Knight's Unforeseen Change (Wicked Angels Book 1)

by Erin Osborne

“I don’t care. Someplace we can get coffee and enough breakfast to feed everyone. Including the roadies,” I answer, looking out the window as the town passes by us.

  I can’t even remember the name of the town we’re in. They all seem to blend into one another since we don’t get to do much more than arrive for the show, do what Isabella arranges for us, and spend minutes to tour the town. If we’re lucky that is.

  Even at the early hour of the morning, the street is busy with people walking from shop to shop and shop owners setting up the sidewalks in front of their storefronts. I envy these people who blend into the background and don’t have every second of their lives planned out for them. It must be so freeing and liberating not to have the fear over their heads of people wanting to do them harm.

  My thoughts soon drift to my father. It’s been far too long for him to keep quiet. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if he has anything to do with the letters I’ve been getting. Obviously he wouldn’t do it himself, he’d have someone else get their hands dirty so he can play the doting father when it comes out. So far, no one knows about the threats I’ve received other than the members of the band and the security team. I’m including the MC as the security team because that’s what they’ve been brought in for.

  Pushing those negative thoughts from my mind, I look on as Martin pulls up to a charming little diner. Sabotage helps me out of the SUV after Martin parks and leads me inside. I’m surrounded by huge, leather clad men as we walk inside. Martin is the only one to remain outside in the SUV. It would be different if we were eating here, but I’m getting all the food to go. I want everyone to have something to eat when they wake up. More than just whatever they can find on the bus.

  The little diner is decorated to look old fashioned. From the vinyl on the booths to the checkered floor tiles. There’s black and white photos on the walls and knick knacks sit on shelves placed along the walls. A few records even sit in frames on the walls.

  An elderly woman is standing behind the counter and I can tell they’ve just recently opened because there’s barely anyone in the diner. Just based on the mouth-watering aromas filling the space, I’m sure this a popular establishment.

  “Welcome to Ruthies,” she says, a smile letting up her face. “What can I get you this morning?”

  Looking at the menu, I see they have a big breakfast platter. It comes with pancakes or waffles, eggs, bacon or sausage, toast, orange juice, and coffee. Quickly, I calculate the number of people we’ll be feeding and look to the guys standing around me. I talk to Sabotage quietly and he agrees that’s probably our best option.

  “First, I’d like to apologize for not giving any warning,” I tell the woman before me. “I’d like to order forty of the big breakfast platters, half of those with sausage and waffles and the other half with pancakes and bacon.”

  “Oh, you’re hosting a party,” she says smiling. “That’s no problem at all, dear.”

  “Really?” I ask her, not wanting to put any pressure on her or anything.

  “Of course not. My grandson and husband are in back and they can get that made right up for you,” she answers. “Now, we have carafes you can take for the coffee and we’ll figure out something for the juice. Is there anything else you’d like?”

  “Can I have four dozen of the biscuits as well? Just in case they’d rather have them in place of the toast,” I ask her.

  “Absolutely. Give us a half hour to get everything ready for you,” the woman tells me.

  I smile and pay for our food before turning around and walking out of the diner. Sabotage leads me down the street as we pass several storefronts already open. Seeing one that has dresses and other vintage clothing in it, I look at Sabotage and walk inside. The first thing I see is a beautiful, white dress that would be perfect for a wedding. My eyes light up and I rush to the dress.

  “Sabotage, it’s perfect,” I tell him, running my hand carefully down the softest material I’ve ever felt in my life.

  “For what, babe?” he asks, completely confused.

  “My wedding dress,” I tell him.

  “Oh,” he answers, drawing it out. “Well, shit, go try the fuckin’ thing on.”

  I can feel the smile lighting up my face as I look around for a clerk. Finally spotting a woman toward the back of the store, I call out and she rushes over to me.

  “Oh my God!” she exclaims, covering her mouth and looking at me. “You’re Onyx from Wicked Angels.”

  “I am,” I answer with a smile.

