“Good, because I’ve got something I need to talk to you about,” he rasps in his gruff smoker's voice.
“Uh-huh,” I mumble distractedly as I run my eyes over the smoking hot new guy that just walked into the gym.
“You listening to me, girl?” Pop asks impatiently. “Stop ogling those boy toys and pay attention.”
Shit! How does the old coot always know what I’m doing? I swear it’s like he has eyes and ears everywhere.
“Stop doing that,” I demand. “It’s creepy.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you were able to focus on anything for more than half a second without getting distracted. You’ve got a shorter attention span than a hooker in a confessional, darlin.’”
Hmm, that sounds about right, but I don’t tell him that.
“What were you saying anyway? Because if it had anything to do with bourbon and me procuring it, you can think again. Dad told you what would happen if he found you passed out in the back pasture again, and I don’t think he was joking this time. Last time, you nearly gave him a heart attack.”
“Boy needs to mind his own business,” Pop grumbles good-naturedly.
“That boy as you call him is your son,” I reprimand gently. “He worries, and I do too. The least you could do is be smart enough not to get caught, Pops. Have I taught you nothing?” I joke.
Well, not really. I did, in fact, show Pop where I go to think, which just happens to be my best, most successful hiding spot because I haven’t been found there yet.
“Too far to walk. I’m an old man, and if I want to drink, I’ll do it on my damn porch where I don’t have to worry about dragging ass home,” he informs me.
“It’s your funeral,” I state, knowing exactly how my dad will react the next time he finds Pop drunk off his ass. “Anyhoo, get to the point. In case you didn’t know, I’m working here, and my boss is a grumpy asshole, so make it quick.”
Scoffing, Pop tells me,
“Knight’s not grumpy, darlin’; he’s horny. Two entirely different things. That man needs to bust a nut, then he’d be much more agreeable to work for.”
Oh, fuck my life! This is most definitely in the TMI category. Especially considering who is imparting such incredible insight into the inner workings of my boss’ sexual escapades, or lack thereof.
“How many times do I need to tell you that the sexual gratification of Knight’s trouser snake is none of my business? For that matter, it’s none of yours either,” I huff, throwing the dirty rag into the bucket to my left. “And if you’re so worried about how often he uncoils his firehose, then why don’t you hook him up with one of the women from bingo that call you all hours of the day and night? I’m sure Knight would appreciate the gesture.”
My Pop was nineteen when my dad was born forty-five years ago, and at sixty-three the man gets more numbers at one night of bingo at the church hall than I do in a month. Go figure. That’s not to say he’s not good looking because, in my opinion, my Pop is hot for an older guy, but still.
“Shut it,” he snaps, not angry in the slightest. “If I thought he’d take me up on the offer, I’d have Knight a date like that,” Pop says, clicking his fingers.
“I’m sure you would,” I agree. “I have the utmost faith you would be able to find Knight a date at the senior citizens center.”
“Sometimes I wonder why you’re my favorite, you know,” he mutters.
“Zara, can you come take a look at this, babe?” Alejandro shouts from half way across the gym.
“Tell that boy to have a little respect before I come down there and kick his scrawny ass,” Pop grumps. To that, I giggle because that description couldn’t be further from the truth.
Alejandro is over six-foot of pure muscle with one percent body fat. I should know, I helped train him when he started at Knights. The man is a serial flirt, but he’s harmless. Pop, however, doesn’t care. As far as he’s concerned, terms of endearment are disrespectful and only reserved for when you’re in a committed relationship. I wonder what he would think about my brothers using them for every one of the dozens of women they’ve slept with.
Then I think better of asking that question and go with reassuring him instead.
“It’s fine, Pop. he just needs my help, so if you’re done with me, I better go and see what he needs.”
Pop huffs a curse, saying,
“As I said before, I need to talk to you about something, so get your butt out here before you go have dinner with your brother and Violet. It’s about time I got this off my chest, and I’m sick of waiting for your stubborn ass to be ready.”
Well, that’s cryptic.
“Okey-dokey, then. My shift finishes as four-thirty, so I’ll be over around five. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah. Don’t be late,” Pop grunts just before he hangs up.
*****
The rest of the day flies by, and before I know it, it’s almost quitting time. Alejandro was his usual flirtatious self, I signed up three new members – all guys, which is a definite plus for me because who doesn’t love an extra helping of man candy – and I re-ordered the stock we are running low on. Knight has barely come out of his office all day, which isn’t uncommon, but it is strange for a Monday.
Monday’s and Thursday's are Junior League boxing training days. From four until six, seventeen boys between the ages of eleven and fifteen come to train with Knight, an ex-heavyweight champion. They love it, and from what I’ve seen, Knight does too.
Watching him with the kids, seeing how he interacts with them, his infinite patience as he guides them through their drills shows me another side of the man who wears his attitude as a shield. It’s as if Knight is an entirely different person when he dons his gloves and steps into the ring to spar with them. His love for the discipline is fierce, anyone can see that, but it’s the spark of excitement I witness that makes me think this is what he was born to do.
