"The main news is obviously regarding recent developments around Locke's death. CJ, Recon and Woods have been and will continue to be involved in surveillance of SW but I don't want to put them in the firing line so we're also looking at outside agencies. There are only so many favours CJ can call in and there is a lot of information we need to piece together before we act."
CJ raised his hand, "Can I also say something." Duke nodded allowing him to continue.
"After Locke's death, Keira disappeared. Now at first, I was worried that it had something to do with SW but it has come to light that she just wanted to get away from everything and I can't blame her to be honest. Stoney has been messaging her but she hasn't been very forthcoming with the responses but recently she made contact with me. Since then I haven't been able to get hold of her but we are doing everything possible to find out exactly where she is. We owe it to Locke to protect her, she is the woman he loved and therefore she's family regardless if he's here or not. We'd do it for any of your old ladies."
I glanced around the group at many sombre faces, it was hard talking about Locke and hearing CJ's raw emotion but everything he was saying was true. We were a family and we looked after our own.
"Okay, has anyone got anything left to add?" Duke asked glancing around the room.
The guys shook their heads and Duke brought the gavel down ending the meeting.
Some of the guys stood eager to leave but I sat with Justice waiting for some space to move.
"Grab me one of them mate." Justice nodded to what was left of the bacon sandwiches. I stood and picked up two, giving one to Justice and munched on the other.
"So how are things with you?" Justice pretty much kept himself to himself but he was a top bloke.
"All good no drama's what about with you and Lauren?"
"She's a good girl I don't have any issues. She comes home from school and pretty much studies, she doesn't even socialise much."
Justice sniggered, "Apart from with Ramsey."
I narrowed my brows, "What do you mean?"
"Erm...I've obviously got the wrong end of the stick."
"No you need to explain what you mean." My mind was working overtime creating all kinds of scenarios, when would Lauren be socialising with Ramsey?
"Okay, okay. I was driving past yours last night when I saw Lauren get out of the clubs van. I looked to see who was driving coz I thought it was strange you not using your bike when I saw Ramsey. That's all no drama he was just dropping her home."
I saw red, that was his fucking lot. Why would he be anywhere near Lauren the fucking little prick?
I stood and stomped through the meeting room, "Woods calm down mate it was only a fucking ride home."
I could feel Justice standing closely behind me but I ignored him in my haste to find Ramsey and make it clear that he wouldn't be sniffing around Lauren again. I walked into the bar looking around eagerly for him, "Where's Ramsey?" I asked Stoney as I neared the bar.
"He's down there restocking the fridge," he pointed over to my right.
I lifted the wooden hatch and made my way behind the bar as I removed my blade from its sleeve. Ramsey turned his head, "Hi Woods...what the fuck you doing?" he asked as I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him onto the counter. I used my body weight to pin him down and rested my forearm across his neck leaving just enough room for me to place my blade under his ear.
"Stay the fuck away from Lauren do you understand me?" I said the words slowly, calmly making sure he understood every word I said.
"But I was just..."
"I don't give a fuck what you were doing, you won't be doing it again." I was now fully aware that the bar was quiet and everyone was watching the altercation between us but I didn't give a shit.
"She is worth ten of you, you little cunt. If I see you sniffing around her again I'll cut your fucking throat, I hope I'm making myself clear." I quickly pulled the blade up nipping his ear lobe making it piss out with blood. I backed off giving him some space, and wiped my blade on a tea towel I found on the bar.
Ramsey grabbed his ear, "Fuck!" he cursed at the amount of blood. "She was stranded I just gave her a lift home that's all, like I would Ash, Ink, Angel and Maggie."
I rummaged in the box for my phone and looked up when I saw Duke and Diesel standing directly in front of me.
"It looks like you owe the boy an apology," Duke folded his arms assessing me.
"Gotcha," I said under my breath as I found my phone. "I don't owe him shit," I walked around the bar and through the hatch. I pointed at Ramsey as he sat on the bar nursing his ear, "That cunt just better stay away from Lauren." I made it clear so everyone understood where I was coming from before I stomped from the clubhouse.
How fucking dare he pick her up and drive her home, he should've called me if she made direct contact. I would've made sure that she was safe and dropped everything in order to be there for her. As I walked over to my motorcycle, I realised that it was in fact Lauren that I was annoyed with rather than Ramsey. He had done exactly what was expected of him as a prospect, Lauren was family so therefore she should've been looked after. I sighed as I fastened my helmet, she'd been no trouble whatsoever since she'd been living with me and I couldn't go home annoyed that she'd accepted a lift in a van driven by a club member rather than walk the streets at night. I needed to get my act together and calm down as things could've been a hell of a lot worse.
Lauren
I was startled by my phone ringing and placed my bookmark on the page I was reading before closing the book. I picked up my phone to see that it was Ramsey calling.
I swiped the screen, "Hello."
"Hi babe, just a heads up Woods knows I gave you a lift home last night."
I rubbed my forehead feeling the pressure mount, "How does he know?"
"I'm not sure but I've just had a knife to my throat because I helped you," he sniggered.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" I didn't think any of the guy's would react like that to a prospect helping out.
