Did he say ‘Prez’? As in President? Oh, fuck me. This was far worse than I thought.
The sexy man called Judge lifted his chin in my direction. “You want me to speak in front of your...guest?”
Copper huffed and grunted, “No.” Then, he yanked on my hand and pulled me behind him as he walked up to a woman standing off to the side as if she was waiting for something to do.
“Leigh, this is Kayla, an acquaintance of mine. She’s never been here before and doesn’t know anyone. Can you watch out for her while I deal with this mess?” he asked, though it didn’t sound like much of a question.
She smiled. “Of course. You go do what you need to do. We’ll be fine.”
With that, he was gone, leaving me standing with a stranger in the middle of a biker compound with a recently destroyed clubhouse. Awkward didn’t even begin to cover it.
“What happened to your leg?” Leigh asked.
I jolted at her question, then blinked at her stupidly. “Huh?” I blurted.
She chuckled, “You’re a little jumpy. Guess that’s understandable considering. Anyway, I was asking what happened to your leg. You’ve got a noticeable limp.”
Oh, crap. What should I tell her? The truth wasn’t an option. “Uh, I hurt it while hiking. It’s healing well, but I’ve got an obscene amount of stitches in my calf,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t ask more questions.
“That sounds painful. Follow me. I’ll find somewhere for you to sit and get off of your leg.”
I dutifully followed her to an area with several picnic tables. Most were occupied by other women, but one was blessedly available. We took our seats, marking the beginning of an awkward silence between the two of us. I had no idea what to say to the woman. It was clear she was appointed with babysitting me, though she didn’t seem to mind.
“So, how do you know Copper?” she asked.
“I don’t really know him. He found me when I got hurt and helped me. He let me stay at the cabin for a few days until my leg was well enough for me to get on his motorcycle so he could take me home, which was going to be today, but then all this happened,” I said, waving my hand at the general destruction nearby.
“Oh, so you guys just met?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes, about a week ago.”
Before she could ask another question, the sexy Judge approached the table at a rapid pace. He placed his hand over his chest and said, “Mom! I’ve been looking all over for you. Damn near had a heart attack when I couldn’t find you.”
Leigh was Judge’s mother? She didn’t look old enough to have a son his age.
“Sorry, son. Copper asked me to watch out for his friend Kayla while he dealt with this mess. She has stitches in her leg, so I brought her over here to sit.”
He sighed, “Okay. Let me talk to Copper. I don’t want you here until we know it’s one hundred percent safe.” With that, he turned and disappeared into the mass of people.
“Excuse my son’s manners, or lack thereof. He’s the SAA for the club and goes by Judge, though he’ll always be Jonah to me.”
“Wow, you don’t look old enough to have a son his age,” I blurted.
She smiled brightly. “Thank you. I do believe you’re now my new favorite person.”
I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped me. Something about Leigh put me at ease. She had kind eyes and seemed to have a gentle soul, though I didn’t think for one second she would put up with shit from anyone.
I looked up to find her studying me. “Have you been around any motorcycle clubs before?” I shook my head. “Do you know anything about them?”
“Only what I’ve heard from other people, most of which wasn’t positive.”
“Yeah, there are a lot of clubs out there that are bad news. This club isn’t one of them. These boys make their money legally, and they do what they can to help out in the community,” she told me.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but how would you know? I thought it was a general rule that women weren’t allowed to know the ins and outs of the club.”
She laughed. “I suppose you have a point. For the most part, that’s true, but I was married to a member, my son is a member, my nephew is a member, and my niece, who I raised for eight years, is engaged to a member. Plus, I work for the club.” When my eyes widened, she quickly added, “I do their bookkeeping. Occasionally, I’ll help out with bartending during a party.”
“You said you were married. May I ask what happened?”
“My husband, Jonah’s father, died in a work-related accident almost fifteen years ago. It happened just before my niece came to live with me. If it weren’t for her and Jonah, I don’t know how I would’ve made it through losing him,” she said softly.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” I mumbled.
She patted my hand. “I’m glad you did. Even though I miss him like crazy, it still brightens my day to think about him. He was a good man, and he lived a full and happy life while he was here.”
I was about to comment on how lucky she was to have had a relationship like that when I noticed her attention was focused on something behind me. “Here come the boys,” she uttered.
“Mom,” Judge rumbled from behind me. “I think it would be better for you to go to the hospital or to your house with a prospect. It’s up to you.”
“I’d be happy to go to the hospital, but I don’t think there’s much for me to do right now, other than be in the way. How about I go home for a few hours and then I’ll head to the hospital once everyone’s been seen and treated?”
“Is that okay with you, Prez?” Judge asked Copper.
Copper nodded, “Leigh, can you take Kayla to your house with you?”
I straightened in my seat, and Copper focused his eyes on me. “Before you start, Judge is right, it’s safer for you to be somewhere else until we get to the bottom of this. Leigh doesn’t live too far from here, and I’ll come get you before I go to the hospital to see about my brother and the other club members.”
The next thing I knew, Leigh was driving me to her house with a prospect trailing behind us on his motorcycle.
