by K. T Fisher
I feel embarrassed that I admitted that and try to back away, but he pulls me right back.
“We will.” He kisses me. “After I’ve sorted this shit, and you’re safe to go wherever you want to go, we will.”
“Ok.” I whisper against his lips.
“Ok, we need to break this up.” Baby stands beside us and pulls me away from Brandon. “I’ll take good care of her, bro.”
Brandon frowns at him. “Make sure you do.”
With one final heated kiss, Brandon leaves with Franky and Brace as they head out to their bikes. I wave him off, and get into Laura’s car with Devlin and Baby grumbling behind us.
Laura starts to get in the driver’s seat when Baby stops her. “Erm no, I’ll drive.”
“What?” Laura asks in shock.
“You and Lauren get in the back, and I’ll drive.” Baby orders and with a huff, Laura joins me in the back.
While we’re settling in together, I can hear Devlin and Baby begin to argue and I can’t help but laugh.
“No, I’m driving!” Devlin shouts.
“Bro! You drove last time.” Baby sulks.
“Tough shit baby boy, I’m the oldest so get your ass in the passenger seat.” Devlin orders and like a sulking younger sibling who has lost, Baby stomps around to the passenger seat and sits down heavily. Devlin on the other hand has a huge smirk on his face, but Laura soon puts a stop to it.
“You boys better shut up or I’ll tell your dad the last time you drove me around, you crashed the car!” I laugh loudly and Laura joins me. I’m not surprised they’re fighting about it, this car is super sexy and Franky bought it for his wife as a birthday present.
Chapter 45
Even though I was upset Brandon could no longer come along, I’m actually having a really good time. I knew Devlin and Baby were funny men, but I had no idea about Laura. The woman is hilarious and I guess you have to have fun whenever you can in this lifestyle. Take me for example, at any point everything could fuck up.
“You promise this shop is going to be the last?” Devlin moans.
“Oh shut up.” Laura softly slaps him and goes to the nearest clothes aisle. “Dev, come here and hold these.”
I giggle as Laura holds out about five hangers for him and walks off to the changing rooms.
“I think this one will make your ass look amazing.” Baby says as he holds up a little black dress. He wiggles his eyebrows and then holds it out towards me. “Try it on.”
“No, I’ve got enough.” I motion down to my many bags on the floor.
“Babe, my brother gave you his card to use as you want. I’d take him up on that offer and spoil yourself.” He answers.
I don’t like using Brandon’s money, but Laura shoved it in my face and paid for everything she thought would look good on me. I tried to refuse, but when you have a strong woman telling you to take it, as well as Devlin and Baby, you have no choice but to accept.
Baby continues to hold the dress out to me and with impatience, I grab the dress and walk towards the changing rooms. “Watch my bags.” I order.
On my way I see Devlin leaning up against a wall, looking very bored and I laugh as I pass him.
“Laura?” I ask as I close the door behind me and lock it.
“Yes, dear?” She answers.
“Just letting you know it’s me, Baby bullied me into trying a dress on.” I complain as I strip off.
“He just likes to know you’re getting undressed.” She replies. “My son’s a pervert.”
I laugh loudly as I pull the dress over my head. I admire myself in the mirror, this dress does look good. Damn you Baby.
“I’ll wait with the boys.” Laura shouts as I remove the dress.
“Ok!” I reply.
I make sure to hang the dress back up as nicely as I found it and as I fiddle with the hanger, I hear a noise in the next cubicle.
“Hello?” I ask. I was pretty sure it was just Laura and me in here. “Laura?”
I hear footsteps and they stop right outside my door. I begin to panic and quickly get dressed. My heart is beating so fucking fast and I start to sweat. When I’m dressed, I take a deep breath and yank the door open. Nobody is there, but I don’t wait around and literally run out of the changing rooms.
“You ok?” Baby asks when I run into him.
“Yeah, just didn’t like the dress.” I lie. I don’t want to sound like I’m pathetic so I decide to keep my mouth shut.
