In the next instant, she was in Tag’s arms, and she wasn’t sure whether she was the one shaking or if his rage was vibrating right through his limbs.
~*~*~
Tag didn’t know how McKenna had ended up alone in her office, but the first thing he did after the police escorted Stephen Crawford off of the premises was call Alex. He demanded that the security guard now permanently assigned to Sensations, Inc. be there until everyone went home. And if he had a problem with that, he could find a new job.
The second thing he did was take her home. To her house. She was a little shaken up, but he was pretty sure he was more upset about what happened than she was. Tag had to admit, he was rather impressed with the way she was handling Crawford when he showed up. Had it not been for the phone call he received minutes before from Chase Reed, things could’ve turned out very different.
He suspected Chase would’ve intervened if necessary, but he was still trying not to blow his cover. Since he was now a member of the club, with the same level of membership as Stephen Crawford, he at least could keep tabs on the guy.
Luke or Logan weren’t thrilled with their newest member because according to Logan, they were just layering a problem over a problem. If the other members got word that they had a UC in attendance, Club Destiny might just go to shit faster than if the member list was leaked.
But, it wasn’t like they had much of a choice these days. They could either continue to try and Band-Aid the problem or give up and allow the walls to come crumbling down around them. Fortunately, no one knew that Stephen Crawford had already sent the pictures to McKenna, and if Luke or Logan were to find out, Tag wasn’t sure he’d be able to protect them from themselves.
He might’ve been slow in understanding the reason they would go to any extreme for the one they loved, but since finding McKenna, Tag finally got it. And tonight, his only intention was to hold her close and ensure she knew just how much she meant to him.
Chapter Forty
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
The following morning, Tag was sitting at the breakfast bar in McKenna’s kitchen watching as she moved back and forth, effortlessly putting a breakfast together that was better suited for an army than just the two of them. She seemed a little nervous, but he wasn’t sure why. The only possibility he could come up with was she was still shaken up from Crawford, although she seemed better than all right the night before.
Tag smiled as he remembered.
“What are you smiling for?” McKenna laughed as she turned on him and Tag laughed right along with her.
“If you only knew.”
“Oh, I think I’ve got an idea,” she teased, turning back to the stove.
When Tag’s cell phone rang, interrupting their perfect morning, he was tempted not to answer it. Since that had never worked for him before, he snatched it up from the bar and growled when he saw who it was.
“Murphy.”
“Where the hell are you?” Logan quipped, and Tag almost thought there was a smile in his voice.
“Why the fuck do you always ask me that?”
“Because I can. Now answer the damn door.” The line disconnected and a second later, the doorbell rang. McKenna stopped in her tracks, staring back at him, but she no longer looked happy.
“I’ll get it,” Tag told her.
Walking to the front door, Tag pulled it open, expecting to see Logan, but he was not expecting to see everyone else.
There was a wolf whistle, followed by Ashleigh’s voice as she said, “Holy shit! Did you know he had all that ink?”
Tag ignored her, then stepped back allowing them all to file into McKenna’s house. He only hoped she had time to put on more clothes than she had because if not, they were about to get a show.
After shutting the door, Tag snuck into McKenna’s bedroom and pulled a shirt from the closet, one he had placed in there the night before. Once he was at least semi-dressed, he returned to the kitchen to see everyone had managed to trap McKenna in the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he slipped between Ashleigh and Sierra on his way to get to McKenna’s side.
“Did you know about this?” Logan asked, his mouth a grim, hard line.
“What?” he asked, grabbing the small sheet of paper from Logan’s hand. It looked like an article that had been printed out.
It only took a second for it to sink in and Tag turned to look at McKenna. She looked terrified.
“I’m sor-”
She was quickly cut off when Sierra threw her arms around McKenna’s neck, practically pushing Tag into the counter behind him. Following Sierra was Sam and then Ashleigh.
“I can’t believe you did this. I don’t know how to thank you,” Sam whispered, but the whole room heard it.
“It wasn’t that hard,” McKenna said when the women finally gave her room to breathe. “It was just one woman with a broken heart talking to another. As easy as it is to lose control because you can’t have something you think should be yours, doesn’t give you the right to trash everyone in the process.”
Tag pulled the paper back in front of his face to read the article beside a picture of Susan Toulmin:
Strength Times Ten
I met a woman recently who told me that she wasn’t strong enough to let go. That holding on was the key to happiness; the key to making the pain go away.
This woman is no different from you and I. She’s beautiful, successful, and she bleeds red when she’s wounded. She’s a strong woman, an independent woman who has accomplished success all on her own. However, this woman doesn’t define success by her career, or her intelligence, or even by those who love her. She defines success by the one that got away. In her eyes, she is a failure.
That’s where she is wrong.
