by S. Nelson
14
“Hi.”
His voice roused me, pushing away the remaining dredges of sleep. As I pried my lids open, I saw Lincoln standing directly beside me, dressed in jeans but nothing else. For some reason, I glanced down at his feet and saw he was barefoot, the sight comforting. Then my eyes roamed back up the length of him, noticing a few scattered water droplets dripping down his finely sculpted bare chest. The muscles of his arms flexed when he raked his hand through his damp hair. He had a tattoo on his upper right arm I’d caught sight of briefly during his fights, but I didn’t know what it was until right then. If I wasn’t mistaken, the image, which was a skull with flames shooting out from both sides and a large sword slicing through the middle of it, was the same as it was on the back of his friends’ vests, leading me to believe it was their club’s emblem.
I must’ve been dead to the world because I never heard him come in or run the water in the adjacent room. Shifting on the bed, I sat up, dropping the covers only when I peeked underneath to make sure my shirt covered me enough to remain decent. Although, I’d exposed myself to him last night, so it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me naked.
“Hi,” I answered, finally finding my voice. We stared at each other for several moments, a twinge of awkwardness and nerves mixing to form some kind of other emotion I couldn’t identify. While I didn’t feel like I was in danger in Lincoln’s presence, I remained guarded, and unfortunately… ready for shit to go south.
“How did you sleep?” He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at me in a way that made my heart speed up. Without realizing, my muscles tensed, and the air I’d drawn into my lungs was released in choppy spurts.
“Better than I thought I would.” I tossed and turned for quite a while last night before drifting into a dream I could only now recall bits and pieces of.
“Good.” He shifted his feet. “Good,” he repeated. “I’ll let you get to it, then.”
“Get to what?” The expectation of his answer frightened me.
He gave me a half-hearted shrug. “Whatever you wanna do. I found an extra toothbrush in one of the other rooms. I left it on the sink in there,” he said, pointing toward the bathroom. “And there’s plenty of hot water left if you wanna jump in and wash off. After that….” Lincoln’s shoulder bounced once more before his phone vibrated on top of the dresser, flopping around and making noise.
He swiped the screen and held the device to his ear, turning away from me and mumbling something I couldn’t make out.
While he was busy talking to whomever, I looked around for a clock because I had no idea what time of the morning it was.
“I’m here,” he said loudly, disappearing into the bathroom, but he wasn’t gone long. After a few obscenities, he reemerged, this time with a shirt on and his boots in his hands. He sat at the edge of the bed, but before he pulled them on, he rose up and reached into the dresser for a pair of socks. From the angle of his body, his jeans formed around his ass like perfection. I shouldn’t be looking at him like that because I sure as hell didn’t want to see it. If I never saw another naked man again for the rest of my life, it’d be too soon. But still, there was something innocent in my appreciation of him, a hint of an image I’d keep tucked away in the deepest parts of my brain.
When he finished, Lincoln stood up, craning his neck from side to side before pulling his arms behind his back in a stretch.
“I won’t be long.” His teeth toyed with the corner of his bottom lip, and my eyes fixated on his mouth because of the action. “Maddie.”
I tore my gaze from his mouth. “What?”
“I need you to stay in this room until I get back. Okay?”
I nodded.
“I’ll be back in no time.” He walked toward the door and reached for the handle.
“What time is it?”
“Seven forty,” he answered without looking at me. When he pulled on the handle and I saw the hallway, I asked him another question before he left.
“Where did you sleep last night?”
Lincoln pointed toward the other side of the bed. “Over there, on the ground.” He didn’t say anything else before he walked out, closing the door behind him. I meant to ask him how his head was but never got the opportunity.
I crawled over to the other side of the bed and looked down, and sure enough, there was a pillow and crumpled blanket on the floor.
Any reservation I held toward Lincoln disappeared with the knowledge that we’d slept in the same room, and he never touched me.
He’d kept his word.
Maybe I was safe, after all.
15
The energy in the room crackled as soon as I entered, but the only thing I could focus on was watching my ol’ man hop out of his chair and rush toward me. I had no time to brace for impact before he shoved me against the wall, briefly glancing at the small bandage on the side of my head.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he shouted, pulling me forward only to slam me back into the wall. “How many times do we have to tell you not to get involved? How many? Huh? Then I come to find out you almost got killed? Jesus Christ, Lincoln!” If I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I heard a level of fearfulness and panic beneath his fury.
I didn’t dare play stupid. “It all happened so fast, and before I knew it, she was shoved at me. So I took her with us.” The words flew out of my mouth, eager for him to release me so we could talk about this issue with the rest of the club.
“What bullshit is that? They didn’t simply hand her over.” He lessened his grip but continued to pin me against the wall.
“They did. Well, one of ’em did. Their prospect.”
“He just gave her to you?” His brows pinched together while the corner of his mouth curved upward.
“Yeah. But… I don’t think the rest of ’em knew he did it.”
“You took her. That’s what you’re saying. You went against what you were told, and you took what didn’t belong to you.”