  “I know I shouldn’t do this, but can I get a picture with you?” she asks, her cheeks flushing a brilliant red.

  “Oh, um, absolutely,” I assure her.

  “I’ll take it for you,” Sabotage gruffly tells us, holding out his hand for the woman’s phone.

  I place my arm around the woman and we smile at Sabotage as he takes a few pictures of us. Knowing I have a CD from the merchandise table in bag, I rummage around until I find it and sign the case for her. It’s already been signed by the guys. Needless to say, this woman’s day is made.

  “Um, I’d like to try this dress on,” I tell her, going bac to the wonderful creation in front of me.

  “Sure. Give me just a minute to get it off the mannequin and the dressing rooms are over there,” Becky, the young woman, tells me.

  I head over to the dressing room and head inside to undress while she’s getting the dress off the mannequin. It’s not long before she’s knocking on the door and I’m holding the dress in my hands. I slip it on over my head and as soon as it’s in place, I turn to look in the mirror. I’m absolutely speechless as I look at my reflection.

  The dress is all white with spaghetti straps. There’s a little bunch of material in the chest that makes it look as if I’ll spill out if I bend over. It stops just under my knees and I love that my legs will be bare. I never thought I’d want an over the top, full-length gown to get married in. This is simple, elegant, and perfect.

  “Come on out here, woman. Show me the dress,” Sabotage calls out.

  Opening the door of the dressing room, I step out and watch as Sabotage’s jaw drops. He looks me over from head to toe, holds a finger up and motions for me to spin around. As I do, I hear him mutter under his breath. Yeah, my back is completely bare.

  “Knight is so fuckin’ lucky he saw you first,” Sabotage tells me. “Onyx, you’re stunnin’ and that’s not even a word to do you justice.”

  Smiling, I head back in the dressing room and change back into my normal clothes. When I walk back out, the dress carefully laying across my arm, I look at the jewelry in the display case by the register. There’s a sapphire and diamond necklace with a matching bracelet and earrings. It’s simple in design and perfect for my wedding day.

  “Becky, I’d like to add that set to my purchase today,” I tell her, pointing at the jewelry set. “And do you happen to have a black garment bag to put the dress in?”

  “I do,” she responds.

  Becky cashes me out and we leave the small store. I make a note of the name in my phone so I can come back. It doesn’t hurt that Becky put a business card in the bag with the jewelry. I’ll definitely be coming back to ‘All Things Old and New’. Even if it’s a special trip just for this store. And maybe the diner depending on how breakfast is.

  Looking at my phone, I see it’s about time to go pick up breakfast. We head back in that direction and Martin steps out of the SUV long enough to take the bags from my hands. He carefully places them in the backseat as the rest of us walk in to grab our food. The guys pick up a majority of it while I carry one lonesome bag outside.

  Lash and the guys place the food in the back of the SUV before getting back on their bikes. As soon as we’re all ready, I get comfortable as Martin and Lash take us back to the venue and out to the buses. I can already see some people milling about as we pull in.

  “Breakfast everyone!” I call out as I step from the SUV.

  Everyone turns their attention to me as we walk to the
back of the SUV and open the hatch. Soon, platters are being handed out, coffee being poured, cups filled with juice being grabbed, and condiments being taken. The men all thank me as the guys from Wicked Angels and the opening band file out of their respective buses and make their way over to us.

  “Wondered where you’d gone, baby,” Knight greets me, pulling me in for a kiss in front of everyone. “Thank you.”

  “It’s been a good morning,” I tell him, leaning against his side as we make our way to the chairs being set up just outside the buses.

  Isabella walks over and I can see she has mail in her hands. She’s leafing through it and separating it as she makes her way over to us. There’s a smirk on her face as she hands me mine and turns on her heel to leave. I watch as she makes her way over to the roadie bus and disappears around the side.

  Setting my breakfast aside, I open my mail. It’s not really anything earth shattering as it’s just fan mail. Until I get to the last envelope. Nerves fill me as I open it and see a picture. It’s of me and the eyes are once again gauged out, my face has marks I’m assuming are supposed to represent scratches, and there’s marks all over my body.

