by Eve R. Hart
I was floored. And by the way my jaw was on the floor, he knew it too.
“What? I may be a gruff asshole, but I’m not a monster. I know this baby needs to be taken care of and it’s not like she can’t do it herself. And I might not know exactly what to do, but I know how to ask the right people,” Blade said and his tone held an ‘I don’t give a crap what anyone thinks’ ring to it.
“So this name…” I said bringing it back around.
“Harley.”
“No,” I said shaking my head.
“Mona.”
“The fuck?! That’s terrible, man,” Sketch said before I had a chance to.
“Biscuit?”
I shot him a look.
“It was the first meal we shared together,” he said talking about the dog. “And I figured you’d veto sausage and egg.”
I busted out laughing. Come on, that was really flipping adorable.
“Well, hello there Biscuit,” I said moving in to get kisses on my nose.
“The hell is that?” Brand said walking up from the back, having been in the office and missed the whole thing.
“Biscuit,” Blade practically grunted.
“You know that’s a dog and not a biscuit, right?”
“Yes, jackass. Her name is Biscuit.”
“Um, okay then,” Brand said shrugging off the fact that he was still lost. “We’ll be in the office. Don’t bother us and don’t fuck anything up.”
With that, he was dragging me through the shop and into the back room. Once we were both inside the office he closed the door. I didn’t have a chance to open my mouth and ask what was wrong before his lips were on mine, his rough, warm hands on my jaw.
There was something different about this kiss. I didn’t question it. I merely took and gave everything I had in me. He backed me up to the desk, then with strong arms, lifted me up and gently placed me on top. The kiss continued, neither of us taking the steps to go further.
For the most part, we’d kept things pretty professional at the shop. Sure there was the occasional touch. Or his arm around my waist when we were standing together. And then there were the kisses to my temple and the ones that were stolen when no one was looking. But we hadn’t taken it beyond that. Which I was totally alright with. I mean, we were pretty much around each other twenty-four seven, if we didn’t take a break at some point, we were bound to burn out. Right? Maybe. I had no idea. But I loved that he respected his business and me enough to put a pin in it.
When we were hanging out with people, he was a little more affectionate but it never went to the point of being inappropriate. I always followed his lead and found that it was the perfect balance to the intensity we had behind closed doors.
So, that said, whatever this was led me to think that something was up.
“Talk to me,” I said finally gathering the strength to tear myself away from him.
My hand cradled his face as I captured his gaze. There were so many emotions swirling in those magical chocolate orbs. A heavy feeling came crashing down on me and I felt the urge to cry. But I held it back as best as I could. I wouldn’t have said that my eyes stayed completely dry, but I was able to keep the tears from falling.
“Sometimes I can’t think straight around you,” he started and I gave him a little smile of understanding because it was very much the same for me. “But then, I get a moment alone and I can’t help but let it all flow in. I get lost in here sometimes.” He touched the side of his head and I knew where he was coming from. I often was in my head a lot, too.
“So, tell me about it. I’m here with you. I want to know. I want to be apart of whatever is going on with you.”
“I don’t deserve you,” he breathed out, his forehead coming to rest on mine. “I just can’t help but think about if this is the best thing for you. It’s stupid, maybe, but I see Laurel and how she doesn’t seem to be handling everything all that well, and I wonder if I’m really doing the right thing by you.”
His words couldn’t have been more true as far as the Laurel thing went. She was off in her own downward spiral. I’d tried to be there as much as I could, but it was clear she didn’t want help. She didn’t want anything, in fact. The last time I’d been to see her, in her tiny apartment that I knew she was suffocating in, she had told me that she didn’t want my pity and sent me on my way.
I didn’t hold it against her. How could I? I had a tiny idea of what she was going through, but she had been embedded into the family and lifestyle more than I had been. She had been the good daughter with the engagement that made the parents happy and proud. She blamed herself for it all, and while it had been her decision that started this domino effect, she shouldn’t have had to pay for it this way.
Our parents sucked.
And that was putting it nicely.
I had Brand.
I had Sketch, Blade, and Chris.
I had the members of the club that had taken me in and accepted me for who I was.
She had no one except me and she was trying really hard to cut that off as well.
Her words had hurt me, but that didn’t mean I was going to give up on her. We needed each other. I was giving her time to lick her wounds and pick herself up. She was strong. I’d seen it from time to time growing up. So while I couldn’t help but worry about her because I loved her, I knew I didn’t need to.
But what all of this had to do with me, I wasn’t sure. I was not Laurel and I hoped he could see that.
“It’s just, I don’t want to be that guy,” he went on when I couldn’t find the right words to say because I was too busy trying to figure out where he was going with all of this. “The guy that comes between a woman and her family. And that’s me right now. I’m sure if you dropped me, walked out of this shop without a look back, and talked to your parents you could make things right.”
“You’re kidding me right?”
Then it hit me. He had kissed me like he was saying goodbye. Like he was willing to let me go if I needed him to.
