by Jamie Begley
King
The VIP Room #3
by
Jamie Begley
Prologue
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“No, Lily. Go home with your husband; Henry will stay. With all the medications they’ve given me, I’m just going to sleep anyway,” King answered his daughter while his eyes surveyed the occupants of his hospital room.
His daughter, Lily, sat on the edge of his hospital bed, holding his hand. Her adopted sister, Beth, and her husband, Razer, both stood at the foot of his bed. The last occupant of the room was Lily’s husband, Shade. He stood in the open doorway of the hospital room, his attention on the people in the room and those entering it.
King hadn’t kept himself alive all these years in a variety of illegal activities without being a good judge of character. The man his daughter was married to was a scary son of a bitch, and he should know; he had seen a lot of scary shit with his own disreputable lifestyle. Fuck, he had stared down death since he was thirteen-years-old, and was an immoral son of a bitch, but Lily’s husband had chills running down his back.
When Lily stood up, releasing his hand, King felt a brief moment of loss. It had been the first time she had ever voluntarily touched him. When he had kidnapped her from the church store where she worked, she had struggled against him, surprising him with how well she was able to defend herself. He had no doubt who had taught her those moves.
When he had found out whom his daughter had married, he had ordered a background check done by his bodyguard, Henry. However, the report Henry had brought back hadn’t set off any of the alarms that were now shrilling their warning. In fact, he had been relieved she had married a man in the military, whose assets included a large amount of properties and a very healthy bank account. All the bare facts had been laid out before him.
Fuck. He should have known it was too good to be true; he must be slipping. Belonging to The Last Riders should have been a warning sign, but he had checked them out, also. Their survivalist company was very lucrative, and they’d had a few run-ins with the law, yet that was it. Hell, he certainly couldn’t throw any stones because of that; his own police record spanned a decade before he’d become smart enough to cover his tracks.
All in all, he had been satisfied Lily would be cared for until he heard Digger had escaped. Trying to protect Lily, he had kidnapped her to keep her safe. Instead, he had almost gotten her killed. How was he to know The Last Riders had more connections than God? Lily had been safe where she was; he had been the one to fuck up. The accusation and anger on Shade’s face made sure he knew it, too.
“I’ll come back and check on you in the morning.” Lily brushed a brief kiss on his cheek before moving away from his bed.
“All right.”
Beth moved beside the bed as Lily moved away. “It’s nice to learn that Lily and I both have a relative left.”
“I was sorry to hear about your mother and father, Beth.”
He saw the closed look that came over his cousin’s face. Beth’s father, Seth Cornett, had been his uncle. He had never been a friendly bastard—the over-righteous asshole had always gotten on his nerves—but he had provided Lily a safe home, which was more than King had been able to do.
Razer and Shade both said brief goodbyes before following their wives out.
King was still staring at the doorway when Henry came inside the room, shutting the door.
King lay back against his bed, wincing at the pain in his chest, no longer trying to hide the pain he was in.
“You okay, Boss?”
“Tell the nurse she can give me something for the pain now.”
As Henry pushed the call button, requesting the medication for him, King gritted his teeth against the pain. He had wanted to be clearheaded with Lily in the room, and as a result, it was now well past time for his meds.
The nurse came bustling into the room, giving him an injection then King waited for her to leave.
“What did you think?” he asked his friend.
Henry closed the door again after the nurse walked out.
“I think there’s more to him than the bio I gave you.” Henry frowned. He would blame himself if something showed up that he’d missed; however, he was going to have to deal with it.
King agreed with his assessment. He was willing to bet his fortune that Shade was hiding information from Lily. “I do, too. Do another check on him. This time don’t go through our contacts on the force; use Jackal. If anyone can find out something, he will.”
He had used the Predators several times over the years when he needed to be discreet. Henry took out his cell phone, making the call while King listened to the one-sided conversation.
“He’s on it.” Disconnecting the call, Henry moved to stand beside his bed. “What are you going to do if he comes back with bad news?”
His head turned on the stiff pillow. “Depends. I don’t want to interfere because Lily loves him; it’s obvious just from the way she looks at him. But, if it’s as bad as I think it’s going to be, then I’ll have to step in.”
“And do what?”
“Get rid of him. I didn’t sacrifice raising my own daughter so she could have a better life just to see her get hurt again. She’s had enough of that shit.”
“It won’t be easy. Did you see the one with him? You’ll be taking on more than her husband.”
“Call Jackal back. Include The Last Riders in his search. Tell him to find out anything and everything on them and their members.” King closed his eyes as Henry moved away to follow his instructions, feeling the drugs the nurse had given him finally taking effect. He would be more clear-headed when he woke, but it would take a couple of days for Jackal to find out the information he wanted. It didn’t matter, though; he would be stuck in the hospital at least that long.
