Girth (Marked Skulls MC Book 1)

by Savannah Rylan

  “One of the girls…there’s an issue…the client is pissed,” she cried and I squinted my eyes to look at her better.

  “Who is it?” the man growled, shaking her by her head again.

  “Candy,” the girl said and he released her.

  “Fuck! What did she do this time? Did she start crying again?” he said and I shifted, feeling a rage rising up in my bones. I knew exactly what was going on. Axel was right in his suspicions. These assholes were running a prostitution ring. Abusing these women. This one was definitely not one of the groupies and if she was, she was being sold to clients for money.

  She had started crying by now and the guy grabbed her arm and twisted it as he dragged her around the warehouse.

  When they were gone, Glock turned to look at me. His eyes were burning, just like mine were and he had his jaws clenched.

  “These motherfuckers are going down,” I heard Tank say in a low growl and we straightened up and got into the car. I was driving while the others talked. We knew something had to be done, and for the first time since I joined the MC as a full member, I was glad of my decision.

  The other things I didn’t care so much about, but putting an end to the abuse of women by another gang was something that I wanted to do. Something my father and Bryce would have done too. My veins were pumped and throbbing and I could feel a new energy coursing through me.

  Chapter 10

  Brooklyn

  I’d been thinking about Gunner all day, hardly being able to concentrate on work. By the evening, I’d forgotten about the incident from the morning, when Viper and the other guys from the club had turned up at the diner. Now, all I could think about was seeing Gunner again. I felt safe around him and even though I knew I couldn’t really tell him what was going on in my life, I knew I would feel assured just having him around me.

  Sometime before, my phone had beeped with a text message from him. I’d smiled as I read it.

  See you at Temple Bar at seven

  That was all he had said, but it was enough to keep me going for the rest of the day. I’d canceled my shift at PJ’s already and was hoping against hope that Viper or one of the guys wouldn’t turn up there tonight. If they did, they would know I was lying about work and a whole different world of trouble would descend upon me. But I was feeling brave today. I didn’t mind taking the risk, just as long as I got to see Gunner again.

  At home, I took time with getting dressed for the night. I wore sleek black denim pants which I knew accentuated my curves and I also knew how much Gunner liked looking at my ass. And a corset style red and black lace top which I found at the back of my wardrobe. It pushed up my breasts and deepened my cleavage and as I put it on, I couldn’t believe how conscious I was, of making Gunner look at me. I liked being watched by him. I put on a matching red lipstick and black heels and a chunky statement necklace, before I ran my fingers through my curls to fluff them into position.

  Then, with my heels clicking against the pavement, I walked the couple of blocks to Temple Bar. Even though it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since I last saw Gunner, to me it felt like an eternity. When I entered the bar, it was empty as usual. I looked around and saw him at the same table we were at the previous night and his eyes glowed when he caught sight of me.

  He looked delicious, in his black leather jacket and gray cotton t-shirt. Every time I looked at the muscles he sported, it turned me on and as I weaved around the tables towards him, I could feel my pulse quickening. There was something about this guy that I couldn’t shake off. It was more than how hot he was in bed, or how he looked at me like he was undressing me…no it was something else, it was how he made me feel about myself when we weren’t touching. Nobody had done that to me before.

  He stood up when I approached him and held out the chair for me like a gentleman. I sat down beside him and noticed that a gin and tonic were waiting for me already.

  “You’ve gotta stop walking like that,” he said, sitting back down beside me and I smiled at him.

  “It’s how I walk,” I said and Gunner was grinning.

  “But your hips sway and that ass moves and I want to flip you over the table and take you here,” he said, as calmly like he was reading out the menu at a fancy restaurant. I bit down on my lip as I imagined him doing it and then shook my head to drive those thoughts away.

  “Remember how we decided to get to know each other tonight?” I asked him and picked up the cold glass. He was still grinning and his blue eyes were shining. I knew the kind of control he could exercise with just his mouth and it made the knots in my belly tighten.

  “All right. What do you want to know?” he asked and drank from his bottle of beer quickly.

  “Everything…I don’t know. You’ve told me nothing about yourself,” I said and tucked in a few stray curls behind my ears. Gunner was looking at me again, and I felt goosebumps erupt on my skin. I wondered how long we would last, sitting like this beside each other and trying to have an actual date. Before we ran out of this place and fucked in his car again.

  “Hmm…there isn’t much to know. I’m just a simple guy, Brooklyn,” he said and I arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Just a simple guy? You’re anything but simple, Gunner,” I said and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well, I’m not very good at this opening up thing…so I don’t know where to begin,” he said and I took in a deep breath and cleared my throat.

  “All right, why don’t I start so that you get an idea?” I said with a laugh and he nodded his head. I shifted in my seat and placed my arms on the table and I saw the way his gaze dropped to my breasts. We weren’t going to last very long.

  “Okay, I work at a diner in the mornings and as you already know, at PJ’s in the night,” I offered him and Gunner nodded his head. But he was still silent so I widened my eyes at him.

  “This is where you tell me what you do,” I said and he flashed me a look which confused me a little. Again, it seemed like he didn’t want to discuss his personal life. I was determined tonight though, why had he suggested this date if he didn’t want to talk about himself?