"Yeah just a bloody ear but I'll live. Anyway, I just said that I saw you walking down the street and picked you up rather than you called me."
I appreciated that he was still covering considering he'd been injured. "Oh okay, thank you for letting me know."
"That's okay, how you doing anyway?"
I was surprised that he was still initiating conversation. "I've had a productive day studying."
"That's not what I'm asking and you know it."
"I told you I'm fine Ramsey."
"I won't ask what happened as it's none of my business but if it's something that should be reported to the police you need to do it or even better let the club know so they can deal with it."
I sighed, I knew he was trying to be nice but this was my mess to deal with. I'd cried my tears yesterday but today was a new day and I'd filed those feelings firmly away and was now moving on. I was on a mission to achieve so much in my life, I was not going to allow three fucked up pricks to spoil everything for me. If I went to the police or informed the club everything would be dragged up and Woods would only blame himself. He'd been so good to me over the years sacrificing a lot in order to make sure I wanted for nothing including love and I wasn't going to repay him by being like Brooke. She brought drama home every week but we weren't a Jeremy Kyle family, I'd been brought up with morals and manners and knew how to respect people. There was no way I was putting Mark through that even if it meant bottling everything up inside forever, I owed him that much.
"I appreciate all that you've done Ramsey but I have no reason to go to the police. Like I said last night, it was just a stupid mistake. One that I have to live with but everything happens for a reason and as long as I learn from my mistakes and don't let it happen again then it's worth it."
"You're a stubborn woman."
I sniggered, "Not stubborn, I just know what I want from life and how I'm going about it to achieve my dreams."
"It's gr
eat that you're so driven, what is it that you want to become."
"A chartered surveyor." I said proudly.
"Oh okay, whatever floats your boat."
"My parents both had very successful careers so I want to do this for them. Does that make sense?"
"Perfect sense babe."
I heard the sincerity in his voice, "I've got exams in a couple of weeks so I need to knuckle down and revise."
"By the sounds of things you're always working. You need to devise a healthy balance between working and downtime otherwise you'll burn out."
I sniggered, "Mark says this to me all the time."
"Because he's right."
"Yeah I know but I only have another year and my grades will determine what university I can study at next year."
"And then how long at uni?"
"Three years."
"See, that's why you need to establish a healthy balance now."
He's statements took me by surprise, "How comes you know so much about this."
"Believe it or not my dad was a broker in the city, he worked very hard."
"Really?" I was ashamed that my voice portrayed so much disbelief.
"Yeah."
"You say was so what does he do now?" The guys always brought partners, sisters, brothers and children to the clubhouse during parties, not usually parents so it was common not to know much about them.
"He's no longer with us, like I say you need to learn to have down time also."
I heard Marks motorcycle pull up outside the house, "Marks just arrived, can we possibly talk tomorrow?"
"Yeah sure, I'd like that."
"Me too, good night Ramsey."
"Night."
I quickly turned off my main light and although fully dressed snuggled under the covers. I heard the front door and then Mark jogging up the stairs. He lightly tapped on the door before pushing it open. I felt him loiter for a while as I pretended to be asleep. He must've had a lot on his mind to come in and want to talk to me straight away but I really didn't want to be discussing last night's events as that was filed under learning experiences in my head and that particular file wouldn't be visited again for a while.
When he was convinced that I was genuinely asleep, he quietly shut my bedroom door and I let out a sigh that I didn't even know that I was holding. I lay in the darkness contemplating everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours and couldn't believe how I'd chosen to deal with it but I knew it would work for me. I needed to do it this way, I needed to just forget that nothing happened and less people would get hurt.
Chapter 3
Lauren
It had been a long day, I moved my head from side to side trying to loosen it after sitting in lectures all afternoon. I glanced at my watch to see that I still had time to pop to my locker before heading for the bus, I needed to off load some of my books that I didn't need this evening. Walking down the corridor, I felt a little uneasy and decided to quicken my steps. School finished half an hour ago so there weren't many people around but it had never posed a problem before. I tried to shake the feeling telling myself that I was being stupid but since that incident, I was struggling with being on my own unless I was at home.
I reached my locker and used my key to open the door, stuck inside was a photograph of my mum, dad, Mark and myself on a family holiday at CenterParcs, which made me think of happier times. I traced my finger over my parent's faces and smiled.
I was startled by someone clearing their throat and closed my locker door to see Aiden standing beside me. I dropped my bag and stepped back slowly trying to put some distance between us. My chest rose and fell quickly as I felt the panic build inside me, I franticly looked up and down the corridor but I knew there was no one around to save me.
"Where you going babe?" Aiden followed me across the corridor and pushed me into the lockers aligning the other wall. He pushed his body up against me hard and smiled as he brought his face close to mine. Aiden opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, I couldn't move my body but managed to turn my head in time so that his tongue touched my cheek rather than my mouth. He licked my skin making groaning sounds in the process. "Don't play coy with me babe, there's nothing you have that I haven't seen already."