When he was released, he would stay at the house he had leased since he had first brought Lily to Treepoint. He would get to know his daughter better, learn more about what kind of woman he and Brenda had created. For the first time in his life, he was going to be a father to Lily, whether she needed him or not. He had a lot to make up for, and if getting rid of a husband who didn’t deserve her needed to happen, then he would do it. He wasn’t going to let Lily down again.
Chapter 1
Evie gripped Train’s ass, pulling him closer. “Fuck me harder.”
“Damn, Evie, you’re fucking like you didn’t just come ten minutes ago.”
Her mouth went to his shoulder, biting down. Winding her legs around his waist, she raised her pussy to meet each of his hard thrusts.
“You must be doing something wrong then,” she taunted the biker.
His thrusts grew harder, reaching the spot she needed him to reach. Her head rolled back and forth on the bed as she came, her hands releasing her grasp on his ass when he moved to her side.
Train’s deep breathing brought a smile to her lips. “You must be getting old. You used to be able to go three rounds without getting winded.”
“I’m not getting old; you’re just getting hornier.”
Evie’s smile disappeared. She turned to the side so Train couldn’t see her expression, shutting off her alarm clock before it went off. “I have to get ready for work.”
“Cool, I’m off today so I’m going to catch up on my sleep.” He made no effort to get out of her bed, rolling over onto his stomach instead.
Evie went to her bathroom. She had inherited Razer’s room since he had moved into the house he had built behind the clubhouse. Before, she usually just shared whoever’s bed she had found herself in for the night; she actually preferred it that way. She was hardly ever in here unless there were two or more of them fucking. Jewell and Cash had left an hour ago, trying to catch a few hours of sleep before the day
started.
Evie stepped into the shower, feeling the water waken her. She had gotten less than two hours’ sleep the night before, and it was going to be a long day. After she had put her time in at the factory, she was going to have to catch a nap.
She soaped her body, rinsing away the smell of Train and the others she had shared her bed with the night before. Then, stepping out of the shower, she grabbed a towel, drying off before tackling the chore of untangling and brushing her long hair. She needed to get it cut, but there was just something about the men holding her hair while they fucked her that turned her on, so she kept it long. Pleasure always came before convenience.
She put on her dark blue t-shirt without bothering with a bra and then pulled on a tight pair of jeans. She looked at the time as she slid her watch on, hurrying into the other room for her shoes and jacket. It might have been only a short distance to the factory, but it was cold as fuck outside.
Going downstairs, she didn’t take the time to get a cup of coffee; she would get one when she got to work. With barely a minute to spare, she walked into the factory, grateful she wouldn’t receive a warning from Shade for being late again.
Going to her worktable she shared with Jewell, she plopped her ass down on a stool.
“Cutting it close, weren’t you?”
“I lost track of time,” Evie admitted to her friend.
“More like you decided to get a quickie before work.”
Evie shrugged. “Train was in rare form, and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Jewell laughed. “Ever since he fucked Killyama, it’s like he’s trying to prove his manhood.”
“He sure as hell proved it to me last night.” Evie grinned, getting up to get a cup of coffee. She was on the way back to her table when Shade came out of his office, motioning for her.
“What’s up?” she questioned.
Shade opened his office door wider and Evie walked inside, taking a seat on the corner of his desk. He closed the door as he came back inside.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“What do you need me to do?” Evie asked curiously, taking a sip of her hot coffee.
“Beth has been changing King’s bandages, but she’s tied up with Mrs. Langley and a new patient. She wanted to know if you would be able to stop by and take care of it for her.”
“No problem. I’ll stop by after lunch.” There went her nap. “I thought he would head back to his home.”
“He wants to stay and spend some time with Lily before he goes back.”
“How’s that working out for you?” She didn’t try to hide her amused grin. Lily and Shade were both still in the honeymoon stage after getting married on Christmas Eve. It wouldn’t be much fun sharing Lily with her father, especially since two of Lily’s childhood friends were still visiting, also. Shade, who was a private person, had to feel like his life was being invaded.
As Shade sat down behind his desk, staring at her, Evie lost her amused expression, and was about to get up.
“He nearly got Lily killed. The stupid bastard couldn’t protect her when she was a kid, but he thinks he can make up for it now.” He leaned back in his chair, his deadly gaze pinning Evie in place. “He’s supposed to go back to Queen City in a few weeks, though, so I can tolerate him that long. I’m planning on taking Lily to Alaska the first of the month anyway, and we’re going to be gone for a few weeks so there won’t be any need for him to stay.”
“Lily will love it.”
“I haven’t told her yet.”
“I won’t say anything.” And she wouldn’t. Shade and she had shared many confidences over the years, many they had never confided with the rest of The Last Riders.
Shade nodded his head. “Penni has decided to go back to work for Kaden Cross. I’m not happy about it, but I can’t change her mind. The only stipulation I was able to get out of her was that The Predators have to stay away from her.”
Evie bet that hadn’t been easy. Penni, Shade’s half-sister, was just as headstrong as her brother, but other than that, they were as different as night and day. Shade’s personality was dark and filled with swirling mysteries while Penni was sunny and bubbly.