  Done warning you away from Knight. Now, you’re days are numbered. I’m coming for you.

  I gasp and cover my mouth. Vomit quickly rises as I jump up from my chair and race to the bathroom on the bus. Getting there just in time, I lose the meager contents of my stomach, my good start to the day absolutely ruined.

  “Baby, I’m so sorry,” Knight tells me, rubbing my back and making sure my hair is held back away from my face.

  “It’s not your fault,” I manage to get out on a sob. “Why is this happening to me, Knight?”

  “I don’t know, baby, but we’ll find out who’s responsible for it,” he assures me.

  Nodding my head, I’m past the point of believing him. Knight wants to find this person, all the guys in the band do. I’m just not sure it’s going to happen anymore. Cops are given each letter like that I receive and never find any prints or anything on them to point them in a direction.

  Standing up, I accept the wet washcloth Knight is holding out for me. After wiping my face, I toss it in the small laundry basket we have in here. I brush my teeth and look at my fiancé.

  “I’m gonna go back outside. I just need a few minutes to myself,” I tell him, placing my hand on his cheek.

  Knight nods at me and I can see the torment filling his eyes. My entire body is shaking and I want to reassure him I’m okay, but I can’t. Not without lying to the man I’ve come to love. And I won’t lie to him. Ever. So, I brush my lips gently against his own and make my way off the bus.

  I ignore the bikers, security members, and band members from both bands as I walk over closer toward the roadie’s bus. There’s a tree in the grass offering shade and it’s calling me forward as if beckoning me home, so I walk over to it and sit with my back against the tree. Leaning forward, I place my head on my knees and let the tears fall freely from my face. This is not how I imagined my day turning out, but I should’ve expected it.

  I suddenly hear Isabella’s voice. “Listen, I’ve been doing what you want. Onyx is still here and nothing seems to be pushing her away from the band or Knight.”

  There’s a pause as it sounds like she’s on the phone.

  “You really want me to get them involved?” she questions the person on the other end of the phone.

  Another pause.

  “Fine. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing my part. I want that bitch gone as much as you do. I just have to watch my ass between the band and fucking bikers they have watching over her now. Not to mention the record label is ready to fire my ass. Then no one gets what we want,” Isabella says. “I’ve got one last trick in mind to ensure she doesn’t show for another show. The guys will get tired of having to make excuses for her absence to the fans. Not like they want to see her fucking ass.”

  Standing up, I brush my ass off and quickly make my way back to the bus. I’m not going to tell anyone what I’ve just heard. As I make my way on the bus, I go in our room and shut the door behind me. I lay down on the bed and think of what I can do to make sure no one gets close to me. I’ll have to be vigilant and make sure I’m early for everything the band has to do from now on. Isabella is not going to win this war she wants to wage against me. My dad taught me one thing— to fight. That’s what I’m going to do from now on.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Knight

  IT’S UNFATHOMABLE ANOTHER letter has made it into Onyx’s hands. Isabella is supposed to hand off her mail to Martin or one of Lash’s guys to inspect before it gets brought to her. We’ve told her this countless times and I know there’s no point in talking to her about it because she’ll just come up with some sort of excuse about things. It’s what she always does so she doesn’t have to accept any of the blame.

  I knew something was wrong as soon as my fiancé got to the last letter. She turned a deathly shade of white, started trembling, and it wasn’t long before she was dashing from her seat to the bus. My own things were forgotten as I raced after her. The rest of the guys picked up the items she left to fall off her lap and went through what made her jump up as if her ass was on fire. My only thought was getting to Onyx.

  When she told me she wanted to be alone, my heart broke. I want to be there for her and support her, but I get her needing to be alone. Onyx is used to dealing with things alone than letting someone in to help her navigate her feelings and how to work through everything swirling around her head.

