by Jenika Snow
After setting some spare linen on the cots and beds, she made her way to the next room, but stopped when she heard the front doors bang open. Lucien was the first one that walked in, followed by several of his other MC members. And then there was a young dark haired girl that looked a little annoyed and a lot uncomfortable as she followed Lucien and his men to the center of the room. Cookie’s pulse increased as she stared at Kink who followed in behind her, and then it plummeted when she saw him pull the young woman aside and whisper something low to her. It wasn’t until she overheard the girl say something followed by “dad” that she knew it was Kink’s daughter. Cookie was getting worked up over nothing. But even if she wasn’t his kid, that didn’t mean Cookie had any right to be angry over a man that she had no right to want.
“Cookie.” Lucien called out to her.
The young woman turned away from Kink, and she stared at the man that she had these powerful, but totally misplaced and unrealistic feelings for. She didn’t even know his real name, yet she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anyone else. It didn’t feel like the sick and twisted feelings she had with Morris, or the saccharine, yet uncomfortable, sensation when she had been with the only man that had ever made her feel wanted. She stared right at Kink, and he looked right back at her. Cookie snapped out of this haze, because people were probably staring at her in confusion. She moved over to Lucien.
“Round up the other women so I can give the lowdown on the shit going on.”
She nodded and turned to gather the women that were scattered throughout two different back rooms.
Once everyone was back in the main room, and a few more people had come through the front doors. She saw Molly and Dakota, and even Stinger. She had heard around the club that Stinger was a member of The Grizzly MC, Molly’s new man, and that Malice and he had gotten into it when Molly had first started being with the Grizzly member. She didn’t know about all the drama that happened between them, because frankly she liked to stay away from that anymore. Cookie had dealt with enough of it to last her ten lifetimes, but of course she knew it would not be the end of drama in her life. It was like she was a magnet for the toxic shit.
Adrianna was standing beside Malice, and the big biker had his arm wrapped around her, but when he saw his son Dakota he pulled Adrianna toward the little boy. She glanced at Adrianna, and the woman was pressed tightly to Malice’s other side. She could tell the woman wanted to be there, but she could also see the way Malice curled his fingers into her side, as if he thought maybe she’d move away from him. What would it feel like to have someone want her so badly they were afraid she’d leave their side? She only knew about someone wanting her because of her body, or because she could give them something for a few hours at a time. The one thing she was grateful for was that she hadn’t been passed around, not like the other girls who stayed in the cabin with her.
She moved over to the bar and took a seat on one of the barstools. The ten or so girls that stayed in the cabin were sitting at the couple of tables situated around the main room. A young man and woman moved up to where Tuck sat, and he embraced both of them momentarily. They both had the same blond hair and blue eyes as the MC member, so she assumed they had to be his kids. It had only been a few hours since everything had gone down with the bombing of the guys’ cabin, but she was surprised they had gathered this many people in that short amount of time. There were a few other people, an older woman and man that looked less than pleased to be there, but stood close to Lucien. Maybe they were his mom and dad? She looked over at Kink again, and her heart sped up when she saw he was watching her. He leaned against the far wall directly across from her, and although he was all the way on the other side of the cabin, she felt like he was right in front of her. That was how powerful his presence was to her.
“Okay, it isn’t a secret why we called the lockdown, especially since this shit is plastered all over the fucking news,” Lucien said in a weary, pissed off voice. He started pacing back and forth, and the expression on his face showed he was deep in thought. “Without getting into specifics, all of you were called in for your own protection. Someone is out to hurt the club, and presumably everyone we care about.” He glanced around the room at everyone. “Until we get the threat under control, I need everyone to stay inside this clubhouse.” There were murmurs throughout the room, but no one argued with the President. “Since Cookie has been working the club for a couple of weeks now, she can give everyone the layout if you’re not familiar with it, and show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
“I can help, too,” Molly said after Lucien spoke.
Lucien nodded. “Thanks, Molly.” He looked around the room again. “Members, I need a meeting.” He turned and headed toward the room the club guys used for their meetings. Rock, Ruin, Kink, Tuck, and Malice all headed into the room with Lucien, and they shut the door behind them. There was a moment of silence, and it felt like everyone was staring at her. She didn’t know why Lucien had put her in charge of this. Tatum would have been better at it since she knew about these things, or even Molly since she had been with a member of The Brothers for years. Instead, Lucien had put her in the spotlight, and given her this responsibility that might not have seemed like a big deal to some. To her was huge.
“Um.” She glanced at Tatum and then at Molly, but both women looked at her like she was the one in charge. Had Lucien done this to further help her in branching out? “Okay, if the girls from the cabin want to follow me I’ll show you where you’ll be staying, and then I can set everyone else up.” She glanced at Tatum and saw the other woman smiling. This wasn’t even that big of a deal, but in all honesty, to Cookie, it felt like she was making some kind of monumental decision.
