He visibly grimaced. “Club business.”
I was out of bed and on my feet in a flash. “So, let me see if I have this correct. I was taken from a place I thought was safe by a club that has a problem with you and your club. Then, I’m rescued and brought back to you only to find you in a room with a man tied to a chair who previously played a part in holding me captive and you don’t think any of that is MY BUSINESS?!?”
“Locks, calm down.”
“No. Fuck that and fuck you. This is bullshit, and you know it.”
“I’m sorry, Locks. I really am,” he said, and a part of me really wanted to believe him.
“Just leave,” I said as I crawled back into the bed and turned away from him.
“Baby, I want to tell you, but I can’t, not right now.”
“Then leave me alone until you can.” I kept my back to him and held myself very still until I heard the door open and close. Then, the tears came.
* * *
Shoutingfrom somewhere in the clubhouse woke me.
“Where is she?” a woman demanded.
“Mom, you know you can’t come in here making demands—”
“Jonah Jackson, if you don’t shut your mouth this instant, I’ll slap the taste right out of it. I am your mother, first and foremost. Just tell me where Layla is, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
I slipped out of the room and peeked around the corner to see a very pissed off Leigh standing in the middle of the common room. I cleared my throat and said, “I’m right here.”
Her head whipped around, and she gasped when her eyes landed on me. She came at me with her arms extended. “Oh, sweetheart, are you okay?”
I went to her and gladly accepted her comfort. “Yeah. I’m sore and a bit sleepy, but I think I’m otherwise okay.”
“Thank goodness. I’ve been so worried about you. When I couldn’t find you—” her words broke off as she choked on a sob. She took a deep breath and continued, “I knew something terrible had happened.” Shaking her head, she managed to rein in her emotions. “Come on, honey, let’s get you back in bed, and I’ll make you something to eat.”
Not wanting to be in the presence of the men any longer than I had to, I was quick to take her up on her offer.
Once we were back in Copper’s room, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
“When I realized you were missing, I called Jonah immediately. He told me they knew where you were and were en route to get you. However, he failed to let me know anything after that and didn’t answer his phone when I called fifteen times. So, I picked up my keys and let the girls know I was heading to the clubhouse to find out what was going on for myself. Andrea, in no uncertain terms, told her husband he would accompany me or his dick would only see the inside of his palm for the foreseeable future. He readily agreed, and here we are.”
I smiled. “I’m sorry you were worried, but I’m so glad you came.” I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes as I struggled with my emotions.
Leigh took a seat beside me on the bed. “Did something happen to you that I don’t know about?” Leigh asked carefully.
I quickly shook my head. “No, nothing like that. It’s just, well, Copper is keeping things from me, and I’m not handling it well.”
“What do you mean? What is he keeping from you?”
“He won’t tell me why another club kidnapped me. Also, when Coal found me and brought me back, Copper had a man tied to a chair in a shed behind some dive bar. That man was one of the guards holding me prisoner when my father sold me to human traffickers. When I asked why he was there, Copper told me it was club business.”
Leigh grimaced. “I used to hate when my husband would utter those dreaded words to me. I’ll tell you what he told me when I raised hell about it. It didn’t make it okay with me, but it did help me understand better. So, basically, he said he couldn’t tell me club business for my own safety. For example, let’s say one or more of the guys committed a crime they were later arrested for. If I knew nothing about it, I couldn’t be held accountable for it. Plausible deniability or something like that. On the flip side, it is somewhat of a common rule amongst MC’s to keep their women in the dark. It keeps other MC’s from targeting the women and trying to get information from them.”
“That makes sense, but the difference here is, I was the one kidnapped by the other MC, and I saw the man in the chair. I have no grounds to deny anything, and my safety was already put in jeopardy.”
“I don’t disagree with you. How did you and Copper leave things?”
“He said he wanted to tell me and he eventually would, but he couldn’t right now. I told him to get out and leave me alone until he could tell me.”
She patted my leg and rose to her feet. “Well, sounds to me like you could use some comfort food.” With that, she left the room, leaving her purse on the bed.