We decide to finish our trip with some coffee, so after we drop our bags off at the car we go to the nearest coffee shop. I still can’t shake my terror from the changing rooms, but nobody was there and it must have been my imagination. This is the first time I’ve been out since arriving back in the UK.
“So Lauren,” Laura begins when we’re all sat at a table. “How long have you and Brandon been seeing each other?”
Her question catches me off guard and I almost choke on my coffee.
“Jesus.” Baby mumbles.
“Erm,” I stutter. “We aren’t.”
At that, all three look shocked.
“We’ll see.” Devlin smirks.
I decide that I need to escape this awkward conversation and head to the toilet.
Devlin immediately stands but I wave him off. “I’m going to pee, you can stay here.”
“Nope,” Devlin shakes his head. “I’m coming with.”
I must add, I do like him right beside me. He takes away my weird feeling of being watched. As soon as my ass touches the toilet seat, I hear Devlin shout from the corridor.
“You ok, Lauren?” Bless his heart.
“Yes, just weeing!” I shout back laughing.
Just as I finish and flush the toilet there’s a loud bang from somewhere.
“Devlin?” I shout.
“Yeah? You ok?” I hear him from the other side of the door.
I open my toilet door and begin to wash my hands. “Yeah, be right there!”
As soon as I speak the words, I hear another loud bang from behind me and look up to see what it is through the mirror’s reflection. From a toilet cubicle, I see Strike walk out like he belongs here. I don’t have a chance to react and his hand comes over my mouth before I can even scream. From behind his back he pulls out a gun and I try to struggle against him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you.” He quietly laughs and presses the gun to my temple. “You wouldn’t want me to finish you off right here would you? Your friend from outside would run in and I’d kill him too, do you want that, bitch?”
I shake my head, hoping to god he’s not going to take me away with him. Or worse.
“Well, it’s nice to finally find you, Raven.” He pets my hair like I’m a fucking dog.
I keep thinking I should make a noise to get Devlin in here, but I’m afraid he will get hurt. I don’t want anyone to get hurt but I just told him I will be right out, soon he’s going to be wondering where I am.
“Did you buy the black dress?” He asks. “I thought you looked better without the clothes.”
All of a sudden he rips away my thin blouse and I make a loud gasp.
“Lauren?” I hear Devlin shout.
Strike points to the door and nods. Giving me permission to answer Dev, but then he holds his gun to my face making his threat very clear.
“Yeah, one sec!” I reply, never taking my eyes from Strike.
I really wished that I would’ve never seen his face again.
“What do you want?” I ask him in a whisper.
“Isn’t that obvious?” He spreads his arms. “I want you back where you belong, my little bitch.”
“No.” I back away and Strike holds up his gun, level with my forehead.
“Careful.” He warns and makes me jump when he lunges for me. I fall to the floor with him on top of me, trying to get my jeans undone. “Get them legs open bitch.”
“No!” I scream.
“Lauren?” Devlin shouts, pounding through the door.
As soon as he sees Strike, he swings a punch that hits him with enough power to land Strike on the floor. Devlin looks down at me, crouching down and helping me up.
“Shit, are you ok?” He asks.
“Yeah,” I answer but when I look down to the floor, Strike is no longer there. “Dev?”
Devlin looks around, trying to find where Strike could be. “Fuck!”
Finally away from Strike and safe, I break down and Devlin is right at my side. He gets out his phone as he tries to calm me.
“Baby, get mum in the car and wait for us.” He listens to what Baby has to say. “Do it now!”
As soon as he hangs up, he dials another number and within seconds I discover its Brandon. He lets him know what’s happened, and I hear him shouting down the phone. Shit he sounds furious.
“No, I can’t see him. Baby is getting mum into the car and looking out at the same time.” He listens to Brandon calmly. “Yeah, I’ll wait.”
Devlin hangs up the phone, and then quietly walks me out and towards the car. Baby leans against the car but quickly runs over to us when he spots us. As soon as he reaches us, he sweeps me in his arms.
