They opted for the walk and sight-seeing. The day had been extraordinarily rich and Laura needed something simple. The weather had been warm for a fall day, but as the day aged, it grew cooler. The Inner Harbor took on a sameness. Will and Laura were reading each other's minds.
He turned to her. "You see one you seen 'em all, huh?"
"It is lovely and I'm glad I came," she offered feebly.
"Okay, let's blow this popsicle stand."
They hopped on Will's bike and he took them to a place called Carl's Little House. It looked kind of rough, a little scary, but the danger excited her. Will knew exactly how to change things up. Laura's grip on his hand tightened as they progressed inward.
He looked at her and winked. "Do you know how hot you are?" he murmured into her hair. "All eyes are on you right now." His hand covertly roamed over her bottom, sinking dangerously to the base of its cleft. Blindly, he found her center and gave it a press through the fabric. Laura stopped so they could softly collide. All of his body touched with the back of her body. His groin met her backside and his face fit easily alongside hers so they were cheek to cheek, their lips so near one another.
"This is going to be quick. One drink and then I'm going to get double my money's worth on that room."
"We still have it, don't we?" Laura remarked. She hadn't given him an answer yet on staying over.
"The Lord Baltimore Hotel doesn't rent by the hour. Check out is tomorrow, whether we go back or not," he said devilishly.
"I should check in with Lucas," she said open endedly.
"I don't wanna push, but are you thinking you might like to spend the night?" he asked.
"Yes," she said with some reservation. Her younger brother was certainly old enough to endure a night without her, but it was different if he was having a sleepover versus her. There were a few pangs of guilt with her decision.
"I promise if you feel like you need to go home, I'll take you any time," he promised.
Laura covered his hand with hers. "Thank you for understanding," she said.
"Laura," he looked at her intently, "you are worth it." Will winked at her and it gave her shivers.
It just so happened a couple other Knights’ Disciples Motorcycle club members were at the bar, which Laura discovered was a popular biker watering hole.
They came up and said hello to Will and Will introduced Laura. "Laura, Mike Mojo O'Brien and Kevin Hoisington. A couple of good guys," he said. "Laura Mills."
Kevin and Mike shook her hand. "You're the Laura having trouble with the Members of Park Heights gang. Or your brother?" asked Mike.
"Thanks to you all, we are safe," she said.
"Yeah Knights’ Disciples are more lovers than fighters, but we hold our own in both areas," said Kevin. He and Mike clinked their beer bottles.
"Skoll," toasted Mike.
"Buy your drinks, Captain?" Kevin asked Will.
"Why not," Will agreed. "Laura, you a bourbon drinker?"
"I guess," she smiled sheepishly. "Why not," she said rhetorically.
"Bar keep, a coupla Makers Mark, neat," ordered Will.
As the bartender set the drinks down two shadowy, less friendly men crowded the Knights’ Disciples and Laura. "This bar is for bikers, not for milquetoasts. You boys don't belong here," said one.
"Does your mommy know you're drinking there, Shriner?" asked the other.
Will grinned wide. "Careful, you're outnumbered."
"You're a big man with your crew," said the second.
"I wasn't talking about them; I was talking about me." He stood up and nailed them both with hits so fast Laura hardly saw them. It was over as fast as it began.
The first man rubbed his face where Will's fist made contact. "Word is a bad gang is after this woman," he said with a wicked laugh. "And that she's your bitch. You just made her very vulnerable."
Laura could feel the instant shift in Will's demeanor. It was like a lightning strike that charged the room. Before he was playing; now he was furious. He charged his mouthy opponent, wailing on him. "You making threats? You wanna say something else?" he bellowed and savagely charged the down man.
Kevin and Mike, Will's men, had to pull Will off of the man. All three Knights’ Disciples and Laura were kicked out of Carl's Little House. It wasn’t the first fight that broke out there, but it was understood that the bar was neutral ground. Even though bikers from sometimes rival clubs bent elbows there, they had to shelve their differences while on site. The stranger bikers and the Knights’ Disciples broke that rule. Will, Kevin, and Mike were merely suspended, but the other bikers had been warned before. They were 86’ed for life and were none too happy. Leaving the bar became interesting.
Will and the other club members and Laura left as a group, mounted their bikes together and rode together for safety until they thought they were clear of their opponents. Will instructed the others to meet him at the Lord Baltimore Hotel for a quick meeting. Laura was silent. She rode on the back of his bike with so many things swimming through her head. Of course if challenged, Will should be fierce. And she was glad of it because the rival bikers looked like rabid wolves, but there was a side to him that sort of made her blood run cold and she realized that she had strong feelings for a man she really didn’t know. And she left her kid brother in the care of people whom, for all intents and purposes, she didn’t know.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Once they got back to the hotel, Laura excused herself as the guys met over more drinks. She made use of the moment alone to connect to Lucas. It was strange that, for an entire day, it wasn’t just the two of them as it had been for so many years. It was later in the evening than she thought. He picked up on the first ring.
