Lincoln

by S. Nelson

  All three men were members of our Laredo charter. I’d met Nash and Miles many times, and I could attest that both men were loyal and the epitome of what a Knights member encompassed. Rez, on the other hand, I’d only met once, so I couldn’t properly form an opinion about him yet. He was younger than the other two, somewhere in his early thirties, I believed.

  I’d continue to be on edge where the issue with Tag was concerned, praying for a resolution that didn’t result in his death. If Marek decided to go down that road, however, could I live with knowing that I had a part in killing an innocent man, even if I didn’t commit the act myself?

  21

  “I think that’s enough for today,” Marek announced, slamming the gavel down before anyone could say anything else.

  I could only imagine how hard it was for him to tell us the details of what happened to his wife. From the pained look on his face and the tension in his form, revisiting that sordid past was the last thing he wanted to do, but I was happy he stopped keeping things from some of us. Okay… happy was the wrong word, but I felt empowered having the information because I now knew what types of people we were up against. And while I was fully aware that the Reapers were soulless bastards, and the club that existed today didn’t have the same members from long ago, they seemed to carry the same morals, or lack thereof.

  Everyone had left Chambers except for me, Kaden, Marek, and my ol’ man. While I wanted to rush to check on Maddie, I needed to make sure my friend was okay first.

  Kaden slowly rose from his seat, Marek coming to stand next to him. “Your mom isn’t volunteering today. Go see her. You’ll see she’s okay.” Kaden nodded, a solemn expression twisting his features. “Don’t let her know you’re aware of all the details. I don’t want her thinkin’ about what happened or worried about you now that you know. She’s been through enough.”

  Sully volunteered at a domestic violence shelter, her need to help people who had been abused unfortunately making perfect sense to me now.

  “I understand,” his son replied before turning toward me. “Go with me?”

  “Of course. Let me check on Maddie first.”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you outside.”

  “Grab your gun before you go,” Prez shouted after him before he was out of earshot.

  “I’ll make sure we have them before we leave here.” I walked out to the common area and while I didn’t want anyone in the room with Maddie—my protectiveness over her becoming stronger all the time—I didn’t want to leave her isolated back there until I returned because I had no idea how long Kaden wanted to spend with his mom. And I wasn’t gonna rush him. “Ace, can you come with me?”

  He jogged up next to me. “What’s up?”

  “Can you check in on Maddie while I’m gone with Kaden?”

  “Yeah, I can do that.” He stopped walking while I continued down the hallway. When I noticed he wasn’t beside me any longer, I turned to search for him.

  “Are you comin’?” He looked at me like I was a stranger. “I know she’s seen you before, but I don’t need you scaring her if you were to go in there by yourself later.” He frowned but didn’t move. “Just come on,” I yelled, frustrated he wasn’t making this any easier on me.

  “Jesus, Linc. What the fuck’s up your ass?” He was behind me several strides later, but I ignored his question. I should, in fact, ask him the same thing, but I had an idea. Not only was he probably trying to digest everything we found out, but he had his own issues with a certain female.

  Knocking on the bedroom door like I’d been doing, I entered shortly after I heard her say, “Come in.”

  “Hey. How ya doin’?”

  “Fine.” She looked from me to Ace and back again, swallowing before parting her mouth. I tried not to, but I stared at her lips a little too long. Ace made a noise beside me, winking when I glanced his way. Fucker.

  “Turns out I have to go somewhere with Kaden, but until I get back, Ace here is gonna check on you from time to time to make sure you don’t need anything.”

  Maddie forced an awkward grin at the news, but at least she didn’t appear frightened. Her beautiful green eyes roamed over Ace from head to toe, her attention on him innocent but pissing me off all the same, a feeling I kept quiet.

  “I won’t be long. You can come out to the common area if you want. There’s a TV out there, a bar, kitchen if you’re hungry. Or you can stay back here. Your choice.” I gave her a faint smile, all the while hoping she chose to stay in this room alone rather than out there with Ace and whoever else might be hangin’ around.

