ANARCHY (Iron Kings MC, #4)

by Franca Storm

  That pizza looked good. What kind was it?

  I rolled my eyes. Everything on it.

  For real? Every topping they’ve got?

  Yes. Why?

  Because it’s right up my alley. Gonna order in when I get back to the motel.

  When will that be?

  Not sure.

  Why not? Why are you here right now?

  Taking the last part of Grim’s protection shift, because your old man wants me to start my end of the security set up at Veil earlier than we planned, so I gotta take a look at that database of yours.

  I haven’t finished compiling the data and sectioning it off just for Veil’s specific needs and purposes.

  Python said you’d be done by tonight.

  Maybe.

  Good.

  No more texting. I’m on a date here, in case you didn’t clue in to that.

  Yeah, I heard all about it. Looks like it’s going well.

  You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?

  I am, yeah. How’d you know?

  I can imagine that tone of yours all too well.

  I saw him chuckling outside at that.

  You’re an ass.

  And your date’s a train wreck. Why don’t you call it a night?

  I flinched, his words definitely hitting a nerve. It was bad enough that things had been so awkward with the first guy I’d actually tried to date in ages, but to have it witnessed by Anarchy, of all people… it was humiliating. And frustrating as hell.

  Because.

  Well, with reasoning like that, lovely…

  God, he really was an ass.

  What movie did you see?

  Was he serious? Why?

  I’m out here bored out of my mind.

  Why did that evoke emotion in me? Why did I care? Whatever the reason, I still did, nonetheless, so I threw him a bone. Some slapstick comedy.

  Urgh, really? You’re into that shit?

  I’m not.

  So, you just went along with what he wanted to see, huh? Where was that smart-mouthed sass you’re always showing me?

  You know that was an act.

  I don’t think so.

  What does that mean? I eyed him through the window and he looked up to meet my gaze, intensity burning in his eyes for a couple of moments, before he looked down to text me back.

  It’s the version of you that you’re afraid to be in front of them all.

  Who the hell did he think he was? Where did he get off thinking he had the right to psychoanalyze me?

  When I didn’t respond back, he sent another text.

  Go on, show him the real you.

  Why?

  Because you deserve to be the real you with at least somebody in your life.

  Why do you care?

  You know I’m right. That wasn’t an answer to my question.

  Shut up.

  I’d sent a knee-jerk response. And it didn’t take more than a second for me to regret it.

  There it is. Welcome back, lovely.

  I shook my head at his comeback.

  Nearing footsteps had me jerking my head up.

  Evan was headed back to the table.

  I stuffed my phone back into my purse and tried my best to push down all the things that text message exchange had evoked. He’d gotten under my skin in a huge way.

  As much as I tried to just shake it off, I couldn’t seem to.

  It was… sticking to me.

  Thankfully, Evan was completely oblivious, as he sat back down at the table and smiled at me. I noticed that he’d primped his hair. He must’ve been carrying a small tube of gel in the pocket of his denim jacket, because it was slicked back even more than it had been at the beginning of our date. He’d put on more cologne too, the scent wafting toward me so powerfully that I had to actually lean back as far as I could in my chair to breathe. He was laying it on thick. Literally.

  “This has been great, huh?” he exclaimed, surprising me.

  I smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”

  The moment the response was out there, Anarchy’s observations slammed into me, and I saw it clearly for the first time, really.

  My kneejerk response was always to cater to what others wanted, what was expected. To people-please. I’d been doing it for so long that it was hard to tell that apart from what I really wanted and from who I really was.

  Anarchy could, though. He could see it clearer than anybody else. His mind worked on another level, so it made sense that he’d pick up on things that most others didn’t or couldn’t.

  But he’d be going home soon. His role here was only temporary. So, if I explored that and shed my whole people-pleaser thing, I’d be open and vulnerable, just rocking the boat with everybody in my life with nobody there who could really get it.

  No, it wasn’t time.

  Maybe, once I’d earned my stripes with this security job and I moved away from Taunton and fully struck out on my own.

  Not yet.

  I wasn’t ready.

  So, as the coffee arrived, I put in more effort to find some common ground, some spark with the man sitting in front of me. He was somebody who did want to be with me, who was accepting of the timid, unsure persona that I struggled with, somebody who wouldn’t push me out of my comfort zone, who liked this… weakness in me.

  And, right now, that was what I needed.

  Comfort.

  7

  ~Anarchy~

  I MADE MY WAY UP TO VEIL.

  It was Spartan’s latest business venture.

  The guy really had a knack for all of that. His ideas had brought in a ton of coin to the club over the years and he just kept knocking more shit out of the park, kept getting better.

  What he wasn’t good at right now, though, was keeping off my last fucking nerve!

  Jesus Christ!

  What the hell had I walked into with this job?

  It was supposed to be a security overhaul, plain and simple. That was the area of my expertise that had been called upon. Yet, then Spartan had decided to sanction Python’s request for me to run protection on his daughter as well, the logic being that we were already working together. Sure, it sounded perfect in theory. But, in practice, it was slowing me down. The stuff I had to put in place once her part was done was time-consuming, stuff she didn’t have a clue about, the hardware aspect, so having her with me made no sense when it came to that.

