“Wow!” Sapphire breathed.
“Beautiful, huh?”
“It’s amazing.”
“I told ya.”
“Yeah, you did,” Sapphire smiled.
Walking over to the table, Tank took a seat on its top and pulled out his phone, opening his music app, he hit play and listened as music fill the night around them.
“Really?” Sapphire asked.
“What?” Tank replied. “You don’t like my music?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No judging!” Tank demanded.
“Not judging, at all.”
“Uh huh,” Tank replied sarcastically.
“Seriously!” Sapphire assured. “I promise. I’m definitely not judging. It’s actually a good tune.”
“Fuck yeah it is! My music is the shit.”
Tank watched as Sapphire made her way over to the table and sat down next to him. Again, he felt the nervous energy.
What was wrong with him?
He had never been nervous around anyone, especially not a woman. Being a Marine, he had lived in some of the most dangerous places on the planet and seen more combat than the average soldier. None of that ever caused him to be edgy.
Nope! But put him in the same vicinity with Sapphire Kimber, and suddenly he’s a scared, anxious ninny.
Yep, he had officially lost his fucking mind.
“So...” Sapphire said, bring him back to the present. “Tell me about yourself. I assume your real name isn’t actually Tank.”
“My real name is actually Michael Williams,” he answered. “I’m a Marine. I also own The Brickyard.
“The Brickyard?” Sapphire asked.
“It’s a bar. And I live in the apartment above it.”
“Oh.”
“I’ve had it for about eight years. It was my dad’s place before I took it over.”
“Oh, okay. That’s kind of cool.”
“I enjoy it. And it gave me something to do after I retired.”
“Being a Henchmen doesn’t keep you busy? I know they are always going on missions and helping down around the border. Fighting off the cartel doesn’t keep you busy?”
“I’m not technically a Henchmen.”
“Really?”
Tank could hear the genuine surprise in Sapphire’s voice.
“Yep. I mean, I guess you can say I’m an honorary member, but I’ve never pledged to the Henchmen. I help them when they need it, but I am not an actual member of the club.”
“I thought you were,” Sapphire admitted. “I mean, the way Rachel talks, you are involved in a lot of club business.”
“So you’ve been asking Rachel about me, huh?”
That bit of news brought a smile to Tank’s face. The idea that Sapphire Kimber had been digging up information on him, flattered the fuck out of him.
“I was not,” Sapphire answered adamantly. “She and I were talking about the group and you were mentioned. That’s all.”
“Mmhmm,” Tank mumbled.
“I’m serious!”
“Sure. I believe you,” Tank chuckled.
Tank stared at Sapphire as she climbed off the table and made her way to the edge of the cliff, leaning against the metal fencing that prevented anyone from falling.
“It really is beautiful out here.”
“It’s one of my favorite places. You can see the entire city from here.”
“Yeah, you can.”
Music filled the night around them, neither saying a word. Song after song played. It felt like minutes had passed when Sapphire spoke above the current tune.
“Shit! It’s already three in the morning.”
“Is it really?” Tank asked, looking at his watch. “Fuck! I told Kat I would be back in time to open the bar.”
Climbing off the table, Tank waited for Sapphire to walk towards him.
“Come on, you have to get to Rachel’s and I better get back to the Yard.”
The walk back to the bikes was quick. Again, neither said a word until they had reached Sapphire’s bike.
“It was good seeing you again,” Tank said.
“You, too.”
“Listen,” Tank started, but he couldn’t seem to get the words out of his mouth.
“What?”
“Be careful.”
That is not what he wanted to say. He felt like a total idiot. Since when could he not ask a girl out? When did he turn shy? First nerves, now this. Yep, he was royally fucked. Screwed.
“You, too,” Sapphire repeated.
Tank stepped back as she fired up her bike. The beast sounded as mean as it looked. It fit the women on its back. Beautiful. Eye-catching. Tough. Bike and owner definitely mixed well.