  “Okay” was all she said, no definitive answer on her plans either way.

  “Okay,” I repeated before turning Ace around and pushing him out of the room, closing the door behind me. I grabbed his arm before he took another step. “Don’t scare her. Don’t touch her, and don’t let her out of your sight if she comes out here.”

  “That’s a lot of instructions. You wanna write ’em down?”

  “I mean it, Ace. Just don’t.”

  He threw up his hands. “I get it, man. She’s yours. No one’s gonna mess with her in any way.”

  “She’s mine?”

  “Obviously,” he answered, disappearing before I could argue.

  Did I even want to?

  22

  “Hey, pretty lady. Wanna join me for a drink?” The man who asked me to consume alcohol with him at two in the afternoon was the biggest man I’d ever seen. The stool he sat on looked like it was a miniature piece of furniture under his weight. Muscular, broad, intimidating, all these words described him well, and even though he was sitting when I walked up, I had no doubt he was extremely tall.

  He was handsome, his dark hair short and styled close to his scalp, his beard neat and trimmed. And while his brown eyes were nice, they didn’t compare to Lincoln’s, which were soulful. I realized I sounded ridiculous thinking such a thing, but when Lincoln looked at me, I sometimes forgot where I was or how I came to be in his company.

  I made brief eye contact with the man but then looked down at the floor. And that’s when I heard what I could only assume was him slapping the top of the stool next to him.

  “I don’t bite.” I wanted to engage him, but my fear of strangers urged me to remain quiet. When I eventually picked my head up, he winked at me before turning his attention to an older man who walked behind the bar. “Trigger, can you get her a shot?”

  “I can’t drink,” I blurted, taking a single step toward him, placing my hand on the edge of the bar top. “I’m only eighteen.” I’d only had a drink a handful of times in my life, all with girlfriends of mine at school, and learned quickly hard alcohol by itself wasn’t for me.

  His hearty laugh and big smile made me relax a fraction, some of my nerves from having decided to come out of the room fading away.

  “I don’t think anyone is gonna tell on ya, sweetheart,” he said, patting the stool next to him once more. After a few more controlled breaths, I finally moved forward and sat down. He shifted his stool over a bit to give me more room before extending his hand “I’m Brick.”

  I stared at his palm for a few seconds before I placed my hand in his, the warmth of his touch melting away the rest of my reserve.

  “I’m Maddie.” My voice wasn’t as loud as I wanted it to be, but he heard me all the same.

  “So how about that shot?”

  “I don’t like hard liquor.” Was I gonna upset him with my refusal? Fumbling over my next words, realizing what I said would probably be construed as an insult, I added, “It makes me sick. But if you want me to drink it, I will.”

  “Why would I want you to do something you don’t want to?” Brick genuinely looked confused, the pull of his eyebrows creating an indent in his forehead. This was so far outside my element I didn’t know how to answer his question, but luckily, he threw another one at me before the interaction between us became any more awkward. “How about one of them fruity drinks, then? Do you like those?” I shru
gged, not remembering ever having what it was he was talking about. He flicked his attention back to the gray-haired man. “Can you make her a mixed drink? Something girly?”

  “What the fu—” The older guy looked at me and twisted his features. “Sorry ’bout that.” He turned his focus back on Brick. “Do I look like I know how to make a girly drink?”

  “Well….”

  “Keep it up and that’s the last beer you’re gettin’ today.” He was in front of me in two steps, extending his hand in greeting like Brick had done moments ago. “I’m Trigger.” I shook his hand and told him my name, which I was sure he heard me tell Brick. “Okay, Maddie. I think I can whip up something. Let me see what I can do.” He moved toward the other end of the bar and bent down. Not wanting to put him out, I leaned forward to tell him he didn’t have to make me anything, and the stool slid back.

  “Whoa,” Brick said, catching my arm before I fell on my ass. “Careful. If you get any new bruises on ya, Linc is gonna beat my ass.”

