by Jayne Blue
A knock on the front door pulled me away from my plans. Brenna watched me pull my Nine off the dresser and slide it into my hip holster. I kissed her forehead and went past her for the front door.
“I’ll just be a second,” I said.
“Is it trouble?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I doubt it.”
I looked through the keyhole. It was Angel. Shit. I might have to rethink my answer to Brenna. No reason for him to show up in person unless it was something he didn’t want to talk about over the phone.
I swung the door open. Angel jerked his chin at me and stepped inside. I kind of wished I’d told Brenna to wait in the bedroom. The minute Angel walked in, I felt a wave of protective jealousy about her. But Brenna was already in the living room. Angel’s step faltered. He was shocked to see her. Brenna gave him a little wave.
“Hey,” she said.
Angel gave me a look then smiled at her. “Hey, yourself! Uh ... good to see you.”
“Right.” Brenna gave him a thumbs up and grabbed her purse from the couch. “Gunn ... I’m just gonna call an Uber. I’ll, uh ... we’ll catch up later.”
“No way,” I said. “No Uber. Just sit tight for a second. If I need to, I’ll have one of the probies take you home.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but I think she saw the look in my eye. She gave me a little thumbs up and headed for the kitchen. Lupe tore out of the other bedroom and followed her.
“Oh, I see how it is,” Brenna said. “You’re a food whore, huh?”
“Big time.” I laughed. “Don’t give her anything more exciting than carrots. She gets fat.”
Angel stood with his hands in his back pockets and a shit-eating grin on his face as soon as Brenna rounded the corner out of sight.
“Don’t start,” I said.
“Sheeit,” Angel said. “We were all taking bets on how long it was going to take for you to tap that. I think this means Switch wins the pool.”
That protective rage bubbled up. My fists clenched. Angel saw. His face dropped and he put a hand up in surrender. “Oh ... hey, man. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it’s like that. I’m just busting your balls.”
“Yeah,” I said, looking over my shoulder to make sure Brenna wasn’t on her way back. “It’s like that. But do me a favor and keep your trap shut for now.”
“No problem. Look, she’s a sweet girl. It’s good news, Gunn.”
“Right. So what’s going on?”
Angel cleared his throat. By the expression on his face, I knew I wasn’t going to like his news. I gestured with my chin and he followed me out to the porch.
“Out with it,” I said. “Sly wouldn’t have sent you all the way out here if this was something to put a smile on my face.”
Angel’s tone took a grim turn. “Look. I’m sorry, man. There’s no good way to tell you this. Somebody tried to break into your bike shop last night. They didn’t get anything. There’s minimal damage. A couple of broken windows. But Josh got clipped. He was sitting down the road. Whoever it was broadsided him before they got away.”
My heart turned to ash. Rage burned through me. My shop. Some fuckers tried to take a bite out of my shop. “How bad is he hurt?” I asked, my stomach churning.
“He’s going to be good as new, but he broke some ribs. Pretty bad road burn on his right calf. Stitches in his forehead. He was wearing his helmet and the kid’s a good rider. Thank God for that. The plates and windows were blacked out. Whoever did this wanted to be damn sure not to get made. Sly’s got some people on it already. There’s nothing you need to do here. But he wants everyone back home.”
“Lockdown?” A pit formed in my gut.
“Nah,” Angel said. “Not a full lockdown. He just wants all of our people where he can see them for the next twenty-four. No reason to take chances until we know whether this is connected to what happened to Toby or not.”
“Fresh-squeezed orange juice?” Brenna sang out. She was carrying a tray with a pitcher of juice and three glasses. Angel gave me a funny look. It was almost dinner time.
“I got this,” I said to him. “You mind waiting for me outside for a few?”
Angel shot a look to Brenna. He gave me a knowing nod then quietly excused himself. Brenna’s smile fell as Angel made an awkward goodbye.
She set the tray down. “Gunn?”