  If that wasn’t enough bullshit to shoulder, I’d gotten an order this morning, once again sanctioned by my own fucking Prez, to train Hayley how to fight. I’d been told to consider it as an extension of my security overhaul. Basically, keeping the club princess safe using a two-pronged approach. First, by actually watching over her. And, second, by teaching her how to defend herself as the ultimate backup.

  Fucking great.

  More complications to add to an already ridiculously complicated situation with Hayley fucking Calloway.

  After what’d happened in my motel room, I’d wanted to distance myself in any way possible. Unfortunately, I had to keep her in my sights, in close proximity. But now, bringing in actual physical contact with the training meant a whole other level of madness straining and testing me when I was around her. She’d already come so close to shattering my control like it was nothing, like it didn’t even exist at all. She had a power over me like I’d never experienced before from any woman.

  And now… this.

  I’d just have to find a way, because it didn’t matter if it was against my better judgment. It didn’t matter if I didn’t like it. I had my orders. Everything I’d been asked to do was in the club’s best interests. And the club was all that mattered to me.

  The only thing that had ever mattered.

  And the only thing that ever would.

  So, yeah, they wanted me to teach the little princess how to fight, then I was damn well going to.

  Today was the beginning of all of that.

  I headed for the entrance to Veil, because Hayley was still d
oing work on the surveillance room, networking everything and installing her surveillance software. That was the first stage. I was slated to come in for the second stage to hook up the cameras and a metal detector by the entranceway. She’d given me access to the security database for the place, actually finishing it up a few days ago, the night of her weird-ass date. But, despite Python wanting me to start doing my part earlier, the equipment I needed for this particular job had been delayed in its delivery. So, now that opened up more time for me to train Hayley. Fucking ace.

  I was just steps away from the entrance, when laughter pulled me up short.

  A real distinctive laugh. That soft, innocent giggle that I’d been hard-pressed to get out of my head ever since I’d heard it in my motel room.

  Hayley’s giggle.

  It was coming from around the right side of the property.

  Wondering what the hell she was doing outside, I switched gears and followed the sounds.

  I came out to a space concealed by a wall of hedges on all four sides, a gate the only access point. I pushed it open and took in what seemed to be a cross between a garden and a patio. The rest of the block was all office buildings, so I figured it was there as a retreat for the nine-to-fivers on their lunch breaks and stuff.

  I followed the path around, past a fountain in the shape of a mermaid.

  And that was when I saw her.

  Not just her.

  There she was sitting on the grass with that shithead, Evan.

  They had a blanket between them with food on it. They were talking and laughing. It looked like they were on a date.

  Again.

  It had been blatantly obvious that things hadn’t gone well during the first one a few days ago. What was going on?

  I ground my teeth.

  My fists clenched.

  Anger burned white-hot.

  It was a goddamn struggle to control it.

  And then he leaned in to kiss her.

  It was like when you were riding on the highway and you saw roadkill up ahead and you knew it was gonna be sickening, yet, you still had to look. Then, once you laid eyes on it, you couldn’t look away for the life of you. Some kinda morbid curiosity shit, for sure.

  It was awkward as fuck with them, though.

  She looked startled and turned her cheek to him so he missed her lips.

  He only moved closer, then grasped the sides of her face and pretty much forced his mouth to hers. She went still, clearly hesitating and unsure. The fucker didn’t notice.

  I started forward.

  Evan moved fucking fast and in the blink of an eye, his hand was sliding down between them, palming her pussy through her skirt.

  Just as the roar was leaving my throat, Hayley jerked back, freaked out and batted him away. Her fucking hands were shaking.

  Jesus Christ.

  “Hayley!” My voice tore through the area.

  Both of them jumped, their heads swinging my way.

  I kept my focus on Hayley. “Time to go!” I called out.

  Her shock at seeing me was real blatant.

  She looked between him and me.

  In the next second, she was running toward me.

  As soon as she reached me, she grasped my arm. “Anarchy,” she breathed in a frightened whisper. She looked up at me, her eyes wild and darting around anxiously.

  I didn’t miss the signal. She was looking at me to protect her, trusting in me.

  “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

  She nodded frantically, tightening her grip on my arm. I leaned down to her eyelevel to draw her focus to me, hoping it would be enough to pull her out of her panicked state.

  It worked and gradually her breathing started to calm, the panting easing off.

  “I’m fine. Fine,” she said, suddenly releasing my arm and stepping back, looking all embarrassed now she’d come out of the panic.

  “Head over to my bike. It’s just a few feet away. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Her gaze darted behind me at Evan. I could hear the crunch of his footsteps getting nearer, and I wanted her out of the way before he made it over.

  “It wasn’t his fault,” she told me.

  “How’s that?”

  “It was me… my fault.”

  Wow. We were gonna talk about that messed-up reasoning later. “Head to my bike, Hayley.”

