CHAPTER
ONE
Kim
Two
years ago(ish)...
About a week ago my best friend Danielle
called to tell me she’d met her dream man. The same dream man who’d just blown
up girls’ night. Needless to say, I was still trying to decide how I felt about
Danielle’s new guy, Austin ‘Booker’ Carver.
Danielle Carver
had been my best friend for well past ten years. She was the only person on
earth who knew everything about me...and I mean everything. Her family had bailed me out of more situations than I
could count, and never once made me feel less than any of them.
The night
started off great. Dani and I were throwing back margaritas and relaxing until
a couple of Class A douchebags slithered up to our table and refused to leave
us alone. This prompted Booker and his biker buddy Mack to “rescue” us. It
would have been nice if they’d just removed the douchebags and let us get back
to our girl-time, but Booker had to pull the badass card and bust up our night.
Which now left
me seated beside the tall, built, blond piece of deliciousness, Logan ‘Mack’
Powell, in his very well-equipped BMW, on my way home. I didn’t realize bikers
owned anything other than Harleys. Of course, I also didn’t realize they wore
Armani suits (which Mack was certainly rocking), so perhaps my idea of a biker
was incorrect.
I knew
Mack...sort of. He occasionally came into the bar where I worked, to grab a
bite to eat or talk to my boss. I’d never had a conversation with him, just a
smile from afar. He was gorgeous, yes, but totally not my type. Don’t get me
wrong, I was all over tall and built, but I usually preferred my studs
dark-haired.
“How pissed is
Booker?” I asked Mack as we drove.
“He’s more
concerned than pissed,” Mack offered.
“He looked way
more pissed than concerned,” I countered.
“Babe, your girl’s
in good hands with my brother. He won’t hurt her.”
“He better not,”
I said. “She’s fragile.”
“And he’s
protective.”
“What about
you?”
He grinned. “I’m
protective as well.”
“Yeah, I kind of
picked up on that.” I laughed. “But that’s not what I meant.”
“I’m neither
pissed nor concerned.”
“Well, that’s
good to know, I guess.”
We pulled up at
a red light and he asked, “You wanna grab a drink somewhere?”
“I was just
doing that with Dani,” I pointed out. “You and Booker kind of blew that up.”
He nodded. “True,
but I figured since I interrupted your night, we could go somewhere else...a
little more fun than the places we work.”
“As gorgeous as
you are, Mack, I’m thinking the two of us wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Whoa babe,
you’re rushin’ things a bit, huh?”
I snorted out a
chuckle at his joke.
The light turned
green and Mack grinned as we moved ahead. “What I’m suggestin’ has nothin’ to
do with sex.”
“Hmm,” I
murmured as I cocked my head. “You have me intrigued.”
Mack chuckled.
“Trust me, babe, I know how to entertain, even platonically.”
“Yeah? Prove it.”
Within minutes, Mack
pulled up in front of a non-descript building with an old west feel (leading me
to believe he wasn’t planning on taking ‘no’ for an answer). He took my hand
and guided me to the entrance and into...a honky-tonk. I shook my head and
frowned over at him. “You’re joking.”
“Trust me.”
“No way.”
He grinned. “Seriously,
trust me.”
“Ohmigod,” I
groaned. “I hate country.”
He chuckled and greeted
the bouncer who waved us through without collecting the cover. We slipped through
the darkened room and I grasped for his hand, as if it could protect me from the
grating jingle of auto-tuned country music, which was far too loud for my liking. On the dance floor, men in barely-scuffed
cowboy boots and giant pristine hats who’d probably never seen a horse, let
alone ridden one, danced with dressed-to-the nines women, their hair in various
stages of height.
I wrinkled my
nose as Mack pushed open a door marked private, and tugged me into a large
VIP-looking room. A bar sat along the back wall, the outer walls had intimate
booths, some barely big enough for two, others large enough to seat ten, and
there was a dance floor in the middle. No one was dancing. Once the door was
closed behind us, the music from the club ceased to exist and I let out a
breath of relief. I noticed a jukebox over by the bar, and there was music
playing (not as loud as in the main bar), but it was rock. Rock-n-roll I could
handle.