It was during my discussion with her that I realized I am that very same woman, except my life is defined by my strength and my success, and there is no need for anyone else to be strong for me. I don’t need someone else to lift me up; I can do that all on my own. I’ve used brute force to get where I am, tenacity to show I can do it on my own, and my independence to prove that I am not dependent.
Until I spoke to this independent, tenacious woman who uses brute force to go after what she wants, I didn’t realize that I had been going about this the wrong way.
Same as she had.
It was then that I acknowledged that I am still strong, I am still tenacious, and I am still independent. And now, because I have given my heart to someone who will not lift me up, but rather hold me up when I am not strong enough to do so, I’ve simply made myself stronger. In turn, I have made him stronger too because I am now strong enough to return the favor when he needs to be held.
During this conversation, she and I both realized that we are strong enough... to let go.
By doing this, I assure you, we will not lose touch with who we really are. However, we will forget everything we thought we knew, ignore all of the things we imagined perfection to be, and let go of all of the things we held fast to for so long thinking we weren’t quite strong enough.
So, I’ll tell you the same thing I told this woman:
Whether you are fortunate enough to have met them already, or whether you are blessed enough to know you will have them one day... there is someone who is strong enough to be your equal, and you will know them when you meet them because you will finally be strong enough to love yourself and them...
At the same time.
-McKenna Thorne
Tag couldn’t move. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t... he was stunned into complete and total silence. As he let his arms drop to his sides, McKenna’s beautiful face came into view and the look of worry and concern that he saw there completely broke his heart.
“I love you,” he whispered, not caring who was in the room, or who was there to witness every emotion he had ever known.
“Susan said she was –” McKenna began, but he quickly cut her off as he reached for her.<
br />
“I don’t give a damn about Susan. I. Love. You.” Taking her hand in his, Tag found himself going down on one knee, realizing that this moment may never present itself again. “Marry me, McKenna. Make me stronger.”
When her eyes filled with tears, Tag held his breath, unsure what that meant. The house was eerily silent, which was strange, considering the number of people standing around them, but Tag didn’t exhale as he waited for McKenna to respond.
“Yes,” she whispered, dropping to her knees in front of him. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
Tag crushed his mouth to hers, holding her as close as he could get her and ignoring the whistles and applause that erupted around them.
Chapter Forty One
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
McKenna sat quietly in the back of the room, grateful that she didn’t have to speak to this group of people today. As each person passed her, she felt their inquisitive eyes on her, probably wondering why she was there. She wanted to save them the question because she didn’t know why she was there either.
Luke and Logan called an impromptu meeting, insisting that all members be present, and Tag had insisted that she come. At first McKenna attempted to persuade him otherwise, but in the end, she had lost. Well, in actuality, she had won – big time – but she wasn’t going to think about that now. This wasn’t the time or place for her to daydream about that man’s sexy, wicked mouth and all the things he did to her with it.
She sipped from the bottle of water Tag had gotten for her as she waited for everyone else to show up. She recalled all of the faces as each person came in, realizing these were the full-fledged members. She was a little surprised when Samantha, Sierra and Ashleigh filed in, their eyes scanning the room until they landed on her. She smiled.
McKenna didn’t know what to think of this group of women. She’d had the pleasure of their company for the last few days, unable to say no when they invited her to lunch, or the one night they insisted she meet them at the bar for drinks. They were an interesting bunch and as different as three women could be.
Despite the uproar that the images of Sam had caused, she still seemed to be trying to be the woman she wanted to be. McKenna didn’t know her all that well, but she sensed Sam was battling some internal demons of her own these days. At one point, McKenna had heard that Samantha’s usual method of coping with stress to this degree was to run. She hadn’t though, and she wondered whether that was due to her deep, profound love for the man she married.
They were an interesting pair, Logan and Sam. Not that McKenna liked to think about it, but she did hear about the couple’s recent decision to avoid threesomes. At least for the near future. Apparently, Sam didn’t think she was cut out for it. According to her, she enjoyed the thrill, but she didn’t like knowing that one day, for whatever reason, it would come to an end. Since she had Logan for the duration, she felt her time and energy was better spent on loving him. McKenna admired her for that. For a woman many people called selfish, she seemed anything but when it came to her husband.
Then, of course, there was Ashleigh and Alex and those two needed to get a room. McKenna couldn’t stop the smile as she thought about them. It made sense that they hadn’t been together all that long, but according to what she heard, they’d been fighting an attraction for many years. Well, in case they didn’t know it, their attraction was still burning bright and hot. Sometimes, their reaction to one another was hot enough for even McKenna to feel it when they were close.
As for Luke, Sierra and Cole, well, there wasn’t much McKenna knew about those three, aside from the fact that they were totally in love with one another. Sierra’s pregnancy was driving both men absolutely crazy, making them even more protective of her than they already were. As Sierra would tell it, she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. McKenna couldn’t blame her.