  “I just overreacted. Don’t do anything to him.”

  “Bike,” I told her firmly.

  She was too skittish to argue back at me. Hesitating for only a couple of seconds, she then stepped back and ran off to do what I’d told her.

  I turned toward Evan.

  I must’ve had a scary-ass look on my face, because he held up his hands right away in a gesture of surrender. “That wasn’t what it looked like. I wasn’t—”

  The second he was within my reach, I fisted my hands in his denim jacket and slammed him into the hedge wall. “Ain’t no other way to spin it, fucker.”

  I scrutinized him. I was usually right on the money with reading people, but I couldn’t gauge him. There was something standing in the way.

  That only meant one thing in my experience. It wasn’t straightforward, he wasn’t straightforward. There was a layer of manipulation blocking my way to the truth I could usually see in people. He was playing some kinda game and because I didn’t know what kind, there was no way for me to put the pieces together. Not yet, anyway.

  “I didn’t know she was gonna freak out like that,” he told me.

  “The signs were right in your face. You would’ve seen that if you’d given one shit about her rather than just your fucking dick.”

  “She’s shy and confused. I thought she just needed a push.”

  A push? With a roar, I slammed him into the wall again, wishing like hell that it was made of something a lot harder than mere bushes. “There’s only the green light, or the red light. Nothing else. And she sure as hell wasn’t giving you the green!”

  “You’re wrong about me.”

  “Am I?” Unlikely.

  “Yeah, you think I’ve got some nefarious intent here. I don’t. I like her. I just made a mistake today, read things wrong, that’s all. It won’t happen again.”

  “You’re damn right it won’t.”

  “Look, I get it, okay? I understand the whole club princess thing. I respect that and I really respect Python and his club.” His gaze flicked to my cut briefly. “You’d know that if you were one of them. I’m in good standing with Lone Outlaws. I have been for years. They trusted me to run this job, for goodness sake.”

  “Everybody makes mistakes,” I shot back.

  He sneered at me. “Is this about more than your bodyguard duty?”

  “No.”

  “I saw the way she was with you.” His eyes flared with suspicion. “The way she touched you.”

  “All I’m hearing is a load of bullshit.”

  “You’re not the only one good at reading other people.”

  “Stay the fuck away from her from here on out.” I pushed off him and stepped back. I fucking well had to. I was struggling to keep control of myself. Walking in on what I had, seeing that fear and upset from Hayley was a kick in the junk as it was. Now, his accusations, all the stress and anxiety associated with it, was pushing me way too far. I was getting close to entering that dangerous headspace where emotion ruled and commonsense took a backseat. It was a battle I fought at every turn. I tried so fucking hard to keep away from that reckless, cocky, impulsive part of me. Every time I let it out, it screwed up my life irreparably.

  “You can’t make that happen.”

  My fists clenched. Didn’t the guy understand how close he was to getting the beatdown of his life? “The fuck, I can.”

  “Python isn’t going to care that a misunderstanding happened here today between me and his daughter. Things like that are just a fact of life. They occur all the time. It was a misstep on my part, that’s all.” Evan stepped toward me, flashing me a shit-eati
ng grin. “What he will care about is some outsider from another club flying off the handle and messing with his key guy on this Veil project. If this doesn’t go up, this all-powerful alliance between your clubs disappears. I can’t imagine what being responsible for that would do to your position in your club.”

  He was a real piece of work.

  A low growl rumbled in my throat.

  Fuck. I couldn’t hold it.

  I started forward.

  “Anarchy!”

  Wrecker.

  What the hell was he doing here?

  “No trouble, yeah?” he called.

  “Be there in a second!”

  “No,” he insisted. “Need you here right fucking now.”

  Goddamn it.

  I hesitated.

  I glared at Evan.

  The bastard really wasn’t doing himself any favors as he stood there giving me a smug look, like he’d won, or something.

  “Keep the fuck away from her,” I warned him.

  With a growl, I turned and stalked away.

  Wrecker was leaning against the opening to the hedge wall.

  “What the hell was that all about?”

  “The guy’s an asshole,” I spat, brushing past him. “Sleazy. Dangerous,” I muttered.

  He followed after me, asking worriedly, “Dangerous? How?”

  “Just… we need to keep an eye on him. He ain’t good for the princess.”

  “All right. I’ll report it to Wraith, have him take it to the big guy.”

  “Fine. Do it then.”

  He rounded on me, forcing me to come to a jarring stop. “Wrecker,” I growled.

  “Brother, talk to me. What’s up with you?”

  Concern was bleeding from him. He was scrutinizing me, trying to figure out the answers I didn’t want to give him, the answers I couldn’t give him.

  My gaze darted behind him at Hayley leaning against my bike in the distance. She had her arms wrapped around herself, looking as out of sorts as she had not minutes ago. It cut into me and it took everything I had not to spin back around and knock Evan the fuck out.

  But that wouldn’t help anything in the long run. It would just complicate everything and invite questions neither one of us wanted flying about.