“Hi there,” she said awfully glad to hear him. “How are you?”
“Fine,” he said monotonously.
She realized that Lucas was behaving in a classic teenage way but it wasn’t a classic Lucas way. She wished things between them could be the way they were before that morning when the M.O.P.H. gang was chasing him into the house. They had started to improve and get back to normal when the fight happened at the volunteer center.
“I’ve been away today. I didn’t go to work,” she told him.
“I realize that. Darren told me. You’re hanging out with Will,” he said without any emotion whatsoever.
“Are you okay with that? Would you like for me to come home? We could hang out.”
“Whatever,” he replied. “Don’t make me responsible for the decisions you make when it concerns him.” He was obviously still upset about the events of the night before. He definitely didn’t like Will judging from the way he referred to him.
“How did it go last night? I understand you got all the work done.”
“Are you really making light of this? Your boyfriend is a slave driver. And tell him if he ever hits me again, I will find a way to pay him back.”
“He hit you?” gasped Laura. There was a long silence.
“Well no,” he admitted but the way he said it didn’t really convince her. Now she was unsure. “He came close a couple of times. I want to go back to our house and live our life. You can get your groove on all you want, but, last time I checked, the both of us inherited that house. I am not letting some biker dude kick me out.”
“Lucas,” Laura pleaded.
“Later,” he said.
“Lucas if you’re upset, I went on a date,” she began.
“No,” he replied. “I’m sorry if that’s what it sounded like. I am exhausted. I worked my ass off last night.”
Laura had to adjust to her kid brother cursing. “I am sure you did. That was a lot of work to accomplish in such a short period of time, but you should be proud of yourself you did it,” she said.
“I should be glad I kicked that guy’s ass,” he said. “I got to put the mixed martial arts stuff to good use.”
Laura sat up straight. “You mean all the stuff the Knights’ Disciples have been teaching you? You used th
at against that boy last night? Is that how it happened? You learned some stuff and then you set him up to send a message to the gang that Lucas Mills can take care of himself?”
“Bingo,” he replied.
“Lucas,” she scolded.
“You don’t have to live with the reputation of being a wuss, Laura. That’s death where a gang’s concerned.”
“You’re not member of a gang. You’re a member of the Knights’ Disciples or going to be,” she said.
“Look, I said I’m sorry for my attitude. I am about to hit the sack and get some sleep. Have a good time on your date. I am fine,” he said and he hung up the phone.
Laura did not have a good feeling. She too was burnt out. It was a great day, but they did so much in a short period of time on not the best sleep in the world. She was thinking she would go home after all. Maybe she would ask Will if they could go back to their old place. She was thinking they could have some of the club members camp there until they could sort things out. As beautiful as their suite was – and it was practically palatial – Laura just wanted to go home. She went over to an overstuff chair that had its own ottoman, put her feet up, and waited. She had fallen asleep when Will walked in the door. The sleep had been full and she wasn’t quite sure how long she had been out.
“Oh my gosh, what time is it?” she panicked.
He chuckled. “Not late. We just got here about twenty minutes ago. Is my baby exhausted?” he asked.
Suddenly Laura wasn’t sure if she liked him. Things turned for her that quickly. “No,” she said coldly. “It was just a simple question.”
He tilted his head to express his surprise for her tone. “You want to crawl into bed? You tired?” he asked. Laura was silent. She stared at the floor. “You want to go home?”
“I want to go to my house. My car is at your house. I want to go pick up Lucas and I just want to go home.”
Now he was silent. He studied her. “Can I ask what’s going on or do you feel like sharing that with me?” he asked.
“Did you hit Lucas?” she asked in an extremely restrained tone.
“No, I did not hit Lucas.” Will’s voice immediately had an edge. She had offended him. “Why don’t you say in complete thoughts and phrases what it is that is going on instead of inferring something by asking random questions, okay?”
“Boy, you are condescending,” she said.
In a word he chastised her. “Ohhhh.” Silence fell between them.
Any magic that they had felt up until they walked into Carl’s Little House was completely turned. Laura had completely forgotten that she and her brother had been targeted by a ruthless local street gang and Will Shriner was the lifeline to their protection from them. She should probably think twice about alienating him.
“Okay then,” he said in a quiet voice. “Let’s go. Do you have everything you need?”