The one thing that still shocked the hell out of McKenna was the way Luke and Cole were toward each other. Being on the outside looking in, she originally thought that both men were in this for Sierra, but that clearly wasn’t the case. There was a passion between the two men that was as rugged and unrestrained as the two of them were. They might not show it often, but McKenna had seen it a time or two and, well, she had to admit, it was hotter than hell to witness.
As for her and Tag... they were making headway. He was trying to dominate her, and she was learning to be dominated. There were a few things they still disagreed on, but that was something she knew would take some time getting used to. For two people who were determined to move through life solo, they were learning what it meant to have someone to lean on. McKenna loved him with everything she was, and she felt every bit of it in return.
As for the wedding, well, they were still arguing about that one. McKenna’s parents were hoping for the whole nine yards, and for some reason, Tag wanted to appease them. She, on the other hand, would prefer to go to Vegas. Originally, Tag liked the idea, but after her father spoke with him, he changed his tune. She was working diligently to change it back. She smiled at the thought. She liked changing his mind.
“What’s going on?” McKenna asked as Sam took a seat on her left, Sierra lowering herself slowly to the chair on her right while Ashleigh sat on the other side of Sierra.
“I guess we’re about to find out,” Sam stated in a very noncommittal tone that set McKenna’s sensors off.
On the drive over, she had questioned Tag relentlessly, but to no avail. The man wasn’t saying a word. And now she wondered whether she was the only one who didn’t know. Considering the crowd that was still filing in, McKenna figured it had to be big. There were more people than last time that was for sure.
All eyes were drawn to the front of the room when Logan and Luke walked to the center before turning to address them all. McKenna was riveted to the two men because no matter how many times she saw them, she still couldn’t get over how exactly alike they looked, but how completely different they really were. She thought back to her interviews with both men and nearly laughed out loud. They were definitely interesting.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice. Luke and I wanted to address everyone at once. As you can see, we’ve only invited our full-fledged members, and after the last time, I hope we were able to answer your questions as to the status of our memberships,” Logan said in the calm, firm tone everyone was used to.
“In recent months, we’ve found ourselves going through some rough spots as many of you are aware. As of today, I’m happy to say that we’ve overcome some major obstacles thanks to the help of some really incredible people. Without them, I’m not sure we would’ve been as lucky.”
McKenna noticed Travis Walker when he walked into the room, moving along the back wall and stopping just short of where she and the other three women were sitting.
“I personally want to thank McKenna Thorne,” Luke spoke up, slowly pacing back and forth with that animalistic grace he had. “The day Tag told me what McKenna was hoping to do I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled with the idea. However, considering I trust Tag with my life, and that of my family, I didn’t have any doubts that in the end, we would come out ahead. And we did. I’m not sure if any of you know what McKenna put on the line to protect my club, but I can tell you with the utmost assurance, not a single one of you would’ve done the same.”
The hard edge to Luke’s tone had a few people sitting up straight. McKenna even flinched at the statement. She knew the man was rough around the edges, and he was showing every single jagged ridge at the moment.
When Logan took a step forward, placing his hand on Luke’s arm, he was shrugged away.
“Most of you know me fairly well,” Luke continued, “and for those of you who do, you understand what loyalty means to me –”
“Luke,” Cole moved to the front of the room, coming to stand beside him. “Don’t do this.”
Luke didn’t say anything to Cole, nor did he shrug him off when Cole placed his hand on his arm in a similar manner as Logan had. He we
nt completely still for a moment, his eyes roaming the crowd until they landed just to McKenna’s right.
Sierra wasn’t moving a muscle as she watched what was playing out in front of her, Ashleigh’s hand being squeezed in the process. McKenna instinctively put her hand on Sierra’s arm and the other woman grabbed it and held on.
“We’re behind you, baby,” she said loud enough for the entire room to hear. “No matter what you decide, Cole and I love you no matter what.”
McKenna swallowed a lump in her throat, fighting the urge to cry at the sentiment. The pure love in Sierra’s voice could be felt by everyone in the room.
As the group began to turn around and face Luke again, silence once again descended. McKenna saw Cole squeeze Luke’s arm slightly, but he didn’t back away.
“It has come to my attention that there are some shady things going on with various people within this room. While I’ve been protecting and defending my family and the life I have built, I’ve also put my ass on the line for each and every one of you in this room. While we,” Luke motioned to Cole and Logan behind him, “stood up here, doing our best to protect your identity, every one of you turned your back on us. And all the while, I’m fighting a battle I knew I couldn’t win because of the unethical, immoral behavior of the members of my club.”
Luke paused for a moment, but no one moved a muscle as they waited for what came next. McKenna had no idea where Luke was going with this, but she knew, without a doubt, she would never look at Luke McCoy the same again.
~*~*~
Tag kept his hands in his pockets, and his face expressionless as he listened to Luke. In all the time he had known the man, he had never seen him nearly as emotional as he was right then. He felt the fury in his words as they rumbled through the room. He knew exactly what Luke was feeling.
Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel Page 28