“What exactly is a prospect?” I asked.
“A prospect is someone who wants to be a member of the club. They have a trial period to prove themselves worthy of membership. It’s similar to pledging for a fraternity, but prospecting takes longer and, obviously, is more dangerous,” she explained.
“And they trust the new guy to protect us?”
She laughed, “This particular one has been around for almost a year and should be getting his patch soon. Really, it’s just a formality to make my son feel better. I can shoot as well as, if not better than, most of the club members.”
“What are the chances of something happening to us at your house?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“There’s no reason to be scared. In all the years I’ve been associated with the club, nothing has ever happened at my personal residence. In fact, I think this may be the first time the club has ever been attacked. I can’t say for sure, but I think the attack on the clubhouse was meant to send a message more than it was intended to hurt or kill people. Besides, my son runs a security company. My house is more secure than most government buildings.”
We pulled up to a beautiful two-story house situated on several acres of land. There were similar houses on the street, each with a decent sized plot of land, giving the area a neighborhood feel without the congestion of typical subdivisions.
“Are you hungry or thirsty? I’m about ready for something to eat myself,” Leigh said.
“I could eat,” I hedged. I didn’t want to be a burden, but honestly, I was hungry, and I needed to take my medicine for my leg.
“Have a seat and I’ll make us some lunch.”
We spent the next several hours, eating, talking, and watching television. I don’t know if I was giving off a certain vibe, or if I just got lucky, but she didn’t ask me any overly personal quest
ions. She kept the topics of conversation light and general, and she would never know just how grateful I was for that.
I was contemplating a nap when Leigh’s phone rang. She went into another room to answer it and came back a few minutes later, “Copper wants me to bring you to the hospital.”
Chapter Nine
Copper
It was taking every bit of will power I had to keep myself from exploding. My clubhouse had been attacked. My brother was hurt. Some of my members were hurt. I was already on edge, hence my trip to the cabin. Add Kayla to the mix and I was coiled with a dangerous tension.
After dealing with the local police and answering far too many questions, they finally left the premises. The fire department had been long gone by that point. I didn’t even bother scoping out the damage done to the property. As soon as I was free to leave, I went straight to the hospital.
I found Phoenix and a few of the boys from Croftridge in the Emergency Room waiting room. “How is he?” I asked without preamble.
Phoenix stood and clapped me on the shoulder. “They moved him to a room about an hour ago. I figured you would come to the ER, so that’s where I waited for you.”
When we stepped into the elevators, he asked, “Where’s the girl?”
“Sent her to Leigh’s house while I dealt with this shit,” I grumbled.
“Does Leigh know to keep an eye on her?”
“Yep. Judge filled her in before they left.”
I walked into a hospital room to find my brother resting with his eyes closed. He had some smudges of soot and ash on his face, but otherwise looked okay aside from the bulky bandage covering most of his forearm.
“He’s got a significant concussion, which is why he’s in a room. They want to keep him overnight for observation. He also has second degree burns on his arm, but those can be cared for at home. As long as he does fine overnight, the doctor said he can be discharged in the morning,” Phoenix explained.
“Thanks for coming, man. Any word on the others?” I asked.
“Yeah. Two others are being kept overnight. Everyone else is allowed to go home. I can arrange transportation, just need to know where you want me to take them.”
“Who’s being kept overnight?”
Phoenix chuckled, “I’m sorry, man. It’s not funny, but it is. Two of the club girls.” He cleared his throat and continued, “They were in Bronze’s room. Both have concussions. One has some burns, and one has a broken arm.”
I nodded, “I’ll drop in and check on them a little later. I’m going to stay with Bronze for the time being.”
“Do you want me to take the rest back to the clubhouse? Is that an option?” Phoenix asked.
“Yeah, take them there. Luckily, only a quarter of the place was sectioned off. The rest of the building was cleared for use.”
“All right, I’m going to head back to Croftridge from the clubhouse unless you need me to stay.”
“No, you go on back. I know you want to get back to Annabelle.”
He smiled proudly. “Indeed, I do.”
“How much longer does she have?”
“About six weeks, but twins tend to come early, so it could be any time now.”
“Keep me posted. And thanks again,” I said.
I dropped my ass into a chair in the corner of Bronze’s room and closed my eyes. I just needed a moment to breathe before I continued on with the circus known as my life.
Sighing, I pulled out my phone and called Leigh to have her bring Kayla to the hospital. Before I could put my phone away, it rang in my hand.
“Luke, I didn’t expect to hear from you directly,” I said, forgoing the standard greeting.
“I figured it was best to cut out the middle man since it sounds like both you and Phoenix are busy. Is now a good time?” he asked.
“Now is probably as good as it’s going to get. What’d you find?”
“The picture you sent hit on a Layla East. She’s flagged in the database as wanted for questioning related to a current case. Unfortunately, I can’t give you much more than that, but I can tell you she’s on the victim side of things. We’ve been trying to locate her for months. I don’t know how you found her, but don’t do anything to spook her until I can get there.”
“And when will that be?” I asked.
“I’m hoping in the next day or two. Is she staying with you?” he asked.