Tank watched as, with a final wave, Sapphire rode off down the single lane road.
Chapter Five
Sapphire
The ride to Rachel’s cabin was pretty chaotic, at least in Sapphire’s head. When she pulled off down that trail, it was only because she needed to stretch her legs, and had to pee. She never thought, not in a million years, that she would run into Tank. Michael Williams.
Just the thought of him, brought a smile to her face.
No club members! She reminded herself again, but wait...Tank isn’t a club member. Is he?
With a heavy sigh, Sapphire pulled her bike up behind the cabin, like instructed. She couldn’t see much in the darkness of the night, but knew the place would look spectacular during the day.
As she stepped off the bike, the back door opened to reveal a man she now knew to be Diesel. He was her same height, with long black hair, piercings, and tattoos that covered more of his body than she could probably see.
“Get lost?” he asked, holding open the door as she walked up onto the back deck.
“Sorry,” Sapphire answered. “I had to make a pit stop and ran into Tank. We chatted for a while and lost track of time.”
Sapphire felt like a child having to explain why she missed curfew.
“You stopped by The Brickyard?” Diesel seemed surprised.
“No.”
“Then where did you see Tank? He never leaves the bar unless...”
“Unless what?” Diesel definitely had her attention. She wanted to know more.
Why didn’t he ever leave the bar? He left it to travel with Rachel to Houston.
“Nothing,” Diesel replied, but Sapphire could tell he was no longer in the conversation with her. He had a worried look on his face that caused not only confusion, but worry to build inside her.
Was Tank okay?
“Did he seem... I don’t know...off? To you?” Diesel asked.
“Off?” Sapphire asked, confused.
“Yeah, like something was bothering him?” Diesel clarified.
“I don’t know,” Sapphire admitted. “I don’t know him well enough to tell.”
“True,” Diesel sighed.
Walking into the kitchen, Diesel continued through a doorway.
“Rachel is already in bed asleep. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping and let you get some rest,” Diesel said.
“Okay, sounds good to me. I’m exhausted.”
“Listen,” Diesel said, turning to look at Sapphire. “Thank you for coming out here. It means the world to us. It really does.”
“Don’t mention it,” Sapphire smiled. “It’s my pleasure.”
Climbing the stairs, she followed Diesel to a room just at the top. With a quick flip of his hand, light illuminated the bedroom. It was beautifully decorated in shades of black, purple, and gray.
“This is gorgeous,” Sapphire smiled.
“It’s all Rachel,” Diesel chuckled. “She is the decorating genius behind everything you see here.”
“I can’t wait to see everything in the daylight,” she replied. “But until then, I am going to call it a night.”
“Okay,” Diesel grinned. “Good night. See you tomorrow...well, actually I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Yep,”
Sapphire yawned. “Good night.”
Walking into the room, she closed the door behind her and made her way directly to the bed. Normally, she would shower before climbing between the sheets, but right now — she was dead. Her body hurt from the long ride on her bike. It probably would have been smarter to bring her car, but it had been forever since she had a good long ride — so the bike won out.
Pulling back the blanket and sheet, Sapphire stripped off her clothes and slid onto the most comfortable bed she had ever felt. Within no time at all, sleep took over and dreams of a tall, muscled behemoth filled her head.
* * *
It felt like moment later when a soft knock brought her from another dream. With a loud yawn and a deep stretch, Sapphire acknowledged the person on the other side of the door.
“Yeah, sleepy head,” Rachel said, wheeling herself into the room.
“Hey, you,” Sapphire replied, a smile taking over her face.
She and Rachel had become fast friends, talking every day either on the phone or over video chat. Rachel had shared her deepest secrets and insecurities with Sapphire. It was one of the main reasons why she had decided to take time off and come to Dallas to help Rachel.
“The crew is here,” Rachel shrugged. “Sledge brought lunch.”