A lot of
seriously gorgeous man meat were in attendance and, most in vests and jeans,
milled around the room. Some were deep in conversation while smoking and
drinking, others were in booths playing poker or making out with the few women who
were there. I smiled at the calmer atmosphere. Now, this was my kind of crew.
“Mack!” a
grating, female voice shrieked.
I cringed
internally as a faker-than-fake blonde woman rushed up to Mack.
“What the hell’s
she doin’ here?” Mack grumbled under his breath.
She threw
herself against him and I tugged my hand from his so I wouldn’t get caught in
the fray.
“Hey, Tiff,” he
said, setting her away from him as quickly as he could. “Meet Kim.”
I hid a smile at
her expression of surprise. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” She
schooled her features and smiled...a bit like a shark.
“Come meet my brothers,”
Mack said, and took my hand again, circumventing Tiff, and headed toward the
tables.
A man with well-worn
cowboy boots met my eyes as we approached and my stomach flip-flopped. God, he
was gorgeous. Tall, really tall.
Probably six-and-a-half feet. Delicious. I was tall, six feet or more,
depending on the heel, but it was hard to find a man who matched my height and
who wasn’t a stick. This gorgeous piece of ass was built perfectly.
His slow smile
indicated I may have stared a little too long, but I didn’t really care as I
smiled back. Mack was cute and all, but this man...he was someone I could have
some real fun with...provided he quit looking into my soul. That was a little
disconcerting.
“Hey, Knight.
Are you to blame for that?” Mack nodded to Tiff.
Knight shook his
head. “No. No one’ll claim her.”
“She’s like a
cockroach.”
“Harsh,” I said
with a frown.
“No, babe, not
harsh enough.”
I couldn’t
imagine what this woman could have possibly done to deserve this kind of
treatment, but in the same breath, if she was regarded so lowly, why the hell
would she hang around?
“Knight,” the
gorgeous man said, reaching out his hand, effectively interrupting my musing.
“Kim,” I
replied, shaking it.
“That’s good
enough.” Mack pulled my hand from Knight’s and I rolled my eyes.
Irritation
crossed Knight’s face, but not for long and the next hour or so was spent
laughing, drinking, and dare I say, dancing (Knight and one other guy, Flea I
think his name was, danced with me, but Mack refused). It was a blast...well, it
was until Mack got a call from Booker and my night was blown up...again.
“Babe, we need
to go,” Mack said, ominously.
I frowned. “What,
why?”
“Got an issue.”
“Everything
okay?” I asked.
“You got a key
to Dani’s place?”
“Um, yes, why?”
“We need to go
and pack her a bag. She’s gonna be staying with Booker for a bit.”
I grabbed his
arm. “What’s going on, Mack?”
“Problem?”
Knight asked from behind me. So close, in fact, if I’d stepped back, I would
have bumped into him.
“Dani’s gonna
stay with Booker for a while,” Mack said (to Knight, not me, jerk).
Knight frowned.
“Shit, seriously?”
“What is going on?” I snapped.
“How about I
take Kim where she needs to go?” Knight offered. “You take Booker’s back.”
“You okay with
that?” Mack asked me.
“Am I okay with
what?”
“Going with
Knight. We just said that,” Mack said, sounding irked.
Now I was
pissed. “Oh, right, sorry. Obviously I didn’t understand the question the first
time because you’re speaking as though I’m not
here!”
Mack gave me a
quirky smile. “Right, so it’s all good.”
“Jackass,” I
hissed under my breath.
“I’ll text you
the info,” Mack said to Knight, clearly ignoring me again, and walked away.
Knight smiled at
me. “Ready?”
I forced myself
not to curse as I followed him out of the club. He opened the passenger door to
a beat up old pickup truck and I slid inside, surprisingly comforted by the
smell of horses. I had competed in several English equestrian events since I
was four, and currently owned an Arabian gelding. My life could only have been
described as tumultuous and horses had been my refuge and, on occasion, my
savior. The smell instantly calmed me as Knight climbed into the driver’s seat
and started the engine.
“Are you going
to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.
“Waitin’ on
Booker or Mack to tell me, sugar.”
“Right,” I
conceded. “I’m surprised you don’t have a bike.”
