Girth (Marked Skulls MC Book 1)

by Savannah Rylan

  “Is there someone in there with you?” he asked and then brushed past me as he stormed into the apartment. I closed the door and followed him in, as he looked around the living room. When he turned to me again, I softened my gaze at him. I didn’t blame him for assuming that I’d brought someone home with me. Not after how I’d behaved with him, or how stubborn I was being and the state he found me in this morning.

  “There’s nobody here, Gunner. I’m by myself,” I said to him and dropped my gaze to my feet in embarrassment. I was glad to see him, and I wanted to apologize. After the way Viper had behaved with me, the way the other guys had looked at me when he was talking to them about me…my memory of their conversation in the diner…I knew there was some truth to what Gunner had told me. Besides, there were butterflies in my stomach from my relief of seeing Gunner again. I felt safe in his presence.

  “Brooklyn…” he said my name gently and I stepped towards him in a rush.

  “Gunner, I want to apologize for last night,” I interrupted him and stopped in my tracks as I saw his watching me closely. There was silence between us for a few moments, before he spoke again.

  “And I’m sorry for the way I left last night. I should have stayed there and made sure you were back home safe,” he said and I pursed my lips together, to suppress a cry that I knew was coming.

  He saw the look on my face and came closer to me, although he was still being careful not to touch me. I didn’t blame him. I had tried my best to make it clear to him that what we had was in no way a growing relationship.

  “It’s okay. I came home safely,” I said and met his eyes again. Gunner looked like he hadn’t slept well. There was a shadow of a beard on his cheeks and his eyes looked tired. Whatever he had been up to the previous night…he was still here the first thing in the morning and that was all that mattered. I wanted to be in his arms again.

  “But you’re not safe yet, Brooklyn,” he said and I gulped, before nodding my head in agreement.

  “I know, I believe you, Gunner,” I said and he ran a hand through his hair and took in a deep breath.

  “There is something else we need to talk about,” he said.

  “We don’t have to talk about it right now,” I told him. I wanted him to know how happy I was just to have him there. I didn’t care about the other things.

  “No, we should talk about it now, Brooklyn,” Gunner insisted and from the look in his eyes; I could tell that he was going to make sure he got his way.

  I sighed and shook my head.

  “Okay, so you’re a member of the Bad Disciples and I’m associated with the Dragon Knights. It’s complicated, I know…but I’m sure we can work around it somehow,” I said and clasped my hands together in desperation. It was more than just a small complication, and I knew that better than anybody. But having Gunner in my life was more important.

  He was staring at me, like I was speaking nonsense and then a glaze came over his eyes. He looked away from me.

  “That is a problem, I recognize that…but there is a bigger issue that we need to address first,” he said and I knotted my brows in confusion.

  “You mean the prostitution ring? I believe you, Gunner…I’ve just been in denial that they could be capable of something like that. But I know there is truth to what you’re saying,” I said and he finally looked at me again.

  “Brooklyn…your brother. You said that he’s in the army,” Gunner said and my heart felt like it had been grabbed by icy cold hands. Why was he referring to Luke now? I could feel myself panicking.

  “Yes…” I said but he interrupted me.

  “He’s not in the army anymore, is he? He’s…” he said and my hands flew to my mouth. I had to stop myself just in time from crying.

  “Don’t say it, please Gunner, don’t say it!” I cried and he lunged towards me and took me into his arms.

  “I’m sorry, Brooklyn…if I could, I’d do whatever it took to make this easier for you,” he said, breathing into my ear as he held me tightly to his chest.

  “Why are you talking about my brother? Did you know him?” I asked, and pulled away from him. I was peering into his eyes now, looking for clues on his face and I could see that Gunner was avoiding looking at me.

  “Gunner…please, just tell me what’s going on. Don’t bring up Luke and not tell me why,” I cried, growing rigid in his arms while he tried to formulate the words.

  “Yeah, I knew him…I knew him as Jenson,” he said and I could see that he was struggling. I tried catching his gaze, to get him to look at me.