  Gunner shrugged his shoulders.

  “I do a bit of this and that, I suppose. I just got out of the military, so I haven’t really plunged full time into the job market yet,” he said and I giggled, because I couldn’t exactly imagine him doing any kind of “job”.

  “Okay, fair enough. Well, let’s see…I live alone in a one bedroom,” I said and this time, he smiled at me.

  “You know already that I live alone,” he said and I blushed and dropped my gaze to my lap.

  “Okay, how about friends? Who do you hang out with?” I asked, to keep the questions going. I wanted to avoid drifting into dangerous territory of discussing what happened in his apartment. Gunner shrugged his shoulders again.

  “I’m pretty sure you don’t know the people I hang out with, Brooklyn,” he said, in a more serious voice and I crossed my brows at him, a little annoyed.

  “How do you know who I know and don’t know?” I asked him, leaning over the table towards him and Gunner shot me another one of his looks. His blue eyes had turned dark and stormy, but I was determined to hold my ground.

  “Well, if you do know them, then maybe you shouldn’t,” he said, not making a move towards me.

  “Maybe you don’t really know me, Gunner. Or the kind of person I am,” I suggested and he stared at me lazily.

  “I didn’t say that I did,” he said.

  “So, then you shouldn’t make judgments about what crowd is bad for me,” I said and sat back in my chair. I was beginning to feel a little frustrated with him, because he was giving me so little to go on.

  “I may not know you at all, Brooklyn, but don’t blame me for wanting to look out for you. Of course, I don’t want to overstep my boundaries,” he said and I shook my head, I was squinting at him.

  “Why are you so resistant to just telling me who you hang out with? Why do you hang out with them if
they’re so bad?” I asked and Gunner looked around the bar then, as though he was making sure we weren’t being watched.

  “I didn’t say they were bad, I just said that I hoped you weren’t hanging around with them, that’s all,” he said and I rolled my eyes and looked away from him. This was proving to be impossible. It was so difficult to get any information from him. We’d been sitting there for a while now and I still had nothing on him.

  “Fine. It seems like I have to be the one making all the revelations around here. I hang around with the Dragon Knights crowd, if you’re interested,” I said with a humph and crossed my arms over my breasts. I knew that was a little childish of me, but I couldn’t help it. Gunner’s lack of interest in this conversation was beginning to annoy me.

  When I looked back at him, I noticed that he was glaring at me like I had told him something terrible.

  “Do you know who they are? They’re a motorcycle club,” I offered to him and Gunner snapped.

  “I know who they are!”

  I knew the kind of reputation the DK’s had in these parts, but I was family to them, I knew they weren’t as bad as people assumed they were. They were brash and rude and sometimes violent, but they were also the only family I had.

  “Okay, so there,” I said to him. Gunner brought his face closer to mine over the table now and I could see that he was clenching his jaw.

  “What are you doing hanging around with the Dragon Knights, Brooklyn?” he asked and I looked away from him, my nostrils were flaring.

  “Well, they’re like family to me,” I said and I could sense his eyes on me.

  “Brooklyn, look at me!” he snapped and even though there was a loud din in the bar around us, Gunner’s voice was high. I jerked my head around to him and then rolled my eyes when I saw how angry he looked.

  “Relax, Gunner…they’re cool. I’m like a sister to them. I know how this sounds but if you grew up around guys like them, you’d know what I know,” I said and I could see that his shoulders were heaving. His biceps looked just as clenched as his jaws were.

  “Oh yeah? And what is it that I would know?” he asked and I pushed a curl away from my eye, trying to assimilate my words. If anyone, I assumed that it would have been Gunner who would understand me, and why I associated with DK.

  “That they’re just like everyone else. They just have a different way of life, that’s all,” I said, choosing my words wisely. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to reveal to him that my father and brother had both belonged to the club as well. Gunner looked distressed enough.

  “You need to stop hanging around with them, Brooklyn. Right now,” he said in a lower guttural growl and I crossed my brows at him.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked him and Gunner let out a deep sigh, like he was trying to control some kind of building up rage.

  “You heard what I said, Brooklyn, you have to stop seeing them,” he said and I scoffed in disbelief.

  I didn’t need another man in my life, who was jealous and protective about me. I already had enough of that to deal with from Viper and the rest of the guys. Gunner had seemed easier going than that, less violent about something like that. But now he was proving me wrong.

  “You can’t tell me who I can see or not!” I said and Gunner banged the table with his fists, making me jump.

  “Dammit Brooklyn, listen to me!” he barked and gritted his teeth again. “I’m serious here. This isn’t some game. You need to stop associating with them,” he said and I whipped my head away from him, pursing my lips together in angry disbelief.

  I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I barely knew him…and he knew nothing about me and he was already dictating who I could or could not see!

  “I don’t need to listen to this,” I said and picking my purse up from the table, I made to get up.

  “Brooklyn…please, just listen to me,” Gunner said and reached for my hand but I had already moved it away from his grasp.

  “They’re just friends to me, Gunner, and I told you they’re like family. I didn’t peg you as the kind of guy who’d get jealous of my friends,” I said, whirling away from him. I could hear him following me through the bar as I made my way outside.