He smiled. “I
do, but outside of the fact it’s too wet to ride, I had a group class out at a
dairy farm, so needed to bring more than the bike could carry.”
“Group class?”
He nodded, pulling
out of the parking lot. “I’m in vet school.”
“Oh, wow.
Really? That’s cool.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “I
ride horses. I compete with my Arabian.”
“Great horses.”
“Definitely. I’d
never own anything other than an Arabian now. He’s the best.”
“Where am I
taking you?” he asked.
I gave him the
address for Dani’s apartment and we headed toward the freeway.
“You ride
English?” he asked.
I smiled. “How’d
you guess?”
He smiled. “Shot
in the dark.”
“Do you ride?”
“All my life,”
he said.
“Let me guess,
you’re some kind of cowboy.” I nodded toward his feet. “I can tell by your
boots.”
“Nah, although,
I’ve rustled some cattle in my day,” he said. “I ride mostly Western, but I’ve
been known to put a horse through dressage or jumping exercises every now and
then.”
“Really? That
surprises me.”
“It doesn’t
matter what tack you put on a horse, they should all be able to respond to your
commands and move between both disciplines.”
“I guess that’s
true. Although, if you tried to put a Western saddle on my Arabian, he might
kick you.”
Knight laughed. “Sounds
like he’s perfect for you.”
“Because he’s
ornery?”
“Did I say
that?” he asked in mock offense.
I smiled. Tall,
dark, handsome, and funny. I was in
trouble.
Despite my
nervousness from not knowing what was going on, Knight put me at ease and I was
a little calmer when we arrived. He followed me upstairs and into the
apartment, closing the door behind us.
“So, Booker said
I’m supposed to pack her a bag?” I asked. “Any idea why or for how long?”
“No...let me
find out.” He sent off a text, and then we stood in the entryway, waiting. His
phone buzzed. He studied it for a moment before saying, “Booker needs you to
pack enough clothes and shit for a week or so.”
“What’s going
on?” I asked...again.
“Honestly, I
don’t know all of it, but Booker’s trying to keep her safe.”
I studied him.
“If you knew anything, would you tell me?”
He sighed.
“Probably not, sugar.”
Him calling me
sugar sent a thrill up my spine, but I ignored it and crossed my arms. “Well,
since I don’t know you, I’m not handing over a bag of my best friend’s stuff.
So, how about you get on that phone and find out why the hell I’m doing this.”
Knight smiled,
but I could tell he was trying not to. He pulled out his phone and put it to
his ear. “Hey, brother. Kim wants to know why she’s packing a bag for Dani.
Yep, refusing to do it until I fill her in.” He chuckled. “Yeah.” He quickly
sobered. “No shit? Okay. I’ll let her know. ’Bye.”
I bit my lip.
His expression raised my blood pressure slightly.
“Some guy named Steven
has offered her up for some kind of ransom.”
I gasped. “Steven…as
in her ex, Steven?”
Knight shrugged.
“That’s all I know.”
“It has to be. That
fucking, piece of shit!”
“Booker’s
keeping her at his place so he can make sure she’s safe.”
“Well, yeah,
that’s the right answer,” I ground out. “I’ll be quick.”
I couldn’t
believe Dani’s ex had resurfaced. Asshole. I moved through her room, packing
things I knew she’d need, then headed to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of
bottles of her favorite wine. I had a feeling she’d need them.
Knight carried
the stuff down to the truck while I made sure everything in her apartment was
locked up and turned off.
* * *
Knight
Unable to get the gorgeous brunette off
his mind, Knight had bugged Dani for information on her best friend. He knew going
to Booker or Mack would raise questions, and in the end, get him nowhere, so
Dani was his best bet and she didn’t disappoint.
One week after
meeting Kim, Knight walked into her bar. He’d never been there before, but the
call of the pretty and feisty waitress couldn’t be ignored. Damn, she was
gorgeous, not to mention funny as hell, and protective of her friend...all qualities
he felt important. He just wished she wasn’t off-limits. The Dogs code wasn’t
one easily bent or broken and since Mack saw her first, he had to discard her
before Knight would even have a shot. He smiled when he saw her set drinks on a
table by the bar. She might be off-limits in the romantic sense, but a platonic
relationship would work...for now.