  A couple things about what he said baffled me. Firstly, why would Lincoln be that upset I’d fallen that he’d go after Brick? And secondly… the image made me chuckle to myself. While Lincoln was a trained fighter, besting his opponents in the few fights I’d been dragged to, the sheer size of Brick compared to Lincoln was laughable. Then again, sometimes the big ones weren’t coordinated enough and were too slow.

  “What’s goin’ on in that head of yours?” Brick bumped my shoulder with his before taking a healthy sip of his beer.

  “You’d squash Lincoln.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. I meant to leave them floating around inside my brain, but apparently, I gave them life.

  “What?” He tilted his head to the side and stared at me.

  “You said that Lincoln would beat your ass if I got any new bruises.” My eyes raked over him. “You’re the biggest man I’ve ever seen, and unless you’re oddly clumsy, you’d squash him.” I hoped my blunt comment didn’t offend him in any way.

  “Probably.” He raised his head in faux cockiness, or maybe it was real, and laughed. “But I’ve been in the ring with him a time or two, and the man’s got some skills. He got in a few good shots,” he said, pointing to the side of his face. Brick finished the rest of his beer at the same time Trigger placed a tall glass of yellow liquid in front of me.

  “We don’t have much back here. Hope you like this,” he said, wiping down the corner of the bar afterward. I stared at the glass but didn’t reach for it, the small voice in my head roaring to life and shouting, What if he drugged it? I couldn’t help it. I didn’t believe any amount of reassurance from Lincoln or from the women who visited me, or even from these guys, acting as nice as could be, would ever tear away my reservation completely. “Take a sip,” Trigger urged. “Tell me what you think.” He folded his arms over his chest, his mouth curving up into a smile. If I hesitated too long, would I be punished in some way?

  “I’ll taste it first to make sure he didn’t make it too strong.” Brick grabbed my drink, moved the straw out of the way, and took a gulp. “That might be a bit too much for her.” He put my drink back in front of me. “What do ya think?”

  I wasn’t sure if Brick picked up on the reason for my hesitation, but I was thankful to him for trying to put my mind at ease.

  Wrapping my fingers around the cool glass, I brought the straw to my lips and took a tentative sip, the mixture of sweet and tanginess hitting my tongue, then sliding down my throat. After my first swallow, I wanted more, so I took another sip, then another before placing the drink back on the bar.

  “That’s really good. What is it?” I wanted to have some more but didn’t want to seem greedy, so I folded my hands in my lap and waited for Trigger to at least answer me before I attempted to devour the rest of it.

  “It’s called a screwdriver. Nuthin’ but orange juice and vodka.” He saw me eyeing up the glass. “I’ll make you another when you’re finished.” Trigger winked before walking away, stopping to talk to Ace before disappearing into the kitchen.

  Reaching forward, I snatched my drink again, the clink of the ice cubs sloshing some of the contents forward, but luckily not spilling any over the rim. “This is good.”

  “Drink up, woman,” Brick chuckled. “He’ll make you as many as you want.” He angled his large body toward me, looking me over but not in a lecherous way. “So, what do you think of Linc? You like him?”

  His question took me by surprise. What was the right answer? If I told him that I’d been dreaming about Lincoln every night since he rescued me, would that make me seem more desperate than I was sure they already thought me to be? And if I feigned indifference, would he think me to be unappreciative, passing along his thoughts to Lincoln? Maybe even convincing him I was no longer welcome?

  “It’s not a trick question, Maddie.”

  “Um…” I parted my lips, but then sucked down a few hefty gulps of the concoction in front of me before answering. “Yeah, I like him. He’s nice and has been so caring. He’s sweet.”

  “He’s sweet on you,” he replied, smirking when my eyes widened. “He put this whole club in jeopardy to help you, to save you from them.” He nodded, like he was having an internal conversation. Brick’s demeanor switched from playful to serious in the blink of an eye, but before I could respond—and say what I had no idea—he switched back. “You’re beautiful. Why wouldn’t he be?”

