open bar, hearing Zaira’s voice had to have been the best moment of the block party. Actually seeing her would be the icing on the cake. Trent hadn’t crossed paths with the beautiful vixen in several months despite how much Marcus and Tanya talked about her. Somehow both he and Zaira always seemed to pick opposite days of the week to visit the couple. Or was she avoiding him? It had been too long since he last saw her, and Trent wanted to hear Zaira’s beautiful voice up, close, and personal. Right now he didn’t care if she refused to give him the time of day. If he could only have one moment to acknowledge that she was doing well that would make his night. Hell…he couldn’t even figure out why she kept giving him the cold shoulder anyway. What had he done to make her stay far away from him? As he entered the home, he didn’t see Zaira right away, but there was no mistaking that she was here. Trent grabbed a beer from the bar and looked around the room. There were about a dozen or so people inside celebrating as well but the ambiance was a lot more intimate than the area around the pool. The women outnumbered the men, but usually that was the way the brothers of Rugged Riders rolled. Especially on a night like this. This date marked the day of a new member’s initiation into R.R. It didn’t matter how trivial the occasion was. If there was an excuse to celebrate with women, booze, and food, there almost always was a gathering. They were a close-knit circle of brothers, commonly connected by blood or friendship—and sometimes both. R.R. was a family he’d always been proud to be a part of. A football game was being aired on the big screen television in front of three rows of theatre-style seating. The guys were getting riled up in their seats, yelling at a piece of plasma. The NFL season was in full swing and they all had their favorite teams to root for. Trent could conclude from the rolls of cash on a table nearby that there was live betting going on. Although betting was his fortay, he was in pursuit of something greater. On the other end of the basement was another wet bar where the cocktails and mixed drinks were being served by a couple of bartenders. Trent had not too long spoken with Drew, who’d recently inherited the mansion. Coincidentally his friend was the one who’d just been initiated. Amidst all the excitement was a pool table, but the active game was not what caught Trent’s immediate attention. As soon as Trent spotted Zaira in the room, there was not one person or thing there that could’ve swayed his attention from her. He hadn’t expected her to be here. She almost never attended any events anymore, not even the one’s where her father had been the host. Zaira Wright was bent over the pool table with a cue in her hand as she positioned herself to hit the ball. There were other spectators hanging around with cue sticks in what appeared to be a group game. It didn’t surprise Trent that the center of attention for the few R.R. brothers standing around the table was Zaira’s fine ass in a mini-skirt. He had this instant urge to barge in and snatch her away from roving eyes—an urge that he dispelled quickly given the circumstances. Zaira made a clean hit, striking one ball, and sending two others into separate pockets. Two women standing off to the side cheered her on and they gave each other high-fives. Zaira turned around and held her palm out to Nathan, a Texan R.R.. “Pay up.” Nathan chuckled and pulled out his wallet. “You’ve got good aim.” He put several bills in Zaira’s palm. Zaira was always up to something whenever she did attend the R.R. parties. “You’ve got good cash too.” She inspected the bills and then stuck them into the waistband of her skirt. “I proved you wrong. I nailed them both, so what else do you bet I can’t do?” Zaira was known for getting kicks on trying to prove someone she was right or that someone else was wrong. She liked