Knight: Dead Legion MC #3

by Krane, Kasey

  A low murmur went around the table, and I was pretty sure that Bishop would have some men wanting to join him in that.

  “Okay. Next. Last meeting, we talked about hiring a bookkeeper for the Dead Legion Trucking Co. Well, turns out, Knight here has a real good head for numbers.”

  Every eye in the chapel turned in disbelief to stare at me, and a couple of murmurs of “Are you fucking with me, man?” broke out among my brothers.

  Dammit, it was true that I had never worn a pocket protector in my cut, but even still, I thought that their reaction was overblown. It wasn’t like I had been taking off my boots to count to 15.

  “He’s been coming in every day this week and working on straightening them out. I think they’re in better shape than ever - my dad, James, would be jealous at how good they look.”

  Cheers, good-natured ribbing, and a bottle of whiskey all appeared at Bishop’s announcement. This time, I was careful to take tiny sips every time the bottle appeared in front of me. I didn’t think a repeat performance of Fall Down Drunk Knight would impress Leia too much.

  Bishop dismissed the meeting, and stopped me before I could hit the door.

  “Hey man, did Leia tell you about our mom’s invite for dinner?”

  Bishop’s phrasing “our mom” twanged at my heartstrings, just like it did every time I used it. Just like my parents, Bishop had accepted me into the Abernathy family without reservation.

  “Yeah - tomorrow night, her house?”

  “Good. See you then.”

  I stared after him. Not only was Bishop saying yes to a dinner at Mary’s house, but had made a point out of inviting me to it. Twice.

  Something was up, but I wasn’t sure what. Jules and Bishop were already engaged - what other big announcement could he need to make?

  I headed home to find a very drunk and very giggly Leia wandering around the house, a paintbrush in hand, painting whatever the fuck looked good to her. Mostly walls, it looked like, but there was at least one end table in the living room that had a flower painted on the corner of it.

  “Uh, Leia?” I said as I watched her wander around.

  “Knight, you’re home!” and she launched herself at me, almost bowling me over with her enthusiasm. “I’ve been painting!” She waved the brush around in the air, almost smacking me across the face with it as she went. She wrapped her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, and began kissing me with even more enthusiasm.

  Something I did not mind one bit, turns out. Drunk Leia was very, very sexy indeed.

  22

  Leia

  We pulled up in front of Mary’s house, light and music spilling into the twilight. Maggie came bounding out of the house, followed by a struggling but valiant Turbo.

  She screeched to a halt in front of them.

  “Hello, Knight!” She threw her arms around his waist. Knight’s eyes got wide and looked down at her for a moment before awkwardly patting her on the back.

  “Hi, Leia!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around my middle. I hugged her back enthusiastically, kneeling down so I could be eye to eye.

  “Hi sunshine. How are you liking the party so far?”

  “Oh, it is fun. Bishop and Jules are here, too. Why do you have this thing on you?” She poked at the bulletproof vest that Knight had forced me to wear on the ride over.

  “Well,” I hesitated, not really sure what Carmen and Judge wanted me to tell Maggie, “you know there are still two Sangre out there, right?”

  Maggie nodded, her eyes suddenly serious.

  “They tried to take me, just like they tried to take you. But I had Knight there to help me, just like you have Turbo here to help you, so I’m okay. But just in case, Knight wants me to wear this.”

  Just in case they try to shoot and kill me.

  A statement I decided not to say out loud.

  Obviously done with the conversation, Maggie began tugging on my arm. “I want to go in so you can see Mary. She is making lots of food but won’t let me eat any of it. Maybe you can make her share.”

  I looked up at Knight and couldn’t help the laugh bubbling up inside of me.

  “Maggie, darlin’, you can’t eat the food until it’s dinnertime.” We were walking up the sidewalk, Maggie in the lead, dragging me along, Knight following behind, bemused, and Turbo bringing up the rear, bones creaking with every step.