“Lunch?” Sapphire asked, grabbing her phone to check the time. “Oh shit! It’s one-thirty. Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”
“Marcus said you got in late. So I was letting you sleep in,” Rachel grinned.
“Okay. Give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and dressed and I’ll be right down.”
“Okay.”
Waiting until Rachel left the room, Sapphire quickly got out of bed and jumped into the shower before the water even had a chance to warm up. Her first day here, and she slept half of it away.
“Ugh! Great start, Smarts!” she said out loud to herself.
With a quick rinse off and throwing on clean clothes in record time, Sapphire was out of the bedroom door and down the stairs twenty minutes later.
Before even entering the kitchen, she could hear the sound of voices. Many she didn’t recognize, which for some reason made her nervous. It was in that moment that Sapphire realized she was an Iron Angel and she was in another club’s territory — invited or not.
Just breathe. You are Sapphire Kimber. Daughter of Pope Kimber. And you’re one of the baddest bitches there is. You are a true alpha female. You got this shit.
Steeling her spine, Sapphire took one last deep breath and entered the kitchen. Several men stood around the large room, but one in particular caught her eye — Tank. There he was standing next to a smiling Rachel.
“About damn time you decided to join us.”
Sapphire turned her head toward the deep rumbly voice and a smile took over her face. It had been years since she had seen him.
“Reaper,” Sapphire smiled.
“How’s it going kid?” he replied, walking over to shake her hand.
“Kid?” She asked. “I’m only four years younger than you are.”
“Semantics,” Reaper laughed.
“Whatever,” Sapphire chuckled. “How have you been?”
“Doing pretty good,” he smiled, glancing over at another woman that Sapphire had not seen when she walked in.
“Is that the wife? I heard you got married.”
“That is her,” Reaper said, a huge smile transforming his entire face. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
Following Reaper across the room, Sapphire was about to walk around the center island when a hand, belonging to someone she didn’t know, grabbed her upper arm.
“Who is this hottie?”
Without thinking, Sapphire whipped around and grabbed the guy by the back of his head. Within seconds, she had his arm twisted behind his back, and her hand buried in his hair.
“Touch me again and I will rip this arm from your torso and beat you with it,” Sapphire whispered, yanking his head backwards. “Understood?”
“Damn, you’re fuckin hot,” the asshole grinned. “I like it rough, by the way.”
Sapphire felt her temper spike. With a leg sweep, she managed to knock the fucker on his back. Clapping his head off the floor, she snapped open the knife she always carried in her pocket and placed it against his throat.
“How rough?” Sapphire asked, digging the point into the skin and watching a trail of blood roll down his neck.
“Enough!” A voice boomed.
The man beneath Sapphire stiffened, but she didn’t give a fuck. Henchmen territory or not, this fucker was going to learn a lesson; and Sapphire was the perfect person to teach him.
Digging the tip in further, Sapphire delivered her warning. “Touch me again, and I will slit your fuckin’ throat and wash my hands in your blood. Do I make myself clear?”
“I said, enough!” the voice bellowed, closer now.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what you said,” Sapphire hissed.
Suddenly, a hand was on her neck, pulling her off the asshole that was beneath her. It was in that moment that something in her snapped. Whirling around, Sapphire landed a kick to the sternum of the idiot who grabbed her. Watching him stumble back towards the screen door, she was on him in a matter of seconds.
Somehow, the two of them ended up outside, surrounded by the group of men and women from the kitchen.
“Marcus, stop this!” Sapphire heard Rachel scream.
“Sledge! Back the fuck off!” Another voice hollered. Reaper’s.
“Devin!” A women yelled.
Voices flew from every direction, but Sapphire tuned them out. Her only concern was the man standing in front of her. Sledge. President of the Devil’s Henchmen. Well, today he would learn just who Sapphire was.
“You want a piece of me, too?” Sapphire asked.
“I gave an order. While you are here, you will follow them.”
