. I stretched as I got out of the bed in the guest room at the clubhouse, thankful to have a nice ce like this to crash in. I dressed in running shorts and a Marines T-shirt, putting on socks andcing up my runners. Running and riding were my escapes, my thinking times, and there was nothing like running before everyone else was up and moving to get to know an area.


    I went downstairs, the ce was still empty. Last night I learned that breakfast started at 6:30 and went to 8:30, long enough for people to drop off their kids at the Club daycare and get to work. I pushed out the doors, stopping by the entrance to do some stretching for a few minutes. The air was cooler, less humid than I was used to, still in the 40’s at night. Perfect running weather.


    I started out at afortable pace, watching the cese to life around me. I had searched the Inte the night before, so I found the route I wanted to take. Running north from the industrial area the Club was in, I picked up the trail on the south side of White Bear Lake. The circuit of the wholeke would be a fifteen-mile run for me, something to work up to. Instead, I was going to take a trail northwest through Lakeside Park, cutting between White Bear and Goose Lakes, then roughly paralleling Highway 61 to another park on the northwest shore before turning back the way I came. Before the chemo, I would have done the fifteen, but I was still building up my strength and endurance. The doctors told me to be patient, that it woulde, but I was always pushing myself.


    The trails were busy with early risers, and the babe index was high. I was shocked by the number of hot blondes I passed on the trail, everything from high school students through MILF’s to a few pushing fifty. Minnesota had a lot of Scandinavian and German heritage, and it showed. I shook my head as I found myself admiring a woman, then shaking her off because she couldn’t hold a candle to Eve. That girl… still in high school, Dad in the Club, the President looking at me like he’d kill me if I touched her, every logical thought told me to stay away.


    But, those weren’t my only thoughts. I had stroked myself off in the showerst night to the image of her bounding down the stairs, and my obsession with her was only growing.


    I tried to focus on my running, picking up the pace a little to punish myself for my mind straying. I was breathing hard by the time I hit the loop and headed back towards the clubhouse. I started to think more about where to live and what to do next as I started to push through the wall, my legs starting to burn with the effort.


    I was feeling better as I left the trail to head back to the clubhouse. I was about two blocks away when I heard the Harleysing; they passed me quickly, two in front, a big SUV, then three more behind. They were all Knights, except the woman in her forties on a yellow Sportster. The car doors were just opening as I sprinted through the gate, they were running this like a protective detail and I wanted to see just who was being protected. Snake jumped out of the driver’s seat, a Rider I didn’t know, big guy, got out the other side. Everyone was gathered around the backseat doors, and I saw them lifting a body on a nket, the blood stains showing as it was lifted out. “Shit, who’s hurt?”


    One of the Knights stopped me from getting any closer. “Stay back, buddy, I don’t know you.”


    “I’m a friend of Donuts, I’m staying here for a bit,” I said. “What are… fuck, that’s Eve!” I moved past him, pulling away from his hand as it went to grab me, trailing the group of people carrying her in. She was lying on her stomach, her shoulder was in bad shape, her hip as well. “Wait, she needs a hospital, why are you bringing her here?”


    The guy I moved past was now joined by three others who blocked me from moving forward. The leader looked me up and down; I gave off a vibe that I was not to be messed with, but he sniffed me and walked away. “You need to mind your own business, buddy. Go get a shower ande down for breakfast.”


    The men had disappeared up the stairs with her, so I followed behind. They were standing outside a room at the end of the hall as I ducked into my room. I did my post-run stretching, then took a hot shower and changed into jeans, a T-shirt, and motorcycle boots before going back downstairs.


    The ce was still full, but it wasn’t the fantastic breakfast they were used to. I could see the kids, they were looking at cereal and oatmeal like it was nothing. “What’s going on,” I asked the prospect who was serving tables.


    “Snake’s busy this morning so no hot food,” he said. “It sucks. Hey, I’m Tony.”


    “Mitch.” I shook his hand. “You have a problem if I jump back into the kitchen? I can whip up some pancakes, eggs, you know, as long as I can find the stuff.”Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    “You can cook?”


    “Hell yes, I was a cook at Perkin’s in high school before I went into the Marines.”


    “Go for it, man. We usually get about forty through here in the morning, but we’re halfway through. I’ll let people know hot food ising.” I went back into the kitchen, it was small but well-equipped. Going to the refrigerator, I pulled out eggs, cheese, milk, some sausages and bacon. I found the pancake mix and made up a batch in the big mixer, while I was frying up the sausages and eggs on the big grill.


    “Hey Tony, how do you serve this stuff?”


    “Just put it on these big tes, I bring the stuff out to the tables as they ask for it.” He pointed to the warmingmps. “If you can make up some scrambled eggs, that would be great.”


    “Sure, how about some cheese omelets as well?”


    “Great.” I got back to work, pouring out a dozen pancakes at a time before mixing up a big batch of scrambled eggs. I grinned to myself, all these yearster and I could still break four eggs at a time. The food started leaving quickly, and Tony let me know what was needed as people ate it. When eight thirty came, I made sure I made myself a te with five pancakes, eggs and bacon before shutting off the burners. I took it out to the bar, pouring a big ss of orange juice from the pitcher Tony had. “Thanks, man. With Snake gone, we don’t have a backup n beyond cereal and toast before you reach the end of MY cooking skills.”


    “It’s not a problem, they are letting me stay here, the least I can do is help out.” We talked for a while as I ate my food and he cleaned up the dishes. The kids had all washed up before going upstairs to day care, and most of the adults had left too. When he sat down, I figured I’d find out a few things. “How long have you been prospecting here, Tony?”


    “Four months. I was a hangaround for six months, finally decided to go for it. I was Army Reserve, Big Red One. Used it to get through school and deployed twice to Afghanistan in four years. That was enough. Now I work security down at the nuclear nt, shift work, so I can spend lots of time here. The more you are here, the faster you can get patched.”


    “Worth it so far? This a good club?”


    “One of the best in the state. Good members, great facility, and they don’t mess with illegal stuff.”


    I nodded, I had the same impression. “What’s going on with the Knights? I’ve never seen a club with so many OTHER club members around outside of parties.”


    “Yeah, those guys are a little different. Intense, focused, I never see them partying hard or ying around with the women. The guys are like warrior monks or something, but they are loyal as hell and very tight with each other. They’ve been with the Club for a long time, they have run of the Clubhouse.”


    “I saw theming in with Eve this morning, and she leftst night with a bunch of them. What’s up with that?”


    He looked away for a minute, it was a tell, he didn’t want to say. “They protect her, that’s all I can say.”


    “She’s not going out with any of them, is she?”


    Heughed. “I think Viper would neuter any male who came near his granddaughter, and if a man hurt her, they’d never find the body. Snake, her Dad? Even worse, I think he’d go right to burying the guy deep in the woods.”


    “Why? She’s eighteen, right? Can’t she make her own decisions?”


    “Not eighteen for a few more months, but don’t think being of age is going to stop them from protecting her. Look, this ce is a family club. There aren’t any club whores, sweet butts or skanks that hang around here, Viper won’t stand for it. My advice? There’s plenty of hot women in this town, have your fun, but don’t bring her to the clubhouse if you aren’t serious about her. There’s a bunch of patched women who can spot a skank a mile away.”


    “So, what happened to Eve? She looked pretty bad when she was brought in.”


    “No idea, Snake was already gone when I got here. Teri rode her bike back, it didn’t look damaged so she didn’ty it down. They’ll tell me if they want me to know.”


    I finished my te and put it in the bus tray with the rest. “Come on, let’s clean up before Snake finds out I was touching his stuff.”