  “Brooklyn!” I heard him call my name as I burst through the doors and out on the streets now.

  “What?” I snapped, whipping around to face him.

  “I’m not jealous. This has nothing to do with my feelings. I just want you to stop hanging out with them. Okay?” he said. I could see that he was still angry, but that he was trying to control his rage. The veins on his neck were pumped and throbbing, his face was darkened and for the first time, I felt a little frightened of him.

  “No, it’s not okay! Not unless you admit that you want me to stop hanging out with my friends. We’re not even dating…I don’t even know the first thing about you!” I was screaming now and he was standing in front of me, clenching his hands on his sides.

  “I won’t admit that because it’s not true. I don’t care how many friends you have or who you see. I just want you to stop seeing them!” he growled and I rolled my eyes.

  “They’re my friends!” I said and Gunner pressed his eyes close and took in a deep breath.

  “You need to listen to me,” he said.

  “Why?” I countered him and he had nothing to say. He just stood there, glaring at me and trying to keep his temper in check.

  I had enough people in my life who were protective of me and trying to tell me what to do. I didn’t need another one added to the list. Despite how angry I was with Gunner’s behavior though, I still wanted him. My attraction towards him hadn’t gone anywhere and I wished that we could just move on from this thing. I wished we could just turn back time to the previous night, when I was lying in his arms in his bed. Maybe it was a wrong move to try and get to know him.

  “I’m not jealous of who you hang out with,” he finally said, in a low breathless voice and I rolled my eyes at him again. Crossing my arms over my breasts, I glared at him…waiting for an explanation, when his cellphone rang.

  “Yeah,” he said, answering the phone, while still looking at me. I could see the ferocity in his eyes…the very eyes that I had been so attracted to…that I was still attracted to. But it felt like he was impossibly out of my reach now.

  “Yeah. Now?” I heard him speak into the phone and then in the next moment, he snapped it shut. It was one of those cheap kind of burner phones and just like how bare his apartment was, Gunner’s life looked too simple to be believable. He was hiding something.

  He fixed an icy blue stare on me again, as I stood in front of him with my arms crossed.

  “I have to go,” he said, in a low grim voice and I widened my eyes at him. This was unbelievable!

  “Where? We’re in the middle of a conversation,” I said and he pushed his phone back into the pocket of his dark jeans. His wide muscular thighs moved and I remembered how strong he was when he drove into me. How I was nothing but a helpless toy in his hands. I wanted that back. I wanted those moments back with him.

  “This is not a conversation, Brooklyn. It’s an argument, which you seem to be winning,” he said.

  “Try harder then, give me an explanation why I shouldn’t be hanging out with the Dragon Knights,” I said, recognizing the tremor that had now entered my voice. Gunner took in a deep breath and shook his head.

  “I shouldn’t need to give you an explanation. You should be able to trust me,” he said.

  “Trust you based on what?” I screeched and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “I have to go, Brooklyn. Be safe,” he said and then turned from me. I watched him as he walked towards a Harley that was parked against a lamppost and I felt my mouth go dry. He was just leaving…like that! Without an explanation!

  We were supposed to be on a date.

  I watched in silence, with my nostrils flared and my breathing heavy, as Gunner swung his legs over his bike, strapped on his helmet and t
hen rode off into the night.

  My hands were quivering as I slipped my phone out of my purse. I needed human company, to stop myself from going mad. Gunner had asked me to trust him…but, how could I? Especially now.

  The truth was that there was nobody I could really trust anymore, now that Luke was gone. I knew it was my fault that I had harbored hopes with Gunner. I should have known that he was just like all the rest.

  “Viper,” I said, when I heard his voice at the other end of the line. “Hey, my shift at PJ’s got cancelled. Are you guys at the bar?” I asked him. He said they were and that they’d wait for me there, and I slipped my phone back into my purse and started walking in that direction.

  Just a few nights ago, Gunner had insisted that he didn’t want me going home alone at night, and today he’d just left me here by myself. What was so important that he couldn’t stay and explain himself to me? He made it seem like he had nothing important going on in his life to begin with.

  I needed to cool off and I needed several drinks.

  Chapter 11

  Gunner

  Axel was sitting on the bar stool again. An emergency Church session had been called and Glock had called me to say that they needed me there. I was still angry with Brooklyn and how stubborn she was being. I couldn’t believe that she knew the guys at Dragon Knights and I wanted to believe that she had no idea what they were involved in.

  “Quiet!” Axel called out and the hush died down in the bar. I was standing with Glock, Hunter, Sniper and Tank, and Axel and the others were looking at us.

  “What did you find?” Axel asked and Tank was the one to speak first.

  “We went to the warehouse like you asked us to, and at first everything seemed normal. Just a warehouse full of storage units,” Tank said and Axel nodded his head.

  “Then this girl turned up. She was in tears and one of the guys yanked her around. She said that some chick called Candy had upset one of their clients by crying,” Glock continued and Axel fixed his eyes on me.

  “So, what do you think is going on, Gunner?” Axel asked me and I clenched my jaw.