Not that Knight isn’t a good businessman; he is. The gym was flailing under his dad's management, and Knight with the help of his brother, Nate, and my brother, Locke turned it around. They worked long hours with little reward for months to get the place back to what it once was. And aside from the recent decline in profits, due to Knight’s marriage breaking down and his focus being elsewhere, the gym is thriving.
See, that’s where I come in.
The gym began to suffer shortly after Lena served her husband with divorce papers. Knight started drinking heavily, stopped showing up for work, and Nate was nowhere to be found. Not that that’s unusual, because honestly, Nate isn’t the most reliable person on the planet, but I would have thought in that instance that he’d have come home when his brother needed him most. I, like a lot of other people thought wrong.
Truthfully, if it weren’t for Locke, my twin twenty-two-year-old brothers, Rhodes and Slade, and even my dad, Knights may have had to close its doors for good.
It came as a shock when my dad sat me down and explained that Knight needed help running the day to day operations of his business, and told me the job was mine if I wanted it. A job I didn’t hesitate to accept.
I grew up inside these walls, some of my best memories were made here. This place is more than a gym to me; it’s part of my history, and I’d be damned if I let it go to shit all because of a woman who is too selfish to see anyone besides her is hurting.
Before I go on, I’m going to lay it out for you. I don’t care what you think of me, or if you believe I’m heartless for just saying what everyone else is thinking. This needs to be said, and Knight will never say it. He’s loyal like that, even when the person he’s protecting doesn’t deserve it.
*****
This is your traditional boy meets girl story. Blah, blah, blah. In other words, how they met was boring as hell and so was most of their relationship. Except for maybe the time they got caught having sex by my dad’s best friend, also our friendly local county sheriff. That shit was just funny. It still makes me giggle thinking about it.
However, that aside, this is how their love affair started…
Knight met Lena in their freshman year of high school and have been together ever since. He signed up to join the Army, and they decided to get married two weeks before he left for basic training. Apparently, they loved each other so much, they couldn’t bear to wait a moment longer. Sweet, right? No, not even remotely. Not as far as I’m concerned, and this is why.
Lena has always been a raving bitch. Full stop. Period. End of story. She was in high school, she was when Knight was deployed, and she is now. Nothing has changed, except how far she sunk her hooks into a man who never deserved to be saddled with the likes of her in the first place.
Here’s an example for you. Lena and her best friend, Chelsea – one of a few town bikes everyone likes to ride – go to the same salon I get my hair done at. While being pampered thanks to Knight’s credit card, they like to talk. And because I’m a nosy bitch by nature, I like to listen. Who wouldn’t?
Most of their conversations consist of the new shit they’ve bought, the latest decorating tips, or gossip about who’s dating who, but occasionally, they divulge a juicy tid bit I carefully store away in my memory bank for later. I picked up this particular one less than two weeks ago while I was praying at the altar of my hairdresser after he just finished blessing me with hot pink and purple streaks in my otherwise dark hair.
Lena wasn’t aware anyone – that would be me – was hiding around the corner as she told Chelsea about her most recent conquest. I won’t go into detail because I’m still scarred myself, but basically, Lena shared all of the intimate particulars of her long-standing affair. An affair, which I’ll have you know, isn’t the first, and it isn’t the longest either.
Yep, you heard me right. Good old Lena is stepping out on her husband, and there I was left holding the bag.
I could tell Knight his wife is a cheating whorebag, or I could keep my mouth shut – something I’ve never been particularly good at. Those were my options, and I chose neither. Instead, I went to Locke and told him what I’d heard.
The way I figured it, Locke is Knight’s best friend, so it would probably be better coming from him if at all. Not to mention, my brother has far more experience with these sorts of things than I do. After his relationship with who I call the ‘evil troll bitch from hell’ ended much the same way, surely Locke would know the most diplomatic way to break it to Knight.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Lena has been through hell and back. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel sorry for her after what she went through. But as far as I’m aware, that doesn’t give her carte blanche to hurt people. Especially not the man who stood beside her every step of her recovery.
I considered this from all angles, trust me. Was Lena sleeping around to regain the power and control she lost? Was it a matter of her and Knight had become disconnected after she was attacked? Could Knight know what his wife is doing and be allowing it to happen? For interests sake, I’m still unsure about the first two, but it’s a definite, no to the third. There’s no way in hell Knight would condone his wife cheating on him for any reason.
That brings us to my other major issue with Lena. She lied. I’m not just talking about now, either. Lena has been lying to everyone for years, and what I want to know is why.
From what I can gather, Lena doesn’t have a problem conceiving, not if what I’ve been told is true. I have it from a reliable source that a Mrs. Parker, A.K.A, Lena has been seen at the women’s clinic in Lower Falls twice in the last six months. Both times she was checking in to see one of the doctors who only performs early-term pregnancy terminations.