She had a fleeting urge to talk to him honestly and openly, to tell him that his anger frightened her and made some of the things Lucas said to her seem plausible, but she was so tired and she felt like she had just blown it. She would go home finally, sleep, and start fresh in the morning, which happened to be the weekend so she could have some down time.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Will and Laura checked out of the hotel. When she climbed on the back of his bike she felt like, given the situation, she should just chastely place her hands on his shoulders. He looked over at his shoulder at her before taking hold of her wrists and pulling them forward, and then grabbing the backs of her knees to slide her snug against him.
A warm feeling of security coursed throughout her. She loved the way touching him made her feel. She loved his big giant body. And just now how he made her get next to him even though they had just had words. But she didn’t have the nerve to rest her head on his back to savor him for just a little while longer. They would be at his house in just few short minutes and that would be that.
When they pulled up to Will’s house, Darren and Pete were out in front of the house. Laura sensed Will's concern. "Fellas?" he inquired.
"Lucas told us that you and he were going back to your house?" Pete asked Laura. "Our problem with that is that the guys who have been house-sitting said there was a kind of an incident just before you got here. We were on our way over to check it out. We were just waiting for you."
Laura was quiet. She honestly didn't know what to say. She felt she burned a bridge with Will. "Let's go check it out. Have the police been called?" Will asked.
"Yes they've been called. I am pretty sure they want to talk to Laura," said Pete. "They're investigating a connection between what happened last night and the vandalism."
"And Lucas? He has been here the entire time?" Will asked.
Laura was overly tired so she overreacted but she was offended by his question. "Why wouldn't he be?"
"I have to ask," Will glared at her.
"Yes he has been with us. Physically present in the room with us. We were playing a video game on the big screen," answered Darren.
"Good," said Will stiffly. "Let's go survey the damage."
Laura was so tired. "I want to go check in with Lucas first," she said.
Will put a firm hand on her shoulder to stay her. The touch was more than she could bear. She had gotten so turned around this afternoon and now she couldn't remember why she had been so short with him. She fired a glance him and struggled to hold back the tears.
He was polite but distant. "I want you to stay here with Lucas. We can let the cops talk to you tomorrow. For now, the boys and I will go see how bad it is."
She complied and watch them go. She went down Will's family room and said hello to her brother. "Where's Will? " he asked. Laura began to cry. "What's the matter?" he asked her urgently.
"I think it's all getting to me," Laura tilted her head on her brother's chest. "I am so worried about you. And Will, who has been so good to us, is upset with me - " she choked. "I am so dumb." Laura felt Lucas look away. She lifted her head to see what had his interest. There in door way of the family room was Will, leaning, waiting. Laura burned with embarrassment. She was only glad she hadn't said any more than she had. She might have said something stupid like the thought she loved him. There was a silence that blanketed the room. Laura and Will regarded each other seriously for a moment.
"Are you okay?" he asked her quietly.
Laura shrugged.
"Have you hurt my sister?" Lucas demanded.
"No, Lucas, I haven't," Will answered matter of factly. "We've just over done it today and she's tired. She's fine and we're fine," he answered Lucas but Will was looking at Laura. “We've all had a long day and it seems your buddies didn't take a break. I know you two discussed going back to your place, but it's been vandalized. It isn't safe right now, but if you need a change of scene, we can hook you up, okay?"
"I want to go with you," said Lucas.
"I need someone here to be with your sister," said Will.
"You stay with her," Lucas countered. "That is my home and I am the man of that house. I should be the one to defend it."
"I would really appreciate it if you stayed with me," said Laura softly.
"I should only be a little while," said Will looking at Laura. Neither Laura nor Lucas said anything to him. But it seemed like he was waiting for someone to say something. His eyes shifted from one to the next. "Okay then. Goodbye."
It was good that Laura and Lucas stayed behind and had some time to themselves.
"Do you wanna camp out in the family room here and fall asleep to a family movie like we used to do?" she asked her brother.
He wasn't receptive. He seemed so changed by all that had happened. They talked about it briefly. Lucas passed it off as the stress and the drama and being uprooted. "Plus I have a gazillion more people telling me what to do," he said.
"But you want to join the club. That's part of the process – having people tell you what to do."
"I'm not so sure about that club thing. Tha
t was just an idea," said Lucas.
"You don't want to be a Knights’ Disciples?" Laura asked. "Honestly, I just want this nightmare to be over. I just want you to be happy and safe."
"I want that for both of us," said Lucas but his words lacked emotion. "Would you mind if I take a rain check on the movie?" For a moment his charm returned. "Tomorrow night for sure, 'kay?"
"Sure. I'm going to go to bed, I think. Long day."
"Was it a good day?" he asked quickly. "Do you like Will?"
Disciple: Knights Disciples MC Page 6