But the thing was, I didn’t need or want him to. The only thing I needed was him.
“My life is not normal to someone like you.”
I shot him a look like I couldn’t believe that he had just flipping said that to me.
“No, wait,” he said trying to backtrack. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that the club life isn’t for everyone. I would never want to force you into a lifestyle that you wouldn’t be happy with. I don’t want to lose you, but I want you to be happy. There are things I will never be able to tell you. And, fuck, things that could happen. I’ll never forgive myself for that night. You could have been hurt or even killed all because of me. I need you to really think about this.”
How could I not love this man?
“Look at me and listen good, because I will not have this conversation again. Got me?” I made sure I had his eyes before I continued. “I love you. You have stolen my heart and weaved yourself into my soul. I don’t know how or when it happened, but it did. And I accept it, which means I accept every single thing about you. But I will say this, I don’t want to know. Whatever is going on with the club and all that, I don’t want to know about it. Maybe it’s a dumb move to want to stick my head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. But the best way I figure I can protect you and myself is to know as little as possible.”
“I need you to be sure you want this because I don’t know if I can give you any more of me, you have it all already, and if we go on, it will crush me if you walk away.”
“Brandon Reed,” I said saying his full name for the first time, well what I knew of it. I like the way it sounded and I smiled. “I am here, with you, in this, always.”
The vow spilled easily from my lips and I meant every word.
“I’m glad you found me,” he whispered almost like he couldn’t believe it. “I love you, Cami.”
“I love you, too. So, so, so much.”
Then he kissed me and the moment was perfect.
He was perfect.
I needed him. Like, right that second.
“No,” he said as I went for his belt. “I respect you too much to give you a quick fuck on the desk in this office.”
Then he snagged my wrist and all but dragged me out through the back and into the main part of the shop.
“We’re leaving for the day. Oh and Blade, your dog just pissed on your timeout couch.” He didn’t even stop as he spoke.
How had I missed the dog thing?
Oh, yeah, because my head was currently dizzy with the whiplash I’d just been through.
It didn’t matter that this day seemed like it had only gotten started and it was insanely sideways already, because Brand took me back to the clubhouse and made me forget everything that had happened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Brand
We’d been sitting around the common room shooting the shit when the front door opened. I raised my gaze to see who was coming in, then I got to my feet with a speed I didn’t even know I had. Using my body, I shielded Cami as best as I could.
Wasn’t every day that the leader of the D13 gang rolled up into your place and when he did, you bet your sweet ass it wasn’t for anything good.
I didn’t go for my gun seeing as they had strolled in casually and hadn’t pulled theirs, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to draw if they so much as flinched.
“Chris,” I growled and said nothing else because I knew he’d get it.
Behind me, I could hear him getting to his feet.
“Cami, come with me,” he said calmly, and to my surprise, she didn’t bulk or ask questions, she simply got up. Then I heard their feet shuffle off towards the back and I assumed into the kitchen.
I fucking hated that she’d been here to see this. That she had possibly been put in the middle of something that had nothing to do with her. But I was proud of her for taking it like a pro and listening.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gwen making her way to follow Chris and Cami.
“Where he at?” Dion asked looking at Mouse and I could only guess that he was talking about Iron.
“I’m here,” Iron said coming out of nowhere. “Something I can do for you?” His tone as cool as ever but I could tell he was ready to go in the blink of an eye.
Dion made his way up to the bar, his entourage of three right behind him. I stepped up beside Iron while Knight took his other side. B-ry slid in on the right, keeping a good ten feet between them.
“I ain’t want problems between us. Figured I ought to fix shit before it got any more outta hand.” Dion flopped a shoebox down on the bar top.
“I’m gonna need more than a pair of shoes to make this thing alright.” Iron said.
“It ain’t about the shoes,” Dion said then flipped open the lid. I craned my neck to look. A pair of high-end sneakers with a little daily wear dirtying up the bottom soles. They were perfect white…you know, except for the rust-colored blood splatter that covered them. By that, I could tell that the blood wasn’t completely dry, and it left me to wonder if he’d driven straight over here after it’d been done. “It’s about the dead motherfucka that used to be wearin’ ‘em.”
Iron took in the scene in front of him, not a single thing was given away on his face.
“’Case that ain’t enough for you,” he tossed his phone in front of Iron.
On the screen was proof that whoever had been wearing those shoes was now dead, hole in the head and I imagined the one to the knee was to prove a point before he got the final sendoff. And by the bodies that lay around him, he wasn’t the only one dead.
“Ain’t tryin’ to have no beef with you. Kid disrespected me, went behind my back to start some shit, and paid the fuckin’ price. I sure as fuck don’t want to be on your bad side, or any of you fucks.” I could only guess he was talking about the other crime factions that ran the underbelly of the city. “Next time you got a problem with my side, you shout, you hear? Don’t send some punk ass to sneak around my place. Next time, he won’t walk away lookin’ so good.”
“Understood,” Iron said, not bowing down but showing respect and agreeing that they were on the same page.
“We good?” Dion asked.