“Fuck, babe.” He grumbles. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.”
“Brandon said for you to drive mum and Lauren back, I need to wait here for him.” Devlin adds.
“Sure thing.” Baby ushers me into the car and Laura holds me all of the drive back while I continue to cry. I’m not hysterical, but I’m emotional and why shouldn’t I be? I thought The Devil’s were gone, I thought they were in America! I’ve tried to put them behind me and I was making great progress but now I’m scared that seeing Strike will send me back to the beginning.
Chapter 46
By the time we make it back to the clubhouse, I’m still shaken up. June runs towards the car with Drew, Elise and Natasha quickly following behind.
“Oh my god, are you ok?” June asks.
“Come here, honey.” Drew fusses.
I look to Elise and Natasha, they don’t say a thing. They hold me and guide me inside as I clutch my top tight so everyone doesn’t see my bra. I look around, trying to see if I can see Strike or Demon lurking about.
They take me straight to the room that I share with Natasha and I’m glad because I don’t want everyone staring. Not that there’s many people here, it seems pretty empty.
“Where is everyone?” I ask them.
“As soon as they heard, most of them got on their bikes and left, but some stayed behind just in case.” Drew lets me know.
Once we get into the bedroom, I sit down on the bed and Elise grabs me a new shirt that I gratefully put on. They fuss over me, trying to calm me but as horrible as it sounds, nothing they do will help because the person I need the most isn’t here. I’ve become very close to Brandon in our time together and I need him, but he’s trying to find Strike and that scares me. I know how dangerous those men can be and the thought of them near Brandon doesn’t sit well with me. However, The King’s did manage to trample all over The Devil’s club house and do some serious damage.
Hours later I hear a loud bang and we all freeze, fearing the worst, but when I hear Brandon’s voice I instantly calm.
“Lauren?” He shouts. “Where is she?”
I jump up from the bed and run out of my room, speeding down the hall and into the main club room. At the same time he barges through the door and spots me, running over to me and capturing me in his arms. As soon as I feel his body, absorb his body heat and hear his voice whispering into my ear, I finally relax and my emotions crash. My body shakes as tears stream down my face and Brandon squeezes me tight.
I didn’t realize he was carrying me away until he places my feet down on the floor and I notice we’re alone in his room.
“Fuck babe, I’ve never been so fucking scared!” He admits to me.
“He had a gun, Brandon.” I sob. “He held it to my head.”
Brandon’s arms tighten around me and I hear his heart beating loudly against his chest.
“I said I’d keep you safe.” He roars.
“This isn’t on you.” I look up at him. “Don’t blame yourself.”
“I blame my brothers.” He admits with fury.
“No!” I shout. “They helped me, if it wasn’t for Devlin I would have been raped on that floor.”
“What?” Brandon holds me back, looking me over.
“It’s true.” I nod. “I didn’t shout at them because Strike had a gun. I didn’t want anyone hurt but when he pushed me down to the floor and tried to strip me, Devlin ran in and saved me.”
“Fuck.” Brandon sighs.
I look at him in question and he shakes his head, silently asking me to leave it. I sink into him again, needing to feel him all over me.
We don’t get much time alone when there’s a knock on his door. Franky stands looking guilty for interrupting us and I spot Devlin standing behind him supporting a bloody and already bruised face. I stare wide eyed at Devlin and then back to Brandon. Now I understand why he didn’t want me to ask questions.
I quickly barge past Franky to Devlin and reach for his face. He grimaces a little but holds his ground. “I’m so sorry.” I whisper.
“It’s not on you.” He replies.
I glare back at Brandon, but when I see the guilt written all over his face, I forgive him right away. He was scared and wanted to put his anger somewhere. Unfortunately, that was Devlin’s face.
“Lauren, can we talk?” Franky asks.
“Sure.” I smile and follow him to his office.