“She’s a person, ya know,” I said, lowering my eyes from his when he grunted at me. The rare occasion happened when I feared my dad, and right now was one of them.
“She’s nobody to us, which means she’s nobody to you.” He finally let me go and stepped back. “You figure this out and do it fast.”
His demand was as clear as mud. How the hell was I gonna figure anything out when I didn’t know what to do going forward.
I retrieved some of my courage, although not much since he was still too close.
“I can’t take her back to them. They raped her. Repeatedly. They might even kill her if they get their hands on her again.”
My ol’ man glared at me before he returned to his seat. “Not our problem,” he answered, pounding his fist on the table before leaning over to whisper something to Marek.
Prez’s eyes were on me the entire time, and when our VP leaned back, Marek opened his mouth.
“Where is she?”
“Back in one of the bedrooms.”
“Here?” Trigger asked, his voice rising a notch in disbelief.
“I didn’t have anywhere else to take her that was safe. I couldn’t very well bring her home.” I walked to my seat, looking from one guy to the next. I knew where Marek and my dad stood on my interfering and trying to save Maddie. There was no doubt what Hawke and Jagger thought either. Looking to Ryder, then Tripp, all they did was shake their head in disappointment. Cutter was silent and expressionless, as usual, but I could put him in the same category with the rest of them as being pissed I’d gone against what Marek had told me.
While I thought there was a possibility Ace, Brick, and Kaden were like-minded with me, I wasn’t about to ask them in front of everyone else.
It seemed I had to go this alone.
“Have we found anything else out about the fire?” Marek asked, looking around the room, obviously done with the issue with Maddie. For now, it seemed.
“Not yet,” Ryder answered.
“I
haven’t heard anything either,” Tripp added. “We’ll keep at it, though, Prez.” He jerked his chin toward our leader before looking down the table at me. “Heard you had a little scuffle with my brother last night. Even managed to draw blood.”
“Lucky punch,” Hawke muttered, gliding his finger over the affected area, which looked a bit puffy in the light of day.
A snarky comment rested in my throat, but I thought better of voicing it since I was in enough shit as it was. I didn’t need to push the envelope.
Brick, however, did it for me. “You’re lucky I wasn’t the one who decked ya.”
Normally, such a statement could be taken somewhat offensively, indicating my hit wasn’t strong enough, even though I managed to cut his lip with my knuckles. But it was Brick. The guy was enormous and had knocked out people with a single punch. I’d seen it with my own eyes a few times when he had to break up fights at Indulge, where he worked as a bouncer before becoming a member of our club. Most people got out of his way when they saw him coming. It was the exact reason Marek had made him the club’s enforcer. Normally, the person who held that title made sure the club laws and rules were followed by everyone, but Ryder, our sergeant-at-arms, mostly took care of that stuff. Brick upheld the part of the position that required his brute strength, which was coming into play more often recently.
“Yeah, I’m kinda thankful you didn’t.”
“I would’ve paid to see that.” Tripp laughed.
“Fuck you,” Hawke said, smiling right along with his brother.
I couldn’t say if the nomad’s demeanor was surprising since I didn’t know him all that well. I’d heard tales from Tripp about antics his younger brother had gotten up to over the years, though, and while he’d mentioned that Hawke was typically a laid-back kind of guy, joking around and even putting his foot in his mouth more times than not, I hadn’t seen any of those sides to him… until right now. Here was a hint of the guy I’d heard about. I’d try not to judge him too harshly going forward, but if he said more derogatory shit about Maddie, I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t have a go at him again.
I didn’t want to bring up a topic that was sure to divide a few of us, but I had to know what was happening with Tag. I opened my mouth to ask the question but didn’t have a chance to give my words life before Kaden made the inquiry.
“Any news about Tag?” His stare was on his ol’ man. For a moment, I thought Marek was gonna brush over or ignore the question, but instead, he appeared annoyed Kaden brought it up.
“Yeah.”
A wash of silence descended over the room, an uneasy tension vibrating around each of us. Marek had given one-word answers to questions before, but this subject warranted more. But I sure as hell wasn’t gonna be the one to ask him to elaborate.
“So, are we good, then?” Cutter asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back, the creak of his leather cut against the chair chilling.
“Yeah,” Marek repeated, flicking his eyes downward before they found his son, his expression flat while he waited to see what Kaden would say. I was in the same boat as my friend. I wanted to know as much as he did what was gonna happen with Tag. Was he really a Reaper? Or was he the guy we thought he was, and just the product of a sick and twisted man, having no other ties to our enemy otherwise?
Kaden’s hands were on top of the table, and the moment Marek uttered his response to Cutter, his fingers curled into the palm of his hand.
“What does that mean?” Kaden asked, his question coming out harsh and impatient. “What did you find out about him?”
“We’ll deal with it,” our VP answered, leaning forward and glaring at Kaden. There was so much hostility directed toward him, even I felt uncomfortable.
Kaden turned his attention away from my ol’ man and back to Marek. “I think I have a right to know what’s gonna happen, what the truth is about Tag.”
“You have the right to know?” Marek asked, his brows shooting upward. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely surprised by Kaden’s words or pissed off because of them.
