“Come back to the booth when you get the refill,” Viper said in a commanding voice and then he turned from me and walked back to the other guys.
I stared at them sitting together and gulped. How badly did I want to see Gunner again? Enough to risk his life and my freedom? These guys were capable of anything if they thought one of their women was under threat.
***
I was back to sitting with the group after getting the soda refill for Pike, and I tried not to look at Viper, even though he was constantly glaring at me.
The others had migrated from making jokes and guessing who I was out with the previous night; to talking about women in general.
“And the tits on her!” one of them said and I tried not to think too much about the way they were talking about women. I wondered then if Gunner was having breakfast somewhere with his friends and talking about me that way. Although, I couldn’t imagine him actually saying these words. Not after the way he had looked at me. I knew I might have been imagining it entirely, but I felt like we had a connection…we’d experienced a spark the previous night.
“She practically begged me and I was surprised by how tight she was. Like, she gets around you know,” Pike’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I felt a wave of nausea rise up in me at the thought of this poor woman, whoever she was, being talked about like this.
“It’s because she’s flexible. She can really stretch herself,” one of the others said and they all broke into a gut-wrenching laughter.
I knew they all took turns in fucking the groupies who hung around the club. Women who idolized these men and would have done anything, given anything to feel like they were being noticed. I’d seen the women who’d thrown themselves at daddy over the years. Some of whom, I knew he was sleeping with. As did Luke…but they both kept their mouths clean around me. If they ever spoke about these women in this way, they didn’t do it around me. Until now.
“Have you sampled the new one? What’s her name? Natasha, Anastasia or something,” one of them said.
“Nikita,” Viper cut in, but when I looked up at him, his eyes were still on me. He was watching my every move, my every reaction as though he was looking for some sort of sign.
I tried not to worry about him finding out about Gunner, but I couldn’t help it. I’d seen these guys beat people to a pulp. I was sure that they’d killed people too. I knew Gunner had been in the military, but how was he going to defend himself against an entire group of Dragon Knights?
Another laughter from the group interrupted my thoughts, and I looked around the table, still silent because of course, I wasn’t supposed to participate in this particular conversation.
“We need to figure out the payment system though,” one of them said and I crossed my brows, confused. How had the conversation jumped from them laughing about their groupies to making money?
“Someone counts it after every session. Simple as that. We can’t trust these bitches and they probably can’t even count,” Pike said and they laughed again.
I was even more confused. Why were the women expected to count money?
“I mean, have you ever seen them count?” someone said and I parted my lips to speak. I couldn’t help myself but ask what they were talking about.
“Morning boys, Brooklyn, your shift began ten minutes ago,” Tommy, the diner’s owner, had walked up to our booth and was now standing with his hands on his hips, trying to be polite and authoritative at the same time.
“So what?” Viper snapped at Tommy and I watched Tommy flinch. Everyone knew who the Dragon Knights were and they were all appropriately afraid.
“I just wanted to drop in and remind her,” Tommy said, throwing a nervous smile around the table.
“She’ll start working when she fucking wants to,” one of the guys thundered and Tommy had already started backing away.
I really wanted to stay and listen to the rest of the conversation, and ask them what kind of payment they were talking about. But then I figured, that it had something to do with their business and it wasn’t like they were going to let me in on it anyway.
“I should go,” I said and stood from the seat. Viper caught my wrist again and some of the guys hooted.
“Meet us at the bar tonight,” he said to me and from the look in his eyes, I could see that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“I’m working at PJ’s tonight,” I lied to him, trying to keep my shoulders from shaking as he watched me.
“You work too hard sweetheart,” one of the boys told me, while Viper’s grip remained tightly wound around my wrist. He was beginning to hurt me, but I couldn’t protest. In his mind, he believed that he was keeping me safe.
I smiled at them weakly.
“I like to keep busy. I’ll see you guys around. Thanks for dropping in,” I said and tugged my hand away from Viper.
I flipped around and walked away from them, aware of their eyes on me the whole time.
The diner had started getting busy with the breakfast crowd now and I could see the relief in Tommy’s eyes, when he saw me putting on my apron.