There’s quite a few members already here and I feel exposed. Brandon places a reassuring hand on my lower back and guides me to the very same leather sofa I sat on when I first arrived here.
“Ok Lauren,” Franky begins after closing his office door behind him. “Is it ok to ask what happened?”
“Yeah,” I shakily reply.
Franky sits beside me, on the opposite side. “We just need the facts, to understand how he found you and where he might have gone.”
I don’t understand how my day’s details will help, but I tell him everything from my day of shopping, including the noise I heard in the changing room and when Spike found me. I tell him exactly what Spike had said to me and what he did, not leaving out when Devlin saved me and I look over to him appreciatively. He also gets a couple of well-done back slaps from Kings’ members who stand near him.
Franky nods when I’ve finished, thinking over what I’ve said. “Thanks, Lauren.” He smiles.
Brandon takes my hand and leads me out of the room. I feel a little awkward because the room is deadly quiet as we walk out but I’m thankful to be alone. He takes me back to my room where the girls are waiting for me and kisses me gently.
“You did amazing, I’ve got to head back but I’ll be back soon.” When I give him my answering nod, he leaves me to join his dad and discuss what I’ve said. I honestly don’t know what they’re going to get from what I’ve told them.
“How did it go?” Natasha asks me.
“As good as I thought.” I sit on my bed, and become very tired.
The girls take the hint and talk amongst themselves while I lie on my bed. The events from today have tired me out and it’s not long until my eyes start to become very heavy. I try to fight them, I want to be awake when Brandon comes back for me, but I just can’t fight my eyes any longer!
I lose the battle and blackness settles over me as I fall to sleep.
***
I dream of kisses on my face and being lifted in the air. Strong arms carry me and I breathe in a familiar scent that I have come to adore. The more I breathe in, the more I become aware that it’s Brandon who is carrying me and I’m not dreaming at all. He lays me down on his bed and then goes to lock the bedroom door. Brandon strips me of my jeans and when he joins me, I find him in just his boxers and I sigh in contentment, falling back to sleep.
Chapter 47
It’s been a week since I bumped into St
rike in the toilets and the only thing I’ve had to put up with is the whore, Dyson. Since Brandon has put more security on us while on lockdown, I’ve seen more of the friendly whore and I’m afraid to report that she hasn’t got any clothes. Sure she has belts for skirts and bra’s as her tops but they’re not clothes. There are kids running around here for Christ’s sake!
I’m trying to eat some dinner with the girls, Laura and June while I shoot daggers at her from across the room. Brandon is ‘talking business’ with his dad and other members of The King’s, but there’s good little Dyson standing to the side and trying to get everyone’s attention.
“Is she even allowed to be that close while they talk?” I sneer.
None of them even look up to see who I’m talking about. Either she’s that bad that they know who I’m talking about or I’m being a little pathetic. I’m going to go with the first.
“No, but for some reason she’s always getting away with more shit.” Drew grumbles.
I look over at her, she doesn’t sound like her usual self. She places her fork into her mouth, chewing on her dinner when I see the new addition on her arm. I stare wide eyed and when Drew looks to me I point to the black lines on her skin and she quickly rolls down her sleeve and looks at her mum to see if she saw anything. I’m guessing mother Laura doesn’t like tattoos then, which is funny because her sons are covered in them.
“It’s probably because they feel sorry for her.” Laura adds.
“Why?” I ask.
“Her old man was a member, a pretty good one too, but he died on a run a couple of years back. Not that she cared. She was a whore before he made her his old lady and she didn’t stop whoring while they were together.” June replies with anger.
“She wasn’t even sad when he died, just carried on fucking men like she always does.” Elise frowns over at Dyson as she tries to get Brandon’s attention. “I can’t stand her.”
“So she takes their pity for granted?” I ask.
“Yep,” Laura answers.
I watch Brandon try his best to ignore Dyson as she wiggles her ass on him and tries to touch him. When her hand lands on his face I see red. I like to scratch his stubble, that’s mine!