The Patch He Gave Her

Nine years I wore Crow Mercer's patch. Nine years I cooked for his brothers, buried his friends, kept his bed warm while he rode out to do things I wasn't supposed to ask about. Then he pinned that patch to Aurora's back in front of the whole table — and I became the woman the clubhouse forgot. I left Purgatory Bend with a truck, a dog, and my grandmother's money. Eighteen months later I've got a diner in Ashwood with my name over the door and a life that doesn't include a single Reaper. Until Crow shows up bleeding in my parking lot, telling me Aurora's gone and the club is coming apart. I should slam the door. I know I should. But Aurora didn't leave. She took something with her, and she's coming back for the rest — and the only person standing between Crow and a bullet is the woman he threw away.