  “But this is yummy food, Leia,” Maggie said seriously, as if that explained everything.

  We walked into the house into a flurry of greetings, hugs, kisses, and an assist from Jules in getting the vest off, all of which blessedly saved me from having to come up with an intelligent response to Maggie’s statement.

  With a quick kiss that almost turned into more, I left Knight in the living room with Bishop and Judge to discuss regulation changes in the upcoming hunting season, and headed for the kitchen.

  “Hi Mary!” I said when I spotted the older lady working away. Mary looked up and smiled.

  “Hi! Come on over here and give me a hug.” Her hands were covered with cheese and sauce but she leaned into my hug.

  “What can I help you with?” I asked as I looked around the kitchen for something to do.

  “If you could keep Maggie out of the food, that’s been the hardest part so far.” Mary grinned at me and wiped her hand across her face, leaving a streak of red sauce behind. She got serious quickly though, and said quietly, “Carmen and Judge have been telling me that this is a problem they’re running into at home, too. Apparently, the Sangre didn’t bother giving the girls they kidnapped enough food to eat.” She bustled around the kitchen as she talked, putting the final touches on the meal. “No surprise, of course, except now Maggie never wants to wait to eat. She thinks the food is going to disappear. She’s going to counseling, but poor dear, it’s been a hard transition.

  “I know my son hasn’t appreciated losing his dog to her, but I am so glad that Turbo has started protecting her. He’s her living security blanket, you know? I’m surprised she hasn’t been taking him to school with her.”

  “Oh, she’s asked,” Carmen said, walking into the kitchen, two glasses of wine still in her hands. Apparently, her quest to get Jules drunk was failing. “The teacher told her no. She pouted for a week but I’ve finally convinced her that Turbo needs to be able to sleep while she’s at school so he has lots of energy to protect her while she’s at home. She decided then that it was okay.” Carmen smiled wanly. “Turbo isn’t going to live forever. I’m not entirely sure how any of us are going to live through losing him.”

  “Well, we’ll focus on that when it happens. No reason to borrow trouble.” Although said kindly, Mary’s words held an undercurrent of pain to them, and I remembered, belatedly, that Mary had lost her husband to a motorcycle accident, and even worse, Mary had been riding bitch on the bike. That was the kind of pain that just never went away.

  Carmen hurried over and gave Mary a hug and kissed her on the un-sauced cheek.

  “To enjoying love that you have right now,” I said, raising my water glass in a toast.

  “Now that’s something I can toast to,” Carmen said and clinked our glasses together.

  Bishop wandered in. “Mom, are we about to eat? Knight’s been eyeing up Turbo - I think we either feed him soon or things could go south real quick.”

  “Bishop Miller!” Mary yelped and whipped him across the butt with her dish towel. “Go tell everyone that it’s time to eat. Time to eat my food!” she called after him as he hurried back into the living room.

  We pulled up to a crowded dining room table, everyone’s elbows neatly tucked in by our sides because there was no other place to move them. I was nestled in between Knight and Carmen, and decided hell, if I was going to be plastered against Knight’s side, I might as well use that to my advantage.

  Once the simple but heartfelt prayer of thanks was given by Judge, I reached past Knight to get the water pitcher, brushing my tits against his arm.

  Okay, la
ying my tits on top of his arm and batting my eyelashes at him when he turned to me in surprise.

  His eyes lit up and I knew he knew exactly what I was doing.

  “Here, let me get that for you,” he whispered, took the water pitcher, and began refilling my water glass with it, while casually wrapping his left arm around me. His hand ever so lightly brushed the top of my tit and then he dropped his hand back down, as if nothing had happened. I felt my breath hitch in my throat. It was hard to breathe when he did that.

  Okay, so I deserved that…

  Once the clamor of passing the enchiladas and salads around died down, Bishop pushed his chair back and stood up, pulling Jules up beside him.

  “Jules and I have an announcement to make. She…uh…we’re pregnant. She’s pregnant,” he finally got out and then gave a weak grin as the room burst into applause. He looked simultaneously thrilled and terrified.