She caught his
eye and her smile widened. He gave her a chin lift and headed to an open stool
at the bar.
“What can I get
you, handsome?” someone asked, pulling Knight’s focus from Kim.
He turned his
smile toward the pretty red-headed bartender waiting for his order. “Jack, neat.”
“You got it.”
She grabbed a glass and a bottle of Jack Daniels, giving him a little more than
a pour. “Six bucks,” she said with a wink. He dropped a ten on the bar and she
beamed when he refused change. “Thanks, honey.”
He tipped his
glass toward her and then sipped.
A gentle hand
landed on his back. “Hey, Knight.”
He turned to
face Kim with a smile. “Hey, sugar.”
“What are you
doing here? Is everything okay with Dani?”
“You’d probably
know more than me,” he admitted.
“Oh, good,
’cause I just talked to her.” Kim relaxed. “You scared me a little.”
“Sorry about
that.”
“So, if Dani’s
good, what are you doing here?”
He grinned. “I’m
here, ’cause you’re here.”
“Oh, yeah?” she
said. “Trying to steal me away?”
Knight chuckled.
“From Mack, yeah, from here, no. You’re too good for Blush.”
“FYI, Mack
doesn’t have me, so I can’t be stolen from him, and I personally think the
servers at Blush are really good.”
Their ability to
sling drinks wasn’t really what he was referring to, but she didn’t need to
know that. “I’ll tell Booker you said so.”
“Miss!” someone
called and Kim grimaced.
“I better get
back to work,” she said, but she seemed reluctant to leave him.
“I’m gonna
finish my drink and do the same. I’ll find you when I’m ready to go.”
“Sounds good.”
Kim squeezed his arm and then headed back into the fray.
* * *
Kim
Six
months later...
I smiled at Train as he allowed me
entrance into Blush. Gorgeous,
tatted, but very, very young, Train was a recruit for the Dogs of Fire
Motorcycle Club and I adored him. He was huge (hence his nickname) and gruff
which scared most people, but he looked out for me and I loved him for it. Blush was the most exclusive club in
downtown Portland, owned by the Dogs and run by Mack and Booker.
Ever since
meeting Mack, I’d been inducted into the Dogs family, and Mack had assumed the
role of big brother...annoyingly so. The club might not be outlaw, but they
protected their women like they were (to the point of irritation sometimes), and
that meant he cramped my style far more than I liked. Of course, the bro code
meant I wasn’t free to date anyone within the club unless Mack gave the
specific okay, but I rolled with it. There was only one man I was interested in,
and in some ways, Mack’s off-limits edict worked to protect me from inevitable
heartache should he relax his “protection order.”
Tonight,
however, neither Booker nor Mack were working, so technically I shouldn’t be
here, but I needed a distraction. I’d been dealing with some strange phone
calls of late, along with notes and gifts left on my car at work. I’d asked
Mack and Knight about them (in passing) and neither of them knew anything about
it, so I dropped it, but now the gifts were getting weird and starting to freak
me out. Sexy lingerie, sensual oils and such, and sex toys were left in obvious
places for me to find. It was creepy.
Maybe getting
laid would help me relax and take my mind off things for a bit.
This thought
brought me to Knight and whether or not he’d be here. Now that’s a man who’d be
able to take my mind off everything.
His presence was
a crapshoot, but I knew he’d had some group vet class out in Salem today, so he
probably wouldn’t be back until way late. Fine by me since I wanted to have a
little fun, and if he (and/or Mack or Booker) were working, that would be
greatly squashed. Partly because he was also protective, but mostly because I’d
be distracted with how much I wanted him
in my bed instead of whomever I chose tonight.
Knight was
young, five years younger than me, and we would never work, but damn it if it
wasn’t his face I saw when I came...either with my vibrator or a random cock.
In fact, it had gotten so bad; the only way I could come was to imagine him there. I hadn’t slept with anyone in
months. Every man was compared to Knight and they never measured up. Pathetic.
Tonight that was
going to change, however. At least, I hoped it would.
I pushed my way
through the crowd and slid up to the bar. Cricket was pouring and I grinned as
I climbed onto a stool. The pretty blonde was relatively new to the club...her
brother was a newly patched Dog and they’d just moved from the San Diego
chapter.