I know what you’re thinking, how could she? Because that’s the same question I’ve asked myself a million times over. Knight hasn’t made a secret of how much he wants children with Lena. Over the years, I have heard him tell Locke dozens of times that a baby would make their little family complete.
So here we are. Lena is cheating on her husband, or she was until a month ago when he became her ex after signing on the dotted line. Knight is lost in a sea of anger, betrayal, and heartbreak over a woman who doesn’t deserve to make him feel one, let alone all three of those emotions. And me… Well, I’m stuck where I’ve always been. Between a rock and a hard place.
Like I said before, my options are limited. Telling Knight what I know means possibly losing him as more than just my boss, but my friend too. Because when it boils right down to it, Knight is my friend. Not in the typical go out for drinks and hang out kind of way, but I know he’ll always be there for me if I ever needed him.
On the other hand, not telling Knight may be worse. If and when he finds out I kept this from him – because don’t doubt for a second he will eventually find out – he’ll hate me. As in, it will take all four of my brothers to stop him from killing me this time. Not that he’s attempted to before, but it’s been a close call on a few occasions.
Secrets are worse than lies. They have a way of festering, eating away at you until there’s no reprieve other than to unburden yourself. Even a secret that is kept with the best of intentions so as not to hurt someone else is a sin in Knight’s book. That was the one promise he demanded of me when I started working for him; honesty. One hundred percent, no holds barred honesty.
Which is why in the wise words of my dear old Pop, I’m well and truly fucked like a hooker on a Friday night!
CHAPTER THREE
~ Knight ~
“Sexual Equinox: The point in your life where your age matches the number of women you’ve slept with.”
– No comment
“Where is she?” Rhodes asks suspiciously, checking every corner of my office as if she’s going to jump out and surprise him.
“Not here,” I grunt, not taking my eyes off the stack of paperwork laid out in front of me.
I don’t have time for this shit right now. This weeks’ payroll has to get done tonight if anyone is to get paid on Friday, and it’s a task that requires my full attention. I’ve never been good with numbers, usually roping Zara in to do this for me, but with her cutting out early to go see her Pop, I don’t have much of a choice.
“Thank fuck,” he sighs, dropping into a chair across from me. “Z is seriously going to kick me in the balls when she works out it wasn’t Violet who ratted her out.”
Of that, I have no doubt. It doesn’t surprise me it was Rhodes that spilled about Zara’s injuries. He’s always been more protective of her than the rest of them.
“And you’re telling me this, why?” I demand, reaching for my checkbook.
“Because, if Z damages the goods, I can’t work this weekend,” he grumbles, shifting nervously in his seat.
Do you remember when I told you, I’ve been living a double life? Well, this is the other side of it. The side I’ve successfully hidden from almost everyone. There are only a select few people who know about my side business, and all bar one just happen to work for me. Zara’s dad, Chase being the only exception.
Before I tell you how my other business got off the ground, you should know why.
You already know my mom passed away, leaving my dad, Graham heartbroken and alone for the first time in nearly twenty years. They were like Lena and I had been; high school sweethearts. Neither of them had so much as looked at anyone else from the second they saw each other across the crowded cafeteria. Nothing changed over the course of their marriage; they were still just as in love as the day they exchanged vows when my mom took her final breath.
Dad was lost, and with little else to distract him, he took up gambling which is where all our problems started. He got in too deep, sold what he could to cover the debts, but kept racking them up faster than he could pay them down. Even a broken arm when he couldn’t deliver on one of the loans didn’t slow him down.
Bet after bet dad placed, he lost far more than he ever won. In the end, dad believed the only way out of the clusterfuck he’d gotten himself into was to take out a loan. Unfortunately for
him and the gym, he approached a slimy motherfucker by the name of Saul Vasquez to front the cash.
If you live in Lower Falls, you know who Saul is. Financier to the Vasquez Cartel, second cousin to their kingpin, and all around asshole. Saul doesn’t do favors but he does collect them, which I can only assume is why he issued dad the loan in the first place.
After I got out of the Army, I’d had plenty of offers from the Vasquez family to join their ranks. They wanted me to come on as hired muscle; part of their security team. Every time they approached me about it, they got the same answer; no. There’s no way in fuck I was going to work for shady bastards like them. It was bad enough the things I’d had to do in the name of my country, let alone what they would expect of me.
In other words, my dad’s loan wasn’t a loan at all. It was a way to manipulate me into coming to work for them. Apparently, they were willing to forgive the debt in return for my services. However, I’m not for sale, and neither are my morals.
When I let Saul know in no uncertain terms that he could shove his job up his ass, he gave me three months to get the money together to clear my dad’s debt. Three fucking months to come up with fifty thousand dollars.
Vengeance MC Box Set - Volume 2: Gage ~ Cash ~ Knight (Vengeance MC series Book 8) Page 57