After she had everyone set up in the rooms, some on the couches out in the main room, and even a few upstairs, she moved to the backroom. She was alone here, at least for a moment until it was time to cook something for everyone to eat. But she needed this small moment of reprieve. It wasn’t about having to play hostess to everyone, not really. It was more about the fact there was this explosion, and their lives in jeopardy once again after only weeks of being thrust into the underworld. She felt like she was losing it.
Chapter Six
Kink sat around the table and listened to Lucien go over the details of getting in touch with their hacker. Malcolm was a college kid that was the son of the doctor they had working for the club. He was a smart little shit, knew his way around a computer like no one’s business, and they were pretty confident that he could get into The Church of the Good and Only—also known as the motherfucking cult that messed with them. Malcolm was going to mole those bastards out.
There was a moment of silence that filled the space around the table. “Tuck, is Malcolm on board with this?”
Tuck nodded after Lucien spoke. “Yeah, spoke to the kid right after you called me from the fire. Malcolm took down all the info, and is going to work on it throughout the night.”
“Was he able to check out their site while you had him on the phone?” Malice said through a low rumble.
They all could have lost a lot from that bombing, but Malice and Adrianna had been right in the thick of it. That meant a hell of a lot to their Sergeant at Arms.
“He said he should have something by tomorrow, but he can’t guarantee anything so soon.” Tuck leaned forward and braced his forearms on the table. “When I had him on the phone he said their site was locked down pretty tight, meaning they have someone who knows their firewall and protection shit when dealing with people trying to gather their personal information.”
Lucien nodded after Tuck spoke. “In the meantime, I want Rock and Ruin to start surveying the town, poke around, and see if they are actually staying in River Run.”
Rock and Ruin murmured their agreement.
“I can go to Steel Corner and speak with Jagger.”
The Grizzly MC was a group of bikers that lived in Steel Corner, the next town over. Although the two clubs had wor
ked together in the past, things had settled down over the last couple of months. They only spoke when they needed each other’s help, or when The Brothers needed to use Steel Corner as a main gateway to their whorehouse located in another town. But with the bombing they had immediately shut down that house, canceled any set-ups they had with some high profile johns, and put everything on hold until this was taken care of.
“Good idea, Malice, but take Tuck with you. See what Jagger and his crew have to say, and if they have any info on any fanatics coming into their territory and rustling things up.”
“On it,” Ruin said. Although they hadn’t heard anything from Jagger, the President of The Grizzlies, that didn’t mean those cult pricks hadn’t started shit on Grizzly territory.
“Kink, stay here and make sure everything stays together and the girls are all right,” Lucien said and looked at him.
Kink nodded. Even though there was this heavy stuff that was hovering over the club, the threat of another attack, and not knowing where to find the ones that were fucking with them, all Kink could keep thinking about was Cookie. The guys started talking about others things club related, and Kink let his mind drift for a second. It was insane to be thinking of a woman he didn’t even know, having these feelings toward her that put him in a foul fucking mood if a prospect even talked to her. But she was so fucking gorgeous, and her strength made her as tough as any biker he had ever met. He had no right to want her. The type of life she needed was soft, quiet, and without drama. His life was filled with all of that and more.
“If anyone comes up with anything report back right away.”
Lucien’s voice cut into his thoughts, and he pulled them away from Cookie. They all stood and headed out, but before Kink left Lucien called him back in.
“Come here, and close the door behind you.”
Kink shut the door and faced Lucien. He already knew what the other man was going to say.
“How did Sarah take to you bringing Callie here a day early?”
Although the club always stood behind each other if a member needed that support, they never asked about personal business. It was an unspoken rule among them that they were always there, but that if the issue was too much of a burden they could talk about it. But never did a Brother willingly ask about the shit another member was going through. It was just the way they ran things in their club, and it had always worked out that way. But here was Lucien, the President of the club, asking what was up, and although it was supportive of Lucien to do so, it was also uncharacteristic.
“She took it how she takes everything else, I guess.”
Lucien stared at him, but there was this weird expression on the other man’s face, and Kink couldn’t place why he was getting this weird vibe from him.
“Something else on your mind?” Lucien asked, and knitted his brows. He shifted in his seat, and Kink would have assumed Lucien was uncomfortable about something, but that couldn’t be right. Lucien was tough as steel and didn’t let anything get to him.
Kink rested his elbows on the scarred table and scrubbed both hands over his face. He had enough crap in his life right now that he was thinking there was something going on when there really wasn’t. “No, I guess I’m just pretty fucking stressed.” He saw Lucien nodded, but still the man was tense as hell. “Sarah bitched at first, but then she realized she’d have the fucking weekend to herself so didn’t care. She was heading out with that little prick of a boyfriend of hers anyway, so Callie would have been by herself.” He dropped his hands to the table, looked at Lucien and leaned back in his own seat. “Callie was acting like something was bothering her, though, and she didn’t want to talk about it. I’m sure Sarah is just getting under her skin like usual.”
Lucien didn’t respond, and Kink stared at him, wondering what was going through his mind.
“Something on your mind?” he asked Lucien.
Lucien cleared his throat and shook his head. “I’m good. You hear anything back from the attorney?” Lucien shifted in his seat again and glanced at the doorway.