“Baby, listen. Change of plans.” Fuck. I had no idea how this would go over. I’d spent forever trying to convince Brenna and her family that the Great Wolves were legit. That didn’t mean club drama didn’t take a turn every now and again. I just wished it hadn’t happened so soon.
“What’s going on?”
I went to her. I put my hands on her shoulders and kissed her. Brenna kissed me back but she was shrewd enough to know I was trying to handle her. “I need you to come with me,” I said. “Just for a little while. Maybe the weekend. You think you can swing that?”
A creased formed in her brow. “You’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Probably nothing, anyway. But I’d just feel better if I had you somewhere I can keep an eye on you for the next couple of days. Until things …”
She jerked away from me. “Listen, I’m sorry about last night. Yes. I had way too much liquor. But it’s not like I do that all the time. It was my twenty-first, for God’s sake. If we’re going to do this, I can’t have you watching over me like a hawk all the time. You have to let me live my life, Gunn.”
Fuck. This wasn’t going well. “Yeah. I know. And I’m not going to argue with you about how lucky you were I was watching over you last night. This isn’t about that. This is ... club business. Sly wants everyone at the clubhouse.”
She stood back. “So go to the clubhouse. I’m not stopping you, Gunn. I’m not my family. I know who you are and what they are.”
“When I say everyone … I mean you too.”
“Me?” She pressed a hand flat to her chest. “What are you talking about?”
God. I didn’t want to tell her. There was no good way. If the Hawks or someone else were targeting club members, I needed Brenna under my roof for a little while. People saw me with her last night. It was my shop that got targeted.
“I wish I could sugarcoat this shit. I swear to God, if there were any way I could … But Brenna, I’m not asking you right now. I’m telling you. You need to come to the clubhouse with me until I’m sure it’s safe for you not to be with me.”
Her face dropped. Her breasts jiggled as she shook with anger. “You’re telling me? Are you serious?”
“Deadly,” I said. “I was hoping we could talk about this, you know, over time. But ... you need to know ... there are sometimes when I’m going to need you to do what I tell you to. No questions asked. Unfortunately ... and I know the timing blows ... but this is one of those times. And don’t look at me like that. I know damn well Scotty probably had this talk with you more than once.”
She took a faltering step back. “He did.”
“Good. It’s settled then.”
“Nothing is settled, Gunn. You’re right. The timing is lousy. I don’t know what we are. But you can’t ... I’m not ... you can’t just order me to hop to.”
I went to her. “Okay ... so I’m asking. Except I won’t take no for an answer, baby. And I know what we are. You know it too. You hear me?”
Brenna’s lips parted. That little flash of color went into her cheeks. She was pissed at me. She had a right to be. But I was damn well gonna protect what was mine.
Chapter Fifteen
Brenna
Gunn tried to play it off, but I felt the tension running through him. He exchanged grim looks with the rest of his men as he helped me off his bike outside the Wolf Den. Friday night, and they were closed for business. I couldn’t remember the last time that was true.
A woman stood, arms folded, at the back entrance to the bar. She was tall and beautiful with a fierce gaze and long, thick brown hair that hung to her wais
t. She looked like some kind of Amazon warrior queen.
“Brenna,” Gunn said. “This is Scarlett, she’s Sly’s ... she’s, uh ... she’s Sly’s.”
Scarlett gave him a wry smile and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Don’t mind Gunn’s lack of manners,” she said. “Let’s get you inside. Mo’s got a room all set up for you upstairs.”
“Mo?” I asked, looking back at Gunn. He shot me a wink and gestured for me to just follow Scarlett. I was dubious, but he wasn’t giving me much in the way of choices.
“Think of Mo as a sort of self-appointed Den mother to these dogs,” Scarlett said. “Only her bite’s a hell of a lot worse than her bark. Don’t worry though, I’ve got a feeling she’s going to love you.”
Gunn disappeared down a long hallway. I knew Sly kept an office off the main bar. I’d seen him come out of it that first night when Christine and I walked ourselves into trouble. Though the place was closed to the public, the bar itself was pretty crowded. It seemed like every probie and hangaround had been let in. I saw quite a few of the biker chicks who’d been here the other night too.