“Hey Kim,”
Cricket said, setting a margarita in front of me.
“Hey.” I sipped
my drink and sighed. I loved that I didn’t even need to ask and it was always
perfect. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
I handed her my
credit card to start a tab and took another sip. “Busier than normal, huh?”
“Fuckin’
conference. It’s douchebag central tonight. Watch yourself...wedding rings are
off.”
“Oh, I love cheaters,” I droned sarcastically.
Cricket nodded.
“I’m messin’ with ’em. Don’t tell Mack.”
I giggled.
“Secret’s safe with me.”
Cricket checked
her phone and gave me a sympathetic look. “Speak of the Devil…Mack wants you in
his office.”
“What the hell?”
I choked on a sip. “He’s not supposed to be here.”
“Yeah, there was
an issue, so he had to come in. Sorry, hon.”
“I’ll just sit
here for a bit.”
“Your funeral.” Cricket
smiled and left me to help a group of men at the other end of the bar. She
returned a few minutes later and handed me a bottled water. “Hydrate.”
I giggled.
“Don’t talk to me like you know me.”
She chuckled and
grabbed her phone again. “Second request from Mack.”
“I don’t care.”
“He just sent a
girl home and she looked happy. If she’s happy, he must be happy,” Cricket said.
“Maybe he’ll loosen the reins a bit?”
Mack loved sex
almost as much as I did...however, he slept with far more women than I did men.
There had been moments in the past when I wondered what it would be like to
partake and see if he was as good as his discarded women swore, but sleeping
with Mack would probably screw up my chances of bedding the man I actually
wanted.
“Not likely,” I
grumbled. “He and I apparently need to have another conversation about
boundaries.”
“Good luck with
that.”
“Thanks.” I sipped
my drink as Cricket did her job and I tried to avoid the inevitable.
I was given
enough time to finish my margarita and take two sips of water before Pug shoved
a guy away from me and smiled. Pug’s nickname fit him perfectly because he
looked like a pug. He was bald and tatted pretty much everywhere (that I could
see) and like most dogs, it would probably take a good neutering to get his
aggression issues under control. “Mack wants you.”
“I heard.”
“You gonna come
now?”
I scowled. “No.”
“Babe, don’t fuckin’
do that, yeah?” Pug ground out. “I don’t have time for you asserting your
independence right now.”
“Piss off, Pug.”
“Kim,
seriously.”
I let out a
frustrated groan and slid off my stool. There was no point in arguing, I had no
power here and I’d just drive myself crazy trying to dispute the great and
powerful Mack. I squared my shoulders and headed toward Mack’s office at the
back of the club.
Flea stood
sentry, but smiled as I approached and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Hey,
gorgeous,” he said.
“Hey.”
He didn’t say
anything else as he pushed open the door and let me walk through. I heard the
door close behind me and glanced back, grateful Pug didn’t follow.
As I walked down
the hall, Mack stepped out of his office, crossed his arms, and frowned. “Why
are you here alone, Kimmie?”
“I’m not alone.
You’re here.”
“Fuck me.” He
dropped his head back with a frustrated sigh.
“No thanks,” I
said, brightly.
“Babe, I get
that you’re independent and shit but tonight is the worst fuckin’ night to be
here alone.”
“Why?”
“You’re
seriously asking me that?” he snapped.
I waved my hand
dismissively. “Club business, whatever. Outside of your forced protection of
me, I have no ties to the Club, Mack, so I’m a free agent.”
“That’s total
bullshit.” Mack scowled. “So, I’m gonna ask you again. Why the hell are you here
when you knew I wasn’t scheduled?”
My resolve
crumbled a little, but I needed this! I needed to forget, even if meeting a
random guy in a bar wasn’t the best method. I think I might have chosen Blush because I knew I’d be protected. I
sighed. Now I was psychoanalyzing myself...maybe Dr. Grace’s sessions were
helping.
“Kim—”
“Mack, I love
you. You know I do, but you can’t tell me what I can and cannot do,” I said. “If
someone tried to tell you who you could screw, how would you react?”
“That’s
different.”
I scowled. “Screw
you, Mack.”
He glared at me.
“Kim, you’re fuckin’ out of control, babe.”