  Walking back outside, I watched her walk over to the tree and sit down before burying her face. She at least had a little color back in her cheeks so I let her go. If she’d still been as pale, I’d never have let her go anywhere alone.

  “Man, this shit is getting out of hand,” Diesel says, still holding the letter and picture in his hand. “Knight, we gotta stop this shit. Now!”

  I take the letter and photo from him and look down at it. After reading the short note, my blood is boiling. Rage like I’ve never known fills me and I want to wrap my woman up in my arms and never let her go. Lash, Martin, and Sabotage take the letter from me. Martin is wearing gloves and he places the offending items in a plastic bag so he can take them to the local police department.

  Fuck! We shouldn’t have touched the items. Now they’ll have to rule out our fingerprints as well. But it’s not like the person, or people, sending this shit leaves any prints behind for them to find anyway. At least not yet.

  After a matter of minutes, I watch as Onyx walks back over and climbs on the bus. It’s almost as if she’s in a trance as she rushes past us, once again pale. What the fuck is going on now?

  I don’t follow her right away as I don’t want her upset because I’m following her. I listen to the guys talking about putting more men on Onyx whenever she’s off the bus. Even in the hotel we’re going to take extra precautions when it comes to her. I want her as safe as possible and I’ll spare no expense in her safety. Even if we have to bring in more men to accomplish this.

  Just as I’m getting ready to let the guys know I’m going to go in with Onyx, Isabella comes up to me. She disregards the sneer I throw in her direction and steps right up next to me. I feel like she’s trying to climb inside my body she’s that close to me. This is something that’s been occurring on a more regular basis over the last few weeks.

  “What’s going on?” she asks, her tone cheery and bright as she gazes up at me.

  “Just talkin’ about beefin’ up security on Onyx. Why the fuck did you give her the mail instead of givin’ it to Martin or me?” Lash answers.

  “We don’t need to do all this because of one person,” Isabella replies, cozying up to me.

  “The fuck we don’t. The threats are getting worse and you don’t give a flying fuck,” I roar out. “Fuck you, Isabella. Don’t fucking come near me. Ever. Again.”

  I walk away from the group so I can calm down before making my way onto the bus a
nd Isabella fucking follows me. Why can’t she get a damn clue?

  “Isabella, I don’t want you the fuck around me. I believe I just told you that,” I tell her.

  “Knight, you don’t mean that. I’ve been here longer than her and I’ll be here after she leaves. You know she’s never gonna make it out on the road. She’s a passing phase and you’ll soon forget all about her,” Isabella says. “I’ll help you forget about her.”

  “Back. The. Fuck. Off,” Sabotage growls out, coming up behind her. “Knight, I have the list of events for today so Isabella doesn’t need to be anywhere near you.”

  “You have . . .,” Isabella begins.

  “No, Isabella, you don’t have any say. I suggest you set up the show for tonight while the band does our thing. Do I have to remind you that you’re not part of the band? You’re just the fucking manager,” I growl.

  Turning on my heel, I leave a speechless Isabella standing there. Sabotage looks back at her once we’re out of her distance of hearing.

  “If looks could kill, you’d be more than six feet under,” he tells me. “Bitch has a hard on for you.”

  “I know. And I’ve never encouraged her,” I tell the man next to me. “I think we need to have a talk with the band members.”

  Sabotage nods his head as we make our way over to the bus. Gathering up the guys, we head inside and I go check on Onyx while they all get comfortable around the table and in various other spots on the bus.

  “Baby, you doing okay?” I ask as I enter the room.

  Onyx is passed the hell out. She doesn’t stir as I enter the room. Looking down on her, I see she’s been crying. There’s dry tear tracks on her cheeks and her eyes are red-rimmed and swollen. My heart once again breaks for the woman who’s stolen it.

  I run my hand down her cheek. Onyx turns into me even in her sleep. Gently, I remove my hand and cover her up with the throw she usually uses before heading out to the guys waiting on me.

  “What’s going on?” Damon asks as soon as I sit down next to Diesel.