Kink knew something was definitely off with the President, but clearly he didn’t want to talk about it. “I was supposed to meet with him to go over some things tomorrow morning, but I should postpone it since all of this shit is happening.”
“No, don’t put that on hold. You don’t have a lot of time anyway. Besides, he’ll come here, and you can talk with him in the meeting room and get things sorted out.”
“Yeah, I’ll give him a call. He seems like things should be favorable, but I’ve got this fucking dread in my gut, and it only got worse after this shit happened with the cult, and now the bombing. Besides, I want Callie to come live with me. She might be turning eighteen, but I think she needs to get away from Sarah and her toxic attitude. ”
Lucien grunted, scratched his jaw, and then finally nodded. “Yeah, but we are going to take out those fuckers that did this, and you can let the beast out, man.” Lucien grinned, and Kink couldn’t help but do the same. “Okay, go see Callie. I have to go check on my mom and her husband, make sure they are holding up okay, and call Tilly.”
“Your sister coming in?”
Lucien looked up at the ceiling, and his face took on this hard expression. “She’s a stubborn girl, and was giving me a hard time about not missing class and having exams. She is just as hardheaded as I am.”
“She should be good, though, safe I mean. She’s several hours away, and the chances of those assholes linking you two is low.”
Lucien nodded. “Yeah, I know, but still, it would have made me feel a hell of a lot better if I had her here in the protection of the clubhouse.”
“I know, but she is tough. She gets that attitude from you.” Kink grinned. “I better go check on Callie if we’re done here.”
Lucien nodded and stood. “Yeah, we’re good. I just wanted to see how everything was going.”
“It’s going.” Kink chuckled humorlessly and felt the weight that was on his shoulders push down even heavier.
They headed out together, and instantly Kink scanned the room. He saw Callie sitting over by Molly and Dakota, and moved over to his daughter to make sure she was settled. Once he realized she was okay, he headed toward the bar for a drink. He tossed back the shot that Tatum handed him. He tapped the bar, and she refilled the glass. Once he had that shot back, too, he turned and glanced around the main room. He couldn’t find the woman he was looking for … Cookie.
“She’s in the back,” Tatum said from behind him.
He looked over his shoulder. “What?” Of course he knew who the hell she was talking about, but he turned and faced her fully and kept his mouth shut.
Tatum cocked an eyebrow, as if she knew he was bullshitting her. “Really, Kink? You really going to play the ‘I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about’ card?” She refilled his glass for the third time, and he didn’t waste time in drinking it. “Listen, I’ve been walking around here for the last couple of weeks watching the way you look at Cookie, and the way she looks at you. It’s exhausting realizing you guys are trying to fight something like this.”
“I don’t think this is really your business, Tatum.”
“No, it’s not, you’re right, but I can see a pain and distance in that girl’s eyes when I look at her.” Tatum leaned on the bar and stared him right in the eyes. “But then she looks at you and all this life moves across her face for a second, and I don’t even think she realizes it.”
Kink leaned back slightly but made sure to keep his expression neutral. “I don’t have the time, energy, or lifestyle to take on an old lady, let alone one that probably hurts every single day from the life she has led.”
“Honey, I’m not asking you to claim an old lady, but to show that girl what it means to be wanted.”
Kink would have chuckled at the absurdity of what Tatum was suggesting. “Let me get this straight, you want me to sleep with her so she can feel good about herself?” That was a pretty fucked-up thin
g to even suggest.
“No, Kink, I want you to show her that you notice her, that someone wants her, and show her that it doesn’t have to be wrong or bad to be with a man.” She stared at him right in the eye. “She is scared in the worst possible way, and if showing her that she is wanted means being with her intimately, then so be it, but only if she wants that. I didn’t say anything about fucking her, you damn pig. You’re so damn crass sometimes.” She turned away and shook her head as if she was disgusted with him. She gave out a few drinks to some of the people that came up to the bar, and then faced him again. “Talk to her, and let her know you’ve been watching her, and that you’ve seen her.”
This was a bizarre fucking conversation, and one Kink didn’t want to talk about anymore. “I have had a mother, Tatum, and don’t need another one.” He turned and stalked away, but not before he heard her mutter what a hard, stubborn ass he was. She might have been right about that, but he also wasn’t the type to fucking woo a woman into his bed, and he sure as hell didn’t talk out his feelings. He headed toward the back hallway and toward his room. He needed to sleep and forget about the crap going on around him, but just as he reached his room and had his hand on the doorknob, he stopped.
Who the hell was he kidding? Tatum was right. He did want Cookie. But it wasn’t just for sex, although he wanted her bad enough that his fucking cock ached. There was just this strength inside of her, and every time he looked at her he felt this part of his hard exterior cracking. It was crazy shit given the fact he had hardly spoken to her. But maybe when something was good and right, and supposed to happen, time didn’t matter? He turned and looked back down the hallway and toward the kitchen door where Tatum had said Cookie was. This was probably a bad idea, but he found himself walking away from his room, and right toward the woman that he wanted more than he had ever wanted a female before.