“We’re good.” Iron said with a nod.
“Good. Imma get the fuck up on outta this place now. Smells like grease and leather.”
Then he went out the way he came in, taking the box with him. And I was pretty sure that we all breathed a little sigh of relief after the door closed.
“Did that just fucking happen?” B-ry said what I was sure we all were thinking.
“Yep,” Iron said as he stared at the closed front door. “Church.” He looked at Knight and then me. “Five minutes.”
I gave him an appreciative head nod because he was giving me a minute to check on my girl.
I respected Iron in every way. He was a good man and he knew that sometimes there needed to be a little balance between club life and personal.
Knowing that he meant five minutes and not a second longer, I scurried off to get Cami and Chris.
I found them and Gwen hunkered down in the back of the laundry room. Smart. I had an idea that was Gwen’s doing, no doubt Knight had made a point to give her direction where to go if something went down in the clubhouse and she couldn’t get out.
It hit me then, I was going to have to start thinking of things like that. I wanted to kick myself that I hadn’t before, but I didn’t have a second to dwell on that right now. I had to make sure Cami was alright. I knew Chris was fine, probably not as cool as me, but the guy knew the deal and had been around long enough to know how shit sometimes went sideways when you least expected it to.
“I’m fine,” she said waving her hand at me before I even had the chance to open my mouth and ask her. “I don’t want to know, okay? But I’m good.”
I pulled her in for a hug and ran my hand over her silky hair. She wasn’t shaking and her breaths were pretty even. I could tell that she was rattled, but not enough where she was going to freak out on me. This was good. It made me have hope that maybe she could handle this life, on her terms of course. The ones where we didn’t talk about any of it and she stayed in the dark as much as possible. I had been so afraid that this part of me would taint her. But it was clear she wasn’t going to allow it to.
A quick kiss, an apology, and one word to let her know I had to get upstairs, then I was off.
I only felt okay leaving her because Chris was here. He’d look after her until I was done.
“Alright,” Iron said starting the meeting the moment my ass hit the chair. “That was…some shit, that’s for sure.”
I think all of us would have agreed.
“I want to believe him. I don’t think he’d kill and then not only bring evidence, but show pictures of what he’d done if he didn’t mean all that. So I’m going to trust him but I don’t want us to walk away thinking everything is over. Got me? And not to mention, we still don’t know if Detective Mullins is watching us. I’m gonna assume that he is, he didn’t seem like one to let go so easily. Pain in my fuckin’ ass.”
“Should we get Cable to put security on his place, watch him and all?” Knight suggested.
“Might not be a bad idea. Maybe see if we can bug his phone. I’m not sure how smart he is, or paranoid, but I don’t want him to find out we’re watching him.” Iron paused for a moment, thinking. “If I find out he tries to pull anything like he did before, I won’t be so forgiving the next time we pay him a visit.”
I may have felt sorry for what the man had gone through, but that didn’t mean that I liked him. Far from it. Especially if he was going to cause more trouble for the club. He was definitely a hard-ass. Stupid as fuck, too, because Iron was not someone I would ever want to have on my bad side. The man may have appeared cool on the outside most of the time, but sometimes I got a glimpse of the darkness in his eyes. He took his position seriously, he cared for each and every one of us, and I
wouldn’t doubt for a second that he would go all killer if someone came after us.
“Now, about this Cami thing,” Iron said knowing full well about everything that was going on, from the threat that her parents tossed at her, to the fact that she’d and her sister had pretty much been disowned by them.
I was a smart enough man to know better than to keep things from my prez, no matter how small something seemed. The threat, I wasn’t scared of, I had a feeling her mother was just throwing around weight trying to come out on top. I’d known women like her before. High and mighty types that couldn’t stand it when they didn’t get their way or someone tried to knock them back a peg or two. And that was what Cami had done, she broke out of her obedient shell and stood up for herself. Personally, I was proud of her and I’d stand by her through anything.
Iron being the cautious man he was, didn’t take the threat lightly, or if he did, he didn’t completely sweep it under the rug. He kept it in the back of his mind and an open ear to the ground.
“I think they are more worried about cleaning up the mess that Cami’s older sister is in right now,” I said as delicately as I could. I liked Laurel, and I felt really bad about what she was going through.
“Laurel, right?” I gave Iron a not of confirmation. “Yeah, that’s a shit show for sure.”
“You want us to pay a visit to the parents? Maybe make them piss themselves a little, let them know they shouldn’t fuck with us?” B-ry asked, his face a mask of stone.
“No, not just yet. Let’s wait and see if they make the first move. I’d rather not push them if they’ve let it go. And Brand, you and Cami should lay low until the local press move on to something else.”
Another nod from me letting him know I understood. Truth was, we had been trying our best to stay hidden. Cami didn’t want to be part of the chaos that surrounded Laurel and she didn’t want to drag me or the club into it either. This meant she didn’t see Laurel as much as she wanted to, but then again it could also have to do with the fact that Laurel had been distant as well.