“Because I love
sex?” I snapped.
“You don’t love
sex, Kimmie, you just wanna piss me off.”
I threw my arms
up in the air. “Are you serious with this shit? Forget it. I’ll leave.”
“I’ll have
someone walk you to your car.” His smug expression made me want to smack him.
“I took a cab.”
“I’ll have Pug
drive you.”
“Don’t bother,”
I said as I stalked out of the office and back down the hall. I stormed past
Flea and detoured onto the dance floor, then toward the bar. If I was being
forced home, I was goin’ home drunk.
I slid up to the
bar and Cricket handed me my credit card. “He cut you off, hon.”
“Son of a bitch!”
Cricket grimaced.
“Sorry.”
“You alone?” a
deep voice asked from behind me.
I turned, seeing
he was kind of cute in a tight-ass, businessman kind of way, and smiled.
“Yeah.”
“Buy you a drink,
beautiful?”
I bit my lip,
then nodded. “I would love a drink.”
Before he could
order, Pug sat on the stool beside me and shook his head.
“Seriously?” I
hissed.
“Walk away,
man,” Pug ordered.
My admirer did
exactly what Pug told him to do and stupid me (after Pug walked away), I
accepted another offer for a drink. Pug showed up again and the man walked
away.
Damn Mack and
his interfering. “Call him off, Pug,” I snapped.
“Not gonna
happen,” Pug said, and gave me a smug smile.
“You’re such a
dick, you know that?”
“Yep.” He
crossed his arms. “Come on, I’ll get you a cab.”
“I’m going to hit
the little girls’ room first.”
“Knock yourself
out.”
I scowled at him
and headed to the bathroom, pissed that my night had been totally ruined. As I dried
my hands, my phone buzzed, and I sighed. It was Knight. “Hey.”
“Hey, sugar. You
okay?”
I put on a fake
smile and said, “Yep. What’s up?”
“Just checkin’
in.”
“Really? Did
Mack call you?”
“Pleadin’ the
fifth, sug.”
“Well, I’m
leaving, so y’all can relax.”
“We’re keepin’
you safe, Kimmie, you get that right?”
I bit back
frustrated tears. I don’t know why I expected him to be different that the
others, but I wished he’d have a little more faith in my ability to keep myself
safe. “Whatever.”
“Want me to
swing by and pick you up? We can go get a bite.”
“No, I’m going
to grab a cab and head home.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll call you
tomorrow.”
“Okay, honey.”
My voice was sweet, but I was secretly flipping him off in my mind. “’Bye.”
I hung up and
slipped out of the bathroom. Pug was talking with a cute girl who obviously
wanted free drinks, so I used the distraction to head outside. I was quite
capable of calling for a cab without him breathing down my neck. As I stepped
onto the sidewalk, I heard my name and followed the sound.
“Kim! Hey!”
I frowned when I
didn’t recognize the guy waving at me.
He caught up to
me and smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I said.
Now that he was closer he seemed faintly familiar, but I couldn’t place him. He
was about an inch shorter than me, blond hair and hazel eyes, nothing really to
write home about, but cute.
“Brian Combes,”
he provided. “I worked for your father four years ago.”
My father owned
the largest (and most prestigious) law firm in Portland...Oregon, truth be
told. He was a fifth generation attorney and had expected me to follow in his
footsteps, but after I found out about his multiple affairs, I decided I was
going to do whatever the hell I wanted and he could go screw himself.
I was so
disgusted, and wasn’t entirely sure who I was angrier at...him because he was a
pig, or my mother who turned a blind eye to his roaming. Unfortunately, I was
not so brave to completely cut them out of my life. They had a way of making my
life a living hell, so I played the game when it was necessary...like parties
and such.
Recognition
dawned. “Right, weren’t you a junior associate? I met you at a holiday party
the year you got hired.”
“Good memory.”
He smiled. “I can’t believe I saw you on the side of the street. Small world.”
“Indeed.”
He took my arm.
“Can I give you a ride somewhere?”
“No, I’m good.
Thanks.” I tried to pull away, but he gripped me harder.
“I’d really like
you to let me go,” I ordered, but I felt a prick in my arm and gasped. “Ouch.