  “Beautiful?” The question popped out of my mouth on a reflex of disbelief. I’d been called cute and pretty but never beautiful, and even though Brick had paid me such a high compliment, I didn’t get the feeling he was hitting on me. Although, I wasn’t so good at reading guys, the reminder I had to be rescued from the Reapers compounding that notion.

  “Who’s beautiful?” Ace asked, strolling up behind me, then taking the seat to my left, leaving me sandwiched between two of the members of this club. Two men I didn’t know. Two people I oddly wasn’t frightened of.

  “I was talkin’ about Maddie,” Brick replied, motioning to Trigger when he came out of the kitchen, pushing his empty beer bottle forward to be replaced.

  “You want another?” the old guy asked, to which I nodded emphatically, swallowing the rest of my screwdriver and enjoying every single drop.

  “Don’t let Linc hear you tell her that.” Ace shook his head when Trigger picked up a bottle of beer and flicked his chin toward him.

  With my second drink in hand, my eyes bounced between the two men beside me. While I found them both attractive, my thoughts kept reverting to Lincoln. Not only did I think he was sexy, but I felt safe whenever he was around, a notion I hadn’t experienced in more time than I cared to admit.

  “Hey, let me ask you something.” Ace moved his seat closer, bumping my leg with his. “You’re a girl.”

  I looked down at myself, then back at him. “Last I checked.” My straw had somehow become glued to my lips, a steady stream of orange juice and vodka disappearing before my very eyes.

  “What does it mean when a chick sleeps with you and is clearly interested, but then won’t agree to anything more?” I thought he was finished, but he held up his finger and kept going. “And when I mention that maybe I’m gonna mess around with other people since she clearly doesn’t want anything more with me, she gets all pissed off and starts screaming about how much of an ass I am and that she should’ve never got with me in the first place.”

  Based solely on looks, whoever this girl was he referred to was crazy not to want to be with him. While I couldn’t quite figure out what color his eyes were exactly, the mixture of blue and green too close to determine, it was the faint dimple in his left cheek that showed whenever he talked that I was sure drew a lot of attention from the opposite sex. His hairstyle was longer than Brick’s, while still being short, the color a shade lighter than Lincoln’s.

  “What the fuck, man?” Brick asked. He looked like he held back a laugh but also appeared confused by Ace’s outburst, much like me.
/>   “What? She’s a chick. She knows how they think.”

  “I have no idea,” I rushed to say, slurping the rest of my drink through the straw. “I’ve never had sex with anyone I wasn’t made to.” My admission didn’t sound as harsh out loud to me as it did inside my head, this yummy drink probably the reason why.

  “Fuck,” Ace grumbled, scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry, Maddie. I didn’t mean to…. Shit!”

  “You’re an asshole,” Brick shouted, reaching over me to punch him on the arm. Ace nearly fell off his seat, catching his balance at the last second.

  “I wasn’t thinkin’.”

  “You’re damn right you weren’t.” Brick’s expression softened when he looked at me, clearly pissed at his buddy. But I knew Ace didn’t mean anything with his question. How would he know I’d say what I did? I didn’t even know I was gonna say something like that. The words just came out.

  “It’s okay,” I said to Brick before turning to Ace. “It’s okay,” I repeated.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized again before accepting that beer from Trigger.

  An hour and a half later, after two additional drinks and three cold pieces of pizza, I was the bravest I’d ever been. Two hot guys seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, and for once, I didn’t fear they had an agenda or had thoughts for harming me in any way.

  The more alcohol I drank, the more curious I became, asking them all sorts of personal questions. I learned that Ace’s real name was Jaime, that he grew up in foster care, and he got his nickname from playing poker. Cards was his way of hustling people before he joined this club, his way in being he went to school with Kaden, two years ahead of him to be exact. Ace loved to talk, as was evident with all the information he told me. Brick, on the other hand, refused to tell me his real name. I suspected he didn’t like it much. But he did tell me that he used to be a bouncer at one of the strip clubs they owned. Oh, and that he was thirty.