My family betrayed me. Tossed me out onto the street at seventeen. But with a reputation to keep, my parents decided they would rather see their daughter homeless than have my teenage pregnancy taint the perfect facade they'd created. I swore I'd never again let another person close enough to hurt my little girl or me. Yet, every wall I built, he smashed straight through. Hawk wasn't just the VP of The Exiled Eight MC in Detroit. He was alluring. He was possessive. And the scars that decorated his skin told the story of a dark past.

Our pasts were a part of us. Definitively. Irrevocably. Mine hijacked my dreams every night, drowning me in guilt and staining my hands red. It wasn't just a part of me, it stole a piece of me—the piece that stopped me from letting people get too close. And I'd become pretty damn good at playing the untouchable asshole card just to keep them away. But apparently, Dakota Samuels didn't get that memo.

Serious relationships? Not my usual ride. As the Prez of the Steel Demons MC, my life has always been all about the thrill of the chase. But lately, those club bunny flings ain't cutting it. Deep down, I crave something more real, something with meaning. Then, outta nowhere, my past roars back. A night from five years ago, a hazy memory, and in a flash—a son I never knew about. This is how Ellie comes into my life, the game-changer. Her sister's vanished, and she's been raising my kid all by herself. The moment I lock eyes with Ellie, I'm hooked.

You know when you see that big red flag, and you think to yourself, I should probably not go anywhere near there? Yeah, Quincy Carter ignored that big red flag. He walked right up to that red flag, waving blatantly in the wind, and kissed the holy hell out of her. Sure, he probably should've arrested her for breaking a restraining order. He probably also should've stopped her from continuing to break that restraining order. Yet he can't.

He’s dark. Dirty. Dangerous. A brother in my dad’s MC. Everything Mom told me to avoid. Everything I shouldn’t want. But his dark, his dirty, and his dangerous are like catnip to me. He stirs fear into the hearts of men, but I hear his rage. I feel it like it’s my own. He’s a killer. Shameless. Some might even call him a psycho. I just call him soul mate. We were born to raise hell together.