  “How? Why did you know him as just Jenson?” I said and I felt the grip of his fingers tighten on my arms. He looked up at me finally, from under heavily hooded lids, his blue eyes had turned the shade of an angry cloud, just before it’s about to break into heavy rain.

  “Because we were together in Afghanistan. I was the Captain of his team,” he said and I felt his fingers release me and I stepped away from him. My hands had flown to my mouth again and I could feel hot tears pricking the backs of my eyelids.

  “You were in…” I couldn’t get the words out. Gunner’s face looked dark, I could see he was struggling with his own emotions.

  “I’m sorry, Brooklyn…I was there that day. It happened in front of me. He stepped on a land mine and I knew I should have stopped him. I was responsible for my men. I knew it was dangerous. But he kept walking. I thought I had it under control…” Gunner was speaking too quickly for me to get all his words. He was mumbling and growling under his breath, running his hands over his hair repeatedly.

  I rushed to him and placed my hands on his muscular strong arms, trying to calm him down but he wouldn’t look at me again.

  “Gunner…please, Gunner, please just stop,” I said and watched as he suffered. I wasn’t an expert but I could tell that he was suffering from some degree of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and I wanted to help him. Talking about Luke hadn’t affected me as badly as I would have expected it to. I just wanted to make Gunner feel better.

  “Please, just listen to me, Gunner…” I cried in a louder voice and he stopped fidgeting and finally looked me in the eye again. His eyes were glassy, he was miles away from here.

  “It wasn’t your fault. When Luke signed up for the military, he knew exactly what he was getting into. He told me if he died for his country, it would be the proudest death I could wish for him,” I said, my lips were quivering but I kept going on. “I miss him, Gunner…I miss him every day and I wish it never happened. But I know my brother, I know he would never blame you. He wouldn’t even have blamed the people who put the land mine there. He was doing what he wanted to do and he died doing it,” I said and held his gaze, as rigidly as I could. Gunner’s eyes watered, for a split second, and then it disappeared. His face was reddish but the color was returning.

  “I didn’t know you were his sister, Brooklyn…and I had no idea he was a part of the Dragon Knights. Neither of us had a clue we had both grown up in Long beach,” he said and I forced a weak smile on my face.

  “I know. I can’t imagine that you did…and he mentioned his captain on a phone call to me once. Alton, he said that he was glad he had you as a leader,” I told him, confessing the truth and I saw Gunner’s eyes light up.

  “And he spoke about his sister, B, and how no one would be good enough for him because of how much he adored you,” he said and a laugh mixed with a cry rose up in my throat.

  “That didn’t stop him from banging everything in a skirt,” I said and Gunner and I both laughed. I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled at him.

  “Bastard,” he said teasingly under his breath and then we fell into silence again.

  “Brooklyn…I will never let anything happen to you. Jenson was like a brother to me, even though we knew each other for a very short time,” he said and I nodded my head.

  “And I don’t want you to blame yourself for what happened. He never would have,” I told him and reached for his hand.

  Gunner too
k my hand in his, brought it up to his lips and kissed it. I felt myself go weak when I felt his touch, and in a flash, he had pulled me to himself again and I fell on his chest with a happy squeal.

  “We should have been together last night,” he said, breathing down on my face, and blowing curls away. I smiled at him, biting down on my lip and I felt the goosebumps erupt on my skin. Just a look from him; that was all it took!

  “Well, you can make up for it now,” I said, challenging him with a seductive smile and Gunner brought his mouth down on me.

  ***

  We were kissing and I clung on to him. His tongue parted my mouth and I could taste his coffee breath on my tongue. We were kissing slowly, passionately and his hands wound around my waist. I bunched up his t-shirt in my hands, kissing him back with force.

  Our hips were pressed together and I could feel the warmth glowing between my legs. His hands travelled down from my waist and made their way to my ass. He grabbed it, squeezed and pressed me even closer to himself. Our bodies were mingled, intertwined together and his tongue was far down in my mouth.