“Fucker, I’m not your charge. I’m not following shit!”
“You are under my protection...”
“Protection? I don’t need your protection,” Sapphire laughed. “I can handle myself just fine, as you can tell.”
“Marcus, send her home,” Sledge ordered.
“No!” Rachel shot back. “This is my house. Not the club. Your orders don’t mean shit here.”
“Excuse me?” Sledge asked.
The look he shot to Rachel made Sapphire nervous. Slowly, she moved herself between Rachel and the pissed-off President.
“He would never hurt her,” said a voice off to Sapphire’s left.
“Hi,” the woman waved. “I’m Beth. Devin is my husband.”
“I’m sorry,” Sapphire answered.
“So am I,” Beth replied, sending a death glare to Sledge. “At the moment.”
“When I give a motherfuckin’ order, it will be followed!”
“And I already said, I don’t follow your orders,” Sapphire shot back, seething.
Sledge took a defensive step towards Sapphire. Stepping away from Rachel, to ensure she didn’t get mixed up in the chaos to come, Sapphire took on the offensive. Light on her feet, she relaxed. If this was going to happen, she was going to tear the fucker up. Everyone here this morning would know just what and who the Iron Angels were.
“Devin,” a deep voice warned. “Don’t.”
Sapphire knew that voice. Its sexy baritone flowed over her skin like silk. Tank.
“Tank, stay out of this,” Sapphire smiled.
She appreciated the concern, but really it wasn’t needed. She knew what she could handle. Rule one — never enter a battle you didn’t think you could win. And Sapphire knew she could win this one. Sledge might be ex-military, but Sapphire had a lot of secrets and the scars to prove them.
“Listen to the bitch, Tank,” Another voice chimed in. It was the guy that Sapphire laid out on the kitchen floor.
Nice of him to finally join the party!
“Shut the fuck up, Prospect,” Tank countered. “Devin, don’t.”
“With all due respect, Tank,” Sledge answered. “This is between the girl and I.”
“Girl?” Sapphire asked. “I don’t see any girls here. All I see is a woman that’s about to whoop your ass.”
“Put the bitch in her place, Prez,” the prospect chuckled.
“Shut the fuck up, Weasel,” Sledge and Tank said at once.
Sapphire watched from the corner of her eye as Weasel slunk back towards the house, head hanging.
Bringing her attention back to the man squaring up to her, Sapphire moved as he took a step towards her. This was it. This was the moment that the Devil’s Henchmen would know exactly who and what she was.
Chapter Six
Tank
His stomach was tied in knots. He watched as Sledge circled Sapphire. This was not going to end well.
“Calm down,” Reaper whispered beside him.
“Are you kidding me?” Tank asked. “Sledge will hurt her.”
“Sledge won’t get close enough,” Reaper chuckled. “He has no idea what he’s about to unleash. You are about to witness a great moment. Our dear President is about to get his ass handed to him.”
Tank watched in shock as Reaper walked away to stand next to his wife, Amber.
What the hell is he talking about?
Sledge lose in hand-to-hand combat? Not a chance.
If Tank was shocked by Reaper’s prediction, he was even more so by the scene in front of him. It was like watching the clash of two titans.
Sledge struck out first. Sapphire countered. One by one they moved in a circle, each taking a shot. Watching Sapphire was a thing of beauty. Her body flowed with each movement.
It was in that very moment that Tank realized, Sapphire Kimber wasn’t just a doctor and future MC President. There was more to the woman than met the eye.
Looking over to Reaper, he saw the huge smile on the otherwise grim face. The man knew something and Tank wanted to know what it was, but he was afraid to move. Everyone seemed to feel the same way because as soon as Sledge and Sapphire connected — it was like the group stopped breathing.
“Beat his ass, Sapphire!” Reaper laughed. “Show our Pres exactly what it means to be a Kimber.”
Sapphire: Iron Angels, MC (Book One) Page 3