“Sorry ‘bout that, Tommy. The boys are just rowdy is all,” I said to him, stuffing a few notepads and pencils into my pockets.
“Not at all!” he said, busying himself with the food so that he didn’t have to look me in the eye. I knew what he thought though…that he had made the biggest mistake by hiring me, but what other choice did he have? Some of the guys from the club had walked in one day and commanded him to take me on. Tommy had to fire someone else to accommodate my wages but he did it, because he was afraid of them. Everyone in these parts were afraid of them…afraid of us…afraid of me.
I’d led my whole life trying not to think about it.
9
Gunner
Hunter was smoking a cigarette, as he leaned against my old beat-up car. We’d been waiting there, staring at the abandoned warehouse for about fifteen minutes. I was the only one who owned a car, while the others rode Harley’s; so, I drove them for the recon mission.
Axel had assigned Tank and Glock to find out what was going on with the Dragon Knights, and they had brought Hunter, Sniper and me along as backup.
We were leaning behind the car, trying to keep a low profile and our eyes on the warehouse in the distance behind the barbed wire fencing. It wasn’t too far away and with the lack of buildings or structures around it, we could hear their voices as and when they appeared.
Not a lot of the Dragon Knights members were around and it was the middle of the day, which meant that we hadn’t been noticed yet.
“So, what are we doing here, again?” Sniper asked, sucking in a mouthful of smoke from his own cigarette.
Tank had been looking through the windows of the car, across to the warehouse, and he straightened himself up.
“Trying to see if these bastards are running a sex trade,” he said and took the cigarette from Sniper to take a drag.
“How are we gonna figure that out?” Sniper asked and Tank and Glock exchanged humorous looks.
“We sit here and watch this place till we get a clue,” Glock said and looked over his shoulder at the warehouse again. We hadn’t seen any of the DK members in a while and everything was quiet around us.
“So, this is their storage space or something?” Hunter asked and Glock grinned at him again.
“What are all these questions for?” Tank snapped in a growly voice.
“He’s only a baby, cut him some slack brother,” Sniper said and I watched as the orange glow at the end of his cigarette began to die as he took one of his last drags. I’d given up smoking when I joined the Army, but I missed it sometimes. The power I had over a burning object in my mouth…the smell of nicotine on my fingers.
“Well, the warehouse is full of storage containers,” Glock said. “So, it’s likely that they’re storing something in there,” he added.
“Like drugs or weapons?” Sniper asked and Tank shrugged his shoulders.
“In all probability,” he said.
“It’s not like they’ll keep their women in there right?” Hunter clarified and Glock exchanged looks with Tank again.
“Anything is possible. This is why Axel wanted us to check this place out,” he said.
I was staring at the warehouse, standing with my hands stuffed into the pockets of my jeans when we saw a girl walking around the front of the warehouse. We could hear her heels clicking against the hot concrete as she walked.
“Hey. Over there. Who is that?” Hunter alerted the others and we all crouched down a little under the car and looked through the window.
She was dressed in a way that a lot of the groupies did, so that wasn’t really telling. Impossibly high heels, a tight tank top with her cleavage spilling out, a short skirt that left nothing to the imagination and big fluffy hair. Her makeup was streaky and colorful and she had large copper hoops hanging from her ears.
We watched her as she walked up to the shutters of the warehouse and tapped on it twice.
“What is going on?” Sniper asked and Tank hushed him angrily.
The shutter was pulled up noisily and one of the guys from Dragon Knights crouched down and slipped out, pulling the shutter down immediately. We were close enough that we could hear them talk even as we remained hidden.
“What the Fuck are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here!” the man stepped threateningly towards the girl and she stumbled backwards on her heels.
“I know I know…but I didn’t know where else to go,” she was speaking in a loud screechy voice, close to tears. The man reached out and grabbed the back of her head and shook her.
“What is going on? Why are you here?” he asked and she squealed as he shook her. I had to clench my fists to stop myself from hurling over the barbed wire and charging at the guy. She had done nothing. There was no reason for him to treat her like that!
“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.
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.
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