Aiden gyrated his hips pushing his cock back and forth so I could feel it through our clothes, "I bet I'm making you wet babe, I bet if I had a little play inside your panties I'd feel your arousal." He moved his hand up my outer thigh over my hips until his hand was resting on the waistband of my jeans. During his excitement, he dropped his guard and I was able to get my leg between his thighs. He moved his body as he tried to get his hand inside my jeans and I took this opportunity to bring my knee up hard to make contact with his testicles. He squealed like a bitch and I managed to push him giving me the room to free myself. I grabbed my bag from the floor and sprinted down the corridor moving as quickly as I could in order to get away. As I ran, I took my phone from my pocket and called the one person that I thought could help me.
"Hi babe."
"Ramsey I need you are you able to pick me up."
I heard his hesitation, "What's up babe?"
"I...shit..." I was breathless as I navigated through the corridors towards the exit.
"Are you running?"
"Yeah."
"Who you running from?" he raised his voice and I could hear how concerned he was.
"It doesn't matter," I'd managed to exit the building and ran across the road to hide behind the bus stop. My chest was still heaving from the exertion but I tried to calm so I could carry on the conversation.
"Yes it does, you obviously called for a reason. Right, I'm on a job but Cade can come get you. Where are you exactly?"
"I'm behind the bus stop outside my school," I whispered.
"Right you're scaring me Lauren, are you in any immediate danger coz if so I'm calling Woods."
"No I think I'm ok, can you just get your mate here quickly." I looked around scanning the street making sure that I hadn't been followed.
"He's not far from you so he'll be there soon. Now stay where you are, he's driving the same van as I usually do. Can you remember what it looks like?"
I glanced around my surroundings, "Yeah I can."
"Good, well don't go getting in anyone else's vehicle."
I sniggered, "I'm not a child." I whispered again.
"Far from, I'm just worried about you." Again I could hear his concern but also frustration that he wasn't able to help me.
"Thank you but I...Shit!"
"Lauren what's up?"
"Hold on," I watched as Aiden left the building cradling his dick from where I had kneed him.
"Lauren, what's going on?" I had taken the phone away from my ear and could hear Ramsey shouting down the phone.
"He's gone, it's okay he's gone." I felt relief as I watched Aiden walk further down the street in the opposite direction.
"Who's gone babe? Who the fuck are you talking about?" Ramsey continued to shout but I knew it was out of frustration.
I let out a sigh of relief, "It doesn't matter now you can cancel your friend."
"No fucking way, you stay on this mother fucking phone until Cade arrives, have you got me?"
I rolled my eyes, "Yes I understand loud and clear."
"Are you going to tell me what went on?"
"You know I'm not." I couldn't tell him what had happened in the corridor because I would then have to inform him about the night of the party which I wasn't doing.
"Did it have anything to do with the other night?" Ramsey knew I wouldn't be forth coming with information so he was doing his best to extract information from me.
"Can we please just leave it? Some things are best left unsaid."
"Okay but you're gonna have to learn that you can't bottle everything up. Sometimes it's good to vent and let everything out."
"And sometimes it's good to contemplate your own thoughts and deal with them accordingly." I shouted aggressively.
>
Ramsey sniggered, "Fire sign by any chance?"
"Leo," I said abruptly.
"How did I guess?" I could hear the humour in his voice and knew that he was trying to lighten the situation.
"It's just hard for me to share," I said quietly.
"Everything needs to be in moderation Lauren."
I now felt like he was telling me off, "Have you finished yet?"
"Have you even listened to a word I've said?"
"Maybe." We both laughed at our exchange of words. I enjoyed our banter he had a way of pushing me that no one had ever been able to before. "Oh I think this may be your friend, blonde, good looking?"
Ramsey chuckled, "Well I wouldn't say he's good looking."
"Are you Lauren?"
"Yeah, one minute and I'll be with you." I returned my attention back to Ramsey, "Right my rides here, thank you for sorting that out for me."
"Not a problem babe, just pleased I could help."
"Again!" I hated the fact that I needed help but if I were to ask anybody, I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather ask than him.
"However long you need me."
I blushed and appreciated that he couldn't see me, "Thank you, bye."
"I'll be in touch."
I ended the call and placed my phone into my pocket and walked to the van, "Sorry about that I was on the phone to Ramsey."
"Not a problem he messaged and explained that you needed a lift, get in and I'll take you home."
"Thank you," I was appreciative of the swift action in getting to me so quickly.
"Is there any bother you need me to sort out first?" Cade glanced through the windows looking for anyone that may need sorting out.
"No, the problem has now gone." I stated relieved that I wouldn't need to explain.
He nodded, "Okay as long as you're sure."
"Yeah it's fine thank you."
I turned my head to gaze out of the window as he drove from the school. Although Cade seemed like a great guy, I wasn't in the mood for idle chit chat and wanted to be deep in my own thoughts rather than somebody else's.
I listened to the radio as we made the short journey across town, perfect strangers was playing by Jonas Blue making me think of Ramsey. He was a pleasant surprise and a breath of fresh air among the chaos I was currently living within and the words of the song ran true which made me smile.
Woods (Aces MC Series Book 5) Page 5