  I wanted to feel his cock in my hands again. I wanted him inside me completely, not just his tongue. I wanted to feel that sharp aching pleasure of having his cock plow into my pussy and I wanted to moan as I came.

  Gunner pulled away from me, only briefly, so he could take my bottom lip in his mouth. He sucked on it, before gently nibbling and I pulled away from him teasingly, so that he pulled as he bit on my lip and I smiled.

  I was panting hard, feeling my nipples pebble under my top. This was a strange moment for us, but we were both turned on at the same time.

  “Brooklyn…” he breathed my name and I placed a finger on his lips, the same way he had done before and he smiled. It was going to be all right.

  The banging on my front door surprised us both. We were in each other’s arms and we jerked our faces away to look at the door.

  “Brooklyn. Open up. We know you’re in there!” It was Pike’s voice outside and my heart shrunk.

  “It’s the Dragon Knights. They’re here,” I said, clasping a hand to my mouth.

  “Go to your room, Brooklyn, let me deal with them,” Gunner said and he pushed me behind him.

  “No, you can’t…” I began to say and Viper’s voice came through, accompanied by some more banging on the door.

  “Brooklyn…open up now sugar,” he said, trying to make his voice mock sweet.

  “They’re in a group. You won’t be able to handle them, Gunner. You have to leave,” I cried, while he took threatening steps towards the door. I ran behind him and clawed at his shoulder.

  “Please, Gunner…they might recognize you. And I’m not allowed to see anyone outside the club. They won’t let you get out of here alive,” I was hissing at him, trying to keep my voice low so that they wouldn’t hear me outside.

  Gunner looked at me with his eyes narrowed.

  “Why are they here?” he asked. I shook my head.

  “Probably just checking up on me,” I lied. I didn’t want to tell him the truth because I knew that he wouldn’t leave. And I didn’t want them to hurt him, which I knew would happen since he was by himself.

  Gunner was debating what to do, while I tried to pull him towards the window.

  “Please, Gunner…just leave. Go down the fire escape,” I cried and he finally relented.

  “You should be coming with me,” I heard him say, as I slid open the window.

  “I’ll see you soon. They know I’m in here. If I don’t answer the door, they’ll break in or follow us. I can distract them this way,” I said and held the window up.

  Gunner lunged towards me, taking me into his arms again, before kissing me passionately for a brief second.

  “I know you can take care of yourself, Brooklyn. I’ll see you soon,” he said and I watched as he climbed out of the window and jumped on to the fire escape.

  I shut the window immediately, hoping that Viper and the gang wouldn’t have a clue of Gunner’s presence in my apartment. I ran my fingers through my hair, while the banging continued. I was glad I looked like a mess now, at least this way I’d be able to pretend that I had just woken up and was hungover.

  My only hope was that they would just ask me to meet them somewhere and I could make an escape in the meantime. What was the worst that could happen? Viper might slap me and tell me to never raise a hand at him again?

  Chapter 18

  Gunner

  I jumped down to the fire escape and the metal clanged under my feet as I ran down the steps towards my bike that was parked downstairs.

  It wasn’t until my feet hit the hot concrete at street level, that I realized there were a group of three Dragon Knights members at the top of the street. They’d seen me jump and now they were running towards me. My patch would have given me away, and chances were that they knew me by face too.

  What could a member of the Bad Disciples be doing in Brooklyn Jenson’s building? They could have possibly seen me climb out of the window as well.

  I ran towards my bike, just as I heard bullets zing past me. They’d opened fire. I wasn’t thinking. I couldn’t think. My reflexes instinctually led me on to my bike, but I was thinking about Brooklyn.

  They’d keep her now. They’d seen me in her building, possibly in her apartment and I was sure that they would not let her go. She’d have a price to pay for having a member of the Bad Disciples in her apartment.

  My Harley whirred to a start, choking and sputtering as another bullet zoomed past me. They were closing in on me, but I was seconds away from escaping.