“Not sure I want her at the clubhouse…” I trailed off. I had no doubt he was aware of the attack.
“I can understand that. I hate to ask because I know your plate is full, but can you keep up with her until I can get there. I don’t want her turning into a ghost again,” he said.
“I’m not going to make any promises, but I’ll do the best I can,” I said. I couldn’t promise him I would keep up with her until he arrived. With everything going on, the clever woman might be able to get away from me. I hoped she wouldn’t, but that was for an entirely different reason I was not going to examine until later, much, much later.
“Appreciate it. Like I said, she’s on the victim side. I have a feeling she’ll stick around as long as she feels safe. I’ll let you know when I’m in town,” he said and disconnected the call.
Great. I was certain a partially blown up and burned down clubhouse were not on the list of top ten things that would make her feel safe. Maybe she could stay with Leigh until Luke arrived.
“What are you over there sighing and huffing about?” Bronze croaked from the bed.
I was on my feet and beside his bed in a second. “Bronze, you doing okay?”
“Fuck no! I’ve got a headache from this damn concussion, my arm feels like it’s still on fire, and I’ve got one hell of a case of blue balls,” he grumbled.
I laughed. “I can’t help you with that, little brother.”
“How bad is the clubhouse?” he asked.
“Not too bad. Only about a quarter of it will have to be rebuilt. Unfortunately, your room is in that section, but we’ll figure something out.”
“Do we know who was behind it yet?”
“Not yet. Judge didn’t see anything on our surveillance cameras, but he only had time to do a quick scan of the feed. Local law enforcement is going to check the security feeds from a few businesses nearby,” I explained.
“I don’t get it. Why go to the trouble of attacking our clubhouse without letting us know who did it? It doesn’t make any sense,” Bronze said.
“I agree. Don’t worry about it right now. Just focus on getting better. We’ll deal with it when we know more. On a different note, Leigh is bringing a new acquaintance of mine up here soon. I’ll explain more later, but don’t do or say anything to offend or frighten her.”
He gave me an appraising look. “Oh, this promises to be a good story.”
“You have no idea,” I mumbled.
As if on cue, Leigh and the woman I now knew was Layla East walked into the room. And my jaw hit the floor. Layla was wearing a pair of fitted jeans with a tight black t-shirt. The only remarkable thing about her outfit was the way it molded to her body. And it was remarkable. Her long, honey, blonde hair hung in loose curls down her back in stark contrast to the black shirt.
When my eyes landed on her face, I almost choked on my own spit. Leigh had apparently done her makeup, accentuating her big, blue eyes and her plump lips. And holy hell. She looked good.
While I tried to regain some semblance of coherency, Leigh didn’t miss a beat. “You like? We were bored, and I convinced Kayla to let me give her a makeover. I haven’t had a chance to do one since Harper went off to college.”
I cleared my throat and directed my attention to Leigh. “You did a good job.”
Leigh swatted my shoulder, “Don’t tell me, tell her.”
“You look great, Kayla,” I rasped. Why was my mouth suddenly dry? I could have sworn I was on the verge of drooling mere seconds ago.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
Bronze cleared his throat.
“I’m in the freaking hospital. I should be the center of attention,” Bronze cried.
“I swear, you’re all a bunch of overgrown babies whenever you get sick or hurt,” she said. “But I still love you.”
“If that were true, I would have one of your homemade cookies in my hand,” Bronze said.
Leigh reached into her humongous purse and pulled out a paper bag. She held the sack up and examined it. “Hmm, I’m not sure you deserve these.”
“Please, Leigh. You know I didn’t mean anything. I’ve got a head injury. You can’t hold anything that comes out of my mouth against me,” Bronze blabbered.
She held the bag just out of his reach, “Only if you promise to share.”
“With who?”
“Your brother and Kayla.”
“I promise.”
She dropped the bag in his lap, and he dove in like a rabid beast. He looked up with a mouthful of cookie and asked, “You guys want some?”
He was met with a chorus of no’s.
Shaking my head at my brother, I turned to Kayla, “This is my brother, Bronze. Bronze, this is Kayla.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said through his mouthful of cookie.
“Uh, likewise. I hope you get well soon,” she said, stumbling over her words.
Bronze nodded and continued to inhale Leigh’s cookies like he hadn’t had any food in days.
“Leigh, Paige and Heidi are in the rooms on either side of Bronze. Would you mind checking in on them? I haven’t had a chance to do it myself yet.”
Leigh’s nose scrunched, but she politely agreed and left the room.
I grabbed Layla’s hand and pulled her to the corner of the room. “Would you feel comfortable staying at Leigh’s house tonight? I don’t want you to stay at the clubhouse, and I don’t have time to take you anywhere else.”
“Yes, but did you ask her?”
“Not yet, but I know she’ll say yes. She’s always done whatever she could to help whenever someone asked,” I said. Then, an idea popped into my head. “Actually, I might be staying there as well since my room is in the damaged section of the clubhouse.” She didn’t need to know I had my own place away from the club.
Copper (Blackwings MC - Devils Springs Book 1) Page 5