“I want you to drive back with her and spend some time with her.”
“To make sure she’s safe?”
“Partially. Penni has always managed to watch out for herself, but I have another reason.”
“Which is?”
“King. I want you to find out exactly what shit he’s involved in and if it could touch Lily.”
“And if it can?”
Shade remained quiet.
“All right. Let me know when she plans to head back, and I’ll get packed. What reason did you give her for why I’m going back with her?”
“Brotherly concern.”
Evie snorted. Shade loved his sister, but if he were really worried about her, he would call his mother and put an immediate stop to her going back.
“That works for me; I could use a vacation. Besides, Lily said her dad runs a strip club; I can always pick up a few new pointers.”
“I doubt that. You could probably teach them a thing or two.”
“I do try.” Evie grinned, sashaying her ass to the door.
“Evie?”
She turned her head back to him. “Yeah?”
“Anything, one little piece of dirt that can get Lily hurt, and I want to know.”
She lost her smile, seeing the grim resolution on his face. “Sure thing.” She went out the door, hoping for Lily’s sake she didn’t find anything. It would be a shame for Lily to lose her father when she had just found him.
Chapter 2
Evie knocked on the door, smiling when it was opened by a large man in a suit.
“Hi, you must be Henry. I’m Evie. Beth sent me to take care of King today.”
When the door opened wider, allowing her inside, Evie entered the nicely-furnished house. The dark-leather furniture gave the home a modern appearance without being over the top. She followed behind Henry as he walked down a short hallway, coming to a stop outside a door where he gave a brief knock, only opening it when he heard a response from the other side.
Evie’s eyes swept across the large bedroom until her attention was caught by a man lying on the bed. He was wearing dark jeans and a white button-up shirt, and his rugged good looks were surprising to her. She had somehow expected Lily’s father to be much older, not this aggressively-in-your-face, sexy male. Wow, Evie thought. The resemblance between Lily and her father was remarkable. Both had the dark hair, but it was the violet eyes that left no doubt about their relationship.
“Hello, I’m Evie.”
“Beth called and said you would be taking her place today.” The sound of his harsh voice had sparks running through her stomach. It suited his face.
Evie set her satchel containing her supplies on the chair beside his bed. “How are you feeling today?” Her nursing persona kicked in as she opened her bag and took out a clean pair of gloves.
“I’m doing well.”
Evie turned back to him, seeing he was staring at her with an arched brow.
“Too much?” she questioned with a grin.
“A little.”
Evie shrugged. “Old habits are hard to kill.” She motioned for him to unbutton his shirt.
“You worked in a hospital?”
“Yes, when I was in the military and afterward. I was also a Corpsman in the field for nine months.”
Evie watched as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a muscled and lean chest. He didn’t even have the paunch she had assumed a man who made his living running a strip club would have. Somehow, she had imagined him short and stubby with a half-balding head. In reality, he was the direct opposite: muscular, with defined abs.
He flinched when she reached out to touch him. Startled, Evie’s eyes lifted and were caught by his purple gaze. Surprisingly, she felt herself blush.
Her hands went to the bandage
, carefully removing the tape before gently lifting the gauze away. It wasn’t the worst gunshot wound she had ever seen. It didn’t seem to be the worst injury he had dealt with during his lifetime, either. Her experience from being a Corpsman easily allowed her to identify the scars visible on his body.
A scar delivered from a knife was on his stomach. It was bad enough Evie assumed whoever had given it to him was doing his best to gut him. He had another scar on his side that showed he had been shot before, also. At the base of his throat, he had a thin scar she was barely able to see. Someone must have unsuccessfully tried to garrote him.
When his hands pulled his shirt back from his body, she saw the scars on both wrists that were signs he had been tied up and tortured. The cigarette burns on the back of his hands sickened her the most. Shade had told her how King had risen from poverty to fight and win control of Queen City. The brutality of that rise to power was exhibited on his body.
Silently, she disposed of the dirty bandages and her gloves before putting on a fresh pair and getting clean bandages.
Sitting down on the bed, she cleaned the wound that was beginning to heal then placed the clean bandage and taped it in place. Standing back up, she removed her gloves then disposed of them into the same trashcan.
She took out her thermometer, rolling it over his forehead; no fever. He was recovering well from being shot. Evie put her thermometer back in her bag, snapping it closed before lifting it and placing the strap back over her shoulder.
“That’s it?” King asked.
“Yes, unless you’re having any pain?”
“No.”
“Then that’s all Beth said needed to be done. Did she forget to tell me something?” Evie frowned, trying to remember if there was something she had forgotten in Beth’s instructions.
“No.” His brief, cranky reply had Evie cocking her head to the side and her inquisitive gaze searching his. “Beth usually brought me lunch when she came.”
Evie’s lip twitched. “She didn’t tell me I should bring you lunch. Would you like me to go out and get you something?” Evie offered, wondering if he wanted something to eat, why he didn’t get Henry to get it for him.