  Jules, on the other hand, only looked thrilled. The happiness was coming off her in waves. She pulled Bishop’s hand over and placed it on her belly, and then gave him a kiss.

  A kiss that looked like it was going to last a while.

  Carmen leaned over and whispered, “I guess I should probably stop trying to get Jules drunk now.”

  “Yeah, probably,” I whispered back with a grin.

  Mary was crying. “Oh, my babies! I’m going to have another grandchild! I can’t believe it!” She kept wiping at her eyes but she couldn’t seem to stop the flow of tears. Bishop and Jules finally pulled away from their epic kiss long enough to hug Mary tightly between them. “I should’ve known you had something up your sleeve when you actually said yes to coming over for dinner!” she said, laughingly scolding Bishop. He just pulled away, kissed her on the forehead, and grinned unrepentantly at her.

  Now that the official announcement was over, he seemed a lot more relaxed - a little less terrified, a little more excited.

  “Mama,” Maggie piped up, “how did a baby get into Jules’s tummy?”

  A burst of laughter and catcalls followed. Carmen’s face turned a brilliant red color, and I leaned over and whispered, “Need some more wine?”

  “Yes, please,” Carmen whispered back.

  “I’ll tell you all about it later,” she promised Maggie and then shot Judge a look. “And you’ll help me, right, dear?” His laughter stopped instantly and he shot a panicked look right back at her.

  “Uhh…yes?” he squeaked out.

  Ahhh…revenge is sweet.

  The talk turned to wedding dresses and getting them to fit right even while pregnant, and how long it would take to get Jules’s family out from New York for the wedding, the reason why they’d put it off thus far.

  “I have all of my stuff that I need to pack up and move out here, and I need to get my family out here to meet Bishop,” Jules told the group. “Can you believe they’ve only seen him via Skype so far? And I have to do all of that before I get huge and miserable, and certainly before we have the baby. I don’t want to pack with one hand and hold a baby with the other.”

  I sat back, watching my friends as they bantered amongst themselves, Mary still sniffling with joy, and wondered if Knight and I would ever get there. Was that where our relationship was headed?

  It felt like it. It felt real.

  But did Knight want it? I snuck a look sideways at Knight, but his face was as inscrutable as ever.

  Was it for real?

  Did I love Knight?

  I think I do. Oh God, I’m pretty damn sure I’m in love with Knight.

  * * *

  That night, after a round of lovemaking that left me no doubt about how much Knight loved me body, he drifted off to sleep, but I couldn’t. I stared up at the ceiling as the minutes ticked by, my mind going around and around.

  I had been putting off reading the last of my mom’s journal entries because…well, then it was the end of the journal and there was no more. I didn’t want to give my mom up yet.

  But tonight, I needed my mom’s advice more than ever, and since that wasn’t going to happen, a journal entry was about as good as it was going to get at this point.

  I crept out of bed, careful not to disturb Knight as I went, and curled up on the couch with my mom’s journal in hand.

  February 12, 1993

  Last night was the night. I know that I’ve been scared as shit to tell Butcher about the baby, but I had to make sure that my baby was okay. That’s all that matters. I love Butcher, but I have to love my baby more.

  Which is why I left Playas last night, and I’m never going back. I was at home, making dinner, dressed in my blue denim sundress that Butcher loves. I was finally going to tell him and, well, a cute dress couldn’t hurt, right?

  That’s when Wolf, the Outlaws President, came to the door. He was there the night that Butcher and I met at Jennifer’s party all those months ago, but I haven’t seen him since. Butcher has hid me from him so well. Now I know why…

  I knew as soon as I opened the door that he was trouble. His pupils were blown and he was high on something. Butcher had warned me to never open the door to anyone but him, but I was so nervous about telling Butcher about the baby that I just forgot. Someone knocked, and I answered. The whole fucking thing is my fault for letting him in.