  I turned to look, just as my bike went to a roaring start and I saw their faces. Their bloodshot eyes. Their clenched jaws and the guns in their hands. This meant war and they were going to bring the war to our doorstep.

  I was racing, riding my bike without my helmet and all I could think about was Brooklyn. I should never have left her alone there. I should have brought her down with me. To Hell with her fucking door!

  My eyes watered as I rode furiously towards The Rusty Pelican. My only hope was that some of the guys would be there, or Axel would be there so that I could gather a group and rescue Brooklyn. I was willing to do anything to save her, even if it meant going back there myself if I had to.

  At the bar, I jumped off my bike, not bothering to park, and I burst through the doors.

  Not everyone had gathered there yet, but Glock and the others were there and so was Axel. They all turned to look at me, and Glock’s smile dropped when he saw the look on my face.

  “You look like you’ve been running from something, Gunner,” Axel said and I walked towards him in a hurry.

  “I need your help, Axel. We need to find the Dragon Knights. We have to put a stop this, now,” I said, realizing how stupid I probably sounded to him. Axel’s eyes were focused on me, and I sensed Glock and the others crowd behind me.

  “Before you burst in here, asking for help, Gunner, you need to sit down and explain to us what’s going on,” Axel said, in a calm and conscious voice.

  I gulped, licking my dry lips in fury and I turned to find Glock and Sniper standing directly behind me. Hunter and Tank were there too, in a show of support. But I would need Axel’s sanction before anything could really be done.

  “They just opened fire on me,” I said, knotting my brows at Axel.

  “What the Fuck. Where are the bastards?” Hunter’s voice was in my ear. I heard a few guns cock in the bar. The fact that they had opened fire on one of their members was reason enough for war.

  Axel’s eyebrows were raised, but he was still calm.

  “Settle down, men, and Gunner, why don’t you explain to us just why they opened fire on you,” Axel said and the murmur in the bar died.

  “Do we need to know the fucking reason?” it was Tank who interrupted Axel and the two men locked eyes and Tank eventually backed down.

  “Yes, we do. We need to know what’s going on before making any rash decisions. So, G
unner…where did they find you and why did they shoot at you?” Axel continued and I took in a deep breath, wondering how much of the story I would have to explain before we could go and rescue Brooklyn.

  “They found me where I wasn’t supposed to be,” I said and Axel’s eyebrows rose again.

  “And where was that?” he asked and I clenched my jaw. I knew how this was going to look.

  “In Brooklyn Jenson’s apartment,” I said and Axel nearly smiled but stopped himself in time.

  “Jenson? You mean Adam Jenson’s girl?” Thor had stepped forward to ask, and I nodded my head while looking at him. The murmur in the bar erupted again, and I could sense everyone’s eyes on me. Axel was glaring at me as well, half amused and half surprised.

  “Well well well…your father’s charms aren’t lost on you, are they, son?” Axel finally said and I wasn’t sure if he was complimenting me. Although time was of the essence and something needed to be done about Brooklyn right now.

  “I didn’t know who she was till last night,” I said and I felt Glock thump my back victoriously. These guys were treating it as some kind of fucking victory!

  “You fucked the daughter of the Dragon Knight’s president!” someone else hooted.

  “Ex-President! Adam Jenson is dead now,” Axel corrected the guy, with a lopsided smile still on his face. For some reason, they weren’t being able to see just how urgent the matter was. I gritted my teeth so that I didn’t roar out. That would only help me lose more friends than I could afford.

  “Do you want to start from the beginning, Gunner?” Axel said and I braced myself. I wasn’t exactly a storyteller, but then, I was willing to do anything to make sure that these guys would help me get Brooklyn back.

  ***

  “Brooklyn and I have been seeing each other,” I began in a voice that I was hoping sounded neutral. The others were listening to me keenly, and most keen of all was Axel, who was still smiling a little. I wanted to yell at him and tell him this was not amusing, but clearly none of these guys understood the gravity of the situation.