“Come on,” Scarlett said. “V.I.Ps go upstairs.” She had a big smirk on her face. She’d said it loud enough to draw the attention of a couple of girls at the bar. It earned her some scowls but like Gunn had said, Scarlett was Sly’s girlfriend. Those girls didn’t look friendly, but they seemed to understand Scarlett shouldn’t be messed with.
We went up a winding staircase with rich, pine walls. Scarlett led me to the second room on the left. I was shocked to find a full studio apartment inside of it with a kitchenette and private bathroom. The room was dark though, on an interior wall with no windows. That made no sense to me from the exterior architecture, unless the place had been constructed with a false wall. A shiver ran through me as I realized that’s exactly what it was. These rooms had been designed so no one could easily see into them from the street.
“You okay?” Scarlett asked. I set my purse on the bed in the center of the room. The place was clean with white eyelet sheets and matching cherry wood furniture. The bathroom door stood open and I could see clean towels and toiletries laid out.
I tried to find a smile for her but my head spun a little. So much had changed in the last thirty-six hours. I’d barely had a chance to stop and think.
“So ... you and Sly Cullinan?” I asked, trying to keep the focus off me.
I saw a hint of a blush come to Scarlett’s cheeks. “Something like that, yeah.” She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. She had a rock on the fourth finger of her left hand that dazzled my eyes in the light.
“Wow,” I said, reaching for her hand. I hoped she didn’t think I was too familiar, but that hunk of diamond was something to behold.
“Took her long enough to say yes.” A deep, booming voice came from the hallway. Scarlett stepped aside and Sly himself walked in. I looked around him, but he’d come alone. A tiny flare of disappointment went through me. Lord, I thought. I’d already reached the point where just the chance of seeing Gunn made my heart flutter.
“Well, it took you long enough to ask me properly,” Scarlett said. She batted her eyes at Sly. He came into the room and slipped an arm around her, pulling her against him. Scarlett reached up and touched his cheek, their love for each other showing plainly in their eyes.
I held out my hand. “I’m Brenna,” I said. “I don’t know if you remember me.”
I’d only spoken to Sly Cullinan once before, at my brother’s funeral. He’d seemed larger than life then, like some character out of a movie. Handsome. Powerful. Rugged and tall. I knew Scotty had idolized him. It was always Sly this, Sly said that. It drove our father out of his mind.
Sly reached for me and gave me a solid handshake. “Sorry for all the fuss,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure Scarlett was taking care of you.”
Scarlett tried to land a playful swat on Sly’s ass. He neatly dodged it and snapped his teeth at her, just like a real wolf.
“It’s fine,” I said. “But I mean ... it isn’t necessary. I appreciate this but …”
Raised voices reached us from downstairs. A look passed between Sly and Scarlett. He stepped away from her and turned his attention back to me. “I just wanted to make sure I had a chance to say hello,” he said. “It’s been a long time, Brenna. It’s good to see you. Gunn says you’re doing well. I’m glad. Your brother ... Scotty was a good kid. I know I said this to your family a long time ago, but now that you’re older ... it matters to me that you know how sorry I am about what happened.”
My throat got tight. I swallowed hard, pushing back fresh tears that sprang out of nowhere. I hadn’t expected him to say that. I hadn’t expected it to hurt to hear it. But this was the Wolf Den. The M.C.’s clubhouse. If things had turned out how he planned, this would have become my brother’s home.
“Thank you,” I said. “It means a lot to me. You meant a lot to him.”
“Sly!” A shout came from downstairs. Scarlett put a hand on Sly’s shoulder.
“You better deal with your pack, alpha wolf,” she said. “I’ll make sure Brenna’s comfy. You just do you, babe.”
He pulled her into a quick kiss, shot me a wink, then disappeared back down the hall. She watched him go, her eyes sparkling just like the diamond on her finger.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You seem so happy.”
