“Of course. Sorry, Parker. We just wanna know what happened, is all. Anything you can say might help us with figuring out who the fuck took our sergeant at arms and kept him prisoner for days.” Hoops leans forward before standing and heading toward a small refrigerator in the corner of the room. He’s angry, but he’s super controlled with it, earning my respect with the way he seems to want to protect this club and its members.
He pulls out a few beers and passes them around, sliding one down the table toward me. I don’t wait for him to pass the bottle opener because I have teeth. As soon as I bite down on the lid, all three of them wince like it’s painful to watch.
“Why would you do that?” Sledge shakes his head and swigs back a few mouthfuls of his beer.
“Why wouldn’t I do that?” I shrug.
“What happened after he started dancing with you, and do you remember what he looked like?” Hoops, getting us back on track again. It’s like he knows how to handle people who easily squirrel onto other subjects.
Swigging my own beer, I savor the cold liquid sliding down my throat. It isn’t the same as English beer, but it’ll do.
“Okay, so he was dancing with me, I wasn’t pushing him away. A new song comes on and boom, some uppity bitch yanked me back by my hair and slapped me around the face. She was yelling at me to leave her man alone, calling me a slut, and I’m there, like, what the actual fuck is going on? I only came in for a drink and a dance before heading off to meet my big brother. Then…” I pause and take another swig from the cold bottle. “Sorry…so, I’m obviously not going to let some ho-bag pull me around like that. I elbowed her in the face and broke her nose, only for the sleazy douche who was dancing with me to pretend he was outraged. A whole bunch of men in suits swarmed the dance floor with murderous eyes all on me. One of them said something about the boss’s daughter, another told me I had just signed my death warrant, and I’m sure I heard the name O’Riley or O’Malley, something with anOand ending in an ee sound.”
I pause again and assess their faces. Shade looks pained, Sledge’s eyes are like saucers, and Hoops is unreadable. As per usual.
“My bags were in my car, so all I had on me was the glass in my hand. I smashed that against one of their heads and tried to use the distraction to run, but another one grabbed my arm and near-on dislocated it when he yanked me backward. I swear the place’s security is wank because not one of those fuckers came over to help. I managed to keep hold of some of the now-brokenglass, cut another two across the face, one in the chest, one got a pretty good gash up his arm, but they were overpowering me with bodies and I had a moment where I was sure I was fucked. Then, like a knight in shiny armor, this dude”—I gesture toward Shade—“appears from out of nowhere and takes three of them out without breaking a sweat. He told me to fucking run, and because I didn’t want to die, I obliged. I ran all the way back to my car, assuming my savior had an escape route planned for himself because he’s a big bastard. However, the second I exited the club, I realized my breathing was a lot more painful than usual, every movement hurt worse than a few bruises or a cracked rib. That’s when I noticed the blood at the side of my stomach. One of the fuckers had stabbed me.”
All three of their faces have, at least, changed now. Three angry sets of eyes stare back at me, and I feel oddly comforted by the sight because I know in my gut that their anger isn’t toward me.
“Why the fuck didn’t you come and find me then?” Sledge stands and slams his palms on the table.
“Sit the fuck down, Sledge. Let her finish.” Hoops isn’t just this club’s president, he’s like their dad! The loving and caring kind that’s rarer than a rainbow fart.
“I didn’t want to meet you for the first time after just starting a bar brawl and bleeding out all over you. I also couldn’t go to a proper hospital because they would have asked questions that I really didn’t want to answer because I’m positive I popped one of the fuckers’ eyes out with that broken glass. I wrapped up my wound as best I could and drove back to New York to find J, one of my dad’s boss’s friends. In hindsight, yeah, I could have come straight to you, and I probably should have because I had lost a lot of blood by the time I arrived. She set me up with some doctor who fixed me up. Cost me a small fucking fortune; basically everything I had earned to come over here. Then I fucked arounda bit because I was trying to let the heat die down from the bar and voilà. I came back.” I jazz hands either side of my head and give them all a wide, toothy grin.
Their scowls in response are a little confusing so, obviously, I continue to ramble on.
“And yes, my return didn’t exactly go favorably, either. But your guys found me and it was impossible to run away from that. I didn’t know what happened to the guy that had saved me that night, given me the opportunity to not die, and so I went back to the same place hoping to see him. If I happened to come across the fuckers from before, I would have done the smart thing and walked away.” No, I wouldn’t have, but they don’t need to know that I’d happily have put myself back in the same situation if it meant hurting more of those arsewipes on my way down.
Sledge growls like a fucking animal, which is something I know damn well I’d usually find hot but…just no. I mean, it’s a good thing that’s a no because ew…brother.
Shade remains quiet, his eyes on the edge of the table and one hand clutching his beer like his life depends on it.
Hoops has a pensive look on his face, his head slowly bobbing up and down as though whatever conversation he’s having in his head is agreeable.
“O’Malley’s. Hmm. Sledge, look into that tire place that Jed mentioned from the next town over. Be discreet, because if I’m right, then they’ve just made their way to the top of the suspect list for every-fucking-thing.” The way Hoops stands makes it clear why he is the president of these guys. Hell, everything this man does makes it clear. “I appreciate the honesty, Parker. Would you be able to ID the guys if you saw them again?” His shoulders are back, his chin is held high…yeah, he has a plan. He’s just gone up a few notches in my book.
“Yup. Easy peasy. I used to work in collections and protection with dad in London, picking people or dangers out in a crowd islike second nature.” I grin before swigging down the rest of my beer. This is going to be fun, I can feel it in my bones. “I can even draw you some mug shots if ya like?”
“Impressive. Yes, please do that. I’m going to bed. But first, Sledge, send out a text for church at ten.” He nods, like his word is final, and exits the room.
My gaze drifts over to Shade, who has been sitting patiently, listening to the whole story, although he already knew some of it from experience. I feel like complete shit for not staying and helping him out or going back for him, because from what Grinder told me on the way back here earlier, Shade got really fucked up. The sleazy freaks took him and held him captive for a few days like the fucking cowards they are.
That in itself makes me want to take all of their fucking eyes out. Then maybe I’ll make them eat them like they do in those reality shows.
“I’m sorry.” I could ramble on, but I know men like this. Stoic, dark, dangerous. He doesn’t need a whole apology explaining why the world was on fire, he just needs to know I mean it.
He holds my eye contact for a few seconds, as though he’s assessing my sincerity. And, of course, I don’t back down. I want him to see for himself how fucking awful I feel for what he went through because of me.
Finally, he nods, just the once, and pushes himself to stand.
“Not your fault.” I think he’s trying to smile…a little? “Your little sister’s a badass, Sledge.” Then he, too, leaves the room so only Sledge and I remain.
“You’re gonna be trouble, ain’t ya?” Sledge sighs and falls backward in his chair, eyeing me from beneath his long lashes.
“If I said no, I’d be lying, and I promised myself I would never lie to you once I found you.”
Shifting in his chair, Sledge’s face scrunches up.