Pat struggled to sleep, so he stepped into a late-night coffee shop.That's where he first met her—Ava Beckett.
Ava knows she shouldn’t keep looking for Pat. He’s a member of the Chaos and Carnage MC, and they are nothing but trouble. But, she likes him. He makes her smile. Even though she knows she should stay away from him, Ava is drawn to him.
He’s older than her. She deserves someone her own age, but he still can’t let her go. What starts as a small romance, soon blooms into something much more. Ava was a virgin, and Pat won't let anyone else have her.
However, danger within Carnage is heating up. It started with an attack on his bike. Then someone shoots out the mechanic shop, injuring one of their men. It has to be the Cartel, and now it is time to take the fight to them.
Only, it's not that simple. The Cartel never stays in the same place. And they use people. When their own start turning up injured or dead, they are running out of time. When Ava is targeted, Pat will stop at nothing to protect his family.
But will he be able to figure out the truth in time to save her? Sometimes, the enemy is a lot closer than you think.
“Okay, now you know you’re going to have to spill the details of what just happened,” Lidia said.
He had almost forgotten he had company.
“Nothing.”
“Oh, please, I feel like I need to mop up that little bit of drool you’ve got going on,” Lidia said.
He swatted at her hand as if she was about to clean away his chin.
She threw back her head and laughed. “You’re so funny.”
“Ava’s … a waitress I know.”
“I know who Ava is. I know her sister Violet as well.” Lidia nudged his arm. “You know, I haven’t known you long, but from what I have seen and do know, you’re never interested in a woman.”
“Stop,” Pat said.
“Okay, you literally perked right up when you saw her. You spun around looking all bored and morose, and then the moment you saw her, it was like bam, you came to life. Now that means something.”
“It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Damn it, Pat. There is nothing wrong with you being interested in a woman. You know, you can have some fun and enjoy yourself, and it would not be a bad thing.”
He turned to look at her and she threw her hands up in the air.
“Fine. Fine. You know best, but you know what, we can just sit here and guess which of these guys are going to get her to dance.” Lidia looked across from him, and he was trying not to look. “There is a guy approaching their table, and … don’t worry. False alarm. He has taken Violet to go and dance. Hold on, it’s coming. There is another guy approaching the table.”
Pat didn’t get to hear her running commentary as he made his way toward the table, stopping anyone from getting to Ava.
“Do you want to dance?” he asked.
Ava’s eyes went wide.
She held a drink in each hand. One of them was clearly her sister’s beer, and the other an orange juice.
“Yes, I’d love to.” She looked at the drinks.
“Leave them. I’ll buy you two fresh drinks.”
And with that, he held his hand out. He didn’t know why, but he expected her to ignore his hand, but she didn’t. She put her hand in his, and that was it. It felt right.
There was a current circulating between them, and he led her onto the dance floor. Pat didn’t dance. He hadn’t taken a woman onto the dance floor in a long time. Yet, pulling Ava into his arms, he ignored the upbeat rhythm that filled the air. None of that mattered. All he cared about was the woman in his arms.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
“You know, I didn’t think you were going to ask me to dance,” Ava said.
“I wasn’t.”
“Oh.” Her lips formed the perfect little O, and he saw that he’d upset her.
“But, I couldn’t stand the thought of another man asking you to dance.”
“You couldn’t?”
“No, there are a lot of assholes here, Ava. You deserve someone better.”
“So, you’re not dancing with me because you want to, but because you think there is no one here worthy of dancing with me?”
Pat frowned. “I’m not good at this,” he said.
“I don’t know, if you want to give the girl a message that you are not seeing her in any way other than a friend, the message is received.”
He had no idea what was happening here.
“I don’t consider you a friend,” he said.
“Thanks?” Ava asked.
“I think you’re beautiful, Ava. I look at you, and…” He stopped. Should he tell her? Would he scare her away? Would it be good to say this?
He stared into her eyes, and he didn’t know what it was about her, but he just went with it. Pat leaned in close. Two things could happen. One, she’d slap him, and that would be the end of that. Or, she’d be interested. He would never be rude to a woman.
“And I think about taking you home, stripping you naked, and showing you every little thing I could do to you.”
She let out a gasp.
“To put it short, Ava, I want to fuck you. That is why I keep coming to the coffee shop.”
She didn’t pull away. There was no slap. She didn’t scream at him, and when he pulled away, she didn’t look offended at what he had said to her. She looked … happy.
There was so much more he wanted to say, but then he heard the scream, the sound of gunfire, and the ground shook as an explosion filled the air.
He grabbed Ava, pulling her behind him. “Stay here,” he said.
Without another word, he rushed outside and saw what happened. His bike was pulled away from all the other vehicles, had been shot at, and when a bullet hit the gas tank his bike exploded. In the distance, he saw the red lights.
His cell phone was already lighting up, and when he put the phone to his ear, he heard that the clubhouse parking lot had also been targeted.
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