  No! Not my fault. Wolf probably would’ve busted the door in if I hadn’t opened it. I’m not going to let that man fuck with my head that way. IT’S NOT MY FAULT. Goddamn motherfucker.

  Anyway, as soon as I opened the door, he pushed his way inside and slammed the door behind him, dead bolting it in place. The dead bolt sliding over was terrifying. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sound.

  He started bragging about how he’d sent Butcher off on a bullshit errand so he could be sure I’d be by myself. I guess he saw me when I went out to get the pregnancy test. He’s had a member watching the apartment for weeks now because he thought that Butcher was hiding something, and it turns out, he was. Me.

  I knew then that I was fucked. I couldn’t rely on Butcher to bust through the door and save me, and oh God, Wolf was so huge. He’s so big, every part of him. And evil.

  So evil.

  Then Wolf started telling me that Butcher had been breaking the rules by not sharing me with the rest of the club. No club member can keep a woman to himself - all women are to be shared with whichever member wants to fuck ‘em.

  I told him I wasn’t property to be shared but I was terrified and my voice cracked and he knew I knew I was trapped. I was so goddamn terrified.

  He told me that women were the property of the club and that it was my duty to…service him however he wanted. I fought back, I swear to God I did, but…

  As he was…inside of me, he told me everyone did this, including Butcher. But I knew he was lying. Butcher would never do this.

  He left me on the kitchen floor, shivering on the cold tile, and as I lay there, I realized that Butcher couldn’t protect me or my baby. I knew we had to go. I will not raise my baby in this world.

  I will protect him or her from it with my life.

  So I threw some clothes in a bag and walked down to the Greyhound bus station. Bought a ticket to Albuquerque. That was the farthest I could go with the cash I had on hand. I know I can ask Mom and Dad for help later, but right then? I needed to get out of Playasand never go back.

  No matter what, I will protect my baby. Nothing else matters. Butcher can never know. Butcher might want to bring the baby back to Playas, and I won’t have that.

  This baby is mine - I won’t share with anyone else.

  I sat back and stared blankly off into space. This explained so much. I had always thought that my mom had been clingy because she’d lost Butcher and was making up for it by holding on extra hard to me.

  But…it was because she was afraid that she’d lose me, too. That she wouldn’t be able to protect me from Wolf and the Outlaws gang.

  And now I was falling in love with another motorcycle gang member. I wonder what she would say about
that. I wonder if she’d fight me loving him like she fought me loving anyone else.

  But I knew Knight’s family. They’re loving and kind and wonderful. Knight wasn’t hiding me away to protect me from his club; he was taking me to his mother’s house and out on rides and he’s protecting me with his life, not by building walls around me.

  And then I cried, heartrending cries at the pain that my mother had gone through.

  Because there was nothing else I could do.

  23

  Knight

  I woke up cold. Eyes still closed, I reached across the bed and patted…empty space?

  Where is Leia?

  I padded into the living room, lit by the pre-dawn light coming through the windows, and saw her curled up on the couch, her mom’s journal on her lap. I eased the journal off her lap and onto the coffee table and then just as gently, eased my arms under her. She mumbled for a moment but didn’t open her eyes, so I carried her down the hallway and into our bedroom.

  Our bedroom.

  As I laid her down on her side of the bed and pulled the covers up over her, I wondered at my thoughts.

  Our bed. Our house. Our life.

  Is this what I wanted? To have Leia in my life forever?

  Yes.

  I crawled into the bed next to her and pulled her close to me, spooning her against my length.

  I thought back to the party the night before at Mary’s house. Leia had just fit right in - seamless, as if she’d been there all along.

  And then I thought about Maggie. I had known Judge most of my life, and never had he struck me as being especially fatherly and parent-y and shit. But last night? Judge was talking to Bishop and me about hunting regs, sure, but then Maggie had wanted to go out back and play catch with Turbo and had wanted Judge to go with her. No hesitation - he was out the door.