Did you just…pinch me?”
“Must have been
my pin. Here, let me help you,” he said.
Pin? The word
blended together in my mind and I stumbled. “What the...?”
He dragged me
into the alleyway behind the bar and sneered as he slammed me against the wall.
“Hey!” I squeaked.
“You don’t even know
who I am, do you?”
“Brian…Combes,”
I slurred.
“That’s not what
I’m talking about.” His hand grasped my throat and I couldn’t breathe. “Fuckin’
bitch.”
He squeezed
harder and I scratched at his arms, the adrenaline forcing a little of the
haziness away, but my arms still felt like rubber flailing in water. Clothing
ripped and something hard was between my legs, pressing against me. I cried out
but he squeezed my throat harder with one hand and grabbed my breast with the
other. Pain registered somewhere in the back of my mind as the cool night air
told me I was now naked from the waist down.
Then suddenly, Brian
was yanked away. With nothing to hold me up, I slid down the wall, crumbling to
the to the cold cement ground. Then everything went black.
* * *
Knight
Thirty minutes earlier...
“How far out are
you?” Mack asked.
“Just got home.
You need me?”
“Kim’s here.”
“So?” Knight
asked, wondering what the issue was. Mack was obviously there too. “Is there a
problem?”
“I don’t know
what’s up with her, but she’s flirtin’ with every douchebag who looks her
direction.”
Knight sighed.
Dani had told him Kim sometimes spiraled and went looking for trouble, but he
hadn’t seen that side of her yet. Apparently now it was time. “Shit,
seriously?”
“It’s like she
keeps cuttin’ her finger and dunkin’ it in the shark tank. They’re continually
circlin’ her.”
Blush was a favorite for escorts and johns,
and as long as their activities didn’t draw negative attention for the Dogs,
Mack and Booker allowed them to do business. It was the wrong place for a good
girl to be looking for attention, however.
“I’ll call her,”
Knight said.
“Good. I’m
shuttin’ her the fuck down, so she’s gonna be pissed at me.”
“Fine.” Knight put
on his jacket and stepped into his boots. “I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay.”
Mack hung up and
Knight called Kim. Mack was right, she didn’t sound right. After he rang off
with her, he headed to Blush. He
needed to get a handle on Kim. There was definitely something deeper than
friendship between them and he wanted to explore it, but the timing wasn’t
right yet. So for now, he needed to find out why she was so damn destructive.
Her life seemed perfect. She had money, came from a good family, and had lots
of friends who cared about her, so why the hell was she spiraling out of
control?
He parked his
bike and threw his helmet in one of the saddlebags. As he rushed inside, he saw
movement in the alley and heard a woman’s whimper. Wondering what the call-girl
had gotten herself into, he veered off to investigate, stalling. It wasn’t a
whore, it was Kim.
Knight saw a man
shorter than Kim, pushing her against the wall and he forced down rage at the
visual of another man touching his woman, however, ice infused his veins when
the asshole slammed her head against the brick. Fabric tore as the man ripped
off Kim’s dress.
“What the fuck
are you doing?” Knight bellowed.
With his heart
in his throat, he made a run for Kim, praying he’d get to her before any damage
was done. Reaching the assailant, Knight yanked him back, distracting him
enough to stop beatin’ on Kim, but she appeared to be totally out. Knight
grabbed the guy by the back of the neck and slammed him face first to the
concrete. “You fuckin’ stay down or you’re eatin’ the curb,” he threatened,
although, it didn’t matter, the guy was out cold.
“Knight, man!”
Flea called.
“What the fuck
did you do to her?” Knight shouted. He grabbed the guy by the back of the neck
and slammed him face first to the concrete. He wanted to do a hell of a lot
more, but the piece of shit couldn’t even take the first hit. Regardless, he
gave the asshole a kick to the gut.
“Knight, man!”
Flea called.
“Gimme a sec,”
Knight shouted. He didn’t want anyone to see Kim with her ass hanging out, so
he took off his jacket and laid it over her. “Okay, I’m good.” He checked Kim’s
vitals as Flea approached. “Get that guy in the basement. I’ll get Kim.”
“You got it,”
Flea said.
While Flea took
care of the trash, Knight tried to wake Kim.
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