“Yeah, as part of this club, I, like everyone else, have a right to know what’s gonna be done,” he replied, the coloring in his fist paling the longer Marek chose to keep him, and us, in the dark.
“I’d like to know if the guy is really a Reaper,” Brick added, shrugging like it was no big deal either way.
“Me too,” Hawke sneered, his attitude back in full force now.
“In due time you’ll all be brought up to speed,” Marek said, staring at each of us like we were bothering him.
“You just told Cutter—”
“I said… In. Due. Time.” Prez looked pissed, yet again, but it wasn’t like his frown ever disappeared for too long.
Kaden vibrated with anger, but he didn’t speak again, drawing his fist into his lap and pushing away from the table. Marek hadn’t used the gavel to release any of us, so Kaden stayed seated.
“Back to the biggest issue we have right now,” our leader grumbled, his eyes landing on me. I took a deep breath and swallowed nervously. My ol’ man was a force to be reckoned with sometimes, but right then, I didn’t like the way Marek looked at me. “Go get that girl.”
“What?” I heard him but needed him to say it again.
“Go get her,” he repeated.
“Bring her in here?” There was a firm rule that no women were allowed inside Chambers, although I believed there were a couple of times when an exception had been made.
“Of course not. Bring her out to the common area.” Marek didn’t even ask if anyone had anything else to discuss before he slammed the wooden hammer down.
“Just don’t marry her, Linc,” Tripp said, a tilt of a smile ghosting across his face.
“Why would I marry her? I don’t even know her.”
“That doesn’t mean anything in this club.” Ryder laughed, he and several of the older guys all looking toward Marek.
“Shut the fuck up,” Prez growled before rising from his seat. Then he smirked. “I don’t regret it for a second.” I wanted to ask him what he meant, but Kaden flanked me on my right.
“This is bullshit.” He was pissed, and I couldn’t blame him. Everything that happened with Tag was beyond our comprehension. Not only was it confusing, but we’d been rocked off-balance the moment we saw him tied to that table, then having to witness what Cutter did to the guy was outside of what we were used to dealing with.
“I know, man. But what are we gonna do?” I genuinely wanted to know because I was at a loss.
“Dunno.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw several times before dropping his arm to his side. “You better go get her before anything else goes down.” He brushed past me out of Chambers and walked toward some of the others who were at the bar. It wasn’t even nine in the morning, yet Trigger handed several of the men a beer.
I caught up to Ace as he took a seat in the corner. “Where’d you go last night after everything went down?” I expected him to come back here, but he didn’t show up until this morning.
“I rode around for a bit to clear my head, then stopped at Chelsea’s.”
“And she let you in?” I asked, remembering their massive fight.
“Only after I sweet-talked her.” He smirked but deadpanned quickly, taking a sip of his drink.
I tapped the top of the bar before walking away, apprehension coating my skin as I walked down the hallway. Every step I took closer, heightened my nerves, the beat of my heart picking up its pace at the thought I had to pull her out of the security of the room and into the lion’s den. While the guys weren’t going to touch her, there was a possibility a few of them wouldn’t be their most polite selves. Not that most of them would normally win an award for etiquette.
I rapped my knuckles against the door, counting to three in case she wasn’t decent. The memory of her standing in front of me naked last night elicited anger I’d never felt before. Not only from the sight of the fresh bruises scattered among the healing ones,
but that she’d been treated so badly, she felt like she had to give me her body in exchange for taking her away from those monsters. Deciding it best to hide my emotions, I kept my expression flat, or at least I hoped I had. Frightening her even more than she probably already was could only do further damage.
I turned the handle and slowly opened the door before peering inside. Maddie stood in the middle of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, bent over the sink spitting out the toothpaste she used to brush her teeth. She appeared to be lost in her own world because she never noticed when I entered the room. It wasn’t until I was directly outside the bathroom, did she turn her head and look at me, letting out a small shriek once she saw me.
“I knocked. I guess you didn’t hear me.” I rested my arms against the doorframe.
“I didn’t.” She tightened the towel around her chest, her eyes taking on a panicked look. “I… I fell back asleep for a few minutes. I only just now took a shower. I’m sorry.” She backed further into the bathroom even though I hadn’t moved at all.
“That’s fine. No problem.” My words came out slower than usual, my tone soft, much like one would talk to a frightened animal who was about to bolt.
Her breaths evened out while she watched me. I must’ve looked a certain way because she frowned. “Is everything okay?” she asked tentatively.
“Yeah.” My cheeks puffed out before I released the air from my lungs. “Uh… I gotta… bring you out there.”
She grabbed onto the edge of the sink. “Out where?”
“Out there,” I answered, pointing toward the door. “To the common area.”
“Why?” Her voice trembled and I wanted nothing more than to give her a hug, to assure her that nothin’ was gonna happen to her.
“The president of our club asked me to.”
“Will he… will he force me to have sex?” A tear coursed down her cheek. My heart broke right then, and if it was the last thing I did, I’d make those fuckers pay for what they did to her.