Sighing, Scarlett turned back to me. “What can I say, the cocky bastard finally wore me down.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and flopped down on the end of the bed. She patted the space beside her and I took it.
“Sorry about all of this,” she said. “I know it’s a lot to take in all at once. I mean ... you’re just kind of getting thrown into the deep end here. I know what that’s like.”
“I don’t ... I mean …”
Scarlett cocked her head. “Gunn, I mean. Er ... what’s he told you?”
“About what? He said there was some club business he had to take care of and he thought I was better off staying here. Things are complicated with my father right now. I know he’s worried about him making trouble for me. It’s not exactly unprecedented.”
Scarlett set her jaw to the side as she considered my words. There was something more on her mind, for sure, but I could see her working out whether to tell me.
“Scarlett!” A booming, feminine voice with a thick Irish brogue called up from the stairs. “I’m gonna need ya, darlin’. Yer man’s got the whole crew and every goddamn shirttail relation and hangaround down here.”
“Let me guess.” I laughed. “That’s Mo?”
“Good guess.” Scarlett slapped her thigh. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll cover for you tonight. Let you ease into things around here. Mo is ... well ... she’s great. But she can be a lot to take all at once. You just get settled. If you need anything, come on downstairs.”
Before I could thank her or even ask her anything else, Scarlett was up and moving. She yelled down to the mysterious Mo and shut the door behind her, leaving me alone to the relative quiet of my room.
My room. That didn’t sound right. This was a crash pad, for sure. My curiosity got the better of me. With nothing left to do, I started exploring the confines of the four walls. I went to the tall dresser against the wall. Inside were neatly folded jeans, t-shirts, and boxer shorts. I pulled out one of the t-shirts and pressed it to my cheek. These were Gunn’s things. Even through the sweet soap and scent of bleach, it smelled like him.
A wave of jealousy went through me. This was Gunn’s crash pad. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why he’d need it. How many of those biker chicks downstairs had seen the inside of this room with him over the years?
I pushed the boxer shorts aside. I found an open bar of soap. Pine scented. Maybe Mo had put this here to keep his clothes smelling that much cleaner. But beside that, tucked in the corner of the drawer, I found a pack of condoms. Hot anger flared through me. This was none of my business. I was trespassing, invadi
ng his privacy. I had no claim on Gunn, did I?
I slammed the dresser door shut and went back to the bed. He had a single nightstand next to it. There was just an old clock radio on top of it with blinking red lights. Someone had perhaps just plugged it back in. I knew I should have just left well enough alone, but once I started, I didn’t seem able to stop. I pulled open the bedside table drawer. There were condoms in there too plus a pair of shiny handcuffs. I slammed the drawer shut so hard I nearly overbalanced the table.
“Looking for something particular?” Gunn’s voice hit me like lightning. I let out a little shriek of surprise and vaulted off the bed. Too late though. He’d seen what I was up to.
“Hey,” I said, tucking a hair behind my ear. I tried to sound casual. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe. He wasn’t buying my innocent act for a second.
“Sorry,” I said, sighing. “I am. I was just …”
He came to me. God, he was so tall. He filled the room as he gently caressed my upper arms.
“Yes,” he said. “That’s my shit. And no, I don’t care if you look. I don’t have anything to hide from you, Brenna.”
I quite literally gulped. “Gunn ... you have a set of handcuffs in that drawer. What are they … I mean … do you ... er ...”
His lips curled into a wicked smirk that sent fire through my veins. Oh God. The way he looked at me. The way his touch quickened my desire. I had no right to judge him for how he lived his life. He’d never pretended to be anything he wasn’t. And yet, the mere thought of Gunn using those things for what I thought he did gave me an odd mix of deep jealousy and burning curiosity.
“You wanna keep looking? See what else you find?”
A switch flipped inside of me. I couldn’t stop it. I hated the things that came out of my mouth next but it was as if I had no power to hold them back. “It’s your business,” I said. “I don’t have any claim on you. I’m in the wrong for even snooping. I suppose I got what I deserved.”
