Thorn was hot on my heels as I burst out of Cole’s office and into the main room of the club.
It only took a second to determine the source of the scuffle. Max and an unfamiliar Black Rider were throwing punches near the pool table. I scanned the room for Layla, finding her in the same spot near the couch, hunkered with Ginnie.
Max had the upper hand until another Rider joined in, throwing a punch to Max’s side.
“Stop. Now.” Cole’s shout of authority was like a whip lashing across the room. He didn’t want this to escalate, and with the number of Riders and Knights in the room it could very well do that and fucking quickly. As it was, despite my training, I had to fight my own instincts not to clock the asshole who had sucker punched Max. But my mind was likely where Cole’s was. Protect the women. Control the room.
I pushed through the crowd, reaching the brawl just as Max sent the second Rider flying, right over the couch and into Layla and Ginnie.
I was too damn far away to do anything about it when his large body slammed into both of them, knocking Ginnie off the couch, his boot landing a blow to Layla’s face.
A red haze took over my vision, reason deserting me as my only thought became to kill the man who was now stumbling to his feet, looking around in confusion.
Just as I was about to move into action, hands gripped me on both sides, holding me in place. “She’s okay.” Gunner’s voice rumbled in my right ear. “Need you to think, brother. You do this, shit blows wide open. We can’t have that.”
“You can’t take care of her if you’re getting yourself all fucked-up in a fight,” Axel added from my left.
My eyes swept to Xander, held in a similar position by Wes and Sal. Clearly he’d had the same urge hit him at the sight of Ginnie being pushed off the couch.
I watched a few of Thorn’s men pulled the brawling Riders from the room.
I took a deep breath before wrenching my arms free. “Let me see to Layla,” I grunted irritably.
They set me loose, and in a few strides, I was at her side, collapsing to my knees next to the couch where she clutched at her eye.
“Let me see, baby,” I coaxed gently, all my earlier aggression deserting me in favor of soothing her.
“I’m fine,” she sputtered. “Just surprised me.”
“Let me see,” I pressed.
Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from her face, revealing a giant welt on her cheekbone.
“Shit,” Gunner muttered behind me.
“Get some fucking ice,” I ordered to the room at large, knowing someone would hop to.
Layla’s gorgeous eyes grew round. “Is it bad?”
The noise around us dimmed as a majority of the people in the room disbanded.
“A biker just kicked you in the face, babe. But it looks kind of badass,” Ginnie commented from underneath X’s arm, which I doubted she’d be getting out from under anytime soon.
Layla looked up at her with a scrunched-eye grin.
“Glad you’re so fuckin’ amused,” I muttered in frustration.
Then she turned that smile to me. And despite her fucked-up eye, she was as beautiful as ever and oddly enough, she looked as happy as ever.
“Not thrilled I got a black eye out of it, but I’m having fun. Is that weird?” she asked with adorable sincerity.
Just as I was about to reply, Wren snorted. “No, Layla, that just means you’re one of us. Crazy? Maybe. But one of us.” She winked from her spot next to Max. No doubt he’d gotten in the fight over her in the first place.
“Maybe the two clubs should do trust falls or something. Kill all this tension,” Emmie put in.
The girls laughed, while Gunner eyed her carefully. “Are you drunk?”
She looked at him like he was crazy for asking. “Hell yes, I’m drunk. Aren’t you?”